Further reading
- Ethan H. Shagan, The English Inquisition: constitutional conflict and ecclesiastical law in the 1590s. Historical Journal, 47:3 (2004), 541-65.
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Richard Cosin (died 1596) was an English jurist. He became prominent as an ecclesiastical lawyer in the service of Archbishop John Whitgift, active against the Puritans in the Church of England.
He was born the son of John Cosin in Hartlepool, and educated in Skipton. He was sent to Trinity College, Cambridge, aged 12. He became an all-round scholar, particularly interested in canon law. [1] He was awarded an LL.D. by the University of Cambridge in 1580. [2]
He was chancellor of the diocese of Worcester in 1582, where Whitgift was bishop. His name appears on the marriage bond of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. [3] [4] He became Dean of the Arches in 1583.
Whitgift made him his Vicar-General of the diocese of Canterbury in 1583, and Dean of the Arches in 1590. Cosin also had duties as a censor of publications.
He entered Parliament as the MP for Downton, Wiltshire in 1584, and was then elected for Hindon, Wiltshire in 1586 and again for Downton in 1589. [5]
In the major confrontation of the 1590s between Anglicans and Thomas Cartwright and his Puritan and presbyterian allies, Cosin with Matthew Sutcliffe for the church lawyers faced the common lawyers Richard Beale and James Morice. Morice attacked the ex officio oath, which Cosin staunchly defended. He argued from the existence, in medieval understanding, of many exceptions to the requirement of an accuser. [6] [7]
His 1592 pamphlet Conspiracie, for Pretended Reformation: viz. Presbyteriall Discipline exploited the scare after the 1591 plot of William Hacket, Edmund Coppinger, and Henry Arthington. [8] Cosin noted in it that the presbyterian notion of discipline included the ideas of resistance to bad magistrates, and deposition of kings. [9] It also contains discussion, relating to Hacket, showing contemporary definitions of degrees of insanity. [10]
An apologie for sundrie proceedings by jurisdiction ecclesiastical (1593) is his major work. He expressed the views that Magna Carta implied that the English monarchy did not have absolute power, but that it had no application to ecclesiastical jurisdiction. [11]
He supported the education of William Barlow, [12] his biographer (1598).
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John Whitgift was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horses. Whitgift's theological views were often controversial.
Thomas Cartwright was an English Puritan preacher and theologian.
A writ of prohibition is a writ directing a subordinate to stop doing something the law prohibits. This writ is often issued by a superior court to the lower court directing it not to proceed with a case which does not fall under its jurisdiction.
Martin Marprelate was the name used by the anonymous author or authors of the seven Marprelate tracts that circulated illegally in England in the years 1588 and 1589. Their principal focus was an attack on the episcopacy of the Anglican Church.
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement is the name given to the religious and political arrangements made for England during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The settlement, implemented from 1559 to 1563, marked the end of the English Reformation. It permanently shaped the Church of England's doctrine and liturgy, laying the foundation for the unique identity of Anglicanism.
Thomas Norton was an English lawyer, politician, writer of verse, and playwright.
In 17th century England, Thorough was a name given by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford to a scheme of his to establish absolute monarchy in England. Although "Thorough" is largely attributed to Strafford, its implementation can also be accredited to the Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud.
The Court of High Commission was the supreme ecclesiastical court in England, from the inception of King Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy in 1534CE to 1689CE, with periods of time where there was no court activity, like in 1641, when Parliament disbanded the court with the Triennial Act. John Whitgift, the Archbishop of Canterbury, obtained increased powers for the court by the 1580s. He proposed and had passed the Seditious Sectaries Act 1593, making Puritanism an offence.
The Savoy Conference of 1661 was a significant liturgical discussion that took place, after the Restoration of Charles II, in an attempt to effect a reconciliation within the Church of England.
William Covell was an English clergyman and writer.
William Lyndwood was an English bishop of St. David's, diplomat and canonist, most notable for the publication of the Provinciale.
Events from the 1590s in England.
The reign of Elizabeth I of England, from 1558 to 1603, saw the start of the Puritan movement in England, its clash with the authorities of the Church of England, and its temporarily effective suppression as a political movement in the 1590s by judicial means. This led to the further alienation of Anglicans and Puritans from one another in the 17th century during the reign of King James (1603–1625) and the reign of King Charles I (1625–1649), that eventually brought about the English Civil War (1642–1651), the brief rule of the Puritan Lord Protector of England Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658), the English Commonwealth (1649–1660), and as a result the political, religious, and civil liberty that is celebrated today in all English speaking countries.
The reign of King James I of England (1603–1625) saw the continued rise of the Puritan movement in England, that began during reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558–1603), and the continued clash with the authorities of the Church of England. This eventually led to the further alienation of Anglicans and Puritans from one another in the 17th century during the reign of King Charles I (1625–1649), that eventually brought about the English Civil War (1642–1651), the brief rule of the Puritan Lord Protector of England Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658), the English Commonwealth (1649–1660), and as a result the political, religious, and civil liberty that is celebrated today in all English speaking countries.
Sir Nicholas Fuller was an English barrister and Member of Parliament. After studying at Christ's College, Cambridge, Fuller became a barrister of Gray's Inn. His legal career there began prosperously—he was employed by the Privy Council to examine witnesses—but was hampered later by his representation of the Puritans, a religious tendency which did not conform with the established Church of England. Fuller was repeatedly in contention with the ecclesiastical courts, including the Star Chamber and Court of High Commission, and was once expelled for the zeal with which he defended his client. In 1593 he was returned as the Member of Parliament for St Mawes, where he campaigned against the extension of recusancy laws. Outside of Parliament, he successfully brought a patents case which not only undermined the right of the Crown to issue patents but accurately predicted the attitude taken by the Statute of Monopolies two decades later.
Giles Wigginton was an English clergyman who became a fringe religious activist towards the end of the sixteenth century.
William Hacket, or Hackett, was an English puritan who claimed to be a messiah. He called for the removal of Queen Elizabeth I. He was executed in London after being found guilty of treason.
Arminianism was a controversial theological position within the Church of England particularly evident in the second quarter of the 17th century. A key element was the rejection of predestination. The Puritans fought against Arminianism, and King James I of England opposed it before, during, and after the Synod of Dort, 1618–1619, where the English delegates participated in formulating the Calvinist Canons of Dort, but his son Charles I, favored it, leading to deep political battles. The Methodists, who espoused a variant of the school of thought called Wesleyan–Arminian theology, branched off the Church of England in the 18th century.
Benjamin Heydon or Haydon (1567–1607) was the Headmaster at Winchester College from 1596 to 1601/1602, a JP for Somerset, and Dean of Wells Cathedral from 1602 until his death in 1607.
William Morice was an English politician.
