Alban Francis (died 1715) was an English Roman Catholic Benedictine monk. Francis was a native of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. He became a professed Benedictine monk on 9 May 1670, in the abbey of St Adrian and St Denis at

Lamspringe Lamspringe is a village and a municipality in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km south of Hildesheim. Since 1 November 2016, the former municipalities Harbarnsen, Neuhof, Sehlem and W ...

in the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim.Ralph Weldon, ''A Chronicle of the English Benedictine Monks'', App. p. 24 He assumed in religion the name of Placid. He was sent to the mission in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and acted as chaplain to Joshua Basset, appointed master of

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

by a royal mandate dated 3 January 1687. On 7 February 1686–7

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

addressed a mandatory letter under his signet manual to

John Peachell John Peachell (1630–1690) was an English academic, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge at the moment when James II was aiming to impose his will on the universities. Life He was son of Rob ...

, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, commanding him to admit Francis to the degree as

master of arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

"without administering unto him any oath or oaths whatsoever, or tendering any subscription to be made by him", thus ignoring the Test Act 1673. This letter was laid before a congregation of the university on 21 February, and the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

advised that the king should be petitioned to revoke his mandate. The esquire-bedels and the registrars were sent to inform Francis that the senate were ready to admit him to the degree provided that he would swear as the law appointed, but he refused to do so, insisting upon the royal dispensation. On the same afternoon the heads met in the consistory, and agreed to send a letter to the Duke of Albemarle and another to the Earl of Sunderland, secretary of state, through whose hands the mandate had passed. A second letter from the king dated 24 February was read in the senate on 11 March. The senate, confirmed by the approval of several eminent lawyers, persisted in its refusal to comply with the royal letters. Consequently, the vice-chancellor and the senate (by its deputies) were cited to appear before the Ecclesiastical Commission at Whitehall. The lord chancellor (

Jeffreys Jeffreys is a surname, which may refer to: People: (See also the common variants Jeffries and Jefferies) * Alec Jeffreys (born 1950), British biologist and discoverer of DNA fingerprinting * Anne Jeffreys (1923–2017), American actress and sing ...

) pronounced the decision of the commissioners on 7 May 1687. Peachell was deprived of the office of vice-chancellor and was suspended, ''ab officio et beneficio'', of his mastership during his majesty's pleasure. At a subsequent sitting (12 May) the lord chancellor reprimanded the deputies of the senate. Another vice-chancellor was elected, John Balderston, master of Emmanuel College, but Francis never got his degree. At the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, Francis withdrew to Lamspringe, whence he removed in 1699 to the English Benedictine college of St Gregory at Douai. He was again sent to the mission in the south province of England, where he died on 27 July 1715.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Alban 17th-century births 1715 deaths English Benedictines