George Hickes (20 June 1642
O.S. – 15 December 1715
O.S.) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
divine
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine< ...](_blank)
and scholar.
Biography
Hickes was born at
Newsham, near
Thirsk
Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby.
History
Archeological ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, in 1642. After going to school at Thirsk he went to
Northallerton Grammar School in 1652 where he was a classmate of
Thomas Rymer
Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 14 December 1713) was an English poet, critic, antiquary and historian. His lasting contribution was to compile and publish 16 volumes of the first edition of ''Foedera'', a work in 20 volumes conveying agreements betwe ...
.
In 1659 he entered
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...
, whence after the Restoration he removed to
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...
and then to Magdalen Hall. In 1664 he was elected fellow of
Lincoln College, and in the following year proceeded M.A. In 1673 he graduated in divinity, and in 1675 he was appointed rector of St Ebbes, Oxford. In 1676, as private chaplain, he accompanied the
Duke of Lauderdale
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
, the royal commissioner, to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and shortly afterwards received the degree of D.D. from
St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...
.
In 1680 he became vicar of All Hallows,
Barking, London; and after having been made chaplain to the king in 1681, he was in 1683 promoted to the deanery of Worcester. He opposed both
James II's declaration of indulgence and
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...
's rising, and he tried in vain to save from death his
nonconformist brother
John Hickes (1633-1683), one of the
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part We ...
refugees harboured by
Alice Lisle. At the
revolution of 1688, having declined to take the oath of allegiance Hickes was first suspended and afterwards deprived of his deanery. When he heard of the appointment of a successor he affixed to the cathedral doors a protestation and claim of right.
After remaining some time in concealment in London, he was sent by
Sancroft and the other nonjurors to James II in France on matters connected with the continuance of their episcopal succession; upon his return in 1694 he was himself consecrated suffragan
bishop of Thetford in the
non-juring church. His later years were largely occupied in controversies and in writing, while in 1713 he persuaded two Scottish bishops,
James Gadderar and
Archibald Campbell, to assist him in consecrating
Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier (; 23 September 1650 – 26 April 1726) was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.
Life
Born Jeremiah Collier, in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridg ...
,
Samuel Hawes and
Nathaniel Spinckes as bishops among the
non-jurors.
Writings
Today Hickes is remembered chiefly for his pioneering work in linguistics and Anglo-Saxon languages. His chief writings in this vein are the ''Institutiones Grammaticae Anglo-Saxonicae et Moeso-Gothicae'' (1689), and the celebrated ''Linguarum veterum septentrionalium thesaurus grammatico-criticus et archæologicus'' (1703-1705).
His earliest writings, which were anonymous, were suggested by contemporary events in Scotland: the execution of James Mitchell on a charge of having attempted to murder Archbishop
James Sharp, and that of John Kid and John King, Presbyterian ministers, for high treason and rebellion (''Ravillac Redivivus'', 1678; ''The Spirit of Popery speaking out of the Mouths of Phanatical Protestants'', 1680). In his ''Jovian'' (an answer to
Samuel Johnson's ''Julian the Apostate'', 1682), he endeavoured to show that the Roman empire was not hereditary, and that the Christians under Julian had recognized the duty of
passive obedience.
Hickes also made contributions to Anglican theology. His two treatises, one ''Of the Christian Priesthood'' and the other ''Of the Dignity of the Episcopal Order'', originally published in 1707, have been more than once reprinted, and form three volumes of the ''
Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology'' (1847). Bishop Hoadly attacked the high-church views of Hickes in his "Preservative Against the Principles of the Nonjurors" and in his famous 1717 sermon "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ." Hickes can therefore be said to have offered the provocation that set off the
Bangorian controversy.
In 1705 and 1710 were published ''Collections of Controversial Letters'', in 1711 a collection of ''Sermons'', and in 1726 a volume of ''Posthumous Discourses''. Other treatises, such as the ''Apologetical Vindication of the Church of England'', are to be met with in
Edmund Gibson
Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary.
Early life and career
He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's Col ...
's ''
Preservative against Popery''. There is a manuscript in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...
which sketches his life to the year 1689, and many of his letters are extant in various collections. A posthumous publication of his ''The Constitution of the Catholick Church and the Nature and Consequences of Schism'' (1716) gave rise to the Bangorian controversy.
References
Sources
*
*
John Henry Overton
John Henry Overton, VD, DD (hon) (1835–1903) was an English cleric, known as a church historian.
Life
Born at Louth, Lincolnshire, on 4 January 1835, he was the only son of Francis Overton, a surgeon of Louth, by his wife Helen Martha, daught ...
, ''The Nonjurors'' (1902).
*
* Harris, Richard L
A Chorus of Grammars: The Correspondence of George Hickes and His Collaborators on the "Thesaurus Linguarum Septentrionalium."Toronto: Pontifical Inst. of Mediaeval Studies, 1992.
* George Hickes, "Linguarum Veterum Septentrionalium Thesaurus Grammatico-Criticus et Archaeologicus", Oxoniae, 1705
Full Text at Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickes, George
1642 births
1715 deaths
Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford
Deans of Worcester
British nonjuror bishops
Bishops of Thetford
17th-century Anglican theologians
18th-century Anglican theologians