Henry Savage (1604? – 1672) was an English clergyman, academic and controversialist, Master of

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, from 1651.

Life

He was the son of Francis Savage of Dobs Hill in the parish of Eldersfield or Eldsfield, Worcestershire. He entered as a commoner of Balliol in 1621 at the age of seventeen, but did not matriculate till 11 March 1625. He graduated B. A. 24 November 1625, M.A. 4 February 1630, and B.D. 8 November 1637. He was elected fellow of his college in 1628. About 1640 he travelled in France with

William Sandys, 6th Baron Sandys William Sandys, 6th Baron Sandys (died 1668), was a Cavalier officer in the Royalist army during the English Civil War. Biography Sandys was the eldest son of Henry Sandys, 5th Baron Sandys and Margaret, daughter of Sir William Sandys of Miserden, ...

. Savage submitted to the parliamentary visitors of the University of Oxford; and was presented to the rectory and vicarage of Sherborne St. John, Hampshire, in 1648. He was recalled to Oxford by his election, on 20 February 1651, to succeed George Bradshaw as master of Balliol, then one of the poorest and smallest colleges, and proceeded to the degree of D.D. on 16 October following; his dissertations on infant baptism were published in 1653, and provoked an answer from

John Tombes John Tombes (c.1603? – 22 May 1676) was an English clergyman of Presbyterian and Baptist views. Early life He was born at Bewdley, Worcestershire, in 1602 or 1603. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, 23 January 1618, aged 15. His tutor th ...

of Magdalen Hall, to which Savage replied in 1655. His opinions were orthodox, and at the Restoration he was given the post of chaplain-in-ordinary to Charles II, and the rectory of Bladon, near Woodstock, in 1661, in addition to the rectory of

Fillingham Fillingham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north from the city and county town of Lincoln, and just over west from the A15 road. Fillingham Grade II* listed Anglican ch ...

, Lincolnshire, which he held as Master, a canonry at Gloucester in 1665, and the rectory of

Crowmarsh Crowmarsh is a fairly large, mostly rural civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England east and southeast of the town of Wallingford on the opposite bank of the River Thames and may also refer to its larger district council ward which extends t ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, in 1670. He died on 2 June 1672, and was buried in the college chapel.

Works

Savage published: *'Tres Quaestiones Theologicae in Comitiorum Vesperiis Oxon. discussae an. 1652, viz., An Psedobaptismus sit licitus,' Oxford, 1653. *'Thesis doctoris Savage, nempe Paedobaptismum esse licitum, Confirmatio, contra Refutationem Mri. Tombes nuper editam,' concluding with a 'Vindicatio eius a Calumniis Mri. Tombes,' Oxford, 1655. *'Reasons showing that there is no need of such Reformation of the public Doctrine, Worship, Rites and Ceremonies, Church Government, and Discipline as is pretended,' London, 1660; this is an answer to a pamphlet of 'Reasons showing that there is need,' &c., attributed to Cornelius Burges. *'The Dew of Hermon which fell upon the Hill of Sion, or an Answer to a Book entitl'd "Sion's Groans,"' London, 1663; some copies are called 'Toleration, with its Principal Objections fully Confuted, or an Answer.' *'Balliofergus, or a Commentary upon the Foundation, Founders, and Affairs of Balliol College, Oxford,' 1668, a small quarto of 130 pages, including 'Natalitia Collegii Pembrochiani Oxonii 1624;' the first attempt to construct the history of an Oxford college on the basis of authentic registers and deeds, it was criticised as inaccurate.

Family

Savage married, about 1655, Mary, daughter of Colonel

Henry Sandys, 5th Baron Sandys Colonel Henry Sandys, 5th Baron Sandys (died 6 April 1644), was an English nobleman and Cavalier officer in the English Civil War. Sandys was the third and youngest, but only surviving, son of Sir Edwin Sandys (eldest son of Miles Sandys and n ...

and sister of his friend William, sixth lord Sandys, and of Henry and Edwin, seventh and eighth barons. He had seven children. Savage's widow died, 15 May 1683, in an obscure house in St. Ebbe's at Oxford.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Henry 1604 births 1672 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests Masters of Balliol College, Oxford 17th-century Anglican theologians