Henry Finch (died 1625)
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Sir Henry Finch (died 1625) was an English lawyer and politician, created
serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...
and knighted, and remembered as a legal writer.


Life

He was born the son of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell and Catherine Moyle, daughter of Sir
Thomas Moyle Sir Thomas Moyle (1488 – 2 October 1560) was a commissioner for Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries, and Speaker of the House of Commons in the Parliament of England from 1542 to 1544. Life He was the fourth son of John Moyle ...
and the brother of Moyle Finch. He was educated at
Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
, under
Laurence Chaderton Laurence Chaderton (''c''. September 1536 – 13 November 1640) was an English Puritan divine, the first Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible. Life Chaderton was born in Lees, ...
, graduating BA, and was admitted of
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...
in 1577, and
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
there in 1585. In February 1593 he was elected to parliament for
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, and he retained the seat at the election of 1597. He became an ancient of his inn in 1593, and the same year was appointed counsel to the
Cinque ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier ( Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to t ...
. He was reader at his inn in the autumn of 1604. In 1613 he was appointed recorder of
Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
, on 11 June 1616 he was called to the degree of serjeant-at-law, and nine days later he was knighted at
Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
. At this time he was engaged, in conjunction with
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
,
William Noy William Noy (1577 – 9 August 1634) was an English jurist. He was born on the family estate of Pendrea in St Buryan, Cornwall. He left Exeter College, Oxford, without taking a degree, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1594. From 1603 until his d ...
, and others, in an abortive attempt to codify the
statute law Statutory law or statute law is written law passed by a body of legislature. This is opposed to oral or customary law; or regulatory law promulgated by the executive or common law of the judiciary. Statutes may originate with national, state leg ...
. He was elected to Parliament for
St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...
in 1614. He died in October 1625, and was buried in the parish church of
Boxley Boxley is a village and civil parish in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It lies below the slope of the North Downs approximately northeast of the centre of Maidstone town. The civil parish has a population of 7,144 (2001 census), i ...
, Kent. He had married Ursula, the daughter and heiress of John Thwaites of Kent, with whom he had two sons.


''Calling of the Jews''

In 1621 he published a work entitled ''The World's Great Restauration, or Calling of the Jews, and with them of all Nations and Kingdoms of the Earth to the Faith of Christ''. In it he seems to have predicted, in the near future, the restoration of temporal dominion to the
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and the establishment by them of a worldwide empire. This caused
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
to treat the work as a libel, and accordingly, Finch was arrested in April 1621. He obtained his liberty by disavowing all such portions of the work as might be construed as derogatory to the sovereign and apologising for having written unadvisedly.
William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...
, in a sermon preached in July 1621, referred to the book, and it was suppressed. Judaic scholar Mel Scult sees Finch’s work as calling for the
conversion of the Jews Many Christians believe in a widespread conversion of the Jews to Christianity, which they often consider as an end-time event. Some Christian denominations consider the conversion of the Jews imperative and pressing, and as a result they make i ...
, and containing many of the key themes found throughout subsequent conversionist literature (the Jews being especially favoured, being repositories of the word of God, and a great glory being due a converted Israel). However, the work also shows a new development in the way Christians saw the Bible. By ascribing the sayings of the prophets refer to the Jews themselves rather than the Christian Church in general, ''The World's Great Restauration'' marks the start of the process of restoring the Old Testament to the Jews themselves.


Legal works

Finch published in 1613 a legal treatise ''Nomotexnia''. The original published version was in
law French Law French ( nrf, Louai Français, enm, Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, be ...
; it is believed that in an earlier draft it was written in the 1580s, and under the influence of
Ramist Ramism was a collection of theories on rhetoric, logic, and pedagogy based on the teachings of Petrus Ramus, a French academic, philosopher, and Huguenot convert, who was murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in August 1572. Acco ...
logic. Finch had also studied at
Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
, under
Laurence Chaderton Laurence Chaderton (''c''. September 1536 – 13 November 1640) was an English Puritan divine, the first Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible. Life Chaderton was born in Lees, ...
, a centre for the reception of Ramism in England. ''Nomotexnia'' consists of four books. The first is mainly devoted to the distinction between
natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
and
positive law Positive laws ( la, links=no, ius positum) are human-made laws that oblige or specify an action. Positive law also describes the establishment of specific rights for an individual or group. Etymologically, the name derives from the verb ''to posit ...
. The second book deals with the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
, customs, prerogative, and statute law; the third with procedure, and the fourth with
special jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing autho ...
s, e.g. those of the admiral and the bishop. An English version appeared in London in 1627, and was edited with notes by
Danby Pickering Danby Pickering (Floruit, fl. 1769) was an English legal writer. Biography Born circa 1716 (christened 17 March that year),Parish records the son of Danby Pickering of Hatton Garden, Middlesex by his wife Mary (née Horson), Pickering was admitte ...
of Gray's Inn, in 1759 (London: Henry Lintot). It differs in important particulars from the original work. Another and much closer translation was published in 1759.''A Description of the Common Laws of England according to the Rules of Art compared with the Prerogatives of the King'' (London: A. Millar, 1759). As an exposition of the common law, ''Finch's Law'', as it was called, was only superseded by
William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family ...
's ''
Commentaries on the Laws of England The ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford, 1765–1770. The work is divided into four volum ...
'', and so far as it dealt with
jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...
by the work of John Austin. A short abstract of the work, entitled ''A Summary of the Common Law of England'', appeared in 1673.


Family

He was the second surviving son of Sir Thomas Finch of
Eastwell, Kent Eastwell is a hamlet and civil parish about north of Ashford, Kent, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 103. The parish shares civil and church parish councils with neighbouring Boughton Aluph. Parish church Much of ...
, by Catherine, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Moyle. His elder brother became
Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet JP ( – 18 December 1614) was an English politician, knight, sheriff, and MP. Early life Finch was second, but eldest surviving son, of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell, Kent, and the former Catherine Moyle. Among ...
. By his wife Ursula, daughter of John Thwaites of Kent, he was the father of John Finch, speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of Charles I, and of Edward Finch (
fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1630-1641), Royalist divine.


Notes


References

*


Further reading

*Wilfrid Prest, ''The Dialectical Origins of Finch's Law'', The Cambridge Law Journal, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Nov., 1977), pp. 326–352


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Henry Year of birth missing 1625 deaths People from Eastwell, Kent English legal professionals English legal writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn Serjeants-at-law (England)
Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1614 16th-century English lawyers