James Calfhill (also Calfield) (1530?–1570) was an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
priest, academic and controversialist, who died as
Archdeacon of Colchester and
Bishop-designate of Worcester.
Life
He was a native of
Edinburgh, was educated at
Eton College, and entered
King's College, Cambridge, in 1545. In 1548 he was appointed a student of the new foundation of
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
. He graduated B.A. 1549, M.A. 1552, B.D. 1561, and D.D. 1565–6.
Calfhill was ordained deacon on 14 January 1559, and in the same month instituted to the rectory of
West Horsley, Surrey. He took priest's orders on 9 June 1560, and became
canon of
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford on 5 July following. In 1561 Calfhill superintended the reinterment of the remains of Catherine, wife of
Peter Martyr, at Christ Church.
He had the bones of Catherine and relics of
Frideswide
Frithuswith, commonly Frideswide (c. 65019 October 727; ang, Friðuswīþ), was an English princess and abbess. She is credited as the foundress of a monastery later incorporated into Christ Church, Oxford. She was the daughter of a sub-kin ...
intermingled.
In May 1562 Calfhill became rector of
St. Andrew Wardrobe
St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe is a Church of England church located on Queen Victoria Street, London in the City of London, near Blackfriars station.
History
First mentioned around 1170, St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe was almost certainly founded consid ...
, London, and was proctor both for the clergy of London and the chapter of
Oxford in the
convocation of 1563, where he was a conspicuous "precisian", with
Arthur Saul. On 14 December 1562 he was presented by the queen to the penitentiaryship of St. Paul's and the annexed prebend of St. Pancras.
On 18 February 1564 he was appointed
Lady Margaret professor of divinity at Oxford
The Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity is a senior professorship in Christ Church of the University of Oxford. The professorship was founded from the benefaction of Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), mother of Henry VII. Its holders were ...
. On 4 May 1565 he became rector of
Bocking, Essex, appointed by Archbishop
Matthew Parker, and on 16 July became
archdeacon of Colchester. He applied unsuccessfully to secretary
Cecil for the provostship of
King's College, Cambridge, in 1569. In 1570 he was nominated to the bishopric of Worcester, vacant by the translation of
Edwin Sandys to London, but died in August at Bocking before election or consecration. He left a widow, to whom administration of his effects was granted on 21 August 1570.
Calfhill is said to have been a cousin of
Tobias Matthew, whom he persuaded to take orders.
Works
Calfhill was a staunch
Calvinist. A friend of
John Foxe
John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the su ...
praised an eloquent sermon preached by him at
St. Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross (alternative spellings – "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart England, and many ...
in January 1561, bewailing the bondage of Oxford to the "papistical yoke".
Walter Haddon complained to Archbishop Parker in July 1564 of a sermon preached by Calfhill before the queen, as shrill and lacking in required wit for the court; and in 1568 he preached two sermons at
Bristol in defence of
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
, against
Richard Cheyney, bishop of Gloucester, who then held Bristol ''
in commendam
In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...
''. The bishop complains that Calfhill would not share a meal with him afterwards;
with
John Northbrooke Calfhill had attacked Cheyney's views on
free will.
During
Queen Mary's reign Calfhill published some Latin verses in reply to some composed by Bishop
John White of Lincoln, in honour of the queen's marriage. ''Sapientiæ Solomonis liber carmine redditus'', dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, 15 May 1559 (Royal MSS. 2 D ii.) records the fact that he met Elizabeth at
Hanworth in 1554.
His major work was an ''Answer to the Treatise of the Crosse'' (1565), against
John Martiall, who had dedicated his book to Queen Elizabeth on hearing that she had retained the cross in her chapel. Martiall replied, and was answered in turn by
William Fulke. It was edited for the
Parker Society by Richard Gibbings in 1846. He also wrote:
* ''Querela Oxoniensis academiæ ad Cantabrigam'' (a Latin poem on the death of Henry and Charles Brandon), 1552.
* ''Historia de exhumatione Catherinæ nuper uxoris Pet. Martyris'' (included in a volume of pieces relating to
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...
, edited by Conrade Hubert in 1562). It includes two Latin poems and two epigrams by Calfhill on the same occasion.
* ''Poemata varia''.
A lost Latin tragedy ''Progne'' was performed for Queen Elizabeth in 1564 (or 1566). It is believed, based on an account left by
John Bereblock, to have been based on
Gregorio Corraro's version of Ovid's story of
Procne, which was published in 1558.
Notes
;Attribution
External links
*
*
An answer to John Martiall's Treatise of the cross' (1846)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calfhill, James
1530s births
1570 deaths
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
16th-century English Anglican priests
Archdeacons of Colchester
English Calvinist and Reformed theologians
16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
Lady Margaret Professors of Divinity
English male non-fiction writers
16th-century Anglican theologians