John Clerk (died 1552) was an English

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

writer.

Life

Clerk is said to have been descended 'from famous and noble lineage.' He was educated for a time in 'grammaticals, logicals, and philosophicals among the Oxonians,' though in what college or hall

Anthony a Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

was unable to discover. He then travelled on the continent, and became proficient in the French and Italian languages. In Italy he was the intimate friend of the eminent divine and statesman

Richard Pace Richard Pace (c. 148228 June 1536) was an English clergyman and diplomat of the Tudor period. Life He was born in Hampshire and educated at Winchester College under Thomas Langton. He attended the universities of Padua and Oxford. In 1509, ...

. 'All things were in a manner common between them, and what was by either read or observed was forthwith communicated to each other's great advantage.' On his return to England he obtained the post of secretary to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. At length he, like his patron, was accused of leze majesty, and committed to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, where, to avoid public shame, as has been conjectured, he hanged himself in his cell with his girdle on 10 May 1552.

Works

Clerk, who was a steady adherent of Roman Catholicism, wrote: 'A Treatise of Nobility,' translated from the French, London, 1543, 12mo. 'Opusculum plane divinum de mortuorum resurrectione et extremo iuditio, in quatuor linguis succincte conscriptum. Latyne, Englysshe, Italian, Frenche,' London, 1545, 4to, 2nd edition 1547, 4to. Dedicated to Henry, earl of Surrey, K.G. Tanner notices a third edition in 1573, 4to. The English and French texts are in

blackletter Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for the Danish, Norweg ...

, the Latin and Italian in Roman characters. This excessively rare book is printed in double columns, so that the four languages are apparent at one view. 'A Declaration briefly conteyning as well the true understandynge of tharticles ensuynge as also a recitall of the capital errours against the same. Predestination, Ffree will, Faythe, Justification, Good woorkes, Christian libertye,' London, 1546, 8vo; dedicated in Italian to Thomas, duke of Norfolk. Meditations on death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerk, John Year of birth missing 1552 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic theologians 16th-century English male writers English people who died in prison custody People who died by suicide in prison custody Prisoners in the Tower of London Suicides by hanging in England Suicides in the Tower of London English male non-fiction writers 16th-century suicides