John Hart (died 1586) was an English
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
, known for his equivocal behaviour on the English mission in the early 1580s.
Early life
John Hart was one of five children of William Hart of
Eynsham
Eynsham is an English village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, about north-west of Oxford and east of Witney. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 4,648. It was estimated at 5,0 ...
, a
recusant
Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...
. In February 1569 John Hart enrolled at the University of Leuven and the following year went to the
English College, Douai
The English College (''College des Grands Anglais'') was a Catholic seminary in Douai, France (also previously spelled Douay, and in English Doway), associated with the University of Douai. It was established in 1568, and was suppressed in 1793. ...
. Around 1574, he left Douai for the
English College, Rome
The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College, ...
. His younger brother William also attended the English College in Rome, where he died in 1584. His two sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret, became Bridgettine nuns at the Convent of Sion in Rouen.
[Feingold, Mordechai. "The Reluctant Martyr: John Hart’s English Mission", ''Journal of Jesuit Studies'', Vol. 6: No. 4, 11 October 2019]
/ref>
John Hart took 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 ...
minor orders in 1575 and the degree of B.D. in the university of Douay in 1578. He was ordained priest on 29 March 1578 in Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
. Shortly thereafter, the College at Douai relocated to Rheims, as did Hart. In June 1580 Hart was ordered to the English mission to replace Thomas Goldwell
Thomas Goldwell (15013 April 1585) was an English Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Saint Asaph, the last of those Catholic bishops who had refused to accept the English Reformation.
Life
Thomas Goldwell was the son of William Goldwell of Great ...
, and Nicholas Morton, both elderly and well-known in England. Hart, Thomas Cottam
Thomas Cottam (1549 – 30 May 1582) was an English Catholic priest and martyr from Lancashire, who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Life
Cottam was born to Protestant parents, Laurence Cottam of Dilworth and Anne Brewer, but was ...
, and Humphrey Ely
Humphrey Ely, LL.D., (died 1604) was an English Catholic divine.
Life
Ely was the brother of William Ely, president of St John's College, Oxford, and was a native of Herefordshire. After studying at Brasenose College, Oxford, he was elected a ...
set sail from Dunkirk. Unbeknownst to them, the spy Charles Sledd, who had dined with William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
*William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
*William ...
, had already advised Henry Cobham, English ambassador at Paris, that Allen would soon be sending priests back to England.
Arrest and reprieves
Mistaken for someone else, Hart was arrested as soon as he landed at Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
. Having identified himself, he was sent in custody to Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London Borough ...
and examined by Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster".
Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...
. He was paroled on bond for three months, conditioned on his going to Oxford to confer with Protestant theologian John Rainolds
John Rainolds (or Reynolds) (1549 – 21 May 1607) was an English academic and churchman, of Puritan views. He is remembered for his role in the Authorized Version of the Bible, a project of which he was initiator.
Life
He was born about Mi ...
. He was subsequently placed in the Marshalsea Prison
The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...
, and taken 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 ...
on 24 December 1580. There, after being shown the rack, a frightened Hart was interrogated and gave information concerning a number of Catholics on the Continent, and Allen's theories of how best the Queen might be deposed.[
On 21 November 1581, the day after ]Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 15401 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was ...
's condemnation, Hart was tried with other priests and condemned to death.[ On 1 December 1581 he was to have been executed with Campion, ]Ralph Sherwin
Sherwin (25 October 1550 – 1 December 1581) was an English Roman Catholic priest, executed in 1581. He is a Catholic martyr and saint.
Early years and education
Sherwin was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire to John and Constance Sherwin and ...
, and Alexander Briant
Alexander Briant (17 August 1556 – 1 December 1581) was an English Jesuit and martyr, executed at Tyburn.
Life
He was born in Somerset, and entered Hart Hall, Oxford (now Hertford College), at an early age. While there, he became a ...
, but when placed on the hurdle he promised to recant, and he was taken back to prison.
Hart then wrote to Walsingham what was an act of apostasy, a document that has survived. He later retracted it. What Hart agreed with Walsingham at this point is that he would inform on William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
*William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
*William ...
, using a claim to having been racked
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 by ...
to add to his credibility. Hart then retracted the offer, was condemned to die on 28 May 1582, and then was reprieved again. It is stated that on 18 March 1582, while in prison, Hart was admitted into the Society of Jesus.
Conference with Rainolds
Walsingham gave Hart leave to go to Oxford for three months on condition that he should confer with John Rainolds
John Rainolds (or Reynolds) (1549 – 21 May 1607) was an English academic and churchman, of Puritan views. He is remembered for his role in the Authorized Version of the Bible, a project of which he was initiator.
Life
He was born about Mi ...
on the matters in controversy between the English and Roman churches. The conference appears to have taken place during 1582. William Camden
William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...
was later complimentary about Hart's learning.
''The Summe of the Conference betwene John Rainoldes and John Hart, touching the Head and Faith of the Church. Penned by John Rainoldes, according to the notes set down in writing by them both; perused by J. Hart'' was published at London in 1584, reprinted in 1588, 1598, and 1609, and translated into Latin (Oxford, 1610) by Henry Parry. Charles Dodd
Hugh Tootell (1671/72 – 27 February 1743) was an English Catholic historian. He is commonly known under his pseudonym Charles Dodd.
Life
Tootell was born in Lancashire. He was tutored by his uncle, Christopher Tootle, before studying with ...
argued that the conference was held on unequal terms, as Hart was unprovided with books, and asserted that the details were unfairly given by Rainolds.
Further confinement
Hart returned to Walsingham, and was sent back 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 ...
. He remained confined for a long period, and was subjected to punishments. The view of Rainolds was that Hart was motivated only by the thought of reprieve.
Later life
On 21 January 1585 Hart and twenty others, including Jasper Heywood
Jasper Heywood (1535 – 9 January 1598) was an English Jesuit priest. He is known as the English translator of three Latin plays of Seneca, the ''Troas'' (1559), the ''Thyestes'' (1560) and '' Hercules Furens'' (1561).
Life
He was son of J ...
, were sent to France, banished from England by royal commission. They were landed on the coast of Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, and were sent to Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...
after signing a certificate to the effect that they had been well treated on the voyage. Hart then went to Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
, and on to Rome. His superiors ordered him to Poland, and he died at Jarosław
Jarosław (; uk, Ярослав, Yaroslav, ; yi, יאַרעסלאָוו, Yareslov; german: Jaroslau) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 38,970 inhabitants, as of 30 June 2014. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), previ ...
, on 17 or 19 July 1586.
Journal
Hart's journal from the Tower has been attributed incorrectly to Edward Rishton. It formed part of the material for the second edition (1586) of the ' of Nicholas Sander
Nicholas Sanders (also spelled Sander; c. 1530 – 1581) was an English Catholic priest and polemicist.
Early life
Sanders was born at Sander Place near Charlwood, Surrey, one of twelve children of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who ...
. From the third edition it was not used, and the suggestion is that Robert Persons
Robert Persons (24 June 1546 – 15 April 1610), later known as Robert Parsons, was an English Jesuit priest. He was a major figure in establishing the 16th-century "English Mission" of the Society of Jesus.
Early life
Robert Person ...
by then knew that Hart had offered to become an agent of Walsingham.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, John
Year of birth missing
1586 deaths
16th-century English Jesuits