Joshua Sprigg or Sprigge (

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, 1618–1684) was an English Independent theologian and preacher. He acted as chaplain to

Sir Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...

, general for the Parliamentarians, and wrote or co-wrote the 1647 book ''Anglia Rediviva'', a history of the part played up to that time by Fairfax's army in the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

. He studied at

New Inn Hall, Oxford New Inn Hall was one of the earliest medieval halls of the University of Oxford. It was located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford. History Trilleck's Inn The original building on the site was Trilleck's Inn, a medieval hall or hostel for st ...

, and took an M. A. at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He then became a parish priest in London, at the church of St. Pancras, Soper Lane. He later was a Fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, imposed by Parliament after their victory. Some contemporary scholarship also attributes to him the authorship of the anonymous pamphlet ''Ancient Bounds'' from 1645, Barbara Kiefer, ''The Authorship of "Ancient Bounds"'', Church History, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Sep., 1953), pp. 192-196. a major work of the period on

freedom of conscience Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...

; this had previously been thought to be from the pen of

Francis Rous Francis Rous, also spelled Rouse (c. 1581 to 1659), was an English politician and Puritan religious author, who was Provost of Eton from 1644 to 1659, and briefly Speaker of the House of Commons in 1653. Stepbrother of Parliamentary leader ...

. Sprigg is featured at the end of

Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...

's 1953

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

novel

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, where he is portrayed helping the wounded of both sides of the

Battle of Torrington The Battle of Torrington (16 February 1646) was a decisive battle of the south-western campaign of the First English Civil War and marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country. It took place in Torrington, Devon. Prelude After ...

, and plays a pivotal role in connecting the story with a resolution for who blew up the church.

Notes

External links

''Anglia Rediviva'', online text (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprigg, Joshua 1618 births 1684 deaths English theologians Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh English male non-fiction writers