James Tyrrell (writer)
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James Tyrrell (5 May 1642 – 17 June 1718) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
author, Whig political philosopher, and historian.


Life

James Tyrrell was born in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, the eldest son of Sir
Timothy Tyrrell Sir Timothy Tyrrell (1617–1701), initially of Oakley, Buckinghamshire and later of Shotover Park, Shotover, was of the Privy Chamber to King Charles I of England, King Charles I. Life He faithfully and valiantly asserted the cause of his maste ...
and
Elizabeth Tyrrell (née Ussher) James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
, the only daughter of Archbishop
James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
. His younger sister Eleanor married the deist Charles Blount. He lived in
Oakley, Buckinghamshire Oakley is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It has an area of and includes about 400 households. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 1,007. At one time it was thought Oakley held a rare (and possibly unique) doub ...
. He was married to Mary Hutchinson (1645-1687), daughter of Sir Michael Hutchinson of
Fladbury Fladbury is a traditional English village located in rural Worcestershire, England. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book, almost 1,000 years ago. It is sited on the banks of the River Avon, with many interesting and original buildin ...
,
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
. They had at least three children, including
James Tyrrell Sir James Tyrrell (c. 1455 – 6 May 1502) was an English knight, a trusted servant of king Richard III of England. He is known for allegedly confessing to the murders of the Princes in the Tower under Richard's orders. William Shakespeare por ...
and Mary and another son. Educated at
The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...
(MA, 1663), he became a barrister in 1666 and a
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. He was deprived of this office by James II for failing to support the
Declaration of Indulgence The Declaration of Indulgence, also called Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, was a pair of proclamations made by James II of England and Ireland and VII of Scotland in 1687. The Indulgence was first issued for Scotland on 12 February and t ...
. At the time of the
Peace of Rijswijk The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included England, ...
(1697), he was persuaded back into public service by
Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke and 5th Earl of Montgomery, (c. 165622 January 1733), styled The Honourable Thomas Herbert until 1683, was an English and later British statesman during the reigns of William III and Anne. Background Herbe ...
(Lord Pembroke) to become Commissioner of the
Privy Seal A privy seal refers to the personal seal of a reigning monarch, used for the purpose of authenticating official documents of a much more personal nature. This is in contrast with that of a great seal, which is used for documents of greater impor ...
. Tyrrell was a friend and supporter of
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
, who stayed at Tyrrell's home during a period when he was apparently working on his ''
Two Treatises on Government ''Two Treatises of Government'' (or ''Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, The False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning The True Original, ...
''. Tyrrell's thinking appears to have been influential in the development of Locke's, and for a time his writings were more influential than Locke's in the emergence of Whig thinking and policies. When
Pierre Des Maizeaux Pierre des Maizeaux, also spelled Desmaizeaux (c. 1666 or 1673June 1745), was a French Huguenot writer exiled in London, best known as the translator and biographer of Pierre Bayle. He was born in Pailhat, Auvergne, France. His father, a minister ...
set about compiling ''A Collection of Several Pieces of Mr. John Locke'', a posthumous edition of lesser-known works and manuscripts, he recorded his conversations with Tyrrell who spoke at some length about his friend. The manuscript was discovered in 2021.Waldmann F.,(2021) ''John Locke as a Reader of Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan: A New Manuscript'', J. of Modern History, vol. 93, nbr. 2 He spent his later years in
Shotover Shotover is a hill and forest in Oxfordshire, England. The hill is east of Oxford. Its highest point is above sea level. Early history The toponym may be derived from the Old English , meaning "steep slope". Shotover was part of the Wychwood ...
, near Oxford and began building
Shotover Park Shotover Park (also called Shotover House) is an 18th-century country house and park near Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England. The house, garden and parkland are Grade I-listed with English Heritage, and 18 additional structures on the property are al ...
there, where he died on 17 June 1718, though he is buried in the church in Oakley. According to a memorial to him, "''He was a man of rare integrity, gravity, and wisdom: had never polished himself out of his sincerity: nor refined his behaviour to the prejudice of his virtue. He was a warm and zealous lover of his country, & of that system of religion and law which he well knew could only support it.''"


Works

His ''Patriarcha non monarcha'' (1681) was a reply to
Robert Filmer Sir Robert Filmer (c. 1588 – 26 May 1653) was an English political theorist who defended the divine right of kings. His best known work, ''Patriarcha'', published posthumously in 1680, was the target of numerous Whig attempts at rebuttal, ...
's ''Patriarcha''; it also included references to
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
, and was also influenced by
Samuel Pufendorf Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf (8 January 1632 – 26 October 1694) was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist and historian. He was born Samuel Pufendorf and ennobled in 1694; he was made a baron by Charles XI of Sweden a few months b ...
.''The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought'', ed.
Mark Goldie Mark Goldie is an English historian and Professor of Intellectual History at Churchill College, Cambridge. He has written on the English political theorist John Locke and is a member of the Early Modern History and Political Thought and Intellec ...
and
Robert Wokler Robert Lucien Wokler (6 December 1942 – 30 July 2006) was a British historian who was a leading scholar of the political thought of the Enlightenment. References * https://www.jstor.org/stable/26222117 * https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rob ...
, Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 781
''A Brief Disquisition of the Law of Nature'' was an English abridgment of
Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...
's ''De legibus naturae''. ''Bibliothetica politica'' was a huge compendium of Whig constitutional theory. *''Patriarcha non monarcha. The patriarch unmonarch'd: being observations on a late treatise and divers other miscellanies, published under the name of Sir Robert Filmer baronet. In which the falseness of those opinions that would make monarchy jure divino are laid open: and the true principles of government and property (especially in our kingdom) asserted. By a lover of truth and of his country'', 1681 *''A brief disquisition of the law of nature, according to the principles laid down in the reverend Dr. Cumberland's (now Lord Bishop of Peterborough's) Latin treatise on that subject. As also his considerations of Mr. Hobbs's principles put into another method'', 1692 *''Bibliotheca politica: or An enquiry into the ancient constitution of the English government; both in respect to the just extent of regal power, and the rights and liberties of the subject. Wherein all the chief arguments, as well against, as for the late revolution, are impartially represented, and considered, in thirteen dialogues. Collected out of the best authors, as well antient as modern ...'', 1694 *''The General History of England, both Eccesiastical and Civil'' (5 volumes, published between 1700 and 1704). In which Tyrrell demonstrates that the liberties of the people are not concessions of kings.


References


Selected Political Works of James Tyrrell
Online collection.


Sources

* Julia Rudolph, ''Revolution by Degrees: James Tyrrell and Whig Political Thought in the Late Seventeenth Century'' (Studies in Modern History), 2002.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, James 1642 births 1718 deaths People from Aylesbury Vale Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford English barristers English political writers English male non-fiction writers