John Cowell (1554 – 11 October 1611) was an English jurist.

Life

Born at Ernesborough (now Irishborough), in the parish of

Swimbridge Swimbridge (historical spelling: ''Swymbridge'') is a village, parish and former manor in Devon, England. It is situated south-east of Barnstaple and twinned with the town of St.Honorine Du Fay in Normandy, France. It was the home of the Rev. ...

in North

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. He was a chorister in the

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Col ...

and was then educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

before returning as a scholar at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he was elected a fellow. In 1594 he became Regius Professor of Civil Law at Cambridge, and in 1598 master of

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. He died at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 11 October 1611, soon after being released from prison, and was buried in Trinity Hall Chapel, Cambridge.

Works

In 1607, he compiled a law dictionary, ''The Interpreter'', in which he exalted the king's prerogative; he was prosecuted before the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

by Sir Edward Coke, who had a hostile history with Cowell. He was saved from imprisonment only by the interposition of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

. His book was burnt by order of the House of Commons. The suppression order read in part: :''When Men goe out of their Element, and meddle with Things above their Capacitie, themselves shall not onely goe astray and stumble in Darknesse, but will mislead also divers others with themselves into many Mistakings and Errours.. the Proofe whereof wee have lately had by a Booke written by Docteur Cowell.. by medling in Matters above his reach, he hath fallen in many Things to mistake and deceive himselfe.. in some Poynts very derogatory to the supreme Power of this Crowne; In other Cases mistaking the true State of the Parliament of this Kingdome...'' Many copies survived the burning and have been reprinted. A copy of the 1607 printing can be found at the

Lilly Library The Lilly Library, located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is an important rare book and manuscript library in the United States. At its dedication on October 3, 1960, the library contained a collection of 20,000 boo ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

. "The Interpreter" was one of the first law dictionaries. Cowell also wrote a work entitled ''Institutiones Juris Anglicani''. The book has been described as an English version in the Justinian style. It also hints a correlation of Scottish and English law.
http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1271/John-Cowell-1554-1611.aspx duhaime]

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowell, John 1554 births 1611 deaths Writers from Barnstaple People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge English legal scholars Masters of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 16th-century English educators 17th-century English writers Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Regius Professors of Civil Law (University of Cambridge) Choristers of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge