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Mandell Creighton (; 5 July 1843 – 14 January 1901) was a British
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the Church of England. A scholar of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, Creighton was the first occupant of the Dixie Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, a professorship established around the time that history was emerging as an independent academic discipline. He was also the first editor of the ''
English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and wo ...
'', the oldest English language
academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
in the field of history. Creighton had a second career as a cleric in the Church of England. He served as a
parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
in
Embleton, Northumberland Embleton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northumberland. Besides the village of Embleton itself, the civil parish includes the settlement of Christon Bank, situated about a mile to the west. Embleton village has a main s ...
and later, successively, as a
Canon Residentiary A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...
of
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Ble ...
, the Bishop of Peterborough and the
Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. His moderation and worldliness drew praise from
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
and won notice from politicians. It was widely thought at the time that Creighton would have become the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
had his early death, at age 57, not supervened. Creighton's historical work received mixed reviews. He was praised for scrupulous even-handedness, but criticised for not taking a stand against historical excesses. For his part, he was firm in asserting that public figures be judged for their public acts, not private ones. His preference for the concrete to the abstract diffused through his writings on the Church of England. He believed that the church was uniquely shaped by its particular English circumstances, and advocated that it reflect the views and wishes of the
English people The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
. Creighton was married to the author and future
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
activist
Louise Creighton Louise Hume Creighton (née von Glehn; 7 July 1850 – 15 April 1936) was a British author of books on historical and sociopolitical topics, and an activist for a greater representation of women in society, including women's suffrage, and in t ...
, and the couple had seven children. The Creightons were passionately interested in the education of children and together wrote over a dozen school history primers. A man of complex intelligence and exceptional vigour, Mandell Creighton was emblematic of the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...
both in his strengths and in his failings.


Early childhood, 1843–1857

Mandell Creighton was born on 5 July 1843 in the
border country The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands". Th ...
city of
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 1974 ...
(now in Cumbria) to Sarah (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Mandell) and Robert Creighton. His mother was the tenth child of Thomas Mandell, a
yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
farmer from
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th centu ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 1974 ...
. His father, a carpenter, had built a successful cabinet-making and decorating business on Castle Street, the main thoroughfare in Carlisle. A year later another son, James, was born to the couple and in 1846, a daughter, Mary, who died before the year was out. In 1849, another daughter, Mary Ellen (Polly) was born and the following year, when Mandell was seven, Sarah Creighton died unexpectedly. Robert, who never remarried, and never spoke of his wife again, raised the children with help from his unmarried sister who came to live with the family. A
self-made man "Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Foun ...
, Robert Creighton, constantly exhorted his sons to work, imbuing them with a sense of independence. This later allowed Mandell to make career choices that were unorthodox for his background. For his part, his brother James would join his father's carpentry business, enter local politics, be twice elected mayor of Carlisle, and later become a director of
North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...
. Polly, by contrast, considered her childhood to be "horridly unhappy."Quoted in Not being able to complete her school education, she never acquired the sophistication that she so greatly valued. Even so, she would spend her adult life promoting the education of children, and in 1927 become the first woman to be granted
freedom of the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
of Carlisle. The family living quarters, above the shop, were spacious but spartan—there was little decoration and few books. As Robert was given to losing his temper easily, the household atmosphere could be dreary and fearful. There was a strong sense of duty in the household even if affection was not expressed openly. Years later, Mandell Creighton's wife was to speculate that the absence of a sense of belonging to a family in her husband's childhood was very likely the result of not having a mother. Creighton's education began in a nearby
dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for young children that emerged in the British Isles and its colonies during the early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman who would educate children f ...
run by a stern headmistress. His restlessness and mischief led to his being punished frequently. In 1852, he moved to the Carlisle Cathedral School. Under the influence of a charismatic headmaster, the Revd William Bell, he began to read voraciously and succeed academically. Other students came seeking his help in translating passages from their classical studies; they gave him the nickname "
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...
" on account of his quickness at construing. In November 1857, he took the
King's Scholar A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's Schoo ...
ship examination for admission to Durham Grammar School located seventy miles away. As his Carlisle teachers had not prepared him for translation of Latin verse, he left a portion of the exam unanswered and felt certain he had failed. The examiners assessed his overall performance to be good and decided to accept him, offering him a scholarship. In February 1858 the 15-year-old Creighton left Carlisle for
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham * County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
.


Durham School, 1858–1862

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils ...
required its students to attend services in the eleventh-century
Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, Durham, County Durham (district), C ...
on Sundays and holy days. The cathedral's
high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originated ...
ceremony made a lasting impression on Creighton. It became a focus of his religious life and would later influence his choice of career. Durham's headmaster, Dr Henry Holden, a classical scholar and an educational reformer, was soon taking interest in the new student. With Holden's encouragement, Creighton began to win prizes in classical subjects, English, and in French. During his last year at Durham, he was promoted to
head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Au ...
of the school, a position that appealed to his great desire to influence people, especially younger boys. Although he aimed to do this by setting an example with his high moral life, he did not, in an era of universal corporal punishment, hesitate to use the rod. In a letter written to a Durham school monitor after Creighton had left the school, he advised, "Remember, never thrash a fellow a little, always hard: and it is always well that he be thrashed by more than one of the monitors" Creighton was severely shortsighted; he also suffered from
double vision Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often v ...
, which forced him to read with one eye closed. As the visual handicap also limited his participation in vigorous sports, he took to walking enthusiastically. His tours of the countryside, often undertaken with companions, covered over twenty miles a day and lasted several days. Walking gave him many opportunities to exercise his abiding curiosity about the local botany and architecture. The habit was to remain with him for the rest of his life. In the spring of 1862, Creighton applied unsuccessfully for a scholarship to
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
. He applied next to
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, c ...
for a classical postmastership. His application proved successful and Creighton arrived in Oxford in October 1862. He continued to take great interest in
Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils ...
. In a hand-me-down family story, he is said, in 1866, to have walked from Oxford to Durham in three days to hear speeches at a school function.


Oxford undergraduate, 1862–1866

Creighton's postmastership of £70 a year was enough to cover his tuition at Merton, but not much more. For his other expenses he had to ask his father, whose gruff manner made asking difficult. Under the circumstances, Creighton lived economically in college attic rooms for most of his time at Merton. In his last year he moved out of college to share rooms with
George Saintsbury George Edward Bateman Saintsbury, FBA (23 October 1845 – 28 January 1933), was an English critic, literary historian, editor, teacher, and wine connoisseur. He is regarded as a highly influential critic of the late 19th and early 20th centu ...
(1845-1933), the future critic of English and French literature, author, and wine critic. Although Creighton's shortsightedness prevented his participation in
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...
, he was able to join the college rowing team. He continued to go on walks. These, especially around Oxford for a few hours in the late afternoon, were popular among many students; Creighton, characteristically, organised longer walks, some lasting all day. Creighton's reading continued to flourish, and not just of books prescribed in the syllabus. He read so voraciously that he sometimes stayed at Oxford during vacations in order to read. Among writers and poets, he became particularly fond of Carlyle, Browning,
Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
and
Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
. He was also becoming politically aware. If pressed, he professed a liberalism based on the autonomy of the individual. He joined the
Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
, and although he seldom gave public speeches there, he was elected Union president. He especially honed his skills in informal conversations, conducted anywhere and everywhere, about topics great and small, bearing easily the yoke of what
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...
later was to dub "Oxford's agony," the habit of seeing, self-importantly, larger than life significance in Oxford's everyday disputes. Creighton came seriously to believe that it was the responsibility of all individuals to influence others to the full extent of their abilities. He sought others out to influence and instruct. Predictably, among his Merton friends, he received the nickname "The Professor", or "P". In his second year, he and three other students became inseparable, both during academic terms and vacations, forming a group called "The Quadrilateral". The group friendship was intense, like many such in that time. Although Creighton had a large circle of friends, he did not form any close friendships with women during this time. In his final term, he wrote to a friend, "ladies in general are very unsatisfactory mental food: they seem to have no particular thoughts or ideas" Academically, Creighton's goal became the pursuit of an honours degree in '' literae humaniores'', a classical studies curriculum attracting the best students at Oxford. In the final examinations, in the spring of his fourth year, he received a first-class. Joining immediately the School of Law and Modern History, and studying all summer, he took the examinations in that School in Autumn 1866. He received a second class this time, his examiners assessing that he had not mastered the details enough. However, since the ''literae humaniores'' degree was the more established one, he was asked by the classics professor, Benjamin Jowett, to apply for a college teaching fellowship. As it turned out, he did not have to; he had decided that he would go on to accept holy orders, and his own college, Merton, offered him a
cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
al
fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
with tutorial duties on 22 December 1866.


Teaching and marriage, 1867–1874

During the second half of the 19th century, many academic reforms were instituted at the University of Oxford, beginning with the Oxford University Act of 1854 ( 17 & 18 Vict. c81). By the 1860s the reforms had trickled down the colleges. Among the changes were the new responsibilities given to college tutors. These instructors, whose primary job was to give personalised instruction in their rooms to undergraduates, were now tasked with the preparation of students for the university's examinations, previously the responsibility of the university-wide instructors such as professors. As the tutors were chosen from distinguished recent graduates, the new instructional staff were more youthful than the old. At this time Merton College was suffering from student unrest stemming from what was seen as a lack of leadership in the teaching faculty. Many fellows, both resident and non-resident, had become distant presences. As Creighton was popular with students, he was looked upon as someone who would exercise that leadership. He proceeded to do so by appealing both to the students' reasoning and their good sense, and by simultaneously immersing himself among them. He was given more responsibilities. These, in their wake, brought promotions and salary increases. After four years of teaching, his salary had more than doubled. He joined forces with a Merton tutor to open collegiate lectures to students of other colleges and received the college's authorisation. Soon, the Association of Tutors was born, as well as an Oxford-wide series of lectures that any student could attend. The lectures were to influence his choice of future research. He wrote later,
We worked out among us a scheme of lectures covering the whole field (of history), and were the pioneers of the "Intercollegiate Lectures" which now prevail at both universities. The needs of this scheme threw upon me the ecclesiastical, and especially papal history, which no one else took.
Religious beliefs were also undergoing an upheaval. Many Victorian intellectuals, who had been raised in Christian households, had, in their adult life, begun to experience religious doubt and were moving in secular directions. Creighton, in contrast, was slowly solidifying his religious beliefs. While his high church views had moderated somewhat, he never had any crisis of confidence. He had no interest in the new natural sciences and was unmoved to read Darwin, regarding his writings as too much speculation. Creighton's friend Henry Scott Holland wrote of him, "At the close of he 1860s it seemed to us at Oxford almost incredible that a young
don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...
of any intellectual reputation for modernity should be on the Christian side." After some speculation by friends about whether Creighton would commit to taking holy orders, he was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Oxford in 1870. He preached in his first sermon in April 1871. Creighton spent many vacations in Europe. He fell in love with Italy, its scenery, its culture, and its people. This led naturally to a fascination with Renaissance Italy, which became his scholarly interest. He became an admirer of
Walter Pater Walter Horatio Pater (4 August 1839 – 30 July 1894) was an English essayist, art critic and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, ''Studies in the History of the Re ...
and the
aesthetic movement Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...
. His rooms in Oxford were tastefully decorated with
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...
wallpaper and blue china. The furnishings brought admiration from friends and requests to view them from acquaintances. Creighton was now leading a life that was a far cry from that of his frugal student days. Upon his return from a vacation in Europe, in early 1871, Creighton attended a lecture by art critic
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and poli ...
at the
Sheldonian Theatre Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...
. After the lecture, he noticed his friend, the future author Humphry Ward, talking to an unfamiliar young woman who was wearing a yellow scarf. Yellow was Creighton's favourite colour; the scarf aroused his interest enough for him to ask Ward about the woman, whose name was Louise von Glehn. Von Glehn was the youngest daughter of a London merchant, Robert von Glehn, a naturalized British citizen who was originally from
Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
in the Russian
Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Governorate of Esthonia (Pre-reformed rus, Эстля́ндская губе́рнія, r=Estlyandskaya guberniya); et, Eestimaa kubermang was a governorate in the Baltic region, along with the ...
. Soon Ward was inviting Creighton and von Glehn to a
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thro ...
lunch hosted in his rooms in
Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...
. In a few weeks, von Glehn found herself won over by Creighton's charm, and before she left Oxford at the end of the month, the two were engaged. Their further courtship involved visiting the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
and Victoria and Albert Museum, and examining the early Italian engravings in the
print room A print room is a room in an art gallery or museum where a collection of old master and modern prints, usually together with drawings, watercolours, and photographs, are held and viewed. A further meaning is a room decorated by pasting prints ...
of the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...
. Creighton undertook to teach his fiance Italian; she helped him improve his German. They had agreed to be married the following winter; however, as Christmas approached, it was still not certain whether Merton College would waive its requirement of celibacy for its teaching fellows. On Christmas Eve, the college finally relented and elected four married fellows, one of whom was Creighton. Von Glehn and Creighton were married on 8 January 1872 in her home town of Sydenham,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...
. They spent a week honeymooning in Paris before returning to Oxford for Creighton's new teaching term. Like many Victorian scholars, Mandell Creighton assumed that his wife would be an accessory in his academic pursuits and that he would have the upper hand in their intellectual relationship. During their courtship, he had written to her:
The nuisance of married life
s that S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...
strive as I may or as you may, still the practical side of life must be much more prominent to me than to you. I shall have a number of things to do; whereas your sphere will be all within my reach and knowledge, mine on the other hand will not be in your reach entirely.
In the summer of 1873, the couple took their first trip together to Italy. It was during this trip that Creighton made firm his intention to study the Renaissance popes for his life's research. During these years there were additions to the family: a daughter was born to the couple in the autumn of 1872, and another in the summer of 1874. With a growing family and a clear research plan, Creighton now began to doubt the long-term viability of his Merton tutorial fellowship. He felt more and more that his teaching duties were sapping his stamina for focused intellectual labour. Around this time an opportunity arose for a rural living in a remote
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
in coastal
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land o ...
to which Merton held the right of appointment. Although varying counsel was offered by Louise, by Creighton's married colleagues, by his unmarried colleagues, and even by his students, his mind was made up. When, in November 1874, the college finally offered the position of
vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of the parish of Embleton, Creighton eagerly accepted.


Vicar of Embleton, 1875–1884

The village of Embleton lies close to the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegia ...
shore in Northumberland approximately midway between
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
and
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the la ...
. The vicarage—then owned by Merton College and consisting of a fortified
pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing w ...
built in the 14th century along with adjoining later additions—was a large establishment with many rooms for Creighton's growing family, their guests, and servants. The parish consisted of a handful of villages and approximately 1700 inhabitants, among whom were farmers,
whinstone Whinstone is a term used in the quarrying industry to describe any hard dark-coloured rock. Examples include the igneous rocks, basalt and dolerite, as well as the sedimentary rock, chert. Etymology The Northern English/Scots term ''whin'' is f ...
quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
men,
herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, ...
and
haddock The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...
fishermen, women workers in fish curing yards, and railwaymen. Although the Creightons missed Oxford society and its stimulations, they gradually adapted to their new surroundings. With the help of a
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
paid from his own funds, Creighton established a routine that enabled him to both carry out pastoral duty and write history. Each weekday morning, he spent four hours reading in the vicarage library. In the afternoons, Mandell, and whenever possible, Louise, visited the homes of their parishioners, listening to them, giving advice, offering prayers, conducting services for the housebound, and, on occasion, handing out home-made medical remedies. They found their parishioners to be reserved, proud, and independent, but could not help seeing them as lacking in morals. Their assessment of rampant alcoholism in Embleton led the Creightons, no teetotallers themselves, to found the local chapter of the
Church of England Temperance Society The temperance movement in the United Kingdom was a social movement that campaigned against the recreational use and sale of alcohol, and promoted total abstinence (teetotalism). In the 19th century, high levels of alcohol consumption and drunke ...
and, in the process, to displease some locals. Louise organised meetings of the
Mothers' Union The Mothers' Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its members are not all mothers or even all women, as there are many parents, men, widows, singles and grandparents involved in its work. Its main ai ...
as well as The Girls' Friendly Society, which aimed to empower girls, encouraging them, for example, to stay in school until the age of fourteen. Creighton's own family was growing: four more children were born during the Embleton years, and all were home schooled, mostly by Louise. Creighton, who took great interest in the parish schools, served as examiner for other schools in the region, and began to formulate some ideas on the education of children. He was elected to
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
bodies such as the
Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...
, which enacted
poor laws In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of he ...
in the region, and to the local
sanitary Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...
authority. In 1879, he accepted his first leadership position in the Church of England: he was appointed
rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...
of the Deanery of
Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bo ...
, responsible for supervision of the clergy in neighbouring parishes. Later, he was appointed examining chaplain for the Bishop of Newcastle,
Ernest Roland Wilberforce Ernest Roland Wilberforce (22 January 1840 – 9 September 1907) was an Anglican clergyman and bishop. From 1882 to 1896 he was the first Anglican Bishop of Newcastle upon the diocese's creation, and from 1896 to 1907 he was Bishop of Chichest ...
, and tasked with examining candidates for holy orders. During their ten years in Embleton, the Creightons—he in his 30s and she, for the most part, in her 20s—between them, wrote fifteen books. They both wrote history books for young people, Louise wrote an unsuccessful novel, and Mandell wrote the first two volumes of his
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
, ''The History of the Papacy in the Period of Reformation''. In the ''Papacy'' volumes, Creighton proposed that the turbulence of the reformation became inevitable when the Popes obstructed the milder parliamentary reforms that had been advocated earlier. The books were well received and were commended for their even-handed approach.
Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
, who reviewed the books in the ''Academy'' and who was aware that the books were written over a few years in a northern vicarage far from the centres of scholarship, wrote:
The history of increasing depravity and declining faith, of reforms earnestly demanded, feebly attempted, and deferred too long, is told by Mr. Creighton with a fullness of accuracy unusual in works which are the occupation of a lifetime.
Creighton also wrote dozens of book-reviews and scholarly articles. Among them were his first forays into the role of the Church of England in the life of the nation. Throughout the 19th century, the Church had suffered erosion of membership. In the mid-century, many scholars such as the educator
Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...
had asserted the identity of the church and the nation; however, as the century entered its last two decades, Creighton was among a small minority continuing to do the same. In 1884, Creighton was asked to apply for the newly created professorship of
ecclesiastical history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...
, the Dixie chair, at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and a concurrent fellowship at Emmanuel College. His application proved successful, and on 9 November 1884, Creighton preached his last sermon at Embleton church. Later, he was to write, "At Embleton I spent ten years, and I have no hesitation in saying that they were the ten happiest years of my life." His parishioners, for their part, found it difficult to express their feelings openly; one woman said, "Well, if you ain't done no good, you've done no harm."


Cambridge professor, 1885–1891

After their arrival in Cambridge in late November 1884, the Creightons were swamped with invitations to social engagements. Interaction with academic society after ten years led to new friendships, especially for Louise. One such new acquaintance,
Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociologist, economist, socialist, labour historian and social reformer. It was Webb who coined the term ''collective bargaining''. She ...
, was to become Louise's firm lifelong friend. Although Creighton had already corresponded with fellow historian
Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
, he soon met him in person, as he did other Cambridge notables, such as Robertson Smith, the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
scholar, and
Alfred Marshall Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist, and was one of the most influential economists of his time. His book '' Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. I ...
, the economist. Around this time a dispute arose over the scope of the bachelor's honours examination, or the
tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...
, in History and Theology. The History tripos had been created by historian John Seeley who held that history was really
political history Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, social ...
, an essential part of the training of public servants, and stated tersely, "history is the school of statesmanship." Opposing him, reformers such as historian
George Walter Prothero Sir George Walter Prothero (14 October 1848 – 10 July 1922) was an English historian, writer, and academic who served as president of the Royal Historical Society from 1901 to 1905. Life and writings Prothero was born in Wiltshire to Georg ...
, and
Henry Melvill Gwatkin Henry Melvill Gwatkin (30 July 1844 – 14 November 1916) was an English theologian and church historian. Gwatkin was born at Barrow-on-Soar, Leicestershire, the youngest son of the Rev. Richard Gwatkin,"Gwatkin, Henry Melvill" in ''Alumni Ca ...
, Creighton's successor to the Dixie chair, advocated a broader and more scientific approach. In spring 1885, the board of historical studies in Cambridge met to consider reforms. Although Creighton did not take a direct part in the discussions, he sided with the reformers, and a compromise was reached that emphasized the reading of
primary sources In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...
in the students' historical subjects of interest. Creighton lectured twice a week at the university, preparing extensively, but lecturing extemporaneously. He also preached in the Emmanuel College Chapel. A colleague said of his preaching style, "He did not care for eloquence, indeed he despised it; what he aimed at was instruction, and for this he always looked more to principles than facts." Creighton lectured more informally to undergraduates at Emmanuel College once a week. He supported Cambridge's two new women's colleges, Newnham and Girton, and taught informal weekly classes at Newnham. Two students from those classes, Mary Bateson and
Alice Gardner Alice Gardner (26 April 1854 – 11 November 1927) was an English historian. Her publications included a history of Newnham College, Cambridge. Life Gardner was born in Hackney, London, in 1854. She was one of six children and two her brother ...
, later became professional historians; both were mentored by Creighton early in their careers. In spring 1885, Creighton accepted an offer from the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, of a residentiary canonry at
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Ble ...
. As the residency requirement of three months could be met during Cambridge vacations, the Creighton family settled into an annual routine of six moves between Cambridge and
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, a distance of over 100 miles. The Worcester experience led Creighton to consider how the relationship of competition between a cathedral and its diocesan parish churches could be turned into one of cooperation, a subject on which he would write scholarly articles. By providing an introduction to the grim realities of city life, Worcester, moreover, awakened Creighton's social consciousness. He joined the Worcester Diocesan Penitentiary Association and was moved by the plight of prison inmates. In a sermon at the Sanitary Congress of Worcester in 1889, he spoke about the effect of harsh physical life on the moral life,
the unwholesome air of the factory, the crowded workshop, the ill-ventilated room, all those things rob the body of its vigour, how they must also act upon the soul! ... uncleanliness, hatred, variance, drunkenness, revelling. Do not these things, think you, come largely from, and are they not greatly affected by, the physical conditions under which life is lived?
At the 250th anniversary of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in November 1886, Creighton, accompanied by Louise, represented Emmanuel College—founder John Harvard's alma mater. During the extended visit, they met prominent American men of letters, including the historian of the American West,
Francis Parkman Francis Parkman Jr. (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of '' The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life'' and his monumental seven-volume '' France and England in North Am ...
; supreme court justice,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...
; and poet and critic
James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ...
. On 8 November 1886, Creighton received an honorary degree from Harvard. In February 1887, volumes III and IV of Creighton's ''History of the Papacy'' were published by Longmans. These volumes narrowed the focus to specific popes, chiefly,
Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
,
Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
, and
Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...
. In his characteristic approach of maintaining
historiographical Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
balance and considering individuals to be very much mired in their historical eras, Creighton did not single out anyone for special condemnation, even Alexander VI, whose great disrepute Creighton felt was "largely due to the fact that he did not add hypocrisy to his other vices." Earlier, in 1885, Creighton had agreed to become the first editor of a new journal, the ''
English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and wo ...
''. Now, he requested Acton to review his two volumes for the journal. The review Acton wrote was not only hostile but, in Creighton's view, also obscure. In the following weeks, there were contentious exchanges between the two men, polarising eventually into their two views of history, Acton's
normative Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A norm in ...
approach versus Creighton's more
relativist Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...
one. It was in one of these exchanges that Acton penned three sentences, one of which was to become an oft-quoted epigram. "Historical responsibility," wrote Acton, "has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority." Acton's attack, however, did lead Creighton to rethink his own position somewhat. In an 1895 paper, he would write that the papacy, "which had been established for the promotion of morality" had in fact "provided the means for the utmost immorality."


Bishop of Peterborough, 1891–1896

In December 1890, Creighton received a letter from
Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...
, the Prime Minister, offering an appointment to a residentiary canonry of
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Ga ...
in exchange for his appointment at Worcester. Since a Windsor appointment indicated the personal preference of the British sovereign, and since the Creightons were wary of court culture, the letter gave them pause. However, after some hesitation, Creighton accepted. No sooner had he and his family reconciled to moving back and forth between their Cambridge home and
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cas ...
six times a year than Creighton received another letter from Salisbury. The new letter offered an appointment as Bishop of Peterborough, an office that had become available upon the
translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
of its incumbent
William Connor Magee William Connor Magee (17 December 1821 – 5 May 1891) was an Irish clergyman of the Anglican church, Bishop of Peterborough 1868–1891 and Archbishop of York for a short period in 1891. Life He was born in Cork, Ireland. His father was a ...
to
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. Creighton was chosen because his love for ritual had created an impression among others that he had a high church outlook. The Peterborough diocese had many high churchmen, and it was felt that Creighton would be a good fit. In fact, Creighton was doctrinally quite broad church; his moderate views would later make him popular with
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
. For Creighton, the Peterborough appointment, which he felt duty-bound to accept, meant the effective end of his academic life. There is an indication that the Creightons were depression (mood), depressed at the prospect of leaving Cambridge. In the case of Louise, the depression was to last long. Creighton felt that his life from then on would become one of offering easy comfort to others. In a letter to an old college friend, he wrote, "No man could have less desire than I for the office of bishop. Nothing save the cowardliness of shirking from responsibility and the dread of selfishness led me to submit" A few weeks before Creighton's consecration as bishop at Westminster Abbey in late April 1891, he fell ill with fibromyalgia, muscular rheumatism. Soon after his enthronement at Peterborough Cathedral in mid-May 1891, he fell ill again, this time with influenza. Each time, the recovery was prolonged. The Peterborough diocese, then comprising 676 parishes and including Leicester and Northampton, offered a vast ecclesiastical challenge. Creighton met it in the manner he had employed in Embleton: he proceeded to visit every corner. Travelling by train to distant parishes, staying overnight with the parish priests, and conducting services in their churches, Creighton spent very little time at home with his family during the first year. However, his immersion among the clergy, treatment of them as equals, and dispatch in attending to their concerns, gradually increased his popularity. The experience also helped him to work out his doctrinal stance. Although he was personally liberal, he came firmly to believe that to be English was to be Anglican, and led him to regard dissenters as having lost their way, and Roman Catholics as disloyal. Creighton also became determined to better understand the Working class, working-classes of his diocese. The Leicester boot-and-shoe trade strike of 1895, which began in March as a Lockout (industry), lock-out of 120,000 workers by employers, gave him just such an opportunity. Creighton wrote an open letter to his clergy, impressed them with the gravity of the situation, and urged them to work impartially to facilitate communication between the opposing sides. According to biographer James Covert, "Creighton's tactic was to serve as conduit for all bargaining parties, sharing information and feelings derived from his local clergy, who, being on the spot, possessed insights and sympathies that needed to be known and expressed." By late April, a compromise was reached for which Creighton reaped much praise as well as a growing reputation as a statesman. A year earlier, in 1894, the fifth and last volume of Creighton's ''History of Papacy in the Period of Reformation'' was published by Longman. The book was subtitled ''The German Revolt, 1517–1527'' and covered the history up to the Sack of Rome (1527), Sack of Rome in 1527. Creighton had found little time to devote to its writing, and critics generally expressed disappointment in the outcome. Although he had originally planned to continue the history up to the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563, Creighton did not now feel up to the task. As the volumes did not cover the period claimed in their title, the publisher, in 1897, brought out a second edition titled, ''A History of the Papacy from the Great Schism to the Sack of Rome, 1378–1527'' reflecting the reduced scope. Creighton, nonetheless, remained a popular lecturer. During his Peterborough years, he gave many lectures, most published later in book form, their titles reflecting his diverse intellectual interests. Among his addresses were the Hulsean Lectures at Cambridge in the winter of 1893–94 on "Persecution and Tolerance", the 1895 Rede Lecture at Cambridge on "The Early Renaissance in England", the 1896 Romanes Lecture at Oxford on "The English National Character", and his 1896 address at Westminster Abbey on "Saint Edward the Confessor." In 1896, Creighton represented the Church of England at the coronation of Czar Nicholas II in Moscow. He was chosen after the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
, Edward White Benson, begged off going to the event citing ill-health, and after the same excuse was offered for Randall Davidson, the Bishop of Winchester, who as Order of the Garter#Officers, Prelate of the Order of the Garter was the official stand-in. Creighton's selection as ostensible third in line led to much speculation and controversy in church circles. A lover of pageantry, Creighton wore a bishop's coronation cope, borrowed from Westminster Abbey, and carried his own mitre and Crosier, pastoral staff for the event. On his return, he wrote a glowing account of the coronation in ''Cornhill Magazine'', which, after gaining the attention of Queen Victoria, elicited a letter from her requesting several copies for the royal family.


Bishop of London, 1897–1901

On 28 October 1896, a few days after the death of the Archbishop Benson, Creighton received a letter from the British prime minister Lord Salisbury offering appointment as
Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. There were rumours at the time that the offer had come with the promise of an eventual archbishopric of Canterbury. In January 1897, Creighton was translation (ecclesiastical), translated to the Diocese of London, See of London in an enthronement ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral. Among other prelates, Creighton was sometimes regarded with suspicion, even considered too scholarly or frivolous. However, his star had risen rapidly in government and court circles, in part due to his worldliness. Although ecclesiastical high office had been thrust upon him and disrupted his academic career, Creighton now felt comfortable about the prospects of rising to its pinnacle, holding out hope for a return to scholarly endeavours at the end. One of Creighton's first efforts after becoming Bishop of London was to support the passage of the Voluntary School Bill of 1897. Almost thirty years earlier, the Elementary Education Act 1870, Elementary Education Act of 1870 had established non-denominational elementary schools, also called School board (England & Wales), board schools, which were funded by local Rates (tax), taxes. Parochial school, Religious schools, also called "voluntary schools" had, however, not received this support. The bill asked for extension of taxpayer support to the voluntary schools. In March 1897, Creighton addressed the House of Lords in support of the bill, which was eventually passed by both Houses of Parliament. Creighton felt strongly that all religious instruction be denominational. In a letter to the London district school boards, he wrote, "We only ask that the wishes of the parents be consulted about [religious] education of their children, and that every child in England should receive instruction in the religious beliefs of the denomination to which his parents belong." Creighton also succeeded Frederic Leighton as President of the Committee commissioning the Survey of London which documented the capital's principal buildings and public art. By 1898, Creighton was increasingly occupied with a debate over Ritualism in the Church of England, ritual practice in the Diocese of London, and, more generally, in the Church of England. On his arrival in London, he had discovered that low church clergy in his diocese were taking exception to the ritual practices of some high churchmen, practices which indicated Roman Catholic influence. The controversy had begun in the wake of the Oxford Movement, which had created a Catholic revival within the Anglican church, prominent among which were the Anglo-Catholics. One of the radical low churchmen, the Evangelicalism, evangelical cleric John Kensit, had protested that Creighton himself had on occasion worn a cope and carried a mitre. Kensit requested that Creighton take a more definite public stance against high church rituals, such as the use of candles and incense. Creighton, who preferred to work behind the scenes, did engage many high church clergy. Although he seemed to subscribe to a broad branch theory, that the real Catholic Church was a collection of national churches which included the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, Church of Rome, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, he was firm about asserting Anglican doctrine—that liturgical practice, beyond that involving what he termed "permissible liberty," conform to that in the Book of Common Prayer. In a Flyer (pamphlet), circular letter to his clergy, he wrote:
It is absolutely necessary that nothing should be done which affects the due performance of the Church as laid down in the Book of Common Prayer, and that any additional services which are used should conform entirely to the spirit and intention of the Prayer Book.
However, this still did not seem to satisfy Kensit and his more vocal evangelical supporters, who threatened to create more public disruption. Eventually, the Church of England's two archbishops, of Province of Canterbury, Canterbury and Province of York, York, held a hearing in Lambeth Palace, and, in August 1899, ruled against the use of candles and incense, a seeming victory for the low church forces. The wider doctrinal conflict, though, was to continue beyond both the Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian eras. Throughout this time, Creighton conducted the endless business that came with his large diocese. In one year, he was recorded to have given 294 formal sermons and addresses. He made trips to
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cas ...
and Sandringham House, Sandringham to conduct services for Queen Victoria. In 1897, he organised a special service of thanksgiving outside St Paul's in commemoration of her Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee. His prominent office, moreover, brought other responsibilities. He was appointed to the Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council; he became a trustee of the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...
, the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery, and a host of other organisations. Creighton's health was now worrying his family and friends. Starting in 1898, he had begun to experience bouts of stomach pain. By 1899, these had increased in severity, and by the summer of 1900, his doctors were suspecting a stomach tumour. Creighton was operated on twice in December of that year, however, the surgeries were not successful. In early January he experienced two severe stomach haemorrhages and his condition rapidly declined. Mandell Creighton died on Monday, 14 January 1901, aged 57. A nearby road, Creighton Avenue, laid out in 1900, was named after hi


Legacy

On Thursday, 17 January 1901, after an elaborate funeral in St Paul's Cathedral attended by royalty, politicians, academics, and ordinary people, Creighton's body was interred in the crypt by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the first time in 280 years that a Bishop of London had been buried in St Paul's. Obituaries in contemporary newspapers and scholarly journals hailed him as one of England's great historians and a prelate of remarkable integrity. The ''Quarterly Review'' remarked, "It is certainly rare to find so much intellectual force and so high a standard of conduct combined in one man." A memorial to Creighton can also be found in Peterborough Cathedral just north of the sanctuary in the form of a substantial mosaic depicting his effigy, details of his life and the mottos "I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ" and "He tried to write true history." Today, Creighton is better known as a historian than as a church official. Creighton's work is seen as part of an era in British historiography. Many of the milestones of Creighton's academic life, such as founding of the ''
English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and wo ...
'' in 1886, with himself as the first editor, are those of the era as well. According to historian Philippa Levine:
The ''Review'' was the culmination of a series of related developments central to the asserting of the primacy of the professional historian. In 1884 a highly distinguished trio of men had all been rewarded with academic preferment: Mandell Creighton became the first Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge, Edward Augustus Freeman, E. A. Freeman succeeded his friend William Stubbs, Stubbs in the Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professorship of Modern History at Oxford and the legal historian Frederic William Maitland, Frederick Maitland became Reader (academic rank), reader in English Law at Cambridge. The following year the reform of the Historical Tripos in Cambridge and the division of Oxford's arts faculty into the three areas of '' literae humaniores'', Languages of Asia, oriental languages and modern history declared that history had finally won academic respect as an autonomous area of study.
Creighton is considered to be one of the first British historians with a distinctly European outlook. Of his
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
, ''History of the Papacy in the Period of the Reformation'', Robert John Weston Evans, R. J. W. Evans writes, "(It) constitutes one of the first great attempts to introduce the British to explicitly ''modern'' and ''European'' history." Overall, Creighton and his peers, left a heterogeneous legacy. On the one hand, Creighton was a painstakingly balanced scholar; even his critic Lord Acton would use "sovereign impartiality" to describe Creighton's strength. Creighton saw himself as someone interested in actions, in contrast to Acton, whom he considered to be interested in ideas. Although Creighton did not personally consider the popes to be guiltless (for example, amidst writing the third papacy volume, he wrote, in a letter to a friend, that working on the Borgias was like "spending one's day in a low police court"), Creighton was emphatic that public men be judged for their public and not private actions. In an essay, "Historical ethics", published after his death, he wrote, "I like to stand upon clear grounds which can be proved and estimated. I do not like to wrap myself in the garb of outraged dignity because men in the past did things contrary to the principles which I think soundest in the present." On the other hand, Creighton's historical outlook, as well as that of his historian peers, bore the cultural and social stamp of their position. According to historians Robert Harrison, Aled Jones, and Peter Lambert, "Their emphasis on the Englishness of Britain's key institutions, for instance, effectively excluded non-English ethnic groups from the 'chief part,' as Creighton had put it, of history's subject." The emphasis on concreteness and reality would remain a feature of his career as a prelate. Creighton saw the Church of England not as an abstract entity existing independently in space and time, but as rooted in England, its people, and their history. In the words of Kenneth Robbins, "It was an unashamed acknowledgment on (Creighton's) part that the form, structure, ethos and doctrine of that church had been fashioned in the circumstances of English history." Similarly, Creighton saw the living church as an embodiment of the present-day yearnings of the English people. "(The) general trend of the Church", he wrote, "must be regulated by (the English people's) wishes. The Church cannot go too far from them." Consequently, Creighton could imbue the church with Victorian self-assessments and aspirations. "The function of the Church of England", he was comfortable saying, "was to be a church of free men. The Church of Rome was the church of decadent peoples: it lives only in the past, and has no future ... The Church of England has before it the conquest of the world." As a natural corollary of this outlook, Creighton was explicitly against the separation of church and state. In his way of thinking, church and state were two aspects of the nation as seen from two vantage points. Any attempt at legislating a separation would, in addition, have caused social disruptions in late-Victorian Britain: many higher clergy had ties of education and friendship with prominent public men. During his lifetime Creighton received honorary doctorates from many institutions, among them University of Oxford, Oxford, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Harvard University, Harvard, and Trinity College, Dublin. A few years after his death, the Creighton lecture was established at King's College, London. The lecture series celebrated its centenary in 2007. Creighton was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1897.


Character

Creighton was a man of complex, sometimes baffling, intelligence. The philosopher Edward Caird, a fellow at Merton during Creighton's student days there, said of him, "Creighton possesses common sense in a degree which amounts to genius." Later, at Cambridge, some colleagues were perplexed by his personality. When teaching or transacting academic business, he displayed a shrewd, canny intelligence. However, at social gatherings, much to the delight of the students present, he was continually outrageous and flippant. His relationship with Louise was not easily characterised. In the months after the Peterborough appointment, husband and wife would frequently quarrel, sometimes bitterly, as a niece would later recall. But the couple could also be surprisingly demonstrative for their times: during this same period, a nephew caught sight of Louise locked in passionate embrace with the bishop in the latter's study. Creighton could be stern with his seven children, on one occasion tying a daughter to a table's leg with a rope to aid her in recognising her folly. However, he could also romp around the house with them, engage in horseplay, and make up nonsensical stories—all of which, many years later, they would consider the highlights of their childhood. He was the father of seven: Beatrice in 1872, Lucia in 1874, Cuthbert in 1876, Walter in 1878, Mary in 1880, Oswin in 1883 and, finally, Gemma, born in 1887. Throughout his life, Creighton went on long walks (his "rambles," as he liked to call them). When the children grew older, the family's outdoor pastime of choice became field hockey. Many visiting clergy at Fulham Palace found themselves unable to refuse Creighton's enthusiastic invitations to join in. The Creightons were inveterate travellers, spending many vacations in Italy. During their six years in Peterborough, for instance, they made nine foreign trips. Creighton was also a lifelong chain smoker. When author Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler, no sympathiser of churchmen, received a letter in 1893 inviting him to visit the Creighton family in Peterborough, he was immediately put at ease when he discovered some tobacco thoughtlessly left in the envelope by the Bishop of Peterborough. Controversy seemed to trail him during his prelacies. He loved pageantry, creating speculation that he had high church views. However, when a high church priest protested that incense was needed for curing souls, Creighton burst out, "And you think that souls like herring cannot be cured without smoke?" His moderate views—equally opposed to radical evangelicals and conservative Anglo-Catholics—endeared him to Queen Victoria. Creighton's work ethic, though, was anything but moderate. He seldom refused offers of additional responsibility, confessing more than once to both an abiding fatalism about being saddled with more responsibility and guilt about shirking from it. Perhaps recognising this, a canon of St Paul's, while welcoming Creighton to the diocese of London in 1897, ominously remarked, "It is a frightful burden to lay on you: I hope you will use up everybody except yourself."


Works

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References


Notes


Cited sources

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Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * Paul, Herbert (1906), 'Bishop Creighton', ''Stray Leaves'', London : John Lane, The Bodley Head, pp. 11 – 37 * * *


External links


Robert Evans (Oxford), Lecture: The Creighton Century, British Historians and Europe (1907–2007)
King's College London. Video Link: November 2007. * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creighton, Mandell 1843 births 1901 deaths People from Carlisle, Cumbria Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford 19th-century English historians Bishops of Peterborough Bishops of London Deans of the Chapel Royal Burials at St Paul's Cathedral 19th-century Church of England bishops Dixie Professors of Ecclesiastical History Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the American Antiquarian Society People educated at Carlisle Grammar School People educated at Durham School Presidents of the Oxford Union People from Embleton, Northumberland