Robert Dibdale (or Debdale) (ca. 1556 – 8 October 1586) was an English Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

Biography

Dibdale was born the son of John Dibdale of

Shottery Shottery, formerly a small village a mile west of Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, is now part of the town, though retaining the feeling of a distinct village. History and amenities Shottery has a village hallShottery Memorial Hall one seconda ...

, a village in the county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, within the parish of

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, the birthplace of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's wife

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

, at a date unknown. He had a brother, Richard, and two sisters, Joan and Agnes. It would seem the family were Catholics.

Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

speculates that Dibdale (or Debdale) attended the King's New School in Stratford, the same grammar school attended by

Ackroyd, Peter Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...

''Shakespeare: The Biography''
Doubleday (2005), p.64 Government records show that in 1581 his absence abroad at

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

since about 1576 had been noted by the English authorities. Catholic records, however, show that, by that time, he had already been to Rome and had then gone to the English College in

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, France, arriving there on 29 December 1579, before setting out for England on 22 June 1580. At that point he had still not been

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

. Dibdale was immediately arrested upon landing at Dover. It is recorded that he was committed to the

Gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

by 29 July the same year. While in prison his father sent him bread, cheese, and five shillings.Wainewright, John Bannerman. "Venerable Robert Dibdale", ''Lives of the English Martyrs'', (Edwin H. Burton and J. H. Pollen eds.), London. Longmans, Green and Co., 1914
/ref> He was discharged on 10 September 1582. His whereabouts immediately thereafter are obscure but on 14 March 1583 he again entered the English College at Rheims and was ordained a priest in

Rheims Cathedral , image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg , imagealt = Facade, looking northeast , caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast , pushpin map = France , pushpin map alt = Location within France , ...

on 31 March 1584. Using the alias Palmer, he set out for England the following 2 August. He served as chaplain at the Manor of Denham in Buckinghampshire. Denham was held by Edmund Peckham, whose wife Dorothy was the sister of

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, c. 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular gard ...

SJ. Dibdale was arrested near Tothill Street in London on 24 July 1586, and was imprisoned, first at the

Counter Counter may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Counter machine, a subclass of register machines * Counter (digital), an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting * Loop counter, the variable that controls the iter ...

, then at

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

. Given the 1585 Act making it a

capital offence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

to be a Catholic priest in England, the terrible sentence of

hanging, drawing and quartering To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

was inevitable. It was carried out at

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...

on 8 October 1586. His fate was shared by two fellow priests,

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

and

John Lowe John Lowe may refer to: Sports * John Lowe (darts player) (born 1945), English darts player. * John Lowe (footballer) (1912–1995), Scottish football player * John Lowe (rugby league), English rugby league footballer * John Lowe (cricketer) (18 ...

. All three priests were beatified (the last stage prior to

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

) by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 22 November 1987. In 1998, the Catholic church in his home village, the Church of Our Lady Peace (opened in 1973), was rededicated to Our Lady of Peace and Blessed Robert Dibdale.

References

Sources

*Anstruther, Godfrey. ''Seminary Priests'', St Edmund's College, Ware, vol. 1 (1968), p.101. *Brownlow, Frank W. ''Shakespeare, Harsnett, and the devils of Denham'', University of Delaware Press (1993), pp.167–168. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dibdale, Robert 1550s births 1586 deaths People from Stratford-on-Avon District 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Martyred Roman Catholic priests English beatified people People executed under Elizabeth I by hanging, drawing and quartering Executed people from Warwickshire 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon People executed at Tyburn Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales

Biography

See also

References

Sources