Robert Levinz, Levens or Levinge (161518 July 1650), Royalist, was a son of William Levinz of Senkworth, near Abingdon, who carried on the business of a brewer 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 ...

. His grandfather, William Levinz, was an alderman of Oxford, and five times mayor at the close of the sixteenth century; he was buried in All Saints Church, where there is a fine recumbent effigy to his memory. Robert was uncle of Sir Creswell Levinz,

Baptist Levinz Baptist Levinz, sometimes Baptiste or Baptist Levinge, (1644 - 31 January 1693) was an Anglican churchman. He is known as a bishop and also for the part he played in the dramatic election at Magdalen College, Oxford. Life He was born at Evenley, ...

, and

William Levinz William Levinz (25 July 1625 – 3 March 1698), doctor of medicine and Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University, was President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1673 until 1698. Life He was the son of William Levinz of Evenley, near ...

. He matriculated at Lincoln College, and graduated

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

on 4 February 1634, and D.C.L. in 1642. He was

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

in 1640 to the

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

Richard Montagu Richard Montagu (or Mountague) (1577 – 13 April 1641) was an English cleric and prelate. Early life Montagu was born during Christmastide 1577 at Dorney, Buckinghamshire, where his father Laurence Mountague was vicar, and was educated at Eto ...

(Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1640–1, pp. 394, 397). On the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he took up arms for the king at Oxford, and obtained the rank of captain, but on the capitulation of the city to the parliament (after the

Siege of Oxford The siege of Oxford comprised the English Civil War military campaigns waged to besiege the Royalist controlled city of Oxford, involving three short engagements over twenty-five months, which ended with a Parliamentarian victory in June ...

) in 1646 appears to have resumed his studies. After

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

's execution, he was employed by Charles II in various negotiations, and finally received a commission to raise troops in England for the new king at the time of Charles's Scottish expedition in 1650. The plot was discovered, and he was arrested in London. His papers were seized, and many blank commissions signed by the king were discovered among them. Levinz was taken before the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, and was handed over as a spy to the council of war. He was tried by court-martial and sentenced to be hanged. Offers were made to spare his life if he would betray his accomplices: this he refused to do, but acknowledged the truth of the accusations against himself, while protesting the justice of his cause. He was taken to Cornhill in a coach guarded by a troop of horse, and hanged against the

Exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

on 18 July 1650. David Lloyd speaks of his numerous friends, his prudence, and integrity. His wife was a daughter of Sir Peregrine Bertie, and granddaughter of Robert, Earl of Lindsey. A portrait appears in

William Winstanley William Winstanley (c. 1628 – 1698) was an English poet and compiler of biographies. Life Born about 1628, William Winstanley was the second son of William Winstanley of Quendon, Essex, (d. 1687) by his wife Elizabeth. Henry Winstanley was ...

's ''Loyal Martyrology'', 1665. [Winstanley's Loyal Martyrology, p. 28; Visitation of Oxford, 1573, private printed, by Sir T. Phillipps; Clarendon State Papers, ii. 73; Wood's Fasti (Bliss), i. 468, ii. 47; Lloyd's Memoirs, 1668, p. 560; Whitelocke's Memorials, p. 464; Topographer, 1821, vol. i.]

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levinz, Robert 1615 births Date of birth unknown People from Abingdon-on-Thames Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Cavaliers People executed under the Interregnum (England) by hanging 1646 deaths