Roger Crab (1621 – 11 September 1680)Bowlt 2007, p. 101–102 was an English soldier,

haberdasher In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...

, herbal doctor and writer who is best known for his ascetic lifestyle which included

Christian vegetarianism Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a con ...

. Crab fought in the

Parliamentary Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Thr ...

in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

before becoming a haberdasher in

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...

. He later became a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and worked as a herbal doctor. He then joined the

Philadelphians The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a 17th-century English dissenter group. They were organized around John Pordage (1607–1681), an Anglican priest from Bradfield, Berkshire, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 beca ...

and began promoting

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

through his writings.

Early life

Crab was born in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

in 1621. At the time of his birth his mother had an annual income of £20.Hill 1958, p. 282 As a young man, he began trying to find a way to live a perfect life. In 1641 he ceased eating meat, dairy and eggs. He also chose to be celibate. At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, he joined the Parliamentary Army under

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

. During one battle he received a serious head wound from a sword. During his time as a soldier, he was at one point sentenced to death by Cromwell. He was later sentenced to two years in prison by Parliament. It has been suggested that Crab was involved with the

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...

in the late 1640s and that he was imprisoned as a result.

Career

After leaving the military Crab moved to Chesham. There he began working as a haberdasher. He continued this work between 1649 and 1652. In 1652 he moved to

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the eastern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain ...

and lived as a hermit. Believing that profit was sinful, he gave away almost all of his possessions before moving. He built up a practice as a herbal doctor, advising his patients to avoid meat and alcohol. He was a popular doctor among the village women. However, he was accused of witchcraft by a clergyman, possibly due to prophecies he issued. He attempted to live modestly, wearing homemade sackcloth clothes. He moved to

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

in 1657. There he joined the Philadelphians, a group founded by

John Pordage John Pordage (1607–1681) was an Anglican priest, astrologer, alchemist and Christian mystic. He founded the 17th-century English Behmenist group, which would later become known as the Philadelphian Society when it was led by his disciple and ...

Views

Crab was an

anti-sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

. He did not observe Sunday as a non-working day, and was put in the

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

for it. He was a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, and had radical views on the evils of property, the Church and universities. Crab held the unorthodox view that meat-eating was the cause rather than a consequence of the Biblical

fall of man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God in Christianity, God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * ...

. By the age of 20, Crab was living on a diet of vegetables and water "avoiding butter, cheese, eggs and milk". Crab argued that "eating of flesh is an absolute enemy to pure nature" and believed there was a connection between meat-eating and aggression. Crab ate a

vegan diet Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...

from 1641 until his death in 1680. He initially included potatoes and carrots in his diet, but later gave them up in favour of a diet of mostly bran and turnips. Later in his life he ate only

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribu ...

and grass, claiming to spend of 3/4 d. per week on food. Late in his life he added parsnips to his diet.Hill 1958, p. 283

Works

Crab wrote his autobiography while living in Ickenham. * The English hermite, or, Wonder of this age.: Being a relation of the life of Roger Crab, living neer Uxbridg, taken from his own mouth, shewing his strange reserved and unparallel'd kind of life, who counteth it a sin against his body and soule to eate any sort of flesh, fish, or living creature, or to drinke any wine, ale, or beere. He can live with three farthings a week. His constant food is roots and hearbs, as cabbage, turneps, carrets, dock-leaves, and grasse; also bread and bran, without butter or cheese: his cloathing is sack-cloath. He left the Army, and kept a shop at Chesham, and hath now left off that, and sold a considerable estate to give to the poore, shewing his reasons from the Scripture, Mark. 10. 21. Jer. 35. (London: Printed, and are to be sold in Popes-head Alley, and at the Exchange 1655). * Dagons-Downfall; or, the Great idol digged up root and branch (London 1657). ( – in which he declared that the Sabbath had been turned into an idol.). * Gentle correction for the high flown backslider, or, A soft answer to turn away strife : being a general answer (in few words) to some queries, and defamations thrown out by the furious spirit in some of the people called Quakers against the rationalls (London: Printed by J.B 1659). * A tender salutation, or, The substance of a letter given forth by the Rationals, to the despised remnant and seed of God, in the people called Quakers (London: Printed by J.B 1659). A Reply to the ''Gentle Correction'' was made by George Salter (London: printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and mouth neer Aldersgate 1659):

Death

In 1680, Crab died at the age of 59 in Bethnal Green and was buried at Stepney Churchyard. His tombstone has the following epitaph:Hill 1958, p. 310

Legacy

Christopher Hill suggested that Crab may have been the inspiration for

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's character the

Mad Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Car ...

Selected publications

''The English Hermite, Or, Wonder of this Age''
(1655)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
A Vegan Booklet of 1655 – ……don’t think about ‘almost five o’clock’!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crab, Roger 1621 births 1680 deaths 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English soldiers British veganism activists English autobiographers English hermits English pacifists English pamphleteers English political writers Haberdashers Herbalists Levellers Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War People from Buckinghamshire Proto-vegans Roundheads