Roger Morrice (1628–1702) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
minister and political journalist. He is most noted for his ''Entring Book'', a manuscript diary which provides a description of society in the years 1677 to 1691. The manuscript is held by
Dr Williams's Library
Dr Williams's Library is a small English research library in Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London. Historically, it has had a strong Unitarian focus. The library has also been known as University Hall.
History
The library was founded using the e ...
in London, and in 2007 the Boydell Press published a 6 volume edition of the text.
Biography
Little is known about Morrice's life. He was born in about 1628 and died in 1702. He studied at
St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and later became the vicar of
Duffield in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
in 1658.
Because of his Non-conformist views he was ejected from his living at
the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, going on to become a private chaplain to
Denzil Holles and
John Maynard, both veteran Parliamentarians.
Though Morrice reveals virtually nothing about himself in his diaries, his ''Entring Book'' is a particularly useful source document for London life and politics from the late 1670s to the early 1690s – as informative, in its own way, as the better known ''Diaries'' of
Samuel Pepys. Morrice himself was a puritan clergyman who became a close associate of those opposed to the forms of absolute government favoured by the later
Stuart kings,
Charles II and his brother and successor, the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
James II. Most of the early part of the ''Entring Book'' is concerned with the possible impact of resurgent Catholicism on English liberties. For Morrice, the
Tories
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
, the party of the Court, were not so much a rival to the
Whigs, with whom he identified, but 'conspiracy against the Reformed interest.' After the
Glorious Revolution of 1688, in which James was replaced by
William III and
Mary II, Morrice is anxious to detect signs of
Jacobitism
, war =
, image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766
, active ...
in the ranks of those whom he refers to as 'the hierarchical party.'
Besides high politics, Morrice's journal has a lot to say about other aspects of contemporary life: from military and legal affairs, to printing, firework carnivals, storms, hurricanes, duels, executions, suicides and many other similar delights.
References
The Entring Book of Roger Morrice, published in six volumes by the Boydell Press, 2007University of Cambridge news item. August 2007: ''Forgotten rival to Pepys finally reaches bookshop shelves''
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrice, Roger
1628 births
1702 deaths
English diarists
Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Burials at Bunhill Fields