Thomas Bailey or Bayly (died c. 1657) was a seventeenth-century

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 ...

religious controversialist, a

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clergyman who converted to Roman Catholicism.

Biography

Bailey's father was

Lewis Bayly Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohea ...

, Bishop of Bangor, and a brother was the scholar and clergyman John Bayly (1595/6–1633). Bailey was educated at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. He began as a priest within his father's diocese; in 1634 he became Rector of Holgate, Shropshire, and in 1638 the sub-dean of

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

. He served as a commissioned officer in defence of

Raglan Castle Raglan Castle ( cy, Castell Rhaglan) is a late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th centuries, when the succ ...

in 1646, and was briefly imprisoned in

Newgate gaol Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, th ...

for writing against the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

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 ...

was executed in 1649. In that year he also defended Charles against allegations that he had been a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. In ''Certamen Religiosum'' he reported on religious discussions from 1646 between Charles and

Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

, at Raglan Castle. Bailey attended the Marquess, as his chaplain. The work proved controversial, and was attacked by

Hamon L'Estrange Hamon L'Estrange (1605–1660) was an English writer on history, theology and liturgy, of Calvinist views, loyal both to Charles I and the Church of England. Along with Edward Stephens (d. 1706), he contributed to the seventeenth-century reviva ...

, Christopher Cartwright, and

Peter Heylyn Peter Heylyn or Heylin (29 November 1599 – 8 May 1662) was an English ecclesiastic and author of many polemical, historical, political and theological tracts. He incorporated his political concepts into his geographical books ''Microcosmu ...

. However, Bailey then made his way to Europe, and had himself converted to Catholicism by the time of his 1654 ''End to Controversy''. A ''Life'' of

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

was issued under Bailey's name in 1655, though it was in fact a re-publication of a much earlier text which Richard Hall (died 1604) had translated into Latin.John J. LaRocca
‘Hall, Richard (c.1537–1604)’
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 20 Dec 2007

Works

*''The royal charter granted unto kings, by God himself'', 1649 *''Certamen religiosum'', 1649 *''An End to Controversy between the Roman Catholique and the Protestant Religions Justified'', 1654

References

External links

Thompson Cooper Thompson Cooper (8 January 1837, Cambridge – 5 March 1904, London) was an English journalist, man of letters, and compiler of reference works. He became a specialist in biographical information, and is noted as the most prolific contributor to t ...

‘Bayly, Thomas (d. c.1657)’
rev. Stephen Wright, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 20 Dec 2007 1657 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge 17th-century English Anglican priests Cavaliers Anglican priest converts to Roman Catholicism English Roman Catholics 17th-century Roman Catholics Year of birth unknown {{RC-bio-stub