Thomas Bedyll (or Bedell)(died 1537) was a

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

and royal servant. He was royal chaplain and clerk of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, assisting him with the separation from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Biography

Ecclesiastical career

He was educated at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, and took the degree of

B.C.L. Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of University of O ...

on 5 November 1508. He was a canon of Lincoln cathedral in 1518, rector of Bocking, Essex in 1522 and of St. Dionis Backchurch in 1528. He was collated

Archdeacon of Cleveland The Archdeacon of Cleveland is a senior ecclesiastical officer of an archdeaconry, or subdivision, of the Church of England Diocese of York, diocese and Province of York, province of York Minster, York. The Archdeaconry of Cleveland stretches west ...

from June to August 1533,

Archdeacon of London The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area with ...

in 1533-4 and

Archdeacon of Cornwall The Archdeacon of Cornwall is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Truro. History and composition The archdeaconry of Cornwall was created in the Diocese of Exeter in the late 11th century. The area and the archdeacon remained p ...

in 1536. He was canon of St. Paul's cathedral in 1534, of York cathedral in 1536, of Wells cathedral and of Chichester cathedral in 1534 and rector of All Hallows, Barking in 1534.

Political career

In 1520 he was acting as secretary to

William Warham William Warham ( – 22 August 1532) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to his death. Early life and education Warham was the son of Robert Warham of Malshanger in Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, serving in that capacity until the archbishop's death in August 1532. Within a month the king Henry VIII took him into his service as one of the royal chaplains, and on 14 October he signs a letter to the king as clerk of the council, a post to which he had recently been appointed. He soon was high in the favour of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

and

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

, whose views on ecclesiastical policy he adopted. His first public employments were in connection with Henry's divorce from

Catharine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

. After being sent to Oxford to obtain opinions from the university in the king's favour, he accompanied Cranmer to

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

as one of the counsel on the king's side, when the archbishop pronounced the final sentence of nullity of marriage. Several letters from him are extant recording the course of the trial and the pronunciation of the sentence, in the drawing up of which he had some share. In the next two years (1534 and 1535) he was engaged in obtaining the oaths of the inmates of several religious houses to the

royal supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the Eng ...

; in conducting as one of the king's council the examination of Bishop

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 ...

and of

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

, when tried for treason for refusing the oath; and in assessing the values of ecclesiastical benefices in England. When the smaller monasteries were suppressed by act of parliament in 1536, Bedyll visited many of them in the neighbourhood of London to obtain the surrenders of the houses; and about the same time presided over a commission appointed to examine papal bulls and briefs conferring privileges on churches and dignities in England, with a view to their confirmation or abolition. The "book" that was circulated throughout England as a basis for sermons on the futility of the pope's claims to authority in England, was revised and corrected by him.

Death

He died in the beginning of September 1537, his death being mentioned in a letter from

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

to his uncle Thomas on 5 September.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedyll, Thomas Year of birth missing 1537 deaths Archdeacons of Cornwall Archdeacons of London Archdeacons of Cleveland People associated with the Dissolution of the Monasteries 16th-century English clergy English chaplains Christian chaplains Alumni of New College, Oxford