Thomas Cartwright (c. 1535 – 27 December 1603) was an English
Puritan preacher and theologian.
Background and education
Cartwright was probably born in
Royston
Royston may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Royston, Queensland, a rural locality
Canada
*Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet
England
*Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire
*Royston, South Yorkshi ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, and studied divinity at
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
. On the accession of Queen
Mary I of England
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
in 1553, he was forced to leave the university, and found occupation as clerk to a counsellor-at-law. On the accession of Queen
Elizabeth I, five years later, he resumed his
theological studies, and was soon afterwards elected a fellow of St John's and later of
Trinity College, Cambridge.
Theological stance
In 1564, Cartwright opposed
Thomas Preston in a theological disputation held on the occasion of Elizabeth's state visit, and in the following year brought attention to the Puritan attitude on church ceremonial and organization. He was popular in
Ireland as chaplain to
Adam Loftus,
Archbishop of Armagh
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
(1565–1567). In 1569, Cartwright was appointed
Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at Cambridge. In 1570 he delivered the "first public call for Presbyterianism" in the
Church of England.
In response
John Whitgift
John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...
, on becoming vice-chancellor, deprived him of the post in December 1570, and—as master of Trinity—of his fellowship in September 1571.
This was a result of the use which Cartwright had made of his position; in the sermons in which he made a public call for Presbyterianism he criticised the hierarchy and constitution of the Church of England, which he compared unfavourably with the primitive Christian organization. So keen was the struggle between him and Whitgift that the chancellor,
William Cecil, had to intervene. After his deprivation by Whitgift, Cartwright visited
Theodore Beza at
Geneva. He returned to England in 1572, and might have become professor of
Hebrew at Cambridge but for his expressed sympathy with the notorious "Admonition to the Parliament" by
John Field John Field may refer to:
*John Field (American football) (1886–1979), American football player and coach
*John Field (brigadier) (1899–1974), Australian Army officer
*John Field (composer) (1782–1837), Irish composer
*John Field (dancer) (192 ...
and
Thomas Wilcox
Thomas Wilcox ( – 1608) was a British Puritan clergyman and controversialist.
Life
In 1571, with John Field he authored the ''Admonition to Parliament'', that called for the removal of Bishops and ecclesiastical hierarchy. Wilcox and Field we ...
. To escape arrest he again went abroad, and officiated as clergyman to the English residents at
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, and then at
Middelburg.
Later years
In 1576 Cartwright visited and organized the
Huguenot churches of the
Channel Islands, and after revising the Rhenish version of the
New Testament, again settled as pastor at Antwerp, declining the offer of a chair at the
University of St Andrews.
In 1585, he returned without permission to London, was imprisoned for a short time, and became master of the
Earl of Leicester's hospital at
Warwick, known as the
Lord Leycester Hospital in the same year.
In 1590, he was summoned before the court of high commission and imprisoned, and in 1591 he was once more committed to the
Fleet prison.
He was not treated harshly, and powerful influence soon secured his release. He visited
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
(1595–1598), and spent his closing years in honour and prosperity at Warwick, where he died 27 December 1603.
Qualities and character
Cartwright was a man of much culture and originality, but said to be exceedingly impulsive. His views were distinctly
Presbyterian, and he stoutly opposed the
Brownists
The Brownists were a group of English Dissenters or early Separatists from the Church of England. They were named after Robert Browne, who was born at Tolethorpe Hall in Rutland, England, in the 1550s. A majority of the Separatists aboard the ' ...
or Independents. He never conceived of a separation between church and state, and may have refused to tolerate any
non-conformity with the reformed national Presbyterian church. However, it is believed that the Puritanism of the day owed its systematization and much of its force to him.
References
Further reading
*Andrew F. Pearson, ''Thomas Cartwright and Elizabethan Puritanism 1535–1603'' (Cambridge University Press 1966).
Attribution
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Thomas
16th-century English Puritan ministers
1530s births
1603 deaths
16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
English Calvinist and Reformed theologians
People of the Elizabethan era
People from Royston, Hertfordshire
Inmates of Fleet Prison
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity
16th-century English theologians
16th-century Anglican theologians
17th-century Anglican theologians