Thomas Playfere (also Playford) (1561? – 2 February 1609) was an English churchman and theologian,

Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity is the oldest professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was founded initially as a readership by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, in 1502. Since its re-endowment at the end of ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

from 1596.

Life

Born in London about 1561, he was son of William Playfere and Alice, daughter of William Wood of Bolling in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He matriculated as a pensioner of

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 ...

, in December 1576, and on 5 November 1579 was admitted a scholar. He graduated B.A. in 1579–80, M.A. in 1583, B.D. in 1590, and D.D. in 1596; on 10 April 1584 he was admitted a Fellow. He contributed to the university collection of Latin elegies on Sir Philip Sidney (16 Feb. 1586–7). He served the college offices of prælector topicus, 1587; rhetoric examiner, 1588, medical lecturer on

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's foundation; preacher, 1591; Hebrew prælector, 1593–4; senior fellow and senior dean, 1598; and principal lecturer, 1600. According to

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he joined the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1594, and in 1596 he was incorporated D.D. at Oxford. After the death of William Whitaker, Master of St John's, Playfere and Richard Clayton were candidates for the mastership: Clayton was chosen. In December 1596 Playfere was elected Lady Margaret professor of divinity. He became chaplain to King James, and often preached before him at court. He also preached before

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland; and his wife Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuar ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

on 12 March 1605, and before the kings of England and Denmark at

Theobalds Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive parkland, it was a r ...

, then the residence of

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury s ...

, on 27 July 1606.The latter sermon, in Latin, was published. Playfere held the Crown living of

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Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

from 1605 to 1609. In 1608 he became rector of All Saints, in

Shipdham Shipdham is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district, in Norfolk, England, approximately south-south-west of Dereham. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,145 in 899 households, falling at the 2011 Census to a popul ...

, and of

Thorpe St Andrew Thorpe St Andrew is a town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Yare, two miles east of the centre of Norwich, and is outside the boundary of the city. The civil parish has an area of and ...

, Norfolk. On 4 November 1602 Chamberlain had written to Carleton that "Dr. Plafer, the divinity reader, is crazed for love", and after 1606 Playfere's mind gave way, but he held his professorship until his death, on 2 February 1609. His funeral sermon was preached by

Thomas Jegon Thomas Jegon (died 2 March 1618) was a priest and academic in the late sixteenth and the early seventeenth centuries. Jegon was the son of Robert Jegon of Coggeshall, and the younger brother of John Jegon, Bishop of Norwich. He matriculated at Qu ...

, vice-chancellor;

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

made an oration on him in the college chapel. He was buried in the

St Botolph's Church, Cambridge St Botolph's Church, Cambridge is a Church of England parish church in the city of Cambridge, England. The church is a Grade I listed building. History The church is dedicated to Botolph, a seventh-century abbot in East Anglia, who is a patron sa ...

, where a monument with his bust, and a panegyrical inscription, was placed by desire of his wife Alicia.

Works

Playfere's reputation as a fluent preacher in Latin was high. Hr published some single sermons during his lifetime, and after his death appeared: ''Ten Sermons'', Cambridge, 1610; a volume (1611), containing four sermons (including "The Pathway to Perfection"), each sermon with a separate title-page, and lacking a general title; ''Nine Sermons'', Cambridge, 1612, dedicated to Sir Reynold Argal. The sermons were issued in one volume at London in 1623 and 1638.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Playfere, Thomas 1561 births 1609 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Anglican clergy from London Academics from London 16th-century English theologians 16th-century English educators 17th-century English theologians 17th-century English educators English sermon writers Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity