Thomas Preston (15633 April 1640?) was an English
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monk serving as one of the leaders of the mission to re-establish the Benedictine Order in England after the closure of monasteries during the 16th century. He is also remembered for his writings upholding the cause of
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
in the
allegiance oath controversy
The Oath of Allegiance of 1606 was an oath requiring English Catholics to swear allegiance to James I over the Pope. It was adopted by Parliament the year after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 (see Popish Recusants Act 1605). The oath was proclaimed ...
.
Life
Born in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
, Preston studied in the
English College, Rome
The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...
, where he was taught by
Gabriel Vasquez.
He joined the Benedictine Order at
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...
in 1590. Following the decree granted by the Inquisition and confirmed by
Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605.
Born ...
in 1602 for a mission to the Benedictines in England, Preston and Anselm Beech were sent to England in the spring of 1603. They landed at
Great Yarmouth and made contact with
Sigebert Buckley, last survivor of the monks of St. Peter, Westminster, who had recently been released from imprisonment in
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ea ...
. They lived with Buckley, who by letters of 1607 and 1609 granted and confirmed to them authority to admit brethren to membership of the monastery and Congregation of which he had been the only surviving representative. To Preston, already the superior of the English of the Congregation of Monte Cassino, he entrusted the care of the English Congregation. Buckley died in 1610. Meanwhile, Preston had been indicted as a priest, and was soon afterwards imprisoned.
Expelled from England three years later, he took part at
Rheims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
in the negotiations for the union of the English monks of Monte Cassino,
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
, and the old
English Congregation. He returned to England and was again imprisoned, first in
The Clink
The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Libe ...
in
Southwark, and later in
Croydon Palace
Croydon Palace, in Croydon, now part of south London, was the summer residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for over 500 years. Regular visitors included Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I. Now known as "Old Palace", the buildings are still in us ...
of the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
[
Preston passed much of the rest of his life in prison. He died in ]The Clink
The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Libe ...
prison, 5 April 1640. In one prison or another he wrote, under the assumed name of Widdrington, several works treating of the oath of allegiance. Preston "evermore disowned" the books written under the name of Widdrington, but there is no doubt that he was the author of them. Towards the end of his life, however, he seems to have altered his views, or at any rate to have made full submission on the question of the oath to the authorities of Rome.[
]
Works
Preston took the pen name of Roger Widdrington for his controversial writings, concealing his own authorship, and using the real name of a Roman Catholic squire in Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, a Bailiff of Hexham who was associated with the recusant Radcliffe family and the conspirator Thomas Percy. These publications upheld the oath of allegiance to King James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
which the King himself was proposing (Preston being one of the group of Benedictines and secular priests who were apologists for it), against the opposing policy of the Jesuits.[ The 1611 ''Apologia'' was given a false imprimatur although in fact being published in London by government order: it is possible that the real Widdrington was complicit in the use of his name, though it was quickly recognised that he was unlikely to be the true author.
Among his works are:
* Cosmopoli ond. 1611.
* Cosmopoli ond. 1612 This was attacked in 1617 by ]Matthew Kellison
Matthew Kellison (c. 1560 – 21 January 1642) was an English Roman Catholic theologian and controversialist, and a reforming president of the English College, Douai.
Life
Born about 1560 at Harrowden, Northamptonshire, he was son of a servant ...
. Preston replied in 1620.
* 2 pts., Albionopoli ond. 1613.
* 1614. At the demand of the Cardinals de Propaganda Fide.
* ''A cleare ... confutation of the ... Reply of T. F., who is knowne to be Mr. Thomas Fitzherbert, an English jesuite. Wherein also are confuted the chiefest objections which Dr. Schulckenius, who is commonly said to be Card. Bellarmine, hath made against Widdrington's Apologie for the Right, or Soveraigntie of temporall princes. By R. W., an English Catholike,'' 1616.
* Albionopoli ond. 1616.
* 2 pt., Albionopoli ond. 1616.
* ''The tryal and execution of Father H. Garnet ... for the Powder-Treason. Collected by R. W. ... Printed in Latin in 1616 ... and thence translated. Now published to make it further evident that it is no new thing for Jesuits to curse and ban to justifie a lie'' Lond. 1679.
* Augustæ ond. 1618.
* ''R. Widdringtons last reioynder to Mr. T. Fitz-Herberts Reply concerning the Oath of Allegiance and the Popes power to depose princes ... Also many replies ... of ... Bellarmine in his Schulckenius, and of L. Lessius in his Singleton are confuted, and divers cunning shifts of ... Peron are discovered,'' 1619, 4to, and ond.? 1633.
* ''A New Yeares Gift for English Catholikes, or a brief and cleare Explication of the New Oath of Allegiance. By E. I., Student in Divinitie'' ond. 1620. Also published in Latin the same year, under the title of
* ''An Adjoinder to the late Catholick New Year's Gift,'' 1620.[
Schulckenius was Adolf Schulcken, a Dutch theologian and supporter of ]Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine, SJ ( it, Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. ...
, thought at the time by many opponents to be pseudonymous.[ s:ADB:Schulcken, Adolf]
See also
*R.H. Connolly and J. McCann, ''Memorials of Father Augustine Baker and other Memorials of the English Benedictines'', Catholic Record Society Vol 33 (London 1933).
*E. L. Taunton, 'Thomas Preston and Roger Widdrington', ''English Historical Review'' XVIII (1903), pp. 116–19.
*S. Tutino, 'Thomas Preston and English Catholic Loyalism: Elements of an International Affair', ''The Sixteenth Century Journal, The Journal of Early Modern Studies'' 41 (for 2010) Part 1 (Spring), pp. 91–109.
*W. K. L. Webb, ‘Thomas Preston, O.S.B., alias Roger Widdrington (1567–1640)’, ''Biographical Studies'' 2 (1953–54), pp. 216–68.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Thomas
1563 births
1640 deaths
English College, Rome alumni
English Benedictines
16th-century English Roman Catholic priests
17th-century English writers
17th-century English male writers
17th-century English Roman Catholic priests
Clergy from Shropshire