William Dell (c. 1607–1669) was an English clergyman, Master of

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

from 1649 to 1660, and prominent radical Parliamentarian.

Biography

Dell was born at

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, England, and was an undergraduate at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

, taking an M.A. in 1631. He became a chaplain in the

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

, which brought radical ministry with it.

Relationship to Parliament

Dell's 1646 sermon to the lower house in Parliament, following a controversial one to the House of Lords, was too extreme, and the House of Commons reprimanded him; it attacked the

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and ...

, spoke up for the poor, and told the politicians to keep out of religious reform. Nonetheless, his appointment at Caius was at the behest of the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" n ...

. Thomas Harrison's proposal to have him preach again, in 1653, was defeated. He criticized those on the Parliamentarian side who had done well out of the war. According to Christopher Hill He backed the Quaker John Crook as MP in 1653/4, and the regicide

John Okey Colonel John Okey (24 August 1606 – 19 April 1662) was a political and religious radical who served in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A regicide who approved the Execution of Charles I in 1649, he escaped to ...

. He was a supporter of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

. In 1657, however, he with Okey campaigned against the proposal to make Cromwell king.

Theology

He was a friend and supporter of

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

, whom he invited to preach in his parish church. He was an opponent of the

Ranters The Ranters were one of a number of dissenting groups that emerged around the time of the English Commonwealth (1649–1660). They were largely common people and the movement was widespread throughout England, though they were not organised and ...

; but also of enforced uniformity of worship, citing

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

against it He was attacked as a

libertine A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour ob ...

, and thought to tend to

antinomianism Antinomianism (Ancient Greek: ἀντί 'anti''"against" and νόμος 'nomos''"law") is any view which rejects laws or legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms (Latin: mores), or is at least considered to do so. The term ha ...

. According to Christopher Hill He preached the doctrine of free grace, and subscribed to the idea of

continuous revelation Continuous revelation or continuing revelation is a theological belief or position that God continues to reveal divine principles or commandments to humanity. In Christian traditions, it is most commonly associated with the Latter Day Saint m ...

; and is included in those considered preachers of the Everlasting Gospel.

Institutions

He argued for major institutional change. He attacked academic education frontally. He proposed a secular and decentralized university system; with local village schools, and grammar schools in larger places. He was strongly against the Aristotelian tradition persisting in the universities, and discounted all classical learning; and expressed broad anti-intellectual attitudes. He believed in more practical studies; more particularly, he was concerned that training for the ministry should be much more widely spread, geographically and socially, and less dependent on traditional academic studies. He was a severe critic of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. He doubted the basis in scripture for a national Church, and eventually was buried outside it. He had egalitarian views on the suitable social composition of the bishops, and clergy in general. He connected this to religious control and change. Christopher Hill writes He was against

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

and

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

, with views close to the

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...

After the Restoration

He was deprived of his living of

Yelden Yielden or Yelden is a village in Bedfordshire, near the borders with Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire. It lies on the River Til which feeds into the Great Ouse valley and is about above sea level. It is approximately north of Bedford, sout ...

in 1662; he had held it from 1642. A 1667 pamphlet of his, ''The Increase of Popery in England'', was suppressed and appeared only in 1681; Hill calls this anti-Catholic attack 'partly a political gambit'Hill, Milton, p. 220.

Notes

References

*H. R. Trevor-Roper, "William Dell", ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 62, No. 244 (July 1947), pp. 377–379; distinguishes Dell from the William Dell who was Secretary to

Archbishop Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 16 ...

External links

Brief Biographical Sketch & his book, the STUMBLING STONE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dell, William 1607 births 1669 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Ejected English ministers of 1662 Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Masters of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Roundheads