William Marshall (died 1540?) was an English Protestant reformer, printer, and translator.

Early life

Marshall apparently acted as clerk to Sir Richard Broke, the

chief baron of the exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

, and was acquainted with Sir Thomas More. He advocated for Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and in 1535 was one 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 char ...

's confidential agents.

Translations and other works

Through Thomas Cromwell's favour, Marshall obtained a license for printing books, and his main occupation from about 1534 seems to have been in preparing works for his press. At the period when he first began literary work, he was living in

Wood Street, London Wood Street is a street in the City of London, the historic centre and primary financial district of London. It originates in the south at a junction with Cheapside;'Cripplegate, one of the 26 Wards of the City of London' Baddesley, J.J p78: L ...

. He was then translating

Lorenzo Valla Lorenzo Valla (; also Latinized as Laurentius; 14071 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator, scholar, and Catholic priest. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the ''Do ...

's undermining of the ''

Donation of Constantine The ''Donation of Constantine'' ( ) is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the Pope. Composed probably in ...

'', and a work by

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

that appeared under the titles ''Maner and Forme of Confession'' or ''Erasmus of Confession''. Borrowing from Cromwell, Marshall published ''The Defence of Peace'', on 27 July 1535. It was a translation of Marsilio of Padua's '' Defensor pacis'', the 14th century work against the

temporal power of the Pope The temporal power of the Holy See designates the political and secular influence of the Holy See, the leading of a state by the pope of the Catholic Church, as distinguished from its spiritual and pastoral activity. Origins Pope Gregory ...

. It was printed by Robert Wyer. In the same year appeared his ''Pyctures and Ymages'', printed by John Gough, an English translation via Latin of Martin Bucer's ''Das einigerlei Bild''. Lord Chancellor Thomas Audeley and Thomas Broke thought it too provocative. Cromwell, however, let it go ahead, with a noticeable reaction to its suggestions on burning images. Marshall built up a reformist portfolio, with a translation by William Turner from

Joachim Vadian Joachim Vadian (29 November 1484 – 6 April 1551), born as Joachim von Watt, was a humanist, scholar, mayor and reformer in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Biography Vadian was born in St. Gallen into a family of wealthy and influential linen mer ...

, an English primer that presaged the '' Bishops' Book'' 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 ...

Litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''lit ...

, and a Flemish work on

poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

. The ''Defensor pacis'', however, did not sell well. In 1536, Marshall encountered money troubles, and a family problem as John Gostwick pursued a loan of his brother Thomas, parson at

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

. Cromwell was unwilling to help as Gostwick was one of his closest friends, or give Marshall preferments stripped from

Reginald Pole Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal of the Catholic Church and the last Catholic archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558, during the Counter-Reformation. Early life Pole was bor ...

. In 1542 there appeared Marshall's ''An Abridgement of Sebastian Munster's Chronicle'', printed by Wyer. Joseph Ames also attributed to Marshall the ''Chrysten Bysshop and Counterfayte Bysshop'', n.d., printed by Gough. The date of his death is unknown, but may be around 1540.

Family

Marshall was married and had two sons, Richard, who has been tentatively identified with Richard Marshall the

dean of Christ Church The Dean of Christ Church is the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and head of the governing body of Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese o ...

, and another named Thomas. Nothing is known of his marriage or of any other children.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, William Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown English printers English Protestants 16th-century English translators Latin–English translators