William Peryn (died 1558) was an English

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest and Dominican monk who in the reign of Mary I became prior of the short-lived Priory of St Bartholomew's,

Smithfield, London Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Barth ...

Life

Peryn was educated at

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and there are records of him being there in 1529 and 1531, the year in which he was ordained.L. E. C. Wooding,
Peryn, William (d. 1558)
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 20 Feb 2012. He went to London and was a preacher strongly against heresy, and a chaplain to Sir John Port. Soon after

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

’s Royal Act of Supremacy, 1534, he went into exile, but in 1543returned to England, when he applied for the degree of

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

at Oxford. He became a chantrist at St Paul's and early in 1547 preached in favour of images in religious services. With the accession of the Protestant

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

in 1547, Peryn went into exile again, spending several years in

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

before returning to England in 1553 upon the accession of the Roman Catholic

Mary I 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 ...

. That year, he was appointed prior of the Dominican house at St Bartholomew's in

, the first religious house founded by Mary. On 8 February 1556 Peryn is recorded by the diarist

Henry Machyn Henry Machyn (1496/1498 – 1563) was an English clothier and diarist in 16th century London. Machyn's ''Chronicle'', which was written between 1550 and 1563, is primarily concerned with public events: changes on the throne, state visits, in ...

as preaching at

Paul's Cross St Paul's Cross (alternative spellings – "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart England, and many ...

. Peryn was the author of three books: ''Thre Godly Sermons of the Sacrament of the Aulter'' (1546); (1557); and (of which no copy survives). The three godly sermons were originally preached at St Anthony's Hospital in London and are dedicated to

Edmund Bonner Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms intro ...

, Bishop of London. Peryn borrowed heavily from Bishop of Rochester

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

's , and in a preface he explains why he has published the sermons:

...

Peryn's was dedicated to two exiled English nuns: Katherine Palmer, abbess of the nuns at Syon in Isleworth, and Dorothy Clement, a

Poor Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

at Louvain and the daughter of Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

's adopted daughter

Margaret Clement Margaret Clement or Clements (1508–1570), née Giggs, was one of the most educated women of the Tudor era and the foster daughter of Sir Thomas More. Biography Clement's maiden name was Giggs. She was born in 1508 and was the daughter of a ...

. It was also based on

Nicolaus van Esch Nicolaus van Esch (Eschius) (1507 in Oisterwijk near 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands – 19 July 1578) was a Dutch Roman Catholic theologian and mystical writer. Life After finishing his classical studies in the school of the Hieronymites, ...

's ''Exercitia theologiae mysticae''. This work by Peryn was to have a long readership among English

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

s and was much treasured by

Margaret Clitheroe Margaret Clitherow (1556 – 25 March 1586) was an English saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, known as "the Pearl of York". She was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea to the charge of harbouring Catholic priests. She was ...

. It would be republished by a Catholic press of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Duffy, pp. 191-192. Peryn died in 1558 and was buried in St Bartholomew's on 22 August, at the high altar.

Notes

References

*L. E. C. Wooding, �
Peryn, William (d. 1558)
��, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 20 Feb 2012.

External links

*http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Peryn,_William_%28DNB00%29 {{DEFAULTSORT:Peryn, William 1558 deaths 16th-century English Roman Catholic theologians Year of birth unknown