William Aubrey (c. 1529 – 25 June 1595) was Regius Professor of Civil Law at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

from 1553 to 1559, and was one of the founding Fellows of

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

. He was also a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for various Welsh and English constituencies between 1554 and 1592.

Early life and Oxford University

Aubrey was born in Brecknockshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, the second of Thomas Aubrey, MD, of Cantreff. After being educated at what later became Christ College, Brecon, Aubrey went to Oxford University, becoming a Fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

in 1547. He obtained a BCL degree in 1549 and was appointed Principal of

New Inn Hall, Oxford New Inn Hall was one of the earliest medieval halls of the University of Oxford. It was located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford. History Trilleck's Inn The original building on the site was Trilleck's Inn, a medieval hall or hostel for st ...

in 1550. In 1553 he succeeded Robert Weston as Regius Professor of Civil Law. He held the position until 1559, when he was succeeded by John Griffith. He served as judge-marshal of the army led by William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke in the St. Quentin campaign of 1557. In 1571 he was named in the foundation charter as one of the original eight fellows of

. He obtained the degree of DCL in 1554 and the following year he was made a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

in Chancery.

Legal and political work

Wenceslas Hollar - Aubrey (monument) (State 1)

In 1562 Aubrey was a member of the commission set up by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury that declared unlawful the marriage of

Lady Catherine Grey Katherine Seymour, Countess of Hertford (formerly Katherine Herbert, Lady Herbert, born Lady Katherine Grey; 25 August 1540 – 27 January 1568), was a younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she emerged ...

to Henry Herbert (son of the 1st Earl of Pembroke). He was one of the signatories of the opinion that John Lesley ( Bishop of Ross and an ambassador for

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

) could be tried in England for intriguing against Queen Elizabeth. He was MP for various constituencies: Carmarthen Boroughs (1554),

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

(1558), Hindon (1559),

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

(1563), and

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

(1593). He was a member of the

Council of Wales and the Marches The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...

from 1586. He was also auditor and

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

under

Archbishop Grindal Edmund Grindal ( 15196 July 1583) was Bishop of London, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. Though born far from the centres of political and religious power, he had risen rapidly in the church duri ...

, retaining his position as vicar-general under Archbishop Whitgift.

Death

Aubrey died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1595 and was buried in

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul, ...

."Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p99: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubrey, William 1520s births 1595 deaths 16th-century English judges 16th-century Welsh writers English MPs 1554 English MPs 1558 English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1593 Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales People educated at Christ College, Brecon People from Brecknockshire Principals of New Inn Hall, Oxford Regius Professors of Civil Law (University of Oxford) Welsh educators Welsh lawyers 16th-century English lawyers 16th-century Welsh politicians