William Hacket, or Hackett (died 1591), was an English

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

who claimed to be a

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

and called for the removal of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. He was executed in London after being found guilty of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

Early life

Hacket was born at

Oundle Oundle () is a market town on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 5,735 at the time of the 2011 census. It is north of London and south-west of Peterborough. The town is home to Ound ...

, Northamptonshire. He had no formal education and was illiterate,Worth, Roland H.
Messiahs and messianic movements through 1899
' (McFarland, 2005) pp. 123–5. finding work as a serving-man in the households of a Mr. Hussey, Sir Thomas Tresham, and Sir Charles Morrison, all Northamptonshire gentry. He married the widow of a wealthy farmer named Moreton and became a

maltster Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most o ...

. He had a reputation for riotous living and violence. This reflected in an anecdote which claimed that, during a quarrel in an

alehouse A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

with a schoolmaster called Freckingham, Hacket bit off and ate his opponent's nose.

Conversion and preaching

At some stage, Hacket seemed to abandon his former dissolute ways and underwent some kind of religious conversion. An acquaintance in Oundle, Giles Wigginton, became his disciple. Travelling to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, Hacket announced that he was sent there by God to prepare the way for the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, only to be "well whipped" and banished from the city; he received a similar reception in Leicester. Subsequently, he preached around the villages of Northamptonshire against Queen Elizabeth and her chief councilors, for which he was arrested and thrown in Northampton

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

. He was released after many weeks' imprisonment, on giving a

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

to come up for judgment when called upon.

London and treason

Around Easter 1591, Hacket travelled to London at Wigginton's suggestion, staying at a lodging house outside Smithfield. Wigginton introduced him to

Edmund Coppinger Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

, who held a minor post in the royal household, and had declared that he had been moved by God to warn the queen to reform herself, her family, the commonwealth, and church. Coppinger soon convinced himself and a friend, Henry Arthington, a Yorkshire gentleman, that Hacket had an "extraordinary calling", and had in fact come from heaven, after anointment by the

Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...

, to inaugurate a new era on earth. Hacket also claimed some kind of invulnerability. People came to his lodgings to hear his prayers, prophecies and "ohes, loud sighes and groninges"; member of Parliament Job Throckmorton compared his utterings to a "wildgoose chase" with "neither head nor foote, rime nor reason". Coppinger, his "prophet of mercy" and Arthington, "prophet of judgement", proved credulous disciples. They talked of dethroning the Queen and putting Hacket in her place, of abolishing the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, and of establishing in every congregation an 'eldership' or

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of doctor, pastor, and lay elders.

Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

, the Lord-chancellor, and other ministers of state were to be removed from office and replaced by associates of the conspirators, among whom were mentioned William Davison and other persons of note, reputed to be of

predilections. They scattered letters about London foretelling the coming changes. Hacket defaced the queen's arms which were set up in his lodgings in

Knightrider Street Knightrider Street is a street in the City of London, located a short distance to the south of St Paul's Cathedral. It was originally the site of the German Church built in 1666–5 and demolished in 1867 to make way for Queen Victoria Stree ...

, and mutilated a picture of her with a bodkin. On 19 July 1591, Coppinger and Arthington went from Hacket's lodgings near "Broken wharf" to

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

, and from the top of an empty cart preached that William Hacket was the Christ returned to judge the earth and establish the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

in Europe, and that repentance would ensure mercy from heaven; they were his two prophets, sent by God as witnesses. Terrible judgement and eternal punishment was promised against those who would not believe and repent. They also spoke out against the Queen and her ministers. Crowds gathered, and a riot ensued, forcing the fanatics to take refuge in the

Mermaid Tavern The Mermaid Tavern was a tavern on Cheapside in London during the Elizabethan era, located east of St. Paul's Cathedral on the corner of Friday Street and Bread Street. It was the site of the so-called "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen", a dr ...

. The privy council, on hearing of their conduct, had them and Hacket arrested, and they were imprisoned in

Bridewell Palace Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of corre ...

Trial and execution

Hacket was brought to trial for

on 26 July at the

Sessions House A sessions house in the United Kingdom was historically a courthouse that served as a dedicated court of quarter sessions, where criminal trials were held four times a year on quarter days. Sessions houses were also used for other purposes to do w ...

near Newgate. He pleaded guilty to a charge of declaring that Queen Elizabeth was not queen of England, but pleaded not guilty to a second charge that he had defaced the queen's picture. His behaviour at and after the trial suggests that, by this time, he was not of sound mind. He was condemned to death, and executed near the Cross in Cheapside on 28 July 1591 by being hanged, drawn and quartered. On the way to the scaffold he is said to have insulted the clergyman accompanying him and uttered "execrable blasphemy" to the last. Of his fellow conspirators, Coppinger starved himself to death in Bridewell, though Arthington, claiming that he had been the victim of witchcraft, and after a penitent apology, was released in the following year. ''A Life, Arraignment, Judgement, and Execution of William Hacket'' was licensed for publication to Robert Bourne on 28 July 1591. No copy seems to have survived.

John Strype John Strype (1 November 1643 – 11 December 1737) was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydon Bois, Essex and lat ...

gave a summary of a ''Conspiracy for pretended Reformation'' (1592), which details Hacket, Coppinger, and Arthington's activities.

Aftermath

Civil disorder and popular uprisings were a real threat in this period due to harsh economic conditions, social divisions, corruption, political intrigues etc. Although Hacket and his followers did excite some public interest there was no corresponding popular support for his views – in fact, quite the opposite. Also, at the time, Puritan leaders were being tried for sedition and imprisoned; enemies attempted to use the Puritan affiliation of the Hacket rebels as the basis for a link with Thomas Cartwright and the wider Puritan faction, and undermine its influence. However, there was never any evidence to suggest foreknowledge, and in fact, Cartwright had considered the insurrectionists to be deluded and disordered in mind, to be treated as such, and had suggested imprisonment as the correct course of action. In 1596, Cartwright, having already incurred the Government's displeasure, and been imprisoned for another matter, issued a written defence of his actions in answer to scurrilous accusations concerning the Hacket rebellion.Levin, Carol.
The reign of Elizabeth I
' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) p. 100.

References