Edward Burrough
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Edward Burrough (1634–1663) was an early English
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
leader and controversialist. He is regarded as one of the
Valiant Sixty The Valiant Sixty were a group of early activists and itinerant preachers in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Mainly from northern England, they spread the ideas of the Friends in the second half of the 17th century. They were also call ...
, who were early Quaker preachers and missionaries.


Conversion

Burrough was born in
Underbarrow Underbarrow is a small village in Cumbria, England, located west of Kendal. The village is in the Lake District National Park. It is in the civil parish of Underbarrow and Bradleyfield, in South Lakeland district, and has a parish councils in E ...
,
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
, and educated in 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 ...
, but became a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
before converting to Quakerism. During his late teens, he heard
George Fox George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and ...
preach in 1652 and immediately converted to what later came to be known as the Religious Society of Friends. He was consequently rejected by his parents. Burrough began itinerant preaching throughout England, travelling with another Friend,
Francis Howgill Francis Howgill (1618 – 11 February 1669) was a prominent early member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England. He preached and wrote on the teachings of the Friends and is considered one of the Valiant Sixty, men and women who ...
. Among those converted by them was Hester Biddle, probably in 1654.


Debate

During the years 1656–1657 Burrough and
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 ...
were engaged in a pamphlet debate, begun by Bunyan, who published ''Some Gospel Truths Opened'', in which he attacked Quaker beliefs. Burrough responded with ''The True Faith of the Gospel of Peace''. Bunyan countered with ''A Vindication of Some Gospel Truths Opened'', which Burrough answered with ''Truth (the Strongest of All) Witnessed Forth''. Later the Quaker leader
George Fox George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and ...
entered the fray by publishing a refutation of Bunyan's essay in ''The Great Mystery of the Great Whore Unfolded''.


Intervention with the king

Upon the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
in 1660, Burrough approached King Charles II requesting protection and relief of Quakers in
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, who were being persecuted by
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
s there. Charles granted him an audience in 1661, and was persuaded to issue a writ stopping (temporarily) the corporal and capital punishments of the Quakers in Massachusetts. Burrough arranged for the writ to be delivered by Samuel Shattuck, himself a Quaker under a ban from Massachusetts. Charles's writ commanded the Massachusetts authorities to send the imprisoned Quakers to England for trial, but they chose instead to release them. The king's order effectively stopped the hangings, but imprisonments and floggings were resumed the next year.


Imprisonment and death

In 1662, Burrough was arrested for holding a meeting, which was illegal under the terms of the Quaker Act. He was sent to
Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
,
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 ...
. An order for his release signed by Charles II was ignored by the local authorities, and Burrough remained in Newgate until his death on February 14, 1663, aged just 29 ("twelfth month 1662" in the
Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...
and Quaker terminologies). He was buried in the Quaker Burying Ground, Bunhill Fields. After his death, his collected works were published by E. Hookes in 1671 as ''The Memorable Works of a Son of Thunder and Consolation: Namely, that True Prophet, and Faithful Servant of God, and Sufferer for the Testimony of Jesus, Edward Burroughs, who Dyed a Prisoner for the Word of God, in the City of London, the Fourteenth of the Twelfth Moneth, 1662''.


In popular culture

*
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 ...
's fourth album, ''
Thunder and Consolation ''Thunder and Consolation'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band New Model Army, released on 15 March 1989 by EMI Records. The album stands as a landmark in the New Model Army catalogue, being their most successful album to date an ...
'', was named as a reference to his collected works, ''The Memorable Works of a Son of Thunder and Consolation''.


References


External links


Sample of Burrough's writing
* ttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/23/ A Declaration of the Sad and Great Persecution and Martyrdom of the People of God, called Quakers, in New-England, for the Worshipping of God(1661) online PDF edition
Edward Burrough: A Memoir
By William and Thomas Evans (London: Charles Gilpin, 1851) online edition. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrough, Edward English theologians English Quakers Converts to Quakerism 1634 births 1663 deaths 17th-century Quakers Burials at Bunhill Fields