John Hayward (historian)
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Sir John Hayward (c. 1564 – 27 June 1627) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
, lawyer and politician.


Biography

Hayward was born at or near
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, where he was educated, and afterwards went to
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
, where he was awarded BA in 1581, MA in 1584 and LLD in 1591. In 1599 he published ''The First Part of the Life and Raigne of King Henrie IIII'' - a treatise dealing with the accession of Henry IV and the deposition of Richard II - dedicated to
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...
. Queen Elizabeth and her advisers disliked the tone of the book and its dedication, and the queen ordered
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
to search for passages in it that might be drawn within a case 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 ...
being compiled against the Earl of Essex. Specifically, Hayward was suspected of prophesying the failure of Essex's military campaign in Ireland through a description of the ill-starred efforts of Richard II in that country. On 11 July 1599, following the seizure and burning of a corrected edition of the book, Hayward was interrogated before the
Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...
. The Queen, "argued that Hayward was pretending to be the author in order to shield 'some more mischievous' person, and that he should be racked so that he might disclose the lie". Bacon reported of the evidence for treason, "surely I find none, but for felony very many", referring to the fact that many of the sentences were stolen from
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...
. The influence on Hayward of the works of Tacitus, which had only lately been published in English, marked a new departure in British historiography, whereby the character and behaviour of historical actors assumed a causal importance in the affairs of state. In 1600, Essex was convicted on charges of abusing his power, and in the following year of treason, whereupon he was put to death. At both trials, Hayward's book was produced in evidence. Hayward himself was remanded to the Tower in July 1600, where he remained until after the death of Elizabeth. When
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
came to the English throne in 1603, Hayward courted the new king's favour by publishing two pamphlets: ''An Answer to the first part of a certaine conference concerning succession'' – an argument in favour of the
divine right of kings In European Christianity, the divine right of kings, divine right, or God's mandation is a political and religious doctrine of political legitimacy of a monarchy. It stems from a specific metaphysical framework in which a monarch is, before b ...
– and ''A Treatise of Union of England and Scotland''. In 1610 Hayward was appointed one of the historiographers of the college which James founded at
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. In 1613 he published his ''Lives of the Three Norman Kings of England'', written at the request of James's son,
Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...
. He became Chancellor of Lichfield, Staffordshire in 1615. He was a supplicant for incorporation 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 ...
in 1616 and became an advocate of
Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...
on 5 August 1616. From 1616 to 1627 he was
Master in Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...
. He was admitted at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
on 1 August 1619 and was knighted on 9 November 1619. Hayward died in 1627 and was buried in parish of
St Bartholomew the Great The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, sometimes abbreviated to Great St Bart's, is a medieval church in the Church of England's Diocese of London located in Smithfield within the City of London. The building was founded as an Augustin ...
, London. Among his manuscripts was found ''The Life and Raigne of King
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 ...
'', first published in 1630, and ''Certain Yeres of Queen Elizabeth's Raigne'', the beginning of which was printed in an edition of his ''Edward VI,'' published in 1636, but which was first published in a complete form in 1840 for the
Camden Society The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary an ...
under the editorship of John Bruce, who prefixed an introduction on the life and writings of the author. His treatise on the accession of Henry IV was reprinted in 1642. His 1603 pamphlet on the Scottish succession, was reprinted in 1683 as ''The Right of Succession'' by the friends of the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...
during the struggle over the
Exclusion Bill The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Sco ...
. Hayward was conscientious and diligent in obtaining information, and although his reasoning on questions of morality is often childish, his descriptions are generally graphic and vigorous. Notwithstanding his imprisonment under Elizabeth, his portrait of the qualities of the queen's mind and person is flattering rather than detractive. He also wrote several works of a devotional character. During his confinement in the Tower, he published ''The Sanctuarie of a Troubled Soule'' (1601), which went through a dozen editions and issues. Other similar works proved equally popular, and he was acclaimed as, "a learned and godly man, being better read in theological authors than in those belonging to his own profession." Hayward should not be confused with his namesake, Sir John Hayward of Shropshire (c.1591-1636), who sat as MP for Bridgnorth in 1621 and Saltash in 1626. See Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris (eds.), ''The History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1604-1629'' (Cambridge UP, 2010), IV, 605


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, John 1560s births 1627 deaths People from Felixstowe Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge 16th-century English historians 17th-century English historians 16th-century male writers 17th-century male writers English male non-fiction writers