Robert Beaumont (died 1567) was Master of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

from 1561 to 1567 and twice

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(1564, 1566). During this time, he commissioned

Hans Eworth Hans Eworth (or Ewouts; ) was a Flemish painter active in England in the mid-16th century. Along with other exiled Flemings, he made a career in Tudor London, painting allegorical images as well as portraits of the gentry and nobility.''Concis ...

to copy the 1537 Hans Holbein portrait of

King 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 ...

. This copy was bequeathed to Trinity College where it hangs to this day. He was known to be a reformer, and in February 1565 wrote to the then

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

complaining of "profane comedies or tragedies". He also bequeathed to the College nine works by

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

, which were either refused by his successor or lost before 1600.

Life

Beaumont was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. He graduated B.A. in 1544, and became Fellow of his college; in 1550 he took the degree of M.A. Beaumont was a

Marian exile The Marian exiles were English Protestants who fled to Continental Europe during the 1553–1558 reign of the Catholic monarchs Queen Mary I and King Philip.Christina Hallowell Garrett (1938) ''Marian Exiles: A Study in the Origins of Elizabethan ...

, in Zurich. In 1556 he joined the English congregation of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

. Returning to England after the death of Queen Mary, he was admitted Margaret professor of divinity (1559). He proceeded B.D. in 1560, and on 28 September of that year was presented by the Earl of Rutland to the archdeaconry of Huntingdon. In 1561 he became master of Trinity College, and vacated his professorship. He commenced D.D. in 1564, and in that year disputed a thesis in divinity before Queen Elizabeth on her visit to Cambridge. Beaumont was vice-chancellor of the university in 1564-5, and was collated to a canonry of Ely on 15 November 1564. In 1566 he was a second time made vice-chancellor, and died in that office in 1567.

Views

Beaumont was a prominent figure in the movement of the

Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John ...

at Cambridge against conforming to the ordinances of Elizabeth I and

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a ...

. He subscribed to the articles of the

Convocation of 1563 The Convocation of 1563 was a significant gathering of English and Welsh clerics that consolidated the Elizabethan religious settlement, and brought the ''Thirty-Nine Articles'' close to their final form (which dates from 1571). It was, more accu ...

, and, both by signing a request to the synod concerning rites and ceremonies, and by voting with the minority in convocation for the six articles on discipline, he supported the anti-ritualistic side in the church In a letter to Parker, of 27 February 1564, he disapproved of dramatic representations among the students. He expelled

John Sanderson Lieutenant General John Murray Sanderson, (born 4 November 1940) is a retired senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He served as Force Commander of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia from 1992 to 199 ...

for doctrinal reasons and contumacy; and prevented

Walter Travers Walter Travers (1548? – 1635) was an English Puritan theologian. He was at one time chaplain to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and tutor to his son Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury. He is remembered mostly as an opponent of the teaching o ...

from gaining a fellowship also for problems of attitude, though Travers survived at Trinity, to be expelled by

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

, the next Master. On 26 November 1565 Beaumont with Roger Kelke, master of Magdalene, Matthew Hutton, master of Pembroke, Richard Longworth, master of St John's, and

, then Margaret professor, wrote to William Cecil as chancellor of the university for a remission in the orders just issued by the queen through Parker for enforcing the use of the

surplice A surplice (; Late Latin ''superpelliceum'', from ''super'', "over" and ''pellicia'', "fur garment") is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to th ...

at Cambridge. The letter angered Cecil, and Parker was contemptuous. Beaumont then wrote in his own name a submissive letter to Cecil.

References

The Master of Trinity
at

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Robert 16th-century births 1567 deaths Masters of Trinity College, Cambridge 16th-century English educators English philanthropists Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge People educated at Westminster School, London Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity