Thomas Robertson was an English clergyman and

Dean of Durham The Dean of Durham is the "head" (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the Chapter, the ruling body of Durham Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cu ...

in the Tudor era. Robertson was from

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and educated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

.Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, Riader-Roissie
/ref> In 1532 he published a book on grammar dedicated to the Bishop of Lincoln and was rewarded by being appointed

Archdeacon of Leicester The Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominati ...

in 1541. He served on a number of commissions, including the one producing the '' Bishop's Book'' under Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and the one which investigated the validity of the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. He was also selected to join a group set up by the king to produce a standard Latin grammar. In 1549 he was one of the committee led by Archbishop Cranmer which produced the

First Prayer Book of Edward VI The 1549 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the original version of the '' Book of Common Prayer'', variations of which are still in use as the official liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican churches. Written during the ...

. A conservative at heart, he was appointed Dean of Durham under Mary I, keeping his Archdeaconry ''in commendam''. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth he refused to subscribe to the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was ori ...

in 1559 and consequently forfeited his offices and retired to private life. He had also served as Vicar of Wakefield (1546 to 1559).

References

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The Archdeacons of Leicester 1092-1992 by Terence Cocks
Clergy from Yorkshire Archdeacons of Leicester Deans of Durham {{England-Anglican-clergy-stub