Richard Montagu
Encyclopedia
Richard Montagu (1577 – 13 April 1641) was an English cleric and prelate
.
, Buckinghamshire
, where his father Laurence Mountague was vicar
, and was educated at Eton
. He was elected from Eton to a scholarship at King's College, Cambridge
, and admitted on 24 August 1594. His name occurs in the list of junior fellows
for the quarter Midsummer to Michaelmas 1597. He graduated B.A. before Lady Day
1598, M.A. 1602, B.D. 1609. He assisted Sir Henry Savile
in the literary work which he carried on at Eton, and the second book issued from the Eton press was his edition of The two Invectives of Gregory Nazianzen against Julian, 1610. He was also to have edited Basil the Great, but the work was never completed.
In 1610 he received the living of Wootton Courtney, Somerset
; on 29 April 1613 he was admitted fellow of Eton, and in the same year received the rectory of Stanford Rivers
, Essex
. On 9 December 1616 he was installed dean of Hereford, a post which he exchanged with Oliver Lloyd
for a canonry of Windsor, in which he was installed on 6 September 1617. He was admitted archdeacon of Hereford on 15 September 1617. He held also the rectory of Petworth
, Sussex
, where he rebuilt the parsonage, and was chaplain to the king. He held these preferments with his fellowship at Eton by dispensation from James I.
On the death, in 1614, of Isaac Casaubon
, with whom he had previously corresponded about the Exercitationes ad Baronii Annales (against Baronius), Montagu was directed by the king to publish that work. It appeared the same year, and in 1615 James requested him to prepare an answer to Baronius on similar lines. This work, based on studies of classical and patristic antiquity, was at first apparently held back at Archbishop George Abbot's command, but it was issued in 1622 under the title of Analecta Ecclesiasticarum Exercitationum. In the epistle dedicatory addressed to the king Montagu states his object to be to trace the origines of Christian faith and doctrine, and show that the Anglican position was derived from the 'ancient founts.'
Montagu's aim was to support the church of England
against its enemies. He would not recognise the foreign Reformed bodies as lawful branches of the church. He never completed the task which he had set himself.
In his Diatribae upon the first part of the late History of Tithes, 1621, he entered directly into the controversy of the day, in an attempt to beat John Selden
on tithe
s. Controversy against Catholic teachers in his parish was answered in a pamphlet called A Gag for the New Gospel, by Matthew Kellison
; he replied in A Gagg for the New Gospell? No. A New Gagg for an old Goose, 1624. The 'Gagg' had contained forty-seven propositions which it attributed to the church of England. Of these Montagu only allowed eight to be her true doctrine, again demarcating Anglican doctrine on two fronts. He also issued a defensive work, rebutting Marco Antonio de Dominis
who charged Montagu with supporting 'praying unto saints and angels in time of need.' It proved a magnet for controversy, with answer after answer coming from the presses, and the House of Commons, on the complaint of two Ipswich ministers, Yates and Ward, referred the book to Abbot. Abbot applied for authority to the king, and remonstrated with Montagu. But James himself approved of his work. 'If that is to be a Papist,' he said, 'so am I a Papist.' The matter did not rest with the king's death.
. Montagu had the open support of three bishops (John Buckeridge
, John Howson
, and William Laud
). His Appello Caesarem: a just Appeale from two unjust Informers (London, 1625) came out with an imprimatur from Francis White, dean of Carlisle, against George Abbot's refusal to license it, It was partly written in self-justification, but also attacked some Calvinist tenets, including the perseverance of the saints
. Francis Rous
defended double predestination against Montagu in Testis Veritatis (1626).
The House of Commons took up the matter, and accused the author of dishonouring the late king (James I). A debate on the matter was followed by Montagu's committal to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms
. He was, however, allowed to return to Stanford Rivers on giving a bond. Charles then made Montagu one of his chaplains, and let the Commons know on 9 July that he was displeased. On 11 July parliament was prorogued. On 2 August, when the parliament was sitting at Oxford, Montagu was too ill to attend, and after discussion in which Edward Coke
and Robert Heath
took part, the matter was allowed to drop. But the question was far too serious to rest for long. On 16 and 17 January 1626 a conference was held by Charles's command, as the result of which the bishops of London (George Montaigne
), Durham (Richard Neile
), Winchester (Lancelot Andrewes
), Rochester (Buckeridge), and St. David's (Laud) reported to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
that Montagu had not gone further than the doctrine of the Church of England, or what was compatible with it.
This first meeting was followed shortly by a watershed conference beginning 11 February, prompted by Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
in Buckingham's house, York House, Strand
, and later called the York House conference. It took place with the Bishop of Lichfield (Thomas Morton
) and the master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
(John Preston
), representing the opposition to Montagu and Francis White. John Buckeridge
, supported by White and John Cosin
, defended Montagu's orthodoxy. Buckeridge even denied that the Council of Trent
had erred in any directly fundamental article of faith. A second conference was held a few days later, at which Montagu defended his theses in person against Morton and Preston. The two days of discussion, attended by nobility, changed no minds.
The committee of religion renewed their censure of the Appeal, and the House of Commons voted a petition to the king that the author might be fitly punished and his book burned. The king issued a proclamation (14 June 1626) commanding silence on points of controversy. In March 1628 the House of Commons again appointed a committee of religion to inquire into the cases of Montagu, Roger Mainwaring, and John Cosin.
Montagu still had the strongest supporters at court in Laud and Buckingham himself; and on the death of George Carleton
, bishop of Chichester and an opponent, he was appointed to the vacant see. He was elected on 14 July 1628 and received dispensation to hold Petworth with his bishopric. On 22 August Montagu was confirmed in Bow Church. During the ceremony one Jones, a stationer, made objection to the confirmation but the objection was overruled as informal; and on 24 August he was consecrated at Croydon
, on the same day that news came of Buckingham's assassination. A bitter pamphlet, called Anti-Montacutum, an Appeale or Remonstrance of the Orthodox Ministers of the Church of England against Richard Mountague, was published in 1629 at Edinburgh. The House of Commons again took up the matter, and attempts were made at conciliation, by the issue of the declaration prefixed to the Thirty-nine Articles
and printed in the Book of Common Prayer
, by a letter from Montagu to Abbot disclaiming Arminianism
, by the grant of a special pardon to Montagu, and by the issue of a proclamation suppressing the Appello Caesarem.
and Petworth. His process to recover the estate and manor of Selsey
, Sussex
was decided against him by Robert Heath, now chief justice, in the common pleas, in 1635. He was still engaged in his research into ecclesiastical history, and published several treatises. In 1638 he was at work on a book on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which he submitted to the approval of Laud. He was also apparently at this time much mixed up in the tortuous negotiations with the papacy which were conducted through Gregorio Panzani
; at the same time Montagu was asking license for his son to visit Rome, and the matter became in the hands of William Prynne
a plausible accusation of romanising.
On the translation of Matthew Wren
, bishop of Norwich, to Ely, Montagu was appointed to the vacant see. He was elected on 4 May 1638, and the election received the royal assent on 9 May. He had long been suffering from a quartan ague, as well as gout
and kidney stones. He was again attacked in the House of Commons on 23 February 1641 on account of a petition from the inhabitants of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich
, against an inhibition directed by the bishop against Mr. Carter, parson of that parish, and a commission was appointed to consider his offences. Before any further steps were taken he died on 13 April 1641, and was buried in Norwich Cathedral
.
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
.
Early life
He was born during Christmastide 1577 at DorneyDorney
Dorney is a village and civil parish within South Bucks district in the English county of Buckinghamshire, near Slough and about two and a half miles west of Eton.The village name is Old English and means "island frequented by bumble bees"...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, where his father Laurence Mountague was vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, and was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. He was elected from Eton to a scholarship at King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, and admitted on 24 August 1594. His name occurs in the list of junior fellows
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
for the quarter Midsummer to Michaelmas 1597. He graduated B.A. before Lady Day
Lady Day
In the western Liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in some English speaking countries. It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days. The "Lady" was the Virgin Mary. The term derives from Middle English, when some...
1598, M.A. 1602, B.D. 1609. He assisted Sir Henry Savile
Sir Henry Savile
Sir Henry Savile was an English scholar, Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton.-Life:He was the son of Henry Savile of Bradley, near Halifax in Yorkshire, England, a member of an old county family, the Saviles of Methley, and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Ramsden.He was...
in the literary work which he carried on at Eton, and the second book issued from the Eton press was his edition of The two Invectives of Gregory Nazianzen against Julian, 1610. He was also to have edited Basil the Great, but the work was never completed.
In 1610 he received the living of Wootton Courtney, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
; on 29 April 1613 he was admitted fellow of Eton, and in the same year received the rectory of Stanford Rivers
Stanford Rivers
Stanford Rivers is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It is located North-East of Chipping Ongar, North-West of North Weald Bassett and South-East of Kelvedon Hatch.-External links:* *...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. On 9 December 1616 he was installed dean of Hereford, a post which he exchanged with Oliver Lloyd
Oliver Lloyd
Oliver Lloyd was a Welsh Anglican priest and lawyer who became Dean of Hereford Cathedral.-Life:...
for a canonry of Windsor, in which he was installed on 6 September 1617. He was admitted archdeacon of Hereford on 15 September 1617. He held also the rectory of Petworth
Petworth
Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east-west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelve miles to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, where he rebuilt the parsonage, and was chaplain to the king. He held these preferments with his fellowship at Eton by dispensation from James I.
On the death, in 1614, of Isaac Casaubon
Isaac Casaubon
Isaac Casaubon was a classical scholar and philologist, first in France and then later in England, regarded by many of his time as the most learned in Europe.-Early life:...
, with whom he had previously corresponded about the Exercitationes ad Baronii Annales (against Baronius), Montagu was directed by the king to publish that work. It appeared the same year, and in 1615 James requested him to prepare an answer to Baronius on similar lines. This work, based on studies of classical and patristic antiquity, was at first apparently held back at Archbishop George Abbot's command, but it was issued in 1622 under the title of Analecta Ecclesiasticarum Exercitationum. In the epistle dedicatory addressed to the king Montagu states his object to be to trace the origines of Christian faith and doctrine, and show that the Anglican position was derived from the 'ancient founts.'
Montagu's aim was to support the church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
against its enemies. He would not recognise the foreign Reformed bodies as lawful branches of the church. He never completed the task which he had set himself.
In his Diatribae upon the first part of the late History of Tithes, 1621, he entered directly into the controversy of the day, in an attempt to beat John Selden
John Selden
John Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
on tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s. Controversy against Catholic teachers in his parish was answered in a pamphlet called A Gag for the New Gospel, by Matthew Kellison
Matthew Kellison
Matthew Kellison was an English Roman Catholic theologian and controversialist, and a reforming president of the English College, Douai.-Life:...
; he replied in A Gagg for the New Gospell? No. A New Gagg for an old Goose, 1624. The 'Gagg' had contained forty-seven propositions which it attributed to the church of England. Of these Montagu only allowed eight to be her true doctrine, again demarcating Anglican doctrine on two fronts. He also issued a defensive work, rebutting Marco Antonio de Dominis
Marco Antonio de Dominis
Marco Antonio Dominis was a Dalmatian ecclesiastic, apostate, and man of science.-Early life:He was born on the island of Rab, Croatia, off the coast of Dalmatia...
who charged Montagu with supporting 'praying unto saints and angels in time of need.' It proved a magnet for controversy, with answer after answer coming from the presses, and the House of Commons, on the complaint of two Ipswich ministers, Yates and Ward, referred the book to Abbot. Abbot applied for authority to the king, and remonstrated with Montagu. But James himself approved of his work. 'If that is to be a Papist,' he said, 'so am I a Papist.' The matter did not rest with the king's death.
The Appello
Controversy around Montagu's positions played an important part in the period 1625-9, both in publications and in political moves, and was one of the issues setting the tone for the reign of Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. Montagu had the open support of three bishops (John Buckeridge
John Buckeridge
John Buckeridge was an English churchman.He was a son of William Buckeridge of Basildon, Berkshire, but was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood and at St John's College, Oxford, his maternal grandfather being cousin to the founder, Sir Thomas White...
, John Howson
John Howson
John Howson was an English academic and bishop.-Life:He was born in the London parish of St Bride's Church, and educated at St Paul's School....
, and William Laud
William Laud
William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism...
). His Appello Caesarem: a just Appeale from two unjust Informers (London, 1625) came out with an imprimatur from Francis White, dean of Carlisle, against George Abbot's refusal to license it, It was partly written in self-justification, but also attacked some Calvinist tenets, including the perseverance of the saints
Perseverance of the saints
Perseverance of the saints, as well as the corollary—though distinct—doctrine known as "Once Saved, Always Saved", is a Calvinist teaching that once persons are truly saved they can never lose their salvation....
. Francis Rous
Francis Rous
Francis Rous or Rouse was an English politician and a prominent Puritan. He was also Provost of Eton, and wrote several theological and devotional works.-Early life:...
defended double predestination against Montagu in Testis Veritatis (1626).
The House of Commons took up the matter, and accused the author of dishonouring the late king (James I). A debate on the matter was followed by Montagu's committal to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms
Serjeant-at-Arms
A Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word sergeant is derived from the Latin serviens, which means "servant"....
. He was, however, allowed to return to Stanford Rivers on giving a bond. Charles then made Montagu one of his chaplains, and let the Commons know on 9 July that he was displeased. On 11 July parliament was prorogued. On 2 August, when the parliament was sitting at Oxford, Montagu was too ill to attend, and after discussion in which Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
and Robert Heath
Robert Heath
Sir Robert Heath was an English lawyer and judge.-Early life:He was educated at Tunbridge Wells grammar school, St John's College, Cambridge from age 14 and Clifford's Inn from age 17; and became a barrister of the Inner Temple in 1603. He was an MP for the City of London in 1620, and became...
took part, the matter was allowed to drop. But the question was far too serious to rest for long. On 16 and 17 January 1626 a conference was held by Charles's command, as the result of which the bishops of London (George Montaigne
George Montaigne
George Montaigne was an English bishop.-Life:He graduated B.A. from Queens' College, Cambridge in 1590, and M.A. in 1593. In 1597 he was chaplain to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, on his expedition against Cadiz. He became rector of Great Cressingham in 1602...
), Durham (Richard Neile
Richard Neile
Richard Neile was an English churchman, bishop of several English dioceses and Archbishop of York from 1631 until his death.-Early life:...
), Winchester (Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes
Lancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the...
), Rochester (Buckeridge), and St. David's (Laud) reported to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
that Montagu had not gone further than the doctrine of the Church of England, or what was compatible with it.
This first meeting was followed shortly by a watershed conference beginning 11 February, prompted by Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick was an English colonial administrator, admiral, and puritan.Rich was the eldest son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and his wife Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and succeeded to his father's title in 1619...
in Buckingham's house, York House, Strand
York House, Strand
York House in the Strand in London was one of a string of mansions which once stood along the route from the City of London to the royal court at Westminster. It was built as the London home of the Bishops of Norwich not later than 1237, and around 300 years later it was acquired by King Henry VIII...
, and later called the York House conference. It took place with the Bishop of Lichfield (Thomas Morton
Thomas Morton (bishop)
Thomas Morton was an English churchman, bishop of several dioceses.-Early life:Morton was born in York on 20 March 1564. He was brought up and grammar school educated in the city and nearby Halifax. In 1582 he became a pensioner at St John's College, Cambridge from which he graduated with a BA in...
) and the master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
(John Preston
John Preston (clergyman)
John Preston D.D. was an English puritan minister of the church, and master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.-Upbringing:John Preston was the son of Thomas Preston, a farmer, was born at Upper Heyford in the parish of Bugbrook, Northamptonshire, and was baptised at Bugbrook church on 27 October...
), representing the opposition to Montagu and Francis White. John Buckeridge
John Buckeridge
John Buckeridge was an English churchman.He was a son of William Buckeridge of Basildon, Berkshire, but was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood and at St John's College, Oxford, his maternal grandfather being cousin to the founder, Sir Thomas White...
, supported by White and John Cosin
John Cosin
John Cosin was an English churchman.-Life:He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich grammar school and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was appointed secretary to Bishop Overall of Lichfield, and then domestic chaplain to...
, defended Montagu's orthodoxy. Buckeridge even denied that the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
had erred in any directly fundamental article of faith. A second conference was held a few days later, at which Montagu defended his theses in person against Morton and Preston. The two days of discussion, attended by nobility, changed no minds.
The committee of religion renewed their censure of the Appeal, and the House of Commons voted a petition to the king that the author might be fitly punished and his book burned. The king issued a proclamation (14 June 1626) commanding silence on points of controversy. In March 1628 the House of Commons again appointed a committee of religion to inquire into the cases of Montagu, Roger Mainwaring, and John Cosin.
Montagu still had the strongest supporters at court in Laud and Buckingham himself; and on the death of George Carleton
George Carleton
George Carleton was an English churchman, Bishop of Llandaff . He was a delegate to the Synod of Dort, in the Netherlands. From 1619 to 1628 he was Bishop of Chichester.-Life:...
, bishop of Chichester and an opponent, he was appointed to the vacant see. He was elected on 14 July 1628 and received dispensation to hold Petworth with his bishopric. On 22 August Montagu was confirmed in Bow Church. During the ceremony one Jones, a stationer, made objection to the confirmation but the objection was overruled as informal; and on 24 August he was consecrated at Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, on the same day that news came of Buckingham's assassination. A bitter pamphlet, called Anti-Montacutum, an Appeale or Remonstrance of the Orthodox Ministers of the Church of England against Richard Mountague, was published in 1629 at Edinburgh. The House of Commons again took up the matter, and attempts were made at conciliation, by the issue of the declaration prefixed to the Thirty-nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
and printed in the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
, by a letter from Montagu to Abbot disclaiming Arminianism
Arminianism
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...
, by the grant of a special pardon to Montagu, and by the issue of a proclamation suppressing the Appello Caesarem.
Bishop
In his diocese Montagu lived at AldingbourneAldingbourne
Aldingbourne is a village and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 3,612 . It is about five miles north of Bognor Regis and six miles east of Chichester....
and Petworth. His process to recover the estate and manor of Selsey
Selsey
Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about seven miles south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
was decided against him by Robert Heath, now chief justice, in the common pleas, in 1635. He was still engaged in his research into ecclesiastical history, and published several treatises. In 1638 he was at work on a book on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which he submitted to the approval of Laud. He was also apparently at this time much mixed up in the tortuous negotiations with the papacy which were conducted through Gregorio Panzani
Gregorio Panzani
Gregorio Panzani was an Italian Catholic priest, who became Bishop of Mileto and a papal emissary to England during the reign of King Charles I of England....
; at the same time Montagu was asking license for his son to visit Rome, and the matter became in the hands of William Prynne
William Prynne
William Prynne was an English lawyer, author, polemicist, and political figure. He was a prominent Puritan opponent of the church policy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Although his views on church polity were presbyterian, he became known in the 1640s as an Erastian, arguing for...
a plausible accusation of romanising.
On the translation of Matthew Wren
Matthew Wren
"Matthew Wren" is also a British actor who appeared in BBC children's show Trapped!.Matthew Wren was an influential English clergyman and scholar.-Life:...
, bishop of Norwich, to Ely, Montagu was appointed to the vacant see. He was elected on 4 May 1638, and the election received the royal assent on 9 May. He had long been suffering from a quartan ague, as well as gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
and kidney stones. He was again attacked in the House of Commons on 23 February 1641 on account of a petition from the inhabitants of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, against an inhibition directed by the bishop against Mr. Carter, parson of that parish, and a commission was appointed to consider his offences. Before any further steps were taken he died on 13 April 1641, and was buried in Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral is a cathedral located in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Formerly a Catholic church, it has belonged to the Church of England since the English Reformation....
.
Works
Besides works already mentioned, Montagu wrote:- 'Antidiatribae ad priorern partem diatribes J. Caesaris Bulengeri,' Cambridge, 1625.
- 'Eusebii de Demonstratione Evangelica libri decem . . . omnia studio R. M. Latine facta, notis illustrata,' 1628.
- 'Apparatus ad Origines Ecclesiasticas,' Oxford, 1635.
- 'De Originibus Ecclesiasticis,' first part, London, 1636; second part, London, 1640.
- 'Articles of Inquiry put forth at his Primary Visitation as Bishop of Norwich' (unauthorised), Cambridge, 1638; (corrected by the bishop), London, 1638; new edition, Cambridge, 1841.
- 'Acts and Monuments of the Church,' London, 1642.
- 'Versio et Notae in Photii Epistolas,' London, 1651.
Further reading
- Sheila Lambert, Richard Montagu, Arminianism and Censorship, Past and Present, No. 124 (Aug., 1989), pp. 36–68.