Lawrence Humphrey

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Lawrence Humphrey (or Laurence Humfrey) DD (1527? – 1 February 1590) was an English theologian, who was President of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Dean successively of Gloucester and Winchester.^[1]

Biography

Humphrey was born at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England. He was first educated at the University of Cambridge.^[2]

He was elected to a demy at Magdalen College in 1546 and Fellow in 1548. He graduated BA in. 1549, MA in 1552, and BD and DD in 1562. He was noted as one of the most promising pupils of Pietro Martire Vermigli, and on Mary's accession obtained leave from his college to travel abroad. He lived at Basel, Zürich, Frankfurt and Geneva, making the acquaintance of the leading Swiss divines, whose ecclesiastical views he adopted. His leave of absence having expired in 1556, he ceased to be fellow of Magdalen.

Humphrey returned to England at Elizabeth I's accession, was appointed regius professor of divinity at Oxford in 1560, and was recommended by Archbishop Parker and others for election as President of Magdalen College. The fellows refused at first to elect so pronounced a reformer, but they yielded in 1561, and Humphrey gradually converted the college into a stronghold of Puritanism.

In 1564, Humphrey and his friend Thomas Sampson, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, were called before Parker for refusing to wear the prescribed ecclesiastical vestments; and a prolonged struggle, the vestments controversy, broke out, in which Bullinger and other foreign theologians took part as well as most of the leading divines in England. In spite of Bullinger's advice, Humphrey refused to conform; and Parker wished to deprive him as well as Sampson. But the presidency of Magdalen was elective and the visitor of the college was not Parker but the Bishop of Winchester; and Humphrey escaped with temporary retirement. Parker, in fact, was not supported by the council; in 1566 Humphrey was selected to preach at St Paul's Cross, and was allowed to do so without the vestments.

In the same year, Humphrey took a prominent part in the ceremonies connected with Elizabeth's visit to Oxford. On this occasion he wore his doctor's gown and habit, which the queen told him became him very well; and his resistance now began to weaken. He yielded on the point before 1571 when he was made dean of Gloucester. In 1578 he was one of the divines selected to attend a diet at Schmalkalde to discuss the project of a theological accommodation between the Lutheran and Reformed churches; and in 1580 he was made Dean of Winchester. In 1585 he was persuaded by his bishop, Cooper, to restore the use of surplices in Magdalen College chapel. He died on 1 February 1590 and was buried in the college chapel, where there is a mural monument to his memory; a portrait is in Magdalen College school.

Works

Humphrey was a prolific writer on theological and other subjects. At Parker's request, he wrote a life of his friend and patron Bishop Jewel, which was published in 1573 and was also prefixed to the edition of Jewel's works issued in 1600. One of his books against the Jesuits was included in vol. iii. of the Doctrina Jesuitarum per van os authores, published at La Rochelle (6 volumes, 1585–1586).

Family

About the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, Lawrence married Joan Inkfordby, daughter of Andrew Inkfordby of Ipswich. By her he had seven sons and five daughters. Joan died 27 August 1611 "aged 74" and was buried at the church of Steeple Barton in Oxfordshire. Her eldest daughter Justina Dormer, wife of Caspar Dormer, esquire, erected a monument to her memory there. Her third daughter Judith was the third wife of Sir Edmund Carey (died 1637), brother of the Earl of Monmouth.

References

↑ "Humphrey, Laurence (DNB00)". Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
↑ "Lawrence Humphrey". BibleStudyTools.com. Retrieved 18 July 2012.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press

Academic offices
Preceded by Richard Smyth	Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford 1560–1589	Succeeded by Thomas Holland
Preceded by Thomas Coveney	President of Magdalen College, Oxford 1561–1589	Succeeded by Nicholas Bond
Preceded by Thomas Cowper	Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University 1571–1576	Succeeded by Herbert Westphaling

v t e Deans of Winchester

Early modern	William Kingsmill Roger Tonge Sir John Mason Edmund Steward John Warner Francis Newton John Watson Lawrence Humphrey Martin Heton George Abbot Thomas Morton John Young Alexander Hyde William Clarke Richard Meggot John Wickart William Trimnel Charles Naylor Zachary Pearce Thomas Cheyney Jonathan Shipley Newton Ogle

Late modern	Robert Holmes Thomas Rennell Thomas Garnier John Bramston George Kitchin William Stephens William Furneaux Holden Hutton Gordon Selwyn Oswin Gibbs-Smith Michael Stancliffe Trevor Beeson Michael Till James Atwell

v t e Deans of Gloucester

Early modern	William Jennings John Man Thomas Cooper Lawrence Humphrey Anthony Rudd Griffith Lewis Thomas Moreton Richard Field William Laud Richard Senhouse Thomas Winniffe George Warburton Accepted Frewen William Brough Thomas Vyner Robert Frampton Thomas Marshall William Jane Knightly Chetwood John Waugh John Frankland Peter Allix Daniel Newcombe Josiah Tucker

Late modern	John Luxmoore John Plumptre Edward Rice Henry Law Edward Bickersteth Montagu Butler Donald Spence Jones Henry Gee Harold Costley-White Seiriol Evans Gilbert Thurlow Kenneth Jennings Nicholas Bury Stephen Lake

Authority control	VIAF: 236181385 ISNI: 0000 0001 1557 2106

Persondata
Name	Humphrey, Lawrence
Alternative names	Humfrey, Lawrence
Short description	Theologian
Date of birth	c.1527
Place of birth	Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England
Date of death	1 February 1590
Place of death	England

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