George Abbot (author)

George Abbot (ca. 1603? – 2 February 1648) was an English writer, known as "The Puritan" and a politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1648.^[1]

Life

Abbot was son or grandson (it is not clear which) of Sir Thomas Abbot of Easington, East Yorkshire and his mother (or grandmother) was of the ancient house of Pickering.^[1] He matriculated from King's College, Cambridge in 1622.^[2] In April 1640, he was elected Member of Parliament for Tamworth in the Short Parliament.^[3] In the English civil war, he made a notable defence of the house at Caldecote, Warwickshire, which he had acquired through marriage. On 15 August 1642, with eight men, his mother and maids, he held out against Princes Rupert and Maurice with 18 troops of horses and dragoons.^[4] He was re-elected MP for Tamworth in 1645 for the Long Parliament and held the seat until his death in 1648.^[5]

Works

Abbot was a lay theologian and scholar of critical ability. His Whole Booke of Job Paraphrased, or made easy for any to understand (1640, quarto), was written in a terse style which contrasts with the usual wordiness of the Puritan expositors and commentators. His Vindiciae Sabbathi (1641, octavo) had a profound and lasting influence in the long Sabbatarian controversy. His Brief Notes upon the Whole Book of Psalms (1651, quarto) was published posthumously.^[1]

Abbot died in his 44th year and was buried in Charlecote church where his monument describes his defence of Charlecote.^[4]

Family

Abbot married a daughter of Colonel Purefoy of Caldecote, and as his monument, which may still be seen in the church there, tells, he bravely held the manor house against Princes Rupert and Maurice during the civil war.^[1]

Mistaken identifications

Abbot has been confused with others of the same name and has been described as a clergyman, which he never was. His writings have been incorrectly attributed in the bibliographical authorities to a relation of George Abbot the archbishop of Canterbury. One of the sons of Sir Morris Abbot called George was also an MP in the Short Parliament but for the constituency of Guildford.^[1]

Notes

References

• Nichols, John (1782). The history and antiquities of Hinckley, in the County of Leicester:... J. Nichols. p. 236. 
• Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. pp. 229,236 240,249. 
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abbot, George". Encyclopædia Britannica 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 23.  Endnotes:
  • MS.collections at Abbeyville for history of all of the name of Abbot, by J.T. Abbot, Esq., F.S.A., Darlington;
  • William Dugdale, Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1730 p. 1099;
  • Anthony à Wood, Athenae Oxonienses (Bliss), ii.141, 594;
  • Cox, Literature of the Sabbath.

External links

• Works by or about George Abbot in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Works by George Abbot at Post-Reformation Digital Library