Life

He was a Student of Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

, but deprived by Parliament. He went into exile with the future Charles II of England

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

. On the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 of 1660 he was prevented from returning to his Christ Church studentship by his status as a married man, and he became a professional author.

Writings

His Chronicle of the Late Intestine Warr, published in 1661 and dedicated to General Monck, was an early version of the events of the English Revolution

English Revolution

"English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first to be so called—by Whig historians—was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy was established.In the...

, both strongly partisan and highly popular. It took aim at John Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

 and Marchamont Nedham, among other Parliamentarians, and depicted the course of events as a cyclical change, returning to the status quo. It was used by Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...

 as a basic source for his Behemoth

Behemoth (book)

Behemoth, full title Behemoth: the history of the causes of the civil wars of England, and of the counsels and artifices by which they were carried on from the year 1640 to the year 1660, also known as The Long Parliament, is a book written by Thomas Hobbes discussing the English Civil War...

.

He was the first biographer of Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

, earning himself the name “Carrion” Heath for his Flagellum (1663). John Morrill

John Morrill (historian)

John Morrill FBA is a British historian. He specialises in the political, religious, social and cultural histories of early-modern Britain....

, in a 2003 article Rewriting Cromwell: a case of deafening silences, describes it as "scurrilous, mendacious, malicious"; but he commends the historical value of some additions made by an anonymous editor to the third edition, prepared after Heath’s death.

He wrote also elegies for Thomas Fuller

Thomas Fuller

Thomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...

 and the royalist bishops John Gauden

John Gauden

John Gauden was an English bishop of Exeter then bishop of Worcester and writer, and the reputed author of the important Royalist work Eikon Basilike.-Life:...

 and Robert Sanderson

Robert Sanderson

Robert Sanderson was an English theologian and casuist.He was born in Sheffield in Yorkshire and grew up at Gilthwaite Hall, near Rotherham. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford. Entering the Church, he rose to be Bishop of Lincoln.His work on logic, Logicae Artis Compendium , was long a...

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