John Everard (preacher)
Encyclopedia
John Everard was an English preacher and author. He was also a Familist
, hermetic thinker, Neoplatonist, and alchemist. He is known for his translations of mystical and hermetic literature.
in 1600, M.A. in 1607, and D.D in 1619. He was lecturer at St Martin in the Fields from 1618. He was imprisoned, twice in a short space of time, for preaching about Spanish cruelties, as a way of commenting against the Spanish Match
.
He was later chaplain to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
, and a religious radical pursuing his own beliefs. He lived for some years with the furnace-maker William White, and during the 1620s was in touch with Robert Fludd
; he possessed copied manuscripts of Nicholas Hill
. He was a friend of Roger Brereley
the Grindletonian, and was praised by John Webster
. He was brought before the Court of High Commission
in 1636, when he was vicar of Fairstead, Essex
, and charged with various heresies: Familism, Antinomianism
, Anabaptism. He was fined heavily. On a second occasion, in 1640, he recanted his spiritualist beliefs.
His sermons, published posthumously, are between Martin Marprelate
and Richard Overton
in style. In the preface by Rapha Harford to Some Gospel-treasures Opened, the publisher places Evarard centrally on two axes, rationalist-formalist and Familist-Ranter
.
Familist
The Family of Love or Familists was a mystic religious sect known as the Familia Caritatis , founded by Henry Nicholis, also known as Niclaes....
, hermetic thinker, Neoplatonist, and alchemist. He is known for his translations of mystical and hermetic literature.
Life
He graduated B.A, at Clare College, CambridgeClare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
in 1600, M.A. in 1607, and D.D in 1619. He was lecturer at St Martin in the Fields from 1618. He was imprisoned, twice in a short space of time, for preaching about Spanish cruelties, as a way of commenting against the Spanish Match
Spanish Match
The Spanish Match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of England, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain...
.
He was later chaplain to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was the son of Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick and of Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, and the younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick...
, and a religious radical pursuing his own beliefs. He lived for some years with the furnace-maker William White, and during the 1620s was in touch with Robert Fludd
Robert Fludd
Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus was a prominent English Paracelsian physician, astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist, Rosicrucian apologist...
; he possessed copied manuscripts of Nicholas Hill
Nicholas Hill (scientist)
Nicholas Hill was an English natural philosopher, considered a disciple of Giordano Bruno. He is known for his 1601 book Philosophia epicurea.-Life:...
. He was a friend of Roger Brereley
Roger Brereley
Roger Brereley was an English clergyman, known as the founder of the Grindletonian sect. His actual views are known from surviving sermons, perhaps reconstituted from notes; those held by the Grindletonians may well have differed considerably from those attributed to them by opponents in polemics...
the Grindletonian, and was praised by John Webster
John Webster (minister)
John Webster , also known as Johannes Hyphastes, was an English clergyman, physician and chemist with occult interests, a proponent of astrology and a sceptic about witchcraft. He is known for controversial works.-Life:...
. He was brought before the Court of High Commission
Court of High Commission
The Court of High Commission was the supreme ecclesiastic court in England. It was instituted by the crown during the Reformation and finally dissolved by parliament in 1641...
in 1636, when he was vicar of Fairstead, Essex
Fairstead, Essex
Fairstead is a civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex.The parish encompasses the hamlets of Fuller Street & Ranks Green.The Rector of Terling is responsible for the church of St Mary & St Peter in Fairstead....
, and charged with various heresies: Familism, Antinomianism
Antinomianism
Antinomianism is defined as holding that, under the gospel dispensation of grace, moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation....
, Anabaptism. He was fined heavily. On a second occasion, in 1640, he recanted his spiritualist beliefs.
His sermons, published posthumously, are between Martin Marprelate
Martin Marprelate
Martin Marprelate was the name used by the anonymous author or authors of the seven Marprelate tracts which circulated illegally in England in the years 1588 and 1589...
and Richard Overton
Richard Overton
Richard Overton was an English pamphleteer and Leveller during the Civil War. Little is known of the early life of Overton, but he is believed to have matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge, before working as an actor and playwright in Southwark. Here he picked up Leveller sympathies, and...
in style. In the preface by Rapha Harford to Some Gospel-treasures Opened, the publisher places Evarard centrally on two axes, rationalist-formalist and Familist-Ranter
Ranter
The Ranters were an alleged sect in the time of the English Commonwealth who were regarded as heretical by the established Church of that period...
.
Translations
- Theologia GermanicaTheologia GermanicaTheologia Germanica, also known as Theologia Deutsch or Teutsch, is a mystical treatise believed to have been written in the mid 14th century by an anonymous author, usually associated with the Friends of God. According to the introduction of the Theologia the author was a priest and a member of...
- it is now disputed that Everard was responsible for the English translation. - Of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil by Sebastian FranckSebastian FranckSebastian Franck was a 16th century German freethinker, humanist, and radical reformer.Franck was born about 1499 at Donauwörth, Bavaria. Because of this he styled himself Franck von Word...
- De Docta Ignorantia by Nicholas of CusaNicholas of CusaNicholas of Kues , also referred to as Nicolaus Cusanus and Nicholas of Cusa, was a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Germany , a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered one of the great geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century...
, made in the 1620s, published 1650 - Johann Tauler
- Corpus Hermeticum, published 1650; he provided commentary, left in manuscript. The first edition covered the Pimander; the second in 1657 added the Asclepius.
Further reading
- Rufus M. Jones (1914), Early English Interpreters of Spiritual Religion: John Everard, Giles Randall and Others
- T. W. Hayes, John Everard and the Familist tradition, in Margaret C. Jacob, James Jacob, James (ed.), The Origins of Anglo-American Radicalism (1984), 60-9.
External links
- :s:Everard, John (1575?-1650?) (DNB00)
- John Everard Resource Page