John Hooker (English constitutionalist)
Encyclopedia
Prayer Book Rebellion
The Prayer Book Rebellion, Prayer Book Revolt, Prayer Book Rising, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549. In 1549 the Book of Common Prayer, presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced...
in 1549. From 1555 to his death he was chamberlain of that city, though he spent several years in Ireland as legal adviser to Sir Peter Carew
Peter Carew
Sir Peter Carew was an English adventurer, who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England and took part in the Tudor conquest of Ireland.He is to be distinguished from another Sir Peter Carew Sir Peter Carew (1514? – 27 November 1575) was an English adventurer, who served during the...
during his claim to lands there. He was, for short periods, a member of both the Irish and English parliaments and wrote an influential treatise on parliamentary procedure. He was one of the editors of the second edition of Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
's Chronicles, published in 1587. His last, unpublished and probably uncompleted work was the first topographical description of the county of Devon.
Personal life
Hooker was born at Bourbridge Hall in Exeter, DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was the second son of Robert Vowell or Hooker and Agnes Doble, his third wife. The Vowell family had acquired the name Hooker in the 15th century, but usually retained the earlier name; in fact John Hooker was known as John Vowell for much of his life. By the time he was born the family had been prominent in Exeter for several generations. Hooker received an excellent classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
education, reading Roman law at Oxford followed by a period in Europe studying with leading Protestant divines, notably Pietro Martire Vermigli
Pietro Martire Vermigli
Peter Martyr Vermigli , sometimes simply Peter Martyr, was an Italian theologian of the Reformation period.-Life:...
.
In the 1540s he married Martha, daughter of Robert Tucker of Exeter and they had three sons and two daughters. By 1586, Martha had died and he had married Anastryce (c. 1540–1599), daughter of Edward Bridgeman of Exeter. They had seven sons and five daughters. In later life his health failed and he died in Exeter some time between 26 January and 15 September in 1601 and was probably buried in the cathedral. He was the uncle of Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker was an Anglican priest and an influential theologian. Hooker's emphases on reason, tolerance and the value of tradition came to exert a lasting influence on the development of the Church of England...
, the influential Anglican theologian.
Exeter
During the Prayer Book RebellionPrayer Book Rebellion
The Prayer Book Rebellion, Prayer Book Revolt, Prayer Book Rising, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549. In 1549 the Book of Common Prayer, presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced...
in 1549 he experienced at first hand the siege of Exeter, leaving a vivid account of its events in which he made no effort to conceal his religious sympathies. From 1551 to 1553 he was employed by Myles Coverdale
Myles Coverdale
Myles Coverdale was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English.-Life:...
during his short incumbency as Bishop of Exeter
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....
; and then in 1555 he became the first chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
of Exeter, a post that he held until his death.
As chamberlain he was responsible for the city's finances, he dealt with disputes between guilds and merchants, oversaw the rebuilding of the high school, planted many trees in the city, and collected and put in order the city's archives. He used these archives to compile his "Annals" of the City in which he details the characteristics of every Tudor mayor of Exeter, and in 1578 he also wrote and published The Lives of the Bishops of Exeter. In 1570/71 he was the MP for Exeter.
At a time when it was deemed essential for cities and nations to have ancient lineage, Hooker described the foundation of Exeter by Corinaeus, nephew of Brutus of Britain, son of Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
. He advocated emulating the governmental institutions of the Roman Republic which, in his opinion, brought Rome to greatness, and held the municipal government of Exeter up as a model republican commonwealth worthy of emulation.
Ireland
In 1568, possibly because he regarded himself as underpaid for the work he was doing for the city, Hooker was persuaded by Sir Peter CarewPeter Carew
Sir Peter Carew was an English adventurer, who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England and took part in the Tudor conquest of Ireland.He is to be distinguished from another Sir Peter Carew Sir Peter Carew (1514? – 27 November 1575) was an English adventurer, who served during the...
to go with him to Ireland to be his legal adviser. He also organised Carew's papers in support of his claim for the barony of Idrone, a task to which he committed himself so deeply that in 1569 he was returned to the Irish parliament as member for Athenry
Athenry
Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies east of Galway city, and one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".-History:...
. Hooker later wrote a biography of Carew, The dyscourse and dyscoverye of the lyffe of Sir Peter Carew, in which he almost certainly understated the deceit and aggression behind Carew's Irish venture.
Until Carew's death in 1575, Hooker spent much time in Ireland, but he had also been returned to the English parliament in 1571 as one of the burgesses of Exeter. The session had only lasted a few weeks, but he kept a journal in which he accurately recorded the proceedings. His experiences in the Irish and English parliaments led him to write a treatise on parliamentary practice, The Order and Usage how to Keepe a Parlement in England, which was published in two editions in 1572. One edition had a preface addressed to William FitzWilliam
William Fitzwilliam (Lord Deputy)
- Early life :FitzWilliam was born at Milton, Northamptonshire, the eldest son of Sir William and grandson of William Fitzwilliam , alderman and sheriff of London, who had been treasurer and chamberlain to Cardinal Wolsey and who purchased Milton in 1506...
, the Lord Deputy of Ireland
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
and was clearly intended to bring order to the Irish assembly; the other was addressed to the Exeter city authorities, presumably to aid his successor burgesses. In writing his treatise Hooker took much inspiration from the Modus Tenendi Parliamentum
Modus Tenendi Parliamentum
The Modus Tenendi Parliamentum is a 14th century document that outlined an idealised version of English parliamentary procedure. Part of its significance lies in its very title: parliament was now "seen as both institutionally well defined and a proper subject for description and conscious...
, a treatise from the early 14th century.
In 1586 Hooker again represented Exeter in parliament. At this time he was one of the editors of the second edition of Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed
Raphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
's Chronicles, which was published in 1587. Hooker's Order and Usage was included and he contributed an updated history of Ireland, including parts of his Life of Carew and a translation of Expugnatio Hibernica ("Conquest of Ireland") by Gerald of Wales. In his Irish section he again made his religious and political sympathies very clear, repeatedly denouncing the Catholicism of the native Irish, seeing it as the cause both of their poverty and rebelliousness. Rome, he wrote, is "the pestilent hydra" and the pope "the sonne of sathan, and the manne of sinne, and the enimie unto the crosse of Christ, whose bloodthirstiness will never be quenched".
Later life
Hooker continued to serve Exeter in his later years, becoming coronerCoroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
in 1583 and recorder in 1590. He was also appointed as steward
Steward (office)
A steward is an official who is appointed by the legal ruling monarch to represent him or her in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in his or her name; in the latter case, it roughly corresponds with the position of governor or deputy...
of Bradninch
Bradninch
Bradninch is a small town in Devon, England, lying about three miles south of Cullompton. Bradninch dates back to before the 7th century and at this time there was a Saxon fortress on Castle hill. The feudal Baron of Bradninch in the 12th century was Sir William de Tracy, one of the assassins of...
by Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
in 1587. By this time he was involved in the long task of organising and writing his historically-based description of his home county that he called Synopsis Corographical of the county of Devon. He probably started work on this before his friend Richard Carew began writing his similar Survey of Cornwall. In writing his Synopsis, Hooker was influenced by the style and structure of William Harrison's
William Harrison (clergyman)
William Harrison was an English clergyman, whose Description of England was produced as part of the publishing venture of a group of London stationers who produced Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles...
Description of England, which had been published in 1577 as part of the first edition of Holinshed's Chronicles.
Although Hooker revised Synopsis many times, he probably never completed it to his satisfaction. The work exists today as two almost identical manuscripts which were used as source material for many later topographical descriptions of the county: Thomas Westcote
Thomas Westcote
-Life:Baptised at Shobrooke in Devon on 17 June 1567, he was the third son of Philip Westcote of West Raddon in the parish of Shobrooke, by his wife Katharine, daughter of George Waltham of Brenton in the parish of Exminster, Devon...
's Survey of Devon of 1630, and Tristram Risdon
Tristram Risdon
Tristram Risdon was an English antiquary and topographer, and the author of Survey of the County of Devon. He was able to devote most of his life to writing this work. After he completed it in about 1632 it circulated around interested people in several manuscript copies for almost 80 years before...
's Chorographical Description or Survey of the County of Devon (c. 1632) are examples.
Works
- Orders Enacted for Orphans and for their Portions within the Citie of Exeter, London, 1575
- The Antique Description and Account of the City of Exeter: In Three Parts, All Written Purely by John Vowell, Alias Hoker
- The order and usage of the keepingng of a parlement in England, 1572
- A pamphlet of the offices and duties of everie particular sworned officer of the citie of Excester (sic) 1584
- The Life and Times of Sir Peter Carew,
Further reading
- Dangerous Positions; Mixed Government, the Estates of the Realm, and the Making of the "Answer to the xix propositions", Michael Mendle, University of Alabama Press, 1985. pp 51,