Richard Greenham
Encyclopedia
Richard Greenham (1535?-1594?) was an English clergyman of Puritan
views, known as a Sabbatarian writer.
where he matriculated as a sizar of Pembroke Hall
on 27 May 1559. He graduated B.A. early in 1564, and was elected Fellow, proceeding M.A. in 1567. His Puritanism was moderate: he had scruples about vestment
s, and strong views about such abuses as non-residence, but was more concerned for the substance of religion and the co-operation of all religious men within the Church than for theories of ecclesiastical government. His name, 'Richardus Grenham,' is appended with twenty-one others to the letters (3 July and 11 Aug. 1570), asking Lord Burghley, the Chancellor, to reinstate Thomas Cartwright in his office as Lady Margaret's divinity reader. Daniel Neal
's statement that at a subsequent period he declared his approbation of Cartwright's 'book of discipline' (1584) is somewhat suspect; but John Strype
says he was at one of Cartwright's synods.
On 24 November 1570 he was instituted to the rectory of Dry Drayton
, Cambridgeshire
. He used to still preach at St Mary's, Cambridge, where he reproved young divines for engaging in controversies, as tantamount to rearing a roof before laying a foundation. In his parish he preached frequently, choosing the earliest hours of the morning for sermon before the work of the day. He devoted Sunday evenings and Thursday mornings to catechizing. He had some divinity pupils, including Henry Smith
. During a period of dearth, when barley was ten groat
s a bushel
, he devised a plan for selling corn cheap to the poor, no family being allowed to buy more than three peck
s in a week. He cheapened his straw, preached against the public order for lessening the capacity of the bushel, and got into trouble by refusing to let the clerk of the market cut down his measure with the rest. His unworldliness meant that that his wife had to borrow money to pay his harvestmen. Richer livings were steadily declined by him. Nevertheless he was not appreciated by his flock.
He was cited for nonconformity by Richard Cox
, bishop of Ely
; Cox asked him whether the guilt of schism
lay with conformists or with nonconformists. Greenham answered that, if both parties acted in a spirit of concord, it would lie with neither; otherwise with those who made the rent. Cox gave him no further trouble. His 'Apologie or Aunswere' is in 'A Parte of a Register' (1593), p. 86 sq. On the appearance of the Marprelate tracts (1589) he preached against them at St. Mary's, on the ground that their tendency was 'to make sin ridiculous, whereas it ought to be made odious.'
His friends were anxious to get him to London. He resigned his living about 1591, having held it for about twenty years—he told Warfield, his successor, 'I perceive noe good wrought by my ministerie on any but one familie.' He settled as preacher at Christ Church, Newgate.
In 1592 (if Marsden is right) appeared his 'Treatise of the Sabboth,' of which Thomas Fuller
says that 'no book in that age made greater impression on peoples practice.' The second of two sonnets (1599) on Greenham by Joseph Hall, is a tribute; it was the earliest of the Puritan treatises on the observance of the Lord's day, more moderate than the 'Sabbathvm' (1595) of his step-son Nicholas Bownde
, who borrowed from Greenham.
which raged in 1592. It is mentioned by Waddington that on 2 April 1593 Greenham visited John Penry
in the Poultry compter
. Henry Holland
implies that he survived the affair of Lopez, February-June 1594.
Of his 'Treatise of the Sabboth,' which had been circulated privately, Holland found three copies, and edited the best. It was originally a sermon or sermons; and the remaining works (excepting a catechism) are made up from sermon material, with some additions from Greenham's conversation.
, but had no issue; his step-daughter, Anne Bownde, was the first wife of John Dod
.
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
views, known as a Sabbatarian writer.
Life
He was probably born about 1535, and went at a late age to the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
where he matriculated as a sizar of Pembroke Hall
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
on 27 May 1559. He graduated B.A. early in 1564, and was elected Fellow, proceeding M.A. in 1567. His Puritanism was moderate: he had scruples about vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s, and strong views about such abuses as non-residence, but was more concerned for the substance of religion and the co-operation of all religious men within the Church than for theories of ecclesiastical government. His name, 'Richardus Grenham,' is appended with twenty-one others to the letters (3 July and 11 Aug. 1570), asking Lord Burghley, the Chancellor, to reinstate Thomas Cartwright in his office as Lady Margaret's divinity reader. Daniel Neal
Daniel Neal
Daniel Neal was an English historian.Born in London, he was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, and at the universities of Utrecht and Leiden...
's statement that at a subsequent period he declared his approbation of Cartwright's 'book of discipline' (1584) is somewhat suspect; but John Strype
John Strype
John Strype was an English historian and biographer. He was a cousin of Robert Knox, a famous sailor.Born in Houndsditch, London, he was the son of John Strype, or van Stryp, a member of a Huguenot family whom, in order to escape religious persecution within Brabant, had settled in East London...
says he was at one of Cartwright's synods.
On 24 November 1570 he was instituted to the rectory of Dry Drayton
Dry Drayton
Dry Drayton is a village and civil parish about 5 miles northwest of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. It covers an area of .-History:...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. He used to still preach at St Mary's, Cambridge, where he reproved young divines for engaging in controversies, as tantamount to rearing a roof before laying a foundation. In his parish he preached frequently, choosing the earliest hours of the morning for sermon before the work of the day. He devoted Sunday evenings and Thursday mornings to catechizing. He had some divinity pupils, including Henry Smith
Henry Smith (preacher)
Henry Smith was an English clergyman, widely regarded as "the most popular Puritan preacher of Elizabethan London." His sermons at St. Clement Danes drew enormous crowds, and earned him a reputation as "Silver Tongued" Smith...
. During a period of dearth, when barley was ten groat
Groat
Groat or Fuppence is the traditional name of an English silver coin worth four English pence, and also a Scottish coin originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and one shilling.-Name:...
s a bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
, he devised a plan for selling corn cheap to the poor, no family being allowed to buy more than three peck
Peck
A peck is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 2 gallons or 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. Two pecks make a kenning , and four pecks make a bushel....
s in a week. He cheapened his straw, preached against the public order for lessening the capacity of the bushel, and got into trouble by refusing to let the clerk of the market cut down his measure with the rest. His unworldliness meant that that his wife had to borrow money to pay his harvestmen. Richer livings were steadily declined by him. Nevertheless he was not appreciated by his flock.
He was cited for nonconformity by Richard Cox
Richard Cox
Richard Cox may refer to:*Dick Cox , American baseball player*Richard Cox , American actor*Richard Cox , English clergyman, Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely...
, bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
; Cox asked him whether the guilt of schism
Schism
- Religion :* Schism , a division or a split, usually between people belonging to an organization or movement, most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body...
lay with conformists or with nonconformists. Greenham answered that, if both parties acted in a spirit of concord, it would lie with neither; otherwise with those who made the rent. Cox gave him no further trouble. His 'Apologie or Aunswere' is in 'A Parte of a Register' (1593), p. 86 sq. On the appearance of the Marprelate tracts (1589) he preached against them at St. Mary's, on the ground that their tendency was 'to make sin ridiculous, whereas it ought to be made odious.'
His friends were anxious to get him to London. He resigned his living about 1591, having held it for about twenty years—he told Warfield, his successor, 'I perceive noe good wrought by my ministerie on any but one familie.' He settled as preacher at Christ Church, Newgate.
In 1592 (if Marsden is right) appeared his 'Treatise of the Sabboth,' of which 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...
says that 'no book in that age made greater impression on peoples practice.' The second of two sonnets (1599) on Greenham by Joseph Hall, is a tribute; it was the earliest of the Puritan treatises on the observance of the Lord's day, more moderate than the 'Sabbathvm' (1595) of his step-son Nicholas Bownde
Nicholas Bownde
Nicholas Bownde, Bownd or Bound was an English clergyman, known for his sabbatarian writings.-Life:He was son of Robert Bownde , M.D., physician to the Duke of Norfolk. He was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1572, was elected a fellow later that year, and graduated...
, who borrowed from Greenham.
Death
Samuel Clarke says Greenham died about 1591, in about his sixtieth year, while Fuller says his death was unrecorded, because he died of the plagueBubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
which raged in 1592. It is mentioned by Waddington that on 2 April 1593 Greenham visited John Penry
John Penry
John Penry is Wales's most famous Protestant martyr.-Early life:He was born in Brecknockshire, Wales; Cefn Brith, a farm near Llangammarch, is traditionally recognised as his birthplace. He matriculated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in December 1580, being then probably a Roman Catholic; but soon...
in the Poultry compter
Poultry Compter
The Poultry Compter was a small compter or prison run by a Sheriff in the City of London from medieval times until 1815...
. Henry Holland
Henry Holland (clergyman)
-Life:He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1580. He was instituted to the vicarage of Orwell, Cambridgeshire, on 21 November 1580. In 1583 he commenced M.A., and on 13 February 1594 was instituted to the vicarage of St. Bride, London, on the presentation of...
implies that he survived the affair of Lopez, February-June 1594.
Works
Greenham's Workes were collected and edited by H.H., i.e. Henry Holland, in 1599; a second edition appeared in the same year; the third edition was 1601, reprinted 1605 and 1612 ('fift and last' edition). 'A Garden of Spiritual Flowers,' by Greenham, was published 1612, and several times reprinted, till 1687. It is doubtful whether Greenham himself published anything, or left anything ready for the press.Of his 'Treatise of the Sabboth,' which had been circulated privately, Holland found three copies, and edited the best. It was originally a sermon or sermons; and the remaining works (excepting a catechism) are made up from sermon material, with some additions from Greenham's conversation.
Family
He married the widow of Robert Bownde, M.D., physician to the Duke of NorfolkDuke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
, but had no issue; his step-daughter, Anne Bownde, was the first wife of John Dod
John Dod
John Dod , known as “Decalogue Dod”, was a non-conforming English clergyman, taking his nickname for his emphasis on the Ten Commandments. He is known for his widely circulated writings...
.