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Francis Atterbury
Bishop of Rochester
Bishop Atterbury
Diocese Diocese of Rochester
Enthroned
Ended
Predecessor
Ordination 1687
Consecration 1713
Born March 6, 1663
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Died February 22, 1732
Paris, France
Buried Westminster Abbey
Denomination Church of England
Alma mater Christ Church, Oxford

Francis Atterbury (March 6, 1663 – February 22, 1732), was an English man of letters, politician and bishop. See also List of bishops of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese The Diocese of Rochester is ancient having been established in 604; only the neighbouring Diocese of Canterbury is older in the Church of England Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Middleton is a district and Civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 1732 ( MDCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval Not to be confused with Christchurch, a city in New Zealand. Christ Church (Ædes Christi the temple or house of Christ and thus sometimes known as Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 1732 ( MDCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland An intellectual (from the adjective meaning "involving thought and reason" is a person who tries to use his or her Intelligence and analytical thinking, A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight

Contents

Early life

He was born at Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, where his father was rector. Middleton is a district and Civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The word rector ("ruler" from the Latin regere and Rector meaning "Teacher" In Latin has a number of different meanings but all of them indicate an academic He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he became a tutor. The Royal College of St Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain 's leading boys' Independent schools with Not to be confused with Christchurch, a city in New Zealand. Christ Church (Ædes Christi the temple or house of Christ and thus sometimes known as In British Australian New Zealand Italian and some Canadian universities, a tutor is often but not always a Postgraduate Student or a Lecturer In 1682, he published a translation of Absalom and Achitophel into Latin verse with neither the style nor the versification typical of the Augustan age. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Augustan poetry is the poetry that flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Emperor of Rome, most notably including the works of Virgil, Horace In English composition he met greater success; in 1687 he published An Answer to some Considerations, the Spirit of Martin Luther and the Original of the Reformation, a reply to Obadiah Walker, who, when elected master of University College, Oxford in 1676, had printed in a press set up by him there an attack on the Reformation written by Abraham Woodhead. Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Obadiah Walker (1616 – January 21, 1699) was an English academic and Master of University College Oxford from 1676 to 1688 University College (in full the The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as Univ) is one of Abraham Woodhead (c March 1609 - May 4, 1678) was an English writer on Catholicism. Atterbury's treatise, though highly praised by Bishop Gilbert Burnet, was more distinguished for the vigour of his rhetoric than the soundness of his arguments, and the Papists accused him of treason, and of having, by implication, called King James "Judas". Gilbert Burnet ( September 18, 1643 – March 17, 1715) was a Scottish theologian and Historian, and Bishop of Salisbury Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice Papist is a term usually disparaging or an Anti-Catholic slur referring to a member of the Catholic Church. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James

After the "Glorious Revolution", Atterbury readily swore fealty to the new government. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union He had taken holy orders in 1687, preached occasionally in London with an eloquence which raised his reputation, and was soon appointed one of the royal chaplains. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. He ordinarily lived at Oxford, where he was the chief adviser and assistant of Henry Aldrich, under whom Christ Church was a stronghold of Toryism. Henry Aldrich (1647-1710 was an English theologian and Philosopher. In the political tradition of some English-speaking countries, the term Tory has referred to a variety of political parties and Creeds since it was He inspired a pupil, Charles Boyle, in the Examination of Dr. Charles Boyle 4th Earl of Orrery KT PC FRS ( July 28, 1674 &ndash August 28, 1731) was an English Bentley's Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, an attack (1698) on the Whig scholar Richard Bentley, arising out of Bentley's impugnment of the genuineness of the Epistles of Phalaris. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to Richard Bentley ( January 27, 1662 &ndash July 14, 1742) was an English Theologian, classical scholar and Phalaris was the Tyrant of Acragas ( Agrigentum) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC He was figured Swift in the Battle of the Books as the Apollo who directed the fight, and was, no doubt, largely the author of Boyle's essay. The swifts are a family Apodidae, of highly aerial Birds They are superficially similar to Swallows but are actually not closely related to those Bentley spent two years in preparing his famous reply, which owned not only that the letters ascribed to Phalaris were spurious, but that all Atterbury's wit and eloquence were a cloak for an audacious pretence at scholarship. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education

Atterbury was soon occupied in a dispute about matters still more important and exciting. High Church and Low Church divided the nation. The majority of the clergy were on the High Church side; the majority of King William's bishops were inclined to latitudinarianism. Latitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th-century English Theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England In 1700 the Convocation, of which the lower house was overwhelmingly Tory, met after a gap of ten years. Atterbury threw himself with characteristic energy into the controversy, publishing a series of treatises. Many regarded him as the most intrepid champion that had ever defended the rights of the clergy against the oligarchy of Erastian prelates. Oligarchy' ( Greek, Oligarkhía) is a Form of government where Political power effectively rests with a small elite segment Thomas Erastus ( September 7, 1524 &ndash December 31, 1583) was a Swiss theologian best known for a posthumously A prelate is a high-ranking member of the Clergy who either is an Ordinary or ranks in precedence with ordinaries In 1701 he was awarded with the archdeaconry of Totnes and a prebend in Exeter Cathedral. A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations above that of most Totnes (ˈtɒtnɨs or /tɒtˈnɛs/ is a market town at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic Cathedral or Collegiate church and is a type of canon. Exeter Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in the city of Exeter, Devon, in the southwest of England and The lower house of Convocation voted him thanks for his services; the University of Oxford created him a rector of divinity; and in 1704, soon after the accession of Queen Anne, he was promoted to the deanery of Carlisle (although the Tories still had the chief weight in the government). Divinity and divine (sometimes 'the Divinity' or 'the Divine' are broadly applied but loosely defined terms used variously within different faiths and belief systems — Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England. Carlisle (pronounced CARLYLE(emphasis on the first syllable is a City in northern England the largest settlement in Cumbria.

In 1710, the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell produced a formidable explosion of High Church fanaticism. Henry Sacheverell (1674 &ndash 15 June 1724) was an English churchman and politician At such a moment Atterbury could not fail to be conspicuous. His inordinate zeal for the body to which he belonged and his rare talents for agitation and for controversy were again displayed. He took a chief part in framing that artful and eloquent speech which Sacheverell made at the bar of the Lords, and which presents a singular contrast to the absurd and scurrilous sermon which had very unwisely been honoured with impeachment. Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to forcibly remove a Government official During the troubled and anxious months which followed the trial, Atterbury was among the most active of those pamphleteers who inflamed the nation against the Whig ministry and the Whig parliament. A pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes Pamphlets Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions on an issue for example in order When the ministry changed and the parliament was dissolved, rewards were showered upon him. The lower house of Convocation elected him prolocutor, in which capacity he drew up, in 1711, the often-cited Representation of the State of Religion; and in August 1711, the queen, who had selected him as her chief adviser in ecclesiastical matters, appointed him dean of Christ Church on the death of his old friend and patron Aldrich. A prolocutor is one who speaks for others (Lat pro, for and loqui, to speak specifically the chairman of the lower house of Convocation in the two provinces

At Oxford he was as conspicuous a failure as he had been at Carlisle, and it was said by his enemies that he was made a bishop because he was so bad a dean. Under his administration, Christ Church was in confusion, scandalous altercations took place, and there was reason to fear that the great Tory college would be ruined by the tyranny of the great Tory doctor. In 1713 he was removed to the bishopric of Rochester, which was then always united with the deanery of Westminster. Rochester is a town in Kent, England. It is located within the Unitary authority area of Medway and is at the lowest bridging point of the Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. Still higher dignities seemed to be before him, for though there were many able men on the episcopal bench, there was none who equalled or approached him in parliamentary talents. Had his party continued in power it is not improbable that he would have been raised to the archbishopric of Canterbury. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the The more splendid his prospects the more reason he had to dread the accession of a family which was well known to be partial to the Whigs, and there is every reason to believe that he was one of those politicians who hoped that they might be able, during the life of Anne, to prepare matters in such a way that at her death there might be little difficulty in setting aside the Act of Settlement and placing James Francis Edward Stuart on the throne. Prince James Prince of Wales (James Francis Edward Stuart " The Old Pretender " or " The Old Chevalier " 10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766 was the

Her sudden death confounded the projects of these conspirators, and, whatever Atterbury's previous views may have been, he acquiesced in what he could not prevent, took the oaths to the House of Hanover, and did his best to ingratiate himself with the royal family. The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) is a Germanic royal Dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg But his servility was requited with cold contempt; he became the most factious and pertinacious of all the opponents of the government. In the House of Lords his oratory, of old, pointed, lively and set off with every grace of pronunciation and of gesture, extorted the attention and admiration even of a hostile majority. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" Some of the most remarkable protests which appear in the journals of the peers were drawn up by him; and, some of the bitterest of those pamphlets which called on the English to stand up for their country against the aliens who had come from beyond the seas to oppress and plunder her, critics have detected his style. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English When the rebellion of 1715 broke out, he refused to sign the paper in which the bishops of the province of Canterbury declared their attachment to the Protestant accession, and in 1717, after having been long in indirect communication with the exiled family, he began to correspond directly with James Francis Edward Stuart. Canterbury ( ˈkæntəbɹ̩i is a City in eastern Kent in the South East region of England. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

Arrest and imprisonment

In 1721, on the discovery of the plot for the capture of the royal family and the proclamation of King James, Atterbury was arrested with the other chief malcontents, and in 1722 committed to the Tower of London, where he remained in close confinement during some months. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London He had carried on his correspondence with the exiled family so cautiously that the circumstantial proofs of his guilt, though sufficient to produce entire moral conviction, were not sufficient to justify legal conviction. He could be reached only by a bill of pains and penalties. Such a bill was quite prepared to support, and in due course a bill passed the Commons depriving him of his spiritual dignities, banishing him for life, and forbidding any British subject to hold intercourse with him except by the royal permission. Common land (a common) is a piece of land owned by one person but over which other people can exercise certain traditional rights such as allowing their livestock to graze In the Lords the contest was sharp, but the bill finally passed by eighty-three votes to forty-three.

Atterbury took leave of those whom he loved with a dignity and tenderness worthy of a better man, to the last protesting his innocence with a singular disingenuousness. After a short stay at Brussels he went to Paris, and became the leading man among the Jacobite refugees there. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Jacobitism was (and to a limited extent remains the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland He was invited to Rome by the Pretender, but Atterbury felt that a bishop of the Church of England would be out of place in Rome, and declined the invitation. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican During some months, however, he seemed to be high in the good graces of James. The correspondence between the master and the servant was constant. Atterbury's merits were warmly acknowledged, his advice was respectfully received, and he was, as Bolingbroke had been before him, the prime minister of a king without a kingdom. Henry St John 1st Viscount Bolingbroke ( 16 September 1678 &ndash 12 December 1751) was an English politician and philosopher This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. He soon, however, perceived that his counsels were disregarded, if not distrusted. His proud spirit was deeply wounded. In 1728 he left Paris, occupied his residence at Montpelier, gave up politics, and devoted himself entirely to letters. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions In the sixth year of his exile he had so severe an illness that his daughter, Mrs Morice, herself very ill, determined to run all risks that she might see him once more. She met him at Toulouse, received the communion from his man, and died that night. Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those

Later life and death

Atterbury survived the severe shock of his daughter's death for years. He even returned to Paris and to the service of the Pretender, who had found out that he had not acted wisely in consorting with one who, though a heretic, was the most able man in the Jacobite party. Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief In the ninth year of his banishment he published a luminous, temperate and dignified vindication of himself against John Oldmixon, who had accused him of having, in concert with other Christ Church men, garbled the new edition of Clarendon's History of the Rebellion. John Oldmixon (1673 &ndash July 9, 1742) was an English Historian. Edward Hyde 1st Earl of Clarendon ( 18 February 1609 &ndash 9 December 1674) was an English Historian and statesman and The charge, as respected Atterbury, had not the slightest foundation; for he was not one of the editors of the History, and never saw it until it was printed. A copy of this little work he sent to the Pretender, with a letter singularly eloquent and graceful. It was impossible, the old man said, that he should write anything on such a subject without being reminded of the resemblance between his own fate and that of Clarendon. They were the only two English subjects who had ever been banished from their country and debarred from all communication with their friends by act of parliament. But here the resemblance ended. One of the exiles had been so happy as to bear a chief part in the restoration of the royal house. All that the other could now do was to die asserting the rights of that house to the last. A few weeks after this letter was written Atterbury died, on 22 February 1732. His body was brought to England, and laid, in Westminster Abbey. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church In his papers now kept at the Library of Westminster, he desired to be buried "as far from kings and politicians as may be. " Thus he is buried next to this century's tourist information booth kiosk. The black slab is simple, indicating his name, birth and death dates. Due to tourist traffic, the inscription is now considerably worn.

It is agreeable to turn from Atterbury's public to his private life. His turbulent spirit, wearied with faction and treason, now and then required repose, and found it in domestic endearments, and in the society of the most illustrious literary men of his age. Of his wife, Katherine Osborn, whom he married while at Oxford, little is known; but between him and his daughter there was an affection singularly close and tender. The gentleness of his manners when he was in the company of a few friends as such as seemed hardly credible to those who knew him from only his writings and speeches. Atterbury's taste in English literature was excellent; and his admiration of genius was so strong that it overpowered even his political and religious antipathies. The term English literature refers to Literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by Writers not necessarily from Along with other deans, he founded one of the first philosophy groups then meeting at coffee houses in London, named the Kit Kat Club. This group included several Deans, including Church Deans Johnathan Swift and Alexander Pope. His fondness for John Milton, the mortal enemy of the Stuarts and of the Church of England, seemed a crime to many Tories; and he was the close friend of Joseph Addison. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and The House of Stuart or Stewart was a Royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Joseph Addison (May 1 1672 – June 17 1719 was an English essayist and Poet. His favourite companions, however, were, as might have been expected, men whose politics had at least a tinge of Toryism. He was friendly with Jonathan Swift, John Arbuthnot and John Gay. Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 John Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr Arbuthnot, ( baptised 29 April, 1667 &ndash 27 February, 1735) was a physician John Gay ( 30 June, 1685 - 4 December, 1732) was an English Poet and Dramatist. With Matthew Prior he had a close intimacy. For the Sussex and England Cricketer see Matthew Prior (cricketer. Alexander Pope found in Atterbury not only a warm admirer, but a most faithful, fearless and judicious adviser, as well as an editor as requested. Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical

References

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