HUMPHREY (or HUMFREY),

See also:

• LAWRENCE
• LAWRENCE (LAURENTIUS, LORENZO), ST
• LAWRENCE, AMOS (1786—1852)
• LAWRENCE, AMOS ADAMS (1814–1886)
• LAWRENCE, GEORGE ALFRED (1827–1876)
• LAWRENCE, JOHN LAIRD MAIR LAWRENCE, 1ST BARON (1811-1879)
• LAWRENCE, SIR HENRY MONTGOMERY (1806–1857)
• LAWRENCE, SIR THOMAS (1769–1830)
• LAWRENCE, STRINGER (1697–1775)

LAWRENCE (1527?-1590)  , president of Magdalen College, Oxford, and dean successively of Gloucester and Winchester, was born at Newport Pagnel . He was elected demy of Magdalen College in 1546 and fellow in 1548 . He graduated B.A. in 1549, M.A. in 1552, and B.D. and D.D. in 1562 . He was noted as one of the most promising pupils of Peter Martyr, and on Mary's accession obtained leave from his college to travel abroad . He lived at Basel, Zurich, Frank-fort and Geneva, making the acquaintance of the leading Swiss divines, whose ecclesiastical views he adopted . His leave of absence having expired in 1556, he ceased to be fellow of Magdalen . He returned to England at Elizabeth's accession, was appointed regius professor of divinity at Oxford in 156o, and was recommended by Archbishop Parker and others for election as president of Magdalen . The fellows refused at first to elect so pronounced a reformer, but they yielded in 1561, and Humphrey gradually converted the college into a stronghold of Puritanism . In 1564 he and his friend Thomas Sampson, dean of Christ Church, were called before Parker for refusing to wear the prescribed ecclesiastical vestments; and a prolonged controversy broke out, in which Bullinger and other foreign theologians took part as well as most of the leading divines in England . In spite of Bullinger's advice, Humphrey refused to conform; and Parker wished to deprive him as well as Sampson . But the presidency of Magdalen was elective and the visitor of the college was not Parker but the bishop of Winchester; and Humphrey escaped with temporary retirement . Parker, in fact, was not supported by the council; in 1566 Humphrey was selected to preach at St Paul's Cross, and was allowed to do so without the vestments .

In the same

year he took a prominent part in the ceremonies connected with Elizabeth's visit to Oxford . On this occasion he wore his doctor's gown and habit, which the queen told him " became him very well "; and his resistance now began to weaken . He yielded on the point before 1571 when he was made dean of Gloucester . In 1578 he was one of the divines selected to attend a diet at Schmalkalde to discuss the project of a theological accommodation between the Lutheran and Reformed churches; and in 158o he was made dean of Winchester . In 1585 he was persuaded by his bishop, Cooper, to restore the use of surplices,in Magdalen College chapel . He died on the 1st of February 1590 and was buried in the college chapel, where there is a mural monument to his memory; a portrait is in Magdalen College school . Humphrey was a voluminous writer on theological and other subjects . At Parker's desire he wrote a life of his friend and patron Bishop Jewel, which was published in 1573 and was also prefixed to the edition of Jewl4l's works issued in 1600 . One of his books against the Jesuits was included in vol. iii. of the Doctrina Jesuitarum per verios authores, published at La Rochelle (6 vols., 1585-1586) . See Bloxam's Register of Magdalen College, iv . Io4-132; Cooper's Athenae Cantabrigienses; Wood's Athenae Oxonienses; Gough's Index to Parker Soc . Publ.; Strype's Works: Cal .

State Papers (Dom . 1547–1590); Acts of the Privy Council; Burnet's Hist . Ref.; Collier's Eccles . Hist . ; Dixon's Church Hist. vol. vi.; Dict . Nai . Biog . (A . F .