Ralph Lever, D.D. was an English

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in the 16th century. He died between 1580 and 1585. Lever was educated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1547-48, before receiving his doctorate from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Lever is the author of the second treatise on logic written in English, ''The Arte of Reason, rightly termed, Witcraft.'' The book was written between 1549 and 1551, but was not published until 1573. He also wrote a treatise on Rithmomachia, ''The Most Noble auncient, and learned playe, called the Philosophers game'', which was published (without his consent) in 1563. He held livings at

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and Stanhope. Lever was

Archdeacon of Northumberland The Archdeacon of Northumberland is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Newcastle. As such she or he is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the geographical area of the archdeaconry. History The fi ...

from 1566 until his resignation in 1573. At the time of his death, he was master of

Sherburn Hospital Sherburn Hospital (also known as Christ's Hospital in Sherburn) is a medieval hospital located in the hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by Will ...

. He was appointed canon of

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

in 1567.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lever, Ralph 16th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of Northumberland Alumni of St John's College, Oxford