Reginald Pecock (or Peacock; c. 1395– c. 1461) was a Welsh prelate, scholastic, and writer.

Life

Pecock was probably born in

Laugharne Laugharne ( cy, Talacharn) is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The ancient borough of Laugharne Township ( cy, Treflan Lacharn) with its Corporation and Charter is a unique survival ...

and was educated at Oriel College, Oxford. Having been ordained priest in 1421, Pecock secured a mastership at Whittington College, London, in 1431 where he was also parish priest of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, the adjacent parish church. On 14 June 1444 he was consecrated as Bishop of St Asaph,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 296 and translated as

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

on 23 March 1450.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 239 In 1454 he became a member of the privy council. He wrote books of both a pedagogical and polemical nature. His pedagogical books, in which he proposes a wholly new catechism include ''The Donet'', ''The Follower to the Donet'', and ''The Rule of Christian Religion''. He joined the debate on Christian doctrine in his ''Repressing of Over Mich Wyting'' laming''the Clergie'', 1449, and ''Book of Faith'', 1456. These were both more cogent than the Lollard tenets, and sought to stay the Lollard movement by setting aside ecclesiastical infallibility, and taking the appeal to Scripture and reason alone. It was principally Pecock's appeal to reason and his attack on the primacy of episcopal authority for which he was deprived in 1458. In attacking the Lollards, Pecock put forward the following religious views: he asserted that the

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

were not the only standard of right and wrong; he questioned some of the articles of the creed and the infallibility of the Church; he wished "bi cleer witte drawe men into consente of trewe feith otherwise than bi fire and swerd or hangement" and in general he exalted the authority of reason. Owing to these views, the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier, ordered his writings to be examined. This was done and he was found guilty of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. Pecock was removed from the privy council and he publicly (at

St Paul's Cross St Paul's Cross (alternative spellings – "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart England, and ma ...

, 4 December 1457), renounced his opinions in accordance with his previously stated opinion about the need for obedience in all matters to the Church hierarchy. Pecock, who has been called "the most prolific English

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

of the 15th century", Reginald Pecock and Vernacular Theology in Pre-Reformation England, Jennifer Anh-Thư Tran Smith, Univ of Los Angeles 2012, p.ii was then forced to resign his bishopric in January 1459, and was removed to

Thorney Abbey Thorney Abbey, now the Church of St Mary and St Botolph, was a medieval monastic house established on the island of Thorney in The Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. History The earliest documentary sources refer to a mid-7th century hermita ...

in Cambridgeshire, where he doubtless remained until his death about 1461. Chichestercathedralwindowwilfredluffapeacock

The bishop's chief work is the famous ''Represser of over-much weeting lamingof the Clergie'', which was issued c. 1449–1455. In addition to its great importance in the history of the Lollard movement the ''Represser'' has an exceptional interest as a model of the English of the time, Pecock being one of the first writers to use the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

. In thought and style alike it is the work of a man of learning and ability. A biography of Pecock is added to the edition of the ''Repressor'' published by

Churchill Babington Churchill Babington (; 11 March 182112 January 1889) was an English classical scholar, archaeologist and naturalist. He served as Rector of Cockfield, Suffolk. He was a cousin of Cardale Babington. Life He was born at Rothley Temple, in Leic ...

for the

Rolls Series ''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...

in 1860.

Extant works

*''The Repressing of Over Mich Wyting of the Clergie (The Repressor of Over Much Blaming of the Clergy)'',(1449); ed.Churchill Babington; Longman, Green and Roberts, (2 vols,London, 1860). *''The Book of Faith'' (1456), ed. J. L. Morison, (Glasgow, 1909). *''The Donet'', ed. E. V. Hitchcock, (London, 1921). *''The Follower of the Donet'', ed. E. V. Hitchcock (Oxford, 1971). *''The Reule of Crysten Religioun'', by Reginald Pecock ... now first edited from Pierpont Morgan Ms. 519, by William Cabell Greet; London, H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1927; & New York, 1971); Millwood, N.Y., Kraus Reprint, 1987.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pecock, Reginald 1395 births 1460 deaths Bishops of Chichester Bishops of St Asaph Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Wales Welsh bishops 15th-century Welsh clergy