Ambrose Corbie, also called Corby or Corbington (7 December 1604 – 11 April 1649) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, teacher and author.

Biography

Ambrose Corbie was born near

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the fourth son of Gerald Corbie and his wife, Isabella (née Richardson),

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

Roman Catholics. Of their children, sons Ambrose,

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

and Robert, became

priests (Richard died as a student at

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

) and their two surviving daughters, Mary and Catherine, became Benedictine nuns in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Gerald Corbie entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

as a lay brother in 1628, having brought his own father Ralph (aged 100) back to Catholicism. Gerald Corbie died in

Watten, Nord Watten (; , meaning " ford" as in "river-crossing") is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Its inhabitants are called "Wattenais". History In the 10th century the region around Watten belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Riquier t ...

on 17 September 1637. Isabella Corbie was professed a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

at Ghent and died a centenarian on 25 December 1652. Ambrose, aged 12, entered St-Omer and, in 1622, the

Venerable English College The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...

in Rome. He entered the

in Watten in 1627, and in 1641 was professed. Having taught with some success for some years at St-Omers, and been minister at

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

in 1645, he was appointed confessor at the English college,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he died, aged 44.

Writings

His works include: * ''Certamen Triplex'', etc., the history of the killing of three English Jesuit priests: Thomas Holland, his own brother Ralph Corbie, and Henry Morse (Antwerp, 1645, 12mo), with three engraved portraits; reprinted, Munich, 1646, 12mo); English translation by E. T. Scargill under the title of "The Threefold Conflict" etc.; ed. W. T. Turnbull (London, 1858, 8vo). * Account of his family; English version in Henry Foley, ''Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus'', III, 64. * ''Vita et morte del Fratello Tomaso Stilintono'' .e. Stillington alias Olgethorpe''novitio Inglese della Compagnia de Gesu morto in Messina, 15 Sept., 1617''; (manuscript at Stonyhurst College; see Hist. MSS. Comm.)

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbie, Ambrose 17th-century English Jesuits 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers Schoolteachers from County Durham 17th-century English educators 1604 births 1649 deaths