James Heath (c. 1629–1664?) was an English royalist historian.

Life

He was a Student of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, but deprived by Parliament. He went into exile with the future

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

. On the Restoration of 1660 he was prevented from returning to his Christ Church studentship by his status as a married man, and he became a professional author.

Writings

Heath's ''Chronicle of the Late Intestine Warr'', published in 1661 and dedicated to General Monck, portrays events similar to those of the English Revolution to come. It took aim at John Milton and Marchamont Nedham, among other Parliamentarians, and depicted the course of events as a cyclical change, returning to the status quo. It was used by

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...

as a basic source for his ''

Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...

''. Heath was the first biographer of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, earning himself the name “Carrion” Heath for his ''Flagellum'' (1663). John Morrill, in a 2003 article ''Rewriting Cromwell: a case of deafening silences'', describes it as "scurrilous, mendacious, malicious"; but he commends the historical value of some additions made by an anonymous editor to the third edition, prepared after Heath's death.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3686/is_3_38/ai_n29061232/pg_8?tag=content;col1 Heath wrote also elegies for Thomas Fuller and the royalist bishops John Gauden and Robert Sanderson.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, James 1620s births 1664 deaths 17th-century English historians 17th-century English poets English biographers