John Copcot, DD (died 1590) was an English cleric and academic, becoming

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Cambridge 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 ...

and Master of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

Early life and family

Copcot was born in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, son of Adam Copcott, an English merchant. ''Athenae Cantabrigienses'' notes that John’s brother left a bequest to Corpus Christi College; that brother is almost certainly Reynold Copcott (known to be son of Adam Copcott and his wife Elizabeth Lynne) whose will dated 1598 did leave money to both Corpus Christi College and Trinity College. He was admitted as a scholar of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1562, and took his BA in 1566.

Clerical career

Copcot's clerical career began at Cambridge, and he was licensed as one of the preachers of the university in 1576. Copcot was a defender of the Anglican Church and its hierarchy, particularly against dissenters and

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

s. In the 1580s, he preached in London in favour of the established church. The roles he held within the Church included non-resident rector of

St Dunstan-in-the-East St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a publi ...

in London from 1580 to 1590 (in which role he sometimes represented the clergy of London in convocation); Prebendary in the church of

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

from 1586 to 1590; Rector of

Orwell, Cambridgeshire Orwell is a rural village outside Cambridge in South Cambridgeshire, England. The Prime Meridian passes the eastern edge of Orwell. History The village of Orwell grew around the well that gave it its name and the Roman road that runs to Cambrid ...

from 1586 to 1590; and Chaplain to

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

Academic career

Copcot became a fellow of Trinity College in 1567 and took his MA in 1570. His specialty was as a critic in Latin and Greek and he had a reputation as a hard-working scholar and proponent of literary studies. He was awarded the degree of

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

in 1577, and of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

, the highest of the degrees awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in 1582. Copcot was appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1586, and was the last Vice-Chancellor who was not already head of a college. His one-year term as Vice-Chancellor was characterised by conflict with radical Puritan interests at Christ College, Cambridge and elsewhere within the university, over which he was in communication with William Cecil, Baron Burghley, leading minister of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. As Vice-Chancellor, he took measures to suppress non-conformity; he also came into conflict with authorities representing the town. He succeeded Dr Robert Norgate as Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge on 6 November 1587, having been recommended by William Cecil. As with his term as Vice-Chancellor, his time in charge of the college was characterised by contention. He remained in the role until his death in early August 1590.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copcot, John 1590 deaths People from Calais Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge 16th-century English Anglican priests Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Masters of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Year of birth unknown