John Underhill (c.1545–1592) was an English academic, involved in controversy, and later

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

Life

Underhill was born about 1545 at the Cross Inn, Cornmarket,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He entered

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

in 1556, and was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, on 27 October 1561, being admitted

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

on 11 December 1564 and M.A. on 27 July 1563. He obtained the degrees of B.D. and D.D. on 7 July 1581. In 1570, he was appointed

praelector A praelector is a traditional role at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The role differs somewhat between the two ancient universities. University of Cambridge At Cambridge, a praelector is the fellow of a college who forma ...

moral philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

, and in 1575 filled the office of

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

. In 1576, Underhill offered opposition to Robert Horne,

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

, in his visitation of the college. Horne, who used his power as Visitor very freely, removed him from his fellowship. Underhill, however, had recourse to the Chancellor of Oxford, then

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ove ...

. On Leicester's advice he threatened Horne with a lawsuit, and procured his reinstatement. In the following year, on 22 June, after further controversy, he was elected Rector of Lincoln College. About 1581, he became

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in ordinary to the Queen, and on 7 September was instituted rector of Thornton-le-Moors,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. In 1583, he disputed with

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...

, who was visiting Oxford. Bruno's work ''La Cenere de le Ceneri'' (The

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

Supper) may refer to Underhill in the character Nundinio. His meeting with Bruno is fictionalised in the novel ''Heresy'' by S. J. Parris. About 1586, he was appointed one of the vicars of

Bampton, Oxfordshire Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a settlement and civil parish in the Thames Valley about southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,564. Bam ...

, and on 15 March 1587 was instituted Rector of

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

, also in Oxfordshire. On 8 December 1589, he was elected Bishop of Oxford on the recommendation of

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

, succeeding

Hugh Curwen Hugh Curwen ( – 1 November 1568) was an English ecclesiastic and statesman, who served as Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1555 to 1567, then as Bishop of Oxford until his death in November 1568. Previous entries, in ...

after a long vacancy. He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 12 May 1592, and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral. After his death the see remained vacant for eleven years. He was a friend and patron of the poet

Thomas Churchyard Thomas Churchyard (c. 1523 – 1604) was an English author and soldier. He is chiefly remembered for a series of autobiographical or semi-autobiographical verse collections, including ''Churchyardes Chippes'' (1575); ''Churchyard's Choise'' (157 ...

.
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References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Underhill, John 1545 births 1592 deaths People educated at Winchester College English chaplains Fellows of New College, Oxford Rectors of Lincoln College, Oxford Bishops of Oxford 16th-century Church of England bishops