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Meredith Hanmer (1543–1604) was a Welsh clergyman, known as a controversialist, historian, and translator. He was considered embittered, by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh; but he appears now as a shrewd observer of the Protestant and nonconformist life of Ireland as founded around Trinity College, Dublin.


Life

The son of Richard ap David ap Howel Goch of Pentre-pant, Selattyn, near Oswestry, he was born at Porkington in
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
in 1543. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he obtained a chaplaincy in 1567, and graduated B.A. 1568, M.A. 1572, and D.D. 1582. On 7 June 1575, by a special dispensation, he was allowed to supplicate for the degree of B.D., as a nobleman's chaplain, while of less than the customary standing; but the degree was not granted till 1581. He was vicar of St Leonard's, Shoreditch, from 8 December 1581 till June 1592, and vicar of St Mary's, Islington from 4 November 1583 to 5 September 1590. At Shoreditch he made himself notorious by removing the
monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...
es in the church, which he was believed to have done for his own gain. In 1584, when George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury was examined as to the circulation of a libel that he had got
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
by child, Hanmer appeared as a witness against the earl, and is described by William Fleetword, recorder of London, who appeared in the case, as 'regarding not' an oath, 'and as a very bad man'. According to the consistorial acts of the diocese of Rochester, Hanmer was charged between 1588 and 1590 with having celebrated a marriage without banns or license. He crossed over to Ireland about 1591. In that year he appears as archdeacon of Ross and vicar of Timoleague. He was commended to Francis Walsingham by Christopher Carleill as a diligent preacher. On 4 December 1593 he was appointed treasurer of Waterford Cathedral, vacant by the deprivation of Thomas Granger; in April 1594 vicar-choral of
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the e ...
; on 8 June 1595 prebendary of St Michan's in Christ Church; and on 1 November of the same year rector of the Blessed Virgin Mary de Borages, in Leighlin. On 1 June 1598 he was presented to the parish church of Muckalee, the vicarage of Rathpatrick, and the vicarage of Kylbeacon and Killaghy, all in
county Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
, in the diocese of Ossory. On 10 October in the following year he was presented to the rectory or wardenship of the new college of the Blessed Mary of Youghal in the diocese of Cloyne (ib. 6345). He appears to have resigned this and his prebend of St Michan's in 1602. On 16 June 1603 he was appointed chancellor of St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, and at the same time vicar of Fiddown and St John the Evangelist, and rector of Aglish-Martin. He died in 1604, and was buried in St Michan's Church,
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. It is likely that he fell a victim to the bubonic plague. Hanmer married at Shoreditch, 21 June 1581, Mary Austin, by whom he had four daughters.


Works

His ''Chronicle of Ireland'', first published by Sir James Ware in 1633, is a scholarly work. He translated three early ecclesiastical historians - Eusebius, Socrates of Constantinople and Evagrius Scholasticus - in 1576. Hanmer also wrote: *''The Great Bragge and Challenge of M. Champion ... confuted and answered by M.H.'', London, 1581. *''The Jesuites Banner. ... With a Confutation of a late Pamphlet ... entitled A Brief Censure upon two Books written in Answeare to M. Champion's ampion'soffer of disputation'', &c., London, 1581. These were works against Edward Campion. * ''The Baptizing of a Turke'', a sermon (on Matt, v. 16), preached 2 October 1586 at the collegiate church of St Katharine, London, 1586. This sermon was occasioned by the liberation of
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s from the Spanish Caribbean, by
Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...
, of which one became a Christian convert, rather than take the passage offered back to the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.David B. Quinn, ''Explorers and Colonies: America, 1500-1625'' (1990), pp. 200-4.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanmer, Meredith 1543 births 1604 deaths 16th-century Welsh Anglican priests 16th-century Welsh historians Welsh translators 16th-century translators Archdeacons of Ross, Ireland Burials at St Michan's Church, Dublin 16th-century Anglican theologians 17th-century Anglican theologians