Peter Payne ( 1380 – c. 1455) was an English

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Lollard Lollardy was a proto-Protestantism, proto-Protestant Christianity, Christian religious movement that was active in England from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic C ...

and

Taborite The Taborites (, ), were a faction within the Hussite movement in the medieval Lands of the Bohemian Crown. The Taborites were sometimes referred to as the Picards, a term used for groups which were seen as extreme in their rejection of traditi ...

. The son of a Frenchman by an English wife, he was born at

Hough-on-the-Hill Hough-on-the-Hill is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish including Brandon, Lincolnshire, Brandon was 399 at the 2011 census. It is s ...

near

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

. He was educated in

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 ...

, where he adopted Lollard opinions, and had graduated as a master of arts before 6 October 1406, when he was concerned in the irregular proceedings through which a letter declaring the sympathy of the university was addressed to the Bohemian reformers. From 1410 to 1414 Payne was principal of

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the last ...

, and during these years was engaged in controversy with Thomas Netter of Walden, the Carmelite defender of

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

doctrine. In 1414 he was compelled to leave Oxford and taught for a time 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 ...

. Ultimately he had to flee from England, and took refuge in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, where he was received by the University of Prague on 13 February 1417, and soon became a leader of the reformers. He joined the sect of the "Orphans," and had a prominent part in the discussions and conferences of the ten years from 1420 to 1430. When the Bohemians agreed to send representatives to the Council of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Payne was naturally chosen to be one of their delegates. He arrived at Basel, on 4 January 1433, and his unyielding temper and bitter words probably did much to prevent a settlement. The Bohemians left Basel in April. The party of the nobles, who had been ready to make terms, were attacked in the Diet at Prague, by the Orphans and Taborites. Next year the dispute led to open war. The nobles were victorious at the Battle of Lipany in May 1434, and it was reported in England that Payne was killed. When soon afterwards the majority of the Orphans joined the moderate party, Payne allied himself with the more extreme Taborites. Nevertheless, his reputation was so great that he was accepted as an arbitrator in doctrinal disputes amongst the reformers. In February 1437 the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

desired the

emperor Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

to send Payne to be tried for heresy at Basel. Payne had to leave his pastorate at

Žatec Žatec (; ) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Žatec is famous for an over-700-year-long tradition of growing Saaz hops, Saaz noble hops u ...

, and took refuge with Petr Chelčický, the Bohemian author. Two years later he was captured and imprisoned at Gutenstein, but was ransomed by his Taborite friends. Payne took part in the conferences of the Bohemian parties in 1443–1444, and again in 1452. He died at Prague in 1455. He was a learned and eloquent controversialist, and a faithful adherent to Wycliffe's doctrine. Payne was also known as Clerk at Oxford, as Peter English in Bohemia, and as Freyng, after his French father, and Hough from his birthplace.

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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Peter 1380s births 1450s deaths People from South Kesteven District Fellows of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Principals of St Edmund Hall, Oxford English theologians Lollards People of the Hussite Wars English male non-fiction writers