Ralph Baines or "Bayne" (c. 1504 – 18 November 1559) was the last

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...

, in England.

Early life

Baines was born around 1504 at

Knowsthorpe Knowsthorpe, Knostrop or Knostropp is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire. The spelling "Knostrop" is predominantly used for the large Sewage treatment, water treatment works in the area. John Atkinson Grimshaw, Atkinso ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, he was ordained priest at Ely in 1519. He came out against

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...

, and opposed

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's divorce from

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

, being incited to the latter by

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

. He was rector of

Hardwick, Cambridgeshire Hardwick is a village and civil parish in the county of Cambridgeshire, England with a large housing estate located about west of the city of Cambridge, England. The village lies immediately south of the A428 road between Cambridge and St Neot ...

, until 1544; but he had left the country by 1538.

Hebraist

Baines was a Hebraist, being a college lecturer in Hebrew at St John's. He went to Paris and became professor of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

from 1549 to 1554. He was the author of the work ''Compendium Michlol'' (also with the Hebrew title, ''Ḳiẓẓur ha-Ḥeleḳ Rishon ha-Miklol''), containing a Latin abstract of the first part of

David Ḳimḥi ''Cervera Bible'', David Kimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi (, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian. ...

's Hebrew grammar, and dealing methodically with the letters, reading, nouns, regular and irregular verbs, prefixes and suffixes (Paris, 1554).

Bishop

In 1554, Baines returned to England and was consecrated as Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, on 18 November 1554. He vigorously opposed the Protestant Reformers, and features largely in '' Foxe's Book of Martyrs'', conducting many examinations with his Chancellor, Anthony Draycot. His chancellor was involved, for instance, in the burning of a young blind woman,

Joan Waste Joan Waste or Wast (1534 – 1 August 1556) was a blind woman who was burned in Derby for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith.

, for heresy in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

.Blind Joan (22) Is Executed
, HeadlineHistory.co.uk, accessed February 2009 He was one of the eight defenders of Catholic doctrine at the Westminster Conference of 1558/9. On the accession of

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, he was deprived of his bishopric (21 June 1559)Bishops , British History Online
/ref> and committed to the care of

Edmund Grindal Edmund Grindal ( 15196 July 1583) was Bishop of London, Archbishop of York, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I. Though born far from the centres of political and religious power, he had risen rapidly in the church durin ...

, the Protestant

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, becoming one of eleven imprisoned bishops (researches of G. Philips support a theory that, though nominally a guest, Baines was in fact a strict prisoner). His captivity lasted until 18 November 1559, when, in the words of fellow Roman Catholic John Pitts, Baines "died an illustrious Confessor of the Lord".

Works

*''Prima Rudimenta in linguam Hebraicam'' (Paris, 1550) *''Compendium Michol, hoc est absolutissimæ grammatices Davidis Chimhi'' (Paris, 1554) *''In Proverbia Salomonis'' (Paris, 1555).

References

Nicholas Sanders Nicholas Sanders (also spelled Sander; c. 1530 – 1581) was an English Catholic priest and polemicist. Early life Sanders was born at Sander Place near Charlwood, Surrey, one of twelve children of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who ...

, ''Report to Cardinal Moroni'', 1561 (Cath. Record Soc. Pubs., 1905), I * John Pitts, ''De Angliae Scriptoribus'' (1623) *

Charles Dodd Hugh Tootell (1671/72 – 27 February 1743) was an English Catholic historian. He is commonly known under his pseudonym Charles Dodd. Life Tootell was born in Lancashire. He was tutored by his uncle, Christopher Tootle, before studying wi ...

, ''Church History'' (1688), Pt. III, ii, art. 3 *

Charles Henry Cooper Charles Henry Cooper (20 March 180821 March 1866) was an English antiquarian. Life Born at Marlow, Buckinghamshire, he was descended from a family formerly of Bray in Berkshire. He was privately educated in Reading. In 1826 he settled in Cambr ...

, ''Athenæ Cantabrigienses'', 1,202 *

Joseph Gillow Joseph Gillow (5 October 1850, Preston, Lancashire – 17 March 1921, Westholme, Hale, Cheshire) was an English Roman Catholic antiquary, historian and bio-bibliographer, "the Plutarch of the English Catholics". Biography Born in Frenchwood Ho ...

, ''Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath.'' (London, 1885) *

Thomas Edward Bridgett Thomas Edward Bridgett (20 January 182917 February 1899) was an English Catholic priest, missionary preacher and historical writer. Life He was the third son of Joseph Bridgett, a silk manufacturer of Colney Hatch, and his wife Mary (born Gregso ...

and

Thomas Francis Knox Father Francis Knox (born as Thomas Francis Knox; 24 December 1822 – 20 March 1882, London)Thompson Cooper''Knox, Thomas Francis (1822–1882)'' reviewed by Sheridan Gilley, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Pr ...

, ''Q. Eliz. and the Cath. Hierarchy'' (London, 1889) *G. E. Phillips, ''Extinction of the Ancient Hierarchy'' (London, 1905) *

Johann Christoph Wolf Johann Christoph Wolf (February 21, 1683, at Wernigerode – July 25, 1739, at Hamburg) was a German Christian Hebraist, polymath, and collector of books. He studied at Wittenberg, and traveled in Holland and England in the interest of science, c ...

, ''Bibliotheca Hebrœa'', i. 308.

Notes

External links

Ralph Baines
article in the

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

Source, ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baines, Ralph Bishops of Lichfield 16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Christian Hebraists 1504 births 1559 deaths Academic staff of the Collège de France Clergy from Leeds Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge