Richard Broughton, alias Rouse, (''ca.'' 1558 in

Great Stukeley Great Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys. It is north-west of Huntingdon. Great Stukeley is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic coun ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

– 18 January 1634) was a Catholic priest and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

Life

Broughton claimed descent form the Broughtons of Lancashire. He was ordained at Reims on 4 May 1593 and soon after returned to England. John Pitts, a contemporary, says that he "gathered a most abundant harvest of souls into the granary of Christ" and eulogizes his attainments in being "no less familiar with literature than learned in Greek and Hebrew". Broughton became an assistant to the archpriest, a canon of the chapter, and vicar-general to Richard Smith,

Bishop of Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Istan ...

. He also claims recognition for his influence on the study of antiquity; having earned, partly by his work and partly through controversy, the right to honourable mention with

Henry Spelman Sir Henry Spelman (c. 1562 – October 1641) was an English antiquary, noted for his detailed collections of medieval records, in particular of church councils. Life Spelman was born in Congham, Norfolk, the eldest son of Henry Spelman (d. 1 ...

Edward Reyner Edward Reyner (Rayner) (1600–c.1668)Surman Index: Reyner, Edward
...

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...

, and other well-known antiquarians. In ''The ecclesiasticall historie of Great Britaine'', Broughton sought to rehabilitate

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea () is a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion. Three of the four Biblical Canon, canonical Gospels identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin, while the ...

for the Catholic cause. Since, it was believed, Joseph had arrived in Britain before the Catholic faith had been established, Protestants such as

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed and ...

argued that England had a purer form of faith. Catholic polemicists such as

Robert Persons Robert Persons (24 June 1546 – 15 April 1610), later known as Robert Parsons, was an English Jesuit priest. He was a major figure in establishing the 16th-century "English Mission" of the Society of Jesus. Early life Robert Person ...

attempted to deal with the Arimathean problem by diminishing its importance, even hinting that the story of Joseph's journey to Glastonbury may have been completely false. Broughton, however, specifically refuted Persons and others who made Joseph’s ‘coming hither doubtfull’, and marshalled evidence that would demonstrate the Catholic nature of Joseph’s faith (images, relics) and prove that Joseph actually had come to Britain. Amongst which was the ‘miraculous testimonie’ given annually by the Christmas-flowering Holy Thorn of Glastonbury; not, at this stage in the legend’s development, described as Joseph’s flowering staff but nonetheless growing ‘in the very place where S. Joseph with two others of his holy company first rested their weary bodies'.

Works

Broughton's chief works are: *''An Apologicall Epistle, serving as preface to a Resolution of Religion'', signed R. B. (Antwerp, 1601); *''The first part of the Resolution of Religion By R. B.'' (Antwerp, 1603), often mistaken for

's ''Resolution'' (i.e. ''The first booke of the Christian exercise, appertayning to Resolution''); *''A New Manuall of old Christian Catholick Meditations'' (1617), dedicated to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

; *''The English Protestants Recantation in Matters of Religion''... (1618), presumably inspired by

James Anderton Sir Cyril James Anderton (24 May 1932 – 5 May 2022) was a British police officer who served as chief constable of Greater Manchester from 1976 to 1991. Early life and career Born and brought up in a coal mining family in Wigan, Lancashire, ...

's massive ''Protestants Apologie for the Roman Chvrch'' (1608); *''The Judgment of the Apostles'' (Douai, 1632), dedicated to Queen

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

and directed against Rogers on the Thirty-nine Articles; *''Ecclesiasticall Historie of Great Britaine'' (Douai, 1633), dedicated to the Duchess of Buckingham and the Countess of Rutland;

Michael Hodgetts Michael William Hodgetts (29 March 1936 – 12 December 2022) was an English Catholic historian who became a leading expert on priest holes and on Harvington Hall. Early life Hodgetts was born in Birmingham on 29 March 1936, and was raised a C ...

& Paul Hodgetts, ''Secret Hiding Places: Priest Holes: An Incredible True Story of Faith and Ingenuity'' (Pear Branch Press, 2024), pp. 163, 262. *''A True Memorial'' (London, 1650), published by G. S. P(riest) after Broughton's death. The 1654 edition is entitled ''Monasticon Britannicum''. Broughton also wrote on the antiquity of the world, ''Sterlingorum'' (Hearne, II, 318, 381); on the alleged conversion (1621) of John King, Bishop of London; and ''A Relation of the Martyrdom of

Nicholas Garlick Nicholas Garlick (c. 1555 – 24 July 1588) was an English Catholic priest, martyred in Derby in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Early life He was born around 1555, near Dinting in Glossop, within the county of Derby. In January 1575 he ...

''. He died according to

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. He meticulously rese ...

, 15 ''Kal. Feb.'' 1634 (i.e. 18 January 1634).

Bibliography

*Wood, Anthony à, ''Fasti'', ed. ''Bliss'' (London, 1815), I, 428 * Dodd, Charles, ''Church History'', ed. Tierney (Brussels, 1742), III, 87 * Pitts, John, ''De Rebus Anglicis'', 815 * Foley, Henry, ''The Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus'' (London, 1880), VI, 181 * Hurter, Hugo von, ''Nomenclator litterarius theolgiae catholicae'' (Innsbruck, 1871), I, 657 * Gillow, Joseph, ''Bibliographical Dictionary of the English Catholics'' (London, 1885), I, 318 *

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton, Richard 1550s births 1634 deaths English antiquarians 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests 16th-century English writers 16th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers People from Huntingdonshire