Richard Middleton (died 1641) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergyman and writer who served as Archdeacon of Cardigan and chaplain to

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

(later King Charles I).

Life

Middleton obtained a BA degree from

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

in 1586.Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714, Michaelson-Morcombe
/ref> He was ordained and became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Llanarthne,

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

in south Wales, and then in 1589 obtained two posts in the diocese of St David's:

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

and archdeacon of Cardigan. (He may have been the son of Marmaduke Middleton,

Bishop of St Davids The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in ...

, who died in 1593.) He also served as vicar of

Tenby Tenby () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...

from 1617 to 1624. He was nominated to become vicar of Leeds in 1614, which caused considerable dispute since there was another candidate backed by leading parishioners and by

Tobias Matthew Tobias Matthew (also Tobie and Toby; 13 June 154629 March 1628), was an Anglican bishop who was President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1572 to 1576, before being appointed Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1579 to 1583, and Matthew ...

, the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. The

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

ruled against Middleton. He had, meanwhile, been appointed chaplain to

(later King Charles I). He wrote ''The Carde and Compasse of Life'' in 1613, a manual of advice to the prince. A later work, ''The Heavenly Progresse'' (1617) contained further advice to Charles that a good prince was not above the law, using quotations from classical authors to justify his reasoning. His other works included ''The Key of David'' (1619) and ''Goodness the Blessed Man's Badge'' (1619). He remained Archdeacon of Cardigan in 1629 when he exchanged positions with William Parker to become rector of Ecton,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

– a well-rewarded position. His wife, Margaret, was buried in Ecton in 1635; there is nothing to show that they had children. He died on 16 November 1641, and was also buried in Ecton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Richard 1641 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford 17th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of Cardigan English non-fiction writers Year of birth unknown English male non-fiction writers People from Ecton, Northamptonshire 16th-century Anglican theologians 17th-century Anglican theologians