Richard Smyth (or Smith) (1499/1500,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

– 9 July 1563,

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) was the first person to hold the office of

Regius Professor of Divinity The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin. The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by ...

in the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and the first Chancellor of the

University of Douai The University of Douai (; ) was a historic university in Douai, France. With a medieval tradition of scholarly activity in the city, the university was established in 1559, and lectures began in 1562. It ceased operations from 1795 to 1808. In ...

Life

Educated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, and taking his MA degree in 1530, he became

Registrar of the University of Oxford The Registrar of the University of Oxford is one of the senior officials of the university. According to its statutes, the Registrar acts as the "head of the central administrative services", with responsibility for "the management and professi ...

in 1532 then (by royal appointment) its first Regius Professor of

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

in 1536. Taking his doctorate in divinity on 10 July 1536, he was subsequently made master of Whittington College, London, rector of

St Dunstan-in-the-East St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a publi ...

and then Cuxham, Oxfordshire, principal of St Alban's Hall, Oxford, and divinity reader at

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

. Some (possibly unreliable) accounts have him renouncing Catholicism and the authority of the Pope at Oxford and (on 15 May 1547) at

St Paul's Cross Paul's Cross (alternatively "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in St Paul's Churchyard, the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart Englan ...

on the accession of the Protestant

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

. However, even if the accounts are reliable, soon afterwards he became a Catholic again and was thus replaced in his professorship with Peter Martyr. He and Martyr were to hold a public disputation in 1549, but fled to

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

before it could be held. On release he left to become professor of divinity at

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

, returning on the accession of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

to become canon of Christ Church and royal chaplain and take a major part in proceedings against

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

, Nicholas Ridley, and

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 ...

. Regaining most of his benefices, he lost them all again when Elizabeth succeeded Mary, and was briefly imprisoned in the house of Archbishop

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer ...

. On release, he again fled to the continent, this time to

, where Mary's widower

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

appointed him dean of St. Peter's church and then (on Philip II's inauguration of

on 5 October 1562) the university's chancellor and professor of theology.

Works

*''Assertion and Defence of the Sacrament of the Altar'' (1546) *''Defence of the Sacrifice of the Mass'' (1547) *''Defensio celibatus sacerdotum'' (1550) *''Diatriba de hominis justificatione'' (1550) *''Buckler of the Catholic Faith'' (1555–56) *''De Missa Sacrificio'' (1562) *refutations of

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

and Christopher Carlile, of

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

John Jewel John Jewel (''alias'' Jewell) (24 May 1522 – 23 September 1571) of Devon, England was Bishop of Salisbury from 1559 to 1571. Life He was the youngest son of John Jewel of Bowden in the parish of Berry Narbor in Devon, by his wife Alice Bel ...

l,who had accused Smyth of adultery and

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza (; or ''de Besze''; 24 June 1519 – 13 October 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a disciple of John Calvin and lived most ...

, all published in 1562.

References

Bibliography

*J. Andreas Löwe, ''Richard Smyth and the Language of Orthodoxy: Re-imagining Tudor Catholic Polemicism'' (Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions: History, Culture, Religion, Ideas, 96; Leiden: Brill, 2003). {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Richard 15th-century births 1563 deaths 16th-century English clergy 16th-century English male writers 16th-century English non-fiction writers 16th-century English theologians Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Clergy from Worcestershire English male non-fiction writers English Roman Catholic writers Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Principals of St Alban Hall, Oxford Registrars of the University of Oxford Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Oxford) 16th-century Roman Catholic theologians Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford