Robert Everard () was an English soldier who fought for the Parliamentary cause during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and was a religious controversialist. He promoted

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

views,

Socinianism Socinianism ( ) is a Nontrinitarian Christian belief system developed and co-founded during the Protestant Reformation by the Italian Renaissance humanists and theologians Lelio Sozzini and Fausto Sozzini, uncle and nephew, respectively. ...

and

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

; and in later years declared himself a

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 ...

convert.

Identity

Beyond the facts known from the controversial literature, his identity is still a somewhat confused matter, depending on the credibility of the sources. Christopher Hill points to the possibility of charlatanry involved in some of the events of the 1640s, picking up comments of

John Pordage John Pordage (1607–1681) was a Church of England priest, astrologer, alchemist and Christian mystic. He founded the 17th-century English Behmenist group, which would later become known as the Philadelphian Society when it was led by his disci ...

. Pordage was (on his own account) in contact with Robert Everard for a couple of months in late 1649, which were filled with impressive conjuring tricks or illusions, and saw him experience a breakdown leaving him in Bridewell Hospital. Christopher Hill, ''The World Turned Upside Down'', pp. 284-6. Hill also comments on the generic nature of the

conversion narrative Broadly speaking, a conversion narrative is a narrative that relates the operation of conversion, usually religious. As a specific aspect of American literary and religious history, the conversion narrative was an important facet of Puritan sacred ...

of the pamphlet in which Everard's Catholicism was announced, and its lack of historical foundation.

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist church leader and theologian from Rowton, Shropshire, who has been described as "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". He ma ...

, who theorised that the Independents were a Catholic conspiracy, found in Everard a possible example of his theory, that Independents might be crypto-Catholics. It has been suggested by Hill that this Robert Everard may coincide with the William Everard who was a leader of the

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with a political ideology and programme resembling what would later be called agrarian socialism.; ; ; Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard (Digger), Will ...

. Some references in the literature, if Robert and William are different people, may have confused the two. Hill in an earlier book gives an example, relating to an Everard who was a guest of

Roger Crab Roger Crab (1621 – 11 September 1680)Bowlt 2007, pp. 101–102 was an English soldier, haberdasher, herbal doctor and writer who is best known for his ascetic lifestyle which included Christian vegetarianism. Crab fought in the Parliamentary ...

. William Everard's career as a Digger leader, with

Gerrard Winstanley Gerrard Winstanley (baptised 19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, and activist during the period of the Commonwealth of England. Winstanley was the leader and one of the fo ...

, was quite short, beginning on 1 April 1649 at a hill in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about southwest of central London. Walton forms part ...

. He was an ex-soldier, and also a sometime Leveller. William Poole comments that the identities of Robert and William Everard were confused by their contemporaries.William Poole, ''Milton and the Idea of the Fall'' (2005), p. 41. Hill's suggestion does not have wide support. Another point is whether this Robert Everard was the same figure as the person of that name, Robert Everard the Agitator (New Agent), involved in the 1647

Putney Debates The Putney Debates, which took place from 28 October to 8 November 1647, were a series of discussions over the political settlement that should follow Parliament's victory over Charles I in the First English Civil War. The main participants wer ...

, and a signatory of the ''

Agreement of the People '' An Agreement of the People'' was a series of manifestos, published between 1647 and 1649, for constitutional changes to the English state. Several versions of the ''Agreement'' were published, each adapted to address not only broad concerns b ...

'' (October 28). Here contemporary scholarship largely does make the connection. Nigel SmithNigel Smith, ''Literature and Revolution in England, 1640–1660'' (1994), p. 336. in speaking of the "General Baptist and Leveller" identifies the two. The Leveller was a Trooper (called Buff-Coat while he remained anonymous) of the Lieutenant-General's Regiment, while the controversialist claimed an army rank of Captain (and was so identified by Pordage). The ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' also identifies the two; William Everard has a separate article there.

Works

Publications by Robert Everard include: *''Baby-baptism Routed'', London, 1650. This elicited a reply from

Nathaniel Stephens Nathaniel Stephens (1589 – 30 May 1660) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War. Biography Stephens was the son of Rich ...

(supported by John Bryan and

Obadiah Grew Obadiah Grew (1 November 1607 – 22 October 1689) was an English nonconformist minister. Life Grew was born at Atherstone, Warwickshire on 1 November 1607, the third son of Francis Grew and Elizabeth Denison. He was baptised the same day at the ...

); whose work was then criticised by

John Tombes John Tombes (c. 1603 – 22 May 1676) was an English clergyman of Presbyterian and Baptist views. Early life He was born at Bewdley, Worcestershire, in 1602 or 1603. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, 23 January 1618, aged 15. His tutor th ...

in his ''Antipaedobaptism''. *''Nature's Vindication; or a check to all those who affirm Nature to be Vile, Wicked, Corrupt, and Sinful'', London 1652. *''Three questions propounded to B. Morley about his practice of Laying on of Hands'', Lond. n. d. This led to a controversy between Everard, Benjamin Morley, and T. Morris, a baptist. * ''The Creation and the Fall of Man'', London, no date.

, a presbyterian preacher, replied to this in ''Vindiciae Fundamenti; or a Threefold Defence of the Doctrine of Original Sin'', 1658. Everard's work, commentary on the ''

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

'', is dated to 1649, when Everard was active in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. *''An Epistle to the several Congregations of the Non-Conformists'' ond. ? 2nd edit. 1664. In this work the author states the reason of his conversion to the Catholic Church. Replies to it were published by 'J. I.,'

Matthew Poole Matthew Poole (1624–1679) was an English Nonconformist theologian and biblical commentator. Life to 1662 He was born at York, the son of Francis Pole, but he spelled his name Poole, and in Latin Polus; his mother was a daughter of Alderman T ...

, and

Francis Howgill Francis Howgill (1618 – 11 February 1669) was a prominent early member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England. He preached and wrote on the teachings of the Friends and is considered one of the Valiant Sixty, men and women wh ...

Notes

References

* * ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Everard, Robert 17th-century English soldiers