Archbishop William Laud
William Laud was an Archbishop of Canterbury and a staunch supporter of King Charles I of England. He was born in October 7, 1573, died in January 10, 1645 and strongly urged Charles I to believe in the divine right of the monarchy to rule the country. This support for the absolute authority of the throne and intolerance for contrary political views largely contributed to his execution by beheading during the English Civil War. Charles I met the same fate and was beheaded four years later.
William Laud was born in Reading, Berkshire to a family of relatively modest means. His father was actually a cloth trader by profession and for Laud this was a source of much embarrassment throughout his entire career. Receiving his early education from Reading School, Laud later went on to further studies at St. John's College in Oxford by virtue of a White Scholarship.
He entered into church service on April 5, 1601 and soon made quite a reputation for his strong Catholic leanings and intolerance of Puritanism. He also became equally renowned for his superior intellect and organizational brilliance.
By this time, the Calvinist party was making strong inroads into the Church of England and William Laud's support for the theory of apostolic succession made him the object of severe criticism from various religious sectors.
William Laud was strongly opposed to divorce and it was with a great deal of reluctance that he performed the wedding rites to a divorcée. Of course he only did so in order to abide by the wishes of his then patron, the First Earl of Devon, Charles Blount.
Laud's rise to the top of the ranks of the clergy continued and he became president of St. John's College in 1611. He became Prebendary of Lincoln in 1614 and still later, Archdeacon of Huntingdon in 1615. Laud was also appointed Bishop of St. David's in 1622, Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1626 and Bishop of London in 1628. Finally, he was able to reach the highest position in the Church of England, becoming Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. His attainment of this lofty position was largely due to the support of his patrons the First Duke of Buckingham and the King himself.
As a devout Anglican and loyal Englishman, Laud was greatly dismayed by the claims brought against him by the Puritan faction who accused him of being a Papist. In truth however, while others were wary of the political implications that Puritanism threatened to bring to the country, Laud was more concerned about its threat to the episcopacy. The Puritans themselves were also threatened by various factors that were occurring around them at the time, such as the Counter Reformation movement, which was gathering strength abroad, and the failure of the Thirty Years' War to provide clear benefits to the protestant faith. It was in this instable and highly charged political climate that Laud's aggressive church policies were seen in a less than favourable light.
In 1640, the Long Parliament accused him of treason and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London throughout the Civil War and he was subsequently beheaded on January 10, 1645.
Original Authors:Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: RPN
Updated On: 23/04/2007
