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The Adventures of an Angel-Guardian in Seventeenth-Century England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2015

J. M. Blom
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Extract

‘I acknowledge this Doctrine is not commonly received by Protestants, who (I humbly conceive) might reject it chiefly in opposition to the See of Rome, wherein such a multitude of monsters do swim…’ This is how the Congregationalist divine, Robert Dingley (1619-1660) summarized the characteristic Protestant attitude to the Roman Catholic belief in guardian angels in the preface to The Deputation of Angels, or The Angel-Guardian (1654, Wing D 1496).

Type
Research Article
Information
British Catholic History , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , May 1990 , pp. 48 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © Catholic Record Society 1973

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References

Notes

1 Robert Dingley (1619–1660) was a Congregationalist divine with a high contemporary reputation as a writer of theological works. See DNB.

2 For Drexelius see Pörnbacher, K., Jeremias Drexelius. Leben und Werken eines Barockpredigers (München, 1965)Google Scholar, Gauly, Herbert, Das einfache Auge (Mainz, 1962)Google Scholar and Dünnhaupt, Gerhard, Bibliographisches Handbuch der Barock-Literatur (Stuttgart, 1980)Google Scholar. For the English translations of a substantial part of Drexelius’s works see an article by the present author entitled ‘Jeremias Drexelius and his Anglican readers’ in Janssens, G. and Aarts, F., Studies in Seventeenth-Century English Literature, History and Bibliography (Amsterdam, 1984), pp.41–51 Google Scholar. The English history of Drexel’s works is complicated, but the main conclusion is that he was extremely popular both with English Roman Catholics and with non-Catholic English readers, and that his popularity lasted from the early seventeenth until the beginning of the twentieth century.

3 The Bodleian Library copy of The Angel-Guardian was used for a photographic reprint which was published in 1976 as Vol. 298 of the Series ‘English Recusant Literature 1558–1640’ (Scolar Press), edited by D. M. Rogers.

4 The ‘Sodality of Our Lady’ was established in Rome in 1563 as an organisation for students and laymen with a well-defined programme of spiritual formation. Branches developed in a great number of countries; the English branch was started at the English College, Rome in 1581 and spread to all the colleges governed by the English Jesuits. See NCE, s.v. ‘Sodalities of Our Lady’; Guilday, Peter, The English Catholic Refugees on the Continent 1558–1795 (London, 1914), p.144nGoogle Scholar, and Chadwick, Hubert, St. Omers to Stonyhurst (London, 1962)Google Scholar.

5 Stafford, Anthony, The Female Glory (London, 1635, STC 23123)Google Scholar. A. W. signs a commendatory poem here.

6 In his Henry Hawkins. Leben und Werken eines englischen Jesuiten des 17. Jahrhunderts (Erlangen, 1974) Wolfgang Lottes arrives at the same conclusion, but does not try to solve the problem of the dedicator’s identity.

7 See: Foley, H., Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus, 7 Vols (London, Roehampton, 1875–83)Google Scholar, passim, but in particular Vol.I (London, 1877), p.138, and Vol.III (London, 1878), pp.520ff. See also Cokayne, G. E., The Complete Baronetage (Exeter, 1900–1909)Google Scholar and Bernard Burke, John, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetries of England, Ireland and Scotland (2nd edition, London, 1844), p.465.Google Scholar

8 For Henry Hawkins see: Gillow; DNB; Freeman, R., English Emblem Books (London, 1948)Google Scholar; Evetts Seeker, Josephine, ‘Henry Hawkins S. J.’, Recusant History, Vol.11 (1972), no. 5, pp.237–252 Google Scholar; W. Lottes, op.cit.

9 For Thomas Hawkins, see Foley, op,cit., Vol.III (London, 1878), pp.491ff and Vol. V (London, 1879), p.860.

10 See Walsh, M. J., ‘The Publishing Policy of the English Jesuits at St. Omers 1608–1759’, Studies in Church History, Vol.17 (Oxford, 1981)CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Hubert Chadwick, op.cit.

11 See Halkett & Laing III, and Frederick Charles Cass, M. A., Monken Hadley (London, 1880). The latter book contains a pedigree of the Stanford/Staunford/Stamford family of Monken Hadley and Staffordshire inserted between pp.154–155.

12 The Christian Zodiack ([Rouen] Printed by John Le Cousturier, 1633, STC 7234.5/A&R 284). Another link between The Angel-Guardian and the Society of Jesus is the fact that ‘The Little Office of the Angel Guardian’ which is included in the book, appears in a translation that came out for the first time in 1623 as part of a Jesuit-inspired devotional work, entitled The Key of Paradise (St. Omers [Eng. Coll. Press]; STC 14945.5/A&R 432), edited by John Wilson (1566?—1645?).

In 1628 a Latin edition of Drexel’s works to date was published in München (Opera cum indice quadruplici, see Sommervogel, C., Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, Vol.III [Brussels/Paris, 1892], p.203)Google Scholar. One might speculate that the publication of this edition provided a stimulus for the translation of Drexel’s works.

13 Even if it has not proved possible to identify positively the William Roberts of Nerquis mentioned here, there is good reason to suppose that he belonged to the Roberts family of Plas Ucha, Nerquis. Various members of this family are parties to deeds in the Nerquis Hall collection held by the Clwyd County Record Office. (This information was kindly supplied by the County Archivist, A. G. Veysey).

14 See Lloyd, J. Y. W., The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, 6 Vols (London, 1881–1887), Vol.4 (1884), pp. 330–339 Google Scholar. See also Duke Henning, Basil, The History of Commons 1660–1690, Vol.III (London, 1983)Google Scholar and Smith, W. J., Calendar of Salusbury Correspondence 1553–circa 1700 (Cardiff, 1954), pp. 12–13.Google Scholar

15 For A Bright Starre see Birrell, T. A., ‘English Catholic Mystics in Non-Catholic Circles’, Downside Review XCIV (1976), p.65.Google Scholar Apart from commenting on the book itself and its authorship, Birrell comments on Salusbury’s notes in the BL copy.

16 The library was later dispersed. The copy of A Bright Starre came in the possession of Sydney Williams Wynn, a member of another famous Welsh family.

17 See e.g. Ellis, T. P., The Catholic Martyrs of Wales 1535–1680 (London, 1933), pp. 125–126 Google Scholar; Cronin, J. M., ‘The Other Irish Martyr of the Titus Oates Plot’ in Blessed Oliver Plunket. Historical Studies (Dublin, 1937), pp. 133–153 Google Scholar; C. Mooney, O.F.M., ‘Further Light on Father Charles Meehan, O.F.M.’ in Collectanea Hibernica, Vol.6/7 (1963/4), pp. 225–230. Mihan was born in Ireland in 1640. He entered the Franciscan order and was ordained priest in France. Returning from France to Ireland his ship was wrecked off the English coast. While heading for Holyhead he was arrested near Denbigh in June 1678. He was brought before Sir John Salusbury and remanded to gaol for the sole reason of being a suspected priest (it was the time of the Titus Oates Plot). He was tried at the Denbigh Assizes in August 1679, found guilty and subsequently executed.

18 See Williams, John, The Records of Denbigh, Vol.I (Wrexham 1860), p.l39ff.Google Scholar

19 See above.

20 Heywood, Thomas, The Hierarchie of the blessed Angells (London, 1635; STC 13327)Google Scholar. This work by the playwright Heywood (d. 1650, see DNB) is a curious collection of nine books, each containing a poem in heroic couplets on a subject concerning angels (‘Lucifer’s Fall’, ‘The Classes… of the celestial Hierarchy’, etc.), supplemented by tracts, emblems and meditations.

21 The translation stems from the Authorised Version.

22 See DNB.

23 See DNB s.v. Sutcliffe, quoting from Fuller’s Church History, bk X, p. 51.

24 E.O. [P. Woodward]. A detection of divers notable untruthes, contradictions, corruptions and falsifications gathered out of Mr Sutcliffes New Challenge and Mr Willets Synopsis Papismi and Tetrastilon Papisticum [n.p.], 1602, STC 18754/A&R 906).

25 The translation referred to here is The Devout Christian’s Hourly Companion (London, 1716, with at least 5 later reprintings). The book was translated by Robert Samber (1685–C.1735).