Henry Smith (preacher)
Encyclopedia
Henry Smith was an English clergyman, widely regarded as "the most popular Puritan
preacher of Elizabethan London." His sermons at St. Clement Danes drew enormous crowds, and earned him a reputation as "Silver Tongued" Smith. The collected editions of his sermons, and especially his tract, "God's Arrow Against Atheists" were among the most frequently reprinted religious writings of the Elizabethan age.
around 1560, Smith may have enrolled during the 1570s in colleges at both Cambridge
and Oxford
, but seems not to have taken a degree. He was in any case by 1589 among London's most popular preachers; however in that year, Smith seems to have contracted an illness which according to Charles Henry Cooper
's Athenae Cantabrigienses caused him to devote his remaining time to preparing his writings for publication:
Smith's preparations allowed his writings to become among England's most popular, after his death. However, some sources indicate that Smith may have survived until around 1600, or even until as late as 1613.
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
preacher of Elizabethan London." His sermons at St. Clement Danes drew enormous crowds, and earned him a reputation as "Silver Tongued" Smith. The collected editions of his sermons, and especially his tract, "God's Arrow Against Atheists" were among the most frequently reprinted religious writings of the Elizabethan age.
Life
Despite his popularity in the Elizabethan period, considerable uncertainty surrounds Smith's biography. Probably born in LeicestershireLeicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
around 1560, Smith may have enrolled during the 1570s in colleges at both Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, but seems not to have taken a degree. He was in any case by 1589 among London's most popular preachers; however in that year, Smith seems to have contracted an illness which according to Charles Henry Cooper
Charles Henry Cooper
Charles Henry Cooper was an English antiquarian.-Life:Born at Marlow, Buckinghamshire, he was descended from a family formerly of Bray in Berkshire. He was privately educated in Reading. In 1826 he settled in Cambridge, and in 1836 was elected coroner of the borough...
's Athenae Cantabrigienses caused him to devote his remaining time to preparing his writings for publication:
During his sickness, being desirous to do good by writing, he occupied himself in revising his sermons and other works for the press. his collected sermons he dedicated to his kind patron Lord Burghley. . .He died before the collection came from the press, being buried at Husbands Bosworth in his native country. In the register of that parish is this entry: Anno 1591, Henricus Smyth, theologus,m filius Erasmi Smyth, armigeri, sepult. fuit 4to. die Julii.
Smith's preparations allowed his writings to become among England's most popular, after his death. However, some sources indicate that Smith may have survived until around 1600, or even until as late as 1613.
External links
- Gary W. Jenkins, ‘Smith, Henry (c.1560–1591)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.