John Capgrave
Encyclopedia
John Capgrave was an English historian
, hagiographer
and scholastic
theologian
, Norfolk – "My cuntre is Northfolke, of the town of Lynne" (Life of St Katharine, 16). His parents are unknown but he may have been the nephew of a namesake who obtained a doctorate of theology at Oxford in 1390 and was also an Augustinian friar. Capgrave the younger joined the order at Lynn in about 1410 and was ordained in 1416 or 1417. He then studied theology at the order's school in London. By 1421, he was already a lector, qualified to teach at all but one of the order's levels of schooling. He was then sent by the prior-general to do further studies in Cambridge, where he delivered his examinatory sermon in Latin in 1422. He later wrote an English version of this as his treatise on the twelve orders that follow the rule of St Augustine. His progress from ordination to the degree of master of theology is said to have been the fastest on record.
, prior-provincial of the Augustinians in 1427–33 and later a bishop. Capgrave was present when the foundation stone of King's College, Cambridge was laid on 2 April 1441 by Henry VI
. Several hagiographies and royal biographies followed, including one in English of St Katharine
. By 1446 he was prior of the Augustinian friary at Bishop's Lynn.
Capgrave paid a visit to Rome in 1449–50 for the holy year of Jubilee and left an account that provides a glimpse into the histories, legends, traditions and publicly held attitudes in the church at that time. Some later works were dedicated to William Grey, king's proctor in Rome in 1450 and later bishop of Ely
.
Only twelve of Capgrave's 45 known works survive, including the seven in English. Perhaps the most important for posterity was his Abbreviacion of Cronicles, which provides a framework for world history within an Augustinian framework, drawing on the St Albans chronicles by Thomas Walsingham and others. According to the Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature, the book "brings together what Capgrave felt were the most important events in world and later British history. He often moralized historical incidents, and consistently revealed a bias for Christians and later Englishmen in his depiction of events."
Capgrave died on 12 August 1464 at Bishop's Lynn.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, hagiographer
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
and scholastic
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
Schooling
Capgrave was born in Bishop's Lynn, now King's LynnKing's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Norfolk – "My cuntre is Northfolke, of the town of Lynne" (Life of St Katharine, 16). His parents are unknown but he may have been the nephew of a namesake who obtained a doctorate of theology at Oxford in 1390 and was also an Augustinian friar. Capgrave the younger joined the order at Lynn in about 1410 and was ordained in 1416 or 1417. He then studied theology at the order's school in London. By 1421, he was already a lector, qualified to teach at all but one of the order's levels of schooling. He was then sent by the prior-general to do further studies in Cambridge, where he delivered his examinatory sermon in Latin in 1422. He later wrote an English version of this as his treatise on the twelve orders that follow the rule of St Augustine. His progress from ordination to the degree of master of theology is said to have been the fastest on record.
Works
Capgrave's earliest work was a Life of St Norbert in English some time before 1422. There followed a succession of exegesis, many of them now lost. His lost commentaries, entitled In regum, are known to have been dedicated to Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester and to John LowJohn Low
John Low or John Lowe was a medieval Bishop of St Asaph and Bishop of Rochester, in England.Low was consecrated Bishop of St Asaph on 1 November 1433 and translated to Rochester on 22 April 1444.Low died about 21 November 1467.-References:...
, prior-provincial of the Augustinians in 1427–33 and later a bishop. Capgrave was present when the foundation stone of King's College, Cambridge was laid on 2 April 1441 by Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
. Several hagiographies and royal biographies followed, including one in English of St Katharine
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
. By 1446 he was prior of the Augustinian friary at Bishop's Lynn.
Capgrave paid a visit to Rome in 1449–50 for the holy year of Jubilee and left an account that provides a glimpse into the histories, legends, traditions and publicly held attitudes in the church at that time. Some later works were dedicated to William Grey, king's proctor in Rome in 1450 and later bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
.
Only twelve of Capgrave's 45 known works survive, including the seven in English. Perhaps the most important for posterity was his Abbreviacion of Cronicles, which provides a framework for world history within an Augustinian framework, drawing on the St Albans chronicles by Thomas Walsingham and others. According to the Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature, the book "brings together what Capgrave felt were the most important events in world and later British history. He often moralized historical incidents, and consistently revealed a bias for Christians and later Englishmen in his depiction of events."
Capgrave died on 12 August 1464 at Bishop's Lynn.