A Journal by One of the Suite of Thomas Beckington

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THOMAS DE BECKINGTON, BISHOP OP BATH AND WELLS. Of the parentage of this eminent person not the slightest notice has been taken by either of his numerous biographers; and as he acquired a name from the place of his birth, Beckington, a small town three miles north of Frome in Somersetshire, it is almost...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THOMAS DE BECKINGTON, BISHOP OP BATH AND WELLS. Of the parentage of this eminent person not the slightest notice has been taken by either of his numerous biographers; and as he acquired a name from the place of his birth, Beckington, a small town three miles north of Frome in Somersetshire, it is almost certain that his family was obscure. The period when he was born can only be conjectured; and for many reasons it may be assigned to about the year 1385. In consequence of his elegant person and superior understanding having attracted the regard of Bishop Wykeham, he was educated at the school founded by that prelate at Winchester, where he surpassed most of his school-fellows in his studies.i Thence he was removed to New College, Oxford, of which he became a Fellow in 1408; and he continued to enjoy that situation about twelve years, during which time he was presented to the rectory of St. Leonard's, near Hastings, in Sussex, and to the vicarage of Sutton Courtney, in Berkshire.2 He took the degree of Doctor of Laws, and obtained various ecclesiasticaldignities; being successively, Prebendary of Bedwin; Canon of York and Litchfield; Archdeacon of Buckingham about 1435; Canon of Wells, 21st April, 1439;1 and was appointed Master of the Hospital of St. Katherine's, near the Tower of London. He is said to have been also an advocate in Doctor's Commons, and afterwards Dean of the Court of Arches, in which situation, in 1429, he was employed jointly with William Linwood, Official of that Court, and Thomas Brown, Vicar General to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to draw up the form of law according to which the Lollards were to be proceeded against.3 i Chaundler. Anglia Sacra, vol. i. p. 573. From the Journal, it appears that in 1442 he was a Prebend of Wells.?p. 2. Chaund...