Henry Smith (preacher)

Henry Smith (preacher)

Henry Smith (c.1560-1591?) 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.

Life

Despite his popularity in the Elizabethan period, considerable uncertainty surrounds Smith's biography. Probably born in Leicestershire 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:

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. It should be noted however that some sources indicate that Smith may have survived until around 1600, or even until as late as 1613.

References

*R.B. Jenkins, Henry Smith : England's silver-tongued preacher (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1983).

External links

*worldcat id|lccn-n83-17862
*Gary W. Jenkins, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25811 ‘Smith, Henry (c.1560–1591)’] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henry Smith — may be:*Henry A. Smith (1830 ndash;1915), American physician and poet, early settler of Seattle *Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith (1900 ndash;1993), British Army officer and Governor of Queensland. *Sir Henry Babington Smith (1863 ndash;1923),… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Weston Smith — Reverend Henry Weston Smith (Preacher Smith) (b. January 10 1827 in Ellington, Connecticut ndash; died August 20 1876 between Deadwood and Crook City, South Dakota) was an early resident of Deadwood, South Dakota. Unlike most of the residents of… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Hayes Vowles — (born 26 June 1843 in Bath, England and died 13 November 1905 in Gloucester, England) was an author, theologian and a Wesleyan Minister. He also published religious poetry.ParentsHe was the son of Henry Vowles (born c1816) of bath and Mary Yeoman …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Phillpotts — (1778 ndash;1869), Bishop of Exeter or Henry of Exeter, as he was often called, was England s longest serving bishop since the 12th century, (1830 ndash;1869), one of the most striking figures in the English Church of the 19th century and one of… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Edward Cardinal Manning —     Henry Edward Manning     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Henry Edward Manning     Cardinal Priest ( see Cardinal, I ) of Sts. Andrew and Gregory on the Coelian Hill and second Archbishop of Westminster, b. 15 July, 1808; d. 14 January, 1892.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Henry Cooke (minister) — Henry Cooke, D.D. (1788 1868), was an Irish presbyterian leader of the early and mid nineteenth century.UpbringingHenry Cooke came of a family of puritan settlers in County Down from Devonshire. He was the youngest son of John Cooke, tenant… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Corden — est un acteur américain né le 6 janvier 1920 à Montréal (Canada), décédé le 19 mai 2005 à Los Angeles (Californie). Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Filmographie 3 Récompen …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Henry Lyons — The Reverend Henry Lyons (b. 1942) is a former President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. who was jailed on a series of federal charges. Early lifeHenry was raised by his grandfather, a Deacon named Booker T. Lyons. His own father,… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Wace — The Very Reverend Henry Wace (December 10, 1836 January 9, 1924) was Principal of King s College London and Dean of Canterbury. He is described in the Dictionary of National Biography as an effective administrator, a Protestant churchman of deep… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Acland — Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, 1st Baronet KCB was born on 23 August 1815 in Killerton, Exeter, Devon, England. He was the fourth son of Sir Thomas Acland and Lydia Elizabeth Hoare. He died on 16 October 1900 in Broad Street, London, England.The… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”