Cuthbert Tunstall
Cuthbert Tunstall (1474-1559) was an influential English bishop and scholar, known for his remarkable adaptability during the tumultuous religious changes of the 16th century. Born in Yorkshire as the illegitimate son of a squire, Tunstall received a thorough education, studying at prestigious institutions like Balliol College, Oxford, and the University of Padua, where he built a reputation as a distinguished scholar. His ecclesiastical career began under Archbishop William Warham, leading him to prominent positions including bishop of London and later bishop of Durham.
Notably, Tunstall published a celebrated treatise on arithmetic, “De arte supputandi libri quattuor,” which garnered acclaim beyond theological circles. Throughout King Henry VIII's reign, Tunstall maintained his Catholic faith while navigating the challenges posed by the Protestant Reformation, choosing a path of restraint regarding heresy. He was known for his non-persecutory approach, opting to buy and destroy copies of William Tyndale’s Bible instead of prosecuting its readers. His tenure faced challenges under King Edward VI, leading to imprisonment after he opposed Protestant reforms. However, he was reinstated under Queen Mary I, yet remained steadfast in his beliefs against persecution until his death in 1559. Tunstall’s legacy is marked by his scholarly contributions and a commitment to a humane approach in the face of religious strife.
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Cuthbert Tunstall
Church Leader
- Born: 1474
- Birthplace: Hackforth, Yorkshire, England
- Died: November 18, 1559
- Place of death: Lambeth Palace, London, England
Biography
Cuthbert Tunstall was born in 1474 in Hackforth, Yorkshire, England. He was the illegitimate son of Thomas Tunstall, who later became one of King Richard III’s squires, and the daughter of Sir John Conyers of Hornsby Castle. He had three brothers and three sisters, some probably resulting from his father’s first marriage; one of his brothers was the celebrity knight Sir Brian Tunstall, who was killed at the battle of Flodden in 1513.
Tunstall apparently spent two years as a kitchen boy in the house of Sir Thomas Holland but eventually returned home (perhaps when his parents married) and was well educated thereafter. He went to Balliol College, Oxford University, in 1491, where he became acquainted with Thomas More and John Colet. He left Oxford without graduating, probably because of an outbreak of the plague in 1493, and became a scholar of King’s College, Cambridge University, in 1496. He did not graduate there either, and in 1499 he began attending the University of Padua, where he studied under Leonico Tomeo and Pietro Pomponazzi, two of the leading humanists of the day. At Padua, Tunstall gained a reputation for outstanding scholarship, and he visited Rome before returning to England in 1505.
Tunstall’s career in the Church of England began when he became the protégé of Archbishop William Warham in 1508, serving as rector of Stanhope in Durham and Aldbridge in Staffordshire in advance of his ordination. He passed through several similar positions after being ordained a deacon in 1509, and made rapid progress when he was ordained a priest in 1511. He succeeded Thomas Wolsey as canon of Lincoln in 1514 and served Wolsey thereafter as an agent, undertaking several diplomatic missions to France and to the Holy Roman Empire, including the Diet of Worms. He became archdeacon of Chester in 1515 and dean of Salibsbury in 1519. In 1522, he was appointed bishop of London and in 1530, bishop of Durham. His most famous and popular publication was not one of his theological tracts but a treatise on arithmetic, De arte supputandi libri quattuor, printed in 1522, which gained the distinction of being cited by François Rabelais in his book Gargantua and Pantagruel.
Tunstall proved remarkably flexible in negotiating a path through the religious upheavals of King Henry VIII’s reign. He accepted the royal supremacy in spite of his steadfast Catholicism, but gained a highly unusual reputation for not persecuting heretics and never condemning anyone to death. When William Tyndale’s English Bible was imported to England, Tunstall preferred to buy up copies himself and burn them rather than prosecute its importers and buyers.
However, the protestant reforms carried out under King Edward VI tested his tolerance. He was deprived of his church offices in 1552 after issuing objections to these reforms and imprisoned. While in prison he wrote his most notable religious work, De veritate corporis et sanguinis domini nostri Jesu Christi in eucharisti. Restored to office upon Queen Mary I’s accession in 1553, he remained stubborn in his refusal to persecute heretics. He would not take the oath of supremacy when Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 and was again deprived of his church positions. He was committed to the gentle custody of Archbishop Matthew Parker, and he died in Parker’s house in London on November 18, 1559.