William Harrison
William Harrison was a 16th-century English clergyman and scholar, born on April 18, 1535, in London. He attended prestigious educational institutions, including St. Paul's School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he earned his B.A. in 1557. Initially ordained in 1558, Harrison soon transitioned to the role of chaplain for William Brooke, Lord Cobham, and later became a vicar in Radwinter, Essex, after converting to Protestantism following the death of Queen Mary. His writings reflected his strong Protestant beliefs, and he became known for his apologia regarding the "True Church" and its historical conflicts with what he termed the "Church of Cain."
Harrison's academic output included a significant chronology of world history that dated the Creation to 3966 B.C.E., as well as contributions to Raphael Holinshed's Chronicle, particularly the sections on England and Scotland. He was also a canon at Windsor and passed away on November 9, 1593, likely due to the plague. Harrison's unique perspectives and writings are noted for their dramatic flair and offer early insights into the development of conspiracy theories, particularly regarding religious institutions. His work remains a noteworthy part of the historical discourse on Protestantism and the Church's history during a tumultuous period in England.
On this Page
Subject Terms
William Harrison
Writer
- Born: April 18, 1535
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: November 9, 1593
Biography
William Harrison was born on April 18, 1535 in London, the son of John and Anne Harrison, whom he described as “honourable citizens.” Although it is difficult to be certain, his father may well have been the notable merchant adventurer of that name. Harrison attended St. Paul’s School and Westminster School in the 1540’s and entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1554, obtaining his B.A. in 1557. He then became a probationary fellow of Merton.
Harrison was ordained in April 1558 but resigned within months to become chaplain to William Brooke, Lord Cobham. Cobham presented him with a living in Radwinter in Essex in 1559—by which time Harrison was free to advertise his conversion to Protestantism, Queen Mary having died. He subsequently attributed that conversion to the influence of the Oxford martyrs, Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, and Nicholas Ridley. He became a fervent apologist for his new faith, his writings—and presumably his preaching—waxing lyrical about a long battle waged since the Fall by the “True Church” against the “Church of Cain,” of which popery was allegedly the modern incarnation.
In addition to Radwinter, Harrison also held the living of nearby Wimbish from 1571 to 1581. He accumulated several other small livings besides, allowng him to build up a healthy but not spectacular income; in the meantime, he obtained his Oxford M.A. in 1560 and a B.D. from Cambridge in 1571. In the 1560’s, he married Marion Isebrand, a French Protestant refugee; they had four children. He also began work on his magnum opus, an early draft of which is known to have existed in 1565: a “chronological computation” of the events of world history, which dated the Creation to a specific day in the year 3966 b.c.e.
This chronology contrasts very strongly with the more relaxed but far better-known work that Harrison contributed in this period to Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicle, which comprised the “Description of England,” supplementary to Holinshed’s own history, and the English version of the “Description of Scotland.” Other writings in a more ambitious vein, including annotations of the (apocryphal) prophecies of Merlin, have been lost.
Harrison became canon of Windsor in 1586, and died there on November 9, 1593, probably of the plague; he was buried in St George’s Chapel. Although his own biblical chronology was overtaken by the highly derivative one produced by James Ussher in the 1650’s—which pushed the date of the Creation back by 38 years—it remains a monument of eccentric scholarship; his melodramatic account of the secret history of the Church of Cain and its Satanist plots is a significant precursor of modern conspiracy theories.