Meredith Hanmer’s Career in the Church of England, c. 1570–1590

Abstract

This article deals with two pivotal decades in the life of Meredith Hanmer, an Anglican divine of Welsh descent who built his career in the Church of England against the backdrop of shifting ecclesiastical policy, religious debate and the upsurge in anti-Catholicism. Hanmer was close to the establishment but his career trajectory apparently shifted in the early-1590s, when he resigned two London benefices to move to Ireland. This study reconstructs the years preceding this move focussing on Hanmer’s professional advancement and on the publication of his first works, which will enable us to gauge his multifaceted profile as a scholar and as a clergyman. While he courted favour and established his name as a learned preacher, archival records bear a clear witness to his highly controversial conduct.