His Testament and His Religion

Abstract

Robert Recorde was raised in the Catholic faith, but died a confirmed Protestant, as demonstrated by the form of his will. It seems likely that he received his early education at a chantry school attached to the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Tenby. This church had putative links with the Tudors and was the only religious house in Southern Wales that housed a chantry to the Holy Name of Jesus. The latter was a cult much favoured by the ruling classes, Margaret de Beaufort in particular, one which much advocated preaching and teaching functions. Recorde’s known associates were also largely of the Protestant persuasion and he joined a number of them in testifying against Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. The two theological texts that Recorde wrote are not extant, but their titles are clearly anti-Catholic in tone. Unlike many of his intellectual associates, on Mary’s accession he neither fled to the Continent nor recanted his beliefs. He did not seem to have suffered overly from persecution, as did other ProtestantsKeywordsEarly EducationFifteenth CenturyFinancial CircumstanceReligious MatterCatholic BishopThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.