| rdfs:comment | - William Laud (7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This and his support for King Charles I resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.
- Laud was born in a house on Broad Street in Reading, of comparatively low origins, his father, also William, having been a cloth merchant (a fact about which he was to remain sensitive throughout his career). He was educated at Reading School and, through a White Scholarship, St John's College, Oxford. He was baptized at St Laurence's Church in Reading.
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| abstract | - Laud was born in a house on Broad Street in Reading, of comparatively low origins, his father, also William, having been a cloth merchant (a fact about which he was to remain sensitive throughout his career). He was educated at Reading School and, through a White Scholarship, St John's College, Oxford. He was baptized at St Laurence's Church in Reading. Laud was ordained on 5 April 1601 and his Arminian, High Church tendencies and antipathy to Puritanism, combined with his intellectual and organisational brilliance, soon gained him a reputation. At that time the Calvinist party was strong in the Church of England and Laud's affirmation of apostolic succession was unpopular in many quarters. In 1605, somewhat against his will, he obliged his patron, Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devon, by conducting his marriage to a divorcée, Penelope Rich, Lady Rich. In 1609 he became rector of West Tilbury in Essex. Laud continued to rise through the ranks of the clergy, becoming the President of St John's College in 1611; a Prebendary of Lincoln in 1614 and Archdeacon of Huntingdon in 1615. He was consecrated Bishop of St David's in 1621 and was translated as the Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1626 and the Bishop of London in 1628. Thanks to patrons, who included the king and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, he reached the highest position in the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and with it the episcopal primacy of All England in 1633. As Archbishop of Canterbury he was prominent in government, taking the king's line and that of Thomas Wentworth, 5th baron Wentworth in all important matters. It is believed that he wrote the controversial Declaration of Sports issued by King Charles in 1633. In 1630, Laud was elected as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and became much more closely involved in the running of the university than many of his predecessors had been. Laud was instrumental in establishing Oxford's Chair of Arabic and took an interest in acquiring Arabic manuscripts for the Bodleian Library. He also acquired, at some expense, two Arabic script printing sets from the Netherlands, first publishing in Oxford in 1639. His most significant contribution was the creation of a new set of statutes for the university, a task completed in 1636. Laud served as the fifth Chancellor of the University of Dublin between 1633 and 1645.
- William Laud (7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This and his support for King Charles I resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.
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