John Bavant facts for kids
John Bavant (who sometimes used the name Clarke) was an English priest who lived a long time ago, from the 1500s to the early 1600s. He was a very smart teacher and scholar at Oxford University. For a while, he was the leader of a church in a town called Solihull. Later, he decided to become a Roman Catholic priest and spent the rest of his life working as a missionary and church leader.
Life at Oxford University
We don't know much about where John Bavant came from, except that he was from a place called Cheshire. He started studying at Christ Church, Oxford in 1547. He earned his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1554. This was a special time, as he studied with other important people like Lawrence Humphrey.
In 1558, John Bavant became one of the first special scholars at the new St John's College, Oxford. He was the first person to teach Greek at the college, from 1558 to about 1564. Some of his students became famous, including Edmund Campion and Gregory Martin.
In 1560, John Bavant also became the rector (church leader) of Solihull in Warwickshire. He seemed to like this job, but he wasn't living at St John's College anymore. The college didn't like that he wasn't there. Eventually, because he didn't return to Oxford, the college's founder, Sir Thomas White, removed him from his position around 1566.
Becoming a Catholic Priest
John Bavant became the rector of Solihull on September 12, 1560. He got this job because Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Hall chose him. Sir Robert Throckmorton was a very important leader in the Roman Catholic community in the Midlands area. Another priest who had worked at Solihull before Bavant was John Feckenham, who later became an abbot (a leader of a monastery) under Queen Mary.
John Bavant stayed at Solihull until 1570. He lost his job there because he wasn't living in the town anymore. By this time, he had probably already decided to go to Rome. John Bavant had other friends who were Roman Catholic. For example, Sir Edward Griffin from Dingley, who was a friend of the Throckmortons, left Bavant a small gift in his will in 1569.
Missionary Work
By 1572, John Bavant was in Rome, living at the English Hospice (which later became the English College). He held different roles there, like Warden in 1575 and Chamberlain in 1576. He also worked as a Chaplain.
After getting his doctorate degree in Rome, Bavant went to the English College, Rheims in France. There, he worked with Cardinal William Allen. On June 15, 1581, he returned to England as a missionary. Other important people, like the scholar and poet Jasper Heywood, came with him.
John Bavant almost got arrested in Harrow in 1584. He was finally caught in Longford, Derbyshire, and by April 1585, he was put in prison in London. People asked for him to be released because he was old, and he was eventually set free.
He continued his missionary work. In the years that followed, he was active in areas like Huntingdonshire and Berkshire. He was also protected by Sir Thomas Tresham, who had been cared for by Sir Robert Throckmorton (Bavant's old supporter) when he was a child. Sir Thomas Tresham also supported Bavant's former student, Edmund Campion.
In May 1595, John Bavant was asked to help settle arguments among the Roman Catholic priests who were in prison at Wisbech Castle in Cambridgeshire. Bavant played an active and helpful role in these arguments, which were called the 'Wisbech Stirs' and lasted until 1598. In that same year, he was chosen as one of six helpers for the main Roman Catholic leader in England, George Blackwell.
John Bavant was still alive on March 28, 1610, when he wrote a letter from England to a Jesuit priest named Robert Persons in Rome. We don't know the exact year he died, but he passed away before October 1613. That's when Richard Broughton took his place as an assistant to the Archpriest, who was then George Birkhead.
