Richard Cosin facts for kids

Richard Cosin was an important English lawyer who lived in the 1500s. He was especially good at church law, also known as "ecclesiastical law." He worked closely with a powerful church leader named Archbishop John Whitgift. Cosin helped the Archbishop deal with a group called the Puritans, who wanted to change the Church of England.

Early Life and Education

Richard Cosin was born in a town called Hartlepool. His father's name was John Cosin. Richard went to school in Skipton. When he was only 12 years old, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge University.

At Cambridge, he was a very good student in many subjects. He was particularly interested in canon law, which is the law used by the Christian church. In 1580, he earned a special law degree from Cambridge University called an LL.D.

Career in Law and Church

In 1582, Richard Cosin became the chancellor for the diocese of Worcester. A diocese is an area managed by a bishop. At that time, John Whitgift, who would later become Archbishop, was the bishop there.

Interestingly, Richard Cosin's name appears on the official marriage document for the famous writer William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. This shows he was involved in important legal matters of the time.

Cosin continued to rise in his career. In 1583, he became the Dean of the Arches. This was a very important job in the Church of England's legal system. It meant he was the chief judge in the main church court.

Archbishop Whitgift also made Cosin his Vicar-General for the Canterbury diocese in 1583. This meant Cosin was a top assistant to the Archbishop, helping him manage the church's affairs. He also had duties checking and approving books and other writings before they could be published.

Political Role

Richard Cosin also served in the English Parliament. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Downton, Wiltshire, in 1584. He was then elected for Hindon, Wiltshire, in 1586. He represented Downton again in 1589. This shows he was involved in both church law and the country's government.

Important Legal Cases

In the 1590s, there was a big disagreement between the Church of England (Anglicans) and the Puritans. The Puritans, led by Thomas Cartwright, wanted to change how the church was run.

Richard Cosin, along with another church lawyer named Matthew Sutcliffe, represented the Church of England. They faced lawyers like Richard Beale and James Morice, who supported the Puritans.

One major point of disagreement was something called the ex officio oath. This was an oath that people had to take in church courts. James Morice argued against it, but Cosin strongly defended it. He said that in older times, there were many situations where an accuser wasn't strictly needed for a legal case.

Writings and Ideas

Richard Cosin wrote several important books and pamphlets.

In 1592, he wrote a pamphlet called Conspiracie, for Pretended Reformation: viz. Presbyteriall Discipline. In this writing, Cosin discussed how the Puritan idea of church discipline could lead to people resisting or even removing rulers they disagreed with. He also included discussions about different levels of a person's mental state at the time.

His most important work was An apologie for sundrie proceedings by jurisdiction ecclesiastical, published in 1593. In this book, he talked about the Magna Carta, a famous English document that limited the power of the king. Cosin believed that while the Magna Carta showed the king's power wasn't absolute, it didn't apply to the church's own legal system.

Cosin also supported the education of William Barlow, who later became a bishop and wrote a biography about Richard Cosin in 1598.