Walter Travers facts for kids

Walter Travers (born around 1548, died 1635) was an important English religious leader. He was part of a group called the Puritans, who wanted to make the Church of England simpler and more "pure."

Travers worked for some very powerful people in England. He was a chaplain, which is like a private priest, for William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. Lord Burghley was a top advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Walter Travers also taught Lord Burghley's son, Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, who later became a very important politician himself.

Early Life and Education

Walter Travers went to Cambridge University, which is a very famous school in England. He studied at two different colleges there: first Christ's College and then Trinity College.

After his studies in England, Travers traveled to Geneva, a city in Switzerland. There, he met Theodore Beza, who was a very famous religious leader and a student of John Calvin. This trip was important for his religious ideas.

Becoming a Minister

Walter Travers became a minister in a city called Antwerp, which is in modern-day Belgium. He was ordained by Thomas Cartwright, another well-known Puritan leader. In the late 1570s, important people like Sir Francis Walsingham and Henry Killigrew (diplomat) supported his work. Walsingham was Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster!

A Disagreement with Richard Hooker

Walter Travers is most famous for disagreeing with another important religious thinker named Richard Hooker. They both worked at the Temple Church in London. Travers was a lecturer there starting in 1581.

Travers and Hooker had different ideas about how the Church of England should be run and what its rules should be. Their arguments were very public and important at the time. Eventually, in 1586, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Whitgift, stopped Walter Travers from preaching at Temple Church.

Later Career

Even after his disagreements in England, Walter Travers continued his work in education and religion. From 1594 to 1598, he was the Provost of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. A Provost is like the head or principal of a college.

Walter Travers lived a long life, seeing many changes in England and its church. He passed away in 1635.