Editing Edward Coke (section)

==Family background and early life==
The surname "Coke", or "Cocke",<ref>{{Harvnb|Woolrych|1826|p=7}}</ref> can be traced back to a William Coke in the [[Hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]] of South Greenhoe, now the Norfolk town of [[Swaffham]], in around 1150. The family was relatively prosperous and influential – members from the 14th century onwards included an [[Under-Sheriff]], a [[Knight Banneret]],<ref name=w1>{{Harvnb|Woolrych|1826|p=10}}</ref> a [[barrister]] and a merchant.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boyer|2003|p=1}}</ref> The name "Coke" was pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|k|u:|k}} during the [[Elizabethan age]], although it is now pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|k|ʊ|k}}.<ref name=b2/> The origin of the name is uncertain: it has been suggested that "Coke" or "Cock" was a word meaning "river" or "chief" among the early Britons, but a more likely hypothesis is that the spelling arose from an attempt to disguise the word "cook".<ref>{{Harvnb|Woolrych|1826|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Campbell|1849|p=240}}; {{Harvnb|Randall|1956|pp=430–431}}.</ref> That "cook" and "coke" were homonyms at this time is shown by the fact that Coke's second wife, [[Elizabeth Hatton]], regularly spelt his name "Cook" when writing to him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Campbell|1849|p=240}}. A story recorded by John Aubrey suggests that the pun was intentional. Elizabeth was already pregnant when they married, and when Coke came to bed and placed a hand on her belly, he felt the child move. "What?" he said, "Flesh in the pot?" To which Elizabeth replied, "Yes, or else I would not have married a cook." ({{Harvnb|Dick|1962|pp=67–68}}).</ref>

Coke's father, Robert Coke, was a barrister and [[Bencher]] of [[Lincoln's Inn]] who built up a strong practice representing clients from his home area of Norfolk. Over time, he bought several manors at [[Congham]], [[West Acre]] and [[Happisburgh]], all in Norfolk, and was granted a coat of arms, becoming a minor member of the gentry.<ref name=b2>{{Harvnb|Boyer|2003|p=2}}</ref> Coke's mother, Winifred Knightley, came from a family even more intimately linked with the law than her husband. Her father and grandfather had practised law in the Norfolk area, and her sister Audrey was married to [[Thomas Gawdy (died 1588)|Thomas Gawdy]], a lawyer and Justice of the [[Court of King's Bench (England)|Court of King's Bench]] with links to the [[Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel|Earl of Arundel]]. This connection later served Edward well. Winifred's father later married Agnes, the sister of [[Nicholas Hare]].<ref name=b2/>

Edward Coke was born on 1 February 1552<ref name="Thrush">{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/coke-sir-edward-1552-1634|publisher=Institute of Historical Research, University of London|title=History of Parliament|last=Thrush|first=Andrew|access-date = 27 April 2016}}</ref> in his father's manor of [[Mileham]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Boyer|2003|p=3}}</ref> in Norfolk (acquired by him in 1553)<ref>Francis Blomefield, 'Launditch Hundred: Mileham', in An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 10 (London, 1809), pp. 15–25.  http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol10/pp15-25 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026211652/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-hist-norfolk/vol10/pp15-25 |date=26 October 2021 }}</ref> one of eight children. The other seven were daughters – Winifred, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Ursula, Anna, Margaret and Ethelreda – although it is not known in which order the children were born.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boyer|2003|p=4}}</ref> Two years after Robert Coke died on 15 November 1561,<ref name=w1/> his widow married Robert Bozoun, a property trader noted for his piety and strong business acumen (once forcing [[Nicholas Bacon (courtier)|Nicholas Bacon]] to pay an exorbitant amount of money for a piece of property).<ref>{{Harvnb|Boyer|2003|p=9}}</ref> He had a tremendous influence on the Coke children: from Bozoun Coke learnt to "loathe concealers, prefer godly men and briskly do business with any willing client", something that shaped his future conduct as a lawyer, politician, and judge.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boyer|2003|p=11}}</ref>