Editing William Harrison (priest)

{{Short description|English clergyman, born 1534}}
{{Distinguish|William Henry Harrison}}
{{For|the English Catholic leader|William Harrison (Archpriest of England)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}

'''William Harrison''' (18 April 1534 – 24 April 1593) was an English clergyman, whose ''Description of England'' was produced as part of the publishing venture of a group of [[Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers|London stationers]] who produced [[Raphael Holinshed]]'s ''[[Holinshed's Chronicles|Chronicles]]'' (1577 and 1587).  His contribution to Holinshed's work drew heavily on the earlier work of [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]].

==Biography==

===Early life and education===
William Harrison was born in London, in the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, to John and Anne Harrison. As a boy, Harrison attended [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]] and the [[Westminster School]] of [[Alexander Nowell]]. Raised in [[Protestant]] circles, Harrison entered [[Christ Church, Oxford]] and in 1560 was awarded his bachelor's degree. During the reign of Queen [[Mary I of England]], Christ Church became a centre of [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] support, and Harrison converted to Catholicism. Harrison claimed that he returned to Protestant belief before Mary's death in 1558 after hearing the words of [[Thomas Cranmer|Cranmer]], [[Nicholas Ridley (martyr)|Ridley]], and [[Hugh Latimer|Latimer]], three Protestant [[martyr]]s burned at the stake in Oxford.

===Adulthood===
On 15 February 1559, prior to the award of his bachelor's degree at Oxford, Harrison was instituted as the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of [[List of civil parishes in Essex|Radwinter]] in Essex, by the appointment of [[William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham|Lord Cobham]], who owned the right,<ref>GL, 9531/12 (Episcopal Register)</ref> and to whom he was also household chaplain. The living brought with it an income of £40 a year.  Despite being well known to posterity for his description of England, at this time he had only travelled within a small compass in the south of England.<ref>"{{sic|Unt|ill|hide=y}} <!-- PLEASE NOTE that "Untill" is an archaic spelling, correctly reflecting historical usage. --> nowe of late," he wrote to his patron "except it were from the parish where I dwell, unto your Honour in Kent; or out of London where I was borne, unto Oxford and Cambridge where I have bene brought up, I never travelled 40 miles foorthright and at one journey in all my life." (Quoted in [http://www.bartleby.com/213/1503.html ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'', Vol. III. "Renascence and Reformation", XV. Chroniclers and Antiquaries. 3. Harrison’s Description of England]</ref>

Harrison married Marion Isebrand, the daughter of [[Flemish people|Flemish]] immigrants. Continuing his theological studies at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], Harrison took the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1571. In the same year he was instituted vicar of [[Wimbish]] in Essex.<ref>GL, 9531/13 (Register)</ref> Harrison also held positions at another two London parishes. Near the end of his life, Harrison received an appointment as a [[canon (priest)|canon]] at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor|St. George's Chapel]] at [[Windsor Castle|Windsor]]. Harrison was buried at Windsor following his death in 1593.

==Works==
Harrison is best known for his ''Description of England'', first published in 1577 as part of ''[[Holinshed's Chronicles]]'', and reissued in revised form in 1587. This work enumerated England's geographic, economic, social, religious and political features and represents an important source for historians interested in life in [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabethan]] England. He gathered his facts from books, letters, maps, the notes of [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], and conversations with [[Antiquary|antiquaries]] and local historians like his friends [[John Stow]] and [[William Camden]]. He also used his own observation, experience and wit, and wrote in a conversational tone without pedantry, which has made the work a classic.<ref>Harrison's ''Description of England'' found a place among the [[Harvard Classics]], (Vol. 35, Part 3), the "Harvard five-foot shelf".</ref> The result is a compendium of [[Elizabethan England]] during the youth of [[William Shakespeare]]. "No work of the time contains so vivid and picturesque a sketch," was the assessment of ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature''.<ref>''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'', ''eo. loc.''</ref>

Harrison also wrote a number of unpublished manuscripts, including ''The Great English Chronologie''. This work traced fortunes of the Christian church in history, stretching from [[Creation myth|creation]] to his own time. In the ''Chronologie'', Harrison revealed his sympathy with the [[Calvinist]] perspective of those seeking to reform the [[Church of England]]. At the same time, Harrison also indicated his distrust of the political intentions of England's [[Puritan]]s and his ultimate loyalty to England's ecclesiastical authorities.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |first=G. J. R. |last=Parry |author-link=Glyn Parry (historian) |title=A Protestant Vision: William Harrison and the Reformation of Elizabethan England |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1987 |isbn=0521329973 }}

==External links==
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Harrison,+William }}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=(Harrison AND ("Description of England" OR "Great English Chronologie" OR "1534–1593") )}}
* [http://www.bartleby.com/35/3/ Description of England] Full Text
* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1577harrison-england.html (Modern History Sourcebook) William Harrison (1534–1593): Description Of Elizabethan England, 1577 (from Holinshed's Chronicles)] Prints Dr. [[Frederick Furnivall]]'s condensed and modernised text of Harrison's chapters, edited for the [[New Shakspere Society]] (1876).

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, William}}
[[Category:English non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:1534 births]]
[[Category:1593 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London]]
[[Category:16th-century English Anglican priests]]
[[Category:English topographers]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:16th-century English writers]]
[[Category:16th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:Chronologists]]
[[Category:Canons of Windsor]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Holinshed's Chronicles]]