Daniel Featley
A staunch Anglican divine whose fierce loyalty to King Charles I during the English Civil War turned him into a persecuted political prisoner.
1582–1645 (age 63)·English theologian and controversialist·Birthday: March 15
Biography
Daniel Featley lived and died by the sword of religious controversy. Born in 1582, he was a scholar and theologian who rose to prominence as a defender of the Church of England against both Roman Catholics and, increasingly, the rising tide of Puritanism. A skilled debater, he engaged in public disputations with Jesuit priests, earning a reputation as a formidable Protestant polemicist. His fortunes were tied to the crown; he served as a chaplain to King Charles I and was appointed to the Westminster Assembly in 1643, a body intended to reform the church. But Featley’s unwavering royalism made him a target. He was soon expelled from the Assembly, accused of being a spy for the king. Imprisoned by Parliament in 1644, he endured harsh conditions that broke his health. He died in 1645, a casualty of the war of ideas that was tearing England apart, remembered as much for his political martyrdom as for his theological writings.
#1 When Daniel Was Born
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Daniel's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1582Born
1587Started school
1595Became a teenager
1598Could drive
1600Could vote
1603Turned 21
1612Turned 30
1622Turned 40
1632Turned 50
1642Turned 60
1645Died at 63
Key Achievements
- Served as a chaplain to King Charles I and was a noted defender of the Anglican Church during the Civil War.
- Participated in famous theological disputations with Catholic scholars, including a noted debate with Jesuit John Percy.
- Published numerous controversialist works, including 'The Romish Fisher Caught and Held in His Own Net'.
- Was a member of the Westminster Assembly before being expelled for his royalist sympathies.
Did You Know?
His surname is also recorded as Fairclough, and he sometimes used the first name Richard.
He was imprisoned in Lord Petre's house in Aldersgate, which was used as a prison for royalists.
His final work, 'The Dippers Dipt', was a critique of Anabaptists written during his imprisonment.
“The Church of England is the golden mean between the superstitions of Rome and the frenzies of Amsterdam.”
