Jeremy Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Down and Connor | |
 Taylor in a posthumous portrait by Eden Upton Eddis at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge | |
| Church | Church of Ireland |
| Diocese | Down and Connor |
| In office | 1661–1667 |
| Predecessor | Henry Leslie |
| Successor | Roger Boyle |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1633 |
| Consecration | 27 January 1661 by John Bramhall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | before 15 August 1613 |
| Died | 13 August 1667 (aged 53–54) |
| Nationality | English |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Education | The Perse School |
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 13 August |
| Venerated in | Anglican Communion |
Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is frequently cited as one of the greatest prose writers in the English language.[1][2]
Taylor was under the patronage of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. He went on to become chaplain in ordinary to King Charles I as a result of Laud's sponsorship. This made him politically suspect when Laud was tried by Parliament and executed in January 1644/5 during the English Civil War. After the parliamentary victory over the King, he was briefly imprisoned several times.
Eventually, he was allowed to live quietly in Wales, where he became the private chaplain of the Earl of Carbery. After the Restoration, he was made Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland. He also became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dublin.
He is remembered in the liturgical calendars of the Church of England and other Anglican churches.
- ^ Saintsbury, George (1919). A First Book of English Literature. London: Macmillan. p. 121.
- ^ Gosse, Edmund (1903). Jeremy Taylor. London: Macmillan. p. 218.