Henry Burton (Puritan)

Henry Burton (Yorkshire, 1578–1648), was an English puritan. Along with John Bastwick and William Prynne, Burton's ears were cut off in 1637 for writing pamphlets attacking the views of Archbishop Laud.

He was born at Birstall, a small parish in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the latter part of 1578 as may be inferred from his writings. His father, William Burton, was married to Maryanne Homle [Humble] on 24 June 1577. He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in 1602. His favourite preachers were Laurence Chaderton and William Perkins. On leaving the university he became tutor to two sons of Sir Robert Carey.

Through the Carey interest, Burton obtained the post of clerk of the closet to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales; while acting in this capacity he composed a treatise on Antichrist, the manuscript of which was placed by the prince in his library at St. James's. He complains that Richard Neile, who was clerk of the closet to King James, opposed his advancement; however, on Prince Henry's death (6 November 1612) Burton was appointed clerk of the closet to Prince Charles. On 14 July 1612 he had been incorporated M.A. at Oxford, and was again incorporated on 15 July 1617. He tells us that at the age of thirty (i.e. in 1618) he resolved to enter the ministry. Thomas Fuller says that he was to have attended Prince Charles to Spain (17 February 1623) for the Spanish Match, and that for some unknown reason the appointment was countermanded. Burton does not mention this, but says that he could not get a license for a book which he wrote in 1623 against the Converted Jew by John Percy alias Fisher the Jesuit, to refute Arminianism and prove the Pope to be Antichrist. He had, in fact, thrust himself into a discussion then going on between Fisher and George Walker, minister of St. John's, Watling Street.

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