Edward Hyde

Background

The son of Henry Hyde of Dinton, Wiltshire, Edward Hyde was born on February 18, 1609.

Education

He attended Oxford University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1626, the year after he had begun legal studies at the Middle Temple.

Career

Having been called to the bar in 1633, he soon built up a profitable legal practice and was also awarded government posts, owing in part to the influence of his father-in-law, Sir Thomas Aylesbury. Hyde's political ideals were formed in the period before the English civil war as a member of the Falkland circle.

In the late 1636 Hyde felt the main violation of this balanced concept of government proceeded from the king. Elected to Parliament in 1640, he was extremely active in the original movements to check royal power and was a leading formulator of the impeachment proceedings against Lord Strafford.

But by late 1641 he began to oppose the revolutionary tendencies, particularly in religious matters, among the controlling parliamentary leaders. He successfully obstructed the Root and Branch Bill to destroy the Church and became an adherent of the royal minority in the Lower House. By 1643 Hyde had become a leading councilor of King Charles I and was among those who proposed the calling of the Parliament at Oxford that opened the civil war. Appointed chief adviser to the heir apparent, Prince Charles, he followed the prince into exile in 1646.

During the years of exile, although his advice was not always heeded, he was the principal figure at the prince's court. Later Career With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Hyde continued as the first minister of the returned prince, who was then styled King Charles II.

In 1660 Hyde was created Baron Hyde and in 1661 Earl of Clarendon. For the first year of his ministry he, like the King, favored programs of moderation, amelioration, and toleration, but with the election of the Cavalier Parliament in 1661, Clarendon's position had to change. Since his principal responsibility was to lead Parliament into cooperation with the King, his policy had to be based on accommodation.

Thus the religious laws of the early 1666, which established persecutive measures against Dissenters, are known as the Clarendon code but were framed largely by those whom Clarendon needed for support in other matters. Clarendon's position was further complicated by the fact that a number of very ambitious courtiers constantly attacked him on nearly every issue. There were impeachment attempts made upon him as early as 1663.

Clarendon was also wrongly blamed for the sale of Dunkirk to the French and for the failure of the English project at Tangier. Finally his obvious disapproval of the manners at court and his increasing high-handedness in council irritated the King. Clarendon's fall, however, proceeded mainly from the loss of the Dutch War in 1666. Although he had been less than enthusiastic in the pursuit of this war, the defeat did not stem principally from his mishandling of the situation. But the blow to his prestige because of the English loss destroyed his already-weakened influence at court and shattered his party in Parliament.

Thus, despite support of Clarendon by the Duke of York's faction and the Anglican bishops, in 1667 Parliament began impeachment proceedings against him. The court party and the King, along with almost every dissident interest in England, including many of the Cavaliers, advocated impeachment. Clarendon was persuaded to flee into exile, and the impeachment was turned into a bill for perpetual banishment. Clarendon spent the rest of his life in France.

Clarendon died at Rouen on December 9, 1674. Shortly after his death, his body was returned to England, and he was buried in a private ceremony in Westminster Abbey on 4 January 1675.

Achievements

• He was loyal to the king and built-up the royalist cause and served as the chief minister after 1660. He was one of the most important historians of England, as author of the most influential contemporary history of the Civil War, The History of the Rebellion (1702). He was the maternal grandfather of two monarchs, Queen Mary II and Queen Anne.
  
  He had the satisfaction of seeing many of his enemies shatter themselves in the scramble for office which followed his own fall. During his years in exile he wrote his memoirs and completed his History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars. His writings supply historians with some of the best available source material for the period.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England Begun in the Year 1641: Volume I (History of the Rebellion & Civil Wars in England Begun in th)

    (Since its publication at the beginning of the eighteenth ...)

  • The History Of The Rebellion And Civil Wars In England, To Which Is Added An Historical View Of The Affairs Of Ireland, Volume 6

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • The History Of The Rebellion And Civil Wars In England: To Which Is Added An Historical View Of Affairs Of Ireland

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • Clarendon: Selections From The History Of The Rebellion & The Life By Himself

    (Excerpt from The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars ...)

  • The History Of The Rebellion And Civil Wars In England, Begun In The Year 1641. 3 Vols. each In 2 Pt..

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • The History Of The Rebellion And Civil Wars In England To Which Is Added An Historical View Of The Affairs Of Ireland

    ( This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923....)

  • Clarendon: Selections From The History Of The Rebellion & The Life By Himself by First Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde (1978-05-03)

    (Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)

Religion

The new Parliament being rigidly Cavalier royalist and stridently Anglican, Clarendon was forced into a similar posture.

Politics

Hyde was at first a moderate critic of King Charles I, but became more supportive of the king after he began to accept reforming bills from Parliament. Hyde opposed legislation restricting the power of the King to appoint his own advisors, viewing it unnecessary and an affront to royal prerogative. He gradually moved over towards the royalist side, championing the Church of England and opposing the execution of the Earl of Strafford, Charles's primary advisor. Following the Grand Remonstrance of 1641, Hyde became an informal advisor to the King.

Views

He believed in a balanced sovereignty between Parliament and the monarchy, such as he felt had existed in the time of Queen Elizabeth. It was his tragedy that such a balance was never obtained during his career; he was driven from position to position, never truly leading policy but largely fighting rearguard actions.

Hyde's political ideals were formed in the period before the English civil war as a member of the Falkland circle. He believed in a balanced sovereignty between Parliament and the monarchy, such as he felt had existed in the time of Queen Elizabeth. It was his tragedy that such a balance was never obtained during his career; he was driven from position to position, never truly leading policy but largely fighting rearguard actions.

Quotations: This time was not wasted. In later years, Clarendon declared that "next the immediate blessing and providence of God Almighty" he "owed all the little he knew and the little good that was in him to the friendships and conversation. .. of the most excellent men in their several kinds that lived in that age. "

Connections

Hyde's first wife died 6 months after their marriage in 1629, and in 1634 he married Frances Aylesbury. Clarendon was the subject of considerable envy over the marriage in 1660 of his daughter Anne to the heir apparent, James, Duke of York. When the marriage of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza of Portugual proved to be barren, it was rumored that Clarendon had purposely married the King to a barren princess to secure the throne for his own grandchildren.

Father:

Henry Hyde

Mother:

Mary Langford

1st wife:

Anne Ayliffe

(m. 1629; her death six months later 1629)

2nd wife:

Frances Aylesbury

(m. 1634; her death 1667)

Daughter:

Frances (Hyde) Keightley

married Thomas Keightley in 1675

Daughter:

Anne Hyde

first wife of James, Duke of York, the future King James II

Son:

James Hyde

(drowned in his early twenties)

Son:

Edward Hyde

Son:

Lawrence Hyde

1st Earl of Rochester

Son:

Henry Hyde

2nd Earl of Clarendon

Brother:

Lawrence Hyde

Attorney General

friends:

Ben Jonson

References

• Life and Administration of Edward First Earl of Clarendon: With Original Correspondence, and Authentic Papers Never Before Published. V. 2
• A narrative by John Ashburnham of his attendance on King Charles: The First from Oxford to the Scotch army, and from Hampton-Court to the Isle of ... Clarendon, by George, 3d earl of Ashburnham
• The Life Of Edward Earl Of Clarendon, Written By Himself. on Large Paper, Cm.24....
• Life and administration of Edward, first earl of Clarendon: With original correspondence, and authentic papers never before published. (Volume 3)
• Life and administration of Edward, first Earl of Clarendon : with original correspondence, and authentic papers never before published Volume 3
• The First Earl of Shaftsbury
• Life and Administration of Edward, First Earl of Clarendon: Letters and Papers, 1837
• Life and Administration of Edward, First Earl of Clarendon: With Original Correspondence, and Authentic Papers Never Before Published
• The first Earl of Shaftesbury,
• A Collection of Several Valuable Pieces, of the Right Honourable Edward Earl of Clarendon (Two Volumes) The First and Second Additional Volumes to the History of the Grand Rebellion
• Historical inquiries: Respecting the character of Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon, lord chancellor of England
• Life and Administration of Edward First Earl of Clarendon: With Original Correspondence, and Authentic Papers Never Before Published. V. 1
• Great Russian Encyclopedia