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Mountagu(E) [or Montagu(E)], Richard

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Mountagu(e) [or Montagu(e)], Richard

a learned English prelate, distinguished for his knowledge of primitive Christianity, was born at Dorney, Buckinghamshire, April 13, 1578, and was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge University, of which he was afterwards a fellow. He took holy orders, and quickly rose to distinction. In 1617 he was made archdeacon of Hereford, in 1620 canon of Windsor, and in 1628 was elevated to the episcopate and made bishop of Chichester. In 1638 he was transferred to the see of Norwich. He was an ardent friend of archbishop Laud, and thus was led to write against the Puritans, and to defend the cause of the king and his sacerdotal companion. He therefore became a favorite at court, and the transfer to Norwich is said to have been prompted by Laud, who wished to acknowledge the valuable services of Mountague. Unfortunately, however, this prelate was not only an opponent to Puritanism, but a leaner towards Romanism; and it was even asserted by the moderate churchmen who opposed Laud's course that Mountague was aiming to carry the king, his court and his primate, bodily over to Rome, and to go there himself. He was also a devoted Arminianist, and thus the Calvinists likewise upbraided him, and left no opportunity unimproved against him. He died at Norwich, April 13, 1641. Bishop Mountague's literary labors are valuable, especially in the field of ecclesiastical antiquities. He assisted Savile in his edition of St. Chrysostom; edited Gregory Nazianzen's In Julianum Invectivae Duae, etc., also Photi Epistolae, and Eusebii Demonstratio, and published several learned theological works and controversial tracts. Among the former are, Analecta Ecclesiasticarum Exercitationum (Lond. 1622): — Apparatus ad Origines Ecclesiasticas (Oxf. 1635, fol.): — De Originibus Ecclesiasticis, etc. (Lond. 1636, fol. 1641): — De Vita Christi Originum Ecclesiasticarum, pars posterior (1640): — The Acts and Monuments of the Church before Christ Incarnate (1642, fol.) — contents: State of the Church before Christ Incarnate; the Prophecies of Jacob and Daniel concerning Messias; the Sibyls; Reign of Herod in Judea; State of Judaea under the Romans; the Succession of the High-priesthood; State of the Jews in Spirituals; their Heroes; the Ancestors and Parents of our Savior. In 1841, 12mo, appeared bishop Mountague's Articles of Inquiry, with a Memoir (q.v.). See Genesis Dict. s.v.; Biog. Brit. s.v.; Fuller's Worthies and his Church Hist. book 11; Heylin, Life of Archbishop Laud, book 2; Harwood, Alumni Etonenses; Hallam, Constit. Hist. of Eng. (7th ed. 1854), 2:62, 69, 70; Collier, Ecclesiastes Hist. 8:7 sq. (J.H.W.)