Abstract

In the late seventeenth century Anthony Wood set forth his view of the ‘Wykehamist academic trajectory’: ‘Golden Scholars, silver Bachelors, leaden Masters and wooden Doctors.’ In the cases of Robert Pink (1573–1647) and William Twisse (1576/7–1646) this is quite plainly untrue. Yet Wood’s adage has a certain use, as it highlights the extent to which New College provided an academic community in which ‘Golden Scholars’ could find a base for their non-academic pursuits. That community of learning in the early seventeenth century provides the foundation for this article, which seeks to use Pink and Twisse as emblematic figures in the ambiguities of religious-political divergence during the decades before the English Civil War. Tracking their divergent paths within the political and theological conflict of the early seventeenth century shines light on the subtlety of confessional allegiance during the period, especially within the context of religious learning with which both were involved. The paths down which they took their New College education do help to complicate the terms which have been applied to the period, and the context of the political positions they took. Emphasised in recent studies of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods has been the overlap between academic, religious, and political concerns in the shaping of the English Church. This article will argue that the seeming incompatibility of Pink and Twisse is not so dramatic when we turn the clock back to the early part of the century, and highlight the strength of intellectual and institutional ties. The points of division between Twisse and Pink were theological and political; but they were also collegiate. Moreover, they were not insuperable boundaries, and the divide is bridged by the other figures considered in this article.