Parker, Matthew (1504-08-06 - 1575-05-17)

Matthew Parker was born on 6 August 1504 at Norwich. He graduated B.A. from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1525, proceeding M.A. in 1527. Parker was ordained deacon on 20 April 1527 and priest just under two months later. In July 1535, he was awarded the degree of B.D. and began to serve as chaplain to Anne Boleyn. He held the post of dean of Stoke-by-Clare, Suffolk, from 1535 until 1547. Parker served as chaplain to Henry VIII in 1538; he was awarded the degree of D.D. in the same year. In the 1540s, his livings included Ashen (Essex), Landbeach (Cambridgeshire) and Burlingham St Andrews (Norfolk). He also served as master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge from 1544 until his resignation in December 1553. After the death of Mary I, he was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, a position which he held until his death on 17 May 1575. He is remembered for having supervised the revision of the Thirty-Nine Articles and organising the production of the Bishops' Bible. A significant legacy is his library of manuscripts and early printed books entrusted to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1574, which included a substantial collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts.