William Barlow

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Revision as of 17:08, 13 June 2009

William Barlow (? -1613) was an Anglican priest and courtier during the reign of James I of England. He served as Bishop of Rochester in 1605 and Bishop of Lincoln in the Anglican Church from 1608 until his death in 1613. He had also served the church as Rector of St Dunstan's, Stepney in Middlesex and of Orpington, in Kent. He was also Dean of Chester Cathedral, and secured prebendary in Chiswick and Westminster. He was a leader in the High Church party in the Church of England.

As a trusted member of the court, he was appointed to the directorship of the "Second Westminster Company" charged by James with translating the New Testament epistles for the King James Version of the Bible. He participated in the early planning for the translation, and had supported the scholarship of linguist Edward Lively, among other contributions to the project. Barlow's scholarly career had begun at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he had graduated in 1584, earned a Master of Arts in 1587, and was admitted as a Fellow in 1590. His publications showed his talents both for scholarship and preferment.

Barlow is buried at his Episcopal palace in Buckden.

References

• Knighton, C. S., ‘Barlow, William (d. 1613)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008
• McClure, Alexander. (1858) The Translators Revived: A Biographical Memoir of the Authors of the English Version of the Holy Bible. Mobile, Alabama: R. E. Publications (republished by the Marantha Bible Society, 1984 ASIN B0006YJPI8 )
• Nicolson, Adam. (2003) God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible. New York: HarperCollins ISBN 0-06-095975-4
• Paine, Gustavus. THE MEN BEHIND THE KJV. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1959.