John Selden
1584–1654
England’s greatest jurist; Erastian; *History of Tithes*.
Departs from the Confession on Polity: Erastian not Presbyterian-Jure-Divino · Magistrate's Role: Erastian-Magistrate-Over-Church not Custos-Utriusque-Tabulae (1646)
Biography
Selden was the most learned jurist in Europe, author of *History of Tithes* (1618, suppressed), *Mare Clausum* (1635), *De Synedriis* (1650-55), and the polymathic *Table-Talk* (posthum. 1689). At the Assembly he was the Erastians' chief voice and the divines' most formidable adversary — Whitelocke recorded his speech that 'perpetual succession of bishops, presbyters, and deacons' was no more in the Bible than 'perpetual succession of Lord Mayors of London.' His exchanges with Gillespie are Westminster legend.
Principal works
- History of Tithes (1618)
- Mare Clausum (1635)
- De Synedriis (3 vols, 1650–1655)
- Table-Talk (posthum. 1689)
Lay Assessor — House of Commons
Parliament seated lay assessors alongside the divines to represent its interest and keep it informed of the Assembly's progress. The ordinance of 1643 named thirty members of the House of Commons as assessors; they could take part in debate but were not among the voting divines, and their attendance was often occasional as the war and parliamentary business pressed on them.
Party in 1 crux
Ontology placement
· 2 overrides of 35
Cite this divine
Study Reformed, “John Selden” (Divine), Westminster Standards Atlas, version 79a5f9880ac1, https://studyreformed.com/atlas/cite/persona/john-selden/.
Ontology version 79a5f9880ac1 — the state of the Atlas you are reading, so a citation stays checkable when the ontology is revised.