DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.65478#0024
afterwards King of France, in 1558; and she was beheaded at Fother-
ingay in 1587.
Thomas Murray, brother of the minister of Dysart, was tutor to
Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I. On Prince Henry’s untimely
death in 1612, his tutor was appointed master of the school at Sherborne
in Dorsetshire, which was called Christ’s Hospital. He received a salary
of two hundred pounds a year, with the promise of a yearly pension of
two hundred marks on his retirement. Murray also obtained a grant of
the greater part of the debts of the attainted Duke of Somerset, of Lord
Hussey, and of Archbishop Cranmer (all of whom were dead), with
power to enforce payment.
On the death of Prince Henry, James I. intended to annex to him-
self the revenue of the Duchy of Cornwall, giving as his reason the fact
that his second son, afterwards Charles I., had not been born Prince of
Wales. It was with great difficulty that the law officers of the Crown
prevented the King from carrying this project into effect, and he was
extremely angry at their refusal. Thomas Murray came to his relief with
an offering of several thousand pounds from his own purse, which the King
accepted “with much gratitude, and many tears of joy.”
In return for Thomas Murray’s gift, King James appointed him
Provost of Eton, and “ Paedogogue,” or tutor, to Charles, Prince of
Wales. Murray refused to take orders in the Church of England, and a
difficulty was made about his appointment as Provost of Eton ; but King
James overruled all objections, and in 1621 Murray received the post.
He is remarkable as the only layman who has ever been Provost of Eton.1
It was no doubt owing to the influence of Thomas Murray, when
acting as tutor to Prince Charles, that his nephew, William Murray, son
of William Murray the minister of Dysart, was appointed whipping-boy
to the Prince.
At that time the office of whipping-boy at Court was coveted by
prudent parents for their sons, for although the boy was beaten for the
faults committed by the Prince, the appointment always led to the ad-
vancement of the sufferer in later life. The duties of the whipping-boy
are described at length in a play called When you see me you know me,
written by Samuel Rowley, who was one of Prince Henry’s household,
and may well have acted as his whipping-boy.2 In the play Cranmer, in
1 Account ofthe Life and Writings ofCharles I., 2 History of Music, by Sir John Hawkins, iii.
by W. Harris, 1772, p. 8. 252.
2
ingay in 1587.
Thomas Murray, brother of the minister of Dysart, was tutor to
Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I. On Prince Henry’s untimely
death in 1612, his tutor was appointed master of the school at Sherborne
in Dorsetshire, which was called Christ’s Hospital. He received a salary
of two hundred pounds a year, with the promise of a yearly pension of
two hundred marks on his retirement. Murray also obtained a grant of
the greater part of the debts of the attainted Duke of Somerset, of Lord
Hussey, and of Archbishop Cranmer (all of whom were dead), with
power to enforce payment.
On the death of Prince Henry, James I. intended to annex to him-
self the revenue of the Duchy of Cornwall, giving as his reason the fact
that his second son, afterwards Charles I., had not been born Prince of
Wales. It was with great difficulty that the law officers of the Crown
prevented the King from carrying this project into effect, and he was
extremely angry at their refusal. Thomas Murray came to his relief with
an offering of several thousand pounds from his own purse, which the King
accepted “with much gratitude, and many tears of joy.”
In return for Thomas Murray’s gift, King James appointed him
Provost of Eton, and “ Paedogogue,” or tutor, to Charles, Prince of
Wales. Murray refused to take orders in the Church of England, and a
difficulty was made about his appointment as Provost of Eton ; but King
James overruled all objections, and in 1621 Murray received the post.
He is remarkable as the only layman who has ever been Provost of Eton.1
It was no doubt owing to the influence of Thomas Murray, when
acting as tutor to Prince Charles, that his nephew, William Murray, son
of William Murray the minister of Dysart, was appointed whipping-boy
to the Prince.
At that time the office of whipping-boy at Court was coveted by
prudent parents for their sons, for although the boy was beaten for the
faults committed by the Prince, the appointment always led to the ad-
vancement of the sufferer in later life. The duties of the whipping-boy
are described at length in a play called When you see me you know me,
written by Samuel Rowley, who was one of Prince Henry’s household,
and may well have acted as his whipping-boy.2 In the play Cranmer, in
1 Account ofthe Life and Writings ofCharles I., 2 History of Music, by Sir John Hawkins, iii.
by W. Harris, 1772, p. 8. 252.
2