Edmund Cosyn (Cosin) (dates uncertain) was an English Catholic academic andVice-Chancellor of Cambridge University[1] of the middle sixteenth century.
He was born inBedfordshire and enteredKing's Hall, Cambridge, as a Bible clerk. He received the degrees of B.A. early in 1535, M.A. in 1541, and B.D. in 1547.[2]
He held the living ofGrendon,Northamptonshire, which was in the gift of King's Hall, from 21 September 1538, to November, 1541, and successively, fellowships of King's Hall,St. Catharine's Hall, and ofTrinity College, Cambridge. Early inQueen Mary's reign he was elected Master ofSt. Catharine's College, Cambridge, which brought him as gifts from the Crown the Norfolk rectories of St. Edmund,North Lynn (1533),Fakenham (1555), and the Norfolk vicarages ofCaistor Holy Trinity, and ofOxburgh (1554). He was presented to the rectory ofThorpland by Trinity College in the following year.
He was also chaplain toBishop Bonner[3] of London and assistant toMichael Dunning, the Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich. In 1558 he was elected Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge.
Being a Catholic, he refused to conform whenElizabeth I of England came to the throne, and hence in 1560 was forced to resign all his preferments. He went in 1564 to live in retirement inCaius College, Cambridge. Four years later, summoned to answer before theLords of the Council to a charge of non-conformity, he went into exile rather than forswear his faith. He was living on the Continent in 1576 but no further definite records of his career are available.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Edmund Cosin".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites:
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Master ofSt Catharine's College, Cambridge 1554-1559 | Succeeded by |
