Godwin, Francis

Godwin, Francis an eminent English prelate and Church historian, was born at Havington, Northamptonshire, in 1561. In 1578 he entered the college of Christ Church, Oxford, of which his father, Thomas Godwin, was dean. Here he took successively the degrees of B.A. in 1580, M.A. in 1583, B.D. in 1593, and D.D. in 1595. He held divers ecclesiastical offices until his publication of the Catalogue of the Bishops of England caused him to be appointed bishop of Llandaff. A Latin translation of this work, dedicated to James I, secured him the bishopric of Hereford. He died April 1633. His works are, A Catalogue of the Bishops of England since the first planting of Christianity in the Island, with a history of their lives and memorable actions (1601, 4to; 2d ed. with additions, and Latin translation, 1615. This translation, with a continuation, was republished by Richardson, under the title De Praesulibus Angliae Commentarius, Cambridge, 1743, folio): — Rerum Anglicarum Henrico VIII, Edwardo VI, et Maria regnantibus, Annales (1616, fol.; London, 1628, 4to; English, by his son Morgan, 1630, fol.): — Nuncius inanimatus in Utopia (1629, 8vo): — A Computation of the Value of the Roman Sesterae and Attic Talent (1630): — The Man in the Moon, or a Discourse of a Voyage thither by Domingo Gonsales (1638, 8vo; another edit. of 1657 contains a translation of the Nuncius inanimatus). See Biographia Britannica; Chalmers, General Biog. Dictionary.