1625 JOHN ROBOTHAM. Bible & Psalms of Radical Presbyterian, Cromwellian Chaplain, and Commentator.

A wonderful piece of radical Presbyterian history, the Present Bible belonged to John Robotham, and is so signed more than a dozen times. It also bears the signatures of Nathan Robotham, Thomas Robotham, and Mary Robotham. 

John Robotham [fl.1640's-50's] was a graduate of Emmanuel College, Oxford, known at the time as the "Puritan's Nursery" for the number puritan ministers it produced. He was ejected in 1660 for non-conformity, well in advance of the larger ejection of nearly two thousand ministers in 1662.

He was likely ejected earlier on account of his more radical views. The Independents, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians we loosely call "Puritans" today were not all of one mind about how to react to the government's infringement on the liberty of ministers to follow their consciences. There were those who advocated for extreme religious liberty on the one end [as reflected in Roger Williams], then plenty of moderates [most of the household puritan names we think of today, Thomas Watson, Owen, Baxter, etc.], who wanted a Presbyterian influence via Cromwell and Parliament but did not favor enforcement of religion. Then there were the radicals, many of whom believed Presbyterianism should be the rightful and nationally mandated religion of England. These often believed every legal and military aim should be exhausted to accomplish this aim. Roger Williams vehemently opposed the final sort.

Our Robotham appears to have been one of the latter. He would file lawsuits against parishioners he knew opposed his non-conformity and even delivered their court documents to them while they were receiving the Lord's Supper. During the Civil War, he immediately volunteered as a Chaplain for Cromwell, and just afterward wrote a rather glowing and Presbyterian-Nationalistic dedication to Oliver Cromwell in his Mystery of the Two Witnesses, which itself contained a clear articulation equivocating the National Covenant for England [borrowing from the Solemn League and Covenant of Scotland] with the Kingdom of Christ.

He was translator and publisher of many religious tracts, including a 1640 edition of Jan Amos Comenius's Janua Lingua Reserata, The Preciousness of Christ unto Believers (1647), An Exposition of the Whole Book of Solomon's Songs (1651), and The Mystery of the Two Witnesses Unveiled (1654), all of which are scarce. 

The present Bible [c.1625] appears to have been his regular use Bible, including the ministerial sections on The Collects, Matrimony, Communion of the Sick etc., This section has occasional underlinings which appear contemporary to Robotham and may well have been his; they tend to center around phrases which indicate the body or body and soul. Next we have the Latin text of the Scriptures, beginning at Genesis and running through to the 1st Epistle of John only, unusually ordered with Luke, then Philemon, etc,. though contiguous on the page, so as printed. The Latin text is identical to that used by Calvin [see his Latin on Philemon]. It contains similar underlinings and a handful of minor marginal notes, likely in Robotham's hand. It is then followed by the Psalmes of David in Meeter [99pp] and a Form of Prayer. 

Bound in probably 18th century plain black straight grain calf. Rubbed through at extremities.