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William Laud (7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This and his support for King Charles I resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War.
William Laud in 1632[]
As in the OTL, William Laud was elevated from Bishop of London to Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633, following the death of Archbishop George Abbot.[1] He had no direct dealings with the delegation from Grantville, and was originally suspicious of anything connected with the Ring of Fire. However, Laud's friend and ally, Thomas Wentworth, dealt with the Americans on a regular basis, and came to respect them as individuals. By February of 1634, after several discussions with Wentworth, Laud had uneasily accepted that implementing his original plans for Scotland and Ireland would lead to disaster. He had also concluded, again uneasily, that the Ring of Fire had been a divine event. When Wentworth conveyed the American request to send an Anglican bishop to Grantville, Laud came to the conclusion that not sending one to a place where God had moved his hand would be disrespectful.
However, before he was able to act on this, Wentworth fell from grace and was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Richard Boyle. Laud was also removed from office and imprisoned in the Salt Tower to prevent him from communicating with Wentworth, who was held in the Bloody Tower. Later, when the Tower of London was under attack by Harry Lefferts' commandos, the peevish Laud flatly refused to escape, was punched unconscious by Tom Simpson, and rescued by the commandos.
Laud awoke when the party was in the English Channel, aboard the SSIM Achates, though he did not remember having been punched out. After arriving in the Netherlands, Laud essentially became Archbishop-in-exile. In November of 1635, he appointed Robert Herrick as Anglican bishop for the United States of Europe.
References[]
- ↑ Laud's appearances in 1633 are as Bishop of London; he does not appear as archbishop until 1634: The Baltic War. His elevation takes place "behind the scenes", but the implication seems to be that it happened as in the OTL.
| Religious titles (OTL) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Montaigne |
Bishop of London 1628–1633 |
Succeeded by William Juxon |
| Preceded by George Abbot |
Archbishop of Canterbury 1633–1645 |
Vacant Title next held by William Juxon
|
| Religious offices (1632) | ||
| Preceded by George Abbot |
Archbishop of Canterbury 1633–1634 |
Succeeded by ? |