FULLER

fuller, thomas (1608-1661), english divine and historian, eldest son of thomas fuller, rector of aldwincle st peter's, northamptonshire, was born at his father's rectory and was baptized on the 19th of june 1608. dr john davenant, bishop of salisbury, was his uncle and godfather. according to aubrey, fuller was "a boy of pregnant wit." at thirteen he was admitted to queens' college, cambridge, then presided over by dr john davenant. his cousin, edward davenant, was a tutor in the same college. he was apt and quick in study; and in lent 1624-1625 he became b.a. and in july 1628 m.a. being overlooked in an election of fellows of his college, he was removed by bishop davenant to sidney sussex college, november 1628. in 1630 he received from corpus christi college the curacy of st benet's, cambridge. fuller's quaint and humorous oratory soon attracted attention. he published in 1631 a poem on the subject of david and bathsheba, entitled _david's hainous sinne, heartie repentance, heavie punishment_. in june of the same year his uncle gave him a prebend in salisbury, where his father, who died in the following year, held a canonry. the rectory of broadwindsor, dorsetshire, then in the diocese of bristol, was his next preferment (1634); and on the 11th of june 1635 he proceeded b.d. at broadwindsor he compiled _the historie of the holy warre_ (1639), a history of the crusades, and _the holy state and the prophane state_ (1642). this work describes the holy state as existing in the family and in public life, gives rules of conduct, model "characters" for the various professions and profane biographies. it was perhaps the most popular of all his writings. he was in 1640 elected proctor for bristol in the memorable convocation of canterbury, which assembled with the short parliament. on the sudden dissolution of the latter he joined those who urged that convocation should likewise dissolve as usual. that opinion was overruled; and the assembly continued to sit by virtue of a royal writ. fuller has left in his _church history_ a valuable account of the proceedings of this synod, for sitting in which he was fined