William Laud

William Laud (1573-1645), English prelate, born in Reading, and educated at the University of Oxford. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1601 and became bishop of Saint David's, Scotland, in 1621. His friendship with the English courtier George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, won him preference at the English court. Laud was made bishop of London in 1628, chancellor of Oxford in 1629, and archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. As archbishop he opposed the church reforms proposed by the Puritans. In political affairs he supported King Charles I in his prolonged struggle with Parliament. After Villiers was assassinated in 1628, Laud's influence at court greatly increased. Laud, the king, and Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of Strafford, constituted the triumvirate that attempted to achieve absolutism for the Crown in political and ecclesiastical matters.

In 1637 when Laud, with the support of Charles, attempted to introduce the Anglican liturgy in Scotland, a riot took place in Saint Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. The revolt spread and led to the Solemn League and Covenant of 1638 and the First Bishop's War in 1639 and to the meeting of the Long Parliament in 1640, which impeached Laud for treason. His impeachment by the House of Commons was nullified by the House of Lords, but he was later condemned under a bill of attainder and beheaded.