Richard Baxter

Neil Keeble (University of Stirling)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Richard Baxter was born in the village of Rowton, Shropshire, on 12 November 1615. His schooling was poor and he did not proceed to university, but through omnivorous reading he became one of the most learned of seventeenth-century divines. It was also through reading that he realised his vocation. “Without any means but Books” God was “pleased to resolve me for himself” (

Reliquiae Baxterianae

(1696), I.3-4, §3). He mentions as particularly influential Edmund Bunny's Protestant revision of the Jesuit Robert Parsons'

A Booke of Christian Exercise Appertayning to Resolution

(1584), Richard Sibbes'

The Bruised Reede and Smoaking Flax

(1630), William Perkins' works and Ezekiel Culverwell's

Treatise of Faith

(1623). These “and many other excellent Books, were made my Teachers and…

2305 words

Citation: Keeble, Neil. "Richard Baxter". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=304, accessed 19 March 2024.]

304 Richard Baxter 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.