John Colet

The Colet Gardens, a road in the London suburb of Hammersmith, and the John Colet School in Wendover, Buckinghamshire are named in his memory.

John Colet was born in London in 1467 as the eldest son of Sir Henry Colet. His father was a wealthy merchant and had been the Lord Mayor of London twice (1486 and 1495). John had 21 siblings but none survived till maturity.

After receiving his schooling from St. Anthony’s School he went on to graduate from Magdalen College, Oxford with a M.A. in 1490.

In 1493, he travelled to France and Italy to study canon and civil law, patristics and the rudiments of Greek for three years.

While living abroad he made acquaintances with Budaeus (Guillaume Budé) and Erasmus, and developed a particular interest in the teachings of Savonarola. His brief trip to Rome furthered his cultural and spiritual experiences.

John Colet earned many preferments due to his family’s influence. He was made the non-residential rector of Dennington and Suffolk, rector of Thurning, Hunts and the vicar of St. Dunstan’s and Stepney.

He was ordained as a deacon in 1497 and as a priest a year later. In 1498, he joined Oxford as a lecturer and mainly spoke on the epistles of Saint Paul.

As a lecturer he shunned the existing way of reading and implementation of the text mentioned in the epistles. He believed the text should be read only after understanding the personality of Saint Paul.

He invited Desiderius Erasmus, the brilliant humanist of the northern Renaissance, to Oxford. Erasmus was impressed by Colet’s teaching style (in tandem with the concept of Renaissance humanism) and they developed a strong friendship.

With further lectures on Bible-teachings he gained more influence and respect among the known prime humanists of those times including Sir Thomas More and Thomas Linacre.

John Colet is time and again remembered for the establishment of St. Paul’s School in 1509, on a 43 acre (largest school on England at its foundation) plot situated by the River Thames with the money he had inherited. It was the first English school that taught Greek and the pupils didn’t have to pay any fees, thus depicting the humanist nature of Colet.