Francis Rous

ROUS, Francis. b. 1580/81; d. 7 December 1659. Born the son of a Cornish nobleman, Sir Anthony Rous, he was a child prodigy, educated at Broadgates Hall (later Pembroke College), Oxford (BA 1597), and at the age of 16 writing a Spenserian poem, Thule, or, Virtue’s History (published 1598). He matured into a serious man of affairs and politician, with a strong sympathy for the Puritan cause. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1626 to 1629, returning in 1640 after the period in which Charles I attempted to govern without Parliament (‘the eleven years’ tyranny’). In 1640 his Puritan zeal led him to impeach John Cosin* on the grounds of popish and Laudian practices. Rous was an important...