Page "Corpus Christi College, Cambridge" Paragraph 14

Although spared the worst of the religious tumult that the Reformation brought to England, the college produced adherents and indeed martyrs to both traditions.

Notable are William Sowode who cancelled the Corpus Christi procession, St Richard Reynolds who was martyred by Henry VIII and Thomas Dusgate and George Wishart who were both burned as Protestants.

It was during this time that Matthew Parker became Master.

He donated his unrivalled library to the college, much silver plate and its symbol, the pelican.

In order to ensure the safety of his collection Parker inserted into the terms of his endowment one which stated that if any more than a certain number of books were lost, the rest of the collection would pass first to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and then ( in the event of any more losses ) to Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Every few years, representatives from both of those colleges ceremonially inspect the collection for any losses.

Parker placed a similar condition on the silver that he bequeathed to the college and these stipulations are part of the reason why Corpus Christi College retains to this day the entirety of the library and the silver collection: they were unable to sell off ( or melt down ) the less valuable parts of either collection without losing both.

So assiduous was Archbishop Parker in his acquisition of books and manuscripts he earned himself the epithet of " Nosey Parker ", bringing about a phrase still used today.

Parker was forced to resign as Master in 1553 by the accession of Mary I but was elected Archbishop of Canterbury upon the succession of Elizabeth I.