Born in Roath, Cardiff, William Erbery (1604-1654) was a graduate of Oxford and Cambridge universities. He served as curate of St Woolos, Newport, and vicar of St Mary's and St John's in Cardiff. He was tried for his puritanism at Lambeth Palace and resigned as a priest of the Church of England.
Erbery was the founder of the first Independent Church in Cardiff, and a chaplain in the parliamentary Army. He resigned as an Independent minister and was a forerunner of Quakerism. He was accused of heresy at St Mary's, Oxford in 1646, and at Westminster in 1652. Although acquitted, he was stigmatised by his enemies as a 'madman'. This stigma followed him into the second half of the twentieth century.
The Honest Heretique lets Erbery speak for himself. Containing 500 extracts from all of Erbery's writings, the book presents the background to Erbery's life and thoughts, introduces each of his tracts, and takes note of recent scholarship.
