Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Man, John
MAN, JOHN (1512–1569), dean of Gloucester, was born in 1512 at Laycock, Wiltshire, according to Wood, though the records of Winchester College name Winterbourne Stoke, in that county, as his birthplace (Kirby, Winchester Scholars, p. 112). He was admitted into Winchester College in 1523, and was elected to New College, Oxford, where he became a probationer fellow, 28 Oct. 1529, being made perpetual fellow two years afterwards. He graduated B.A. 20 July 1533, and M.A. 13 Feb. 1537-8 (Wood, Fasti Oxon. ed. Bliss, i. 95, 105). On 9 April 1 540 he was appointed the southern proctor of the university. Being suspected of heresy, he was expelled from New College, but in 1547 he was made principal of White Hall, afterwards absorbed in Jesus College.
Soon after Elizabeth's accession he was appointed chaplain to Archbishop Parker, who nominated him to the wardenship of Merton College in 1562 (Wood, Annals, ed. Gutch, ii. 149). On 2 Feb. 1565-6 he was installed dean of Gloucester (Le Neve, Fasti, ed. Hardy, i. 443). Queen Elizabeth on 12 Jan. 1566-7 despatched him to Spain as her ambassador, 'with 3l. 6s. 8d. diet.' Her majesty is reported to have punned upon his mission, saying that as the Spaniard has sent her a goose-man (Guzman) she could not return the compliment better than by sending him a man-goose. While at Madrid he was accused of having spoken somewhat irreverently of the pope, and was in consequence first excluded from court, and subsequently compelled to retire from the capital to a country village where his servants were forced to attend mass (Camden, Annals, ed. 1635, p. 91). On 4 June 1568 the queen recalled him to England. The bill of the costs of transportation of himself, his men, and his 'stuft'e' from the court of England to the court of Spain is preserved among the Cottonian manuscripts in the British Museum (Vespasian C. xiii. f. 407), and was printed by Sir Henry Ellis in the 'Gentleman's Magazine' for October 1856. The total expense, including diet, was 399l. 8s. l0d. Many of his official letters from Spain are preserved among the manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (Mm. iii. 8). Man died in London on 18 March 1568-9, and was buried in the chancel of St. Anne's Church, near Aldersgate.
By his wife Frances, daughter of Edmund Herendon, mercer, of London, he had several children, and Wood states that some of his posterity lived at Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex.
He published : 'Common places of Christian Religion, gathered by Wolfgungus Musculus, for the vse of suche as desire the knowledge of Godly truthe, translated out of Latine into Englishe. Hereunto are added two other treatises, made by the same Author, one of Othes, and an other of Vsurye,' Lond. 1563, fol., with dedication to Archbishop Parker ; reprinted London, 1578, 4to.
[Ames's Typogr. Antiq. (Herbert), pp. 608, 982 ; Cat. of MSS. in Univ. Libr. Cambridge, iv. 178, 179; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1500-1714,
iii. 963 ; Haynes's State Papers, p. 472 ; Lodge's Illustrations, 2nd edit., i. 437; Murdin's State Papers, pp. 763, 765 ; Oxford Univr. Register (Boase), i. 160; Walcott's Wykeham, p. 396; Watt's Bibl. Brit. ; Wood's Hist, et Antiq. Univ. Oxon. i. 285 ; Wood's Athenae Oxon. (Bliss), i. 366 ; Wright's Elizabeth, i. 247, 249.]