Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel

Life events

1. Born — 1557

   Philip Howard was born on 28 June 1557 at Arundel House in the Strand, London, the only son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, by his first wife Lady Mary FitzAlan. He bore the courtesy title of Earl of Surrey from birth as heir to the dukedom of Norfolk.

2. Baptized — 1557

   Philip was baptized at Whitehall Palace by Nicholas Heath, Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York, with the royal family in attendance. He was named after his co-godfather King Philip II of Spain, husband of the reigning monarch Mary I.

3. Educated — 1574

   Philip studied at St John's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1574 at age seventeen. He subsequently attended Elizabeth I's court, where he became a favourite of the Queen despite his father's execution for treason in 1572.

4. Other — 1581

   Philip attended a debate in the Tower of London between Protestant theologians and the Catholic priests Edmund Campion and Ralph Sherwin, an encounter that prompted him to withdraw to Arundel and reconsider reconciliation with the Catholic Church.

5. Other — 1584

   On 30 September 1584, Howard was secretly received back into the Catholic Church by the Jesuit priest Father William Weston. His younger half-brother Lord William Howard was received at the same time.

6. Imprisoned — 1585

   Howard attempted to flee to mainland Europe in order to live openly as a Catholic. His ship was intercepted off Littlehampton by English pirates working for the Tudor Navy, and he was arrested and committed to the Tower of London on 25 April 1585.

7. Died — 1595

   Howard died on 19 October 1595 in the Tower of London from dysentery, having spent more than ten years imprisoned. He died without ever seeing his wife or the son born during his imprisonment, having refused to renounce his Catholicism in exchange for his freedom.

8. Other — 1970

   Pope Paul VI canonized Philip Howard in October 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Following canonization, Arundel Cathedral changed its dedication to Our Lady and Saint Philip Howard, and in March 1971 his remains were translated to a new shrine erected in the cathedral.

Relationships

Documented claims

• While imprisoned, Howard scratched a Latin inscription into his cell wall: 'Quanto plus afflictiones pro Christo in hoc saeculo, tanto plus gloriae cum Christo in futuro' — 'The more affliction we endure for Christ in this world, the more glory we shall obtain with Christ in the next.' The inscription remains visible today. (certain)
• In July 1586, Howard was offered his freedom if he would carry the sword of state before the Queen to a Protestant church service. He refused. Queen Elizabeth later offered full restoration of honors and estates if he would attend Protestant services once; he refused that too. (certain)
• During his imprisonment in the Tower, Howard kept a dog that served as a go-between, smuggling messages between Howard and the imprisoned Jesuit poet Robert Southwell. The two men never met in person. Howard's dog is commemorated alongside him in a statue at Arundel Cathedral. (likely)
• While imprisoned, Howard translated devotional literature into Elizabethan English, including John Justus of Landsberg's Epistle in the Person of Jesus Christ to the Faithful Soul and a verse rendering of Marko Marulić's Carmen de doctrina, smuggled out to be edited by Father William Weston and published at Antwerp. (likely)
• Howard was tried for high treason on 14 April 1589, convicted primarily on the charge that he had asked a priest to say prayers for the Spanish Armada. The principal evidence against him was that he had sought prayers to be said daily in the Tower; Queen Elizabeth never signed his death warrant but kept him imprisoned in permanent fear of execution. (certain)