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Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625 – 1 September 1685) was a Welsh academic, diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties (e.g. Nimègue), jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer who served as Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1668 to 1685, and enjoyed a high reputation for judicial integrity. As a statesman he served as Secretary of State from 1680 to 1684.
He was originally from Llantrisant in south Wales, son of Leoline (an anglicisation of Llewellyn) Jenkins, a small landowner. He himself spoke fluent Welsh, and was fond of quoting Welsh proverbs, sometimes to the bewilderment of his listeners. He went to school in the nearby town of Cowbridge and then to Jesus College, Oxford.
Jenkins fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War. On the failure of the Royalist cause, he retired to Glamorgan in 1648, and entered the household of the Welsh Royalist Sir John Aubrey, first of the Aubrey baronets, at Llantrithyd, as did his two most valuable patrons, Gilbert Sheldon, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir Francis Mansell, Jenkins' predecessor as Principal of Jesus College.
He set up a small private school for the education of Aubrey's son and other local boys, but it was broken up by Parliament in 1651 as a seminary for potential traitors. He moved with some of his pupils to Oxford, where he set up another school known popularly as "the Little Welsh Hall", but in 1655 he was forced to flee to the Continent. At the Restoration of Charles II he was made a fellow of Jesus College and became Principal on Mansell's retirement the following year.
As Principal of Jesus College from 1661 to 1673, he was responsible for much construction work, including the college library. The position was one of several rewards he received from King Charles II of England for his loyalty to the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
Due to his close friendship with Archbishop Sheldon, he was also created a judge, first of the consistory court of Westminster, then of the Arches Court and finally of the Court of Admiralty. As Judge of the Court of Admiralty he won Samuel Pepys' warm praise for his ability and integrity, although Pepys was told that his appointment had not been welcomed by the advocates at Doctors' Commons. He played a crucial role in the development of English Admiralty law as a coherent body of legal principles.
He was also an expert on international law. On the death of the queen mother Henrietta Maria at Colombes in August 1669, Jenkins was sent to Paris to argue that the disposition of her personal property was governed by English, not French law: the result would be that the property would pass in its entirety to Charles II, rather than to his sister Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, who would have been the beneficiary under French law. His arguments were successful and on his return to England, Charles rewarded him with a knighthood.
He was one of the Commissioners appointed to negotiate the abortive Union with Scotland in 1669. In the 1670s he spent much of his time on the Continent engaged in a number of diplomatic missions. Notably, he was England's principal representative at the Congress of Nijmegen (1676-1679) which brought to an end the Franco-Dutch War, and for a time the sole representative. Critics said that he was "in agony" at being left with the sole responsibility for making decisions. Certainly, as the English government ruefully admitted, Nijmegen was "far from being such a peace as his Majesty would have wished for", although the unsatisfactory outcome from the English point of view was largely due to the resentment of English interference by both French and Dutch representatives at the Congress, rather than to any blunder by Jenkins.
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Leoline Jenkins
Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625 – 1 September 1685) was a Welsh academic, diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties (e.g. Nimègue), jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer who served as Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1668 to 1685, and enjoyed a high reputation for judicial integrity. As a statesman he served as Secretary of State from 1680 to 1684.
He was originally from Llantrisant in south Wales, son of Leoline (an anglicisation of Llewellyn) Jenkins, a small landowner. He himself spoke fluent Welsh, and was fond of quoting Welsh proverbs, sometimes to the bewilderment of his listeners. He went to school in the nearby town of Cowbridge and then to Jesus College, Oxford.
Jenkins fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War. On the failure of the Royalist cause, he retired to Glamorgan in 1648, and entered the household of the Welsh Royalist Sir John Aubrey, first of the Aubrey baronets, at Llantrithyd, as did his two most valuable patrons, Gilbert Sheldon, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir Francis Mansell, Jenkins' predecessor as Principal of Jesus College.
He set up a small private school for the education of Aubrey's son and other local boys, but it was broken up by Parliament in 1651 as a seminary for potential traitors. He moved with some of his pupils to Oxford, where he set up another school known popularly as "the Little Welsh Hall", but in 1655 he was forced to flee to the Continent. At the Restoration of Charles II he was made a fellow of Jesus College and became Principal on Mansell's retirement the following year.
As Principal of Jesus College from 1661 to 1673, he was responsible for much construction work, including the college library. The position was one of several rewards he received from King Charles II of England for his loyalty to the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
Due to his close friendship with Archbishop Sheldon, he was also created a judge, first of the consistory court of Westminster, then of the Arches Court and finally of the Court of Admiralty. As Judge of the Court of Admiralty he won Samuel Pepys' warm praise for his ability and integrity, although Pepys was told that his appointment had not been welcomed by the advocates at Doctors' Commons. He played a crucial role in the development of English Admiralty law as a coherent body of legal principles.
He was also an expert on international law. On the death of the queen mother Henrietta Maria at Colombes in August 1669, Jenkins was sent to Paris to argue that the disposition of her personal property was governed by English, not French law: the result would be that the property would pass in its entirety to Charles II, rather than to his sister Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, who would have been the beneficiary under French law. His arguments were successful and on his return to England, Charles rewarded him with a knighthood.
He was one of the Commissioners appointed to negotiate the abortive Union with Scotland in 1669. In the 1670s he spent much of his time on the Continent engaged in a number of diplomatic missions. Notably, he was England's principal representative at the Congress of Nijmegen (1676-1679) which brought to an end the Franco-Dutch War, and for a time the sole representative. Critics said that he was "in agony" at being left with the sole responsibility for making decisions. Certainly, as the English government ruefully admitted, Nijmegen was "far from being such a peace as his Majesty would have wished for", although the unsatisfactory outcome from the English point of view was largely due to the resentment of English interference by both French and Dutch representatives at the Congress, rather than to any blunder by Jenkins.