Richard Hurrell Froude

1803-1836. Tractarian* leader. Son of the archdeacon of Totnes and elder brother of J.A. Froude the historian, he was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford, served as tutor at the latter, and was ordained priest in 1829. In 1831 the first signs of consumption appeared, and he traveled widely in search of healthier climes. On one of these journeys, to Italy (1832-33), he was accompanied by John Newman* whom he influenced greatly, being responsible for bringing Newman and John Keble* together-hence he is sometimes known as the “third man” of the Oxford Movement.* He died in obscurity. In 1838-39 his friends published his Remains, consisting of extracts from his essays, sermons, and letters, in the mistaken belief that readers would admire the exemplary High Church piety of the deceased. In effect the book revealed that Froude, beneath a debonair and cavalier exterior, was melancholy, self-torturing, cruel, arrogant, and somewhat schizophrenic. He bitterly hated the Reformation, and he was devoted to clerical celibacy and the cult of the Virgin. The Remains convinced many that Tractarianism's real goal was reunion with Rome.