Robert Crowley (printer)

Robert Crowley (c. 1518 – 1588) was an English printer, author, and religious reformer during the reign of Edward VI and later Elizabeth I. He is primarily known for his printing activities, which focused on disseminating Protestant religious and social commentary, and for his own writings which often criticized the social and economic inequalities of the time.

Crowley was born in Gloucestershire and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1542. He moved to London around 1547 and established himself as a printer and bookseller. He printed works by notable reformers such as Thomas Becon and John Bale, as well as his own writings.

His printing house was active from approximately 1549 to 1551. During this period, he produced a variety of works, including his own verse critique of social ills, The Voyce of the Laste Trumpet Blowen unto the worlde, that shall awake and call up all persones to come to Judgement. He also printed editions of the Piers Plowman texts, understanding them as critiques of contemporary abuses.

Under the Catholic Queen Mary I, Crowley was forced to flee England to avoid persecution. He lived in exile in Frankfurt and Basel, where he continued to be involved in religious activities. Upon the accession of Elizabeth I, he returned to England and was ordained as a priest in the Church of England. He served as vicar of St. Lawrence Jewry in London from 1566 until he was deprived of his living in 1569 for nonconformity related to vestments and ceremonies. He subsequently became vicar of All Hallows, Bread Street, where he remained until his death.

Crowley's writings reflect a strong concern for the plight of the poor and a condemnation of the greed and corruption he saw in society. He advocated for social justice and religious reform, using his printing press as a tool to disseminate his ideas. He is remembered as a significant figure in the English Reformation and as a voice for social reform in Tudor England.