CAVE, WILLIAM

CAVE, WILLIAM. - Born at Pickwell in Leicestershire in 1637, died at Windsor in 1713. Anglican minister. Educated at Cambridge in St John’s College, vicar and rector of many parishes, chaplain to Charles II, canon of Windsor. A theologian, historian, and ecclesiastical critic of wide erudition for his time, but lacking in critical sense and often biased in his judgments, as his adversaries, among whom was Jean Le Clerc, pointed out. Among his most important works are: *Primitivie Christianis* (London 1672), on primitive Christianity in its relations with paganism; *Tabulae ecclesiasticae* (ibid. 1674), a catalogue of ancient ecclesiastical writers; *Apostolici* (ibid. 1677), a history of figures from the first three centuries of the Church; and *Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Historia Litteraria* (ibid. 1688–98), of which a posthumous edition exists (Oxford 1740–43) with numerous additions by the author himself. On account of his Protestant and anti-Roman stance, all of Cave’s works were placed on the Index (decree of 11 Nov. 1693).