Bayly, Lewis

(1563–1631)

   Bishop and Devotional Writer.

   Bayly was educated at the University of Oxford, England. He became chaplain to the Prince of Wales, then chaplain to King James I and finally Bishop of Bangor. He is remembered for his devotional handbook, The Practice of Piety. Its original date of publication is unknown, but it was in its third edition by 1613 and its fifty-ninth by 1735. It was used as an aid to prayer in many Puritan households and was translated into many languages, including North American Indian dialects. John bunyan, the author of the Pilgrim’s Progress, regarded it as a major influence on his life.

   J.E. Bailey, ‘ Bishop Lewis Bayly and his Practice of Piety’, Manchester Quarterly, ii (1883);

   Lewis Bayly, The Practice of Piety, edited by G. Webster (1842).