Edmund Coppinger
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Edmund Coppinger (died 1592) was an English puritan. He was a supporter of controversialist William Hacket.[1]
He is described by Richard Cosin as "descended of a good house and linage, and one of her Maiestie's sworne servants, but a younger brother, having no great livelihood".[2] With a Yorkshire gentleman, Henry Arthington, he championed the claims of the notorious religious enthusiast, William Hacket, who had a wild scheme for abolishing bishops and deposing Queen Elizabeth I. Hacket proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and Coppinger joined Arthington in holding a demonstration in Cheapside to support the impostor's claim. The three men were thrown into prison. Hacket was hanged on 28 July 1592; Coppinger died eight days afterwards from voluntary starvation; Arthington repented of his errors and was pardoned.[3] The affair caused considerable excitement.[4]
