John Bale

The Right Reverend John Bale
Church	Church of Ireland
See	Ossory
Appointed	22 October 1552
Installed	2 February 1553
Term ended	September 1553
Predecessor	Milo Baron, OSA
Successor	John Tonory, OSA
Personal details
Born	21 November 1495 Covehithe, Suffolk, Kingdom of England
Died	November 1563 (aged 67-68) Canterbury, Kent, Kingdom of England
Nationality	English
Denomination	Catholic Church, Protestant Christianity
Occupation	Churchman, historian and controversialist. Wrote Illustrium majoris Britanniae scriptorum, hoc est, Angliae, Cambriae, ac Scotiae Summarium (1548–49)
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge

John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being dispersed. His contention that Joseph of Arimathea had brought a proto-Protestant faith to Britain that was purer than Catholicism was to have far-reaching ramifications; but his unhappy disposition and habit of quarrelling earned him the nickname "bilious Bale".