Chivalry and Romance' by way of sequel to the dialogue 'On the Age of Elizabeth,' in which he discussed the origin of knight-errantry, and vindicated Gothic literature and art from the imputation of barbarism. Two dialogues 'On the Uses of Foreign Travel,' in which Shaftesbury and Locke were the speakers, followed in 1763, and a complete edition of the 'Dialogues' and 'Letters' was published at Cambridge in 1765, 3 vols. 12mo. Hurd had obtained in 1762, through Warburton's influence, the sinecure rectory of Folkton, Yorkshire. In 1764 an opportunity of showing his gratitude presented itself. Dr. Thomas Leland had had the audacity to controvert a position in 'The Doctrine of Grace.' Hurd accordingly vindicated Warburton in a 'Letter to the Rev. Dr. Thomas Leland,' which was, in its way, as offensive as the 'Dissertation ' addressed to Jortin. Hurd would gladly have had both forgotten, but Dr. Parr reprinted them in 1789 with a very caustic preface and dedication to Hurd, in 'Tracts by Warburton and a Warburtonian, not admitted into the Collections of their respective Works.' In 1765, through the influence of Warburton and Charles Yorke [q.v.], afterwards lord chancellor, Hurd was appointed preacher at Lincoln's Inn. In 1767 he was collated to the archdeaconry of Gloucester; in 1768 he graduated D.D. and was appointed to deliver the first Warburton lectures. They were preached in the chapel at Lincoln's Inn, and published in 1772 under the title 'An Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies concerning the Christian Church, and in particular concerning the Church of Papal Rome' (London, 8vo). In them he adopted the theory of Joseph Mede [q.v.], whom he pronounced a 'sublime genius.' They were popular, and passed at once into a second edition; a third appeared in 1773, a fourth in 1776, a fifth in 1788, 2 vols. 8vo. A new edition by E. Bickersteth was published in 1839, London, 12mo. Soon after their publication Hurd received a private note from Gibbon under a feigned name, stating with great ability certain objections to the authenticity of the 'Book of Daniel.' Hurd returned a courteous and candid reply, and the matter dropped. Nearly a quarter of a century afterwards Hurd's reply was found by Gibbon's executors among his papers, and published in Kurd's lifetime in Gibbon's 'Miscellaneous Works' (ed. 1796), i. 455 et seq. Gibbon's letter was first published after Hurd's death as an appendix to the 'Lectures' in the collected edition of Hurd's works, vol. v. Hurd edited Cowley's works in 1772, and in 1775 Jeremy Taylor's 'Moral Demonstration of the Truth of the Christian Religion.'
On 30 Dec. 1774 Hurd was nominated to the see of Lichfield and Coventry, on the recommendation of Lord Mansfield. He was consecrated on 12 Feb. 1775. Hurd's manners were courtly, and he was soon in high favour with the king. On 5 June 1776 he was appointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York; in 1781 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Gottingen and was translated to Worcester. In 1783 he was offered the primacy, which he declined 'as a charge not suited to his temper and talents.' On 2 Aug. 1788 the king and queen, accompanied by the Duke of York, the princess royal, and the Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, visited him at Hartlebury Castle, and from the 5th to the 9th at the Palace, Worcester.
On Warburton's death Hurd had bought his books, which, added to his own, compelled him to build a new library at Hartlebury Castle. He had also undertaken to edit Warburton's works, a task which he completed in 1788 (London, 7 vols: 4to). 'A Discourse by way of General Preface,' giving an account of Warburton's life and an estimate of his genius which was little less than an unqualified eulogy, was not issued until 1794, and Warburton's correspondence with himself, 'Letters from a late Eminent Prelate to one of his Friends,' Kidderminster, 1808, 4to (2nd and 3rd editions, London, 1809, 8vo), was first published after Hurd's death. Hurd died unmarried on 28 May 1808, and was buried in Hartlebury churchyard. The funeral, by his desire, was without pomp, and the tomb very plain. A cenotaph was afterwards placed to his memory in Worcester Cathedral.
Besides the works mentioned above, Hurd published several volumes of sermons and some charges. From material found among his manuscripts an annotated edition of Addison's works was published in 1811, London, 6 vols. 8vo. A collected edition of his own works in 8 vols. 8vo, and a new edition of Warburton's works in 12 vols. 8vo, with the 'Discourse by way of General Preface' prefixed, appeared at London in the same year.
Hurd was a moderate tory and churchman, orthodox in his theology, but suspicious of religious enthusiasm. Gibbon, while censuring his style, knew 'few writers more deserving of the great, though prostituted, name of the critic' (Misc. Works, ed. 1796, ii. 27). The praise is excessive, but Hurd deserves to be remembered for his 'Letters on Chivalry and Romance,' which helped to initiate the Romantic movement.
In person he was below the middle height,
