| Roger Crab | |
| Birth Date: | 1621 |
| Birth Place: | Buckinghamshire, England |
| Death Date: | 11 September 1680 (aged 59) |
| Death Place: | Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England |
Roger Crab (1621 – 11 September 1680)[1] was an English soldier, haberdasher, herbal doctor and writer who is best known for his ascetic lifestyle which included Christian vegetarianism. Crab fought in the Parliamentary Army in the English Civil War before becoming a haberdasher in Chesham. He later became a hermit and worked as a herbal doctor. He then joined the Philadelphians and began promoting asceticism through his writings.
Crab was born in Buckinghamshire in 1621. At the time of his birth his mother had an annual income of £20.[2] As a young man, he began trying to find a way to live a perfect life. In 1641 he ceased eating meat, dairy and eggs. He also chose to be celibate.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, he joined the Parliamentary Army under Oliver Cromwell. During one battle he received a serious head wound from a sword. During his time as a soldier, he was at one point sentenced to death by Cromwell. He was later sentenced to two years in prison by Parliament. It has been suggested that Crab was involved with the Levellers in the late 1640s and that he was imprisoned as a result.
After leaving the military, Crab moved to Chesham. There he began working as a haberdasher. He continued this work between 1649 and 1652. In 1652 he moved to Ickenham and lived as a hermit. Believing that profit was sinful, he gave away almost all of his possessions before moving. He built up a practice as a herbal doctor, advising his patients to avoid meat and alcohol. He was a popular doctor among the village women. However, he was accused of witchcraft by a clergyman, possibly due to prophecies he issued. He attempted to live modestly, wearing homemade sackcloth clothes. He moved to Bethnal Green in 1657. There he joined the Philadelphians; a group founded by John Pordage.[3]
Crab was an anti-sabbatarian. He did not observe Sunday as a non-working day, and was put in the stocks for it.[4] He was a pacifist, and had radical views on the evils of property, the Church, and universities.[5]
Crab held the unorthodox view that meat-eating was the cause, rather than a consequence of, the Biblical fall of man.[6] By the age of 20, Crab was living on a diet of vegetables and water "avoiding butter, cheese, eggs, and milk." Crab argued that "eating of flesh is an absolute enemy to pure nature" and believed there was a connection between meat-eating and aggression.[6]
Crab ate a vegan diet from 1641 until his death in 1680. He initially included potatoes and carrots in his diet, but later gave them up in favour of a diet of mostly bran and turnips. Later in his life he ate only Rumex and grass, claiming to spend 3/4 d. per week on food. Late in his life he added parsnips to his diet.[7]
Crab wrote his autobiography while living in Ickenham.[1]
A Reply to the Gentle Correction was made by George Salter (London: printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and mouth neer Aldersgate 1659):
In 1680, Crab died at the age of 59 in Bethnal Green, and was buried at Stepney Churchyard.[10] His tombstone has the following epitaph:[11]
Christopher Hill suggested that Crab may have been the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's character the Mad Hatter.