Foxe's Book of Martyrs: Select Narratives (Oxford World's Classics)

391 Pages·2009·7.1 MB·English

by  John Foxe

oxford world’s classics
FOXE’S BOOK OF MARTYRS
SELECT NARRATIVES
John Foxe (1516/17 – 87) was born at Boston, Lincolnshire.
During his youth, England became embroiled in controversy con-
cerning the advent of new Lutheran ideas, William Tyndale’s unau-
thorized effort to produce a translation of the New Testament, and
Henry VIII’s endeavour to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Foxe began
his studies at the University of Oxford c.1534, close to the time
when England broke from the Church of Rome and Henry VIII
united church and state. Having become a Protestant, Foxe resigned
his fellowship at Magdalen College and then began a career as a
publicist during the reign of Edward VI. At the same time, Foxe
entered into service to the Duchess of Richmond as tutor to the
orphans of her brother, the recently executed Henry Howard, Earl
of Surrey, who had joined his father, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk, as a
leader of the Roman Catholic faction. When Edward’s Roman
Catholic half-sister, Mary I, acceded to the throne she instituted a
reign of terror during which hundreds of Protestants were burnt
alive as heretics. From exile in Europe, Foxe began to publish mar-
tyrological histories in Latin. When he returned to England follow-
ing the cessation of persecution of Protestants, he entered into
collaboration with the London printer, John Day, who published a
sequence of four vernacular editions of the Book of Martyrs (1563,
1570, 1576, and 1583). At about four times the length of the Bible, the
fourth edition is the most physically imposing, complicated, technic-
ally demanding, and best illustrated book of the Shakespearean age.
Although it contains an impressive array of genres, it is best remem-
bered for its many moving accounts of the apprehension, imprison-
ment, interrogation, and execution of Protestants who had been
condemned as heretics.
John N. King is Distinguished University Professor and Hu-
manities Distinguished Professor of English and of Religious
Studies at The Ohio State University. His publications include
English Reformation Literature: The Tudor Origins of the Protestant
Tradition (1982); Tudor Royal Iconography: Literature and Art in an
Age of Religious Crisis (1989); Spenser’s Poetry and the Reformation
Tradition (1990); Milton and Religious Controversy: Satire and Polemic
in Paradise Lost (2000); Voices of the English Reformation: A
Sourcebook (2004); and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and Early Modern
Print Culture (2006). He serves as Editor of Reformation and Co-
editor of Literature and History.
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OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
Select Narratives
Edited with an Introduction and Notes by
JOHN N. KING
1
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T ypeset by Cepha Imaging Private Ltd., Bangalore, India
Printed in Great Britain
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ISBN 978 – 0 – 19 – 923684 – 8
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In memory of my parents
Revd Dr Luther Waddington and Alba Iregui King
and my grandparents
Revd William Luther and Mary Ann Waddington King
and
Salvador Enrique and Maria Luisa Burgos Iregui
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe a debt of gratitude to Mark Greengrass and David M. Loades,
who serve respectively as Project Director and Editorial Director of
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs Online, a new digital edition published by the
Humanities Research Institute at the University of Sheffield under
sponsorship from the British Academy and Humanities Research
Institute. I have incurred debts to others who have been associated
with this massive scholarly endeavour. They include Patrick Collinson
and the late J. B. Trapp. Editors at Oxford University Press — Judith
Luna, Andrew McNeillie, and Rowena Anketell — have contributed
greatly to advancing this edition towards publication. I am further
indebted to other individuals on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean,
who include Steven Galbraith, the late Ruth Samson Luborsky, and
Alexandra Walsham. At my home institution, I am indebted to James
Bracken, with whom I have collaborated on projects related to John
Foxe, early modern printing, and the history of the book for many
years. For good conversation, wise counsel, and unfailing support,
I am grateful to Joseph Branin, Richard Dutton, Christopher
Highley, Valerie Lee, James Phelan, John Roberts, Geoffrey Smith,
and Luke Wilson. In particular, I am grateful to Mark Rankin for
wise counsel and assistance in transcribing the textual contents of
this edition and to Erin Kelly, Erin McCarthy, Aaron Pratt, and Seth
Reno for their gracious support in preparing this edition. Of course,
I remain responsible for all errors in this edition.
By permission of John N. King, illustrations are reproduced from
his privately owned copy of the 1583 edition of Book of Martyrs.
Above all, I am grateful for the support of my wife, Pauline, and
son, Jonathan Paul.
John N. King
The Ohio State University
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction xi
Note on the Text xli
Select Bibliography xlv
A Chronology of Foxe’s Life and Times xlix
FOXE’S BOOK OF MARTYRS
1. Thomas Bilney 3
2. William Tyndale 13
3. Anne Askew 22
4. John Rogers 35
5. Lawrence Saunders 42
6. John Hooper 53
7. Rowland Taylor 72
8. Thomas Tomkins 95
9. William Hunter 102
10. Rawlins White 115
11. George Marsh 124
12. Thomas Haukes 133
13. John Bradford and John Leaf 139
14. Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley 151
15. Stephen Gardiner 158
16. John Philpot 160
17. Bartlett Green 172
18. Thomas Cranmer 182
19. The Guernsey Martyrs 198
20. Joan Waste 204
21. William Dangerfield 209
viii Contents
22. Richard Woodman 212
23. Rose Allin and Other Colchester Martyrs 222
24. George Eagles 231
25. The Islington Martyrs 238
26. Prest’s Wife 246
27. Edwin Sandys 254
28. Lady Elizabeth 265
29. Judgement Tales 274
Explanatory Notes 280
Glossary of Words and Terms 305
Glossary of Persons 310
Glossary of Places 320
Concordance of Page References 322
Index 324
Biblical Texts Cited 331
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Title page. 1
2. John Day. 2
3. A description of the godly constancy of Thomas Bilney,
who being in prison, oftentimes proved the fire with
his finger. 8
4. The martyrdom and burning of Master William Tyndale,
in Flanders, by Vilvorde Castle. 21
5. The order and manner of the burning of Anne Askew,
John Lacelles, John Adams, Nicholas Belenian,
with certain of the Council sitting in Smithfield. 33
6. The burning of Master John Rogers, Vicar of
St Pulchers and Reader of Paul’s in London. 41
7. The burning of Master Lawrence Saunders at Coventry. 52
8. The burning of Master John Hooper, Bishop of
Gloucester. Anno 1550. February 9. 71
9. The martyrdom of Doctor Taylor, burned at Hadleigh for
the testimony of the Gospel. February 9. Anno 1555. 94
10. The burning of Thomas Tomkins’s hand by Bishop
Bonner, who not long after burnt also his body. 97
11. The cruel burning of George Marsh, Martyr. 131
12. The Martyrdom of Thomas Haukes in Essex,
at a town called Coggeshall. Anno 1555. June 10. 138
13. The description of the burning of Master John Bradford
Preacher, and John Leaf apprentice. 150
14. A table describing the burning of Bishop Ridley
and Father Latimer at Oxford, Doctor Smith
there preaching at the time of their suffering. 155