Foxe's Book of Martyrs

I started reading this a little while ago and finished it the other day. I am glad to have read it as it is a real classic. The edition I used is in a series of Chritian classics by Hendrickson. The one prolem is that this is an abridgement and I seem unable to find an authentic unabridged version anywhere online. What I have read is as gruesome as people say it is. At one point it seemed as though the persecutors were trying to find evermore crue ways to kill people. One admires the martyrs, although on occassion one wonders if more coud have been done to preserve life. What an issue persecution is. Strangely its existence appears to back up the truth claims of Christianity,

10 Primitive Persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. The first persecution under Nero, AD 67
2. The second persecution under Domitian, AD 81
3. The third persecution under Trajan, AD 108
4. The fourth persecution under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, AD 162
5. The fifth persecution commencing with Severus, AD 192
6. The sixth persecution under Maximinus, AD 235
7. The seventh persecution under Decius, AD 249
8. The eighth persecution under Valerian, AD 257
9. The ninth persecution under Aurelian, AD 274
10. The tenth persecution under Diocletian, AD 303

10 Famous people with connections to St Giles Cripplegate, London

1. John Milton 1608-1674 Buried there (next to his father)
2. John Foxe 1517-1587 Buried there
3. Oliver Cromwell 1599-1658 Married there (1620)
4. Lancelot Andrewes 1555-1626 Vicar there 1588-1605
5. Sir Martin Frobisher c1539-1594 Buried in the church (though part of him is in Plymouth)
6. John Speed 1552-1629 Buried there (with his wife)
7. Daniel Defoe 1660-1731 Born in the street where the church is and buried nearby
8. John Bunyan 1628-1688 Often preached nearby
9. Ben Jonson 1572-1637 Lived in the parish and two of his sons are buried there
10. William Shakespeare 1564-1616 Lodged here; his rother Edmund had two sons christened there

Tyndale, Cranmer, Foxe

I was pleasantly surprised to see this programme recently. See here. Marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Janina Ramirez tells the story of three books that defined this radical religious revolution in England. Tyndale's New Testament, Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer and Foxe's Book of Martyrs are sadly no longer commonly recognised titles, yet for nearly 400 years these works formed the backbone of British life. Their words shaped the English language, fuelled religious division and sparked revolt.

Tyndale's Bible made the word of God accessible to the common man for the first time; The Book of Common Prayer established a Protestant liturgy; and Foxe's Book of Martyrs (they say) enshrined an intolerance of Catholicism, although it did a lot more thna that. Woth catching.

I haven't seen the other three programmes in the series but this was okay. See here.

Latest Library Lecture (Hopkins on Frith)

Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

We rather struggled to get up to double figures at the Library last Monday but we made it. It is probably too early in the month for some. Norman Hopkins gave us an excellent illustrated introduction to the Reformers and Martyrs of Kent, beginning with Wycliffe's Lollards. It was good to be reminded of this material and expecially of John Frith (burned 1533), a rather forgotten character perhaps. The lecture helped clarify for me that while thefive ssolas are the theological meat and veg of the whole period in England it was transubstantiation that was the critical point of contention. It was also a reminder of what a good man John Foxe was. In that regard this website is worth checking out.

10 more Marian martyrs

In a footnote Ryle mentions other martyrs worthy of special note. He lists 13 but we will narrow it down to ten

 

1. Laurence Saunders, Coventry

2. William Hunter, Brentwood

3. Rawlins White, Cardiff

4. George Marsh, Chester

5. Thomas Hawkes, Coggeshall

6. John Bland, Canterbury

7. Agnes Prest, Exeter

8. Rose Allen, Colchester

9. Joan Waste, Derby

10. Richard Woodman, Lewes

 

(The other three are Alice Driver, Ipswich; Julius Palmer, Newbury; John Noyes, Laxfield)

You can find a full list plus other materials here.

10 Marian Martyrs

These are ten J C Ryle mentions in his essay Why were our reformers burned?. See here.

 

1. John Rogers, a London Minister burned in Smithfield on Monday, February 4, 1555. Rogers was a man who, in one respect, had done more for the cause of Protestantism than any of his fellow-sufferers. In saying this I refer to the fact that he had assisted Tyndale and Coverdale in bringing out a most important version of the English Bible, a version commonly known as Matthews' Bible. Indeed, he was condemned as "Rogers, alias Matthews."

2. John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester. He was burned at Gloucester on Friday, February 9, 1555. Hooper was perhaps, the noblest martyr of them all. Of all Edward VI's bishops, none has left behind him a higher reputation for personal holiness, and diligent preaching and working in his diocese. None, judging from his literary remains, had clearer and more Scriptural views on all points in theology. Some might say that he was too Calvinistic; but he was not more so than the Thirty-nine Articles.

3. Rowland Taylor, Rector of Hadleigh, in Suffolk. He was burned on Aldham Common, close to his own parish, the same day that Hooper died at Gloucester. Rowland Taylor is one of whom we know little, except that he was a great friend of Cranmer, and a doctor of divinity and canon law. But that he was a man of high standing among the Reformers is evident, from his being ranked by his enemies with Hooper, Rogers, and Bradford.

4. Robert Ferrar, Bishop of St. David's, in Wales. He was burned at Carmarthen on Friday, March 30, 1555. Little is known of this good man beyond the fact that he was born at Halifax, and was the last Prior of Nostel, in Yorkshire, an office which he surrendered in 1540. He was also Chaplain to Archbishop Cranmer, and to this influence he owed his elevation to the Episcopal bench.

5, 6. John Bradford, Prebendary of St. Paul's, and Chaplain to Bishop Ridley. He was burned in Smithfield on Monday, July 1, 1555, at the early age of thirty-five. With him, a young man called John Leaf was also burned. Few of the English martyrs, perhaps, are better known than Bradford, and none certainly deserve better their reputation. Strype calls Bradford, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer - the "four prime pillars" of the Reformed Church of England.

7, 8. Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, and Hugh Latimer, once Bishop of Worcester. They were both burned at Oxford, back to back, at one stake, on the 16th of October, 1555. Ridley's last words before the fire was lighted were these, "Heavenly Father, I give You most hearty thanks that You have called me to a profession of You even unto death. I beseech You, Lord God, have mercy on this realm of England, and deliver the same from all her enemies." Latimer's last words were like the blast of a trumpet, which rings even to this day, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day, by God's grace, light such a candle in England as I trust shall never be put out!" When the flames began to rise, Ridley cried out with a loud voice in Latin, "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit! Lord, receive my spirit," and afterwards repeated these last words in English. Latimer cried as vehemently on the other side of the stake, "Father of Heaven, receive my soul."

9. John Philpot, Archdeacon of Winchester. He was burned in Smithfield on Wednesday, December 18, 1555. Philpot is one of the martyrs of whom we know little comparatively, except that he was born at Compton, in Hampshire, was of good family, and well connected, and had a very high reputation for learning. The mere fact that at the beginning of Mary's reign he was one of the leading champions of Protestantism in the mock discussions which were held in Convocation, is sufficient to show that he was no common man.

10. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was burned at Oxford, on March 21, 1556. There is no name among the English martyrs so well known in history as his. There is none certainly in the list of our Reformers to whom the Church of England, on the whole, is so much indebted. He was only a mortal man, and had his weaknesses and infirmities, it must be admitted; but still, he was a great man, and a good man.

Wolsey and Pygot, Martyrs

William Wolsey was a Constable at Upwell, near Wisbech. He was deprived of his office when one of the Justices noticed that, although Wolsey was a regular worshipper at the parish church, he used to absent himself at the Mass. He had obtained a smuggled New Testament in English and by reading it had become convinced that the Roman doctrine of the Mass was erroneous. In Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, John Foxe records that Wolsey was told that as a layman he should not meddle in the Scriptures. John Fuller, Chancellor of the Bishop of Ely, lent him a book by Thomas Watson, Bishop of Lincoln. Wolsey took the book and read it, marking his disagreements in the text. Fuller asked him to ‘rule his tongue’ and he would see that he was let off. However, Wolsey declared that he must speak and be witness to the truth.

Robert Pygot was a painter from Wisbech who was summonsed for not attending church.

He and Wolsey were sent to prison at Ely to face the commissioners who could try them for heresy. On 9 October 1555 they appeared before a Commission comprising Dr Fuller and the Dean of Norwich, John Christopherson. When questioned about the Mass they made the following answer: “The sacrament of the altar is an idol and the natural body and blood of Christ are not present in the said sacrament.” They refused to recant their denial of the sacrament, believing this was not heresy, but the truth, and were condemned to death.

A week later, on 16 October, they were executed by burning on the Cathedral Green at Ely, the same day Latimer and Ridley were martyred at Oxford. The sentence of condemnation was read and a sermon preached then they were led out to the stake. With them were burnt copies of the Bible in English, and Wolsey and Pygot seized copies of these, reciting Psalm 116, and imploring all present to say, ‘Amen’. And so, records Foxe, they ‘received the fire most thankfully.’
(Taken from here)

CYSK 06 John and Betty Stam

https://www.christianfocus.com/en-gb/journal/2014/12/triumph-through-tragedy-the-martyrdom

John Cornelius Stam (1907 – 1934) and Elisabeth Alden Scott Stam, aka, "Betty" (1906 – 1934) were American missionaries to China with CIM (now OMF), during the Chinese civil war. The missionary couple was murdered by Communist Chinese soldiers in 1934. The story of their martyrdom was much publicised and inspired many to become missionaries.

Christ the Heretic

In a letter of the Essex martyr William Timms he writes

 

And they then may as well call Christ a heretic, for he never allowed their dirty ceremonies. He never went a procession with a cope, cross, or candlestick; He never censed an image, nor sang Latin service; He never sat in confession; He never preached of purgatory, nor of the pope's pardons; He never honoured saints or prayed for the dead; He never said mass, matins, nor evensong; He never commanded to fast on Friday or vigil, Lent nor Advent; He never hallowed church nor chalice, ashes nor palms, candles nor bells; He never made holy water nor holy bread, with such like.

Foxe's Martyrs

I notice that Melvyn Bragg is planning to discuss Foxe's Book of Martyrs on Radio 4 next week. Details here. It will probably be rather frustrating but may be there will be something good.