confession And what if she had opened the same vnto the Iudges They would sayth he haue spared her life for the time and so the innoceÌ„t had bene preserued And how is M.H. sure of this more then was the life spared of the young Lady mistres sometime of M. H. who suffered notwithstanding she was reported of some to be with childe Because the law sayth he is beneficiall to women in her case clayming the benefite thereof The law so geueth I grauÌ„t But it foloweth not therfore whatsoeuer the law geueth or prescribeth the same to be put by and by in execution But many times the law goeth as it pleseth them which haue the handling of the law As for example the law willeth none to be condemned by sentence of death for heresye whiche the first time reuoke theyr opinion and yet contrary to this law they condeÌ„ned her vnlawfully Agayne the like law prescribeth none to be executed for heresy before the writ be sent downe de coÌ„burendo and yet contrary to this lawe without any suche writ as farre as I yet vnderstand they burned her moste cruelly And what lawe then was here to be looked for of these men who in theyr doinges herein seemed neither to obserue law nor to regarde honesty nor much to passe for charity And albeit she had claymed neuer so much the priuiledge of the law what had that auayled with those men whose hunting altogether as by theyr proceedinges maye appeare semeth to be for the houshold goodes of these women which after theyr death immediatly they incroched in to theyr owne handes But bee it admitted that neither she demaunded this benefite of the law nor that the Iudges would euer haue denyed her if she had so done yet had it bene the parte of a graue accuser before he had bene descended into such a raâ—ling action of murder agaynst a poore woman now dead gone first to haue aduised wisely with himselfe whether it might be that she had no such intelligence what benefite the law would haue geueÌ„ in case it had bene required For not vnlike it is and well may be thought rather yea then no that the simple woman brought vppe all her lyfe long in her mothers house in an obscure Iseland in such an outcorner of the realme farre of from the Courte and practise of English lawes neuer heard before of any such benefite of the law and therefore vpon mere simplicity for lacke of skil required it not because she knew not what to require Peraduenture also her senses might be so astonied with the greatnesse and sodennesse of the feare that it was out of her remembraunce Certes it had bene the duty of the Iudges which knew the lawe hauing the woman before them could not be ignorant of her case to haue questioned with her thereof and to haue holpen her simplicity in that behalfe Or at least if they had disdained yet it had bene the Priestes parte who was her Ghostly Father and made priuy thereunto either to haue instructed her or to haue stayd the executioÌ„ of her death for sauegard of the childe But all this denyeth M.H. and to aggrauate the matter inferreth that shee not of any simple vnskilfulnesse of the law but onely of mere wilfulnesse for auoyding of worldlye shame concealed her owne turpitude and so became a murderer of her babe c. These be the wordes of M. H. written by him not of any sure ground but onely vpon his catholicke coniecture for other demonstration certeinely to prooue this true he bringeth none Wherefore to aunswere coniecture by coniecture thus I replye to him agayne that in case she had bene asked the questioÌ„ of the Iudges and Inquisitours whether shee had bene with childe and then had denyed the same or els if she by any other colourable meanes had cloaked her being with child whereby it should not appeare this accuser might haue some probable aduauntage agaynst the woman Nowe as she was neuer demaunded of theyr partes any such question nor did euer deny any such matter so to aunswere this man with as good probability I holde that in case they had inquired that matter of her she woulde neuer haue denyed it And therfore whereas she is accused for her not vttering of her child why may she not by as good reason agayne be defeÌ„ded for not denying the same But she shoulde haue vttered it sayth he It had bene well done say I. And I would she had but yet that is not the question betwene him and me what she shoulde haue done but why she did it not M. Harding wandring in his blind surmises phantasieth the cause onely to be for hiding her dishonesty for that she would not shame the Gospell So that in Summa to this effect tendeth all his accusation Perotine being big with childe at her condemnation did not shew it to the Iudges Ergo she did not conceale her turpitude and because she would not shame the Gospell But here this accuser must vnderstande if he haue not forgotte his Logike that such argumentes which do truly holde a Signis doe alwayes presuppose that the signes whiche goe before the thinges signified must be necessary perpetuall and firme as is betweene causes naturall their effectes Otherwise if the signes be doubtfull voluntary or accidentall there is no firme consequent can proceede therof Now if the sayd accuser shoulde be put to his proofe how to iustifie this his sequele to be true by euident demoÌ„stration that she did it onely for couering her dishonesty I suppose verely he should be found to say more then hee is able to make good and in conclusion shuld be brought into the like case as were the Phariseis who comming to accuse the adulteresse before christ went away mute with as much shame out of the temple as the woman her selfe came in hauing not one word to aunswere For a man to pronounce assuredly vpon the secret cogitation and intent eyther of man or womaÌ„ farther theÌ„ by vtterance of speach is to him signified passeth his capacitie and is to bee lefte onely to him which is serutans corda renes Deus But for so muche as M.H. worketh as I sayde by surmises construing euery thing to the worste let vs see what may be surmised as much agayne to the contrarye concerning the quallitie of this surmised murder Wherin diuers thinges are to be considered as hereunder followeth The first coniecture is this that suche maner of womeÌ„ which for worldly shame are disposed to murder their children haue otherwayes to compasse that wickednesse then by silence keeping Now as touching this Perotine going to be burned neither coulde this silence saue her if she would from â—ordly shame neither is it to be thought any such intent euer to be in her to murder her childe as might well appeare in her mothers house where if shee might haue continued her whole
Baptisme is a marke of Christes Church a seale and confirmation of our acception into the grace fauour of God for Christes sake For his innocencie his righteousnesse his holinesse his iustice is ours geuen vs of God and our sinnes and vnrighteousnesse by his obedience and abasing of him selfe to the death of the crosse are his whereof Baptisme is the signe seale and confirmation Baptisme is also a signe of repentaunce to testifie that we be borne to the waues of pearils and chaunges of life to the intent that we should die continually as loÌ„g as we liue from sinne and rise againe like new men vnto righteousnesse Rom. 6. The other Sacrament which is the supper and holy Maundie of our Sauiour Christ whereby the church of Christ is knowen I beleeue to be a remembraunce of Christes death and passion a seale and confirmation of his moste precious bodye geuen vnto death euen to the vile death of the crosse wherewith wee are redeemed and deliuered from sinne death hell and damnation It is a visible woorde because it worketh the same thing in the eyes which the worde worketh in the eares For like as the worde is a meane to the eares whereby the holy Ghost mooueth the heart to beleue Romanes 10. so this sacrament is a meane to the eyes whereby the holy Ghost moueth the hart to beleue it preacheth peace betweene God and man it exhorteth to mutuall loue and all godly life and teacheth to contemne the world for the life to come when as Christ shall appeare which now is in heauen and no where els as concerning his humane body Yet do I beleeue assuredly that his very body is present in his moste holy Supper at the contemplation of oure spirituall eyes and so verely eaten with the mouth of our faith For as soone as I heare these most comfortable and heauenly woordes spoken and pronouÌ„ced by the mouth of the Minister This is my body which is geuen for you when I heare I say this heauenly harmonie of Gods vnfallible promises and truthe I looke not vppon neyther doe I beholde breade and wine for I take and beleue the wordes simply and plainly euen as Christe spake them For hearing these wordes my senses be rapt and vtterly excluded for faith wholely taketh place and not flesh nor the carnall imaginations of our grosse fleshly and vnreuerent eating after the maner of our bodily foode whiche profiteth nothinge at all as Christe witnesseth Iohn 6 but with a sorrowfull and wounded conscience an hungry and thirsty soule a pure and faithfull mind do fully embrace beholde and feede and looke vppon that most glorious body of Christ in heauen at the right hande of God the father very God and very man which was crucified and slaine and his bloud shed for our sinnes there nowe making intercession offering and geuing his holy body for me for my body for my raunsome for my full price and satisfaction who is my Christ and all that euer hee hath and by this spirituall and faithfull eating of this liuelye and heauenlye breade I feele the moste sweete sâ—ppe and taste of the fruites benefites and vnspeakeable ioyes of Christes deathe and passion fullye disgested into the bowelles of my soule For my minde is quieted from all worldly aduersities tormoylinges and trouble my conscience is pacified from sinne deathe hell and damnation my soule is full and hathe euen enough and will no more for all things are but losse vile dounge and drosse vayne vanitie for the excellent knowledge sake of Christ Iesu my Lord and Sauiour Thus nowe is Christes flesh my very meate in deede and hys bloud my very drinke in deede I am become flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones Nowe I liue yet not I but Christe liueth in me yea I dwell in him and he in mee for thorough faithe in Christe and for Christes sake we are one that is of one consente minde and fellowshippe with the Father the Sonne and the hol Ghost Iohn 17. Thus am I assured and fullye perswaded and on this rocke haue I builded by Gods grace my dwelling and resting place for body and soule life and death And thus I commit my cause vnto Christe the righteous and iust iudge who will an other day iudge these debates and controuersies whome I humbly beseeche to cast his tender and mercifull eyes vppon the afflicted and ruinous Churches and shortly to reduce them into a godly and perpetuall concorde Amen Thus do I beleeue and this is my faith and my vnderstanding in Christ my Sauiour and his true and holy religion And thys whosoeuer is ashamed to doe among this adulterous and sinnefull generation of hym shall the sonne of man be ashamed when he commeth in the glory of his father with the holy Angels Robert Samuel William Allen Martyr NExt after the suffering of Robert Samuel aboute the beginning of September was burned William Allen in Walsingam labouring man seruaunte sometime to Iohn Houghton of Somerton He being broughte before the Bishop and asked the cause why he was imprisoned aunsweared that he was put in prison because he woulde not followe the Crosse saying that he woulde neuer go on Procession Then being willed by the Bishoppe to returne againe to the Catholicke Churche he aunsweared that he would turne to the Catholicke Churche but not to the Romishe Church and said that if he saw the King and Quene and all other folowe the crosse or kneele downe to the crosse he would not For the which sentence of condemnation was geueÌ„ against him the 12. of August and he burned at Walsingham about the beginning of September who declared suche constancie at hys Martyrdome and hadde suche credite wyth the Iustices by reason of hys vprighte and well tried conuersation among them that he was suffered to goe vntied to hys suffering there being fastened with a chaine stoode quietly without shrinking vntill he dyed The Martyrdome of Roger Coo of Melforde in Suffolke Shereman first examined before the Byshop of Norwich and by him condemned Anno 1555. August 12. ROger Coo broughte before the Bishop first was asked why he was imprisoned Coo· At the Iustices commaundement Bishop There was some cause why Coo. Heere is my accuser let hym declare And his accuser sayde that hee woulde not receyue the Sacrament Bish. Then the Bishop sayde that he thought he had transgressed a lawe Coo. But Coo answered that there was no law to transgresse Bish. The Bishop then asked what he sayd to the law that then was Coo. He answered how he had bene in prison a long time and knew it not No sayd his accuser nor wilt not My Lord aske him when he receiued the Sacrament Coo. When Coo heard him say so he sayde I pray you my Lord let him sit downe and examine me him selfe Bish. But the Bishoppe woulde not heare that but sayde Coo why will ye not receiue
worde because I am not woorthy to professe it What bring I to passe in so doyng but adde sinne to sinne What is greater sinne then to deny the truth of Christes Gospell as Christ himself beareth witnesse Hee that is ashamed of me or of my wordes of hym I will be also ashamed before my father and all his aungels I might also by like reason forbeare to do any of gods cōmandements When I am prouoked to pray the enemy may say vnto me I am not worthy to pray therfore I shall not pray so in lyke maner of all the commandements I shall not forbeare swearing stealing murthering because I am not worthy to do any commaundement of God These be the delusions of the Deuill and Sathans suggestions which must be ouercome by continuance of prayer and with the word of God applied accordyng to the measure of euery mans gift agaynst all assaults of the Deuill At the bishops first comming to Lichfield after myne imprisonment I was called into a by chamber next to my prison to my Lord. Before whom when I came and saw none but his officers chaplains seruants except it were an old priest I was partly amazed and lifted vp my heart to God for his mercifull helpe and assistance My Lord asked me how I liked my imprisonment I gaue hym no aunswer touchyng that question He proceded to perswade me to be a member of hys Church which had continued so many yeares As for our church as hee called it it was not knowen he sayd but lately in kyng Edwards tyme. I professe my selfe to be a member of that church said I that is builded vpon the foundation of the Apostles Prophets Iesus Christ beyng the head corner stone and so alledged the place of S. Paule to the Ephes. And this Church hath bene from the beginnyng said I though it beare no glorious shew before the world beyng euer for the most part vnder the Crosse and affliction contemned despised and persecuted My Lord on the other side contended that they were the Church Glouer So cryed all the Clergy agaynst the Prophets of Ierusalem saying Templum Domini templum Domini The Church the Church c. Bish. And always when I was about to speake any thing my Lord cried hold thy peace I commaund thee by the vertue of obedience to hold thy peace callyng me a proud arrogant heretike Glouer I willed my Lord to burthen me with some specialties then to conuince me with some Scriptures and good learnyng Then my L. began to mooue certaine questions I refused to aunswer him in corners requiryng that I myght make my answer openly He sayd I should aunswer hym there I stood with hym vpon that poynt vntill he said I should to prison agayne and there haue neither meate nor drinke till I had answered hym Then I lifted vp my hart to God that I might stand and agree with the doctrine of his most holy word Bish. The first question was this how many sacraments Christ instituted to be vsed in the church Glo. The Sacrament of Baptisme sayd I and the Sacrament that he instituted at his last Supper Bish. No more sayd he Glo. To all those that declare a true and vnfayned repentaunce a sure hope trust and confidence in the death of Christ to such ministers I grant that they haue authoritie to pronounce by the power of Gods word the remission of sinnes Here interruptyng me he would needes beare me in hand that I called this a sacrament I would not greatly contend with hym in that poynt because that matter was of no great waight or importāce although he in so doing did me wrong for I called it not a Sacrament Hee asked me further whether I allowed theyr confession I sayd no. Bish. Then he would know my mynd what I thought of the presence of Christes body in the Sacrament Glouer I aunswered that their Masse was neither sacrifice nor Sacrament because sayd I you haue takē away the true institution which when you restore agayne I will tell you my iudgement concernyng Christes body in the Sacrament And thus much did this worthy Martyr of God leaue behynd hym by his owne hand in writyng concerning the maner of hys vsing and entreatyng in pryson and also of hys conflictes had with the Bishop and hys Chauncellor Moe examinations he had no doubt with the Byshop in the publike Consistory when he was brought forth to be condemned which also he would haue left vnto vs if either length of lyfe or laysure of tyme or haste of execution had permitted hym to finish that he intended but by reason of the writ of his burnyng beyng come down from London lacke of tyme neither did serue hym so to do neither yet could I get the Records of hys last examinations wheresoeuer they are become Onely this which I could learne by relation of one Austen Bernher a Minister and a familiar friend of hys concernyng the goyng to his death I can report that the sayd blessed seruant of the Lord M. Rob. Glouer after he was condemned by the Bishop and was now at a poynt to be deliuered out of this world it so happened that two or three dayes before his hart beyng lumpish and desolate of all spirituall consolation felt in hymselfe no aptnes nor willingnes but rather a heauines and dulnesse of spirite full of much discomfort to beare that bitter crosse of Martyrdome ready now to be layd vpon hym Wherupon he fearing in himself lest the Lord had vtterly withdrawne his woonted fauor from him made hys mone to this Austen his frend aboue remembred signifieng vnto hym how earnestly he had prayed day and night vnto the Lord and yet could receiue no motion nor sense of any comfort from hym Unto whom the sayd Austen answering agayne willed and desired him paciently to waite the Lords pleasure and how so euer his present feling was yet seing his cause was iust and true he exhorted hym constantly to sticke to the same to play the man nothyng misdoubting but the Lord in his good time would visit him and satisfie his desire with plenty of consolation whereof he sayd he was right certayne and sure therfore desired hym when so euer any such feeling of Gods heauenly mercies should begin to touch his hart that then he would shew some signification thereof wherby he might witnesse with hym the same and so departed from hym The next day when the tyme came of his martyrdome as hee was goyng to the place and was now come to the sight of the stake although all the night before praying for strength and courage he could feele none sodainly he was so mightily replenished with Gods holy comfort and heauenly ioyes that he cryed out clapping his hands to Austen saying in these words Austen he is come he is come c. that with such ioy and alacritie as one seeming rather to be risen from some deadly
recompense where as I my selfe am not able I shall not cease to pray my Lorde God which both is able and also doth in deede reward all them that fauour the fauourers of his truth for his sake for the truth is a common thinge pertayning to euery man for the which euery man shall aunswere an other daye And I desire fauour neither of your maystership neither of any man els but in trueth and for the trueth I take God to witnesse whiche knoweth all In verye deede maister Chauncellour dyd shew me that my Lord byshop of London had sent letters to him for me and I made aunswere that he was myne Ordinary and that both he might shuld reforme me as farre as I needed reformation as wel and as soone as my Lord of London And I woulde be very loth nowe thys deepe winter being so weake and so feeble not onely exercised with my disease in my head and side but also wyth new both the colike and the stone to take suche a iourney and though he might so do yet he needed not for he was not bound so to do notwithstaÌ„ding I sayd if he to do my Lord of London pleasure to my great displeasure woulde needes commaund me to go I would obey his commandement yea though it shuld be neuer so great a greuance and paynefull to me with the which answere he was content saying he would certifie my Lord of London thereof trusting his Lordship to be content with the same but as yet I heare nothing from him M. Chauncellour also said that my Lord of LondoÌ„ maketh as though he wer greatly displeased with me for that I did conteÌ„pne his authoritie at my last being in London Forsooth I preached in Abbe-church not certayne then as I remember whether in his Dioces or no intending nothing lesse then to contemne his authoritie and this I did not of myne owne suinge or by mine owne procuration but at the request of honest merchaunt men as they seemed to me whose names I do not knowe for they were not of myne acquayntaunce before I am glad therof for their sakes least if I knew theÌ„ I shoulde be compelled to vtter them so and theyr godlye desire to heare godly preaching shuld return to their trouble for they required me very instantly and to say the truth euen importunately Whether they were of that parish or no I was not certayn But they shewed not onely themselues but also many other to be very desirous to hear me pretending great hunger and thyrst of the word of God ghostly doctrine And vpon consideration and to auoyd al inconueniences I put them of and refused them twise or thrise till at the last they brought me word that the Parson and Curate were not onely content but also desired me notwithstanding that they certified him both of my name playnly and also that I had not the bish seale to shew for me but onely a licence of the Uniuersitie which Curate dyd receiue me welcommed me and when I shuld go into the pulpite gaue me the common benediction so that I hadde not ben alonely vncharitable but also churlishly vncharitable if I would haue sayd nay Nowe al this supposed to be trueth as it is I maruell greatly howe my Lorde of London can alledge any contempt of him in me First he did neuer inhibite me in my life and if hee did inhibite his Curate to receaue me what pertaineth that to me which neither did know thereof nor yet made any sute to the curate deceiptfully nor it did not appeare to me very likely that the Curate would so litle haue regarded my Lords inhibitioÌ„ which he mayntayneth so vigilantly not knowing my Lords minde before Therefore I coniected with my self that eyther the Curate was of such acquayntaunce with my Lord that he might admitte whome hee would or els and rather that it was a trayne and a trap layde before me to the intent that my Lorde himselfe or other pertayning to hym was appoynted to haue bene there and to haue taken me if they coulde in my sermon which coniecture both occasioned me somewhat to suspect those men which desired me though they speake neuer so fayre and frendly and also rather to go For I preach nothing but if it might be so I woulde my Lorde him selfe might heare me euery sermon I preache So certayne I am that it is trueth that I take in hand to preache If I had with power of my frendes the Curate gaynesaying and withstanding presumed to haue gone into the pulpitte there had bene something wherefore to pretend a conteÌ„pt I preached in Kent also at the instaunt request of a Curate yet here I not that his Ordinary layeth any conteÌ„pt to my charge or yet doth trouble the curate I maruel not a little how my Lord Bysh. of London hauing so brode wyde and large Dioces committed vnto hys cure and so peopled as it is can haue leysure for preaching and teaching the word of God oportune importune tempestiue intempestiue priuatim publice to his owne flocke iâ—stando arguendo exhortando monendo câ—m omni lenitate doctrina haue leysure I say eyther to trouble me or to trouble him selfe with me so poore a wretch a stranger to him nothing pertayning to his cure but as euery man pertayneth to euery mans cure so intermixing intermâ—â—ling himselfe with an other mans cure as though he had nothing to doe in his owne If I would do as some men seyn my Lorde dothe gather vp my â—oyle as wee call it warely and narrowly and yet neyther preache for it in mine owne cure nor yet other where peraduenture he woulde nothing deny me In very deede I did monish Iudges and Ordynaryes to vse charitable equitie in their iudgementes towardes suche as been accused namely of suche accusers which beene as like to heare and bewray as other bene to say amisse and to take mens words in the meaning therof and not to wrast them in an other sense then they were spoken in for all suche accusers and witnesses be false before God as sainct Hierome saith vpon the xxvi chapiter of Mathew Nor yet I do not accompt those Iudges wel aduised which wittingly will geue senteÌ„ce after such witnesses much lesse those whiche procure suche witnesses agaynst any man nor I thinke not iudges now a dayes so deeply confirmed in grace or so impeccable but that it may behoue and become preachers to admonish theÌ„ to do well as wel as other kindes of men both great and small And this I did occasioned of the epistle whiche I declared Rom. vi wherein is this sentence non istes sub lege sed sub gratia ye christen men that beleeue in Christ are not vnder the law What a saying is this quod I if it be not rightly vnderstande that is as saynct Paule did vnderstand it for the wordes sound as though he would goe about to occasion Christen men to breake lawe seeing they be not vnder the
and sundrye erroneous opinyons whiche the sayde Hugh Latymer and Nicholas Ridley dyd holde and mayntayne in open disputations had in Oxford in the Monethes of Maye Iune and Iuly in the yeare of our Lorde 1554. as longe before in the tyme of perdition and sithen The whyche opynions if the named persons woulde now recant geuynge and yealdyng themselues to the determination of the vnyuersall and Catholicke Churche planted by Peter in the blessed Sea of Rome that then the deputed Iudges by the sayd authority of theyr Commission should haue power to receaue the sayde penitente persons and forthwith minister to them the reconciliation of the holye Father the Pope but if the sayd Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley woulde stoughtly and stubburnely defend and mayntaine these theyr erroneous and assertions that then the sayd Lordes by theyr Commission should proceede in forme of Iudgement accordyng to the lawe of Hereticks that is degradyng them from theyr promotion and dignitie of byshops priests al other Ecclesiastical orders shoulde pronounce them as Heretickes and therefore cleane to cut them off from the Churche and so to yealde them to receaue punishementes due to all such heresy and schisme Wherefore the last of September the sayde two persones Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were ascited to appeare before the sayd Lordes in the diuinitie schoole at Oxforde at viij of the clocke At what time thether repayred the Lords placyng themselues in high seat made for publicke lectures and disputations accordynge to the vsage of that schoole beyng then fayre set and trymmed with clothe of Tissue and cushynges of Ueluet and after the sayde Lordes were placed and set the sayd Latymer Ridley were sent for and first appeared mayster Doctour Ridley and anone mayster Latymer But because it seemed good seuerally to examine them M. Latymer was kept backe vntill Doctour Ridley was throughly examined Therefore soone after the comming of Doctour Ridley into the schoole the Commission was published by an appoynted Notary and openly read But Doctour Ridley standing bare headed humblye expectinge the cause of that hys appearaunce eftsoones as he had heard the Cardinall named and the Popes holines put on hys cappe Wherefore after the commission was published in forme and sense aboue specified the Bishop of Lincolne spake in sense followyng Lincolne M. Ridley although neyther I neyther my Lordes here in respecte of our owne persones doe looke for cappe or knee yet because we beare represent such persones as we doe that is my Lorde Cardinalles grace Legate a latere to the popes holinesse as well in that he is of a noble parentage and therwith mayster Ridley mooued hys cappe with lowly obeysaunce descendyng from the regall bloud as in that he is a man worthy to be reuerenced with all humility for hys great knowledge and learning noble vertues and godly lyfe and especially in that he is here in Englande deputye to the popes holynesse it should haue becommed you at his name to haue discouered your head Wherefore excepte you will of youre owne selfe take the paynes to put your hand to your heade and at the nomination as well of the sayde Cardinall as of the Popes holines vncouer the same least that this your contumacy exhibited how before vs should be preiudiciall to the sayd moâ—â—e reuerende persones whiche thing we may in no case suffer you shall cause vs to take the payne to cause some manne to plucke off youre cappe from you To whome mayster Ridley makinge his petition for lycence aunswered Ridley As touching that you sayd my Lord that you of your owne persones desire no cappe nor knee but only require the same in consideration that you represent the Cardinalles graces persone I doe you to wit and thervpon make my protestation that I did put on my cappe at the naming of the Cardinalles grace neither for anye contumacye that I beare towardes your own persones neither for any derogation of honour towarde the Lorde Cardinalles grace For I know him to be a man worthy of all humilitie reuerence and honour in that he came of the most regall bloud in that he is a man indued wyth manifolde graces of learning and vertue and as touching these vertues and poynts I with all humilitie therwith he put of his cap and bowed his knee and obeysance that I may will reuerence and honour his grace but in that he is Legate to the Byshop of Rome and therewith put on his cap whose vsurped supremacy and abused authoritie I vtterly refuse and renouÌ„ce I may in no wise geue any obeysaunce or honour vnto him least that my so doing and behauiour might be preiudiciall to mine othe derogation to the veritie of Gods word and therfore that I might not onely by confession professe the veritye in not reuerencing the renounced authoritie contrarye to Gods worde but also in gesture in behauioure and all my doinges expresse the same I haue put on my cappe and for this consideration onely and not for anye contumacye to your Lorshipp neither contempt of this worshipfull audience neither derogation of any honour due to the Cardinall his grace both for his noble parentage and also his excellent quallities I haue kept on my cappe Lincolne M. Ridley you excuse your selfe of that with the whiche we pressed you not in that you proteste you keepe on your cappe neither for anye contumacie towardes vs which looke for no such honour of you neyther for anye contempt of this audieÌ„ce which although iustly they may yet as I suppose in this case do not require any suche obeysaunce of you neither in derogation of any honor but to my Lord Cardinalles grace for his regall discent at which worde M. Ridley moued his cap excellent quallities for although in all the premisses honour be due yet in these respects we require none of you but onely in that my Lorde Cardinals grace is here in England deputy of the Popes holinesse at whiche worde the Lordes and others put of their caps and mayster Ridley put on hys and therefore we say vnto you the second time that except you take the paynes your selfe to put your hande to your head and put of your cap you shall put vs to the payne to cause some man to take it from you except you alledge some infirmitie and sickenes or other more reasonable cause vpon the consideration whereof we may doe as 〈◊〉 thinke good Ridley The premisses I sayd onely for this end that it might as wel appeare to your Lordships as to this worshipfull audience why and for what consideration I vsed such kinde of behauiour in not humbling my selfe to youre Lordships with cap and knee and as for my sickenes I thanke my Lord GOD that I am as well at â—ase as I was this long season and therfore I doe not pretend that which is not but onely this that it might appeare by this my behauiour that I acknowledge
in euery village yea and almost in euery honest mans house alas now it is exiled and banished out of the whole realme Of late who was not taken for a louer of Gods word for a reader for a ready hearer for a learner of the same And now alas who dare beare any open countenaunce toward it but such as are content in Christes cause and for his wordes sake to stand to the daunger and losse of all that they haue Of late there was to be found of euery age of euery degree and kinde of people that gaue theyr diligēce to learne as they could out of Gods word the articles of the christian fayth the commaundementes of God and the Lordes prayer The babes and young children were taughte these thinges of theyr parentes of theyr maisters weekly of theyr Curates in euery church the aged folke whiche had bene brought vp in blindnes and in ignoraunce of those things which euery christian is boūd to know whē otherwise they could not yet they learned the same by oftē hearing theyr children and seruantes repeating the same but now alas and alas agayne the false Prophets of Antichrist which are past all shame do openly preach in pulpittes vnto the people of God that the Catechisme is to be counted heresy wherby theyr olde blindnes is brought home agayn for the aged are afraid of the higher powers and the youth is abashed and ashamed euen of that which they haue learned though it be Gods woord and dare no more meddle Of late in euery congregation throughout all Englād was made prayer and petition vnto God to be deliuered from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities from al false doctrine and heresy now alas Sathan hath perswaded England by his falshoode craft to reuoke her olde godly prayer to recant the same prouoke the fearefull wrath and indignation of God vpon her owne pate Of late by strayt lawes and ordinances with the consent of the nobles and commonalty and full agreement counsel of the prelates and clergy was banished hence the beast of Babilon with lawes I say and with othes all meanes that then could be deuised for so godly a purpose but now alas all these lawes are troden vnder foote the Nobles the Commonalty the Prelates and Cleargy are quite chaūged and all those othes though they were made in iudgement iustice truth and the matter neuer so good doth no more hold then a bond of Rushes or of a Barley straw nor publicke periurye no more feareth them then a shadow vpon the wall Of late it was agreed in Englande of all handes according to Paules doctrine and Christes commaūdemēt as Paule sayth playnly that nothing ought to be done in the Church in the publicke congregation but in that toūg which the Congregation could vnderstand that all might be edefied thereby whether it were Common Prayer Administration of the Sacramentes or any other thing belonging to publicke Ministerye of Gods holy and wholesome word but alas all is turned vpside downe Paules doctrine is put apart Christs commaundement is not regarded For nothing is heard commonly in the Church but in a straunge tongue that the people doth nothing vnderstand Of late al men and women were taught after Christes doctrine to pray in that toūg which they could vnderstād that they might pray with hart that whiche they shoulde speake with theyr toung now alas the vnlearned people is brought in that blindnes again to think that they pray when they speak with theyr toung they can not tell what nor wherof theyr hart is nothing mindefull at all for that it can vnderstand neuer a whit therof Of late the Lordes Supper was duely ministred and taught to be made common to all that were true Christians with thankesgeuing and setting foorth of the Lordes death passion vntill his returning agayne to iudge both quicke and dead but now alas the Lordes table is quite ouerthrowne and that whiche ought to be common to all godly is made priuate to a fewe vngodlye without any kind of thankesgeuing or any setting foorth of the Lordes death at all that the people is able to vnderstand Of late all that were endued with the light and grace of vnderstanding of Gods holy misteries did blesse God which had brought them out of that horrible blindnes and ignorance wherby in times past being seduced by sathans subtleties they beleued that the Sacrament was not the Sacrament but the thing it self wherof it is a Sacramēt that the creature was the Creator and that the thing whiche hath neither life nor sense alas suche was the horryble blindenesse was the Lord himselfe which made the eye to see and hath geuen all senses and vnderstandinge vnto man but now alas Englande is returned agayne lyke a Dogge to her owne vomitte and spuing and is in worsse case thē euer she was For it had bene better neuer to haue knowne the trueth then to forsake the truth once receiued and knowne and now not onely that light is turned into darcknesse and Gods grace is receiued in vayne but also lawes of death are made by high Courte of Parliament maysterfully to mainteine by sword fire and al kind of violence that haynous Idolatry wherein that adoration is geuen vnto the liuelesse and dumbe creature which is only due vnto the euerliuing God yea they say they can and do make of bread both manne and GOD by theyr transubstantiation O wicked mention and Sathans owne broode Of late was the Lordes cuppe at his Table distributed according to his owne cōmaundement by his expresse wordes in his Gospell as well to the Laity as to the clergy which order Christes Churche obserued so many hundreth yeares after as all the auncient Ecclesiasticall writers doe testify without contradiction of any one of them that can be shewed vnto this day but now alas not only the Lords commaundement is broken his cup is denied to his seruauntes to whom he commaunded it shoulde be distributed but also with the same is set vp a new blasphemous kinde of sacrifice to satisfye and paye the price of sinnes both of the dead and of the quicke to the great intollerable contumely of Christ our sauior his death passion which was and is the one only sufficient and euerlasting auayleable sacrifice satisfactorye for all the Electes of God from Adam the first to the last that shall be borne in the end of the world Of late the commaundement of God Thou shalte not make to thy selfe any grauen Image nor any similitude or likenes of any thing in heauen aboue or in earth beneath or in the water vnder the earth thou shalte not bowe downe to them nor worship them This commaundement of God I say was grauen almost euery where in Churches was learned of euery body both young olde whereupon Images that prouoked the simple and ignorant people vnto Idolatrie as
should mistake his meaning and mine I sayde yea my Lorde so that I maye haue bookes on both sides as Caluin and my Lord of Caunterburies bookes and such other Well ê™ my lordt I will satisfie thy minde therein also and they all were in grea hope that shortly I shoulde become a good Catholicke as they call it Then was I brought into my Lordes inner chamber where you were and there was put in a chamber with mayster Dee who entreated me very frendly That night I supped at my Lords table and lay with mayster d ee in the chamber you did see On the morrow I was serued at dinner from my Lordes table and at night did eate in the hall with his gentlemeÌ„ where I haue bene placed euer sithence and fared wonderfull well Yea to say the truth for my liberty within the bondes of his Lordships house for my lodging and fare scarce haue I bene at any time abroade in better case so long together and haue found so much gentlenesse of my Lorde and his Chaplaynes and other seruauntes that I should easily haue forgotten that I was in prison were it not that this great cheare was often pouthered with vnsauery sauses of examinations exhortations posinges and disputations For shortly after supper the first monday at night I was hadde into my Lordes bedde chamber and there he woulde know of me howe I came first into these heresies I sayde I was perswaded thereto by the scriptures and authorities of the Doctours alledged by Peter Martyr in hys Lectures vppon the xi Chapiter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians whiles hee intreated there on that place De coena domini by the space of a moneth together But then my Lord enforced the playnnesse of Chrystes woordes and his almightye power demaundinge of mee what reason shuld moue me from the litterall sense of the words but I hauing no lust to those matters woulde haue alledged that there were bookes sufficient of that matter as Peter Martyr Cranmer and Oecolampadius neuerthelesse when this shifte would not serue but I was constrayned to say somewhat I sayd I was moued from the litterall sense by the manner of speakyng by the circumstaunce and by conference of other places of the scriptures It is euident that Christ tooke breade and that hee shewed them they seeing it bread whiche hee affirmed to be his body Christ affirmed that bread was his body But that affirmation taken literally can by no meanes be true Ergo the wordes if they bee taken according to the letter cannot be true For this predication Panis est corpus Christi or corpus Christi est panis is neither identica nor accidentalis nor aessentialis praedicatio Wherfore of necessitie I must say it was spoken in the like sense as Christ was a dore a vyne and a waye Neyther can it serue to say that it was not of bread that he affirmed to bee his body and that for two causes For what soeuer he shewed that was bread for nought els was seene But that which he shewed he affirmed to be hys body Ergo he affirmed of bread that it was his body The second reason is for that it was not chaunged before seeyng benedixit is gratias egit or ells Christe affirmed no true proposition and you are without authoritie In the end of this letter there were noted these sentences following collected for confirmation of his former assertions videlicet Eadem locutio poculi i. The same phrase is vsed and spoken vpon the cup. Dicitur postea panis It is called bread in the same place afterward Eadem ratione reiecero corpus qua tu panem i. By the reason as it may be denyed to be bread it may be denyed to be the body Ascendit in coelum i. His body ascended into heauen Corpore nobis factus est similis in omnibus post natiuitatem At nostrum corpus non potest esse in duobus locis Ergo c. In body hee was lyke to vs in all thinges after his natiuitie sinne excepted Seeyng then our body cannot be in two places at once Ergo neyther his Discipuli non stupebant c. His Disciples tooke it as no miracle nor wonder The last examination and condemnation of Mayster Greene. THus as it seemeth for this tyme they lefte off But not long after the Byshop perceauyng Greenes learning and constancy to be suche as neyther hee nor any of his Doctours and Chaplaynes coulde by the scriptures refell beganne then to obiecte and put in practise hys chiefe and strongest argument agaynst him whiche was the rigour of the Lawe and crueltye of execution an argument I ensure you which without the speciall grace of our God to flesh is importable And therefore vsynge lawe as a cloke of hys tyrannye the xxviii daye of Nouember the sayde Byshoppe examined him vppon certayne poyntes of Christian Religion Whereunto when hee had aunswered the Byshop appointed the register as their most common manner is to draw there out an order of confession Whiche beyng afterwardes redd vnto Greene was also subscribed by him as a confirmation of hys former assertions The tenour whereof here ensueth ¶ The confession and saying of Bartlet Greene. BArtlet Greene borne in the Cittye of London in the Parish of Bassingshall of the Dioces of London and of the age of xxv yeares being examined in the Byshops palace the xxvii daye of Nouember anno 1555. vppon certayne articles aunswered as followeth Videlicet that neither in the tyme of K. Edw. after that the Masse by hym was put down neither in the time of Q. Mary after that the masse was restored agayn he hath heard any masse at al but he sayth that in the raygne of the sayd Queenes Maiesty he the sayde Bartlet two tymes to witte at two Easter tides or dayes in the chamber of Iohn Polline one of the Preachers in king Edwardes tyme within the paryshe of Saincte Michaels in Cornhill of the Dioces of London did receiue the Communion wyth the sayde Pulline and Christopher Goodman sometyme reader of the Dyuinitie Lecture in Oxford now gone beyond the sea and the second tyme with the sayd Pulline with one Runneger Mayster of Arte of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford and this Examinate also sayth that at both the sayd Communions he and the other before named did take and receiue bread and wyne whiche Bread and wyne hee called Sacramentall bread and sacramentall wyne whiche he sayth were vsed there by them Pulline onely readyng the wordes of the institution expressed in the boooke of Communion In which receiuyng and vsing this Examinate sayth that the other aforenamed dyd receaue the Sacramente of the Lordes Supper and that they receyued materyall bread and materiall wyne no substaunce therof changed and so no reall presence of the body and bloude of Chryste there beyng but onely grace added thereto And further this Examinate sayth that he had
present doe testifie that they neuer sawe in any chylde more teares then brast oute from hym at that time all the Sermone while but specially when he recited hys Prayer before the people It is marueilous what commiseration and pitye mooued all mennes hearts that behelde so heauie a countenaunce and suche aboundance of teares in an olde man of so reuerende dignitie Cole after he had ended his Sermon called backe the people that were ready to departe to prayers Brethren sayde he least any man should doubt of thys mans earnest conuersion and repentaunce you shall heare hym speake before you and therefore I pray you master Cranmer that you will now perfourme that you promised not long agoe namely that you woulde openly expresse the true and vndoubted profession of your faith that you may take away all suspition from men and that all men may vnderstand that you are a Catholicke in deede I wil doe it sayde the Archbyshop and wyth a good will who by and by rising vppe and putting of hys cappe beganne to speake thus vnto the people I desire you well beloued brethren in the Lorde that you will praye to God for mee to forgeeue me my sinnes whyche aboue all menne both in noumber and greatnesse I haue committed But among all the rest there is one offence which of all at thys time doth vexe and trouble me wherof in processe of my talk you shall heare more in hys proper place and then putting hys hande into hys bosome hee drewe foorth his Prayer which hee recited to the people in thys sense The Prayer of Doctour Cranmer Archbyshop GOod Christen people my dearly beloued brethren and sisters in Christ I beseech you most hartely to pray for me to almighty God that he wil forgeue me al my sinnes and offences which be many without number and great aboue measure But yet one thing grieueth my conscience more then all the rest whereof God willing I entende to speake more heereafter But howe great and howe many soeuer my sinnes be I beseeche you to pray God of hys mercy to pardon and forgeue them all And heere kneling downe he sayd O Father of heauen O sonne of God redeemer of the worlde O holy Ghoste three persones and one God haue mercye vppon me moste wretched caitife and miserable sinner I haue offended both againste heauen and earth more then my tounge can expresse Whether then may I goe or whether should I flie To heauen I may be ashamed to lifte vp mine eyes and in earth I finde no place of refuge or succour To thee therefore O Lorde doe I runne to thee doe I humble my selfe saying O Lorde my God my sinnes be great but yet haue mercye vppon me for thy great mercy The great mysterie that God became man was not wrought for little or fewe offences Thou diddest not geue thy sonne O heauenly father vnto death for smal sinnes onely but for all the greatest sinnes of the world so that the sinner returne to thee with his whole heart as I do here at this present Wherefore haue mercye on mee O God whose propertie is alwayes to haue mercy haue mercy vpon me O Lord for thy great mercy I craue nothing for mine owne merites but for thy names sake that it maye be hallowed thereby and for thy deare sonne Iesus Christes sake And nowe therefore Our father of heauen halowed be thy name c. And then he rising sayde Euery man good people desireth at that time of their death to geue some good exhortation that other maye remember the same before theyr death be the better thereby so I beseche God graunt me grace that I may speake some thyng at thys my departing whereby God may be glorified and you edified First it is an heauy case to see that so many folke be so much doted vpon the loue of this false world and so carefull for it that of the loue of God or the world to come they seeme to care very little or nothing Therefore this shal be my first exhortation that you sette not your mindes ouer much vpon thys glosing world but vpon God and vpon the world to come and to learne to know what this lesson meaneth whych s. Iohn teacheth that the loue of this world is hatred against God The seconde exhortation is that next vnder God you obey your King and Queene willingly and gladly without murmuring or grudging not for feare of them onely but much more for the feare of God knowing that they be Gods ministers appoynted by God to rule and gouerne you and therefore who soeuer resisteth them resisteth the ordinance of God The third exhortatiō is that you loue altogether lyke brethren and sisters For alasse pitie it is to see what contention and hatred one Christen man beareth to an other not taking cache other as brother and sister but rather as strangers and mortall ennemies But I pray you learne and beare well away this one lesson to doe good vnto all men asmuch as in you lieth and to hurt no man no more then you would hurt your owne naturall louing brother or sister For thys you maye be sure off that who soeuer hateth any person and goeth about maliciously to hinder or hurte hym surely and wythout all doubte God is not wyth that man although he thinke himself neuer so much in Gods fauour The fourth exhortation shall be to them that haue great substance riches of this world that they will well consider and weigh three sayinges of the Scripture One is of our Sauiour Christ him selfe who sayeth It is harde for a rich man to enter into the kingdome of heauen A sore saying and yet spoken of hym that knoweth the truth The second is of S. Iohn whose saying is thys Hee that hath the substaunce of this worlde and seeth hys brother in necessitie and shutteth vp his mercy from him howe can he saye that hee loueth God The third is of S Iames who speaketh to the couetous riche man after thys maner Weepe you and howle for the miserie that shall come vpon you your riches do rotte your clothes be mothe eaten your golde and siluer doeth canker and rust and their rust shall beare witnesse against you and consume you like fire you gather a hoarde or treasure of Gods indignation against the last day Let them that be riche ponder well these three sentences for if they had occasion to shew their charitie they haue it now at this present the poore people being so many and victuals so deare And now for as much as I am come to the last end of my life whereupon hangeth al my life past and all my life to come either to liue with my maister Christe for euer in ioy or els to be in paine for euer with wicked Deuilles in hell I see before mine eyes presently either heauen ready to receiue me or els hell ready to swallow me vppe I shall
the 13. and 14. articles they confesse and graunt the contents of them to be true in euery part When at the daies before specified these good men were produced before Boners Chancellour Thomas Darbishire and had the foresaide articles ministred vnto them and they as ye haue heard had made aunswere vnto the same in the ende the Chauncellor commaunded them to appeare before them againe the 11. day of Iuly after in the sayde place at Paules Where when they came he required of them whether they woulde tourne from their opinions to the mother holy church and if not that then whether there were anye cause to the contrarye but that they might procede with the sentence of condemnation Wherunto they all answeared that they would not go from the truthe nor relent from any part of the same while they liâ—â—ed Then he charged them to appeare before him againe the next daye in the afternoone betweene one and two of the clocke to heare the definitiue sentence redde agaynste them according to the Ecclesiasticall lawes then in force At which time he sitting in iudgemeÌ„t talking with these godly and vertuous men at the last came into the sayde place syr Edwarde Hastings sir Thomas Cornewales knights two of Quene Maries officers of her house and being there they sate them down ouer against the Chancellor in whose presence the sayde Chancellor condemned those good poore Lambes and deliuered them ouer to the secular power who receiued and caried them to prisonne immediately and there kept them in safetie till the daye of their deathe In the meane time this naughty Chancellor slept not I warrant you but that day in which they were condemned he made certificate into the Lorde Chancellors office from whence the next daye after was sent a writ to burne them at Brainforde aforesaid which accordingly was accomplished in the same place the said 14. daye of Iulye Whereunto they being brought made theyr humble praiers vnto the Lorde Iesus vndressed themselues wente ioyfully to the stake whereto they were bounde and the fire flaming about them they yelded their soules bodies and liues into the handes of the omnipotent Lorde for whose cause they didde suffer and to whose protection I commend thee gentle Reader Amen The burning of sixe Martyrs at Brainforde Among these 6. was due William Pikes as yee haue heard who sometime dwelt in Ipswiche in Suffolke by his occupation a Tanner a very honest godly man of a vertuous disposition a good keper of hospitalitie and beneâ—icial to the persecuted in Queene Maries daies Thys saide William Pikes in the 3. yeare of Queene Maries raigne a little after Midsomer being then at libertie weÌ„t into his Garden and tooke wyth him a Bible of Rogers translation where hee sitting wyth his face towardes the South reading on the said Bible sodenly fell downe vpon his booke betwene a 11. and 12. a clocke of the day foure drops of fresh bloud he knew not from whence it came Then he seeing the same was sore astonished coulde by no meanes learne as I sayd from whence it should fall and wiping out one of the droppes with his finger called his wife and said In the vertue of God wife what meaneth this Wil the Lord haue 4. sacrifices I see wel enough the Lorde will haue bloude his wil be done and geue me grace to abide the triall Wife let vs pray sayde hee for I feare the day draweth nigh Afterwarde he daily looked to be apprehended of the papistes and it came to passe accordingly as yee haue heard Thus much thought I good to wryte heereof to stirre vp our dull senses in considering the Lordes woorkes and reuerently to honour the same His name therefore be praised for euermore Amen Moreouer concerning the sayd William Pikes as he was in Newgate sore sicke and at the poynte of deathe so that no man looked he should liue 6. houres there declared to them that stoode by that he had bene twise in persecution before and that now he desired the Lord if it were his will that he might glorifie his name at the stake and so as he prayed it came to passe at Brainford Ye hard before of those 22. taken at Islington 13. were burned and 6. escaped albeit very hardly some of them not without scourging by the hands of the bishop In the which number was Thomas Hinshaw Ihon Milles according to the expresse Picture here after purported Ex epigrammate Ennij apud Ciceronem allusio Si fas caedendo coelestia scandere cuiquam est Bonnero coeli maxima porta patet In effigiem Boneri carmen QVae noua forma viri quid virga quid ora quid aluus Pondera quid ventris crassitiesue velit Corpus amaxaeum disten to abdomine pigrum Rides anne stupes lector amice magis Vasta quid ista velint si nescis pondera dicam Nam nihil hic mirum venter obesus habet Carnibus humanis sanguine vescitur atro Ducentos annis hauserat ille tribus Ergo quid hoc monstri est recto vis nomine dicam Nomen nec patris nec gerit ille matris Qui patre Sauago natus falso que Bonerus Dicitur hunc melius dixeris Orbilium The same in English MUse not so much that natures woorke is thus deformed now With belly blowen and head so swolne for I shall tell you how This Canniball in three yeares space three hundreth Martyrs slew They were his foode he loued so bloud he spared none he knew It should appeare that bloud feedes fat if men lie well and soft For Boners bellie waxt with bloud though he semde to fast oft O bloudy beast bewaile the death of those that thou hast slaine In time repent since thou canst not their liues restore againe G. G. In Bonerum CArnificis nomen debetur iure Bonero Qui sine Christicolas crimine mactat oues Certe carnificis immitis nomine gaudet Siue isto peius nomine nomen amat Carnificem vocitas ridet crudelia facta Narrisâ— rem gratam non facis ipse magis Det Deus vt sapias meliora Bonere vel istis Te feriant meritis munera digna precor The scourging of Thomas Hinshaw ⧠The right Picture and true Counterfet of Boner and his crueltie in scourging of Gods Sainctes in his Orchard a Fulham The next mornyng the Bish. came and examined hym himselfe and perceiuyng no yelding to his mynde he sent M. Harpsfield to talke with him who after long talke in the end fell to raging words callyng the sayd Thomas Hinshaw pâ—euish boy and asked him whether he thought he went about to damne his soule or no c. Unto whiche the sayd Tho. answered that he was perswaded that they laboured to maintaine their darke and diuelish kingdom and not for any loue to truth Then Harpsfield beyng in a mighty rage told the B. thereof Whereat the B. fumed fretted that scant for anger beyng able