dooe a poore manne good. Whereunto maister Ridley saide: bee it in the name of GOD, and so vnlaced himselfe. Then being in his shirt, he stoode vppon the foresaide stone, and helde vppe his handes, and saide: Oh heauenly Father, I geue vnto thee moste hearty thankes, for that thou haste called me to bee a professor of thee, euen vnto deathe. I beseche thee Lorde GOD,take mercy vpon this Realme of Englande, and delyuer the same from all her enemies.
[Back to Top]Then the Smithe tooke a chaine of Iron, and broughte the same aboute bothe Doctoure Ridley, and maister Latimers middels. And as he was knocking in a staple, Doctour Ridley tooke the chaine in his hande, and shaked the same. for it did girde in his belly, and lookinge a side to the Smith, saide: good fellowe knocke it in harde. for the fleshe will haue his course.
Ridley is asking that he be tied firmly to the stake for fear that might appear to shrink or flee from the fire, thus discrediting his cause by seeming to die without the requisite fortitude of a martyr. (On the propaganda importance of this fortitude see Collinson [1983] and Freeman [1997]).
Promptly, speedily.
For the final time, a mention of Ridley's wishes that his leases of diocesan property to the Shipsides be confirmed is pulled into the narrative.
A mediator or intercessor.
In manus tuas domine commendo spiritum meum, domine recipe spiritum meum
[Not translated] ... Lord, Lord, receiue my spirite.
[The first time the citation from St. Luke would seem to have been cried out by Ridley in Latin, followed by another Latin phrasing of the sentiment of Ridley’s own composition (Domine, recipe spiritum meum) which was then repeated often in English (Lord receive my spirit).]
Pater in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum.
Luke 23: 46 in the Vulgate; these were Christ's last words on the cross and were often uttered by those about to be executed.
ter parte often in Englishe. Lorde, Lorde, receiue my spirite. Maister Latimer crying as vehementlye on the other side, Oh Father of Heauen receiue my soule, who receuyed the flame as it were embracing it. After, as he had stroked his face with his handes, and as it wer bathed them a little in the fier, soone dyed, as it appeared with verye little payne or none. But maister Ridley by reason of the euill makinge of the fier vnto hym, because the woodden fagottes were layde about the Gorse,
Gorse. A prickly shrub; here it was being used as kindling to help ignite the wood about the two martyrs.
There was too much wood on top of the gorse and it partially smothered the burning gorse which did not burn hotly enough to ignite the wood. Ridley is being scorched by the burning gorse and is calling for his executioners to let the fire spread and finish him off.
Shipside, with the best of intentions but calamitous results, heaped more wood on the fire which made the gorse burn hotter but which further impeded the fire from igniting the wood. Ridley was burned severely, but not fatally, below the waist while the upper part of his body (and the bags of gunpowder around his neck) were untouched.
[Back to Top]Acquiesence, satisfaction.
A bill was a long pole with a curved scythe at the end. When this was used to pull some of the logs off the top of the pile, the remaining logs finally caught fire.
Some saye that before hee was lyke to fall from the stake, hee desyred them to holde him to it with theyr Billes. Howesoeuer it was surely it moued hundredes to teares, to behold the horrible syght. For I thynke there was none, that hadde not cleane exiled all humanitie and mercye, whiche woulde not haue lamented to beholde the furye of the fyre so rage vppon theyr bodyes. Signes there were of sorrowe on euery syde. Some tooke it greuously to see theyr deathes, whose lyues they helde ful deare. Som pitied their persons, þt thought
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