The forthe that his grace will set forth christs true religion. And seing he hath begonne he to go forward and make an end, for many things haue ben don, but much more is to do. And þ^t it would please his grace to loke on gods worde him selfe. For it hath ben obscured with many tradicions inuented of oure owne braines. Now said he, how many petitions haue I spoken of? And the people saide foure. Well said he, euen these foure be sufficiēt, which I desire you, that the kinges grace may bee certified of them. And say that I most humbly desire him to loke ernestly vpon them.

And that his grace take heede that he be not deceiued with false preachers and techers and euell counsaile, for christ saith that suche falseprophets shall come in lambes skinnes.

Then desired he al men to forgeue him, and that if he had saide any euell at any time vnaduised wherby he had offended any man, or geuen any occasion of euell, that they would forgeue it him, and amend that euell they toke of him. And to bere him witnesse, that he detestid and abhorred all euell opinions and doctrines againste the worde of God, and that he died in the faithe of Iesu christ, by whome he doubted not to be saued. And with those he desyred thē all to pray for him, & thē he turned him about and put of his clothes makinge him ready to the fier, and most paciently toke his death yeldinge his soule into the handes of almightye God.

Commentary on the Woodcuts    Close

In the first edition these martyrs merited a full-sized woodcut, spreading across the whole page, that showed the three men tied to their stakes above the faggots, with a mounted horseman on one side and a crowd of onlookers, including some watching from windows. The replacement of this narrative woodcut by one of the standardised sequence of small iconic burnings, may seem suggestive of how the change in illustrative technique introduced in 1570 reflected as well as bore on the standing of the martyrs. Given the problematical questions surrounding the deaths of these men and the possible charges against them (hard to substantiate in view of their summary condemnation by attainder), and Foxe's acknowledged concern to reply fully to the charges of 'Alan Cope' (Nicholas Harpsfield), such diminished pictorial emphasis might well have seemed advisable in 1570. The small cut used from 1570 on showed two, not all three of those burned in Smithfield, a mismatch that was far from unique and may not have bothered contemporary readers and users of Foxe's work. CUL copy: note that the features of the people in this illustration are painted with a richer white.

Commentary    Close

1540.

The same time day and place,where and whē these thre aboue mentyoned suffered, thre other also were executed, thoughe not for thesame cause but rather the contrary: For denienge the kinges supremacy and mainteininge the kinges mariage to be lauful with the lady