1570 Edition | Book 9 | Page 1575 
Marginalia1551.great nombre of seuerall admonitions alwayes more & more indurate, incorrigible, and without all hope of amendement, contrary both to your oth sworne, obedience, promyse, and also your boūden dutie of allegiance: and for the great sclaunder and offence of the people, arysen in many partes of the Realme, through your wilfull doynges, sayinges, and preachynges, contrary to the cōmō order of the Realme, and for sundry other great causes by the Actes, exhibites, your owne confession, and proufes of this processe more fully appearing: cōsidering withall that nothyng effectually hath bene on your behalfe alledged, purposed, and proued, ne by any other meanes appeareth, which doth or may empayre or take away the proufes made agaynst you, vpon the said matters and other the premisses:
[Back to Top]Therfore we Thomas Archbyshop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, & Metropolitane, Iudge delegate aforesayd, calling God before our eyes, with expresse cōsent and assent of Nicholas Byshop of London, Thomas Byshop of Ely, Henry Byshop of Lincolne, Syr William Peter Knight, Sir Iames Hales knyght, Griffith Leyson, and Iohn Olyuer Doctours of the Ciuill law, Richard Goodricke & Iohn Gosnold, Esquiers, Iudges and Colleagues with vs in the causes & matters aforesayd, and with the Counsell of diuers learned men in the lawes, with whom we haue cōferred in and vpō the premisses, MarginaliaSteuen Gardiner Bishop of Winchester depriued of hys Byshopricke.do iudge and determine you Steuen Byshop of Winchester to be depriued and remoued from the Byshopricke of Winchester, and from all the rightes, authoritie, emolumentes, commodities and other appertenaūces to the sayd Byshoprike in any wise belongyng, what soeuer they be, and by these presentes we do depriue and remoue you from your sayd Byshoprike and all rightes, and other commodities aforesayd: and further pronounce and declare the sayd Byshoprike of Winchester to all effectes and purposes, to be voyde by thys our sētence diffinitiue, which we geue, pronounce, and declare in these writynges.
[Back to Top]This sentence diffinitiue beyng giuen, the sayd Byshop of Winchester, vnder his former Protestations, dissented from the geuing and readyng therof, and frō the same, as vniust, of no efficacie or effect in law: and in that, that the same conteineth excessiue punishment, and for other causes expressed in his appellation aforesayd, did then and there apud Acta, immediatly after the pronouncyng of the sentence, MarginaliaSteuen Gardiner appealeth from the sentence to the kyng.by worde of mouth appeale to þe Kynges royall Maiesty, first, secondly, and thirdly, instantly, more instantly, most instātly, & asked apostles or letters dimissorials to be geuen and graunted vnto him: and also vnder protestatiō not to recede from the sayd appellation, asked a copy of the sayd sentence, þe Iudges declaryng that they would first know the Kynges pleasure and his Counsaile therein: vpon the readyng and geuyng of which sentence, the promoters willed William Saye and Thomas Argall to make a publicke instrumēt, and the witnesses then and there present to beare testimony therunto. &c.
[Back to Top]And thus haue ye the whole discourse & processe of Steuen Gardiner late Bishop of Winchester, vnto whom the Papisticall Clergy doth so much leane, as to a mighty Atlas, & vpholder of their ruinous Religion. MarginaliaThe end of Winchesters story.And though I haue not herewithall so fully expressed all his letters, aunswers, preachynges, examinations, defensions, exhibites, and attestations, with the depositions of all such witnesses as he could and did produce for the most aduauntage of his owne cause, with such notes also, and collections gathered vpon the same, as here I might, and as before I haue done, I must entreate the reader to cōsider first the greatnes of this volume which would not wel beare þe tedious tractation therof: MarginaliaThe notes and collections hereof, read in the former edition, fol. 862.and secondly, to cōtent him self in resortyng to our former history, where not onely he may peruse þe whole discourse of all this Bishops doinges set forth at large: but also may briefly read in a few summary notes collected, the whole course of his doctrine and Iudgement touchyng what pointes in Religion he did consent and agree, or not agree vnto, pag. 862.And thus an end of Wynchester for a while, till we come to talke of his death hereafter. Whom as we nū-MarginaliaWinchester a good lawyer but a naughty diuine, and a worse bishop.ber amongest good Lawyers: so is he to be rekened amongest ignorant & grosse Diuines, proude Prelates, and bloudy persecuters: as both by his cruell lyfe and Pharisaicall doctrine may appeare, especially in the Article of the Sacrament, and of our Iustification, and Images, and also in crying out of the Paraphrase, not cōsideryng in whose person the thynges be spoken: but what the Paraphrast vttereth in the person of Christ, or of the Euangelist, & not in his own, that he wrasteth vnto the author, and maketh therof heresie, and abomination. The like impudencie and quarelyng also he vseth agaynst Bucer, Luther, Peter Martyr, Cranmer, and almost agaynst all other true Interpreters of the Gospell. MarginaliaWinchester as vnskilfull as wilfull.So blynd was his Iudgemēt, or els so wilfull was his minde in þe truth of Christes doctrine, that it is hard to say whether in him vnskillfulnes or wilfulnes had greater predominatiō. MarginaliaDoct. Redmā set to match St. Gardiner.But agaynst this Doct. Gardiner we will now set and match
CloseIn early November 1551, John Redman, the first master of Trinity College, Cambridge, died. One reason why his death attracted attention was the reputation of the deceased. Redman was a leading theologian (he had been Lady Margaret professor there) who was admired both for his character and his learning. A Catholic humanist, Redman had accepted the Royal Supremacy, and had a foot in both the evangelical and conservative camps. (For an overview of Redman's life and career see Ashley Null, 'John Redman, the Gentle Ambler' in Westminster Abbey Reformed, 1540-1640, ed. C. S. Knighton and Richard Mortimer (Aldershot, 2003), pp. 38-74). Another reason for the notoriety of Redman's death was that he invited leading Cambridge theologians to his deathbed to discuss contentious religious issues. One of those present was Foxe's close friend Alexander Nowell.
[Back to Top]In December 1551, A reporte of Maister Doctor Redman's answeres (London, 1551), STC 20827, was printed. This work claimed that Redman died embracing justification by faith and rejecting the Real Presence. The Reporte was printed by William Seres, a printer under Cecil's patronage, from accounts of Redman's death in Cecil's possession. The Reporte was thus an attempt by Edwardian propagandists to claim that a theologian respected by religious conservatives agreed with them on key doctrinal issues. Under Mary, the Catholics struck back. Cuthbert Tunstall had Redman's treatise, De justificatione, printed. It was a work of Redman's which did not accept justification by faith, written in Henry VIII's reign. And Thomas Smyth printed an edition of Redman's Complaint of Grace, a work critical of major Edwardian religious reforms. In printing his account of Redman's deathbed conversations, Foxe - almost certainly encouraged by Cecil and possibly Nowell as well - was, in a real sense, responding to these Marian ripostes. And he did so, even though he was visibly uneasy with aspects of Redman's theology. Redman's conversations were of little interest to already convinced Protestants, but they could be quite useful in winning over wavering Catholics. Foxe's willingness to print his account of Redman is a reminder of the extent to which he intended the Acts and Monuments as a device for inducing Catholics to convert.
[Back to Top]In 1563, Foxe used two sources. The first was the Reporte, which he reprinted word-for-word. The second was a letter from John Young, who had been present at Redman's deathbed, to John Cheke, describing what had transpired. Young was master of St. John's College and was arguably the leading Catholic theologian in Marian Cambridge. Foxe claimed that he was working from the original letter in Young's handwriting. (It is worth noting that Young, although he lived until 1582, never repudiated the letter). Foxe almost certainly obtained this letter from Cecil, who inherited Cheke's papers and books. In the first edition, Foxe printed Young's letter in the original Latin and also provided a translation. In the second edition, Foxe retained the translation but discarded the Latin text of the letter. He also altered the order of the materials reprinted from the Reporte, now printing Redman's conversation with Wilkes before Redman's conversation with Nowell. But the only substantive additions Foxe made to his account of Redman in 1570 were two brief introductions to the account of Redman's deathbed and to Young's letter to Cheke. The version of the account of Redman printed in 1570 was replicated exactly in subsequent editions.
[Back to Top]Thomas S. Freeman
CloseThis is an exaggeration; Redman was by no means a convinced evangelical. He was, instead, a Catholic humanist who was sceptical of papal supremacy and receptive to some Protestant teachings.
CloseRichard Wilkes was the master of Christ's College. John Young was, at the time, a fellow of Trinity and an outspoken religious conservative. Alexander Nowell was, at this time, the headmaster of Westminster School and an evangelical.
CloseThis note was given to Seres by William Cecil. (For the provenance of this note, see A reporte of Maister Doctor Redman's answers…(London, 1571), STC 20827, sig. A2v). Seres printed the communication (see A reporte, sigs. A6v-B3v). Cecil's possession of this communication strongly suggests that there was a systematic effort made by the Edwardian authorities to collect testimony about Redman's final days. This in turn suggests that Seres's account was carefully orchestrated propaganda and not, as Seres suggests, the result of happenstance and casual interest..
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CloseThis was probably Alexander Nowell, the headmaster of Westminster School, although it might have been Edward Cratford, under master of Westminster School, who was also present.
CloseThe servants who were present were Ellis Lomas, Richard Elithorne, Richard Burton and John Wryght.
MarginaliaThe communication and confession of Doct. Redmā in his death bed.J The foresayd Richard Wilkes comming to Doctor Redman lying sicke at Westminster, & first saluting him after my ordinary dutye, wished hym health both in soule and body, not doubting moreouer, but he dyd practise the godly counsell in hym selfe, which he was wonte to geue to other being in hys case: and thankes be to God (sayd I) who had geuen hym stuffe of knowledge to cōfort hym self withall. To whō he aūswering agayne, sayd in thys wyse: God of all comfort geue me grace to haue comfort in him, and to haue my mynde wholy fixed in him. Maister Yong and I said, Amen. Thē I cōmuned with him of hys sicknes & the weakenes of hys body, and sayd that though he were brought neuer so low, yet he, if it were hys pleasure that raysed vp Lazarus, could restore him to health agayne. No, no sayth he, that is past, and I desire it not, but the wyll of God be fulfilled.
[Back to Top]After this or a litle other like communication, I asked if I might be so bold not troubling hym, to knowe his minde for my learnyng in some matters & pointes of religion. He sayd, yea, and that he was as glad to common with me, in such matters, as with anye man. And then I sayd to hys seruauntes: I trust I shall not trouble hym. No sayd Ellis his seruant, my Lorde of London
CloseNicholas Ridley, the bishop of London.
MarginaliaCommunication touchyng the Sacramēt of the Lordes body & bloud.I sayd he should doo much good in declaring his faith, and I would be glad to know hys mynde as touchyng the sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ.