MarginaliaArticles agaynst Leonard Keyser.The first to be of fayth, whiche is alwayes necessary.

The second of charity, whiche serueth when any man hath offended his neighbour, to whom he ought to reconcile him self agayne, as a mā may see by that whiche is writtē in Math. 18

The third whiche is not to be despised, is to aske counsaile of the auncient Ministers of the Churche. MarginaliaVid. supr. pag. 976. 982.And for somuch as all this was cōtrary to the Bull of Pope Leo, and the Emperours decree made at Wormes, sentence was geuē agaynst hym, that he should be disgraded and put into the handes of þ^e secular power. MarginaliaPersecutours.The persecuters that satte in Iudgement vpon hym, were the Byshop of Passaw: the Suffragans of Ratisbone, and of Passaw: also Doctour Eckius, beyng garded about with armed men. His brethren and kinsfolkes made greate intercession to haue his iudgemēt differred and put of, that the matter might be more exactly knowen. Also Iohn Fridericke Duke of Saxonie, and the Earles of Schauuenburge, & of Schunartzen, wrote to the Bishop for hym, but could not preuayle. After the sentence was geuen, he was caried by a cōpany of harnessed mē, out of the Citie agayn, to Scherdingham. 13. of August. MarginaliaHastie iudgement agaynst Leonard Keyser.Where Christopher Frenkinger the ciuile Iudge receauyng hym, had letters sent him from Duke William of Bauaria, that forthwith tarying for no other iudgemēt, he should be burned alyue. Wherupon the good and blessed Martyr early in the mornyng, being rounded and shauen, and clothed in a short gowne, and a blacke cappe set vpon his head all cut and iagged, so was deliuered to the officer. As he was led out of the towne, to the place where as he should suffer, he boldly and hardily spake in the Almaine tongue, turnyng hys head, first on the one side, and then on the other, saying: O Lord Iesu remayne with me, sustayne and helpe me, and geue me force and power.

MarginaliaThe Martyrdome of Leonard Keyser.Then the woode was made ready to be set on fire, and he began to crye w^t a loude voyce: O Iesus, I am thine, haue mercye vpon me, and saue me, and therwithall hee felt the fire begin sharply vnder his feete, his handes, and about his head: and because þ^e fire was not great inough, the hangman plucked the body halfe burnt, with a longe hooke, from vnderneath the wood. Then he made a great hole in the body, through the whiche he thrust a stake, and cast hym agayne into the fire, and so made an end of burnyng. This was the blessed end of that good man, whiche suffred for þ^e testimony of þ^e truth, the 16. day of August, in þ^e yere of our Lord. 1526. Ex 6. tomo operū Luteri.

MarginaliaWendelmuta widowe, Martyr.IN Holland also the same yeare. 1527. was martyred and burned a good and vertuous wydow, named Wendelmuta, daughter of Nicholas of Mūchendam. This wydow receauyng to her harte the bryghtnes of Gods grace, by the appearyng of the Gospell, was therfore apprehended and committed to custodie in the Castle of Werden, and shortly after, from thence was brought to Hage the 15. day of Nouemb. there to appeare at the generall sessions of that countrey: Where was present Hochstratus, Lord President of the sayd countie, who also sat vpon her the 17. day of the foresayd moneth. Diuers Monkes were appointed there to talke with her, to the end they might conuince her, and wynne her to recante, but she constantly persistyng in the truth, wherin she was plāted, would not be remoued. Many also of her kindred and other honest wemē were suffer to persuade with her. Among whom there was a certeyne noble matrone, who loued and fauoured dearely the sayd wydow beyng in prison. This matrone commyng, and commoning with her, in her talke sayd: My Wendelmuta, why doest thou not kepe silence, and thinke secretly in thine hart, these thynges whiche thou beleuest, that thou mayst prolong here thy dayes & lyfe? MarginaliaReligiō would be professed as well with tonge as with harte.To whom she aunswered agayne, Ah (sayd she) you know not what ye say. It is written: With the hart we beleue to rightuousnes, with tongue we confesse, to saluation, &c. MarginaliaRom. 10.And thus shee remayning firme and stedfast in her beliefe and confession, the 20. day of Nouemb. was condemned by sentence geuen, as agaynst an hereticke, to be burned to ashes, and her goodes to be confiscate, she takyng the sentence of her condemnation mildely and quietly.

After she came to the place where she should be executed, and a Monke there had brought out a blynd Crosse, willyng her many tymes to kysse and worship her God: MarginaliaWodden Gods not to be worshipped.I worshyp (said she) no wooden God, but onely that God whiche is in heauen: and so with a myrye and ioyfull coūtenaunce, she went to the stake, desiryng the executioner, to see the stake to be fast, that it fall not: then takyng the pouder and laying it to her brest, she gaue her necke willynglye to bee bounde, with an ardent prayer commendyng her self to the handes of God. When the time came that she should be strangled, modestly she closed her eyes, and bowed downe her head, as one that would take a sleape: which done the fire then was put to þ^e woode, and she beyng strangled, was burned afterward to ashes, in stead of this lyfe to get the immortall crowne in heauen. an. 1527. Ex Pantal.

MarginaliaPeter Flistedius, Adolphus Clarebachus, Martyrs.IN the number of these Germane Martyrs, are also to be cōprehended Peter Flisteden and Adolphe Clarebach, two men of singular learnyng, and hauyng rype knowledge of Gods holy word. Which two, in the yeare of our Lord. 1529. for that they did dissent from the Papistes in diuers pointes, and specially touchyng the Supper of þ^e Lord, & other þ^e Popes traditions & ceremonies, after they had endured imprisonment a yeare and halfe, by the commaundement of the Archbyshop and Senate, were put to death & burned in Colen, not without the great grief and lamentation of many good Christians, MarginaliaThe bloud of Martyrs spilte to stoppe the sweatyng sickenes at Colen.all the fault beyng put vppon certeine Diuines, whiche at that tyme preached that the punishment and death of certaine wicked persons, should pacifie the wrath of God, whiche then plaged Germanie greuouslye with a new and straunge kinde of disease: For at that season, the sweatyng sicknes did mortaly rage and reigne throughout all Germany. Ex Commenta. Ioan. Sled. lib. 6.

¶ A Preface to the Table folowyng.  

Commentary     Close

This was the first of an elaborate series of tables, indicative of Foxe's strong preference (inherited from Matthias Flacius Illyricus and John Bale) for tabulating and 'cataloguing' material in a systematic and taxonomic fashion. These pages required considerable sophistication of his printer since they are elaborately ruled and divided into columns and rows that embrace woodcut engravings, allow room for marginal glosses and include catch-words. The table, introduced in the 1570 edition of the martyrology for the first time, enabled Foxe to broaden the chronological scope of the initial accounts which he had included in 1563. Although Foxe occasionally mentions the martyrologies of Adriaen van Haemstede and Ludwig Rabus, there is no evidence that he consulted either of them directly. Almost all the material was derived from Pantaleon (see the individual biographical entries for precise details), occasionally Sleidan and the Latin edition of Crespin.

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IF thou well remember in readyng this booke of stories (louyng reader) it was before mentioned and declared, pag. 969. how in in the yeare of grace. 1501. certein prodigious markes and printes of the Lordes passion, as the crowne, crosse, nayles, scourges, & speare were sene in Germanie, vpon the garmentes of men, and wemen. Which miraculous ostent passyng þ^e ordinarie course of naturall causes, as it was sent of God, no doubt, to foreshew the great and terrible persecutiō, which afterward fell in the countrey of Germanie and other regions besides, for the testimonie of Christe: so if the number and names of all those good men and wemen, whiche suffered in the same persecution, with their Actes and doyngs should bee gathered & compiled together, it would aske a long tyme, and a large volume. Notwithstandyng, partly to satisfie the historie whiche we haue in hand, partly also to auoyde tedious prolixitie, I thought briefly to contracte the discourse therof, drawing, as in a compendious Table, the names of the persecutours, and of the Martyrs which suffered, and the causes wherfore, in as much shortnes as I may, referryng the full tractation of theyr lyues and doynges to those writers of their owne countrey, where they are to be read more at large. And to kepe an order in þ^e same Table, as much as in such a confused heape of matters I may, accordyng to the order & distinction of the countreys, in whiche these blessed sainctes of Christ did suffer: I haue so diuided the order of the Table in such sorte, as first to beginne with them that suffred in Germanie, then in Fraunce, also in Spayne, with other forein countreyes moe, MarginaliaThe Dutch Martyrs.
The French Martyrs.
The Spanishe Martyrs.
The Englishe Martyrs.The Englishe Martyrs.shewyng onely the names with the principall matters of them, referryng the rest to the further explication of their own Storywriters, from whence they be collected. The whiche Table beyng finished, my purpose is (Christ willing) to returne to the full history of our own matters, and Martyrs which suffred here in England.