MarginaliaAn. 1556. March.ked deuils in hell, and I see before myne eyes presently either heauen ready to receiue me, or els hell ready to swallow me vp: I shall therfore declare vnto you my very fayth how I beleue, without any colour or dissimulation: for now is no tyme to dissemble, what soeuer I haue sayd or written in time past.

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MarginaliaThe Archb. declareth the true confession of his fayth without all colour or dissembling.First, I beleue in God the father almighty, maker of heauen and earth. &c. And I beleue euery Article of the Catholicke faith, euery word and sentence taught by our Sauiour IESVS CHRIST, his Apostles & Prophetes, in the new and old Testament.

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And now I come to þ^e great thyng that so much troubleth my consciēce more then any thing that euer I did or sayd in my whole life, and that is the settyng abroad of a writyng contrary to the truth: MarginaliaThe Archb. reuoketh his former recantation and repenteth the same.which now here I renounce and refuse as thynges written with my hand contrary to the truth  

which I thought in my hart, and writtē for feare of death, and to saue my lyfe if it might be, and that is, all such billes and papers which I haue written or signed with my hand since my degradation: wherin I haue written many thinges vntrue. And for as much as my hand offended, writyng contrary to my hart, my hand shall first be punished therfore: for may I come to the fire, it shalbe first burned.

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MarginaliaThe Archb. refuseth the Pope as Christes enemy, and Antichrist.And as for the Pope, I refuse him as CHRISTES enemy and Antichrist, with all his false doctrine.  

And as for the Sacrament, MarginaliaThe Archb. standeth to his boke written against Winchester.I beleue as I haue taught in my booke agaynst the Bishop of Winchester, the which my booke teacheth so true a doctrine of the Sacrament, that it shall stand at the last day before the iudgement of God, where the Papisticall doctrine contrary therto, shalbe ashamed to shew her face.

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MarginaliaThe expectation of the Papistes deceaued.Here the standers by were all astonyed, maruailed, were amased, did look one vpō an other, whose expectation he had so notably deceiued. Some began to admonish him of his recantation, & to accuse hym of falshode.

Briefly, it was a world to see the Doctours begyled of so great an hope. I thinke there was neuer crueltie more notably or better in tyme deluded and deceiued. For it is not to bee doubted but they looked for a glorious victorie and a perpetuall triumph by this mans retractation. MarginaliaThe papistes in a great chaffe against the Archb.Who as soone as they heard these thynges, began to let downe their eares, to rage, fret, and fume: and so much the more, because they could not reuenge their griefe: for they could now no longer threaten or hurt him. For the most miserable man in the world can dye but once: and where as of necessitie he must needes dye that day, though the Papistes had bene neuer so well pleased: now being neuer so much offended with him, yet could he not be twise killed of them. And so when they could do nothyng els vnto him, yet lest they should say nothyng, they ceassed not to obiect vnto him hys falsehode and dissimulation.

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Vnto which accusation he aunswered: MarginaliaCranmers answere to the papistes.Ah my Masters (quoth he) do not you take it so. Alwayes since I lyued hertherto, I haue bene a hater of falsehode, and a louer of simplicitie, and neuer before this tyme haue I dissembled: and in saying this, all the teares that remained in his body, appeared in his eyes. And when he began to speake more of the Sacrament and of the Papacy, some of them began to cry out, yalpe, and baule, and specially Cole cried out vpon him: stoppe þ^e heretickes mouth, and take hym away.

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MarginaliaCranmer pulled downe from the stage.And then Cranmer beyng pulled downe from the stage, MarginaliaCranmer led to the fire.was led to the fire, accompanied with those Friers, vexyng, troublyng, and threatnyng him most cruelly. What madnes (say they) hath brought thee agayne into this errour, by which thou wilt drawe innumerable soules with thee into hell? To whom he aunswered nothyng, but directed all his talke to the people, sauyng that to one troublyng him in the way, he spake and exhorted him to get hym home to his study, and apply his booke diligently, saying if he did diligently call vpon God, by readyng more he should get knowledge. But the other Spanish barker, ragyng and fomyng, was almost out of his wittes, alwayes hauyng this in

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his mouth: Non fecisti? diddest thou it not?

But when he came to the place where the holy Byshops & Martyrs of God, Hugh Latimer and Ridley, were burnt before him for the cōfession of þ^e truth:MarginaliaThe Archb. brought to the place of execution. kneling downe, he prayed to God, and not long tarying in his prayers, putting of his garmentes to hys shirt, he prepared hym selfe to death. His shirt was made long downe to hys feete. His feete were bare. Lykewyse his head, when both his cappes were of, was so bare, that not one heare could be sene vpō it. His beard was long and thicke, couering his face with maruaylous grauity. Such a countenaunce of grauity moued the hartes, both of hys friendes and of his enemies.

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Then the Spanish Fryers, Iohn & Richard, of whō mention was made before, began to exhort hym & play their partes with him a fresh, but with vayne & lost labour, Cranmer with stedfast purpose abydyng in the profession of hys Doctrine, gaue hys hand to certayne old mē, and other that stode by, bidding them farewell. And when he had thought to haue done so lykewyse to Ely,  

MarginaliaM. Ely refuseth to geue his hand to the Archb.the sayd Ely drew backe his hand and refused, saying: it was not lawfull to salute heretickes, and specially such a one as falsely returned vnto the opiniōs that he had foresworne. And if he had knowen before that he would haue done so, he would neuer haue vsed hys company so familiarly, and chid those Sergeantes and Citizēs which had not refused to geue him their hands. This Ely was a Priest lately made, and studēt in diuinitie, being then one of the fellowes of Brasennose.

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MarginaliaThe Archb. tyed to the stake.Then was an yron chayne tyed about Cranmer, whom when they perceiued to bee more stedfast then that he could be moued from his sentence, they commaunded the fire to bee set vnto hym. MarginaliaCranmer putteth his right hand which subscribed first into the fire.And when the wood was kyndled, and the fire began to burne neare him, stretching out his arme, he put hys right hand into the flame: which he held so stedfast & immouable (sauing that once with the same hand he wiped hys face) that all men might see hys hand burned before hys body was touched. Hys body did so abide the burning of the flame, with such constancye and stedfastnes, that standing alwayes in one place without mouing of hys body, hee seemed to moue no more then the stake to which he was bound: his eyes were lifted vp into heauen, and often tymes he repeated, hys vnworthy right hand, so long as his voice would suffer hym: and vsing often the wordes of Steuen, MarginaliaThe last wordes of Cranmer at his death.Lord IESVS receiue my spirite, in the greatnes of the flame, he gaue vp the ghost.

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This fortitude of mynd, which perchaunce is rare and not vsed among the Spaniards, when Frier Iohn saw, thinking it came not of fortitude but of desperation (although such maner examples which are of the like constancy haue bene common here in England) ran to the Lord Williams of Tame, MarginaliaThe Fryers lying report of Cranmer.crying that the Archbishop was vexed in mynd, and dyed in great desperation. But he which was not ignorant of the Archbishops constancy, being vnknowen to the Spaniards, smyled onely, and (as it were) by silence rebuked the friers folly. And this was the end of this learned Archbishop, whom, lest by euill subscribing he should haue perished, by well recanting God preserued: and lest he should haue lyued longer with shame and reproofe, it pleased God rather to take him away, to þ^e glory of his name and profit of his church. So good was the Lord both to his church in fortifying the same with the testimony and bloud of such a Martyr; and so good also to the man, wyth this crosse of tribulation to purge hys offences in this world, not only of his recantation, but also of hys standing against Iohn Lambert, and M. Allen, or if there were any other wyth whose burning & bloud his handes had bene before any thing polluted. But especially hee had to reioyce, that dying in such a cause, he was to bee numbred amongst CHRISTES Martyrs, much more worthy the name of S. Thomas of Caunterbury then he whom the the Pope falsly before dyd Canonise.

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