sure serue me hereafter (Christ willyng) to pay hym the whole Interest whiche I owe vnto him. Addyng this in the meane tyme, and by the waye: that if maister Cope had bene a Momus any thyng reasonable, hee had no great cause so to wrangle with me, in this matter, who as I did commend the Lord Cobham and that worthely, for his valiaunt standyng by the truth of his doctrine before Thomas Arundell the Archbishop, so touchyng the matter of this cōspiracie, I did not affirme or define any thyng therof in my former historie so precisely, þ^t he could well take any vantage of agaynst me: MarginaliaPropositiō disiūctiue.who in writyng of this conspiracie layd agaynst Syr Roger Acton, and Syr Iohn Oldcastle, do but disiunctiuely or doubtfully speake therof, not concluding certainly this conspiracie either to be true or not true, but onely prouyng the same not to bee true at that tyme, as Polydore Vergill, and Edward Hall, in their histories do affirme: which say that this conspiracie began after the burnyng of Iohn Hus, and Hierome of Prage. Whiche could not be. And therto tendeth my assertion. MarginaliaLib. Actes & Monu. pag. 174. col. 2. lin. 13.My wordes are playne, and are these, pag. 174. col. 2. lin. 13. Wherefore it is euident that there was either no conspiracie at all agaynst the kyng: or els that it was at some other tyme, or done by other Captaynes. &c. These bee my woordes, with other mo, in the pag. col. and line, aboue noted. In the whiche proposition disiunctiue, if either part be true, it is enough for me. His parte it was to refell both, whiche he hath not done. But onely standyng fast vpon the one parte, dissimuleth the other. And this is Alanus Copus Anglus, who by that hee shall come from Rome (whether hee is now gone, as I heare say) I trust he will returne a better Logician home agayne In suam Angliam. But to thetruth of our matter, as I sayd before, so I say agayne, what soeuer this worthy noble and vertuous knight sir Roger Actō was otherwise, this is certaine, MarginaliaSyr Roger Acton contrary to the bishop of Rome.that he was alwayes of contrary minde, and opinion to the Byshop of Rome, and to that kinde of people, for the which cause he had great enuie and hatred at their hands: and could as litle beare it: MarginaliaCauses coniecturall why syr Roger Acton with the reast were put to death for traytours and Lollardes.neither do I greatly dissent from them, whiche do suspecte or iudge that the Lord Cobham, by his frendlye helpe escaped out of the Tower, and that peraduenture was the cause why hee was apprehended and brought to trouble, and in the end came to his death Other causes also there myght bee, that these good men percase did frequent among them selues, some conuenticles (whiche conuenticles was made treason by the statute aforesayd) either in those Thickets, or in some place els, for the hearyng of Gods woorde, and for publique prayer, and therefore had they this Beuerlay their preacher with them. But to conclude what soeuer this Syr Roger Acton was, this is the truth, whiche I may boldly record, as one writyng the Actes and thynges done in the churche, that he was at length apprehended, condemned and put to death or Martyrdome, three yeares and more before the Lord Cobham dyed. Lykewise maister Iohn Browne, and Iohn Beuerlay the preacher, suffred with him the same kynde of death (as some saye) in the field of S. Gyles with other mo, to the number of 36. if the stories be true. Whiche was in the moneth of Ianuary, an. 1413. after the computation of our common Englishe stories, counting the yeare from thannunciation: MarginaliaAn. 1414.but after the Latyn wryters counting frō Christes natiuitie. an. 1414. according as in thys picture is specified.

Commentary on the Woodcuts     Close

Given the intractable problems Foxe encountered in defending the religious integrity of those who were condemned of treason, it was defiant to include an illustration of twenty of so individuals suffering the double penalty of hanging and burning after the abortive plot attributed to Sir John Oldcastle in January 1414. The martyrologist was to provoke and himself expend many words in defence of these individuals, though it is to be noted how some of his remarks were hedged in 1563. Reports of these sentences varied, he wrote, citing divergences on the places of punishment, and the sentences of hanging and burning. The actions of the rebels and the reactions of the Leicester Parliament of 1414 made the pursuit of heresy a secular responsibility, and 'the hearing of God's word' potentially treasonable. But who was to know whether the Christians congregating in back fields, and thickets, bearing only their books, were not simply intent on hearing preaching and praying? As Foxe put it, now that 'the sincere worshipping of Christ is counted for heresy, and an heretic counted a traitor, what citizen can, in that commonwealth, live in savitie without sin and wickedness, or be godly without peril and danger?'. In fact Foxe's picture is quite misleading, since only a small proportion of those condemned after the rising were found guilty of heresy as well as treason, and these were burned after being hung. Of the thirty-eight drawn on hurdles from Newgate to St Giles's Fields on 13 February, where they were hanged in batches on four new pairs of gallows, only seven were afterwards burned. CUL copy: there is close attention to detail in the colouring in of this picture. Note the chains and chords used to hang the Lollards. The chords binding their arms are coloured black, the chains in a bluish grey. The flames are coloured a rich orange, with the tips of the largest flames reddened. There is considerable detail in the faces of those depicted also: a white undercoat, with a light brown for shading, a pinkish-red for their cheeks, lips and ears. WREN copy: this painting is not executed as well as the CUL copy. Note that details are provided crudely in black. This appears to be a different, less competent painter at work in this copy. Note that black ink and a quill have been used to put the detail back here. See in particular the faces and belts of the two men guarding the fire in the foreground and, especially, the detail added to the man on horseback at the front right corner of the illustration. The horse's eyeball and lid are detailed in black ink, as are the man's individual figures. The features of many of the hanged Lollards are likewise detailed, although those to the rear are not outlined, to emphasise perspective.

These men as is sayd, suffered before the Lord Cobham about iij. yeares, of whose death diuers do write diuersly. Some say they were hanged and brent in S. Gy-les fielde, of whom is Fabian, with such as folowe hym. Other there be whiche say, that some of them were hanged and brent. Polidorus speakyng onely of theyr bur-