MarginaliaThe lawes of the church of Rome grounded vpon Pilate and Cayphas.could see or perceaue for his part in this his matter, the lawes of the Churche were grounded vppon Pilate and Cayphas. Whiche obiection he graunting to be true, the Chauncelour did for that time, dysmisse the Courte, vntill the first daye of Marche next followyng. Vpon whiche daye (minding to make quicke dispatch) he in few woordes asked Man, what matter he had to alledge for him selfe, why he should not then (consideryng the premises) be pronounced a relapsed hereticke, and receaue such punishement by the secular power, as to such was due by order of law. But he hauyng no other allegations then before, which might take place with thē, was finally cōdemned as an hereticke. And notwithstanding that, as the Register noteth (but howe truly God onely knoweth) he did agayn forsake his former renewed profession of Christes Gospell, and yelded him selfe vnto the byshop of Rome, requiryng to be absolued from hys curse of excommunication, and contented to do such penaunce as they should enioyne him, MarginaliaThe papishe chaūcelour would not seeme to consent to hys death: but yet could send hym to the Shambles to be kilde.he was yet þe xxix. day of March, deliuered by D. Hed, vnto the Shriffe of London, to be then presently burned, with this protestation made before, that he might not consent to the death of any, and therfore he desired the Shrife that he would receaue this person as relapsed and condemned, and yet to punishe hym otherwise then by rigorous rigour. The wordes to be marked in their sentence bee these: Rogamus attente in visceribus Iesu Christi, vt huiusmodi dignæ seueritatis vltio & executio de te & cōtra te in hac parte fienda taliter moderetur, vt non sit rigor rigidus, neq̀ mansuetudo dissoluta, sed ad salutem & sanitatem animæ tuæ. &c. That is: Wee desire in the bowels of our Lord Iesu Christ, that the punishement & execution of due seueritie of thee, and agaynst thee in this parte, may so be moderate, that there be no rigorous rigor, nor yet no dissolute mansuetude, but to thee health and wealth of thy soule. &c. Wherein these catholicque Churchemen do well declare, according to the wordes of Thomas Man before expressed, that the lawes of theyr Churche be grounded vpon Pylate, and Cayphas. For lyke as Cayphas with hys Court of Pharisaies, cryed agaynst Christ vnto Pilate: It is not lawfull for vs to put any man to death: But if thou let him go, thou art not Cæsars frend: Euen so they, first condemning the saintes of God to death, and then deliueryng them vnto the secular Magistrate to bee therupon executed, would yet couer theyr malignant hartes with the cloke of hypocriticall holynes and vnwillingnes to shedde bloud. But God be thanked whiche bringeth all thinges to light in his due tyme, and vncouereth hypocrisie, at last that shee may bee sene and knowen in her right colours.
[Back to Top]Thus Thomas Man, the māly Martyr of Iesu Christ, beyng condēned by the vniust sentence of Hed the Chaūcelour, was deliuered to the Shryfe of London, sittyng on horsebacke in Pater noster row,
This information cannot be in the official records of More's trial; presumably Foxe had an oral source for this.
This implies that Man was executed immediately after his trial, and states that the authorities did not wait for the writ authorizing his execution. Actually the signification of Man's excommunication was sent to Chancery, dated 1 March 1518. If Foxe is correct in stating that Man was executed on 29 March, then clearly there was an interval between condemnation and execution and it is virtually certain that it was spent awaiting the proper authorization for the execution.
[Back to Top]This is a slang name for a cell in Newgate where the condemned awaited execution.
In the deposition of one Thomas Risby weuer of Stratforde Langthorne, agaynst the forenamed Martyr Tho. Man, it appeareth by the Registers, þt he had bene in diuers places and countreys in England, and had instructed very many, as at Amershā, at London, at Billerica, at Chemsford, at Stratford langford, at Oxbryge, at Burnham, at Hēley vpon Tamys, in Suffolke & Northfolke, at Newbery & diuers places moe: where hee hym selfe testifieth, þt as he went Westward, he found a great companye of well disposed persons, beyng of the same iudgement touchyng þe Sacrament of þe Lordes supper, þt he was of, & especially at Newbery, where was (as he cōfessed) a glorious & a sweete societie of faithfull fauourers, who had continued the space of xv. yeares together, MarginaliaEx Regist. Rich. Fitziames. pag. 197.till at last by a certaine leude person, whom they trusted and made of their counsaile, they were bewrayed, and then many of them, MarginaliaVj. score abiured, and iij. or iiij, burnt about Newbery 60 yeares agoe.to the number of vi. or vij. score were abiured, and iij. or iiij. of them burnt. From thence hee came then (as hee confessed) to the forest of Windesore, where he hearyng of the brethren whiche were at Hamersham, remoued thether where he found a godly & a great company, whiche had continued in that doctrine and teachyng xxiij. yeares: whiche was from this presēt tyme 70. yeares agone. And this congregation of Buckinghamshyre men, remained till the time of Iohn Longland Bishop of Lyncolne, whereof we shall (Christ willyng) heare more anone.
Foxe is reminding his readers of the extent and longevity of the Lollard congregations as part of his efforts to show that there was a 'True Church' before Luther.
William Tilesworth was excommunication and the signification of this excommunica-tion and commitment to the secular authority survives and is dated 10 August 1511 (TNA C 85/115/10). Although the date Foxe gave was incorrect, this document - which lists Robert Cosin, William Scrivener, Nicholas Collins and Thomas Man as also being condemned - shows that, in this case, apart from the date, the information from Foxe's aged informants was essentially accurate.
[Back to Top]There is no surviving information on Thomas Chase apart from theaccount in Foxe. This account - as Foxe makes clear - is based on testimony from contemporaries to the events and the cruelty with which Chase was treated undoubt-edly lost nothing in the telling. It seems reasonable to accept that Thomas Chase wasarrested for heresy and committed suicide in prison. There is no way of telling whathappened beyond that but claims that he was murdered seem far-fetched.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaRobert Cosyn burnt at Buckingham.THis Robert Cosyn semeth to be the same, whiche in the former parte of our historie is foremencioned,