1576 Edition | Book 9 | Page 1335 
Marginalia1551. my mynde wholy fixed in him. M. Yong & I said, Amē. Thē I communed with hym of his sicknes, & the weakenesse of his body, & said, that though he were brought neuer so lowe, yet he, if it were his pleasure that raysed vp Lazarus, could restore hym to helth againe. No, no saith he, that is past, and I desire it not but the wil of God be fulfilled.
[Back to Top]After thys or a litle other like communication, I asked if I myght be so bolde not troublyng hym, to knowe hys mynde for my learnyng in some matters and poyntes of religion. He sayd, yea, and that he was as glad to common wyth me, in such matters, as wyth any man. And then I sayd to hys seruauntes: I trust I shall not trouble hym. No said Ellis hys seruant, my L. of London
CloseNicholas Ridley, the bishop of London.
MarginaliaCommunication touchyig the sacrament of the Lordes body & bloud. I sayd he should do much good in declaryng his faith, & I would be glad to know his minde as touchyng the sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ.
He sayd, as man is made of two partes, of the body and the soule, so Christ would feede the whole man: but what (sayth he) be the wordes of the text? Let vs take þe wordes of the Scripture: and he rehearsed the text himselfe thus: Accepit Iesus panē:
Redman is quoting Matthew 26:26 from the Vulgate.
Close
MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether Christ be present in the Sacrament. Then I asked hym of the presence of Christ.
He sayd, Christ was present with his sacrament, and in those that receaued it as they ought. And there was Miro vnitio, a wonderful vniō (for that word was named betwixt Christ & vs) as S. Paul saith:MarginaliaVnitio. Vos estis os ex ossibus eius, & caro ex carne eius.
Redman is quoting Ephesians 5:30 from the Vulgate.
Close
MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether Christ be present corporally, naturally, and really in the Sacrament. Then I asked hym what hee thought of the opinion, þt Christ was there corporally, naturally, and really.
MarginaliaCorporally, that is, truely: so Christ is there otherwise not. He aunswered: if you meane by corporally, naturally and really, that he is there present Verè, I graunt.
MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether Christ be there fleshe bloud, and bone. Then I asked how he thought of that which was wont commonly to be spoken, that Christ was there flesh, bloud & bone, as I haue heard the Stewardes in their Leets
CloseA Leet was originally a manorial, subsequently a district, court.
CloseRedman is saying that is that after the Act of Six Articles was passed in 1539, local courts were assigned to investigate accusations of disbelief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament.
He sayd, that was to grosse and could not well be excused from the opinion of the Capernaites.
Close'Capernaite' is a prejorative term for anyone who held an overly-carnal understanding of Christ's Real Presence in the sacramental bread and wine. The term is based on John 6: 52.
MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether Christ be receaued in minde & spirite, or with mouth and body, or with both? Then I asked him: in as much as Christ was there Verè,
Close'truly'.
He sayd, we receaue him in our mindes & soules by faith.MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether Christes very body be receaued into our very bodyes or no?
Then in asmuch as he was much in thys poynt, þt there was Mira vnitio, a marueylous vniō betwixt vs & Christ, in that we were Caro ex carne eius, & os ex ossibus eius: Bone of his bone, and fleshe of his fleshe:
CloseRedman is quoting Ephesians 5:30 from the Vulgate.
Here he paused & held hys peace a litle space, & shortly after he spake, saying: I will not say so: I can not tell: it is a hard question, but surely saith he, we receyue Christ in our soule by fayth. When you speake of it other wayes, it soundeth grosly and sauoureth of the Capernaites.
MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether that be to be worshipped which the priest sheweth to the people betwixt hys handes? Then I asked hym what he thought of þt which þe priest was wont to lyft vp & shew the people betwyxt hys hāds?
He sayd it is the Sacrament. Then sayde I, they were wont to worship that which was lyfted vp. Yea sayth he, but we must worshyp Christ in heauen: Christ is neyther lyfted vp nor downe.
CloseThis sounds like a rejection of the Real Presence, but it is not necessarily so. Thomas Aquinas had maintained much the same thing, arguing that Christ was only present in the Sacrament under the species of bread and wine, but his actual location was in heaven.
MarginaliaQuestion.
Whether the carying about of the sacrament is to be alowed? Then sayd he, lookyng vp & praying, God graūt vs grace that we may haue the true vnderstāding of his word, wherby we may come to the true vse of his sacramentes, & sayde he would neuer allow the carying about of the sacrament & other fond abuses about the same.
MarginaliaTrāsubstātiatiō. Then after a litle while pausing, sayd I: Maister Doctor, if I should not trouble you, I would pray you to know your mynde in transubstantiation. Iesu M. Wilkes (quoth he) wyll you aske me that? Syr said I, not if I shoulde trouble you. No, no, I wyll tell you sayth he: Because I founde the opinion of Transubstantiation receiued in the Church, when I heard it spoken agaynst, I searched the auncient Doctors diligently, & went about to stablyshe it by them, because it was receiued. And whē I had read many of them, I founde litle for it, & could not be satisfied. Thē MarginaliaTransubstātiatiō not to be founde in the Doctours. I went to the Schoole Doctors, and namely to Gabriell,
CloseGabriel Biel (c. 1410-1495), arguably the pre-eminent theologian of the late fifteenth-century.
CloseTertullian was a major patristic writer and theologian.
CloseIrenaeus was an early patristic writer and theologian.
Then sayd I, you know that the Schole Doctors dyd hold that panis non remanebat post consecrationem: þt bread remayned not after consecration as they called it.MarginaliaThe schole Doctours deceaued in the word consecration.
The schole Doctors (sayth he) did not know what consecratio, doth meane: and here he paused a while. I pray you, sayd I, what say you that consecratio doth meane?MarginaliaWhat is consecration. Sayth he, it is Tota actio in ministring the Sacrament, as Christ did institute it. All the whole thyng done in the ministery as Christ ordeyned it, that is consecratio: and what (sayth he) nede we to doubt that bread remaineth? Scripture calleth it bread, and certaine good authors that be of the later time, be of that opinion.
CloseIn this account, Redman is expressing doubts about the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament and Wilkes is trying to persuade him otherwise. Other memories of Redman's deathbed conversations differ. For a discussion of Redman's beliefs on the Sacrament see Ashley Null, 'John Redman, the Gentle Ambler' in Westminster Abbey Reformed, 1540-1640, ed. C. S. Knighton and Richard Mortimer (Aldershot, 2003), pp. 64-70.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaTalke about Doct. Redman. After that I had communed with M. Redman, and taken my leaue of hym, M. Yong came foorth into the nexte chamber with me, to whom I sayd that I was glad to see M. Doct. Redman so well mynded. Then sayd M. Yong to me, I am sure he will not deny it.MarginaliaD. Yonge stayed by D.Redman frō his popishe opinion. I ensure you sayth he, M. Doct. hath so moued me, that where as I was of that opinion before in certaine things, that I would haue burned & lost my lyfe for them, now saith M. Yong, I doubt of them. But I see (saith he) a man shall know more and more by processe of tyme, and reading and hearing of other, and M. Doct. Redmans saying shall cause me to looke more diligently for them.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe opinion of Doct. Redman touching iustification by fayth. Also Ellis
CloseI.e., Ellis Lomas.
CloseThis, if accurately reported, is strikingly close to Protestantism, but what Redman actually meant is unclear. If justification by faith was the sole means of attaining salvation, then not teaching it to people endangered their souls. Next to this, the question of whether people were or were not negligent in performing good works hardly mattered.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaConsensus Ecclesiæ is but a weake staffe to leane to. The said Maister Yong hath reported (the which also I heard) that M. doctor Redman should say, that consensus Ecclesiæ, the consent of the Church was but a weake staffe to leane to, but did exhort hym to read the Scriptures, for there was that which should comfort hym when he should be in such case as he was then.
[Back to Top]
CloseAlthough both William Seres (A Reporte of Maister Doctor Redmans answers (London, 1551), 20827, sig A2r-v) and Alexander Nowell himself (A Confutation as wel of M. Dormans last Boke…[London, 1567], STC 18739, fos. 11v-13r) are quite disingenuous about the origins of this document, its apparent genesis is revealing. Word of Redman's deathbed reached William Cecil, who instructed Nowell to draw up this of doctrinal points made by Redman and to get witnesses to subscribe to it. (For the identities of these witnesses see commentaries earlier in this section.) Cecil gave this document to Seres who printed it in A Reporte, fos. A3r-A6r). This again is indicative of the efforts made by Cecil and the Edwardian authorities to capitalize on Redman's death for purposes of religious propaganda.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe confessiō of D. Redman before M. Nowell. 1 I N Primis, the said D. Redman sent for M. Nowell of his own mind, and said he was willing to common with him of such matters as he had mooued the said Doct. Redman of a day or two before: and he beyng desired of the sayde M. Nowel to declare his mynd concerning certayne poyntes of our religion, first sayd: aske me what ye will, and I wil aunswere you (before God) truly as I thinke, without any affection to the world or any worldly person.
[Back to Top]Witnesses, Alexander Nowell, Rich. Burton, Ellis Lo
mas, Iohn Wright.
2 Item, the sayd D. Redman sayd, that the sea of Rome in these latter days is Sentina malorū, that is, a sinke of all euil.
Witnesses, Ioh Yong, Alexander Nowell, Richard Burton
Ioh. Wright, Edw. Cratford, Rich. Elithorne, Ellis Lomas.
3 Item, that Purgatory, as the schoolemen taught it and vsed it, was vngodly, and that there was no suche kynde of Purgatory as they fantasied.
Witnesses Ioh. Yong, Alexander Nowell, Rich. Burton,
Ellis Lomas, Edw. Cratford, Rich. Elithorne, Ioh. Wright.
MarginaliaOffering vp of the sacrament called the sacrifice of the masse. 4 Item, that the offring vp of the Sacrament in Masses and Trentals for the sinnes of the dead is vngodly.
CloseWhat Redman is saying here is that the Sacrament should not be offered in Requiem masses, not that these masses should not be celebrated. But this would contradict the third point, since if if there is no Purgatory, Requiem masses serve no useful purpose.
Witnesses, Ioh. Yong, Alexander Nowell, Richard Bur
ton, Edw. Cratford, Ellis Lomas.
5 Item that the wicked are not pertakers of the body of Christ, but receiue the outward Sacrament only.
CloseIf Redman is saying that the character of the recipient affected the efficacy of the Sacrament, than both Protestants and Catholics would reject this view. But if he is saying that taking the Sacrament would not in and of itself save the unrepentant, than this statement was relatively uncontroversial.
[Back to Top]Witnesses Ioh. Yong, Alexander Nowell, Rich. Burton,
Ellis Lomas, Edw. Cratford, Rich. Elithorne, Ioh. Wright.
MarginaliaCarying about of the sacrament disproued. 6 Item, that the Sacrament ought not to be caried about in procession: for it is taught what is the vse of it in these wordes: Accipite, manducate, & bibite, & hoc facite in mei memoriam: Take, eate, and drinke, and doe this in remembraunce of me.
Witnesses Ioh. Yong, Alexander Nowell, Richard Burton
Ioh. Wright, Edw. Cratford, Ellis Lomas.
MarginaliaAdoration of the sacrament disproued. 7 Item, that nothyng which is seene in the Sacrament or perceyued with any outward sense is to be worshipped.
Witnesses Ioh. Yong, Alexander Nowell, Ellis Lomas,
Rich. Burton.