MarginaliaThe cause of the taking of Edward Freese. And on a tyme he beyng at his worke in the same Inne they of the Towne, when they had sene his worke, went aboute to take him, and hee hauyng some inclyng thereof, thought to shift for himselfe, but yet he was taken forcebly in the yarde of the same Inne, & after this he was brought to London, and so to Fulham to the Byshoppes house, where he was cruelly imprisoned, with certaine others of Essex,MarginaliaIohnson & his wife. Wylye, hys sonne. Father Bate. that is to wytte, one Iohnson and his wife, Wylye, his wife and his sonne, and father Bate of Rowshedge. They were fed with fine manchet  

made of sawe dust, or at þ^e least, a great part therof, & were so straitly kept, that their wiues and their frendes could not come at them.

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After the Painter had bene there a long space, by much sute he was remoued to Lollardes tower. His wife in the tyme of her sute, whiles he was yet at Fulham, beyng desirous to see her husband, and preasing to come in at the gate, beyng then bygge with child,MarginaliaA cruell fact of the byshops porter. the porter lift vp his foote and stroke her on the belly, that at lēgth she dyed of the same, but the child was destroyed immediatly.

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After that, they were all stocked for a long time & then they were let lose in their prisons agayne. Some had horse lockes on theyr legs, & some had other yrons. This painter would euer be writyng on the walles with chauke or a coale, and in one place he wrote Doct. Dodipall would make me beleue that the Moone were made of greene cheese. And because he would be writyng many thinges, he was manicled by the wrestes, so long till the flesh of his armes was growne higher then his yrons. By the meanes of his manicles he coulde not kemme his head, and he remained so long manicled that his heare was felded together.  

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After the death of his wife, his brother sued to the kyng for hym, and after long sute, he was brought out in the Consistory at Paules, and as his brother dyd report,MarginaliaCrueltie shewed to the paynter. they kept him three dayes without meate, before he came to hys aunswere. Then, what by the long imprisonment and much euill handlyng, and for lacke of sustenaunce, the man was in that case, that he could say nothyng, but looke and gase vpon the people lyke a wilde man, and if they asked hym any question, he could saye nothyng, but my Lord is a good man. And thus, when they had spylte hys body, and destroyed hys wyttes, they sent hym backe agayne to Bearsie Abbey, but he came away agayne from thence, and would not tary amongest them: albeit he neuer came to his perfect mynde, to his dying day.

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MarginaliaValentine & his wife burned in Yorke. His brother, of whom I before spake, whose name was Valentine Freese and his wife, gaue theyr lyues at one stake in Yorke, for the testimonie of Iesus Christ.  

Also the wife of the sayd father Bate, while he was at Fulham, made many supplications to the kyng, without redresse, and at the last she deliuered one to his own handes, and hee read it hym selfe, whereupon she was appoynted to go into Chauncery Lane, to one whose name (as is thought) was maister Selyard, and at the last, she gote a letter of the same Selyard to the Byshop, and when she had it, she thought all her sute well bestowed, hopyng that some good should come to her husband thereby. And because the wicked officers in those dayes, were very crafty and desirous of bloud, as some others had proued their practise,MarginaliaGods good prouidence. some of her frendes would needes see the content of her letter, and not suffer her to deliuer it to the Byshop, & as they thought, so they found in deede, for it was after this maner.

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MarginaliaA craftie letter of a wicked officer. After commendations had. &c. Looke what you can gather agaynst father Bate, send me worde by your trusty frend Syr William Saxie, that I may certifie the kynges Maiestie. &c. Thus the poore woman, when she thought her sute had bene done, was in lesse hope of her husbandes lyfe thē before. But within short space after, it pleased God to deliuere him: for he gate out in a darke night and so was caught no more, but dyed within a short tyme after.

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MarginaliaRoye burned in Portugale. In this yeare also, as we do vnderstād by diuers notes of old Registers and otherwise, Frier Roy was burned in Portugale  

: but what his examination, or Articles, or order of his death was, we can haue no vnderstāding. But what his doctrine was, it may be easely iudged by the testimonies, which he left here in England.

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In þ^e begynnyng of this yeare which we are now about, through the complaynt of the Clergy made to the kyng, the translation of the new Testament with a great number of other bookes, were forbydden. For the Byshoppes comming into the Starre chamber the 25. day of May, and cōmunyng with the kynges Counsell, after many pretences and long debatyng,MarginaliaThe translation of the new testament inhibited by the byshops. alledged that the translation of Tyndall and Ioye were not truely translated, and moreouer that in, them were Prologues and Prefaces, that smelled of heresie, & rayled agaynst the Byshops, wherfore al such bookes were prohibited, and commaundement geuen by the kyng to the Byshops, that they callyng to them the best learned men of the Vniuersities, should cause a new translation to be made, so that the people might not be ignoraunt in the law of God.MarginaliaThe byshops commaunded by the king to set forth a new trãslation of the new Testament. Notwithstanding thys commaundement, the Byshops did nothing at all, to the settyng forth of any new translation, which caused the people much to studie Tyndals translation, by reason whereof many thinges came to light, as ye shall hereafter heare.

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This yeare also, in the moneth of May, the Byshop of London caused all the new Testamēts of Tyndals trāslation, and many other bookes which he had bought, to be brought vnto Paules Churchyarde, and there openly to be burned.

MarginaliaIames Baynham Martyr. IAmes Baynham Gentleman  

, sonne to one M. Baynhā a Knyght of Glo.estershyre   beyng vertuously brought vp by hys parents in the studies of good letters, had knowledge both of the Latine and þ^e Greeke tongue. After that, he gaue himselfe to the studie of the lawe, beyng a man of vertuous disposition, and godly conuersation, mightely addicted to prayer, an earnest reader of the Scriptures a great mainteyner of the godly, a visitour of the prisoners, liberal to schollers, very mercifull to hys clientes, vsing equitie & iustice to the poore, very diligent in geuing counsell to all the needy, wydowes, fatherles, and afflicted, without mony or reward, briefly a singular example to all Lawyers.

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This M. Baynham, as is aboue noted, maryed the wyfe of Symon Fishe aforesayd  

, for the which he was the more suspected, and at last was accused to Syr Tho. More Chauncellour of England, and arrested wyth a Sergeant at Armes, and caryed out of middle Temple, to the Chauncellours house at Chelsey, where he cõtinued in free prison a while, till the tyme that Syr Tho. More saw he could not preuaile in peruerting of hym to his secte. Then he cast hym in prison in his owne house, and whipped hym at the tree in his garden, called the tree of troth, and after sent hym to the Tower to be racked, and so he was. Syr Tho. More beyng present hymselfe, till in a maner he had lamed him, because he would not accuse the Gentlemen of the Temple of hys acquaintaunce, nor woulde not shewe where hys bookes lay: and because his wife denyed them to be at hys house, she was sent to the Flete, & their goods confiscate.

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After they had thus practised agaynst hym what they coulde by tortures and tormentes, then was he brought before Iohn Stokesly Byshop of London, the xv. of December. an. 1531. in the sayd towne of Chelsey, and there examined vpon these Articles and Interrogatories ensuing.

MarginaliaInterrogatories ministred to Baynham.  

FIrst whether he beleued there were any Purgatory of soules hence departed.

Wherunto he made aunswere as foloweth: If we walke in light euen as he is in light, we haue societie together wyth hym, and the bloud of Iesus Christ his sonne, hath clensed vs from all sinne. If we say we haue no sinne, we deceiue our selues and the truth is not in vs. If we confesse our sinnes, he is faythfull and iust, & will forgeue vs our sinnes, and will purge vs from al our iniquities.

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2. Secondly, whether the Saintes hence departed, are to be honored and prayed vnto, to pray for vs.

MarginaliaAunswere. To which he aunswered on this wise: My litle childrē I write this vnto you, that you sinne not. If any man doe sinne, we haue an Aduocate with the father, Iesus Christ the iust, and he is the propitiation for our sinnes, and not onely for our sinnes, but also for the sinnes of the whole world. And further, vppon occasion of these wordes: Omnes sancti Dei orate pro nobis, beyng demaunded what he ment by these wordes.MarginaliaOmnes Sancti dei. Omnes sancti, he aunswered: that he ment them by those that were alyue, as S. Paule did by the Corinthians, and not by those that be dead: for hee prayed not to them (he sayd) because he thought that they which be dead cannot pray for him. Item when the whole Churche is gathered together, they vse to pray one for an other, or desire one to pray for an other, with one hart: and that the will of the Lord may be fulfilled and not ours: and I pray, sayd he, as our Sauiour Christ prayed at his last houre: Father, take this cuppe from me if it be possible, yet thy will be fulfilled.

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3. Thirdly, he was demaunded whether he thought that any soules departed were yet in heauen or no.

MarginaliaAunswere.
Soules departed. To this he aunswered and sayd: That he beleued that they be there as it pleaseth God to haue thē, that is to say, in the fayth of Abraham, and that herein he would commit hymselfe to the Church.

4. Fourthly, it was demaunded of him, whether hee thought it necessary to saluation, for a man to confesse his sinnes to a Priest.

MarginaliaAunswere. Whereunto his aunswere was this: That it was lawfull for one to confesse and knowledge his sinnes to an other.