1576 Edition | Book 9 | Page 1334 
MarginaliaAn. 1551. Marginalia[illegible text] of the B. of Winchest. raigne Lord Edward the vi. by the grace of God king of England, France, and Ireland, defendour of the fayth, and of the Church of England and also of Ireland in earth the supreme head, the tenour wherof hereafter ensueth: Edward the sixt. &c. Wee Thomas by the sufferaunce of God Archbyshop of Canterbury, primate of all England and Metropolitane, with the right reuerend fathers in God Nicolas Byshop of London, Thomas Byshop of Ely, and Henry Byshop of Lincolne, Syr William Peter knight one of our sayd soueraigne lordes two principall secretaries Sir Iames Hales knight one of the said soueraigne lords Iustices of his common plees, Griffith Leison and Iohn Oliuer doctors of the Ciuill lawe, Richard Goodricke and Iohn Gosnold esquiers, delegates and iudges assigned and appointed, rightfully and laufully procedyng according to the forme and tenor of the sayd commission, for the hearyng examination debating and final determination of the causes and matters in the sayde commission mencioned and conteyned, and vpon the contentes of the same, and certeyne articles obiected of office agaynst you Steuen B. of Winchester, as more playnly and fully is mencioned and declared in the sayd commission and articles, all which we repute and take here for to be expressed: & after sondry iudiciall assemblies, examinations, and debatyngs of the sayd cause & matters, with al incidentes, emergentes, and circumstances to the same or any of them belongyng and the same also beyng by vs ofte heard, seen, and well vnderstanded, and with good and mature examination and deliberation debated, considered and fully wayed and pondred, obseruyng all such order and other thinges as by the lawes, equitie, and the sayd commission ought or needed herein to be obserued, in the presence of you Steuen B. of Winchester do procede to the geuing of our finall iudgement and sentence diffinitiue in this maner followyng:
[Back to Top]MarginaliaWinchest. founde to be a transgressour. For asmuch as by the actes inacted, exhibites, and allegations purposed, deduced, and alleaged, & by sufficient proufes with your owne confession in the causes aforesayd had and made, we do euidently fynde and perceiue that you Steuen Byshop of Winchester haue not onely transgressed the commaundementes mencioned in the same, but also haue of long tyme, notwithstandyng many admonitions and commaundementes geuen vnto you to the contrary, remayned, a person much grudging, speakyng, and repugning agaynst the godlye reformations of abuses in religion set foorth by the kinges highnes authoritie within this his realme: and forasmuch as wee do also fynde you a notable, open, and contemptuous disobeyer, of sondry godly and iust commaundementes geuen vnto you by our sayd soueraigne Lorde and by his authoritie, in diuerse great and weighty causes, touchyng and concernyng his princely office, the state and common quietnes of this his realme: and for asmuch as you haue and yet do contemptuously refuse to recognize your notorious negligences, and misbehauiours, contemptes, and disobediences, remayning still after a great number of seuerall admonitions alwayes more and more indurate, incorrigible, and without all hope of amendement, cōtrary both to your oth sworne, obedience, promise, and also your bounden duety of allegiance: and for the great sclaunder and offence of the people, arysen in many partes of the Realme, through your wilfull doynges, sayinges, and preachynges, cōtrary to the common order of the Realme, and for sondrye other great causes by the actes, exhibites, your owne confession, and proufes of this processe more fully appearing: considering withall that nothing effectually hath bene on your behalfe alleaged, purposed, and proued, ne by any other meanes appeareth, which doth or may empayre or take away the proufes made agaynst you, vppon the sayd matters and other the premisses:
[Back to Top]Therfore we Thomas Archbishop of Caunterbury, Primate of all England and Metropolitane, Iudge delegate aforesayde, callyng God before our eyes, with expresse consent and assent of Nicholas B. of London, Tho. bishop of Ely, Henry B. of Lincolne, sir Wil. Peter Knight, sir Iames Hales Knight, Griffith Leyson, and Ioh. Olyuer doctors of the ciuill law, Rich. Goodricke, and Iohn Gosnold, Esquires, Iudges, and Colleagues with vs in the causes and matters aforesayd, and with the counsaile of diuers learned men in the lawes, with whom we haue conferred in and vpon the premisses Marginalia[illegible text] Bishop of Winchester [illegible text]. do iudge and determine you Steuen B. of Winchester to be depriued and remoued from the Bishopricke of Winchester, and from all the rightes, authoritie, emoluments, commodities, and other appurtenaunces to the said bishoprike in any wyse belongyng, whatsoeuer they be, and by these presentes we do depriue and remoue you from your sayd bishopricke and all rites & other cōmodities aforesaid: and further pronounce and declare the said Byshopricke of Winchester to all effectes and purposes, to be voyd by this our sentence diffinitiue, which we geue, pronounce, and declare in these writings.
[Back to Top]This sentence diffinitiue being giuen, the sayd Bishop of Winchester vnder his former protestations, dissēted from the geuing and reading therof, and from the same as vniust of no efficacy or effect in law: and in that that the same conteyneth excessiue punishment, and for other causes expressed in his appellation aforesayd, did then and there apud Acta, immedyatly after the pronouncing of the sentence,MarginaliaSt. Gardiner appealeth frō the sentence to the kyng. by word of mouth, appeale to the Kinges Royall Maiestye, first, secondly and thirdly, instantly, more instantly, most instantly, and asked apostles or letters dimissorials to be geeuen and graunted vnto him: And also vnder protestation not to recede from the sayd appellation, asked a copy of the sayd sentence, the Iudges declaring that they would first know the kinges pleasure and his counsell therein: vpon the reading and geuing of which sentence, the promoters willed Willyā Say and Thomas Argall to make a publicke Instrument and the witnesses then and there present to beare testimony thereunto. &c.
[Back to Top]And thus haue ye the wholl discourse and Processe of Steuen Gardyner late bishop of Winchester, vnto whom the Papisticall Cleargy doth so much leane, as to a mighty Atlas, and vpholder of their ruinous Religion.MarginaliaThe end of Winchesters story. And though I haue not herewithall so fully expressed all his letters, answeres, preachings, examinations, defensions, exhibites and attestations, with the depositions of all such witnesses as he could and did produce for the most aduauntage of hys owne cause, with such notes also and collections gathered vpon þe same, as here I might, and as before I haue done, I muste entreat the Reader to consider first the greatnes of this volume which would not well beare the tedious tractation therof:MarginaliaThe notes & collections hereof read in the first edition. fol. 862. and secondly to content him selfe in resortinge to our first history, where not onely hee may peruse the wholl discourse of all this Bishops doings set forth at large: but also may briefly reade in a few suūmary notes collected, the whol course of his Doctrine and Iudgemente, touchinge what pointes in Religion he did consent and agree, or not agree vnto. pag. 862.
[Back to Top]And thus an end of Winchester for a while, til we come to talke of his death hereafter. Whome as wee numberMarginaliaWinchester a good lawyer but a naughty diuine, and a worse bysh. amongest good Lawiers, so is he to be reckned amongest ignorant and grosse Diuines, proud Prelates, and bloudy persecuters: as both by his cruell life and Pharisaicall doctrin may appeare, especyally in the Article of the Sacramente, and of our Iustification, and Images, and also in cryinge out of the Paraphrase, not consideryng in whose person the thinges be spoken: but what the Paraphrast vttereth in þe person of Christ, or of the Euangelist, and not in his owne, that he wrasteth vnto the author, and maketh thereof heresie, and abomination.
[Back to Top]The like impudency and quarelling also he vsed against Bucer, Luther, Peter Martir, Crāmer, & almoste against all other true Interpreters of the Gospell.MarginaliaWinchester as vnskilfull as wilfull. So blinde was his iudgement, or els so wilfull was his minde in the truth of Christes Doctrine, that it is hard to say whether in him vnskillfulnes or wilfulnes had greater predomination.MarginaliaD. Redman set to match St. Gardiner. But agaynst this Doctor Gardiner we will now set and match
CloseIn early November 1551, John Redman, the first master of Trinity College, Cambridge, died. One reason why his death attracted attention was the reputation of the deceased. Redman was a leading theologian (he had been Lady Margaret professor there) who was admired both for his character and his learning. A Catholic humanist, Redman had accepted the Royal Supremacy, and had a foot in both the evangelical and conservative camps. (For an overview of Redman's life and career see Ashley Null, 'John Redman, the Gentle Ambler' in Westminster Abbey Reformed, 1540-1640, ed. C. S. Knighton and Richard Mortimer (Aldershot, 2003), pp. 38-74). Another reason for the notoriety of Redman's death was that he invited leading Cambridge theologians to his deathbed to discuss contentious religious issues. One of those present was Foxe's close friend Alexander Nowell.
[Back to Top]In December 1551, A reporte of Maister Doctor Redman's answeres (London, 1551), STC 20827, was printed. This work claimed that Redman died embracing justification by faith and rejecting the Real Presence. The Reporte was printed by William Seres, a printer under Cecil's patronage, from accounts of Redman's death in Cecil's possession. The Reporte was thus an attempt by Edwardian propagandists to claim that a theologian respected by religious conservatives agreed with them on key doctrinal issues. Under Mary, the Catholics struck back. Cuthbert Tunstall had Redman's treatise, De justificatione, printed. It was a work of Redman's which did not accept justification by faith, written in Henry VIII's reign. And Thomas Smyth printed an edition of Redman's Complaint of Grace, a work critical of major Edwardian religious reforms. In printing his account of Redman's deathbed conversations, Foxe - almost certainly encouraged by Cecil and possibly Nowell as well - was, in a real sense, responding to these Marian ripostes. And he did so, even though he was visibly uneasy with aspects of Redman's theology. Redman's conversations were of little interest to already convinced Protestants, but they could be quite useful in winning over wavering Catholics. Foxe's willingness to print his account of Redman is a reminder of the extent to which he intended the Acts and Monuments as a device for inducing Catholics to convert.
[Back to Top]In 1563, Foxe used two sources. The first was the Reporte, which he reprinted word-for-word. The second was a letter from John Young, who had been present at Redman's deathbed, to John Cheke, describing what had transpired. Young was master of St. John's College and was arguably the leading Catholic theologian in Marian Cambridge. Foxe claimed that he was working from the original letter in Young's handwriting. (It is worth noting that Young, although he lived until 1582, never repudiated the letter). Foxe almost certainly obtained this letter from Cecil, who inherited Cheke's papers and books. In the first edition, Foxe printed Young's letter in the original Latin and also provided a translation. In the second edition, Foxe retained the translation but discarded the Latin text of the letter. He also altered the order of the materials reprinted from the Reporte, now printing Redman's conversation with Wilkes before Redman's conversation with Nowell. But the only substantive additions Foxe made to his account of Redman in 1570 were two brief introductions to the account of Redman's deathbed and to Young's letter to Cheke. The version of the account of Redman printed in 1570 was replicated exactly in subsequent editions.
[Back to Top]Thomas S. Freeman
CloseThis is an exaggeration; Redman was by no means a convinced evangelical. He was, instead, a Catholic humanist who was sceptical of papal supremacy and receptive to some Protestant teachings.
CloseRichard Wilkes was the master of Christ's College. John Young was, at the time, a fellow of Trinity and an outspoken religious conservative. Alexander Nowell was, at this time, the headmaster of Westminster School and an evangelical.
CloseThis note was given to Seres by William Cecil. (For the provenance of this note, see A reporte of Maister Doctor Redman's answers…(London, 1571), STC 20827, sig. A2v). Seres printed the communication (see A reporte, sigs. A6v-B3v). Cecil's possession of this communication strongly suggests that there was a systematic effort made by the Edwardian authorities to collect testimony about Redman's final days. This in turn suggests that Seres's account was carefully orchestrated propaganda and not, as Seres suggests, the result of happenstance and casual interest..
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CloseThis was probably Alexander Nowell, the headmaster of Westminster School, although it might have been Edward Cratford, under master of Westminster School, who was also present.
CloseThe servants who were present were Ellis Lomas, Richard Elithorne, Richard Burton and John Wryght.
MarginaliaThe cōmunication and confession of D. Redman in his death bed. I The foresayd Richard Wilkes commyng to Doctor Redman lying sicke at Westminster, and first saluting him after my ordinary dutye, wished him health both in soule and body, not doubtyng moreouer, but he dyd practise the godly counsaile in him selfe, which he was wonte to geue to other beyng in his case: and thankes be to God (said I) who had geuen him stuffe of knowledge to comfort him selfe withall. To whom he aunsweryng again, said in this wise: God of all comfort geue me grace to haue comfort in him, & to haue
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