Marginalia1555. Februa.When the keeper brought him toward the prison, þ^e people flocked about to gase vpon him: vnto whō he sayd: God be praysed (good people) I am come away from them vndefiled, and will cōfirme the truth with my bloud. So was he bestowed in the Clyncke tyll it was toward night, MarginaliaDoctour Taylour remoued frō the clincke to the counter by night.and then he was remoued to the Counter by the Poultry.

When D. Taylour had lyen in the sayd Counter in the Poultry a seuennight or thereaboutes prysoner, the fourth day of February, Anno. 1555 MarginaliaBoner cōmeth to the Counter to disgrade D. Taylour.Edmund Boner Byshop of London with others, came to the sayd Counter to disgrade him, bryngyng with them such ornaments, as do appertaine to their massing Mummery. Now beyng come, he called for the sayd D. Taylour to be brought vnto him (the byshop being then in the chamber, where the Keeper of the Counter and his wife lay). So D. Taylour was brought downe from the chamber aboue that, to the sayd Boner. And at his commyng, the Byshop sayd: MarginaliaBoner perswading D. Taylour to turne.Maister Doctour, I woulde you woulde remember your selfe, and turne to your mother holy Church: so may ye do well inough, and I will sue for your pardon. Wherunto M. Taylour aūswered: MarginaliaD. Taylour refuseth to turne from Christ to Antichrist.I would you and your felowes would turne to Christ. As for me, I will not turne to Antichrist. Well (quoth the Bishop) I am come to disgrade you: wherefore put on these vestures. MarginaliaD. Taylour and Boner striuing for putting on the Massing garmentes.No (quoth Doct. Taylour) I will not. Wilt thou not, sayd the Bishop? I shall make thee, ere I go. Quoth Doct. Taylour, you shall not by the grace of God. Thē he charged him vpon his obedience to do it: but he would not do it for him.

So he willed an other to put them on his backe: & when he was throughly furnished therewith, he set his handes by his side, walking vp and downe, and sayd: MarginaliaD. Taylour derideth the Popes Massing Toyes.how say you my Lord, am I not a goodly foole? how say you my maisters? If I were in cheape, should I not haue boyes inough to laugh at these apish toyes, and toying trumpery? So the Byshop scraped his fingers thombes, & the crowne of his head, and did the rest of such like deuilish obseruaunces.

At the last, when hee should haue geuen D. Taylour a stroke on the brest with his Crosierstaffe, the bishops Chappleine sayd: my Lord, strike him not, for he will sure strike agayne. Yea by S. Peter will I, quoth Doct. Taylour. The cause is Christes: and I were no good Christian if I would not fight in my Maisters quarell. So the Byshop laid his curse vpon him, but stroke him not. Then Doct. Taylour sayd: though you do curse me, yet doth God blesse me. I haue the witnes of my conscience, that ye haue done me wrong and violence: And yet I pray God (if it be his will) forgeue you. MarginaliaD. Taylour prayeth againe against the Pope & his detestable enormities.But from the tyranny of the Byshop of Rome, and his detestable enormities, good Lord deliuer vs. And in goyng vp to his chamber, he still sayd: God deliuer me from you, God deliuer me from you. And when he came vp, he told Maister Bradford (for they both lay in one chamber) that he had made the Byshop of London a feard: MarginaliaBoner afeard of D. Taylour.for (sayth he laughyngly) his Chapleyne gaue him counsell not to strike me with his Crosierstaffe, for that I would strike agayne: & by my trouth (sayd he rubbing his handes) I made hym beleue I would do so in deede.

The night after that hee was disgraded, his wife and his sonne Thomas resorted to him, and were by the gentlenes of the Keepers permitted to suppe with him. MarginaliaKepers of prison.For this difference was euer founde betwene the Keepers of the Byshops prisons, and the Keepers of the kynges prisons: that the Byshops Keepers were euer cruell, blasphemous, and tyrannous, like their Maisters: but the Keepers of the kynges prisons shewed for the most part, as much fauour, as they possible might.  

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While the gaolers of episcopal prisons were chosen by the bishops, the staff of royal prisons could and did include people of all religious persuasions. As a matter of fact, two of the major prisons where protestants were held, the Marshalsea and the King's Bench, were adminstered by men with evangelical sympathies: Sir Thomas Holcraft and Sir William Fitzwilliam respectively. Another prison, Bridewell, was governed by Richard Grafton, the printer of the Great Bible. These individuals had all been appointed by Edward VI and could not be dismissed except for a specific offence.

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So came Doctour Taylours wife, his sonne, and Iohn Hull  

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Once again the ubiquitous John Hull appears. He is almost certainly the source for Taylor's final encounter with his family in prison and his meeting with them in the Woolsack inn, on his journey to Hadleigh. He is mentioned as being present on all these occasions.

After supper walkyng vp and downe, he gaue GOD thankes for his grace, that had so called him and geuen hym strength to abyde by his holy worde: and turnyng to hys sonne Thomas: MarginaliaD. Taylour blessed his sonne.My deare sonne (sayd he) almighty God blesse thee, and geue thee his holy spirite, to be a true seruāt of Christ, to learne his worde, and constauntly to stand by his truth all thy long lyfe. And my sonne, MarginaliaD. Taylours godly exhortation to hys sonne, worthy of all youth to be marked.see þ^t thou feare God alwayes. Flee from all sinne and wicked liuing: be vertuous, serue God with dayly prayer, and apply thy booke. In any wise see thou bee obedient to thy mother, loue her, and serue her: be ruled by her now in thy youth, and follow her good counsell in all thynges. Beware of lewde company of young men that feare not God, but follow their lewde lustes and vayne appetites. Flye from whoredome, and hate all filthy lyuing, remembryng that I thy father do dye in þ^e defēce of holy mariage. And an other day whē God shal blesse thee, loue and cherishe the poore people, and count that thy chiefe riches is to be riche in almes: and when thy mother is waxed old, forsake her not, but prouide for her to thy power, and see that she lacke nothyng: For so will GOD

blesse thee, and geue thee long life vpon earth and prosperitie: which I pray God to graunt thee.

Then turnyng to his wife: MarginaliaD. Taylour councelleth his wyfe.My deare wife (quoth he) continue stedfast in the feare and loue of God: keepe your selfe vndefiled from their Popishe Idolatries, and superstitions. I haue bene vnto you a faythfull yokefellow, and so haue you bene to me, for the whiche I pray GOD to rewarde you, and doubt you not deare wife, but GOD will reward it.

Now the tyme is come that I shall be taken from you, and you discharged of the wedlocke bond towardes me: therefore I will geue you my counsell what I thinke most expedient for you. You are yet a childbearyng woman, and therefore it will be most conuenient for you to marry. For doubtlesse you shall neuer bee at a conuenient stay for your selfe and our poore children, nor out of trouble, till you be maryed. Therfore as soone as God will prouide it, marry with some honest faythfull man that feareth God. Doubt you not, God will prouide an honest husband for you, and he will be a mercyfull father to you and to my children: whom I pray you, bring vp in the feare of God, & in learnyng, to the vttermost of your power, and keepe them from this Romish Idolatrie. When he had thus sayd, they with weepyng teares prayed together, and kissed one the other: and he gaue to his wife MarginaliaHis last token to his wyfe and his sonne.a booke of the Church seruice, set out by Kyng Edward, whiche in the tyme of his imprisonment he dayly vsed. And vnto his sonne Thomas he gaue a Latin booke, cōtainyng the notable sayings of the old Martyrs, gathered out of Ecclesiastica historia: and in the ende of that booke hee wrote hys Testament and last Vale, as hereafter followeth.

¶ The last will and Testament of Doctour Rowland Taylour, Parson of Hadley.  

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This was first printed in Rerum, pp. 422-23, and then in all editions of theActs and Monuments. Copies of this are BL, Lansdowne 389, fos. 187r and 292v. ECL 260, fol. 143r is a copy of this annotated by Bull.

MarginaliaD. Taylours will and testament written in the booke which he gaue to his sonne.I Say to my wife, and to my children: MarginaliaIob. 1. 2.The Lord gaue you vnto me, and the Lord hath taken me from you, and you from me: blessed be the name of the Lord. I beleue that MarginaliaApoc. 14.they are blessed which dye in the Lorde. MarginaliaLuke. 12.God careth for Sparowes, and for the heares of our heades. I haue euer founde him more faythfull and fauourable, thē is any father or husband. Trust ye therefore in him by the meanes of our deare Sauiour Christes merites: beleue, loue, feare and obey him: pray to him, for he hath promised to helpe. Count me not dead, for I shall certainely lyue, and neuer dye. I go before, and you shal follow after, to our long home. I go to the rest of my children, Susan, George, Ellen, Robert, and Zacharie: I haue bequeathed you to the onely omnipotent.

I say to my deare frendes of Hadley, and to all other which haue heard me preache: MarginaliaA pure conscience fully quieted.that I depart hence wyth a quiet conscience, as touchyng my doctrine: for the which I pray you thāke God with me. For I haue after my litle talēt declared to other, those lessōs that I gathered out of gods booke, the blessed Bible. Therfore if I or any Aungell frō heauen should preach to you any other Gospell, then that ye haue receiued, Gods great curse vpon that Preacher.

MarginaliaA graue warning agaynst Popery.Beware for Gods sake, that ye deny not God, neither decline from the worde of fayth, lest God decline from you, and so ye do euerlastyngly perish. For Gods sake beware of Popery: for though it appeare to haue in it vnitie, yet the same is in vanitie, and Antichristianitie, and not in Christes fayth and veritie.

MarginaliaThe sinne against the holy Ghost.Beware of the sinne agaynst the holy Ghost, now after such a light opened so playnly and simply, truly, throughly, and generally to all England.

The Lord graunt all men his good and holy spirite, encrease of his wisedome, contemnyng the wicked world, hartie desire to be with God and the heauēly company,MarginaliaA godly prayer.through Iesus Christ our onely Mediatour, Aduocate, righteousnes, lyfe, sanctification, and hope, Amen, Amen, Pray, pray.

¶ Rowland Taylour departyng hence in sure hope,
without all doubtyng of eternall saluatiō, I thāke
God my heauenly father, through Iesus Christ
my certaine sauiour. Amen.
The. 5. of February. Anno. 1555.

The Lorde is my light and my saluation: whom then shall I feare.  

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These concluding three lines do not appear in the Rerum version of thisdocument. This suggests that in 1563 the printers worked from a copy of thedocument and did not work from a translation of the Rerum version.

God is he that iustifieth: who is he that can condemne?

In thee O Lorde haue I trusted, let me neuer bee confounded.

On the next morow, after that Doct. Taylour had supped with his wife in the Counter (as is before expressed) which was the fift day of February, the Sheriffe of Lōdō, with his Officers, came to the Coūter by ij. of the clocke in the mornyng, and so brought forth D.Taylour, and with-