Marginalia1555. March.Then sayd M. Browne, why diddest thou not bryng him when thou haddest him? MarginaliaThe fruite o the Popes doctrine, to set the father agaynst the sonne.I promise thee if thou wilt not fetche him, I will send thee to prison till I shall get him. Wherefore see that thou promise me to fetch him, or els it is not best to looke me in the face any more, nor yet to rest in Burntwood. Well, quoth M. Browne to Williams father, see that thou seeke him forth and bryng him to me.

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Williams father aunswered: Syr, would you haue me seeke out my sonne to be burned?MarginaliaAn vnreasonable reqeust of Iustice Browne. If thou bryng him to me, quoth Maister Browne, I will deale well enough for that matter: thou shall not neede to care for þ^e matter. Fetch hym and thou shalt see what I will do for him.

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Moreouer, if thou lackest money, quoth he, thou shalt haue some, and bad the Cōstable Maister Salmon to geue hym a crowne, but Williams father tooke none of him. How beit M. Browne would neuer rest till Williams father had promissed him to seeke out his sonne. And thus M. Brown sent the Constable home agayne, and Williams father, commaundyng him to seeke out William Hunter, and then to come agayne and bryng him to hym.

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After that old father Hunter had rydden a two or three dayes iourneyes to satisfie Maister Brownes expectation,MarginaliaThe father pretended to seeke the sonne. The sonne meeteth with him in the way. it happened that William mette with his father in the hygh way as he trauayled, and first he seyng his father, came to him, and spake to him, and tolde him how that hee thought that hee sought for hym: and then his father confessing it, wept sore and sayd, that Maister Browne charged hym to seeke hym, and bryng hym to him: howbeit, sayd he, I will returne home agayne, and say I can not finde you. MarginaliaThe working of nature betwene the father and the sonne.But William sayd: father, I wil go home with you and saue you harmeles, what soeuer commeth of it.

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And thus they came home together: but William as soone as hee was come home, was taken by the sayd Constable and layd in þ^e Stockes till the next day. Maister Browne hearyng that William Hunter was come home, sent for hym to þ^e Cōstable, who brought hym immediately to Maister Browne.

MarginaliaW. Hunter brought before Iustice Browne.Now when William was come, Maister Browne sayd to him, ah syrha, are ye come? and then by and by he commaunded the Bible to bee brought, and opened it, and then began to reason with William on this maner, saying: I heare say you are a Scripture man, you: and can reason much of the sixt of Iohn and expounde as pleaseth you, and turned the Bible to the sixt of S. Iohn, and then he layd to his charge, what an exposition hee made, when the Vicare and hee talked together. And William sayd, hee vrged me to say so much as I dyd.

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MarginaliaTalke betwen W. Hunter, and Iustice Browne about the Sacrament.Well, quoth M. Browne, because you can expounde that place so well, how say you to an other place, turnyng to the xxij. of S. Luke? and Maister Browne sayd looke here (quoth he) for Christ sayth, that the bread is his body.

To the which William aunswered, the text sayth, how Christ tooke bread, but not that he chaunged it, into an other substaunce,MarginaliaBread broken but not chaunged. but gaue that which he tooke, and brake that which he gaue, which was bread, as is euident by the text. For els he should haue had two bodyes, which to affirme I see no reason, sayd William.

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At the which aūswere Maister Browne was very angry,MarginaliaM. Browne in a pelting chafe. and tooke vp the Bible and turned the leaues, and then flong it downe agayne in such a fury, that William could not well finde the place agayne wherof they reasoned.

Then M. Browne sayd, thou naughty boy, wilt thou not take thynges as they are, but expounde them as thou wilte? doth not Christ call the bread his body playnely, and thou wilt not beleue that the bread is his body after the cōsecration? thou goest about to make Christ a lyer.

But William Hunter aunswered: I meane not so sir, but rather more earnestly to searche MarginaliaHow Christ called bread his body.what the mynde of Christ is in that holy Institution, wherein he commendeth vnto vs the remembraunce of his death, passion, resurrection and commyng agayne, saying: This do in the remembraunce of me. And also though Christ call the bread his body, as he doth also say, that he is a vyne, a doore. &c. yet is not his body turned into bread, no more then he is turned into a doore, or vyne. Wherefore Christ called the bread hys body by a figure.

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At that worde Maister Browne sayd, thou art a Villaine in deede. Wilt thou make Christ a lyer yet still? and was in such a fury with William, and so raged, MarginaliaM. Brown in a rage.that William could not speake a woorde but hee crossed hym, and scoffed at euery worde. Wherefore William seyng hym in such fury, desired him that hee would either heare hym quyetly, and suffer him to aunswere for hymselfe, or elles send him away. To the whiche Maister Browne aunswered: MarginaliaM. Browne sendeth vp W. Hunter to B. Boner.in deede I wyll send thee to morrow to my Lorde of London, and hee shall haue thee vnder examination, and thus left of the talke, and made a letter immediately, and sent William Hunter, with the Constable to Boner Byshop of London, who receiued William.

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After that he had read the letter, and the Constable returned home agayne, the Byshoppe caused William to be brought into a chamber, where he began to reason with him in this maner: MarginaliaBoners wordes to W. Hunter.I vnderstand William Hunter (quoth he) by M. Brownes letter, how that you haue had certaine communication with the Vicar of Wield  

about the blessed Sacrament of the aultar, & how that ye could not agree, wherupon Maister Browne sent for thee to bryng thee to the Catholicke faith, from the which he saith, that thou art gone. Howbeit, if thou wilt be ruled by me, þ^u shalt haue no harme, for any thyng that thou hast sayd or done in this matter.

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MarginaliaTalke betwen W. Hunter and the Byshop about the Sacrament.William aunswered, saying: I am not fallen from the Catholicke fayth, of Christ, I am sure, but do beleue it, and confesse it with all my hart.

Why, quoth the Byshop, how sayest thou to the blessed Sacrament of the aultar? wilt thou not recant thy saying, whiche thou confessedst before Maister Browne, how that Christes body is not in the Sacrament of the aultar, the same that was borne of the virgine Mary?

To the which William aunswered, saying? my Lord I vnderstād, that M. Browne hath certified you of the talke, which he and I had together, and thereby ye know what I sayd to hym, the whiche I will not recant, by Gods helpe. Then sayd the Bishop, MarginaliaBoners faire promise to W. Hunter.I thinke thou art ashamed to beare a Fagot  

and recant openly, but if thou wilt recant thy sayinges, I will promise thee, that thou shalt not be put to open shame: but speake the word here now betwene me and thee, and I will promise thee, it shall go no further, and thou shalt go home agayne without any hurt.

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William aunswered and sayd, my Lord: MarginaliaW. Hunter not suffered to haue his conscience free.if you will let me alone and leaue me to my conscience, I will go to my father and dwell with him, or els with my Maister agayne, and so if no body will disquyet nor trouble my conscience, I will keepe my conscience to my selfe.

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Then sayd the Byshop, I am content, so that thou wilt go to the Church and receiue and be shriuen,  

and so continue a good Catholicke Christian. No, quoth William, I will not do so for all the good in the world.MarginaliaWilliam Hunter denyeth to recant.

Then, quoth the Byshop, if you will not do so, I will make you sure enough, I warrant you. Well, quoth Williā, you can do no more then God will permitte you. Well, quoth the Byshop, wilt thou not recant in deede by no meanes? No, quoth William, neuer while I lyue, God willyng.

MarginaliaBoner commaundeth W. Hunter to the stockes.Then the Byshop (this talke ended) commaunded his men to put William in the Stockes in his Gatehouse, where he satte two dayes and nightes, onely with a crust of browne bread and a cup of water.MarginaliaWilliam Hunter ij. dayes and ij. nightes in the stockes, with a crust of bread, and a cup of water.

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At the two dayes end the Byshop came to him, and findyng the cup of water and the crust of bread still by hym vppon the Stockes, said to his mē: take him out of the Stockes and let him breake his fast with you. Thē they let him forth of the Stockes, but would not suffer hym to eate with them, but called him hereticke. And he sayd he was as loth to be in their company, as they were, to be in his.

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After breakefast the Byshop sent for William and demaunded whether hee would recant or no. But William made him aunswere, MarginaliaHunter agayne refuseth to recant hys fayth in Christ.how that hee would neuer recant that whiche he had confessed before men, as concernyng his fayth in Christ.

Then the B. sayd that he was no Christian, but denyed the faith in which he was Baptised. But Williā aūswered: I was Baptised in the fayth of the holy Trinity, the which I will not goe frō, God assistyng me with his grace.

MarginaliaW. Hunter layd in the conuict prison with as many yrons as he could beare.Then the Byshop sent hym to the conuict prison, and commaunded the keeper to lay Irons on hym as many as he could beare, and moreouer asked him, how olde he was: and William sayd, that he was xix. yeare olde.

Well sayd the Byshop, you wilbe burned ere you be xx. yeare olde, if you will not yeld your selfe better then you haue done yet. William aunswered, God strengthen me in hys truth: and then he parted, the Byshop allowyng him MarginaliaHunter allowed a halfepeny a day to lyue on.a halfepeny a day to lyue on in bread, or drinke.

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Thus hee continued in prison three quarters of a yeare. In the which tyme he had bene before the byshop v. tymes, besides that tyme when he was condemned in the Consistory in Paules, the ix. day of February: at the which tyme I his brother Robert Hunter was present, when and where I heard the Byshop condemne him, and MarginaliaThese fiue were Tomkins, Pigot, Knight, Haukes, and Laurence.fiue other more.

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And then the Byshop calling William, asked hym if hee would not recant, and so read to hym his examination and confession, as is aboue rehearsed, and then rehearsed how that William confessed that hee dyd beleue that hee receaued Christes body spiritually, when he dyd receaue the Communion. Doest thou meane, quoth the Byshop, that the bread is Christes body spirituallie?

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William aunswered: I meane not so, but rather when I receiue the holy Communion rightly and worthely, I do feede vpon Christ spiritually through fayth in my soule, and