1576 Edition | Book 11 | Page 1617 
Marginalia1555. Iuly.keepe him from doyng of harme. Though he be but a straūger in the lyfe that is in God: yet be good to straungers for we are all straungers in darkenesse, and captiues in sinne, as well soule and spirite, beyng in Egypt, as now the fleshe is yet vnbaptised with the terrible redde Sea of death, and remember that one law abydeth for the straunger, I meane one rewarde abideth both body and soule in the land of euerlastyng rest. And therfore intreate him gently, and deale with him iustly now: *Marginalia* The body of man is redemed as well as the soule.for the time wil come that the yoke of bondage shalbe taken from his necke, and he shalbe a fellow heyre with your yonger brother.
[Back to Top]Circumcise hym therefore, but do not misuse him, nor keepe hym from his owne, but deale mercyfully with the straunger, that he may say: Oh of what vnderstandyng hart is this people, who hath God? or where is God so nigh as to these? God make you wise and politicke in hart, victorious in field of this world, to rule the nations with a rod: but kill not the Gabaonites with whom peace is taken: MarginaliaThe Gabaonites though they be but strangers, and not to be pampered yet are they not to be cast out.but let them drawe water, and hew wood, but geue them their meate and drinke due for labourers, and be glad because your disease is so remedyed: for it is better and easier for a thirsty labouryng man to drinke, then for a dronken man to tell a sober tale. Yea, it is a token that ye haue earnestly followed your labour, and not kept company with dronkardes and belly Gods: and therfore be glad I say, yea and glad agayne: for great is your reward in heauen: yea blessed shall she bee that in this your zeale shall meete you and withdraw your hand from reuengyng your selfe vppon that churlish Naball: whiche thyng I hope to doe now with these sweete reasons, and frayles of Figges, I beyng of one house with your seruaunt Naball. I dare say to you, that churlyshnes is his name: but reuenge not, for the Lord shall do it in his due tyme. Farewell myne owne heart.
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Yours in bondes at Westgate,
Nicholas Sheterden.
CloseA room above the western gate to the city of Canterbury was used as a prison.
The next day after the condemnation of these foresayd, whiche was the 26. day of Iuly, were also condemned for the same Articles W. Coker, W. Hopper of Crambroke, Henry Laurence, Richard Wright of Ashford, W. Stere of Ashford. But because the executiō of these Martyrs perteineth not to this moneth, more shalbe said (þe Lord willing) of them, when we come to the moneth folowyng of August.
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CloseAll that there is on these three martyrs in the Rerum is a note stating thatJohn [sic] Wade was executed at Dartford in July, that John [sic] Polley was executed at Tunbridge in July and that Nicholas Hall was executed at Rochester in the same month. This information was essentially repeated in the 1563 edition. But in the 1570 edition Foxe added all the material he would ever have on the examinations of these martyrs. Foxe stated that this material came from the Rochester diocesan records. Foxe's account of these examinations remained unchanged in subsequent editions.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaIuly. 19. Nic. Hall, and Christofer wayde, Martyrs.THe same moneth of Iuly next after the sufferyng of the Kentishmen aboue named, followed the death and Martyrdome of Nicholas Halle Brickelayer, and Christopher Wayde of Dartford, whiche both were condemned by Maurice Bysoppe of Rochester, about the last day of the moneth of Iune. The sixe Articles ministred to them were of the same ordinary course and effect, with the Articles of the other Martyrs before specified, pag. 1585. the brief summe wherof were these.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaArticles obiected agaynst Nic. Hall and Christofer wayde.1. FIrst, that they were Christen men, and professed the Catholicke determinatiōs of our mother holy Church.
2. That they which mainteine or hold, otherwise then our holy mother the Catholicke Church doth, are heretickes.
3. That they haue & do mainteine, that in the Sacramēt of the aultar vnder the formes of bread and wyne, is not very body & bloud of Christ. And þt the sayd very body of Christ is verely in heauen onely and not in the Sacrament.
4. Item, that they haue and do hold and mainteine, that the Masse as it is now vsed in the Catholicke Church is nought and abhominable.
5. Item, that they haue ben and be amongest the people of that Iurisdiction vehemently suspected vppon the premisses and thereupon indicted. &c.
MarginaliaTheir answeres.TO these Articles they aunswered as commonly other vsed to doe, whiche stand with Christ and his truth agaynst these pretended Catholickes and their sinister doctrine. First grauntyng them selues Christen men, and acknowledgyng the determinations of the holy Churche, that is, of the congregation or body of Christ: saue that Halle denyed to call the Catholicke and Apostolicke Churche his mother, because MarginaliaThis word mother church, is not found in the Scripture.hee founde not this woorde (mother) in the Scripture.
[Back to Top]To the second they graunted. To the thyrd Article as touchyng the very body and bloud of Christ to bee vnder
the formes of bread amd wyne in substaunce they would not graunt, onely affirming the very body of him to be in heauē, and in þe sacramēt to be a token or remēbraunce of Christes death: MarginaliaAnswere of N. Halle.Nicholas Halle addyng moreouer, and saying, that wheras before he held the Sacrament to be but onely a token or remembraunce of Christes death, now he sayd, that there is neyther token nor remembraunce, because it is now misused and cleane turned from Christes Institution &c. MarginaliaAnswere of Christofer Wayde.And as concerning the Masse in the iiij. article to be abominable, Christopher Wayd with the other aunswered, that as they had confessed before so would they now not go from that they had sayd. To the fift Article, for the peoples suspicion they made no great accoumpt nor sticking to graunt to the same.
[Back to Top]And thus much concernyng the Articles and aunsweres of these good men. Which beyng receaued, immediatly MarginaliaCondemnatiō of N. Halle and Christopher Wayd, Martyrs.Sentence of condemnation was pronounced by the sayd Maurice the Byshop agaynst them, the copy of which sentence, as it runneth much what after the common course in condemnyng all other like seruauntes of Christ, so the same beyng examplified before in the story of Master Rogers, pag. 1417, shall not greatly neede here agayne to bee repeated, but rather may bee referred ouer to the place aboue noted. Nicholas Halle was burned at Rochester about þe 19. day of Iuly.
[Back to Top]As touching Chrystopher Wayd, albeit I haue no full certeintie where he suffered, yet most like it is that his martyrdome was at Dartford, about the sayd xix. of Iuly.
MarginaliaEx Registro.Furthermore, with the foresayd Halle and Wayde, in the same moneth of Iuly: three other moe were condemned by Maurice Byshop aforenamed, whose names were Ioane Beach wydow,
CloseJoan Beach and John Harpool would not be executed until April 1556. The reason for this delay is unclear, but most unusually Joan Beach was condemned twice, once in July 1555 and once in April 1556 (PRO C/85/144 fos. 34r and 35r), suggesting perhaps that her original condemnation was invalid for some unknown reason.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaMargery Polley Widdow and Martyr.MArgery Polley wydow,
CloseFoxe had endless trouble recording her name accurately. In the Rerum(p. 510) her name is given as John Polley and in 1563, it is given as Joan. (Foxe's early sources may well have confused Margery Polley and Joan Beech). In the 1570 edition, with the official records to guide him, Foxe corrected her name to Margery Polley.
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CloseThe writ for Margery Polley's condemnation reveals that she was from Pepeling, a neighbourhood of Calais (PRO C/85/144, fo. 33r).