1576 Edition | Book 11 | Page 1621 
Marginalia1555. Iuly.Catholicke and vniuersall Church of Christ.
4. Item, concernyng the Sacrament of the aultar, he beleueth, that it is a very Idoll, and detestable before God, as it is now ministred.
5. Item, that the Masse is nought, and not of the institution of Christ, but that it is of mans inuention: and demaūded whether any thyng vsed in the Masse be good, he sayd that he would aunswere no further.
6. Item, that he had not receaued the Sacrament of the aultar, since it hath bene ministred as now it is in England, neither was confessed at any tyme within this seuen yeares, nor he hath not heard Masse by the same space.
7. Item, that auricular confession is not necessary to be made to a Priest, for that he cannot forgeue, nor absolue him from sinnes.
8. Item, concernyng the Sacrament of Baptisme, that it is a signe and token of Christ, as circumcision was, and none otherwise, and hee beleueth that his sinnes are *Marginalia* He meaneth not by the mere vertue of the element. not washed away thereby, but his body onely washed: for his sinnes be washed away onely by Christes bloud.
CloseNote that Foxe printed a statement regarding baptism by Iveson but seems to have deleted unorthodox statements on the subject by Carver and Launder.
9. Item, that there bee in the Catholicke Churche of Christ, onelyMarginaliaTwo Sacramentes. two Sacramentes, that is to say, the Sacrament of Baptisme, and the Sacrament of the Supper of the Lord, & no more, which are not rightly vsed at this present tyme in England, and therfore be vnprofitable.
MarginaliaAgaynst ceremonies.10. Item, he beleueth, that all the ceremonyes, now vsed in this Church of England, are vayne, superfluous, superstitious, and nought.
Furthermore the sayd Iueson beyng earnestly trauailed withall to recant, sayd in this wise: I would not recant and forsake my opinion and belief, for all the goodes in London. I do appeale to Gods mercy, and wilbe none of your Churche, nor submit my selfe to the same: and that I haue sayd, I will say agayne. And if there came an Aungell from heauen, to teache me any other doctrine, then that whiche I am in now, I would not beleue him. MarginaliaTho. Iueson condemned.Whiche aunswere thus made, hee was condemned as an hereticke, and with the same persons was committed to the secular
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Closepower, (as they terme it) and at the place aboue mentioned was burned: perseueryng still in his constant fayth vnto the ende.
CloseThere is a note in the Rerum that William Aylward died in prison in Reading on 1 August 1555 (p. 510). In the 1563 edition, Foxe corrected his name to John Aleworth but removed the specific date of his death. In the 1570 edition, Foxe added a defensive comment insisting that Aleworth should be considered a martyr even though he died of natural causes. This was a response to Nicholas Harpsfield's criticism of Foxe, in 1566, for praising as martyrs those who were not killed.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaIohn Aleworth dyed in prison.IN the latter end of this moneth of Iuly, Iohn Aleworth dyed in prison at the Towne of Readyng, beyng there in bondes for the cause and testimonie of the truth of the Lordes Gospell. Whom although the Catholicke Prelates (according to theyr vsuall solemnitie) dyd exclude out
[Back to Top]of their Catholicke buriall, yet wee see no cause why to exclude him out of the number of Christes holy Martyrs and heyres of hys holy kingdome.
CloseThe Rerum contained a note that James Abbes was burned at Bury St Edmunds on 2 August 1555 (p. 510). The entire account of Abbes appeared in the 1563 edition and it was based partly on copies of official documents (which survive) and on personal testimony. There were no changes to this account in the subsequent editions.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaAugust. 2.AMong many þt trauailed in these troublesome dayes to keepe a good conscience, there was one MarginaliaIames Abbes Martyr.Iames Abbes a young man, whiche through compulsion of the tyranny then vsed, was enforced to haue his part with hys brethren in wandryng and goyng from place to place, to auoyde the perill of apprehendyng. But when tyme came that the Lord had an other woorke to do for him, hee was caught by the handes of wicked men, and brought before the Byshop of Norwich, D. Hoptō. Who examining him of his Religion, and chargyng hym therwith very sore, both with threates and fayre speach, MarginaliaIames Abbes relented.at the last the sayd poore Iames dyd yeld, and relented to their naughty persuasiōs, although his conscience consented not therto.
CloseA denunciation of Abbes and others for heretical beliefs, copied from Norwich records which are no longer extant, survives among Foxe's papers (BL, Harley 421, fo. 186v). A copy of an interrogation of Abbes on 10 March 1554 is BL, Harley 421, fos. 216v-217r. A copy of a sentence against Abbes is on BL, Harley 421, fos. 199r-200r. Abbes must have abjured after this sentence.
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CloseFrom here until the end of the account of Abbes, Foxe is relying on personal testimony or testimonies, not official documents.
Now this beyng done, the Bishop with his Chaplaines, dyd labour a freshe to wynne him agayne: but in vayne, MarginaliaIames Abbes made strong by his infirmitie.for the sayd Iames Abbes would not yeld for none of them al, although he had playd Peter before through infirmitie, but stode manfully in his masters quarell to the end, and abode the force of the fire, to the.
[Back to Top]consumyng of his body into ashes, whiche tyranny of burnyng was done in Berie þe second day of August, an. 1555.
CloseThe Rerum has a note that Denley, exaggeratedly described as being of noble family ('genere nobilis'), was burned at Uxbridge on 2 August 1555 (p. 510). There is also a version of the articles objected against Denley and Newman together with their answers (pp. 510-13). This is followed by a reiterated mention of Denley's death at Uxbridge and a statement that Newman was burned in September (actually it was 31 August 1555) in Saffron Walden (p. 513). Finally, Foxe stated that he would later print Newman's confession of faith (p. 513). He would print this confession offaith in the 1563 edition but not in the Rerum.
[Back to Top]In the 1563 edition, all of the material Foxe would ever have on Denley and Patingham was present, badly arranged. Tyrrell's letter, Newman's confession of faith and a letter from Denley to Simpson and Ardley were now printed, along with a somewhat different, and more complete, version of the articles and answers of Denley and Newman (these last almost certainly taken from official records). The desciption of the final examination of the three martyrs, first printed in this edition, may have come from either official records or personal testimony, but the account of Denley's execution was certainly based on personal testimony.
[Back to Top]In the 1570 edition all these materials were re-arranged, but Newman's confession of faith and Denley's letter to Simpson and Ardley were dropped. On the other hand, Newman's account of his examinations in Canterbury was added to this edition, together with Foxe's 'notes' breaking Newman's arguments into syllogisms. Foxe must have received this material while the 1570 edition was being printed, as he inserted it in the text over four hundred pages after the account of Newman's martyrdom (1570, pp. 2135-37). No changes were made to this material in the 1576 edition, and Newman's Canterbury examinations were still printed hundreds of pages out of chronological order (1576, pp. 1856-58). In the 1583 edition, Newman's confession of faith was restored. His Canterbury examinations were integrated with the account of his martyrdom. But, through an oversight, these examinations were also reprinted in their old location hundreds of pages later (1583, pp. 1950-51); consequently these examinations were printed twice in the 1583 edition.
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