Marginalia1555. Decemb.And also I wyl declare this place of Mathew exactly considered, to make for the vse of baptisme in chyldren, for S. Mathew hath it writtē in this wise: MarginaliaMath. 28.Al power is geuen me (saith the Lord) in heauen and in earth, therfore going forth, μαθητεύσατε, that is, MarginaliaThe place of Mathew. 28. [he that beleueth and is Baptised] opened.Disciple ye (as I may expresse the signification of the word:) that is, make or gather to me Disciples of al nations. And folowyng he declareth the way how they should gather to hym disciples out of all nations, baptising thē and teaching: by baptising & teaching, ye shal procure a church to me. And both these aptly & briefly seuerally he setteth forth, saying: Baptising them in the name of the father and the sonne and the holy Ghost, teaching them to obserue all thinges what soeuer I haue commaunded you. Now then Baptisme goeth before doctrine.

But hereby I doo not gather, that the Gentiles which neuer heard any thing before of God, & of the sonne of God, & of the holy ghost, ought to be baptised, neither they would permyt thē selues to be baptised before they knewe to what end. But this I haue declared to shew you vpon howe feeble foūdatiō the Anabaptists be groūded. And playnly it is not true which they imagine of this text, that the Lord dyd onely commaunde suche to be baptised whom the Apostles had firste of all taught. Neyther here veryly is signified who onely be to be Baptised, but he speaketh of suche as be of perfecte age, and of the firste foundations of fayth, and of the church to be planted among the Gētiles which were as yet rude and ignorant of Religion.

Suche as be of age may heare, beleue and confesse that is preached and taught, but so can not infantes: therfore we may iustly collect, that he speaketh here nothyng of infants or chyldren. But for al this they be not to be excluded from Baptisme.

It is a general rule: He that doth not labor, must not eate. But who is so barbarous that might thynke hereby, that chyldren should be famished?

MarginaliaIn the first conuerting of infidels, beleuing ought to go before baptising. But where fayth is receiued: gods grace and Sacramentes go not by age, but as well be children of the faythfull receaued as the fathers.The Lord sent his apostles at the begynnyng of the settyng vp his true religion vnto al nations, vnto such as wer both ignorant of God, & were out of the couenant of God, & truely suche persons it behoued not first to be baptised and afterward taught, but first to be taught and after baptised. If at this day we should go to the Turkes to cōuert them to the fayth of Christ, veryly first we ought to teach them, & afterward baptise such as would yeelde to be the seruantes of Christ. Likewise the Lord hym selfe in tymes past dyd, when first he renewed the couenant with Abraham and ordeyned Circumcision to be a seale of the couenant after that Abraham was circumcised. But he when he perceyued the infants also to perteyne to the couenaunt, & that Circumcision was the sealyng vp of the couenaunt, dyd not onely circumcise Ismael his sonne that was. xiij. yeares of age, but al other infantes that were borne in his house, among whō we recken Isaac.

Euen so faythfull people whiche were conuerted from Heathen Idolatrie by the preaching of the Gospel, and confessyng the fayth, were baptised, MarginaliaWhy children of christen parentes be receaued to baptisme.when they vnderstoode their chyldren to be counted among the people of God, and that Baptisme was the token of the people of God, they procured also their chyldren to be baptised. Therefore as it is written: Abraham circumcised all the male chyldren of his house. Semblably we reade in the Actes & writings of the Apostles, that after þ^e master of the house was turned to the fayth, all the whole house was baptised. And as concernyng those which of old tyme were compelled to confesse their fayth before they receyued baptisme, which were called MarginaliaCathecumeni is as much to say as young Nouecies and beginners in Christes fayth.Cathecumeni, they were suche as with our forefathers came from the Gentiles to the Church, who beyng yet rude of fayth, they dyd instruct in the principles of their beliefe, & afterward they dyd baptise them: but the same auncient fathers notwithstandyng dyd baptise the chyldren of faythful men, as I haue already partly declared.

And because you doo require a hasty aunsweare of your letter, of one that is but a dull writer, I am here inforced to cease particularly to goe through your letter in answearyng therto, knowyng that I haue fully aunsweared euery parte therof in that I haue already written, although not in such order as it had bene meete, and as I purposed. But for as muche as I vnderstande that you wyll be no contentious man neyther in this matter neyther in any other, contrarye to the iudgement of Christes Primatiue Church, which is the bodye and fulnes of Christe. I desire you in the entyre loue of hym, or rather Christ desireth you by me (that your ioy maye be perfecte, whereto you are nowe called) to submyt your iudgement to that Church, and to be at peace and vnitie with the same, that the coate of Christ which ought to be without seame, but now alas most miserably is torne in peeces by many daungerous sectes and damnable opinions, maye appeare by you in no parte to haue bene rented, neyther that any gyddy head in these dog dayes might take

an example by you to dissent from Christes true Churche. I beseech thee deare brother in the Gospel folowe the steps of the faith of the glorious martyrs in the primatiue church, and of such as at this day folowe the same: decline not from them neither to the right hande nor to the left. Then shall death be it neuer so bytter, be more sweeter then this lyfe: then shall Christ with all the heauenly Hierusalem triumphantly imbrace your spirit with vnspeakeable gladnes and exaltation, who in this earth was cōtent to ioyne your spirit w^t their spirites, according as it is cōmaūded by þ^e word, Marginalia1. Cor. 14.that the spirite of Prophetes should be subiect to the Prophets. One thyng aske with Dauid ere you depart, and require the same, that you may dwel with a full accorde in his house, for there is glory & worshyp: and so with Simeon in the temple embracing Christ, depart in peace: to the which peace Christ bryng both you and me, and al our louyng brethrē that loue God in the vnitie of fayth, by such wayes as shal please hym, to his glory. Let the bytter passiō of Christ which he suffred for your sake, and the horrible tormentes which þ^e godly martyrs of Christ haue endured before vs, and also the inestimable reward of your lyfe to come, which is hydden yet a litle while from you with Christ, strengthē comfort, and encourage you to the end of that glorious race which you are in. Amen.MarginaliaConcerning the partie to whom this letter was written, note that he was conuerted and afterwarde dyed in the same fayth as this letter did persuade hym.

Your yoke felowe in captiuitie for the veritie
of Christes Gospel, to lyue and die with you
in the vnitie of faith, Iohn Philpot.

¶ The storye of seuen Martyrs sufferyng together at London for the like testimonie of Christes Gospel.  

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Martyrdoms of Thomas Whittle, Bartlett Greene et al.

There is an account of Thomas Whittle's background, arrest, of his being brought before Gardiner and his being sent to Bonner in the Rerum. This is followed by a description of how Whittle, by threats and by flattery, was induced to recant and his retraction of his recantation, Bonner's fury at this and Whittle's condemnation (Rerum, pp. 632-33).

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The account of Whittle's background, arrest, and his being sent to Gardiner and Bonner was reprinted in the 1563 edition. But Foxe replaced the rest of the Rerum account with new material, almost entirely derived from Bonner's official records, although the condemnation of Whittle may well be partly based on an eyewitness account. This narrative remained unchanged in subsequent editions.

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MarginaliaAn. 1556. Ianuary.THe Catholike Prelates of the Popes band being as yet not satisfied with this their one yeres bloudy murdering of the reuerende, learned, & principall members of Christes Church, (wherof there were now very few, which eyther were not consumed by moste cruell fire, or els for the auoydyng of their Popishe rage, compelled to flee their naturall countrey) continued styll this next yeare also, whiche was anno. 1556. in no lesse crueltie towardes the more simple & inferior sort of people (I meane in degre, though God be praysed, not in stedfastnes) hauyng yet sometymes amongst them such as were both learned & of good estimation, as in continuance of this history shal appeare.

Wherfore (as the first fruites thereof) to begynne this yeare withal: about the. xxvij. day of Ianuary were burned in Smithfield at Lōdon, these seuen persons hereafter folowyng, to wyt:MarginaliaSeuen godly Martyrs suffering together in Smithfield. Anno. 1556. Ianuary. 27.

Thomas Wittle, Priest.
Barthelet Greene, Gentleman.
Iohn Tudson, Artificer.
Iohn Went, Artificer.
Thomas Browne.
Isabel Foster, wife.
Ioane Warren, aliâs Lashford, Mayd.

All whiche seuen as they were burned together in one fire, so were they likewise al vpon one sort and forme of articles condemned in one day. Howbeit, for as much as the gyftes of God in them were diuers (some more abounding in knowledge then others) their dealynges withall were also diuers, as shalbe more plainly perceyued in the discoursing of their seueral processes hereafter folowing. And therfore for the better vnderstandyng hereof, I wyl first (by the leaue of the Lorde) passing ouer their priuate articles and examinations had at sundrye tymes in the Bishops house, set forth their generall examinations in the publike Consistorie, vpon the bishops articles there ministred vnto them, with their answeares also vnto the same, according as they al agreed after one maner and sort together, as here by the wordes both of the articles & their answeares vnder written, may appeare.

¶ The forme and wordes of Boners Articles ministred to the seuen persons aboue mentioned, in his Consistorye.  

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This document almost certainly came from one of Bonner's court books, now unfortunately lost.

ANd first to behold the maner of speach in these Bishops sitting in their maiestie, to terrifie the eares of the simple withal, let vs heare the Pontifical phrase of this Bishops begynnyng in this sort.

¶ The within written articles, and euery of them and euery part and parcell of them, we Edmund by the permission of God Bishop of London, doo obiecte and minyster to thee Tho. Whittle. &c. of our mere office, for thy soule health, and for reformation of thine offences and mis-