MarginaliaAnno. 1556. Iuly.be commended then this woman, let Catholicke affection be set aside. And though the merites of her cause deserued not his commendations, yet did she neuer deserue this at M. Hardynges handes to giue her such a Kyrieleson (as they say) after her departure. Cruelty she suffered enough aliue, though M. H. had not added this cruell inuectiue to her former afflictions: wherein notwithstādyng he hurteth not her, but hurteth paraduenture him selfe, neither so much desteineth her honesty, as he blemesheth his owne. It hath been the maner of learned men in time past, with their defending oration, euer to be more ready, then to accuse. And if they dyd at any time accuse: yet neuer but enforced, neither did they accuse any but such onely as were aliue, & that neither but in such matters, wherin either the common wealth, or them selues were vehemently touched.

Now, if this greue him so greatly, that in my story I haue termed her to be a Martyr, let him consider the cause wherfore she suffered, which was neither for felony, murder, nor whoredome, but onely for the religion in K. Edwardes time receaued, and when he hath confuted that religion, I shall crosse her out of the booke and fellowship of Martyrs. In the meane tyme my exhortation shalbe this to M. Hardyng:

MarginaliaExhortation to M. Hardyng.First, that if he will nedes become a writer in these so furious & outragious dayes of ours, he will season his veyne of writyng with more mildenes and charitie, and not to giue such example of raylyng to others.

Secondly, that he will moderate his iudgyng and condemnyng of other with more equitie and indifferēcie, and not to be so rashe and partiall. For if she be to be accoūted a murderer, which so carefully went about by recantation to saue both her self and her child from the fire: what is to be sayd of them which condemned her so cruelly, and caused both her and the infant to be burned, notwithstandyng that she for safegard of their lyues had (as I said) recanted. And yet so partiall is he, that in all this inuectiue criyng out so intemperately agaynst the woman and the child that were burned, hee speaketh neuer a worde of their condemners and true murderers in deede.

MarginaliaMurder in the spiritual Clergie noted.Thirdly, for somuch as M. Hardyng is here in hād with infanticide, and with castyng away yong childrēs liues, I would wishe, that as he hath sifted the doyngs of this woman to þ^e vttermost, who was rather murdered then a murderer, so hee would with an indifferent eye loke on the other side a litle vpon them of his own clergie, and see what he could finde there among those wilfull contemners of immaculate mariage. Not that I do accuse any of incontinencie, whose liues I know not, but there is one aboue, that well knoweth and seeth all things, be they neuer so secret to man, and most certainely will pay home at length with fier and brimstone when hee seeth his time. I saye no more, and not so muche as I might, following herein the Painters, which when their colours will not serue to expresse a thing that they meane, they shadow it with a veile. MarginaliaGod knoweth what spillyng and murdrying of infātes there is in the worldBut howsoeuer the matter goeth with them, whether they may or may not bee suspected touching this crime aforesaid of infanticide, most sure & manifest it is, that they are more then worthely to be accused of homicide in murdering the children and seruaūtes of God, both men and women, wyues and maydes, old & yong, blind and lame, madde and vnmadde, discrete and simple innocentes, learned with the vnlearned, and that of all degrees from the hye Archbishoppe to the Clarke and Sexten of the church, and that most wrongfully and wilfully, with such effusiō of innocēt Christian bloud,as cryeth vp dayly to God for vengeance.

And therfore M. H. in my minde should do well, to spare a litle time frō those his inuectiues wherwith he appeacheth þ^e poore protestantes of murder, whom they haue murdered them selues, and exercise hys penne with some more fruitfull matter, to exhorte these spiritual fathers first to cease frō murdering of their own children, to spare the bloud of innocentes, and not to persecute Christ so cruelly in his members, as they do: and furthermore to exhorte in like maner these MarginaliaAgamistæ of ἀγαμος, whiche signifieth men vnmaried, or against mariage.Agamistes, and wilfull reiecters of matrimonie, to take themselues to lawfull wiues, and not to resist gods holy ordinance, nor encounter his institution with an other contrary institution of their owne deuising, lest perhaps they preuented by fragilitie, may fall into daunger of such inconueniences aboue touched: which if they be not in them, I shalbe glad: but if they be, it is neither theyr rayling agaynst the poore protestantes,

nor yet their secrete auricular confession, that shall couer their iniquities from the face of the Lord, when he shall come to reuele abscondita tenebrarum, & iudicare sæculum per ignem.  

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Foxe text narrative

Foxe text Latin

abscondita tenebrarum, & iudicare saeculum per ignem.

Foxe text translation

Not translated.

Translation (Wade 2003)

(to reveal) the obscurities of the darkness, and to judge the age by fire.

And thus for lacke of further laysure, I end with M. H. hauing no more at this tyme to say vnto him, but wish him to feare God, to embrace his truth, to remember him selfe, and to surcease from this vncharitable raylyng and brawlyng, especially agaynst the dead which can not aunswere him: or if he will nedes continue still to be such a vehement accuser of other, yet that he will remember what belongeth to the part of a right accuser: MarginaliaThe partes of a true accuser.First, that his accusatiō be true: secondly, that no blynd affectiō of partialitie be mixt withall: thirdly, who soeuer taketh vpon them to carpe and appeach the crimes of other, ought them selues to be sincere & vpright, and to see what may be written in their own foreheades. Whoredome and murder be greuous offenses, & worthy to be accused. But to accuse of murder the parties that were murdered, and to leaue the other persons vntouched whiche were the true murderers, it is the part of an accuser, which deserueth hym self to be accused of partialitie. As verely I thinke by this woman, that if she had bene a Catholicke Papist and a deuout follower of their Church, as she was a Protestant, she had neither bene condemned then aliue of them, nor nowe accused beyng dead of M. H. But God forgeue him, and make him a good man, if it be his will.

¶ Three Martyrs burned at Grenestede in Sussex.  

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Dungate, Foreman and Tree

This terse account first appeared in the 1563 edition and would never be changed. The stability of this account is due to the lack of information Foxe was able to obtain about martyrs in the diocese of Chichester. The original sentence against Anna Tree remains in Foxe's papers (BL, Harley MS 421, fos. 109r-110v).

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MarginaliaIuly. xviii.MarginaliaThe Martyrdome of twoo men & one woman at Grenestede in Sussex.NEre about the same time that these three women with the infant were burned at Garnesey, suffered other three likewise at Grenested in Sussex, two mē and one woman, the names of whom were Thomas Dungate, Iohn Forman, and mother Tree, who for righteousnes sake, gaue thē selues to death and tormentes of the fire, patiently abidyng what the furious rage of man coulde say or worke agaynst them, at the sayd Towne of Grenested endyng their liues, the xviij. of the sayd moneth of Iuly, and in the yeare aforesayd.

¶ The burnyng and Martyrdome of Thomas Moore in the Toune of Leicester. Iune. 26. the yere. 1556.  

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Thomas Moor

This is the same person decribed as unnamed servant earlier in the Acts and Monuments (1563, p. 1523; 1570, p. 2095; 1576, p. 1808 and 1583, p. 1914). The reason for thisconfusing duplication is that Foxe obtained these different accounts from different sources and did not realise that they described the same person. The source for this account was the official record from the diocese of Lincoln; it had probably been copied and sent to Foxe by a friend.

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Marginalia
Iune. xxvi.
The burnyng of Tho Moore a simple innocēt, at Leicester.AS the bloudie rage of this persecution, spared neither manne, woman, nor child, wife, nor maide, lame, blinde, nor creple, and so through all men and women, as there was no difference, either of age or sexe considered: so neither was there any condition or qualitie respected of any persone: but who soeuer he were that helde not, as thei did on the Pope, and Sacramente of the Altar, were he learned, or vnlearned, wise or simple innocent, al went to the fire. As maie appeare by this simple poore creature, and innocent soule named Thomas Moore, retainyng as a seruaunte to a Marchaunte mannes house in the toune of Leicester, about the age of 24. and after in maner of an housebande man, for speakyng certaine woordes, that his Maker was in heauen, and not in the Pixe, was thereupon apprehended in the countrey, beyng with his freindes. MarginaliaThomas Moore examined before the Bishoppe.Who commyng before his Ordinarie, firste was asked, whether he did not beleue his Maker there to be, pointyng to the high Altar. Whiche he denied.

Then asked the Bishop, howe then, saied he, doest thou beleue?

The yonge man aunswered againe: as his Crede did teache hym.

To whō the Bishop saied: and what is yonder that thou seest aboue the altar? He aunsweryng, said: forsoth I cā not tell what you would haue me to se. I se there fine clothes, with golden tasselles, and other gaie gere hangyng about the pixe. What is within I can not see.

Why? Doest thou not beleue, saieth the Bishoppe, Christe to bee there, fleshe, bloud, and bone? No, that I doe not, saied he.

MarginaliaThe cōdemnation & Martyrdome of Thomas Moore. Ex Regist. Episc. Lincol.Whereupon the Ordinarie making short with him, red the sentence, and so condemned the true and faithefull seruaunt of Christ to death in sainct Margaretes churche in Leicester:  

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Moor was condemned on 20 April 1556 (PRO C/85/116/9).