shops, Prelates, councell prouinciall, and of the whole clergy: do degrade and depriue thee of thy Priestly order.MarginaliaThe pattent and chalice taken from hym. And in signe of degradation and actuall deposition frō thy priestly dignitie, for thyne incorrigibilitie & want of amendement: we take from thee the patēt and chalice, and do depriue thee of all power and authoritie of celebratyng Masse: & also we pul from thy backe, the Casule, and take from thee the vestiment, and depriue thee of all maner of Priestly honour.

Also, we Thomas the aforesayd Archbyshop by authoritie, counsell, and assent, which vpon the foresayd William we haue, beyng deacon pretensed, in the habite and apparell of a Deacon, hauyng the new Testament in thy hādes, beyng an heretique and twise fallen, condemned by sentence as is aforesayd: do degrade and put thee from the order of a Deacon.MarginaliaThe booke of a new Testamēt taken frō him. And in token of this thy degradation and actuall deposition we take frō thee the booke of the new Testamēt, and the stole, and do depriue thee of all authoritie in reading the Gospell, & of all and all maner of dignitie of a Deacon.

Item, we Thomas Archbyshop aforesayd, by authoritie, coūsell, and assent, which ouer thee the foresayd William we haue, beyng a subdeacon pretenced, in the habite and vestiment of a subdeacon, and heretique, and twise fallen, condemned by sentence as is aforesayd: do degrade and put thee from the order of a subdeacon.MarginaliaThe Albe taken from hym. And in token of this thy degradation and actuall depositiō, we take from thee the Albe and Maniple, and do depriue thee of all & all maner of subdiaconall dignitie.

Also, we Thomas, Archbyshop aforesayd, by counsaile, assent, and authoritie which we haue ouer thee the foresayd William, an Accolite pretensed, wearyng the habite of an Accolite, and heretique, twise fallen, by our sentence as is aforesayd condemned: do degrade and put thee from all order of an Accolite:MarginaliaThe candlesticke & taper taken from hym. And in signe and token of this thy degradation, and actuall deposition, we take from thee the Candlesticke and taper, and also Vrceolum, and do depriue thee of all and all maner dignitie of an Accolite.

Also, we Thomas, Archbyshop aforesayd by assent coūsell and authoritie which vpō thee the foresayd William we haue, an Exorcist pretensed, in the habite of an Exorcist or holy water clarke, being an heretique, twise fallen, and by our sentence as aforesayd condemned, we do degrade & depose thee from the order of an Exorcist:MarginaliaThe holy water bucke coniured from hym. and in token of this thy degradation and actuall depositiō, we take from thee the booke of coniurations, and do depriue thee of all and singular dignitie of an Exorcist.

Also, we Thomas Archbyshop aforesayd, by assent, coūsayle, and authoritie, as is aboue sayd, do degrade and depose thee the foresaid William, reader pretensed, clothed in the habite of a reader, an hereticke, twise fallen, and by our sentence as is aforesayd, condēned: from the order of a Reader. And in token of this thy degradation and actuall depositiō, we take from thee the booke of the deuine lections (that is the booke of the Church Legende)MarginaliaHe meaneth the legend booke, as sayth the Register. and do depriue thee of all and singular maner of dignitie of such a reader.

Item, we Thomas Archbyshop of Canterbury aforsayd, by authoritie, counsaile, and assent, the which we haue as is aforesayd, do degrade and put thee the foresayd William Sawtre, Sexten pretensed, in the habite of a Sexten, and wearyng a Surplice,MarginaliaThe Surplice taken from hym. beyng an heretique, twise fallen, by our sentence diffinitue condemned, as aforesayd: from the order of a Sexten.MarginaliaThe church dore keyes taken from hym. And in token of this thy degradation and actuall deposition, for the causes aforesayd, we take frō thee the keyes of the Church doore, and thy Surplice, and do depriue thee of all and singular maner of commodities of a doore keeper.

And also, by the authoritie of omnipotēt God the father, the sonne, and holy ghost, and by our authoritie, coūsaile, and assent of our whole councell prouinciall aboue written, we do degrade thee and depose thee beyng here personally presēt before vs, from orders, benefices, priuilegies, and habite in the Church, & for thy pertinacie incorrigible, we do disgrade thee, before the secular Cout of the high Constable and Marshall of England, here beyng personally present, and do depose thee from all and singular clerkely honours and dignities whatsoeuer, by these writyngs.MarginaliaPriuilege of the clergie taken from him. Also in token of thy degration and depositiō, here actually we haue caused thy crowne and ecclesiasticall tonsure in oure presence to be rased away, and vtterly to be abolished, like vnto the forme of a secular lay man:MarginaliaThe priestes cap taken from hys head, maketh vp all in all. and here do put vpon the head, of thee the foresayd Wylliam, the cap of a lay secular person: beseechyng the court aforesaid, that they will receaue fauorably the sayd William vnto them thus recommitted.

Thus William Sawtre the seruaunt of Christ, beyng vtterly thrust out of the Popes kyngdome, and metamorphosed from a Clerke to a secular lay man, was committed (as ye haue heard) vnto the secular power. Which so done, the Byshops yet not herewith contented, cease not to call vpon the kyng, to cause him to be brought forth to spedy execution. Wherupon the kyng, ready inough and to much to gratifie the Clergy, and to retayne their fauours, directeth out a terrible decree agaynst the sayd William Sawtre, and sent it to the Maior and Sheriffes of London to be put in execution, the tenour wherof here vnder ensueth.

MarginaliaThe cruell decree of the king agaynst Sawtre. THe decree of our soueraigne Lord the kyng and his coūsell in the Parliament, agaynst a certaine new sprong vp hereticke. To the Maior & Sheriffes of Lōdon. &c. Where as the reuerend father Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and Legate of the Apostolicke sea, by the assent, consent, and counsell of other Byshops, & his brethren Suffraganes, and also of all the whole Clergy within his prouince or Dioces, gathered together in his prouinciall councell, the due order of the law beyng obserued, in all pointes in this behalfe: hath pronounced and declared by his definitiue sentence, W. Sautre somtime chaplaine, to be fallē againe into his most damnable heresie, the which before tyme the sayd William had abiured, theruppon to be a most manifest heretike, and therefore hath decreed, that he should be disagraded, & hath for the same cause really disgraded him frō all prerogatiue & priuilege of þ^e clergie, decreing to leaue him vnto the secular power: and hath really so left him, according to the lawes & canonicall sanctions set forth in thys behalfe, and also that our holy mother the Church hath no further to do in the premisses.MarginaliaPreposterous zeale wythout knowledge. We therfore beyng zelous in religion, and a reuerent louer of the catholike fayth, wylling and mynding to maintaine and defend the holy church, & the lawes & liberties of the same, to roote all such errours & heresies out of our kingdome of Englād, & with condigne punishmēt to correcte & punishe all heretiques or such as be cōuict: Prouided alwayes, that both according to the lawe of God & mā, and the canonical institutions in this behalfe accustomed, that such heretickes conuict & cōdemned in forme aforesayd, ought to be burned with fire. We commaund you as straightly as we may or can, firmely enioyning you, that you do cause the sayd William being in your custody, in some publique or opē place within the liberties of your citie aforesayd (the cause aforesayd being published vnto the people) to be put into the fire, and there in the same fire really to be burned, to the greate horrour of his offence, and the manifest example of other Christians. Faile not in the execution hereof, vpon the perill that will fall therupon.

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Commentary on the Woodcuts     Close

William Sawtry, a priest, was important for Foxe's narrative as the first Wycliffite martyr to be burned at the stake after the passage of the statute De heretico comburendo in 1401. He was accordingly given significant pictorial presence, but it proved problematical. The striking image of a youthful looking man chained to the stake in a ferociously flaming fire that encircles his torso, with flaring hair, outstretched hands, belonged to a small group of woodcuts used in the first edition that proved difficult to accommodate. (See introductory note on the format of the A&M) They shared certain features, including the winding bandaroles: Sawtry's reads 'Jesu have mercy'; words that were changed when this block was reused for Thomas of Rennes in 1563, but reinstated for illustrating Sawtry once more in 1570. The Sawtry block was twice cut down in an effort to make it fit better on the page. In the first edition it lost the left side of its frame but even so jutted awkwardly into the margin. In 1570 it was cut back on the right side, but still took too much space. So in 1576 the block was jettisoned and Sawtry was then and in 1583 represented by one of the small cuts that had been added in 1570, which in that edition illustrated the burning of Rawlins White. This might seem unsuitable, since Sawtry was unlikely to have been an 'old man' though the choice could perhaps have been a mark of respect. The striking earlier image of Sawtry lived on, and had an afterlife adorning an early seventeenth-century ballad. The words attributed to Sawtry in the bandarole cannot, given his resolute stand, signal a change of heart, as John Badby's similar call was taken to be (see following woodcut). CUL copy and WREN copy: A startling use of yellow and orange for the flames; a very vivid depiction. Note also the attention to shading of the stake and of Sawtre's body. The banderole is edged with a pinkish purple shading its tips. There are additional spatters of orange on his right arm and torso, which go beyond colouring in of the detail in the illustration.