These cruell and pernicious iniuries whiche are layde vnto vs, and to our sayd kyngdome and Marquesdom, albeit most falsly and slanderously, how may we suffer? for so much as through the grace of God (when in a maner all other kyngdomes of the worlde, haue oftentymes wauered, makyng Schismes and Antipapes) MarginaliaHe meaneth the longe schisme spokē of before, where three popes were striuing one agaynst an other.our most Christian kyngdome of Boheme, and most noble Marquesdome of Morauia, since the tyme they dyd receiue the Catholicke fayth of our Lord Iesus Christ, as a most perfect Marginalia* A quadrant being foure square, prouerbially signifyeth a man that is constance and immutable. Rom. 12.* quadrant, haue alwayes without reproofe stucke vnto the Church of Rome, & haue sincerely done their true obediēce. Also with how great costes and charges and great trauayl, with what worship and due reuerence they haue reuerenced the holy mother the church & her pastors, by their princes and faithful subiectes, it is more manifest thē the day light vnto the whole world: and your selues, if you wil confesse the truth, can witnes the same also.

Wherfore that we, accordyng to the mynd of the Apostle, may procure honest and good thinges, not onely before God but before men also, and lest by neglecting the famous renowne of the kyngdom and Marquesdome, we be found cruell towardes our neighbours: hauyng a stedfast hope, a pure and sincere conscience and intent, and a certayne true fayth in Christ Iesu our Lord, by the tenour of these we signify and declare vnto your fatherhoods, and to all faythfull Christians, openly professing both with harte and mouth, that whatsoeuer man, of what estate, preeminence, dignitie, condition, degree, or religion so euer he be, which hath sayd or affirmed, eyther doth say or affirme, that in the said kingdom of Boheme and Marquesdom of Morauia, heresies haue sprong vp which haue infected vs and other faythfull Christians, as is aforesaid (the only persō of our most noble prince and lord, Sigismund king of Romains & of Hungary. &c. our Lord and heire successor, being set apart, whom we trust and beleue, not to be guilty in the premisses) all and euery such man (as is aforesayd) doth lye falsly vppon his head, as a wicked and naughty traytour and betrayer of the said kingdome and Marquesdome, and most trayterous vnto vs, & most pernicious hereticke, MarginaliaIohn. 8.
Deut. 38.
Psal. 30.the sonne of all malice and wickednes, yea and of the deuill hymselfe, who is a lyer and the father of all lyes.

Notwithstanding, we for this present committyng the foresayd iniuries vnto God, vnto whom vengeaunce perteineth, who will also aboundanutly reward workers of iniquity, will prosecute them more amply before hym whome God shall appoint in the Apostolike Sea, to gouern his holy Church as the only and vndoubted pastour. MarginaliaThese noble men ofered their obedience to the pope, no further then was lawfull, honest and agreable to reason and the lawe of God.Vnto whō god willyng, we exhibityng our due reuerence and obedience as faythfull children, in those things which are lawfull, honest, and agreable to reason and the law of God, will make our request and petition, that spedy remedy may be prouided for vs, our sayd kingdom and Marquesdom, vpon the premisses, accordyng to the law of our Lord Iesus Christ, and the institutions of the holy fathers. MarginaliaMarke thys and learne, you noble men.The premisses notwithstāding, we setting apart all feare and mens ordinaunces prouided to the contrary, will mainteyn and defend the law of our lord Iesu Christ, and the deuout, humble and constant preachers thereof, euen to the shedyng of our bloud.

Dated at Sternberg, in the yeare of our Lord. 1415. vpon S. Wenceslaus day, Martyr of our lord Iesu Christ.

Round about the sayd letters there were. liiij. Seales hanging, and their names subscribed, whose seales they were. The names of which noble men I thought it good here to annex with all, partly for the more credite of that hath been sayd, partly also for examples sake, to the intent that our noble mē & gentlemē in this our Realme of England, now liuing in this cleare light of the Gospell, maye by their example vnderstand, that if they ioyne them selues with the Gospell of Iesus zealously and as they shoulde doe, yet are they neither the first, nor the moste that so haue done before them: if not, yet the truth may here remayne in storye to their shame, or els to their instruction, seyng so many noble and worthy gentlemen within the small kingdome of Bohemia, to be so forwarde in those so darke daies, and among so many enemies, CC. yeares agoe, to take part with Christ: And yet our Gentlemen here in suche longe contynuance of tyme, being so diligently taught, are neither in number, nor in zeale to them to be compared, but wyll still take parte contrarye both to Christ, and to the example of these nobles, whose names they may see and read here following.

After these things thus declared and discoursed concernyng the history of Iohn Hus, and Hierome of Prage, the order of place and countreye next would require, consequently to inferre and comprehend the great troubles & perturbations, which happened after and vpō the death of these men in the coūtry of Boheme: but the order of tyme calleth me backe, first to other matters here of our owne countrey, which passed in the meane tyme, with vs in England. Which things being taken by the way, and finished, we will (Christ willyng) afterward returne to the tractation hereof, to prosecute the troubles and conflictes of the Bohemians, wyth other things beside pertayning to the latter end of the councell of Constance, and chosing of Pope Martin, as the order of yeares and tyme shall require.

MarginaliaVide supra pag. 700.Ye heard before pag. 700. col. 2. how after the death of Thomas Arundell Archb. of Caunt. MarginaliaHenry Chichesly Archb. of Cant.succeded Henry Chichesley. an. 1414. & sate 25. yeres. In whose tyme, was much trouble, and great affliction of good men here in England: of whom many were compelled to abiure, some were burned, diuers were driuen to exile. Wherof partly now to entreate, as we finde thē in registers and histories recorded, we wil first begin with Iohn Claydon Currier of London, & Richard Turmyng, whom Rob. Fabian, doth falsly affirm to be burned in the yere, wherin Sir Roger Acton & M. Brown suffered: who in dede suffered not before the second yere of Hēry Chichesley beyng Archb. of Caunt. which was. an. 1415. The history of which Iohn Claydon, in the Registers is thus declared.

¶ The story of Iohn Claydon Currier, and of R. Turmyng Baker.  

Commentary     Close

John Claydon and  Richard Turming, death of Oldcastle

In the Commentarii (fo. 62v), Foxe had a brief account of 'William' Claydon, which describes him being burned in 1414 as a heretic. This brief, account, including the erroneous first name of the victim, was taken from College of Arms MS Arundel 7. (See Thomas of Walsingham, Historia Anglicana, ed. H. T. Riley, 2 vols., Rolls Series 28 [London, 1863-64], II, p. 307). In the Rerum (p. 60), Foxe repeated this account, although he corrected Claydon's first name to John. Later in the Rerum (p. 109), however, Foxe gave an account of the burning of John Claydon and Richard Turmyn, for which he cited Fabyan's chronicle as the source. (And, in fact, was clearly did draw this information from Fabyan; see Robert Fabyan, The Chronicle of Fabian [London, 1559], STC 10664, p. 390). In the 1563 edition, Foxe dropped the brief entry taken from Walsingham and reprinted the notice taken from Fabyan. In 1570, Foxe greatly expanded his account of the unfortunate pair by drawing on the register of Archbishop Chichele for Claydon's background, trial and examination. (See The Register of Henry Chichele, ed. E. F. Jacob, 4 vols. [Oxford, 1943-47], IV, pp. 132-8). He also printed Arcbishop Chichele's proclamation against the Lollards from the same source (Chichele Register, III, pp. 18-19). Foxe also delved deeply into Chichele's register for other accounts of accused heretics being imprisoned, questioned and being forced to recant (Chichele Register III, pp. 15-16, 25, 44, 187- 208 and IV, pp. 138-40, 155-8, 192-3, 203-4 and 297-301). Claydon and Turmyn were the only accused heretics among this group who were executed, but these additional episodes, no matter how inconsequential, provided evidence that there were members of the True Chuch before Luther and that the Catholic clergy were zealous in persecuting them. It should also be remembered that the episodes Foxe lists (although Foxe does not make this clear) extended over thirteen years.

[Back to Top]

Foxe intensified the theme of persecution by recording, with these other prosecutions, the arrest and execution of Sir John Olcastle. In the 1563 edition this consisted of an account of these events, previously printed in the Rerum (pp. 106-7), which was based on The Chronicle of Fabian (pp. 390 and 389 [recte 397]). To this Foxe added the account of Oldcastle's execution, which was taken from John Bale, A brefe Chronycle concerning the examination and death of the blessed martir of Christ sir Johan Oldcastel (London, 1548?), STC 1278, sigs F8v-G1r. In the 1570 edition, however, Foxe replaced this account of Oldcastle's martyrdom with a defence of him against the charge made by Nicholas Harpsfield that Oldcastle had been a traitor.

[Back to Top]

There were no further changes made to any of this material in subsequent editions of the Acts and Monuments.

Thomas S. Freeman
University of Sheffield

THe. 17. of August. 1415. did personally appeare I. Claydon Currier of London (arrested by the Mayor of the sayde Citie, for the suspition of heresye) before Henry