at the Lord Pagets. The wife because of his appa∣rell (which was very braue) tooke him to be some honeste Gentleman, and with all speede prepared her selfe to fetch her husband, hauing a good hope he should now erne some mony: and least this gentleman should not be noyed with tarying, she fet him a cushin to set him soft, and said a fayre napkin before him, and set breade thereon, and came to her husband: who whē he heard it, sayd: a banket woman? In deed it is such a banquet as wil not be very pleasant to the flesh but Gods will be done. And when he came home hee saw who it was, and called him by his name, which when his wife perceiued, & wherfore he came, like a tall woman, would play Peters part, and in sted of a sword took a spit, and had runne him thorow, had not the Constable which Bearde had sent for by his man, come in withall, who res∣cued him: yet she sent a brickebatte after him and hit hym on the backe. And so Tankerfield was deliuered to ye Con∣stable, and brought to Newgate about the last day of Fe∣bruary an. 1555. by the sayd Bearde Yeoman of the Gard, and Simon Ponder Pewterer, Constable of S. Dūstons in the West, sent in by Syr Roger Chomley knight and by Doctor Martin.
Tankerfield thus being brought to prison by hys ad∣uersaryes, at lēgth wt the other aboue named was brought to his examination before Boner. Who after his accusto∣med maner, ordered his articles and positions vnto him: the copy and tenor of which his ordinary Articles ye may read aboue expressed. pag. 1585.
To these Articles as aboue rehearsed, he aunswered a∣gayne, constantly declaring his mind both touching auri∣culer confession, and also the sacrament of the popish alter, and likewise of the Masse. &c. First that he was not confes∣sed to any priest 5. yeares past, nor to any other but only to God, and further denying that he would hereafter be con∣fessed to anye Prieste, for that hee founde it not in Christes booke, and tooke it onely to be a counsell.
And concerning the sacrament, commonly called here in England of the aultar, he confessed that hee neither had nor did beleue, that in the sayd sacrament, there is the reall body and bloud of Christ, because that the bodye is ascen∣ded into heauen, and there doth sit at the right hand of god the father.
And moreouer he sayd, that the Masse now vsed in the Church of England was nought, and ful of Idolatry and abomination, and agaynst the word of God, affirming al∣so, that there are but two Sacramentes in the Church of Christ, Baptisme, and the Supper of the Lord. &c. And to these assertions, he sayd, he would stand: and so he did to the end.
And when at last the Byshop began to read ye sentence exhorting him before with manye woordes to reuoke hys professed opinion (which they called damnable & heretical) he notwithstanding, resisted all contrary perswasions, an∣swering the bishop agayne in this forme of words: I will not (sayd he) forsake mine opinions, except you (my Lord) can repell thē by scriptures, and I care not for your Diui∣nity: for you condemne al men: and proue nothing against them. And after many fayre wordes of exhortation, which Boner then vsed (after his ordinary maner) to conuerte or rather peruert him, he aunswered boldlye agayne, saying moreouer: that the church wherof ye pope is supreme head, is no part of Christes Catholicke Church: & adding ther∣vnto, and poynting to the Bishop, spake to the people, say¦ing: Good people beware of him, and such as he is: for these be the people that deceiueth you. &c.
These with other wordes moe, he spake: whereupon the Bishop reading the sentence of his popish condēnatiō gaue him to the secular power.
And so this blessed seruaunt of God was had to saynct Albons, and there with much pacience and constācy ended his life, the xxvi. day of August, for the defence of the truth, which at length will haue the victory.
*Certayne notes concerning George Tankerfielde, after he came to suffer martyrdome at Saynt Albons.
IN primis, he was brought vnto S. Albons, by the high Shiriffe of Hereford Shyre, M Edw. Brocket Esquire and one Pulter of Hitchen which was vnder Shiriffe.
Item theyr Inne was the crosse keyes whereas there was great cōcourse of people to see and heare the prisoner, among the which multitude some were sory to see so god∣ly a man brought to be burned, others praised God for his constancy and perseuerance in the trueth. Contrarywyse some there were which said it was pity he did stand in such opinions, and others both old womē & men cried against him one called him hereticke, & sayd it was pity that he ly∣ued. But George Tankerfield did speake vnto them so ef∣fectually out of the word of God, in lamenting of theyr ig∣norance, & protesting vnto them his vnspotted conscience, & that God did mollify theyr hardened hartes insomuch yt some of them departed out of the chamber wt weping eies.
Item there came vnto him a certayne Scholemayster (which reteined vnto sir Tho. Pope knight) this man had certayne cōmunication wt G. Tankerfielde the day before he was cōming toward S. Albons, as touching theyr sa∣crament of ye aultar & other poyntes of papisticall religiō, but as he vrged Tankerfield wt the authority of ye doctors, wrasting thē after his own will: so on ye other side Tāker∣field aunswered him mightily by ye scriptures not wrested after ye mind of any man but being interpreted after ye will of the Lord Iesus. &c. So that as he would not allow such allegatiōs as Tankerfield brought out of the scriptures wt out the opiniōs of ye doctors: so agayn Tankerfield would not credit his doctrine to be true except he could cōfirme it by the scriptures. In ye end Tankerfield prayd him that he would not trouble him in such matters, for his conscience was established. &c. and so he departed from him wishing him well & protesting that he meant him no more hurt thē his owne soule.
Item when the houre drew on apace yt he should suffer he desired the wine drawer that he might haue a pinte of malmesy & a loafe that he might eat & drinke that in remē∣brance of Christes death and passion, because he could nor haue ministred vnto him by others in such maner as christ cōmaunded, & thē he kneeled downe making his cōfession vnto the Lord wt all those which were in the chāber wyth him, & after yt he had prayd earnestly vnto the Lord, & had read the institution of the holy supper by the Lord Iesus, out of ye euangelistes & out of S. Paule: he sayd O Lord yu knowest it I do not this to derogate authority frō any mā, or in contēpt of those which are thy ministers, but only be∣cause I cannot haue it ministred according to thy word &c. & when he had spoken these & such like wordes he receiued it with geuing of Thankes.
Item when some of his frends willed him to eat some meat, he sayd he would not eat that which should do other good that had more need, & yt had lōgertime to liue thē he.
Item he prayd his host to let him haue a good fire in ye chāber, he had so, & thē he sitting on a forme before the fire put of his shoes & hose & stretched out his leg to ye flame, & whē it had touched his foot, he quickely withdrew his leg shewing how ye flesh did perswade him one way & the spi∣rit another way. The flesh sayd O thou foole wilt yu burne & needest not. The spirit sayd be not afrayd, for thys is no∣thing in respect of fire eternall. The flesh sayd do not leaue the cōpany of thy frēdes & acquaintance which loue & will let thee lack nothing. The spirit sayd the cōpany of Iesus Christ & his glorious presence doth exceed al fleshly frēds. The flesh sayd do not shortē thy time now for yu mayst liue if thou wilt much lōger. The spirit said this life is nothing vnto ye life in heauen which lasteth for euer. &c. And all this time the shiriffes were at a certayn gētlemans house at di∣ner not far frō the towne whither also resorted knightes & many gētlemē out of yt coūtry, because his sonne was ma∣ried that day, & vntill they returned from diner the priso∣ner was lefte wt his host to be kept & looked vnto. And G. Tankerfield all ye time was kindly & louingly entreated of his host, and considering that his time was short his say∣ing was, that although the day were neuer so long, yet at the last it ringeth to Euensong. &c.
Item about two of ye clocke whē the shiriffes were re∣turned frō diner they brought G. Tankerfielde out of his Inne vnto ye place where he shoulde suffer which is called Romeland, being a greene place nigh vnto ye west end of ye Abbey church, vnto the which whē he was come he kneled downe by the ye stake that was set vp for him & after he had ended his prayers, he arose & with a ioyfull fayth he sayd yt although he had a sharpe diner, yet he hoped to haue a ioy∣full supper in heauen.
Item while the fagots were set about him there came a priest vnto him, & perswaded him to beleue on ye sacrament of ye aulter & he should be saued. But G. Tankerfield cried out vehemētly & sayd, I defye the whore of Babilon, I de∣fie the whore of Babilon, fie of ye abhominable Idoll, good people do not beleue him, good people doe not beleue him. And thē ye Maior of the towne cōmaunded to set fire to the heretique, and sayd if he had but one loade of fagots in the whole world, he would geue thē to burn him. There was a certayne knight by & went vnto Tankerfield & took him by the hand & sayd good brother be strōg in Christ, this he spake softly, and Tankerfield sayd, O syr I thanke you I am so I thanke God. Then fire was set vnto him, & he de∣sired the shiriffe & all the people that they woulde pray for him, the most part did so. And so embracing the fire he ba∣thed