Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 2, part 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.

*A proclamation for resisting and withstanding of most damnable heresies, sowen within this realme by the disciples of Luther and other heretikes, peruerters of Christes religion.

THe king our soueraigne Lord, of his most vertuous and grati∣ous disposition,* 1.1 considering that this noble realme of Eng∣land, hath of long tyme continued in the true Catholicke fayth of Christes religion, and that his noble progenitours, kinges of thys hys sayd realme, haue before thys tyme made and enacted, many deuout lawes, statutes and ordinaunces, for the mayntenaunce and defence of the sayde fayth agaynst the malicious and wicked sectes of heretickes and Lollardes, who by peruersion of holye Scripture, do induce the erroneous opinions, sow sedition amōg Christen people, and finally disturbe the peace and tranquillitie of Christē realmes, as late happened in some parties of Germany, where, by the procurement and sedition of Martin Luther and o∣ther heretickes, wer slayn an infinite number of Christen people: cōsidering also, that as well by the corruption & malice of indis∣crete

preachers, sautors of the sayd erroneous sects as by certayn hereticall and blasphemous bookes lately made and priuily sent into this realme, by the disciples, fautors, & adherents of the sayd Martin Luther & other heretickes, the kings subiects are like to be corrupted, vnlesse his highnes (as the defēsor of the faith) do put to his most gracious helpe & authoritie royal to the due & spee∣dy reformation thereof, his highnes therfore, lyke a most gracious Prince, of his blessed & vertuous disposition, for the incompara∣ble zeale, which he hath to Christes religion & faith, & for the sin∣gular loue & affection that he beareth to all his good subiects of this his realme, & specially to the saluation of their soules, accor∣ding to his office▪ & duetye in that behalfe, willeth and intendeth to prouide with all cōuenient expedition, that this his noble re∣alme may be preserued frō the said pestiferous, cursed, & seditious errours. And for as much as his highnes is credibly informed, that some of the said errours be already sowen & spread within this his realme, partly by the corruption of indiscreete preachers, partlye by erroneous bookes, compiled, printed & written, as well in the English tongue, as in latine & other languages, repleat with most venemous heresies, blasphemies & slaunders, intollerable to the cleane eares of any good christen man: his highnes therfore, like a most gracious & christian Prince onely entending the sauegarde of this his realme, the preseruation of his subiectes, and saluation of their soules, willeth to put now in execution, with all diligence possible, all good lawes, statutes and ordinaunces concerning the premisses before this time prouyded, made and ordeyned by hys most noble progenitors kings of England, for that purpose & en∣tent. Which lawes and statutes by our soueraigne Lorde, and hys most honourable counsaile, by long and deliberate aduise for the extirpation suppressyng & withstanding of the sayd heresies, haue bene seene, examined, & by them in euery part, thought good & necessary to be put in execution.

Wherefore his highnesse chargeth and straightly commaūdeth all and euery his Lordes spirituall and temporal, Iudges, Iustices of peace, Shiriffes, Mayors, Baylifs, Constables, and all other hys Officers, Ministers, and all his true and louing subiectes, that all fauour, affection, and partialitie layd apart, they effectually with all diligence and study, endeuour themselues substantially for the executing of al and euery of the articles hereafter ensuyng, with∣out dissimulation, intermission or excuse, as they wil auoide hys high indignation and displeasure.

First, that no man within the kinges realme or other his domy∣nions, subiect to his highnes, hereafter presume to preach, teache, or informe any thing openly or priuily, or cōpile and write anye booke, or hold, exercise, or kepe any assembles or schooles, in any maner of wise, contrary to the Catholike faith, or determinatyon of holy church, nor that any person within this his sayd realme & domininions, do presume to preach openly or secretly, withoute they haue first obtained licēce of the Bishop of the diocesse, where they entend to preach, curates in their parishes, persons priuiled∣ged, and other by the law of the church onely except.

Also that no mā wittingly hereafter fauour, support, or maintain any person, which preacheth in forme aforesayd, or maketh anye such or like conuenticles and assembles, holdeth or exerciseth a∣ny schooles, maketh, writeth, or publisheth anye suche booke, tea∣cheth, infourmeth, or stirreth the people or any of them, in anye maner of forme to the said errours. Moreouer, that al & euery per∣son and persons hauing any bookes or writinges of any suche er∣rors, erroneous doctryne and opinion, do deliuer or cause to bee deliuered effectually and actually, all and euerye such bookes and writings, to the Bishoppes of the dioces, or to the ordinary of the place, within 15 daies after this proclamation pronounced. And in case any person or persons, of what estate, condition, or degree soeuer they be, do or attempt any thing contrary to this Act and proclamation, or doe not deliuer or cause to bee deliuered suche bookes, within the time aforesaid, that euery bishop in his dioces, or ordinary, shal cause that person or persons, and euery of them to be arested in that behalfe diffamed or euidently suspected, and detayne & kepe thē vnder safe custody in their persons,* 1.2 vntil such time that the said persons & euery of thē, either haue purged thē∣selues of the said errors, or els do abiure the said erròneous sects, preachings, doctrines, or opinions, as the law of holye Churche doth require.

Furthermore, if any person by the law of holy Church be cōui∣cted before the bishop of the dioces, or his Cōmissary in any case aboue expressed, that the said Bishop may kepe in prison, the sayd person or persons so conuicted, as it shal seeme best to his discre∣tiō, after the greuousnes or qualitie of the crime, and further, may set a fine to be paid to the behoufe of the king, by the persō or per∣sons conuicted, as it shalbee thought conuenient to the saide By∣shop hauing respect to the greuousnes of the effence of the sayde persō or persōs the said fine to be certified by the Bishop, into the kings Eschequer, ther to be leuied to the kings vse, except in such cases in which by the lawes of holy church, the said persons con∣uict of heresies, ought totally to be left to the secular iurisdictiō.

Also, if any person within this his realme of England or other his dominions▪ be by sentence iudicial conuicted of the said prea∣ching and doctrines prohibited, erroneous opinions, schooles & informations or any of them, and before the Bishop, or his Com∣missary do abiure, according to the fourme of the lawes of holye churche, the foresaid erroneous sectes, doctrines, schooles,* 1.3 or in∣formatiōs, or els be pronounced by the bishops or their cōmissa∣ries after their abiuration by thē before made, to bee relapsed, so that after the lawes of holy church, they ought to be relinquished to the iurisdiction secular (wherin faith is to be geuen to the Bysh. or his Cōmissaries in that behalf) then the Shiriffe of the Coūtie, Maior, Shirifes, or Maior and Baylifes of the same citie, towne or borough▪ next vnto the said Bishop or Commissaries shalbee per∣sonally present in the sentence geuing, by the said Bishop or Cō∣missaries thereunto required, and after the said sentence geuē,* 1.4 shal receiue the said persons and euerye of them, and put them to fur∣ther excution, according to the lawes of this realme.

Also the Chauncellor, treasurer of England, the Iustice of the one Bench and the other, Iustices of peace, Shirifes, Maiors and Bayliffes of cities and townes, and other Officers hauing gouer∣nance of the people, which now be, or for the time, hereafter shall be, shal make othe in taking their charge and ministration, to put their whole power and diligence, to put away, and to make vtter∣ly to cease, and destroy all maner of heresies and errours, cōmon∣ly called Lollardies, within the precinctes of their offices and ad∣ministrations, from time to time with all their power.

Also they shal assist the Bishoppes and their Commissaries, and them shall fauour and mayntaine as oftentymes as that to do, they or any of them, shal be required by the said Byshops or their com∣missaries, so that the Bishops or their commissaries, shall beare & pay the reasonable costes of the said officers and ministers, when and as often as they shall trauaile or ryde to arrest heretickes and Lollardes, or to assist the said Bishops or Commissaries by vertue of the kings lawes and statutes.

Moreouer the Iustices of the kings Bench, Iustices of peace,* 1.5 and Iustices of Assise shal inquire at their Sessions and sittings, of all those that holde any errours or heresies, and who be their mayn∣tainers, receptors, fauourers and supporters, common wryters of bookes, as also of their sermons, schooles, conuenticles, congre∣gations, confederacies.

Furthermore, if any person be endicted of any of the poynts a∣bouesayd, the Iustices of the peace haue power to awarde agaynst them Acapias, and the shriues be bound to arrest such persons so endicted, as sone as they may be found by themselues, or by their Officers. And forsomuch as cognisaunce of heresie, errours, and Lollardies, appertayneth to the Iudge of holy church, and not to the Iudge secular, the persons so indicted to bee deliuered to the bishoppes of the places or their Commissaries, by indenture be∣tweene them to be made within x. dayes after their arrest, or soo∣ner if it can be done, thereof to be acquite or conuict by the lawes of holy church, in case that those persons be not endicted of other thinges, whereof the knowledge appeareth to the Iudges & Offi∣cers secular. In which case, after they bee acquite and deliuered a∣fore the Iustice seculare, of those thinges pertayning to the Iudge seculare that they be conueyed in safegarde to ordinaries or their Commissaries, and to them to be deliuered by Indentures (as is abouesaid) there to be acquite or conuicted of the said heresies, errours and Lollordies, (as is abouesaide) after the lawes of holy church. Prouided that the Inditementes be not taken in euidence, but for an information afore the Iudges spiry∣tuall, against such indicte, but that the Ordinaries cōmence their proces against those indicts in the same manner as no indite∣ment had bene, hauing no regard to such inditements.

Moreouer, that no manner of person or persons, of what estate, degree or condition he or they be, do from henceforth presume to bring into this realme, or do sell, receiue take or detayne anye booke or worke printed or written, whiche is made, or hereafter shall be made agaynst the fayth Catholike, or against the holy de∣crees, lawes and ordinaunces of holy Church, or in reproche, re∣buke, or slaunder of the kings, his honourable counsayle, or hys Lordes spirituall or temporall. And in case they haue any suche booke or woorke, they shall incontinent, vppon the hauing of them, bring the sayd booke or worke to the Bishop of the dioces, without concealement or fraude: or if they know any person ha∣uing any of the sayd bookes, they shall detect them to the sayd bi∣shoppe, all fauour or affection layde apart, and that they fayle not thus to do, as they will auoyd the kings high indignation and dis∣pleasure.

The bookes whiche in this Proclamation generallye are restrayned and forbidden, be afterwarde in the Regi∣ster more specially named by the Byshops. Whereof the most part were in Latine, as are aboue recited, and some were in English, as these and other partly also aboue ex∣pressed.

• A disputation betwene the father and the sonne.
• A booke of the olde God and new.
• Godly prayers
• The Christian state of Matrimony.
• The burying of the Masse.
• The summe of the Scripture.
• Mattens and Euensong, vij Psalmes. and other heauenlye Psalmes, with the commendations, in English.
• ...

• An exposition vpon the vij. Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinth.
• The Chapters of Moses, called Genesis.
• The Chapters of Moses, called Deuteronomos.
• The Matrymonie of Tyndall.
• Dauids Psalter in English.
• The practise of Prelates.
• Hotlulus animae in English.
• A. B. C. against the Clergy.
• The examination of William Thorpe. &c.

Although these bookes wythall other of the lyke sort by the vertue of this proclamatiō were inhibited to al english men to vse or to reade: yet licence was graunted before, to sir Tho. More by Tonstall Bishop of London, An. 1527. that he notwithstāding might haue and peruse them, with a letter also sent to him from the sayd Bishop, or rather by y^e aduise of other bishyps, desiring him that he would shew his cunning and play the prety man, lyke a Demosthenes, in expugning the doctrine of these bookes & opinions: who albeit he was no great diuine, yet because he saw some to∣wardnes in him by his booke of Utopia, & other fine Poe∣trie of his,* 1.6 therefore hee thought him a meete man for their purpose, to withstand the procedings of the Gospel, either in making some apparance of reason agaynst it, or at least, to outface it and dash it out of countenance. Wherein there lacked in his part, neyther good will nor labour to serue y^e Bishops turne, so farre forth as all his Rhethoricke coulde reache: filling vp with finenes of wit, and scoffing termes, where true knowledge and iudgement of Scripture dyd fayle: as by his workes & wrytings agaynst Bilney, Tyn∣dall, Frith, Fish, Barnes, Luther &c. may soone bee discer∣ned, if the reasons and maner of his hādling be wel waied: & rightlye examined with the touchstone of the scryptures. But now to fall into our story agayne:

Upon this fierce and terrible proclamatiō aforesayde, thus deuised and set out in the kinges name, an 1529. the Bishops which were the procurers hereof, had that now, which they would haue: neither dyd there lacke on their part any study vnapplyed, any stone vnremoued, any cor∣ner vnsearched, for y^e diligēt execution of y^e same. Wherupō ensued grieuous persecution, & slaughter of the faythfull. Of whom the first that went to wrack was Thomas Bil∣ney, of whō sufficiently afore hath bene said: & the next was Richard Bayfield, as in the story here followeth.

Notes

• * 1.1

  This proclama∣tion was made throughout all England, the yeare of our Lorde 1519. and the 21. yeare of K. Henry, 8.
• * 1.2

  Pen••ltye.
• * 1.3

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.4

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.5

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.6

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉