Thematic Divisions in Book 11
1. The Martyrdom of Rogers 2. The Martyrdom of Saunders 3. Saunders' Letters 4. Hooper's Martyrdom 5. Hooper's Letters 6. Rowland Taylor's Martyrdom 7. Becket's Image and other events 8. Miles Coverdale and the Denmark Letters 9. Bonner and Reconciliation 10. Judge Hales 11. The Martyrdom of Thomas Tomkins 12. The Martyrdom of William Hunter 13. The Martyrdom of Higbed and Causton 14. The Martyrdom of Pigot, Knight and Laurence 15. Robert Farrar's Martyrdom 16. The Martyrdom of Rawlins/Rowland White17. The Restoration of Abbey Lands and other events in Spring 155518. The Providential Death of the Parson of Arundel 19. The Martyrdom of John Awcocke 20. The Martyrdom of George Marsh 21. The Letters of George Marsh 22. The Martyrdom of William Flower 23. The Martyrdom of Cardmaker and Warne 24. Letters of Warne and Cardmaker 25. The Martyrdom of Ardley and Simpson 26. John Tooly 27. The Examination of Robert Bromley [nb This is part of the Tooly affair]28. The Martyrdom of Thomas Haukes 29. Letters of Haukes 30. The Martyrdom of Thomas Watts 31. Mary's False Pregnancy32. Censorship Proclamation 33. Our Lady' Psalter 34. Martyrdom of Osmund, Bamford, Osborne and Chamberlain35. The Martyrdom of John Bradford 36. Bradford's Letters 37. William Minge 38. James Trevisam 39. The Martyrdom of John Bland 40. The Martyrdom of Frankesh, Middleton and Sheterden 41. Sheterden's Letters 42. Examinations of Hall, Wade and Polley 43. Martyrdom of Christopher Wade 44. Martyrdom of Carver and Launder 45. Martyrdom of Thomas Iveson 46. John Aleworth 47. Martyrdom of James Abbes 48. Martyrdom of Denley, Newman and Pacingham 49. Richard Hooke 50. Martyrdom of William Coker, et al 51. Martyrdom of George Tankerfield, et al 52. Martyrdom and Letters of Robert Smith 53. Martyrdom of Harwood and Fust 54. Martyrdom of William Haile 55. George King, Thomas Leyes and John Wade 56. William Andrew 57. Martyrdom of Robert Samuel 58. Samuel's Letters 59. William Allen 60. Martyrdom of Roger Coo 61. Martyrdom of Thomas Cobb 62. Martyrdom of Catmer, Streater, Burwood, Brodbridge, Tutty 63. Martyrdom of Hayward and Goreway 64. Martyrdom and Letters of Robert Glover 65. Cornelius Bungey 66. John and William Glover 67. Martyrdom of Wolsey and Pigot 68. Life and Character of Nicholas Ridley 69. Ridley's Letters 70. Life of Hugh Latimer 71. Latimer's Letters 72. Ridley and Latimer Re-examined and Executed73. More Letters of Ridley 74. Life and Death of Stephen Gardiner 75. Martyrdom of Webb, Roper and Park 76. William Wiseman 77. James Gore 78. Examinations and Martyrdom of John Philpot 79. Philpot's Letters 80. Martyrdom of Thomas Whittle, Barlett Green, et al 81. Letters of Thomas Wittle 82. Life of Bartlett Green 83. Letters of Bartlett Green 84. Thomas Browne 85. John Tudson 86. John Went 87. Isobel Foster 88. Joan Lashford 89. Five Canterbury Martyrs 90. Life and Martyrdom of Cranmer 91. Letters of Cranmer 92. Martyrdom of Agnes Potten and Joan Trunchfield 93. Persecution in Salisbury Maundrell, Coberly and Spicer 94. William Tyms, et al 95. Letters of Tyms 96. The Norfolk Supplication 97. Martyrdom of John Harpole and Joan Beach 98. John Hullier 99. Hullier's Letters 100. Christopher Lister and five other martyrs 101. Hugh Lauerocke and John Apprice 102. Katherine Hut, Elizabeth Thacknell, et al 103. Thomas Drury and Thomas Croker 104. Thomas Spicer, John Deny and Edmund Poole 105. Persecution of Winson and Mendlesam 106. Gregory Crow 107. William Slech 108. Avington Read, et al 109. Wood and Miles 110. Adherall and Clement 111. A Merchant's Servant Executed at Leicester 112. Thirteen Burnt at Stratford-le-Bow113. Persecution in Lichfield 114. Hunt, Norrice, Parret 115. Martyrdom of Bernard, Lawson and Foster 116. Examinations of John Fortune117. John Careless 118. Letters of John Careless 119. Martyrdom of Julius Palmer 120. Agnes Wardall 121. Peter Moone and his wife 122. Guernsey Martyrdoms 123. Dungate, Foreman and Tree 124. Martyrdom of Thomas More125. Examination of John Jackson126. Examination of John Newman 127. Martyrdom of Joan Waste 128. Martyrdom of Edward Sharpe 129. Four Burnt at Mayfield at Sussex 130. John Horne and a woman 131. William Dangerfield 132. Northampton Shoemaker 133. Prisoners Starved at Canterbury 134. More Persecution at Lichfield
Critical Apparatus for this Page
Commentary on the TextCommentary on the Woodcuts
Names and Places on this Page
Unavailable for this Edition
2070 [2031]

Queene Mary. A Picture of vij. godly Martyrs burnt in Smithfield.
Marginalia1556. Ianuary.Marginalia
The Martyrdome of Tho. Whittle, Bart. Greene, Tho. Browne, Ioh. Tudson, Iohn Went, Eliza. Foster, Ioane Warne, in Smithfield.
An. 1556. Ianuary. 27.
¶ Seuen godly and constant Martyrs, suffering at one fire together in Smithfield.

woodcut [View a larger version]

Commentary on the Woodcuts   *   Close
Although the full width of a large woodcut was given to the seven martyrs burned together at Smithfield, unlike the small cut of the Canterbury seven (1583, p.1981, portraying six martyrs) things went wrong here too. The print seems to show four women and three men instead of five men and two women. This perhaps explains the lacking label for John Tudson, while John Went's name is attached to a female figure. In 1563 the labels were all blank, perhaps reflecting the difficulties over these discrepancies. Thereafter the names remained the same, being given in italic in 1570, and in roman in 1576, and 1583 - when they were reset with small differences of placing. The allocation of a large illustration for this group may be accounted for by the space given in Foxe's text to the writings as well as sufferings of Thomas Whittle and Bartlet Green. The mistake in the figures represented raises questions about the co-ordination between Foxe, Day and the illustrators, and the possible gap between care over tailor-made narrative prints and some generalised blocks of multiple burnings. Was this kind of error deemed unimportant or unlikely to be noticed?

And thus much concerning the life, story, and condemnation of these vij. Martyrs aboue specified.

Fyue other Martyrs in Canterb. foure women and one man, at two stakes and one fyre all together burned.  
Commentary   *   Close
Five Canterbury Martyrs

The deaths of these martyrs were merely listed in the Rerum. These accounts first appeared in the 1563 edition and were substantially unchanged in subsequent editions. (Although one detail, that of Sir John Norton weeping at Joan Catmer's execution, was added in the 1570 edition. These accounts were almost entirely based on diocesan records of Canterbury, now lost.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaIanuary. 31.AFter these seuen aboue rehearsed, martyred together in Smithfield, shortly after in the same moneth the. xxxj. day of Ianuary, followed an other like fellowship of godly Martyrs at Canterbury, foure women and one man, whose names be these.

Marginalia4. Women and one mā Martyrs.
Iohn Lomas, a yong man.
Anne Albright.
Ioane Catmer.
Annes Snoth, wydow.
Ioane Sole, wyfe.

1. ¶ Iohn Lomas, Martyr.

MarginaliaIohn Lomas. Martyr.JOhn Lomas of the parishe of Tenterden, detected and presented of that religion which the Papistes call heresie, and cited vpon the same to appeare at Canterbury, examined there of the fyrst article, whether he beleued the catholicke church or no, aunswered thus: that he beleued so much as is cōtayned in Gods booke and no more.

[Back to Top]

Then beyng assigned to appeare agayne vnder the payne of law the next Wedensday seuennyght after, which was the. xvij. day of Ianuary, the sayd Lomas examined whether he would bee confessed of a Priest or no, aunswered & sayd, MarginaliaThe answere of Iohn Lomas at his examination.that he found it not wrytten that he should be confessed to any priest, in Gods boke, neither would bee confessed, vnlesse hee were accused by some mā of sinne. Agayn examined whether he beleued the body of CHRIST to be in the sacrament of the aultar really vnder the formes of bread and wyne after the consecration or no: MarginaliaThe sacrament of the aultar denyed.he aunswered that he beleued no realty of CHRISTES body to be in the sacrament, neither found he writtē that he is there vnder forme or trestell,MarginaliaRealtie of Christ neyther vnder forme nor trestell. but he beleued so much as is writtē.  

Commentary   *   Close

Notice how complicated and sophisticated the articles used in Canterbury were compared to those used in London.

Being thē demaūded whether he beleued that there is a catholicke

[Back to Top]

church nor no, and whether he would be content to be a mēber of þe same, he aunswered therunto that hee beleued so much as was written in Gods booke, and other aunswer then this he refused to geue. &c. MarginaliaSentence agaynst Iohn Lomas.Whereupon the sentence was geuen and red against him the. xviij. day of Ianuary, and so cōmitted to the secular power, he constantly suffered for the conscience of a true faith, with the other foure women here following.

[Back to Top]
2. ¶ Agnes Snoth, Martyr.

MarginaliaIanuary. 31.AGnes Snoth wydow, of the parish of Smarden, likewyse accused and cited for the true profession of CHRISTES religion, was diuers tymes examined before þe Pharisaicall fathers. Who there cōpelled to answer to such articles and interrogatories as should bee ministred vnto her, MarginaliaConfession auricular refused.first denyed to bee confessed to a Priest: notwithstanding she denyed not to confesse her offences as one to an other, but not auricularly to any Priest. And as touching the Sacrament of the aultar, MarginaliaThe sacramēt how to be receaued.she protested that if she or any other dyd receiue the sacrament so as CHRIST and as hys Apostles after him dyd delyuer it, then shee and they dyd receiue it to theyr comfort: but as it is now vsed in the Church, she sayd that no man could otherwise receiue it then to hys damnation, as she thought. Afterward being examined agayne concerning penaunce, MarginaliaPennance is denied to be a sacrament.whether it were a sacrament or no, shee plainly denyed the same, & that the popish maner of their absolution was not consonāt to the word, nor necessary to be taken: with such other like, agreing with the aunswers and cōfession of Iohn Lomas before mencioned. Whereupon the sentence lykewise being red, MarginaliaAgnes Snoth condemned & committed to the secular power.she was cōmitted to the Sheriffes of Canterbury, and so suffering Martyrdome with the rest, declared her selfe a perfect and constant wytnes of CHRIST and of his truth, the. xxxj. day of Ianuary.

[Back to Top]
3. ¶ Anne Albright, aliâs Champnes, Martyr.

MarginaliaAnne Albright, Martyr.AGaynst Anne Albright likewyse appearing before þe Iudge and hys Colleagues, it was also obiected cōcerning the same matter of confession. MarginaliaAuricular confession.Wherunto she aunswered in these wordes saying: that shee

would