Marginalia 1557. March. Aprill.hath geuen his body and shed his bloud for vs. Thus ye may wel perceaue, though Christ called the bread his body, and the wine his bloud, yet it foloweth not, that the substance of his body should be in the bread and wine: as diuers places in scripture are spoken by Christ and the Apostles in like phrase of speach, as in Iohn. 15. I am the true vine, also in Iohn the. 10. I am the doore, and as it is written in the 9. to the Hebrewes, and in Exodus 24. how Moyses toke the bloud of the Calues and Goates with water and purple woll and Isope, and sprinckled both the booke & all the people, saying: This is the bloud of the couenaunt or Testament. And also in the 5. chapter of Ezechiell, how the Lord sayd vnto him concerning the third part of his heare saying: This is Ierusalem &c. MarginaliaHow the scriptures ought to be examined.Thus we see the scriptures how they are spoken in figures, and ought to be spiritually examined, and not as they would haue vs to say, that the bodily presence of Christ is in the bread, which is a blasphemous vnderstanding of the godly word, and is contrary to all holy scriptures. MarginaliaIdolatry in worshipping the Sacramentall bread and wine.Also we do see that great Idolatry is sprong out of the carnall vnderstanding of the worde of Christ: this is my body, and yet dayly springeth, to the great dishonour of God, so that men worship a peece of bread for God, yea and holde that to be their maker.

After this confession of their fayth and doctrine, being writtē and exhibited, they also deuised a letter withall, in maner of a short supplication, or rather an admonition to the Iudges and Commissioners, requiring that iustice and iudgement, after the rule of Gods word might be ministred vnto thē. The copy of which their letter I thought here also to shew vnto the reader in forme as foloweth.

MarginaliaA letter or request of the prisoners to the Iudges.TO the right honorable audience before whom these our simple writinges and the confession of our faith shall come to be red or seene, we poore prisoners beyng fast in bands vpon the triall of our fayth, which we offer to be tryed by the scriptures, pray most hartely, that forasmuch as God hath geuen you power and strength ouer vs, as concerning our bodyes, vnder whom we submit our selues as obedient subiectes in all thinges due, ye being officers and rulers of the people, may execute true iudgement, keepe the lawes of righteousnes, gouerne the people according to right, and to heare the poore and helpeles in truth, and to defend their cause.

God for his sonne Iesus Christes sake, geue you the wisdome and vnderstanding of Salomon, Dauid, Ezechias, Moses, with diuers other most vertuous rulers, by whose wisdome and most godly vnderstanding, the people were iustly ruled, and gouerned in the feare of God, all wickednes was by them ouerthrowen and beaten downe, and al godlines and vertue did florishe & spring. O God which art the most highest, þ^e creator & maker of all thinges, and of all men both great and small, and carest for all alike, which doost try all mens workes and imaginations, before whose iudgement seate shall come both high and low, rich and poore, we most humbly besech thee to put into our rulers hartes the pure loue and feare of thy name, that euen as they them selues would be iudged, and as they shall make aunswere before thee, so to heare our causes, to iudge with mercy, & to reade ouer these our requestes and confessions of our faith, with deliberation, and a godly iudgement.

And if any thing here seemeth to your honorable audience to be erroneous or disagreing to the scripture, if it shall please your Lordship to heare vs patiently, which do offer our selues to the scripture, thereby to make answere, and to be tryed, in so doyng we poore subiectes being in much captiuitie and bondage are most bound to pray for your noble estate and long preseruation.

The request of these men being so iust, and their doctrine so sound, yet all thys could not preuayle with the Bishop and other Iudges, but that sentēce should haue proceded agaynst them incontinent, had not the goodnes of the Lord better prouided for hys seruaūts, then the Bishop had intended. For as they were now vnder the edge of the Axe, ready to be condemned by Sētence, it was thought otherwyse by the Cardinal, & some other wyser heades, fearing belike, lest by the

death of so many together, some disturbance might rise peraduenture among the people, and so was decreed among themselues, that rather they should make some submission or confession, such as they would thē selues, and so to be sent home agayne, as they were in deede: howbeit diuers of them afterward were apprehended and put to death. But in the meane space as touching their submission which they made, thys it was, as in forme here followeth.

¶ The submission or confession of these aforesayd prisoners.  

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A copy of this confession is among Foxe's papers: BL, Harley MS 425, fo. 3r.

MarginaliaAn easy submission of the prisoners.BEcause our sauiour Christe at his last supper tooke bread, and when he had geuen thankes, he brake it, and gaue it vnto his disciples and sayd: Take, eate,this is my body which is geuē for you, this do in the remembraunce of me: therefore according to the wordes of our sauiour Iesus Christ, we do beleue in the Sacrament, to be Christes body. And likewise he tooke the cuppe, gaue thankes, and gaue it to his disciples and sayde, This is my bloud of the new testament, which is shed for many. Therfore likewise we doe beleue that it is the bloud of Christ, according as Christes church doth minister the same. Vnto the which catholicke church of Christ, we doe in this, like as in all other matters submit our selues, promising therein to lyue as it becommeth good Christen men, and here in this realme to vse our selues, as it becommeth faythfull subiectes vnto our most gracious King and Queene, & to all other superiors both spirituall and temporall, according to our bounden duties.

The names of them which subscribed to this submission were these, Iohn Atkine,Alyn Symson,  

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Alan Sympson and Helen Ewring had been indicted in 1556 for attending a conventicle outside of Colchester (Essex Record Office, Court Rolls, 122/4).

A story of 5. other godly Martyrs Burned at one fire in Smithfield, the 12. day of Aprill.  

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Five Burned at Smithfield

This complete account first appeared in the 1563 edition and was based on the records of the London diocese. The opening passages of this account were deleted from the 1570 edition, otherwise this account was unchanged.

MarginaliaAprill. 12.TO procede further in this story of persecuted Martyrs, next in order folow fiue other burned at London in Smithfield in the foresayd yeare of the Lord 1557. Aprill 12. whose names were these.MarginaliaV. Martyrs.

Who being, some by the Lord Rich, some by other Iustices of peace, and Constables (theyr owne neyghbours) at the first accused, & apprehended for not comming to theyr parishe churches, were in the ende sent vnto Boner Bishop of London, and by his commaundement the xxvij. day of Ianuary, were examined before Doctor Darbyshyre, then Chaūcellour to the said Bishop, vpon the former generall articles mencioned, Pag. 2015. MarginaliaTouching these articles, read before pag. 2015.

MarginaliaTheir aunsweres to the articles.WHose aunswers thereunto were, that as they confessed there was one true and catholicke church, wherof they stedfastly beleued, and thought the church of Rome to be no part or member: so in þ^e same church they beleued there were but two sacramentes, MarginaliaTwo Sacramentes only.that is to say: baptisme, and the supper of the Lord. Howbeit, some of thē attributed þ^e title & honour of a Sacramēt, to þ^e holy estate of matrimony, which vndoubtedly was done rather of simple ignoraunce then of any willfull opinion, and are thereof to be adiudged as before is admonyshed.

Moreouer, they acknowledged themselues to be baptised into the fayth of that true church, as in the thyrd article is specified. And here in reading, as well of these articles,  

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What follows is a good statement of Foxe's distrust of official records as a source.