Christs Victory over Satans Tyranny, Book 12 · Part 41 – Part 46
Good-wife Prest.
SHe was the wife of one Prest, dwelling not far from Launceston in Erecester D…oces. She told the Bishop, that she would rather die then worship that foule Idoll, which with your Masse you make a God.
Bishop.
Will you say that the Sacrament of the Altar is a foule Idoll?
Woman.
Yea, there was neuer such an Idoll as your Sacrament is made of your Priests, and commanded to be worshipped of all men, where Christ did command it to be eaten and drunken, in remembrance of his Passion.
Bishop.
Dost thou not see that Christ said ouer the Bread, This is my body, and ouer the Cup, This is my blood: she said, but hee meant not carnally, but sacramentally, if you will giuegive me leaue, I will declare the reason why I will not worship the Sacrament.
Bishop.
Mary say on, I am sure it will be good geare.
Woman.
I will demaund of you whether you can deny the Créede, which saith, that Christ perpetuallie sitteth at the right hand of his Father, both Bodie and Soule, vntill he come againe, if it be so, he is not in the Earth in a péece of bread: If he doe not dwell in Temples made with handes, but in Heauen, what shall we séeke him héere? If he did offer vp his body once for all, why make you a new offering? If with once offering hee made all perfect, why doe you with a false offering make all vnperfect? If he be to be worshipped in Spirit and Truth, why doe you worshippe a péece of Bread: If he be eaten and drunken in Faith and Truth: If his Flesh be not profitable amongst vsus, why doe you say, it is profitable both for Body and Soule: rather then I would doe as you doe, I will liue no longer.
Bish.
I promise you, you are a holy Protestant, a foolish woman, who wil wast his breath vponupon thée, and such as thou art: but how chanceth it that you went from your husband, and run about the Country like a Fugitiue.
Woman.
My Husband and my Children did persecute me, for when I would hauehave him to leaue Idolatry, and worship god in heauen, hee would not heare me, but he with his Children rebuked and troubled me: so I went from him, because I would be no partaker with him and his of that foule Idoll the Masse, God giuegive me grace to goe to the true Church.
Bishop.
What dost thou meane by the true Church?
Wom.
Not your Popish Church, full of Idols and abhominations, but where three or foure are gathered together in the name of God: some perswaded the Bishop that she was out of her wits, therefore they consulted that she should goe at large; so the Kéeper of the Bishops prison had her home vntounto his house, where she fell to spinning & carding, and did al o…her worke besides as his seruant, and went whether she list. Diuers had a delight to talke with her, and euer she would talke of the Sacrament of the Altar, which of all things they could least abide.
Then diuers Priests perswaded her to leaue her wicked opinion of the Sacrament: but she answered, that it was nothing but bread and wine, & that they might be ashamed to say, that a péece of bread should be turned by a man into the naturall body of Christ; which bread doth sennew, and Mice oftentimes do eate it, and it doth mould, and is burned, Gods owne body will not be so handled or kept in prison or Boxes: let it be your GOD, it shall not be mine, for my Sauiour sitteth at the right hand of God, and doth pray for me, and to make it the very body of Christ and to worship it, is foolish and deuillish deceit.
Then an old Frier as…ed her what she said of the holy Pope, I say (quoth she) he is Antichrist, and the Deuill, then they all laughed; …ay said she, you had more néed to weep then laugh, in that you are Chaplaines vntounto that wh…re of Babylon: I defie him and all his falshood: you damne soules, when you teach the people to worship Idolls, and to worship a false God of your owne making, of a peece of Bread: and that the Pope is Gods Uicar, and can forgiue sinnes, and that there is a Purgatory, when Gods Sonne hath by his Passion purged all, and say you make God and sacrifice him, when Christs body was a Sacrifice once for all: you teach the people to number their sinnes in your eares, and say they bee damned …f they doe not confesse all, when GOD saith, Who can number his sinnes? You promise them Trentalls and Dirges, and Masses for Soules, and sell your prayers for Money, and make them buy pardons, and trust in such foolish inu…ntions: you teach vsus to pray vponupon Beads, and to pray vntounto Saints; you make Holy bread and holy water to fray Deuils, and you do make a thousand moe abhominations, yet you say you came to saue my soule; no, no, one hath saued me, farewell with your saluation.
In Saint Peters Church shee beheld a cunning Duch-man how he made new Noses, to certaine Images which were disfigured in King EDVVARDS time, What a mad man art thou (said she) to make new noses, which within a few daies shall all loose their heads: thou & thine Images are acccursed: hee called her whore, nay said the thine Images are whoores, and thou art a whoore-hunter: For God saith, you goe a whoring after strange Gods: Then she was clapped fast, and after had no liberty, and not long after she was condemned: Then she said, I thanke God this day I hauehave found that which I hauehave long sought, and being then exhorted to recant: she said I will neuer lose eternall life, for this short life: I will not turne from my heauenly husband, to my earthly husband, from the fellowship of Angels, to mortall Children, God is my Father, God is my Mother, God is my Sister, my Brother, my Kinsman, God is my Friend, most faithfull: shee was burned at Execester.
Iohn Sharpe, Thomas Hall, Thomas Benion.
THese were burned in the towne of Bristow, for saying that the Sacrament of the Altar was the greatest and most abhominable Idol that euer was: and Thomas Benion denied fiue of their Sacraments, and affirmed two: that is, the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ, and the Sacrament of Baptisme: they died godly, constantly and patiently.
Iohn Corneford of Wortham, Christopher Browne of Maidstone, Iohn Herst of Ashford, Alice Snoth, Katherine Knight, alias Tinley.
THese were the last that suffered in Quéen Maries raigne: They were burned at Canterbury, but six daies before the death of Queene Mary: The Arch-deacon of Canterbury being at London, and vnderstanding the danger of the Quéene, made post-hast home to dispatch these.
They were condemned for not beleeuing the body of Christ to be in the Sacrament of the Altar, vnlesse it be receiued, and for confessing that an euill man doth not receiue Christs body: and that it is Idolatry to créepe to the crosse, and that we should not pray vntounto our Lady and other Saints: when there sentence should be… read against them, Iohn Cornefield excommunicated the Papists in these words as follow.
In the name of our Lord Iesus Christ, the Son of the most mighty God, and by the power of his holy Spirit, and of the authority of his holy Cathothick and Apostolick Church: wee doe giuegive here into the hands of Sathan to bee destroyed, the bodies of all those blasphemers and hereticks, that do… maintaine any error against his most holy word, or doe condemne his most holy truth for heresie, to the maint… nance of any false Church, or fained religion, so that by this thy iust Iudgement, O most mighty God, against thy Aduersaries, thy true religion may be knowne, to thy great glory, and our comfort, and to the edifying of all our Nation, good Lord, so be it.
This procéeded, as it seemed, from an inward faith, and harty zeale to Gods truth, and it tooke such effect against the enemies, that within six daies Queene Mary died, and all tyranny with her.
These godly Martyrs, in their prayers which they made at their martyrdom, desired God that their bloud might be the last that should be shed, and so it was.
Katherine Tinley, was the mother of one Robert Tinley, dwelling in Maidestone.
The Story of Nicholas Burton, Marchant of London dwelling in little S. Bartholomew.
THe fift of Nouember, he being in the Citie of Cadix, in the parts of A…do…azia in Spaine about his marchandize, there came one of the inquisition vntounto his lodging, who fained to h…ue a Letter to deliuer vntounto his hands, when he came vntounto him, he inuented another lye; and said that he would take lading vntounto London in his ships, delaying the time vntill the Alquisyell or Sergeants of the inqui…ition might apprehend them, and seeking to know his ships that they might attache them, when they had arrested him, he boldly asked them what cause they had against him, and he would answere them: They carried him vntounto a filthy common prison of the towne of Cadix, where he remained in Irons amongst theeues thirteene daies: all which time he instructed the poore prisoners in the word of God, that he had reclaimed sundry of them from superstitions to embrace the Word of God, which being known they conuayed him thence vntounto the Citie of Siuill, into a more cruell prison called Triane, where the Fathers of the inquisition proceeded against him secretly, that neuer after he could be suffered to speake or write vntounto any of his Nation: And the twentith day of December, they brought him with a great number of other prisoners into the Citie of Siuil, into a place where the Inquisi…ion sate in Iudgement: they put on him a Canuas coat, wheron was painted in diuers parts the figure of a huge Diuell tormenting a soule in fire, and on his head a long cap of the same worke: his tongue was forced out of his mouth, with a clouen sticke fastened vponupon it, that he should not vtter his Faith and conscience vntounto the people: and so he was set with an other Englishman of Southampton, and diuers others condemned for Religion, as well Frenchmen, as Spaniards, vponupon a Scaffold ouer against the inquisition, where they were condemned, and they most cruelly burned him for his most constant Faith: Hee shewed such a cheerefull countenance, patience and gladnes in the flames of fire, that the tormentors said, that the Diuell had his soule, before he came vntounto the fire: there suffer…d with him another Englishman, and thirteene more; One a Nun, another a Frier constant in the Lord.
Iohn Baker, and William Burgate.
THey were both Englishmen, and apprehended the second of Nouember, at Cales in Spaine, and were burned at Siuill.
Marke Burges, and William Hooker.
THey were both Englishmen: Burges was Maister of a Ship called the Minion. He was burned at Lysborne in Portugall. Hooker was about sixteene yeares old, and was stoned vntounto death of certaine yong men in the Citie of Siuill for the confession of his Faith.
Franciscus Euzenas wrote to Philip Melancton, as followeth. In Sant Lucar in Spaine dwelt a Brabander, called Rochus, a maker of Images: Hee liked not his science, because he maintained Idolatry, yet he was …aine to vse it for maintenance for excellent workmanship he was commended of all men. Upon a time he had framed the Image of our Lady in wood, with singular dexteritie, setting it out to be sold: One of the Inquisitors offered money for it: He answered, he had rather breake it, then to sell it at his price: Hee bid him breake it if he dare. At which word he flung a toole at the Image, and blemished the face thereof: By and by he was carried away vntounto prison: May I not said he make and marre mine owne worke, as I thinke good: perhaps I did not well like the countenance of it, and therefore did intend to make it better vntounto my minde: Notwithstanding, within three daies he was carried vntounto the stake and burned, because he was an heretick against the blessed Lady.
Touching the Treatise and names of them who by reason of persecution, we… forced to forsake their houses and goods in the time of Quéene Mary. I hauehave omitted it, and the Reader that is desirous to reade them, may repaire to the booke at large.
Likewise I hauehave omitted the Treatise, concerning such as were scourged and whipped by the Papists, in the true cause of Christs Gospell, because all the Stories of them be elsewhere in the Booke.
Likewise touching the story of such as by the prouidence of God, hauehave been preserued from danger in the time of persecution: I referre the Reader to the booke at large.