Christs Victory over Satans Tyranny, Book 11 · Part 27 – Part 30
Iohn Bland, Iohn Frankesh, Nicholas Scheterton, Humphrey Middleton.
THE twelfth of Iune1555 Iohn Bland, Iohn Frankesh, Nicholas Scheterton, and Humphrey Middleton, were all foure burned at Canterbury together: Frankesh and Bland were Ministers of the Church there, and Preachers of Gods word.
Bland was twice or thrice cast into Prison before for preaching the Gospell, and was deliuered at the sute of his friends, and yet preached the Gospell againe as soone as euer hee was deliuered. His friends would againe hauehave deliuered him, if he would hauehave promised to abstaine from preaching: hee stood in it so earnestlie, that he would admit no such condition, expressing the example of Saint Paul, Who shall separate vsus from the louelove of Christ, shall tribulation, or anguish, or hunger, or nakednes, or danger, or persecution, or the sword, &c.
These were tumbled and tossed from prison to prison, from sessions to sessions, a yeare and almost a halfe, and at the last they were condemned for denying the reall presence in the Sacrament.
The substance of a letter, written by Nicholas Scheterton to his mother: These are to wish you, increase of grace and wisedome, that you may sée the crafty bewitching of Satan, our mortall enemy, which doth not onelyonly openly, but vnderunder colour of deuotion, deceiue them which kéepe not a diligent eie vponupon him, but hauing confidence in mans traditions, & customes of the world, leauing the commandements of God and testament of Christ, do grow more into superstition and hypocrisy, then into wisdome and true holinesse. Sathan by his Ministers, maketh many beléeue, that those things which they compel vsus vntounto for their bellies sake, hauehave many godly significations, although they bee most contrary to Gods will: as the Serpent in Paradise said to Eue; hath God commanded you not to eat of the trée of knowledg, but you shall not die: so say our ministers, hath God commaunded you that you shall not make any Image. Tush say they, what harme can they doe, may we not remember God the better when we sée his Image, for they are good bookes for Laymen, (but indéed they are better for the Priests, because they receiue the offerings) and as true as the promise of the Serpent was kept with Eue; so is the perswas… on of the Priests found vntounto vsus: for as Adam and Eue did become like GOD in knowing of good and euill, so are we in remembring God by his Images. For Adams eyes were so opened, that he lost both innocency and righteousnesse, and became most miserable of all Creatures; so we, by remembring Christ by Images, hauehave forgotten his Commandements, and counted his Testament, confirmed with his blood, for starke madnesse or heresie. We hauehave so miserably remembred him, that of all people we are most blind, and this is because we wil presume to remember God by breaking of his Law, there…ore except we repent, God will remember vsus in his wrath: They will say, where went hee to schoole, is hee wiser then our great Doctors, that hauehave studied all their life? and they say it is good hay, although we our selues smell it musty, yet we must beléeue it is swéete, and then pay them well for their so saying, and then all is safe. But I may say to them, what Sir; you be wiser then Christ, and God the Father, or the Holy Ghost? what, wiser then the Prophets or the Apostles, and all holy Martyrs? where had you your high learning, it is a very strange learning, that neither God the Father, nor Christ, nor his Apostles could reach to the knowledge of it, but vaine men are neuer without some shift, peraduenture they wil not be ashamed to say; that Christ comming on his Fathers message, did forget halfe his arrant by the way: for it is hard to find one thing in the Church as he left it, so Rumishlie hath Antichrist turned the Church vp-side-downe for lucre sake. Some will say, why should we condemne our Fathers that liued thus? they did according to their knowledge, therefore we condemne them not, but let vsus take héede they condemne not vsus: for if they had heard the word and béene warned as wee are, it is to be thought they would hauehave more thankfully receiued it, then we; yea, they were more faithfull in that which they knew, then now many are, therefore they shall condemne vsus, if we do not embrace this grace now offered: our disobedience is greater then their ignorance, wherefore if we will méete our Fathers in ioy, let vsus not refuse the mercy offered more largely to vsus then to them, God will not beare it at our hands, to turn… back being we are deliuered. Remember Lots Wife.
Iames Treuisam.
HEe was of the parish of Saint Margarets in Lothburie: he was lame and kept his bedde, and could not rise out of it a long time; one Iohn Smale his seruant read to him on the Bible; in the meane time Berd the Promoter came into the house, and went vp the Staires, where he found foure persons besides Treuisam and his wife, which he carried to the Counter, where they remained a fortnight, and he brought a Cart to the doore to hauehave the lame man to Newgate, but that his neighbours intreated for him, and put in sureties for his appearance. One Master Farthing the parson came to him, and communicated with him, and they agréed well. Then one Toller méeting the Priest, said, if you be agréed I will accuse you, for he denieth the Sacrament of the Altar: then the parson went to him againe, and then they could not agrée; whereupon the parson told Bonner, and hee said he should be burned, and if he were dead he should be buried in a Ditch; so when he died he was buried in More-fields, the same night he was digged vp, and his sheet taken away, and he left naked vponupon the ground, then the owner of the field buried him againe, and fortnight after the Somner came to his graue, and summoned him to appeare at Paules before his Ordinary; but what more was done, I hauehave no certainty of.
Nicholas Hall a Brick-layer, and Christopher Wayde of Dartford.
THese were condemned by Maurice 1555.Bishop of Rochester for denying the reall presence in the Sacrament, and saying the Masse was abominable, Hall was burned at Rochester, and Wayde at Dartford.
Margerie Polley widdow.
SHe was wife of Richard Polley of Pepingbery, and was condemned by the said Bishop of Rochester for saying he neither allowed the Deity of the sacrament nor the absurditie of their masse, and was burned at Tunbridge.