Christs Victory over Satans Tyranny, Book 11 · Part 64 – Part 66
Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Cauterbury.
HE was borne in Nottingham shire, his fathers name was Thomas Cranmer his ancesters were worthy Esquires,1556. his mother was a gentle woman named Agnes H…tfield, he was of Cambridge in the time when good Authors were neglected, and filthy barbarousnesse embraced in all schooles and vniuersities, onelyonly the names and number of liberall Arts did remaine, the arts themselues were cleane lost. Logicke was gone into sophisticall trifles, Phylosophy both morrall and naturall was miserably defaced with infinite questions and subtilties: the vse of tongues and eloquent learning, was either small or none at all: and diuinitie was so laden with articles and definitions, that it serued rather for the gaine of a few, then for the edification of many. So hée was constrained to spend a part of his youth vntill he was twentie yeares old, in the péeuish questions of Duns and other masters of that sort, at length the tongs and other learning began a little to spring, and the books of Erasmus began to be much estéemed, with a number of good Authours besides, on which Cranmer rubbed away his olde ruf…inesse as vppon a whetstone, then Luther rose, the happy day of Gods knowledge, who wakened mens minds to the cléere light of the truth. At thirtie yeares olde he gaue his mind wholly to discusse matters of religion on both parts, and hauing performed the same, he spent thrée yeares in the study of the Scriptures, then he read the old writers, despising not the new, weighing all mens opinions with secret iudgment, he neu…r read any writers booke without pen and ink…, in all controuersies hee gathered eueryevery authors sentence briefly: at 35. yeares olde hee procéeded Doctor of Diuinitie, he was chosen one of the 12 that should decide y• matter of kings Henries diuorce, and by his arguments, learning, and meanes it was brought to passe, then he was sent to Paris with diuers Noble men and Bishops, where he behaued himselfe in that case, that he was commended by the Ambassadors to the king for his singular wisedome, grauitie, and learning, that he wonne such great credit that he was alone sent Ambassador to the Emperour to debate this businesse, but the Emperour refused to determine the matter, but remitted the whole question to the Popes court: after he was sent to Rome Ambassadour to the Pope, where he behaued himselfe with …o lesse diligence, that he compelled the Popes chiefe diuines by arguments to grant the mariage to be against the law, but yet by the dispensation of the Pope it might be made lawfull. Warram Archbishop of Canterbury dying, he was sent for by king Henrie and made Archbishop of Canterbury, then came in the question of the Popes supremacy, and all the weight of the businesse was chiefly laid vponupon Cranmers shoulders; he therefore alone receiued, answered, and confuted all the obiections of the Papists, he proued that the Popes Lordship was not brought in by any authoritie of Scriptures, but by ambitious tyranny, and that the chiefest power on earth, belonged to the Emperor, to kings and Potentates, to whom the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, by Gods commandement were no lesse subiect then other men, and therefore it were best by the consent of the king, and other estates, the ambitious Lordship of the Pope, being driuen out of England, should keepe it selfe within his owne Italy, as a riuer is kept within his bankes, which was performed by act of Parliament, then by little and little he reformed the Church into a more wholesome discipline of Christ, and laboured to banish the Popes errours, heresies, and corruptions, and he obtained of the king, that certaine learned men should make a booke of Ecclesiasticall institutions, which was called the Bishops Booke: then the abolishing of Monasteries began to be talked of, the kings desire was, that all the Abbey lands should come vntounto his coffers, the Archbishop and others would hauehave them imployed to other good vses, whereby the king being bent against Cranmer, especially by the instigation of Gardiner Bishop of Winchester, which sought all occasions to hinder the Gospel, he set forth the 6. Articles by full consent of Parliament, which contained the summe of Popish religion. What slaughter by the space of 8. yeares these Articles made, is already declared: but after, he forgoing his anger with the Archbishop: séeing he stood against him, in conscience, not in stubburnesse, he began to fauour him, and thought to hauehave taken away the 6. Articles, and reformed other matters if he had liued; but Cranmer and the Lord protector brought it to passe in king Edwards dayes: his story how he was vsed in Quéene Maries reign is mentioned before, and his disputations at Oxeford, and how he was condemned there and left in prison vntill this time.
And because the sentence was voyde in law, because it was giuen by persons excommunicated, (for they were not then absolued by the Pope nor his authoritie receiued in the realme) therefore there was a new commission sent from the Pope for the conuiction of Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, and the Bishop of Glocester was appointed the Popes delegate, and after they had condemned Latimer and Ridley, as before is said. The said Legate and his company being set in Saint Maries Church apparelled in his Pontificalibus as if the Pope in person had bene there: the Bishop of Canterbury was brought before them, putting off his cappe he did obeysance to the king and quéenes proctors, then looking in the Legats face, he put on his bonnet againe, making no obedience toward him, wherefore the Bishop sayd vntounto him, that it might beséeme him well, waying the authoritie which he did represent, to doe his duety to him: he answered, hee had sworne neuer to admit the Pope into this Realme, and therefore he would commit nothing by signe or token which might argue his consent to the re…eiuing of him, and that he did it not to any contempt of his person.
Then the Legate made an eloquent oration, to put him in remembrance, that from a meane gentleman he was raised to bee a Princes Ambassadour, and further to be Archbishop and Primate of the Realmealmost 30, yeares, and s… farre in trust with the king, that he made him president of his councel, and after left him in speciall trust for the gouernement of the young Prince during his minoritie, such blessing God had giuen him whilest he continued in the Catholicke faith.
He exhorted, him on the other side, to consider how he was now fallen from his dignities and officices, and in high displeasure of the King and Quéene, iudged to die for high treason; and all these things to hauehave happened vntounto him, only because he had seuered himself from the Sea of Rome, and was become a father of new deuised religion, and although your estate is so miserable, that the meanest in this assembly will not change his condition and calling with you: yet further he was like to fall by the iust iudgement of God into hell and euerlasting damnation, if he did not repent of his errours and schismes, whilest he had time of repentance, whereunto he exhorted him earnestly, repeating many places of Christs mercies to them that repent, and shewed that to returne to the Church was the o…ely way to saue both body and soule, and I doubt not but the King and Quéene will perdon your condemnation of treason if you will returne vntounto the Church and forsake your opinions, which I desire you to do.
Then Cranmer desired license to speake, which was gently granted him: first he made protestation that hee did not answere to him as to a lawfull Iudge; because he was deputed for the Pope, but to giuegive a reason of his faith, which God hath commanded him to doe to eueryevery one that shall demand a reason thereof.
Then he said, My Lord you hauehave learnedly put me in remembrance of many things touching my selfe, which I will not answere: I acknowledge Gods goodnesse vntounto me, and thanke him as heartily for this estate that now I am in, as euer I did for the time of my prosperity, shewing that his greatest griefe was, to sée the Popes Iurisdiction restored to England againe: Alas! what hath the Pope to do in England, whose lawes are so farre different from the Lawes of this realme, that whosoeuer sweareth to both, must néedes incurre periury in the one? And I am heartily sorry to thinke that her grace, the day before her Coronation, tooke an oath to obserue the lawes of this realme; and also tooke an oath to the Bishop of Rome, promising to maintaine that Sea, which was impossible but shee must néeds be forsworne in the one.
And as for the matter of Heresie, wherewith you charge mee, I call God to witnesse I know none which I maintaine: but if it be heresie to deny the Popes authority, and the religion which the sea of Rome hath published vntounto the world these latter yeares, then all the ancient Fathers of the primitiue Church, the Apostles, and Christ himselfe, taught heresie: And hee desired all them present to beare him witnesse, that he tooke the Traditions and Religion of the Pope to bée most erronious, false, and against the doctrine of holy Scriptures, which hee had often proued by preaching and writing; and the Pope to bee very Antichrist, so often preached by the Apostles and Prophets, in whom most euidently doth concurre all the signes and tokens whereby hee was painted vntounto the world to bee knowne by: for hee aduanceth himselfe aboue all Emperours and Kings of the world, whom he affirmeth to hold of him, and to be at his commandement: and the stories make mention of his intollerable pride and tyranny vsed to them, as no King would hauehave done to his subiects, nor a good maister to his seruants, setting his féet vponupon Emperours necks, and making others to hold his stirrops, and remoued others from their Empires; & hath not onelyonly occupied the highest places in the world aboue Kings, but hath presumed to fit in the seat of Almighty God, which is the conscience of man, & to kéepe the possession thereof, he hath promised forgiuenesse of sins, he hath brought in Gods of his own framing, and inuented a new religion full of lucre, quite contrary to the Scriptures, only for maintaining of his kingdome, displacing Christ from his glory, & holding his people in miserable seruitude of blindnesse, to the losse of a number of soules which God at the latter day shall exact at his hands; boasting in his Canons & decrées, that he can dispense against Peter, Paul, the old Testament, & New: & that in his fulnesse of power he can do as much as God. If any man can be aduanced aboue him, let him be iudged Antichrist.
This enemy of God and our redemption is so euidently painted out in the Scriptuers, with such manifest tokens which all sée clearely appeare in him, that except a man will shut his eyes and heart against the light, hee cannot but know him; therefore I will neuer giuegive my consent to the receiuing of him into the Church of England: and my Lord sand you that be here, examine your own consciences, you are sworne against him, you are learned and can iudge the truth, I pray God you be not wilfully blind, I hauehave discharged my conscience to the world & I will write my mind to her grace, which letter you may sée in the book at large.
Storie and Martine diuers times interrupted him, saying, he spake blasphemy, and would faine hauehave the Bishop put him to silence, who notwithstanding suffered him to end his spéech.
Then they charged him that he was sworne vntounto the Pope when he was made Archbishop; but he denied it, and said: It appeareth that he did not, by the record of the countrey, which one of them confessed. Many maruelled that in so perilous a time he had so sincerely proceeded, choosing rather to venture the losse of his life, and all his glorious pompe, then to do any thing that might spill his conscience.
Then they obiected, that he was married; which he confessed: Doctor Martine said, his children were bond-men to the Sea of Canterbury. At which he smiled, saying: If a benificed Priest had a Concubine, and had bastards by her, they are not bond-men to the benifice, I trust you wil make my childrens cause no worse.
Then D. Martine demanded of him who was the supreme head of the Church; he said, Christ: Martine said, you made K. Henry supreme head of the Church. He said, of the people of England, Ecclesiasticall & Temporal, and not of the Church: for Christ is the onelyonly head of the Church, and of the Faith and Religion of the same.
The Articles of religion, touching the Sacrament, denying transubstantiation, the Sacrifice of the Masse, and the reall presence, he affirmed as he taught in his Booke. Then they cited him to appeare 80, daies after at Rome, and then sent him to prison; where thou maist sée their visored face of Iustice, as though the Court of Rome would condemne no man before hee answered for himselfe: but the same time the Pope sent letters executory vntounto the King and Queene to disgrade and depriue him, which was done before twenty dayes were done: And though he were kept in prison, at the end of the 80 dayes hee was decreed Contumax, and thereupon condemned.
Upon S. Valentines day next after, the Archbishop was disgraded, and condemned by Bonner, & Thurlby Bishop of Ely, who sometimes was Cranmers Chaplaine, and preferred by him: at which time Bonner, which a long time had borne great malice towards him, and reioyced greatly see this day wherein he might triumph ouer him at his pleasure, made an Oration to the people in this sort:
This is the man who hath euer despised the Popes holinesse, and now is to be iudged by him: this is the man that hath pulled downe so many Churches, and now is come to be iudged in a Church: this is the man that contemned y• blessed Sacrament of the Altar, and now is come to be condemned before the said Sacrament, hanging ouer the Altar: this is the man, that like Lucifer, sate in the place of Christ, vponupon an Altar, to iudge others, and now is come before the Altar to bee iudged himselfe. Thus he continued halfe an houre heaping vp a number of lies together, beginning eueryevery one with, This is the man, so lothsomly, that he made eueryevery man weary. When they had disgraded him, they stript him of his gowne, & put vponupon him a poore yeoman Bedles gowne thrid-bare, and as ill-fauouredly made as could be, and a Townsmans cap vponupon his head, and so deliuered him to the secular power: in this filthie gowne he was carried vntounto prison.
The Queene & Bishops hauing kept the Archbishop now almost three yeares in prison, seeing by no means they could preuaile with him all this while, to turn him from his religion, they suborned certaine men which should, by intreaty, and faire promises, or any other means, allure him to recantation: so the wily Papists flocked about him, labouring to draw him from his former sentence to recantation, especially Henry Sidall, and Frier Iohn, a Spaniard, they shewed him how acceptable it would be to the Kings & Queene, and how gainfull it would be both bodily & spiritually, they added that the Councell & Noble-men bare him good wil, promising him both his life & ancient dignity, saying the matter was but small, the setting of his hand to a few words; but if hee refused, there was no hope of pardon: for the Queene was purposed that shee would hauehave Cranmer a Catholique, or else no Cranmer at all. By these and such like prouocations, they at last w…nne him to subscribe: It may bee supposed that it was for hope of life and better dayes to come: But it appeareth by a Letter of his to a Lawyer, that the most cause why hee desired his life to bee delayed, was, that hee might make an end of a Booke against Marcus Antonius, a Papist, which hee had begun; but it is manifest that it was against his conscience: it pleased God that so great vertues in this man should not be without some blemish; and that y• falshood of the Pop…sh generation by this meanes might be the more euident, and that we should hauehave the lesse confidence of our owne strength, presently this recantation was put in Print and published, notwithstanding it was decréed that Cranmer should be burned out of hand, and the Quéene commanded a funerall Sermon to be made for him by Doctor Cole; and hauing his lesson giuen him, he went spéedily to Oxford to play his part. The morning before hee should bee executed Cole gaue him 15 crownes to giuegive to y• poore. The Archbishop surmised whereabouts they went, after the Spanish Frier came vntounto him with a paper of Articles which Cranmer should openly professe in his recantation before the people, desiring him to write his name vntounto it: then he prayed him to write a Copy of it, and kéepe it with him, which he did, & knowing wherunto their deuices tended, he put secretly into his bosome his prayer with his exhortation written in another paper. Cranmer was brought from prison to S. Maries Church betwixt two Friers, which mumbled certaine Psalmes in the stréets as they went: when they came vntounto the Church they sung Nunc dimittis: then they brought him to his standing, where they left him, there he stood all y• Sermon in a bare ragged gowne, & ill-fauouredly clothed with an old square cap, exposed to the contempt of all men. In this habite when he had stood a good while vponupon the stage, he turned vntounto a pillar, & knéeling & lifting vp his hands to heauen, he praied vntounto God once or twice. After a while Cole came & began his Sermon, altogether to the disgrace of Cranmer, shewing that he was the onelyonly man that began this heresie & schisme from the Catholique Church, that he was the cause of the diuorce betwixt the Quéenes father and mother: and that for these and other maine causes, the Quéene and Councell did thinke fit that he should be burned, although he had recanted.
At the end of his Sermon he brought many scriptures to comfort him, that such as die in Gods faith, he will either abate y• fury of y• flame or else giuegive him strength to abide it, he glorified God much in his conuersi…n, because it appeared to be only his worke, shewing what great meanes was vsed to conuert him, but none could preuaile vntill God reclaimed him, saying; whilst he flowed in riches & honor, he was vnworthy of death; but lest he should carry with him no comfort, he promised, that immediatly after his death there should be Dirges, Masses, &Funerals executed in all the Churches in Oxford for …uccour of his soule. But Cranmer, during the Sermon, lifted vp his hands & eyes to heauen: the very shape of forrow was liuely expressed in him, more then twenty times: he shed aboundant teares from his fatherly face, but especially when he made his prayer before the people. After Cole had done his Sermon, he had Cranmer performe his promise, to expresse your faith, that you may take away suspicion from men, that they may vnvnderstand you a Catholique indéed.
I wil do it said the Archbishop with a good will: then he desired y• people to pray for him, that God would forgiue him his sins: and one offence doth trouble me more then all the rest, whereof in processe of my talke you shall heare; and after he had made a very pithy praier with y• people, which you may sée in y• book at large, then he said, eueryevery man at the time of his death, desireth to giuegive some god exhortation vntounto others: so I pray God at this my departing, I may speake somwhat whereby God may be glorified, & you edified. His first exhortation was, that we should not set our minds too much vponupon this glozing world, but vponupon God, & the world to come. His next exhortation was to obedience to y• King & Quéen…. His third exhortation was, that they should louelove together like brothers & sisters. The fourth was, that rich men would weigh three sayings in y• scripture: First Christ saith, it is hard for a rich man to enter into y• kingdome of heauen. Secondly, S. Iohn saith, he that hath this worlds goods, and shutteth his compassion vponupon his needy brother, how can he say he loueth God. Thirdly, Saint Iames biddeth them weepe and howle for the miseries that shall come vponupon you, your clothes be moth-eaten, your gold and siluer cankred and rusty, and the rust shall witnesse against you, and consume you like fire: you hoord vp treasure of Gods indignation against the last day. Let them that be rich ponder well these thrée sentences: for if euer they had occasion to shew their charity, it is now, the poore beeing so many, and victuals so deere.
Now being I am come to the end of my life, whereupon hangeth my life past, and my life to come, either to liue with my Maister Christ for euer in ioy, or else for euer in paine with the Diuell: Therefore I will declare my faith vntounto you without dissembling.
I beleeue all the Articles of the Créede, and all the Doctrine of Christ, his Apostles and Prophets in the new and old Testament; and now I come vntounto the great thing that so much troubled my conscience more then all that euer I did in all my life; and that is in setting abroad a writing contrary to truth, which now I renounce, as written with my hand, contrary to my heart, for feare of death; and that is all such Billes and Papers which I hauehave written or signed with my hand since my degradation; and because my hand writ contrary to my heart, it shall be first burned. And as for the Pope I refuse him, as Christs enemy, and Antichrist, with all his false Doctrine. And as for the Sacrament, I beléeue as I hauehave taught in my Booke, and my Booke shall stand at the last day, before the iudgement of God, when the Papisticall doctrine shall be ashamed to shewe her face.
It was a world to sée the Doctors beguiled of so great a hope, I thinke there was neuer cruelty more notably deluded; and when he began to speake more of the Sacrament, and of the Papacie, Cole cried to stop the Heretiques mouth: then the Friers pulled him from his seate, and led him to the fire: then they cried to him; What madnesse hath brought thee againe into this error, by which thou wilt draw innumerable soules with thee into hell. Hee answered them not, but directed his talke vntounto the people: But the Spanish Barker raged, and foamed almost out of his wits; and he and the other Spanish Frier began to exhort him afresh, but all in vaine. When the fire began to burne neere him, he put his right hand into the flame, which he held so stedfastly, that it was burned before his body was touched, he abode the fire with such constancy, that he stood alwayes in one place without mouing of his members, with his eyes vpward, he off repeated his vnworthy right hand, saying, Lord Iesus receiue my spirit, and so gaue vp the Ghost.
Agnes Potten, and another woman.
ONe was the wife of Robert Potten of Ipswich in Suffolke, 1556.the other the wife of Michael Trouchfield of the same towne shoemaker, they were burned at Ipswich the 16. of February, for denying the sacrament of the Altar: their constancy in burning was wonderfull, they earnestly exhorted the people to credit and lay hold vponupon the word of God, and to dispise the institutions of the Romish route, with all their superstitions and rotten religion.
Robert Spicer, William Coberley, Maundrel.
THese three were burned at one stake in Salisbury, 1556.what their confessions were, and by whom they were condemned it appeareth not.