Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 12 · Account 9 – Account 10
¶A bloudy Commission geuen forth by King Philip and Queene Mary, to persecute the poore members of Christ.
PHilip and Mary by the grace of God king & Queene of England.A terrible proclamation of K. Phillip and Q. Mary, agaynst the poore seruauntes and members of Christ. &c. To the right reuerend Father in God our right trusty & welbeloued Counsellour Thomas B. Elye, and to our right trusty & welbeloued Williā Windsore knight, L. Winsore, Edw. North knight, L. North, and to our trusty & welbeloued Counsellours, Io. Bourn knight, one of our chiefe Secretaryes, Iohn Mordaunt knight, Frances Englefield knight, maister of our Wards and Liueries, Edward Walgraue knight, Mayster of our great Wardrobe, Nicholas Hare knight,Persecutors. master of ye Rolles, and our high Court of Chauncery, & to our trusty and welbeloued Tho. Pope knight, Roger Cholmley knight, Richard Rede knight, Rowlād Hil knight, William Rastall Sergeant at law, Hēry Cole Clerke, Deane of Paules, William Roper, & Rafe Cholmley, Esquiers, Williā Cooke, Thomas Martin, Iohn Story, & Iohn Uaughan Doctours of Law, greeting.
For as muche as diuers deuillishe and sclaunderous persons, hauing not onelyonly inuented, bruted, and sette forth diuers false rumors, tales, and sedicious sclaūders against vsus, but also hauehave sowne diuers heresies, and heretical opinions,The meaning of the Gospellers falsely reported, and sclaūdered. and sette forth diuers seditious bookes within thys our Realme of England, meaning thereby to styrre vp diuision, strife, contention, & sedition, not onelyonly amongst our louing subiectes, but also betwixt vsus & our sayd subiectes, wt diuers others outragious misdemeanors, enormityes, contemptes, and offences, dayly committed and done, to ye disquieting of vsus and our people, we minding the due punishment of such offenders, & the repressing of such like offences, enormities, and misbehauiours from hencefoorth, hauing speciall truste and confidence in your fidelityes, wisedomes, and discretions, hauehave authorised appoynted & assigned you to be our Commissioners, and by these presentes do geue full power & authority vntounto you, and three of you, to enquire as well by the othes of twelue good and lawfull men, as by witnesses and all other meanes & politick wayes you can deuise, of all & singuler heretical opinions, Lollardies, heretical & seditious bookes cōcealemēts, contemptes, conspiracies, and all false rumors, tales, seditious and sclaunderous wordes or sayinges, raysed, published, bruted, inuented, or set forth against vsus,What watch is here to keepe downe Christ, but yet he will ryse. or either of vsus or agaynst the quiet gouernance & rule of our peoples, & subiects, by bookes, lies, tales, or otherwise, in any Coū tie, Key, bowing, or other place or places, within this our realme of England or els where, in any place or places beyond the Seas, & of the bringing in, vtterers, buyers, sellers, readers, kepers, or cōueyers of any such letter, books, rumor, and tale, and of all and eueryevery theyr coadiutors, coū sellers, comforters, procurers, abettors, and mainteiners, geuing vntounto you and three of you, full power & authoritye by vertue hereof, to search out and take into your hands & possessiōs, all maner of hereticall and sedicious bookes, letters & writinges, wheresoeuer they or any of them shalbe foūd, as well in Printers houses and shops, as elsewhere, willing you and eueryevery of you to searche for the same in all places,Anno 1557. Aprill. according to your discretions.
And also to enquire, heare, and determine all and singular enormities, disturbances, misbehauiours, and negligences committed in any Church, Chappell, or other halowed place within this Realme,Enormities or misbehauiours. and also for and concerning the taking away or withholding any landes, tenementes, goodes, ornamentes, stockes of money, or other thinges belonging to eueryevery of the same Churches & Chapels, and all accountes and reckoninges concernyng the same.
And also to enquyre and search out all such persons as obstinately do refuse to receiue the blessed sacrament of the aultar, to heare masse, or come to their parish Churches, or other conuenient places appoynted for diuine seruice, and all such as refuse to go on Procession,Not comming to the Church seruice. to take holy bread, or holy water, or otherwise doe misuse themselues in any church or other halowed place, whersoeuer any of the same offences hauehave bene, or hereafter shalbe committed within this our sayd Realme.
Neuertheles our will and pleasure is, that when, and as oftē as any person or persons, hereafter being called or conuented before you, do obstinatly persist or stand in any maner of heresy,Heretickes to be committed to their Ordinary. or hereticall opinion, that then ye or three of you do immediately take order, that the same person or persons, so standing or persisting, be deliuered & committed to his Ordinary, there to be vsed according to the spirituall and ecclesiasticall lawes.
And also we geue vntounto you, or three of you, full power and authority,Vacaboundes or maisterles men. to enquyre and search out all vacabondes, and maysterles men, Barettours, quarrellers, and suspect persons, abiding within our City of London, & ten myles compasse of the same, and all assaultes and affrayes done & committed within the same city and compasse.
And further to search out all waste, decayes, and ruins of Churches,Decay of Churches and Chappells. Chauncelles, Chappelles, Parsonages and Uicarages in the Dioces of the same, being within thys Realme, geuing you and eueryevery of you full power and authority by vertue hereof to heare and determine the same, and all other offences and matters aboue specifyed and rehearsed, according to your wisedomes, consciences, and discretions, willing and commaūding you or three of you, from time to time, to vse and deuise all such politick waies and meanes, for the triall & searching out of the premises, as by you or three of you shal be thought most expedient & necessary: and vponupon inquyry and due proofe had, knowne, perceiued and tried out, by the confession of the parties, or by sufficient witnesses before you, or three of you, concerning ye premises or any part thereof, or by any other waies or meanes requisite, to geue and award such punishment to the offenders, by fine, imprisonment, or otherwise, & to take such order for redresse and reformatiō of the premises, as to your wisedomes, or three of you shalbe thought meet and conuenient.
Further willing and commaundyng you and euerye three of you, in case you shall finde any person or persons, obstinate or disobedient, either in theyr appearance before you or three of you, at your calling or assignment, or els in not accomplishing or not obeying your Decrees,Prisoning of the obstinate. Orders, and commaundementes in any thing or thinges, touching the premises or any part thereof, to commit the same person or persons so offending, to Ward, there to remaine, till by you or three of you he be discharged or deliuered. &c. And so forth with other such like matter, as foloweth, see in our first edition, pag. 1563.
❧ The apprehension of two and twenty prisoners sent vp together for Gods word, to London, from Colchester.
AFter this bloudye Proclamation or Commission thus geuen out at London, which was Februarye 8. the thyrde and fourth yeares of the Kynge and Queenes raigne, these new Inquisitours, especially some of them beganne to ruffle and to take vponupon them no… a little: so that all quarters were full of persecution and prisons almost full of prisoners, namely in the Dioces of Canterbury, wherof (by the leaue of Christ) we will say more anon.
In the meane time, about the Towne of Colchester, the wind of persecution beganne fiercely to rise: insomuch that three and twenty together, men and women were apprehended at one clap,Persecution about Colchester of the which xxiij. one escaped. The other xxij. were driuen vp like a flock of Christen lambes, to London, with two or three leaders with them at most, ready to geue theyr skinnes to be pluckt of for the Gospels sake.22. For Gods word apprehended. Notwithstanding the Bishops, afrayd belike of the nūber, to put so many at once to death, sought meanes to deliuer them, and so they did, drawing out a very easy submission for them, or rather suffring them to draw it out thē selues: notwithstanding diuers of thē afterward were takē againe & suffered, as hereafter ye shall heare (God willing) declared. Such as met them by the way cōming vp, saw them in the fieldes scattering in such sort, as that they might hauehave easily escaped away. And when they entred into the townes, their keepers called them againe into aray,The aray & order of these 22. prisoners comming vp to London. to go two & two together, hauing a band or line going betweene them, they holding the same in theyr handes, hauing another corde eueryevery one about his arme, as though they were tied. And so were these fourteene men & eight women caried vp to London, the people by the way praying to God for them, to geue them strength. At the entring into London, they were pinioned, & so came into the city, as the Picture here shortly after folowing wt their names also subscribed, doth describe. But first let vsus declare concerning their taking and their attachers, conteined in the Commissaryes letter, written to Boner: then, the Indenture made betwene the commissioners and the popish cō missary. The letter of the Commissary is this.