Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 12 · Account 80
*The Martyrdome of a young lad of eight yeares olde, scourged to death in Bishop Boners house in London.
IF bloudy torm…ntes and cruell death of a poore innocent suffering for no cause of his owne,The story of Iohn Fetty, and Martyrdome o… his child…. but in the trueth of Christ and his Religion, do make a Martyr, no lesse deserueth the child of one Iohn Fetty, to be reputed in ye Catalogue of holy Martirs, who in the house of Bishop Boner vnmercifuly was scourged to death, as by the sequele of this story here folowing may appeare.
Amongest those that were persecuted & miserably imprisoned for the profession of Christes Gospell, & ye… mercifully deliuered by the prouidence of God, there was one Iohn Fetty, a simple and godly poore man dwelling in the parish of Clerkenwell, & was by vocation a Taylor, of the age of 42. yeres or therabout, who was accused and complained of, vntounto one Brokenbury a priest & a parson of the same parish, by his own wife, for that he would not come vntounto the church, & be partaker of theyr Idolatry & superstition: & therfore through ye sayd priestes procurement, he was apprehēded by Rich. Tanner & his felow, constables there, and one Martin the Hedborough.Gods dreadfull hand vponupon a wife seeking the destruction of her husband. Howbeit immediatly vpō his apprehēsion, his wife (by the iust iudgemēt of God) was stricken mad, and distract of her wits: which declared a maruelous exāple of the iustice of God agaynst such vnfaythfull and most vnnaturall treachery. And although this example perhaps for lack of knowledge & instruction in such cases little moued the consciences of those simple poore mē ▪ to surcease their persecutiō: yet natural pity towards that vngratefull woman, wrought so in theyr harts that for the preseruation & sustentatiō of her & her 2. children (like otherwise to perishe) they for that present let her husband alone and would not cary him to prison, but yet suffered him to remayne quietly in his own house. During whiche time, he as it were forgetting the wicked and vnkinde fact of his wife, did yet so cherish and prouide for her, that within the space of three weekes (through Gods mercifull prouidence) she was well amēded, and had recouered agayne some stay of her wits and senses.
But suche was the power of Sathan in the malicious hart of that wicked woman, that notwithstanding his gē tle dealing with her, yet she so soone as she had recouered some health, did agayne accuse her husband:The wyfe persecuting her husband. whereupon he was the second time apprehended, and caryed vntounto Syr Iohn Mordaunt Knight, one of the Queenes Commissioners, and he vppon examination sent him by Cluny the Bishops Sumner, vntounto the Lollardes Tower: where he was (euen at the first) put into the paynefull stockes, and ha… a dish of water set by him,Iohn Fetty agayne apprehended. The strayte handling of Iohn Fetty by Syr Iohn Mordant▪ Richard Smith dead in prison through cruell handling. with a stone put into it. To what purpose God knoweth, except it were to shew that he shuld look for litle other sustenance. Which is credible inough, if we consider their like practises vponupon diuers before mentioned in this history, as amongest other (vppon Richard Smith, who dyed through theyr cruel imprisonmēt. Touching whom, when a godly woman came vntounto Doct. Story to hauehave leaue yt she might bury him, he asked her if he had any straw or bloud in his mouth: but what he ment therby, I leaue to the iudgement of ye godly wise.
After the foresayd Fetty had thus layn in the prison by the space of xv. dayes, hanging in the stockes, sometyme by the one legge and the one arme, sometime by the other, and otherwhiles by both, it happened that one of his children (a boy, of the age of eight or nine yeares) came vntounto ye Bishoppes house to see if he could get leaue to speak with his father.The cruell handling and scourg… of Iohn Fettyes childe. At his comming thether, one of the Bishoppes Chaplaynes met with him and asked him what he lacked, and whome he would hauehave. The childe answered that hee came to see his father. The Chaplayne asked agayne, who was his father. The boy then tolde him and poynting towardes Lollardes Tower, shewed him that his father was there in prison. Why (quoth the priest) thy father is an hereticke. The childe being of a bold and quicke spirit, and also godly brought vp and instructed by his father in the knowledge of God, answered & sayd: my father is no heretick: but you are an heretick: For you hauehave Balams mark
The miserable tyrranny of the Papists in scourging a ….With that the Priest tooke the childe by the hand, & caried him into the Bishops house (whether to the Bishop, or not, I know not, but like enough he did) & there amō gest them they did most shamelesly and without all pitty, so whip and scourge, being naked, this tender childe, that he was all in a gore bloud, and then, in a ioly brag of their Catholicke tyranny, they caused Cluny, hauing his coate vponupon his arme, to cary the childe in his shyrt vntounto his father being in prison, ye bloud rūning downe by his heeles.
At his comming vntounto his father, the child fel down vp-his knees,The childe all bloudy brought to his father in prison. Cluny caryeth the … agayne to the Byshops hou…e. and asked him blessing. The poore man then beholding his childe, & seeing him so cruelly arrayed, cryed out for sorrow and sayd: Alas Wil, who hath done this to thee? The boy aunswered, that as he was seeking how to come to see his father, a priest with Baalams mark took him into the Bishops house, and there was he so handled. Cluny therwith violently plucked the childe away out of his fathers handes, and caryed him backe agayne into the Bishops house, where they kept him three dayes after.
And at the three dayes end, Boner (minding to make the matter whole, and somewhat to appease the poore mā, for this their horrible fact) determined to release him, and therfore caused him early in a morning to be brought out of Lollardes tower,The wordes betweene Boner and Iohn Fetty. into his bedchamber, where he foūd the B. basting of himselfe against a great fire: & at his fyrst entring into the chamber, Fetty said, God be here & peace. God be here and peace (quoth Boner) that is neither God speede, nor good morrow. If yee kicke agaynst this peace (sayd Fetty) then this is not the place that I seek for.
A Chaplayne of the Bishops standing by, turned the poore mā about, & thinking to deface him, said in mocking wise: what hauehave we here? a plaier? whilest this Fetty was standing in the bishops chamber, he espied hanging about the Bishops bed a great payre of blacke beades: wherupon he said:… my Lord, I thinke the hangman is not far off: …o… the halter (pointing to the beades) is here already. At which wordes the Bishop was in a marueilous rage.
Then immediately after he espyed also, standing in the sayd Bishops chamber in the windowe, a little Crucifixe (before which belike Boner vsed to kneele in the tyme of his hipocriticall prayers.Boners Crucifixe.) Then he asked the Bish. what it was: and he answered that it was Christ. Was he hādled so cruelly as he is here pictured, quoth Fetty?
Yea that he was, sayd the Bishop.
And euen so cruelly will you handle suche as come before you.B. Boner compared to Cayphas. For you are vntounto Gods people, as Cayphas was vntounto Christ.
The Bishop being in a great fury, sayd: thou art a vile hereticke, and I will burne thee, or els I wil spend al that I hauehave vntounto my gowne.
Nay my Lord, sayd Fetty, yee were better to geue it to some poore body, that he may pray for you. But yet Boner bethinking in himselfe of the daunger that the childe was in by theyr whipping, and what perill might ensue therupon, thought better to discharge him: whiche thing was accomplished.
Wherupon, after this and suche talke, the Bishop at last discharged him, willing him to go home and cary hys childe wt him: whiche he so did, and that with a heauy hart to see hys poore boy in such extreme payne and griefe.B. Boner for feare of the law in murdering a childe, deliuered the father out of prison. The Martyrdome of a childe scourged to death in Boners house. But within 14▪ dayes after the childe dyed, whether thorough this cruell scourging, or any other infirmitie: I know not & therfore I referre ye truth therof vntounto ye Lord, who knoweth al secretes, and also to the discreete iudgement of the wise reader. But howe soeuer it was, the Lorde yet vsed this theyr cruell & detestable fact, as a meanes of his prouidence for the deliuery of this good poore man and faythfull Christian, his name be euer praysed therefore. Amen.