The Arch bishop refuseth the Pope, as Christ's And as for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy and Antichrist, with all his false doctrine. And as for the sacrament, I believe as I have taught in enemy and my book against the Bishop of Winchester; the which my Antichrist. book teacheth so true a doctrine of the sacrament, that it bishop shall stand at the last day before the judgment of God, standeth to where the papistical doctrine, contrary thereto, shall be written ashamed to show her face. The Arch his book against Winches ter. The expectation of Here the standers by were all astonied, marvelled, were amazed, did look one upon another, whose expectation he had so notably deceived. Some began to admonish him of his recantation, and to accuse him of falsehood. Briefly, it was a world to see the doctors beguiled of so the papists great an hope. I think there was never cruelty more notadeceived. bly or better in time deluded and deceived. For it is not to be doubted, but they looked for a glorious victory and a perpetual triumph by this man's retractation. chafe Archbi shop. The papists Who, as soon as they heard these things, began to let in great down their ears, to rage, fret, and fume; and so much the against the more, because they could not revenge their grief: for they could now no longer threaten or hurt him. For the most miserable man in the world can die but once: and whereas of necessity he must needs die that day, though the papists had been never so well pleased; now being never so much offended with him, yet could he not be twice killed of them. And so when they could do nothing else unto him, yet, lest they should say nothing, they ceased not to object unto him his falsehood and dissimulation. Cranmer's answer to the papists. Unto which accusation he answered, Ah, my masters, quoth he, do not you take it so. Always since I lived, hitherto, I have been a hater of falsehood, and a lover of simplicity, and never, before this time, have I dissembled: and, in saying this, all the tears that remained in his body appeared in his eyes. And when he began to speak more of the sacrament and of the papacy, some of them began to cry out, yelp, and bawl; and specially Cole cried out upon him, Stop the heretic's mouth, and take him away. pulled Cranmer And then Cranmer, being pulled down from the stage Cranmer was led to the fire, accompanied with those friars, vexing, down from troubling, and threatening him most cruelly. What mad- the stage. ness, say they, hath brought thee again into this error, by the which thou wilt draw innumerable souls with thee into hell? fire. To whom he answered nothing, but directed all his talk to the people, saving that to one troubling him in the way he spake, and exhorted him to get him home to his study, and apply his book diligently; saying, if he did diligently call upon God, by reading more he should get knowledge. But the other Spanish barker, raging and foaming, was almost out of his wits, always having this in his mouth, Non fecisti? Diddest thou it not?" 6 execution. But when he came to the place where the holy bishops The Archand martyrs of God, Hugh Latimer and Ridley, were burnt bishop brought to before him, for the confession of the truth, kneeling down the place of he prayed to God; and not long tarrying in his prayers, putting off his garments to his shirt, he prepared himself to death. His shirt was made long, down to his feet. His feet were bare. Likewise his head, when both his caps The dewere off, was so bare, that one hair could not be seen upon his person. scription of it. His beard was long and thick, covering his face with marvellous gravity. Such a countenance of gravity moved the hearts both of his friends and of his enemies. Then the Spanish friars, John and Richard, of whom mention was made before, began to exhort him and play their parts with him afresh, but with vain and lost labour. Cranmer, with steadfast purpose abiding in the profession of his doctrine, gave his hand to certain old men, and other that stood by, bidding them farewell. fuseth to the Arch And when he had thought to have done so likewise to Ely, the said Ely drew back his hand and refused, saying, Mr. Ely reit was not lawful to salute heretics, and specially such a one give his as falsely returned unto the opinions that he had forsworn. hand to And if he had known before that he would have done so, bishop. he would never have used his company so familiarly; and chid those serjeants and citizens which had not refused to give him their hands. This Ely was a priest lately made, The Archbishop tied to the stake. Cranmer putteth his right hand, scribed, first into the fire. and student in divinity, being then one of the Fellows of Brasen-nose. Then was an iron chain tied about Cranmer; whom when they perceived to be more steadfast than that he could be moved from his sentence, they commanded the fire to be set unto him. And when the wood was kindled, and the fire began to burn near him, stretching out his arm, he put his right hand into the flame, which he held so steadfast and imwhich sub- moveable, (saving that once with the same hand he wiped his face,) that all men might see his hand burned before his body was touched. His body did so abide the burning of the flame, with such constancy and steadfastness, that, standing always in one place, without moving his body, he seemed to move no more than the stake to which he was bound: his eyes were lifted up into heaven; and oftentimes he repeated, his unworthy right hand, so long as his voice would suffer him; and using often the words of Stephen, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, in the greatness of the flame his death. he gave up the ghost. The last words of Cranmer at [It is stated in the title-page that this Confutation of Unwritten Verities was" made by Thomas Cranmer, late Archbishop of Canterbury,"aud "translated and set forth by E. P." Strype goes farther, and supposes that it was not only "made" by the Archbishop, but published by him in Latin in 1547. Yet it certainly was not "made" by Cranmer in its present form for the Preface and some other parts were avowedly written by the translator. And it may be doubted, whether it was ever prepared by him for publication at all; no complete copy of it in Latin, either printed or in manuscript, having been yet discovered. The citations however, of which the work chiefly consists, are for the most part to be found in one of the Archbishop's Common-place books in the British Museum, arranged under the same heads as in the Confutation. And hence perhaps it may be conjectured, that, according to his usual practice, he formed a collection of authorities on the subject for his private use; that this collection fell after his death into the hands of the person designated by the letters E. P.; and that it was moulded by him, by addition, omission, and transposition, into the shape in which it now appears. Under these circumstances it cannot safely be quoted as evidence of Cranmer's tenets, and perhaps it scarcely ought to be admitted into a collection of his works. It has however been usually classed among them; and he certainly brought together most of the materials from which it was composed. It has therefore been reprinted entire; the parts which were added by the translator, as far as they can be ascertained, being distinguished by a smaller type. Strype has ascribed to Cranmer another tract on Unwritten Verities, published anonymously in 1548. But he does not bring forward any evidence in support of his opinion; and as he has manifestly fallen into much confusion on this matter, his judgment is of no great weight. And it is clear that the Confutation here reprinted is the only work on this subject by the Archbishop, which was known to his contemporary Bale. It has therefore been considered, that there is no sufficient authority for inserting the anonymous tract, attributed to him by Strype, in the present Collection. It will be found however in the Appendix. See Tanner, Biblioth. art. Cranmer; Strype, Cranmer, pp. 160. 171. 397; Memorials, vol. ii. p. 136. and App. AA; Bale, Script. Brit. Catal.; Ames, Typ. Antiq. vol. i. p. 583. ed. 1785. vol. iii. p. 1563. ed. 1790.] |