John Bradford
John Bradford | |
---|---|
Born | 1510 Blackley, Manchester, England |
Died | 1 July 1555 (age 44–45) Smithfield, London, England |
Education | Catharine Hall, University of Cambridge and Pembroke College, Cambridge |
Church | Church of England |
Ordained | 1550 |
Offices held | Prebendary |
John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English
Life
Bradford was born in the village of
Following the death of Edward VI in 1553,
Death
On 31 January 1555, Bradford was tried and condemned to death. Bradford was taken to
A large crowd delayed the execution, which had been scheduled for 4 o'clock in the morning, as many who admired Bradford came to witness his death. He was chained to the stake at
Bradford is commemorated at the Marian Martyrs' Monument in Smithfield, London.[9] He is also commemorated with one of the six statues on the exterior of Manchester Town Hall marking people important in the early history of the city.[10]
Phrase attribution
There is a 19th-century tradition tracing to Bradford the idiomatic "There but for the grace of God go I" as an expression of humility and reliance on God's grace rather than his own morality. The editor of The Writings of John Bradford, Aubrey Townsend, notes this in his preface:[11]
The familiar story, that, on seeing evil-doers taken to the place of execution, he was wont to exclaim, "But for the grace of God there goes John Bradford", is a universal tradition which has overcome the lapse of time.
The tradition of attribution of the phrase to Bradford dates to at least the early 19th century, as it is found in A treatise on prayer by Edward Bickersteth (1822):
The pious Martyr Bradford, when he saw a poor criminal led to execution, exclaimed, "there, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford". He knew that the same evil principles were in his own heart which had brought the criminal to that shameful end.
— p. 60
While the phrase, or its attribution to Bradford, cannot be traced to before 1800, Townsend notes that there is a 17th-century attribution of a similar sentiment to Bradford, demonstrating how "by the sight of others' sins, men may learn to bewail their own sinfulness". According to this tradition, Bradford, "when he saw any drunk or heard any swear, &c., would railingly complain, 'Lord I have a drunken head; Lord, I have a swearing heart.'"[12]
However there are other attributions for the phrase "there but for the grace of God";
Why does fate play such tricks with poor, helpless worms? I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words, and say, "There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes."
The phrase has also been attributed to John Newton (1725–1807)[13] and in
See also
References
- ^ "Bradford, John (BRDT548J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates ... By John Venn
- ^ From an 1887 edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs illustrated by Kronheim. According to Foxe, a Catholic speaker, Mr. Bourne, had nearly driven his Protestant listeners to riot, but Bradford came to his rescue and calmed the mob.
- ^ John Foxe (1887 republication), Book of Martyrs, Frederick Warne and Co, London and New York, pp. 160–61
- ^ a b "John Bradford". Britannia.com. Britannia Biographies. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ see C.H. Stuart, Latimer: Apostle to the English. Zondervan, 1986.
- ^ Rounding, Virginia. The Burning Time: Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, and the Protestant Martyrs of London. 2017. Page 287.
- ^ Stoeffler, F. Ernest. 1971. The rise of evangelical pietism.]p.43.
- ^ "John Bradford". Find a Grave. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
- ^ Manchester Town Hall - A visitor guide
- The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (vol. 6 (1885), p. 159), "There is a tradition that on seeing some criminals going to execution he exclaimed: 'But for the grace of God there goes John Bradford.'"
- ^ Ralph Venning, The heathen improved, an appendix to Canaan's Flowings, sect. 110, p. 222, London. 1653.
- ^ the suggestion was put forward, apparently from memory, by George Borrow in his influential Lavengro: The Scholar—the Gypsy—the Priest, Part 2, 1851, p. 37 : "it was old John Newton, I think, who, when he saw a man going to be hanged, said: 'There goes John Newton, but for the grace of God!"
- ^ "There thou goest, Philip, but for the grace of God!" Patrick Augustine Sheehan, Under the Cedars and Stars (1903), Part H, chapter 20.
- John Bradford (1853). The writings of John Bradford Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- John Bradford (1853). The writings of John Bradford Volume 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
External links
- Extensive Biography, Writings, and a picture of John Bradford
- A brief article on the life and martyrdom of JohnBradford
- Biography of Bradford
- Sketch of the execution of John Bradford
- Bradford in Foxe's Book of Martyrs[permanent dead link]
- Image Collection of Bradford from the National Portrait Gallery
- The Old Man and the New by Bradford
- John Bradford at Find a Grave
- Works by John Bradford at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)