Thomas Cranmer
Priest | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Jesus College, Cambridge |
Sainthood | |
Venerated in | Anglican Communion |
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the
During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed Church of England. Under Henry's rule, Cranmer did not make many radical changes in the Church, due to power struggles between religious conservatives and reformers. He published the first officially authorised vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany.
When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the
After the accession of the
Origins
Cranmer was born in 1489 at
Early years (1489–1527)
Historians know nothing definite about Cranmer's early schooling. He probably attended a grammar school in his village. At the age of 14, two years after the death of his father, he was sent to the newly created
Sometime after Cranmer took his MA, he married a woman named Joan. Although he was not yet a priest, he was obliged to give up his fellowship, resulting in the loss of his residence at Jesus College. To support himself and his wife, he took a job as a reader at Buckingham Hall (later reformed as Magdalene College).[12] When Joan died during her first childbirth, Jesus College showed its regard for Cranmer by reinstating his fellowship. He began studying theology and by 1520 he had been ordained, the university already having named him as one of its preachers. He received his Doctor of Divinity degree in 1526.[13]
Not much is known about Cranmer's thoughts and experiences during his three decades at Cambridge. Traditionally, he has been portrayed as a humanist whose enthusiasm for biblical scholarship prepared him for the adoption of
In the service of Henry VIII (1527–1532)
Henry VIII's first marriage had its origins in 1502 when his elder brother, Arthur, died. Their father, Henry VII, then betrothed Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon, to the future king. The betrothal immediately raised questions related to the biblical prohibition (in Leviticus 18 and 20) against marriage to a brother's wife. The couple married in 1509 and after a series of miscarriages, a daughter, Mary, was born in 1516. By the 1520s, Henry still did not have a son to name as heir and he took this as a sure sign of God's anger and made overtures to the Vatican about an annulment.[16] He gave Cardinal Wolsey the task of prosecuting his case; Wolsey began by consulting university experts. From 1527, in addition to his duties as a Cambridge don, Cranmer assisted with the annulment proceedings.[17]
In mid-1529, Cranmer stayed with relatives in
Cranmer's first contact with a Continental reformer was with Simon Grynaeus, a humanist based in Basel, Switzerland, and a follower of the Swiss reformers, Huldrych Zwingli and Johannes Oecolampadius. In mid-1531, Grynaeus took an extended visit to England to offer himself as an intermediary between the king and the Continental reformers. He struck up a friendship with Cranmer and after his return to Basel, he wrote about Cranmer to the German reformer Martin Bucer in Strasbourg. Grynaeus' early contacts initiated Cranmer's eventual relationship with the Strasbourg and Swiss reformers.[20]
In January 1532, Cranmer was appointed the resident ambassador at the court of the
Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury (1532–1534)
While Cranmer was following Charles through Italy, he received a royal letter dated 1 October 1532 informing him that he had been appointed the new Archbishop of Canterbury, following the death of archbishop
For the next few months, Cranmer and the king worked on establishing legal procedures on how the monarch's marriage would be judged by his most senior clergy. Several drafts of the procedures have been preserved in letters written between the two. Once procedures were agreed upon, Cranmer opened court sessions on 10 May, inviting Henry and Catherine of Aragon to appear. Gardiner represented the king; Catherine did not appear or send a proxy. On 23 May Cranmer pronounced the judgement that Henry's marriage with Catherine was against the law of God. He even issued a threat of
It is difficult to assess how Cranmer's theological views had evolved since his Cambridge days. There is evidence that he continued to support humanism; he renewed Erasmus' pension that had previously been granted by Archbishop Warham.
Under the vicegerency (1535–1538)
Cranmer was not immediately accepted by the bishops within his province. When he attempted a
On 29 January 1536, when Anne miscarried a son, the king began to reflect again on the biblical prohibitions that had haunted him during his marriage with Catherine of Aragon.[40] Shortly after the miscarriage, the king started to take an interest in Jane Seymour. By 24 April, he had commissioned Cromwell to prepare the case for a divorce.[41] Unaware of these plans, Cranmer had continued to write letters to Cromwell on minor matters up to 22 April. Anne was sent to the Tower of London on 2 May, and Cranmer was urgently summoned by Cromwell. On the very next day, Cranmer wrote a letter to the king expressing his doubts about the queen's guilt, highlighting his own esteem for Anne. After it was delivered, Cranmer was resigned to the fact that the end of Anne's marriage was inevitable.[42] On 16 May, he saw Anne in the Tower and heard her confession and the following day, he pronounced the marriage null and void. Two days later, Anne was executed; Cranmer was one of the few who publicly mourned her death.[43]
The vicegerency brought the pace of reforms under the control of the king. A balance was instituted between the conservatives and the reformers and this was seen in the
In late 1536, the north of England was convulsed in a series of uprisings collectively known as the
Even after publication, the book's status remained vague because the king had not given his full support to it. In a draft letter, Henry noted that he had not read the book, but supported its printing. His attention was most likely occupied by the pregnancy of Jane Seymour and the birth of the male heir,
In 1538, the king and Cromwell arranged with Lutheran princes to have detailed discussions on forming a political and religious alliance. Henry had been seeking a new embassy from the
Reforms reversed (1539–1542)
Continental reformer
The setback for the reformers was short-lived. By September, Henry was displeased with the results of the Act and its promulgators; the ever-loyal Cranmer and Cromwell were back in favour. The king asked his archbishop to write a new preface for the Great Bible, an English translation of the Bible that was first published in April 1539 under the direction of Cromwell. The preface was in the form of a sermon addressed to readers. As for Cromwell, he was delighted that his plan of a royal marriage between Henry and Anne of Cleves, the sister of a German prince was accepted by the king. In Cromwell's view, the marriage could potentially bring back contacts with the Schmalkaldic League. Henry was dismayed with Anne when they first met on 1 January 1540 but married her reluctantly on 6 January in a ceremony officiated by Cranmer. The marriage ended in disaster as Henry decided that he would request a royal divorce. This resulted in Henry being placed in an embarrassing position and Cromwell suffered the consequences. His old enemies, including the Duke of Norfolk, took advantage of the weakened Cromwell and he was arrested on 10 June. He immediately lost the support of all his friends, including Cranmer. As Cranmer had done for Anne Boleyn, he wrote a letter to the king defending the past work of Cromwell. Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves was quickly annulled on 9 July by the vice-gerential synod, now led by Cranmer and Gardiner.[54]
Following the annulment, Cromwell was executed on 28 July.
Support from the King (1543–1547)
In 1543, several conservative clergymen in Kent banded together to attack and denounce two reformers,
While the plot against Cranmer was proceeding, the reformers were being attacked on other fronts. On 20 April, the Convocation reconvened to consider the revision of the Bishops' Book. Cranmer presided over the sub-committees, but the conservatives were able to overturn many reforming ideas, including justification by faith alone. On 5 May, the new revision called
For five months, Henry took no action on the accusations against his archbishop.[61] The conspiracy was finally revealed to Cranmer by the king himself. According to Cranmer's secretary, Ralph Morice, sometime in September 1543 the king showed Cranmer a paper summarising the accusations against him. An investigation was to be mounted and Cranmer was appointed chief investigator. Surprise raids were carried out, evidence gathered, and ringleaders identified. Typically, Cranmer put the clergymen involved in the conspiracy through immediate humiliation, but he eventually forgave them and continued to use their services. To show his trust in Cranmer, Henry gave Cranmer his personal ring. When the Privy Council arrested Cranmer at the end of November, the nobles were stymied by the symbol of the king's trust in him.[62] Cranmer's victory ended with two second-rank leaders imprisoned and Germain Gardiner executed.[63]
With the atmosphere in Cranmer's favour, he pursued quiet efforts to reform the Church, particularly the liturgy. On 27 May 1544 the first officially authorised vernacular service was published, the processional service of intercession known as the Exhortation and Litany. It survives today with minor modifications in the Book of Common Prayer. The traditional litany uses invocations to saints, but Cranmer thoroughly reformed this aspect by providing no opportunity in the text for such veneration. Additional reformers were elected to the House of Commons and new legislation was introduced to curb the effects of the Act of the Six Articles and the Act for the Advancement of True Religion.[65]
In 1546, the conservatives in a coalition including Gardiner, the Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Chancellor
Foreign divines and reformed doctrines (1547–1549)
Under the regency of Seymour, the reformers became part of the establishment. A royal visitation of the provinces took place in August 1547 and each parish that was visited was instructed to obtain a copy of the Homilies. This book consisted of twelve homilies of which four were written by Cranmer. His reassertion of the doctrine of justification by faith elicited a strong reaction from Gardiner.[67] In the "Homily of Good Works annexed to Faith", Cranmer attacked monasticism and the importance of various personal actions involved in liturgical recitations and ceremonies. Hence, he narrowed the range of good works that would be considered necessary and reinforced the primacy of faith. In each parish visited, injunctions were put in place that resolved to, "...eliminate any image which had any suspicion of devotion attached to it."[68][69]
Cranmer's eucharistic views, which had already moved away from official Catholic doctrine, received another push from Continental reformers. Cranmer had been in contact with Martin Bucer since the time when initial contacts were made with the Schmalkaldic League. Cranmer and Bucer's relationship became ever closer owing to Charles V's victory over the League at
In March 1549, the city of Strasbourg forced Martin Bucer and Paul Fagius to leave. Cranmer immediately invited the men to come to England and promised that they would be placed in English universities. When they arrived on 25 April, Cranmer was especially delighted to meet Bucer face to face after eighteen years of correspondence.[72] He needed these scholarly men to train a new generation of preachers as well as to assist in the reform of liturgy and doctrine. Others who accepted his invitations included the Polish reformer, Jan Łaski, but Cranmer was unable to convince Osiander and Melanchthon that they should come to England.[73]
Book of Common Prayer (1548–1549)
As the use of English in worship services spread, the need for a complete uniform liturgy for the Church became evident. Initial meetings to start what would eventually become the
It is difficult to ascertain how much of the prayer book is Cranmer's personal composition. Generations of liturgical scholars have been able to track down the sources that he used, including the
The use of the new prayer book was made compulsory on 9 June 1549. This triggered a series of protests in Devon and Cornwall where the English language was not yet in common usage,[78] now known as the Prayer Book Rebellion. By early July, the uprising had spread to other parts in the east of England. The rebels made a number of demands including the restoration of the Six Articles, the use of Latin for the mass with only the consecrated bread given to the laity, the restoration of prayers for souls in purgatory, and the rebuilding of abbeys. Cranmer wrote a strong response to these demands to the King in which he denounced the wickedness of the rebellion.[79] On 21 July, Cranmer commandeered St Paul's Cathedral where he vigorously defended the official Church line. A draft of his sermon, the only extant written sample of his preaching from his entire career, shows that he collaborated with Peter Martyr on dealing with the rebellion.[80]
Consolidating gains (1549–1551)
The Prayer Book Rebellion and other events had a negative effect on the
The first result of co-operation and consultation between Cranmer and Bucer was the first Edwardine Ordinal, the liturgy for the ordination of priests. This was missing in the first prayer book and was not published until 1550. Cranmer adopted Bucer's draft and created three services for commissioning a deacon, a priest, and a bishop.[83] In the same year, Cranmer produced the Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, a semi-official explanation of the eucharistic theology within the prayer book. It was the first full-length book to bear Cranmer's name on the title-page. The preface summarises his quarrel with Rome in a well-known passage where he compared "beads, pardons, pilgrimages, and such other like popery" with weeds, but the roots of the weeds were transubstantiation, the corporeal real presence, and the sacrificial nature of the mass.[84]
Although Bucer assisted in the development of the English Reformation, he was still quite concerned about the speed of its progress. Both Bucer and Fagius had noticed that the 1549 prayer book was not a remarkable step forward, although Cranmer assured Bucer that it was only a first step and that its initial form was only temporary.[85] By late 1550, Bucer was becoming disillusioned. Cranmer made sure that he did not feel alienated and kept in close touch with him. This attention paid off during the vestments controversy. This incident was initiated by John Hooper, a follower of Heinrich Bullinger who had recently returned from Zürich. Hooper was unhappy with Cranmer's prayer book and ordinal and he particularly objected to the use of ceremonies and vestments. When the Privy Council selected him to be the Bishop of Gloucester on 15 May 1550, he laid down conditions that he would not wear the required vestments. He found an ally among the Continental reformers in Jan Łaski who had become a leader of the Stranger church in London, a designated place of worship for Continental Protestant refugees. His church's forms and practices had taken reforms much further than Cranmer would have liked. Bucer and Peter Martyr, while they sympathised with Hooper's position, supported Cranmer's arguments of timing and authority. Cranmer and Ridley stood their ground. This led to Hooper's imprisonment and he eventually gave in. He was consecrated on 8 March 1551 according to the ordinal and he preached before the king in his episcopal garments. Cranmer's vision of reform through careful steps under the authority of the government was maintained.[86]
Final reform programme (1551–1553)
Cranmer's role in politics was diminishing when on 16 October 1551 Seymour was arrested on charges of treason. In December Seymour was put on trial and although acquitted of treason, he was judged guilty of felony and was put to death on 22 January 1552.[87] This was the beginning of the breach between Cranmer and Dudley. It was aggravated during the year by the gradual appropriation of ecclesiastical property by the regency.[88] Throughout this political turmoil, Cranmer worked simultaneously on three major projects in his reform programme: the revision of canon law, the revision of the prayer book, and the formation of a statement of doctrine.[89]
The original Catholic canon law that defined governance within the Church clearly needed revision following Henry's break with Rome. Several revision attempts were made throughout Henry's reign, but these initial projects were shelved as the speed of reform outpaced the time required to work on a revision. As the reformation stabilised, Cranmer formed a committee in December 1551 to restart the work. He recruited Peter Martyr to the committee and he also asked Łaski and Hooper to participate, showing his habitual ability to forgive past actions. Cranmer and Martyr realised that a successful enactment of a reformed ecclesiastical law-code in England would have international significance. Cranmer planned to draw together all the reformed churches of Europe under England's leadership to counter the
As with the first prayer book, the origins and participants in the work of its revision are obscure, but it was clear that Cranmer led the project and steered its development. It had begun as early as the end of 1549 when the Convocation of Canterbury met to discuss the matter. Late in 1550, the opinions of Martyr and Bucer were sought on how the liturgy might be improved and they influenced the revision significantly.
The origins of the statement which eventually became the Forty-two Articles are equally obscure. As early as December 1549, the archbishop was demanding that his bishops should subscribe to certain doctrinal articles. In 1551 Cranmer presented a version of a statement to the bishops, but its status remained ambiguous. Cranmer did not devote much effort to developing the articles, most likely owing to work on the canon law revision. He became more interested once the hope for an ecumenical council began to fade. By September 1552, draft versions of the articles were being worked on by Cranmer and John Cheke, his scholarly friend who was commissioned to translate them into Latin. When the Forty-two Articles were finally published in May 1553, the title-page declared that the articles were agreed upon by the Convocation and were published by the authority of the king. This was not in fact the case and the mistake was likely caused by miscommunications between the archbishop and the Privy Council. Cranmer complained about this to the council, but the authorities responded by noting that the articles were developed during the time of the Convocation (hence evading giving a direct answer). The council gave Cranmer the unhappy task of requiring the bishops to subscribe to the articles, many of whom opposed them and pointed out the anomaly of the title-page. It was while Cranmer was carrying out this duty that events unfolded which were to render the subscriptions futile.[96]
Trials, recantations, execution (1553–1556)
By mid-July, there were serious provincial revolts in Mary's favour and support for Jane in the council fell. As Mary was proclaimed queen, Dudley, Ridley, Cheke, and Jane's father, the Duke of Suffolk, were imprisoned. No action was taken against the archbishop. On 8 August, he led Edward's funeral according to the rites of the prayer book. During these months, he advised others, including Peter Martyr, to flee England, but he himself chose to stay. Reformed bishops were removed from office and conservative clergy, such as Edmund Bonner, had their old positions restored. Cranmer did not go down without a fight. When rumours spread that he authorised the use of the mass in Canterbury Cathedral, he declared them to be false and said, "All the doctrine and religion by our said sovereign lord king Edward VI is more pure and according to God's word than any that hath been used in England these thousand years."[98] Not surprisingly, the government regarded Cranmer's declaration as tantamount to sedition. He was ordered to stand before the council in the Star Chamber on 14 September and on that day he said his final goodbye to Martyr. Cranmer was sent straight to the Tower to join Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley.[99]
On 13 November 1553, Cranmer and four others were brought to trial for treason, found guilty, and condemned to death. Numerous witnesses testified that Cranmer had encouraged heresy and had written heretical works.[100] Through February 1554, Jane Grey and other rebels were executed, and attention then turned to the religious leaders of the reformation. On 8 March 1554, the Privy Council ordered Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer to be transferred to Bocardo prison in Oxford to await a second trial for heresy. During this time, Cranmer was able to smuggle out a letter to Martyr, who had fled to Strasbourg, the last surviving document written in his own hand. He stated that the desperate situation of the church was proof that it would eventually be delivered and wrote, "I pray that God may grant that we may endure to the end!"[101] Cranmer remained isolated in Bocardo prison for seventeen months before the trial started on 12 September 1555. Although it took place in England, the trial was under papal jurisdiction and the final verdict would come from Rome. Under interrogation, Cranmer admitted to every fact that was placed before him, but he denied any treachery, disobedience, or heresy. The trial of Latimer and Ridley started shortly after Cranmer's but their verdicts came almost immediately and they were burned at the stake on 16 October. Cranmer was taken to a tower to watch the proceedings. On 4 December, Rome decided Cranmer's fate by depriving him of the archbishopric and giving permission to the secular authorities to carry out their sentence.[102]
In his final days, Cranmer's circumstances changed, which led to several recantations. On 11 December, he was taken out of Bocardo and placed in the house of the Dean of Christ Church. This new environment was very different from that of his two years in prison. He was in an academic community and treated as a guest. Approached by a Dominican friar, Juan de Villagarcía, he debated the issues of papal supremacy and purgatory. In his first four recantations, produced between the end of January and mid-February, Cranmer submitted himself to the authority of the king and queen and recognised the Pope as head of the Church. On 14 February 1556, he was degraded from holy orders and returned to Bocardo. He had conceded very little and Edmund Bonner was not satisfied with these admissions.
On 24 February, a writ was issued to the mayor of Oxford and the date of Cranmer's execution was set for 7 March. Two days after the writ was issued, a fifth statement, the first which could be called a true recantation, was issued. Cranmer repudiated all Lutheran and Zwinglian theology, fully accepted Catholic theology, including papal supremacy and transubstantiation, and stated that there was no salvation outside the Catholic Church. He announced his joy at returning to the Catholic faith, asked for and received sacramental absolution, and participated in the mass. Cranmer's burning was postponed and, under the normal practice of canon law, he should have been absolved. Mary, however, decided that no further postponement was possible. His last recantation was issued on 18 March. It was a sign of a broken man, a sweeping confession of sin.[103] Despite the stipulation in canon law that recanting heretics be reprieved, Mary was determined to make an example of Cranmer, arguing that "his iniquity and obstinacy was so great against God and your Grace that your clemency and mercy could have no place with him", and pressed ahead with his execution.[104]
Cranmer was told that he would be able to make a final recantation, but that this time it was to be in public during a service at the University Church. He wrote and submitted the speech in advance and it was published after his death. At the pulpit on the day of his execution, 21 March 1556, he opened with a prayer and an exhortation to obey the king and queen, but he ended his sermon totally unexpectedly, deviating from the prepared script. He renounced the recantations that he had written or signed with his own hand since his degradation and he stated that, in consequence, his hand would be punished by being burnt first. He then said, "And as for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine."[105] He was pulled from the pulpit and taken to where Latimer and Ridley had been burnt six months previously. As the flames drew around him, he fulfilled his promise by placing his right hand into the heart of the fire, calling it "that unworthy hand". His dying words were, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."[106]
Aftermath and legacy
The Marian government produced a pamphlet with all six recantations plus the text of the speech Cranmer was to have made in the University Church. His subsequent withdrawal of his recantations was not mentioned, though what actually happened soon became common knowledge, undermining the effectiveness of Marian propaganda. Similarly, the Protestant party had difficulty in making use of the event, given Cranmer's recantations. The
Cranmer's family had been exiled to the Continent in 1539. It is not known exactly when they returned to England, but it was soon after the accession of Edward VI in 1547 that Cranmer publicly acknowledged their existence. Not much is known about the early years of the children. His daughter, Margaret, was likely born in the 1530s and his son, Thomas, came later, probably during the reign of Edward. Around the time of Mary's accession, Cranmer's wife, Margarete, escaped to Germany, while his son was entrusted to his brother, Edmund Cranmer, who took him to the Continent. Margarete Cranmer eventually married Cranmer's favourite publisher, Edward Whitchurch. The couple returned to England after Mary's reign and settled in Surrey. Whitchurch also negotiated for the marriage of Margaret to Thomas Norton. Whitchurch died in 1562 and Margarete married for the third time to Bartholomew Scott. She died in the 1570s. Both of Cranmer's children died without issue and his line became extinct.[108]
When
Cranmer's greatest concerns were the maintenance of the royal supremacy and the diffusion of reformed theology and practice. Scholars note that he is best remembered for his contribution to the realms of language and of cultural identity.[110] His prose helped to guide the development of the English language, and the Book of Common Prayer is a major contribution to English literature that influenced many lives in the Anglophone world. It has guided Anglican worship for four hundred years.[111]
Catholic biographers sometimes depict Cranmer as an unprincipled opportunist, a Nicodemite,[112] and a tool of royal tyranny. For their part, some Protestant biographers appear to overlook the ways or occasions in which Cranmer betrayed his own principles.[113] Both sides can agree in seeing Cranmer as a committed scholar whose life showed the strengths and weaknesses of a very human and often under-appreciated reformer.[114]
The Anglican Communion commemorates Thomas Cranmer as a Reformation Martyr on 21 March, the anniversary of his death, and he is remembered in the calendar of saints of the Church of England with a lesser festival.[115][116]
The
See also
- Attainder of Duke of Northumberland and others Act 1553
- List of Protestant martyrs of the English Reformation
References
Citations
- ^ Matthew & Harrison 2004; MacCulloch 1996, p. 340; Ridley 1962, p. frontispiece
- ^ Ridley 1962, p. 70; MacCulloch 1996, p. 106
- ^ a b Strype 1840, p. 181.
- ^ Ridley 1962, p. 13. The only authority for the date of his birth (2 July) is, according to Ridley, an anonymous biographer who wrote shortly after Cranmer's death. The biographer makes several mistakes about Cranmer's early life.
- ^ Hirst 1934, p. 2.
- ^ Brown 1891, p. 81.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 109. The arms are A chevron between three cranes (Cranmer) and Argent, five fusils in fesse gules each charged with an escallop or (Aslacton).
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 13–15; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 7–15
- ^ Selwyn 1993, pp. 63–65
- ^ "Cranmer, Thomas (CRNR503T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Ridley 1962, p. 16; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 19–21
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 21
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 16–20; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 21–23
- ^ Bernard 2005, p. 506; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 23–33
- ^ MacCulloch 2016, pp. xi
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 42. According to MacCulloch, he became convinced of this perhaps as much as two years before his passion for Anne Boleyn.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 41–44
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 25–33; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 45–51
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 54–59. The full title is The Determinations of the most famous and most excellent Universities of Italy and France, that it is unlawful for a man to marry his brother's wife, that the Pope hath no power to dispense therewith and it is likely that Cranmer undertook the translation from Latin to English. Comparing the two language versions, MacCulloch notes that the document reveals the first indications of a change away from his humanist Catholicism towards a more radically reformist stance.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 60–66
- ^ Ridley 1962, p. 39
- ^ Hall 1993a, p. 19; MacCulloch 1996, p. 72; Ridley 1962, p. 46
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 39–47; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 70–74
- ^ Ayris 1993a, pp. 116–117
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 49–53; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 75–77
- ^ Perceval 1841, p. 188.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 637–638
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 53–58; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 83–89
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 59–63
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 90–94
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 97–98
- ^ Dowling 1993, p. 102
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 67–68
- ^ Bernard 2005, p. 507; Ridley 1962, pp. 87–88
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 98–102, 109–115
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 91–92, 133
- ^ Ayris 2002, pp. 81–86; Ayris 1993a, pp. 125–130
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 91–92
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 127–135
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 149
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 154; Schofield 2008, p. 119
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 100–104; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 157–158
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 149–159
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 160–166
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 113–115
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 115–118; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 169–172
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 118–123; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 185–196, 205
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 123–125
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 205–213
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 161–165; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 213–221
- ^ Ridley 1962, p. 180
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 178–184; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 235–250
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 137
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 195–206; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 238, 256–274
- ^ Howell 1816, pp. 433–440. According to Howell, several charges were brought against him but the chief one was heresy.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 275
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 280
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 217–223; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 274–289
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 297–308
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 308–311
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 316. It is not known why Henry took so long to react to the charges against Cranmer. MacCulloch notes that it was Henry's nature to brood over the evidence against his archbishop. He also speculates that Cranmer's support of the King's Book made Henry reflect about whether the charges were serious. Another possibility is that in playing the situation out, Henry could observe the behaviour of the leading politicians until he was ready to intervene.
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 235–238
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 316–322
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 362
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 327–329, 347
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 352–361
- ^ Bagchi & Steinmetz 2004, p. 155
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 375
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 265–270; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 365, 369–376
- ^ Coleman-Norton 1929, p. 279. The epistle was once widely accepted as written by Chrysostom, but is now commonly regarded as a forgery.
- ^ Hall 1993b, pp. 227–228; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 380–382
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 421–422
- ^ Hall 1993b, pp. 223–224
- ^ Ridley 1962, p. 284; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 405–406
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 395–398, 405–408; Ridley 1962, pp. 285–289
- ^ Spinks 1993, p. 177
- ^ Robinson 1998, p. 82; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 414–417
- ^ Mills 2010, p. 189, Genocide and Ethnocide.
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 293–297
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 410, 429–437
- ^ Loades 1993, p. 160; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 443–447. MacCulloch claims that Paget supported Seymour, but according to Loades it was only Smith who joined with Cranmer. Loades also states that it was likely Cranmer who persuaded Seymour to surrender.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 454–459
- ^ Avis 2005, pp. 97–99.
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 322–323; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 460–469
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 410–411
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 308–315; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 469–484
- ^ Loades 2004, pp. 109–111. According to Loades, a felony, a lesser crime than treason in English law, included gathering men unlawfully and plotting the death of a councillor. Seymour admitted to these actions.
- ^ a b MacCulloch 1996, p. 520
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 493–500
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 501–502
- ^ Ayris 1993b, pp. 318–321; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 500–502, 518–520, 533
- ^ Bagchi & Steinmetz 2004, pp. 158–159
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 322–327; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 504–513
- ^ Ayris 2001, pp. 15–17, 29–31
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 336–337; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 512, 525–530
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 503–504, 524, 536–538
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 538–541
- ^ Heinze 1993, pp. 263–264
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 547–553
- ^ Marshall 2017, p. 397.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 554–555, 561–562, 572–573 Cf. "he that endureth to the end shall be saved" Matthew 10:22
- ^ Heinze 1993, pp. 267–271; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 574–582
- ^ Heinze 1993, pp. 273–276; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 584–599. Heinze and MacCulloch note that Cranmer's recantations can be deduced from two primary sources that had opposite polemical aims, Bishop Cranmer's Recantacyons by an unknown author and Acts and Monuments by John Foxe, also known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, p. 597
- ^ Heinze 1993, p. 279; MacCulloch 1996, p. 603
- ^ Heinze 1993, pp. 277–280; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 600–605. According to Heinze and MacCulloch, an additional corroborating account of Cranmer's execution is found in the letter of a Catholic witness with the initials J. A.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 606–608
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 148–153; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 361, 481, 609–612
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 620–621
- ^ Stevenson 1993, pp. 189–198; MacCulloch 1996, pp. 420–421. Stevenson adds that the marriage vow from the prayer book occupies a singular place in the cultural life of the English language.
- ^ MacCulloch 1996, pp. 630–632
- ^ Overell 2008, p. 207
- ^ Ridley 1962, pp. 11–12; Null 2006, pp. 2–17. Null provides an overview of Cranmer scholarship and the different points of view.
- ^ Heinze 1993, p. 279
- ^ "Holy Days in the Calendar of the Church of England". Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-64065-235-4.
Sources
- Avis, Paul (2005). "The Revision of the Ordinal in the Church of England 1550–2005". Ecclesiology. 1 (2): 95–110. ISSN 1744-1366.
- Ayris, Paul (1993a). "God's Vicegerent and Christ's Vicar: the Relationship between the Crown and the Archbishopric of Canterbury, 1533–53". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Ayris, Paul (1993b). "Canon Law Studies". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Ayris, Paul (2001). "The Correspondence of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and his English Audience 1533-54". Reformation & Renaissance Review. 3 (1): 9–33. S2CID 170741842.
- Ayris, Paul (2002). "The Public Career of Thomas Cranmer". Reformation & Renaissance Review. 4 (1): 75–125. S2CID 145396417.
- Bagchi, David V. N.; Steinmetz, David Curtis, eds. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology. Cambridge: ISBN 0-521-77662-7.
- Bernard, G. W. (2005). The King's Reformation: Henry VIII and the Remaking of the English Church. London: ISBN 0-300-12271-3.
- Brown, Cornelius (1891). "Ch VIII". A History of Nottinghamshire. E. Stock.
- Coleman-Norton, P. R. (1929). "The Correspondence of S. John Chrysostom (With Special Reference to His Epistles to Pope S. Innocent I)". Classical Philology. 24 (3): 279. S2CID 162281389.
- ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Hall, Basil (1993a). "Cranmer's Relations with Erasmianism and Lutheranism". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Hall, Basil (1993b). "Cranmer, the Eucharist, and the Foreign Divines in the Reign of Edward VI". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Heinze, Rudolph W. (1993). "'I pray God to grant that I may endure to the end': A New Look at the Martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Hirst, Rev E, (Vicar of St. Paul’s Stockport) (1934). "Archbishop Cranmer" (PDF). Churchman Journal. 48 (2): 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Howell, Thomas Bayly, ed. (1816). A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from the Earliest Period to the Year 1783. London: T. C. Hansard. OCLC 3815652.
- Loades, David (1993). "Thomas Cranmer and John Dudley: An Uneasy Alliance, 1549–1553". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Loades, David M. (2004). Intrigue and Treason: The Tudor Court, 1547–1558. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman. ISBN 0-582-77226-5.
- ISBN 0-300-06688-0.
- ISBN 978-0-19-061682-3.
- Marshall, Peter (2017). Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-17062-7.
- Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, Brian Howard, eds. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: OCLC 56568095.
- Mills, Jon (2010). "Genocide and Ethnocide: The Suppression of the Cornish Language". In Partridge, John (ed.). Interfaces in Language. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-2433-0.
- Null, Ashley (2006). Thomas Cranmer's Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Power to Love. Oxford: ISBN 0-19-827021-6.
- Overell, Anne (2008). Italian reform and English Reformations, c.1535-c.1585. Farnham, Surrey, UK: ISBN 978-0-7546-5579-4.
- Perceval, Arthur Philip (1841). An Apology for the Doctrine of Apostolical Succession: With an Appendix, on the English Orders (second ed.). London: Rivington.
- OCLC 398369.
- Robinson, Ian (1998). The Establishment of Modern English Prose in the Reformation and the Enlightenment. Cambridge: ISBN 0-521-48088-4.
- Schofield, John (2008). The Rise & Fall of Thomas Cromwell. Stroud, England: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4604-2.
- Selwyn, D. G. (1993). "Cranmer's Library". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Spinks, Bryan D. (1993). "Treasures Old and New: A Look at Some of Thomas Cranmer's Methods of Liturgical Compilation". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Stevenson, Kenneth W. (1993). "Cranmer's Marriage Vow: Its Place in the Tradition". In Ayris, Paul; Selwyn, David (eds.). Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: ISBN 0-85115-549-9.
- Strype, John (1840) [1544]. "Chapter 28". Historical and Biographical Works: Memorials of Thomas Cranmer.
Further reading
- Hughes, Philip Edgecumbe (1982). Faith and Works: Cranmer and Hooker on Justification. Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow. ISBN 0-8192-1315-2.
- Wilkinson, Richard (December 2010). "Thomas Cranmer: The Yes-Man Who Said No: Richard Wilkinson Elucidates the Paradoxical Career of One of the Key Figures of English Protestantism". History Review. 68. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- Williams, Leslie (2017). Emblem of Faith Untouched: A Short Life of Thomas Cranmer. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
External links
- Works by Thomas Cranmer at Post-Reformation Digital Library
- Works by Thomas Cranmer at Open Library
- Portraits of Thomas Cranmer at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- "Cranmer, Thomas (1489–1556)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6615. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- The execution of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (1556) at EnglishHistory.net
- Thomas Cranmer biography at the BBC
- Letter from Cranmer on Henry VIII's divorce at the Center for Medieval Studies at Fordham University
- Thirty-Nine Articles from the Anglican Communion official website
- Thomas Cranmer at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- Works by Thomas Cranmer at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)