John Foxe and the Joy of Suffering
Author(s): John R. Knott
Source: The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Autumn, 1996), pp. 721-734
Published by: The Sixteenth Century Journal
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Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII/3(1996)
JohnFoxe and theJoyof Suffering
JohnR. Knott
University
ofMichigan
JohnFoxe rejectedthe earlyChristianand medievalemphasison the exceptional
natureof martyrs
and on thedisjunction
betweenvulnerable
bodyand transported
soul,focusing
insteadon thehumanqualitiesofhisProtestant
martyrs
and thecommunalexperienceof thepersecuted
faithful,
whichbecomesthelocusof thesacred.
He avoidedthemiraculous
in attempting
to reconcilerepresentations
ofhorrific
sufwithtraditional
fering
affirmations
oftheinnerpeaceandjoy ofthemartyr.
Much of
thedramaoftheActs
andMonuments
arisesfromintrusions
oftheordinary
(thegesture
ofwipinga sootyhandon a smock)andtheunpredictable
(a firethatwillnotburn).
It is Foxe'sdeviationsfromtheunwritten
and his occasional
scriptof martyrdom
inability
to containthehorrorofa scenewithassertions
ofspiritual
triumph
thatgive
hisnarrative
itspower.
NEAR THE END of his massiveActsand Monuments,
JohnFoxe interruptsan account
of the "shameful lives and desperate ends" of persecutors"strickenwith God's
hand" (8:668)1 to praise the English Protestantmartyrswith whom he contrasts
them:
Let us now enterthe considerationof the blessedmartyrs,
who although
theysufferedin theirbodies, yet rejoiced theyin theirspirits,and albeit
theywere persecutedof men,yetwere theycomfortedof the Lord with
such inwardjoy and peace of conscience, that some, writing to their
friends,professedtheywere neverso merrybeforein all theirlives,some
leaped forjoy, some for triumphwould put on theirscarfs,some their
wedding garments, going to the fire; others kissed the stake, some
embraced the faggots,some clapt theirhands,some sang psalms;universally they all forgaveand prayedfor theirenemies; no murmuring,no
repiningwas ever heard amongstthem.(8:669)
The passage epitomizes Foxe's vision of the spiritualtriumphof the martyrsover
the authorities,ecclesiastical and civil,who have power over their bodies. His
hyperboleneeds to be qualifiedby a readingof the storiesof individualmartyrsfewin factforgivetheirenemies publicly;some betraytheirfears-but it captures
the celebratorymood of a majorityof thesestories.Foxe insistsupon the "inward
seen as enabled by the comforting
joy and peace of conscience" of the martyrs,
presenceof God and conveyedto the watchingcrowd by gesturesof the sorthe
ofJohn
Foxe,8 vols.(London,
Pratt,
ed.,TheActsandMonuments
1Myextracts
arefromRev.Josiah
1877).Volume
andpagenumbersaregivenin thetext.
721
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722
Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII / 3 (1996)
enumerateshere.He saw the spiritualvictorieshe proclaimedas demonstrating
the
power of a militantfaithto thosewho observedor read about themand as offering
"an hope of heavenlycomfort"(1:521) for the persecuted. Foucault's model of
civilpunishment,
which shows authorityaffirming
itselfby the ritualexerciseof its
power to punish,does not go veryfartowardexplainingthe kind of agonFoxe represents,with its culminationin the triumphof the victim.2This model, helpfulas
it can be forunderstandingthe uses of institutionalpower,shiftsattentionaway
fromquestionsabout the natureand meaningof suffering
and the representation
of
heroismand spiritualvictorythatarise in connection with accounts of Christian
martyrdom.Tounderstandthe distinctiveness
of Foxe's accounts of Protestantmartyrsit is more productiveto look at the traditionto which he was reacting.
Christianmartyrology
who
typicallycelebratesthe peace and joy of martyrs,
are oftenrepresentedas displayingan imperturbablefaithand as welcomingwhatever pain the tortureror executionercan inflictin the confidence thattheywill
soon be unitedwith God.Yet one of the most strikingthingsabout thiswritingis
itsfascinationwith the tormentsof the body.Accountsof the earlyChristianmarsome of which Foxe catalogues:"stripesand scourgtyrsdetail grotesquetortures,
ings, drawings,tearings,stonings,plates of iron laid into them burning hot ...
gridirons,gibbets and gallows" (1:109-10). Foxe himselfcelebrates the "mild
deathsof the [Protestant]
saints"(1:521), as he describesthese deathsat one point,
yet he presentsthe violence theysufferin detailed and realisticways,keeping the
reader'sgaze focusedupon the actual scene of suffering
and the disfiguring
effects
of the flames.I wantto explorewhyFoxe confrontedhis readerswith such disturbof
ing detail and how he reconciled,or attemptedto reconcile,the representation
of spiritualjoy. His task,as martyrologist,
was to persufferingwith affirmations
suade his readersthathis "saints" did indeed die mildly,with spiritualrejoicing,
while experiencinghorrifictorments.
ofEnglishProtestants
Foxe's representation
of the suffering
was stronglyinfluenced by examplesof earlyChristianmartyrdomthathe knew well, mainlyfrom
the Ecclesiastical
the traditionhe inherited
Historyof Eusebius,yet he transformed
in importantways.3The storyof Eulalia,a young Spanishvirginof the fourthcenthe appeal of thismaterialforFoxe and also
illustrates
turywho soughtmartyrdom,
his unease with the miraculouselementshe found in his source,in this case the
LiberPeristephanon
of Prudentius.Eulalia in her abundance of zeal fleesher parents
and aftera nightjourney guided by a troop of angels confrontsthe Roman judge
who is persecutingChristians.Foxe reportsPrudentius'account of a white dove
flyingfromEulalia'smouthat the momentof death and snow miraculouslycover"whereoflet every
ing the scene ofher executionbut adds a revealingqualification,
reader use his own judgment" (1:272). He admiringlydescribesthe "bold stom-
trans.
AlanSheridan(NewYork:PantheonBooks,1979),
Discipline
andPunish,
2MichelFoucault,
chaps.1,2.
in the
oftheearlyChristians
3Foxeextendedhischronological
rangeto theRomanpersecutions
(London,1570),drawing
extensively
uponEusebius.
secondEnglisheditionoftheActsandMonuments
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Knott / Foxe & theJoy
ofSuffering723
ach" with which the twelve-year-oldEulalia defiesRoman authority,scattering
the images she is commanded to worshipas a gestureof contemptforthe idolatry
theyrepresent.4She challengesherpersecutorto "burn,cut,and mangle"her body
and professesto welcome being slashed to the bone with iron claws: "O Lord!
behold thou art inscribed upon me! how pleasant it is to note these piercings,
which markthytriumphs,0 Christ!"(1:271).5 Her suffering
becomes an emblem
of Christ's,as she convertsher punishmentsinto a sign of victory.Foxe praises
Eulalia as "merry"in embracingthe"terribleharrowingof her flesh"and her final
tormentof being burned with torches.The only indication we get thatEulalia
acknowledgespain at all is the reportthatshe swallowsflamesto speed her death.
Foxe could accept the seeminglymiraculoustoleranceof pain where he could not
the appearance of angels and othermanifestations
of the supernaturalor the creation of a shrineforthe venerationof her bones,because he could understandit as
evidence of a fortitudemade possibleby the sustainingpower of God.
Eulalia's sufferingconformsto a pattern often found in accounts of early
Christianmartyrs.
She welcomes abusesof thebody as ifseekingto imitatethe passion of Christ;she insiststhatthepain of the fleshcannotreachherspirit;she shows
no sign of being masteredby thispain. In retellingthe storiesof the earlymartyrs,
Foxe reproducesmanyof the formulasthatsignalvictoryoverpain and hence over
the agency thatinflictsit.Blandina wears out her torturers
and feelsno pain when
finallygored to deathby a bull (1:138 ff.);PeterBrown characterizesher as "raptin
communion with Christ"while she is being gored.6Sanctuscan endurehot plates
applied to his "tender parts"because he is refreshedby "the water of life which
flowsfromChrist" (1:139). So miraculouslydoes God temperthe firethatLaurence'sgridironbecomes "not a bed of consumingpain,but a palletof nourishing
rest"(1:208). This is what Thomas Heffernan,writingabout medieval saints'lives,
calls the "analgesic state"oftenfound in earlyacts of the martyrs.7For Foxe it is
evidence that God will comfortmartyrsand strengthenthem to endure their
ordeals.He frequentlydescribeshis martyrsas displayingfortitude,
but thisis for
him a distinctively
Christianfortitude,
an amalgamof the classicalvirtueand faith
(Oxford:Clarendon,1989),142,discusses
Eulalia
on theMartyrs
4Anne-Marie
Palmer,Prudentius
Virgilianinfluences
on
nobilitas,
and traces
illustrating
a new Christian
as a typeofthe"virgoanimosa,"
Prudentius'
accountofher.
on herand thatherbloodspeaks
5Prudentius
hasEulaliaassertthatthenameofChristis written
Mass.:HarvardUP, 1953),
trans.H. J.Thomson,2 vols.(Cambridge,
Christ'sholyname.Prudentius,
on
(NewYork:P.Lang,1992),20-21,comments
theWord
2:143.CatherineRandallCoats,(Em)bodying
desmartyrs),
on Eulalia'sbody.Coatsdiscusses
FoxeJeanCrespin(Histoire
thesignificance
ofthiswriting
theirtechniques
martyrologists,
distinguishing
as Protestant
Beza (IcOnes),
and d'Aubigne(LesTragiques)
andemphases
fromthoseofmedievalhagiography.
(NewYork:ColumbiaUP,1988),73.
6PeterBrown,TheBodyandSociety
in theMiddleAges(NewYork:
SacredBiography:
SaintsandTheirBiographers
7ThomasJ.Heffernan,
OxfordUP,1988),196-197.
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724
Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII / 3 (1996)
in thetruthof God's promises.8The martyr's
abilityto displayboldnessand courage
in thefaceof deathdependsupon a sense of God's supportiveand comforting
presence althoughthisdoes not involve forFoxe the kind of divine interventionthat
miraclesexemplify.
The accounts of seemingly superhuman endurance that Foxe drew upon
emphasizethe separationof the vulnerablebody and the inviolablespiritand the
liberationof the spiritthroughsuffering.
When Eulalia's body slumpsin death,in
the versionof Prudentius,the dove representing
her escapingsoul clapsitswingsin
a sign of victoryand fliesoffto heaven.This translationformsthe climax of the
narrative.
The emphasisin earlyaccounts of Christianmartyrdomon the way the
spirittranscendspain and unites with God is if anythingintensifiedin medieval
saints'lives.David Morris has describedhow medieval renderingsof martyrdom
and suffering
treatpain as "a medium of visionaryexperience,"providing"a release
into a pure communion with the divine."9Morris observesthatvisual representations of Saint Sebastian,like Mantegna's famousportrait,tend to show him with
upraisedeyes,suggestingthathe is alreadybeyond normal experience,enjoyinga
formof communion with the divine.
In the most popular medieval martyrology,
the Legendaaureaof Jacobus de
Voragine,the sense of disjunctionbetween body and spiritis oftenstriking.Saint
Dorothy,one of manynoble virgins,preservesher virginityand her faiththrough
a seriesof tormentsdirectedby the Roman provostFabricius.Whenhe has her put
in a barrelofburningoil,she is so sustainedby thepower of"her spouseJesuChrist
thatshe feltnone diseasene harm,but a preciousointmentof balm,"in the words
of Caxton's translationatDorothy quicklyand miraculouslyrecoversfromordeals
thatinclude havingher body beaten with rodsand tornwith iron hooks,her face
Fabriciusfinally
disfiguredwith stones,and her breastsburned with firebrands.11
ends the confrontation
by havingherbeheaded,but not beforea childappearswith
a basket of roses and apples ("fromParadise") and the voice of Christ summons
Dorothy to heaven and promises her a martyr'scrown. Divine interventionsso
in English
8Patrick
"'A MagazineofReligiousPatterns':An
ErasmianTopic
Transposed
Collinson,
Protestantism,"
in GodlyPeople(London:HambledonPress,1983),499-525,arguesFoxe'sindebtedness
to classicalsources,particularly
to themoralframework
of Plutarch,
forhisconceptionof Protestant
heroism.He sees Foxe'smartyrs
as demonstrating
a classicalapatheia
in theflames,
althoughnot the
extreme
versionofStoicism.ForCollinsontheydisplay
a "trueAristotelian
courage,midwaybetween
ofspeechandbehaviorthat
cowardiceand temerity"
anda kindofmoderation,
avoidingtheextremes
theirpersecutors,
characterize
thathe associates
withAristotelian
ethics.I wouldarguethatone needs
to look as well to Christian
in particular
to thekindofbold speakingassociated
withthe
influences,
on constancy
in Christian
The boldnessof
apostlesinActsand theemphasis
andcalmness
martyrology.
Foxe'smartyrs,
in theirexaminations
and also at thestake,
is as remarkable
as theirapparent
controlof
theiremotions.
9David Morris,The CultureofPain (Berkeley:U CaliforniaPress,1991), 126-129, 131-136.
Morrisdiscusses
SaintSebastianand themystics
SaintTeresa
andSaintCatherineofSiena.
OF.S. Ellis,ed.,TheGoldenLegend,
as Englished
byWilliam
Caxton(NewYork:AMS,1973),7:43.
on
"1EamonDuffy,
TheStripping
oftheAltars(New Haven:YaleUP, 1992),170-171,comments
in latemedieval
thepopularity
ofthebizarreandspectacular
EnglishaccountsofRomanvirginmartyrs
in saints'livesoftheperiod(fifty-two
and on theproliferation
oftortures
separateonesin thecase of
Erasmus).
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Knott / Foxe & theJoyofSuffering725
dominatethe storythatit is difficult
to forma clear sense of the characterof her
resistance;the narratormultipliestormentsto enhance the moralpower of her suffering,but her experience of these tormentsseems curiously unreal.Although
Dorothyacts out the role of martyrin the materialworld,largelyas passivevictim,
she seems increasinglyconnected to the supernaturalone in which she will enjoy
statusand influenceas "blessed saintDorothy" and "protectress"of thosewho pray
to her againstthe perilsof fireand lightning.
12The storyof her suffering
makesher
appear unmistakably
holy and so farremovedfromordinaryhuman experienceas
to seem inimitable.Her case could illustratethe claim of BrigitteCazelles thatthe
earlymartyrscelebratedin medievalsaints'lives"were not so much models to be
imitated as they were exceptions to be admired." She notes that until the late
twelfthcenturysainthoodtendedto be reservedto episcopal or aristocratic
figures:
"distant,noble,heroic,admirable,inimitable."13
Foxe found manyreasonsto be contemptuousof the Legendaaureaand other
medievalsaints'lives,but one of the mostfundamentalwas thattheydistortedwhat
he regardedas "simpleand uncorrupt"storiesby the additionof"monkishmiracles
and grossfables"(1:258).These accretionswere anothersign of the venalityof the
medieval churchto Foxe; by inventingever more outlandishmiracles,the monks
promotedthe cult of the saintsand enhanced the value of the relicstheypreserved
as objectsofworship.Theyalso attenuatedthe dramathatFoxe foundin the earliest
accounts of Christianmartyrsof his own time,a drama groundedforhim in the
Christianfortitudeof the individualmartyr.Foxe's Marian martyrs,
whose stories
make up about a thirdof theActsand Monuments
and were the major reasonforits
enduringinfluence,displaysuch fortitudein theirexaminationsforheresy,where
theyboldly parrydoctrinalquestionswith scripturalanswersdespitethe threatof
in theirconduct at the site of execution.
condemnation,and, especially,
Foxe was more interestedin Eulalia'sbold speaking,in the mannerof the aposdes,14and in her fortitudethanin the pleasureshe professesto takein numbering
her gashes;he showed no interestin the connection between suffering
and religious ecstasyone can findin medievalasceticism.His Protestantmartyrs
anticipate
joining a perfectedcommunityof the faithfulin heaven ratherthan achievingan
ecstatic vision of God. Unlike the female saints discussed by Caroline Walker
Bynum,theydo not embracepain as a means ofjoining themselveswith the body
Legend,
7:47.
12Ellis,Golden
13Introductionto ImagesofSainthood
in MedievalEurope,ed. Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski
and
TimiaSzell(Ithaca:CornellUP, 1991),2,3.
14See,e.g.,Acts4:13,31; Phil.1:14,20. Speakingthewordof God boldly,
"filledwiththeHoly
wasa markof thetruefollower
of Christ.PeterBrown,PowerandPersuasion
inLateAntiquity
Ghost,"
(Madison:U WisconsinPress,1992),61ff.,chap.3, and passim,describesthe evolutionofparrhesia,
whichhe describes
as bold andfreespeech,in theearlyRomanEmpire.He showstheparrhesia
ofphilosophers,
a kindoflicensedspeechbywhichtheywereable to offer
frank
counselto authorities,
sucin
ceededbytheparrhesia
ofbishopsandmonks,oftenseenas spiritfilled.Brown'sinterest
is primarily
theexercise
ofpowerthrough
who tolerated
suchspeech,byinfluencing
emperors
andlocalgovernors
it.In Christian
martyrology
boldspeaking
ofthewordofGod is invariably
confrontational,
a challenge
rather
thana genuineattempt
to persuade,
andit typically
hastheeffect
ofintensifying
persecution.
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726
Journal XXVII / 3 (1996)
SixteenthCentury
and pain as a trialof faithsent
Christ.15 Rather,theysee suffering
of the suffering
by God and as somethingto be enduredand overcomethroughfaithwiththe help
which Foxe saw as made possible
of grace.It was the constancyof the earlymartyrs,
that
by divine support(while downplayingvisibleintrusionsof the supernatural),
established the pattern he traced in the accounts of sufferingunder "bloody
Bonner,"Bishop of London, and otherMarian persecutorssuppliedby his informants.Foxe describes Bonner's "rage" against a weaver of Shoreditch,Thomas
Tomkins,who is "so endued with God's mightySpirit" thatbeatingsand other
failto shakehis"confessionof truth"(6:718). Bonner finally
formsof mistreatment
testsTomkins' faithby holding his hand in the candle flame,as the "Etruscan
tyrantsPorsenna testedthe legendaryRoman hero Scaevola. Foxe uses the comparison to investTomkins,the Shoreditchweaver,with a heroismcomparable to
Scaevola so valiantlydid despise,abide,
thatof the fargranderfigure;"thisChristian
to marvelat the manfluland endurethatburning,thatwe have less cause hereafter
ness of thatRoman Scaevola" (6:719).What separatesthe fortitudeof Foxe's faithful"soldierof God" fromthatof Scaevola is the assumptionthathe is aided by the
presenceof the Holy Spirit.16
A passage that does not appear in the original English edition of 1563 has
"thathis spiritwas so rapt,thathe feltno
Tomkinsreportingto a friendafterwards
pain" (6:718).This denial of pain recallsthe raptcalm of the earlyChristianmartyrs
and furtherunderminesBonner's displayof power. Foxe's renderingofTomkins'
experienceshowshim embracingthe paradox at the heartof the Christianunderin body and yet rejoice in spirit.It also
thatone can suffer
standingof martyrdom,
so readilyenduredconproblemof makingsuffering
the martyrologist's
illustrates
Does Tomkinssimplybecome the typeof the martyrhere,
vincingand significant.
and, if so, can one believe in his fortitudeand regardit as heroic?The solution to
the problemforFoxe lay in supplyingthe kind of concretenessthatwould individualize his protagonistsand make themcredible,as by describingdetailsof clothing,
gestures,and snatches of conversationwith bystanders.Having establishedthe
humanness of his charactersand linked them with a supportivecommunity,he
could rivethis readers'attentionby describingthe effectsof the flamesin particularly grislyterms.Unless immunized against Protestantpropaganda,they were
likelyto believe in the authenticityof the storyand empathizewith the victim.
Here, in anotherpassageadded to the 1563 edition,he shows Bonner relentingin
his abuse ofTornkinsonly after"the sinewsburst,and the waterdid spirtin master
Harpsfield'sface" (6:719).
Elaine Scarry'scompelling studyof the effectsof torturesuggestshow the
"annihilatingpower of pain" can shut out the victim'sconsciousnessof the world
and disintegratehis or her sense of identityand power of speech. Pain dominates
U CaliforniaPress,1987),
15SeeCarolineWalkerBynum,HolyFeastandHolyFast(Berkeley:
andpassim.
183ff.,
245ff.,
with,"althoughit could also havetheother
16Foxe's"enduedwith"appearsto mean' invested
by."See OED, s.v."enduedwith."
archaicmeaningof"instructed
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Knott / Foxe & theJoyofSuffering727
the consciousnessand silencesthe victim.17Foxe describesrelativelyfew instances
of torture(theseare more frequentin accountsof the Roman persecutions),but he
represents
the experience of victimsof burningsin waysthatchallengethe picture
Scarryoffers.
Like such predecessorsas Eusebius and Prudentius,he depictsa form
of heroic suffering
in which the victimmanifests
a new sense of identity,
as one of
a companyof Christianmartyrsreachingback to the apostolic church,and speaks
with a voice thatassertsan enhancedmoraland spiritualauthority.
By demonstrating the resilienceof theirfaith,Foxe'smartyrs
gain a powerfulnew voice and a new
kind of influence.Weapprehendthisvoice throughthe medium of print,in Foxe's
reconstructionof the story,
but it oftenhas an immediacythatmakes one feellike
an eyewitness.In thisinstanceTomkins,as ifenactingthe martyrdomthathe anticipated,calls out "O Lord! into thyhands,I commend my spirit"(6:718), thereby
allyinghimselfwith the companyof"godlywitnesses"by echoing the lastwordsof
the protomartyr
Stephen,appropriatedby many of the Marian martyrs.
Through
such speech Foxe's martyrsinvokethe power of theWord of God in a finalact of
witnessing,
refusingto be silencedby the flames.18
Tomkins and those actuallyburned at the stake understood that the role of
martyrcalled for demonstratingsuperiorityto pain, and Foxe, drawingupon the
detail supplied by reporters,shaped his accountsto show Protestantmartyrstranscending their suffering.Foxe describes the Marian protomartyrJohn Rogers
washinghis hands in the flames"as one feelingno smart"(6:609), in an action that
was to become a ritualgesturetestifying
to one's composure in extremity,
and he
frequentlycharacterizesmartyrsas sleepingin the Lord, echoing a phraseused in
Acts of Stephen's martyrdomthat dissolvesany sense of the agony of death. He
reportsgestures that testifyto astonishingfeats of endurance. Robert Smith,
though blackened by fireand apparentlydead,"suddenlyrose uprightbeforethe
people, liftingthe stumpsof his arms,and clappingthe same together,declaringa
rejoicingheart" (7:367). George Marsh,so long in the flameswithoutmoving he
was thoughtdead, "suddenly"spreadshis arms and cries "Father of heaven,have
mercyupon me" (7:53). Accordingto Foxe,the people reportedthatMarsh "died
marvellouspatientand godly,"evidence thathe was securein his faithand received
into heaven;he shows the unrelentingbishop who condemned him,on the other
hand,preachingin the cathedralchurchthatMarsh "burntlike a heretic,and was
in hell" (7:53).
a fire-brand
These contestinginterpretations
of the meaning of Marsh's death underscore
the crucialimportanceforFoxe and his contemporariesof how the martyrs
played
17ElaineScarry,
TheBodyinPain(NewYork:OxfordUP, 1985),chap.1.
18Medicalanthropologist
Robert Kleinman,"Pain and Resistance:The Delegitimationand
ofLocalWorlds,"
in Painas HumanExperience:
Relegitimation
AnAnthropological
Perspective,
ed. MaryJoDelVecchioGood et al. (Berkeley:
U California
Press,1992),169-197,arguesthatexpressing
pain
can becomea formof resistance
to authority,
forexample,in thecase ofvictimsof China'sCultural
Revolution.Such pain,associatedwithsymptoms
ofillness,
becomesa meansof relegitimating
local
moralworlds.Kleinman'smodel can be adaptedto Foxe'smartyrs
ifone inverts
it.In theircase,not
expressing
painbecomesthemeansofresisting
authority
and ofrelegitimating
a moralworldthatthey
sharewithsupportive
onlookers.
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728
Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII / 3 (1996)
theirrolesat the stake.Onlookers obviouslywatched forand recordedsuch seeming miraclesof faithas the gesturesof Smithand Marsh,or thatofThomas Haukes,
who told his friendsbeforehandto watch fora sign thathe could keep his mind
"quiet and patient"despitethe pain and subsequentlyraisedhisburninghandsover
his head and clapped them threetimes"with greatrejoicing,as it seemed"(7:115,
italicsmine).Such gestureswere takenas signalingthe triumphof the spirit,yetthis
is nevera disembodiedspiritforFoxe. It expressesits victorythroughthe medium
of the body insteadof by some formof communion with the divine.WhereEulalia's spirittriumphsin the formof the dove that claps its wings as it ascends to
heaven,Haukes claps his charredhandsin a gesturethatkeeps the reader'sattention
fixedon the actual scene and the human drama acted there.In the woodcuts that
accompanied earlyeditionsof theActsand Monuments,
the martyrsstareout at the
readeror at the onlookers (in fullerrepresentations
of the execution scene) rather
than looking to heaven. Foxe's narrativeand the accompanyingillustrations
work
togetherto reinforcethebond betweenthe martyrand the communityfromwhich
he or she emerged.Thiscommunity,
which Foxe liked to see as imitatingthe experience of the primitivechurch,becomes the locus of the sacred.His emphasisis on
the communal experience of a persecuted band of saints,a "godly fellowship,"
ratherthanon the raptureof the transported
soul.
The factof a supportiveaudience distinguishesFoxe's execution scenes from
many of those described in earlieraccounts,including that of Eulalia, who confrontsRoman authority alone, having escaped the parents who would have
restrainedher.Foxe's martyrsare rooted in a sustainingholy communityand consciously play to it at their executions, with hortatoryprayerswhere these are
allowed as well as with gesturesaffirming
theirfaith.By reprintingthe lettersof
sometimesat greatlength,Foxe underscoredthe importanceof theiracts
martyrs,
of witnessingto this communityand stressedthat their words would survive.
Whether to family,
friends,or parishioners,these letterstypicallyconstructargumentsformartyrdomand urge recipientsto be true to theirfaithunder persecution, appealing frequentlyto scripture.Robert Smith's letters repeat familiar
biblical formulas:"God will tryhis elect as gold in the furnace" (7:365); "Your
sorrowshallbe turnedintojoy" (7:366).19 In a verse epistleto his brother,Smith
urges:
Come forthout of all fear,and do as I have done;
And God shallbe thyguide,and give thee such increase,
That in the flamesof firethou shalthave perfectpeace,
Into eternaljoy,and pass out of all pain:
Where we shallmeet with mirth,and neverpartagain. (7:362)
Smith does not appear here as exceptionallypious or holy,but as one ordinary
Christianurginganotherto "do as I have done." His focusis on the communityof
19Wisd.
ofSol. 3:6;John16:20.
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Knott / Foxe & theJoyofSuffering729
the saintsin heaven,which he hopes will include his brother,ratherthan on individual union with the divine.
Smith'sversifiedexhortationrevealsan underlyingconcern of the letterswith
addressingthe fearthatled manyto followthe easierway of conformity.
By virtue
of theirspiritualauthorityand theirassertionsof faith,prospectivemartyrsmight
hope to lead others"out of" thisdisablingfear.In the processtheycould strengthen
theirown resolve.Professingtheirconfidence,in conversationswithfellowprisoners and in lettersto supporters,was a way of maintainingit. Smith'sverses,like
many of the letters,accept the factof pain and the need to prepareoneselfforit.
They relyupon the common assumptionthatdivine guidance and support("God
shall be thyguide") coupled with the expectation of heavenlyjoy would secure
inner peace whatever the physicaltormentsof the flames.Paul had provided a
model for such witnessingwith his recitalsof hardshipsendured (includingbeatings,imprisonment,
perilousjourneys).20By actingon his advice to "bear the cross
of pain" with patience (7:369), Smith became for Foxe "a singularexample of
Christianfortitude,
who so manfullyand valiantlydid standin defenseof his Master'scause" (7:356). Smithis describedas actingmanfullybecause Foxe thoughtof
Christian soldiers and the fortitudethey displayed as masculine. He tended to
presenthis femalemartyrsas "poor selywomen" emboldened by God.21
Whatever his idealizingand celebratorytendenciesand those of the martyrs
whose words he reproduced,Foxe groundedhis storiesof individualmartyrdoms
in a convincinglymaterialworld in which his human actors do registerpain, at
leaston occasion,and are capable of hesitating.
Regis Boyerhas commentedon the
tendencyof medievalhagiographyto leave space and timerelativelyundefinedand
the saintsthemselves"weakly individualized ... copies of a common prototype"
(the monk, the virgin,the confessor,and so forth).22Foxe, by contrast,carefully
established dates and settings,especially of examinations and executions, and
in a largernarrativechroniclingthe resisembedded his accounts of martyrdoms
tance of individualsand the ultimatetriumphin England of the true church.He
recorded particularizingdetails that make the ordeals more credible than those
human
describedin the Legendaaureaand the martyrs
themselvesmore distinctively
than the saintscommemoratedthere.Such detail has the effectof authenticating
Foxe's accounts and intensifying
theirdrama and of makinghis protagonistsseem
familiarmembers of a communityacting out roles that anyone could be called
upon to play.He collapsed the distancethatmedieval hagiographytends to open
up between the saintand the ordinaryhuman.Foxe describesCecily Ormes,identifiedas the wife of a weaverand daughterof a tailor,as graspingthe stakein a symbolic gestureand declaring"Welcome the Cross of Christ,"then findingher hand
202Cor.11:23-27.
in TheBookofMartyrs,"
Sixteenth
21SeeEllenMacek,"The Emergenceofa FeminineSpirituality
maturation"
19 (1988): 63-80. Macek'semphasisis on the"spiritual
of Foxe'sfemale
Century
Journal
martyrs.
in Hagiography
to DefinetheTypologyofMedievalHagiography,"
22RegisBoyer,"An Attempt
ed.HansBekkeretal. (Odense:OdenseUP,1981),29.
andMedieval
Literature:A
Symposium,
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730
Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII / 3 (1996)
of Foxe to reportboth
sootyand wipingit on her smock (8:427). It is characteristic
gestures,the ritualone bindingher to the invisiblecompany of "godly witnesses"
who have gone before,the otherby itsveryordinarinessmarkingher kinshipwith
the visiblecommunityof believerswho gatheredat the stake.The stubbornfactof
soot and thenaturalimpulseto wipe it offroot Cecily Ormes in thisworldand give
the scene a sudden poignancy.The effectcould hardlybe more unlike thatwhich
Prudentiuscreatedwiththe detailsofthewhite dove and the unexpectedsnow that
markEulalia's death,testifying
to her purityand to the miraculouscharacterof the
event.
The storyof Rawlins White,"6good fatherRawlins," offersone of the better
examplesof the way Foxe presentsthe drama of an ordinaryperson,lackingeduWhite is one
cation and social standing,who is called to play the role of martyr.23
of Foxe'smostindividualizedand engagingcharacters,
an illiterate
Welsh fisherman
who withthe help of his youngson memorizesenough of the Bible to become an
effectivepreacher.Foxe's account emphasizesWhite's plainness (he comes to the
stakein an old russetcoat witha kerchiefon his head) and his habitofbluntspeaking.White characterizeshimselfas a "poor simple man" who truststhatGod will
his sense of his
strengthen
him,and he resiststhe bishop by stubbornlyaffirming
identity:"Rawlins you leftme, and Rawlins you find me; and, by God's grace,
Rawlins I will continue"(7:31).When his examinerssaya mass forhis conversion,
White rushesin fromthe next room at the sound of the sacringbell and calls on
the people to witness that"I bow not to this idol" (7:31). At the stakeWhite
reducesthe priestwho sermonizesover him to amazed silence by challenginghis
"clerklyinterpretation"
of the sacramentof the altarwith scripture.
Drawing upon the detailsupplied by his reporter("one masterDane"), Foxe
presentedWhite as exemplifying
the kind of bold speakingin the name of truth
thathe associatedwith the apostles.Yethe also included detailsthatsuggesta very
humanvulnerability.Wbite
risesfromkissingthe groundbeforethe stakewith dirt
stickingto his nose,an incidenthe turnsinto a reminderof his mortality("Earth
unto earth").He confessesto feeling"a greatfightingbetween the fleshand the
spirit"and tellsthe blacksmithto make fastthe chain thatbinds him to the stake,
"for it may be thatthe fleshwill strivemightily"(7:32). Such remarksmay have
become partof the ritualat the stake(Ridley urgesthe blacksmithto "knock [the
chain] in hard,forthe fleshwill have its course" [7:550]), but theyadd a sense of
inner conflictthatone does not findin earlyChristianaccounts,in which chains
simplyconstituteanotherformof torment.Reminders of the rebelliousnessof the
fleshand of the anxietyof the prospectivemartyrsabout theirabilityto control
theirbodies suggestthe real difficulty
of maintaininga "cheerfulcountenance"at
the stake,as Foxe reportsthatWhitedid.
23Thepreachers
andbishopswhosestoriesFoxegavethegreatest
arein factoutnumprominence
beredby thoseoflowersocialstationand considerably
as commentators
on Foxehave
lesseducation,
long noted.RichardHelgerson,FormsofNationhood:
TheElizabethan
Writing
ofEngland(Chicago:U
on thepoverty
ChicagoPress,1992),264-266,arguestheimportance
ofFoxe'semphasis
andsimplicity
ofmanyofthemartyrs
he includesin hisvisionofthetruechurch.
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Knott / Foxe & theJoyofSuffering731
Foxe framedhis account of the execution itselfwith a characterizationthat
suggests
White'sdignityand calm.He remarkson the apparentalterationofWhite's
appearance at the stake,noting that his white hair and beard make him seem
"angelical,"and thathe appears"bolt upright"(he had walked with a stoop before)
and with"a mostpleasantand comely countenance."The factthatFoxe shows the
aged Hugh Latimersimilarlytransformed
(in his shroud he stands"bolt upright"
and appears"comely" where beforehe had seemed a "witheredand crooked silly
old man" [7:549]) suggeststhatsuch characterizationsare part of his construction
of heroism.The individualsthreatento disappearinto the type at such moments,
with the implicationthatsocial and other distinctionsare erasedby the common
experience of martyrdom,
yet the charactersof bishop and fishermanare firmly
establishedbeforethis point. Foxe assureshis readersthat"it cannot be said that
[White] sufferedor feltany greatpain," since he "abode quietly and patiently"
(7:33), thisafterdescribinghim as bathinghis hands in the flamesuntilthe sinews
shrinkand the fatdropsaway and as loudly crying"Lord, receivemy spirit!"until
he could not open his mouth,a period he characterizesas "somewhatlong." One
feelsthe tensionhere and elsewherebetween Foxe's need to believe in the "mild
deathsof the saints"and the evidence of what may have been prolongedand agosmwa
nizing pain.24 Foxe's "somewhat long" in effectconcedes thispain but without
acknowledgingit or allowinganythingto blurthe heroicportraitofRawlinsWhite.
Sometimesthe evidence of pain is unmistakable.
We learn thatThomas Benbridge recanted at the stake because of the "intolerable heat" (8:492) fromhis
leatherstockings;Foxe can saythisbecause Benbridge retractedhis recantationand
was burnedindeed a week later.He describesbotched firesthatprolongthe dying
and recordsthe kind of sensationaldetail,like Hooper's beatinghis breastwith his
arm untilthe arm fallsoff,thatled Helen White to call him a "masterof horror."25
Foxe knew the dramaticpower of such detail,and he knew also thatby recording
the fire'shorrifictorments,
his versionof the torturesimposed by Roman persecutors,he could make such triumphsoffaithappear more astonishingand at the same
time more tangiblethan the distantordealsof the earlyChristianmartyrsand the
oftenfantasticones of medieval saints'lives.A comment in his 1563 preface,"To
thePersecutorsof God's Truth,Commonly Called Papists,"suggestsanotherreason
forpreservingas fulla recordas possibleof the abuses of the bodies of the faithful:
"Behold, here presentbeforeyour eyes,the heaps of slain bodies, of so manymen
and women ... whose wounds, yet bleeding before the face of God, cry vengeance!"(1:508). By displaying the wounds, "yet bleeding," he amplified his
Protestant
cryforrevengeforthose"slain forthe word of God" (Rev. 6:9-10).
24Wecannotknow,of course,to whatdegreeFoxe'smartyrs
actuallyexperiencedpain.Severe
(third-degree)
burnscan deadenthenerveendings,
and thestateofmindofthemartyr,
demonstrating
thepowerofhisor herfaithby refusing
to recantand anticipating
intoheaven,could have
entrance
affected
theperception
ofpain.Weknowofritualpractices
in whichcelebrants
in theirexaltation
show
no signofpain;forexample,thehook-hanging
ritualused in India.Celebrants
of thisritual,thought
to represent
thepowerofthegods,hangfroma specialcartbysteelhooksembeddedin theirbacks.See
RonaldMelzackandPatrickD.Wall,TheChallenge
ofPain,rev.ed. (NewYork:Basic,1983),28-30.
25
HelenWhite,Tudor
BooksofSaintsandMartyrs
(Madison:U WisconsinPress,
1963),161-162.
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732
Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII / 3 (1996)
Those actuallyawaitingburningappealed to scriptural
promisesof bodilyresurrection.As Robert Samuel put it, paraphrasingPaul (Phil. 3:21): "Christ shall
transfigure
our vile bodies, and conformthem to his gloriousbody" (7:369).The
vulnerablenaturalbody,its corruptibility
provenby the "wounds" inflictedupon
it,would be "raisedin incorruption"at the LastJudgment(1 Cor. 15:42). In a last
prayerat the stake,Nicholas Sheterdenfoundconsolationin the prospectof a body
made perfect,beyond the troublesof thisworld.Afterurging God to accept his
body as a sacrifice("whatever rebellion hath been, or is found in my members,
againstthywill"), he prays:"Let thistormentbe to me the last enemy destroyed,
even death,the end of misery,and beginningof alljoy,peace and solace; and when
the time of resurrectioncometh,thenlet me enjoy again thesemembersthenglorified,which now be spoiled and consumed by the fire"(7:313).Foxe's preoccupation with the details of the spoiling and consuminghas the importanteffectof
heighteningthe imaginedcontrastwith the glorifiedbody of the saint.
Foxe clearlythoughthe could containthe imagesofhorrorhe capturedwithin
the frameof a narrativethatcelebratesthe victoriesof the martyrs,
neutralizingthe
terrorsuch images mightarouse by insistingupon the peacefulnessand joy of the
martyrin the flames.Yetthe narrativeframecan crack,as it does verynoticeablyin
Foxe's account of the death of Nicholas Ridley, with his fellow bishops Hugh
Latimer and Thomas Cranmer the most prominentof the Marian martyrs.
The
woodcut thatrendersthe famousscene at Oxford givesno indicationof the rupture thatwe findin the narrative.This shows the heroic figuresof Latimerand
Ridley at the stakeat the moment of the lightingof the fire,simultaneouslyuttering what are intended to be last words.Their preacherlygestures and assured
expressionssignala triumphantfaithto the supportivecrowd,as the secularauthoritiesand the priestwho hasjust denounced themlook on.
At the beginningof the narrative,
Ridley seems remarkablypoised, gesturing
to heaven when he arrivesfirstat the site of execution,then embracingLatimer
"with a wonderouscheerfullook" and assuringhim that"God will eitherassuage
the furyof the flame,or else strengthenus to abide it" (7:548). Ridley continues
to play the more prominentrole in the scene, takingthe lead in attemptingto
respondto the sermoncensuringthem as heretics,elaboratelygivingaway possessions and clothingto clamoringsupporters("Happy was he thatmightget any rag
of him"), and pressinga suiton behalfof his sisterand othersdependentupon him.
Yet Latimerspeaks the memorablefinalwords about lightinga candle that"shall
neverbe put out,"added in editionsafter1563,26and dies the exemplarymartyr's
26"Beofgood comfort,
masterRidley,andplaytheman.We shallthisdaylightsucha candle,by
God'sgrace,in England,as I trustshallneverbe putout" (7:550).NothingelseLatimersaysor doesin
thesceneprepares
us forthemeasuredeloquenceofthisremark.
The onlyotherspeechwe hearfrom
Latimeris colloquial,includinghisresponseto Ridley's"Oh, be ye there?"on the wayto thestake
to thesermon("Well!thereis nothing
("haveafter... as fastas I canfollow")andhisreported
reaction
hidbutit shallbe opened").His finalremark,
whilein character,
hasa rhetorical
mannerthatsuggests
use
Foxe'sshapinghand.Foxe'sconcluding
comment,
anotheradditionto the1563text,showsa similar
ofpauses:"Whatrewardremaineth
forthemin heaven,thedayoftheLord'sglory,
whenhe cometh
shallshortly,
I trust,
withhissaints,
declare"(7:551).
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Knott / Foxe & theJoyofSuffering733
death. Foxe shows him embracingthe flames,strokinghis face and bathing his
handsin the fire,then dyingrelativelyquickly,"with littleor no pain" (7:550).
froma firethatcannot reach
Foxe representsRidley,by contrast,as suffering
his upperbody,ironicallymade worseby his brother'swell-meaningact of heaping
on more faggots.Instead of quietlyenduring,with ritualhand washing,he struggles and cries "Lord, have mercyupon me" and "I cannot burn" (7:551) until a
bystanderremovessome faggots,allowingthe fireto flameup and ignitethe bag of
gunpowderaroundhis neck providedby his brotheras a kindness.Foxe focuseson
the pain of Ridley'sburninglegs,"whereofhe had no release,only his contentation
in God."The formulaicassertionof contentconveyslittlesense of satisfactionor
comfortin God. In thiscase,the factsof the eventseem to overwhelmthe topoi of
the martyrologist.
Foxe pictures hundredsweeping "in beholding the horrible sight" of such
by the"furyofthe fire... [raging]upon their
eminentmen of the churchdestroyed
bodies." His descriptionof the sorrowingof the crowd and the past accomplishmentsof the victimsregistersa mixtureof shock and outrageat the unseemliness
of the event ("so manygodlyvirtues... such excellentlearning,to be put into the
fire,and consumed in one moment").He ends his narrativeabruptlyand uncharby declaring,"Well! dead theyare and the rewardof thisworld they
acteristically
have already"(7:551).The account in the 1563 edition ends here.Foxe added subsequentlythattheywould receivetheirrewardin heaven at the LastJudgment.He
obviouslybelieved thatLatimerand Ridley would receivetheirmartyrs'crownsof
eternallife (Rev. 2:10),27 if not the immediateunion with God thatEusebius and
and feltthe need to cap the disturbing
otherssaw forthe earlyChristianmartyrs,
of ultimatevictory.
account of Ridley's executionwith an affirmation
somethingimportantabout theActsand
The scene of Ridley's deathillustrates
the unpreIt is the deviationsfromthe unwrittenscriptof martyrdom,
Monuments.
dictablethingslike soot on the hands or a firethatwill not burn right,thatmake
withinreach
Foxe's Protestantsaintsseem vividlyhuman and theirheroic suffering
the conventionallanguage of the
of ordinarymembersof a holy community.While
takes over at times,Foxe musthave recognizedthatthe rejoicingof
martyrologist
the spirithe insistsupon could not reallybe separatedfromthe pain and the indignitiesof the fleshand thatthe strugglebetween fleshand spiritcould not be transcendedas simplyas assertionsabout peace in the flamesimplied.The power of his
evocationsof heroic Christianfortitudedepends upon his abilityto suggestthe
to pain of his protagonistseven while recordingtheir
weaknessand susceptibility
triumphant
gesturesof faith.Thecompellingdramathathe was able to give his stocontinued to appeal not
ries of martyrdomexplainswhy theActsand Monuments
in England but,ironically,as a
only as a historyof the triumphof Protestantism
sourceof patternsof speech and behaviorforthose who thoughtthe EnglishReformationfarfromover and could identifywith the indeliblyhuman gesturesof
thatFoxe represented.What
resistanceto persecutionand enduranceof suffering
crownsofglory.
See 1 Pet.5:4.
27Thefaithful
arealsopromised
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734
Sixteenth
CenturyJournal
XXVII / 3 (1996)
Foxe could not have foreseenwas the subversivepotential of storieslike that of
RawlinsWhite to fuelresistanceto the authorityof the establishedchurch:by ElizabethanSeparatists,
John Lilburne,John Bunyan,the Quaker leader George Fox,
and a hostof otherswho contributedto the emergenceof a vigorousnonconformisttraditionin England.28
Henry
of Foxe by theElizabethanSeparatist
28RichardHelgersondiscussestheappropriation
ofFoxe'srepresentaofNationhood.
I examinetheinfluence
BarrowandbyBunyanin chap.6 ofForms
tionsofpersecution
and suffering
at lengthin Discourses
ofMartyrdom
in English
Literature,
1563-1694
(Cambridge:
CambridgeUP,1993).
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