John Foxe - Martyrologist (6 of 9)

An account of his life taken from The History and Antiquities of Boston by Pishey Thompson (1856) [continued].

communicated them to Fox, and “thus commenced the authentic compilation which the Church of England, till within the present age, has uniformly deemed so useful and so valuable.”1 The letter is still extant which proves this to have been the origin of the chief part of Fox’s work ; 2 which was composed originally in Latin, and afterwards published on his return in English, in 1563.3 Queen Mary died November 17th, 1558, when the greater part of the exiles returned home. Fox, at the persuasion of Grindal and Sampson, continued at Basil to complete his work, and till they might have mnore certain and larger intelligence out of England of the late persecution. This must have been supplied to Fox from England, because the edition of 1559 contains the accounts of the disputatious and deaths of Latimer, Ridley, and Cranmer.4 The time of John Fox’s return to England is ascertained by the date of a letter (October, 1559), written from London to the Duke of Norfolk ;5 from which we learn, that he returned in a very impoverished state, acknowledging his comforts in religion through all his misfortunes. The Duke’s reply, which is worthy of all praise for its friendly feeling and truly Christian spirit, is as follows:— “I have received your letter, my excellent preceptor, from which I learn your affection towards me, which is very acceptable to me. And unless the return of my servants had preceded my letters, you would have been here with me before this. For I wrote to them that they should so provide you with all things, that you might speedily come to me. Which would have so happened, had they not returned more quickly than I expected. Now, since I shall be in London shortly, I wish you to await me there; where, as I desire and ought, I will look to you. In the meantime I bid you farewell. From my house at Keyningale, the 31st of October, 1559. Your pupil, “THOMAS NORFOLK.” “To my right loving schoolmaster, John Fox.”6 The Duke performed his promise, and received Fox into his manor-house, Christ Church, Aldgate. CHALMERS adds, that he settled a pension upon him, which was afterwards continued by his son. His health now failing, through the combined effects of severe mental labour and anxiety, the Duke, soon after this meeting, sent him on a slight commission to Norwich, where Cox had lately been appointed bishop, on the death of Bishop Hopton, in June 1559. Fox was the intimate friend of both Cox and Parkhurst. How long he continued at Norwich is not known, whilst there he preached as his health permitted. He resided for some time, after his return to London, in the town mansion of the Duke of Norfolk. The Duke was not in London, but lived with his family at Framlingham, where the death of the Duchess had recently taken place. Fox then accepted an invitation from Day, the printer, and resided some time in his house, and numerous letters exist, which are directed to him there. It is very probable that, for the sake of being near the printing office, he continued to live there until the appearance of his “Acts and Monuments,” in English, in 1563. In this year he was inducted into the Prebend of Skipton, in the Cathedral of Salisbury; this took place on the 31st May, according to the Chapter Register of Salisbury, and Bishop Jewel’s Register. This Prebend, Chalmners says, Cecil obtained of the Queen for Fox,7 who would have declined it. He had many powerful friends among the bishops, who would have raised him to higher preferments, but he declined accepting them, being always unwilling to subscribe

1 Mr. TOWNSEND’s Narrative. 2 Harleian MSS. 417, art. 59, p. 113b. 3 In folio, printed by John Day, BL. A copy is in the British Museum. 4 Dr. MAITLAND’S criticisms end with Fox’s flight to Germany ; the remainder of this biographical

sketch will, therefore, he an abridgment from Mr. TOWNSEND’s Narrative. 5 Harleian MSS. 417, article 65. 6 Ibid. article 66. 7 A copy of the Queen’s grant to Fox may be found in Harleian MS. No. 419, p. 171.—B.

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