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Through a Venice Glass Darkly: John Foxe’s Most Famous Miracle
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2016
Extract
On New Year’s Day, 1578, Sir John Langley, a wealthy alderman of the City of London, lay dying. Present at his deathbed were three of the most eminent preachers in the capital: Robert Crowley, who held four London livings, Alexander Nowell, the dean of St Paul’s cathedral and John Foxe, the martyrologist. As Langley’s life ebbed away, Foxe went up to the dying man and ‘used both godly councell unto him and some devote prayers’. Since Langley could no longer speak, Foxe urged him to signify his belief in Christ by holding up his hands:
Ymmediatly so he did and then … Mr Fox was verie gladd, and told him that he had done ynoughe to show him self both a Crystian and to depend only uppon the merittes of Chrystes passione.
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References
1 The National Archive, C24/134, depositions of Francis Langley, Christopher Hunt and Thomas Bradshaw. All dates are new style. The punctuation in all quotations has been modernized but the original spelling has been retained, although the letters i, j, u and v have been modernized. All of the manuscript archives consulted for this paper are in London. All places of publication are London unless otherwise noted.
2 Ibid.
3 See Stachniewski, John, The Persecutory Imagination: English Puritanism and the Literature of Religious Despair (Oxford, 1991), esp. 27–61 Google Scholar, and Kaufman, Peter Iver, Prayer, Despair and Drama: Elizabethan Introspection (Champaign, IL, 1996)Google Scholar. For religious despair among Marian Protestants, see Thomas S. Freeman, ‘“The Good Ministrye of Godlye and Vertuouse Women”: the Elizabethan Martyrologists and the Female Supporters of the Marian Martyrs’, JBS 39 (2000), 16–21. For religious despair in New England see Hall, David D., Worlds of Wonder, Days of Judgement: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England (New York, 1989), 131–7.Google Scholar
4 See in this volume, Walsham, Alexandra, ‘Miracles in Post-Reformation England’, 273–306.Google Scholar
5 John Foxe, Acts and Monuments of matters most speciall …, 3 vols (1632–41), STC [Wing] F2035, II, sig. B2r. Simeon’s memoir of his father was first printed in the second volume of the 1641 edition of John Foxe’s martyrology, the Acts and Monuments: hereafter cited as Memoir.
6 BL, Harley MS 416, fol. 120r-v. There is also a letter to Foxe begging for his advice on overcoming a ‘temptacion of blasphemy’: ibid., fol. 131r.
7 BL, Harley MS 417, fols 126r-127V.
8 BL, Harley MS 416, fol. 116r-v.
9 Foxe’s most celebrated exorcism is described in Sands, Kathleen R., An Elizabethan Lawyer’s Possession by the Devil: the Story of Robert Briggs (Westport, CT, 2002)Google Scholar, a book which, unfortunately, is poorly researched and superficial. For an overview of Foxe’s career as an exorcist, see the article on him in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004).
10 See Fuller, Thomas, The History of the Worthies of England, ed. Nuttall, P. Austin, 3 vols (1840), 2: 158–9 Google Scholar, and the article on Mary Honeywood in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. I am grateful to Dr Jacqueline Eales for sending me a copy of her article on Honeywood in advance of publication.
11 Certain most godly, fruitful, and comfortable letters of such true saintes and holy martyres…, ed. Bull, Henry (1564), STC 5886, 298–305 and 426–7 Google Scholar. Cf. Wabuda, Susan, ‘Henry Bull, Miles Coverdale and the Making of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs’, in Wood, Diana, ed., Martyrs and Martyrologies, SCH 30 (Oxford, 1993), 245–58.Google Scholar
12 Collinson, Patrick, ‘A Mirror of Elizabethan Puritanism: the Life and Letters of “Godly Master Dering” ‘, in idem, Godly People: Essays on English Protestantism and Puritanism (London, 1983), 289–324, 318.Google Scholar
13 Arthington, Henry, The Seduction of Arthington by Hacket… (1592), STC 799, 14–15 Google Scholar, and Cosin, Richard, Conspiracie for pretended Reformation (1592), STC 5823, 5 and 64 Google Scholar. Also see Walsham, Alexandra, ‘“Frantik Hacket”: Prophecy, Sorcery, Insanity and the Elizabethan Puritan Movement’, HistJ 41 (1998), 27–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14 A marginal note in the manuscript of Simeon Foxe’s memoir states that the incident took place when Honeywood was sixty (BL, Lansdowne MS 388, fol. 36V). This would be in 1586–7. John Foxe died on 18 April 1587.
15 Since God’s Arraignment was, in part, an attack on Arminianism, it seems safe to characterize Yates as a puritan, at least at the time he wrote the book. However, later in life, Yates would align himself with that most anti-puritan prelate, Bishop Richard Montagu (whom Yates had previously criticized). For the details of Yates’s career, see Reynolds, Matthew, ‘Puritanism and the Emergence of Laudianism in City Politics in Norwich, c.1570–1643’, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Kent, 2002, 72–3, 92–8, 108–12, 123–41 and 171–2.Google Scholar
16 Yates, John, Gods arraignment of hypocrites (Cambridge, 1615), STC 26081, 356–7.Google Scholar
17 See Walsham, Alexandra, Providence in Early Modem England (Oxford, 1999), 226–30.Google Scholar
18 The Antinomian Controversy, 1636–1638: a Documentary History, ed. Hall, David D. (Middletown, CT, 1968), 273 and 340–1.Google Scholar
19 For example, Samuel Clarke, in the course of two pages, variously described the rescue of William Bradshaw from drowning as ‘a miracle’, ‘a wonder of wonders’ and ‘a special providence of God’: Samuel Clarke, The lives of two-and-twenty English divines (1660), STC [Wing], C4540, 29–30.
20 Bolton, Robert, Instructions for a right comforting [of] afflicted consciences (1631)Google Scholar, STC 3258, 5. The Dutch scholar Voetius mentioned the incident, citing Bolton, in a work on miracles written in 1640: see Voetius, G., Selectae disputationes theologicae, 3 vols (Utrecht, 1655), 2:1024 Google Scholar. I am grateful to Dr Aza Goudriaan for this reference.
21 Bagshaw, Edward, Mr. Boltons Last And Learned Worke of the Foure last Things,… together with the life and death of the authour (London, 1635), STC 1190, 16.Google Scholar
22 Clarke, Samuel, A Mirrour or looking-glasse both for saints and sinners (London, 1646), STC [Wing] C4548,10–11.Google Scholar
23 For a persuasive argument identifying Simeon Foxe as the author of this anonymous memoir, see Mozley, J. F., John Foxe and his Book (London, 1940), 1–11.Google Scholar
24 Memoir, sig. B3r-v.
25 The Heneage brothers, Sir Thomas and Michael, were close friends of John Foxe, who had a particular regard for Michael (Memoir, sig. B6r). Michael Heneage married Grace Honeywood, the daughter of Robert and Mary Honeywood. Grace and her brother Robert Honeywood (the younger) were executors of Michael’s will; its overseer was Sir Moyle Finch: cf. P. W. Hasler, The House of Commons, 1558–1603, 3 vols (1981), s.v. ‘Heanage, Michael’ [hereafter: Hasler]. In addition to being Sir Thomas Heneage’s son-in-law, Sir Moyle was the godfather of Samuel’s eldest daughter, with Lady Anne Heneage being her godmother (Hasler and BL, Lansdowne MS 679, fol. 39r). Sir Thomas Heneage was the godfather of Samuel’s eldest son Thomas, with Lady Finch acting as godmother (ibid., fol. 39r). In fact, Samuel Foxe’s marriage was held in Sir Moyle’s house (ibid., fol. 47r). The capstone was placed on this network of happy families when John Foxe’s grandson Thomas, eldest son of Samuel Foxe, married Anne Honeywood, one of the numerous grandaughters of Mary Honeywood.
26 Memoir, sig. B3V.
27 Ibid., sig. A3r.
28 BL, Lansdowne MS 388, fols 1r-51v.
29 Mozley, John Foxe, 4. Mozley ignores a statement in the manuscript that Mary Honeywood ‘hodieque vivit annis nonagenaria’ [is alive today at the age of ninety] (Lansdowne MS 388, fol. 36v). Honeywood was ninety in 1617. Nevertheless, Simeon probably miscalculated or exaggerated her age.
30 Unfortunately, Mozley did not realize that this manuscript was a scribal copy (see John Foxe, 8) and he ignored the annotations in it. In the original text Honeywood is referred to as still living (see the previous note). Yet Samuel crossed this passage out and declared that she lived to be over ninety. He also changed a reference to her in the present tense to the past tense (Lansdowne MS 388, fol. 36v). Mary Honeywood died in 1620.
31 Both the original Latin memoir, and its English translation were printed in the 1641 Acts and Monuments. Mozley has demonstrated that it was Simeon who did this translation (John Foxe, 8–9).
32 Memoir, sig. B3r.
33 Lansdowne MS 388, fol. 30V.
34 Memoir, sig. A8r and George Atwell, An apology, or defence of the divine art of natural astrologie (1660), STC [Wing] A4162, 32–3.
35 Memoir, fol. 36V.
36 Lansdowne MS 388, fol. 36V. Actually Samuel’s note cites Anne Heneage, the widow of Micheal Heneage as the witness. This was an error (Grace Heneage was Michael’s widow) probably caused by the fact that a preceeding anecdote in the memoir described Foxe predicting the recovery of Anne Heneage from illness.
37 Jessey, Henry, The exceeding riches of grace advanced… (1647), STC [Wing] J687, 11–12.Google Scholar
38 Fuller, Worthies, II: 158–9. My emphasis in the last quotation.
39 Flavell, John, Divine Conduct: or the mysterie of Providence… (1673), STC [Wing] F1158, 73.Google Scholar
40 Ibid., sigs A4V-A5r.
41 Ibid., sig. A8v.
42 Turner stated that he had been inspired to begin his project by Increase Mather’s call for a record of providential events to refute sceptics: Turner, William, A compleat history of the most remarkable providences… (1697)Google Scholar, STC [Wing] T3345, sig. B1r. He also declared that ‘to record Providences seems to be one of the best methods that can be pursued against the abounding atheism of this age’: ibid., sig. B1v.
43 Turner, , Compleat history, 123 Google Scholar in the first of seven separate paginations.
44 Aubrey, John, Miscellanies (1696)Google Scholar, STC [Wing] A4188, 100.
45 Jessey, , Exceeding riches, 11–12 Google Scholar, and Dr. William’s Library, Baxter Treatises, VI, no. 211, fol. 321V.
46 See in particular the papers by Alexandra Walsham, Robert Webster and John Tomlinson printed in this volume.