The Author(s)
Engraving of John Foxe by Martin Droeshout II. 1623-1630
John Foxe
John Foxe
Born in 1516 in Lincolnshire, England, John Foxe was a Protestant clergyman and author who wrote and compiled the Actes and Monuments (Freeman 695). He was educated at Oxford, and became a lecturer at the University, although he resigned from the position following his conversion to Protestantism, as the position would have required him to be ordained as a Catholic priest (695). Upon Edward VI's rise to the throne, Foxe began translating and publishing Protestant sermons, and began writing the Actes and Monuments, later known as The Book of Martyrs (696). Foxe married Agnes Randall in 1547, with whom he had six children (695). When Mary Tudor, a Catholic, assumed the throne after Edward's death, Foxe reluctantly fled England out of fear of religious persecution (696). However, when Elizabeth I finally came to power, Foxe returned to England where he became acquainted with John Day, who printed and illustrated the first English edition of the Actes and Monuments in 1563 (699). Subsequent second, third, and fourth editions of the book were printed and became increasingly popular in the first half of the 17th century (708). Foxe died in April 1587, leaving his estate to his son, Samuel Foxe (707).
Born in 1516 in Lincolnshire, England, John Foxe was a Protestant clergyman and author who wrote and compiled the Actes and Monuments (Freeman 695). He was educated at Oxford, and became a lecturer at the University, although he resigned from the position following his conversion to Protestantism, as the position would have required him to be ordained as a Catholic priest (695). Upon Edward VI's rise to the throne, Foxe began translating and publishing Protestant sermons, and began writing the Actes and Monuments, later known as The Book of Martyrs (696). Foxe married Agnes Randall in 1547, with whom he had six children (695). When Mary Tudor, a Catholic, assumed the throne after Edward's death, Foxe reluctantly fled England out of fear of religious persecution (696). However, when Elizabeth I finally came to power, Foxe returned to England where he became acquainted with John Day, who printed and illustrated the first English edition of the Actes and Monuments in 1563 (699). Subsequent second, third, and fourth editions of the book were printed and became increasingly popular in the first half of the 17th century (708). Foxe died in April 1587, leaving his estate to his son, Samuel Foxe (707).
Anne Askew
Anne Askew
Although Anne Askew is not the author of The Book of Martyrs, a chapter of the book features Anne's own account and dictation of her examinations and torture, compiled and reprinted by John Foxe from the original edition edited by John Bale (Freeman and Wall). Anne Askew was born in 1521 in Lincolnshire, England to Elizabeth Wrottesley and William Askew (Watt 709). Anne was educated and later betrothed by her father to Thomas Kyme, who had intended to marry Anne's deceased sister, Martha (709). When Anne began to align herself with Protestant beliefs, Kyme drove Askew out of the household, and she fled to London and sought a divorce (709). In 1545, Askew was arrested under the authority of the Six Articles Act, and examined by the Lord Mayor and Edmund Bonner (710). After signing a confession of belief, Askew was ultimately released (710). However, in the summer of 1546, she was arrested and imprisoned for a second time on charges of heresy (710). Askew was brought to the Tower of London where, when she refused to name other protestants in the Queen's circle, she was tortured on the rack, despite laws prohibiting the torture of women (710). She refused several opportunities to recant her Protestant beliefs and was burnt at the stake in Smithfield, London on July 16, 1546 (711).
Although Anne Askew is not the author of The Book of Martyrs, a chapter of the book features Anne's own account and dictation of her examinations and torture, compiled and reprinted by John Foxe from the original edition edited by John Bale (Freeman and Wall). Anne Askew was born in 1521 in Lincolnshire, England to Elizabeth Wrottesley and William Askew (Watt 709). Anne was educated and later betrothed by her father to Thomas Kyme, who had intended to marry Anne's deceased sister, Martha (709). When Anne began to align herself with Protestant beliefs, Kyme drove Askew out of the household, and she fled to London and sought a divorce (709). In 1545, Askew was arrested under the authority of the Six Articles Act, and examined by the Lord Mayor and Edmund Bonner (710). After signing a confession of belief, Askew was ultimately released (710). However, in the summer of 1546, she was arrested and imprisoned for a second time on charges of heresy (710). Askew was brought to the Tower of London where, when she refused to name other protestants in the Queen's circle, she was tortured on the rack, despite laws prohibiting the torture of women (710). She refused several opportunities to recant her Protestant beliefs and was burnt at the stake in Smithfield, London on July 16, 1546 (711).
