MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Thomas Cranmer: A Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996.
Pages 7-15, “Chapter One: Simple Esquire: 1489-1503”
From Aslockton in Nottinghamshire. The family was originally from Sutterton on the Wash for 7-8 decades before Aslockton.
The poor lad, Thomas Jr., was 12 years old when his father passed Canaan's shore.
Cranmer Sr. was buried in the Whatton church, about a quarter of a mile from Holy Trinity, Aslockton, separated by flooding streams.
Mr. MacCulloch gently hints that Cranmer Sr. sought to define himself in a socially upwards direction. We feel, however, that that is not conclusive...at all.
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| Whatton parish in Nottinghamshire |
Mr. MacCulloch notes that Thomas (abc) Cranmer may have been irritated by reminders of his “yeomen stock.” He offers no evidence; a late 20th century interpolation by Mr. MacCulloch? It's reasonable but not necessary.
In an apparently mild put-down, according to Mr. Mac, Mr.
Cranmer reminds Mr. (bp.) Stephen Gardiner of their respective origins. Mr. Cranmer says, “I pray God that we, being called to the name of lords, have not forgotten our own base estates, that once we were simple squires.”
This is suggestive, to wit, that Churchmanship and Oxbridge were the paths to social elevation and that some, as a consequence, forgot their "base origins." We believe these two suggestions to be strong. Want a good life? Join the clergy. Want a really good life? Go along, get along, and get preferrments. Our questions will be: how far and did Mr. Cranmer Jr. bend his ideas to the Anglican versions of 1.0 through 4.0?
Version 1.0 = Henrician Papal Romanism. Version 2.0 = Henrician Non-Papal Romanism. That is, doctrinal Romanism without the bishop of Rome. Version 3.0 = an interlude during Edward VI's brief reign. Version 4.0 = Mary 1's return to Version 1.0. Version 5.0 = Elizabeth 1's Settlement. Thomas Cranmer lived through 1.0-3.0 and died in Version 4.0. But, back to the story.
By 1501, the family crest had “three cranes.” Cranmer would retain these as his signet and personal seal. Mr. Mac believes the reference was to the birds’ “legendary willingness to feed its young with its own blood,” a typological reference to Christ’s willingness to die for his people. The family crest appears on the tomb-slab of Mr. Thomas Cranmer Sr.
Mr. Cranmer Sr. left no provisions for Masses for his own departure and soul (unlike Mr. Henry VIII, in both versions 1.0 and 2.0 of English Romanism, Papal and Non-Papal versions, who endowed Masses well into 2 centuries beyond his death...continued in France). He left some money for a "new bell" at the Whatton church.
Mr. Cranmer Sr.'s brother was a cleric and testator to the will. According to Mr. Pollard, the will was probated in York.
Pg. 12 offers this. The family also had connections to the “Premonstratensian Abbey of Welbeck.” Some further research is in order. The abbey was dissolved in 1538, as a result of Mr. Henry VIII’s dissolution-act (and land grab according to some). However, during Thomas Jr.'s years, in 1501, the Abbey was flourishing.
Mr. Cranmer Sr. made sure two of his three boys “got a good education.” That is, Thomas Jr. and Edmund. The other boy inherited the larger part of the estate. The two future churchman, Jr. and Ed, got 20 shillings, a “modest annual allowance” to use Mr. Mac’s phrase.
TC Jr.’s sister, Alice Cranmer, became a Cistercian nun at the nunnery at Stixwold in Lincolnshire.
TC Jr. had two lifelong friends since age seven. Alll three were schooled together and all three attended Jesus College, Cambridge.
They were: (1) Thomas Goodrich, bishop of Ely, and John Whitwell, the personal chaplain to TC Jr. during his days in Canterbury.
Mr. Cranmer’s early days were oriented to an urban triangle: Nottingham, Boston, and Lincoln.
Mr. MacCulloch offers us tidbits more beyond Mr. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer," but not very much.
The pictures of Mr. Cranmer Sr.'s tomb-slab and the family crest are notable.
Mr. Cranmer Sr. and Junior were good Papal Romanists in 1501 (version 1.0 of the Church of England in the 16th century). They knew nothing else.
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