Deane, A.C. The Life of Thomas Cranmer. New York: Macmillan, 1927. Recommended by Mr. Geoffrey Bromiley. Allegedly unsympathetic according to Mr. Bromiley.
Available at: http://www.amazon.com/
The title page indicates Mr. (Rev.) Deane is a Vicar of All Saints,’ Ennismore Gardens and a Hon. Canon of Worchester Cathedral.
A brief Wiki-bio on Mr. Deane, followed by some notes and our musings. Mr. Deane adds a few details to our inquiry. For a few of these details, e.g. Cranmer and Aquinas or that we still have some of Cranmer's books, we are thankful.
Anthony Charles Deane (1870–1946) was Canon of Worcester Cathedral, poet and writer of religious books. He did undergraduate studies at Clare College, before he became vicar of Malvern. He is best known for his series of popular Christian books.
List of publications:
• Rabboni, A Study of Jesus Christ the Teacher. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1921.
• How to Enjoy the Bible. London: Hodder & Stoughton
• How to Understand the Gospels. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936
• The Valley and Beyond. New York: Harper, 1936
• Sixth Form Religion, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936.
• The Lord's Prayer. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1938
• St. Paul and his Letters. Hodder & Stoughton, 1942
• Jesus Christ, The World Christ Knew; the Social, Personal and Political Conditions of His Time. No information posted.
• To an Unseen Audience. No information posted.
• Jesus and the Unbroken Life. No information posted.
• The Life of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. New York: Macmillan, 1927.
Chapters of the Book
1. Cranmer at Cambridge, 1-27
2. England in 1529, 28-55
3. Envoy and Archbishop, 56-78
4. The King and Church, 79-107
5. Social and Religious Change, 108-133
6. The Conflict of Parties, 134161
7. Cranmer and Protestantism, 162-187
8. Through Gathering Clouds, 188-218
9. The End, 219-242
Index, 243
Some notes and musings.
This is a brisk, handy, and quick read. Very brisk, even populistic. But, (scholar-alert) there's not a single footnote.
Mr. Deane put forward two periods for Mr. (Canterbury) Cranmer of equal lengths but disparate outcomes.
For nearly 26 years, Mr. Cranmer had the life of a scholar at Cambridge with good success and a good reputation. Then, for near-wise 27 years, he was put in “perilous forefront of public affairs” (1). It a nice overview by Mr. Deane.
At Cambridge, Cranmer earned a good reputation, had personal charm and was erudite. If we take him at his word, he was free from ecclesiastical ambition himself, but was no stranger to its reality. He wrote Mr. Cromwell years later:
"Ye do know what ambition and desire of promotion is in men of the church, and what indirect means they do use and have used to obtain their purpose; which their desires and appetites I do trust that ye will be more ready to oppress and extinguish than to forbear or to further the same; and I remit to your wisdom and judgment what an unreasonable thing it is for a man to labour for his own promotion spiritual” (2).
Greed, ambition, visibility, wealth and whatever else was in the mix, allegedly, Mr. Cranmer observed it and, allegedly, resisted it himself. Ensconced in comfortable lodgings and a career at Cambridge, one might wonder if this was a form of self-projection, but this is a musing not present in Mr. Deane, our present biographer. In short, Mr. Cranmer had a quiet and successful academic life.
Mr. Deane tips his hand here briefly. Mr. Cranmer had been at Cambridge from 1503-1529, that is, 26 years. But, by a “mere accident” (what we have called a “it just sorta’ happened" moment in the meeting at Waltham, Essex, August 1529), he [Cranmer] was enrolled [more like conscripted] in Henry’s matrimonial problem and elevated to Canterbury in time. But, Mr. Deane tells us: “…his character degenerated under the strain which his responsibilities imposed” (4). “It turned this amiable and successful scholar into an irresolute and ineffective archbishop” (4). This looks like the trajectory or narrative is established.
Mr. Deane passes through some helpful vistas of Cambridge, what he dubs a “dismal outpost on the fringe of a morass” (5). Apparently, the area was full of marshes and reeds. Often, tributaries of the Cam River would overflow and flood the area.
Various schools and religious houses were there. The streets were unpaved and there were no lights. Students were marched around by MAs. The dormitories were bare; the frugal meals were eaten in halls. Misdeeds earned “birchings,” that is, a paddling of the behind. If a student was found bathing in the river or pond, he would be “double birched,” once at the college and, on the morrow, before the whole University. Academically, the trivium/quadrivium informed the undergraduate studies: grammar, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy.
Also, Mr. Cranmer would, in time, drink from the wells of Augustine, Jerome, Duns Scotus and Aquinas. We would add, this was a little and important detail we had been interested in: Cranmer’s acquaintance with Mr. Aquinas. However, Mr. Deane offers no footnotes.
Mr. Deane draws attention to Mr. (bp.) John Fisher. Undoubtedly, Mr. Cranmer knew of Fisher. Fisher, the old antagonist, in time, of Mr. Luther. Some notes on Mr. Fisher:
• Attained “rapid promotion”
• A people-pleaser, reportedly (no footnotes)
• Earned an MA
• Became the Master of Michaelhouse
• Was the Confessor to Margaret (Countess of Richmond) who endowed the Divinity Professorship
• Became the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge in 1501
• Became the Divinity lecturer in 1505
• Became the Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge
As for Mr. Cranmer:
• 1511, Fellow of Jesus (age 22)
• A “disciple of Erasmus, according to a letter by Erasmus in 1511: “…he [Cranmer] definitely left the old learning for the new learning.”
• 1516, turns to theology (age 27)
• Collects books, a “good proportion of which are still extant” (20)
• Marginalia show “the thoroughness of his reading”
• 1523, ordained and took the Doctorate of Divinity (age 34)
• A lecturer in Divinity
• Examiner of “divinity students” who often became “disconcerted candidates” by Mr. Cranmer’s “insistence upon the knowledge of the actual Scriptures” (20). We would add, how novel, even substantially significant. How modern. If this were but applied more widely, we would add.
Mr. Deane observes that 1523-1529 were the “happiest years of Cranmer’s life,” days where he had a “margin of income to buy books” and a “margin of leisure to read them” (21).
But, this is very notable and necessary for the present inquiry. That is, the doings of Mr. Fisher.
In 1523, old Fisher “followed the royal example by a book to refute the Lutheran heresy” (21).
We insert this here: Fisher, John. English Works of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1469-1535): Sermons and Other Writings, 1520-1535. Oxford University Press, 2002. http://www.amazon.com/
But despite Mr. Fisher, “Lutheranism” at Cambridge “increased” (23). Students met at night at the White House Inn. Mr. Deane, again, oddly, rather prejudicially and without footnotes or reason, claims they were a “zealous rather than distinguished band.” Dr. Barnes, the Augustinian Prior, and Bilney, “an eccentric character,” are put into the mix (23). And then, Mr. Deane likens the spread of Lutheranism at Cambridge to Mr. (Cardinal) John Henry Newman’s Tractarianism at Oxford 300 years later. Using Newman is illustrative, but wrong-headed. Newman was going backwards and the White Horse Inn protagonists were going forwards. An unfortunate, but telling illustration of influential ideas.
A critical statement is made by Mr. Deane. “Of Cranmer’s religious position at this stage, we lack precise knowledge” but “he followed the Lutheran controversy with keen interests” (24). But, he was neither with Mr. Latimer on the one hand nor Mr. Fisher on the other hand. This also is another interesting detail. It needs further examination. What did Cranmer know, believe, affirm or deny in the 1520s?
Old Fisher may have opposed Luther, but he upheld the validity of Pope Julius II’s “dispensation” and, hence, validity of old Harry’s marriage to Catherine. By 1527, the rumors were “bruited abroad” on the Continent. There would be 5 years of inquiry. Fisher would fall to his demise for his opposition to old Henry. Henry would do all he could to blacken Fisher's name too, we are told.
By August 1529, a “bacillus” germ causes a “severe epidemic” at Cambridge. School is out. It's summer. But Cranmer had remained in Cambridge. But, with the outbreak, he and two students took to Waltham in Essex.
At Waltham, the “fateful meeting” occurred. He supped with Mr. Fox (not our famous John Foxe of the Acts and Monuments), but the Provost of King’s College. Also, Stephen Gardiner, later Cranmer’s nemesis and Master of Trinity, was at the friendly supper. Discussions occurred about business at Cambridge. Things turned to Henry’s matrimonial conflicts. Cranmer gave his opinion. His life was forever changed.
Mr. Deane summarizes it nicely.
Mr. Cranmer “was to pass from its pleasant courts [Cambridge] to a court of a very different kind—a court where a truculent Henry, an immature Edward, and an infamous Mary were in turn to control, to degrade, and to end his life.”
Poor chap. What could he do? The King ordered him to pay him a visit.
Available at: http://www.amazon.com/
The title page indicates Mr. (Rev.) Deane is a Vicar of All Saints,’ Ennismore Gardens and a Hon. Canon of Worchester Cathedral.
A brief Wiki-bio on Mr. Deane, followed by some notes and our musings. Mr. Deane adds a few details to our inquiry. For a few of these details, e.g. Cranmer and Aquinas or that we still have some of Cranmer's books, we are thankful.
Anthony Charles Deane (1870–1946) was Canon of Worcester Cathedral, poet and writer of religious books. He did undergraduate studies at Clare College, before he became vicar of Malvern. He is best known for his series of popular Christian books.
List of publications:
• Rabboni, A Study of Jesus Christ the Teacher. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1921.
• How to Enjoy the Bible. London: Hodder & Stoughton
• How to Understand the Gospels. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936
• The Valley and Beyond. New York: Harper, 1936
• Sixth Form Religion, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1936.
• The Lord's Prayer. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1938
• St. Paul and his Letters. Hodder & Stoughton, 1942
• Jesus Christ, The World Christ Knew; the Social, Personal and Political Conditions of His Time. No information posted.
• To an Unseen Audience. No information posted.
• Jesus and the Unbroken Life. No information posted.
• The Life of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. New York: Macmillan, 1927.
Chapters of the Book
1. Cranmer at Cambridge, 1-27
2. England in 1529, 28-55
3. Envoy and Archbishop, 56-78
4. The King and Church, 79-107
5. Social and Religious Change, 108-133
6. The Conflict of Parties, 134161
7. Cranmer and Protestantism, 162-187
8. Through Gathering Clouds, 188-218
9. The End, 219-242
Index, 243
Some notes and musings.
This is a brisk, handy, and quick read. Very brisk, even populistic. But, (scholar-alert) there's not a single footnote.
Mr. Deane put forward two periods for Mr. (Canterbury) Cranmer of equal lengths but disparate outcomes.
For nearly 26 years, Mr. Cranmer had the life of a scholar at Cambridge with good success and a good reputation. Then, for near-wise 27 years, he was put in “perilous forefront of public affairs” (1). It a nice overview by Mr. Deane.
At Cambridge, Cranmer earned a good reputation, had personal charm and was erudite. If we take him at his word, he was free from ecclesiastical ambition himself, but was no stranger to its reality. He wrote Mr. Cromwell years later:
"Ye do know what ambition and desire of promotion is in men of the church, and what indirect means they do use and have used to obtain their purpose; which their desires and appetites I do trust that ye will be more ready to oppress and extinguish than to forbear or to further the same; and I remit to your wisdom and judgment what an unreasonable thing it is for a man to labour for his own promotion spiritual” (2).
Greed, ambition, visibility, wealth and whatever else was in the mix, allegedly, Mr. Cranmer observed it and, allegedly, resisted it himself. Ensconced in comfortable lodgings and a career at Cambridge, one might wonder if this was a form of self-projection, but this is a musing not present in Mr. Deane, our present biographer. In short, Mr. Cranmer had a quiet and successful academic life.
Mr. Deane tips his hand here briefly. Mr. Cranmer had been at Cambridge from 1503-1529, that is, 26 years. But, by a “mere accident” (what we have called a “it just sorta’ happened" moment in the meeting at Waltham, Essex, August 1529), he [Cranmer] was enrolled [more like conscripted] in Henry’s matrimonial problem and elevated to Canterbury in time. But, Mr. Deane tells us: “…his character degenerated under the strain which his responsibilities imposed” (4). “It turned this amiable and successful scholar into an irresolute and ineffective archbishop” (4). This looks like the trajectory or narrative is established.
Mr. Deane passes through some helpful vistas of Cambridge, what he dubs a “dismal outpost on the fringe of a morass” (5). Apparently, the area was full of marshes and reeds. Often, tributaries of the Cam River would overflow and flood the area.
Various schools and religious houses were there. The streets were unpaved and there were no lights. Students were marched around by MAs. The dormitories were bare; the frugal meals were eaten in halls. Misdeeds earned “birchings,” that is, a paddling of the behind. If a student was found bathing in the river or pond, he would be “double birched,” once at the college and, on the morrow, before the whole University. Academically, the trivium/quadrivium informed the undergraduate studies: grammar, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy.
Also, Mr. Cranmer would, in time, drink from the wells of Augustine, Jerome, Duns Scotus and Aquinas. We would add, this was a little and important detail we had been interested in: Cranmer’s acquaintance with Mr. Aquinas. However, Mr. Deane offers no footnotes.
Mr. Deane draws attention to Mr. (bp.) John Fisher. Undoubtedly, Mr. Cranmer knew of Fisher. Fisher, the old antagonist, in time, of Mr. Luther. Some notes on Mr. Fisher:
• Attained “rapid promotion”
• A people-pleaser, reportedly (no footnotes)
• Earned an MA
• Became the Master of Michaelhouse
• Was the Confessor to Margaret (Countess of Richmond) who endowed the Divinity Professorship
• Became the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge in 1501
• Became the Divinity lecturer in 1505
• Became the Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge
As for Mr. Cranmer:
• 1511, Fellow of Jesus (age 22)
• A “disciple of Erasmus, according to a letter by Erasmus in 1511: “…he [Cranmer] definitely left the old learning for the new learning.”
• 1516, turns to theology (age 27)
• Collects books, a “good proportion of which are still extant” (20)
• Marginalia show “the thoroughness of his reading”
• 1523, ordained and took the Doctorate of Divinity (age 34)
• A lecturer in Divinity
• Examiner of “divinity students” who often became “disconcerted candidates” by Mr. Cranmer’s “insistence upon the knowledge of the actual Scriptures” (20). We would add, how novel, even substantially significant. How modern. If this were but applied more widely, we would add.
Mr. Deane observes that 1523-1529 were the “happiest years of Cranmer’s life,” days where he had a “margin of income to buy books” and a “margin of leisure to read them” (21).
But, this is very notable and necessary for the present inquiry. That is, the doings of Mr. Fisher.
In 1523, old Fisher “followed the royal example by a book to refute the Lutheran heresy” (21).
We insert this here: Fisher, John. English Works of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1469-1535): Sermons and Other Writings, 1520-1535. Oxford University Press, 2002. http://www.amazon.com/
But despite Mr. Fisher, “Lutheranism” at Cambridge “increased” (23). Students met at night at the White House Inn. Mr. Deane, again, oddly, rather prejudicially and without footnotes or reason, claims they were a “zealous rather than distinguished band.” Dr. Barnes, the Augustinian Prior, and Bilney, “an eccentric character,” are put into the mix (23). And then, Mr. Deane likens the spread of Lutheranism at Cambridge to Mr. (Cardinal) John Henry Newman’s Tractarianism at Oxford 300 years later. Using Newman is illustrative, but wrong-headed. Newman was going backwards and the White Horse Inn protagonists were going forwards. An unfortunate, but telling illustration of influential ideas.
A critical statement is made by Mr. Deane. “Of Cranmer’s religious position at this stage, we lack precise knowledge” but “he followed the Lutheran controversy with keen interests” (24). But, he was neither with Mr. Latimer on the one hand nor Mr. Fisher on the other hand. This also is another interesting detail. It needs further examination. What did Cranmer know, believe, affirm or deny in the 1520s?
Old Fisher may have opposed Luther, but he upheld the validity of Pope Julius II’s “dispensation” and, hence, validity of old Harry’s marriage to Catherine. By 1527, the rumors were “bruited abroad” on the Continent. There would be 5 years of inquiry. Fisher would fall to his demise for his opposition to old Henry. Henry would do all he could to blacken Fisher's name too, we are told.
By August 1529, a “bacillus” germ causes a “severe epidemic” at Cambridge. School is out. It's summer. But Cranmer had remained in Cambridge. But, with the outbreak, he and two students took to Waltham in Essex.
At Waltham, the “fateful meeting” occurred. He supped with Mr. Fox (not our famous John Foxe of the Acts and Monuments), but the Provost of King’s College. Also, Stephen Gardiner, later Cranmer’s nemesis and Master of Trinity, was at the friendly supper. Discussions occurred about business at Cambridge. Things turned to Henry’s matrimonial conflicts. Cranmer gave his opinion. His life was forever changed.
Mr. Deane summarizes it nicely.
Mr. Cranmer “was to pass from its pleasant courts [Cambridge] to a court of a very different kind—a court where a truculent Henry, an immature Edward, and an infamous Mary were in turn to control, to degrade, and to end his life.”
Poor chap. What could he do? The King ordered him to pay him a visit.
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