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| Bishop John Bale (1495-1563) |
Update: 12 Aug 2012
Select
Works of John Bale by Bishop of Ossory, Prebend of
Canterbury. He is buried in Canterbury.
Pages 100 ff. “The Examination of William Thorpe,” a Wycliffite, by ABC Arundel in 1407.
Thorpe, as told by
Bishop Bale, complains about the “meritoriously redemptive” pilgrimages in
which the poor waste their money in search of salvation. The money would be better spent, according
to Thorpe, on alms to the poor or donations to a neighbor. The ABC calls the pilgrimage a “means of
grace” while Thorpe affirms that one may know that—grace and salvation—through the
Bible, directly and immediately apart from a trip to Canterbury or other points
with expenditures on “hostels.” (One
thinks of the Canterbury Tales, a
must-have and must-read in world literature or English literature…we recommend
the Norton Anthology, 3rd edition.)
Also, one thinks of Walsingham,
UK, still a revered site and shrine of pilgrimage for Tractarians and (Romewardizing
and non-Anglican) Anglo-Catholics. Also,
more currently, one thinks of Pope John Paul 2’s “plenary indulgence” for
forgiveness for making a pilgrimage to Rome in 2000. All this was blunted by the Wycliffites and
men like Thorpe. Thorpe speaks against organs and choirs while the ABC objects
with little force by Thorpe as Bale recounts the story.
(It's dreary to hear the anti-organ, anti-music, and anti-choir arguments even in the 14th century, but we digress.) Thorpe objects to “tithes” as pertaining to the Levitical priesthood in
the old economy while voluntary “alms for the poor” was the directive of Christ
and the new period. There is a
discussion about “swearing by this (object) or that (object, e.g. a Bible, Mass
book, a saint, etc.)” along with comments by St. Chrysostom to avoid such
swearing. This raises the issue, “What if a Bishop or priest commands the
matter, is that—of itself—lawful?” E.g., “Bowing and kissing the Bible?” Or, commands as in our time to do this, that or the other when not commanded nor forbidden, e.g. bowing, genuflecting, crossing oneself, etc., as necessary virtues or additives to piety. Tolerable, but unnecessary. Perhaps,
swearing on the Bible has been retained even in our day, even in courts or at
political inaugurations. In an interesting cross-examination of the ABC by
Thorpe, the ABC concedes that a person is bound only by the doctrine, teachings and “biddings” of the Bible. Yet, Thorpe returns to his recurring theme, the
riches, covetousness, greed, simony and immorality of priests. Although Bp. Bale is telling the story some 150 years later, it is evident that he too thinks Rome is about money, power, greed, place and privilege, without biblical justification. Thorpe also argues that the clerics are not
committed to teaching people. Also, the
holding of “temporalities” in England inclines the clerics to covetousness. We are not getting any statistics, charts or insights
beyond Thorpe’s claims, such as a socio-economic analysis would require, but, musingly and inferably, the medieval cathedrals were built with more than
just kings’s and noblemens’ patronages. In other words, the "sheep were being shorn." Although
this is 1407, this theme against the wealth of the church was registered by
John Wycliffe. One wonders what Thorpe
and Wycliffe would have thought of TBN and “Word of Faith” prosperity
enthusiasts. Also, the issue of the
Table and Real Presence were alleged issues for Wycliffe and Thorpe, although
it is not developed well by John Bale, Bishop of Ossory, teller of the story.
The story switches to
the examination of Anne Askewe, burned at the stake of Smithfield, London, c. 1546.
One wonders what Cranmer’s involvement or knowledge was here? It’s alleged that he was not involved, but the question arises. This was the year that Luther died and Calvin
was laboring in Geneva. Bale reminds us that these witnesses, Thorpe, Askewe, and others “turned people
back to the LORD” in faith and fear.
Bale speaks of William Tyndale and Robert Barnes who are illustrative of
the principle of preparing and turning people to the LORD. Bale also speaks of the great searches and
book burnings of Wycliffe’s books and writings in 1382 and following, but that
English Romanists were unsuccessful.
Bale himself claims to hold 154 of Wycliffe’s writings. But, back to Askewe. Putatively, Askewe was a Protestant, a purveyor
and transmitter of Protestant books, and was tried and murdered—first degree homicide
with premeditation, malice aforethought and ability to "form" the intent for
murder—for belief in transubstantiation. She was 26 years old. John Foxe also memorialized her in his 1563 Acts and Monuments. Bishop Edmund Bonner, London, was particularly
interested in seeing her put to the stake and in seeing her "put to the rack" to give information on other
Protestants. Bale lists those in the
Bible who were martyred, e.g. James in Acts 12, as well as the martyrs in
Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History (a must-have and must-read).
Page 147 begins Bale’s
enlargement on the Askewe case, but we will pick that up next time.
A few additional
sources on Anne Askewe are suggested for follow-up.
Elaine V. Beilin,
ed., The Examinations of Anne Askew (Oxford, 1996)
Douglas M. Jones, The
Queen's Friend, (Canon Press, Moscow, ID., 2007)
Thomas Fuller, The
History of the Worthies of England P. Austin Nuttall (Published by T. Tegg,
1840)
Diane Watt, Secretaries
of God, (Cambridge, 1997).
Gene Fedele,
"Heroes of the Faith", (Bridge-Logos,
2003).
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| John Bale, cemetery photo |
A few additional sources on Bp. John Bale.
Graham, Timothy and Andrew G. Watson (1998). The
Recovery of the Past in Early Elizabethan England: Documents by John Bale and
John Joscelyn from the Circle of Matthew Parker (Cambridge Bibliographical
Society Monograph 13). Cambridge: Cambridge Bibliographical Society.
Carley, James P., ed. (2010). De uiris illustribus: On
Famous Men. Toronto and Oxford (esp. introduction).
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