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| Aerial view of Jesus College, Cambridge Mr. Cranmer's alma mater and residence, 1503-1529 |
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Thomas Cranmer: A Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996.
"Chapter Two: Cambridge Years: 1503-1529"
We pause to reflect a little further on Jesus College, Cambridge.
Pg. 17 has a lovely "1690 picture" of Jesus College: the Chapel, the cloister, and surrounding area. Mr. Cranmer spent 26 years of his life at Jesus College, from age 14 to 40. Or, 1503-1529.
Jesus College is east of the center of Cambridge.
The price of Mr. MacCulloch's book--alone--is worth this 1690 picture.
The history of Jesus College is significant in terms of the connections with at least two royal and courtly people:
(1) Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII and grandmother of Henry VIII, and
(2) John Fisher, Chancellor of Cambridge from 1504 onwards, high patron of learning, Bishop of Rochester, and a future Henrician martyr in 1535 during Cranmer's regency. Mr. Fisher will be the author of the "foundational charter" of Jesus College in 1496.
Mr. Fisher will become Luther's English antagonist in the 1520s and Henry VIII's nemesis on the "great divorce question" in the 1530s. Mr. Fisher would be executed for "high treason" in 1535. He's convicted of "high treason" and is slated to be drawn and quartered. Henry VIII reduces the sentence to a mere decapitation.
More research, we believe, will yield further links.
Jones, M.K. and Underwood, M.G. The King’s Mother: Lady
Margaret
Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby.
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Unquestionably, Lady Margaret endowed Jesus College as well as provided for academic studies, vis a vis the Divinity Lectureship. How else did Erasmus live, but by wealthy patrons like her? Room and board? Salary? You get the idea.
Now, for a preliminary intel report on lay of land at Cambridge based on a current google maps (I've never been there, but we repair to the maps): https://maps.google.com/
Jesus College was about 500 (?) feet east of Trinity College.
Now, for a preliminary intel report on lay of land at Cambridge based on a current google maps (I've never been there, but we repair to the maps): https://maps.google.com/
Jesus College was about 500 (?) feet east of Trinity College.
Trinity College? Stephen Gardiner, in time, would become the Master of Trinity; Gardiner will appear in subsequent history; he is the man who has the “fateful” discussion with Mr. Cranmer on 9 Aug 1529 that leads to Cranmer’s recruitment in Henry’s “great matter.”
Assume 12 o’clock is due north.
Assume Jesus College is the starting point.
Walk 500 feet in the direction of 8 o’clock. One will arrive at Trinity College.
Or, walk about 9 o'clock for about 700 feet. One will be at the Cambridge River or “Cam River.”
Or, walk about 10 o’clock from Jesus College for 700ish feet. One will be at Magdalen College.
Or, walk about 6 o’clock from Jesus College for about 700ish feet. One will be at Christ’s College.
Or, walk about 7 o’clock from Jesus College for about 1000 feet. One will be at St. Catherine’s College.
Or, walk about 5 o’clock from Jesus College for about 1000 feet. One will be at Emmanuel College.
Or, walk about 7 o’clock from Jesus College for about 2000 feet. One will be at Queen’s College.
A rough guess puts Jesus College about 3000 feet due east of the center of Cambridge.
These are clear estimates, but one gets the sense of it.
Mr. Cranmer went up to Jesus College in 1503. He stayed there until at least 1529. There is a lot of water under that bridge. 26 years at Jesus College.
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| Chapel at Jesus College, Cambridge |
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| Aerial view of Jesus College, Cambridge Mr. Cranmer's alma mater and residence, 1503-1529 |
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| Aerial view. In the center, one sees the "Cam River" with King's College just off the river. In the upper right quadrant would be Jesus College. Perhaps 1500 feet from King's? The music at King's is always grand and their CDs are worth the investment. Here's one of our favorites from King's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXzmjNE-yLA |
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| Chapel at Jesus College, Cambridge |
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