The name
Marian Exiles is given to
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
CalvinistCalvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
ProtestantsProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
who fled to the
continentContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. Notably, in British and Irish English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel...
during the reign of
Mary IMary I , was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. She was the oldest daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived...
.
Exile communities
According to English historian
John StrypeJohn Strype was an English historian and biographer. He was a cousin of Robert Knox, a famous sailor.Born in Houndsditch, London, he was the son of John Strype, or van Stryp, a member of a Huguenot family whom, in order to escape religious persecution within Brabant, had settled in East London...
, more than 800 Protestants fled to the continent, predominantly the
Low CountriesThe Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
, and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and joined with reformed churches there or formed their own congregations. A few exceptions are exiles who went to
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
, and other
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
n countries.
Notable English exile communities were located in the cities of
EmdenEmden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
,
StrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. With 702,412 inhabitants in 2007, its metropolitan area is the ninth largest in France...
,
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
,
WeselWesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
,
DuisburgDuisburg is a German city in the western part of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an independent metropolitan borough within Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf...
,
WormsWorms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over title of "Oldest City in Germany"...
,
BaselBasel is Switzerland's third most populous city . With 830000 inhabitants in the tri-national metropolitan area , Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area....
,
FrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001...
,
AarauAarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...
,
ZürichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
,
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
,
PaduaPadua is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice , in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area, having a population of c...
, and
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
. The exiles did not plan to remain on the continent any longer than was necessary; indeed there was considerable controversy and anxiety among them and those who remained in England over the legitimacy of fleeing, rather than facing, religious persecution. Undoubtedly this concern was an important motivation for the attention and authority given to those who remained in England and were martyred, as in the work of one of the most famous exiles,
John FoxeJohn Foxe was an English martyrologist. He is remembered as the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, an account of Christian martyrs throughout history but especially emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through...
.
During their continental sojourn, few of the exiles became very economically and politically integrated into their new homes. With the exception of the exile community in Aarau, the majority of exiles were clergy (67) or theological students (119). The next largest group was composed of gentry (166) who, with others back in England, financed the exiles. This group included
Sir John ChekeSir John Cheke was an English classical scholar and statesman, notable as the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University....
,
Sir Richard MorrisonRichard Morrison is the name of:* Richard Morrison , Edward VI's ambassador to Charles V* Richard Morrison , columnist for The Times newspaper* Richard James Morrison , English astrologer...
,
Sir Francis KnollysFrancis Knollys may refer to:* Francis Knollys Treasurer of the Royal Household to Queen Elizabeth I of England* Francis Knollys Vice-Admiral & Gentleman of Battle Manor, Reading, Berkshire...
,
Sir Anthony CookeSir Anthony Cooke was an eminent English scholar who became tutor to Edward VI. He is particularly remembered because of his attitude to educating his daughters who were taught both Latin and Greek....
,
Sir Peter CarewSir Peter Carew was a Devonshire adventurer, who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England and became a controversial figure in the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland.- Early life and career :...
, Sir Thomas Wroth, Dame Dorothy Stafford, and
Dame Elizabeth Berkeley*Elizabeth Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort*Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess of Ormond, daughter of Anne Berkeley, Baroness Berkeley and wife of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond...
. Of about 500 known English exiles, there were only 40 merchants, 32 artisans, 7 printers, 3 lawyers, 3 physicians, 3 yeomen, 13 servants, and 19 men with no profession. Of the artisans 12-17 were weavers who settled in Aarau. Strype names London merchant and exile Thomas Eton as the host-general of all the exiles. Financial backers for the exiles but not in their communities included London merchants like Richard Springham and John Abel. Support also came from the King of Denmark, the Prince Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, the Duke of Bipont, and many continental reformed leaders:
Heinrich BullingerHeinrich Bullinger was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster...
, Konrad Pelikan, Bibliander,
Josias SimmlerJosias Simmler , was a Swiss theologian and classicist, author of the first book relating solely to the Alps....
, Wolphius, Ludwig Lavater, and Zwingli.
The Marian exiles included many important or soon-to-be important English Protestant leaders. Former and future bishops among them included
John AylmerJohn Aylmer may refer to:*John Aylmer *John Aylmer , Greek and Latin poet...
, Miles Coverdale,
John PonetJohn Ponet was the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Rochester, and a controversial Protestant religious leader.In his day, Ponet was an influential theologian...
,
John ScoryJohn Scory was a Cambridge Dominican order friar who later became a Bishop in the Church of EnglandHe was Bishop of Rochester from 1551 to 1552, Bishop of Chichester from 1552 to 1553...
,
Richard CoxRichard Cox was an English clergyman, who was Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely.-Biography:Cox was born of obscure parentage at Whaddon, Buckinghamshire, in 1499 or 1500....
,
Edmund GrindalEdmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
(future archbishop of York, then Canterbury),
Edwin SandysArchbishop Edwin Sandys was an English prelate.He was Anglican Bishop of Worcester , London and Archbishop of York . He was one of the translators of the Bishops' Bible.-Life before the death of Mary I:...
(future
archbishop of YorkArchbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
),
John BaleJohn Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
,
John JewelJohn Jewel , was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
, James Pilkington, and
Thomas BenthamThomas Bentham , Bishop of Coventry, was a Protestant minister, one of the Marian exiles, who continued secretly ministering to an underground congregation in London...
. The conflicts that broke out between the exiles over church organization, discipline, and forms of worship presaged the religious politics of the reign of
Elizabeth IElizabeth I was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
and the emergence of Puritanism and
PresbyterianismPresbyterianism is the religion of a number of different Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, and organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity...
.
Strasbourg
The English congregation in Strasbourg organised its services in conformity with the 1552
Book of Common PrayerThe Book of Common Prayer is the common title of a number of prayer books of the Church of England and of other Anglican churches, used throughout the Anglican Communion. The first book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break with...
. Its leaders and membership included at times the former and future bishops
John PonetJohn Ponet was the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Rochester, and a controversial Protestant religious leader.In his day, Ponet was an influential theologian...
,
John ScoryJohn Scory was a Cambridge Dominican order friar who later became a Bishop in the Church of EnglandHe was Bishop of Rochester from 1551 to 1552, Bishop of Chichester from 1552 to 1553...
,
Richard CoxRichard Cox may refer to:*Dick Cox , American baseball player*Richard Cox , American actor*Richard Cox , English clergyman, Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely...
,
Edmund GrindalEdmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
,
Edwin SandysEdwin Sandys may refer to:*Edwin Sandys - Bishop of London, Worcester, Archbishop of York*Edwin Sandys - A founder of the colony of Virginia, son of the above...
,
John AylmerJohn Aylmer may refer to:*John Aylmer *John Aylmer , Greek and Latin poet...
, and
John BaleJohn Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
. Others there included Cheke, Morison, Cook, Carew, Wroth, James Haddon, John Huntington, John Geoffrey, John Pedder, Michael Renniger, Augustin Bradbridge, Thomas Steward, Humphrey Alcocson, Thomas Lakin, Thomas Crafton, Guido and Thomas Eton,
Alexander NowellAlexander Nowell was an English Puritan theologian and clergyman, who served as dean of St Paul's during much of Elizabeth I's reign....
, Arthur Saule,
William ColeWilliam Cole was an English Puritan clergyman, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and Dean of Lincoln.A Protestant refugee from Marian England, Cole returned on Elizabeth accession and was appointed President of Corpus Christi in 1568, a controversial appointment, since most of the...
, Christopher Goodman, Richard Hilles, Richard Chambers, and one or both of the Hales brothers.
Myles CoverdaleMyles Coverdale was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English.-Life:...
apparently made several visits to the Strasbourg community.
Frankfurt
The first English exile group in Frankfurt arrived on 27 June 1554. With the help of a local magistrate, they secured the use of a vacant church building. They held their first service on 29 July using a reformed liturgy drawn up by
William WhittinghamWilliam Whittingham was an English Biblical scholar and religious reformer. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he became a zealous Protestant; as such he found it prudent to flee to France when Mary I ascended the throne of England....
. The congregation adopted a semi-presbyterian system where deacons were expected to preach.
At the request of local authorities in this Lutheran city, the English church order had been made to conform to the newly established French reformed church in Frankfurt. The French church included a number of
WalloonWalloons are a Romance-speaking people partly from Germanic origin and Celtic origin; in any case a melting-pot speaking French, living in Belgium principally in Wallonia, more generally the inhabitants of Wallonia...
weavers who had been brought to England by
Protector SomersetEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549.-Background:...
. Since then they had been under the supervision of Valerand Poullain, formerly
John CalvinJohn Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
's successor as minister of the French congregation in Strasbourg. In England, Poullain's congregation had as much autonomy as the London
Stranger churchesStranger church was a term used by English-speaking people for independent Protestant churches established in foreign lands or by foreigners in England during the Reformation....
and, like them, based their church order on the models of Zwingli and Calvin.
Following this continental reformed precedent, the English exiles in Frankfurt offered themselves as the model church for all the English in exile and put out a call for ministers from the other congregations. However, they had gone further than many of their countrymen would follow, particularly those in Strasbourg and Zürich who wanted to retain use of the second (1552) Edwardian
Book of Common PrayerThe Book of Common Prayer is the common title of a number of prayer books of the Church of England and of other Anglican churches, used throughout the Anglican Communion. The first book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break with...
. For that reason the English Church at Frankfurt became preoccupied with disputes over the use of the prayerbook and church order in general.
The chief members of the Frankfurt congregation during its existence were
David WhiteheadDavid Adie Whitehead CBE, DSO & Bar, MC was an Australian Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II and rose to the rank of brigadier.-Biography:...
, Sandys, Nowell, Foxe, Bale, Horne, Whittingham, Knox, Aylmer, Bentham, Sampson, Kelke, Chambers, Isaac, both Knollyses, John and Christopher Hales, Richard Hilles, Bartholomew Traheron,
Robert CrowleyRobert Crowley may refer to:*Robert Crowley , English Protestant printer, editor, chronicler, social critic, poet, polemicist, and clergyman...
,
Thomas ColeThomas Cole was an English-born American artist. He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century...
,
William TurnerWilliam Turner was an English ornithologist and botanist. He is sometimes called "the Father of English botany" and the first ornithologist in the modern scientific spirit.-Early years:...
, Robert Wisdome. An informal university established by the congregation had Horne teaching Hebrew, John Mullins (who came from Zurich after Knox left) teaching Greek, and Traheron teaching theology.
All records of the group were destroyed in World War II with the Frankfurt city archives, and only partial transcripts from prior scholarship remain. These records disclose that native Frankfurters distrusted the English and suspected they were being used by members of the nobility to diminish the privileges of the
burghersHistorically, the bourgeoisie were a social class of people, characterized by their ownership of capital and the related culture. They were a part of the middle or merchant classes of European feudalism, where their power came from employment, education, and wealth, as distinguished from those...
. The English were also accused of unfair commercial practices and of competing with local artisans--accusations which led to detailed censuses of the immigrants.
Troubles at Frankfurt
The organizational and liturgical differences between the English churches in exile soon led to protracted conflicts concentrated in Frankfurt. These conflicts are documented in a single printed source: the narrative and reprinted correspondence that comprise
A Brieff discours off the troubles begonne at Franckford ... A.D. 1554. This book was printed anonymously in 1575 (though one extant copy is dated 1574) and reprinted in 1642, 1707-08, 1846, and 1907. It may have been issued in response to a sermon delivered at St. Paul's Cross on the subject of the Genevan form of church discipline then advocated by
John FieldJohn Field is the name of:*John Field , 19th century Irish composer*John Field , a 20th Century British dancer of the Royal Ballet*John Field , 16th century British Puritan...
. Though it remains uncertain, the book's editor is commonly identified as William Whittingham.
Patrick CollinsonPatrick Collinson is an English historian, known as an authority on Puritanism. He is Emeritus Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge, having occupied the chair from 1988 to 1996.-Life:...
has made a case for Thomas Wood as the editor, and M. A. Simpson has questioned the assumption that there was a single author behind
A Brief Discourse who was part of the debates it concerns. Much of its material must have come to its compiler/s from other hands, the letters it contains vary in apparent authenticity, and the documentary sources behind it are no longer extant except, in adapted form, parts of John Knox's account of his time in Frankfurt. Noting these things, Simpson conjectures that
A Brief Discourse was the product of several editors, the last of whom he believes to have been
John FieldJohn Field is the name of:*John Field , 19th century Irish composer*John Field , a 20th Century British dancer of the Royal Ballet*John Field , 16th century British Puritan...
. The title page advertises
A Brief Discourse as an explanation of the nature and origins of the conflicts in the Church of England then taking place and the emergence of separatism and Presbyterianism. It should by no means be taken as an "objective" history.
According to
A Brief Discourse,
John KnoxJohn Knox was a Scottish clergyman and leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination. He was educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early church reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the...
was sent as a minister to Frankfurt from Geneva by
John CalvinJohn Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
in 1554; he led the opposition to the prayerbook faction. Their first conflict centered on the order of the communion service. Knox would not use the Genevan order since it would offend others, but neither would he allow the use of the English prayerbook form.
Thomas LeverThomas Lever was an English Protestant reformer and Marian exile, one of the founders of the Puritan tendency in the Church of England.-Life:...
led an attempt to construct a compromise order. The prayerbook faction was led by
Richard CoxRichard Cox was an English clergyman, who was Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely.-Biography:Cox was born of obscure parentage at Whaddon, Buckinghamshire, in 1499 or 1500....
, who had left Strasburg to correct the situation in Frankfurt. However, others in Strasbourg and some who had moved from there to Frankfurt, opposed the prayerbook, so both congregations were divided from within. Some people may have remained out of the fight, and others, like Lever, changed sides over time. (In Knox's own account, Lever--who was his co-preacher--failed to support him and thereby exacerbated the division.) Knox found supporters in Whittingham (Cox's former student), Richard Chambers,
Anthony GilbyAnthony Gilby was an English clergyman, known as a radical Puritan and Geneva Bible translator.He was born in Lincolnshire, and was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1535.-Early life:...
, Thomas Cole, Edward Sutton, Thomas Wood, William Williams, John Staunton, William Hammon, Michael Gill, and others. Knox and Whittingham wrote a Latin summary of the English prayerbook and sent it to Calvin for his opinion which was that it contained "many tolerable foolish things." Knox, Whittingham, Foxe, and Thomas Cole drafted what they thought would be an ideal order, but it was rejected by the prayerbook faction. It was later used at Geneva by the English congregation under Knox.
A compromise order, really a version of the prayerbook service that retained much of it, was nearly accepted by 13 March 1555, just as a new group of English refugees, including
John JewelJohn Jewel , was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
, was brought in by Cox. The newcomers strongly objected to the compromise liturgy, which omitted the
litanyA litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes from the Latin litania, from the Greek λιτή , meaning "prayer" or "supplication"....
with the congregations' spoken responses. Tensions increased since it was known that some of the new arrivals, like Jewell, had subscribed to Roman Catholic doctrines under Mary before they left England. Although Jewell preached a sermon in which he confessed his fault, his presence would not have sat well with the more zealous exiles who were also prone to dislike Cox, a considerable pluralist, as the holding of multiple benefices was something "hot gospellers" under Edward VI had preached against. In May 1555 Knox preached on precisely this topic in Cox's presence, attacking the prayerbook and the scandal of pluralities. Knox nevertheless defied his own supporters in pleading that Cox's group be admitted as members of the congregation, which gave the prayerbook faction a majority.
Despite these tensions, another settlement was in sight, but Knox's staunchest antagonists rendered it irrelevant by notifying the local magistrates about Knox's
An Admonition to Christians (1554) which disparaged
Phillip IIPhilip II was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, during his wife Mary Tudor's reign, King of England and Ireland...
,
Mary IMary I , was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. She was the oldest daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived...
, and
Charles V, Holy Roman EmperorCharles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556...
, whom Knox compared to Nero. Some of Knox's detractors felt that such radical language offended even sympathetic rulers and encouraged Roman Catholic persecution of Protestants in England and elsewhere. Notably
John HooperJohn Hooper was an English churchman, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester. A low church Protestant, he was martyred during the Marian Persecutions.-Biography:...
had just been burned at the stake in February, and his wife and children were among the Frankfurt exile community. (This was further ammunition for the pro-prayerbook faction, which also availed itself of the highly divisive argument that it was presumptuous to attempt to be liturgically purer than those who had accepted the prayerbook and were martyred back in England.) Unsurprisingly, Knox was asked to leave Frankfurt, and he did so on March 26. Sympathisers led by
William WhittinghamWilliam Whittingham was an English Biblical scholar and religious reformer. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he became a zealous Protestant; as such he found it prudent to flee to France when Mary I ascended the throne of England....
(Thomas Cole and
John FoxeJohn Foxe was an English martyrologist. He is remembered as the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, an account of Christian martyrs throughout history but especially emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through...
among them) left for Basel and Geneva. Nevertheless, the struggle, which had preceded Knox's presence, continued.
In the process of the prayerbook dispute,
John CalvinJohn Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
weighed in when consulted to promote unity and compromise, although he agreed with those who took a low view of the prayerbook. Recalling the earlier
Vestments controversyThe vestments controversy arose in the English Reformation, ostensibly concerning vestments, but more fundamentally concerned with English Protestant identity, doctrine, and various church practices...
under Edward I, the concept of adiaphora or "things indifferent" was again a centrepoint of debate, rather than being a source of consensus-building. The effect of this was that adiaphora was eventually abandoned as an arguing point on each side.
Geneva
Led mainly by Knox, the largest, most politically and theologically radical concentration of English exiles was at Geneva, reaching a peak of 233 people or about 140 households. (This was approximately 2% of the city's population.) Names, dates of arrival, and other information is preserved in the
Livre des Anglais (facsimile edition by Alexander Ferrier Mitchell), a folio manuscript kept at the Hotel de Ville of Geneva. New members admitted to the church numbered 48 in 1555, 50 in 1556, 67 in 1557, 10 in 1558, and 2 in 1559. 7 marriages, 4 baptisms, and 18 deaths are recorded.
This was the first English congregation to adopt the wholly presbyterian form of discipline and worship that was resisted in Frankfurt. These forms and standards were printed in 1556 as the
Book of Geneva which went through several editions after 1556 in Geneva and was in official use in the Church of Scotland from 1564 to 1645. Sometimes titled
Book of Our Common Order, it is the basis for the modern
Book of Common Order-Genevan Book of Order:The Genevan Book of Order, sometimes called The Order of Geneva or Knox's Liturgy, is a directory for public worship in the Reformed Church of Scotland. In 1557 the Scottish Protestant lords in council enjoined the use of the English Common Prayer, i.e. the Second Book of...
used by Presbyterian churches.
The English church in Geneva was also, of course, the scene of the
Geneva BibleThe Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible in the English language, preceding the King James translation by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of the 16th Century Protestant movement and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, John Knox, John Donne,...
's production, which was to be the most popular English version of the era and the most notorious for its annotations that supported Reformed theology and resistance theory. At Geneva Knox wrote his infamous
First Blast of the Trumpet Blowen Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women during the winter of 1557-58. Published in Geneva in the spring 1558, it denounced all female rulers in the most strident language. This was opposed by many other English exiles, especially those seeking favor with Elizabeth I, such as John Aylmer, who published a retort to Knox called
Harborowe for Faithful and True Subjects in 1559. Christopher Goodman took a more circumspect approach in a
How superior powers ought to be obeyd of their subjects & wherein they may lawfully by Gods Worde be disobeyed & resisted for which Whittingham wrote the preface. Laurence Humphrey, working out of Strasbourg, claimed to be clarifying what Knox, Ponet, and Goodman really meant when he defended passive resistance only and supported the legitimacy of female rule in De religionis conservatione et reformatione vera (1559).
Members of the English church in Geneva included Sir William Stafford, Sir John Burtwick, John Bodley and the eldest of his five sons (Laurence,
ThomasSir Thomas Bodley , was an English diplomat and scholar, founder of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.-Biography:...
, and Josias who was later knighted), James Pilkington,
John ScoryJohn Scory was a Cambridge Dominican order friar who later became a Bishop in the Church of EnglandHe was Bishop of Rochester from 1551 to 1552, Bishop of Chichester from 1552 to 1553...
,
Thomas BenthamThomas Bentham , Bishop of Coventry, was a Protestant minister, one of the Marian exiles, who continued secretly ministering to an underground congregation in London...
,
William ColeWilliam Cole may refer to:*William Cole, 3rd Earl of Enniskillen , known as Viscount Cole* William Cole , Dean of Lincoln Cathedral and President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
,
William KetheWilliam Kethe, also Keithe, was a bible translator, especially of the psalms.Kethe is thought to have been Scots-born, although this has never been confirmed...
,
Thomas SampsonThomas Sampson was an English Puritan theologian. A Marian exile, he was one of the Geneva Bible translators. On his return to England, he had trouble with conformity to the Anglican practices...
, Anthony Gilby, John Pullein, Perceval Wiburne, and Robert Fills.
- Ministers: Christopher Goodman
Christopher Goodman BD was an English reforming clergyman and writer. A Marian exile, he was the author of a work on limits to obedience to rulers, and a contributor to the Geneva Bible...
(1555-58), Anthony GilbyAnthony Gilby was an English clergyman, known as a radical Puritan and Geneva Bible translator.He was born in Lincolnshire, and was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1535.-Early life:...
(1555), and John KnoxJohn Knox was a Scottish clergyman and leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination. He was educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early church reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the...
(1556-58)
- Elders: William Williams
-Authors and artists:*William Williams , artist, author of first American novel, Penrose*William Joseph Williams , his son, artist; painted George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson...
(1555-58), William WhittinghamWilliam Whittingham was an English Biblical scholar and religious reformer. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, he became a zealous Protestant; as such he found it prudent to flee to France when Mary I ascended the throne of England....
(1555-56), Gilby (1556-58), William FullerWilliam Fuller may refer to:* William Fuller * William Fuller , bishop of Lincoln* William Fuller , railroad conductor famed for his role in the Great Locomotive Chase* William Fuller , dean of Ely* William Fuller...
(1556), Thomas WoodThomas Wood can refer to:* E. Thomas Wood , American journalist and author* Thomas Dale Wood , American Film and Stage Actor* Thomas Harold Wood , Canadian politician...
(1557), Miles Coverdale (1558), and John Bodley (1557-58)
- Deacons: John Staunton (1555-56), Christopher Seburne (1555), Francis Withers (1556-57), William Beauvoir (1556-58), John Staunton (1556), John Pullein (1557), William Fuller
William Fuller may refer to:* William Fuller * William Fuller , bishop of Lincoln* William Fuller , railroad conductor famed for his role in the Great Locomotive Chase* William Fuller , dean of Ely* William Fuller...
(1557), Francis Willias (1558), Peter WillisPeter N. Willis is an English former association football referee, who operated in the Football League. He originates from Newfield, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, but now lives in Meadowfield. His other occupation was as a police officer.-Early life:He was educated at Spennymoor Grammar...
(1558), and Whittingham (1558)
See also
- Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch are the descendants of Germanic peoples who emigrated to the U.S. , from Germany and The Low Countries prior to 1800. The Dutch are generally regarded as one of several Germanic peoples...
- Puritan
A Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
ism
- Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures...
- Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
- Vestments controversy
The vestments controversy arose in the English Reformation, ostensibly concerning vestments, but more fundamentally concerned with English Protestant identity, doctrine, and various church practices...
- Elizabethan Religious Settlement
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement was Elizabeth I’s response to the religious divisions created over the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. This response, described as "The Revolution of 1559", was set out in two Acts of the Parliament of England...
- The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
Sources
Primary
- A Briefe Discourse of the Troubles begun at Frankeford in Germany (1575)
- John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination. He was educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest. Influenced by early church reformers such as George Wishart, he joined the...
, Of the Proceedings of the English Congregation at Frankfurt, in March 1555.
- John Strype
John Strype was an English historian and biographer. He was a cousin of Robert Knox, a famous sailor.Born in Houndsditch, London, he was the son of John Strype, or van Stryp, a member of a Huguenot family whom, in order to escape religious persecution within Brabant, had settled in East London...
, Annals of the Reformation.
Secondary
- William D. Maxwell, The Liturgical Portions of the Genevan Service Book used by John Knox While a Minister of the English Congregation of Marian Exiles at Geneva, 1556-1559. (London: The Faith Press, 1965.) [First published by Oliver and Boyd, 1931.]
- Frederick A. Norwood, "The Marian Exiles--Denizens or Sojourners?" Church History 13:2 (June 1944): 100-110.
- Brett Usher, "The Deanery of Bocking and the Demise of the Vestiarian Controversy," Journal of Ecclesiastical History 52.3 (July 2001): 434-455.
- Ronald J. Vander Molen, "Anglican Against Puritan: Ideological Origins during the Marian Exile," Church History 42.1 (March 1973): 45-57.
- Jonathan Wright, "Marian Exiles and the Legitimacy of Flight From Persecution," Journal of Ecclesiastical History 52.2 (April 2001): 220-43.