church, to the honour of your Majesties, and to the commendation and maintenance of justice, right, and equity, both before God and man. And your said subjects, according to their bounden duty, shall not cease to pray unto Almighty God, for the gracious preservation of your most excellent Majesties, long to endure.

No. 49.*

The Prisoners for the Gospel, their Declaration concerning King Edward, his Reformation.

To the King and Queen's most excellent Majesties, with their most honourable High Court of Parliament.

We, poor prisoners for Christ's religion, require your honours, in our dear Saviour Christ's Name, earnestly now to repent; for that you have consented of late to the unplacing of so many godly laws, set forth touching the true religion of Christ before, by two most noble kings, being father and brother to the Queen's Highness, and agreed upon by all your consents; not without your great and many deliberations, free and open disputations, costs and pains-taking in that behalf; neither without great consultations and conclusions, had by the greatest learned men in the realm, at Windsor, Cambridge, and Oxford; neither without the most willing consent and allowing of the same, by the whole realm thoroughly. So that there was not one parish, in all England, that ever desired again to have the Romish superstitions and vain service, which is now by the popish, proud, covetous clergy placed again, in contempt not only of God, all heaven, and all the Holy Ghost's lessons in the blessed bible; but also against the honours of the said two most noble kings; against your own

Strype, Cranmer, ii. 959. "C 'By whom this memorable declaration was drawn up, unless by John Bradford, I know not. This now is the second time a public challenge was made to justify King Edward's reformation; the former in the last year by Cranmer, the latter now by divers of the learned men in prison. Strype, Cranmer,

i. 506.

country, fore agreements, and against all the godly consciences within this realm of England, and elsewhere.

By reason whereof God's great plagues must need follow, and great unquietness of consciences; besides all other persecutions and vexations of bodies and goods, must needs ensue. Moreover, we certify your honours, that since your said unplacing of Christ's true religion, and true service, and placing in the room thereof antichrist's Romish superstition, heresy, and idolatry; all the true preachers have been removed and punished, and that with such open robbery and cruelty, as in Turkey was never used, either to their own countrymen, or to their mortal enemies.

This therefore our humble suit is now to your honourable estates, to desire the same, for all the mercies sake of our dear and only Saviour Jesus Christ, and for the duty you owe to your native country, and to your own souls, earnestly to consider from what light to what darkness this realm is now brought; and that in the weightiest, chief and principal matter of salvation, of all our souls and bodies everlasting, and for evermore. And even so we desire you at this our appealing, to seek some effectual reformation for the above written, most horrible Deformation in this Church of England.

And touching yourselves, we desire you in like manner, that we may be called before your honours; and if we be not able to prove and approve, by the catholic and canonical rites of Christ's true religion, the church homilies, and service set forth in the most innocent King Edward's days; and also to disallow and reprove, by the same authorities, the service now set forth since his departing; then we offer our bodies, either to be immediately burned, or else to suffer whatsoever other painful and shameful death, that it shall please the King and Queen's Majesties to appoint. And we think this trial and probation may be now best, either in the plain English tongue by writing, or otherwise by disputation in the same tongue. Our Lord, for his great mercy's sake, grant unto you all the continual assistance of his good and holy spirit. Amen.

On the 22d of January, 1555,* Bradford was brought from the King's Bench Prison, by the Under Marshal, before the Commissioners or Council, assembled most probably at the Church of St. Mary Overies, in Southwark.‡

When Bradford was brought into the presence of the Council, who were sitting at a table, he kneeled down on his knee; but Gardiner, who was then Lord Chancellor, directed him to stand up; and earnestly looked upon him, to have, belike, overfaced him; but Bradford gave no place; that is, he ceased not, in like manner, to look on the Lord Chancellor still continually; save that once he cast up his eyes to heavenward, sighing for God's grace, and so overfaced him; at which Gardiner being as it were

* There must be some error in Fox's dates; for he states that Bradford was called in after the Commissioners had finished their talk with Bishop Ferrar; but from his account of that martyr, it would seem he had not been examined till the 4th of May following. Probably it should have been, after they had finished with Rogers, for he had been examined on the same day.

+ We do not know why they were called Commissioners, as we have not been able to discover any Commission connected with the subject, except that given by Bp. Burnet, vol. ii. pt. 2. No. 32., and noticed by Collier, ii. 404.; in which Gardiner's name is not included.

The same as St, Saviour's. See the process, Post, App.