that she began to waver and let go her first faith this the adversaries much rejoyced in and the poor flock of Christ in that place hearing of it were as much afflicted with the news but God left them not in this mournful condition long For a Monk one day going to her perswaded her to draw her sonne Martin to the same recantation with her self which she promised to do but when they came together Martin perceiving the grievous Apostacy of his Mother bewailed it with many tears saying to her Oh Mother what have you done have you denied him that redeemed you Alas what injury hath he done you that you should requite him with so great an injury and dishonour Now am I plunged into that woe which I most feared Ah good God that I should live to see this which pierceth me to the very heart His mother hearing his pittiful complaints and seeing him drowned in tears for her sake began again to renew her strength in the Lord and with tears cryed out Oh Father of mercies be merciful to me miserable sinner and cover my transgression under the righteousnesse of thy blessed Son Lord enable me with strength from above to stand to my first confession and make me to abide stedfast therein even to my last breath Presently in came the seducers hoping to finde her in the same minde that they left her but she no sooner saw them but cryed Avoid Satan get thee behind me for henceforth thou hast nether part nor portion in me I will by the help of God stand to my first Confession and if I may not sign it with ink I will seal it with my blood and so after this time through Gods gracious assistance she grew stronger and stronger Then were they both condemned to be burnt alive and their ashes to be sprinkled in the aire When the sentence was passed as they returned to prison they said Now blessed be God who causeth us thus to triumph over our enemies This is the wished hour our gladsome day is come let us not therefore forget to be thankfull for that honour that God doth us in thus conforming us to the image of his Sonne Let us remember those that have troden this path before us for this is the high-way to the Kingdom of heaven c. Hereupon some of the Friars being ready to burst for anger said unto Martin that was most valiant We see now Heretick that thou art wholly possest body and soul with a Divel as were thy father and brother who are now in hell Martin answered As for your railings and cursings God will this day turn them into blessings in the sight of himself and all his holy Angels When they came into prison there came to them two persons of great quality of whom one of them said to Martin Young man I have compassion on thee if thou wilt be ruled by me and return to the Church of Rome thou shalt not only be freed from this shameful death but I will also give thee an hundred pounds Martin presently replyed Sir you present before me many temporal commodities But alas do you think me so simple as to forsake an eternal Kingdome for the enjoyment of a short temporal life No Sir it s now too late to speak to me of worldly commodities I will hearken to no other speech but of those spiritual commodities which I shall enjoy this day in Gods Kingdome c. Soon after Martin and his mother were carried to the place of their Martyrdome and being bound to the stake the woman said We are Christians and that which we now suffer is not for murther nor theft but because we will believe no more than the Word of God teacheth us The fire being kindled the heat of it did nothing abate the fervency of their seal but they continued crying Lord Jesus into thy hands we commend our spirits and so they blessedly slept in the Lord. A Friar at Gaunt called Charles Coninck being through Gods mercy converted to the truth left his Friars weed and joyned himself to the brethren for which he was apprehended and remaining constant was condemned then came a special friend perswading him to recant and he would procure him a Cannonship To whom Charles answered Sir I thank you for your good will and kind offer but I cannot accept them without offending God and that rest is no true rest and quietnesse which is obtained against the peace of a good conscience Shortly after his death one of his adversaries which had the greatest hand in procuring of it fell into grievous terrour and horrour of conscience whereof within a few dayes he died The Persecution of the Duke de Alva in the Netherlands WHen the light of the Gospel was much spread abroad in the Netherlands King Philip of Spaine sent the Duke de Alva with a great Army to root out the Professors of it who exercised unparalell'd cruelty against all sorts of persons both of the Nobility and Commons permitting his souldiers to ravish honest Matrons and Virgins many times causing their husbands and Parents to stand by and behold it This Duke on a time boasted at his own table that he had been diligent to root out heresie for that beside those which he had slain in war in the space of six years he had put into the hands of the common hangman above eighteen thousand persons His sonne also Don Frederick being sent by him to Zutphen was re-received by the Bourgers without any opposition yet was he no sooner entred but he fell to murther hang and drown a number of the inhabitants with infinite cruelties shewed upon wives and virgins yea not sparing the very infants From thence marching to Naerden in Holland the inhabitants made an agreement with him and he entred the town peaceably but never did Turks or Scythians or the most barbarous and inhumane Nations in the world commit more abominable cruelties than Don Frederick did in this town for when the Bourgers had given the best entertainment that they could to him and his souldiers he caused it to be proclaimed that they should all assemble themselves together in the Chappel of the Hospital where they should be made acquainted with such Laws according to which they should hereafter govern themselves but when these poor people were thus assembled he commanded his souldiers to murther them all without sparing any one the men were massacred the women were first ravished and then murthered most cruelly the children and infants had their throats cut and in some houses they tied the inhabitants to posts and then set fire on the houses and burnt them alive so that in the whole town neither man wife maid nor child old nor young were spared and then the town was wholly razed to the ground without pity or mercy After this Don Frederick besieged Harlem which held out against him for a long time
in the Cities but far more in the villages most part of the husband-men dying of famine and the pestilence Divers brought out their best treasure and gave it for any kind of sustenance though never so little Others having sold their possessions for food fell into extream misery Some did eat grass others fed upon unwholsom herbs whereby they hurt and poisoned their bodies Many women were driven to leave the Cities and beg up and down through the countrey some through faintness fell down in the streets and holding up their hands cryed miserably for some scraps or fragments of bread being ready to give up the Ghost and being able to say no more they cryed Hungry hungry Some of the richer sort being tired with serving such multitudes of beggers began to grow hard-hearted fearing lest themselves should fall into the like misery By reason whereof the Market-places streets and lanes lay full of dead corpses and naked bodies were cast out unburied many of which were devoured by dogs whereupon they which lived fell to killing of the dogs lest running mad they should fall upon them and kill them The pestilence also scattering through all houses killed very many especially those of the richer sort which escaped the famine whereby innumerable Magistrates Princes and Presidents were quickly dispatched so that all places were filled with mourning and nothing was seen or heard but weeping and wailing every where Death so reigned in every family that two or three dead bodies were carried out of one house together But notwithstanding that these miscreants had been so cruel to them yet the Christians were very diligent and charitable to them in all their extremities travelling every day some in curing the sick some in burying of their dead others called the multitude together which were ready to famish and distributed bread unto them whereby they occasioned them to glorifie the God of the Christians and conâ—essed them to be the true worshippers of God as appeared by their works and hereby the Lord wrought wonderfully for the peace of his Church for after he had corrected them he again shewed thâ—m mercy Constantine succeeding his father overcame Maxentius the Tyrant in Rome and he together with Licinius set forth Edicts in favour of the Christians See Constantines life in my second part of lives Yet Maximinus continued his persecution in the East whereupon Constantine and Licinius wrote to him to favour the Christians and he finding that he was too weak to encounter with them sent forth his Edicts to stop the persecution yet afterwards he picked new quarrels with them and began to persecute them again whereupon Licinius went against him and overthrew him in a battell Then did Maximinus kill many of his enchanters and conjurers that had encouraged him and promised him victory Shortly after the Lord striking him with a grievous disease he glorified the God of the Christians and made a Law for the safety and preservation of them yet not long after by the vehemency of his disease he ended his life Licinius that for a long time had pretended to the Christian religion and lived in great familiarity with Constantine who had given him his sister Constantia to be his wife began afterwards to discover his hypocrisie and the wickednesse of his nature secretly conspiring the death of Constantine but the Lord discovering and preventing his conspiracies he then fell out with him and manifested his hatred of the Christian religion being puffed up with the victory that he had got against Maximinus He quarrelled with the Christians because as he said they praied not for him but for Constantine and thereupon he first banished them all from his Court then he deprived all the Knights of their honourable order except they would sacrifice to devils then he commanded that the Bishops should have no meetings to consult about their Ecclesiastical affairs nor that any Christians should come to the Churches or hold any assemblies then that men and women should not meet together to pray that women should not hear the Bishops but chuse out women to instruct them then that none should help or succour those that were in prison nor should bestow any alms upon them though they should die for hunger and that they which shewed any compassion to those which were condemned to death should suffer the like punishment themselves then he persecuted the Bishops and slew those which were the most eminent of them the flattering officers also which were about him thinking to please him thereby slew many Bishops without any cause yea many of their bodies they cut into gobbets and threw them in to the sea to feed fishes Some were banished others had their goods confiscated many noblemen and gentlemen were privily made away and Licinius gave their unmarried daughters to wicked varlets to be defloured himself also violated many women both wives and maidens This cruelty made many godly persons voluntarily to forsake their houses and to live in woods mountains and desarts He caused Theodorus to be hanged upon a crosse to have nails thrust into his arm-pits and afterwards to be beheaded Divers other Bishops had their hands cut off with a fearing iron In Sebastia fourty Christian souldiers in the vehement cold winter were cast into an Horse-pond where they ended their lives the wives of these fourty men were carried to Heraclea where together with a Deacon of that place after they had suffered innumerable torments they were slain with the sword Constantine being informed of all this wickednesse raised an Army went against him overcame him twice and at last caused him to be put to death as you may see in Constantines life in my second part whereby the Church obtained a generall peace Yet in this tenth Persecution many other eminent Christians suffered Martryrdom besides those before-named Galerius in his time invaded Antioch intending to force all Christians to renounce Christ at what time they were assembled together whereupon one Romanus ran to them declaring that the wolves were at hand which would devour them yet he exhorted them not to fear by reason of the perill and through Gods grace the Christians were greatly encouraged by him so that old men and matrons fathers mothers young men and maidens were all of one minde being willing to shed their bloud in defence of their profession A band of armed men were sent against them which were not able to wrest the staff of faith out of their hands hereupon they sent word to their Captain that they could not inforce the Christians to deny their faith by reason of Romanus who did so mightily encourage them then did the Captain command that he should be brought before him which was done accordingly What saith the Captain art thou the author of this sedition art thou the cause that so many lose there lives By the Gods I swear thou shalt answer for them all and shalt suffer those torments that thou encouragest
their sentence which is pronounced upon such as are to be burned they use this abominable hypocrisie They bequeath him to the secular power with this humble request to them to shew the Prisoner as much favour as may be and neither to break any bone nor pierce the skin of his body This shews their great impudence that having already given sentence on him to be burned they yet should pretend such mercy and clemency towards him whom all along themselves have used with such extream cruelty They use also this trick further that in reading the crimes for which he is condemned they do not only misreport such things as he confessed upon his examination but they devilishly father upon him such things as he never spake or thought of in all his life and this they do to disgrace him and to make him and his opinions more abhorred of all men and to encrease their own estimation and credit as being necessary officers to rid the world of such pestilent persons and all this while the Prisoners tongue hath a cleft piece of wood upon it to his intolerable pain and grief that he cannot answer for himself nor gainsay that they charge him with All these things being finished the Magistrate takes them into his hand and conveys them presently to the place of execution with divers instruments of Satan about them calling and crying to them to forsake the truth and when they cannot prevail after the Prisoner is tied to the stake they break his neck in a trice and then they report amongst the common people that they recanted their heresies at the last houre and so came home to the Church of Rome and therefore they felt no pain in the fire at all which made them take it so patiently Such as are not condemned to die are carried back to prison and the next day brought out to be whipt after which some of them are sent to the Gallies others kept in prison all their life time but all have this special charge given them that they never speak of any thing that they have heard seen or felt during their imprisonment in the Inquisition for if the contrary be ever proved against them and that they utter any of their secrets they shall be taken for persons relapsed and be punished with greatest severity their judgement being death without Redemption and hereby they keep in all their Knavery and Tyranny close and secret to themselves And if any of them be released because their faults were but small they are yet so careful lest their cruelty should come to light that they inhibit them the company or conference with any other than such as they shall appoint and allow them neither will they suffer them to write to any friend except they first have the perusing of their letters Sometimes also after they have imprisoned men in such a miserable state for a year or two and can extort nothing out of them by their torments nor prove any thing against them by witnesse so that they must necessarily dismisse them they then call them into the Court and begin to flatter them and tell them what a good opinion they have of them and that they are resolved to send them home for the which fatherly favour extended towards them in saving their lives goods they are to account themselves much beholding to their Lordships c. And so at last they dismisse him with special charge of silence and when he is gone they have special Spies abroad to see how he takes the matter and if they find that he complains of his punishments or discloses their secrets they presently commence a new suit against him On a time the Inquisitors at Sivill apprehended a noble Lady the cause was for that a Sister of hers a very vertuous Virgin who was afterwards burned for Religion had confessed in the extremity of her torments that she had sometimes had conference with this her sister about matters of Religion This Lady when she was first apprehended was gone with child about six months in respect whereof they did not shut her up so close at first nor deal so severely with her as they did with others But within foure dayes after she was brought to bed they took the child from her and the seventh day â—fter they shut her up in close prison and used her in all things as they did other Prisoners the only worldly comfort that she had in her misery was that they lodged her with a vertuous maiden that was her fellow-Prisoner for a time but afterwards burned at the stake This maid whilst they were together was carried to the rack and so sore strained and torn thereon that she was almost pulled in pieces then was she brought back and thrown upon a bed of flags that served them both to lie on the good Lady was not able to help her yet shewed singular tokens of love and compassion towards her The maid was scarce recovered when the Lady was carried out to be served with the same sauce and was so terribly tormented in the trough that by reason of the strait straining of the strings piercing to the very bones of her armes thighs and shins she was brought back half dead to her prison the blood gushing out of her mouth abundantly which shewed that something was broken within her but after eight dayes the Lord delivered her from these cruel Tygers by taking her mercifully to himself Upon one of their dayes of triumph there was brought out one John Pontio of a noble Family a zealous Professor of the truth and one of an holy and blamelesse life and well learned he was eminent also in works of charity in which he had spent a great part of his estate Being apprehended for the Profession of the Gospel he was cast into Prison where he manfully maintained the truth in the midst of all their cruel dealings with him At last they cast into prison to him one of their flyes who by his subtilty and craft so wrought upon him that he drew from him a promise to yield obedience to the Romish Church But though God suffered him to fall a while to shew him his frailty yet afterwards in much mercy he raised him up again with double strength to that which he had before and before his execution he manfully defended the truth against a subtil Friar The things which he was condemned for were these That he should say that from his heart he abhorred the idolatry which was committed in worshipping the Host That he removed his houshold from place to place that he might shun coming to the Masse That the Justification of a Christian resteth only in the merits of Jesus Christ apprehended by faith c. That there was no Purgatory That the Popes pardons were of no value c. And for my self saith he I am not only willing but desirous to die and ready to suffer any
marched to another coming just at the time when the Protestants were at Church hearing a Sermon They were guided to the place by two Friers the Protestants seeing them coming shut the Church doors barricadoing them up with benches these villaines laboured to break open the door but when they could not readily do it they clambred up into the windows through which they shot with their musquets at the people whereby they wounded and killed many The Minister beiâ—g a man rarely endued with learning and piety according to the shortnesse of time exhorted them with lively reasons to persevere in the truth notwithstanding all the danger but in the mean time these barbarous Papists had forced open the door where they fell to murthering of all without respect of quality sex or age Some Lords and Gentlemen were here slaine the Minister was shot to death divers Ladies and children gate into the Belfree to save themselves but these hell-hounds set fire to the place and miserably burnt them all These savage wretches having thus glutted themselves with innocent blood in this place they marched to Sondresse The Papists in that place hearing of their coming went to the Justice protesting that they would guard him from danger and that they would not suffer such villanies to be committed amongst them Then did they beat their Drums ring their Bells and arme themselves under pretence of securing the Protestants who trusting to their promises mixed themselves amongst them to stand for their own defence These Popelings concealing their mischievous intent killed now one then another as if it had been by accident so that though divers of them were slain yet they found not out the mystery of the practice yet some both men and Gentlewomen sought to escape but all passages being shut up they were met with and cruelly murthered Then did they more openly discover their malice killing the Protestants where ever they met them hereupon some eighteen of the Protestants together with some Ladies and young children gat together and the men being well armed they marched close together repulsing their enemies and at last came to a Church in the mountain of Sondresse unto which place a Minister and some others in all about seventy three men were gathered together and after their prayers made unto God they passed the Valley of Malaneo which was beset by the enemy on two sides but such as kept the passages were by Gods special providence so astonished that they fled away and the Protestants though they were pursued to the tops of the mountains yet did miraculously escape with safety Then did the Pesants joyne with these villaines to rob and plunder the houses of the Protestants and amongst them divers Noblemens houses richly furnished with great abundance They ran up and down also through fields woods and mountains searching every bush for the Protestants and as they found any of them they presently murthered them There was an honorable Lady that not long before came out of Italy to enjoy her liberty of conscience whom they exhorted to change her Religion which she refusing they advised her that yet at least she would do it out of a care of her young infant which she held in her armes which otherwise together with her self should presently be slain But she with an undaunted courage answered I have not departed out of Italy my native countrey nor forsaken all the estate that I had there to renounce now the faith which I had wrought in me by the Lord Jesus Christ yea I will rather suffer if it were possible a thousand deaths And how shall I have regard in this case to my infant since God my heavenly Father spared not his own Sonne my Lord Jesus Christ but delivered him up to death for his love to me and such sinners as I am and so giving her childe to one she said Behold my child the Lord God who hath care of the birds of the aire is much more able to save this poore creature although by you it should be left to these wild mountains Then unlacing her gown she opened her breast saying Here is the body which you have power to kill but my soul on which you have no power to lay your hands that I commend to my God and so she was presently slain and hewed in pieces The infant being a lovely and sweet Child they spared and delivered it to a Popish Nurse to be brought up These miscreants finding such sweetnesse by the plunder of the Protestants they spared none plundering their houses twice or thrice over Some noble Matrons had their rings pul'd off their fingers and if they refused presently to draw them off they would cut off either their hands or fingers from them Some women with their children were dragged to the tops of high Mountains and threatned to be thrown down headlong with their children if they would not promise to go to Masse and though one amongst them was found that through terrour promised them to do it yet did they throw her down with the rest without all pity One Dominico Berto of sixteen years old they set upon an Asse with his face to the tayle and the tayle in his hands for the bridle and thus with many jears they led him to the Market-place then they cut off his nose ears and cheeks then burned many holes in several parts of his body with hot irons continuing these torments till in that barbarous manner they had killed him Yet through the wonderful goodnesse of God some Ministers with their wives and children by great travel dangers and difficulties amongst the craggy and high mountains were delivered out of the hands of these bloody persecutors Theophilus Messino was shot with a Musket but being not slain they set open his mouth with a gag filled it with gunpowder and giving fire to it tore his head miserably his son was slain with many wounds Another being wounded and stripped naked was carried out and thrown into the woods yet afterwards he gat up and went home to his own house where he had mountains of gold profered him if he would turn Papist yet through Gods mercy he continued faithful to the death A young Gentleman too much addicted to the vanities of the world being earnestly sollicited to forsake the Protestant Religion stoutly refused whereupon they shot him with a Musket and having layn a while and then raising himself up he besought them to dispatch him that he might render his soul to his Creator Divers men and women were thrown down from Bridges into the river Adda and drowned for their constancy in the truth Some had their mouthes sâ—iâ— up to their ears others had the flesh cut from their faces others were slashed in other parts of their body till they dyed and others were often put to the strappado and then hewen in pieces A noble Virgin that was come to Sondres for
if you make good your promise which we presume you will we our selves will not only serve you but we will procure all the Professors in Lothain to do the same c. These promises being made in the presence of God and hands being stricken by both parties the Earle took Master Wischard and so departed Master Wischard was carried to Edenburgh But gold and women easily corrupt fleshly men for the Cardinal gave Bothwel gold and the Queen that was too familiar with him promised him her favour if he would deliver Master Wischard into Edenburgh Castle which he did and shortly after he was delivered to the blood-thirsty Cardinal who seeing that it was forbidden by their Cannon Law for a Priest to sit as a Judge upon life and death he sent to the Governour requesting him to appoint some Lay-Judge to passe sentence of death upon Master Wischard The Governour would easily have yielded to his request but that David Hamilton a godly man told him that he could expect no better an end than Saul if he persecuted the truth which formerly he had professed c. Hereupon the Governour sent the Cardinal word that he would have no hand in shedding the blood of that good man The Cardinal being angry returned this answer that he had sent to him of meer Civility and that he would proceed without him and so to the great grief of the godly the Cardinal carried Master Wiseheart to Saint Andrews and put him into the Tower there and without any long delay he caused all the Bishops and other great Clergy-men to be called together to Saint Andrews Feb. ult 1546. Master Wischard was sent for to appear before them to give an account of his seditious and Heretical doctrine as they called it The Cardinal caused all his retinue to come armed to the place of their sitting which was the Abby-church whither when Master Wischard was brought there was a poor man lying at the door that asked his almes to whom he flung his purse when he came before the Cardinal there was a Dean appointed to preach whose Sermon being ended Wischard was put up into the Pulpit to hear his charge and one Lawder a Priest stood over against him and read a scrowle full of bitter accusations and curses so that the ignorant people thought that the earth would have opened and swallowed up Wischard quick but he stood with great patience without moving or once changing his countenance The Priest having ended his curses spat at Master Wischards face saying VVhat answerest thou thou Runnagate Traytor Thief c. Then did Master VVischard fall upon his knees making his prayer unto God after which he said Many and horrible sayings unto me a Christian man many words abominable for to hear have ye spoken here this day which not onely to teach but even to think I ever thought it a great abomination c. Then did he give them an account of his doctrine Answering every Article as farre as they would give him leave to speak But they without having any regard to his sober and godly answers presently condemned him to be burnt After which sentence he falling upon his knees said O immortal God how long wilt thou suffer the rage and great cruelty of the ungodly to exercise their fury upon thy servants which do further thy Word in this world whereas they on the contrary seek to destroy the truth whereby thou hast revealed thy self to the world c. O Lord we know certainly that thy true servants must needs suffer for thy names sake persecutions afflictions and troubles in this present world yet we desire that thou wouldest preserve and defend thy Church which thou hast chosen before the foundations of the world and give thy people grace to hear thy Word and to be thy true servants in this present life Then were the common people put out the Bishops not desiring that they should hear the innocent man speak and so they sent him again to the Castle till the fire should be made ready In the Castle came two Friars to him requiring him to make his Confession to them to whom he said I will make no confession to you but fetch me that man who preached even now and I will speak with him Then was the Sub-Prior with whom he conferred a pretty while till the Sub-prior wept who going to the Cardinal told him that he came not to intercede for Master Wischards life but to make known his innocency to all men at which words the Cardinal was very angry saying We knew long ago what you were The Captain of the Castle with some friends coming to Master Wischard asked him if he would break his fast with them yea said he very willingly for I know you be honest men In the mean time he desired them to hear him a little and so he discoursed to them about the Lords Supper his sufferings and death for us exhorting them to love one another laying aside all rancor and malice as becomes the members of Jesus Christ who continually intercedes for us to his Father Afterwards he gave thanks and blessing the bread and wine he took the bread and brake it giving it to every one saying eate this remember that Christ died for us and feed on it spiritually so taking the Cup he bade them remember that Christs blood was shed for them c. Then he gave thanks and prayed for them and so retired into his chamber Presently came two Executioners to him from the Cardinal one put on him a black linnen coat the other brought him bags of powder which they tied about several parts of his body and so they brought him forth to the place of execution over against which place the Castle windows were hung with rich hangings and Velvet Cushions laid for the Cardinal and Prelates who from thence fed their eyes with the torments of this innocent man The Cardinal fearing lest Wiseheart should be rescued by his friends caused all the Ordnance in the Castle to be bent against the place of his execution and commanded his gunners to stand ready all the time of his burning Then were his hands bound behind his back so he was carried forth In the way some beggars met him asking his alms for Gods sake To whom he said My hands are bound wherewith I was wont to give you almes but the merciful Lord who of his bounty and abundant grace feeds all men vouchsafe to give you necessaries both for your bodies and souls Then two Friars met him perswading him to pray to our Lady to mediate for him to whom he meekly said Cease tempt me not I entreat you and so with a rope about his neck and a chaine about his middle he was led to the fire then falling upon his knees he thrice repeated O thou Saviour of the world have mercy upon me Father of heaven I commend my spirit into thy holy hands