Below is a self-account by “William Maldon of Newington”, written for Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
It has been collected in Alfred W. Pollard’s Records of the English Bible at page 286, in section XLIV The Reading of the Bible, section C titled The Narrative of William Maldon of Newington, written for Fox's Actes and Monuments.
The limits "In K. Henry's time" and the publication of Actes and Monuments gives this a time period of 1547–1563. The date itself is not provided.
I have provided annotation for context, rendering of side-notes (as such), my own paragraphing for an easier read, spelling changes (y->i) and the translation of three words for clarity:
- dyeueres (diverse) to modern various
- bwrayed (bewrayed) to modern divulged
- a thou (likely conflation of the shorthand aþou/abou?) to about
Maldon's words, however, have not been paraphrased or changed.
Grace, peace and mercy from God our Father, and from our lord Jesus Christ be with all them that love the gospel of Jesus Christ unfeignedly, so be it! Not unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be all honour and glory.
Gentle reader, understand that I do not take in hand to write this little treatise as follows of mine own provoking. But I, with another, chanced to go in the company of Mr. Foxe, the gatherer together of this great book, and he desired us to tell him if we knew of any man that had suffered persecution for the gospel of Jesus Christ, to that end he might add it unto the book of martyrs. Then I said that I knew one that was whipped in King Henry’s time for it of his father. Then he enquired of me his name, then I divulged and said it was I myself and told him a piece of it. Then he was desirous to have the whole circumstances of it – then it at convenient times – then I promised him to write it, and as I said to him:
“Not for any vain glory I will speak, but unto the praise and honour of our god that worketh all in all – men of all good gifts that cometh from above, unto whom be all honour and glory for ever, in this life and for ever in the life to come, so be it.” As I find by the brief chronicle that the Bible of the Sacred Chapters was set forth to be read in all churches in England, by the late worthy King Henry V (then was I about 25 years of age).
And immediately after, various poor men in the town of Chelmsford in the country of Essex (where my father dwelled and I born and with him brought up), the said poor men brought the New Testament of Jesus Christ and on Sundays did sit reading in the lower end of Church, and many would flock about them to hear their reading. Then I came among the said readers to hear them, reading of that glad and sweet tidings of the Gospel. Then by father seeing this – that I listened unto them every Sunday – then came he and sought me among them, and would have me to say the Latin Matins with him. The which grieved me very much and thus did fetch my away various times.
Then I see I could not be in rest, then thought I: I will learn to read English, and then I will have the New Testament and read there on myself. And then had I learned of an English primer as far as Patris Sapientia [a Medieval hymn] and then on Sundays I plied my English primer, the mayetyd [maytide? uncertain] following I and my father’s ‘prentice, Thomas Jeffery, laid our money together and bought the New Testament in English, and hid it in our bedstraw and so exercised it at convenient times.
Then shortly after my father set me to the keeping of haberdashery and grocery, wares being a shot from his house. And then I plied my book, then shortly after I would begin to speak of the scriptures, and on a night about eight o’clock my father sat sleeping in a chair and my mother and I fell on reasoning of the Crucifix, and of the kneeling down to it, knocking on the breast, and holding up our hands to it, when it came by on precession. Then said I it was plain Idolatry and plainly against the commandment of God, where he sayeth: “Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, thou shalt not bow down to it nor worship it.”
Then said she: “About these if thy father knew this he would hang thee. Wilt not thou worship the cross?” and “It was about thee when thou were christened, and must be laid on thee when thou art dead.” with other talk.
And I went and hid Frith’s book [John Frith; a contemporary figure] on the Sacrament and I went to bed, and then my father awaked and my mother told him of our communication, then came he up into our chamber with a great rod, and as I heard him coming up, I blessed me, saying “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost so be it.”
Then said my father to me: “Sirrah, who is your schoolmaster?”
“Forsooth, Father,” said I, “I have no schoolmaster but God where he sayeth in his commandment, ‘thou shalt not make to thyself any graven Image, thou shalt not bow down to it nor worship it.”
Then he took me by the hair of my head with both his hands and pulled me out of the bed behind Thomas Jeffery bake [?] he sitting up on his bed, then he bestowed his rod on my body and “still would know my schoolmaster and other master”.
Then I said before he had none of me – and he said I spake against the King’s injunctions, and as truly as the Lord lyeth, I rejoiced that I was beaten for Christ’s sake, and wept not one tear out of mine eyes, and I think I felt not the stripes, my rejoicing was so much.
And then my father saw that when he had beaten me enough he let me go and I went to bed again, and shed not one tear out of mine eyes. “Surely,” said my father, “he is past grace, for he weepeth not.” For then was he in twice so much rage, and said: “fetch me a halter, I shall surely hang him up, for as good as I hang him up as another should”, and when he saw that nobody would go he went down into his shop and brought up a halter.
And while he went about this, said my mother, “How has thou angered thy father? I never saw him so angry.”
“Mother,” said I, “I am the more sorrier that he should be so angry for this matter.” And then began I to weep for the grief of the lack of knowledge in them.
Then said my mother, “Thomas Jeffery, arise, and make the ready, for I cannot tell what he will do in his anger,” and he sat up in his bed putting on of his clothes. And my father cometh up with the halter and my mother intreated him to let me alone – but in no ways he would be intreated but put the halter about my neck, I lying in my bed, and pulled me with the halter behind the said Thomas Jeffery’s book almost clean out of my bed. And then my mother cried out and pulled him by the arm away, and my brother Richard cried out that lay on the other side of me, and then my father let go his hold and let me alone and went to bed.
(I think 5 days after, my neck grieved me with the pulling of the halter. Weeping tears […] wrote this to think […] lack of knowledge […] my father and mother they had thought they had done God good service at that time, I trust he hath forgiven them.)
- “The bible of the sacred chapters was set forth to be read in all churches in England” by King Henry V [then Maldon was 25yo?]
- Maldon and his father were born in Chelmsford, Essex.
- Poor men brought a translated New Testament, which Maldon began to listen to each Sunday. His father brought him away to recite the Matins in Latin, which grieved him, and so he resolved to learn English.
- He read from a primer text which took him as far as the Patris Sapientia, a hymn.
- He and his father’s apprentice, Thomas, bought a copy of the Tyndale Bible and hid it in their bedstraw.
- He makes reference to a “frythes boke” – almost certainly one of John Frith; it is unclear which.
- He discussed the Crucifix with his mother, who considered it an essential part of baptism and funerary rites. He argued that kneeling down and praising the Crucifix itself was a form of idolatry, against the commandment forbidding “graven images”.
- Hearing of this matter, Maldon’s father dragged him out of bed and beat him with a rod. That he did not cry put him into a further rage.
- Intending to hang his son, he put a halter around his neck, but stopped after Maldon’s mother and brother cried out.