26 February 1401 A.D. Rev. William Sawtrey—1st Lollard Martyr
26 February 1401 A.D. Rev. William Sawtrey—1st Lollard
Martyr
As we’ve covered more fully elsewhere, the varied state and church laws of 1401, 1407 and 1409—in England—were topped off by Continent-wide chastisements against Wycliffites by the reprobatish canons of the Council of Constance of 1414-1418. Arundel, a toad-prelate Canterbury, is probably on the top ten list of the worst actors in the 15th century.
As we’ve covered more fully elsewhere, the varied state and church laws of 1401, 1407 and 1409—in England—were topped off by Continent-wide chastisements against Wycliffites by the reprobatish canons of the Council of Constance of 1414-1418. Arundel, a toad-prelate Canterbury, is probably on the top ten list of the worst actors in the 15th century.
Graves, Dan. “William Sawtrey, 1st
Lollard Martyr.” Christianity.com. May
2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/william-sawtrey-1st-lollard-martyr-11629873.html. Accessed 19 Jul 2014.
In 1399, the first time that William Sawtrey was
arrested on charges of heresy, he went to prison until he broke down and gave
up his beliefs. After he was freed, however, he felt as if he had betrayed
Christ. The English priest from St. Margaret's in Lynn, Norfolk, found
employment in London.
William was one of many laymen and
priests who accepted the teachings of
John Wycliffe. These believers were known as Lollards. Wycliffe said that the church
of his day had corrupted the plain teaching of the Bible. He made a translation
of the Bible in English so that all the people could understand God's word for
themselves.
Alarmed by Wycliffe's teachings,
England passed a law which made burning the penalty for "heresy."
Archbishop Thomas Arundel ordered William to appear at St. Paul's on February
12, 1401 and give an account of his teachings. Arundel questioned William
closely.
This time, William Sawtrey stood
firm. He had said, "Instead of adoring the cross on which Christ suffered,
I adore Christ who suffered on it." He stood behind those words now and it
became one of the charges against him by persecutors who considered it proper
to bow before crucifixes.
However, it was his beliefs about
the mass that finally got him condemned. He agreed that the bread of the
Eucharist after consecration was indeed the bread of life, but insisted it was
just bread all the same. Roman teaching says it really becomes Christ's flesh,
so he was considered a heretic.
William also held that it was a
better use of time to preach to the lost than to recite certain prayers. He
said that money spent on pilgrimages to save one's soul would be better spent
helping the poor. The independent-thinking priest also said men were more
worthy of adoration than angels.
Because of his answers, he was
indicted. He answered each charge in the indictment with scriptures. Arundel
questioned him for three hours on his interpretation of the mass. The
archbishop tried to convince William to change his mind, or at least to accept
the decision of church authorities. William refused.
On this day, February 26, 1401, his sentence was
issued. William was condemned as a relapsed heretic. Under the new law, this
meant he would burn. Through seven steps called "degradation" he was
removed from being a priest and handed over to the secular authorities to die.
Using the defenses at his
disposal, William appealed to the king and Parliament. After his appeal was
denied, he was burned to death at Smithfield in front of a crowd of spectators.
He was the first
"Lollard" martyr in England.
Bibliography:
"Sawtrey, William." Dictionary of
National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee.
London: Oxford University Press, 1921 - 1996.
Wood, douglas C. The Evangelical Doctor; John Wycliffe and the
Lollards. Herts, England: Evangelical Press, 1984.
Last updated June,
2007
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