80 sion of Elizabeth to the crown, he returned into England; and in 1559 was collated to the archdeaconry of Essex, by Bishop Grindal, formerly his fellow-exile; he was also presented to the rectory of High Ongar, in Essex. Neal, and Brook, in their respective "History" and "Lives of the Puritans," attribute the assistance afforded in the translation of the Bible, to his brother WILLIAM, who was educated at Oxford, and was also an exile during the reign of Queen Mary, but was afterwards made president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in which office he continued at least thirty years; and became dean of Lincoln. He died in 1600, at an advanced age. JOHN KNOX, the chief instrument and promoter of the Reformation in Scotland, was descended of an ancient and honourable family, and born in 1505, at Gifford, in the county of East Lothian, Scotland. He received the early part of his education in the Grammar school of Haddington, and after acquiring the principles of the Latin tongue was sent to the university of St. Andrew's. Having been ordained priest, he sedulously applied himself to the study of divinity, but for many years remained a zealous papist; till at length, when about thirty-six years of age, the reading of the works of Jerom and Augustin, and attending the sermons of Mr. Thomas Guilliam or Williams, a Dominican friar, together with various conversations with George Wishart, the martyr, convinced him of the errors of popery, and led him to renounce the Romish religion. After being for some time employed as tutor to the sons of two gentlemen, he, was prevailed upon to accept the situation of a preacher, and discharged that important office with a zeal and intrepidity that constantly marked his character. When the castle of St. Andrew's surrendered to the French, in (80) Lewis, p. 206. Neal's Hist. of the Puritans, I. ch. iv. p. 146. July, 1547, he was taken prisoner with the garrison, and condemned to serve in the gallies. About the latter end of the year 1549, he obtained his liberty, and passing into England, was licensed, and appointed preacher, first at Berwick, and then at Newcastle. In 1552, he was appointed one of the six chaplains to Edward VI. "who were chosen not only to wait on him, but to itinerate, and preach the Gospel, over all the nation;" for which he appears to have received £240 per ann. On Queen Mary's coming to the throne, he crossed over to Dieppe, in France, and went thence to Geneva, leaving his wife and two sons in England. He was soon afterwards solicited to become the preacher to the congregation of refugees at Frankfort; but disputes arising, he returned to Geneva, and after a few months residence, resolved to visit his native country. After his arrival in Scotland, he taught principally in Edinburgh, till the English congregation at Geneva requested him to become their pastor. Having accepted the office he returned to Geneva, in 1556. In April 1559, he again quitted Geneva, and returning to Scotland, employed all his talents in the promotion of the Reformation, and by his zeal, intrepidity, disinterestedness, and piety, gained extensive influence and honour. He died November 24th, 1572: his last words were, "Lord Jesus! receive my spirit." He was interred on November 26th, at Edinburgh, when Earl Morton, the regent, who attended, with other Lords, said, "There lies he who never feared the face of man, who hath been often threatened with dag and dagger, but yet hath ended his days in peace and honour. For he had God's providence watching over him, in a special manner, when his very life was sought." Knox was twice married, and had children by both his wives. His writings were neither numerous nor large. After his death, his "History of the Reformation of Religion, &c." was published; and at the end of the 4th edition, printed at Edinburgh, 1732, fol. his other works are subjoined." Of JOHN BODLEIGH no account has been obtained. JOHN PULLAIN, B. D. was born in Yorkshire, in the year 1517, and educated first in New College, then in Christ's College, Oxford. He was a celebrated preacher and reformer during the reign of Edward VI. He became rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill, London, in 1552, but suffered deprivation, in 1555. After Queen Mary came to the throne, he remained in England about a year, preaching privately, but then withdrew to Geneva, to avoid being condemned to suffer death. On Mary's decease he returned to his native land, but was soon imprisoned, for preaching contrary to the prohibition of Queen Elizabeth. Towards the close of the year 1559, he was presented to the rectory of Capford, in Essex; and about the same time was made archdeacon of Colchester. He sat in the convocation of 1562, and subscribed the Articles of Religion. He died in July, 1565, aged 48. Brook calls him "a truly pious man, a constant preacher, a learned divine, a thorough puritan, and an admired English and Latin poet." He wrote a tract against the Arians; and translated into English verse, The Ecclesiastes of Solomon; The History of Susannah; The History of Judith; The History of Esther; The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs.8 In 1556, Cardinal Pole appointed commissioners to visit the two universities, and reform them according to the views of the papal hierarchy. At Cambridge they burnt the bodies of Martin Bucer, and Paul Fagius, with their books and heretical writings. At Oxford the visitors went through all the colleges, and burnt all the (81) Chalmers' Gen. Biog. Dict. XIX. pp. 409–416. Scott's Hist, of the Reformers, pp. 94-152. Edinb, 1810, 8vo. (82) Brook's Lives of the Puritans, I. pp. 114-116. Wood's Athenæ, I. p. 148. English BIBLES, and such books as they deemed heretical. They took up the body of Peter Martyr's wife, and buried it in a dunghill, because, having once been a nun, she broke her vow by marriage; but her body was afterwards taken up again, in Queen Elizabeth's time, and mixed with the bones of St. Fridis wide, to prevent any similar outrage. A design was formed to introduce the inquisition, by giving commissions to laymen, to search for persons suspected of heresy and present them to their ordinaries; and because Cardinal Pole was thought too lenient in his measures, the court of Rome deprived him of his legantine power, though, on his submission, it was restored to him, and he continued in England till his death.83 Among those who glorified God, by suffering martyrdom in the reign of Mary, JOAN WASTE, a poor woman, deserves to be "had in everlasting remembrance." Though blind from her birth, she learned, at an early age, to knit stockings and sleeves, and to assist her father in his business of ropemaking; and always discovered the utmost aversion to idleness or sloth. After the death of her parents, she lived with her brother; and by daily attendance at church, and hearing divine service read in the vulgar tongue, during the reign of King Edward VI. became deeply impressed with religious principles. This rendered her desirous of possessing the Word of God; so that at length, having by her labour earned and saved as much money as would purchase a New Testament, she procured one; and as she could not read it herself, got others to read it to her, especially, an old man 70 years of age a prisoner for debt in the Common Hall at Derby, and the clerk of the parish, who read a chapter: to her almost every day. She would also sometimes give a penny or two (as she could spare) to those who would not read to her without pay. By these means she (83) Neal's Hist. of the Puritans, I. ch. iii, p. 110. became well acquainted with the New Testament, and could repeat many chapters without book; and daily increasing in Sacred knowledge, she uniformly displayed its influence on her life, till the rage against those who denied transubstantiation, occasioned her condemnation, and she was burnt alive at Derby, August 1st. 1556, being then about 22 years of age." Happily, the storm of persecution raised against the friends of the Reformation, though severe, was not of long continuance, for after a short reign of little more than five years, the bigoted and cruel Queen Mary died November 17th, 1558, in the 43rd year of her age. The occurrences of her reign are written in characters of blood, and unequivocally exhibit the spirit of the church whose principles she had embraced. On the death of Queen Mary, ELIZABETH, her halfsister, daughter of Anne Boleyn, succeeded to the throne. One of the first acts of her reign was a proclamation, dated December 27th, 1558, by which all preaching of ministers, or others, was prohibited; and the people were charged to hear no other doctrine or preaching, but the Epistle and Gospel for the day, and the Ten Commandments, in English, without any exposition or paraphrase whatsoever. The proclamation admitted of the Litany, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed, in English; but no public prayers were to be read in the church, but such as were appointed by law, until the meeting of the parliament, which was summoned to meet on the 23rd of January. The reason of the inhibitory clauses of the proclamation, was the prevention of the disputes between the Catholic and Protestant clergy, which had commenced as soon as the queen came to the throne, each party inveighing against the other from the pulpit. 85 The coronation of the Queen being appointed to take (84) Fox, III. pp. 756, 757. (85) Neal's Hist. of the Puritans, I. ch. iv. p. 115. |