The Tudor Society

May 20 – A cardinal’s hat for Bishop Fisher, and a deist heretic

On this day in Tudor history, 20th May 1535, Pope Paul III made John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal-Priest of San Vitale, and arranged to have his cardinal's hat sent to him.

The pope hoped that this would save Fisher, who was imprisoned at the time, from further punishment, but it made the king even more determined to behead Bishop Fisher. Oh dear!

Find out more about what happened...

Hall’s Life of Fisher - https://archive.org/details/lifeoffishe00hall/page/n11/mode/2up

Also on this day in Tudor history, 20th May 1579, wheelwright Matthew Hamont was executed for heresy in the city of Norwich.

What had led to Hamont being charged with heresy? And what exactly was so heretical about his beliefs?

And on this day in 1536, Henry VIII and Jane Seymour became betrothed...

Leave a Reply

May 20 – A cardinal’s hat for Bishop Fisher, and a deist heretic