On this day in Tudor history, 5th July 1583, shoemaker and religious radical John Copping was executed for ‘dispersing’ books by Robert Browne and Richard Harrison, which were viewed as “sundry seditious, schismatical and erroneous printed books”.

Copping had been arrested with his friend Elias Thacker, a tailor, and Thacker was executed the day before. Books were burned at each of their executions.