As it is the anniversary of the execution of Thomas Cromwell today, in this week's Claire Chats video talk Claire talks about the primary sources accounts of Cromwell's execution, his scaffold speech and the prayer he said. She talks about the controversy over his speech and what his prayer said about his faith.
Sources
- Hall, Edward (1809) Hall's chronicle : containing the history of England, during the reign of Henry the Fourth, and the succeeding monarchs, to the end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, in which are particularly described the manners and customs of those periods. Carefully collated with the editions of 1548 and 1550, J Johnson, London, p. 839. Read online at http://www.archive.org/stream/hallschronicleco00halluoft#page/n847/mode/2up
- Foxe, John (1844) Foxe's Book of Martyrs: The Acts and Monuments of the Church, Volume 2, p. 562. Read online at https://books.google.es/books/about/Fox_s_Book_of_Martyrs.html?id=OpQLAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y
- Burnet, Gilbert (1816) The history of the Reformation of the Church of England by Gilbert Burnet, D.D. Late Lord Bishop of Sarum, A New Edition, Volume I, p. 516-517. Read online at https://books.google.es/books?id=DHtKAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Schofield, John (2008) The Rise & Fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry Viii's Most Faithful Servant, The History Press.
- "Thomas Cromwell and the 'Catholic faith'", article by John Schofield - http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/thomas-cromwell-and-the-catholic-faith/
Further Reading
- Hutchinson, Robert (2009) Thomas Cromwell: The Rise And Fall Of Henry VIII's Most Notorious Minister, W&N.
- Coby, J. Patrick (2014) Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII's Henchman, Amberley Publishing.
- Loades, David (2014) Thomas Cromwell: Servant to Henry VIII, Amberley Publishing.
- Borman, Tracy (2015) Thomas Cromwell: The untold story of Henry VIII's most faithful servant, Hodder and Stoughton.
- 28 July 1540 – The Executions of Thomas Cromwell and Walter Hungerford
- Henry VIII’s Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell – A Review and Rundown
- Who was Walter Cromwell?
- 12th June 1540 – Thomas Cromwell’s Letter to Henry VIII
- The Real Wolf Hall – The Cromwell Family in Wolf Hall: The Family Man
Thank you for the links Claire. The more I read about this man the more I find I want to investigate and study in great depth. You give a good tribute to a complex character whom when I was a child, I was led to believe was a ‘pure evil upstart’ and as see through as a thin whitewash. Now we know the man deserves his day in court. There is so much more to Henry’s right hand man who is like a box of fire works sparking off so many diverse interesting questions about his life, works and his thoughts. It is fascinating that in 2017 even more questions are being asked by the many us of new hobby historians some even look upon Cromwell with new affection.
Thank you, Shawdian, I am so looking forward to Diarmaid MacCulloch’s book on Cromwell as I know it will do him justice.