2:07 pm
February 24, 2010
Anne was born into the gentry. She was married to a man, Thomas Kyme, who was supposed to marry her sister, but the sister died. It was a very unhappy marriage. She tried to get a divorce and failed. She didn’t just lean towards reform, she preached it. She left her husband and her son to go to London where she began her career as a preacher. She was arrested twice. The first time she was sent home to her husband. Soon after that she was back in London preaching from the pulpit. ie, Anne did not believe in the Transubstantiation, and she preached against it. That was a big no-no in Henry’s church.
The Queen and many other women at court were patrons of Anne’s. Anne Stanhope and Catherine Willougby, just to name a few. All of them were known to hold reformists beliefs. The reason she was tortured was because Wriothesley and Rich sought information about Queen Katherine’s involvement in the reform. They hoped they could torture the information out of her and she would incriminate Katherine and the other ladies. They racked her. She told them nothing! I believe she was the only woman to ever be racked. William Kingston went to the king and told him Anne was being racked. Henry put a stop to the torture. She was such a brave lady.
There is some info on her at wikipedia. Amazon has a biography, but it’s expensive. I believe her story is in John Foxe’s, “Book of Martyrs.”
12:43 am
January 17, 2011
Sharon said
Anne was born into the gentry. She was married to a man, Thomas Kyme, who was supposed to marry her sister, but the sister died. It was a very unhappy marriage. She tried to get a divorce and failed. She didn’t just lean towards reform, she preached it. She left her husband and her son to go to London where she began her career as a preacher. She was arrested twice. The first time she was sent home to her husband. Soon after that she was back in London preaching from the pulpit. ie, Anne did not believe in the Transubstantiation, and she preached against it. That was a big no-no in Henry’s church.
The Queen and many other women at court were patrons of Anne’s. Anne Stanhope and Catherine Willougby, just to name a few. All of them were known to hold reformists beliefs. The reason she was tortured was because Wriothesley and Rich sought information about Queen Katherine’s involvement in the reform. They hoped they could torture the information out of her and she would incriminate Katherine and the other ladies. They racked her. She told them nothing! I believe she was the only woman to ever be racked. William Kingston went to the king and told him Anne was being racked. Henry put a stop to the torture. She was such a brave lady.
There is some info on her at wikipedia. Amazon has a biography, but it’s expensive. I believe her story is in John Foxe’s, “Book of Martyrs.”
Thanks — according to one movie version concerning Anne Askew, Henry stopped the racking after the first time … but on the second racking, he did nothing, and even signed the warrant to have her burned to death. It must have been awfully nerve-wracking to be alive in those days. I appreciate your reply, and thank you .
6:33 pm
November 18, 2010
I thought I’d replied here….
Anne not only stepped outside her “role” as wife and mother but she took on the prelates of Henry’s new church. In fact, she was a well read layperson who was able to hold her own in theological debates with some of the leading churchmen of her day….
No wonder Anne was considered a bad influence on her fellow women…especially those close to the king( KP) and his friends ( Katherine Willoby, Duchess of Suffolk).
It's always bunnies.
10:36 am
February 24, 2010
I found this taken from Memorials of Baptist Martrys:
http://anneaskew.com/
Anne-fan, it looks like she may have been racked twice before Henry stopped it. Either way it was a nasty piece of work by Wriothesley and Rich.
Sharon said
I found this taken from Memorials of Baptist Martrys:
http://anneaskew.com/Anne-fan, it looks like she may have been racked twice before Henry stopped it. Either way it was a nasty piece of work by Wriothesley and Rich.
Thank you for this info!