Claire | March 21, 2018
On this day in history, 21st March 1556, the third of the Oxford Martyrs, Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the English Reformation and ‘architect’ of the Book of Common Prayer, was burnt at the stake in Oxford. Cranmer had been found guilty of heresy at a trial in September 1555 and […]
Claire | March 21, 2017
On this day in history, 21st March 1556, Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury, was burned at the stake in Oxford after being found guilty of heresy in the reign of Mary I. He is one of three Protestant bishops who were executed in Mary I’s reign and who have become known as the Oxford […]
Claire | March 21, 2016
If you have been following this website for a while, you will have gathered that I am a practising Christian. My faith is real and true, but it’s far from perfect. I doubt, I question, I rant and I rave, and I often wonder when I’m writing about martyrs of the 16th century what I […]
Claire | March 21, 2016
On this day in history, 21 March 1556, in the words of martyrologist John Foxe, Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury, “closed a life of high sublunary elevation, of constant uneasiness, and of glorious martyrdom” when he was burnt at the stake in Oxford in the reign of Queen Mary I. Cranmer’s execution was a […]
Claire | March 21, 2015
Every year on 21st March, I spare a thought (or actually quite a few!) for Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, who was burnt at the stake on 21st March 1556 at Oxford. He has gone down in history as one of the Oxford Martyrs, along with […]
Claire | March 21, 2014
Today I will be remembering Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was burned at the stake on 21st March 1556 after being found guilty of heresy and treason. Martyrologist John Foxe recorded his execution in his Book of Martyrs: “With thoughts intent upon a far higher object than the empty threats of man, he reached […]
