October 16, 1555: English reformers Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley are burned at the stake at the order of Roman Catholic Queen Mary Tudor. The picture is a woodcut of the event.
From Wikipedia:
Hugh Latimer (c. 1485-October 16, 1555) was the bishop of Worcester, and Nicholas Ridley was an English clergyman.
Latimer was born into a family of farmers in Thurcaston, Leicestershire. From around 14 years of age he started to attend Peterhouse, Cambridge, and was known as a good student. After receiving his academic degrees and being ordained, he developed a reputation as a very zealous Roman Catholic. At first he opposed the Lutheran opinion of his day, but his views changed after meeting the clergyman Thomas Bilney.
In 1510, he was elected a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and in 1522 became university preacher. He became noted for his reformist teachings, which attracted the attention of the authorities. He became a noted preacher more widely. In 1535, he was appointed Bishop of Worcester, in succession to an Italian absentee, and promoted reformed teachings in his diocese. In 1539, he opposed Henry VIII's Six Articles, with the result that he was forced to resign his bishopric and imprisoned in the Tower of London (where he was again in 1546).
During the reign of Henry's son Edward VI, he was restored to favour as the English church moved in a more Protestant direction, becoming court preacher until 1550. He then served as chaplain to Katherine Duchess of Suffolk. However, when Edward VI's sister Queen Mary I came to the throne, he was tried for his beliefs and teachings in Oxford and imprisoned. In October 1555 he was burned at the stake outside Balliol College, Oxford.
Latimer was executed beside Nicholas Ridley. He is quoted as having said to Ridley:
"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
The deaths of Latimer, Ridley and later Cranmer — now known as the Oxford Martyrs — are commemorated in Oxford by the Victorian Martyrs' Memorial which is located near the actual execution site. The Latimer room in Clare College, Cambridge is named after him.
Nicholas Ridley came from a prominent family in Tynedale, Northumberland, and was born early in the sixteenth century. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and the University of Cambridge, where he received his Master's degree in 1525. Soon afterward he was ordained as a priest and went to the Sorbonne, in Paris, for further education.
After returning to England around 1529, he became the senior proctor of Cambridge University. Around that time there was significant debate about the Pope's supremacy. Ridley was well versed on Scripture, and through his arguments the University came up with the following resolution: "That the Bishop of Rome had no more authority and jurisdiction derived to him from God, in this kingdom of England, than any other foreign bishop."
In 1540, he was made one of the King's Chaplains, and was also presented with a prebendal stall in Canterbury Cathedral. He was also made Master of Pembroke College.
He succeeded to the Bishopric of Rochester in 1549-50, and shortly after coming to office, directed that the altars in the churches of his diocese should be removed, and tables put in their place to celebrate the Lord's Supper. He was translated to Bishop of London in 1550.
He was burned at the stake, a martyr for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey, along with Hugh Latimer on October 16, 1555 in Oxford. He burned extremely slowly and suffered a great deal. A metal cross in a cobbled patch of road in Broad Street, Oxford marks the site, and the event is also commemorated by the Martyrs' Memorial, located nearby.
In 1881, Ridley Hall in Cambridge, England, was founded in his memory for the training of Anglican priests. Ridley College, a private University-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, was founded in his honor in 1889. There is also a Church of England church dedicated to him in Welling, south east London.
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