Martyrs of the Carthusian monks of London

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The martyrs of the Carthusian monks of London were monks of the London Charterhouse , the Carthusian monastery in central London , who were executed between May 4, 1535 and September 20, 1537. This was done by hanging, disembowelling, and quartering , the common punishment for high treason at the time . The group also includes two monks from the Charterhouse of Beauvale and Axholme , who were brought to London and treated similarly. A total of 18 men are recognized as martyrs by the Catholic Church.

At the beginning of the "King's Great Matter" (a euphemism from King Henry VIII for his divorce from Catherine of Aragon , marriage of Anne Boleyn and the break with the Holy See ) the government endeavored to obtain public approval of the king's conduct with his To receive wives, as the Carthusian monks enjoyed great respect in the population due to their strict way of life. When this did not succeed, the only option remained to forcefully crush the resistance. This was a wearisome process.

The first group

On May 4, 1535, three leading English Carthusians , John Houghton, Prior of the House of London, Robert Lawrence, Prior of Beauvale, and Augustine Webster, Prior of Axholme, together with a monk of the Order of the Redeemer, were first recognized by the authorities at Tyburn, London , Richard Reynolds of Syon Abbey, and the secular priest John Haile sent to their deaths.

The second group

Less than a month later, three other leading monks of the London Charterhouse were killed: Humphrey Middlemore, William Exmew and Sebastian Newdigate, who died on June 19, 1535 in Tyburn. Newdigate was a personal friend of Henry VIII and was visited twice by the latter in prison to persuade him to give in.

The third group

In the next step, four other monks from the community were captured. Two of them were taken to the Charterhouse at Beauvale, Nottinghamshire , while John Rochester and James Walworth were taken to the Charterhouse of St. Michael at Hull, Yorkshire . An example was made of them when they were convicted of treason on May 11, 1537 and hung over the city battlements with chains.

The fourth group

Until May 18, 1535, the twenty choir monks and eighteen lay brothers who had stayed at the London Charterhouse continued to be intimidated. This was done so that they would take the oath of supremacy . Thomas Johnson, Richard Bere, Thomas Green ( priest ), and John Davy (a deacon ) did not discard it. Richard Bere was the nephew and namesake of Richard Bere, the abbot of Glastonbury (1493-1525). The Carthusian Bere gave up his law studies and became Carthusian in February 1523. Thomas Green could be Thomas Greenwood, who earned a bachelor's degree in Cambridge and a master's degree in 1511 . He became a fellow at St John's College, Cambridge in 1515 and received a doctorate in theology in 1532. This would connect him to Saint John Fisher .

The brothers Robert Salt, William Greenwood, Thomas Redyng, Thomas Scryven, Walter Pierson and William Horne also rejected the oath. The rest of the community gave up the Charterhouse and was expelled.

The oathers arrived in Newgate Prison on May 29 and were treated like the Camaldolese in June 1535. This time no further acts were planned for the execution. They were simply left to starve.

Margaret Clement (nee Giggs), who grew up as an adopted daughter with Saint Thomas More , bribed the jailer to gain access to the prisoners and brought milk cans into the cell disguised as a milkmaid . She also cleaned them. King Heinrich became suspicious and asked why the prisoners weren't already dead. When the jailer was suspected, he became afraid and denied Margaret entry. For a short time she was allowed to bring the meat down to the dungeon in baskets. With this method, the monks received almost no meat at all and after a short time the jailer became too fearful for this action and forbade all contact.

Lay brother William Greenwood died on June 6th. Two days later, Deacon John Davy. The next day Brother Robert Salt and on June 10th Thomas Green. The brothers Thomas Scryven and Thomas Redyng died on June 15 and June 16, respectively. The last two survived a surprisingly long time. Presumably the king and his council decided that the last two should be executed. So Thomas Cromwell ordered them to be fed. Richard Bere did not die until August 9, and Thomas Johnson did not die until September 20.

The only survivor

For some reason, Brother William Horne stayed alive. He refused to give up the religious customs. On August 4, 1540, he was hanged, gutted and quartered at Tyburn along with five other Catholics. Also killed were two lay people, Robert Bird and Giles Heron, Brother Lawrence Cook, the Carmelite Prior of Doncaster, the Benedictine monk Thomas Epson, and probably the secular priest William Bird, the Rector of Fittleton and Vicar of Bradford, Wiltshire .

Complete list of martyrs

  • Saint John Houghton , prior of the London Charterhouse , executed at Tyburn, London, on May 4, 1535
  • Saint Robert Lawrence , prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on May 4, 1535
  • Saint Augustine Webster , prior of the Axholme Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London, on May 4, 1535
  • Blessed Humphrey Middlemore , Vicar of the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London on June 19, 1535.
  • Blessed William Exmew , Procurator of the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London on June 19, 1535.
  • Blessed Sebastian Newdigate , choir monk in the London Charterhouse, executed at Tyburn, London on June 19, 1535.
  • Blessed John Rochester , choir monk in the London Charterhouse, exiled by the government to the Charterhouse of St Michael in Hull , Yorkshire , executed in York on May 11, 1537, hung by chains from the city wall
  • Blessed James Walworth , choir monk in the London Charterhouse, exiled by the government to the Charterhouse of St Michael in Hull, Yorkshire, executed in York on May 11, 1537, hung by chains from the city wall
  • Blessed William Greenwood , lay brother at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 8, 1537
  • Blessed John Davy , deacon, choir monk at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 8, 1537
  • Blessed Robert Salt , lay brother at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 9, 1537
  • Blessed Walter Pierson , lay brother at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 10, 1537
  • Blessed Thomas Green (possibly Thomas Greenwood), choir monk at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 10, 1537
  • Blessed Thomas Scryven , lay brother at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 15, 1537
  • Blessed Thomas Redyng , lay brother at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on June 16, 1537
  • Blessed Richard Bere , choir monk at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on August 9, 1537
  • Blessed Thomas Johnson , choir monk at the London Charterhouse, starved to death in Newgate Prison on September 20, 1537
  • Blessed William Horne , lay brother at the London Charterhouse, hanged, gutted and quartered at Tyburn, London on August 4, 1540.

In art

In the Certosa di Bologna paintings of four martyrs, Blessed William Exmew, Blessed Thomas Johnson, Blessed Richard Bere, and Blessed Thomas Green, can be seen.

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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Carthusian Martyrs. February 21, 2014, archived from the original on February 21, 2014 ; accessed on October 14, 2017 (English).
  2. ↑ Blessed Richard Bere. August 28, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2017 .
  3. ^ A b c Only the Cross Stands as the World Turns (Seattle Catholic). Retrieved October 14, 2017 .