The Martyr as Model in John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

Abstract

John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments of These Latter Perilous Days Touching on the Matters of the Church is without doubt one of the most influential books of the English Reformation. Under its more colloquial name, “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs,” there is hardly a student of English literature or history who has not encountered this book or its influence. Scholars of early modern England widely acknowledge that it was so broadly read and embraced as to attain the status of a “quasi-biblical text,” achieving an “influence second only to that of the English Bible.”

Ironically however, the book’s massive success has served to obscure its original intent. As Foxe’s history gained wide acclaim, it began to be adapted for use in political and polemical purposes. Foxe’s book, once released from his pen, would be used to condemn and vindicate all manner of individuals and movements, some of which, Foxe had never even encountered. Within the space of a century, the book would be used to both defend and overthrow the Crown, forge national identity, villainize foreign armies, and prophesy popish plots. Unsurprisingly then, much of the scholarship on the book has been interested in the effects of the book rather than its intent. A great deal of scholarship has focused on the reception history of the book. At the same time, while many scholars have looked at the effects of the book, others have looked to its sources. Since the work of S. R. Maitland in 1837, much of Foxian scholarship has turned to text critical issues within Acts and Monuments, exploring the wealth of sources behind the text and variously criticizing or defending Foxe’s accuracy and motives in using them.

In the wake of all this, however, there has been comparatively less focus on Foxe’s own intentions for the work. In fact, the abundance of scholarship searching for meaning behind and before the text of Foxe’s book has in some cases served to obscure the work itself. Foxe and his work have been described as propagandist, nationalist, royalist, or any number of other monikers. These do not adequately describe, and some even distort, the true context and intent of Foxe and his work. Striking by their absence are modern scholarly assessments of Foxe’s work in light of what he held most dear: his theology and piety. That is the goal of this dissertation.