Persecu

were wont in times past to deceive the church of God, and to be- The Tenth guile the whole world for their own advantage. Notwithstanding,tion. this I write not to any derogation of the blessed and faithful martyr A. D. of God, who was the first that I did ever find, in this realm, to suffer 303 martyrdom for the testimony of Christ. And worthy, no doubt, of to condign commendation, especially of us here in this land; whose 313 christian faith in the Lord, and charity towards his neighbour, I pray St. Alban God all we may follow. As also I wish, moreover, that the stories martyr in both of him, and of all other christian martyrs, might have been de- this livered to us simple as they were, without the admixture of all these England. abbey-like additions of monkish-miracles, wherewith they were wont The sto to paint out the glory of such saints to the most, by whose offerings saints they were accustomed to receive most advantage.

the first

realm of

ries of the

corrupted with lies.

balus

As touching the name of the clerk' mentioned in this story, whom AmphiAlban received into his house, I find it in the English stories to be martyred. Amphibalus, although the Latin authors name him not; who, the same time flying into Wales, was also fetched from thence again to the same town of Verolamium, otherwise called Verlancaster, where he was martyred; having his belly opened, and made to run about The mara stake, while all his bowels were drawn out; then, thrust in with tyrdom of swords and daggers; and at last, was stoned to death, as the aforesaid balus. legend declareth.

Moreover, the same time with Alban suffered also two citizens of the aforesaid city of Verlancaster, whose names were Aaron and Julius; beside others, whereof a great number the same time, no doubt, did suffer, although our chronicles of their names do make no rehearsal.

Amphi

Julius,

tion in

Britain.

The time of martyrdom of this blessed Alban and the other, Aaron, seemeth to be about the second or third year of this tenth persecution, martyrs. under the tyranny of Dioclesian, and Maximian Herculius, bearing then the rule in England, about the year of our Lord 301, before the coming of Constantius to his government. Where, by the way, Persecu is to be noted, that this realm of Britain being so christened before, this yet never was touched with any other of the nine persecutions, before realm of this tenth persecution of Dioclesian and Maximian: in which persecution our stories and Polychronicon do record, that all Christianity almost in the whole island was destroyed, the churches subverted, all books of the Scripture burnt, many of the faithful, both men and women, were slain; among whom the first and chief ringleader (as hath been said) was Alban. And thus much touching the martyrs of Britain.

Now from England to return again unto other countries, where this persecution did more vehemently rage; we will add hereunto (the Lord willing) the stories of others, although not of all that

(1) Foxe had good ground for doubting this portion of St. Alban's history. "Hieronymus (epist 128, ad Fab.) et Eucherius (Instruct. lib. 2. c. 10) Ephod indumentum Sacerdotale ita describentes ut in modum caracalla fuisse dicant, sed sine cucullo, caracallas fuisse panulas cucullatas satis indicant indeque diminutivum Kapaкáλλov in Glossario Græco-latino, Cyrillo ascripto, Cuculla exponitur. Sed amphibali vocabulum (quod huic ipsi vestimento magis quam illius possessori convenire, suo loco sumus ostensuri) ex Britannicâ Galfridi Monemuthen sis historiâ (lib. v. c. 5) acceptum esse, ne ipsi quidem monachi dissimulant." (Usher, Britt. Eccles. Antiq. p. 78, edit. Lond. 1687) Amphibalum vestis externæ genus esse quoddam, qua clerici et monachi olim utebantur, ex Sulpicio Severo in vita Martini et Remigio Remensi episcopo in Testamento suo et Adamnano in vita Columbæ manifeste deprehenditur. Ut ex minus intellecto Gildæ loco, et Amphibali martyris nomen a Galfrido primum effictum, et Wintoniensi ecclesiæ deinde affictum fuisse, aliqua fortasse hinc commoveri possit suspicio." Id. ib. p. 281. See also Fuller's Church History, century 4, § 6.-ED.

Persecu

tion.

A. D.

The Tenth suffered in this persecution (which were impossible), but of certain most principal, whose singular constancy in their strong torments are chiefly renowned in later histories; beginning first with Romanus, the notable and admirable soldier and true servant of Christ, whose history set forth in Prudentius, doth thus proceed; so lamentably by 313. him described, that it will be hard for any man almost with dry cheeks to hear it.

303

to

The la

story of

martyr.

of Romanus to the Christians.

Pitiless Galerius with his grand prefect Asclepiades violently invaded the mentable city of Antioch, intending by force of arms to drive all Christians to renounce Romanus utterly their pure religion. The Christians, as God would, were at that time congregated together, to whom Romanus hastily ran,1 declaring that the wolves The ex- were at hand which would devour the christian flock; "But fear not," said he, hortation neither let this imminent peril disturb you, my brethren." Brought was it to pass, by the great grace of God working in Romanus, that old men and matrons, fathers and mothers, young men and maidens, were all of one will and mind, most ready to shed their blood in defence of their christian profession. Word was brought unto the prefect, that the band of armed soldiers was not able to wrest the staff of faith out of the hand of the armed congregation, and all by reason that one Romanus so mightily did encourage them, that they stuck not to offer their naked throats, wishing gloriously to die for the name of their Christ. "Seek out that rebel," quoth the prefect, "and bring him to me, that he may answer for the whole sect." Apprehended he was, and, bound as a sheep appointed to the slaughter-house, was presented to the emperor, who, with wrathful countenance beholding him, said: "What! art thou the author of this sedition? Art thou the cause why so many shall lose their lives? By the gods I swear thou shalt smart for it, and first in thy flesh shalt thou suffer the pains whereunto thou hast encouraged the hearts of thy fellows." Romanus answered, "Thy sentence, O prefect, I joyfully embrace; I refuse not to be sacrificed for my brethren, and that by as cruel means as of Roma- thou mayest invent: and whereas thy soldiers were repelled from the christian congregation, that so happened, because it lay not in idolaters and worshippers of devils, to enter into the holy house of God, and to pollute the place of true prayer." Then Asclepiades, wholly inflamed with this stout answer, commanded him to be trussed up, and his bowels drawn out. The executioners themselves more pitiful in heart than the prefect, said, "Not so, sir, this man is of noble parentage; unlawful it is to put a nobleman to so unnoble a death." "Scourge him then with whips," quoth the prefect, "with knaps of lead at the The noble ends." Instead of tears, sighs and groans, Romanus sung psalms all the time patience of his whipping, requiring them not to favour him for nobility's sake. "Not nus in his the blood of my progenitors," said he, "but christian profession maketh me suffering. noble." Then, with great power of spirit, he inveighed against the prefect,

The

christian boldness

nus.

of Roma

The

of Roma

prefect.

laughing to scorn the false gods of the heathen, with the idolatrous worshipping of them, affirming the God of the Christians to be the true God that created heaven and earth, before whose judicial seat all nations shall appear. But the wholesome words of the martyr were as oil to the fire of the prefect's fury. The more the martyr spake, the madder was he, insomuch that he commanded the martyr's sides to be lanced with knives, until the bones appeared white again. Sorry am I, O prefect," quoth the martyr, "not for that my flesh shall be thus cut and mangled, but for thy cause am I sorrowful, who being corrupted with damnable errors, seducest others." 2

66

The second time he preached at large the living God, and the Lord Jesus preaching Christ his well-beloved Son, eternal life through faith in his blood, expressing nus to the therewith the abomination of idolatry, with a vehement exhortation to worship and adore the living God. At these words Asclepiades commanded the tormentors to strike Romanus on the mouth, that his teeth being stricken out, his pronunciation at leastwise might be impaired. The commandment was obeyed, his face buffeted, his eyelids torn with their nails, his cheeks scotched with knives; the skin of his beard was plucked by little and little from the flesh;

(1) In the portions quoted from Prudentius in this narrative, Foxe has often altered the descriptive form into the direct. It is also much abridged.-ED.

(2) Prudentius, v. 460.-ED.

finally, his seemly face was wholly defaced. The meek martyr said, “I thank The Tenth thee, O prefect, that thou hast opened unto me many mouths, whereby I Persecu may tion. preach my Lord and Saviour Christ. Look; how many wounds I have, so many mouths I have lauding and praising God." The prefect astonished with this singular constancy, commanded them to cease from the tortures. He threateneth cruel fire, he revileth the noble martyr, he blasphemeth God, saying, "Thy crucified Christ is but a yesterday's God; the gods of the Gentiles are of most antiquity."

A.D.

303

to

313.

fession of

Here again Romanus, taking good occasion, made a long oration of the eternity of Christ, of his human nature, of the death and satisfaction of Christ for all mankind. Which done, he said, "Give me a child, O prefect, but seven years of age, which age is free from malice and other vices wherewith riper age is commonly infected, and thou shalt hear what he will say." "His request was granted. A little boy 2 was called out of the multitude, and set before him. "Tell me, my babe," quoth the martyr, "whether thou think it reason that we should worship one Christ, and in Christ one Father, or else that we worship many gods?" Unto whom the babe answered, "That certainly (whatsoever The conit be) which men affirm to be God, must needs be one; and that which pertains a child to that one, is unique: and inasmuch as Christ is unique, of necessity Christ against must be the true God; for that there be many gods, we children cannot believe." idolatry. The prefect hereat clean amazed, said, "Thou young villain and traitor, where, and of whom learnedst thou this lesson?" "Of my mother," quoth the child, "with whose milk I sucked in this lesson, that I must believe in Christ." The mother was called, and she gladly appeared. The prefect commanded the A child child to be hoisted up and scourged. The pitiful beholders of this pitiless act, for the tesmartyred could not temper themselves from tears: the joyful and glad mother alone timony of stood by with dry cheeks. Yea she rebuked her sweet babe for craving a Christ. draught of cold water: she charged him to thirst after the cup that the infants of Bethlehem once drank of, forgetting their mothers' milk and paps; she willed him to remember little Isaac, who, beholding the sword wherewith, and A godly the altar whereon, he should be sacrificed, willingly proffered his tender neck mother of to the dint of his father's sword. Whilst this counsel was in giving, the butch- a godly erly tormentor plucked the skin from the crown of his head, hair and all. The mother cried, "Suffer, my child! anon thou shalt pass to Him that will adorn An examthy naked head with a crown of eternal glory." The mother counselleth, the ple of virchild is counselled; the mother encourageth, the babe is encouraged, and cation. received the stripes with smiling countenance. The prefect perceiving the child invincible, and himself vanquished, committeth the silly soul, the blessed babe, the child uncherished, to the stinking prison, commanding the torments of Romanus to be renewed and increased, as chief author of this evil.

Thus was Romanus brought forth again to new stripes, the punishments to be renewed and received again upon his old sores; when the lofty conqueror thus addressed the tormentors, taunting them as sluggards :

Where is (quoth the martyr), where is your might?
What are ye not able one body to spill?

Scant may it, so weak is it, stand upright:

And yet in spite of you shall it live still?

The vulture with talon, the dog with his tooth,

child.

tuous edu

Could sooner, ye dastards, this corpse rend and tear;
Like them though ye hunger, and raven in sooth,
Yet idly my life to dispatch ye forbear.3

the ty

Then, no longer could the tyrant forbear, but needs he must draw nearer to The cruel the sentence of death. "Is it painful to thee," saith he, "to tarry so long words of alive? A flaming fire, doubt thou not, shall be prepared for thee by and by, rant. wherein thou and that boy, thy fellow in rebellion, shall be consumed into ashes." Romanus and the babe were led to the place of execution. As they The chrislaid hands on Romanus, he looked back, saying, "I appeal from this thy beheaded tyranny, O judge unjust! unto the righteous throne of Christ, that upright for conJudge, not because I fear thy cruel torments and merciless handlings, but that fessing of thy judgments may be known to be cruel and bloody." Now, when they were

(1) Prudentius, v. 562.-ED.

(2) Ib. v. 663.--ED.

(3) See Prudentius, v. 810.

tian child

Christ.

The Tenth come to the place, the tormentors required the child of the mother, for she had Persecu- taken it up in her arms; and she, only kissing it, delivered the babe." Faretion. well," she said, "my sweet child; and when thou hast entered the kingdom of A. D. Christ, there in thy blest estate remember thy mother, and from being her son become her patron." And as the hangman applied his sword to the babe's neck, she sang on this manner:

303

to

313.

Nature

overcome

of re

ligion.

The fire

after his

tongue

was out.

All laud and praise with heart and voice,

O Lord, we yield to thee:

To whom the death of this thy saint,

We know most dear to be.2

The innocent's head being cut off, the mother wrapped it up in her garment, quenched and laid it on her breast. On the other side a mighty fire was made, whereinto with rain. Romanus was cast, who said, that he should not burn: wherewith a great storm arose (if it be true) and quenched the fire. The prefect gave in commandRomanus ment that his tongue should be cut out. Out was it plucked by the hard roots, speaketh and cut off: nevertheless he spake, saying, "He that speaketh of Christ, never wanted a tongue: think not that the voice that uttereth Christ, hath need of the tongue to be the minister." The prefect at this, half out of his wits, bare in hand that the hangman deceived the sight of the people by some subtle sleight and crafty conveyance. "Not so," quoth the hangman; "if you suspect my deed, open his mouth, and diligently search the roots of his tongue." The prefect at length being confounded with the fortitude and courage of the martyr, straitly commanded him to be brought back into the prison, and there us, after to be strangled; where his sorrowful life and pains being ended, he now enjoylong tor- eth quiet rest in the Lord, with perpetual hope of his miserable body to be strangled restored again, with his soul, into a better life, where no tyrant shall have any in prison. power.3

Roman

ments,

The Story of Gordius, a Centurion.

Gordius was a citizen of Cæsarea, a worthy soldier, and captain of a hundred men: He, in the time of extreme persecution, refusing any longer to execute his charge, did choose of his own accord willing exile, and lived in the desert some time a religious and a solitary life. But upon a certain day, when a solemn feast of Mars was celebrated in the city of Cæsarea, and much people were assembled in the theatre to behold the games, he left the desert, and got him up into the chief place of the theatre, and with a loud voice uttered this saying of the apostle: " Behold I am found of them which sought me not, and to those which asked not for me, have I openly appeared." By which words he let it to be understood, that of his own accord he came unto those games to surrender himself. At this noise, the multitude, little regarding the sights, looked about to see who it was that made such exclamation. As soon Gordius, as it was known to be Gordius, and the crier had commanded silence, he was of his own brought unto the sheriff, who sat thereabout, and ordered the games. When uttereth he was asked the question who he was, from whence, and for what occasion he himself to came thither, he telleth the truth of every thing as it was: “I am come,” saith be a he, "to publish, that I set nothing by your decrees against the christian religion, Is brought but that I profess Jesus Christ to be my hope and salvation; and when I underto exa- stood how ye surpassed other men in cruelty, I took this as a fit time to mination. accomplish my desire." The sheriff with these words was greatly moved, and fession. revengeth all his displeasure upon poor Gordius, commanding the executioners to be brought out with scourges, wheel, gibbet, and whatsoever torments else might be devised. Whereunto Gordius answered, saying, "that it should be to him a hindrance and damage, if he could not suffer and endure divers torments and punishments for Christ's cause." The sheriff, being more offended with his boldness, commanded him to feel as many kind of torments as there

accord,

Christian.

His con

(1) Prudentius, v. 833. See infrà, p. 270, note 1.-ED.

(2) These verses are rather an inadequate representation of vv. 839, 840; which are themselves a version of Psalm cxvi. 14-16.

"Pretiosa sancti mors sub aspectu Dei,
Tuus ille servus, proles ancillæ tuæ."

(3) Prudentius, in Hymnis [10] de Coronis Martyrum. [Euseb. de Mart. Pal. cap. 2.-ED.]

were. With all which, Gordius, notwithstanding, could not be mastered or The Tenth overcome; but lifting up his eyes unto heaven, singeth this saying out of the Persecu Psalms: "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear the thing that man can do to me:" and also this saying, "I will fear no evil, because thou, Lord, art with

me.

tion.

A. D.

303

to

313.

His bold

rageous

promises

After this, he against himself provoketh the extremity of the tormentors, and blameth them if they favour him any thing at all. When the sheriff saw that hereby he could win but little, he goeth about by gentleness and enticing words, to turn the stout and valiant mind of Gordius. He promiseth to him constancy great and large offers if he will deny Christ; as to make him a captain of as and coumany men as any other is, to give him riches, treasure, and what other thing spirit. soever he should desire. But in vain (as the proverb is) pipeth the minstrel to him Gordius that hath no ears to hear, for he, deriding the foolish madness of the magistrate tempted in supposing that it lay in him to confer any earthly good, which was worthy to with fair compare with having a place in heaven. The magistrate, with these words thoand good roughly angered and vexed, prepared himself to his condemnation; whom after gifts. that he had condemned, he caused to be had out of the city to be burnt. There Conrun out of the city great multitudes by heaps to see him put to execution; some take him in their arms, and lovingly kiss him, persuading him to take a better burnt. way, and save himself, and that with weeping tears. To whom Gordius answered, His anWeep not, I pray you, for me, but rather for the enemies of God, who always his make war against the Christians; weep, I say, for them who prepare for us a fire, friends. purchasing hell-fire for themselves in the day of vengeance; and cease off further, A subtle I pray you, to molest and disquiet my settled mind. Truly," saith he, "I am dissuadready for the name of Christ to suffer and endure a thousand deaths, if need ers. were. Some others came unto him, who persuaded him to deny Christ with None his mouth, and to keep his conscience to himself. My tongue," saith he, deny

demned to be

swer to

kind of

ought to

mouth,

which by the goodness of God I have, cannot be brought to deny the author Christ and giver of the same; for with the heart we believe unto righteousness, and with his with the tongue we confess unto salvation." Many more such-like words he and conspake; but especially uttering to them such matter, whereby he might persuade fess him the beholders to death, and to the desire of martyrdom. After all which, with heart. a merry and glad countenance, never changing so much as his colour, he willingly gave himself to be burnt.1

with his

martyr.

Not much unlike to the story of Gordius, is the story also of Mennas, an Egyptian, who, being likewise a soldier by his profession, Mennas, in this persecution of Dioclesian forsook all, and went into the desert, where a long time he gave himself to abstinence, watching, and meditation of the Scriptures.

Mennas.

At length returning again to the city of Cotyæum, there, in the open theatre, as the people were occupied upon their spectacles or pastimes, he with a loud voice openly proclaimed himself to be a Christian, and upon the same was brought to Pyrrhus the president; of whom he, being demanded of his faith, made this answer: "Convenient it is that I should," saith he, " confess God, in whom is Confeslight and no darkness, forsomuch as Paul doth teach that with heart we believe sion of to righteousness, with mouth confession is given to salvation." After this the innocent martyr was most painfully pinched and cruciate with sundry punishments. In all which notwithstanding he declared a constant heart, and faith invincible, having these words in his mouth, being in the midst of his torments: "There is nothing in my mind that can be compared to the kingdom His words of heaven; neither is all the world, if it were weighed in balance, able to be in his conferred with the price of one soul:" and said, "Who is able to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ our Lord? shall affliction or anguish?" And All the moreover," saith he, "I have thus learned of my Lord and my King, not to fear world is them which kill the body, and have no power to kill the soul; but to fear him weighed rather, who hath power to destroy both body and soul in hell-fire." To make with one the story short, after manifold torments borne of him, and suffered, when the saved. last sentence of death was upon him pronounced (which was to be beheaded), His prayMennas being then had to the place of execution, said, "I give thee thanks, my er at his (1) Ex Basil. in Sermone in Gordium militem Cæsariensem, [whence a few expressions are corrected. ED.]

torments.

not to be

soul

death.