4. John Rogers
Explanatory Notes
of the following utterance by Sts Stephen and Paul: 'God was not in temples made with hands' (Acts 7: 48 and 17: 24).
22 throw pearls among swine: Matthew 7: 6.
'If the trumpet . . . to the battle?': 1 Corinthians 14: 8.
23 that every man . . . for the other: James 5: 16.
King's Book: published under the formal title of A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for Any Christian Man (1543), this codification of Henry VIII's theological views reaffirms traditional Roman Catholic doctrine.
private Masses: Protestants opposed Masses celebrated by unaccompanied priests.
Saint Paul . . . word of God: 1 Corinthians 14: 33 – 4.
24 'By communing . . . take scathe': Proverbs 1: 5 – 7.
sacrament at Easter: laypersons were expected to receive the Eucharist only at Easter.
London: Bishop of London.
25 was affectioned to: was inclined to.
26 Gray's Inn: an institution for the study of the law, located in Holborn.
willers: wishers.
28 And Solomon saith . . . a gift of God: Proverbs 19: 14.
29 houseled: received the Eucharist.
30 Ex. Registrum: Latin for 'From the Register',i.e., an extract from the diocesan records of the Bishop of London.
31 flang: flung himself.
Doctor Weston: Doctor Hugh Weston.
34 Doctor Shaxton: Doctor Nicholas Shaxton recanted after his condemnation for heresy because of his denial of official doctrine concerning the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. After failing in an attempt to obtain a similar recantation from Anne Askew, Shaxton preached from a portable pulpit when she and her companions were burnt at Smithfield.
'He misseth, and speaketh without the book': Askew claims that his sermon lacks a basis in the Bible.
old Duke of Norfolk: Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
'Fiat justitia': Latin for 'Let there be justice'.
4. JOHN ROGERS
35 Merchant Adventurers: an English trading company engaged largely in the cloth trade with Germany and the Low Countries.
The Translation of Thomas Matthew: an unauthorized English Bible translation supervised by John Rogers and printed in Antwerp in 1537.
Explanatory Notes
It consists of William Tyndale's translation of the complete New Testament and of half of the Old Testament along with supplements from Miles Coverdale's translations, commentaries, and patristic writings. The pseudonym 'Thomas Matthew' is a composite of the names of two disciples, Sts Thomas and Matthew.
unlawful vows: Protestants rejected the taking of vows, in this case the vow of celibacy sworn by priests.
Dutch tongue: the German language.
36 After the queen was come to the Tower of London: after the collapse of the effort to install Lady Jane Grey on the throne, Mary I took up residence at the Tower. It served as a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison.
37 I need not to tie my points: Rogers recognizes that the haste with which he is to be executed renders it unimportant to fasten his clothing carefully.
38 crown-shorn: refers to the tonsure or shaven area of the heads of Roman Catholic priests and monks.
Nebuchadnezzar: the King of Babylonia whom the Book of Daniel represents as a powerful but overbearing ruler who ultimately went mad.
Zerubabbel . . . Nehemiah: after leading a group of Jews back from captivity in Babylon, Zerubabbel laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 2 – 4); Esdras, commonly known as Ezra, was a priest and scribe credited with the writing down of scriptures that had been lost during the Babylonian Captivity (2 Esdras); Nehemiah was a governor of Jerusalem, who rebuilt its walls after the Babylonian Captivity
(Nehemiah 1 – 7).
39 Persians and Medes: successor states of the Babylonian Empire.
disparkled: dispersed, driven apart.
thrasonical: boastful or vainglorious (from Thraso, a bombastic character in Terence's Eunuchus).
'if judgement beginneth . . . ungodly and sinful appear': 1 Peter 4: 17 – 18.
the printer of this present book: John Day (see Glossary of Persons).
Alexander, a coppersmith: St Paul criticized a coppersmith named Alexander for doing him harm (2 Timothy 4: 14 – 15).
40 Day of Judgement: according to Christian eschatology, the period of time at the world's end during which God or his agent will determine the eternal state of all souls.
Master Rochester: Maurice Griffin, Bishop of Rochester.
Sir Richard Southwell: a Privy Councillor and Member of Parliament.
protomartyr: the first martyr during the reign of Mary I, with an allusion to St Stephen as the first Christian martyr (Acts 6: 8 – 8: 1).