7. Rowland Taylor
Explanatory Notes
57 Archbishop: Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.
the fault . . . things themselves: the principle of the adiaphora (the Greek word for 'indifferent things'), whereby the misuse of a religious practice does not rule out its appropriate use.
58 in fine: in conclusion.
59 mess: a serving of food.
60 of: concerning.
close prison: strict confinement.
61 I paid always . . . man's table: Hooper refers to the practice of requiring prisoners to pay for their meals.
slave: a contemptible person.
63 Chandos: Sir John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos, Lieutenant of the Tower of London.
the Angel: an inn or public house.
7. ROWLAND TAYLOR
72 Hadleigh: a town in Suffolk where Rowland Taylor served as parson, as an appointee of Thomas Cranmer, whom he had served as chaplain.
Master Thomas Bilney: see Narrrative 1.
sentence: determination or opinion.
doctor in both the civil and canon laws: Taylor studied secular and ecclesiastical law at the University of Cambridge, where he underwent conversion to Protestantism under the influence of Hugh Latimer and others.
did not . . . let out his benefice to a farmer: he would not be an absentee cleric who accepts payment from a substitute who performs his duties.
'Peter, lovest thou me? . . . feed my sheep': John 21: 15 – 17.
73 all those virtuous qualities . . . in a true bishop: 1 Timothy 3: 1 – 7. See the description of the character of John Hooper in Narrative 6.
light . . . upon a candlestick: Matthew 5: 15.
Henry the eighth . . . godly kings: the narrator idealizes Henry VIII as one who advocated religious reforms consonant to those actually implemented during the reign of his heir.
74 Mammonist: one who violates Jesus' admonition that one may not worship both God and Mammon (i.e., the personification of wealth). See Luke
16: 13.
they built up . . . Palm Monday: they replaced the communion table with a high altar in anticipation of celebration of the old-style Mass on the day after Palm Sunday.
On the day following . . . missal sacrifice: the narrator mocks Foster and Clerk for bringing in priests and protecting a priest who celebrated Mass as a continuing sacrifice in a theatrical style ordained by the Mass-book.
Explanatory Notes
75 'Thou traitor . . . queen's proceedings?': the annotator claims that the narrator alludes to an apocalyptic utterance in Daniel 8: 23 – 5.
I make no commotion . . . tumults: the marginal gloss asserts that Taylor styles himself as a latter-day Elijah who engages in conflict with priests of Baal (i.e., Roman Catholic priests as idolaters). See 1 Kings 18.
super-altar: a portable stone used in place of an altar in the celebration of Mass.
76 Masser: Roman Catholic priest (Protestant jargon).
'The law of unrighteousness . . . without any fear': Wisdom of Solomon 2:
12 – 20.
to their beards: openly, in their face.
77 forasmuch as our Saviour . . . fly into another: Taylor styles himself and fellow martyrs as latter-day Apostles who undergo persecution in fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy (Matthew 10: 16 – 23).
Saint Nicholas: the patron saint of highwaymen (i.e., an ironic attack on Roman Catholic clerics).
78 John Hull: a servant of Rowland Taylor and a possible eyewitness source for elements in this narrative.
79 Herod's oath . . . broken: an illicit oath that is non-binding (Matthew 14:
7 – 9).
'The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul': Wisdom of Solomon 1: 11.
'Lord God, thou shalt destroy all that speak lies': Psalm 5: 6.
80 blessed be . . . or whoredom: in opposition to the Roman Catholic vow of clerical celibacy, Taylor cites St Paul's advocacy of marriage to those who are incapable of remaining celibate (1 Corinthians 7: 8 – 9).
81 Chrysostom, and all the doctors . . . hath the church of God none: Taylor cites
St John Chrysostom and other Fathers of the Church as authorities in support of his Zwinglian view of the Lord's Supper as a commemoration of Christ's Passion as an all-sufficient offering rather than a sacrifice repeated during celebration of the Roman-rite Mass.
As for the godly preachers . . . in corners: many Protestant ministers who remained in England lived in secrecy in the manner of 'true' prophets hidden by Obadiah (1 Kings 18: 4).
83 Clink: a prison in Southwark that was located on the grounds of the palace of the Bishop of Winchester.
84 in cheap: of little value.
crosier staff: a crook carried by a bishop.
by Saint Peter will I: Taylor styles himself as a latter-day St Peter, who cut off the ear of a slave of the high priest (John 18: 10).
85 against: in front of.
89 For he had not built . . . rock Christ: Matthew 7: 24 – 7.