John Foxe | |
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| Born | c. 1516 Boston, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | 18 April 1587 (aged 69–70) London, England |
| Occupation | Clergyman, author |
| Genre | Church history |
| Literary movement | Puritan |
John Foxe (1516[1]/1517 – 18 April 1587)[2] was an English clergyman,[3] theologian, and historian, notable for his martyrology Actes and Monuments (otherwise known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the 14th century and in the reign of Mary I. The book was widely owned and read by English Puritans and helped to mould British opinion on the Catholic Church for several centuries.[4]
- ^ Maitland (Rev.), S.R. (1841). Notes on the Contributions of the Rev. George Townsend, M.A. Prebendary of Durham &c. to the new edition of Fox's Martyrology. Vol. 1. pp. 8–10.
- ^ "The patent of arms granted in 1590 to the family of John Foxe, and first printed by Maitland from a copy of 1692 in the college of arms, gives his birth year as 1516, and the date may have been supplied by [his own son] Samuel. But Samuel is very inaccurate in such matters; his diary misdates important happenings in his own life; and [his other son] Simeon's statement is too precise to be disregarded." Mozley, 12.
- ^ Foxe, Samuel (attrib.) (1641). Life of Mr John Foxe, in vol.2 of 1641 ed. of Actes and Monuments. pp. xxi–xxiv.
- ^ William Haller, Foxe's First Book of Martyrs and the Elect Nation (London: Jonathan Cape, 1963) argues that Actes and Monuments is a complex book, portraying the English church as a body of elect, whose history of suffering and dedication to the faith echo the history of Israel in the Old Testament.