Anne Askew was born in
Lincolnshire in 1521. When she was fifteen her family forced her to
marry Thomas Kyme. Anne rebelled against her husband by refusing to
adopt his surname. The couple also argued about religion. Anne was
a supporter of Martin
Luther, while
her husband was a Catholic.
Eventually Anne left her
husband and went to London where she gave
sermons and distributed Protestant books. These books had been banned
and so she was arrested. Her husband was sent for and ordered to take
her home to Lincolnshire. Anne soon escaped and it was not long before
she was back preaching
in London.
Anne was arrested again.
This time. Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower
of London, was ordered to torture Anne in an attempt to force
her to name other Protestants. Anne was put on the rack. Kingston
was so impressed with the way Anne behaved that he refused to carry
on torturing her, and Henry VIII's Lord
Chancellor had to take over.
After a long period of
torture Anne still refused to give names or to recant. Her body was
so badly damaged that she had to be carried to her trial. Found guilty
of being a Protestant,
Anne was condemned to death and burnt at the stake.
Woodcut,
The Death of Anne Askew (1563)
(1)
While
she was in the Tower
of London,
the Protestant, Anne Askew,
wrote her own account of being tortured. A copy of this account was
then smuggled out to her friends. (29 June, 1546)
Then they
did put me on the rack, because I confessed no ladies or gentlemen,
to be of my opinion... the Lord Chancellor and Master Rich took pains
to rack me with their own hands, till I was nearly dead. I fainted...
and then they recovered me again. After that I sat two long hours
arguing with the Lord Chancellor, upon the bare floor... With many
flattering words, he tried to persuade me to leave my opinion... I
said that I would rather die than break my faith.
(5)
John Foxe, Book of Martyrs (1563)
The Lord Chancellor sent
to Anne Askew letters offering her the king's pardon if she would
recant.. she refused... and thus the good Anne Askew ended the course
of her long agonies and was burnt at the stake.
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