Edward Bocking

Last updated

Edward Bocking (died 1534) was a Benedictine monk executed in 1534. He was the confessor and spiritual adviser of Elizabeth Barton, "The Holy Maid of Kent", a popular seer who spoke out against the marriage of King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. The extent to which he may have influenced Barton's prophecies and pronouncements is unclear. [1]

Contents

Life

Edward Bocking attended Canterbury College, Oxford where he received a B.D. in 1513 and a D.D. in 1518. He served as the Warden there for a period of time. [2]

Bocking became a monk in 1526. He was serving as the cellarer of Christ Church Priory, in Canterbury, when at the request of Archbishop William Warham, the prior sent him with others to access the credibility of Elizabeth Barton, "The Holy Maid of Kent", and her alleged divine revelations. Initially, she urged people to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to undertake pilgrimages. After one of her usual trances she declared that the Blessed Virgin had directed her to enter some convent, and Archbishop William Warham arranged for her to enter the Benedictine convent of St. Selpulchre's near Canterbury. [2] Bocking became her confessor. According to George C Alston, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Bocking is said to have induced her to declare herself an inspired emissary for the overthrow of Protestantism and the prevention of the divorce of Queen Catherine. [2]

When the King began the process of obtaining an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and seizing control of the Church in England from Rome, Barton began to prophesy against the royal policies. Bocking caused a collection of her oracles compiled under his direction to be widely circulated in manuscript. [3]

After the divorce of Queen Catherine and Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn in 1533, Cromwell had Elizabeth Barton arrested. Bocking was arrested in August 1533. In November, 1533 Bocking, Barton and others were made to mount a scaffold at St Paul's Cross to do public penance for promoting "superstition" and "disloyalty". [4] They were then led through the streets to the Tower of London.

Eustace Chapuys, Imperial ambassador for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, nephew of Queen Catherine of Aragon, noted that there was some difficulty in obtaining a conviction for treason, and the trial ended without a sentence. In January 1534, indictments were drawn for a second trial, but Thomas Cromwell decided instead to seek a bill of attainder. According to Francis Aidan Gasquet, since the names of those attainted was not immediately released, those who early had supported Barton, did not offer any objection, and some offered Cromwell money in exchange for pardons. [4]

Bocking and the others were not given an opportunity to address the charges; Parliament based its ruling on documentation supplied by the King's council. Bocking, together with Barton and six others, was hanged and beheaded for treason at Tyburn on 20 April 1534. His body was buried in the London cemetery of the Dominican Friars but his head was mounted above one of the city gates. [5]

Alston indicates that Barton's purported visions of declaiming against the King's marriage to Anne Boleyn were instigated and promoted by Bocking for his own purposes. Sidney Lee characterizes Barton's pronouncements as the result of an "hysterical disorder" and the undue influence of Bocking, who took advantage of it. [3] Gasquet allows that she may herself have believed them, and that at a time when there was widespread opposition to the marriage, it was necessary for the Crown to discredit a visionary who had attracted a following. Alston says that Barton had retracted her statements, but Gasquet says that is based on information under the control of the government. [2] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine of Aragon</span> First wife of Henry VIII of England (1485–1536)

Catherine of Aragon was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. Born in Spain, she was Princess of Wales while married to Henry's elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, for a short period before his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry VIII</span> King of England from 1509 to 1547 (1491-1547)

Henry VIII was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope. Henry is also known as the "father of the Royal Navy" as he invested heavily in the English fleet, establishing a standing navy which he expanded from seven to some fifty ships over his lifetime, and developed its command structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Boleyn</span> Second wife of Henry VIII of England

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation. Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Elizabeth Howard, and was educated in the Netherlands and France, largely as a maid of honour to Queen Claude of France. Anne returned to England in early 1522, to marry her Irish cousin James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; the marriage plans were broken off, and instead, she secured a post at court as maid of honour to Henry VIII's wife, Catherine of Aragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Cromwell</span> English lawyer and statesman (d. 1540)

Thomas Cromwell, briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury</span> 16th-century English noblewoman

Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, also called Margaret Pole, as a result of her marriage to Sir Richard Pole, was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, a brother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III, by his wife Isabel Neville. Margaret was one of just two women in 16th-century England to be a peeress in her own right without a husband in the House of Lords. As one of the few members of the House of Plantagenet to have survived the Wars of the Roses, she was executed in 1541 at the command of King Henry VIII, the second monarch of the House of Tudor, who was the son of her first cousin, Elizabeth of York. Pope Leo XIII beatified her as a martyr for the Roman Catholic Church on 29 December 1886.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk</span> English noble

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheaded, and played a major role in the machinations affecting these royal marriages. After falling from favour in 1546, he was stripped of his Dukedom and imprisoned in the Tower of London, avoiding execution when Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Barton</span> 16th-century English Catholic nun and martyr

Elizabeth Barton, known as "The Nun of Kent", "The Holy Maid of London", "The Holy Maid of Kent" and later "The Mad Maid of Kent", was an English Catholic nun. She was executed as a result of her prophecies against the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wives of Henry VIII</span> Queen consorts of Henry VIII of England

In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six queen consorts of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms, Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. However, he was never granted an annulment by the Pope, as he desired, for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.

Bishop Rowland Lee was an English clergyman who served as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield 1534–43 and also as Lord President of the Marches under King Henry VIII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk</span>

Agnes Howard was the second wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Two of King Henry VIII's queens were her step-granddaughters, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Catherine Howard was placed in the Dowager Duchess's care after her mother's death.

Events from the 1530s in England.

Events from the 1500s in England.

Richard Risby, O.F.M., was an English Catholic Franciscan friar who was executed for treason during the reign of King Henry VIII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Forest</span> 16th-century English Franciscan friar and martyr

John Forest was an English Franciscan friar and martyr. Confessor to Queen Catherine of Aragon, Forest was burned to death at Smithfield for heresy, in that he refused to acknowledge the King as head of the church.

Edward Powell was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest and theologian, in opposition to Henry VIII of England. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1886.

Anne Berkeley, Baroness Berkeley was a lady-in-waiting and companion of Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England. She was reputed to be one of the witnesses at the secret wedding ceremony of the King and Anne Boleyn which occurred on 25 January 1533.

Lady Elizabeth Stafford was an English aristocrat. She was the eldest daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Lady Eleanor Percy. By marriage she became Duchess of Norfolk. Her abusive marriage to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, created a public scandal.

Sir Edward Neville was an English courtier. He was born at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. He was the son of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny and his wife Margaret, daughter of Hugh Fenn. He married Eleanor Windsor, daughter of Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor and Elizabeth Blount, before 6 April 1529. He was the brother of George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny and the two of them became close to King Henry VIII and the Queen, Catherine of Aragon.

Thomas Bedyll (died 1537) was a divine and royal servant. He was royal chaplain and clerk of the Privy Council of Henry VIII, assisting him with the separation from Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of Anne Boleyn</span> 1533 coronation in England

The coronation of Anne Boleyn as Queen of England took place at Westminster Abbey, London, England, on 1 June 1533. The new queen was King Henry VIII's second wife, following the annulment of his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

References

  1. "Bocking, Edward (d. 1534)", Encyclopedia of Tudor England, Vol. 1, (John A. Wagner, Susan Walters Schmid, eds.), ABC-CLIO, 2012, ISBN   9781598842982
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alston, George Cyprian. "Edward Bocking." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 15 August 2018
  3. 1 2 Lee, Sidney. "Bocking", The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 2, (Leslie Stephen/George Smith, eds.), Oxford University Press, 1959, p. 750
  4. 1 2 3 Gasquet, Francis Aidan. Henry VIII and the English Monasteries, G. Bell, 1906, p. 40 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. Shagan, Ethan (2004). "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2746.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Edward Bocking". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Further reading