Truth, lies, and fiction in sixteenth-century Protestant historiography Patrick Collinson Carrie Liu, Garrett Ng, Lynn Seo, Sophia Hyder
Presentation Outline Introduction Collinson s argument Re-presenting History The Protestant Language Foxe and Theatricality 2
Introduction
Truth and History And if [Foxe] did not deliberately propagate fictions, in the sense of inventing his stories, he wove his material into forms that were as fictive as they were factual. (Collinson 37) 4
Truth and Fiction Collinson s argument: Both fiction and truth are integral and inseparable parts of history. Fiction + Truth = History 5
Foxe the Myth-Maker Foxe himself was, as it were, a reincarnation of the martyrologist and inventor of ecclesiastical history, Eusebius of Caesarea. (Collinson 53) 6
Foxe s Intentions 1. Provide a model for Protestants 2. Vilify the Catholic Church and adherents 7
Our Argument Collinson s argument Re-presenting History Protestant Language 8 Theatricality
1 Re-presenting History 9
Re-presenting History Foxe and his editorial assistant Henry Bull discussed what to include, what to suppress (Collinson 49) 10
Re-presenting History Anne Askew were highly subjective first-person accounts of trials recorded by the martyrs themselves, together with their letters and other remains, carefully edited. Written by me Anne Askew (Foxe 32) Purpose of the addendum She [left] behind her a singular example of Christian constancy for all man to follow (Foxe 34) (Collinson 49) 11
Re-presenting History Prest s Wife Touching the name of this woman (as I have now learned) she was the wife of one called Prest (Foxe 253) 12
Re-presenting History As quoted from Helen White: Foxe proves himself a storyteller of quite remarkable power, one of the greatest of a great age (Collinson 68) 13
2 The Protestant Language 14
The Protestant Language its own demotic, a language of heightened emotion, warmth, fervent exhortation, and, above all, biblical resonance (Collinson 67) 15
Underlying Charge of Deaths William Tyndale crying this at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice: Lord, open the King of England s eyes. (Foxe 20) 16
Representation of Catholicism Anne Askew employ contrast to illuminate the admirable qualities of two dissimilar individuals (or, in other circumstances and for other purposes, to prefer one to the other). Relentless questioning Then he asked me why I had so few words? And I answered, God hath given me the gift of knowledge, but not of utterance. (Collinson 66) (Foxe 28) 17
The Protestant Language then it was his language that did the falsifying, and altogether insidiously. (Collinson 67) 18
3 Foxe and Theatricality 19
Foxe and Theatricality Henry VIII of England Elizabeth I of England Mary I of England Approx. 57,000 to Approx. 300 72,000 people protestants 20 71 people
Foxe and Theatricality The trials and executions of heretics were carefully stage-managed affairs, a literally dramatic and richly ritualized demonstration of orthodoxy (Collinson 63) 21
Foxe and Theatricality Anne Askew Prest s Wife being compassed into the flames of fire, as a blessed sacrifice unto God To be burned with flames till she should be consumed (Foxe 252) (Foxe 34) 22
Burning at the stake A spectacle with a purpose 23
Text vs. Actual Executions Actual Executions burning at the stake Created to teach a lesson A performance that requires an audience Depiction of burning at the stake in text Foxe as a living text that recorded performances and invited performance, and that fed on a popular Protestant culture and nourished it in return (Collinson 64) 24
Discussion questions 1. How do we distinguish historical fiction from fact? Compare Shakespeare s history plays and Foxe s Book of Martyrs. 2. How does Foxe s language or style affect the credibility of the text? Pick out examples from the text that can illustrate your point. 25
Works Cited Collinson, Patrick. Truth, Lies, and Fiction in Sixteenth-Century Protestant Historiography. The Historical Imagination in Early Modern Britain: History, Rhetoric and Fiction, 1500-1800, by Donald R. Kelley and David Harris Sacks, Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp. 37 68. Foxe, John, and John N. King. Foxe's Book of Martyrs: Select Narratives. Oxford University Press, 2009. 26