Class
Article
College
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty Mentor
Susan Cogan
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
We assert that Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was published for these three purposes: personal reasons, a tribute to Queen Elizabeth, and to gain support for the Protestant faith and belief. Foxe was originally raised in the Catholic religion, but switched to Protestantism while in Catholic college. He made many friends in this new religion who would eventually be murdered for their beliefs by decree of Queen Mary. This book was his way of gaining revenge for all of the deaths he had to go through; also as a tribute to those friends he had lost. Foxe’s favorite Queen was Queen Elizabeth, who was a Protestant herself. He dedicates his book to her, and thanks to her efforts, Foxe’s book could be in every church in England, gaining much popularity and changing religion greatly. During Foxe’s time, religion was a touchy subject and he desired to gain support for his cause in order to stop what he felt was the martyrdom of the Protestant people. Publishing this book in English and Latin gave him the ability to reach the wealthy and educated, as well as even the poorest of society, all to gain support for the religion he thought was right. Furthermore, by connecting all of these martyrs chronologically, all leading back to Christ himself, showed the people that Protestants were Christian as well, and were connected heavily to the greatest sacrifice that Christ gave. We desire to further research into this subject of why Foxe published his Book of Martyrs. Our poster will cover and go into further depth on these three points mentioned above. We will be using Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, V.2 and 3, as well as other credible sources to further come understand the coming about of this catalog of Protestant deaths in the 16th century.
Location
The South Atrium
Start Date
4-12-2018 12:00 PM
End Date
4-12-2018 1:15 PM
The Driving Forces Behind Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
The South Atrium
We assert that Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was published for these three purposes: personal reasons, a tribute to Queen Elizabeth, and to gain support for the Protestant faith and belief. Foxe was originally raised in the Catholic religion, but switched to Protestantism while in Catholic college. He made many friends in this new religion who would eventually be murdered for their beliefs by decree of Queen Mary. This book was his way of gaining revenge for all of the deaths he had to go through; also as a tribute to those friends he had lost. Foxe’s favorite Queen was Queen Elizabeth, who was a Protestant herself. He dedicates his book to her, and thanks to her efforts, Foxe’s book could be in every church in England, gaining much popularity and changing religion greatly. During Foxe’s time, religion was a touchy subject and he desired to gain support for his cause in order to stop what he felt was the martyrdom of the Protestant people. Publishing this book in English and Latin gave him the ability to reach the wealthy and educated, as well as even the poorest of society, all to gain support for the religion he thought was right. Furthermore, by connecting all of these martyrs chronologically, all leading back to Christ himself, showed the people that Protestants were Christian as well, and were connected heavily to the greatest sacrifice that Christ gave. We desire to further research into this subject of why Foxe published his Book of Martyrs. Our poster will cover and go into further depth on these three points mentioned above. We will be using Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, V.2 and 3, as well as other credible sources to further come understand the coming about of this catalog of Protestant deaths in the 16th century.