[MR] Wikipedia: Bloody Mary and her Martyrs

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends,

On this date in 1558, Mary, Queen of England and Ireland, died. Her death
was possibly from the influenza then raging across England, although she
apparently was already near death from ovarian cancer.

She earned the rather uncomplimentary title of "Bloody Mary" because of the
extraordinary toll of people executed during her brief five-year reign. A
good share of these were political enemies, including Lady Jane Gray and
many of her supporters.

Normally I don't comment here on religious conflicts, but the historical
scope of Mary's persecutions is too great to ignore.

The majority of her victims were Protestants tried for heresy beginning in
1555, which under Mary's laws was state treason against her now
officially-restored Catholic realm. Among them were many Protestant
churchmen, including Bishops Latimer and Lambert, followed by Archbishop
Cranmer. Most of the victims were commoners, including several children
executed with their parents. Foxe's Book of Martyrs numbers Mary's total at
312. Of that number 284 were judicially executed, mostly by burning at the
stake. The rest died of disease or other causes while in prison. The last
five executions took place at Canterbury on 15 November 1558, just two days
before Mary's death.

You can read more about Mary's life, including the less grim parts, at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England .

The list of English Protestant martyrs, from the days of Henry VIII to
James I (conveniently divided by reign) is found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Protestant_martyrs_of_the_English_Reformation
.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.