Rowland Taylor Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Rowland Taylor was born October 6 1510 in Northumberland, England, and died February 9th, 1555 in Hadleigh. At the time of his death he was Rector, or Anglican parish priest of a small parish in a small market town called Hadleigh (also spelled Hadley). Taylor provided pastoral leadership for several parishes in Suffolk county England. He was Queen "Bloody Mary's" (Mary I) third martyr-victim among hundreds hundreds during her brief reign in England (1553-1558), as she attempted to bring about Roman Catholic major reforms against the Protestants. His sentence was execution by burning at the stake, a common method of punishment for religious dissenters and perceived heretics in the 16th century. He was viewed as a heretic by Roman Catholics but is viewed by Protestants as one of the great Christian martyrs.
Rowland Taylor was the first-born and son of John Taylor (1480-1534) who married Susan Rowland, in Rothbury, England in 1509. John was himself distinguished as a leading religious figure in early 16th century England.
The son had no less an illustrious career than his father. One year before Rowland Taylor's birth (1509), Henry VIII succeeded Henry VII of England (Tudor). In 1530, Taylor received his L.L.B. degree from Cambridge University. From 1531-1538 Rowland Taylor was Principal of Borden Hostel. In 1534 he received the L.L.D. from Cambridge, the same year Luther completed his German Bible. One year later, 1535, William Tyndale was tried and denounced as a heretic for his new English Bible translation. Tyndale was burnt at the stake in 1536. Many believe that Rowland's wife - Margaret Tyndale - was William Tyndale's sister.
Rowland's troubles with ecclesiastical authorities first blossomed in 1553 when he was arrested on July 25th, just six days after the new Queen Mary I ascended the throne. Aside from the fact that Taylor probably supported Lady Jane Grey, Mary's rival, he was also charged with probable heresy from having preached a sermon in Bury St. Edmunds. Taylor did not support the Roman Catholic position of (clerical celebacy), which stated that a Priest must be unmarried. Remaining unmarried was part of a Priest's holy orders according to Roman Catholic teaching and tradition. Taylor, an Anglican, not a Roman Catholic, believed it was acceptable for a vicar/rector to be married.
Taylor also did not hold to the Roman Catholic view known as transubstantiation which is the belief that the two elements (bread and wine) taken during Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Since the Roman Catholic position is that the Eucharist (and the miracle of transubstantiation) is a sacrament commanded by God, anyone not agreeing with it, particularly a cleric or pastor, was a heretic and thus guilty of heresy.
Not only did Taylor take issue with clerical celebacy and the doctrine of transubstantiation, he took issue with the Roman Catholic manner of Mass. Taylor received apparent strong local support from the villagers of Hadleigh.
His troubles were compounded by the fact that Edward VI died (July 6, 1553) and was eventually replaced by Queen "Bloody" Mary I in 1553 as well. In 1554 Mary I began reversing the reforms of the prior Edward VI and began strictly enforcing Roman Catholicism in England. It did not help matters that Taylor apparently supported Lady Jane Grey's cause, a rival of Mary I to the throne.
On March 26 1554 the Privy Council ordered the arrest of Rowland Taylor and he thus appeared before Stephen Gardiner. The proceedings against Taylor were several and took place over a long period of time, perhaps nearly two years. During this time he was kept in the King's Bench prison. While in prison he befriended many inmates and was instrumental in their religious conversion to Christianity as well.
January 1555 was an ominous month for numerous Protestant clergy in England. Bloody Mary I would soon unleash her fury upon those who were deemed as opposing Roman Catholicism and her reforms. On January 22, 1555, Rowland Taylor (Vicar or Rector of Hadleigh), and several other clergy, including John Hooper, were examined by a commission of leading bishops and lawyers. Lord Chancellor presided at the hearings. Just two days prior, January 20th, Parliament revived the old statute of burning convicted heretics.
One of the men, Crome, recanted and was thus pardoned. Barlow equivocated and was sent to the Tower of London, but not executed. Rowland Taylor, who was stedfastly deviant, was probably taken to Compter Prison in London after his examination by Stephen Gardiner. Taylor gave a strong defense for clerical marriage which put him at odds with the Roman Catholic Church.
On January 29, 1555, Taylor was brought before Gardiner again at St. Mary Overy's. The next day he was excommunicated, unwilling to recant, and sentenced to death. He was degraded, that is, literally stripped of his garments in a humiliating manner, and was offered his last supper with his family.
His reaction to his accusers revealed Taylor's belief that truth was on his side:
The following quotes are taken from Foxe's Book of Martyrs - John Foxe. Acts and Monuments […] (1576 edition), [online]. (hriOnline, Sheffield). Available from: http://www.hrionline.shef.ac.uk/foxe/. [Accessed: 09.21.2004]
As Taylor neared the day of his execution he spoke these words on February 7, 1555 (probably) Taylor was taken back to his own place of Rectory - Hadleigh - where his wife awaited him in the early morning hours at St. Botolph's churchyard. They exchanged a few last brief words and Margaret promised to be present for his burning in a couple days. That same day Taylor was handed over to the Sheriff of Essex at Chelmsford. Before he was handed over he spoke these words to his family:
His final words to his son Thomas are moving:
An unhewn stone marks the place of Taylor's martyrdom at Aldham Common. It reads:
This is an Article on Rowland Taylor. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Rowland Taylor Taylor's early life and education
John Taylor (1480-1534), Rowland's father
Rowland Taylor (b. 1510), education
Taylor's religious career
Taylor's troubles (circa 1553)
Taylor's trial and martyrdom
Taylor's final words
By February 9, Bloody Mary I had already burned Rogers on the 4th and Saunders on the 8th in the park at Coventry. Rowland Taylor would become Queen Bloody Mary's third Protestant martyr to be burned at the stake. His execution took place on February 9th, 1555, in Aldham Common in Hadleigh. His wife, two daughters, and his son Thomas, were present that day.
A local butcher was ordered to set a torch to the wood but resisted. A couple of bystanders finally threw a lighted faggot on to the wood. A guard named Warwick grew increasingly frustrated of Taylor's refusal to recant and thus struck the martyr over the head with a halbard which apparently killed Taylor instantly. The fire consumed his body shortly thereafter. That same day John Hooper was burnt at the stake in Gloucester. 1555
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