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Fox's Book of Martyrs

John Fox

John Fox (1517-1587) was an influential and prolific Protestant historian and writer, best known for his massive and abiding Book of Martyrs. He was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, before studying at Oxford, demonstrating early on his talent for poetry and writing. His fellowship at Oxford was terminated temporarily due to his embrace of Reformed principles, and he became a tutor for, among others, the children of the Earl of Surrey. Fox had studied Church History – the Fathers and Councils – in depth and, after his ordination as deacon in 1550, became devoted to Protestantism. During the persecutions of Queen Mary, he fled to Europe, living for a time in Basle, before returning to England when Elizabeth came to the throne. He wrote steadily during this time, producing a large work, Acts and Monuments of the Church (first in Latin, then English), which was published in 1563. Fox became a priest and prebendary at the Cathedral of Salisbury from 1563 till his death.

An abridged version of Fox’s massive and enduring Church History.

An abridged version of Fox’s Acts and Monuments, better known as the Book of Martyrs. After 1550, Fox began a history of persecution in England, which was still incomplete when he fled the country in 1554. A greatly expanded version of the work was published in Basle in 1559; the first edition in English appeared in 1563. Over the years Fox expanded and revised the book numerous times, adding material stretching back to the early days of the Church (taken from Eusebius, Bede, and others). The fourth and final edition was published in 1583. TheBook of Martyrs is truly massive, and is often abridged or condensed in print. Throughout his passion for the Christian faith, his devotion to Protestantism, and his detest for persecution and sectarianism is evident. His contemporaneous accounts of the persecutions under Queen Mary are naturally the most compelling and significant portions of this work. A ‘continuation’ up through the 19th century is appended in this version.

Church History

Martyrs