Margery Baxter ( fl. 1429) was an outspoken and unorthodox

Lollard Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...

from

Martham Martham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and north-east of the city of Norwich. The villages name means 'marten homestead/village' or 'weasel/marten h ...

, England. She was brought to trial twice and flogged at church.

Life

Baxter's early life is unknown. She lived in

in Norfolk where her husband William Baxter was a wright. Her husband was convicted as a heretic before she came to trial.

Background

The Lollards were a fourteenth and fifteenth century group of people who followed the teachings of

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...

, an English scholar and theologian who saw corruption in the Catholic Church, which at the time held great power, and sought to bring about reforms. A few of Wycliffe and his followers' main points of interest were translating the Bible into English for the common man to read, cleansing religion of corruption and excessive wealth, and bringing all Christians in to more direct contact with God. Ultimately, the

s laid the groundwork for the future of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

which would flourish in the following centuries. But at the time, all of these ideas were extremely controversial and politically dangerous, because the monarchy and the powerful

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

were closely knit together.

Teachings

Influenced by the revolutionary work of

and by her own personal radical thoughts, Baxter taught a variety of even more controversial Lollard doctrines. She was very critical of regimented church life and spoke out against multiple church practices from Sunday worship traditions to infant baptism to the image of the crucifix. As were many Lollards, Baxter was tried for heresy in October 1428 and in 1429 as part of the Norwich Heresy Trials (1428-1431).

Accusations and Trial

Johanna Clifland testified against her, claiming that Baxter had expressed a variety of unorthodox sentiments, speaking out against the traditions of sanctioned marriage, fasting for religious days, and the swearing of religious oaths. Echoing foundational Lollard beliefs, Baxter also opposed the wealth of Catholic clergymen and the practice of confession to church officials. Baxter was an admirer of her fellow Lollard Hawise Mone. She and Baxter were followers of the heretic priest William White who had been burnt at the stake in 1428 with fellow heretics Hugh Pye of Loddon and John (or William) Waddon. Six months after Johanna Clifland made her accusations, Margery Baxter confessed in October, 1428, and she was sentenced to four Sunday floggings at her parish church. two at the local market place and then two recants at the cathedral. She had admitted that she had smuggled and hidden Whites teachings at her home and that she believed six heresies: * only people who keep God's commandments are Christian * confessions to God are not required (one can rely on God's mercy) * pilgrimages are generally not required; * killing of any type including capital punishment are wrong * any good person is a priest * oaths are only required in a court. She was brought to trial again in April 1429 and although the charges were serious she believed she would escape death because she was pregnant. This was not certain but she was not sentenced to death and this may be because she implicated another lollard, John Pyry from Martham.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Margery Lollards Year of death missing Year of birth missing 15th-century English women 15th-century English people People from Martham