Thomas Johnson, O.Cart., (died 20 September 1537) was a Carthusian hermit who was executed by starvation in Tudor England. He is venerated as a martyr and has been beatified by the Catholic Church.

Biography

Johnson and other members of the London Charterhouse had been arrested for refusing to sign the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was ori ...

. Like the others, after incarceration in

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

he was left to starve.

Margaret Clement Margaret Clement or Clements (1508–1570), née Giggs, was one of the most educated women of the Tudor era and the foster daughter of Sir Thomas More. Biography Clement's maiden name was Giggs. She was born in 1508 and was the daughter of a ...

was temporarily able to bring him and the other Carthusians some food, by entering in disguise, but after

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

became suspicious from their continued survival, this was ended. Johnson took the longest to die of starvation, possibly because food had finally been allowed for him, in expectation that he would ultimately be executed instead. A lay brother of the community named Horne survived and was not executed until 1540. In that year he was hanged, disembowelled, and quartered at Tyburn. Thomas Johnson and the other Carthusian Martyrs were beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. There is a painting of Johnson in the church of the

Certosa di Bologna The Certosa di Bologna is a former Carthusian monastery (or charterhouse) in Bologna, northern Italy, which was founded in 1334 and suppressed in 1797. In 1801 it became the city's Monumental Cemetery which would be much praised by Byron and other ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Thomas Year of birth missing 1537 deaths English beatified people Carthusian Martyrs of London Carthusian saints People executed by starvation 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests 16th-century venerated Christians English people who died in prison custody English Christian monks People executed under the Tudors for treason against England Martyred Roman Catholic priests Executed English people People executed under Henry VIII Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales

Biography

See also

References