William Tracy (died 1530) was an English

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and prominent early

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

convert. After his death both his will and his remains became caught up in the struggle around the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in England.

Life

He was a justice in the reigns of Henry VII and

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 disa ...

, and was made

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

in 1513. He adopted

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

's religious views, and shortly before his death in October 1530 he made a will in which he expressed his belief in

justification by faith ''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, f ...

, and refused to make any bequests to the clergy. Objection was taken to the will as an heretical document when it came to be proved in the ecclesiastical courts, and eventually it was brought before convocation. After prolonged discussions, the will was pronounced heretical on 27 February 1532 by Archbishop

William Warham William Warham ( – 22 August 1532) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to his death. Early life and education Warham was the son of Robert Warham of Malshanger in Hampshire. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford ...

. Tracy was declared unworthy of

Christian burial A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation because it interfered with the concept of the resurrection of ...

, and Warham directed Dr. Thomas Parker, vicar-general of the bishop of Worcester, to

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Tracy's body. Parker exceeded his instructions, and had Tracy's remains burnt at the stake.

Aftermath

Richard Tracy Richard Tracy (died 1569) was an English lay Protestant reformer and Member of Parliament. Life He was the younger son of William Tracy, a noted Lutheran convert, graduated B.A. at Oxford on 27 June 1515, and was admitted student of the Inner ...

, the younger son who, with his mother, was executor to the will, induced

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

to take the matter up, and Parker had eventually to pay a fine. Tracy's will became a sort of sacred text to the reformers; possessing copies of it was frequently made a charge against them. In 1535 was published ''The Testament of Master Wylliam Tracie, esquier, expounded both by William Tindall'' (i.e.

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his executi ...

, who knew Tracy well) ''and Jhō Frith'' (i.e. John Frith); other editions appeared in 1546, 1548 and 1550.It is reprinted in the ''Works of Tyndale'' (Parker Society), iii.268–83. The will is also printed in Hall's ''Chronicle,'' pp. 796–7; Foxe, ''Actes and Mon.''; Atkyns, ''Gloucestershire,'' pp. 410–11; and Rudder, ''Gloucestershire,'' pp. 771–2.

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the s ...

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...

, and

James Pilkington James Pilkington may refer to: *James Pilkington (bishop) James Pilkington (1520–1576), was the first Protestant Bishop of Durham from 1561 until his death in 1576. He founded Rivington Grammar School and was an Elizabethan author and orator. ...

all used the incident in polemic fashion against the Catholic clergy.

Family

By his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Throckmorton, William Tracy had issue two sons, William and Richard. William, the elder, inherited the Toddington estates, and was great-grandfather of Sir John Tracy, in 1642–43 created Baron and Viscount Tracy of Rathcoole in the peerage of Ireland. Robert Tracy, the judge, was younger son of the second viscount. The peerage became extinct on the death of Henry Leigh Tracy, eighth viscount, on 29 April 1797. Through his sister Elizabeth he was uncle to

James Bainham James Bainham (died 30 April 1532) was an English lawyer and Protestant reformer who was burned as a heretic in 1532. Life According to John Foxe he was a son of Sir Alexander Bainham, who was sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1497, 1501, and 1516; a ...

, who was executed for heresy in 1532.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Richard Year of birth missing 1530 deaths English Lutherans 16th-century English people 16th-century Protestants Converts to Lutheranism