Edward Foxe (c. 1496 – 8 May 1538) was an English churchman, Bishop of Hereford. He played a major role in Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and he assisted in drafting the '' Ten Articles'' of 1536.

Early life

He was born at Dursley in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, and may have been related to Richard Fox, Bishop of Exeter and Lord Privy Seal under King Henry VII. Foxe was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. After graduating in 1520, he was made secretary to Cardinal Wolsey in 1527. In 1528 he was sent with Bishop

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip. Early life Gardiner was ...

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to obtain from

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

a decretal commission for the trial and decision of the case between King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Academic career

Foxe served as Provost of King's College from 22 September 1528 until 8 May 1538, and in August 1529 was the means of conveying to the king

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry ...

's historic advice that he should apply to the universities of Europe rather than to the pope. After a brief mission to

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in October 1529, Foxe in January 1530 befriended

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 ...

at Cambridge and took an active part in persuading the English universities to decide in the king's favour. He was sent to employ similar methods of persuasion at the French universities in 1530–1531, and was also engaged in negotiating a closer league between England and France.

Clerical career

Foxe served as the king's

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c. 1532 – 1537, and as

prolocutor A prolocutor is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in Anglicanism. Usage in the Church of England In the Church of England, the Prolocutor is chair of the lower house of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, the House of Clergy. The P ...

of convocation in April 1533 when it decided against the validity of Henry's marriage with Catherine. In 1534 he published his treatise ''De vera differentia regiae potestatis et ecclesiae,'' defending the Royal Supremacy by use of the documents collated in the '' Collectanea satis copiosa''. Various ecclesiastical preferments were now granted him, including the

archdeaconry of Leicester The Archdeacon of Leicester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Leicester. History The first archdeacon of Leicester is recorded before 1092 – around the time when archdeacons were first appointed in England � ...

(1531–1535), the

archdeaconry of Dorset The Archdeacon of Dorset is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the four area deaneries: Purbeck, Poole, Wimborne, and Milton ...

(1533–1535), the deanery of Salisbury (1533) and the bishopric of Hereford (1535). He was nominated to the See of Hereford on 20 August 1535,

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by the college of Hereford on 25 August,

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on 15 September, and ordained a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

on 26 September 1535; he received the temporalities on 7 September and the

spiritualities Spiritualities is a term, often used in the Middle Ages, that refers to the income sources of a diocese or other ecclesiastical establishment that came from tithes. It also referred to income that came from other religious sources, such as offerings ...

on 14 October 1535. In 1535–36 he was sent to

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to discuss the basis of a political and theological understanding with the

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

princes and divines, and had several interviews with

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

, who could not be persuaded of the justice of Henry VIII's divorce. Henry was unwilling to endorse the Augsburg Confession and, in 1536, the Wittenberg articles were drafted by Foxe and Lutheran clergymen as a compromise. The articles met strong opposition within convocation in June of the same year, leading Henry to personally intervene to bring about an agreement. This led to the drafting and passing of the Ten Articles by convocation. In 1536, Martin Bucer dedicated his ''Commentaries on the Gospels'' to Foxe.

Death and legacy

Foxe died on 8 May 1538 and was buried in the church of St Mary Mounthaw,

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. Foxe is credited with the authorship of several proverbial sayings, such as "the surest way to peace is a constant preparedness for war" and "time and I will challenge any two in the world." However, the former is a paraphrase of '' si vis pacem, para bellum'', while the latter is more usually ascribed to Philip II of Spain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxe, Edward 1490s births 1538 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Eton College People from Dursley Bishops of Hereford Archdeacons of Leicester Archdeacons of Dorset 16th-century Church of England bishops Provosts of King's College, Cambridge