Thomas Hitton (died February 1530) is generally considered to be the first

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Protestant 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 ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

of the

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 ...

, although the followers of Wycliffe - the

Lollards 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 ...

- had been burned at the stake as early as 1519. Hitton was a priest who had joined

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 execu ...

and the English exiles in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. He returned to England on a brief visit in 1529 to contact the supporters of Tyndale and to arrange for the distribution of smuggled books such as the first English Psalter translated by

George Joye George Joye (also Joy and ) (c. 1495 – 1553) was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first printed translation of several books of the Old Testament into English (1530–1534), as well as the first English Primer (1529). His life ...

. He was seized near Gravesend on his way to the coast to take a ship, and found to be in possession of letters from the English exiles. He was then arrested on the grounds of heresy, interrogated and probably tortured. He was condemned 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 ...

and by Bishop

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

and burned at the stake at

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

on 23 February 1530. When Joye's second Primer (entitled ''Hortulus animae'') appeared a year later, he included the feast of "Sainte Thomas mar." (referring to Hitton) in the calendar. Tyndale also referred briefly to Hitton's execution:

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

described Hitton as "the devil's stinking martyr" and took a personal interest in the case. Thomas More burnt six heretics in the two years he was

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

, the subject being the first in February 1530.Myers, Kevin. (5 November 2000). "A man more profane than sacred"
The Telegraph
Retrieved 17 December 2020. He criticized

for canonizing Hitton: Hitton believed in the supremacy of the Scriptures. He also argued that, whilst baptism was necessary and marriage was good, neither had to be done by a priest or in a church, and that baptism "would be much better if it were spoken in English".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitton, Thomas English Reformation 16th-century English clergy People executed for heresy 1530 deaths Executed British people Executed English people 16th-century Protestant martyrs People executed under Henry VIII Year of birth missing People executed by the Kingdom of England by burning Protestant martyrs of England English Christian clergy

See also

Notes