FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS
CHAPTER XI
An Account of the Persecutions in the Netherlands
The light of the Gospel having successfully spread over the
Netherlands, the pope instigated the emperor to commence a
persecution against the Protestants; when many thousand fell
martyrs to superstitious malice and barbarous bigotry, among whom
the most remarkable were the following:
Wendelinuta, a pious Protestant widow, was apprehended on
account of her religion, when several monks, unsuccessfully,
endeavored to persuade her to recant. As they could not prevail,
a Roman Catholic lady of her acquaintance desired to be admitted
to the dungeon in which she was confined, and promised to exert
herself strenuously towards inducing the prisoner to abjure the
reformed religion. When she was admitted to the dungeon, she did
her utmost to perform the task she had undertaken; but finding
her endeavors ineffectual, she said, "Dear Wendelinuta, if you
will not embrace our faith, at least keep the things which you
profess secret within your own bosom, and strive to prolong your
life." To which the widow replied, "Madam, you know not what you
say; for with the heart we believe to righteousness, but with the
tongue confession is made unto salvation." As she positively
refused to recant, her goods were confiscated, and she was
condemned to be burnt. At the place of execution a monk held a
cross to her, and bade her kiss and worship God. To which she
answered, "I worship no wooden god, but the eternal God who is in
heaven." She was then executed, but through the before-mentioned
Roman Catholic lady, the favor was granted that she should be
strangeled before fire was put to the fagots.
Two Protestant clergymen were burnt at Colen; a tradesman of
Antwerp, named Nicholas, was tied up in a sack, thrown into the
river, and drowned; and Pistorius, a learned student, was carried
to the market of a Dutch village in a fool's coat, and committed
to the flames.
Sixteen Protestants, having receive sentence to be beheaded,
a Protestant minister was ordered to attend the execution. This
gentleman performed the function of his office with great
propriety, exhorted them to repentance, and gave them comfort in
the mercies of their Redeemer. As soon as the sixteen were
beheaded, the magistrate cried out to the executioner, "There is
another stroke remaining yet; you must behead the minister; he
can never die at a better time than with such excellent precepts
in his mouth, and such laudable examples before him." He was
accordingly beheaded, though even many of the Roman Catholics
themselves reprobated this piece of treacherous and unnecessary
cruelty.
George Scherter, a minister of Salzburg, was apprehended and
committed to prison for instructing his flock in the knowledge of
the Gospel. While he was in confinement he wrote a confession of
his faith; soon after which he was condemned, first to be
beheaded, and afterward to be burnt to ashes. On his way to the
place of execution he said to the spectators, "That you may know
I die a true Christian, I will give you a sign." This was indeed
verified in a most singular manner; for after his head was cut
off, the body lying a short space of time with the belly to the
ground, it suddenly turned upon the back, when the right foot
crossed over t he left, as did also the right arm over the left:
and in this manner it remained until it was committed to the
flames.
In Louviana, a learned man, named Percinal, was murdered in
prison; and Justus Insparg was beheaded, for having Luther's
sermons in his possession.
Giles Tilleman, a cutler of Brussels, was a man of great
humanity and piety. Among others he was apprehended as a
Protestant, and many endeavors were made by the monks to persuade
him to recant. He had once, by accident, a fair opportunity of
escaping from prison and being asked why he did not avail himself
of it, he replied, "I would not do the keepers so much injury, as
they must have answered for my absence, had I gone away." When he
was sentenced to be burnt, he fervently thanked God for granting
him an opportunity, by martyrdom, to glorify His name.
Perceiving, at the place of execution, a great quanity of fagots,
he desired the principal part of them might be given to the poor,
saying, "A small quantity will suffice to consume me." The
executioner offered to strangle him before the fire was lighted,
but he would not consent, telling him that he defied the flames;
and, indeed, he gave up the ghost with such composure amidst
them, that he hardly seemed sensible of their effects.
In the year 1543 and 1544, the persecution was carried on
throughout all Flanders in a most violent and cruel manner. Some
were condemned to perpetual imprisonment, others to perpetual
banishment; but most were put to death either by hanging,
drowning, immuring, burning, the rack, or burying alive.
John de Boscane, a zealous Protestant, was apprehended on
account of his faith, in the city of Antwerp. On his trial, he
steadfastly professed himself to be of the reformed religion,
which occasioned his immediate condemnation. The magistrate,
however, was afraid to put him to death publicly, as he was
popular through his great generosity, and almost universally
beloved for his inoffensive life, and exemplary piety. A private
execution being determined on, an order was given to drown him in
prison. The executioner, accordinly, put him in a large tub; but
Boscane struggling, and getting his head above the water, the
executioner stabbed him with a dagger in several places, until he
expired.
John de Buisons, another Protestant, was, about the same
time, secretly apprehended, and privately executed at Antwerp.
The numbers of Protestants being great in that city, and the
prisoner much respected, the magistrates feared an insurrection,
and for that reason ordered him to be beheaded in prison.
A.D. 1568, three persons were apprehended in Antwerp, named
Scoblant, Hues, and Coomans. During their confinement they
behaved with great fortitude and cheerfulness, confessing that
the hand of God appeared in what had befallen them, and bowing
down before the throne of his providence. In an epistle to some
worthy Protestants, they expressed themselves in the following
words: "Since it is the will of the Almighty that we should
suffer for His name, and be persecuted for the sake of His
Gospel, we patiently submit, and are joyful upon the occasion;
though the flesh may febel against the spirit, and hearken to the
council of the old serpent, yet the truths of the Gospel shall
prevent such advice from being taken, and Christ shall bruise the
serpent's head. We are not comfortless in confinement, for we
have faith; we fear not affliction, for we have hope; and we
forgive our enemies, for we have charity. Be not under
apprehensions for us, we are happy in confinement through the
promises of God, glory in our bonds, and exult in being thought
worthy to suffer for the sake of Christ. We desire not to be
released, but to be blessed with fortitude; we ask not liberty,
but the power of perseverance; and wish for no change in our
condition, but that which places a crown of martyrdom upon our
heads."
Scoblant was first brought to his trial; when, persisting in
the profession of his faith, he received sentence of death. On
his return to prison, he earnestly requested the jailer not to
permit any friar to come near him; saying, "They can do me no
good, but may greatly disturb me. I hope my salvation is already
sealed in heaven, and that the blood of Christ, in which I firmly
put my trust, hath washed me from my iniquities. I am not going
to throw off this mantle of clay, to be clad in robes of eternal
glory, by whose celestial brightness I shall be freed from all
errors. I hope I may be the last martyr to papal tyranny, and the
blood already spilt found sufficient to quench the thirst of
popish cruelty; that the Church of Christ may have rest here, as
his servants will hereafter." On the day of execution, he to0ok a
pathetic leave of his fellow prisoners. At the stake he fervently
said the Lord's Prayer, and sung the Fortieth Psalm; then
commending his soul to God, he was burnt alive.
Hues, soon after died in prison; upon which occasion Coomans
wrote thus to his friends: "I am now deprived of my friends and
companions; Scoblant is martyred, and Hues dead, by the
visitation of the Lord; yet I am not alone, I have with me the
God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; He is my comfort, and
shall be my reward. Pray unto God to strengthen me to the end, as
I expect every hour to be freed from this tenement of clay."
On his trial he freely confessed himself of the reformed
religion, answered with a manly fortitude to every charge against
him, and proved the Scriptural part of his answers from the
Gospel. The judge told him the only alternatives were recantation
or death; and concluded by saying, "Will you die for the faith
you profess?" To which Coomans replied, "I am not only willing to
die, but to suffer the most excruciating torments for it; after
which my soul shall receive its confirmation from God Himself, in
the midst of eternal glory." Being condemned, he went cheerfully
to the place of execution, and died with the most manly
fortitude, and Christian resignation.
William of Nassau fell a sacrifice to treachery, being
assassinated in the fifty-first year of his age, by Beltazar
Gerard, a native of Ranche Compte, in the province of Burgundy.
This murderer, in hopes of a reward here and hereafter, for
killing an enemy to the king of Spain and an enemy to the
Catholic religion, undertook to destroy the prince of Orange.
Having procured firearms, he watched him as he passed through the
great hall of his palace to dinner, and demanded a passport. The
princess of Orange, observing that the assassin spoke with a
hollow and confused voice, asked who he was, saying that she did
not like his countenance. The prince answered that it was one
that demanded a passport, which he should presently have.
Nothing further passed before dinner, but on the return of the
prince and princness through the same hall, after dinner was
over, the assassin, standing concealed as much as possible by one
of the pillars, fired at the prince, the balls entering at the
left side, and passing through the right, wounding in their
passage the stomach and vital parts. On receiving the wounds, the
prince only said, "Lord, have mercy upon my soul, and upon these
poor people," and then expired immediately.
The lamentations throughout the United Provinces were general,
on account of the death of the prince of Orange; and the
assassin, who was immediately taken, received sentence to be put
to death in the most exemplary manner, yet such was his
enthusiasm, or folly, that when his flesh was torn by red-hot
pincers, he coolly said, "If I was at liberty, I would commit
such an action over again."
The prince of Orange's funeral was the grandest ever seen in
the Low Countries, and perhaps the sorrow for his death the most
sincere, as he left behind him the character he honestly
deserved, viz., that of father of his people.
To conclude, multitudes were murdered in different parts of
Flanders; in the city of Valence, in particular, fifty-seven of
the principal inhabitants were butchered in one day, for refusing
to embrace the Romish superstition; and great numbers were
suffered to languish in confinement, until they perished through
the inclemency of their dungeons.
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Genesis 40:22 (KJV)