November 27 - Former monk burnt at stake for importing books

On this day in Tudor history, 27th November 1531, former Benedictine monk and reformist, Richard Bayfield, was burnt at the stake at Smithfield for heresy after Sir Thomas More had caught him importing heretical books into England.

 

It wasn't Bayfield's first brush with the authorities. He'd been in trouble for heresy previously so was now deemed a "relapsed heretic". This time, penance wasn't enough, he was condemned to death.

 

Find out more about Richard Bayfield, how he went from being a monk to a reformer, and how he ended up at the stake as a Protestant martyr. Claire also shares John Foxe's account of Bayfield's burning. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:

https://youtu.be/K2C1uDitPV0

 

Also on this day in Tudor history, 27th November 1582, eighteen-year-old William Shakespeare, the famous playwright and a man known as the Bard, married twenty-six-year-old Anne (also known as Agnes) Hathaway, at Temple Grafton, near Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire. 

Anne Hathaway was pregnant at the time of their marriage and went on to give birth to a daughter, Susannah, the following May. You can find out more about William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and their marriage, and also what happened to them, in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/d0_g9G8TXGA