Still Fighting the Dead: Germain Gardiner’s Scathing Attack on Martyr John Frith
On this day in Tudor history, 1st August 1534, Catholic gentleman Germain Gardiner published a scathing posthumous attack on Protestant martyr John Frith—over a year after Frith had been burned at the stake. But who was Frith? Why did Gardiner care enough to write such a fiery rebuttal after his death? And how did both men end up executed for their beliefs? In this episode, I explore:
- Frith’s radical theology and links to William Tyndale
- His arrest, trial, and execution in 1533 for denying purgatory and transubstantiation
- Gardiner’s 1534 printed rebuttal, full of fire, fury, and calls for obedience to Church authority
- The wider implications of their feud for the English Reformation
- And the tragic irony of Gardiner’s own fate—hanged, drawn and quartered a decade later
This is a powerful story of belief, print, polemic—and two men caught in the firestorm of Tudor religion. Read Gardiner’s full tract here: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A01469.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more true Tudor tales from the archives of history. #TudorHistory #JohnFrith #GermainGardiner #EnglishReformation #ReligiousHistory #TudorExecutions #ProtestantMartyrs #CatholicMartyrs #16thCentury #OnThisDay
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