John Foxe and the Joy of Suffering Author(s): John R. Knott Source: The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Autumn, 1996), pp. 721-734 Published by: The Sixteenth Century Journal Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2544014 . Accessed: 17/05/2014 21:54 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The Sixteenth Century Journal is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Sixteenth Century Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 192.211.24.157 on Sat, 17 May 2014 21:54:58 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SixteenthCenturyJournal XXVII/3(1996) John Foxe and theJoy of Suffering JohnR. Knott Universityof Michigan JohnFoxe rejectedthe earlyChristian and medievalemphasis on the exceptional natureof martyrsand on thedisjunction between vulnerable body and transported soul,focusing instead on thehuman qualities of his Protestant martyrs and thecom- munalexperience of thepersecuted faithful, which becomes the locus of thesacred. He avoidedthe miraculous in attemptingto reconcilerepresentations ofhorrific suf- feringwith traditional affirmations ofthe inner peace andjoy ofthe martyr. Much of thedrama of theActs and Monuments arises from intrusions of the ordinary (the gesture ofwiping a sootyhand on a smock)and theunpredictable (a fire that will not burn).