The Analysis of Elizabeth Barton (1506-1534) and Anne Askew (1521-1546) Prior to Their Executions for Treason
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University of Huddersfield Repository Dashwood, Sarah Gender, Sex, and Execution: The Analysis of Elizabeth Barton (1506-1534) and Anne Askew (1521-1546) Prior to their Executions for Treason Original Citation Dashwood, Sarah (2020) Gender, Sex, and Execution: The Analysis of Elizabeth Barton (1506- 1534) and Anne Askew (1521-1546) Prior to their Executions for Treason. Masters thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/35548/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ Gender, Sex, and Execution: The Analysis of Elizabeth Barton (1506-1534) and Anne Askew (1521-1546) Prior to their Executions for Treason SARAH DASHWOOD A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of MA in History The University of Huddersfield August 2020 Copyright Statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns any copyright in it (the “Copyright”) and he has given The University of Huddersfield the right to use such Copyright for any administrative, promotional, educational and/or teaching purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts, may be made only in accordance with the regulations of the University Library. Details of these regulations may be obtained from the Librarian. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of any patents, designs, trademarks and any and all other intellectual property rights except for the Copyright (the “Intellectual Property Rights”) and any reproductions of copyright works, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property Rights and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property Rights and/or Reproductions 1 Abstract This thesis examines the role of gender and execution in the early modern era. It examines whether Elizabeth Barton’s gender made it easier to cast doubt and defame her character. At the age of nineteen, and after an extended illness, Barton began having visions which quickly came to expose King Henry’s reign and authority. This thesis also examines the early stages of Barton’s visionary pursuit and how she emulated medieval mystics such as Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and Bridget of Sweden. The public penance Barton endured was to ensure that she would not be remembered as a saint or a prophet after her death. This thesis also examines Anne Askew’s gender in relation to her torture and execution. It argues that as a gentlewoman Askew should have been exempt from any form of torture. However, it enabled anxieties around the Henry VIII’s declining health and Catherine Parr’s increased influence to be realised. It also examines Askew’s Examinations and the two conflicting characterisations set out, the first by Anne Askew herself as a strong, independent, young women. The second by John Bale, her posthumous publisher as, weak, young, and tender. It does not appear that Askew and Barton had many similarities, they practiced opposing religions, their level of education was vastly different, and their marital status differed. However, the way in which they experienced religion in a period of religious upheaval was significant. 2 Contents Copyright Statement ............................................................................................................................... 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 4 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Historiography............................................................................................................................... 11 3 Women and Gender in the Early Modern Era .............................................................................. 16 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Women and Religion ............................................................................................................. 19 3.3 Women and the Humoral Theory ......................................................................................... 24 3.4 Gender and Expectations ...................................................................................................... 27 3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 31 4 The Defamation of Elizabeth Barton ............................................................................................. 33 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 33 4.2 Elizabeth Barton’s Early Life .................................................................................................. 33 4.3 The Prophecies ...................................................................................................................... 40 4.4 The Sermon ........................................................................................................................... 45 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 54 5 The execution and Torture of Anne Askew................................................................................... 57 5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 57 5.2 Anne Askew’s Examinations and John Bale’s Influence ........................................................ 58 5.3 Anne Askew’s Torture and the Plot against Catherine Parr ................................................. 75 5.4 Anne Askew’s Posthumous Reputation ................................................................................ 82 5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 87 6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 89 7 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 92 7.1 Primary Sources .................................................................................................................... 92 7.2 Published Primary ................................................................................................................. 93 7.3 Secondary Sources ................................................................................................................ 94 3 Table of Figures Figure 1: Diagrammatical Representation of the Four Humours with Character Traits ...................... 25 Figure 2: Timeline Showing Differences Between Old Style (a) and Modern Style (b) in Relation to Anne Askew’s Examinations. The Old Style Format (a) is Assumed in this Thesis. ............................... 64 Figure 3: Note. Reprinted from John Foxe, The Unabridged Acts and Monuments Online or TAMO (1576 edition) (HRI Online Publications, Sheffield, 2011). Available from: http//www.johnfoxe.org [Accessed: 28.07.20]. ............................................................................................................................ 86 4 1 Introduction This thesis examines the relationship between gender and sex and the treatment of two women, Elizabeth Barton and Anne Askew, prior to their executions for treason. It ascertains whether Elizabeth Barton’s gender made it easier to cast doubt and defame her character despite the claims of her alleged wrongdoing only surfacing after her initial crime. It also determines whether Anne Askew was brutally tortured for information regarding a potential Protestant plot against Queen Catherine Parr and used as a scapegoat when, again, this had nothing