During the reign of King Henry VIII, there were a number of high profile executions of
high ranking members of the Church.
John Fisher was the Bishop of Rochester who was caught between King Henry and his own
beliefs and consciences.
Following Henry’s break from Rome, he ordered his members of the clergy and friends to swear
their allegiance to Henry VIII but those who refused would dare to cross one of History’s
most brutal kings.
John Fisher knew the consequences of withdrawing his support for the King’s religious chances,
and he ultimately paid the price being beheaded at Tower Hill.
So join us today as we look at the brutal execution of John Fisher, remember to support
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John Fisher was born in 1469 in Yorkshire, and he was the eldest son of a wealthy merchant.
But his father died when he was eight, and his mother remarried and had a number of other
children.
Fisher went on to study at Cambridge University, before he was ordained as a priest in 1491
and he had a number of royal supporters.
He was backed by Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII, and he became her
confessor in 1497 and he convinced her to found Christ’s college and St John’s college
at Cambridge University.
Fisher was close with Margaret, and after her death he became the Chancellor of Cambridge
and also the Bishop of Rochester.
He was seen as a perfect and model bishop at this time, and he was very busy within
his diocese.
He went to different churches and he also visited and cared for people inside of his
land of responsibility.
He was an active preacher who was very enthusiastic, and he was clearly talented.
He was even appointed to preach the funeral oration for King Henry VII and Lady Margaret,
but despite Fisher’s status within the church, he did come into conflict with one of his
former pupils, the new King Henry VIII.
Problems arose with regards to money left by Margaret Beaufort for colleges at Cambridge,
and the King was jealous of this believing he was entitled to this.
Fisher was a brilliant scholar, and he was alluded to for being the author of the royal
treaty against Martin Luther and the criticisms of the Church he published in 1521.
Henry VIII following this work was then given the title Defender of the Faith by the Catholic
Church, and Fisher preached sermons in cathedrals across the land against Martin Luther and
the Reformation.
He was staunchly anti-protestant and ordered the arrests of reformative priests and preachers.
Fisher was prospering greatly in Tudor England, and he was in the King’s good books, but
following Henry VIII’s wish to divorce his first life Catherine of Aragon, things changed
massively for him.
Fisher was involved in theological proceedings against Catherine of Aragon, and the King
was desperate to have the support of Henry and other leading writers.
Fisher to begin with backed the King, but he came to the conclusion that the King would
divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, and therefore he would split
from Rome.
Being a man of his conscience, Fisher went against the King and Henry became a target
of Fisher’s preaching.
He was an outspoken critic and Fisher was a strong supporter of Catherine in the proceedings,
and wrote letters to support the Queen and also published propaganda in support of her.
This was incredibly brave, and he believed deeply that the Pope ruled supreme over the
church, and that to reform the church should be done by the Pope and not the monarch of
a country.
In 1531, he refused to accept Henry VIII’s title as the Supreme Head of the Church of
England, and refused to acknowledge the Act of Supremacy later on.
He also refused to acknowledge Anne Boleyn as the rightful Queen of England, and in April
1524 he refused to acknowledge the heirs of Anne and Henry as the rightful ones to the
throne, but because of this he was imprisoned inside of the Tower of London.
He was held and imprisoned on the 26th April 1534, and at this time he was an elderly man
in his mid 60s, and he was rather ill.
There were attempts to get him to submit and to take the oath, but these did not work.
Fisher was accused of treason and things got tougher for him inside the Tower as he was
held inside of cold and dark cells in the Tower, and he was under fed to get him to
give in.
He was held inside the Tower of London for over a year, and he was allowed food and drink
sent from friends, and he was even allowed a servant but he was not allowed a personal
priest.
Fisher was in correspondence with Cromwell about his imprisonment and how harsh things
were, but he was caught like a rabbit in the headlights.
Richard Rich a member of court tried to catch Fisher out, and he asked Fisher his real opinion,
and Fisher admitted that the King was not the supreme head of the Church of England.
The Pope was in the process at the time of trying to make Fisher a cardinal, as he believed
it would save Fisher’s life, and Henry was outraged.
HE said that if the Cardinals hat arrived, he would make sure that John Fisher had no
head left to wear it.
On the 17th June 1535, Bishop John Fisher was tried infront of a jury made up of Thomas
Cromwell, Thomas Boleyn and 10 others.
Richard Rich testified and this was deemed enough to sentence fisher to death for treason,
and he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
But the King then commuted this to beheading in a small act of mercy.
Following his condemnation, he said ‘‘I think indeed and always have thought, and
do now lastly affirm, that His Grace cannot justly claim any such supremacy over the Church
of God.
I pray God his grace may remember himself in good time and harken to good counsel for
the preservation of himself and his realm.’
Fisher was then transported back to the Tower of London, to await his death sentence.
But inside of London there was a grave outcry of support for John Fisher.
People began to draw comparisons between him and John the Baptist.
John was executed by King Herod for challenging the validity of Herod’s marriage.
Henry VIII even considered that this was a real hing, and he commuted Fisher’s beheading
to be done before the 23rd June which was John the Baptists’ feast day.
He feared a riot inside of the capital on the day of Fisher’s execution.
On the 22nd June 1535, Fisher was led from the Tower of London to Tower Hill which was
a short walk away.
This was the site where many people were beheaded during the reign of Henry VIII, and on the
journey and short walk he prayed the entire way and when he came to the stairs of the
scaffold he was offered a hand up but he refused.
Fisher then went up the stairs, but as he climbed the sun shone on his face.
It was roughly 10 o clock, and the executioner was ready to perform his bloody office.
It was said of that day, ‘The executioner kneeled down to him as the fashion is and
asked him forgiveness.
I forgive thee said he with all my heart and I trust thou shall see me overcome this storm
lustily.
Then his gown and tippet taken from him and he stood in his doublet and hose in sight
of all the people, whereof here was no small number assembled to see the execution.’
Fisher was then stripped for his execution, and he was incredibly emaciated which shocked
the crowd, and it showed the horrible conditions he had been kept in at the Tower.
He stood on the scaffold and said to the crowd, ‘Christian people, I am come hither to die
for the faith of Christ’s holy Catholic Church, and I thank god hitherto my stomach
hath served me well.
I beseech Almighty God of his infinite goodness to save the king and this realm, and that
it may please him to hold his holy hand over it, and send the king a good council.’
It was noted that he seemed positive and spoke with courage, and he was relieved that his
imprisonment would not be continuing.
Following this he fell to his knees and prayed once more, and then the executioner came to
Fisher and placed a handkerchief around his eyes.
Fisher then lifted his hands and heart to heaven, and said some more prayers and then
he laid his head on the little block.
The executioner stood there with his sharp and heavy axe.
In one swift blow, he cut the neck of Bishop John Fisher, and it was said his neck bled
greatly, and that there was a huge amount of blood which shocked the crowd.
But following his death, Henry VIII treated his remains awfully.
His body was stripped and left on the scaffold for hours until the evening.
It was then taken on pikes and thrown naked into a rough grave in a nearby churchyard.
Fisher’s head was then placed on London Bridge, and it was said that it looked lifelike
weeks after.
But then it was thrown in the River Thames two weeks later to make way for that of Thomas
More’s decapitated head.
His body was then placed inside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.
Bishop John Fisher died a man of his conscience, and a man of great faith.
He believed that he was doing the right thing and he supported Catherine of Aragon which
grossly offended the King, and his enemy in Henry VIII was one who would not hesitate
to order his brutal execution.
History’s most famous and notorious King would order Fisher’s brutal execution and
because of this he sent a strong message to those of England.
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