Cranmer at the Traitors' Gate
by Frederick Goodall
(English artist, 1822-1904)
WHEN Cardinal Wolsey failed to secure a divorce for
Henry VIII from his first wife, Catharine of Aragon,
mother of Queen Mary, one of his chaplains, Thomas
Cranmer, was of great assistance to his scheme, and as
a reward was made Archbishop of Canterbury. Moreover,
when Henry VIII made his will, he appointed Cranmer one
of the Regents who should rule until Edward VI came of
age. Cranmer was a Protestant, and agreed to placing
Lady Jane Grey upon the throne. For these reasons, Mary
bore no good will toward him. He was soon sent to the
Tower of London, and is shown in the illustration
entering by way of what was known as the Traitors'
Gate. No man could hold the positions which he had held
without making enemies, and now in his downfall they
were ready to seek their revenge. He was tried first as
a traitor, then as a heretic. He was declared guilty on
both charges, and was burned at the stake in front of
Balliol College, Oxford, in the year 1556.
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