When was Thomas Cranmer born and where did he grow up?
Thomas Cranmer entered the world on the 2nd of July 1489 at Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England. He was a younger son of Thomas Cranmer and his wife Agnes Hatfield.
Questions about Thomas Cranmer
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How did Thomas Cranmer become Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533?
Henry VIII personally financed the papal bulls necessary for Cranmer's promotion to Canterbury after Anne Boleyn secured the appointment. Cranmer arrived in England at the beginning of January 1533 and was consecrated as a bishop on the 30th of March in St Stephen's Chapel by John Longland, Bishop of Lincoln; John Vesey, Bishop of Exeter; and Henry Standish, Bishop of St Asaph.
What role did Thomas Cranmer play during the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549?
Cranmer wrote a strong response to the rebellion demands to the King and denounced the wickedness of the uprising. On the 21st of July, he commandeered St Paul's Cathedral where he vigorously defended the official Church line and collaborated with Peter Martyr on dealing with the rebellion.
Why was Thomas Cranmer executed on the 21st of March 1556?
Thomas Cranmer was found guilty of high treason and heresy following a trial under papal jurisdiction that started on the 12th of September 1555. He was taken to a tower to watch the proceedings of Latimer and Ridley before Rome decided his fate on the 4th of December by depriving him of the archbishopric and giving permission to secular authorities to carry out their sentence.
How did Thomas Cranmer die at the stake on the 21st of March 1556?
At the pulpit on the day of execution, Thomas Cranmer opened with prayer but ended his sermon by renouncing all recantations written or signed with his own hand since degradation. He stated that the consequence would be punishment of his right hand being burnt first and declared: And as for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.