‚Foxe´s Book of Martyrs, ‚ despite being little known even among Christians, is a classic of world literature whose impactful content resulted in significant changes in the religious and political consciousness of England. The author, John Foxe, spares readers none of the detailed tortures suffered by martyrs such as Andrew, Matthew, James, John Wycliffe, John Huss, among countless others. Foxe, who himself was persecuted and accused of heresy, turned to writing in the hope that his readers would repudiate the barbarities committed in his days, and indeed, his accounts, recorded during the time of the Reformation, exerted powerful influence on English society.
‚Foxe´s Book of Martyrs‘ is a timeless work addressing a subject that, unfortunately, still permeates civilization in the 21st century: religious intolerance. It is a shocking yet revealing read of the difficulty humans have in learning from their past mistakes.
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John Foxe (1516 – April 18, 1587) was an English Protestant Puritan, martyrologist, best known as the author of what is popularly known as ‚The Book of Martyrs, ‚ which narrates the history of suffering and persecution of major Christian martyrs, starting from Jesus Christ and continuing until the end of the reign of Mary I (referred to by Protestants as ‚Bloody Mary‘ due to the persecutions that occurred during her reign). It tells the stories of famous reformers such as John Wycliffe, John Huss, Martin Luther, Hugh Latimer, Thomas Cranmer, and many others who suffered persecution by the Inquisition. John Foxe was born in Boston, England. It is said that this was during the time when Martin Luther was posting his 95 theses, or protests, on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. Thus, Foxe, who was born a Roman Catholic, emerged on the scene during a period when reformers were challenging the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church.