William Sawtrey

thumb|upright|right|The execution of William Sawtrey from [[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]

William Sawtrey, also known as William Salter (died March 1401) was an English Roman Catholic priest and Lollard martyr. He was executed for heresy.

Sawtrey was born in Norfolk, England. He was a follower of John Wycliffe, the leader of an early reformation movement called Lollardy.

Sawtrey's association with Lollardy

Sawtrey was a priest at two Norfolk churches, St Margaret's in Lynn and Tilney.

He preached and endorsed Lollard beliefs, including the rejection of Catholic saints and the sacrament of Eucharist. Of the latter, he claimed that "after the consecration [of the host] by the priest there remaineth true material bread" (Trevelyan 334).

As a result of spreading these views, Sawtrey was taken to Henry le Despenser on 30 April 1399. Le Despenser, at the time the Bishop of Norwich, ordered an examination of Sawtrey. The examination lasted for two days, held at the Bishop's palace, South Elmham Hall. Sawtrey's examiners claimed that he rejected free will, and that he did not believe in venerating images and embarking on pilgrimages. He was therefore charged with heresy and held in an episcopal prison. A mound was being prepared for the lollard on nearby Greshaw Green, a nearby large common. As this would provide a suitable site for the burning of a heretic, lollard scholar Maureen Jurkowski, has suggested that this may have persuaded Sawtrey to secure his release by denouncing Lollardy. He abjured privately at first, but then publicly in Lynn on 25 May 1399. He appeared before le Despenser in St John's Hospital, Lynn, the next day, and swore on the Gospels that he would never again preach Lollardy. He also promised to never hear confession without a license from le Despenser. His abjuration was repeated in the Bishop's Chapel, South Elmham several days later.

Sawtrey was convicted and sentenced to death on 26 February 1401. In March, he was taken to Smithfield and publicly burned at the stake. He was the first follower of Lollardy to die for his beliefs. He and John Purvey, a friend and follower of John Wycliffe who also was tortured for his beliefs, were the two most egregious cases against Lollardy committed under the Statute of Heresy.

After effects

The lower classes of England were quick to catch on to Lollard ideas, especially about disbursing Church funds to aid people in need and to ease lower class financial stresses caused by heavy taxation. The representatives of the lower class made efforts on two occasions to convince King Henry IV and Parliament to appropriate the Church's money and to use it for the people of England. The Church reacted against this proposal and, with the help of the King, set forth a number of statutes to protect Church temporalities. Among these orders was the statute De heretico comburendo, which stated that heresy was punishable by means of public burning.

The severity of Sawtrey and Purvey's punishments created a wave of Lollard supporters. Among them was John Oldcastle, a knight and captain for the Prince of Wales. He protected and hid preachers from the Statute of Heresy. Oldcastle and other Lollard-sympathising knights pleaded with King Henry IV to change the law. They argued that the King should take the money the Church was wasting and put it into England's armoury, almshouses, and universities. Many students of Oxford University were also Lollard sympathisers. Students translated Wycliffe's work and began to debate the lawfulness of Bible translations.

However, despite their efforts, the persecution of Lollards continued. The knights' arguments were shot down, and Oxford was discredited by the Church. Nevertheless, Lollard believers continued practising their faith in an underground network.

Footnotes

References

Feiling, Keith. A History of England. London: Macmillan, 1950. p. 284. Print.
MacFarlane, K.B. John Wycliffe and the Beginnings of English Nonconformity. London: English Universities Press, 1966. pp. 150–151. Print.
Trevelyan, George Macaulay. England in the Age of Wycliffe. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1904. pp. 293, 334. Print.

Notes