What in hell's name is going on in our capital city? I ask because of this report of an incident near the churchyard of St. Paul's:
"Suddenly there is a great commotion near the market. 'Repent, England!' yells a man at the top of his voice. He is dressed in black, handingout printed leaflets as he stridea along. 'Repent!' he shouts again and again, 'Christ Jesus is come with his fan in his hand to judge the earth!' This man is no mean fool; he is a prosperous London citizen, Mr. Edmund Coppinger. Another gentleman, also dressed in black, is following him, striding down the alley called Old Chamge in Cheapside. He too calls out, declaring that 'Judgment Day has come upon us all! Men will rise up and kill each other as butchers do swine, for the Lord Jesus has risen'. The printed bills they hand out declare that they are intent on a complete reformation of the Church of England."
Well, I know the Archbishop of Canterbury has just handed in his notice and that there is likely to be a fierce competition for the job but this is going too far:
"For the illiterate majority in the crowd, they call out their message: 'The bishops must be put down! All clergymen should be equal! Queen Elizabeth has forfeited her crown and is worthy to be deprived of her kingdom. Jesus Christ has come again. The reborn Messiah is even now in London in the form of William Hacket. Every man and woman should acknowledge him as a divine being and lord of all Christendom.'"
Of course, the whole thing is a con trick in the worst possible taste and everyone knows where these tricksters live so even the London 'plod' can find them and they are soon arrested. From now on you will realise, in the unlikely event that you have not already guessed, that this is the London of yesteryear. So you will not be surprised to discover that, instead of being given as is the process today, the services of a barrister free of charge, the ministrations of a psychiatrist, the tender care of a trauma counsellor and the possibility (at the most) of four weeks community service, they are charged with high treason and sentenced to death. On 28th July [1591], Hacket is:
"dragged on a hurdle to the gallows, hanged whilst he spits abuse at the hangman, then cut down and beheaded and butchered in the traditional manner, his headless body being cut into four parts, each with a limb attached. Mr. Coppinger dies in prison: the authorities claim he starved himself to death. ['Yeah, yeah, sort of like, well, he fell down the prison stairs trying to escape, know wot I mean, m' Lud?'] Mr. Arthington enlists the support of powerful friends on the privy council and thereby saves his life, publishing his renunciation of all the things he has said as part of his penance."
All of this is to be found on the first two pages of the Introduction to Ian Mortimer's absolutely marvellous book, The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England. Er, actually, I have only read the first two pages before I rushed upstairs to tell you lot all about it so I really have no solid grounds for telling you that it is a terrific book - but it is - so there! Go buy it - now!
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