Thomas Cranmers place in English history is firmly established, yet the complexities of his character have remained obscure and he continues to be one of the most problematic figures of the Tudor period. Susan Wabudas biography sheds fresh light not only on the private Cranmer, but also on the qualities that enabled him to master a shifting political landscape and to build a new English Church.
Athletic by nature, Cranmer enjoyed hunting and he was a keen collector of books. He was blessed with several lifelong friendships and twice risked his career by marrying the women he loved. A skilled debater and a deft politician, Cranmer sought to balance his long-term plans for the Church against the immediate demands of survival at court. Obedient at all times, yet never entirely trustworthy, he had to reconcile the will of his God with the will of the monarch he served.
For too long, Cranmers legacy has overshadowed the life of the man himself, but this new biography enriches and extends our understanding of both. Accessible and informative, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of the English Reformation and the Tudor age.
Susan Wabuda is Associate Professor of History at Fordham University, New York, USA. Her previous works include Preaching During the English Reformation and she is currently writing a new comprehensive study of Hugh Latimer.
Series Editor: Robert Pearce
Routledge Historical Biographies provide engaging, readable and academically credible biographies written from an explicitly historical perspective. These concise and accessible accounts will bring important historical figures to life for students and general readers alike.
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Thomas Cranmerby Susan Wabuda
Forthcoming:
Churchill by Robert Pearce
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First published 2017
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2017 Susan Wabuda
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Wabuda, Susan, author.
Title: Thomas Cranmer / Susan Wabuda.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, [2017] | Series:
Routledge historical biographies | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017002797| ISBN 9780415500777 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780415500784 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781317191452 (ebook : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Cranmer, Thomas, 14891556. | Great Britain
HistoryTudors, 14851603Biography. | Great BritainPolitics and
government15091547. | Great BritainChurch history16th century. |
StatesmenGreat BritainBiography. | BishopsEnglandBiography.
Classification: LCC DA317.8.C8 W33 2017 | DDC 283.092 [B]dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017002797
ISBN: 978-0-415-50077-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-50078-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-56363-3 (ebk)
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To my students
Over the years that I have studied Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and his place in the Reformation in England, I have incurred many debts. I am grateful to the following research institutions and to their helpful staffs:
Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, University of York
British Library (BL)
Cambridge University Library (CUL)
Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.
Lambeth Palace Library (LPL)
The National Archives, London (Public Record Office) (TNA:PRO)
The Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Fordham University released me from the classroom so that I could take up a Short-Term Fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library in the early months of 2013. I also was granted a Faculty Fellowship for the Fall 2014 semester and another leave at the end of 2015 so that I could bring this book to completion.
A selected portion of material intended for this book was presented as a paper before the Montreal British History Seminar and McGills Centre for Research on Religion in March 2014. I am grateful to Bob and Ann Tittler, Torrance Kirby, and the participants of the Seminar for their helpful suggestions. I also wish to acknowledge Professor Mark Ormrod and the Archbishops Registers of the Diocese of York 12251646 Project.
Special thanks for their wise advice go to Professors Jane Dawson, Judith M. Richards, and Lucy Wooding. For their encouragement over many years, I wish to thank Susan Brigden; Peter Newman Brooks; Euan Cameron; Anne Dillon; Eamon Duffy; Lori Anne Ferrell; Thomas S. Freeman; Bartlett and Faye Gage; Paul Hammer; Alasdair Hawkyard; Norman L. Jones; John Ryle Kezel; Peter Lake; Saskia Limbach; Scott C. Lucas; Joseph M. McShane, S.J.; Hilary Mantel; Peter Marshall; Ebru Turan; Andrew D. Pettegree; Alec Ryrie; David Starkey; John Vidmar, O.P.; Russell Wabuda; Stephen D. White; and David Whitford. I also wish to thank Albert Ryle Kezel for introducing me to the story of St. Barlaam of Antioch. I am also grateful for the helpful comments by the two anonymous readers of the manuscript of this book.
