The Heretic’s Wife by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

Author:Brenda Rickman Vantrease [Vantrease, Brenda Rickman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 16th Century, Tudors, England/Great Britain, Writing, Fiction - Historical, Faith & Religion, Catholicism
ISBN: 9780312386993
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: 2014-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

Kate was able to meet only a few times with Catherine Massys and her little group of Bible women before the torrential rains began. But it was enough for her to know it was something she wanted to keep doing. Though they prayed and sang and even debated in Flemish, two of the women spoke fair English, translating for Kate when the discussion of the Lutheran Scriptures became lively, even asking for her opinion. And she could guess at the content of their prayers. Some of the women silently mouthed affirmation of the words Catherine prayed out loud. Kate knew enough Flemish to know that the words were not from any prayer book or Roman liturgy. These prayers were ardent and earnest and personal. She could tell by the way they hugged their children to their hearts as they prayed.

The second week, at Catherine’s suggestion, Kate brought her Tyndale Bible and after Catherine read from the Gospel of John—from Luther’s German Bible since there was no Flemish translation—Kate read aloud from the Tyndale English Bible. “ ‘I am the Vine. Ye are the branches . . .’ ”

The third week Kate taught them to sing one of Luther’s hymns that she had copied from John’s translation. The little choir numbered a dozen women’s voices and made quite a joyful noise unto their Lord, singing each verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” first in English and then in German with more sincerity than melodious tone. As they sang the last verse, Kate was reminded how much she and John had in common with its German author and his Kate—not the least of which was the danger they all courted. These women, who suckled their young as they worshipped, were developing a kind of liturgy of their own. And Kate was sure it was not a liturgy of which the Church prelates would approve.

“We will not be harassed in Antwerp as long as we do not celebrate the mass,” Catherine had assured her, but still when they were singing and the large iron knocker sounded on the barred shop door, Catherine waved the women to silence. Kate could see the fear in their faces, and she was afraid too. In England a man could be whipped or worse for saying the Lord’s Prayer in his own language. What would John say, she wondered, if his wife were arrested for illegal worship? Would he be proud of her or would he be angry? One thing was sure, he would be worried. She could spare him that at least. Sometimes she wished she knew less about the dangerous waters he and William Tyndale waded in.

The fourth week the rains began and the deluge continued unabated until the low-lying streets and gutter sewers flooded. The women could no longer meet. Only the highest streets farthest from the river stayed dry. One soggy day wept into the next. Each day, fewer and fewer desperate or hardy souls ventured into the waterlogged streets, and most of the first-floor shops had to close.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.