Thomas Brice (martyrologist)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Brice was a Church of England
clergyman, martyrologist
and poet in the later sixteenth century.
's reign in bringing Protestant books 'from Wesel
into Kent
and London
. He was watched and dogged by the government, but escaped several times. On 25 April 1560 he was ordained deacon, and on 4 June following priest, by Edmund Grindal
, then bishop of London. He became curate at Ramsden Bellhouse
in Essex
.
. The Register of Martyrs extends from 4 February 1555 to 17 November 1558, and consists of seventy-seven six-line doggerel
stanzas. John Foxe
found the Register of use in the compilation of his Acts and Monuments. A religious poem entitled The Wishes of the Wise, in twenty verses of four lines each, concludes the work. The original edition was printed by Richard Adams, and he was fined by the Stationers' Company for producing it without license. Another surreptitious edition appears to have been issued about the same time, but of that no copy has survived. A second edition was 'newly imprinted at the earnest request of divers godly and well-disposed citizens' in 1597. Several extracts from the book appear in the Parker Society's Devotional Poetry of the Reign of Elizabeth (161, 175), and the whole work was reprinted in Edward Arber
's Garner, iv. 143 et seq.
Two other books are assigned to Brice in the Stationers' Registers, but nothing is now known of either of them. The first is The Courte of Venus moralized, which Hugh Singleton
received license to print about July 1567; the second is Songs and Sonnettes, licensed to Henry Bynneman
in 1568. In 1570 John Allde
had license to print An Epitaphe on Mr. Brice, who may very probably be identified with the author of the Register.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergyman, martyrologist
Martyrology
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs , arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches...
and poet in the later sixteenth century.
Life
Brice was engaged early in Queen MaryMary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
's reign in bringing Protestant books 'from Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
into Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He was watched and dogged by the government, but escaped several times. On 25 April 1560 he was ordained deacon, and on 4 June following priest, by Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
, then bishop of London. He became curate at Ramsden Bellhouse
Ramsden Bellhouse
Ramsden Bellhouse is a village in Essex, England. The village is in the district of Basildon and in the parliamentary constituency of Billericay.The River Crouch flows through Ramsden Bellhouse, flowing under Church Road....
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
Works
He was the author of A Compendious Regester of 1559. The dedication is addressed to William Parr, 1st Marquess of NorthamptonWilliam Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, 1st Earl of Essex and 1st Baron Parr, KG was the son of Sir Thomas Parr and his wife, Maud Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green, of Broughton and Greens Norton...
. The Register of Martyrs extends from 4 February 1555 to 17 November 1558, and consists of seventy-seven six-line doggerel
Doggerel
Doggerel is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value. The word probably derived from dog, suggesting either ugliness, puppyish clumsiness, or unpalatability in the 1630s.-Variants:...
stanzas. John Foxe
John Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
found the Register of use in the compilation of his Acts and Monuments. A religious poem entitled The Wishes of the Wise, in twenty verses of four lines each, concludes the work. The original edition was printed by Richard Adams, and he was fined by the Stationers' Company for producing it without license. Another surreptitious edition appears to have been issued about the same time, but of that no copy has survived. A second edition was 'newly imprinted at the earnest request of divers godly and well-disposed citizens' in 1597. Several extracts from the book appear in the Parker Society's Devotional Poetry of the Reign of Elizabeth (161, 175), and the whole work was reprinted in Edward Arber
Edward Arber
Edward Arber was an English academic and writer.Arber was born in London. From 1854 be 1878 he worked as a clerk in the Admiralty, and began evening classes at King's College London in 1858. From 1878 to 1881 he lectured in English, under Prof. H...
's Garner, iv. 143 et seq.
Two other books are assigned to Brice in the Stationers' Registers, but nothing is now known of either of them. The first is The Courte of Venus moralized, which Hugh Singleton
Hugh Singleton
Hugh Singleton was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1908 to 1934....
received license to print about July 1567; the second is Songs and Sonnettes, licensed to Henry Bynneman
Henry Bynneman
Henry Bynnemans career as a printer lasted from 1566, when he became free of the Stationers' Company, until 1583. He had been apprenticed to Richard Harrison in 1560, but that printer died about January of 1563; though definitive evidence is lacking, Bynneman likely served the remainder of his...
in 1568. In 1570 John Allde
John Allde
John Allde, also Aldaye, Alde or Aldye was a Scottish stationer and printer. He was the first person on the registers to take up the freedom of the Stationers' Company, when in January 1555 he paid the modest sum of 6s. 8d. for the customary breakfast to the brotherhood. His name appears in the...
had license to print An Epitaphe on Mr. Brice, who may very probably be identified with the author of the Register.