Elizabeth Barton is executed for treason

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Domains

Attempts, Assassinations, Executions

Dates

Date of occurrence 1534-04-20

Places

England (Location)

Elizabeth Barton, 'the Maid of Kent', is executed with five of her associates on a charge of treason. She was a poor woman who claimed to receive divine revelations, generally in support of the established Church. She gained considerable popularity during the 1520s, and even met with Cardinal Wolsey in 1528, but now, in the new religious context, these revelations were more risky. Her status as threat was compounded by the fact that she prophesied imminent death for King Henry VIII if he married Anne Boleyn, and so she was arrested and forced to confess to having fabricated her revelations.

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99 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Elizabeth Barton is executed for treason". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=14524, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Elizabeth Barton is executed for treason

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