An egg's worth of education

[msmcknittington]

Sixteenth century friends: I'm trying to remember something about the persecutions of Protestants and Anglicans under Mary Tudor in the 1550s. I seem to recall an, uh, anecdote about a pregnant woman being burned for heresy who gave birth to a son in the flames, and the baby was then flung back onto the fire.

Ring any bells? Is that even the right time and place? It might have been a French witch burning, too. And the baby might have been rescued from the fire.

I bet ciorstan would know.

Comments

[ciorstan.livejournal.com]

Only 300 people were executed under Mary's reign. I don't recall reading of that particular atrocity offhand.

Under English law, a pregnant woman would be exempt from execution until delivered, then the child would be immediately fostered out and the woman sent to her fate. This was a stay of execution typically called 'pleading her belly.' It was not a 'get out of jail free' card.

Pity the child because the executed parent would have died a pauper and there would have been no incentive for anyone to support it. Poor laws were next to non-existent in Elizabeth's reign; they primarily consisted of vagrancy edicts.

The most notorious religious persecution comment is actually from the Albegensian Crusade, committed by the French against themselves (though the most effective campaigns were led by Simon de Montfort's father, another Simon de Montfort, yes, the father of the very guy who led the rebellion that culminated with the Magna Carta's execution and then his own death at the battle of Lewes)-- a city surrendered, and a bishop was asked if any should be spared.

"Kill them all. God will know His own."

Um. That's probably no help, erm?

[lindseyerin37.livejournal.com]

That incident is reported as true in "The Children of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir. (page 296)

"...one woman, Perotine Massey of Guernsey, was pregnant. Her baby was born as she was burning, and cast back into the flames by the executioner."

Whether than incident is actually true or not, I have no love for Mary Tudor. Or any other religious fanatic.

[thepurpleempire.livejournal.com]

To be honest, the only reference I can think of to this (other than Lindsey's above) was in one of those pseudo-historical novels, although I'm at work and the name completely escapes me. One of those that takes what really happened and makes up the bits that don't suit. Maybe one of Phillipa Gregory's?