The Tragic Holy Maid of Kent

A posthumous engraving of Elizabeth Barton is probably by Thomas Holloway based on a painting by Henry Tresham, and comes from David Hume's The History of England

(1793–1806 ). It represents Barton through the lens of the Protestant propaganda levied against her in later life and after her death, rather than offering a realistic depiction.

We know of so many infamous executions throughout the Tudor period, and notoriously, under the reign of Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, Margaret Pole, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas More are a few names we may expect to see when reading about the brutal and bloody history of sixteenth-century England. There is, however, an execution that doesn’t receive as much attention as one would think, despite its complete horror and brutality.

On the 20th of April 1534, a 28-year-old woman was hung, beheaded and completely violated by having her head placed on a spike on London Bridge. She is the only woman in history to have received this completely chilling display post death. Her name was Elizabeth Barton, known as “The Maid of Kent” or “The Nun of Kent”, and she had deeply upset Henry VIII with her religious ravings and prophecies.

Hardly anything is known of Elizabeth’s early life and upbringing. It’s speculated that she was born around 1506, in the village of Alderton, Canterbury. Her family was of low income and devoted to the Catholic faith; Elizabeth received no formal education and sadly would have been illiterate. Elizabeth’s name first grabs attention from the public in 1525, when she was 19 years old and working as a servant. Elizabeth succumbed to an unusual illness, one that caused her to not only stop eating and drinking but also to receive divine visions and prophecies in trance-like states. This was only the beginning of what would lead Elizabeth on a slippery slope to treasonous behaviour. She began to predict events, ones that allegedly became true. One such prediction was that a sickly child in her employer’s household would die, and of course, it did. Elizabeth began to frequently have these visions and predictions, speaking persistently of the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins, and claimed that she could see heaven and talk directly to the Virgin Mary.

A local parish priest, Richard Master, believed Elizabeth’s visions to be genuine and remarkable. He travelled to Canterbury to inform Archbishop Warham of this young woman’s religious abilities and power. Warham immediately visited Elizabeth to question and investigate her, and like Richard, he came to the conclusion that these were very real prophecies and visions indeed. She was a demonstration of pure and remarkable faith. A diocesan official, Richard Risby and Hugh Rich, two Franciscan monks, and three Canterbury Benedictines, Bocking, Hadleigh and Barnes, were also convinced of her powers. Soon it would be an even larger group of society that would be witness to Elizabeth’s extraordinary talents.

In 1526, Elizabeth travelled to the village of Court-At-Street, where she believed the Virgin Mary would cure her illness. In front of 3,000 individuals, Elizabeth’s illness appeared to vanish. Elizabeth also predicted that she would become a nun by God’s divine will and a monk named Father Bocking would become her advisor. Once again, her prophecies became reality. In 1527, Eliza entered St Sepulchre in Canterbury, a Benedictine priory, where she took the vows to become a nun. And of course, Father Bocking was appointed as Elizabeth’s confessor and advisor. During her time in the convent, people visited Elizabeth to gain spiritual advice and guidance; what would happen to their dying loved ones? Can you contact my deceased husband? So many placed their faith in Elizabeth. Including influential religious men such as Bishop John Fisher, who praised Elizabeth and held her in high regard.

Elizabeth continued to have visions and religious trances. She consistently preached the Catholic faith and encouraged others to do the same, inspiring many individuals of Tudor society. People flocked on pilgrimages to visit this mystical Maid of Kent and wholeheartedly believed she could communicate with the Virgin Mary. A book titled “A Marvellous Woorke of Late Done at Court of Streete in Kent” was published in 1527 about Elizabeth’s religious miracles and visions. She had become somewhat of a celebrity in sixteenth-century England.

Elizabeth’s talents began to reach the uppermost areas of Tudor society, including Henry VIII’s court. In 1528, Elizabeth had met with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was moved by Elizabeth’s faithful devotion and spiritual abilities. His praise for Elizabeth reached the king’s ear, and it’s recorded that she was high in royal favour for some time. Her prophecies supported Henry, warning him of heretics and Lutherans rising against him. However, Henry’s praise of Elizabeth soon turned sour.

From 1532 onwards, Elizabeth’s rise to popularity took a downward spiral. Her predictions and visions clashed with the political and royal events of the time. By now, it was known everywhere that Henry VIII sought a divorce from his wife Catherine of Aragon and declared that their union was invalid. The king was leaning ever closer to breaking away from the Roman Catholic faith and creating his own strand of worship, the Church of England, in order to divorce his wife. Elizabeth Barton would not share support for the king’s actions and soon became his enemy.

Elizabeth was a strong-minded woman with fierce opinions that defended her religious beliefs and views. She remained a staunch Catholic and continued to spread ideas that dangerously clashed with the views of the king. Elizabeth was also a supporter of the Spanish queen and was thoroughly against the king’s urge to marry Anne Boleyn. It’s admirable that Elizabeth was outspoken and held strong opinions, but it placed her in a very dangerous position.

Elizabeth claimed that she had received visions of Henry burning in Hell for betraying his wife and the teachings of the Catholic Church. At first, Thomas More had suggested to Henry that Elizabeth was simply a madwoman and her visions were not to be taken seriously. However, the situation escalated. Elizabeth claimed that if the king married Anne Boleyn, God had warned her that he would die within 3 years. When word of this reached Henry, he was completely furious.

To speak this way about a monarch was treason of the highest order and a punishable offence. Elizabeth was in big trouble.

In 1533, Thomas Cromwell investigated Elizabeth’s behaviour and arrested Father Bocking. Elizabeth was condemned by an Act of Attainder, which meant she would be punished without a trial. She was arrested and placed in the Tower of London in November, and on the 16th, she had reportedly confessed to her crimes, whether by torture or manipulation, we will never know. Elizabeth was forced to public penance and to confess publicly at St Paul’s Cross. In January 1534, Elizabeth Barton and 13 of her supporters were accused of treason, including Bishop John Fisher, who was later pardoned.

On the 20th of April 1534, Elizabeth faced her punishment. She was hanged and beheaded, and her head was placed on London Bridge, a ghastly reminder for all passers-by of what awaits those who commit treasonous acts. Elizabeth’s body was buried in Greyfriars Church in Newgate Street.

Elizabeth’s story is one of constant debate. Her visions and prophecies may be the result of a woman who was mentally ill or the manipulation of many religious men around her, who perhaps wanted to anger and provoke the king. Elizabeth, who was uneducated, may have been a pawn to express the political and religious views from those who opposed Henry VIII. Her lack of education and possible mental illness, would have made her sadly, easy to maniuplate. Or maybe, Elizabeth was adamant in expressing her own beliefs and views, it’s possible she could have been well aware of her motives.

Whatever the case, it was a horrific end for her.

Elizabeth was a woman with strong opinions who wasn’t afraid to stand up against her enemies, and for that, we can only admire her.

References:

1. https://www.tudorsociety.com/elizabeth-barton-the-holy-maid-of-kent-1506-1534/

2. https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/elizabeth-barton/31367/

3. https://thetudorenthusiast.weebly.com/blog/the-execution-of-the-nun-of-kent-elizabeth-barton

4. https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/elizabeth-barton-the-nun-of-kent/