![]() The attorney stepped forward, placed a lighted torch to the tinder, and the great men and commoners sat back to watch the fire burn. The executioner came up behind the stake and with all his force snapped down upon the noose. Piles of brushwood and logs were heaped around him. Only the Anabaptists and lapsed heretics were burnt alive. His feet were bound to the stake, the iron chain fastened around his neck, and the hemp noose was placed at his throat. A silence fell over the crowd as they watched the prisoner’s lean form and thin, tired face his lips moved with a final impassioned prayer that echoed around the place of execution, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” Tyndale was immovable, his keen eyes gazing toward the common people. The prisoner was brought in and a final appeal was made that he should recant. The attorney and the great doctors arrived first and seated themselves in state nearby. A circle of stakes enclosed the place of the execution, and in the center was a large pillar of wood in the form of a cross and as tall as a man.Ī strong chain hung from the top, and a noose of hemp was threaded through a hole in the upright. The sun had barely risen above the horizon when he arrived at the open space, and looked out over the crowd of onlookers eagerly jostling for a good view. One historian re-enacts the scene for us. ![]() The occasion is the execution of William Tyndale, age 42. The location is the town of Vilvoorde, near Brussels in Belgium. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2023
Categories |