Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
Person 1500-1569 · about 69 years old · show in timeline

Edmund Bonner (c. 1500 to 1569): Bishop of London under Mary I, in whose diocese the most heretics were burned; the reference works dispute whether he acted merely officially

Edmund Bonner became Bishop of London in 1540, was deprived under Edward VI and restored under Mary I in 1553. From 1555 he condemned numerous Protestants; according to the Dictionary of National Biography, burnings were most frequent in the diocese of London. As early as 1541 a 15-year-old was burned under his commission. The Dictionary and the Catholic Encyclopedia see him mainly as an office-holder, while the Britannica disagrees. Under Elizabeth I he refused the oath of supremacy and died in prison in 1569.

Life dates
1500-1569 (about 69 years old)
Country
United Kingdom
Institutions
Diocese of London
Catholic Church in England
Category
Heresy trials, Persecution
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. At a commission for heresy under the Act of Six Articles, Richard Mekins, a boy of about fifteen who had spoken against the sacrament, was condemned and burned at Smithfield. The Dictionary doubts that Bonner's role went beyond the official.
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „But one Richard Mekins, a poor lad of fifteen, who had spoken against the sacrament, and expressed his opinion that Dr. Barnes had died holy, was condemned to death and burned in Smithfield.“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
  2. From May 1555 Bonner sat in judgment with the Lord Mayor in St Paul's. According to the Dictionary, condemnations and burnings were appallingly frequent for nearly three years, most frequent in the diocese of London. At Smithfield as many as seven were sometimes burned together, at Colchester on one day five men and five women. That Bonner condemned these people is, according to the Dictionary, certain.
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „condemnations and burnings of heretics were of appalling frequency all over England, and most frequent“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „At Smithfield as many as seven were sometimes burned together; at Colchester, one day, five men and five women suffered“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „That Bonner condemned these men is certain; that he took a pleasure in it, as Foxe insinuates, is by no means so clear.“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. Under Elizabeth I Bonner refused the oath of supremacy on 30 May 1559, was deprived and imprisoned. He died in the Marshalsea on 5 September 1569 and was buried at midnight to avoid disturbances.
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „Bonner refused the oath on 30 May, and was imprisoned in the Marshalsea.“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „He died in the Marshalsea prison on 5 Sept. 1569“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original

Background

Course of events

  1. Bonner was born about 1500. He served Wolsey and Henry VIII, was consecrated Bishop of London in 1540, was deprived under Edward VI and imprisoned in the Marshalsea. On Mary's accession he was freed on 5 August 1553 and took back his diocese.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Edmund Bonner
    „Bishop of London, b. about 1500; d. 1569.“
    Edmund Bonner, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), Bd. 2, Artikel Edmund Bonner. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Edmund Bonner
    „consecrated 4th April, 1540“
    Edmund Bonner, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), Bd. 2, Artikel Edmund Bonner. Original
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „deprived of his bishopric on 1 Oct. and committed to the Marshalsea prison“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Edmund Bonner
    „On 5th of August in that year he took possession of his diocese once more.“
    Edmund Bonner, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), Bd. 2, Artikel Edmund Bonner. Original

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. The assessment is disputed. The Dictionary writes that his functions were merely judicial and notes that the king and queen admonished him not to dismiss heretics so lightly. The Britannica objects that Bonner was one of those who made the condemnation of heretics to the fire part of his official duties. It concedes that many of his victims were forced on him by the council.
    Evidence: Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „he was admonished by letter from the king and queen not to dismiss the heretics brought before him so lightly“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „Bonner was one of those who brought it to pass that the condemnation of heretics to the fire should be part of his ordinary official duties“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 4, Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Bonner, Edmund
    „many of his victims were forced upon him by the council“
    Bonner, Edmund, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 4, Artikel Bonner, Edmund. Original

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    Smith, Elder & Co. (Wikisource): Bonner, Edmund, in: Dictionary of National Biography, Bd. 5 (1886), 1 January 1886. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Cambridge University Press (Wikisource): Bonner, Edmund, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 4, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  3. Reference work
    Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource): Edmund Bonner, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), Bd. 2, 1 January 1907. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
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