Edward James (c.1557 – 1 October 1588) was an English

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

Education

James was born at Barton,

Breaston Breaston ( ) is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Erewash, Erewash district, in the south-east of Derbyshire and lies approximately east of the city of Derby and west of the city of Nottingham. The population of the civil paris ...

, near

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has been part ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. He was educated at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational a ...

, St John's College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, the English college at

Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

and the

Venerable English College The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In early October 1579, he and William Filby sailed from Dover for Calais. Arriving in Rheims, he took up rooms with Edward Stransham. The following August, James and ten others travelled to the

English College, Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...

. In October 1583, James was ordained as a priest in Rome by Bishop

Thomas Goldwell Thomas Goldwell C. R. (15013 April 1585) was an English Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Saint Asaph, the last of those Catholic bishops who had refused to accept the English Reformation. Life Thomas Goldwell was the son of William Goldwell of Gr ...

, the last survivor of the English bishops who had refused to accept the Protestant Reformation.

Martyrdom

In early February 1586, James left Rheims for the mission, accompanied by Stephen Rowsham who had been banished from England the year before. They met up with Ralph Crockett in Dieppe. He was captured on board a ship at

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, on 19 April 1586, with three other priests, Thomas Bramston, George Potter, and his fellow martyr, Ralph Crockett, and they were charged with being Catholic priests and coming into the realm of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

contrary to an Act of Parliament of 1584. All four were sent to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and put in prison there on 27 April 1586, where they remained for more than two years without trial. After the failure of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

, an attempt to invade England which was defeated in July and August 1588, the government of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

wanted revenge, and the priests in its custody became a target. Four of these, Ralph Crockett, Edward James, John Oven and Francis Edwardes, were sent for trial at

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

on 30 September 1588. All four were condemned to death for being priests and entering

, but Oven then took the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in the Kingdom of England, or in its subordinate Kingdom of Ireland, to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church. Failure to do so was to be trea ...

, in accordance with the

Act of Supremacy 1559 The Act of Supremacy 1558 ( 1 Eliz. 1. c. 1), sometimes referred to as the Act of Supremacy 1559, is an act of the Parliament of England, which replaced the original Act of Supremacy 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 1), and passed under the auspices of E ...

, and was reprieved. On 1 October 1588, the other three were drawn on a hurdle to Broyle Heath, near Chichester, where Edwardes recanted and was also reprieved. Crockett and James continued to refuse to recant and to take the oath and were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

, after absolving each other. Both Ralph Crockett and Edward James were later declared

venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

.Pollen, John Hungerford. "English Confessors and Martyrs (1534-1729)." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 March 2020 In 1929 the two were

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. His feast day is 1 October.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Edward 1550s births 1588 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford English College, Douai alumni English beatified people 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests Martyred Roman Catholic priests People educated at Derby School People from Breaston 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 16th-century venerated Christians One Hundred and Seven Martyrs of England and Wales

Education

Martyrdom

See also

References