Humphrey Middlemore
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Humphrey Middlemore, OCart (died 19 June 1535) 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
Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
, who was executed for treason during the
Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...
. He is considered a
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 ...
by the Catholic Church, and, along with other members of his
religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...
to meet that fate, was
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 ...
by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
on 9 December 1886.


Life

Though the date of his birth is uncertain, his father was Thomas Middlemore of
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, who had acquired his estate at Edgbaston by marriage with the heiress of Sir Henry Edgbaston. Humphrey's mother was Ann Lyttleton, of Pillaton Hall,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
. Attracted to the Carthusian Order, he entered the
London Charterhouse The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Clerkenwell, London, dating to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square, and lies within the London Borough of Islington. It was originally built (and ...
, where he was professed and
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
. He was subsequently appointed to the office of procurator. He was esteemed by the
prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...
, Dom John Houghton.Wintersgill, H.G. "Bl. Humphrey Middlemore." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 27 May 2013
/ref> In 1534 the question of King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's marriage with
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
arose. The king was determined that the more prominent of his subjects should expressly acknowledge the validity of the marriage, and the right of succession of any issue therefrom. The Crown was at first anxious to secure the public acquiescence of the monks of the London Charterhouse in this matter, since they enjoyed great prestige for the austerity and sincerity of their mode of life. Accordingly, the
royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
s paid a visit to the Charterhouse, and required the monks to take the oath to that effect. Doms John Houghton and Humphrey Middlemore refused, and were, in consequence, imprisoned in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
; but, after a month's imprisonment, they were persuaded to take the oath conditionally, and were released. In the following year, on 4 May 1535, the authorities sent to their death at Tyburn Tree for refusal to take the new
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 ...
, three leading English Carthusians, first among them John Houghton, prior of the London house, but also Robert Lawrence and Augustine Webster, respectively priors of Beauvale and Axholme. This led to Middlemore becoming
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of the community.Meanwhile, Thomas Bedyll, one of the royal commissioners, had again visited the Charterhouse, and endeavored, both by conversation and writing, to shake the faith of Middlemore and his community in the
papal supremacy Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, the visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful, and as priest of the ...
.Gurdon, Edmund. "Bl. William Exmew." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 2 Feb. 2014
/ref> His efforts left them unmoved, and, after debating with them, he obtained authority from
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
to arrest three leading monks of the London house: Middlemore, as the vicar, and with him Doms William Exmew and Sebastian Newdigate. All three were thrown them into prison, where they were treated with cruelty, being bound to posts with chains round their necks and legs, and compelled to remain thus day and night for two weeks. They were then brought before the council, and required to take the oath. They refused, and gave arguments from Scripture and the Church Fathers in favour of the papal supremacy. They were accordingly condemned to death, and executed at Tyburn Tree on 19 June, being
hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torture, torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of High treason in the United Kingdom, high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convi ...
. This was a little more than a month after their fellow monks. This process of attrition was to claim fifteen of the London Carthusians.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middlemore, Humphrey 1535 deaths Carthusian Martyrs of London Carthusian saints English beatified people Martyred Roman Catholic priests Executed English people 16th-century English clergy Year of birth missing People executed by Tudor England by hanging, drawing and quartering 16th-century venerated Christians English Christian monks People executed at Tyburn 16th-century English Roman Catholic priests People executed under Henry VIII Forty-one Martyrs of England and Wales