WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 Picture the streets of London or maybe York in 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:06.179 the late 1500s. I think we usually picture Shakespeare, 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:09.179 you know, the Globe Theater, the giant ruffled 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.560 collars, maybe Queen Elizabeth looking very majestic. 00:00:12.779 --> 00:00:14.640 Right, the golden age of Elizabeth in England. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.120 Yeah, exactly. But if you scratch the surface... 00:00:18.089 --> 00:00:21.170 the vibe is completely different. It is paranoid. 00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:24.609 It is razor wire tense. You've got spies in the 00:00:24.609 --> 00:00:27.370 taverns, intercepting codes in the mail, and 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:29.609 just neighbors constantly watching neighbors. 00:00:29.829 --> 00:00:33.469 It was effectively a surveillance state, because 00:00:33.469 --> 00:00:35.130 if you fell on the wrong side of the religious 00:00:35.130 --> 00:00:36.990 divide, you weren't just a dissenter. You were 00:00:36.990 --> 00:00:40.240 viewed as a potential enemy combatant. And today 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:42.880 we are doing a deep dive into a story that fits 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:45.679 perfectly into that high stakes world. For you 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:47.020 listening at home, we're going to look at the 00:00:47.020 --> 00:00:49.500 life of Edward Thwing. Yes, an English Catholic 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:53.979 priest, a scholar, and ultimately a martyr. And 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:55.700 we are pulling from a bunch of great sources 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:58.240 today. We've got historical records, biographical 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:00.500 data regarding his life and his education over 00:01:00.500 --> 00:01:03.000 in Europe, the specific laws they used to prosecute 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.739 him, and the records of his ultimate execution. 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:08.200 The goal today isn't just to recite a biography 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:11.040 though. No, exactly. We want to really examine 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:13.700 that clash between a personal conviction and 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:16.480 state law in the late 16th century. Though I 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:18.900 have to admit, I am completely hooked on the 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:21.219 spy novel elements of his story. The escapes, 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:23.560 the hiding out, the secret missions. Which is 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:25.420 fascinating, but I think we also have to frame 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:28.780 it as a really tragic study of religious and 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:32.680 political conflict. Fair point. Because the protagonist 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:35.879 here isn't a soldier or some swashbuckling spy. 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:39.310 He is a guy with a really who just wanted to 00:01:39.310 --> 00:01:42.450 read books and say Mass. That is a very accurate, 00:01:42.829 --> 00:01:44.989 if maybe slightly understated, description of 00:01:44.989 --> 00:01:46.930 Edward. Well, let's get into it. Let's track 00:01:46.930 --> 00:01:49.650 his life from a comfortable home in York to his 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:52.569 end at Lancaster, who was Edward Twing before 00:01:52.569 --> 00:01:54.930 he became an enemy of the state. Well, he was 00:01:54.930 --> 00:01:57.650 born around 1565. He was the second son of Thomas 00:01:57.650 --> 00:01:59.829 Twing of Hangarworth, which is near York, and 00:01:59.829 --> 00:02:01.569 his mother was Jane Kellett. So they weren't 00:02:01.569 --> 00:02:04.129 exactly peasants. Far from it. This was a notable 00:02:04.129 --> 00:02:07.140 family. But beyond the money or the land, there 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:09.439 was this heavy spiritual expectation hanging 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.620 over him. He had a remarkably saintly pedigree. 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.319 Oh right, the family connection. Yes, he was 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:17.719 directly related to the 14th century saint John 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.939 Twing of Bridlington. So holiness wasn't just 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:23.199 a casual Sunday thing for this family, it was 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:25.719 their legacy. That is a lot of pressure for a 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:27.780 kid. I mean, imagine growing up and knowing your 00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:31.370 ancestor is literally a canonized saint. It definitely 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:34.789 sets a high bar. And growing up in the 1560s 00:02:34.789 --> 00:02:37.610 and 70s, maintaining that Catholic identity was 00:02:37.610 --> 00:02:40.360 becoming increasingly dangerous in England. If 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:42.400 you felt a calling to the priesthood, you had 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.740 a massive problem. You couldn't just enroll in 00:02:44.740 --> 00:02:47.060 a seminary. They simply didn't exist in England 00:02:47.060 --> 00:02:48.979 anymore. Right, so you had to go into exile, 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:50.860 which kicks off what I've been calling in my 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:54.120 notes his European tour. A very grueling tour. 00:02:54.680 --> 00:02:57.659 In the summer of 1583, Thwing leaves home and 00:02:57.659 --> 00:03:00.120 heads to the English college at Rhimes in France. 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:02.740 And he doesn't just stay there. No. We can trace 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:04.960 his movements. pretty clearly through the records. 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.620 He spends time with the Jesuits at Pont de Masson, 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:10.379 and then eventually travels down to Rome in 1587. 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:12.680 But this is where we get that really humanizing 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.639 detail from the biographical data. When I picture 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:19.439 historical martyrs, I usually imagine these unbreakable, 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.560 stoic, almost marble figures. But Edward Thwing 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:25.900 was kind of a physical wreck. He was incredibly 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:28.180 frail. He actually had to cut his studies in 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:30.740 Rome short and go all the way back to Reims due 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:32.740 to severe ill health. And there's a specific 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:35.900 record from November of 1592 where he went to 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:38.680 Spa, like literally the town of Spa in Belgium, 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:41.039 specifically because he was suffering from an 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.639 ulcer in his knee. An ulcerated knee in the late 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:46.080 16th century would have been agonizing. This 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:49.340 is long before antibiotics or modern painkillers. 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:51.639 That detail just makes him feel like a real person 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:53.479 to me, not just a name in a history book. He 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:55.439 probably limped everywhere. He probably had to 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:57.240 stop. and rest all the time. But despite that 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:00.080 physical illness, he was an absolute intellectual 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:02.479 heavyweight. He was a reader of Greek and Hebrew. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:05.039 He became a professor of rhetoric and logic. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.500 So he's a man of the mind, clearly. Yes. And 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:09.939 eventually he is ordained at Lyon on December 00:04:09.939 --> 00:04:13.680 20, 1590. Which sets up this incredible transition. 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:17.100 You have this fragile, brilliant scholar. He's 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:20.079 safe in Europe, but he chooses to enter a danger 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:24.199 zone. In 1597, he is sent on the English mission. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:27.079 He decides it is time to return. And what are 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:29.740 the immediate consequences of that? Because it 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:31.680 doesn't go well. Yeah, it seems he was arrested 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.920 almost immediately upon returning. Let's do a 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:35.819 deep dive into the law here, because we need 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:38.160 to understand the trap he walked into. What was 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.959 the specific legal landscape in 1597? It was 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:45.379 defined heavily by the Jesuits, etc. Act of 1584. 00:04:45.939 --> 00:04:48.620 The formal citation is 27 Elizabeth 1, Chapter 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:51.259 2. Wait, the Jesuits, etc. Act, did they really 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:53.740 name a law with etc.? Well, the full title is 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:56.240 an act against Jesuits, seminary priests, and 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.500 such other like disobedient persons. Yeah. But 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:01.079 yes, historians often shorten it. The rules of 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:03.920 this act were terrifyingly simple. It gave all 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:06.600 Roman Catholic treats 40 days to leave the country 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:09.220 or swear an oath to obey the Queen. And the punishment 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:11.339 if you didn't. Failure to comply was considered 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:13.420 high treason. High treason. Usually you think 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:15.740 of treason as plotting to assassinate a monarch 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:18.459 or selling secrets to a foreign army. That is 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:21.680 the crucial point here. The law framed religious 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.459 existence itself as political treason. You didn't 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:27.240 have to plot anything. By simply being a priest 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:30.319 ordained by the Pope's authority, you're classified 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:33.439 as an agent of a foreign enemy. That is a total 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:36.220 legal trap. Absolutely. And there was collateral 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:39.759 damage built into the law as well. Anyone harboring 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:41.959 these priests or even knowing of their presence 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:44.680 and not informing the authorities faced massive 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.220 fines and imprisonment for felony. So you could 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:49.100 lose everything just for giving Edward a place 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:52.189 to sleep. Yes. So when Thwing is arrested shortly 00:05:52.189 --> 00:05:54.829 after his return, he is in the absolute worst 00:05:54.829 --> 00:05:57.170 kind of legal peril. So they have him in custody, 00:05:57.750 --> 00:06:00.089 a frail scholar and another priest, a Dominican 00:06:00.089 --> 00:06:03.949 friar named Robert Nutter. They get sent to Wisbeck 00:06:03.949 --> 00:06:06.589 Castle. Now, I looked at the historical records 00:06:06.589 --> 00:06:09.490 on this and Wisbeck is fascinating. It is a massive 00:06:09.490 --> 00:06:11.910 paradox. It really is. It wasn't a dungeon in 00:06:11.910 --> 00:06:14.569 the traditional sense. No, it was a state ecclesiastical 00:06:14.569 --> 00:06:17.339 prison. But because they concentrated so many 00:06:17.339 --> 00:06:19.920 Catholic priests and dissenters there, the area 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:22.540 effectively became a major center for English 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:24.939 Catholicism. The records show they were supported 00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:27.139 by Catholic alms, so they were actually relatively 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:30.019 comfortable. They had access to funds, books, 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:33.120 they could debate theology. But the detail from 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:36.639 the sources that totally baffled me was the report 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.860 by Henry Garnet. Can you explain the five mile 00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:42.899 rule? Henry Garnet reported that the keeper of 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.779 Wisbeck, actually allowed the detainees permission 00:06:45.779 --> 00:06:48.660 to move within a five -mile radius of the castle. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.420 I just cannot wrap my head around that. You have 00:06:51.420 --> 00:06:54.680 men locked up for high treason, the most severe 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.459 crime possible, and the warden is basically saying, 00:06:57.720 --> 00:06:59.480 go stretch your legs, just don't wander too far. 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:02.399 It defies our modern understanding of a maximum 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:04.839 security prison. Why would they do that? It was 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.740 likely a mix of factors. For one, wealthy prisoners 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:10.920 could pay for privileges. But this unique Almost 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:13.540 relaxed environment might have been exactly what 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:15.819 facilitated what happened next. If you give a 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:17.899 prisoner a five -mile leash, you were giving 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:20.100 them the opportunity to survey the landscape, 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:22.680 to make contacts, to plan. And that leads right 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:24.639 into the great escape. Thwing and Nutter break 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:27.060 out of Wisbeck. They escape the five -mile radius 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:29.920 and vanish. And this manhunt lasts for three 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.639 years. They become fugitives hiding out in Lancashire. 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:35.160 Which was a massive stronghold for Catholic families 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:38.120 who refused to again the state church. I want 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:40.420 to focus on the tension of those fugitive years 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:43.360 for a second. For you listening, imagine living 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.399 underground for three solid years. You know the 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.240 penalty if you are caught is death. You know 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:52.100 the penalty for the families hiding you is ruin 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:54.379 and prison. The psychological toll would have 00:07:54.379 --> 00:07:56.899 been immense. Every knock on the door, every 00:07:56.899 --> 00:07:59.399 stranger in a village. And we have to remember 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.660 Thwing's physical condition, the ulcerated knee. 00:08:03.290 --> 00:08:06.129 hiding in tiny priest holes built into the walls 00:08:06.129 --> 00:08:09.329 of manor houses, cramped in pain, completely 00:08:09.329 --> 00:08:11.889 silent while the Queen's men searched the house. 00:08:12.170 --> 00:08:14.410 It is the ultimate test of personal conviction. 00:08:14.670 --> 00:08:16.329 He could have tried to flee back to the continent, 00:08:16.709 --> 00:08:18.829 but he stayed to minister to the people in Lancashire. 00:08:18.930 --> 00:08:21.389 But the fugitive years eventually end. In May 00:08:21.389 --> 00:08:24.029 1600, they are arrested again. The authorities 00:08:24.029 --> 00:08:26.490 commit them to Lancaster Castle this time. No 00:08:26.490 --> 00:08:29.009 five -mile radius walks here. They are held until 00:08:29.009 --> 00:08:31.209 the next of sizes, which was the session of the 00:08:31.209 --> 00:08:33.429 traveling regional courts. And when the trial 00:08:33.429 --> 00:08:36.629 happens, what is the actual charge read against 00:08:36.629 --> 00:08:39.129 them? Did they fabricate a plot this time? No, 00:08:39.269 --> 00:08:40.809 they didn't even bother to fabricate a plot. 00:08:41.269 --> 00:08:43.370 The records show they were condemned quite simply 00:08:43.370 --> 00:08:46.070 for being priests. That was the entirety of the 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:49.049 charge under the 1584 Act. And so we reach the 00:08:49.049 --> 00:08:52.730 end of the line, July 26, 1600. Edward Thwing 00:08:52.730 --> 00:08:55.769 and Robert Nutter are executed together at Lancaster. 00:08:55.950 --> 00:08:58.750 And we should note the method of execution because 00:08:58.750 --> 00:09:00.889 it speaks to the state's view of their crime. 00:09:00.990 --> 00:09:03.669 They were hung, drawn and quartered. The absolute 00:09:03.669 --> 00:09:06.669 most severe punishment available. It was specifically 00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:08.929 reserved for treason. It was a highly public, 00:09:09.289 --> 00:09:12.070 theatrical and brutal method designed to obliterate 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:14.529 the person entirely and serve as a terrifying 00:09:14.529 --> 00:09:17.250 warning to anyone else. Which makes the epilogue 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:19.629 to this deep dive so chilling. I want to talk 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:21.669 about the echo of history here, looking at the 00:09:21.669 --> 00:09:24.070 family legacy. Yes, the grand nephew. Exactly. 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:26.529 Introduce us to Thomas Thwing. Thomas Thwing 00:09:26.529 --> 00:09:29.690 was Edward's grand nephew. And 80 years after 00:09:29.690 --> 00:09:33.029 Edward's execution, in 1680, Thomas suffers the 00:09:33.029 --> 00:09:36.389 exact same fate. 80 years later, the world has 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:39.210 changed, but the danger hasn't. What was the 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:42.820 context for Thomas? In 1680, England was swept 00:09:42.820 --> 00:09:45.240 up in the hysteria of the Popish plot, which 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.679 was a completely fabricated conspiracy invented 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:50.820 by a man named Titus Oates. He claimed Catholics 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:52.759 were planning to assassinate King Charles II. 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:55.120 And Thomas gets swept up in an offshoot of that. 00:09:55.259 --> 00:09:58.019 Yes, the Barnbow Plot in Yorkshire. It was local 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:01.179 paranoia feeding off the national hysteria. Thomas 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:04.250 was accused tried, and despite the lack of credible 00:10:04.250 --> 00:10:06.950 evidence, he was condemned. And he was executed 00:10:06.950 --> 00:10:09.570 the same way, hung, drawn, and quartered. Exactly 00:10:09.570 --> 00:10:11.830 the same way. It is wild to think about that 00:10:11.830 --> 00:10:14.509 repetition of history. But both men were eventually 00:10:14.509 --> 00:10:16.509 recognized by their church, weren't they? They 00:10:16.509 --> 00:10:20.190 were. Thomas was beatified in 1929, and Edward, 00:10:20.330 --> 00:10:22.750 our scholar with a bad knee, was beatified by 00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:26.309 Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Sources differ 00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:30.029 slightly between 1982 and 1987, but during that 00:10:30.029 --> 00:10:32.830 decade as one of the 85 martyrs of England and 00:10:32.830 --> 00:10:35.370 Wales. So to summarize the journey we just took, 00:10:35.649 --> 00:10:37.350 we tracked a man who went from being a fragile 00:10:37.350 --> 00:10:39.730 professor in Europe to a fugitive living in the 00:10:39.730 --> 00:10:42.070 walls of Lancashire houses. And the key takeaway 00:10:42.070 --> 00:10:44.769 from the historical data is that his story is 00:10:44.769 --> 00:10:48.350 a perfect snapshot of an era when the mere act 00:10:48.350 --> 00:10:50.730 of being a priest was a capital offense. Right. 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:52.669 It wasn't about what you did. It was about who 00:10:52.669 --> 00:10:55.370 you were. OK, I see. Before we wrap up today, 00:10:55.429 --> 00:10:57.870 I want to leave you, the listener, with a final 00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:00.570 provocative thought to explore on your own. We 00:11:00.570 --> 00:11:03.029 just talked about how Edward's grandnephew met 00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:05.909 the exact same end decades apart under different 00:11:05.909 --> 00:11:08.870 political pretexts, but the same underlying tension. 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:12.250 A tragic family parallel. Definitely. But think 00:11:12.250 --> 00:11:14.929 about Thomas growing up. He must have known the 00:11:14.929 --> 00:11:17.450 stories of his great uncle Edward. He knew exactly 00:11:17.450 --> 00:11:20.330 how brutal the end could be. So how does family 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:23.090 legacy shape your conviction? That is a fascinating 00:11:23.090 --> 00:11:25.470 angle. Does knowing the horrific danger warn 00:11:25.470 --> 00:11:27.789 you away from a path? Or does the fact that your 00:11:27.789 --> 00:11:30.169 ancestor paid that ultimate price make you feel 00:11:30.169 --> 00:11:32.909 compelled to follow them? Does the legacy cement 00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:35.070 your conviction in a way that nothing else could? 00:11:35.269 --> 00:11:37.309 It really makes you wonder if Thomas saw his 00:11:37.309 --> 00:11:40.049 uncle's life as a cautionary tale or a call to 00:11:40.049 --> 00:11:42.700 action. Exactly. Something for you all to mull 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:44.919 over. Thanks for joining us on this deep dive 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.460 into the historical records of Edward Thwing. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:49.019 We will see you next time.