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Cuthbert Mayne

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Saint

Cuthbert Mayne
Cuthbert Mayne in a mezzotint byDaniel Fournier
Priest and Martyr
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
BornBaptized 20 March 1543 or 1544
Youlston, nearBarnstaple,Devon,England
Died(1577-11-29)29 November 1577 (aged 33 or 34)
Launceston, Cornwall,England
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Beatified29 December 1886 by PopeLeo XIII
Canonized25 October 1970 by PopePaul VI
MajorshrineChurch of St Cuthbert Mayne, Launceston, Cornwall
Feast30 November (individual)
25 October (together withForty Martyrs of England and Wales)
29 November (one of theDouai Martyrs)
AttributesNoose around neck, crucifix, knife in chest, martyr's palm, holding a Bible
PatronageLaunceston, Cornwall

Cuthbert Mayne(c. 1543–29 November 1577) was anEnglish Catholicpriest executed under the laws ofElizabeth I.He was the first of theseminary prieststrained on theContinentto be martyred. Mayne was beatified in 1886 and canonised as one of theForty Martyrs of England and Walesin 1970.

Early life

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Mayne was born atYoulston,nearBarnstaple,Devon,the son of William Mayne. He was baptised at theChurch of St Peter, Shirwellon 20 March 1543/4, the feast day of StCuthbert.An uncle who was aChurch of Englandpriest paid for him to attend Barnstaple Grammar School.

Mayne was institutedrectorof the parish ofHuntshawin December 1561.[1]He attendedOxford University,first atSt Alban Hall,[2]then atSt John's College,and was awarded a B.A. on 6 April 1566 and M.A. on 8 April 1570.[3]On 27 April 1570, the papal bullRegnans in ExcelsisexcommunicatedQueen Elizabeth Iand those who obeyed her laws and commands, releasing her subjects from their allegiance to her.

Catholic conversion

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The barn at Golden Manor, a former secret chapel

At Oxford, Mayne metEdmund Campionand other Catholics, such asGregory Martin,Humphrey Ely,Henry Shaw, Thomas Bramston, Henry Holland, Jonas Meredith, and Roland Russell. At some point, Mayne, too, became a Catholic. Late in 1570, a letter addressed to him from Gregory Martin, urging him to come toDouai,fell into the hands of theBishop of London,and he sent apursuivantto arrest Mayne and others mentioned in the letter. Warned byThomas Ford,Mayne evaded arrest by going to Cornwall and then, in 1573, to theEnglish College, Douai,now in northern France.[2]

Mayne was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church at Douai in 1575 and on 7 February in the following year he obtained the degree ofBachelor of TheologyofDouai University.

On 24 April 1576, he left for the English mission in the company of another priest,John Payne.He soon joined the household ofFrancis Tregianat Golden in the parish ofProbus, Cornwall[2]where he posed as his steward. Francis Tregian (1548–1608) was one of the richest landowners in Cornwall.

Golden Manor, Probus, scene of Mayne's arrest

Missionaries from Douai were looked upon as papal agents intent on overthrowing the queen. The authorities began a systematic search in June 1576, when theBishop of ExeterWilliam Bradbridgecame to Cornwall. On 8 June 1577, theHigh Sheriff of Cornwall,Richard Grenville,conducted a raid on Tregian's house during which the crown officers "bounced and beat at the door" to Mayne's chamber. On gaining entry, Grenville discovered a Catholic devotional item, anAgnus Dei,around Mayne's neck, and took him into custody along with his books and papers.[4]

Imprisonment and trial

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While awaiting trial at the circuitassizesin September, Mayne was imprisoned inLaunceston Castle.At the opening of the trial on 23 September 1577 there were five counts against him:[4]first, that he had obtained from the Roman See a "faculty" (orbulla), containing absolution of the Queen's subjects; second, that he had published the same at Golden; third, that he had taught the ecclesiastical authority of thepopeand denied thequeen's ecclesiastical supremacywhile in prison; fourth, that he had brought into the kingdom anAgnus Dei(a Lamb of God sealed upon a piece of wax from the Paschal candle blessed by the pope)[5]and delivered it to Francis Tregian; fifth, that he had celebrated Mass.

Mayne answered all counts. On the first and second counts, he said that the supposed "faculty" was merely a copy printed at Douai of an announcement of theJubileeof 1575, and that its application having expired with the end of the jubilee, he certainly had not published it either at Golden (the manor house of Francis Tregian) or elsewhere. On the third count, he said that he had asserted nothing definite on the subject to the three illiterate witnesses who swore to the contrary. On the fourth count, he said that the fact he was wearing anAgnus Deiat the time of his arrest did not establish that he had brought it into the kingdom or delivered it to Tregian. On the fifth count, he said that the presence of a Missal, a chalice, and vestments in his room did not establish that he had said Mass.

The trial judge, JusticeSir Roger Manwood,[6]directed the jury to return a verdict of guilty, stating that, "where plain proofs were wanting, strong presumptions ought to take place".[7]Manwood also argued that it was illegal to introduce any papal letter into the country, no matter what it was. The jury found Mayne guilty ofhigh treasonon all counts, and accordingly, he was sentenced to behanged, drawn and quartered.Mayne responded, "Deo gratias".[4]

With him had beenarraignedFrancis Tregianand eight other laymen. The eight were sentenced to seizure of their goods and life imprisonment.[8]Tregian was sentenced to die but was in fact incarcerated for 28 years[9]until, on the petition of his friends, he was released by KingJames I.[10]

His execution was delayed because one of the judges, Jeffries, took exception to the proceedings and sent a report to thePrivy Council.The Council submitted the case to the whole bench of judges, which was inclined to Jeffries's view. Nevertheless, the council ordered the execution to proceed.[2]

At the examination of Mayne after the trial, Mayne admitted to having said mass. The Record Office also recorded that among his papers were notes which brought him under suspicion of the charge that Catholics were bound, in the right opportunity, to rise against the Queen. The same office also recorded him admitting to this during his examination after the trial:

The words found in a book of his signifying that though the catholic religion did now serve, swear and obey, yet if occasion were offered they would be ready to help the execution, &c., were annexed to a text taken out of a general council of Lateran for the authority of the pope in his excommunication, and at the last council of Trent there was a consent of the catholic princes for a reformation of such realms and persons as had gone from the authority of the bishop of Rome when it was concluded that if any catholic prince took in hand to invade any realm to reform the same to the authority of the see of Rome, that then the catholics in that realm should be ready to assist and help them. And this was the meaning of the execution as he saith, which he never revealed to any man before.[11]

Mayne had also supposedly stated that "the people of England may be won unto the catholic religion of the see of Rome by such secret instructions as either are or may be within the realm; but what these secret instructions are he will not utter, but hopeth when time serveth they shall do therein as pleaseth God".[12]

Execution

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Agallowswas erected in the marketplace atLaunceston,and Mayne was executed there on 29 November 1577. Before being brought to the place of execution, Mayne was offered his life in return for a renunciation of his religion and an acknowledgement of thesupremacyof the queen as head of the church. Declining both offers, he kissed a copy of the Bible, declaring that, "the queen neither ever was, nor is, nor ever shall be, the head of the church of England". He was not allowed to speak to the crowd but only to say his prayers quietly. It is unclear if he died on the gallows but all agree that he was unconscious, or almost so, when he was drawn and quartered. One source states that he was cut down alive, but in falling struck his head against thescaffold.

Political considerations

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A. L. Rowsesees the condemnation of Mayne as arising from local rivalries between Protestant coastal and Catholic inland interests.[13]Grenville had been unsuccessful in his attempts to arrange a marriage between his daughter and the Tregian heir.[14]

The coming of Mayne and others made the English government fear the possibility of papal agents coming to the island to ready the populace to rise up in revolt in support of KingPhilip II of Spainin an invasion of England. This helped support the case to pass harsher legislation against Catholicism in England. Establishing a threat from subversive Catholic elements also served Elizabeth's counsellors such asLord Burghleyin their attempts to persuade the Queen to support theDutch Revoltagainst Spain.[11]

Legacy

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Mayne wasbeatified"equipollently"by PopeLeo XIII,by means of a decree of 29 December 1886 and wascanonisedalong with other martyrs of England and Wales by PopePaul VIon 25 October 1970.

Mayne was the firstseminary priest,the group of priests who were trained not in England but in houses of studies on the Continent. He was also one of the group of prominent Catholic martyrs of the persecution who were later designated as theForty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Relicsof Mayne's body survive. A portion of his skull is kept atLanherne Conventin Cornwall.[15]Christopher M. B. Allison suggests that the silver reliquary discovered in 2015 atJamestown, Virginiain the grave of Captain Gabriel Archer (died 1609/10) may contain a relic of Mayne.[16]

There are many memorials to him in Launceston, and in 1977 the name of the Roman Catholic church on St Stephen's Hill there was changed from the Church of the English Martyrs to the Church of St Cuthbert Mayne; it is the site of theNational Shrineto St Cuthbert Mayne.[17]In 1921 an annual June pilgrimage was initiated in Launceston to commemorate Mayne.[18]

St Cuthbert Mayne School,avoluntary aidedRoman Catholic and Church of England school[19]inTorquay,andSt Cuthbert Mayne Catholic Junior SchoolinHemel Hempstead,are named after him. The St Cuthbert Mayne RC High School inFulwood, Lancashiremerged in 1988 to becomeOur Lady's Catholic High School.

In art

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Daniel Fournierengraved a mezzotint of Mayne.Ushaw Collegehas paintings of him.[20][21][22]

Stained-glass windows represent him in the following churches/schools:

In fiction

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In the historical novelThe Grove of EaglesbyWinston Graham,which is set in Cornwall some years after Mayne's death, there are several references to him. One character, a Catholic member of the prominentArundell familyof Tolverne, says that his Protestant brother, who was one of thejurorsat Mayne's trial, will burn in Hell for his share in Mayne's death. The brother, filled with guilt for his share in the execution, has not only converted to the Roman Catholic faith but is risking his life by sheltering other priests.

References

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  1. ^"Person: Mayne, Cuthbert (1561 - 1581)".CCEd.Archived fromthe originalon 13 December 2017.Retrieved12 December2017.
  2. ^abcdWainewright, John. "Blessed Cuthbert Mayne." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 24 March 2016
  3. ^Foster, Joseph (1891).Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714.University of Oxford.Retrieved13 December2017.
  4. ^abcDuffy, Patrick. "St. Cuthbert Mayne", Catholic Ireland
  5. ^""St Cuthbert Mayne Priest and Martyr 29th November", Friends of Lanherne ".Archived fromthe originalon 7 April 2016.Retrieved24 March2016.
  6. ^The Hales NewsletterArchived21 November 2008 at theWayback Machine
  7. ^The Catholic magazine.1812. p. 111.Retrieved12 December2017.
  8. ^Drew, Samuel.The History of Cornwall,W. Penaluna, 1824
  9. ^Grove, George and Fuller-Maitland, John Alexander. "Virginal Music",A Dictionary of Music and Musicians,Macmillan and Company, Limited, 1890
  10. ^Burton, Edwin. "Francis Tregian." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 24 March 2016
  11. ^abLake, Peter. "A Tale of Two Episcopal Surveys,Transactions of the Royal Historical Society,Vol. 18, (Ian W. Archer, ed.), Cambridge University Press, 2009ISBN9780521429658
  12. ^T. G. Law. Cuthbert Mayne and the Bull of Pius V. The English Historical Review. Vol. 1, No. 1, Jan. 1886
  13. ^Rowse, A.L.,Tudor Cornwall,New York, 1969
  14. ^Lecercle, Anne. "Country house, Catholicity, and the Crypt(ic) in Twelfth Night'".Region, Religion and Patronage: Lancastrian Shakespeare,(Richard Dutton, Alison Gail Findlay, Richard Wilson, eds.), Manchester University Press, 2003ISBN9780719063695
  15. ^""Cuthbert Mayne", Jesuit Collections ".Archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2021.Retrieved6 October2021.
  16. ^Allison, Christopher M. B. "Jamestown's Relics: Sacred Presence in the English New World." Essay inConversations: An Online Journal of the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion(2016). doi:10.22332/con.ess.2016.2http://mavcor.yale.edu/conversations/essays/jamestown-s-relics-sacred-presence-english-new-world
  17. ^"Catholic Parish of St. Cuthbert Mayne - Launceston, Cornwall, UK".Retrieved14 December2017.
  18. ^Rendell, Joan.Launceston From Old Photographs,Amberley Publishing Limited, 2013ISBN9781445629155
  19. ^"Diocese Information".St-cuthbertmayne.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved31 May2014.
  20. ^Lawrence OP (12 June 2014),Protomartyr of Douai College,retrieved30 July2022
  21. ^Lawrence OP (12 June 2014),Martyrs of Douai College,retrieved30 July2022
  22. ^Bolckow (18 April 2019),Martyrs by Geoffrey Webb 1937 - Chapels at Ushaw College,retrieved30 July2022
  23. ^"Kempe stained glass window - Left to right St Thomas of Canterbury, St Cuthbert Mayne, St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. The Chapel of St Cuthbert - Ushaw College - a photo on Flickriver".www.flickriver.com.Retrieved30 July2022.
  24. ^Lawrence OP (12 June 2014),Imprisoned for the Faith,retrieved30 July2022
  25. ^Croft, Robin (15 August 2009),St Cuthbert Mayne, Falmouth,retrieved30 July2022
  26. ^Huntbach, Matthew (7 November 2015),St Cuthbert Mayne,retrieved30 July2022
  27. ^Lawrence OP (24 July 2008),St Cuthbert Mayne & St John Houghton,retrieved30 July2022
  28. ^Shaw, Joseph (19 July 2014),IMG_9055,retrieved30 July2022
  29. ^david.robarts (26 June 2014),Cuthbert Mayne & John Southworth by A. A. Orr and F.D. Humphreys 1934,retrieved30 July2022

Sources

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