This work began life as a PhD thesis completed at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Without the expert guidance of Alexandra Walsham, it may not have ever got to this stage. Her insightful comments were always so precise and insightful, and invariably improved the quality of the final product. Moreover, I thank her for her enduring patience with my ‘rather plodding scholarship’ over the years.1 I could not have asked for a better supervisor. I hope that this book goes some way to reflect Alex’s genius and the care she has taken over me. It goes without saying that any failings remain completely my own doing. In addition to Alex, I have been roundly blessed to come into the orbit of Ashley Null – a true scholar and genuinely godly example who has been a constant encouragement to me. As my initial inspiration to pursue postgraduate research in this area, one might say that Ashley moved my affections for Cranmer, which in turn made my will choose this topic, and my mind has been justifying it ever since.
No man is an island; no academic works in a vacuum. I have accrued numerous debts to so many scholars and Reformation enthusiasts along the way. In particular, I thank Mark Earngey for sharpening my theological understanding, pointing me to various manuscripts, hitting the archives together, and especially for his cherished fellowship. Diarmaid MacCulloch is another man whose insights were invaluable both as my PhD examiner and in preparation for this book. Others who played a significant role in shaping my thinking and pushed my research into unchartered waters include Paul Cavill, Derek Scales, Jane Dawson, Gerald Bray, David Manning, Ben Lowe, George Bernard, Richard Rex and Christopher de Hamel. On a more personal note, I want to thank the following for their encouragements and laughter (even if it was mostly at my expense!): Andy Niggeman, Alessandro Rizzo, Mark Andrews, Richard Newman, Leon Waldock, Steve Midgely, Steve Auld, Savino’s Café, Chris Thompson, Matthew Patterson, Dave Jensen, Rowan Paterson, Benjamin Harrington-Lowe, Danny Wong, Kia Kavoosi, Allan Blanch, Timothy Petterson, Stephen Edwards, Robert Loeffel, as well as my friends on staff (and pupils I teach) at Sydney Grammar School.
I thank all those who work at the various libraries and archives that I frequented during my research phase, including the British Library, Dr Williams’s Library, and the Inner Temple Library. I particularly thank Claire Welford-Elkin
I thank Bridget Heal, my anonymous reviewer, Francis Knikker, Ivo Romein, Fem Eggers and the team at Brill for their help with editing the book through the production stages. Bronwyn Windsor and Susanna Baldwin have both provided critical editorial aid as well. It has been a pleasure working with them all.
To mum and dad, Winsome and Robert, thank you for always pushing me towards this goal and for believing that I could achieve it. Thank you for your godliness, humility, wisdom, enduring love, and support in so many ways, not least reading the manuscript and offering helpful insights. I thank my siblings and their spouses – Andrew and Lisa, Pete and Kate, James and Amanda, Mick and Margot, Sylvia and Dave – along with our quiver of nephews and nieces for all their encouragement and prayers too.
When I first began this academic journey, our dear daughter, Sophie was just nine months old. A decade on, she is now joined by Benjamin and Edward. These three enriched the postgraduate experience in ways that words cannot capture. There is nothing like changing nappies to keep the abstruse and convoluted ideas of sixteenth-century sacramental theology in perspective. Even if they’ve grown out of that stage, and I now have a day job, they still make it so hard to leave in the morning and so easy to come home at night.
To Bettina, my love, I cannot thank you enough for all you have done and continue to do for me. Thank you for your longsuffering patience with me throughout this prolonged project. I could not have achieved anything over the past fifteen years (and counting) without you by my side as my wife. Thank you for the laughter, for mobilising me, for keeping my feet on the ground and my head from getting too large, for knowing me better than anyone else (and still loving me), and for your constant support.
Finally, in the words of 1 Peter, all thanks and praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus who we know through the Holy Spirit.
Easter 2023
Laus Deo
MacCulloch, Cranmer, 490.