If the queen and the archbishop had their way, Puritan preacher JohnPenry would simply and quietly disappear from the face of the earth.Why else would he be dragged suddenly, at about the dinner hour,from his cell near Old Kent Road and told to prepare for death? Whyelse were the gallows so quickly erected and the sheriff ordered to denythe condemned man a customary courtesy: a farewell speech affirminghis innocence and loyalty? Why else, apart from sheer hatred, would thefather of four young daughters be condemned as a traitor on the basis ofwritings never published or released to the public? Penry was born on a farm near Llangammarch, Cefn Brith, Wales,and converted early in his life to Protestant faith. In England, to be aproper Protestant was to be a member of the Church of England, whichrecognized the queen as its head. An improper Protestant was part of thedissenting or free church movement, which was tantamount to disloyaltyto her majesty, potentially an act of treason. That potential could be apowerful tool in the hands of political enemies, and Penry had one—thearchbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgrift. Penry had indirectly criticizedthe archbishop for failing to provide Wales with Christian nurture in his1587 tract entitled
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