A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country/Barton, (Elizabeth)
BARTON, (ELIZABETH) commonly called The holy Maid of Kent,
Was servant to one Thomas Knob, of Aldington, in Kent, 1325, about which time she was troubled with hysterical fits, which threw her body into terrible convulsions, the contortions of which she preserved after her cure; and it was no difficult matter, in an age of credulity, to make people believe there was something more in her fits than a bare paroxysm of the disease. The affair reaching the ears of one Masters, the parson of Aldington, he immediately thought of setting her up for a prophetess, in hopes thereby of propping the sinking foundation of the Romish church; or, at least, to make his own chapel famous, and reap the advantages of pilgrimages, offerings, &c. To this end, his first care was to persuade her to believe, she had a supernatural impulse, and that what she said was truly prophetic. The distemper holding for some time, she had an opportunity of attaining such perfection in counterfeiting her fits, that, when cured, she could so exactly imitate them as to deceive any body; for, having by her art brought the fit upon her, she would lie as it were in a trance for some time, then coming to herself (after many strange grimaces and odd gesticulations) she would break out into devout ejaculations, &c. pretending to prophesy, and see visions, &c. and was always particularly vehement against heresy and innovations.
This artful management, together with her pretended piety, deceived not only the common people, but several learned men. Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, ordered Masters to attend her carefully, and joined with him Dr. Bocking, a canon of Christchurch, in Canterbury, and others, to examine further into the affair. But notwithstanding this piece of outward ceremony, Warham, who was a zealous catholic, was not a little suspected, with some others, of countenancing the imposture under hand. She said, the blessed virgin had appeared to her, and told her, that she could never recover, till she went and visited her image in the famous chapel that was dedicated to her, and called the Chapel of our Lady of Court-street. Accordingly, the day being made public, a mob of about 3000 people attended her there, as did likewise several persons of quality of both sexes, and the commissioners made a part of the procession.
At her entrance, she was saluted in a hymn with Ave regina cœlorum; when she came before the image she fell down in one of her trances, delivering therein rhimes, speeches, &c. all tending to the honour of that saint and the Popish religion, and that she was called, by the inspiration of God, to be a religious, and that it was the will of our lady that Bocking should be her ghostly father.
It was now given out, that she was miraculously recovered of her former distemper; and, on the report made by the commissioners, the archbishop ordered her to be placed in the nunnery of St. Sepulchre, in Canterbury, where she still carried on the imposture; but the Romish clergy being apprehensive, that the king's marriage with Anne Boleyn would be detrimental to their religion, they set every instrument at work to prevent it; and among the rest, Bocking and her other associates prevailed upon her to threaten the king with death, or the loss of his crown.
Elated with her former success, and the credit she had in the world for sanctity, she was hardy enough to be governed by this advice, and made no scruple to declare publicly, that in case the king proceeded in the divorce, and married another wife, while queen Catherine was living, he should not be king of England a month longer, but should die a villain's death. This she said was revealed to her in answer to a prayer she made to God, to know whether he approved of the king's proceeding or not. This was blazed by the bishop of Rochester, and the queen's adherents throughout the kingdom, whose boldness and zeal incensed the king, who had hitherto despised her menaces, to order that, in November 1533, Elizabeth her accomplices should be brought to the Star-chamber.
Upon their examination, they all, without any rack or torture, confessed the whole to be a contrivance and imposture, and were first sentenced to stand at St. Paul's cross, on a scaffold built for the purpose, all sermon time; and afterwards the king's officers were to give every one of them their bill of confession, to be openly and publicly read by each, before the people, which was done the Sunday after; the bishop of Bangor preaching, and giving an account of their treasonable practices. From thence they were carried to the Tower, where they lay till the meeting of the parliament, during which time some of their accomplices sent messages to the nun, to encourage her to deny all she had said.
The thing being considered in parliament, it was judged a conspiracy against the king's life and crown. Elizabeth, Masters, Bocking, Deering, Bisby and Gold, were attainted of high treason; and Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and some others, among whom was Sir Thomas More, who had simply had the curiosity to go and see her, of misprision of treason, to forfeit their goods and chattels to the king, and be imprisoned during his pleasure. But all others, who had been corrupted in their allegiance by these impostors, were, at the intercession of the new queen, pardoned.
On the 21st of April, 1534, Elizabeth and her accomplices were drawn to Tyburn, where she made a speech, acknowledged her crime, and the justice of her sentence, and was then executed with the others, who were all beheaded, and their heads set up at different parts of the town. Her head, Stowe says, was set upon London-bridge.