Nicholas Shaxton
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Nicholas Shaxton (1485? - 1556) was a Reformer and a Bishop of Salisbury.
After papal jurisdiction in England was ended by Henry VIII, the Italian bishop Cardinal Campeggio was sacked as Bishop of Salisbury in 1534. After a year left vacant, Shaxton was appointed by Thomas Cromwell in his place. Along with fellow Reformers Thomas Cranmer and Hugh Latimer, Shaxton spent time interrogating John Lambert in 1536. However Shaxton resigned his bishopric in 1539 because he opposed the King's Six Articles, for which he was imprisoned.[1]
In 1546 Shaxton along with Anne Askew and a few others were arrested for denying the corporal presence in the sacrament. John Foxe in his Book of Martyrs recounts how Shaxton tried to persuade Askew to recant her Protestant beliefs to escape burning, as he did, with Askew replying that it would have been good if Shaxton had never been born.[2] Shaxton gave a sermon at Askew's burning in which he recanted his evangelical beliefs.
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lorenzo Cardinal Campeggio |
Bishop of Salisbury 1535–1539 |
Succeeded by John Salcott |
