Henry VIII’s enforcer secretly saved Catholic book
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Sir John Gage, a royal official who helped Henry VIII dismantle monasteries in England, also preserved a Catholic religious text despite orders to destroy such books.
Dr. Katie Walter of the University of Sussex and Dr. James Wade of Girton College, Cambridge, connected six pages from a medieval manuscript held at The Keep archive in Brighton, U.K., to a complete copy at Yale University in the United States.
The book, Nicholas Love’s Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, was a popular work until the Reformation made its teachings suspect. Love finished his English translation around 1409, offering a safe alternative to bible translations that could lead to accusations of heresy. William Caxton first printed the book in 1486, but publication ceased when the Reformation began because its defense of Catholic sacraments became controversial.
Surviving copies show the book was both popular and secretly valued during a time of religious upheaval. Gage’s involvement suggests he maintained Catholic beliefs while serving Henry VIII, a complex position also depicted in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall novels. Researchers believe Gage likely acquired the book during the dissolution of monasteries, either taking it directly from a library or receiving it through informal networks.
The discovery offers new insight into how individuals navigated the dangerous religious landscape of 16th-century England, quietly preserving traditions even as they outwardly conformed to royal policies.
