A boke made by John Fryth, prysoner in the Tower of London
The Preface
Grace and increaceof knowelegefrō God the Fatherthrough oure LordeJesus Christ, be withthe Christen reader,and with all thē thatloue the Lorde vnfaynedlyAmen.
I chaunced beynge in these partyes, tobe in companye with a Christen brotherwhich for hys commendable conversaciō,and sobre behaueoure myght better be aByshoppe thē many that weare myters,yf the rule of .S. Paule were regarded intheir electyon. Thys brother after mochecōmunycacyō, desyred to knowe my myndeas touchynge the sacramēt of the bodyād bloode of our sauyoure Christ. Whichthynge I opened vnto hym accordynge tothe gyfte that God had geuen me. FirsteI proved vnto hym that yt was no articleof oure fayth necessarye to be beleuedvnder payne of dampnacyon. Then I declaredthat Christe had a naturall bodye,euen as myne ys (savynge synne) and thatyt coulde no more be in two places at onesthen myne can. Thyrdly, I shewedhym that it was not necessarye, that thewordes shulde so be vnderstonde as theysownde. But that yt myght be a phrase ofscrypture, as there are innumerable. Afterthat I shewed hym certen suche phrasesād maner of speakynges. And that yt waswell vsed in oure Englyshe tongue. Andfynally, I recyted after what maner theymyght receyue yt accordynge to Christesinstitucyon, not fearynge the frowarde alteracyonthat the Prestes vse, contrarye tothe fyrste forme and institucion.
When I had suffycyently publyshedmy mynde, he desyred me to entitle the someof my wordes, ād write them for hym,because they semed ouerlonge to be wellreteyned in memorye. And albeit I wasloth to take the matter in hāde, yet to fullfyllhis instaunte intercession, I toke vponme to touche this terryble tragedye, andwrote a treatyse, whiche beside my paynfullimpresonment, is lyke to purchace memoste cruell death, which I am readye