Troubles at Frankfurt facts for kids

The Troubles at Frankfurt was a time of arguments among English people who had left England. These people were called Marian exiles because they fled during the rule of Queen Mary I. The arguments happened in Frankfurt am Main, a city in Germany, in the mid-1550s. The famous Scottish reformer John Knox was also involved. Frankfurt was a Free Imperial City, meaning it was a self-governing city within the Holy Roman Empire.

Why the Troubles Started

In the summer of 1554, many English people had fled to Frankfurt. They shared a church with another group and were led by William Whittingham. The local leaders in Frankfurt wanted them to change their church services. So, they started using practices that were different from the official English church book, the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI from 1552.

Whittingham tried to unite the English exiles. But when he announced they would choose their own ministers, other exile groups, like those in Strasbourg, got involved.

John Knox came to Frankfurt from Geneva, sent by John Calvin. Knox led the group that opposed using the 1552 Prayer Book. This group wanted simpler church services. Edmund Grindal arrived from Strasbourg and talked with Knox. Grindal wrote to Nicholas Ridley in England. Ridley thought the changes in Frankfurt were reasonable, but he didn't like Knox's strong approach. Knox and Whittingham wanted to define what was truly essential in the Prayer Book. This made Grindal leave, as he didn't want to seem like he was negotiating on such matters.

Trying to Find a Solution

The main argument was about the communion service. Knox didn't want to use the Genevan service because it might upset others. But he also refused to use the English Prayer Book. Thomas Lever tried to create a new service that everyone could agree on.

The group who supported the Prayer Book was led by Richard Cox. He had left Strasbourg to fix the situation in Frankfurt. However, even within the Prayer Book supporters, there were disagreements. Some people stayed out of the arguments, and others, like Lever, changed their minds over time. Knox felt that Lever, who was his co-preacher, didn't support him enough, which made the arguments worse.

Knox had many supporters, including Whittingham, Richard Chambers, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Cole, and John Foxe. Knox and Whittingham wrote a summary of the English Prayer Book in Latin. They sent it to Calvin for his opinion. Calvin said it had "many tolerable foolish things." Knox, Whittingham, Foxe, and Thomas Cole then wrote what they thought was an ideal church service. But the Prayer Book group rejected it. This service was later used by the English church in Geneva under Knox.

Things That Don't Matter Much

During the arguments, John Calvin tried to help everyone agree. He thought the Prayer Book wasn't perfect, but he wanted unity. The idea of adiaphora, or "things indifferent," was discussed. This meant things that weren't essential to faith, like certain church customs. People hoped this idea would help them agree. But instead, it became another point of argument. In the end, both sides stopped using adiaphora as a way to find common ground.

Arguments Get Worse

A new compromise service, which was mostly the Prayer Book service, was almost accepted by March 13, 1555. Just then, a new group of English refugees arrived, including John Jewel. This group strongly disliked the compromise service because it left out the litany (a series of prayers with spoken responses).

Tensions grew because some of the new arrivals, like Jewel, had agreed to Roman Catholic ideas back in England under Queen Mary. Jewel preached a sermon where he admitted his mistake. But the more passionate exiles still disliked Cox. Cox held many church positions at once, which was something many reformers had preached against. In May 1555, Knox preached about this very topic while Cox was present. He attacked the Prayer Book and the problem of holding multiple church jobs. Even so, Knox asked his own supporters to let Cox's group join the church. This gave the Prayer Book group the majority.

Another agreement seemed close. But then, Knox's strongest opponents told the local leaders about his book, An Admonition to Christians (1554). In this book, Knox criticized King Phillip II, Queen Mary I, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Knox even compared Charles V to the Roman Emperor Nero. Some of Knox's critics felt that such strong words offended even friendly rulers. They worried it would encourage Roman Catholics to persecute Protestants in England and other places. John Hooper had just been burned to death in February, and his wife and children were among the exiles in Frankfurt. The Prayer Book group also argued that it was wrong to try to be "purer" in church services than those who had accepted the Prayer Book and were then killed for their faith back in England.

Knox Leaves Frankfurt

Because of these issues, Knox was asked to leave Frankfurt. He left on March 26. His supporters, including William Whittingham, Thomas Cole, and John Foxe, then left for Basel and Geneva. The arguments, which had started even before Knox arrived, continued after he left.

How We Know About These Events

The main source for these events is a book called A Brieff discours off the troubles begonne at Franckford ... A.D. 1554. This book was printed anonymously in 1575. It has been reprinted several times since then.

Many people believe William Whittingham edited this book. However, some historians like Patrick Collinson think Thomas Wood might have been the editor. Others, like M. A. Simpson, question if there was just one author. Much of the information in the book likely came from different people. The letters it contains might not all be completely accurate. The original documents it used are mostly gone, except for parts of John Knox's own writings about his time in Frankfurt.

Simpson believes A Brief Discourse was put together by several editors. He thinks John Field was the last one. The book's title page says it explains the reasons for the conflicts happening in the Church of England at that time, and how separatism and Presbyterianism started. It is a one-sided history.