Barton Elizabeth

Barton, Elizabeth, or "The Maid of Kent," was in 1525 a servant at an inn at Aldington in Kent. Her tendency to religious mania, probably originating in epilepsy, was made use of by the priests in opposing Henry VIII.'s plans for divorcing Catherine of Aragon. Under the sanction of Archbishop Warham, and with the approval of Fisher and Sir T. More, the wretched woman was worked upon by three monks, Masters, Booking, and Deering, who put into her mouth prophecies of Henry's speedy downfall. The king for some time bore with the imposture, but at last was moved to resentment. Barton and four accomplices were brought to trial and executed at Tyburn in 1534.