Frith John

Frith, John, one of the forerunners of the Reformation in England, was the son of an innkeeper at Westerham, Kent, and must have been born early in the 16th century. Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, he was invited by Wolsey to transfer himself to Cardinal's College, Oxford. His avowed sympathy with the German heretics led to his imprisonment. Wolsey got him released, and he went to Marburg where he remained until 1532, writing several controversial works. On his return he was seized by Sir Thomas More, and thrown into the Tower. He might have escaped with his life, but the treacherous disclosure of a "lytle treatise" on the Sacraments roused the king's attention, and Frith was burned at Smithfield in 1533.