Last words of the faithful
Nicholas Ridley
Died 16 October 1555 · burned at Oxford
Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, was burned at Oxford on 16 October 1555 alongside Hugh Latimer. Foxe records Latimer's words of comfort to him, and records that Ridley himself died calling out the words of Psalm 31 and Luke 23, commending his spirit into the hands of God.
The last words
The story behind them
They were burned together, at one stake, on 16 October 1555. The sentence everyone remembers from that morning is Latimer's, spoken to Ridley as the fire was set: be of good comfort, and play the man. It is one of the great sentences in English, and it was said to this man.
What Ridley himself said is less quoted and worth as much. Foxe records that he cried out, 'Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: Lord, receive my spirit.' They are not original words and he did not intend them to be. They are the fifth verse of Psalm 31, and they are what Jesus said on the cross. A bishop who had spent his life teaching people the Scriptures reached for them at the end and had nothing he wanted to add.
He did not compose a last sentence. He borrowed the one Christ used.
Foxe also records that Ridley's fire was badly built and he suffered a long time, calling out that he could not burn. It is not a clean story. Most of them are not.
What they died for, you can meet
None of these people died for an idea. They died holding onto a Person, convinced that death was not the end because he had already walked out of a tomb. The Living Bread is a quiet place to meet that same Jesus, read the Gospels for yourself, and ask your honest questions.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- What were Nicholas Ridley's last words?
- According to Foxe's Acts and Monuments, Ridley called out, 'Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: Lord, receive my spirit.' The words are Psalm 31:5, which Jesus also spoke from the cross in Luke 23:46.
- Who said 'play the man, Master Ridley'?
- Hugh Latimer, who was burned at the same stake, said it to Ridley as the fire was lit. It was said to Ridley, not by him.
- Why were Ridley and Latimer burned?
- Both were leading bishops of the English Reformation, tried for heresy under Mary I and burned at Oxford on 16 October 1555. Thomas Cranmer was burned in the same city the following March.
