   sister elizabeth barton (1506? &ndash; 20 april 1534), known as "the nun of kent", "the holy maid of london", "the holy maid of kent" and later "the mad maid of kent", was an english catholic nun. she was executed as a result of her prophecies against the marriage of king henry viii of england to anne boleyn."elizabeth barton" the catholic encyclopedia. vol. 2. new york: robert appleton company, 1907. 18 feb. 2013 ==life== little is known of elizabeth barton's early life. she was born in 1506 in the parish of aldington, about twelve miles from canterbury,hamilton o. s. b., adam. the angel of syon, the life and martyrdom of blessed richard reynolds, sands & co., london, 1905 and appears to have come from a poor background. she was working as a servant when her visions began in 1525. at the age of 18, while working as a domestic servant in the household of thomas cobb, a farmer of aldington, she suffered from a severe illness and claimed to have received divine revelations. these predicted future events, such as the death of a child living in her household, or more frequently took the form of pleas for people to remain in the roman catholic church. she also urged people to pray to the blessed virgin mary and to undertake pilgrimages. thousands believed in her prophecies and archbishop william warham and bishop john fisher attested to her pious life.a popular history of the reformation, p.177, philip hughes, 1957 when certain events she foretold apparently came to pass, her reputation spread. the parish priest richard masters referred the matter to archbishop warham, who appointed a commission to ensure that none of her prophesies was at variance with catholic teaching. when the commission decided favorably, warham arranged for barton to be received in the benedictine priory of st. sepulchre at canterbury. in 1528 she held a private meeting with cardinal thomas wolsey, the second most powerful man in england next to king henry, and soon thereafter met twice with the king himself. king henry accepted barton because her prophecies did not at that time challenge the existing order. her prophecies warned against heresy and condemned rebellion at a time wh
1500s_births 1534_deaths 16th-century_English_people 16th-century_Roman_Catholic_martyrs English_Roman_Catholic_religious_sisters_and_nuns English_people_executed_by_hanging Executed_English_women People_executed_at_Tyburn People_executed_by_the_Kingdom_of_England_by_hanging People_executed_under_Henry_VIII_of_England People_executed_under_the_Tudors_for_treason_against_England Women_of_the_Tudor_period