**Thomas Bilney (c. 1495 – 19 August 1531)** was an English priest and early Protestant reformer, often called “Little Bilney” because of his short stature. He is remembered as one of the first significant figures of the English Reformation at Cambridge and an early martyr. ### Early Life and Education He was born around 1495 in Norfolk, most likely in or near Norwich. Little is known of his family except that his parents outlived him. He entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge, around 1510, studied law, and was ordained a priest in 1519. ### Conversion While at Cambridge he found no lasting peace in the mechanical systems of the schoolmen, fasting, or the practices of the Church. He turned to the Greek New Testament published by Erasmus in 1516. Reading 1 Timothy 1:15 brought him deep comfort and assurance. In the English Standard Version the verse reads: > “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Bilney recorded that he immediately felt “a marvellous comfort and quietness,” and that Scripture became more pleasant to him than honey. He came to see that his own efforts, masses, and pardons were of no avail apart from Christ. ### Influence at Cambridge The Scriptures became his chief study. He influenced a circle of young Cambridge men that met at the White Horse Inn (sometimes called “Little Germany”). Among those associated with him or converted through him were Hugh Latimer (who said he learned more from Bilney’s confession than in twenty years before), Matthew Parker (later Archbishop of Canterbury), and others who became important in the English Reformation. Latimer and Bilney formed a close friendship. ### Preaching, Arrest, and Recantation In 1525 he obtained a license to preach in the diocese of Ely. He denounced the veneration of saints and relics and pilgrimages to places such as Walsingham and Canterbury, while remaining orthodox on other points such as the authority of the Pope and the Mass. In 1527 he was pulled from the pulpit while preaching at St George’s Chapel, Ipswich, arrested, and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Brought before Cardinal Wolsey and other bishops, he was convicted of heresy. Under pressure he recanted. ### Remorse and Martyrdom Released in 1529, he returned to Cambridge burdened by remorse over his recantation. In 1531 he resolved to preach again. He distributed copies of William Tyndale’s English New Testament, preached openly in the fields of Norfolk, and arrived in Norwich, where Bishop Richard Nix had him arrested. Tried as a relapsed heretic, he was degraded from the priesthood and handed over to the civil authorities. On 19 August 1531 he was burned at Lollards’ Pit (just outside Bishop’s Gate) in Norwich. Accounts describe him crying out “Jesus” and “Credo” (“I believe”). Bishop Nix is reported to have said afterward, “I fear I have burned Abel and let Cain go.” Bilney left few writings of his own; most of what is known comes from John Foxe’s *Acts and Monuments* (Book of Martyrs) and contemporary accounts. He is widely regarded as a gentle but influential early voice who helped open the way for the English Reformation through personal witness and the conversion of others.