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George Cavendish
Little Bilney is a priest who questions some aspects of the Catholic faith, like the belief in purgatory and keeping fasts and vigils. Cromwell warns him that these are dangerous ideas to voice, but Bilney insists on being very vocal about them. Thomas More arrests him for heresy and has him imprisoned in the Tower of London. Cromwell appeals to Wolsey to try and get Bilney released. Wolsey says he will do his best, but he doesn’t succeed. Bilney is burned for heresy years after he is imprisoned. When Anne Boleyn gives Cromwell the news about this, she calls Bilney a fool for insisting on saying things that would get him killed. While people like Cromwell and Anne are careful to modulate their opinions to their audiences, Bilney represents the danger of sticking to one’s opinions without compromise. Rather than being heroic, he seems foolish, and he doesn’t accomplish his aim of changing anyone’s mind. After Bilney’s death, Thomas More floats a rumor around that Bilney recanted his heretical beliefs as he was burning, which Cromwell knows is untrue.
Little Bilney Quotes in Wolf Hall
The Wolf Hall quotes below are all either spoken by Little Bilney or refer to Little Bilney. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 6: Chapter 3 Quotes
He knows different now. It’s the living that turn and chase the dead. The long bones and skulls are tumbled from their shrouds, and words like stones thrust into their rattling mouths: we edit their writings, we rewrite their lives. Thomas More had spread the rumor that Little Bilney, chained to the stake, had recanted as the fire was set. It wasn’t enough for him to take Bilney’s life away; he had to take his death too.
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Little Bilney Character Timeline in Wolf Hall
The timeline below shows where the character Little Bilney appears in Wolf Hall. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 2: Chapter 2: An Occult History of Britain, 1521-1529
Cromwell heads to Gray’s Inn, where he meets in secret with a priest called Little Bilney who is opposed to Catholic doctrine, and he then meets a man who teaches him...
(full context)
...his own colleges. Cromwell appeals to the cardinal to use his influence to release Little Bilney, who has been locked in the Tower for over a year for heresy. The cardinal...
(full context)
Part 4: Chapter 1: Arrange Your Face, 1531
...it is still too early for that. Anne also gives him the news that Little Bilney was burned for heresy and says he was a fool. She says that “[p]eople must...
(full context)
Part 6: Chapter 3: To Wolf Hall, July 1535
...edit their writings, we rewrite their lives.” He thinks that More spread the rumor that Bilney had recanted as he was burning. It wasn’t enough for More to take away Bilney’s...
(full context)
