Maurus Scott - Witness To The Martyrdom of John Roberts

Witness To The Martyrdom of John Roberts

Immediately after arriving in England, he was to discover that John Roberts, who had had such a profound influence upon him, had been arrested for serving as a priest. He was able to join Roberts for his last supper the night before he was put to death. The next day Scott watched as John Roberts was hanged, drawn, and quartered.

After the execution, wishing to preserve Roberts' body as a relic, Scott watched to see where it was thrown. The limbs had been thrown into a large trench, and upon them were heaped the bodies of 16 criminals executed at the same time. Nonetheless, two days later Scott was part of a group which successfully recovered the body parts from the trench, although one quarter was lost when the party was disturbed by watchmen, and Scott was subsequently arrested. Following this, he was imprisoned for a year, until in December 1611 the ambassador for Savoy negotiated the release of imprisoned Catholic priests. Scott was banished from the country and went back to Douai. Nonetheless, he was extremely keen to return to England. Around the Easter week of 1612 he was arrested on a boat on the River Thames before he was even able to set foot in London.