FOXE

Foxe is a surname and may refer most notably to John Foxe (c. 1516/1517–1587), an English churchman and historian best known for Foxe's Book of Martyrs, also called Acts and Monuments. The work is a comprehensive martyrology detailing the sufferings of Christians, with emphasis on Protestants persecuted under Catholic rulers in 16th‑century Europe. First published in 1563, it was expanded in later editions and circulated widely in England, helping to shape Protestant identity and anti-Catholic polemics during the Reformation and beyond.

Foxe's life included active involvement in the English Reformation; he spent time on the Continent during Mary I's reign to avoid persecution and returned to England after Elizabeth I's accession, where he held clerical positions and continued his writing. As a surname, Foxe has been borne by various individuals in different contexts.

In literary and historical discussions, Foxe's Book of Martyrs remains a key source for early modern Protestant historiography, though modern scholarship notes biases, omissions, and the polemical aims of its author. Contemporary editions and critical studies reassess its sources and influence, distinguishing between its value as a historical compilation and its role as propaganda within its own historical setting.