ABSTRACT
The final text of The First Examination of Anne Askewe2 is a translation of Psalm 54 entitled, 'The voyce of Anne Askewe out of the 54 Psalme of David'.3 What is the status of this voyce that the reader is encouraged to hear speaking out of the psalm? Is it the reader's voice that, in reading the words of the psalm, becomes that of Askewe? Is it the martyr's voice embodied literally in the text? Is it the voice of Scripture speaking through that of Askewe and therefore illustrating her status as witness bearer to its truth? Perhaps in the words of the psalm, the voice of Scripture, Askewe and the reader become one; in one's own reading one hears the martyr's voice speaking the words of God. Within this construction of the relationship of reader, martyr and Scripture there is no need for a mediator, for any authority beyond this multiple but unified utterance: reader, martyr and Scripture are one, and speak with one voice. It is therefore ironic that the structure of the text which is concluded with this psalm, fundamentally undermines this dynamic by consistently, almost obsessively, inserting the role of interpreter as central to the process of making Askewe's words meaningful. Across the unity of reader, martyr and Scripture falls the shadow of John Bale, the explicator of Askewe's words. The multiple voices are made many and are unified by Bale's editorial voice, speaking from a position beyond, and enclosing, the other voices of the text.
