In the aftermath of the Dutch Church libel, Thomas Kyd faced arrest. Among his papers, a three-page manuscript1 with purportedly atheistic content was found. Kyd disowned it, attributing it to Marlowe, mistakenly mingled among his own papers during their shared workspace two years prior.2
According to William Dinsmore Briggs, the pages in the British Library are misordered, forming a section from The Fall of the Late Arrian by John Proctor in 1549.3 Proctor intended to rebut Arian-influenced ideas of John Assheton, later renounced before Archbishop Cranmer.4
In essence, Arius (* ~ 260; † after 327) contested the Nicaean Council’s (325) doctrine, asserting that Jesus was subordinate to God, not consubstantial with Him, thus challenging monotheism. Over time, various movements emerged, notably Unitarianism, rejecting the Trinity and Jesus' divinity. Although inaccurately labeled "Arianism," this term is used here for simplicity.
Proctor’s work remained unscathed by censorship.5 Yet, why did Thomas Kyd face scrutiny for excerpts, further solidifying Marlowe’s alleged atheism? The reasons stem from misinterpretation, ignorance, and uncritical repetition.
Arianism, however, bears no connection to atheism. Clergyman William Burton depicted Arianists as devout individuals:
"I haue knovven some Arrian heretiques, whose life hath beene most strict amongest men, whose tongues haue beene tyred with scripture upon scripture, their knees euen hardned in prayer, and their faces wedded to sadnesse, and their mouthes full of praises to God, while in the meane time they haue stowtly denied the diuinitie of the Sonne of God, and haue not sticked to teare out of the Bible all such places as made against them;"6
In Anglican eyes, Arianism constituted heresy, leading supporters like Matthew Hamont (1579) and Francis Kett (1589) to the stake.
Presumably, neither the officials handling the Thomas Kyd case nor Kyd himself realized the manuscript’s origins, further fueling suspicion. Kyd’s unawareness underscores his disavowal of ownership, highlighting the significance of proper sourcing. Thus, the document propagated heretical views on Jesus' divinity and God’s nature.
