In 1563, English Protestant author John Foxe published 'Acts and Monuments', popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, in London, England. This massive work provided a highly detailed, polemical account of Christian martyrs throughout history, focusing heavily on the Protestants executed under the recent reign of Catholic Queen Mary I. Complete with vivid, graphic woodcut illustrations of executions, the book became an instant bestseller, stoking intense anti-Catholic sentiment and shaping a lasting English national identity defined by Protestant defiance against foreign tyranny.

The dramatic, emotionally charged narratives of suffering and unshakable faith found in Foxe's work provided English poets with a vast library of imagery centered around martyrdom and spiritual warfare. Its influence is highly visible in the religious struggles depicted in John Milton's sonnets and John Bunyan's allegorized verse.