Thomas Hitton (died February 1530) is generally considered to be the first English Protestant martyr of the Reformation, although the followers of Wycliffe - the Lollards - had been burned at the stake as early as 1519. Thomas More described Hitton as "the devil's stinking martyr" and took a personal interest in the case. Thomas More burnt six heretics in the two years he was Lord Chancellor, the subject being the first in February 1530. He criticized George Joye for canonizing Hitton: