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By Dr. JAMES GAIRDNER, C.B.
LOLLARDY AND THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND
Vols. I. and II. 8vo. 21s. net. Vol. III. 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. Vol. IV. 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.
THE ENGLISH CHURCH IN THE 16th CENTURY
FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII. TO THE DEATH OF MARY (1509-1558).
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HENRY VII.
Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. [Twelve English Statesmen Series.] MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd., LONDON.
Lollardy and the Reformation in England
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TORONTO
Lollardy and the Reformation in England
An Historical Survey
BY
JAMES GAIRDNER, C.B.
LL.D., D.LITT.
VOL. IV Edited by WILLIAM HUNT, M.A., D.Litt.
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
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PREFACE
Dr. James Gairdner, C.B., younger son of an eminent Scottish physician, was born at Edinburgh on the 22ncl March 1828, and died at his residence at Pinner, Middlesex, on the 4th November 1912. He entered the Record Office as a clerk in 1846, became Assistant Keeper of the Records in 1859, and retired from the Office in 1900, his long and distinguished service being recognised by his pro- motion to the rank of C.B. In 1856 he became associated with the Rev. J. S. Brewer in the prepara- tion of the Calendar of Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII., and on Brewer's death, in 1879, after the completion of four volumes of the Calendar, in nine parts, became the chief editor of the series, which was completed, in 1910, to the death of the King, in twenty-one volumes, divided into thirty-three parts, containing valuable prefaces to the documents calendared. The series presents a collection of the historical materials for the reign of all kinds, letters public and private, and State papers relating alike to foreign and domestic affairs, whether existing in the Record Office or elsewhere, and as a
vi LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
whole is unrivalled as regards completeness, and probably unsurpassed as regards the skill and judg- ment exhibited in its composition. Dr. Gairdner's predominant share in it entitles him to be remembered with lasting gratitude by all students of English history. He edited the prefaces to the volumes brought out by Brewer as a separate work under the title of TJie Reign of Henry VIII. from his Accession to the Death of Wolsey, in two volumes, 1884, and in view of the bulk and cost of the volumes through which his own prefaces are dispersed, it is much to be wished that they may receive like treatment.
Dr. Gairdner was an extraordinarily diligent scholar, and in addition to this great work found time to promote historical learning by many other publications. In the Rolls Series of Chronicles and Memorials, he edited Memorials of King Henry VII, 1858, and Letters and Papers of the Reigns of Richard III. and Henry VII, 2 vols., 1861-63 ; and for the Camden Society, Historical Collections of a Citizen of London in the Fifteenth Century, 1876; Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles, 1880; and The Spousells of the Princess Mary, 1508, in Camden Miscellany IX., 1895. A more important work, his edition of the Paston Letters, comprising a large number of letters not printed in Fenn's earlier edition, and with an admirable introduction, first appeared in three vols., 1872-75, again in 1901, and with additions in 1904. In 1881 he published
PREFACE vii
Studies in English History, collected papers by himself and James Spedding, the editor of Bacon's Works, then lately deceased, with an estimate of Spedding's writings. To the Dictionary of National Biography he contributed seventy-seven biographies of various personages of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, amounting together to five-eighths of a volume, and marked by accuracy and precision of statement as well as by fullness of knowledge. In the Cambridge Modern History he wrote a chapter in each of the first two volumes, 1902, 1903. He was a constant contributor to the English Historical Review from its inception in 1886 to the year of his death, wrote occasionally in the Guardian on subjects connected with the history of the Church of England, and read two papers on the " Death of Wolsey " and on the " Burning of Brighton in the Reign of Henry VIII." before the Royal Historical Society, which are printed in its Transactions, the one in the 2nd series, xiii., 1899, the other in the 3rd series, i., 1907. The substantive books of which he was the author are a Life of Richard III., 1878, revised 1898 ; Henry VII., 1889, in the Twelve English Statesmen series ; a History of the English Church from the Accession of Henry VIII. to the Death of Mary, 1902, reprinted with corrections 1903, 1904, 1912, forming vol. iv. of the History of the English Church, edited by Dean Stephens and W. Hunt ; and Lollardy and the Reformation in England, vols. i. and ii. 1908, vol. iii. 1911, and vol. iv. which he left
viii LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
nearly finished at his death, and which is presented here.
During all his long life, then, he worked with unflagging industry at about a century of English history, roughly from the beginning of the Wars of the Roses to the death of Queen Mary. On that period he was justly considered an authority, and the value of his work was recognised by the University of Edinburgh by the grant of an honorary LL.D. in 1897, and too tardily by the grant of an honorary D.Litt. by the University of Oxford in 1910. That, owing perhaps to his training and the principal occupation of his life, he was more successful as an archivist than as an historian must be conceded, for his writing lacks some qualities essential to the literary treatment of history. Yet along with its accuracy and thoroughness in research, it gives evidence of philosophic thought and breadth of view ; for Dr. Gairdner looked on events in their connection with the influences that shaped them, whether proceeding from domestic or foreign sources, and perceived, sometimes perhaps more clearly than he was able to expound them, the relations in which a religious or political movement stood to what he believed to have been its determining causes and its later developments. And he was thoroughly honest ; he set down what he found in his authorities with a fidelity as complete as that with which he calendared State papers. During the larger part of his life his perpetual diligence, apart from the performance
PREFACE ix
of his official duties, was simply the outcome of his love of historical study ; in his latest years an added motive spurred him on. He believed that he had a special work to do ; indeed, it may almost be said, a message to deliver. Modest and humble as he was, he could not but be conscious that he had gained a fuller knowledge of the Reformation period in our history, of the influences which gave rise to it and directed its course, and of the characters and aims of the principal persons who favoured or opposed it, than was in the possession of the public. He felt con- strained to publish the results of his labours, for he considered that much error was current on these matters, that religious prejudice had warped the judgment of many who had written on them, and that too little account was taken of the wrongs inflicted on Catholics, and of the tyranny, greed, and irreverence, the robbery of God and His Church, which in his view disgraced the Reformation in England.
It was under the belief that he had a duty to perform that he undertook to write the volume in the History of the English Cliurch mentioned above. Of that book he says, in a letter that he wrote to me on the 22nd April 1 906, that, while it had met with a recep- tion more gratifying than he was prepared for, it had also met with criticism of a kind he fully expected, and that it had been impossible for him to say all that he felt he ought to say on his subject within the comparatively narrow limits necessarily prescribed to
x LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
him. He had, therefore, felt " irresistibly impelled to do something on a larger scale," and had begun his book on Lollardy and the Reformation in England, which at first he planned to carry down to the excommunication of 1570, as the event marking the final separation of the Church of England from Rome. It was the resolution of a noble mind, for by the date of this letter he was, as he proceeds to say, seventy- eight, and as he had then written about half of his first volume, it must have been made and acted upon in the previous year, at an age long past that at which most of us would hold ourselves fully justified in ceasing to work, if indeed we should not be compelled to do so. Nor was this resolution made in any forgetfulness that the time allowed him would probably be short: he hoped "to see a volume (perhaps two) through the press," and he asked me to promise that if any part of his work was left unpublished, I would bring it out. His life was prolonged to the age of eighty-four, but his work from the very outset grew under his hand, and the three volumes which he lived to see published only brought it to the death of Edward VI. : he left the manuscript of a fourth volume, dealing with the first year of Mary's reign, from her accession to her marriage, in an unfinished state. The promise he asked for was made, and was finally confirmed in a farewell visit to him shortly before his death. It has now been fulfilled.
When the author of a book has not lived to see it
PREFACE xi
through the press, an editor in most cases should not meddle with the text beyond correcting obvious slips. My work would have been more satisfactory to Dr. Gairdner's readers and to myself, as well as far less laborious, had it been possible for me to observe this general rule. Unfortunately Dr. Gairdner was prevented from revising his manuscript by physical weakness and distress, and by rapid failure of eye- sight, troubles which he bore with manly fortitude and Christian resignation, and to have published his work as it stood would have been unjust to his memory and to his readers. In addition, therefore, to those trifling matters which an editor usually has to set right, it has been necessary in this case to make a large number of verbal alterations and many excisions of passages more or less repeated, together with some few abbreviations of the text and of quota- tions in it from printed books. Perhaps more should have been done, perhaps less : it was often difficult to decide between the duty of producing the author's very own words, and that of doing for him what he would probably have done for himself had sufficient time, health, and eyesight been granted him. For, having read the proofs of his three earlier volumes, I can confidently say that the alterations made in this volume, though owing to the author's physical afflictions far more in number, are of the same nature as suggestions that I made and that he accepted in revising the proofs of its predecessors. Headers are assured that the exact import of every sentence that
xii LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
he wrote has been preserved with religious care, and
they are requested kindly to note that I am not
responsible for any of his opinions. I have verified
and in some cases completed his references to
authorities both in manuscript and in print, and
hope that they are stated correctly. Some additions
have been made both in the text and the footnotes,
especially towards the end of the volume, for the
sake of such completeness as seemed possible ; they
are distinguished from Dr. Gairdner's work by means
of square brackets.
WILLIAM HUNT.
CONTENTS
BOOK VII QUEEN MARY'S FIRST HALF-YEAR
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Mary's First Trials . . . . .3
CHAPTER II
Foreign Influences . . . . .43
CHAPTER III
Mart's First Parliament . . . . .74
CHAPTER IV
Parliament and Keligion . . . . .130
BOOK VIII THE SPANISH MARRIAGE
CHAPTER I
The Organised Insurrections . . . .191
xiii
xiv LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
CHAPTER II
PAGE
The Suppression of the Insurrections . . . 239
CHAPTER III
"The Queen's Proceedings" .... 268
CHAPTER IV
The Lady Elizabeth . . . . .278
CHAPTER V
Heretics painted mostly by Themselves . . . 305
CHAPTER VI
Spirit of the Edwardine Party .... 344
CHAPTER VII
The Queen's Marriage . . . . .371
INDEX ....... 405
BOOK VII QUEEN MARY'S FIRST HALF-YEAR
I
VOL. IV B
CHAPTER I
mary's first trials
The change which took place on the accession of Queen Mary was of such profound political and religious importance, both at home and abroad, that it requires to be considered from many points of view. But first of all we must consider what it was to Mary herself. Her father, as we have seen, had turned the English Constitution into a despotism, and it con- Mary's tinued to be a despotism under her brother. Even J^^ as the provisions of Henry VIII. himself to prevent inheriting a abuse of the high powers of the Crown during a desP°tlsm- minority had been set aside, and more despotic powers than ever were ultimately usurped by the most unscrupulous statesman of the day, who saw no safety for himself except in a perfectly unparalleled outrage on all received principles of government. The great conspiracy, however, collapsed after Edward's death, and not only the royal title, but all the powers of the new despotism came, alike by inheritance and by statute law, to his sister Mary.
Yet no woman inheriting a despotism was less despotic by nature, and no woman, if she had wished to be a despot, could have been worse educated for such a position. Even an autocrat requires training, and also requires advisers. What training had Mary ? And what advice had there ever been within her reach ? Almost from childhood she had been com- pletely cut off from every advantage that would
3
4 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk.vh
naturally have attached to her position. She was but eleven years old when it was known that her father was seeking a divorce from her mother, and when that divorce was effected she was seventeen. At that time every one wished her well except Anne Boleyn ; even her father had some natural regard for her. But Anne Boleyn succeeded in estranging her own father from her. She was separated also from her mother lest the two should give each other comfort. She was told she was a bastard and must yield precedence to her infant sister Elizabeth, until, on Anne Boleyn's fall, her sister was declared a bastard also. Still she was not spared the full bitterness of an unjust humiliation, and, her mother being then dead, she was told that the only way to recover her father's favour was to sign a paper declaring untruly that she was the child of an unlawful and incestuous marriage. Unless she complied with that monstrous condition her very life was unsafe under the statutes, and when she for a long time resisted, several persons got into trouble owing to a suspicion that they had encouraged her obstinacy. At last, making, by advice of the Imperial Ambassador, a secret pro- testation that she acted only under compulsion, she signed the required document with averted eyes.1 After that she was treated better and restored by her father and by Parliament to her natural place in the succession.
But under her brother Edward's government, as we have seen, she was again persecuted, and in a way that she had not been under her father. She was the very last person to wish to create trouble, and yet she was told she must not have Mass in her own private household as she had in her father's day ; and even the Emperor's ambassador could not procure toleration for her in things necessary to her own peace
1 Letters and Papers, xi. pp. 7, 8. Comp. x. 1134, 1137, 1203, 1204 ; xi. 9, 222. The story revealed in these documents seems almost incredible.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 5
of mind. A law that she could not respect, and which many agreed with her in thinking unconstitu- tional, was pressed against her conscience as against theirs ; and the Great Conspiracy against her suc- cession was but another measure to protect the perpetrators of injustice and carry it further.
On the Sunday before Edward's death (the 2nd Ridley's July) Dr. Hodgkin, who had been suffragan of Bedford, JtwSy preached, no doubt at Paul's Cross, and it was 1553. remarked that he " did neither pray for Lady Mary's Grace nor yet for Lady Elizabeth." He had evidently been instructed by the Council to omit doing so ; for the next Sunday (the 9th) when Edward was actually dead, though the fact was yet unknown, Bishop Ridley did a still bolder thing by their direction, for preaching at Paul's Cross, he " called both the said ladies bastards, that all the people was sore annoyed with his words so uncharitably spoken by him in so open an audience." * Further, he expressly pointed out to his hearers " the incommodities and incon- veniences " that might arise if they accepted Mary as Queen, " prophesying, as it were before," says Foxe, " that which after came to pass, that she would bring- in foreign power to reign over them, besides the subverting also of all Christian religion then already established ; showing, moreover, that the same Mary being in his diocese, he according to his duty (being then her ordinary), had travailed much with her to reduce her to this religion, and notwithstanding in all other points of civility she showed herself gentle and tractable, yet in matters that concerned true faith and doctrine, she showed herself so stiff and obstinate that there was no other hope of her to be conceived but to disturb and overturn all that which, with so great labours, had been confirmed and planted by her brother afore." Preaching like this was a dangerous duty, if duty it could justly be considered. Shortly
1 Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 78 ; Foxe, Acts and Monuments, vi. 389.
6 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. v..
afterwards, when Queen Mary was proclaimed, the
bold orator repaired to Framlingham to make his
peace with her, but met only with a cold reception.1
On the 23rd July the Council directed a letter to Sir
Thomas Cheyney and Sir John Gage " to receive into
the Tower of London, as prisoners to be safely kept,
the Marquis of Northampton, the Lord Robert Dudley,
andDr Ridley."2
Ridley's The allusion made by Ridley in his sermon to the
past way he iiac[ tried once, as " her ordinary," to convert
with Mary. Mary to his religion deserves a little fuller elucidation
to do it justice, and it may be well to give the whole
story as recorded by the Marty rologist in a previous
chapter : —
About the 8th of September 1552, Dr. Ridley, then Bishop of London, lying at his house at Hadham in Hertfordshire, went to visit the Lady Mary, then lying at Hunsdon, two miles off, and was gently entertained of Sir Thomas Wharton and other her officers till it was almost eleven of the clock ; about which time the said Lady Mary came forth into her chamber of presence, and then the said Bishop there saluted her Grace, and said that he was come to do his duty to her Grace. Then she thanked him for his pains, and, for a quarter of an hour, talked with him very pleasantly, and said that she knew him in the Court when he was chaplain to her father, and could well remember a sermon that he made before King Henry, her father, at the marriage of my Lady Clinton, that now is, to Sir Anthony Brown, etc. ; and so dismissed him to dine with her officers.
After dinner was done, the Bishop, being called for by the said Lady Mary, resorted again to her Grace, between whom this communication was. First, the Bishop beginneth in manner as followeth :
Bishop. Madam, I came not only to do my duty to see your Grace, but also to offer myself to preach before you on Sunday next, if it will please you to hear me.
At this her countenance changed, and after silence for a space, she answered thus :
1 Foxe, u.s. p. 390. 2 Acts of the Privy Council, ed. Dasent, iv. 302.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 7
Mary. My Lord, as for this last matter, I pray you make the answer to it yourself.
Bishop. Madam, considering mine office and calling, I am bound in duty to make to your Grace this offer, to preach before you.
Mary. Well, I pray you make the answer (as I have said) to this matter yourself; for you know the answer well enough. But if there be no remedy but I must make you answer, this shall be your answer : the door of the parish church adjoining shall be open for you if you come, and ye may preach if you list; but neither I nor any of mine shall hear you.
Bishop. Madam, I trust you will not refuse God's word.
Mary. I cannot tell what ye call God's word : that is not God's word now that was God's word in my father's days.
Bishop. God's word is all one in all times, but hath been better understood and practised in some ages than in others.
Mary. You durst not, for your ears, have avouched that for God's word in my father's days, that now you do. And as for your new books, I thank God I never read any of them : I never did, nor ever will do.
And after many bitter words against the form of religion then established, and against the government of the realm and the laws made in the young years of her brother (which she said she was not bound to obey till her brother came to perfect age,1 and then she affirmed she would obey them), she asked the Bishop whether he were one of the Council. He answered " No." " You might well enough," said she, " as the Council goeth nowadays."
And so she concluded with these words : " My Lord, for your gentleness to come and see me, I thank you ; but for your offering to preach before me, I thank you never a whit."
Then the said Bishop was brought by Sir Thomas Wharton to the place where they dined, and was desired to drink. And after he had drunk, he paused a while, looking very sadly ; and suddenly brake out into these words : " Surely, I have done amiss." " Why so ? " quoth Sir Thomas Wharton. " For I have drunk," said he, " in that place where God's word offered hath been refused : whereas, if I had remembered
1 As we have seen in the last volume, this was not only Mary's view but that of many others. But Foxe here appends a note full of his own peculiar grace : — " It is like she was persuaded by witches and blind prophecies that King Edward should not live so long."
8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk.vii
my duty I ought to have departed immediately, and to have shaken off the dust of my shoes for a testimony against this house." These words were by the said Bishop spoken with such a vehemency that some of the hearers afterwards confessed their hair to stand upright on their heads. This done the said Bishop departed, and so returned to his house.1
The way Bishop Ridley repented his lack of bad manners is truly edifying. He made up for it after- wards in that sermon at Paul's Cross, which was really rather a close imitation of the " shameful sermon " of Dr. Shaw, preached from that very pulpit seventy years before to smooth the way for Richard the Third's usurpation. And if an Edwardine bishop was capable of such things, can we wonder that there was a large amount of disloyal bigotry among the multitude ? To understand the difficulties which beset Mary's government from the first we must ask ourselves how was it possible to expect peace within the kingdom when a considerable section of the people were imbued with such a spirit.
Mary herself was by no means unconscious of those difficulties. And even apart from the temper of many of her subjects, the responsibilities which had come upon her as a sovereign were peculiar. Mary the She was the first Queen Regnant England had ever Reliant6'1 seen> and she had no such ministers at hand as the Constitution has since provided for every succeeding sovereign — men who are willing to be answerable for every act of State and whose position depends upon the public favour. A Tudor sovereign, indeed, could choose his own advisers and dismiss them when they ceased to give him satisfaction. But whom could Mary choose ? Almost every English states- man had been against her in the past ; and though she was willing to weigh what was said to her by men of so much experience as Gardiner and Paget,
1 Foxe, vi. 354-5. To this story is appended the note, "Testified by a certain reverend personage yet alive, being then the Bishop's chaplain."
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 9
she naturally looked more for counsel and guidance to her cousin the Emperor, who had befriended her in past troubles, and whose advice came to her now through experienced and well-chosen Ambassadors.
There was one subject, first of all, on which she desired the advice of those Ambassadors some time before she came up to London. It was about the Her burial of her brother, whom she wished to inter with difficulties
' , about her
the old Catholic rites. This they felt rather a difficult brother's point. When so much heresy was abroad the funeral- Emperor was anxious that she should not be too hasty in restoring the old religion, and to begin now with dirge and requiem might alarm the Council. The ceremonies at interments, they suggested, did not touch religion closely, and as the late king died in the new religion, they would be superfluous in his case. These arguments, however, did not satisfy her, and a day or two later she replied that during all King Edward's time she had told both him and the Council that she would never change her religion ; that they knew quite well that she had heard Mass in secret ; and that now when she had so much reason for gratitude to God, she should feel it against her con- science to inter her brother otherwise than her own religion required. She even felt bound to do so, she said, by the will of her father, which directed the particular ceremonies, Mass and prayers, that he desired in his own case ; and if she showed so much timidity as to refrain, it would encourage her subjects to become more audacious, and to say openly that she had not dared to use the ancient rites. She in- tended, therefore, to have a Mass, which would show that she did not regard as binding the religious change initiated by the Protector Somerset.1
On receiving the report of his Ambassadors on this subject the Emperor fully approved of the advice
1 Imperial Ambassadors to the Emperor, 24th July 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, ser. ii. 146, pp. 184-5, 187.
io LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
they had given her, and added a still stronger reason to dissuade her from using the funeral rites that were sanctioned by Catholic usage. She could dis- pense with them all the better, and with an easy conscience, as her brother had died in a wrong religion, that in which he had been brought up.1 Mary, however, had by this time made up her mind ; and though she allowed Edward to be buried at Westminster with the rites of the Eclwardine book on the 8th August, she had Mass said for him in the Tower on the very same day. No one was compelled to attend the service, but there were three or four hundred persons present. And it must be admitted that the cautious advice of the Imperial Ambassadors and of the experienced Emperor himself, who knew too well about religious difficulties in Germany, was fully justified by the sequel. Indeed, even at the time there were unpleasant symptoms. For the fact that Mass was actually revived, even within the seclusion of the Tower, and as something special for the occasion, did not please the Londoners who favoured the new religion. The French Ambassador, indeed, was of opinion that it would do good, and that conformity with the Queen's religion would gradually become more general, notwithstanding the objections entertained by many ; but meanwhile it did not look well that the Queen had been unable to persuade her own sister Elizabeth to attend that Mass.2 Elizabeth, from the very circumstances of her birth, was a general favourite with the heretics.
Two days later, on Friday the 11th August, Mass was actually said in one city church.3 But the
1 The Emperor to his Ambassadors, 29th July; Papier s cffitat du Cardinal de Granvelle (Docs, inedits), iv. 60.
2 Ambassades de Noailles (Vertot), ii. 108-9.
3 St. Bartholomew's in Smithfield ; see Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 14. Noailles says at the horsemarket ("en une eglise qui est au marche aux chevaux et bien pres de nion logis "). There was a market for horses in Smithfield of no very good repute. See Kingsford's edition of Stow's Stirvey, ii. 29, 361.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 1 1
service was really illegal, and popular indignation Mass at showed itself in a most objectionable form. Some ^j^"^ seized the chalice ; others laid hold of the habits and causes a tore in pieces the ornaments of the altar. A crowd of two or three hundred persons had gathered, and the Lord Mayor came to restore order.1 The Lord Mayor then repaired to the Queen's presence to report the occurrence, with a notification that if Mass were permitted it would lead to very serious trouble.2
The remonstrance grated on the Queen's feelings. Yet the warning was fully justified, not only by the general temper of the public, but also by the fact that from a statutory point of view Mass was at this time illegal. From Mary's own point of view, indeed, the law of the land was of no authority, being in conflict with the law of Christendom.3 But she felt it necessary to commit the priest to prison to appease the people, though immediately afterwards she allowed him to escape. Next day, before leaving London for Richmond, she summoned the Mayor and Aldermen to come to her in the Tower, and, com- mending to their care the administration of justice within the city, felt it necessary to make an explicit declaration of the principles which she desired to maintain in matters of religion. It was her wish that all who desired to follow the rule laid down by her father should be at perfect liberty to do so ; and likewise that others who preferred either the old religion before his day, or that instituted during the late reign, should have equal protection. No one should be forced. She herself had had Mass sung, and she intended to do so in her Court in future
1 Ambassadors to Emperor, 16th August, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 280 ; Ambass. de Noailles, ii. 110, 111.
2 lb.
3 This is a point easily lost sight of, or, we may rather say, difficult to understand at all in these days. But it was the very ground on which Sir Thomas More justified himself for disobeying an Act of Parliament. See Vol. I. pp. 495-6.
12 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk.vii
without compelling any one to attend, and she hoped the Mayor and Aldermen would show a like spirit. They promised to respect her wishes, and she further warned them that they must choose modest and temperate preachers, as there were some who used scandalous and seditious language.1 Dr.Bourne's This was on Saturday the 12th August. But, interrupted. nowever respectfully the Lord Mayor and Aldermen received the Queen's commands, the feeling of the citizens — or at least of some of them — was uncon- trollable. Next day, Sunday the 13th, a royal chaplain preached at Paul's Cross, and an uproar arose because he said things which no candid man will deny to have been strictly true. The preacher was Dr. Gilbert Bourne, once chaplain to Bishop Bonner, and he could not help alluding to the fact that his late master, now released from prison, had preached from the same place, almost exactly four years before, a sermon for which he had been obliged to spend all those four years in unjust confinement in the Marshalsea prison. This was too much for the feelings of some amongst the audience. " Thou liest," one or more were heard to cry, and a dagger was thrown at the preacher, whom the mob pulled out of the pulpit amid much uproar " and casting up of caps." It is added by the contemporary diarist from whom these last five words are quoted : " If my Lord Mayor and Lord Courtenay had not been there, there had been great mischief done." 2
As soon as the Council in the Tower were informed of the occurrence they sent at once for the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and bade them call a common
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 16th August 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 280-2.
2 Machyn, Diary (Camden Soc. ), p. 41. This is just what the Imperial Ambassadors reported about it to their master on the 16th. But for the Lord Mayor and Courtenay and his mother, they said there would have been great seditions ; and some openly declared that if a change of religion was now aimed at, it would be better to deliver the Duke of Northumberland out of the Tower.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 13
council next day, and make certain specified arrange- ments for the preservation of the peace, " declaring also in the said assembly, in the best words the Mayor and Eecorder can devise, the Queen's Highness's determination and pleasure uttered unto them by the Queen's own mouth in the Tower as yesterday, being the 12th of this instant; which was that, albeit her Grace's conscience is staid in matters of religion, yet she meaneth graciously not to compel or constrain other men's conscience otherwise than God shall (as she trusteth), put in their hearts a persuasion of the truth, that she is in, through the opening of His word unto them by godly, virtuous, and learned preachers." 1 The Aldermen were at the same time enjoined to warn the City clergy to forbear preaching themselves, and not to allow any others to preach in their churches except persons licensed by the Queen.
According to the account of the outrage given by Foxe : 2
The matter of his (Bourne's) sermon tended much to the derogation and dispraise of King Edward, which thing the people in no case could abide. Then Master Bradford, at the request of the preacher's brother and others, then being in the pulpit, stood forth and spake so mildly, Christianly, and effectuously, that with a few words he appeased all ; and afterwards he and Master Rogers conducted the preacher betwixt them from the pulpit to the grammar school door, where they left him safe, as further in the story of Master Bradford is declared. But shortly after they were both rewarded with long imprisonment, and, last of all, with fire in Smithfield.
We must not look for a full and impartial account of such a matter to Foxe, though he has been followed generally by historians ; who, in truth, knew nothing of Machyn's Diary and other sources of information since published — not to say others, which are un- published still. Foxe would have us believe, first of all, that the preacher had provoked the outrage
1 Acts of the P.O. iv. 317. 2 Foxe, vi. 392.
14 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
himself by speaking " in dispraise of King Edward," and, secondly, that he was rescued from danger by the kindly, charitable, and Christian conduct of Bradford and Rogers, who got him away from the pulpit to the Grammar School. Not a word here about the Mayor and Edward Courtenay coming up to appease the dis- order. Yet if two prebendaries of St. Paul's (for both Rogers and Bradford were such), did between them, "at the request of the preacher's brother," rescue a preacher from danger under the shadow of their own cathedral, was this such a very high and meritorious act of charity as to be spoken of with special commenda- tion ? It does suggest, no doubt, that a preacher of the new school was more popular with the crowd, when " with a few words he appeased all " ; but I cannot help thinking that the arrival of the Mayor and Courtenay had at least as much to do with the restoration of order.1 Moreover, if we wish to know what view the Government took of the matter, it was certainly not that which was afterwards set forth by the Martyrologist. For three days later, on the 16th August, when there had been time to enquire into the circumstances, the following entries appear in the Acts of the Privy Council : —
Bradford and Verron, two seditious preachers, committed to the charge of the Lieutenant of the Tower.
John Rogers, alias Mathewe, a seditious preacher, ordered by the Lords of the Council to keep himself as prisoner in his house at Paul's without conference of any person other than such as be daily with him in household, until such time as he hath contrary commandment.
Theodore Basill, alias Thomas Becon, another seditious preacher, committed also to the Lieutenant's charge of the Tower.2
1 According to the account of Raviglio Rosso, however (7 Successi d' In- ghilterra dopo la morte di Odoardo tiesto, p. 29), the Mayor only saved the preacher from the mob by putting another into the pulpit to take his place, and the new preacher (Bradford) "preached after their fashion" (predicb secundo il costume loro) .
2 Acts of the P.O. iv. 321-2.
was sen* Mi:-.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 15
The riot was certainly a serious one, and these The riot were not the only commitments on account of it. How serious the Council thought it was shown clearly by the following resolution passed the day after it occurred : —
The Lord Mayor of London and his brethren have Wednesday next, being the 16th of this instant, at 8 of the clock in the morning, to bring unto the Lords of the Council a full resolution whether they be able or no by their authority to keep the City committed to their charge without seditious tumults ; and finding themselves able so to do, to make declaration by what means or policy they will do it. And if they be not able, then the Mayor to yield up his sword unto the Queen's Highness, and to show the lets and impediments of their unhability.1
The Council must have made very anxious inquiry into the matter ; and they certainly did not think the two prebendaries guiltless of encouraging the tumult, whatever steps these gentlemen took, when it grew to a head, to prevent injury to the preacher. Eight days after the occurrence two of the ringleaders, a priest and a barber, were set on the pillory for it, and, after the barbarous fashion of the times, had their ears nailed to the pillory. The priest was parson of St. Ethelberga within Bishopsgate.2 This was on the 21st; but cruel as the punishment was, it was not effective, and on the 23rd " was the same priest set on the pillory again for mo words." 3
So Mary thus early had ample evidence of the necessity for great caution — all the more so because the larger number of her Council were of the new religion and could not sympathise with the objects that she had at heart. And, unfortunately, she gave some dissatisfaction even to those who did so. For loyal servants complained that she easily admitted to
1 lb. p. 319.
2 His name, it would appear by the list in Newcourt's Repcrtorhcm (i. 346), was John Dey. He was deprived next year, and a successor appointed to him on the 2nd June.
3 Machyn, Diary, p. 42.
16 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION BK.vn
The
Queen's proclama- tion, 18th August.
her Council those who had conspired against her life and honour, while they who had stood by her in adversity did not receive their due. Among those who felt thus was the Earl of Derby, who had assembled 15,000 or 20,000 men for the Queen's service. For himself, as he informed one of the Imperial envoys, being independent, he made no complaint ; but he knew there were many others who might too easily become disaffected.1
Still, as regards the main subject she had in view the Queen pursued a wise and tolerant course. At this time she had retired to Richmond, whence she issued a proclamation on the 18th, five days after Dr. Bourne's sermon, of the following tenor : —
First, Her Majesty, being presently, by the only goodness of God, settled in her just possession of the Imperial crown of the realm and other dominions thereunto belonging, cannot now hide that religion which, God and the world knoweth, she hath ever professed from her infancy hitherto ; which as her Majesty is minded to maintain for herself by God's grace during her time, so doth her Highness much desire, and would be glad, the same were of all her subjects quietly and charitably entertained.
And yet she doth signify unto all her Majesty's loving subjects, that of her most gracious disposition and clemency, her Highness minded not to compel any her said subjects thereunto, until such time as further order, by common assent, may be taken therein ; forbidding, nevertheless, all her subjects of all degrees, at their perils, to move seditions or stir unquietness in her people by interpreting the laws of her realm after their brains and fancies, but quietly to continue for the time till (as before is said) further order may be taken ; and therefore willeth and straitly chargeth and commandeth all her good loving subjects to live together in quiet sort and Christian charity, leaving those new found devilish terms of papist and heretic, and such like, and applying their whole care, study, and travail, to live in the fear of God, exercising their conversations in such charitable and godly doing as their lives may indeed express the great hunger and thirst of God's glory, which by rash talk
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 16th August, u.s.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 17
and words many have pretended ; and in so doing they shall best please God and live without danger of the laws, and maintain the tranquillity of the realm/ whereof as her Highness shall be most glad, so if any man shall rashly presume to make any assemblies of people, or, at any public assemblies or otherwise, shall go about to stir the people to disorder or disquiet, she mindeth, according to her duty, to see the same most severely reformed and punished according to her Highness' laws.
And furthermore, forasmuch as it is well known that sedition and false rumors have been nourished and maintained in this realm by the subtlety and malice of some evil disposed persons, which take upon them without sufficient authority to preach and interpret the word of God after their own brains in churches and other places, both public and private, and also by playing of interludes and printing of false fond books and ballads, rhymes, and other lewd treatises in the English tongue, containing doctrine in matters now in question, and controversies touching the high points and mysteries in Christian religion ; which books, ballads, rhymes, and treatises are chiefly by the printers and stationers set out to sale to her Grace's subjects of an evil zeal for lucre and covetousness of vile gain : her Highness, therefore, straitly chargeth and commandeth all and every of her said subjects, of whatsoever state, condition, or degree they be, that none of them presume from henceforth to preach, or by way of reading in churches and other public or private places, except in schools of the university, to interpret or teach any scriptures, or any manner of points of doctrine concerning religion ; neither also to print any book, matter, ballad, rhyme, interlude, process or treatise, nor to play any interlude, except they have her Grace's special licence in writing for the same, upon pain to incur her Highness' indignation and displeasure. And her Highness also further chargeth and commandeth all and every her said subjects that none of them of their own authority do presume to punish or to rise against any offender in the causes above- said, or any other offender in words and deeds in the late rebellion committed or done by the duke of Northumberland or his complices, or to seize any of their goods, or violently to use any such offender by striking, or imprisoning, or threatening the same ; but wholly to refer the punishment of all such offenders unto her Highness and public authority, whereof her Majesty mindeth to see due punishment, VOL. IV C
1 8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
according to the order of her Highness' laws. Nevertheless, as her Highness mindeth not hereby to restrain and discourage any of her loving subjects to give from time to time true information against any such offenders in the causes abovesaid unto her Grace or her Council, for the punishment of every such offender, according to the effect of her Highness' laws provided in that part; so her said Highness exhorteth and straitly chargeth her said' subjects to observe her commandment and pleasure in every part aforesaid, as they will avoid her Highness' said indignation and most grievous displeasure : The severity and rigour whereof, as her Highness shall be most sorry to have cause to put the same in execution, so doth she utterly determine not to permit such unlawful and rebellious doings of her subjects, whereof may ensue the danger of her royal estate, to remain unpunished ; but to see her said laws touching these points to be throughly executed ; which extremities she trusteth all her said loving subjects will foresee, dread, and avoid accordingly ; her said Highness straitly charging and commanding all mayors, sheriffs, justices of peace, bailiffs, constables, and all other public officers and ministers, diligently to see to the observing and executing of her said commandments and pleasure, and to apprehend all such as shall willingly offend in this part, committing the same to the next gaol, there to remain without bail or mainprise till, upon certificate made to her Highness or her Privy Council of their names and doings, and upon examination had of their offences, some further order shall be taken for their punishment, to the example of others, according to the effect and tenor of the laws aforesaid.1
This proclamation, it will be seen, was in complete accordance with what the Queen had already said to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen in the Tower the day before the outrage, and a more judicious manifesto could not well have been issued. She declared that she would use no compulsion in religious matters till further order was taken by common assent, and she therefore warned her subjects not to revile each other as Papists and heretics, but to strive to live in charity with each other. No one must preach or interpret
1 Cardwell, Documentary Annals, i. 114-17.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 19
Scripture without a licence, or print books, ballads, or plays without licence, as the stationers were doing for mere gain, and none was to attempt even to punish offenders in the late rebellion on his own responsibility, but leave all to public authority. The anxiety that simple justice should prevail was surely very marked, as it is also iu the paragraph which forbade undue proceedings even against rebels, or those implicated in the Great Conspiracy of Northumberland. Nothing was to be done to fore- stall due punishment, even of such great offenders, by regular process of law.
Even the actual punishments inflicted for the The rebellion were singularly few ; and the fact is surely a ^ts^f strong evidence of Mary's humanity. No one at this traitors. time suffered capitally for Northumberland's gigantic treason except the Duke himself and two others, Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer. These had been arraigned and received sentence at Westminster Hall, the Duke, with the Marquis of Northampton and the Earl of Warwick, the Duke's son, on the 18th August, Sir Andrew Dudley, Sir John and Sir Harry Gates, and Sir Thomas Palmer on the day following.1 On the 21st Northumberland and the other prisoners were confessed in the Tower and partook of the Mass together. Next day the Duke declared upon the scaffold that for sixteen years he had been misled by false teachers, and exhorted all his hearers to be true to the Old Learning. But of the six others who had been condemned like him, the lives of four were spared.
Towards personal enemies it is clear that the Queen was not revengeful ; and she was admonished by her cousin the Emperor that she had been far too lenient — a fact which was impressed upon her later by the course of events. On the 13th August, five days before the trial of Northumberland, when she
1 Machyn, Diary, pp. 41, 332.
20 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
was at Richmond, Renard did indeed advise clemency considering the great number of prisoners, but was afraid that she would carry it too far ; for he was told she had pardoned even Northampton. She replied that she had pardoned no one yet, not even Northamp- ton ; and as to Lady Jane, she could on no account assent to her death, because she had been the victim of Northumberland's intrigues, and three days before they brought her from Sion to the Tower as Queen, she knew not what to say about it. Moreover, it had been discovered that her marriage with Lord Guild- ford was void, owing to a precontract with a servant of Bishop Gardiner's. Whether there was anything in this story or not, may perhaps be doubted. Renard suspected it was only a got-up story to save Jane's life, and urged upon the Queen by the example of Theodosius, the Emperor, putting to death not only the rebellious Maximus but his son Victor, whom he had intended to be his successor in an usurped dignity, the danger of allowing even a young usurper to escape.1 But Mary's humanity would not listen to such counsels. Her chief anxiety, however, was about the religious problem ; and when Gardiner's chaplain, Watson, preached at Paul's Cross on the 20th, special care was taken to prevent a repetition of the disorders of the previous Sunday. All the crafts of the City were present in their best livery, " sitting on forms, every craft by themself, and my lord Mayor and the Aldermen and 200 of the guard to see no disquiet done."2 Northum- It was believed — and perhaps not without reason — repent?8 th.at Northumberland's confession and return to the ance. Church before he suffered would have a powerful
effect with many others. We should rather suppose, indeed, that it was due to sincere repentance on his
1 [But see Gibbon iii. 166, ed. Bury, "Victor . . . died by the order, perhaps by the hand, of the bold Arbogastes." — Ed.] a Machyn, Diary, u.s. ; Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 83.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 21
part ; for the prospect of death often has a sobering effect, even on very bold sinners, and we cannot well understand his conduct otherwise. He had taken a mere politician's view of religion hitherto, but he died a [religious ?] man.1 The Queen's example also had much effect, for she had Mass regularly said in the Revival of Tower by Gardiner ; 2 and even in London the Mass was the Mass> getting gradually restored in one church after another. On the 23rd August it was sung in Latin, with tapers and a cross on the altar, at St. Nicholas Cold Abbey in Old Fish Street ; and next day at St. Nicholas Olave's in Bread Street.3 At that time the Queen was at Richmond, and Mass was sung in Court six or seven times a day.4 But however much might be done in this way, something more was requisite than protec- tion for the Queen's religion and toleration for the forms sanctioned by her father and her brother. She was, against her will, " Supreme Head of the Church of England." The title had descended to her by law, and it was her duty to act up to it as best she could. The Pope had at this time no jurisdiction within the realm, for the governments of Henry and Edward alike had disowned his authority ; and, indeed, it was an irregularity on Mary's part, for which she wrote to excuse herself to the Pope, to have divine offices of the old type performed in a country which had cut
1 A very minute account of Northumberland's confession and execution is given by the Spaniard Guaras who actually witnessed them (see The Accession of Queen Mary, edited by Garnett, privately printed, pp. 106-9). I cannot agree with Dr. Garnett's note at p. 136. No doubt it was suggested at the time by some that the Duke's recantation was influenced by a faint hope of pardon ; but Lady Jane Grey's opinion seems to me much more sound. "For the answering that he hoped for life by his turning," she said, "though other men be of that opinion, I utterly am not. For what man is there living, I pray you, although he had been innocent, that would hope of life in that case, being in the field against the Queen in person as general, and after his taking so hated and evil spoken of by the commons, and at his coming into prison so wondered at as the like was never heard by any man's time ? "
2 Chr. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 16.
3 Machyn, Diary, pp. 42, 333. See also later cases cited by Dixon, iv. 25 note.
4 Ambassadors to Emperor, 27th August, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 323.
22 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vi,
itself off from Rome, and was yet unreconciled. Even the coming act of the Coronation would have no spiritual validity unless it was condoned by the Pope. But it was actually necessary, even with a view to that reconciliation with Rome for which she longed, that she should make use of her inherited function as " Supreme Head of the Church " to pave the way for it. And so the odious title actually appeared shortly after this in writs for summoning Convocation.
On the 9th September the Imperial Ambassadors reported to their master that though most of the London churches kept the Edwardine Order, and there was much secret deliberation among those who obstinately adhered to it, the old Mass was beginning to be said in the Universities and in several of the churches. The Queen, moreover, they thought, was anxious to carry things further than need be. They had considered that it would be enough to put back the Mass and ritual to the state in which things were at the death of Henry VIII. ; but the Queen was most anxious to replace the Kingdoms of England and Ireland as soon as possible under the obedience of the Church, as they were in earlier days. For this object she longed for the coming of Cardinal Pole, whom the Pope had already made Legate for England, but whom the Emperor was determined to detain upon the Continent for reasons which we shall see here- after. Meanwhile she had made application to the Pope to remit the ecclesiastical censures fulminated against the kingdom, that the people might the more easily acquiesce in the restoration of the old religion.1 Pole to be Here we must enlarge our view a little ; for hither- sent to to we have been considering only the state of things Le|ate. M in England. But England, always insular geographic- ally, had been still more insular in another sense
1 Ambassadors to tbe Emperor, 9th and 13th September 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 348-9, 365.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 23
ever since Henry VIII. 's breach with Rome. For, however worldly-minded continental rulers might be, they mostly agreed in maintaining the old deference to Rome as a centre of Church government, and whatever their vagaries, there was still a common understanding that their own authority, and even their own mutual rights and claims, required con- firmation in the end from one who was recognised as the spiritual ruler of Christendom. But Henry VIII. had utterly rejected that spiritual rule, bringing the Church in England under subjection to himself, and those who governed under his son had followed up his policy with further innovations. Rome could never, in the nature of things, condone such conduct, and there was naturally great joy at Rome when the news arrived that Mary had succeeded to her legitimate rights and had overthrown, even without bloodshed, the Great Conspiracy against her. Pope Julius III. at once determined to send to England as legate one who, being an Englishman himself, proscribed and exiled for over twenty years for his fidelity to the Holy See, seemed exactly the right agent for recon- ciling that schismatic country to the Church which it had abandoned. Cardinal Pole was not at Rome when he was thus appointed legate. He was at the monastery of Maguzzano on the Lago di Garda, where he had already been gladdened by the news of Mary's accession, and had thereupon written to the Pope of the great opportunity for effecting England's recovery. But warring nations lay between Rome and England, and the Pope felt it necessary at the same time to appoint him also legate to the Emperor Charles V. and Henry II. of France, soon afterwards recalling the legates he had already sent to their Courts, whose efforts to make peace between the belligerents had turned out very unpromising.1
1 Papiers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 72 ; Calendar of Venetian State Papers, v. Nos. 766-769, 771-774, 776, sq. ; Phillips, Life of Reginald Pole (ed. 1767), ii. 37-40.
24 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
Finding himself invested with these functions, Pole at once wrote to Mary to know when and how he might best discharge them. He could well presume upon her sympathy, being one, as he said, who of all living men had suffered most for her cause, and he urged upon her to make restoration of obedience to the Holy See her supreme object, as neither justice, religion, nor good government could be restored otherwise. Her success so far in quelling the factions which opposed her ought to be a great encouragement. Unhappily, he did not know the difficulties she had to contend with at that very moment. His letter was written in the monastic seclusion of Maguzzano on the 13th August, the very day of the outrage on Dr. Bourne at Paul's Cross.1 He sent it to England by a messenger named Henry Penning, who was to visit on his way Cardinal Dandino at Brussels, — that Papal legate to the Emperor whom the Pope was going to recall ; and he wrote himself to Dandino to give Penning such information as might be useful for his guidance.2 But Dandino, being much nearer to England than Pole, had already taken steps to ascertain the state of matters there. He had despatched thither a young man of great ability named Commendone, who was afterwards a Cardinal, and what this young man saw of the country showed clearly that it was not ripe to receive a papal legate. He had crossed the Channel in disguise and succeeded by great dexterity in getting private interviews with the Queen. He saw the dagger thrown at Dr. Bourne, and he witnessed the execution of Northumberland. The Queen persuaded him to delay his return till after the Coronation, and even till after the meeting of Parlia- ment. She kept her communications with him a
1 Venetian Calendar, vol. v. No. 766 ; Epp. Poli. IV. 116-119, printed from an imperfect copy, but the beginning of the letter is supplied from Raynaldus at p. 428.
2 lb. No. 768.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 25
dead secret from everybody ; and her final decision was that it would be better for Pole to come gradually towards Brussels, where she could let him know what hope there was of advantage in his pro- ceeding further.1
It is clear enough that, from Mary's point of view, real order could not be restored in England till the country was again reconciled to Rome, and even she saw, as the Emperor did, that the change could only be effected gradually. Meanwhile she personally would not touch what was in any way unclean. The holy oil necessary for her coronation was a thing that could not be procured at present in England, and she sent a message to the Bishop of Arras (Antoine Perrenot, a son of Charles V.'s minister, Granvelle) to send her some as secretly as possible.2
But another urgent requisite for the kingdom itself, New and especially in view of the Coronation and the ^nted* Parliament, was that the bench of Bishops should be properly filled. At present, besides the two Archbishoprics, both held by married men who had forsaken the ways of Rome, there were nearly a dozen sees held by heretics, besides two that were vacant. Two intruders, indeed, Ridley and Ponet, had already been deprived, and Bonner and Gardiner restored to their old sees. Voysey, too, was restored to Exeter, Coverdale being ejected before the end of the month. But more Bishops (rightly ordained Bishops, of course) seemed urgently required, if not for the Coronation at least for the Parliament, where matters concerning religion would have to be considered. And how could such Bishops be made in a schismatic kingdom ? The Queen was told that she could plead necessity, and the Pope could be persuaded secretly to confirm her nominations. She could even
1 Venetian Calendar, vol. v. Nos. 807, 813. 2 Ambassadors to Emperor, 9th September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 359.
26 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION ek.vh
get a Papal dispensation to make such nominations until the schism was at an end. Or she could make a protestation before her own Lord Chancellor that she made such provision of Bishops from sheer necessity and not to oppose the authority of the Church. In reply she said she would make the protestation before the Imperial envoys, Scheyfve and Renard. But none of these suggestions satisfied her, and nothing was done to meet the difficulty.1 Cranmer's Such were Mary's views and difficulties at this position, time. The supreme rule over the Church was actually in her hands, although she thought it ought not to be ; and meanwhile she would govern by as . large a toleration as possible. But she was not even a spiritual personage, and who, among spiritual men, held the chief place at this time ? Cranmer, who had actually declared her a bastard, and who quite recently, however unwillingly, had been implicated in the great conspiracy against her ! The situation was a strange one. As priest and Archbishop Cranmer's orders were good, whatever his conduct might have been ; and until he was condemned by some court, spiritual or temporal, he could not be set aside. For as yet he had not even been tried for treason ; and Mary respected his position if not him- self. Other Bishops of the New Learning, such as Coverdale, Hooper, and Latimer, had already been called before the Council in August and the begin- ning of September.2 Very soon the Primate gave occasion to the Council to call him likewise before them, indeed some of his doings had already been made a subject of inquiry by Royal Commissioners. For on Sunday, the 27th August, he and Sir Thomas Smith and Dr. May, Dean of St. Paul's, were cited to appear in the week following before the Queen's Com- missioners in the Bishop's Consistory in St. Paul's
1 Ambassadors to Emperor, 19th September 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 378-80. 2 Acts of the P. C. iv. 328, 335-7, 340.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 27
Cathedral ; and he obeyed the summons.1 On the 29th the Commissioners sat to consider the validity of the deprivations of bishops under the late reign, and of the titles of those intruded into their sees.2 Among the results of their proceedings, Bonner, as we have already seen, was restored to London, his appeal being now heard by a more just tribunal,3 Ridley was put aside, and Tunstall was reinstated in Durham.
An act of Cranmer himself in his capacity of Metropolitan, compelled a more special considera- tion of his case at this time. Mass was gradually being restored here and there both in London and in the country, when Dr. Thornden, suffragan bishop of Dover, once a monk of Christchurch, Canterbury, and since monasticism was got rid of, a prebendary of the new cathedral establish- ment, presuming, perhaps, that the Archbishop, with whom he at one time had stood high in favour,4 would now follow what was obviously the Queen's desire, ventured without his leave to set up the Mass again in the great metropolitical church. It was not "unnaturally supposed that the change really had the Archbishop's sanction, which he had not given in fact ; and rumour went so far as to declare that Cranmer himself, when he saw the turn of affairs, had even offered to say Mass at Edward VI. 's burial. This was an imputation under which he felt that he could not rest quiet ; and on the 7th September he put forth a very outspoken manifesto in the following terms : —
As the Devil, Christ's ancient adversary, is a liar and the Cranmer's father of lies, even so hath he stirred up his servants and manifesto.
1 Foxe, vi. 538. 2 Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 83.
3 The sentence of deprivation against Bonner seems to have been annulled by a special commission appointed a little later, viz. on the 5th September, as Collier found from Bonner's register (see his Eccl. Hist. vi. 10, ed. 1840). But the commission of the 29th August probably reported first that a special commission would be required. On Sunday 17th September Bonner sang Mass again at St. Paul's. — Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 84. 4 See Jenkyns, Remains of Cranmer, i. 238-9.
28 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
members to persecute Christ and his true word and religion with lying ; which he ceaseth not to do most earnestly at this present time. For whereas the prince of famous memory, King Henry the Eighth, seeing the great abuses of the Latin mass, reformed some things therein in his lifetime, and after, our late sovereign lord King Edward the Sixth took the same wholly away, for the manifold and great errors and abuses of the same, and restored in the place thereof Christ's holy Supper according to Christ's own institution, and as the Apostles used the same in the primitive Church ; the Devil goeth about now, by lying, to overthrow the Lord's Supper again, and to restore his Latin satisfactory Mass, a thing of his own invention and device. And to bring the same more easily to pass, some have abused the name of me, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, bruiting abroad that I have set up the mass at Canterbury, and that I offered to say mass at the burial of our late Sovereign Prince King Edward the Sixth, and that I offered to say mass before the Queen's Highness, and at Paul's Church, and I wot not where. And although I have been well exercised these twenty years to suffer and bear evil reports and lies, and have not been much grieved thereat, but have borne all things quietly ; yet when untrue reports and lies turn to the hindrance of God's truth, they are in no wise to be suffered. Wherefore, these be to signify unto the world that it was not I that set up the mass at Canterbury, but it was a false, flattering, lying, and dis- sembling monk, which caused mass to be set up there without mine advice or counsel : Reddat Mi Dominus in die Mo. And as for offering myself to say mass before the Queen's Highness, or in any other place, I never did it, as Her Grace well knoweth. But if Her Grace will give me leave, I shall be ready to prove, against all that will say the contrary, that all that is contained in the Holy Communion, set out by the most innocent and godly prince, King Edward the Sixth, in his high Court of Parliament, is conformable to that order which our Saviour Christ did both observe and command to be observed, and which His Apostles and the primitive Church used many years : — whereas the Mass, in many things, not only hath no foundation of Christ, His Apostles, nor the primitive Church, but is manifestly contrary to the same, and containeth many horrible abuses in it. And although many, either unlearned or malicious, do report that Master Peter Martyr is unlearned, yet, if the Queen's High- ness will grant thereunto, I, with the said Master Peter
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 29
Martyr and other four or five which I shall choose, will by God's grace, take upon us to defend, not only the common prayers of the Church, the ministration of the Sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies, but also all the doctrine and religion set out by our Sovereign lord, King Edward the Sixth, to be more pure and according to God's word than any other that hath been used in England these one thousand years : so that God's word may be judge, and that the reasons and proofs of both parties may be set out in writing, to the intent, as well that all the world may examine and judge thereon, as that no man shall start back from his writing. And whereas they boast of the faith that hath been in the Church these fifteen hundred years, we will join with them in this point ; and that the same doctrine and usage is to be followed winch was in the Church fifteen hundred years past — and so they shall never be able to prove theirs.
Cranmer was undoubtedly honest in maintaining He is sent the Edwardine religion in this way, and offering t0^ to defend it by argument. But if he was right, Queen Mary had been mistaken in her equally honest adherence to the Mass while she was Princess, and in her efforts to restore it now. What was to be done with an Archbishop who was thus committed to principles so much opposed to those of her who was now the " Supreme Head " ? There must inevitably be some consultation about it, and Cranmer was summoned before the Council. He appeared on the 13 th September. At an earlier hour Latimer, who was also summoned, appeared there on that same day, and " for his seditious demeanour " was committed to the Tower. The Archbishop's hearing was put off till next day, the 14th, when, according to the Council-minute, " after long and serious debating of his offence by the whole Board, it was thought con- venient that, as well for the treason committed by him against the Queen's Highness, as for the aggra- vating of the same his offence by spreading abroad seditious bills moving tumults to the disquietness of the present state, he should be committed to the Tower, there to remain and be referred to justice,
30 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
or further ordered as shall stand with the Queen's pleasure."1
We are told by Foxe that the Council did not call Cranmer directly to account for his manifesto, but ordered him to appear before the Commissioners, bringing at the same time a true inventory of all his goods. If this be true, as, indeed, seems not unlikely, the Archbishop must have made one appear- ance before the Council, earlier than the two recorded appearances on the 13th and 14th. He might well have been before them on the 8th, the very day after the date of his manifesto, and been at once remanded for examination by the Commissioners. After they had received his inventory, one of them, Dr. Heath (rightful Bishop of Worcester, as he was accounted, though put aside by Edward VI. 's government to make way for Hooper), is said to have addressed Cranmer in these words : " My lord, there is a bill put forth in your name, wherein you seem to be aggrieved with setting up the Mass again. We doubt not but you are sorry that it has gone abroad." The Archbishop replied that he was indeed the author of the bill, and that he was sorry that it had got abroad in that form. " For when I had written it," he said, " Master Scory got the copy of me, and it is now come abroad ; and, as I understand, the City is full of it. For which I am sorry that it so passed my hands ; for I had intended otherwise to have made it in a more large and ample manner, and minded to have set it on Paul's church door, and on the doors of all the churches in London, with mine own seal joined thereto." The Commissioners on this had nothing more to say to him, except that he should shortly hear further.2
Scory, as Foxe informs us, found the bill lying in a window in the Archbishop's chamber, and got the Archbishop's leave to take a copy, which he
1 Acts of the P. C. iv. 345-7. 2 Foxe, viii. 38.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 31
lent to a friend. Copies then got multiplied, so that " every scrivener's shop, almost, was occupied in writing and copying out the same." No wonder the document stirred the public mind deeply. The dying confession of Northumberland may have made a temporary impression in favour of the old religion. But here was a serious counterblast from the chief spiritual ruler in England. In the Tower or out of the Tower, he was not yet divested of authority, and the new school rejoiced greatly to find that they could still rely on such powerful support. Preachers who had been preparing to escape abroad, changed their minds and remained at home. And the effect was increased by the return at this very time of Kino; Edward's Ambassadors recalled from foreign parts ; for men like Sir Philip Hoby and Sir Richard Morysine, just returned from the Emperor's Court, understood the politics of the Reformation better than most people. They could take a European view of matters, and knew how to help on an anti-Catholic reaction at home.
Moreover, there was a further source of discomfort The Lady in the demeanour of the heir- presumptive to the Ehzabeth- Crown. Elizabeth was as naturally of the new school of religion as Mary was of the old. Her very birth and parentage recalled the cruel injustice to the Queen's mother and the Queen herself, effected through the force of heresy and by the disruption of the Church ; yet heretics wanted still to uphold the unrighteous sentence of divorce procured by Henry VIII. from the too subservient Cranmer, and so to place Elizabeth as regards legitimacy at least on a level with the Queen. For Anne Boleyn had been a great mainstay of that " New Learning " which had always been called heresy, and her daughter had been brought up in the new ways, not in the old. Even in the middle of August the Queen had been anxiously considerinof what course to take with her. At the
32 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
end of that month, when Mass was regularly sung in Court, Elizabeth and Anne of Cleves could not be induced to attend it. In the beginning of September Elizabeth persuaded two French preachers, who thought it prudent to leave the country, not to do so, but to go about openly in the streets. Just then, however, seeing that the Queen was grieved at her conduct, she showed signs of repentance. At a private interview with her sister, she fell on her knees before her, weeping, and said she knew no cause for her displeasure but religion, in which she excused herself by the fact that she had been brought up differently. She had never heard the teaching of the old religion, but would be glad, she said, to study it if she might have books or a learned teacher. The Queen readily acquiesced and was greatly pleased. Elizabeth actually attended Mass on the Nativity of our Lady (8th September), though she complained that she was not well. She seemed to have begun a new course of life in this matter. But on Sunday, the 17 th, she withdrew herself from Mass once more, and people seemed to be forming parties and intrigues in her name.1
The Queen was warned that rebels communicated their projects to the Lady Elizabeth and placed all their hopes in her, knowing that if anything happened to Mary, she would immediately be raised to the throne ; in which case heresy would prevail in the kingdom generally, and Catholics would be per- secuted. Mary replied that she did not trust her sister. She had spoken with her a few days before and asked her if she believed firmly what Catholics believed about the Holy Sacrament, for it was thought she only dissembled in going to Mass. She begged her to speak freely the judgment of her own con- science. Elizabeth said she intended to declare
1 Ambassadors to Emperor, 16th and 27th August, 9th and 19th September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 277, 323, 349, 350, 360, 382-3.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 33
publicly that what she did in going to Mass was what her conscience urged her to do ; and she did it, she said, of her own free will without fear or false- hood. Mary told the Imperial Ambassadors that she was very timid, and trembled in speaking to her. The Ambassadors, however, put their own interpreta- tion on her answer and her trembling, insisting strongly that it would not be well to trust her ; for the heretics were very bold, declaring that Papists would have their time, but it would not be long, and then Elizabeth would rule.1
Even if Mary had been deficient in sisterly feeling, which there is no reason to believe, however wide a difference their father's domestic history was calculated to create between them, she could not but see that it was her interest to treat with kindness one whose influence was so great and might well be so mis- chievous. She herself was not only bent on the re-establishment of the old religion, but also on one great personal object which went along with it, which indeed she could not accomplish without doing some slight violence to sentiments which no less naturally would commend themselves to her sister. For she hoped that the coming Parliament would put an end to the slur upon her birth inflicted by a more subservient Parliament in the time of her father. But there was so strong a force of popular feeling, at least in London, enlisted against reaction in matters of religion, that she felt it very necessary to be prudent.2 And the French Ambassador was told by a member of Parliament that before any religious settlement could be arrived at, there would
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 23rd September 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 407-8 ; Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 160.
2 The French Ambassador, after speaking of Elizabeth's compliance with the Queen's wish that she would hear Mass, to which it was feared she had been driven by fear of consequences, adds: "luy faisant depuis ce temps ladite dame [i.e. the Queen], pour la mieulx contenir, toutes les faveurs qu'elle peult, scaichant que cela servira grandement a l'establissement de la religion et a la definition de ce parlement en faveur d'icelle, qui ne passera,
VOL. IV D
34 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
be placards and pamphlets in abundance distributed in opposition to the Queen's policy. Moreover, things stronger than pamphlets were still in evidence. A captain in the service of Elizabeth, who had been among the followers of Northumberland at the head of four hundred men, gave one day two strokes of a poniard to a villager for wishing that Mass were said. This man, who had been the first of the insurgents to receive the Queen's pardon, was at once made prisoner, and, it was believed, stood in danger of his life ; but what was done with him is not re- corded.1 Mary's A multitude of anxieties pressed upon the Queen
rectify the during that month of September in view of her coinage. Coronation and Parliament, which were arranged to be held in October. And one thing should be remembered to her credit, of which later events unhappily effaced the memory. She made one great effort, at least, thus early in her reign, to correct the debased currency of her father and her brother. On the 7th September a proclamation was issued upon the subject, which had the immediate effect of lowering the price of victuals by more than a third.2 Matters, indeed, had become so intolerable that even under Edward VI. and Northumberland a better coinage had been minted. But unfortunately the base money still in
ainsy qu'il est aise a, croire, sans grandes difficultez, comme mesme m'a diet ung de ceulx qui y doibt assister ; lequel n'a crainct de me dire que entre cy et la se trouveroit grand nombre de placards et aultres choses escriptes, semees et publiees contre l'intention et vouloir de ceste royne." — Ambassades, u.s.
1 Our knowledge of this incident is derived from two independent sources, the despatches of the Imperial Ambassadors and of Noailles. And there are variations in the two accounts, though the name given to the Captain in both is the same — Mirtiz or Mertyz. I have followed the account of the Imperialists that he used his poniard against a peasant for wishing Mass to be said. But Noailles (u.s. 161) says he beat a priest after he had said Mass — a more serious thing. Also Noailles, writing on the 22nd September, dates the incident (or at least the imprisonment of the offender) three days before, while the Imperialists, writing on the 23rd, state the fact as having taken place twelve or fifteen days before.
2 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 9th September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 342-3.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 35
circulation drove out the good, which was soon all exported ; and the one sure remedy of calling in the base money was not attempted even now. So the amelioration was but for a time, and for a real reformation of the coinage people had to wait till the days of Queen Elizabeth.1
Another proclamation the same day, not less she honourable to Mary, tended further to increase her Proimses
J ' . to pay the
popularity for the time. She engaged to pay the debts of debts alike of her father and of her brother — a thing !^fatlier which, as the Imperial Ambassadors wrote, was not brother. expected, as she might very well, they considered, have excused herself from paying those of her brother.2 There is no lack of evidence, indeed, of her generosity of feeling : her clemency in spar- ing the lives of all but ringleaders of rebellion has already been noticed. Perhaps it might have been attended with better effects if she had, from the first, made it her plan to combine with it a piece of her grandfather's policy, which she actually adopted, but apparently not with judgment. For Henry VII. made rebellions pay their own expenses by the fines which he levied on the inhabitants of the different counties implicated. But Mary, in imitating this policy, did not apply it to districts but to persons, and, it would seem, on no fixed principle. She appointed commissioners to make compositions with Northumberland's adherents, and in this way levied large sums (of which, doubtless, her Treasury stood much in need) on some of his more conspicuous fol- lowers, according to their supposed capacities. On Lord Clinton, who had been Lord Admiral under Edward VI., they levied as much as £6000, and on Lord Ferrers (as he was still called by many, though he had been created Viscount Hereford in the last
1 See Oman on "The Tudors and the Currency" in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, N.S. ix. 184-5. See also Acts of the P. C. iv. 345.
3 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 9th September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 343.
36 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
reign) no less than £7000. Such forced compositions were, of course, much resented.1
Mary, in truth, was not the sort of person to study the ways of the world for her own security. Her thoughts were deeply occupied with the question how the Catholic religion was to be restored and Church authority placed again upon the old basis. Even at her Coronation she feared that some new form of oath would be submitted to her with words inserted recognising the new religion. On this subject, as on others, she asked advice of the Imperial Ambassadors, who advised that the form should be examined before- hand, and if it made mention of the new religion she must by no means take an oath of that kind. She said she had seen the old form, in which there was no mention of a new religion, but which bound her to keep the laws of England. Even that form would be construed now as favouring the new religion, but she would make it qu'elle gardera les loix justes et licites — words which would free her from any obligation to keep those opposed to papal authority.2 The Queen The Emperor, of whose policy with regard to imperial England I shall speak more fully in the next chapter, Am- had been watching for months with grave anxiety the turn of affairs there, and had feared most of all that over hasty steps might be taken by Mary for the restoration of religion. But the progress made in this matter had been what he called " miraculous " ; and, imagining that Mary's affairs were now in a good train, he wrote from Mons on the 14th September that he thought it advisable, for reasons which do not concern us here, to recall a special embassy that he had sent over before the death of Edward VI., leaving Renard with the Queen as his sole Ambassador. On receipt of this despatch, the Ambassadors asked an
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 13th Sept., R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 367-8. 2 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 19th September, u.s. p. 380.
bassadors.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 37
audience, but were delayed till Thursday the 21st, when, being pressed by the Queen, who promised to write to the Emperor in their excuse, they all agreed to remain till after the Coronation. The Queen, in fact, had given them a secret audience the day before this public audience, directing them to come to the house at which she was staying (evidently St. James's Palace) through the park and gardens, so that they might not be noticed except by two Servants of the Chamber and " Lady Clarence," whom she made her special confidants. And it was at this secret audience that she first requested that they would stay ; for she confessed that owing to the objections people took to the Mass, and the conspiracies of ill-willers, she knew not what course to take without their help, as she could not entirely trust any of her own Council.1 A question had been raised whether the Parliament should be held before the Coronation, or the Coronation before Parliament as was first intended (for this had been the plan before the end of August),2 and the Council could not come to an agreement about it. As one reason for holding the Parliament first, some urged that there was already an outcry that the Queen wanted to go against the laws of the country passed by Parliament. The Ambassadors naturally sought to excuse themselves from giving advice on a matter with which they had no commission to meddle; but they suggested that this objection overlooked the provisions made in Henry VIII. 's will, which (they understood) had been approved and registered by Parliament. Yet they thought that the order of the Parliament and the Coronation already published
1 " Que ses afferes estoient tant troublez et incertains, tant pour le fait de la messe que pour les conspirations des malings qu'elle ne seavoit comme s'assurer et disposer ses afferes, moins les osoit communiquer, sinon a nous pour non se confier trop de son conseil et congnoistre les hunieurs des particuliers y estans."
2 It had been definitely arranged before the 27th August that the Coronation should take place on the 1st October, and that Parliament should meet on the 5th. — Ambassadors to the Emperor, 27th August.
38 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
should be followed ; 1 that the Queen and the country- were well furnished with Councillors to see to these things ; and that if people were to distribute bills such as one laid before them by a friend of Courtenay and of Elizabeth to put the Parliament before the Coronation, in order to upset the arrangements of the Queen,2 it would be very dangerous.3 Doubts as As to the Coronation, indeed, there were doubts Queen's raised about the security of the Queen's person in safety. passing through the town. But the Queen herself, by the advice of the Ambassadors, determined to have her Coronation on the day already named for it, the 1st October, and said she would have an armed force to accompany her. This the Ambassadors strongly approved, being convinced that there were intrigues afloat ; and they pointed to Elizabeth as a centre of conspiracy in the way that we have already seen. The Queen also told them she had a great scruple about her title of " Head of the Church" given to her in official documents by virtue of Acts of Parliament, and it distressed her that she could not get rid of it at her Coronation. She had conferred on the subject with a man of Cardinal Pole, seeing that she could not consult his master, who, she understood, though he had been created Legate for England, had not thought it advisable to come until he saw matters in better train. His man, however, had given her much good advice for the establishment of her kingdom.
After their audience, while a child was playing the lute and a young lady singing, the Queen in- formed the Ambassadors that the Bishop of Winchester had had a guard of a hundred men in his house the night before, fearing a tumult which took place at
1 This, I think, must be the meaning of the words : " Et neantmoins que nous sembloit l'ordre de la publication du Parlement et Coronement se debvoir ensuyvre."
2 " Pour traverser les afferes de la Royne."
3 The Emperor to his Ambassadors, 14th September. Ambassadors to the Emperor, 19th and 23rd September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 369 sq., 386, 403 sq.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 39
Greenwich among the peasants on account of the celebration of the Mass. No wonder there were great misgivings as to what might occur to the Queen herself on the Coronation day, or on the day before it, when she passed in procession to Westminster. Nor was it merely heretics from whom disturb- ance was to be apprehended. Rebels might easily be stirred up for two other causes besides religion : by the resentment entertained on account of the compositions and loss of offices consequent on Northumberland's treason, or by a spirit of revenge which some nourished for the death of the Duke. Thus the prospects of peaceful government were clouded, and the Ambassadors strongly recommended the Queen to have as large a force as possible for her safety. They also thought she should appoint a trustworthy Admiral and have always three or four seaports at her command. They further warned her that delay in doing justice on the prisoners might be dangerous, and that it was said some of her Councillors and ladies took bribes to procure their pardons.1
All this was unsatisfactory enough, and there were The other causes of anxiety still, which I reserve for J^Sto fuller explanation hereafter. On the 28th September, the three days before the Coronation, the Queen made in CounciL the Tower an extraordinary appeal to her Council, which I cannot but relate as nearly as possible in the very words of the Imperial Ambassadors, translated from the original French : — " She knelt before her Councillors and made a long oration to them, calling to their remembrance her accession to the Crown, the duties of a King and a Queen, her intention to administer the charge which it had pleased God to give her to His praise and service, and for the good of the public and the individual ; that she had chosen them that she might be aided, assisted, and main-
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 23rd September (as above).
40 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. v.i
Her
progress through London, 30th
tained in her position ; that she placed her affairs and her person in their hands, requesting, and neverthe- less charging, them to do that to which they were bound by their oath and duty ; admonishing par- ticularly her High Chancellor, and charging his conscience with the affairs concerning the administra- tion of justice." The Councillors were so moved that not one could refrain from weeping, and they knew not what to reply to an address so humble and unwonted from their Queen and mistress. The scene, it was thought by some, might have been prepared beforehand, being due to fear and timorous- ness ; but it softened the hearts of many and diverted, them from thoughts of intrigue.1
After all, things went off pretty smoothly. Oi the 29th September the Queen, who had come by water to the Tower two days before, with a view to September, her Coronation, made fifteen Knights of the Bath ; and the fact that there was now a female Sovereign had an important effect on the accustomed cere- monies of the Order. It had been the fashion for the new-made knights to bathe and then for the King to kiss them on the shoulder and on the cheeks ; but Mary appointed the Earl of Arundel to act as her substitute in this matter. On the 30th she made her state progress through London to Whitehall, " sitting
1 "Elle fit appeller venir tous ceulx de son Conseil, devant lesquelz elle se mist a genoul, et leur tint ung long propoz, rememorant son advenement a, la Coronne, les offices de roi et roine, l'intention qu'elle ha de adminstrer la charge qu'il a pleu a Dieu lui donner a sa louenge et service, utilite du publicque et particulier ; qu'elle les avoit choisis pour estre aidee, assistee, et maintenue ; qu'elle remectoit ses afferes et personne en leurs mains, les requerant, et neantmoins enjoignant, de fere ce a quoi ilz sont obligez par leurs seiremens et debvoirs ; admonestant particulierement son Grand Chancellier, et chargeant sa conscience des affaires concernant l'administra- tion et distribution de justice. Et furent sesdits conseillers si esmeuz qui n'y avoit celui qui ne larmoia ; de sorte qu'ilz ne scavoient que respondre, admirans ceste tant humble representation et non accoustumee en Angleterre, la grand bont6 et integrity de ladite roine. Et ne doubtons, Sire, que plusieurs 1'interpreteront et estimeront avoir est6 consultee et faicte par craincte et timidite ; mais comme que en soit, ha fiechi les cueurs de plusieurs et divertie de suspecte practicque et intention." — Ambassadors to the Emperor, 30th September 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 424-5.
ch. i MARY'S FIRST TRIALS 41
in a chariot of tissue drawn with six horses, all betrapped with red velvet." Before her rode a number of gentlemen and knights, then divers judges, then divers doctors of divinity. Then followed some of the bishops, after whom came certain lords, then the most part of the Council. Next came the new- made Knights of the Bath, then the Lord Chancellor (Bishop Gardiner) and the Marquis of Winchester, Lord High Treasurer, with the Seal and Mace borne before them ; and after these the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Oxford, who bore the sword before the Queen, and Sir Edward Hastings, who led her horse by his hand. After the Queen's chariot came another with a canopy of cloth-of-silver "and six horses betrapped with the same." In this second chariot sat " the Lady Elizabeth " at one end with her face forward, and at the other end, with her back forward, " the Lady Anne of Cleves." Then came a company of forty-six gentlewomen on horses, and two other chariots with gentlewomen in them.
On the way there was no lack of pageants : one made by the Genoese at Fenchurch Street, another by the Easterlings at Gracechurch Corner, another by the Florentines at the end of Gracechurch Street ; a much-admired one at the Conduit in Cornhill, another, made by the City, at the Great Conduit, and another at the Little Conduit — all these, and others besides, with curious and elaborate devices, characteristic of the times, which it would take too much space to describe here ; not to talk of the performances of a Dutch acrobat on St. Paul's steeple, who did seem- ingly impossible things " on the very top or back of the weathercock, waving a little flag, standing on one foot and shaking the other leg ; then kneeling upon the weathercock itself." At the Little Conduit a purse containing a thousand pounds, or perhaps, as the careful Stow makes the amount, a thousand marks of gold, was presented to the Queen by a child
42 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. v..
in the name of the City, and was most thankfully received. But she was even more interested in a pageant at the Schoolhouse at the east end of St. Paul's, where she stayed some time to hear children singing, with a few men's voices among them.1 Her Next day, Sunday, the 1st October, was the actual
So^Tst c^ay °^ *^e Coronation ; and that, too, passed off well. October. The Queen, first of all, went by water to Westminster Palace, where she remained till about eleven o'clock. Then she went on foot to the Abbey, preceded and accompanied by bishops with their mitres on and crosiers in their hands, a path being railed in the whole way and blue cloth laid over it for their feet. Inside the church, Gardiner, as Lord Chancellor, called out, " If any man will or can allege any cause why Queen Mary should not be crowned, let them speak now." And the people in every part of the church cried out, " Queen Mary ! Queen Mary ! " Gardiner then proclaimed the Queen's general pardon, from which were excepted the prisoners in the Tower and the Fleet and certain others. There were so many ceremonies besides the anointing and crowning, that it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon before she returned. But one remarkable effect of the solemni- ties was that there was no service that day at St. Paul's — neither Matins, Mass, nor Evensong — nor was there any sermon at the Cross. The Queen would have no married clergy, and the whole staff of St. Paul's Cathedral who were not thus disqualified were needed for the Abbey.2
Parliament then met on the 5th, but what was done must be reserved for another chapter, especially as a good many things still require to be explained beforehand.
1 Chr. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 27-30 ; Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 84 ; Machyn, Diary, pp. 45, 334.
2 Chr. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 30, 31 ; Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 84 ; Machyn, pp. 45, 46.
CHAPTER II
FOREIGN INFLUENCES
We have already seen that even from the beginning Mary and of her reiom Mary was unable to confide fully in lhe
~ J •> Emperor.
any of her Council, and that she sought advice on some matters from the Ambassadors of her cousin, the Emperor Charles V., especially from the very able and astute Renard. That she should trust a foreign adviser in anything in preference to her native ministers was in itself a serious misfortune. But it was no more than a natural consequence of the particularly cruel treatment to which she had been subjected, alike by her father and by her brother. Living like a private lady under their despotism, and cut off from all help and counsel, even in matters which concerned her soul, except secret advice given by envoys of the Emperor, she looked still to the same source for guidance after she became Queen, simply because she could not do otherwise in matters which were to her of very profound concern. And the result was that in some things she followed advice which was not altogether for the interest of England, but very much for that of the Emperor.
Charles V., indeed, felt kindly towards his cousin, and had every wish to befriend her ; but with him questions of policy were always matters of first con- cern. And policy governed him here far more than natural affection, though the two motives may not have seemed to him at variance when once it was
43
44 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
clear that intrigues and conspiracies would not prevent Mary's succession. For it is something more than probable that if the Great Conspiracy of Northumberland had been successful in keeping her from the throne, the Emperor, though he would still have befriended her personally so far as he had the power, would then have been most anxious to cultivate the best possible relations with the usurper, though in that case he could hardly have succeeded in greatly weakening the French alliance with England. The As a matter of fact, when he knew that Edward
Embassy was *u a declining state and his death imminent, he sent over a special embassy to England to ascertain the state of affairs and to give Mary advice as to her policy towards her future subjects. The Ambassadors were Jean de Montmorency, Sieur de Courrieres; Jacques de Marnix, Sieur de Toulouse; and Simon Regnard, or Renard, the Emperor's Master of Requests, the real diplomatist of the three. There was already in England an Ambassador Resident named Scheyfve ; * but the three envoys now sent had a special mission. They were to advise Mary that, if the Council would not admit her claim to the Crown without assurances that religion and government should continue on the Edwardine footing, she should make no difficulty about the matter. It was, in that case, simply a thing that could not be helped. But she should still, for herself, keep her own religion inviolate, and wait till God gave her the opportunity to restore it fully.2
That was the line of action that the Emperor would have recommended to Mary even before her accession. Afterwards, when he heard that she had been actually proclaimed as Queen, he still recom- mended to her the same policy. " Let her be
1 Mentioned in Vol. III. p. 400. 2 Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal de Granvelle, iv. 12, 13.
ch. ir FOREIGN INFLUENCES 45
particularly careful at the beginning," he wrote, " not to make too great haste to set right what she finds amiss, but with all gentleness accommodate herself to the decisions of Parliament, yet not doing anything herself against her conscience and religion, merely hearing Mass apart in her chamber without any demonstration ; and, for the rest, dissembling, so as not, for the present, to make constitutions contrary to those which now exist in the realm, or allow herself to be induced thereto by any individuals. Let her wait till she can assemble Parliament, gaining, as she can, the good-will of those who attend it, so that, working with the participation of Parliament, she may bring things gradually into better order. And she should not only keep in view the good of the realm as her principal aim, but should act so that people may see that she has no other end. Above all things, let her be, as she ought to be, a good Englishwoman, and, as above shown, let people see that she will not do things of herself without the participation of the chief men of the kingdom." *
It was no wonder that the Emperor advised Charles caution. He had been well aware even before 3ithP°hcy Edward's death that there was likely to be some respect to opposition to his cousin Mary's succession ; and he JJjJJfoL instructed his Ambassadors to plead her cause with Northumberland and those who then held the reins, using such arguments as might be addressed to selfish politicians. That they might not despair of one of themselves getting possession of the royal power, he wished to assure them that he thought it would be good policy in Mary to marry a born Englishman, who would understand the affairs of the country better than a foreign prince.2 But Northumberland had made his own plans even before the Emperor wrote ; and the real strength of his cause, such as it was, lay in the presumption that Mary, to whom the Crown
1 lb. pp. 55, 56. 2 lb. p. 10.
46 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
would naturally descend, would certainly marry a foreign prince, if only to strengthen her position as a ruler. For though the Salic law did not prevail in England, a Queen-regnant was at this time a novelty, and Mary herself, as she in fact declared frankly a little later to Renard,1 would never have thought of marrying but that she did not feel equal to the high responsibilities of a Sovereign unless she had a man to share them with her. Nor is it likely that Northumberland, even if his policy at this time had not been fully formed, would have paid much atten- tion to the Emperor's suggestion that he would advise his cousin to marry an English subject. No man understood better than Northumberland the worth of mere diplomatic assurances : that the Emperor wished his cousin to marry a foreign prince was probable upon the face of it ; that he said he would advise her otherwise was simply to any politician a confirmation of what might be naturally suspected.
Still, the statement implied that the Emperor would do nothing to prevent her marrying an Englishman ; and this, if it did not weigh much with Northumberland, had probably some effect in discouraging his half-hearted faction. On the 11th July the Emperor, having just heard by letters from his Ambassadors dated the 7th that King Edward was certainly dead, was all the more anxious that they should assure the Council that there was no fear of his urging his cousin Mary to marry a foreigner, or to make any change in matters of government and religion.2 But on that same 11th July Mary's prospects in England were anything but encouraging ; for on that day the Emperor's Ambassa- dors wrote to him how things were going on under the rule of Queen Jane. The Council had, three days
1 See a despatch of the Imperial Ambassadors of the 2nd August referred to later.
2 Papiers du Card, dc Granvelle, iv. 25 sq.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 47
before, warned Gardiner, Courtenay, and the Duke of Norfolk to prepare for execution, and they intended to carry it out that day or the day following.1 They were not bold enough, however, to give effect to the unjustifiable threat. For some days the question who should be the real Sovereign was still doubtful. On the 16th the Imperial Ambassadors wrote that gentle- men would be sent on behalf of " the new Queen " to explain to the Emperor the grounds on which Edward had chosen her to succeed him. Several lords, how- ever, had by this time declared in Mary's favour, and the Council, as the Ambassadors wrote, were in great pain to find out what the Emperor would do.2 Northumberland's anxieties increased daily, and his ignorance of the Emperor's intentions clearly made him still more uneasy. That the Imperial Ambassadors had, in a general way, recommended the cause of their master's cousin, and suggested her marrying an Englishman, was cold comfort to the Duke, especially as they had shown no approbation of the new Queen's assumption. The desperate straits to which he was reduced appeared in a momentous step which he induced that unwilling usurper to take. She despatched Henry Dudley, a relation of her husband, into France to get aid from the French King. Such a step was in the highest degree dangerous ; for, as the Duke knew well enough, the landing of French troops in England in support of Lady Jane could not but create general disgust. But without them it seemed as if his enterprise must speedily collapse, and he would very likely be slain.3
It was on the 19th — at least that is the date assigned to the despatch by the editor of the Gran-
1 lb. p. 31.
2 R. 0. Transcripts, ser. ii. 146, pp. 131 sq.
3 Papiers du Card, de Oranvelle, iv. 38. The Ambassadors follow up this intelligence with the comment: "Tel est le couraige d'ung homme, tiran obstine et resolu, signamment quant il est question de se demesurer pour regner."
48 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
velle Papers — that the Imperial Ambassadors wrote thus. In the afternoon of that day Mary was pro- claimed in London, and Lady Jane's performance as Queen was at an end. The Now all this time, while there was an Imperial
French Embassy watching with anxious eyes the turn of bassador. events in England, there was also a French Ambassador watching them with equal interest from an opposite point of view. The policy of Northumberland, ever since he had ousted Somer- set from power, and made peace with France by the cession of Boulogne, had been to cultivate the friend- ship of France in order to keep the Emperor in check, and at the same time preserve good relations with Scotland. It was really a wise policy. But the foreign relations of England would be completely changed if the new Sovereign was to listen to Imperial envoys rather than to French, especially as France and the Empire were now at war. Mary, indeed, loved peace and was bent on preserving neutrality ; but of the two hostile Powers the one which got the better of the other in diplomatic relations with England would certainly secure an important advan- tage as a belligerent.
For, consider the state of matters. The great weakness of the Emperor in the contest, as it was also of his son Philip after him, consisted in the fact that France lay exactly between Spain and the Low Countries, the richest part of his dominions. Communication between them in time of war could only be by sea, and could be intercepted by a maritime Power like France. Flemish vessels trading with Spain were in constant danger from French men-of-war. But if England were an ally of Spain, then English vessels would naturally protect this traffic, and if the war were protracted, England might even be compelled to join in it against France. And further, if the Queen of England married the
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 49
Prince, soon to become the King, of Spain, how, one might very well ask, could the issue be otherwise ?
The French Ambassador was Antoine Seigneur de Noailles. A man of middle age or rather more, already well experienced in diplomacy and also in war, he had been selected by Henry II. in December 1552 to succeed the Sieur de Boisdauphin as his representative at the Court of Edward VI. But for some reason he was detained in France and did not reach England till April 1553.1 On the 7th May he and Boisdauphin wrote a joint letter to their king about the difficulty they had found in procuring an audience of the enfeebled invalid, King Edward, till they urged on Northumberland that it would be good policy to let them go into the King's chamber, even if they could not see him, that it might be supposed that they had done so. From that time until Edward's death, Noailles knew that his state was very precarious, though the Council were seeking to conceal its gravity ; that there were divisions among the Councillors ; that they had ordered the City watch to be doubled, had shut up Norfolk and the other prisoners in the Tower more closely than ever, and had equipped a fleet of twenty vessels, and were getting artillery out of the Tower daily in anticipation of some great crisis, which they were keeping as close as possible ; and that they had no desire whatever for peace between France and the Emperor, which would evidently spoil their plans.2 It was a comfort to Noailles that the three Ambassadors from the Emperor did not meet with more attention than himself before the death of King Edward ; and though he knew that at that very time Mary had taken flight from Hunsdon into Norfolk, he seems to have looked hopefully forward at first to the reign of the " virtuous, wise, and beautiful " Lady Jane Grey as Queen. He even,
1 See Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., pp. 258, 261. 2 Ambassadcs de Noailles, ii. 39-44.
VOL. IV E
50 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk.vi.
strange to say, in a memorandum for the informatioD of Henry II. , not only talked of her husband as King, but wrote that he had been crowned at the Tower and at Westminster — information which seems to have been dictated by a delusive spirit of prophecy, for the event was said to have occurred on the 11th July, while the memorandum itself is dated on the 10th.1 Perpiexi- But by the 14th he had begun to doubt whether
French ^ would be in the power of Northumberland to crush diplomacy. Mary's party ; and if not, he feared it would be a bad time for foreigners in London, and that he himself would be among the first to suffer from popular fury.2 On the 18th, when the Duke of Northumberland was at Cambridge, things looked decidedly worse, and Noailles perceived that a good many of the Council were ready to change sides.3 On the 20th he had to announce to his sovereign that Mary had been proclaimed the day before. Her succession did not look so well for France as the continued rule of her rival ; but he hoped to make a sufficient excuse for having been too ready to acknowledge the usurper. He had only declared to the Council the message he was commanded to deliver ; and if, as people were beginning to surmise, Mary was likely to marry Courtenay, who had so long been a prisoner in the Tower, that nobleman, he believed, would be favourable to the French. And in any case Mary would have enough to do before winter in reversing the judgments given against her legitimacy, rewarding her adherents, and punishing her opponents, some of whom were even members of the Council.4
The changes which had taken place were, indeed, a trial to diplomacy — at all events to French diplomacy. The Emperor had taken account of possibilities in England much more completely than the French
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 56, 57. 2 lb. p. 72.
3 lb. p. 73. 4 lb. pp. 79-81.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 51
Government; and Charles V., thoroughly devoted to Eome as he was, was prepared, as we have seen, for a more prolonged reign of Edwardine religion in England, to which he urged Mary to submit for a while till she could get the evil redressed by Parliament. Henry II. 's devotion to Rome was much of the same kind. He afterwards com- mended Mary's policy in proposing to restore the true religion, and was quite sincere in doing so. National interests, however, must come before every- thing, and the news at first received from his Ambassador had led him at this time to mis- apprehend the situation. But on the same day, 20th July, on which Noailles wrote from London that Mary had been proclaimed the day before, Constable Montmorency wrote to him from the French Court, where they had just received his despatch of the 13th, which showed that by the escape of Mary into Norfolk, Northumberland's schemes were in danger of breaking down. The French King had already despatched to England — no doubt to salute Lady Jane Grey as Queen — two very prominent men, Francois de Rohan, Sieur de Gi£, and Jean de Morvilliers, Bishop of Orleans. But on receiving Noailles' letter of the 13th, the Constable instructed him immediately to send a courier to them across the Channel with full information of the exact state of affairs, in order that they might delay their crossing, or complete their mission, if advisable, as envoys to Queen Mary.1
Four days later the Constable was still so much The French in the dark as to matters in England that he wrote ^^e from Amiens to Lord William Howard, Deputy of Deputy of Calais, representing the King his master as a friend Calais' of an unfortunate country torn by civil divisions. Knowing well, he said, what an opportunity such divisions might afford to a neighbouring prince (he
1 lb. pp. 82-83.
52 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
meant the Emperor) ambitious to get a footing there, especially if the nobles were inclined to him, and also how it would grieve his master that a realm with which he desired to maintain perpetual friendship should be injured or perhaps invaded by foreigners, in order to set up a king who was not of their nation, he offered him the assistance of all the forces at his command, for the security both of England and Calais ; and he would come him- self to lead them if Lord William had any need of it.1
This was the fruit of Henry Dudley's mission to France. Dudley on his return was arrested by the Deputy of Calais, and this despatch was found upon him, along with letters addressed to Lady Jane as Queen. The papers were forwarded to Mary, who was then at Beaulieu (Newhall) in Essex, and on receiving them she sent for the Imperial Ambassadors, to whom she showed the intercepted letter of the Constable.2 Lord William had answered it formally on the 26th, assuring the Constable that his infor- mation about England was mistaken ; that there had only been some division about the election and nomination of a Queen who did not succeed by direct inheritance ; that this was owing to the treason of the Duke of Northumberland, who had not only set aside Mary, the true heiress of the Crown, but levied war upon her to deprive her of her rie:ht ; and that the nobles had abandoned him, and all his followers had been taken prisoners. As to the Constable's offer to come to Calais with an army on pretext of defence, the Constable must understand that he, Lord William, was not en- trusted with the keeping of the place in order to deliver it to the French King ; and that if the Constable proposed to make any attempt on the
1 Ambassadcs de Noaillcs, ii. 85.
2 A copy of it was enclosed in a despatch of the Imperial Ambassadors from Beaulieu written on the 29th July, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 209.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 53
town, in war or peace, he would have reason to repent it.1
There was a good deal of indignation in England at the Constable's proposal, and it was rumoured that the French King was sending over a body of 6000 foot; and Noailles, who was believed to have an understand- ing with Northumberland, had an uncomfortable time of it. But he wrote that the English would soon under- stand that the French King was better pleased with the accession of Mary than he would have been with that of any other, both for her amicable disposition and for her desire to promote the good of religion, in which he felt sure that a great part of the kingdom agreed. Many French heretics in England, indeed, were much mortified, feeling that it would be necessary for them now to quit the country ; but for this Noailles was not sorry.2
On being questioned about his mission to France, Henry Dudley said that the Duke of Northumberland, when he despatched him, did not expect there would be any need of prompt succours from that quarter unless the Emperor interfered. But he saw the French King, who said he would employ his army by sea and land for the Duke's succour, and even leave his own expedition against the Emperor to aid him. News of the capture of Hesdin came while they were speaking — at which King Henry swore vengeance.3
It was not until the 29th July that new credentials were made out for Noailles at Compiegne with a letter to Queen Mary from Henry II.4 On the 3rd August he and M. d'Oysel, a French ambassador returning from Scotland, had audience of the Queen together, and met with a most favourable reception. But long
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 86-88. 2 lb. p. 91.
3 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 16th August, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 289, 290.
4 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 95-96. Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Mary, p. 1.
54 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk.vi,
before that date the Imperialists had gained Mary's ear, especially Renard. Mary win On the 2nd August the Imperial Ambassadors bytheled wrot;e to their sovereign from London, that being Emperor, charged with a special credence to the Queen to be related to her in private, she had agreed to receive one or two of them in her oratory (at Newhall, for she had not yet reached London), at 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and that they should enter by the back door to avoid suspicion. They chose Renard as their deputy, and he made a long communication to her, chiefly about the preparation of vessels the Emperor had made for her security, and his advice, which has been already related, about religion and the best method of bringing the realm to a settled state. The Emperor also, as Renard told her, advised her to marry, as a lady could not well govern alone ; in reply to which suggestion she intimated what has already been recorded — that she never thought of marrying before she became Queen, but considering the strong arguments for it in the charge she now sustained, she was resolved to marry, and she intended to follow the advice of the Emperor in her choice. She would obey him, she said, as her father, trusting that he would consider she was thirty-seven years old, and that he would not press her to accept any one whom she had not seen or heard described to her. She repeated that her intended marriage would be against her inclina- tion. She understood that what the Imperial Ambas- sadors had said to the Council about the Emperor not intending her to take a foreigner was a remon- strance dissimulee pour servir au temps ; and she remitted both this and all other affairs to the dis- posal of his Majesty.1
It was certainly desirable, when the Queen gave him
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 2nd August, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 224-233.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 55
audiences on such a very delicate subject, that Renard's Renard's access to her should be unobserved, even bv his own sec,ret
,,.,,*' audiences.
colleagues, so as to prevent all possible rumours. By her direction, accordingly, after she had taken up her abode in the Tower, he was to have come again in disguise to avoid the strict guard at the Tower gates. But he felt it better to postpone the pursuit of the matter till he could see her at Rich- mond, whither she was to remove on Saturday the 12th. The delay would be advantageous, for it would allow of his hearing from the Emperor or his ministers before his audiences. But he proposed, when admitted to her presence, to sound the Queen's own inclination on the choice of a husband, for there were rumours about Edward Courtenay, whom she had liberated from the Tower. He was too young for the Queen, and if she were bent that way Renard would endeavour to dissuade her from such a match. If, in the course of their conversations, other names should be suggested, and the Queen should take exception to the Emperor's son Philip, Prince of Spain, who was twenty-six years old and had been eight years a widower, on the ground that he was at this time committed to a second marriage with Princess Mary of Portugal (aunt of his first wife and of the same name),1 Renard was ready to give her an assurance that matters had not
1 Marriages made and pi'oposed, even putting aside those that were annulled (for insufficient dispensations, or on account of pre-contracts), are a strange study in the history of great houses in the sixteenth century. Philip married first, in 1543, Mary, daughter of John III., King of Portugal. She died in 1545, and he next thought of marrying another Mary, also of Portugal, daughter of King Emmanuel, who was John III.'s father. His intended second was therefore aunt to his first wife ! But her mother was Eleanor, sister of the Emperor Charles V., and therefore Philip's aunt, so that she was also his own cousin-german — another point which would have required a dispensation. It is further to be noted (for the fact had some bearing on diplomacy) that she was a half-sister of the reigning King of France, Henry II., as Eleanor became the second wife of Francis I., and was now Queen Dowager of France. Notwithstanding all these affinities (very easily dispensed for), it was reported at this time that Ruy Gomez had gone to Portugal to complete the matter, which Renard was prepared to deny. — Papier s du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 72.
56 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
advanced so far, and that Philip was free from his engagement.
After the Queen had gone to Richmond, Renard found a better opportunity of entering on the subject. When he did so she began to laugh, not once, but several times, looking at him in a way that showed she was pleased at the idea of a foreign marriage. As to Courtenay, it was clear that she had no particular feeling towards him. She had never spoken to him, she said, except when she gave him his pardon, and she did not know any one in England with whom she could ally herself. She asked if the Emperor had made up his mind about the person best suited to her. Renard said he had not yet heard from the Emperor, and that it might be difficult for him to resolve upon any one of middle age like herself who would satisfy her other conditions. Renard himself had thought of many, and mentioned some, Philip among the rest. She at once said that she understood Philip to be married to his cousin the Princess of Portugal, daughter of the Queen Dowager of France (Eleanor, widow of Francis I.). Renard said he did not think that marriage had been con- cluded ; it had, indeed, been arranged before the war, but war had since occupied both the Emperor and his son. Mary said that she was very sorry that the Prince was engaged to the Princess of Portugal, who was his own near relation, and that all the other persons named by Renard were very young — she might be the mother of them all. She was twelve years older even than Philip, and he would stay in Spain administering his other dominions. Her marriage with a foreign prince who had another kingdom to govern would not be popular, and during her father's life many such proposals for her had broken down for that very reason, or for the dislike of a French alliance. Renard said there were two parties to a match, and he hoped she would choose one as well
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES $7
qualified by virtue, age, and other conditions as she could desire.1
It thus appears that Mary was conscious, even at Mary's the outset, that the path into which she was being JJ^JJJJ led was not unattended with dangers. But to whom could she look for advice ? Renard lost no oppor- tunity, in such interviews as he could obtain without awaking the suspicions of his colleagues (one of whom was already jealous of him), of promoting the matter with seeming candour, laying before her arguments that might appear to tell either way. He did not fear even to remind her that Philip had been once married already, and had a son (the unhappy Don Carlos) " now six or seven years old." 2 He wished her, apparently, to weigh everything. Thus in the strictest secrecy, unknown even to his own colleagues, who for- he gradually laid the foundations of a marriage which p^>s Mary did not personally desire, and to which she claims. herself saw political objections by no means in- considerable. She was prepared to sacrifice herself upon the altar of matrimony for high political reasons, being fully convinced that she could not sustain alone the high responsibilities of a sovereign, and conscious that her own political insight was far inferior to that of her cousin the Emperor, whose advice in this matter she felt bound to follow. Moreover, to her religion was above politics, which it really was not to any other sovereign, not even to the Pope himself, except officially ; and yet it was a part of politics, as all other sovereigns knew it to be. She considered that religion had been utterly disorganised by her father and by her brother ; and in restoring it to its proper position she must use such agents as wiser heads approved.
Was it wonderful, from this point of view, that Mary trusted the Emperor's very able ambassador far more
1 Papiers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 78, 96.
2 [Don Carlos was born in July 1545. — Ed.]
58 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Divisions in the Privy Council.
The
Emperor's
caution.
than any of her own Councillors ? The advice given by her Councillors was contradictory and perplexing. While she was still at Newhall the question was dis- cussed whether she should go on to London at once, or defer her entry into the capital for a while. Some said one thing, some another. One party urged that the sooner she could make her entry the better for the establishment of order and government. The other party urged that she should avoid the heat, the bad air, and danger of pestilence which usually prevailed in London in the month of August. And deeper matters seemed to be involved ; for the Coun- cillors quarrelled with each other, and their counsels varied so much that she was unable to get at the truth of what had taken place about the will of Edward VI., the intrigues of the French, and the conspiracies against herself.1 Some of them, one would think, were too much implicated in question- able proceedings. But it would have been unwise to show distrust.
In Renard she could confide pretty well as one who was certainly faithful to his master, and she conceived that her own interests and those of her kingdom were in harmony with those of the Emperor. We have seen already how she took counsel with Renard in other things ; but how gradually and skilfully he led her on in the great subject of matrimony to a match which did not even fulfil all the conditions she would fain have made with the
1 She confessed "qu'elle se treuvoit esbahye de cognoistre la division qu'est entres ceulx du Conseil, s'accusans les ungz aux autres, les autres se deschargeans, les autres varians tellement qu'elle ne povoit enfoncer la verite de ce qu'est passe quant au testament dudit feu roi son frere, des practicques de France, ny des conspirations que Ton a dresse [sic] contre elle ; qu'elle leur avoit mis en avant si elle devroit accelerer son entree a Londres, ou la differer ; que les ungz estoient d'une opinion, les autres d'autre, que disoient que non pour les chaleurs, malvais air et danger de peste et maladie qu'est d'ordinaire a Londres au mois d'aoust ; les autres lui conseilloient qu'elle deust faire ladite entree le plus tost que lui seroit possible, pour mectre ordre en ce que seroit requis pour se conserver audit royaulme, et pourveoir a l'administration d'icellui." — Ambassadors to the Emperor, 2nd August, R. 0. Transcripts, «.». pp. 229, 230.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 59
Emperor, is a matter that deserves separate treatment. The game, indeed, might seem to have been won at the very outset when she told him that she would submit to the Emperor's guidance in her choice. But the Emperor, Renard said, would advise her to consult her Council, for it would be hard for him to give her good advice if it were found that the choice he should recommend were such a one as the kingdom could not endure. Mary thought that the Emperor might himself more appropriately lay a proposition before her Council, as it did not become ladies to make overtures of marriage. Renard replied that it would be much easier for her to get the assent of individual members of her Council than for the Emperor to do it through his Ambassadors. But they would tell the Emperor of her reply ; for she had made it clear in conversation that there was no suitable match for her in England, and that she would accept a foreigner, trusting that the man chosen would be a Catholic, that she might have an opportunity of seeing him and hearing him speak, and that he would not be too young.1
But the Emperor, being assured that the Queen was willing to marry a foreigner, thought it might be as well to defer the matter for some time. The Ambassadors had written to him of a seditious libel scattered through the streets of London, and if the Queen's religion was so unpopular, the disaffected might say that what Northumberland pretended was true enough. The question would probably come up when Parliament was held, when she would be urged to marry in order to have succession, and then the Council could give the Queen their advice. This would be better than that the proposal should come from the Emperor, for in that case people would say that he was seeking his own ends. If, however, the Queen thought it best not to delay, the Ambassadors
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 16th August, R. 0. Trans, u.s. pp. 284-6.
60 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
might propose it to the Council on the Emperor's behalf, but only in general terms ; for there were difficulties in the conditions laid down by the Queen, especially the point of age, and her desire to see the personage, which the Ambassadors were aware was scarcely practicable, whoever might be named, for no prince would care to go to England on such an adventure and to be refused. And this was the cause why princes, lords, and even private individuals married without having seen their brides.1 piniip and So cautious was the Emperor at a time when *ess^rfin' Mary was actually waiting to know his decision as to Portugal, her future bridegroom. It might be supposed that he had made up his mind already, and that Renard knew well enough he wanted to give her his own son. But in truth, apart altogether from the ques- tion how the choice might be received in England, there was the ecclesiastical difficulty arising from Philip's engagement to the Portuguese Princess to be considered ; and the Emperor's valued minister, the Bishop of Arras, was not sure that Philip was altogether a free man. In England, too, it was the general belief that that marriage was too far advanced to be annulled. If that were so, Renard wrote to the Bishop, the negotiation might divert the Queen from her intention of following the Emperor's advice. But Renard himself, who had at first enter- tained the same suspicion, believed that Philip had not fully committed himself to the Princess. The Queen, however, was very anxious to know the Emperor's determination, and whenever she saw Scheyfve she inquired if he had any letters from his master. From what he could gather from Scheyfve, Renard believed that Mary and a part of her Council were inclining to a match with Ferdinand, King of the Romans (at this time a widower), though they
1 The Emperor to his Ambassadors, 23rd August, R. O. Trans, u.s. pp. 299-301.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 61
admitted that Philip, if he were at liberty to marry, would be very suitable. Scheyfve said he knew that the English did not favour the Emperor and Philip so much as the King of the Romans and his son the Archduke, both for fear of Spanish government and on account of religion ; and the Queen had been warned that Philip would have trouble in securing the Low Countries after the Emperor's death.1
Renard, however, knew his game. " Whatever be the case," he wrote to the Bishop of Arras, " I know the said Queen to be so easy, good, and ill- experienced in affairs of the world and of state, such a novice in everything ; and those here so governed by avarice, that if you would talk them over and buy them with presents and promises, you would convert them to whatever you liked by one single method — propose to them to depute four of their number to administer the realm in the Queen's absence ; and, whatever exception or condition she would make, as that she would fain see the personage, if she is shown what his Majesty has written on the subject, she will not insist on it."2
It is not pleasant to read this acute foreigner's estimate of English statesmen ; and scarcely more so to learn from his own words how easily the good, gentle, inexperienced Queen could be entrapped, as she actually was, into a marriage which was not for the good of her kingdom, though it was only from a high sense of duty that she was induced to marry at all. The Bishop of Arras wrote to Renard from Mons in reply on the 13th September, that the Emperor
1 Painers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 99, 100.
2 " Et comme que ensoit, je congnoys ladite Royne tant facille, tant bonne, tant peu experinientee des choses du monde et d'estat, tant novice en toute chose, et ceulx de pardeca tant subjectz a l'avarice, que, si Ton les veult practiquer et racheter de pr^sens et promesses, Ton les convertira ou Ton vouldra par ung seul moien, que Ton leur proposera de deputer quatre d'eulx pour, en l'absence de la royne, administrer le royaume ; et quelque exception ou condition qu'elle remonstre de vouloir veoir le personnai^e, quant Ton luy remonstrera ce que sa majeste" en a escript, elle ne insistera en ce." — lb.
62 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
approved of his caution in not having advanced further till the state of the negotiations for Queen Eleanor's daughter had been fully ascertained, and till he knew the will of Philip in case they were really broken off. But the Emperor had heard from Spain only two days before that the match had not been concluded, and so he proposed to make the overture himself to the Queen.1 The Queen Meanwhile, as nothing was known at Court about Courtenay Penard's interviews with the Queen, speculation ran high that she would marry Courtenay, and men naturally paid court to him in the hope of future favours. Copious presents were made to him by the Earl of Pembroke, Northampton's brother-in-law, to procure his restoration to the Council — a sword and a poniard, a basin and ewer, and horses, worth in all over 4000 crowns. Courtenay's mother had already made Pembroke's peace with the Queen. The bribe was effectual, and Pembroke was readmitted to the Council on the 17th August.2 Courtenay, indeed, was favoured as the Queen's suitor by Bishop Gardiner, the Lord Chancellor, who thought it decidedly for the interests of the kingdom that she should not marry a foreigner ; while Paget, as soon as he understood the Queen's own inclination, seems to have encouraged it. But even before the 27th August, when it is not likely that the question of the Queen's marriage could have come before the Council, it was openly said that Gardiner and Paget could not agree well together.
In the beginning of September there was much talk about the Queen's marriage from another point of view, as Don Diego de Mendoza and another had passed through England, despatched by Philip from Spain with a message to her. She told Scheyfve that Philip was very young ; to which the only reply was that it was very difficult to find a person in every
1 Papiers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 102.
a Ambassadors to the Emperor, 27th August, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 327-8 ; Acts of the P. C. iv. 322.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 63
way fit for her, and this she was obliged to admit. Paget was persistently inquiring the ages of Don Luis of Portugal, brother of King John III., and the Prince of Piedmont, Emmanuel Philibert, who had just become Duke of Savoy. But it was still the general opinion of those not in diplomatic secrets that she would marry Courtenay.1 And Gardiner one day induced a few of the Queen's most trusty servants to address her expressly on the expediency of getting married, recommending that she should take Courtenay. She replied that he was very young, and had always been brought up in captivity, adding that she would not enter into particulars before Parliament met. But she confessed she was very much astonished at a report which Hoby and Morysine had made to the Council on their return from the Emperor, that his Majesty had told them he was in favour of her marrying an Englishman, a thing of which they seemed very confident, and that the Lord Warden (Cheyney) had also spoken to her about it, confirming what was said to be the Emperor's intentions ; she must interrogate my Lord Warden further about this. Meanwhile she was surprised that the Emperor was so long in giving her his advice.2
The question raised in the Council in the middle of September as to the policy of holding the Parlia- ment before the Coronation rather than after,3 was not unconnected with the feeling entertained by so many in favour of the match with Courtenay. The change of plan had a strong advocate in Bishop Gardiner, who thought such a match would be a great help to the re-establishment of the old religion. But while that was his motive, the proposal found
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 9th September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 356-7.
2 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 19th and 23rd September, R. 0. Tran- scripts, u.s. pp. 375-8, 405.
3 See above, p. 37.
64 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
favour with many, even of the new religion, who desired more than he did to bring the Queen and her matrimonial projects under the control of Parlia- ment and the majority of the Council. Her Im- perial advisers, however, as we have already seen, rightly opposed the change of plan, and advised that a pretty strong guard should be raised for her protection. Noaiiies By this time the portentous secret of the proposed
hears of the gpanish match had got wind. As early as the 6th
proposGtl j. o •/
Spanish September, Noaiiies, who had already suspected it, match. received private information that it was actually being negotiated, and he sent the intelligence next day to his master, the French King, who could hardly bring himself to believe it. The Emperor, Noaiiies writes, had offered Mary his own son, who would give up every title for that of England, and make that country his continual abode, giving the Low Countries as dower to his wife. He understood that the Queen's confessor (Father Peto) had already been won over to the project, and he feared that Gardiner and Paget would also be won over, the former by the promise of a cardinal's hat and the latter by the promise of money. The Queen, indeed, had been advised against the match by some mysterious personage, when she broke the matter to him : he had just returned from the Emperor, and he is called by Noaiiies Lord Warwick. This, except as regards the person from whom the advice came, is pretty nearly what the Imperial Ambassadors reported. Hoby and Mory- sine, who had just returned from the Emperor, had informed the Council that his Majesty was in favour of the Queen marrying an Englishman. Neither of these, indeed, could have been the person Noaiiies intended. Still, it is a little strange that the Queen should have been so much astonished as the Imperialists wrote, for she knew very well that the Emperor had advised this at one time as a
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 65
remonstrance dissimule'e, and there was no reason why he should tell two creatures of Northumberland that he had changed his mind.1
o
At length, on the 20th September, the Emperor The wrote from Valenciennes to his ambassadors the JeTsion^8 decision to which he had come about Mary's marriage. Considering, he said, how the Queen had subdued her enemies and won the favour of the people, so that the state of religion (as he judged) was continually improving ; also, that she had expressly refused Courtenay, the most likely man at home ; and that Cardinal Pole, who was already a deacon, would not be a very fitting husband even if he desired to marry, which he had expressly declared that he did not, the question was how to find her a match suitable to her quality and royal blood. Charles wrote that he would have been glad to marry her himself (a match which had been actually proposed long before when he was a bachelor),2 but ever since he became a widower (fourteen years before this time) he had made a resolution to remain in that state, and now, even if inclined to marry, his ailments would not permit him. But in place of himself he knew no
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 143, 149, 150. The first mention by Noailles of this "Lord Warwick " is in a despatch of the 4th September (p. 139), where he speaks of him as having returned from a mission to the Emperor on which Mary herself had sent him. But the only " Lord Warwick" of the period known to peerage historians was John Dudley, eldest son of the Duke of Northumberland, who indeed bore the courtesy title Earl of Warwick, but who, being implicated in his father's treasons, was at this time a prisoner in the Tower. Yet the words of Noailles on the 4th September are to the following effect : — " My Lord Clinton is no longer Admiral. He has been dismissed that Millord Warvick might be put in his place, who arrived yesterday from the Emperor with an honourable company of gentlemen, and was received by her Majesty with a pleased countenance." Although this would just be the time of the return of Morysine and Hoby, these were emissaries of Edward VI., not of Mary. Sir Thomas Cheyney, indeed, came with them from the Emperor's court, and no doubt he was sent by Mary. Was there any thought of creating him Lord Warwick, or was he made Admiral for a time ? It is true enough that Lord Clinton had ceased to be Admiral on the 4th September {Acts of the P. C. iv. 339). But the first known appointment of an Admiral by Mary is that of Lord William Howard on the 26th October 1553 {ib. p. 359).
2 [A marriage between Charles and Mary was more or less seriously con- templated from 1519, when Mary was in her fourth year, until 1525 (Brewer, Reign of Henry VIII., i. 326, ii. 46-7).— Ed.]
VOL. IV F
66 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
one whom he could suggest more suitable than his own son the Prince, by whom she would have a fair prospect of having children. One of the chief objec- tions which the English might raise would no doubt be their hatred and jealousy of foreigners ; but assurance might be given to the Queen that the affairs of England should be governed solely by her and by her English Councillors. The Prince was free from any contract with the Infanta of Portugal.1 Reuard This important despatch came to the hands of
and Paget. Renar(j before Parliament met on the 5th October. And before communicating it to the Queen, for which he had to make special arrangements, he apparently considered it advisable to take soundings of the waters in which the great project would by-and-by have to float or sink. He knew from the Queen herself that Paget, at least, was in favour of a foreign match for her, and hearing that he made repeated inquiries about the ages of Don Luis of Portugal and of the Duke of Savoy, he first sought out that very able diplomatist. He judged rightly that Paget, who had suffered disgrace and injury in the last reign at the hands of Northumberland,2 would be glad to repair his fortunes, and that his ambition would be fired when he was shown that it was in his power to win the favour of the Emperor. Renard, accordingly, told him some truths not quite up to date : that owing to the talk about the desirability of having the Queen married, he had despatched a courier to inform the Emperor of what was said about it in England, where much surprise was expressed that the Emperor had made no overture to her on the subject ; that he had received a reply that the Emperor had not yet thought about it, being much more anxious to learn that the Queen was securely settled in her government ; and
1 Papiers du Card, de Granvclle, iv. 108-16. 2 See Vol. III. 328. Paget was at that time deprived of the Garter.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 67
that not being aware of her inclination, or whether it would be advisable to make any suggestion so soon, he wished Renard to find out what some of her Council, and especially Paget, expected of his Majesty in the matter.
Paget, of course, expressed his humble thanks for the Emperor's good opinion of him ; but asked had his Majesty really desired to address him con- fidentially ? Renard assured him positively of the fact. On which Paget told him that some of the Council were so impressed with the difficulties under which the Queen laboured, the state of the kingdom, and the absence of any true heir in a direct line, for Elizabeth was notoriously a bastard, that they thought it advisable that the Queen should marry, and the sooner the better con- sidering her age. They were indeed surprised, he said, that the Emperor, who favoured her so much, had forgotten this point of marriage. They found that there was no one in England suitable for her, and that outside the kingdom there were three : first, Philip, if he were not already married ; second, Don Luis ; and third, the Duke of Ferrara. To ascertain the Queen's own inclinations they had put the matter to her in general terms ; and found from her answer that she would incline to marriage, not of her own will, but for the public weal and to have posterity. Paget could assure the Emperor she would not marry without his advice and the assent of her Council. He also mentioned that the French ambassador was using all possible arguments with some of the Council to dissuade them from an alliance with the Emperor, even going so far as to say that if they did make such alliance it would be impossible for his master to remain at peace with England, for the Emperor would never relax his hold on Milan, Naples, and Sicily, and if he died his son would be quite as obstinate ; and France
68 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
would never make peace till these territories were restored.1
And the Frenchman, Paget said, went on to point out other considerations by which the Queen ought to be warned against marrying Philip : first of all, the trouble that the Prince might have from the King of Bohemia (his uncle Ferdinand), who would make war upon him if he attained the Empire,* so inextinguishable was the hatred between them. This would trouble Philip's succession in the Low Countries, and the King of Bohemia would find help both in Germany and elsewhere, especially as several of the German Princes had a bitter recollection of the doings of the Emperor, Philip's father. So Philip would get little help from Germany, while others would chase the Spaniards from Italy. And the Duke of Florence (Cosmo de' Medici), who seemed well enough disposed towards the Emperor, bore a grudge against Philip.
Renard thanked Paget for his information, and said they were sufficiently aware of the aims of the French. The marriage of the Dauphin with the young Queen of Scots in itself gave ample warning of their designs against England. The ill-will of Ferdinand was all nonsense, and the Duke of Florence was so bound to the Emperor that he could not show ingratitude to his son.
But Paget said that if the Queen married, she ought to have a husband who could stay with her, and Philip, even if he was not married to the Infanta of Portugal, had so many realms that he could not remain in England. He was only twenty-six, and he knew no language but Spanish ; if he did not learn others, it would be a dumb wedding. At another interview next day, however, he suggested that the Emperor would do well to write to the Queen exhorting her to marry according to his
1 Renard to the Emperor, 5th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 439-445.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 69
judgment, and also that he should send separate letters to the Earl of Arundel, to Gardiner, and to various others of the Council to favour the design, though he saw too well that it would be difficult to overcome the objections of Gardiner to a foreign match.1
Meanwhile Noailles was very uncomfortable, and, NoaMes without waiting for instructions from the French Qnardiner Court how to meet the Imperial diplomacy, he sought out Gardiner on the 9th September and had two hours' conversation with him on this subject, using all his eloquence to impress him with the dangers of the match. Of these Gardiner was fully aware, and, indeed, confessed them before the interview ended. But in spite of his diplomatic reserve the Frenchman got clear evidence from him, first, that the proposal had actually been made ; but, secondly, that the Queen would come to no determination upon it till after her Coronation and the Parliament. All that Gardiner could say was, to assure Noailles that she was so good and prudent that she would never do anything to provoke war either with herself or with the Emperor.2
Noailles sought to probe the depth of disaffection that prevailed in England. He heard something at this time about an insurrection in Norfolk which Lord "Wantour" and others had been sent to quell; but his information on this point lacks support from other sources. He noted the inconvenience arising from the attitude of Elizabeth before she agreed to go to Mass, and he believed the Queen would have to change her company, and possibly shut her up in prison.3 He judged that the coming Parliament would be attended with no small difficulties, and he was informed by one who was to take his place in it, that before its assembly there would be hosts of placards written and published calculated to cross the Queen's intent. His
1 Renard to the Emperor, 5th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 445- 457.
2 Ambass. de Noailles, ii. 157. 3 lb. pp. 146, 147.
70 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
informant, indeed, told him plainly he had no love for the Queen, believing that the Crown belonged right- fully to the Queen of Scots, for whom he was willing to do much, both in England and in Ireland.1
Noailles strove hard, also, to get further news about the negotiations for the Spanish match, and, having heard from his King, sought out Gardiner again on the pretext of imparting intelligence rather than of obtaining it. But after he had read some letters to him, Gardiner took him by the hand and drew him apart to tell him very earnestly how much the Queen deplored the continual war between the Emperor and his master, and that, as perfectly friendly to both Princes, she would be glad to be able to put an end to it, and establish not only peace but religion, which she saw declining every day. She would willingly be a mediator, and he asked Noailles his opinion. Noailles was careful not to commit himself, and said several others had offered to mediate quite lately, including the Pope and the Queen's brother, King Edward. The Chancellor said none of those who had done so really intended peace, and the Queen was sincere. Noailles said he could only assure him that the Erench King would welcome any efforts Mary might make, notwithstanding the kin- ship between the Emperor and her. He, indeed, thought it would be very difficult to bring the Emperor to reason, and get him to restore the territories he withheld from Henry II. But he was sure there was no Prince or Princess whose mediation his master would more willingly accept than that of Mary. Nevertheless, he took the opportunity of mentioning that rumours daily increased that a marriage was on foot between her and the Prince of Spain ; and that inclined him to believe that she could not do anything as mediator. Indeed, if the match were accomplished, he knew it would lead the
1 Ambass. de Noailles, ii. 160, 161.
ch. ii FOREIGN INFLUENCES 71
Queen into perpetual wars. Putting the matter in this way, he drew from Gardiner the reply that when the Queen had made a good agreement between the Emperor and France, King Henry's interests would be nowise affected by her marriage. This convinced the ambassador that the negotiations for it were far advanced, and he began to think that the proposed mediation was intended to facilitate them.1
In fact, Noailles was of opinion that it was the Imperialists who had started the mediation policy, and that without a peace or truce on the Continent Mary could hardly have peace with her own subjects. From what he knew, Noailles expected a commotion such as was in the time of Northumberland. Pam- phlets and libels were scattered abroad daily, even in the City Chamber,2 reflecting on the Queen and her Chancellor, and speaking of the book he wrote in Henry VIII. 's days in support of royal supremacy against the Pope's authority.3 Rumours and prophecies were circulated that Mary would not reign one whole year. The counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, which had preserved her from Northumberland, were awaiting a signal for revolt ; and even the people of Kent had conspired six days before to seize the horses and furniture of Edward VI. at Greenwich, and sack Bishop Gardiner's house at Southwark — a thing which they actually did in Wyatt's rebellion four months later. The reader has already heard about this conspiracy against Gardiner. The Bishop was com- pelled to wear a coat of mail on his back and have a guard about his house ; and there was little doubt that the majority of the Londoners were in sympathy with the disaffected.4
Later in the year, indeed, there appeared in
1 lb. pp. 164-166.
2 " Chascun jour il se trouve une infinite de choses escriptes par la ville et jusques dans la Chanibre d'icelle " (ib. p. 167). "The city chamber," no doubt, was the Guildhall.
3 [Gardiner's book, De vera Obedicntia, 1535. — Ed.]
4 Ambass. de Noailles, ii. 167, 168.
72 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
A transla- tion of Gardiner's book.
Informa- tion given to Noailles.
London more than one edition of a book professedly printed at " Roane " (or Rouen) on the 26th October 1553, and "in Rome before the Castle of St. Angel at the sign of St. Peter" in November 1553, of very- disagreeable contents. For it was an English trans- lation of Gardiner's book just referred to, which, it was alleged, had been reprinted in the original Latin at Hamburg in 1536, with a preface from the pen of Bishop Bonner, then only Archdeacon of Leicester. And it is probable enough that Bonner, who was then at Hamburg on a mission from Henry VIII. to see what political help he could get from the German Protestants, did really write such a preface or circular to accompany the book ; but its actual publication at Hamburg is rather doubtful. It was a clever thing, however, to republish Gardiner's book with a treatise by Bonner in front, recommending its con- tents, so as to bring both of them into bad odour at this time. And the effect was heightened by a scurrilous preface by the translator in which, among other taunts and insults to bishops generally, even to the mild Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, Gardiner is described as " now Lord Chancellor and common cut- throat of England." The translator, who disguised himself by the name of " Michael Wood," was really the notorious, foul-mouthed Bale, whom Edward VI. had made Bishop of Ossory in Ireland : he was now a refugee on the Continent, and found means to spit his venom out in other publications as well and get them printed in England with false dates.
To return to Noailles. While he was writing the information above detailed, he received a visit from two persons, one a Scotsman and the other an English- man, who informed him of various intrigues and conspiracies against the Queen's government, and that disaffection was greatly augmented by the fact that the negotiation of the Spanish marriage was now known by almost all. They said people would
ch. n FOREIGN INFLUENCES 73
fight rather than allow it to take place. This, Noailles wrote, would make it all the easier for the French to intercept the Prince's passage. But he saw little hope now of diverting the Queen from her matrimonial project, and it was evident that Gardiner would yield on this point and give up the cause of Courtenay. Noailles adds that Gardiner, knowing that he was generally hated, would not only be willing to have a Spanish sovereign in England, but would be glad to see the country garrisoned by Spaniards and Germans, to keep the people down. But in this surmise he certainly did Gardiner great injustice ; and he was equally astray in a further surmise that Gardiner was jealous of Cardinal Pole, whose minor orders in the Church were not a fatal bar to matrimony, and whom it was generally thought the Queen loved better than any other Englishman.1 She was certainly anxious for his coming, but it was for another reason, although her high regard for him was unquestionable.
1 Ambuss, de Noailles, ii. 168-170.
CHAPTER III
mary's first parliament
what Mary Mary was crowned and her first Parliament met just fr°omd f°r witnin three months of the death of her brother, King Pariia- Edward. What took place in various quarters ment' during that brief interval has been shown to some extent in the two preceding chapters. It was im- possible to relate in one continuous narrative all that was done, and especially all that was felt at home and abroad on the accession of a Catholic sovereign after twenty years of what Europe mostly regarded as religious anarchy. And how the old order was to be restored under the old spiritual ruler of Christendom in a schismatic kingdom, was a problem attended with far more practical difficulties than devout souls could well bring themselves to believe. Mary herself was impatient for that great consummation ; her cousin, Cardinal Pole, was even more so. But the Emperor saw clearly, and made Mary see as well, that the establishment of temporal authority was a matter of more immediate concern, and that obedience to the Pope need not be pressed till obedience to the sovereign otherwise had been fully vindicated. And the meeting of Parliament was wanted, first, to clear Mary's title to the throne, shamefully aspersed by enactments under her father, and then to lay the foundation of a better order in the Church.
Until that better order could be established, Mary
74
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 75
had sought to govern by the principle of religious toleration — if she could only get it for her own religion, which was assuredly still that of more than half the nation. But how ill she could secure this we have already seen, and the only remedy for incessant disorders seemed to be, what the Emperor advised her to wait for — a new Parliamentary settle- ment of religion, even before the Papal religion, in which she and most of her subjects believed, could be restored by a Papal legate fully commissioned to reconcile the kingdom to Eome. Such new Parlia- mentary settlement would be simply a return to the state of religion that existed at the end of Henry VIII. 's reign, all the Edwardine innova- tions being abrogated. This, when established by law, might surely be accepted for the time, and have at least as much validity as either of the legal settlements of Edward VI. 's days.
There might be difficulties, however, about estab- lishing it by law, and even further difficulties about getting the law observed when passed. The later Lollardy had triumphed by disregarding existing law with the connivance of those in power, and then getting the law altered to suit the law-breakers. And the spirit of lawlessness, having thus been encouraged, was not likely to submit easily to a reversal of the past and a renewal of old restraints, like those on clerical marriage, or of old observances for which the very means had been largely taken away. Moreover, the heretics saw the signs of the times and were only too sensitive to coming danger. There was no secret, indeed, about the Queen's intentions when she had power to give effect to them ; nor was it difficult to read, even from the first, in a general way, the political conditions under which she proposed to work. As heresy in England had been fostered mainly by encouraging Lutheranism in Germany, and so keeping in check the Emperor, who
Elizabeth.
76 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
would otherwise have interfered to protect Mary's religious freedom as Princess, so now the Emperor would be Mary's firm ally in what was politically a common cause in England and in Germany. This, however, involved a reversal of foreign policy, for it was by a firm alliance with France that Northumber- land had been able to defy the Emperor and encourage Lutheranism in Germany ; and it was clear that the French alliance was now to be weakened, and English neutrality imperilled at a time when France was at war with the Emperor. So it was no wonder that the French Ambassador took alarm and cultivated a secret understanding with all the heretics in England. The Lady In these circumstances what did it import that the Queen's half-sister Elizabeth certainly held communication with heretics and also with the French Ambassador ? Here is what the Imperial Ambassadors wrote to Charles V. after describing the Coronation : —
" We took note from the countenance of the Lady Elizabeth that she has dealings and intelligence with the French Ambassador, and saluted him as often as she passed before him ; and as for us, who were on the opposite side, she gave us no recognition. In further proof of this we heard that the said Ambassador said to the said Elizabeth, in answer to a remark of hers, that she was weary of wearing her coronet, that she must have patience, and that very soon that crown would give birth to a better one." x
Mary's health had been delicate at all times ; and when suggestions like this were uttered under breath at her very Coronation, it is not difficult to divine
1 "Nous notasmes de la contenance de la Dame Elisabeth qu'elle ha practicque et intelligence avec 1'ambassadeur de France, et le salua a quantes fois elle passa pardevant lui, et quant a nous, qu'estions a l'opposite, elle ne nous fit semblant ; et en confirmacion de ce, nous ouismes que ledit Ambassadeur dit a ladite Elisabeth, lui respondant a ce qu'elle lui avoit dit estre lasse de porter la couronne qu'elle portoit, que failloit qu'elle eust patience, et que bientost la couronne en engenderoit une meilleure." — Ambassadors to the Emperor, 5th Oct., R. O. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 436-7.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 77
what hopes were entertained by heretics that her reign would be a short one. Charles V., on receipt of this despatch from his Ambassador, wrote at once to Renard that the Queen should be warned to take all possible precautions against intrigues to her prejudice.1
What pains had she not taken, what difficulties had Mary's she not endeavoured to surmount, even at the Papal toSaf6 Court, to bring about the desired consummation, or sove- rather the first steps towards it ! Early in August 2 relgnty> she had made application to the Pope to remit the ecclesiastical censures passed upon the kingdom, so as to draw the inhabitants the more easily to acquiesce in the restoration of religion, and encourage those who had unwillingly submitted to its perversion to return to the old order of things. To this the Pope had gladly agreed and had appointed Pole as legate. But Pole's journey to England was delayed against his will, and, indeed, against hers, though she saw that the state of the kingdom would not admit of his speedy entry. Still, her mind was dominated by the theory that Church authority was above secular rule. Pole, however, sent to England, as we have seen, a confidential messenger named Henry Penning, his secretary, who visited Cardinal Dandino at Brussels on his way. Mary detained him till after her Coronation, and then sent him to Rome with a copy of her Coronation oath in the form in which she had taken it, well considered, as we have seen, by herself beforehand in order to avoid committing herself to anything derogatory to the Holy See. This was the utmost she felt that she could do. Penning, indeed, as Pole's representative, had pressed upon her beforehand the claims of Holy Church in a way that even she felt impracticable ; and when she snowed him that she required an absolution, even for the Bishop of
1 The Emperor to Renard, 10th Oct., ib. p. 472.
2 A month ago, as the Queen herself told the Imperial Ambassadors in a conversation reported by them to the Emperor on the 9th Sept., ib. p. 351.
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Winchester, to crown her in a land not yet reconciled to Rome, told her that, as he understood, Mother Church only absolved those who repented of their errors, not those who continued in them. But in reply she informed him that Commendone, when he visited her and saw how matters stood, had well-nigh promised her the absolution. And this she charged him to keep secret.1 Her secret But what was her consternation when she heard knowiT afterwards that the secret had leaked out ! This was not Penning's fault, but must, it seems, be attributed to Commendone who, after his visit to England, had passed on to Rome before Penning, and published it — so Renard was informed — both in and out of the Consistory. Perhaps publication was inevitable of some things Mary would rather have had kept secret, but Commendone, as afterwards appeared, was guilt- less of breach of trust. More news than Mary liked, however, seems to have come to England by the middle of October, when Parliament was actually sitting — a Parliament that dreaded nothing more than the re- storation of the Pope's authority. Her utmost hope at this time was to humour the Legislature into the restoration of Henrician religion, and now men heard that she thought not even her Coronation valid with- out the Pope's sanction.2 In short, she had been keeping in the dark the fervour of her allegiance to Papal supremacy, her belief that her very right to rule could only come from Rome.
From a religious point of view, however, the claims of the Pope could not at present be considered, and until they were so considered they were practically ignored. Religion was a subject, not for Parliament,
1 Venetian Calendar, v. Nos. 807, 813.
2 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 9th Sept., R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 351 sq., and 13th Sept., p. 365 ; Renard to the same, 19th Oct., ib. pp. 534-5. Graziani, Vita J. F. Commendnni [pp. 37-47 contain an account worth reading of Commendone's mission to England, but nothing concerning the Coronation question. Possibly Dr. Gairdner's incomplete reference was intended to remind him again to consult Graziani's book. — Ed.].
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 79
but for Convocation ; and Convocation was summoned to meet the day after Parliament. But in order that even Convocation might deal with religious questions, it must for the present acknowledge Royal Supremacy; and the writ by which it was summoned contained the hated words, " Supreme Head of the Church of England," in the Queen's style. As Parliament, however, began one day earlier, let us see first what Parliament did.
Parliament began on the 5th, just four days after Mary's the Coronation, and even on the opening day the mrent.aria religious question caused a stir. Mass of the Holy Ghost was celebrated "after the Popish manner," though there were in the Assembly some married prelates, of whom the Archbishop of York was one, his fellow of Canterbury being at this time in the Tower. There were one or two other bishops in confinement besides, as Barlow in the Tower and Hooper in the Fleet ; but the New School was still represented in the House of Lords by Holgate, Arch- bishop of York, and two Edwardine bishops, John Taylor of Lincoln and John Harley of Hereford. When they saw the mass begin these two bishops withdrew, as they could not approve it. Bishop Taylor was stripped of his parliamentary robe and committed to the Tower. Harley was also excluded from the House as being a married man.1
It is curious that Foxe, from whom a large part of the information here is derived, says nothing, in his own account of the matter, of Taylor being divested of his robe and committed to the Tower.2 He says, on the contrary, that, after his withdrawal, " being examined and protesting his faith [he] was upon the same commanded to attend ; who not long after, at Ankerwyke, by sickness departed." Bishop Taylor's
1 Grey Friars' Cliron., p. 85 ; Foxe, vi. 394.
2 Foxe, however, prints near the end of his work "an oration of John Hales to Queen Elizabeth," in which it is mentioned (viii. 676) that Bishop Taylor " was in his robes by violence thrust out of the House."
8o LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION BK. vh
Composi- tion of the House of Commons.
death at Anker wyke [in Buckingham shire] did not take place till next year. He was deprived in March 1534, and died before the end of that year. So it seems probable that the examination in which he " protested his faith " was that which led to his deposition from the bishopric.
As to the House of Commons which assembled at this time, the late Canon Dixon was able to make an interesting analysis of its composition as compared with that of the last Parliament of Edward VI., by a study of the Returns of Members published in 1879. " To Edward's last Parliament," he says, "there had been returned no members from the counties affected to the old religion — Devon, Dorset, Hereford, Mon- mouth, Somerset, Wiltshire, and Northumberland ; which all were represented in Mary's first. For the City of London no member sat in Mary's first ; in Edward's last there sat members for the City of London. In Edward's last there were many well- known names who had participated in the Reforma- tion, as Sir Edward North, Sir Anthony Kingston, Sir John Gates, Sir Walter Mildmay, Sir John Norton, Sir Robert Bowes, Sir Thomas Wroth, Sir Richard Throgmorton, Sir John Cheke, Thomas Legh ; none of whom were in Mary's first." x There is, moreover, the testimony of Robert Beal, clerk of the Council under Queen Elizabeth, who declares that for this Parliament persons were chosen in many places by force or threats ; that " in other places those employed by the Court did by violence hinder the Commons from coming to choose ; in many places false returns were made ; and that some were violently turned out of the House of Commons ; " concluding that it was no Parliament since it was under a force, and so might be annulled, as the Parliament held at Coventry in the 38th year of King Henry VI. was, upon evidence of the like force, declared afterwards
1 Dixon, Hist, of the Church of England, iv. 55.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 81
to be no Parliament.1 This may be true or have some truth in it ; but BeaFs own impartiality in recording it is by no means above suspicion. There was violence probably on both sides, and no Parlia- ment was ever quite impartial.
The Parliament was opened by the Queen in Parliament person. No journals of the House of Lords for this °PenecL session are extant, and the only official sources of information are those of the Commons. But, accord- ing to Penning's report, the Chancellor, Bishop Gardiner, " made a very fine speech, in which he treated amply of the union of the religion, and that it should be resumed, without which nothing good could be done, demonstrating how many disadvan- tages had befallen the realm owing to its separation. He accused himself and all the bystanders as guilty of it, telling them that Parliament was assembled by Her Majesty and Council to repeal many iniquitous laws made against the said union, and to enact others in favour of it." 2 The main object of the assembly of the Legislature was thus clearly stated. How many obstacles were to be encountered in the pursuit of it was, perhaps, not fully apprehended.
The Commons elected as their Speaker John "The first Pollard, learned in the laws of the realm, and he was sesslon- ' presented to the Queen on Monday following, the 9th October. As early as Thursday the 12th an important bill was received from the Lords, described as " the Bill for avoiding treasons and praemunire signed by the Queen." But it was only read a first time next day. It was a bill to repeal certain statutes touching treasons enacted since the 25th year of Edward III., and others concerning felonies and prae- munire since the first year of Henry VIII. It re- ceived a second reading on the 14th, and a third on the 18 th. But there was still matter for argument
1 Burnet, Hist, of the Reformation, ii. 406. 2 Henry Penning's Report to the Pope, Venetian Calendar, v. 431.
VOL. IV G
hesitation.
82 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
left over, and it was finally passed on the 19th. This Act was the principal work of what is called " the first session," though the Houses on Saturday the 21st were only adjourned till the 24th, when a so-called second session began.
During this " first session " of the Parliament the Lower House of Convocation had also, no doubt, been busy with great matters ; but as we do not know the chronology of their proceedings, they may be left for consideration later. Meanwhile, it is time to return to the secret negotiation for the Queen's marriage. Mary's For a long time Renard found no safe opportunity
of delivering secretly to the Queen the Emperor's weighty despatch of the 20th September, offering her his son. But he obtained an audience on the 7th October, in which he told her that he had a letter for her written in the Emperor's own hand, with credentials for himself, to make such declarations as she desired respecting the overture of marriage, and he would come to her when she pleased and declare his message. She appointed him Tuesday the 10th at Westminster Palace, directing him to enter by the gallery over the Thames. She got so close to him while making this appoint- ment, that he was able to deliver the Emperor's letter to her without being observed by any one in the room. On the appointed day she sent her chambrier to him to bring him to her presence. He gradually unfolded to her the reasons by which the Emperor was led to propose to her a marriage with his son rather than any other. In reply she expressed her thanks, but did not know how the English people would take it, their character being such as the Emperor well knew, or whether her Council would agree to it. They might object, she said, that after the Emperor's death, Philip would have several realms and provinces to govern, which he would not leave to live in England. Who would be Emperor after
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 83
Charles's death? A more honourable and Catholic match, undoubtedly, she could not have ; but she knew nothing about Philip's character. She had heard that he was not so wise as his father. He was only twenty-six, and if he were voluptuous she could never love him. If he attempted to govern her realm she could not put up with it, and the realm would not allow strangers to meddle. Then, it was difficult to come to any determination without con- sulting her Council. The matter was of great weight and concerned her whole life. Yet it would not be becoming in her to broach it to her Council without occasion. She had hitherto repelled all who had spoken about it, so that they durst not mention it. She was as free as she was at her birth, and had no fancy, as yet, for any one.1
Mary rightly regarded the matter as a woman, and she feels though her wTords look something like a strange dash of cold water after she had actually asked the Emperor to select a bridegroom for her, we must remember she had by no means given herself away completely. She had made it a condition that the man should be suitable in age and character, and that she should see him and know something of him before she pronounced her decision, on which all depended. It was hard enough that a woman who had no personal desire to marry should feel it a duty to do so when she became a Queen. Much better would it have been, as Cardinal Pole advised, and as her sister Elizabeth afterwards wisely determined, not to marry at all, but to keep the functions of royalty exclusively in her own hands, provided she had had power to perform them with judgment and clear political insight. But that was a thing for which she did not feel competent. No one expected her, as no one expected Elizabeth at first, to be able to sustain the heavy burden of a crown unaided ; and she herself was fully aware that there
1 Renard to the Emperor, 12th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 481-7.
bound to marry.
84 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
were great questions of policy that required for their true solution far-seeing statesmanship in the actual ruler. One absorbing feeling she had, for which it would be wrong to blame her : she felt from the very bottom of her heart that neither social nor international morality, nor the internal peace of her kingdom, could be restored till England had come back into the unity of Christendom by acknowledging once more that allegiance to the See of Rome which her father had so rudely shaken off, in order to gratify a mad and transient passion. she desires But even to achieve this object she found that poor's1 sne must marry. Thus politics crossed the field of help. devotion and personal feeling. Her cause was one with that of the Emperor, the chief upholder of Catholicism in Europe, to whom she felt grateful for his past efforts on her behalf, however ineffectual they had been to obtain toleration for her under her brother's government. She had promised not to marry without his counsel and consent. Could he not write letters, she suggested, to her in general terms, and to five or six of her Council, such as those Paget had named in a paper he gave her, and she might then have the matter discussed and learn their opinion ? If the Council suggested some one who did not please the Emperor, she would carry out what he intended as best she could. She felt strongly that she could not come to any determination merely by herself; and she asked Renard what was thought of Philip. She had heard that [Maximilian] the King of Bohemians son], being in Spain when Philip was absent, had gained great renown by his administra- tion of that kingdom, while on the other hand Philip was not thought of so highly as Maximilian.1
1 " Elle avoit entendu que le Roi de Boheme [qu. le fils du Roi de Boherne ?], estant en Espaigne, avoit acquit ung grand renom par l'administration des affaires du roiaulme d'Espaigne en absence de son Alteze, et que par le contraire son Alteze n'estoit estime a comparaison deMaximilien." — Renard to the Emperor, u.s. pp. 487-8. In this extract from the transcript in the
assurances.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 85
Kenard made a clever reply. He did not see, he Eenard's said, how the Emperor could think it advisable to write the letters she proposed, seeing that her own inclination was the thing he wanted to ascertain. But he thought her objections were easily answered. As to the people, they would surely not take ill an alliance so advantageous to the realm. Still less would the Council do so if they desired the greatness of the king- dom and the surety of her person. As to the number of realms His Highness would hold, they ought to desire a king rather than a simple lord for the Queen's good and the country's : and if the alliance were made, Philip would hold nothing so dear as to remain with her. Besides, his own dominions were so near that when there they could not call him absent, and he had the Infant his son to supply his place in Spain and administer the affairs of Italy and Naples. As he was powerful the kingdom would be strengthened by the alliance, and the nobles gratified from Philip's own resources without any charge to the country. As to the succession in the Empire, it was elective under prescribed conditions. Eenard made no doubt that the Queen had abundance of persons trop suspects and inclined to speak evil, governed more by passion than by truth. Philip's life was so laud- able, virtuous, and modest " que cestoit plustot chose admirable que liumainer The Queen might perhaps think Renard was speaking as his subject and his servant, but that was truly what people said. He understood well enough that Frenchmen and followers of Northumberland would dislike the alliance, because it was against their own particular interests ; but the Emperor had weighed and examined everything that favoured the greatness of the Queen and her kingdom,
Record Office I think it is clear that the words "fils du" have been omitted before "Roi de Boheme." In 1548, Maximilian, son of Ferdinand, King of Bohemia, went to Spain, where he married his cousin Mary, daughter of the Emperor Charles V., and he and his wife governed Spain, in Philip's absence, till recalled by his father in 1550.
86 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
and he had not been able to think of a more suitable match for her.
Moreover, he added, her Council should consider that she had four open enemies — the heretics and schismatics, the rebels, and the Lady Elizabeth,1 who never ceased to trouble her; and in case of any attempt against her and the kingdom the match would give her additional strength. Philip's age was twenty-seven. It would be difficult to find a prince of the age she desired, and one of fifty would be too old to give her posterity. Philip had been married and had a child of eight ; he was so discreet and staid that he was no longer young, and nowa- days a man getting near thirty was thought of as a man of forty had been in past times. Then she ought to dismiss the idea that he would attempt the government of the realm. The treaty would provide against that. Cour- This was the main substance of a long conversation
prS- which le(i on to some curious discourse about Elizabeth sions. and Courtenay ; for Mary said she was well aware of the intrigues of the French, but was confident that they could do nothing with Courtenay or Elizabeth without her being informed of it by Courtenay's mother. Only three days before 2 she had spoken to Courtenay himself more than she had ever done previously, and he had told her that a gentleman (or nobleman, perhaps), whom she mentioned by name, had said to him that he ought to marry Elizabeth
1 In the mivioire that he afterwards sent to the Queen of this conversation he makes her four enemies : (1) the heretics and schismatics ; (2) the rebels and adherents of Northumberland ; (3) the Kings of France and Scotland ; and (4) Elizabeth. In neither the despatch nor the mimoire are they numbered thus ; but apparently he did not specify in the despatch all those that he had in view. The me'moire seems to have been an enclosure in his letter of the 15th October.
2 That would be on the 7th, as this interview with Renard was on the 10th ; but the 6th appears to have been the true date. On that day, as Noailles learned from a man in Courtenay's service, he had an interview with the Queen in his mother's chamber from 1 to 6 P.M. But this was a much exaggerated report as regards its duration, which by later information was only for half an hour. — Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 217-19.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 87
since he could not have the Queen, and so doing he would have children to succeed to the kingdom, for the Queen was too old. But Courtenay said he had replied to him that he had never felt himself worthy of so great an alliance as that with the Queen, nor with Elizabeth either; and he begged the Queen to consider that he acknowledged himself to be always in servitude, and would never claim other liberty than she of her grace would allow him ; he was not ungrateful for what she had done for him, and would always obey her. He would rather, if she desired him to marry, have a simple lady than a proud heretic like Elizabeth, whose mother's character laid her under suspicion. As to the French, they had held several conversations with him, but only general talk.1
The Queen thought deeply over Renard's arguments The Queen for her marrying Philip, and next day sent a wishpv}°1 messenger to ask him to put them in writing ; which he readily did for her. She felt his reasons very cogent, and being confirmed in that opinion by a conversation with Paget on the 13th, she called the Ambassador, on the 14th, to another private interview. Again they had a long conversation, and in the end she took him by the hand and conjured him to tell her if His Highness was really such a man as he had described him — if he was staid, self-restrained, and well-conditioned. Renard said if his own security for Philip's character was sufficient he would give it readily. Philip was as virtuous a prince as any in the world. " Well ! " said the Queen, pressing his hands without saying more. Then again she asked him if he were not influenced by the feelings of a servant or a subject, love or fear. Renard said, she could take his honour and his life as hostages if when the alliance was accomplished, and he might call her his princess, she did not find true what he had said. Yet before saying the last word, she asked if it would
1 R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 493-5.
88 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
not be possible to see the Prince, and whether Renard knew if the Emperor had informed his son of the proposed alliance. She understood that Philip was shortly going into Flanders. Could he not take England on his way, either before or after she had given her promise — at least before the marriage — going to Flanders as if only to see the Emperor? Renard said he could not be sure that Philip would visit England except with a view to the alliance, and doubted if it would be becoming that he should write to the Emperor to ascertain his son's intentions. The Queen then asked if Philip would venture to take the sea in such a season without fear of the French. Renard said he would have such a force to accompany him that the French could not hinder his passage, and he would not mind the season if she desired it.1 Mary's The subject was then dismissed for the time, but
anxiety t]ie Queen went on to inquire about another matter
concerning /» -i • i • i t-» -i i 1 • /> -n
the title ol high importance to her. Kenard and his iellows Head1"1"6 nac^ intended to delay their despatch of the 30th September, describing the royal procession of that day from the Tower to Westminster, in order to add an account of the Coronation next day, but the Queen was very anxious, in view of the Parliament which was to follow so soon, to procure a copy of the sentence given at Rome maintaining the validity of her father's and mother's marriage, in opposition to the Act of Parliament ; and she hoped one might be found among the papers of the Emperor's secretaries, or perhaps those of Chapuys. There was no time to send to Rome itself about this matter, so the despatch had been sent off in haste to Brussels.2
And now, a fortnight later, the Queen was anxious about it again, for the House of Lords had resolved that it was right to annul 3 all Acts passed in deroga-
1 Renard to the Emperor, 15th Oct. 1553, R. 0. Trans, u.s. pp. 497-504.
2 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 30th September, ib. pp. 423-7.
3 The words of the original are: — "a resolu qu'il convenoit annuller." This seems to imply a mere resolution of the House of Lords ; and as yet
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 89
tion of the authority of the Holy See from a year before the divorce. So she hoped they would restore the Pope's authority and withdraw from the Crown the title of Supreme Head of the Church of England. As to her father's and mother's marriage, Parliament would make no difficulty about approving it, not by the Pope's authority but by their own. This, however, would be unsatisfactory to her, and she did not know what to do about it. She felt sure that the Parliament would ask her to accept the title of Supreme Head, which her conscience did not ap- prove. Apart from these points, however, she had good hope that the substance of religion would be restored.
Renard said that the marriage of her parents remained valid by the repeal of the statutes, and that it would be sufficient for Parliament to confirm it in general terms ; that she need have no scruple about the authority of the Pope which they have tacitly approved, and the matter was a spiritual one ; that the time was not yet come for explicit recognition of the Pope's authority — she ought to wait for another Parliament, and meanwhile establish true religion. As to what she should answer if asked whether she would accept that title of Supreme Head, he would give her in writing eight reasons by which she might excuse herself in terms which he thought the Parliament could not object to. What those eight reasons were does not appear. The diplomatist was amused at being consulted on difficult points of theology, which he confessed would require
there was certainly no Act passed. The words of Noailles on the 17th October seem also to agree with this hypothesis. For he writes: — "J'ay sceu pour certain qu'en ce parlement n'a este encores tenu propoz sur la religion, et pour remettre 1'eglise de ce royaume en 1'obeissance du pape, sinon qu'en la chambre desditz millords oil a este aussy propose de casser tous les arrestz qui ont este par cy-devant donnez sur le divorce du mariaige du feu roy Henry dernier et de la royne Catherine, mere de la dicte Dame ; ce qui n'est toutesfois encores venu jusqu'a l'aultre chambre." — Ambas- sades de Noailles, ii. 221.
90 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION BK. v..
another brain than his. "Yet I am the bolder," he wrote, " because I see those here are no better equipped." *
What perplexing thoughts in the Queen's head were those that Renard was trying to answer? Her father's and mother's marriage, no doubt, was valid, but was not esteemed so by those who had no regard for the Pope's authority. Her coronation, she hoped, was valid, but the Pope would have to make it so notwithstanding that it was done in a schismatic country. Her own authority and settled peace under it were as yet only prospective ; and when could she allow the Pope's legate to come and absolve the realm from schism ? Things seemed to be getting worse in England for those who favoured the Queen's religion. On Sunday, the 15th October, there were outrages in two London churches. In one a preacher was severely wounded by a merchant for saying that all that had been done for the establishment of the new religion had been done to the damnation of souls, and that their " sacramentary " communion had not profited them. In the other the preacher had a difficulty in saving himself for preaching that it was necessary to believe that the true Body and Blood of God were in the Host after the words of consecration. " It will be difficult to keep the heretics in without scandal," wrote Renard, " as the Bishop of Winchester knows, who is lodged at the Palace to be under the Queen's guard." The Ambassador feared that the Queen was too anxious to restore religion all at once.2
He was quite convinced, indeed, that the great majority of the Parliament would not hear of the restoration of the Pope's authority. The holders of church property would sooner be massacred, he said, than relax their hold of it ; and he almost suspected that Noailles, the French Ambassador, was fomenting
1 Renard to the Emperor, 15th October 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 506-8.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 19th October, ib. pp. 535-7.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 91
conspiracies among them to promote resistance. But Dangerous he thought it more likely that Noailles was using all ^JJJ^ his efforts to prevent their agreeing to the Queen's marriage with Philip. The Venetian Ambassador, he knew, had been actually pursuing that course, for he had held long conferences with Courtenay to induce him to forsake the Queen, if she would not marry him. Company in that Ambassador's house had been abusing Spaniards shamefully, and he himself had been telling people that, if the alliance took effect, Philip would make himself monarch of all Christendom. So much did Frenchmen and Venetians alike dread the Spanish match.
As to Courtenay, Eenard believed he would do himself no good that way. He had been forgetting himself and showing himself so haughty that he was disliked by all the Court, especially those of the Council. He had received an affront from Lord Grey, Suffolk's brother, a witty man in favour with the Queen, and would not venture into Grey's presence ; and at a banquet given by the Queen to the Imperial Ambassadors he had shown his consciousness of their opposition to him by omitting either to salute or take notice of them.1
The Queen herself, in the midst of all her difficulties, was gracious as ever to old opponents. Henry Dudley, who had sought aid for Northumberland in France, was at this time liberated from the Tower; and so was Lord Huntingdon, who had committed himself to Edward's device for excluding her from the succession. Yet she could not get her way easily with Parliament in matters of importance to herself, such as the legitimation of her father's and mother's marriage, about which she had to make a sort of bargain with the Legislature. Parliament would agree to it willingly, provided that no mention was made of the Pope's authority ; and this, though
1 Renard to the Emperor, 19th Oct. 1553, ib. pp. 530-3.
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she looked upon it as a hard condition, she felt that she must accept. Renard pointed out to her that it was not a matter that ought to trouble her conscience, as there was no question of the Pope's authority for the present.1 Proceed- The bill repealing various statutes of treason pSn™ Passed just before the adjournment which concluded ment. " the first session " of that Parliament ; and its history seems to have been somewhat peculiar. It was introduced in the Lords, from which House, on the 12th October, a week after the opening day of Parliament, it was brought down to the Commons by Mr. Attorney, and is described on the Journals at that date as a bill " signed by the Queen." Having been so signed, even at this early stage, we must pre- sume— in fact, it seems certain — that it did contain some reference to the Pope such as Mary desired. It was read a first time on the 13th, a second time on the 14th, a third time on the 18 th. But there were points reserved for discussion after the third reading, and these being argued out on the 19th, it was passed.2
That this discussion after the third reading had reference to the mention of the Pope in the original bill, is an irresistible conclusion from what Renard writes to the Emperor on the 21st. He had just heard that day that Parliament had annulled all the Acts made since, and a little before, the divorce of Henry and Katharine, which imposed penalties of treason on those who spoke against it — that is to say, the Acts concerning the divorce and concerning religion. But they would not consent to their repeal except by
1 "Ce lui seroit une pacience bien dure. Sur quoi je lui ai fait responce qu'il n'estoit question de l'auctorite du Pape pour le present, et qu'il ne me sembloit sa conscience pouvoir recevoir interestz en ce." — Renard to the Emperor, 19th October 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, U.S. p. 539.
a Possibly the Lords sat next day to consider amendments made in it. We have no Lords' Journals for this Parliament, and the above particulars are derived only from the Commons' Journals. It is to be noted that Renard only heard of the passing of the bill on the 21st, the day that both Houses met and were prorogued.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 93
an Act drawn in general terms without mention of the Pope or his authority.1 " Whereupon," he writes, " the Bishops assembled to conclude what the said Lady (i.e. the Queen) can and ought to do. And, for my part, talking with the Bishop of Norwich, I told him that it seemed to me that she ought to accept things as they were and accommodate herself to them, hoping that a better occasion will arise to set forth in terms the authority of the Church. The Bishop is of the same opinion, but he told me that the Bishop of Winchester holds the contrary." It seemed a matter of high principle, but high principle was a guide impossible to follow consistently.
Renard adds that he had heard they had found a statute which gave absolute power to Henry VIII. to dispose of the succession by will, whereby he made Elizabeth, notwithstanding her bastardy, co-heiress of the Crown ; and that this will and statute ought to be annulled, otherwise she could always claim the succession and so give trouble in spite of her being declared a bastard. " And," he writes, " as the said Lady [the Queen] does not succeed by virtue of the said will, and as it does not matter to her, she being the only true heir of the said Crown, I think she will easily consent to the said annulment, to avoid the difficulties that the said Elizabeth will raise, if she has the means." 2 Mary, no doubt, would easily have con- sented to it, but a great many other people would not.
Another interesting piece of information follows in Gardiner the same letter. Renard had learned that Bishop ^gde°athers Gardiner, the Comptroller Rochester, Waldegrave, marriage Englefield, and another whose name is given as courtenay. " Sudvez " (apparently Sir Richard Southwell), had suggested to the Queen the expediency of marrying,
1 " . . . n'aiant voulu consentir que generalement ladite revocation se feit, et que si la Roine d'Angleterre se contente d'une declaration generale, elle se fera, sans fere mention du Pape ne de son auctorite."
2 Renard to the Emperor, 21st October 1553, R. O. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 541-3.
94 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vh
and expressly named Courtenay as the match that would give the greatest satisfaction in the kingdom. No foreigner had been king in times past — the idea was hateful. Courtenay was well-born, well- mannered, and virtuous ; the Queen's age was pass- ing, and it was very necessary she should make up her mind. The Queen, in reply, said she could not take such advice ill at their hands ; but as they dis- suaded her from marrying a foreigner, she asked them to weigh the arguments in favour of it, and expounded them in such a way that her advisers saw clearly one thing at least — that she had no favour for Courtenay. Account of She doubtless judged well, though the young man Courtenay. j^ many recommendations. For, first of all, besides coming of the ancient family of the Courtenays, Earls of Devon, whose story in different countries has been traced from a remote period by Gibbon in his Decline and Fall,1 he was the Queen's cousin, being a great-grandson of Edward IV., of whom she was a great-granddaughter. He was also tall and hand- some, and had turned his fourteen years' imprisonment in the Tower to good account, acquiring various languages and learning to play upon various instru- ments. He is credited further with artistic talent, and no small proficiency in mathematics. His mis- fortunes and the injustice done to his family had attracted popular sympathy ; for he was the son of Henry Courtenay, Earl of Devon, whom Henry VIII. in the seventeenth year of his reign had advanced to the dignity of Marquis of Exeter, and fourteen years later had beheaded for privately expressing dislike of the king's proceedings.2 The Marquis's widow and their only son had been shut up from that day in London's gloomy fortress, till on the 21st July they were released by Mary ; and at the very time of his liberation there was a general surmise that
1 In chapter lxi. Gibbon is altogether wrong, however, about "the secret love of Queen Mary " for this young man.
2 See Vol. II. 157-8.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 95
the young man would be a fitting match for the Queen.1
Although the Queen herself did not take this view, and hardly spoke to him much for some weeks after she had released him, she did a few things later which naturally tended to keep alive the general expectation. On Sunday, 3rd September, she restored him to the ancestral dignity of Earl of Devon.2 But she could hardly have approved, if aware of them, the bribes offered to him and his mother for Court favours, and she seems to have felt that a young man who from boyhood had been so secluded from the world, required a little guidance, nay, careful supervision, to keep him out of dangerous company when he became the recipient of such honours, for she made him under- stand that she must know everything that he did. " She bears such favour and has such reverence towards him," wrote the self - deceived French Ambassador, " that he never goes out of doors, scarcely out of his chamber, without leave. Even when he came to dine at my lodging fifteen days ago, where were present the Sieur de Gye' and the Bishop of Orleans, he required to ask leave first, and it was granted to him with great difficulty, as I myself had asked him (de tant que moi-meme je Ven avois prie)s; and the Queen, in giving him permission, commanded a gentleman, one of her favourites, never to leave him. Moreover, I know that she has given him the choice of whatever house he may find most agreeable in this town ; and further I know the friendship which, as I wrote, she bears to his mother, sleeping every night with her. I can also tell you, Sire, that between the Chancellor and the said Courtenay there is a friendship, real or dissembled."4
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 22nd July 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 177 ; Strype, Eccl. Mem. iii. pt. ii. 422.
2 " Comte d'Ampchier," as Noailles (ii. 141) makes it.
3 The French idiom used here, I believe, is obsolete ; but this apparently is the meaning.
4 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 147.
96 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
It was very unjust to suspect Gardiner of a dissembled friendship for Courtenay. They had been fellow -prisoners in the Tower, and this itself was a bond of sympathy between them ; and in other respects Gardiner thought the match with Courtenay expedient, until he found that the Queen's inclina- tion was irrevocably fixed in another quarter. But Noailles was not the man to understand Gardiner. Just a fortnight before this, he had been trying to take the measure of things in a situation not altogether clear. "We see," he wrote, "the Queen very desti- tute of men possessed of eminent parts or qualities, either for war or to counsel her in peace. The Bishop of Winchester is he to whom it is supposed she will give most authority as to matters of State, and Paget after him ; and Winchester shows at the beginning, in the opinion of many, that he will not be less arrogant and violent in the administration of affairs than others who have hitherto had authority. One can easily perceive that he has forgotten nothing of his accustomed behaviour in the prison in which he has been confined for seven years." 1 This again is a harsh and premature judgment, founded avowedly on the opinion of others ; and assuredly a candid estimate of Gardiner was not to be expected from politicians so destitute of great qualities as the writer himself quite truly said Mary's Councillors were for the most part. Besides, there were some of them, such as Paulet, Marquis of Winchester, Lord Eiche, and Mr. Secretary Petre, who were accomplices in the injustice done to Gardiner under Edward VI. ; and if such men had not sought even now to injure his character, they would have given a very bad impression of their own.
But to come back to Courtenay, whose history we have just been treating retrospectively from his
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 123. Written by Noailles in concert with de Gye and the Bishop of Orleans to Henry II. on the 23rd August.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 97
liberation. A month after his creation as Earl of Devon it was clear that the Queen would not marry him, and when some one suggested to him that he might marry Elizabeth, and so he, or at least his heirs, might come to the throne, he rejected the idea, and most humbly begged the Queen to believe that he considered himself in servitude to her, ready to marry, if she desired it, a simple damsel rather than the proud heretic Elizabeth. In existing circumstances the word "servitude" was scarcely unbecoming if it was quite sincere ; for it meant that he was positively grateful for the restrictions the Queen had placed upon him to preserve his inexperience from being played upon by others. Any way he was on his best behaviour, and he had reason to be so. For that interview with the Queen, as we have seen, was on the 6th October, a time when, backed by the favour of the Lord Chancellor,1 he was seeking to procure Acts of Parliament in favour of himself and his mother ; and it was certainly not many days later that two bills were introduced into the House of Lords, the first for the restitution in blood of " Lady Gertrude Marques Courtenay," as she is called in the Commons' Journals (the only Parliamentary record we have for this session), and the second for his own restitution in blood as Earl of Devon. These two bills came down from the Lords into the other House on Saturday the 14th October, and they had a first, second and third reading in the Commons on the 16th, 17th and 18th.2
Just after this Renard reported that Courtenay Elizabeth's was in disgrace with Elizabeth, for talking more '-lteiltl011
o » o # to li;ave
freely than she expected of the love affairs said to the court.
1 Renard thought these Acts had been hastened unduly with a view to promote Courtenay's marriage ; and he asked the Queen who had solicited them. She replied that Courtenay and his mother had petitioned for them by advice of the Chancellor, and she did not know that it was done with a view to marriage. — Renard to the Emperor, 23 id October, R. 0. Tran- scripts, u.s. pp. 554-5.
2 Commons' Journals, i. 28.
VOL. IV H
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be between them ; and that Elizabeth had resolved shortly to leave the Court.1 So she told Renard on Tuesday the 17th, and Renard seems to have thought her chief object was to get out of the way of tittle- tattle. But no doubt she was more uncomfortable about what passed in Parliament, as it affected her prospects not a little ; and this was the view taken by the French Ambassador, Noailles. " The enactments of this Parliament," he wrote on the 20th, "are as yet only these : — for the restitution in blood and honour of my Lord Courtenay and the Marchioness, his mother ; and for annulling the penalties of treason, felony, and praemunire, and an infinitude of other Acts of preceding Kings, too long to recount. But the only object towards which all that tends is to be abje at this time more easily to declare null the divorce of Queen Katharine, mother of the Queen, and to place the Kingdom again under the obedience of the Church, as the said Queen does not wish to bear any longer the title of Supreme Head of the Church of England and of Ireland. I assure you, nevertheless, Madam " — the letter is written to the Queen Dowager of Scotland — "that this Act, annulling the penalties of the other preceding Acts, has not passed without great difficulties being raised, inas- much as it was well known what consequence was in view as regards the Church and religion. The Lady Elizabeth, being very ill pleased, has asked leave to withdraw from this company, and was to go away on Monday (the 23rd) ; but I think the Queen will still cause her to delay her departure, and also, from what I can learn, will give her company, that she may be informed from hour to hour what her said sister will do, fearing that sedition may arise." 2
Elizabeth felt naturally that if her sister succeeded first in getting her father's divorce from her mother
1 Renard to the Emperor, 19th October, R. O. Transcripts, u.s. p. 538. 2 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 227-8.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 99
annulled, and then in procuring the reconciliation of the kingdom to Rome, Mary's title to the Crown would thereby be made to rest on legitimate right, and the testamentary settlement of her father would be discredited. In that case she, Elizabeth, was a bastard, with no claim to the succession at all. But she had the sympathy of all the grantees of monastic lands, who, if papal authority was restored, might well be treated as receivers of stolen goods and be made to disgorge the plunder. So the situation was extremely awkward, and no doubt it was very necessary to keep careful watch over Elizabeth, lest there should be some disloyal confederacy in her behalf to prevent even the parliamentary legitimation of the Queen's birth. For her parliamentary legiti- mation itself would imply an acknowledgment that separation from Rome had been wrong from the beginning, forasmuch as the cause which prompted it had been wicked and unjustifiable. And then papal pretensions might rise again to their old ex- orbitance, and the law of the land, whether just or not, would be of inferior authority to Church law which extended over all Christendom.
Was it due to these considerations that there was Queen a pause in the proceedings of Parliament, and that Ka*a" the " first session " was wound up by a mere adjourn- marriage ment for a few days ? Parliament may have looked ^^b to Convocation for some enlightenment on a matter Pariia- which concerned Church authority ; for Convocation men ' was at that time transacting business at St. Paul's, of which more hereafter. But it does not seem that Convocation actually took up the subject, or, indeed, could very well do so, for reasons to be mentioned by and by. The Lords had really gone much further than Convocation by passing a resolution that it would be right to annul previous Acts against the authority of the Holy See. This, however, was only a resolution, and nothing had been done to give effect
ioo LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
to it by repealing the anti-papal statutes, or even to declare the validity of Katharine of Aragon's marriage. All we can tell is that in the limited work of the " first Session " of this Parliament even this last question had not been dealt with, when the Houses were prorogued on Saturday, 21st October. The new Session began on Tuesday the 24th, and on the Thursday following a bill declaring Henry VIII.'s marriage with Katharine lawful was read a first time in the Commons. It received a second and third reading on the two following days, was sent up to the House of Lords,1 and after passing through the different stages there it ultimately became law. should the Again we must come back to Courtenay, for he is Queen ^ imp0rtant a personage at present to be lost sight
marry i J-. ox o
Courtenay? of. The reader, indeed, knows that the Queen will have nothing to do with him, except to protect him, if possible, from politicians and courtiers who want to make use of him. But politicians and courtiers have not been admitted, at this date, into the Queen's confidence, and they cannot easily believe that she has decisively rejected him as a suitor. Nay, many of her best friends think her marriage with him would be highly expedient for her and for the common weal. It was on the 20th October that Mary was pressed so strongly by Bishop Gardiner and others not to marry a foreigner but to marry Courtenay, and replied in the way we have already seen.
She was, however, by no means comfortable, and sent for Renard to give him an account of the inter- view. She was constantly sending him little notes of summons to these private conferences, written with her own hand. And she told him all the arguments they had used against her marrying Philip. Englefield had said that he not only had one Kingdom already and would not leave it, but that his own subjects spoke so ill of him that she would
1 Commons' Journals, i. 29.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 101
do far better to marry an Englishman. And Waldegrave had added that the marriage would bring England into war with France. Seeing how they had laid their heads together to beset her, she had replied that putting private inclinations aside they should consider the state of the Kingdom, the intrigues of the French, and the marriage of the Dauphin with Mary Queen of Scots, and weigh, in the light of these things, what profit would come to the Kingdom if she married Courtenay, and what if she married a foreigner. No conclusion had been come to ; but they certainly would return to the subject, and she did not know well how to answer them except by setting before them the question of the public good.
Renard said he had the Emperor's letters that she had asked for, and would deliver them on Monday following, when his colleagues who had been recalled had left ; and he recommended her to put off making further answer till he had executed His Majesty's commands. If she wished to follow their advice he begged her to say so, for the decision rested with her, and she could incline her Council to what view she pleased. Mary replied that she had no inclina- tion to Courtenay, and was not resolved either for the one or for the other. She understood that the French were doing all they could to hinder the alliance with Philip, as her Ambassador, Wotton, had expressly written so to her ; and she would be glad to hear the conditions and articles that the Emperor proposed. If he would communicate them through Renard, she would keep them so secret that no one could talk about them. Not that she wished Renard to write that she had given her word for the marriage, for she would not give it if she did not intend to keep it ; but by these articles she might better convert the Council to choose the most convenient match. Renard said that he would write to the Emperor to
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do what he thought reasonable ; and he was surprised that she deferred so much to her Councillors as to let them command her inclination in urging her to marry a subject against her will. Not so, Mary said, they had no such influence in a matter that touched her so closely. She would rather trust what Eenard had told her about the virtues of His Highness, and did not believe what was said of him, that his own subjects blamed him as too proud and deficient in wisdom. If the Emperor would send the Articles suggested for the marriage, he should see that they contained provisions by which foreigners would be made incapable of holding any office, administration, charge, or benefice in England ; that the Prince should not employ Spaniards only in his service, but people of the Low Countries and of England ; that the Kingdom should not enter into war ; that His Highness should remain in England, or in the Low Countries near ; that the two countries should be allies and confederates generally for mutual aid and defence ; that His Highness make no change or innovation in the laws, nor in any matter of common order [police) ; and other conditions should be laid down to remove all objections as to foreigners becoming a charge upon the finances of the realm or on its government.1 Seditious As to Courtenay, she said he had two servants with projects. Yiirxi who had discovered two intrigues against herself and the good of the realm. First, when Sir Anthony St. Leger, reappointed as Lord Deputy of Ireland, was about to take leave of her on his return to that country 2 with money for the pay of the soldiers there, Courtenay had learned that three English
1 Renarcl to the Emperor, 23rd October 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 547-52.
2 Sir Anthony St. Leger was just on his departure for Ireland on the 23rd October, the very day this letter was written, and had taken leave of the Queen a day or two before. He obtained a warrant on the 23rd "to take to himself, as by way of reward, out of the £20,000 for Ireland, the sum of 500 marks." — Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 358.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 103
captains who were to go with him had been corrupted. They were to have seized all the money, killed every one who was not in the plot, and escaped to Scotland or France. Secondly, several heretics in England had applied to the French Ambassador to know if the King his master would agree to a project, and furnish them with money for some exploit to do him service. The Ambassador had answered that his master would not supply them with money for such a purpose at present, but if they had the means to do him service they should be heard and well rewarded.
The fact that several Englishmen had applied in this way to the French Ambassador, is confirmed by Noailles himself in a despatch of the 17th October to Henry II. He says they had frequently proposed to him to raise great seditions, both in England and in Ireland, but that he had given them a very cold hearing, being assured that Henry would never listen to anything which might give offence to the Queen.1 So it seems that Renard, or perhaps the Queen herself, was in this case a little over suspicious. There was disloyalty enough in England without foreign instigation. But the Queen believed that Noailles was making the utmost use of Courtenay that he possibly could (pratiquoit ledit Cortenai tout le possible) ; and as the rumour was still so strong that she was going to marry him, she durst not speak with him except in presence of his mother. She was resolved to do so, however, next day, to learn about those pratiques. Renard said that they were very dangerous, and the French were at the bottom of them. She might draw an argument from them in answer to the advice of her Councillors to marry Courtenay, and when she spoke to Courtenay she might interrogate him as to what the Venetian Ambassador had said to him four or five days before. He could tell her that Pickering, who had been
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 221-2.
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Ambassador for Edward VI. in France, had talked for two hours with the lady Elizabeth, and he presumed " les devises se faire soubz le nom de l'ambassadeur de France." Mary said that her Council had already begun to receive information about those pratiques, and that the Bishop of Winchester was staggered at them, and did not know what to say except that God had revealed them.1 The The Queen further told Renard at the same inter-
Emperor's view (on Saturday the 21st) that she had been that the Queen, day to Parliament to hear the Acts there passed ; but of these the reader is already sufficiently informed. On the 27th, the day that Scheyfve left on his return to the Emperor's Court, Renard had audience of the Queen and her Council and presented the Emperor's letters. The Queen, having already seen a separate copy, read them promptly, and at once told Renard that she had wept more than two hours that very day, and prayed God to inspire her on the great question. Remembering all that Renard had told her, and having, as she said, chosen him for a second father confessor, she could no longer withhold the declaration that she believed she would agree to the marriage with Philip as proposed by the Emperor, trusting that neither he nor his father had proposed it for any other reasons, than those which Renard had explained to her, and she held Renard himself as a hostage of the life, virtues, and qualities of the Prince. She saw no other course for her than to follow the good counsel of the Emperor. She desired to speak with Renard apart and tell him the language she had used towards Courtenay, and she could not go further without bursting into tears. She would give Renard audience before her Council. There was none in the Chamber but Gardiner, Arundel, Paget, and Secretary Petre. She told them that she had received letters from the Emperor per-
1 Renard to the Emperor, R. O. Transcripts, n.$. pp. 553-4.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 105
suading her to marriage, and that it was enough for her to have learned thereby his intention. She asked them to give a hearing to Renard, who would speak more fully on the matter.1
Renard's plan of operations seems accidentally to and to have been upset. He had got special letters from J?™^' the Emperor for himself to address to Gardiner and a few other Councillors, that each might think himself specially honoured with Imperial recognition, and be disposed to promote the Queen's marriage in the way desired. But Gardiner thought it right to present his letter to the Queen as soon as he came into Council, to which he was called when Renard had just begun to open the subject to him in private ; and not knowing that other Councillors were favoured with similar letters, he afterwards sent for the Ambassador to see him in his own house and finish what he had to say. He also sent for the Earl of Arundel, the Lord Privy Seal (Earl of Bedford), Thirlby, Bishop of Norwich, Paget, and Petre. So Renard, instead of treating individually with a few in the first place, had to open the general subject to the audience, saying that he was instructed to show them, first, how the Emperor had not thought it advisable to recommend marriage to the Queen until the Coronation and first business of Parlia- ment were over, and had expected that before then her Councillors would have made some over- ture ; and, secondly, that His Majesty, considering that it would be one of the greatest boons to the Kingdom for the Queen to leave posterity, had com- missioned him to lay the matter before them for consideration. On this the Council conferred together at great length, and finally told Renard that His Majesty had never done the Queen and realm a more obliging turn, for which they humbly thanked him in the name of the Queen and themselves ; for though
1 Renard to the Emperor, 28th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 567-9.
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many of them had thought upon the subject, none would have had the boldness to bring it forward of themselves ; and they would do what they could to ascertain the Queen's inclination and promote it.1
Having succeeded thus far, Renard next went to see the Comptroller (Sir Robert Rochester), to whom he presented the Emperor's letter, telling him what he had already done with the Council and who were present there, adding that the Emperor, knowing his willingness to risk his goods and even life in the Queen's service, had charged him with a special message to him to learn from him what he thought best in the interests of the Kingdom. Renard pro- fessed that he was ready to go further by his advice, and intimated that the Emperor would remember the pains he took in the matter. This was a bold stroke, for he knew that Rochester was one of that little company, with Gardiner at their head, who had lately been urging the Queen to marry Courtenay, and it is not to be supposed that Rochester was much influenced by the suggestion that the Emperor would reward him for deciding the other way. But Renard was feeling his ground carefully ; and though even the Queen had authorised him to lay the whole negotia- tion before her Comptroller, he thought it well to limit himself in a first interview to the general subject and learn what Rochester thought about it. A special letter to Rochester from the Emperor was, of course, a very great compliment, and after he had read it he expressed his thanks to His Majesty. He would discuss the matter with Renard confidentially with entire frankness. The Queen, he said, had in her Council some very dangerous persons, who only did her outward service. Their inward thoughts were disloyal, and he had found that in Parliament they did her ill-service, alike as regarded religion and as regarded the maintenance of her authority. Renard
1 Renard to the Emperor, 28th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 569-73.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 107
should be on his guard with whom he communicated on such a matter. Among the Queen's servants were Englefield and Waldegrave. As to Waldegrave, who was his own kinsman, he would not enlarge upon his character, but he was a man entier et confident. Within two days, however, Rochester said he would come again to Renard and tell him more. Renard said that he had a letter for Waldegrave also ; but Rochester begged him not to deliver it till he had seen him again.1
Thus the marriage was so far advanced, as Renard wrote at this point to the Emperor, that there remained only the advice of the Councillors, for the Queen had already given her word for it, and though she had limited her assent par croire, the Emperor understood well enough what that meant. Renard was now pretty well assured that when she next sent for him to speak to him apart she would go further. As to the Councillors there was no fear. They saw well enough that the Queen had no liking for Courtenay. They were banded against each other, each considering his own private interests, and if one of them took any step without the knowledge of the rest, it might lead to disturbance of the whole realm. Renard's policy, he said, was to speak fair to one and confide in another. But the matter was so weighty that he begged for distinct assurance of the Emperor's will, in case he should omit anything necessary to the furtherance of the Imperial policy. He hoped the Emperor had made up his mind as to the conditions of the treaty, which the Queen was most anxious to see.
The contents of the last few pages are all derived from one single letter — one of those long despatches that Renard himself was continually writing to the Emperor ; but they are far from exhausting the matter of that despatch, and contemporary informa- tion like this is so interesting and important that
1 lb. pp. 573-6.
108 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
I must go on, still drawing new draughts from the same source. Parliament He added, " Parliament is much hindered {fort vocation arr&e) ou the point of religion ; and for eight days nothing has been done but to discuss and put forward Articles which the General Council would have some trouble to resolve." Here the writer, under the name of Parlement, seems to be con- founding together two things, to either of which, indeed, the French word would be equally appli- cable, and what he says has really some relation to both assemblies. In the next chapter I propose to speak of the Convocation which sat at St. Paul's discussing matters of religion while Parliament was sitting at Westminster. There had been a marked stoppage of business alike in Parliament and in Con- vocation. On Saturday the 21st October, as we have seen, Parliament was prorogued and its " first Session " was over. On Friday the 20th Convocation was adjourned till Monday the 23rd, the day before Parliament resumed, and the Privy Council, as will be shown hereafter, took a very special interest in that Monday's proceedings. Eenard's letter is dated the 28th, the day that the Commons passed the third reading of the bill declaring Henry VIII. 's marriage to Katharine lawful, and sent it up to the Lords. On the previous Monday (the 23rd), the writer goes on to state, the Bishops were assembled (this, however, was in Convocation) — four of them Schismatics and Protestants, and six doctors of the old religion. The discussion became so violent that it was scandalous, and when the news of it got abroad, Parliament (Convocation) was more disliked than it had been before.1 Gardiner
1 " Mais la communication se convertit en contention injurieuse et scaudaleuse ; de sorte que, coinme elle est parvenue aux oreilles du peuple et du Parlement, Ton a plus desgoust^ le Parlement qu'il n'estoit auparavant." Here the word " Parlement" is used twice, Mist, apparently, in the sense of our word Parliament, the second referring to the disputation allowed in Convocation.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 109
had recommended a policy which, Renard said, was felt to be impossible in existing circumstances, arjd Paget told Renard in confidence that the Emperor ought to get Cardinal Pole detained in Flanders ; for if he came nearer it was to be feared Parliament might pass very objectionable measures, and, being of kin to Courtenay, he might interfere to prevent the marriage. This Paget not only said by word of mouth, but wrote and repeated it strongly to Renard.1
For the same reasons Renard advised the Queen by no means to allow Pole's servant, Throgmorton, to come to England, out of consideration for the Parlia- ment and the Pope's authority, from which people in England were more averse than ever. But he refrained from giving her the other reason — that nothing might be treated prejudicial to the marriage.
Then, besides other matters, this despatch speaks Courtenay as^ain of the withdrawal of Elizabeth from the Court *nf, Eliza-
/•i-ii c \ beth.
(which, however, was found not to be a fact),2 and the question whether it would not have been better to keep her there, as it would be difficult to take away her right to the succession under Henry VIII. 's will. A suggestion had also been put for- ward, in order to reconcile the people to the Queen's marriage with a foreign prince, that Courtenay should marry Elizabeth and Henry VIII. 's disposition of the succession in her favour should be confirmed, pro- vided that she adhered to the old Catholic religion. But this was objected to by others as not very safe for the Queen. On the other hand, an influential person had suggested, as a means of recommending the Queen's marriage with a foreigner, three points against her marriage with Courtenay which ought to
1 Noailles also (ii. 244) mentions that the Emperor had prevented Pole from going near England, and that he had done this at the instigation of Paget, who also procured the return of Michael Throgmorton to Louvain.
8 On the 4th November Renard writes that Paget had given him reasons why he had advised that Elizabeth should not be removed from London but left to occupy the house given her by the Queen ; and she was still there at that time. — R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 627.
no LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
be well impressed upon the Council. First, in case she had no heirs it would be needful to make Courtenay King, otherwise the realm would be troubled by the claims of Elizabeth. Second, if she had heirs he would usurp the Kingdom while the children were under age, not as Protector but as actual King. Third, he was proud, poor, headstrong, of little experience, and vindictive in an extreme degree. So, when he was married he would prob- ably drive out all the Queen's servants and appoint others. Of these three points Renard thought the first two of considerable importance. As to the last, though it was true, it was not so much to the purpose.
Do we understand history better by passing over the things that might have been ? For the most part we look merely on the record of things actually done. The arguments for and against them have generally passed away into silence, and even when they are recoverable we fancy they are not worth the trouble. Thus the historical student seeks to batten upon barren facts, without attempting to resuscitate from the tomb of oblivion the hopes and fears and uncertainties which preceded and followed things now known as certain. But apart from general comments, I have an object in connection with these speculations and arguments — a small object, indeed, but still worth noting. For I am a little was disposed to question a statement about Courtenay,
dissolute certainly plausible enough in itself, which was made by the French Ambassador in a despatch dated the 17th October — eleven days earlier than this despatch of Renard's. In this he reported to his King that he had been visited the day before by an English gentleman in Courtenay's service, who came to correct his previous information about the hours his master had been with the Queen on the 6th. Instead of five hours, the interview, he affirmed, had only lasted
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT i i i
half an hour. But he had further information to impart, which perhaps was not more accurate ; and about this I give the exact words of Noailles in translation : —
He added that the friends of his master had begun to doubt of his arriving at that honour which every one promised him, because he did not, as it seemed to them, take the road that he ought to have taken ; and that the Queen had a bad opinion of him, having heard that he commits many youthful indiscretions {fait beaucoup de jeunesses), and, indeed often goes with public women of evil life, and keeps other bad company, without considering the gravity and rank which he ought to maintain to aspire to such a high position.1
This is undoubtedly not unlike what many a young man would do, especially if not long since emancipated from captivity and intoxicated with the pleasures of a large town. But if it was true, why did not Renard hear of it also ? Such conduct on the part of Courtenay would have given additional weight to the arguments the Imperialist was always urging against his marriage with the Queen. In fact, from Mary's own statement in her anxious inquiries about the purity of Philip's morals, we may say that with her it would have been a conclusive reason for rejecting him. But nothing of this appears in Renard's despatches ; and although Mary had no particular fancy for Courtenay, yet she had never seen Philip, and the question was still in the balance even to the 21st October — four days after Noailles wrote — which of the two possible husbands would be more suitable from a political point of view. Nay, more, so far as the Council and the public out-of-doors were concerned it was an open question still, and no one appears to have known anything whatever very derogatory to Courtenay's being chosen. And if it was known to Noailles on the 16th October through a gentleman in Courtenay's
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 219.
mistake.
ii2 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
own service that Courtenay had become so demoralised, how could Bishop Gardiner, along with such devoted friends of the Queen as Rochester, Waldegrave, and Englefleld, have pressed her to take him as one " well born, well mannered, and virtuous," as appears by Renard's letter of the 21st ? Such misconduct as was imputed to Courtenay by his servant on the 16th must have been going on already for some little time if his transgressions, as stated then, had been frequent, and they could hardly have escaped observation for a long time in such a conspicuous personage.1 Noaiiies' The fact of the matter seems rather to be that Noailles took an entirely wrong view from the first of Courtenay's prospects and the Queen's feelings towards him. Although he discovered early in Sep- tember that the Imperial Ambassadors had been work- ing to bring about the Queen's marriage with Philip, he believed that the favour she bore to Courtenay was such that a combination in his behalf might defeat the Imperial diplomacy. But on the 22nd September he wrote to his Sovereign that Courtenay's influence was declining, for the Queen had forbidden him to wear a magnificent blue velvet accoutrement covered with goldsmith's work, which he had ordered expressly for his entree at the Coronation. This seemed to show that she was jealous of his grandeur, and sorry that she had hitherto encouraged him so much.2 Then afterwards she had told his adherents that he was too young and inexperienced.3 But the news of his five hours' conference with the Queen revived for a while the Frenchman's sanguine expectations, until the intelligence was corrected by his informant, who, being now convinced that Courtenay had lost favour,
1 The fact that Gardiner at a later date, viz. in January following, did actually warn Courtenay against the company he kept, does nothing to contirm the imputation made by Noailles ; for it does not appear that even then Gardiner suspected him of dissoluteness. He only warned him against the company of heretics in league with the French.
2 Ambassadcs de Noailles, ii. 163.
3 lb. p. 169.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 113
attributed it to some scandalous reports which he had easily swallowed. This new statement, indeed, was not corrected ; but Noailles took care afterwards to lessen the effect of it, and on despatching to the Court of France a messenger named La Marque, instructed him to inform King Henry, among other things, that Courtenay had become a reformed character, and that, after making many enemies by his former evil courses, he had done so much to reconcile them " that now he is held to be the handsomest and most agree- able gentleman in England."1
Three days later Renard writes of the final success Renard of his policy with the Queen. But before coming ^Jhe to it he relates how he continued his dealings with tiiiors. individual Councillors, visiting each separately, and delivering to each a letter from the Emperor himself. Each of these letters had a "credence" along with it — that is to say, a message to be delivered by word of mouth by Renard himself. In this way he besieged the Earl of Arundel, just as he had done the Comptroller the day before ; and the Earl, of course, was very grateful, though he had learned the sub- stance of the message already at the Queen's Council, and fully intended to do his duty and show his devotion to her Majesty. And to carry out fully his plan of personal appeals, Renard told Secretary Petre, who lodged in the Earl's house, that he had a letter for him also, to remind him of what he, Renard, had proposed to the Council; and Petre promised to do all that could be expected of a faithful servant. Thus he had addressed himself successively to all who had any influence in the government of the realm, when on Sunday night, the 29th October, the Queen sent for him again.
In the chamber where she received him was the Holy Sacrament, and the words she used to him were full of pathos and solemnity. But we had
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 246-7. VOL. TV I
1 14 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk.
The Queen pledges herself to marry Philip.
better let Renard himself describe the interview in his own way, and this is his account of it translated from the French : —
She declared to me that, since I had presented the Emperor's letters to her, she had never slept, but continually wept and prayed God that He would inspire and counsel her how to answer me on that subject of marriage which I had first broached to her at Beaulieu,1 — that the Holy Sacrament had been in her chamber all the time, and that she had continually invoked Him as her protector, conductor, and counsellor. And she heartily prayed Him again to aid her in this, kneeling on both knees and saying Veni Creator Spiritus. And there was no one in the said chamber except Mistress Clarence and myself, and we did the like ; but, as to Clarence, I do not know if she heard the said prayer, though I believe she did by the smile which she gave me. And after the said Lady [the Queen] had risen up she told me that, as your Majesty had chosen me to conduct this negotiation with her, she had chosen me for her first Father Confessor, and your Majesty [the Emperor] for the second, and that as she had weighed everything and called to mind the conversations I had had with her, and had also spoken with the said Arundel, Paget, and Petre, and with the assur- ance I am giving her of the qualities and manner of life of his Highness, trusting that your Majesty will take good care and thought for all things requisite for the public weal of the realm ; that you will remain to her a good father as hitherto, and all the more because you will be twice a father; that you will procure from his Highness that he be a good husband and spouse to her ; and believing herself counselled by God who has already done such miracles in her behalf, she gave me her word as a Princess before the said Holy Sacrament for her marriage with his Highness, feeling absolutely that her inclination was so bent ; and say- ing that she would never change, but would love him per- fectly, and would not give him occasion to be jealous ; that she had feigned to be ill these two days past, but that the illness was owing to the labour she had had in coming to this resolution.'2
The fortress had capitulated, and the engineer
1 See pp. 52, 54.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 31st October 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 600-602.
ch. m MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 115
who had besieged it so long and carefully could hardly express his joy sufficiently. " If she had invoked the Holy Spirit," he wrote to Charles V., "I had invoked the Trinity to inspire her to this desired answer." After assuring the Queen that the Emperor could not have more agreeable news, and that he would certainly observe what she desired, there was some conversation about Courtenay, to whom Cardinal Pole had written from Innsbruck, enjoining him to be thankful to the Queen for her goodness. What was to be done with him ? The question whether he should marry Elizabeth must be very carefully weighed. Then further as to Philip : Could he cross the sea during the winter? It was much to be desired that the marriage now agreed on should be celebrated as soon as possible, after the articles had been settled.1
Courtenay, however, had many friends, and as it a petition was not known yet that the Queen had decisively £°™iament rejected him, they were preparing to advance his prepared. claims by a petition from Parliament that she would not marry a foreigner. This petition, as Renard understood, was favoured by Gardiner, mainly for two reasons. First, because the marriage with Philip would involve many complications : it would drag England into a war with France, in which it might be expected that Ferdinand, King of Bohemia, would stir up opposition in Germany to Philip's succession to his inheritance ; that the Italian princes would join with France to secure themselves against Spain ; that thus, in case of the Emperor's death, Philip would find himself weaker than was expected ; that the Landgrave would seek to avenge himself for his treatment by Charles V. ; and that England would never be at peace. Secondly, because the people and nobles would never endure Spaniards in England, holding them ambitious, proud, and insatiable. There
1 Renard to the Emperor, 31st October and 1st November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 602-5, 613.
1 16 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Renard hears Gardiner's opinion.
was no doubt that the French and Venetian Am- bassadors were both in the plot, although they were very careful to keep their participation in it from being known, as their communications with Courtenay himself had been.1
Renard, at the Queen's instigation, pressed Gardiner for an interview, which, though much occupied, the Chancellor granted him at daybreak on Sunday the 5th November. He told Gardiner that ten days had elapsed since he had informed the Council about the Emperor's letter and overture, and that they had given him no answer. What was he to write to the Emperor ? He feared the proposal had been ill taken. Gardiner excused himself for having put off the matter. What with the Parliament and matters of religion, and the common affairs of the realm, he had no leisure to breathe. But when brought to the point, he said that the Queen's own inclination should be ascertained in the first instance ; and that he would never press her to take any particular person as a husband, but to consider whom she preferred. If she decided on an Englishman, he would do his best to give effect to her wishes, if on a foreigner, he would do the like. But if the Queen were to ask him which of the two would be the more advisable, he would strongly recommend her, for the public weal, the surety of her person, and the peace of her subjects, to make a match within the kingdom, because the people would not easily consent to a foreigner; the very name was odious, and they would never endure Spaniards, who were so much hated in Flanders.
Besides, the nation would be dragged into war, for the French would never leave Philip or the Low Countries at peace ; and if his cause fared badly, the kingdom would fall into the hands of the French, who already had access to it by land by way of
1 Renard to Charles V., 4th November 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 622-624. Cp. a letter of Noailles of the same date, which shows clearly that the plot was organised by him (Ambassades, ii. 233).
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 117
Scotland and were trying to gain a dominant influ- ence in Ireland. The Scots, too, laid claim to the Crown of England for their Queen by proximity of blood. Then, if a match with Philip were made, a Papal dispensation would be necessary on account of kinship ; and this would have to be obtained in secret, for the people would not permit the Pope's authority to be recognised again. Then, if a child were born of the marriage, the marriage itself might be impugned for want of a public dispensation. And with all the willingness of the Emperor and Philip to accommodate themselves to the ways of England, the people might still be afraid that they would act otherwise ; and fear on the part of a nation is quite as mischievous as the fact itself. So it would be necessary to better religion before talking of a foreign match, for the French King, it was well known, was secretly en- couraging the heretics in England, and the words, "foreign marriage," would greatly promote their designs, for it suggested that Philip would bring back the old religion. In fact, it was the fear of a foreign marriage that had induced many to take part with the late Duke of Northumberland. Moreover, though the heart of the people was perfectly friendly to the Emperor, the consequences of a marriage were not always such as were anticipated.
For himself, Gardiner said, he was not a man of affairs, and was more withdrawn than one would think from discourse of the world and things of state ; but while he had been in prison he had meditated upon the present state of affairs, upon the. Emperor's difficulties, the troubles of Christendom, and the ways of Frenchmen and Germans ; and paradoxically he considered that it would be better that the Emperor should retain the friendship of the realm without closer alliance, and also better that the realm should be friendly to the Emperor and his countries, than his having the lordship of the Low
i 1 8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
Countries ; for the marriage would not better the affairs of the Emperor or those of religion. More- over, it was dangerous to meddle in the marriages of princes, as was shown in the case of Cromwell, who procured the marriage of Anne of Cleves to Henry VIII. , to the end that Germany should thereby always be ready to assist England ; but it was a one-night's marriage, and Cromwell was ruined by it. So he was resolved not to meddle in the Queen's marriage, lest blame should be imputed to him. Moreover, it should be considered that Philip and his men spoke no English, and it would be a source of great confusion if people could not understand each other. He admitted, however, that if there were to be a match with a foreign prince the Emperor could not propose a greater one than his Highness. Speaking freely, he said, that be had some doubt whether his Highness could obtain sufficient security for his person. Renard, however, might be assured there was no man more devoted to the Emperor's service than himself; he knew his high character, and he would be failing in the part of an honest man if he did not recognise his merits and express his desire to serve him.1
I have been the more particular to give the substance of Gardiner's views as reported by Renard, as the only English historian who has consulted the MS. has given, to my mind, a very strange account of them, wholly unwarranted by the evidence to which he appeals. For most assuredly, in this despatch, which is Froude's authority (though he dates it November 9 instead of November 6), Renard does not say that he found the Bishop of Winchester " relaxing in his zeal for Rome, and desiring a solid independent English government, the re-enactment of the Six Articles, and an Anglican religious tyranny
1 Renard to the Emperor, 6th November 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 637-645.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 119
supported by the lords of the old blood." Nor does he report the Bishop as crowning his advice with the suggestions : " Let the Queen accept the choice of her people, marry Courtenay, send Elizabeth to the Tower, and extirpate heresy with fire and sword." Not a word of all this is to be found in the despatch cited in support of it. Yet Froude actually follows it all up with the statement : " These wTere the views of Gardiner."1 As to sending Elizabeth to the Tower, that was the Emperor's policy and Renard's, with which indeed it may be inferred from a passage in a despatch of Renard, of the 4th November, that, for the Queen's security, Gardiner had agreed. At least Paget told Renard that Gardiner was displeased with him for recommending a gentler course.2 But it was not exactly the time to talk of extirpating heresy with fire and sword, when, from a Roman point of view, the whole kingdom still lay under the curse of schism, when Mary herself, though un- willingly, still bore the title " Supreme Head of the Church of England," and when she, far from desiring to persecute, had been only too anxious hitherto to obtain toleration for her own religion. But the old picture of a bloodthirsty Gardiner must, it seems, still be revived in the pages of a late nineteenth century historian, though the very document from which he derives his information is itself sufficient to show that it is a gross libel upon one of the most able, modest, and humane men of the day.3
After his interview with Renard Gardiner gave an account of it to the Queen, dwelling chiefly on what
1 History of England, vi. 119-20.
2 [R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 628-31.— Ed.]
3 I ought to add that the injustice which Froude does to Gardiner in this place is only a supplement to that which he has done him a few pages earlier. In that previous instance, too, he professes, and with somewhat greater justification, to found himself on contemporary authority, viz. that of Noailles. But Noailles only expresses a suspicion about Gardiner's conduct, and it can be shown to demonstration that he was wrong in his suspicion. Yet Froude builds upon this unjust suspicion as if it were a fact ! See Appendix to this chapter.
120 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
The Queen he had said of her inclination as the governing factor Gardiner m tne situation, and without going into his arguments her de- against a foreign match. The Queen, however, having fully made up her mind, told him that she had been for eight days deeply distressed ; she had prayed God with tears for inspiration what to do, and had finally resolved not to marry any one within the realm ; she would rather not marry at all. And she asked him as her chief Councillor what he would say to this. Gardiner answered, "And what will the people say ? How will they be pleased ? How will they endure the foreigner ? And what if they promise things which they will not keep when the marriage is accomplished?" The Queen replied that she was quite resolved upon it, and that if Gardiner preferred the will of the people to her inclination, he would not be keeping the promises he had always made. As for her she intended to do it for the best weal of the realm. Here the interview was interrupted by the Earl of Arundel and the Lord Privy Seal entering the chamber.1 Surely Gardiner was doing the very best that a loyal subject could do to divert his Sovereign from an unfortunate policy. There was no such change in his religious views as Froude suggests. As a churchman his wishes were always the same, and indeed agreed with Mary's ; but as a spectator of this world's politics of long experience, he saw difficulties which the Queen did not. Renardand As soon as Gardiner had withdrawn, the Queen geJba line" sent f°r Renard> and stated in Paget's presence of action, what had taken place between them, adding that " those of the Parliament " were pressing her to give them audience on the subject of her marriage — a thing to which she felt sure they had been instigated by the Lord Chancellor and Courtenay ; but that she would only give audience to the Speaker. Renard and Paget, however, advised that before giving
1 Renard to the Emperor, 6th November, U.S. pp. 656-7.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 121
audience even to the Speaker, Renard should ask for an audience and request an answer to the letter and overture which he had made on the Emperor's behalf; to which she might reply that she had allowed herself to be persuaded to marry for the public good, and that finding the Emperors advice agreeable to that of her own Council, she left it to Renard to explain his Majesty's offer. The Queen would then say, after she had communicated with her Council, which she might reduce to six persons — the Chancellor, Arundel, Bishop Thirlby of Norwich, Paget, the Comptroller, and Petre — that she could not but thank his Majesty for so great an honour and accept his overture, trusting that he would always respect the welfare of the kingdom.1
Renard had some doubt whether the Emperor himself desired the matter concluded so suddenly, but thought it best, as the Queen and Paget had agreed to the proposal, not to allow them any opportunity of changing their minds. He had care- fully kept from the Queen all the arguments brought forward by Gardiner against the marriage.2
Gardiner, however, as may well be imagined, Gardiner though he yielded to the Queen's will, was not com- deia^tmtii fortable, and wanted some satisfaction with regard to after a the objections he had raised to the proposed match, settlement. He called Renard to a conference between six and seven in the morning on Tuesday, the 7th November, and told him of the answer given him by the Queen. He then asked if Renard had authority to name the person and conditions, and Renard showed him all about the Emperor's offer, and how Philip, having already a son, if he had children by Mary, would divide his dominions, giving Spain and Italy to him, and the Low Countries to another, and would " accommodate himself to the humours, laws, and conditions of England," leaving the government
1 lb. pp. 657-9. 2 lb. p. 660.
122 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
to him and other faithful Councillors who might be chosen ; that Philip would make use of Englishmen for his service, and govern himself in such wise that the people could not be dissatisfied, but on the contrary much benefited ; and that the Kingdom should not go to war with the French on account of the marriage. Gardiner said he was glad to hear these particulars ; it was a great offer, and so forth. But as Renard was a man of discretion, he would suggest to him that it would be more prudent to keep the matter quiet till the question of religion had been settled by Parliament ; for at that very time there was a bill in the House of Commons for repealing nine Acts of Edward VI., so as to bring back religion to the state it was in at the death of Henry VIII. The Queen's decision about her marriage might at least be with- held from the public, not to add one difficulty to another ; for he knew not what wicked men would say about it except that they wanted to enrich and favour foreigners, giving them access to the realm, and to impoverish their own native subjects. There was much complaint, indeed, about a recent restoration of old privileges to the merchants of the Steelyard.1
Renard replied that if the Queen approved of the delay, he could not but approve it likewise ; but it was fifteen days since he had presented to her the Emperor's letters, and he wished to know her answer, that the Emperor might not impute negligence to him. As for the objections that the merchants might make, he thought the decision more for their advantage than for their impoverishment, because navigation would be more open and safe and trade more free. Renard, therefore, wished him to urge that he should have an answer from the Queen. Gardiner said he would speak to her and let him know her opinion. Renard believed that he was only seeking to prolong
1 Renard to the Emperor, 8th November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 669-672.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 123
the matter in Courtenay's interest, and he afterwards learned from Paget that the Queen was much vexed with her Lord Chancellor.
But next day, when Renard obtained his audience Renard's of the Queen, he saw from the first by his manner that caS'^ut! Gardiner was half-conquered. The programme before arranged was gone through, and the Queen made her reply "with royal countenance, becoming modesty, timid visage and trembling gestures." She took advice of the Councillors present, namely, Gardiner, Arundel, Thirlby, Paget, and Petre, saying that she thanked the Emperor for his kindness, and though not inclined to marry she would subdue her disinclina- tion for the good of the realm. Renard then declared to her before those present that the Emperor would make formal overture for his son's marriage by influential persons, with conditions which the Queen would find reasonable. On this she withdrew and discussed the matter with her Council, with a fine make-believe as if she had never heard anything about it before ; after which with a smiling counten- ance she again thanked the Emperor, saying that she could not but take well such an overture from him, and that she would remember the oath that she took at her Coronation [to promote her people's welfare].1
Just before this audience Gardiner got Renard to Gardiner come with him into the Council chamber, and informed him that Parliament had that clay (the 8th November) concluded the matter of religion as desired, and that out of 350 members who had voted only 80 had opposed the bill,2 and that religion would be restored to the condition in which it stood at the death of Henry VIII. , the mass, the sacraments, the procession, confession, and other ordinances that had been abolished being revived. Thus one of Gardiner's difficulties was removed. So he was
1 lb. pp. 672-677.
2 Noailles (Ambassades, ii. 247) says that a third part of the Commons were opposed to it, but Gardiner's statement is no doubt more accurate.
won over.
tion of the Commons
124 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vh
gained, and of the other Councillors not consulted by the Queen the Comptroller, Waldegrave, and Engle- field gave Renard good hope. The peti- The fact that the Commons had been stirred up
to petition the Queen not to marry a foreigner, was reported by Noailles to Henry II. on the same day (4th November) on which it was reported by Renard to Charles V. But it is clear from what Noailles says about it that he himself, the French Ambassador, was a prime mover in the matter. The Commons, however, had not been able to present their petition owing to the Queen's state of health, for she had for six or seven days been subject to palpitation of the heart — a complaint which, Noailles understood, attacked her yearly, though on this occasion, at least, it manifestly had been brought on by excitement over this question of marriage. Her weakness and her incessant weeping were so well known that many gros Chretiens, as Noailles called them, meaning undoubtedly those of the new school, prophesied her early death. And in connection with this Noailles mentions that Elizabeth had not been able to get leave to retire to her own house as she had intended, but had remained six or seven days without seeing the Queen, and had not gone to Mass at the season of All Hallows. The Queen, it was said, was so angry with her that, not content with Parliament having declared her own birth legitimate, she wanted them to declare her sister a bastard ; but there was not the least likelihood of Parliament consenting to do so.1
Noailles fully believed that after the Commons had presented their petition, it would be extremely difficult, if not practically impossible, for the Queen to marry the Prince of Spain, even if she desired it. Three days later, however, he writes that it was considered certain that the marriage was concluded. No doubt the Queen was still keeping the matter
1 Noailles, Ambassadcs, ii. 233-235.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 125
close and bad not yet given a hearing to the Commons, which it was believed that she would put off till the bill about religion in Parliament was passed to her satisfaction. This, as we have seen, was the course recommended by Gardiner, and not without good reason ; for notwithstanding that the bill had been carried by such a large majority on the 8th November (a fact which, curiously enough, Noailles seems not to have known on the 9th), it was only passed after strong and persistent opposition continued for eight days.1
At length, on the 16th November, the Queen TheQuee received the expected deputation. The Speaker, j^J^. accompanied by the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Arundel, Shrewsbury, Derby, and Pembroke, the Bishops of Winchester and Norwich, the Lords Privy Seal, Paget, and others, of both Houses, waited on her and made her a long address, setting forth with much rhetorical artifice reasons, in the first place, why she should marry, and, secondly, why she should choose a husband within the kingdom. The arguments were certainly weighty, — they need not be rehearsed as the reader knows them ; but the speech was wearisome, and no wonder the Queen was impatient. The Speaker, as she told Renard, got so confused with the multitude of impertinent allegations that she was obliged to sit down, till at last he unluckily said that it would be better for her to marry a subject of her own. This provoked her to a breach of established form, for when Parliament addressed the Sovereign it was usual for the Chancellor to make answer. But the Speaker's recommendation tried her patience too much and she answered for herself. She thanked the Parlia- ment for their good office in advising her to marry, and even against her own inclination she would do so for the peace and welfare of the kingdom. But the
1 lb. pp. 237-38, 241, 243, 247.
126 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
The Queen displeased with Gardiner.
second proposal she felt strange, as Parliament had never been accustomed to hold such language to Kings
© © ©
and Princes of England. There was no record of such a thing in histories or chronicles ; and seeing that
O 7 ©
private persons allowed their children liberty in the matter of marriage, princes ought to enjoy the same freedom. To force her into a match which she disliked would be to procure her death, for she would not survive it three months, and she would leave no posterity, though the prospect of that was one of their arguments. She appealed to the nobles present whether such conduct was becoming. The Speaker had enlarged upon various inconveniences, but had not weighed the opposite advantages, nor considered her own private inclination ; while for her part she was mindful of her Coronation oath to study the good of the realm, and she would pray for God's guidance in that matter.1
The nobles appealed to said that she was right. But she had certainly sprung a surprise upon the Parliament, and when the Speaker and the main body of the members had left, the Earl of Arundel said to Gardiner that he had lost that day his office of Chancellor, which the Queen had usurped. It was a bitter taunt, for indeed it was true that the Queen could hardly trust her Chancellor that day to speak her real sentiments, but that was scarcely his fault. A day or two later, apparently on Sunday the 19th,2 when he and Arundel were together at Court, the Queen took occasion to tell him she had suspected him of having prompted what the Speaker said, because he had said the same things to her himself in Courtenay's favour, and she wished to tell him frankly, as her faithful councillor, that she would
1 Renard to the Emperor, 17th November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 713-717. Compare Noailles' account of the matter, Ambassades, ii. 269, 270, 284.
2 The day of an audience given to the French ambassador which Noailles himself dates on Sunday last in his letter of the 24th, Ambassades, ii. 267.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 127
never marry Courtenay, and she had been somewhat angry at being addressed with so little respect. Gardiner answered with tears that he neither orally nor by writing instructed the Speaker, though he confessed he had the same sentiments, and it was true that he felt kindly towards Courtenay who had been so long his fellow-prisoner. "And for your friendship to him in prison," said the Queen, "you would force me to marry him ? " But the Chancellor answered that it would certainly not be reasonable to force her to marry one more than to another, and assured her that he whom she chose would command his loyal obedience.1
The Queen had, undoubtedly, been severely tried Her health by the deputation which she had been so long unable suffers- or unwilling to receive. On the Sunday after (the 19th) Noailles found her much aged and worn since the day that he had last seen her. There was little hope, he said, of her bearing children, and if she did, the first was pretty sure to kill her — a thought which aroused in Englishmen serious alarm and disgust, as it seemed to involve as a natural consequence that they would be ruled by Spaniards. The coming of Cardinal Pole was now wished for, even by Protest- ants (always well inclined to France), as a means of establishing peace securely between the two countries.2
As for Courtenay, he seems not only to have given courte- up all hope of his suit before the Queen received the nay'sfolly- deputation in his favour, but even to have been afraid for his life. He had meditated escaping to France for a while, and had received promises from several lords that they would await his return in his own country of Devonshire and Cornwall with considerable bodies of men to promote his marriage either with the Queen or with her sister. From this dangerous design the French ambassador endeavoured to dissuade
1 Renard to the Emperor, 20th November, R. 0. Transcripts?, u.s. pp. 735-6. '* Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 270-1.
128 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
him ; yet it would appear that he was only diverted from it by accident. His plan was first to go to Greenwich on pretence of giving a gallop to the great horses of King Edward, as he had frequently done ; and then to embark with a good number of friends, while that night another body of his adherents would kill the two greatest obstacles to his ambition, the Earl of Arundel and Lord Paget. The design against Paget, at least, was not a new one ; but it had been formed by Courtenay's friends almost a week earlier, and would have been executed too, but that Courtenay himself had restrained them. Now it seems as if the young man had become less scrupulous. But the project was put off, as the Queen, who had lately dispensed with the services of Courtenay's mother, had taken her again into favour.1
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER III
(See p. 119, note 3)
In vol. vi. of his History, p. 103, Froude, after noticing a pamphlet against the marriage with Philip, which he says " was but the expression of the universal feeling," makes the following observations : —
" Gardiner, indeed, perplexed between his religion and his country, for a few days wavered. Gardiner had a long debt to pay off against the Protestants, and a Spanish force, divided into garrisons for London and other towns, would assist him materially."
The marginal date of the paragraph in Froude is "a.d. 1553, October." The authority he quotes is a letter of Noailles to the French King in the Ambassades, vol. h. p. 169, which letter is dated 25th September ; and it is absolutely certain that what Noailles thought was in Gardiner's mind at that date was not in his mind at all, either then or afterwards. For Noailles writes that he can scarcely doubt the Queen is labouring to the utmost of her power for the marriage, and
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 245-6, 253-4, 259.
ch. in MARY'S FIRST PARLIAMENT 129
that the Chancellor is already gained, and that though he has always professed great love for Courtenay, he had no doubt, " qu'en telle chose que ceste cy il ne luy ayt faict un tour de la nation et l'abandonner, pour en cela suyvre toute l'intention de la royne, y voyant pour lui plus d'avantaige que aultrement, congnoissant combien il est hay generallenient de tous ceulx de ce pays, et que par la il est a croire que non seullement voudra-il ung Espaignol estre souverain en ce pays, mais encores j'estime qu'il desire presentement y veoir une bonne partie de l'Espaigne et Allemaigne y tenir grosses et fortes garnisons pour mortiffier ce peuple et s'en vanger, tant il luy veult de mal : joint aussi, sire, que je scay que la royne sa maistresse a declaire a ceulx qui luy ont parl4 de Courtenay, qu'elle s'est excusee sur sa jeunesse et le peu d'experience et suffisance qu'il peult avoir au manienient des affaires qui sont et seront en ce royaulme. Ce qui feroit craindre ledit chancellier, voyant icelle dame donner telle excuse, qu'elle s'attendroit au cardinal Polus, qui n'est encores lie en l'eglise, comme Ton diet, et que Ton tienct pour certain qu'elle l'ayme sur toutes personnes de ce royaulme, et par ainsy, il se peult assez juger combien ce chancellier, qui est extresmement ambitieux d'honneur et de maniement, comporteroit mal tel mariaige, et est a croire que, se congnoissant hors de toute esperance d'estre jamais ayme- ce ceulx de sa patrie, il sera tres ayse de tenir le chemin d'amener icy ung estrangier."
All this, so far as Gardiner is concerned, is nothing but wild speculation on the part of Noailles about a course which he expected him to pursue, and which he actually did not pursue. How little he was induced to give up the cause of Courtenay from ambitious motives this chapter has fully shown.
VOL. IV K
CHAPTER IV
PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION
Convoca- We have not quite finished the story of that autumn tion. Parliament of 1553, and there is more to be said of the significance of facts already recorded. But as the great question behind all other questions con- cerned a return to old standards of religion, ultimately pointing, as every one saw, to a restoration of Papal authority, let us now notice the proceedings of the Southern Convocation, which was summoned as usual to meet about the same time as Parliament. How far could this Convocation advance matters in the desired direction ? Clearly not the whole way, for there was one serious obstacle at the outset. The writ, in obedience to which it was summoned, gave the Queen her legal title of " Supreme Head of the Church of England," thus excluding Papal jurisdiction entirely. There was no help for this, and the realm was still under excommunication at Rome until it should seek reconciliation. But there might be an examination of the Church principles and doctrines upheld during the late reign, and that was to be the leading business.
As Cranmer * was at this time in prison, awaiting his trial for treason, it was Bonner who presided over the Convocation. He sang the Mass of the Holy Ghost at its opening on the 7th October, in St. Paul's
1 The writ to summon this Convocation had been directed to him on the 4th August. Wilkins, Concilia, iv. 88.
130
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 131
at the high altar, which had just been set up again after its demolition by Ridley, and delivered " a goodly sermon ad clerum in the choir." l
Dr. Hugh Weston, who had recently been made The Pro- Dean of Westminster on the deprivation of Dr. Cox, JjJjK8 was elected Prolocutor ; but Bonner immediately after- oration. wards prorogued the Convocation till Friday the 1 3th, and from that to the 20th. So at least the record stands in Cranmer's register.2 But according to a carefully composed report of the disputation which was the main business of this Synod, it began on the 18th;3 and to that date, doubtless, in spite of some other difficulties, we may refer the published oration 4 of Weston as Prolocutor with which the proceed- ings began. After a classical exordium appealing to the benevolence of the assembled fathers who had imposed upon him such a serious responsibility, he declared the object for which they were met — to raise up Mother Church now fallen, cruelly oppressed and wounded by the darts of heretics, and to restore faith and religion which had been driven off the stage. I will not trouble the reader with a further account of this oration, which appears to have been preceded by an equally eloquent sermon from Bonner's chaplain, John Harpsfield, of which Strype has given
1 Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 85.
2 Wilkins, u.s.
3 The 18th was a Wednesday, and I think it must be the Wednesday referred to in the following passage of the Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, edited by Gough Nichols for the Camden Society (p. 32) : —
"Note that on Wednesday, the (blank) daye of October, was an Act passed in the Parliament, that men might reason whether the Quene were Supreme Hedd, or whether the Busshoppe of Rome might not lawfully have the same agayn, with certayn other mattyers."
A footnote to this passage (strangely inaccurate) says that Parliament did not meet till the 12th November. How such an usually careful editor as the late Mr. Gough Nichols committed himself to this statement is a mystery. The Commons actually sat on Wednesday the 18th October, when the first session was near coming to an end ; but no mention of this business is upon the journals. Nevertheless parliamentary sanction would naturally be required for the disputation which followed. But it may have been given at the Queen's request by a mere resolution.
4 Printed by Strype in Eccl. Mem. III. ii., 182 (" Catalogue of Originals," No. viii.).
ness to be done
132 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
a brief outline in one work, and a fuller account in another.1
The busi- The Queen had determined to untie the hands of
Convocation, otherwise fast bound by the Statute 25 Henry VIII. cap. 19, which forbade it to make laws or canons for the Church without the consent of the sovereign. This Act, as the reader may have seen, had kept the Church in virtual anarchy for nearly twenty years ; for it should not be forgotten, though it too easily is, that the Committee of Thirty- two provided for by that very statute to examine the existing Canon law, to weed out all the canons which should be annulled as obnoxious to Royal Supremacy, and to declare which of them deserved to be continued, was never constituted till late in the reign of Edward VI., and even then could get no sanction for the result of its labours. So the clergy, all this while, had had no safe law for their guidance, and the rulers of the kingdom had not wished them to have any. The Queen therefore caused it to be intimated by Weston, the Prolocutor, that it was her pleasure that the divines assembled " should debate of matters of religion and constitute laws thereof, which her Grace and the Parliament would ratify." On this business, accordingly, the Convoca- tion entered on Wednesday, the 18th October, and the Prolocutor first called attention to a matter mentioned in the last volume.2 Demmcia- " There is a book," he said, " of late set forth, called "Cat°eniie The Catechism, bearing the name of this honourable chism." Synod, and yet put forth without your consents, as I have learned ; being a book very pestiferous and full of heresies ; and likewise a book of Common Prayer, very
1 Memorials of Cranmer, i. 161-3 ; Eccl. Mem. III. i. 60, 61. Harpsfield's sermon was printed in December following by Cawood with other Orationes laudatoriae of William Pye, Dean of Chichester, and John Wymsley, Arch- deacon of London, and with Weston's after them. The tract is exceedingly rare. But, curiously enough, Harpsfield's sermon seems in it to be dated 26 October. Dibdin, Ames's Typographical Antiquities, iv. No. 2523.
2 Vol. iii. 373-9. See particularly p. 377.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 133
abominable. I thought it therefore best first to begin with the Articles of the Catechism concerning the sacra- ment of the Altar, to confirm the natural Presence of Christ in the same, and also Transubstantiation. Wherefore it shall be lawful, on Friday next ensuing, for all men freely to speak their conscience in these matters, that all doubts may be removed, and they fully satisfied therein." l
Of what took place that Friday and on further days of the conference I will now give a very con- densed account, taken from the carefully composed report above mentioned : —
On Friday the 20th the Prolocutor exhibited to the House a disputa- two bills, one for the natural Presence of Christ in the Sacra- g°°ra°^e*e ment, the other repudiating the Catechism as not set forth of the by the authority of that House ; and he requested all present Altar, to subscribe these bills, as he himself had done. The call was readily obeyed, and the bills were signed by all but six of the House. These were : the Dean of Rochester (Walter Philips) ; the Dean of Exeter (James Haddon, who had been Lady Jane Grey's tutor) ; the Archdeacon of Winchester (John Philpot) ; the Archdeacon of Hereford (Richard Cheyney, whom Elizabeth made Bishop of Gloucester) ; the Archdeacon of Stow (John Elmer, or Aylmer, who had also been tutor to Lady Jane, and became another Elizabethan bishop), and one other member of the House, who, it seems, was Thomas Young, Chanter of St. David's, an Elizabethan Archbishop of York.
Before the Articles were signed, Archdeacon Philpot endeavoured, by a poor sophistry (which has been already exposed), to invalidate the objection to the Catechism ; and he further protested that it was unreasonable to be asked to subscribe to the doctrine of the Real Presence ; but finding the great majority against him, he requested the Prolocutor to ask leave of the Lords to allow some of the setters-forth of the Catechism to appear in the House to vindicate them- selves, and that Dr. Ridley and Master Rogers, with two or three more might also be licensed to be present at the dispu- tation ; and further, that he might be associated with them. This request was thought reasonable, and was proposed to
1 Foxe, vi. 396.
134 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
the bishops ; whose answer was that it was not competent for them to call such persons into the House, some of them being prisoners ; but they would be petitioners that, if any were absent who ought to be present, they might be allowed to appear if required. The disputation would then have commenced, but a gentleman came from the Lord Great Master, signifying that that • nobleman and the Earl of Devonshire (Courtenay) wished to be present when it took place. It was therefore deferred till Monday the 23rd, when there was a great assemblage of earls, lords, knights, and gentlemen of the Court to hear the discussion in " the long chapel in Paul's."
The Prolocutor opened the business by a protestation that the House had appointed the disputation, not to call the truth into doubt, as they had already, all of them, subscribed, except five or six, "but that those gainsayers might be resolved of their arguments in the which they stood," and no doubt they would " condescend " to the majority. He then asked Haddon if he was prepared to reason against the ques- tions proposed. Haddon replied that he had certified him before in writing that he would not, as the assistance of the learned men he had asked for had not been conceded. Aylmer was next asked the same thing and gave a like answer, adding that they had already prejudged the points by subscribing before the matter was discussed, and it was little use reasoning when they were all determined against the truth. The Prolocutor next turned to Cheyney, inform- ing the audience that he agreed with them about the Presence, but denied Transubstantiation, on which he wished his doubts to be resolved. "Yea," said Cheyney, and gave reasons against the doctrine which Dr. Moreman was called on to answer. The answer given did not satisfy Cheyney, who added some further arguments and sat down. Then Aylmer entered the lists "as one that could not abide to hear so fond an answer " as that given by Moreman ; and Moreman's defeat seems to have been afterwards still more completely effected by Philpot. And so the combat continued, of which it would be needless here to give details. Dean Philips argued from Scripture and ancient doctors against the natural Presence. Dr. Watson disputed his interpretation of St. Augustine, and was answered by Philpot. Weston, the Prolocutor, also took part in the discussion.
On Wednesday the 25th, which was the fourth day of the Conference, Philpot was called upon to set forth his view of
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 135
the subject, and would have introduced it by a Latin oration, winch the Prolocutor forbade. Philpot protested that the prohibition was a breach of the order originally taken ; but he defined Ins position, not denying utterly the Presence of Christ in the Sacrament duly ministered according to His institution, but only " that gross and carnal presence which you of this House," he said, " have already subscribed unto to be in the Sacrament of the Altar, contrary to the truth and manifest meaning of the Scripture," viz. by Transub- stantiation. Indulging, apparently, in too much preliminary definition, he was again interrupted by the Prolocutor and ordered to descend to the argument. On this he fell down on his knees, appealing to the earls and lords present, and some of the Queen's Counsel, that he might have liberty to go on, " winch was gently granted him of the Lords." But the Prolocutor still cried, " Hold your peace, or else make a short argument." " I am about it," Philpot answered ; but he must first ask a question of his respondent, Dr. Chedsey, what he meant by " the Sacrament of the Altar." And when he had obtained Chedsey 's confession that they took " the Sacrament of the Altar " and " the Sacrament of the Mass" to be all one, Philpot offered to prove before the whole House, or even before the Queen and her Council, or before six of the best learned men of the House of the con- trary opinion, that it was no Sacrament at all. " And if I shall not be able," he added, " to maintain by God's Word what I have said, and confound those six which shall take upon them to withstand me in this point, let me be burned with as many faggots as be in London, before the Court gates."
The Prolocutor, finding him so vehement, again interfered and asked him if he knew what he was saying. " Yea," he replied, " I wot well what I say," and referred to the Queen's grant that they should freely utter what was in their con- sciences on these matters, though he was aware that some of them disliked his sentiments. On this several besides the Prolocutor blamed him for speaking so audaciously against the sacrament of the Mass. The Prolocutor himself said that he was mad, and threatened to send him to prison " if he would not cease his speaking." Then Philpot, casting up Ms eyes, said, " 0 Lord, what a world is this, that the truth of Thy Holy Word may not be spoken and abiden by ! " And tears trickled from his eyes. At length the Prolocutor " was content that he should make an argument so that
136 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
he would be brief therein." So he again proceeded, was answered by Chedsey, and replied to him, not without further interruptions from the Prolocutor, who at length told him that he had said enough, and threatened to send him to prison if he did not forbear, though he protested that he had scarcely finished his first argument, and had a dozen more in reserve. At the end of the day Aylmer and Moreman had some discussion. Haddon was called upon to speak, and was answered by Watson ; and Pern, arguing against Tran- substantiation, was reminded by the Prolocutor that he had subscribed to the doctrine on the Friday before. But Aylmer claimed that a man was free to speak his conscience there in spite of having subscribed, and that the Prolocutor himself had conceded this.
The fifth day of the Conference was Friday the 27th. " Weston, the Prolocutor, did first propound the matter, showing that the Convocation hath spent two days in disputation already about one only doctor, Theodoret, and about one only word ; yet were they come, the third day, to answer all things that could be objected so that they would shortly put their arguments. So Master Haddon, Dean of Exeter, desired leave to oppose Master Weston, who, with two other more, that is, Morgan and Harpsfield, was appointed to answer."
The one word debated was the Greek ova-la, com- monly translated "substance," and it still continued the subject of controversy, Watson preferring to translate it " essence," when Theodoret was appealed to as saying that the bread and wine remained the same before as after consecration. But being pushed by a further argument, Watson " fell to a denial of the author," whom he called a Nestorian, and desired leave to answer Cheyney, who had admitted the Real Presence, though he denied Tran- substantiation. But Cheyney supported Haddon's view that ova- la meant substance, and said it was a "lewd refuge" to deny the author. After much discussion, in which Morgan, and afterwards Harpsfield, were called in to help, the latter citing new authorities with new arguments, the Prolocutor asked of the company " whether those men were sufficiently answered or no." Some priests cried " Yea," but were not heard for the great multitude that cried " No, no," a cry which was " heard and noised almost to the end of Paul's." At this Dr. Weston was much moved, and "answered bitterly that he asked not the
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 137
judgment of the rude multitude and unlearned people, but of them which were of the House." He then turned to Haddon and his fellows, and asked if they would be respondents for other three days instead of opponents. Haddon, Cheyney, and Aylmer said No; but the valiant Archdeacon Philpot stood up and said he was ready to answer though all the others refused, and he would answer those on the opposite side, one after the other. " With this proffer the Prolocutor was not contented, but railed on him, and said that he should go to Bedlam. To whom the Archdeacon soberly made this answer that he was more worthy to be sent thither, who used himself so ragingly in that disputation without any indifferent equality."
Then the Prolocutor rose up and said : — " All the company have subscribed to our article, saving only these men which you see. What their reasons are you have heard. We have answered them three days, upon promise (as it pleased him to descant without truth, for no such promise was made), that they should answer us again as long as the order of disputation doth require ; and if they be able to defend their doctrine, let them do so."
Aylmer on this got up and protested that he and his friends had never promised to dispute, but only to testify their consciences ; for when asked to subscribe they had simply refused and offered to show good reasons for doing so. It was ill called a disputation, for they had no intention of disputing, nor did they mean to answer now till the arguments which they had to propound were solved, " as it was appointed."
On Monday the 30th, the sixth day of the Conference, the Prolocutor asked Philpot " whether he would answer on the questions before propounded to their objections or no ? " He said he would willingly do so " if, according to their former determination, they would first answer sufficiently to some of his arguments, as they had promised to do, whereof he had a dozen, and not half of the first being yet decided ; and if they would answer fully and sufficiently but to one of his arguments, he promised that he would answer to all the objections that they should bring."
The reader has probably come to the conclusion Authorship by this time, if not before, that the " carefully ££e Re' composed report," of which I have been endeavouring to give an abstract sufficient for modern requirements,
138 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
An official record of the dis- putation.
could have been drawn up by no one else than the redoubted Archdeacon Philpot himself. The fact, indeed, is beyond question ; and it would be rash to pronounce judgment from his own report whether he was fairly treated or not. Logical combats of this sort do not appeal to us moderns as they did to divines even at the close of the Middle Ages. But it is clear that to meet all Philpot's requirements the debate must have been indefinitely prolonged. The Prolocutor, however, made some concession, and allowed him to propound the argument, which had been cut short on the preceding Wednesday, to prove that the body of Christ, being a human body, could not be on earth and in heaven at the same time. Morgan was appointed to answer him, and a long dis- cussion arose in which the Prolocutor himself and Harpsfield took part, and afterwards Moreman. At last the Prolocutor, denouncing Philpot as a man unlearned, yea, a madman, ordered that he should come no more into the House — a decision that had the approval of " a great company." Yet, at Morgan's suggestion, he recalled the order lest Philpot should allege that he had not been suffered to declare his mind, and said he should be free to come as before, provided he were apparelled, like his opponents, in a long gown and a tippet, and that he should not speak except when commanded. " Then," said Philpot, " I had rather be absent altogether." 1 Here, accordingly, comes to an end the most minute account we possess of a conference which had so far occupied six separate days of three weeks, being held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The official record of the proceedings in Cran- mer's Register (that is to say, the Register during Cranmer's archiepiscopate, though Cranmer himself had nothing now to do with it) was much more brief, and naturally told a different tale. After
1 Foxe, vi. 395-411.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 139
giving the names of those who refused to subscribe, it goes on to say (in official Latin) : — " Who on the Monday assigned for hearing the disputations were opponents, and Masters Moreman, Chedsey, Glyn, Watson, Feckenham, Morgan, Philip, and Harpsfield were respondents. After three days the Prolocutor wished sides to be changed in these dis- putations for the next three days ; but those first elected as opponents expressly refused to undertake the parts of respondents. Therefore, on the 30th October, Master Philpot, on account of his ignorance, arrogance, insolence, and pertinacity, was not further admitted to dispute except in civil causes." !
What shall we say about the matter with such Arch- imperfect lights ? The official record seems hardly p^°°t fair in imputing ignorance to Philpot, however justly he may have been charged with arrogance and pertinacity. Indeed, if the charge of irreverence had been added we should not have been much surprised ; for his language about the sacrament recorded by himself was naturally revolting to men of the old belief, and seemed to pass the bounds of legitimate discussion. But ignorant he could hardly be called, at least in an ordinary sense ; for he was really a highly educated man and a great lover of learning. The son of a Hampshire knight, he had been brought up at William of Wykeham's school and at New College, Oxford. His proficiency in Greek and Latin is undoubted ; and he even took up the study of Hebrew, though he meant to devote himself to the civil law. These advantages, moreover, he had improved by foreign travel. He had visited Italy and seen Eome, and after his return he had lectured in Winchester Cathedral on the Epistle to the Romans.2 He was now forty-two years old, and with all his experience in life had, no doubt, a very good
1 Wilkins, u.s.
2 See biographical notice prefixed to Eden's Examinations of Philpot (Parker Society).
140 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
opinion of himself. His minute report of the dis- cussion has, indeed, a look of being candid and trustworthy as to the facts, amusing as it is in some points bearing upon himself, as where he records (anonymously) that the " Archdeacon " answered " soberly " to the Prolocutor that he was more worthy to be sent to Bedlam than himself. But it must be observed that the accuracy of his narrative was by no means admitted by his opponents ; for, two years later, Chedsey, who was one of the disputants, declared in the presence of Philpot himself that it was not at all correct. " There is a book abroad," he said, " of the report of the disputation, in the which there is never a true word."1 This probably at least is an exaggeration. The pro- The disputation seems still to have gone on after
ineffective. n^s withdrawal, but there is no record of it. Writing on the 1st November, Renard says it still continued then, but nothing was to be expected from it, as the disputants were so obstinate that they could not be converted by reason, learning, or fear, " daring death for their professions."2 There was no coercive authority as in past times, with its painfully con- clusive argument : " Submit or burn." There was no religious authority for the nation at all ; for though some might and did uphold Edwardine religion as that ordained by law, and claimed for it obedience on that ground, even they rested its claims on a higher ground, while those whose moral compass pointed to Rome regarded ancient doctrine alone as having that higher authority, and looked upon Edwardine religion as an unwarrantable usurpation which human law could never justify. A conference between men
1 Philpot' s Examinations (Parker Society), p. 63.
2 " L'on continue la disputation des articles de la religion entre les Catholicques et Sacramentaires, dont Ton ne espere sinon confusion et inconvenience ; pour ce que, ni par raison, ni par doctrine, ni par craincte, Ton ne peult convertir les disputans qui sont obstinez, et pour toute resolution ilz se exposent voluntairement a la mort."— -R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 614-15.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 141
whose views were so radically different could not really effect anything at all. And so its history is summed up in the Grey Friars' Chronicle : —
" The xxi day of that same month began the disputation in the long chapel in Paul's between the new sort and the old, as Monday, Wednesday, [and] Friday, and there came much people, but they were never the wiser, and with many words of . . . that the Queen's Graces Council was fain to send word that there should be no more dis[pu]tations, but that it should be discussed by the whole Parliament." *
Yet, curiously enough, the fundamental principle of controversy in both parties was the same : all truth must be ascertained and vindicated by logical arguments and valid syllogisms, otherwise it could not be received, and if so vindicated, it should be both received and enforced. Syllogisms, no doubt, are very cogent ; but what was the ultimate basis, and who were to be the ultimate judges ? If, on a complete survey of the facts, a logical conclusion is irresistible to all reasonable minds, there is no ground for tolerating the arrogance of dissent at all. But if there be dissent, obstinately set in its own way, and claiming victory and a moral right to rule over the majority, what tribunal is to decide the points of difference? Men of the world, spectators of a combat in which their own personal judgments are of little worth, easily throw their influence into the scale which promises the most convenient settlement ; and it was not without significance that Philpot, himself in the arena, appealed to the non-combatants of the Privy Council. But though present as moder- ators of the controversy, they had refused to liberate preachers imprisoned as seditious when the minority desired their aid. What was to be done ? Privy
1 Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 85. The date at the beginning is certainly "the xxi. day" in the MS., Vitellius, F. xii. But this only adds one more instance to the diversity of testimonies about dates in the original authorities for this discussion.
142 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
Councillors must hear the disputations. There was
at this time no appeal to Rome, and no hope, it
seems, of bringing . back Roman authority until royal
supremacy had cleared the way.
Corre- Mary would fain have had it otherwise ; and so
between00 would Cardinal Pole, who had written to the Queen
the Queen from Maguzzano, telling her that all good men were
di°Poie. intent to see what she would do further to repair
past mischief. She must restore the primacy to Rome
— that must be her chief aim. Martyrs had borne
testimony to the value of that primacy. Her own
past tribulations would teach her to relieve others
from bondage ; and taught by adversity, she would
doubtless rule with justice to the comfort of all good
men. This, Pole said, was his expectation, and he
would be the more confirmed in it when he should
witness the return of the kingdom to the Church
and to obedience to its Supreme Head on earth. That
obedience was the only means of introducing true
order into her kingdom, and it would do more to
establish her throne securely than any alliance with
foreign princes.1
These were Pole's sentiments as Legate, and as Legate he could hold no other. He left Maguzzano on the 29th September, and arrived on the 1st October at Trent, from which place he next day wrote again to Queen Mary — this was the third letter he had written her since receiving the news of her success.2 Within a week of the date of this letter the Queen told Renard that, hearing of the state of affairs in England, the Cardinal much desired to get nearer to it — as far as Liege, he particularly suggested, though apparently this suggestion was not committed to writing. But Renard told her that would not be
o
1 Venetian Calendar, vol. v. No. 776. See also in No. 777 for what Pole wrote to Gardiner at the same time on the new turn of affairs, and the hopes he had conceived of him. If Gardiner had had a good prince to serve, Pole believed that his ability and goodness would have yielded much better fruit.
2 lb. No. 805.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 143
advisable before the dissolution of Parliament, as Pole's legative commission was published everywhere, and it was very unpopular.1 Pole himself had by Poiedis- that time already received a dash of cold water after *£ ^ves notifying his legative commission to the Emperor. Emperor's For the Bishop of Arras, while replying to him prudence- courteously on His Majesty's behalf, commending the Pope's choice of him as Legate, and entirely sympathising with his aim, intimated that it was not expedient to take immediate steps, as the people in England were so rebellious in matters of religion. As to this Pole wrote to the Queen that he had no doubt of the Emperor's prudence, but he had always considered Mary to be governed by a higher light than worldly wisdom, and he ventured to give her counsel not to be swayed too much by the Emperor's advice in the matter of the restoration of the supremacy of the Church of Pome. He urged her, on the contrary, to quiet the Emperor's fears before he himself should arrive on his mission to the Imperial Court, and to allow the discussion of obedience to Eome in her approaching Parliament.2 It will be noted that he still hoped to reach the Emperor's Court.
On the 8th October the Queen wrote in reply, He is thanking him warmly for his advice ; but she seems to omifen have committed a good deal to his messenger, Henry Penning, to be notified to the Cardinal by word of mouth. She had by that time been crowned, and her first Parliament had already begun. Eeturning to his master, Penning found him at Dillingen, in Bavaria, awaiting the arrival of safe-conducts from the Duke of Wiirtemberg and the Count Palatine for his further
1 R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 468-9.
2 Venetian Calendar, vol. v. No. 805. See also No. 797. Pole wrote from Trent on the same day an interesting letter to Courtenay, No. 806. It would seem that a few days later he wrote to him again from Innsbruck a letter which the Queen opened in England and showed to Renard. In this he only spoke of his legation to the Emperor and the King of France, and admonished Courtenay to be thankful to the Queen for her humanity. —Renard to Charles V., 31st October 1553, p. 606.
i44 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vh
advance. The Cardinal sent Penning on to Eome with a copy of the letter that Mary had written him, and with instructions to report what she had told him. For she had given Penning an audience in the strictest privacy, not trusting her own Council, and had recommended Pole to come leisurely on towards Brussels, where the policy of proceeding further could be considered. But Pole found that the Emperor objected to his coming further ; for a dignified Im- perial messenger, Don Juan de Mendoza, came to request him to stay at Dillingen for a while with the Cardinal of Augsburg, although he had not only a mission to England, but another (for peace) to the Emperor and Henry II. of France.1 With all possible respect for the Emperor, Pole insisted in conversa- tion with Don Juan that his mission to England was so important that he must proceed on his journey. But ultimately he thought it well to return to Dillingen, from which he had already gone as far as three leagues ; 2 and there he found himself compelled to remain till the end of the year. The House Meanwhile the Queen had difficulties in England, of com- about which she had written him further letters. In
inons and
the one of these, dated on the 28th, she said he could
supremacy. kave iearneci from her last (perhaps she meant from the messenger who took the last) the existing state of affairs, and for what reasons she wished him to put off going to Liege. The announcement of his public legation had occasioned disquietude in England, and was actually hateful to her subjects, so that, much as she desired his early coming, she felt that it would do more harm than good. The House of Lords had
1 Venetian Calendar, vol. v. Nos. 807, 809, 813, 819.
2 lb., No. 820. How completely the Emperor was set against Pole's mission from the first appears plainly in a letter from De Selve, the French ambassador at Venice, written to the Constable of France on the 12th September. See appendix to this chapter. This letter also shows how early De Selve, at Venice, like Noailles in England, divined the Emperor's policy of marrying his son to Mary, and by what methods he considered it ought to be thwarted. De Selve's second letter in the same appendix will also be read with interest.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 145
shown itself of opinion that all statutes affecting religion passed since and shortly before her mother's divorce should be repealed. But when this became known to the House of Commons they immediately took alarm, fearing that it would bring in papal authority again and take away the title of Supreme Head attached to the crown ; nor was it any recom- mendation of the measure that it would open the way to the execution of Pole's legative functions. Apart from this, she was informed that there would be no difficulty about the repeal of the statutes and the acknowledgment of the validity of her mother's marriage. But she feared they would insist on her retaining the title of Supreme Head. She could only answer that she had always professed the old religion in which she was brought up and meant to hold by it till death. She did not agree that such a title became a king ; still less did it become a queen. The body politic had nothing in common with the ecclesiastical ; and she desired of her Parliament that they would at least put off determining any matter in a way that would offend her conscience. But if they persisted in their present counsels she did not know what to do, and she appealed to Pole for advice. Another thing which made her anxious was the dis- closure of her application to the Pope for the general absolution of censures already mentioned.1
Unfortunately, this urgent letter did not come to Pole's hands so soon as might have been expected ; and the Queen, who meanwhile had been holding long conferences with his messenger in England2 (apparently Michael Throgmorton), wrote to him again on the 15 th November. In this letter she told him very distinctly that it was too dangerous for him to come to England then. Her subjects, she
1 Epistolae Poll, iv. 119-121.
2 See Renard's letter to the Emperor, 14th November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 689. She showed Renard three letters from Pole about his anxiety to fulfil his mission to England.
VOL. IV L
146 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
Pole's letter of ex- hortation to the Queen.
said, were so perverted by false doctrine that his very life would be insecure. It would be better to delay his journey and suspend the execution of his commission for some days. In spite of her desire to see him, she felt that his coming at that time would disturb the kingdom and not promote his object. Religion and ecclesiastical authority along with it could not be fully restored in this Parliament. But the messenger would tell him how the Edwardine statutes had been repealed already and the religion of Henry VIII. 's days restored, not without much contention and difficulty ; and also how Parliament had declared the marriage of the Queen's parents legitimate. There were other things besides which he would show him, not only about Parliament, which would soon be prorogued, but about the Scots, an Irish rebellion, and French intrigues, by which her government was troubled.1
Pole did not reply either to this or to the pre- ceding letter till the 1st December, when he wrote to the Queen from Dillingen. The letter of the 28th October came to him in a budget along with others forwarded from the Emperor's Court, and the friend who forwarded the budget wrote nothing to him about its containing a letter from the Queen. More- over, when he himself took it out, he did not at first think that it was from her, for it was written in Latin, and he had not looked at the last page with the Queen's signature at the bottom. He half wondered, he wrote, whether the Queen thought he had forgotten his native tongue in his long exile ; for sovereigns usually wrote to their subjects as they spoke to them, in the vernacular. Indeed, she had written to him in English not long before. But he now replied in Latin to her inquiry how to avoid danger.
The fact that she so inquired showed really
1 Epistolae Poli, iv. 121-3.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 147
that she was not sufficiently aware of the danger she was in. If a person was shipwrecked and hesitated to lay hold of a plank or embark in a small skiff, but took counsel of others about doing so, could we say that he sufficiently understood his danger? One who was really aware of it would think a plank a godsend, and still more a skiff, to enable him to get to shore. The Queen had suffered shipwreck ; or, if not the Queen, the nation, by jumping out of St. Peter's ship into the sea of this secular world. Perhaps it should not be called ship- wreck, seeing that that vessel cannot be wrecked ; but those who throw themselves out of it incur the same danger as those who suffer shipwreck. Yet there was now no question of seizing a plank or skiff, for God was again offering her and the nation St. Peter's ship, the safest of all vessels. Nor must the Queen comfort herself with the thought that she never in mind departed from the Church, while she held personal intercourse with those who had plunged overboard. She might have been excused for doing so before her accession ; but now being safe herself, she should save her subjects as well.1
This seems scarcely practical advice when the His Cardinal who gave it could not fulfil his mission and ^Ty6 to bring back an erring nation into the Church's bosom. Goidweu. Yet it was the only advice that an honest Legate in Pole's position could be expected to give ; and he sent it to her by Thomas Goldwell, afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph, with a set of instructions to show how he meant her to put it in practice. He advised her first to seek counsel of God in prayer, as he himself did, that He would give her the spirit of counsel and fortitude. As in her attainment of the crown He had given her those two graces, she must still persevere in seeking them. If she had drawn back hitherto for any peril, she would have been lost.
1 lb. pp. 123-7 ; Venetian Calendar, vol. v. No. 836.
148 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Let her personally urge the renuncia- tion of the supremacy,
and an in- vitation to himself as legate.
And if she were now to draw back, and not renounce " that title of supremacy which had taken the name of Princess and right heir from her," she could not hold what she had won. She must be no less ardent in giving up that title of supremacy than her father had been in asserting it — nay, more so, as her father's assertion of it was against all right, and it was a positive duty to renounce it if it cost her both state and life. But God put no such hard conditions on her now if she did not draw back for fear of men. If she was determined on renunciation of the supremacy, let her stand forth, casting away fear, and cause it to pass by the Parliament.
The question was who was to propound the matter, and Pole saw no one who could do so but herself, for he saw no lords spiritual or temporal who had not defended the contrary cause. She should follow the example of the Emperor Charles V. at Rome, justifying his cause against France before the Pope and Cardinals ; when, if he had left it to another, it might have met with contradiction from the party that favoured France.1 She should come personally into the Parliament and put the matter forth herself. "And I dare be bold to say," Pole adds, " what for her authority and the justness and the equity of the cause itself, she shall have no contradiction. And if need were also to show herself to the Lower House, the thing itself so near toucheth her wealth, both godly and temporally, that it should be taken rather cum applausu than otherwise."
With this she must also make mention of the Pope's Legate, Pole himself, " to be admitted and sent for." First, she should "entreat" that the law under which he was banished should be abolished and himself restored in name and blood. She knows well what injustice was done to him and all his house. And
1 [Refers to the Emperor's attack on Francis I. in the consistory held at Rome on the 17th April 1536.— Ed.]
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 149
for himself, what just cause of banishment was ever alleged against him? It was really because he was devoted, heart and mind, to the King's honour and the wealth both of him and his realm. The King himself could not persuade him, even though he offered him great reward, " to do or sentence anything against his honour and the wealth of the realm, and to his damnation." "Here," he said, "is all the cause why I suffered banishment, with so great loss of those kinsfolk that were dearer to me than my life. And this being done by the consent of the Parliament, though, I doubt not, against their mind, the Parliament is bound, afore God and man, to revoke me again, and specially now, coming with that commission that bringeth the stablishment of your Grace's crown, to the comfort of the whole realm, both temporally and spiritually."1
How true these words were Mary knew well Political enough, and Parliament itself recognised a twelve- ence«»m- month later. But for the present, justice must pels delay. wait. The Imperial Ambassador was Mary's prime minister, simply because there was no English statesman who had not committed himself in the past to a policy unjust to Mary herself. The flexible Paget, who understood the changes of the times, bowed readily, as he had done before, to expediency, and promoted the Imperial policy. The more steadfast Gardiner had bowed unwillingly, and was a little out of favour now for opposing it. And the still more steadfast Cardinal Pole was in exile pleading for justice to enable him to return to his native land ; but that too must wait the convenience of politi- cians, even though he was furnished with a legatine commission by the Pope, which deserved respect above all things from Catholic princes and states. Nay, Pope Julius himself bowed to political con- venience, as Pole now had discovered ; and though
1 Strype, Memorials of Cranmer, App. No. 75.
i 50 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
Pole was clear as to the course which was best for his native country, he sadly feared that the failure of his mission would lead to overwhelming disaster. For after a further passage about himself, defying any one to prove him guilty of disloyalty to his country, he goes on in these instructions to Goldwell as follows : —
The prob- After this ye shall show her Grace, if this way be not able conse- followed or deferred, what I most fear. And this is, first, fether5 °f tnat tne P0Pe's Holiness being already persuaded to grant delay. to the stay of my journey, contrary to his first commission, when her Grace showed more fervency to receive the obedi- ence of the Church, that the next commission I shall have shall be to return back to Italy again. And the cause why I fear this is that the Pope shall think, by offering to her Grace and the realm all those graces that do pertain to the reconciliation of both to the Church, when he seeth it is not accepted with that promptness it is offered, he shall think that both afore God and man he hath satisfied all that could be required of him touching the demonstration of his paternal affection to her Grace and the realm. In the which the College of Cardinals, peradventure, will judge that his Sanctity hath been overmuch bountiful, specially when they hear of this my staying being made without their consent ; which they will ever take for a great indignity, hearing no greater nor more urgent cause thereof than hath hitherto been showed ; and knowing how her Grace cannot maintain her right, nother afore God nor man, without having recourse to his Holiness and to the See Apostolic, of whose authority and dispensation the whole right of her cause doth depend,1 as some of them then would have had his Holiness at the beginning not to have sent his Legate until he had been required, so, much more now after he hath sent, and he not accepted, they will all be of opinion that he shall be revoked. And then, what peril both her Grace and the whole realm standeth in by the reason of the Schism yet remaining, it is manifest of itself.2
His fear, he goes on to show, was that worse things
1 That is to say, the legitimacy of Mary's birth and her true right to the Crown depended entirely, in Pole's view, on the validity of the dispensation for the marriage of her parents.
2 Memorials of Cranmer, ?t.s.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 151
might follow if, not being accepted, he returned to Pole's Rome. It would aggravate difficulties hereafter and gj"^8^ encourage all who would impugn Mary's title. To avoid these evils it was important, first, to persuade the Pope and the College of Cardinals that his stay at Dillingen should be brief; and he had sent a servant to Rome to show the purport of a note written by the Queen and despatched by his servant Harry (i.e. Penning), declaring that she trusted " the matters of the Parliament should have that conclusion that I most desired." In this hope he had actually sent on his baggage to Flanders, and had despatched afterwards part of his company to await him there. Secondly, he had done his best by letters to persuade the Emperor that he was wrong in recommending the Queen not to be over hasty in renouncing royal supremacy, and he had also persuaded the Emperor's confessor (Soto), whom he found to be a man of great sanctity and learning, to repair to his Majesty and do his best personally to remove the worldly fear of consequences which had influenced that advice. Thirdly, the Queen must be well informed of her peril, " which in mine opinion," says the Cardinal, "is now more great than when the Duke of Northumberland did set against her. And the same must be overcome with that means that her Grace then had the victory ; which was by putting her trust wholly in God and in the justice of her cause, casting away all fear worldly."
There is much more in these lengthy instructions that is of high interest and importance : first, an ex- planation of Commendone's conduct, showing that he commen- had not really revealed the Queen's secret at Rome ; fn°^creet. and, secondly, Pole's judgment of what had been done in Parliament, which he commends as very good in itself, but not satisfactory, as the Acts made no reference to Papal authority. There are also some other points mentioned, in which he says Goldwell
152 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
needs no written instructions as he knows Pole's mind fully, was Pole Was Pole really unpractical ? He could not get
unpracti- even Mary to adopt his policy. But he was the very last man of the age who deserved to be despised. For conscience' sake, and for that alone, had he endured over twenty years of exile, — merely because, if he had remained at home and not falsified his opinions to suit Henry VIII. 's policy of divorce, there is no doubt that he would have suffered the same fate as his mother and his brother Montague. For his mother, daughter of that unhappy Clarence who was said to have been drowned in a butt of malmsey, had been Queen Mary's governess in her early years, and being devotedly attached to Katharine of Aragon, naturally hated the injustice of Henry to his Queen. Pole himself had been highly educated at Henry's expense — a fact which made the King hope that out of gratitude to him he would pervert his conscience. But he fled abroad to avoid giving an opinion in Henry's favour, which he knew would be absolutely wrong, and the tyrant revenged himself upon his near relations at home. He was valued at Rome and was made a Cardinal against his will ; but this only increased the King's ferocity against him ; and under Edward VI. he was still proscribed as a public enemy lest the supremacy of Rome should reassert itself. But now ? Could he not come back to his native land, even now, to recall it from past errors and restore the ancient order? The cause which he had at heart, too, was the Queen's own cause which, she fully agreed with him, was the Pope's cause as well. Worldly No, Royal Supremacy must still govern in
ti^nstome England — even the Royal Supremacy of a female to first. whom such government was odious ; and the re-
conciliation to Rome must wait till she had got a husband — the Emperor was quite clear about that.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 153
The world must be served first, and the policy of secular princes fulfilled. Then, when powerful sovereigns have had their way, and powerful nobles and gentlemen within the kingdom are assured that they will not be called upon to surrender the estates carved out for them from ecclesiastical property — why then, perhaps, the English nation will not mind being reconciled to Rome.1 But the time is not come yet, and Cardinal Pole, who is to do the work of reconciliation, is delayed upon the road.
Paget, as we have seen, had advised that the Emperor should stop Pole's coming into England, or even into Flanders, lest the Parliament then sitting should be induced to pass things inconvenient for the Emperor's policy ; but the Emperor needed no warn- ing to that effect, and had already taken action. The unpractical man was evidently one of whom all practical statesmen were afraid. Before the end of November, indeed, the Spanish marriage being then quite safe, Renard suggested to the Emperor that it might be no great harm to let Pole advance as far as Brussels.2
Now let us come back to Parliament, whose doings Actspassed in its second session have as yet been but slightly touched upon. That second session began on Tuesday, the 24th October, and on Thursday follow- ing the bill declaring Henry VIII. 's marriage with Katharine lawful was read a first time in the Commons. The second and third readings were taken on the 27th and 28th, on which latter day the bill was sent up to the Lords, where we know that it
1 This advice is mentioned by Renard on the 28th October and repeated on the 31st. R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 578, 609.
2 His reason for thinking the marriage safe, however, was only that the Queen was so firm in adhering to her promise ; and he thought the Cardinal might possibly do as much to shake the alliance from Dillingen as from Brussels. When asked by Englishmen why Pole was not allowed to come nearer Brussels, he was driven to say that the Emperor would have liked better that he had gone to France than that he should come to him, for the French would say that the Emperor had solicited his coming in order to procure peace. Renard to the Emperor, 29th November.
in Parlia- ment.
VI
154 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
ultimately passed. Thus was annulled the unjust ecclesiastical sentence given by Cranmer, the Acts of Parliament which confirmed it being repealed, and the previous process of obtaining university opinions being likewise denounced as corrupt. No reference was made, however, to the Papal decision declaring the validity of the marriage, nor to Papal authority at all, which Parliament was in no humour to recognise. The bill made its way through both Houses apparently with very little difficulty.1 The day it was sent up to the House of Lords Renard mentions that Gardiner confessed in that assembly that he had solicited the dissolution of the marriage at Rome to please King Henry, and that therein he had done amiss.2 Acts re- The next great measure laid before the Legislature
Statutes of ^d not pass so easily. On the last day of the month Edward the Commons3 read a first time "the bill to repeal divers Acts touching divine service and marriage of priests, etc., made in the time of King Edward the Sixth." This simply abrogated the Prayer Book and annulled the whole ecclesiastical legislation of the last reign, leaving religion in the state in which it was at the death of Henry VIII. , with the old Latin services, but with no recognition of the Pope. The new services were declared "to have partly altered and in some part taken from us " the sacraments of the Catholic Church, and to have given rise to " divers strange opinions and diversities of sects, great unquietness, and much discord?' Nine Acts of Parliament were repealed, including those for receiving in both kinds, for the election of bishops, for uniformity, for the marriage of priests, about books and images, and
1 Journals of the Commons, i. 28, 29 ; Statute I. Mary (2) cap. 1.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 28th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 582.
3 I cannot see what authority Burnet had for the statements {Hist. Be/., ii. 410, Pocock's ed.) that this bill was sent down from the Lords, or that, after being argued six days in the Commons, it was sent back to them. The Commons' Journals say nothing to prevent us believing that it originated in their House, and do not even expressly state, what we should naturally infer, that it was sent up to the other. They show, however, that the bill was before the Commons on eight several days, not six merely.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 155
about orders of ministers. On Friday, the 3rd November, the bill was read a second time, and on Saturday the 4th it was much debated ; on Monday the 6th it was still further discussed, but was ordered to be engrossed. On the 7th it was read a third time, but still did not pass till after a final discussion on the 8th.1 We have seen already how Gardiner reported its passing on that day to Renard. The Act, 1 Mary (2) cap. 2, was to come into force on the 20th December.
If there was so much contention within Parliament Act against itself against reactionary legislation in matters of aJembHes. religion, there could be no doubt whatever that there would be some danger to the peace of the country in enforcing it. There was, therefore, introduced in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the 14th November, a " bill for revising the Act made for the punishment of rebellion, and for riots and routs." The Act revised was 3 and 4 Edward VI. c. 5 — that notable Act pro- cured by Warwick just after the fall of Somerset, by which twelve persons or more assembled to kill or imprison a Privy Councillor, or to alter the laws, incurred the guilt of high treason if they did not retire within an hour on being so commanded by the authorities. This bill was read a second time on the 20th, but seems not to have been proceeded with ; perhaps it was altered in some way that made it look like a new bill. At all events, on the 21st " the bill for avoiding of rebellion or unlawful risings " is recorded to have been read a first time, and it had a second reading on the 24th, when it seems to have been committed to " Mr. Higham " for presentation to the House of Lords. The measure took its place upon the Statute Book, 1 Mary (2) cap. 12, as "an Act against unlawful and rebellious assemblies " ; and it was really, even verbally, almost the same as the Act of Edward VI. 's time, but with some significant
1 Commons' Journals, i. 29.
156 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
exceptions. First, it was to come into operation on the 20th December following — the same day on which the use of Edwardine Church services was to cease ; and, secondly, the penalty on persons more than twelve in number not withdrawing when com- manded was only to be that of felons, not of traitors. This degree of mildness was in accordance with an Act of the first session. With these exceptions the Act was almost identical Math its predecessor. Act against Then, for further protection of the revived disturbing jjenrician order, was read a first time on the 28 th
divine ' , ,. .
service. November a "bill for such as disturb divine service or preachers." This had a second reading on the 29th, and a third on the 30th. But perhaps the third reading was not concluded on the 30th ; for next day, the 1st December, the Journal of the Commons again records that the bill was read a third time. This bill also became an Act of Parliament, 1 Mary (2) cap. 3 ; and it, too, was to come into operation on the 20th December. After that date any person attempting to molest a licensed preacher, or to disturb a priest celebrating the Mass after the form used in Henry VIII.'s reign, or any other form hereafter authorised by the Queen, or attempting to treat the Host with irreverence, or to pull down altars, should be liable to be arrested and brought before a justice of the peace, who with another justice might commit him to gaol for three months, and further to the next quarter sessions after the expiration of that term, when he might be liberated on repentance, finding sufficient surety for his good conduct for a whole year more ; or otherwise was to remain in gaol without bail or mainprise until he should be "reconciled and penitent." There was, however, a significant proviso at the end, that this Act should not derogate from the authority of the ecclesiastical laws for the punishment of such offenders.
Akin to this was a bill " for such as come not to the
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 157
church or receive not the sacrament," which had a a t>m for second reading (perhaps two readings the same day, J^ticS for I find no record of a first) on the 29th November, jurisdic- and was ordered to be engrossed. It was read a third tlon lost time on the 1st December, and the docket of this reading gives us a further light upon the character of the proposed enactment. It is called "the Bill for divers punishment referred to the Ecclesiastical Power, for such as say not their service, or come not to the church." This bill, however, was lost in the Lords. That ecclesiastical power should inflict punish- ment for not coming to church or not receiving the sacrament was a principle that many in the new age viewed with jealousy. And it might have been a question, even with those favourable to reaction in matters of religion, how far the ecclesiastical power was at that time strong enough to do the work desired, or whether, if so, it should be invoked by Act of Parlia- ment. The correction of people not going to church had been entrusted to the Bishops by the second Edwardine Act of Uniformity ; and as this Act was now repealed, no doubt new legislation in the matter seemed desirable. But, according to the old theory, Episcopal authority was higher than the authority of any Act of Parliament ; so the secular power need not invoke it. " After long debate," writes Renard, " they have determined for the present that no penalty shall be attached to the fault, except indirectly as against those who contravene the law and statutes of Parliament. And when the people understood this they were much relieved of the trouble they feared. At the publication of the said Acts and Statutes their repugnance to them will be manifested ; and to meet this, charge has been given to all officers to be on their guard." l
Thus, although matters were going generally in
1 Renard to the Emperor, 8th December 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 854.
158 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
Nobles of
doubtful
loyalty.
Abp. Cranmer, Lady Jane Grey, and others sentenced to death.
the direction desired by the Queen, there was grave reason for anxiety about the temper of the people. And yet, perhaps, there might have been even more reason to doubt the fidelity of noblemen who had been unduly trusted. On the 1st November Renard writes that the Lord High Treasurer (the Marquis of Winchester) was arrested at his lodging, and there was talk of giving his office to Waldegrave. No mention of this arrest occurs elsewhere, and it may be that having conciliated the Queen — perhaps by a very large fine1 — he was immediately reinstated. In the same letter Renard writes that the Duke of Suffolk was giving great offence to the Queen in matters of religion, in spite of her clemency towards him.
But erelong Suffolk had a practical warning by which he profited for a time. For on the 13th, Cranmer, with the three brothers, Lords Ambrose, Henry, and Guildford Dudley, and Lady Jane Grey, were tried by a special commission at the Guildhall for high treason, and received sentence to be hanged, drawn, and quartered — all but Lady Jane, who was either to be burned on Tower Hill as a heretic or beheaded as a traitor at the Queen's pleasure. On the 17th Renard writes again that the Duke of Suffolk had mended his demeanour as to religion (s'est recogneu quand a la religion) ; for which reason the Queen had remitted his composition of £20,000 and given him a general pardon. As to his daughter Jane, it was understood that her life was even yet safe, though many urged that she should be put to death. Not less gracious was the Queen in pardon- ing Lord Huntingdon, who afterwards did her loyal service.2 In fact, none of those sentenced was at present put to death, and it may be questioned
1 Renard says lie was esteemed the richest man in England, " tant en biens d'Eglise que pour avoir manie- les biens des pupilles et moindres dans lesquelz les Rois d'Angleterre ont la garde jusques a ce qu'ilz aient dix huit ans." Renard to the Emperor, 1st November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 615.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 17th November, ib. pp. 722-3.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 159
whether it was intended that any of them should suffer that extreme penalty.1 There was, indeed, some talk of carrying out the sentence upon Cranmer. But Cranmer was a churchman in true Orders, and according to Mary's own principles could not rightly be put to death until he had been degraded.2 More- over, he must undergo another sort of trial first ; of which by-and-by.
But there was serious danger from causes less French conspicuous. The Queen having made the Imperial mtrlsues- Ambassador her chief counsellor, and trusting not a single Englishman so much, had almost thrown her- self into the arms of a great belligerent power. It is true she was anxious to declare her neutrality, and that even Renard and the Emperor saw the necessity of guarding it in the articles proposed for the alliance. But it could be no matter of astonishment in the sixteenth century that the other belligerent power was not only very much provoked, but endeavoured by its agents to stir up the minds of Englishmen against the proposed Spanish match. " This morn- ing," Renard writes on the 29th November, " I gave warning to Lord Paget that they are making un- lawful assemblies day and night in this town, in which the heretics and several Frenchmen take part ; and I named to him several houses and persons, of whom some were providing themselves with arms." And Renard suggested that foreign heretics should be made to quit the kingdom.3
1 It should be noted that Lord Henry Dudley was a different person from Henry Dudley who had been in France seeking aid for Northumber- land (see p. 47), who was only a commoner. Nichols, in Queen Jane and Queen Mary (p. 175), believes him to have been a son of Sir Andrew Dudley.
2 Froude's utterly unjustifiable statement (Hist. vi. 122) about Mary being "triumphant" at this time and relieved from a "melancholy which had weighed upon her from childhood " by the prospect of Cranmer's execution, has already been denounced by Wiesener (Miss Yonge's transla- tion), i. 243-4. Froude says, indeed, that Renard actually wrote this on the 17th November ; but there are no such words in the despatch, and I suspect the historian had a confused recollection of something very different in another despatch a month later.
3 Renard to the Emperor, 29th November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 809.
160 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
The reiigi- The Parliament was to have ended on the day that effected^ Renard wrote this. But it was adjourned mainly on by Pariia- account of a claim of the Duke of Norfolk — the same who had only escaped the block because Henry VIII. died just before the day of his intended execution — for restitution of some goods sold by Edward VI. It was at last dissolved on the 4th December, and Convocation on the 13th.1 Why the spiritual assembly should have been allowed to outlive the temporal by nine days does not appear. One might have thought, indeed, that the restoration of a true religion, which was Mary's aim, was more a matter for the Convocation than for Parliament ; but, curiously enough, the opposite principle had been acted on almost completely. Convocation, summoned by the Queen as Supreme Head of the Church of England, was ineffective if the main object of its summons was to get rid of that title and restore the Pope ; and it was of little use even to discuss doctrines while the ultimate tribunal was doubtful. Parliament, on the other hand, though it did not discuss doctrines nor attempt to remove supremacy, did annul the most part of what had been done under supremacy. And so doing, it actually effected a religious change, abolishing the Edwardine Church services and restoring those in use at the death of Henry VIII. But what was the authority of that religious change now ordered by Act of Parliament ? Surely as good, at least, as the authority of the Edwardine changes. Both had been effected by Royal Supremacy and Parliament, though the direction each took was a different one.
But it was not to be expected that the new school would accept reactionary legislation with the same submissiveness with which the old school had bowed to legislation little to their mind. Again Elizabeth
1 The Queen's precept of that date, addressed to Bonner for the dissolu- tion of Convocation, is printed in Foxe, vi. 411.
and the succession.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 161
asked leave to quit the Court, wishing to go home on Elizabeth Wednesday, the 4th December.1 That was the last day of the Parliament, when the Acts would be pub- lished, and how they would be received by the public was a question. What was in Elizabeth's mind ? Mary had not long before been considering questions about the succession which, in the case of her dying without heirs, would be in dispute between the Queen of Scots, now fiancee to the Dauphin, and Frances, Duchess of Suffolk, both of whom had lineal rights ; and if the Queen of Scots was excluded as not being a native of the realm, Elizabeth might contest the Crown by her father's disposition confirmed by Act of Parliament. But the Duchess of Suffolk, it seems, was objectionable, as the Duke before marrying her had fully engaged himself to a sister of the Earl of Arundel, and as for Elizabeth, the Queen could never agree to her succession, she was such a heretic, and a bastard besides — inheriting, moreover, a bad disposi- tion from her mother, who had caused so much trouble in the kingdom. Mary, therefore, considered the Countess of Lennox, daughter of Margaret, late Queen Dowager of Scotland (Henry VIII. 's sister), to be the fit person to succeed if she herself died without heirs. These ideas she had laid before Paget, who thought that with this arrangement the people might be better satisfied that she should marry Philip ; for the English did not like the idea of his being Kino; of England and claiming to rule the country, if he should survive the Queen and she should leave no children. But, while admitting the strength of the Queen's arguments against Elizabeth's succession, he thought that an attempt to set it aside would be dangerous and might encourage a French invasion. So it would be better to make some provision that, if Elizabeth came to the Crown, she should make no change in the old religion ; and if Courtenay were her
1 Renard to the Emperor, 3rd December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 829. VOL. IV M
cernmg Elizabeth ?
162 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
husband and a Catholic, as he professed himself, that would be an additional security that no religious innovation should be made without Parliamentary sanction. It was probable, moreover, that the number of Catholics would be much greater than that of heretics, and that a return to error would be resisted, since the nation had already had so much experience of its consequences, what By Paget' s advice the Queen called Renard into
theOueen's consultation, wishing to have the Emperor's opinion policy con- and to know what Renard himself thought about it. Renard said it was a very weighty matter, on which he hoped that she would consult her own Council, as he did not understand the humours and affairs of the kingdom sufficiently. He agreed that the marriage of Courtenay with Elizabeth would be popular and would tend to settle matters and facilitate the Queen's own marriage, if the couple con- ducted themselves with discretion ; otherwise there might be more trouble. On the other hand, if they attempted to exclude Elizabeth, she would continually set herself to cross the Queen's purposes by means of French intrigues with heretics. No doubt Paget wanted to secure himself and his family for the future, and he had told Renard that if the Queen wished to repeal the Succession Act Parliament would never consent. The Queen, however, was not satisfied, and said that she should feel it a burden on her conscience to agree to the suc- cession of Elizabeth ; for her going to Mass was mere hypocrisy, and she had not a single man or maid in her service who was not a heretic. She conversed with heretics daily and gave ear to all mischievous projects. Mary said she would think further about the matter and await the Emperor's advice.1
1 Renard to the Emperor, 28th November, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 765-73.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 163
That was the Queen's feeling about her sister Mary before the end of November, and now, in the begin- ^£™10Ui ning of December, Elizabeth had asked leave to go to her home at Ashridge, in Buckinghamshire. Again the Queen consulted Renard, who again advised her to lay the whole matter before her Council, merely saying for his part that the time was suspicious for the reason already given. If any new movement took place it would, he thought, be when the Acts, one of which affected Elizabeth herself, were published ; and as the heretics all fixed their hopes on her, it might be as well to keep her some time at the Court. There seemed to Renard just two alternatives, either to dissemble entirely with her or to shut her up in the Tower. Mary said she would consult her Council, as he suggested. She told him that on St. Andrew's day (30th November) at Court, while she was going to vespers, a man cried out with a loud voice, " Treason ! " She did not abstain on that account from going to chapel, but Elizabeth was much troubled and put out of countenance, excusing her agitation by saying to Mistress Clarence she was astonished that the Queen did not withdraw on such a warning, and that she feared some outrage would be done to her.1 Mary also told the Ambassador of some recent events which were serious enough. A priest had been shot at with a harquebus while celebrating Mass in a village. In various churches in Norfolk and in Kent they had refused to celebrate it. Two church- men had been killed for religion, and rebellion was beginning to show itself.
Renard forbore to aggravate the danger more than Reuard needful, but advised the Queen at once to see to pafednit her ships and to the security of the seaports. She
1 " Et que ladite Elisabeth, oiant ceste voix, fut si perturbee quelle contenance tenir, et pour excuse et couverte de sa rauance, elle feit toucher son estomach par Maistresse Clarence, lui disant qu'elle s'esbahissoit comme ladite Dame ne se retiroit sur tel advis, et qu'elle trembloit, pour la craincte qu'elle avoit Ton ne oultragea ladite Dame." — R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 830.
1 64 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vh
must get her Council to advise her, though by Paget's account they were very factious : the Chancellor did nothing in matters of State, Arundel dissembled, fearing what might come to him if Elizabeth attained the Crown by the aid of heretics and French intrigues, and when the doings of heretics were talked about, Gardiner said that they were only due to the favour promised them by the French, and that the foreign marriage was as great a source of danger as the heretics. In fact, though the Council knew the danger from heretics they did nothing to avert it, and Paget did not see anything better to do than to publish that their designs were discovered. The man who cried " Treason ! " Renard said, was unable to make any definite charge except against the Chancellor who had put him in prison, and whom he accused of having made a book against Queen Katharine twenty-three years before.1 He meant apparently the book De vera Obedientia, published less than twenty years before, the recent republication of which in English was undoubtedly a fine stroke of malice. Elizabeth's The Queen thought it best to let Elizabeth depart fair pro- on j^r journey, and, not to show herself suspicious of
1 6 SSI OILS %) J ' 7 X-
her, she gave her a fine sable hood.2 Two days before she left, Arundel and Paget conversed with her and strongly advised her to avoid communication with heretics or Frenchmen ; otherwise she might repent it. She replied that as to religion she was acting con- scientiously, and would show her sincerity by taking ecclesiastics with her to her house, and by dismissing any of her servants that lay under suspicion ; and offered to prove that she had not listened either to Frenchmen or to heretics. On leaving she begged the Queen not to lend too ready an ear to ill reports of her, but to let her know anything said against her that she might justify herself. She was sorry, she
1 R. O. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 832-34.
2 [And, Noailles says, two rich ornaments of large pearls, Ambassades, ii. 309.— Ed.]
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 165
said, for the injustice that had been done to the Queen's mother at the instigation of her own mother, and for the troubles which had beset the Queen both before and at her accession.1
She left on the 6 th, accompanied by a mighty Her depar- train of noblemen and nearly 500 horses.2 But after London™ having gone ten miles of her journey, feeling or and her professing to feel ill, she wrote to the Queen for leave conformity. to borrow her litter, and at the same time begged for chapel ornaments, copes and chasubles, chalices, crosses, patens, and other articles for divine service. The Queen thereupon gave orders to send her what she asked for, "seeing that it was for God's service." 3 Elizabeth, no doubt, felt that as the Act of Parliament restoring the religion of Henry VIII. 's time was just about to come into force, it was most important for her to assume a proper attitude ; and she now made every manifestation of good-will to the Queen, to whom even her outward conformity was a comfort. But in the country she was closely watched, a fact of which she was pain- fully conscious. Yet there was good reason for it, if what Noailles believed was true. For he understood that Courtenay could easily get her to marry him and follow him into Devonshire and Cornwall, where they would have a fair chance of attaining the Crown, or at least giving the Emperor and the Prince of Spain plenty of trouble. Only the young man himself was so timid he did not dare make the venture ; for he, too, was surrounded by spies. Such was the French Ambassador's view.4
Another matter reported at this time was that the Duke of Savoy was coming to England to marry Elizabeth — a match which seemed to be in favour
1 Renard to the Emperor, 8th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 851-3.
2 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 301-2.
3 Renard to the Emperor, 17th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 887 ; Ambassades, ii. 308-9.
4 Ambassades, ii. 310.
i66 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
BK. VII
Her pro- with the nobility, who saw in it some security for posed mar- ^ succession if Mary died without heirs. Indeed,
riage to J '
the Duke Elizabeth herself, it appears, had sent her cousin of Savoy. Qarey (apparently Henry Carey, afterwards Lord Hunsdon) to visit the Duke, of whom he made an excellent report ; and Noailles believed, but wrongly, that Renard had spoken to her in favour of the match before she left for Ashridge. Renard was, indeed, urged to do so, but made no answer to those solicitations " for the reasons that your Majesty will understand," he writes to the Emperor.1 Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, was a high-spirited young prince of twenty-five, who had just succeeded his father ; but his lands were overrun by the French, and he was at this time serving Charles V. in the Low Countries.
Wide- spread dis- like to the Spanish marriage.
Whether Queen Mary, now that she had so fully committed herself — and all for the sake of her people, that she might govern them better — to marriage with a prince whom she had never seen, had any inward misgivings about her position being absolutely right, is a question to which, in the nature of things, history can furnish no direct or explicit answer. But it is certain that she was ill at ease, and she had good cause to be so. For undoubtedly that which she thought a duty to the nation was anything but an agreeable piece of intelligence to a very large number of her subjects, and as the fact became generally understood, the symptoms of popular dislike became more and more abundant. She had avoided re- ceiving the deputation from Parliament concerning her marriage as long as possible, pretending, so Noailles believed, that she was ill ; and for weeks
1 Renard to the Emperor, 11th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 861-2 ; Ambassades, u.s. ii. 309. Renard did converse with Elizabeth the day she left for Ashridge, but it was only to use all the arguments he could think of to warn her against the French. — Renard to the Emperor, 8th December, u.s. p. 852.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 167
she would go no further than a little chapel adjoining her chamber, while ardent members of the Commons actually talked about breaking up the Parliament themselves and leaving for their own homes, if they did not get satisfactory assurance that the Queen would not marry the Spaniard.1
She had, as we have seen, felt it necessary to Mary ais- ingratiate herself as much as possible with her sub- ^t deter- jects and had shown leniency to those who had mined. opposed her, to the Suffolk family and others,2 but she could not help feeling much anxiety and de- pression. On the 17th December she sent for Kenard, whose counsel she felt to be more necessary to her than ever. When he came she told him that hence- forth she intended to communicate with him openly, and that her Council agreed to her doing so, as she regarded the alliance and marriage as concluded. She told him that of late she had been ill of melan- choly owing to reports of what was commonly said among her subjects, and to hearing that both by word and writing many things had been published against the Spaniards and against the proposed alliance, tending to disturbance. Even her own Ladies of the Chamber were terrified by what they heard. And Wotton, her Ambassador in France, informed her that the French King could not stomach the alliance, and that the French were preparing to strengthen themselves at sea. From day to day, moreover, discoveries were made of insurrections organised against the Acts of Parliament touching religion ; and, worse still, her own Council was divided in feeling about the marriage. Yet she protested that she remained constant to Philip, and would rather die than have any other husband.
She had sent for her Council that very day into her chamber, and showed them all this, saying she trusted in them not to be factious nor set themselves against
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 233, 256. - lb. p. 287.
i68 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
to her Council,
and de- sires the Emperor's opinion.
she appeals what they knew to be her will for the honour and weal of the realm. And they had replied unanimously that they would do their duty and die at her feet for her service, protesting that if the alliance had not been already concluded, they could be of no other opinion than that it ought to be concluded now ; and they would give every possible support to it. This reply, she said, had consoled her not a little. They were already taking order for the equipment of English men-of-war, and making preparations against trouble from Scotland and Ireland. One ship laden with munitions and artillery for Ireland had been lost at sea, but the artillery had been saved.
She desired the Emperor's opinion on some other points. Many Englishmen thought that Elizabeth's marriage with Courtenay would be advisable to content the people rather than the match with the Duke of Savoy, which would create a suspicion that the govern- ment of England would always be in the hands of foreigners. And she should be glad to know the Emperor's opinion about these things, and also about what she had done in acceding to Elizabeth's request for chapel ornaments, and so forth. She had pro- mised Courtenay not to speak to him of marriage with her sister, and would not press it upon him ; but, understanding from some of the Council that he mioht agree to it if she wished it, she would not make any answer without first consulting the Emperor.1
In reply to all this Renard said, in the first place, that he saw no good reason why she should be de- pressed by what she had heard, and that since her Council had accepted the full responsibility for what she had done, he trusted they would do all that was required. Of late he had himself given them much information of a similar character, and the Emperor would take good care that the French should not have
Renard encourages
her,
1 Renard to the Emperor, 17th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 883-8.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 169
the means of setting so many projects afoot and raising up so many enemies. He had already written fully to His Majesty about the marriage of Elizabeth and Courtenay, and was expecting an answer daily. He had been confidentially informed that if that marriage were treated of, the nobility and the people would be well satisfied with her own marriage to Philip when it was accomplished. As Courtenay's wife Elizabeth would no longer have the power she had, and she might promote religion rather than otherwise, while, if she was driven to despair, she might give ear to French intrigues. If the Queen had children by Philip, Elizabeth's marriage would be of no consequence, and if she remained in the true religion all would be well. The succession depended chiefly on Parliament ; it rightfully belonged to the Queen of Scotland. Yet in spite of all his reassuring words to the Queen, Renard told the Emperor that he but teiis was somewhat puzzled by things that had been said p^That to him by certain gentlemen whom he did not name, he is some- and that he daily received information that Lords " Thomas and John Grey, the Duke of Suffolk's brothers, the Earl (he meant Marquis) of Winchester, and some other noblemen whose titles are confused, were conspiring to prevent Philip's landing and to attack the Spaniards, though they had no further reason for opposing the alliance, except a fear that the Spaniards would govern, for the Council had published the articles in general terms. But no doubt measures would be taken to stop this conspiracy, and the Queen would raise 3000 or 4000 men if necessary.1
1 " Et me dit Ton de jour a autre que Millord Thomas Grey et son frere nomine Jehan, freres du Due de Suffocq, le Comte de Wincestre, Millord Faltre, Sommerset, celui qui vouloit estre Admiral, ung parent de Cortenai, le beaufils du feu Due de Northumberlant, et plusieurs autres que Pelisayn m'a nomme, conspirent pour empescher le desembarquement de son Altesse, et pour ruer desus les Espaignolz, n'aians plus d'occasion de contredire ladite alliance, sinon par la craincte qu'ilz ont que les Espaignolz vouldront gouverner, puisque ilz ont entendu les articles et condicion [sic] que le Conseil a publie en termes generaulx ; neantmoins, puisque tout le Conseil accord e en ce, j'espere que Ton pourvoira et previendra ladite conjure et conspiration,
what un- easy.
170 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
The ofFence It was not surprising that Englishmen should be to France. aiarme(} at ^he prospect of a foreign King-regnant ; for such seemed to be the natural result of the proposed Spanish match. Nor was it surprising that the English opposition to that match should be fostered by foreign influences. For such a match not only changed entirely the foreign policy that had prevailed in King Edward's day, but established close relations with a belligerent Power in Europe to the manifest disadvantage of another belligerent Power with which friendly intercourse had for some time been unbroken. That it should have given deep offence in France was only what ought to have been expected ; and no one who knows anything of sixteenth century diplomacy will think it strange that the French Ambassador should have set himself to encourage English prejudices against it, and to stir up disloyalty and insurrection. He writes, indeed, to his own King that it would be an admirable way of pro- moting insurrection, if he could tell the English people that Philip's passage from Spain to Flanders would be prevented by a powerful French fleet. Elizabeth and Courtenay, too, might be very useful ; only the young man's timidity and inexperience might prevent his taking action so readily as other Englishmen, and he might rather allow himself to be taken prisoner. This should be avoided ; and he should be advised to escape from England to whatever place the French King should think advisable.1 The Queen As to Mary, who can wonder that she was dejected ? There were conspiracies brewing in various parts, and her clemency and toleration had been very ill rewarded. She was now completing the first half-year of her reign, and what were the prospects ? On the last day of the Parliament, just before the dissolution, a dog
mesmes si la dite Dame fait trois ou quatre inille hommes pour sa garde, que je tiens elle fera si le bruit ne s'appaise." — Renard to the Emperor, 17th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 889, 890. 1 Ambusstut'.'s Je Xuailles, ii. 289, 290.
insulted.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 171
with shaven head and cropped ears and a chenestre (whatever that may have been x) round his neck, was thrown into the presence chamber, with a writing- attached that all priests and bishops in England should be hanged. The Queen was much annoyed at the outrage, and told Parliament that by such acts she might be driven to a severity of justice from which she had been averse hitherto.2
She had begun her reign, almost as soon as she Pole had got settled on the throne, by announcing a policy JJ come to of religious toleration. She wanted it for her own Brussels, religion, and was willing to allow it to that of others, which she thought had no just sanction, till some settlement could be reached in Parliament. This was in accordance with the advice of the Emperor, the most powerful and experienced friend she had. The advice of Cardinal Pole seemed nobler — at once to step again into St. Peter's bark and save herself and the nation thereby. But unfortunately it was quite impracticable. It was enough that she never dis- guised her own religion, and desired to bring all her subjects back to it as soon as Parliament had removed impediments. And Parliament had now done enough to alarm progressives in religion, though reconciliation to Rome seemed yet a long way off, and Cardinal Pole, who was to effect it, was hardly allowed to get even so near England as Brussels. Only on Christmas eve, after much entreaty, did the Emperor agree to let him come so far.3 By that time it was tolerably certain that he could do nothing to hinder the marriage with Philip, and so the Emperor was willing that he should come to Brussels.
Mary, who was eager to see Pole in England, told Renard on the 26th December, that she understood he would come thither at her pleasure, either as
1 [Chenestre, evidently a mistranscription for chevestre or chevetre, a halter. — Ed.]
2 Renard to the Emperor, 8th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 851.
3 The Emperor to Renard, 24th December, ib. p. 936.
172 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
in what Legate or as a private person. This led her to think shmddhe °^ sending f°r him t° celebrate her marriage with come to Philip if the Emperor would let him come over. But England? Renarc[ objected that, though Legate, Pole was not yet a priest and had never sung Mass, and was therefore a most unfit person to marry her. Besides which, Pole had a commission from the Pope for peace, and Kenard feared his coming to England would be the cause of trouble. Renard, indeed, had heard that the Queen had suggested to the Cardinal's messengers that he should come to England as a Prince. One John " Ally," he found, was a great promoter of that scheme, and those who had lost favour with the Queen by trying to promote her marriage with Courtenay, had been trying to bring about the coming of the Cardinal in order to shake Paget's influence.1 The old Political and party motives lay at the bottom of
piled a everything. What had become of the old theory of away. a great spiritual power ruling the whole of Christen- dom ? The temporal ruler of Christendom had been keeping back the Legate of that great spiritual power for " a more convenient season," and the salvation of England was, it seemed, to depend on the temporal power in the first place ! Nay, the Pope himself had been instructing Pole to accommodate himself to what the Emperor thought best.2 Pole might be un- practical, but he was right in principle. Only the times were out of joint, and the Pope could never be an universal Bishop again. Pole himself was hereafter to meet with a strange reward from the Pope for his devotion, and Mary also. Philip's Meanwhile, as matters stand, the salvation of
England depends first on Philip's coming. Hasten, Philip, for surely a mightier object could not possibly be offered thee ! But what steps has Philip himself taken in the matter as yet ? The wooing has been
1 Rcnard to the Emperor, 29th December, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 958.
2 Papiers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 156.
W001M
ch.iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 173
done for him by his father's Ambassador in England. Has he not yet courted his bride himself? Well, perhaps so. It would surely be strange if he had done nothing that way ; but how far he had gone, or tried to go, is a point not exactly clear. We have seen already that two agents of his had been in England in the beginning of September, namely, Don Diego de Mendoza and Philip's major domo, Diego de Azevedo. They had come immediately from Brussels and stayed only six days in London, " pour entenir propoz pour son Alteze," as Eenard put the matter. They each kissed the Queen's hand, and the major domo spoke with her apart from any of the Council. They then left together on the 6th for Spain, no one in England knowing precisely what had passed between them and the Queen, though it was reported at their departure that the Prince would come to England in March, visiting the Queen, his cousin, on the way to Flanders.1
This apparently was what first raised a suspicion in England that a marriage of Philip and Mary was in contemplation ; but the Queen herself had by no means made up her mind to it at that time. It was certainly suggested by the major domo, for the Queen told Scheyfve at first that Philip was too young. But a month later Don Inigo de Mendoza, son of the Viceroy of India, next came to London ; but though despatched with a commission to the Queen from Philip, he tried hard, though not with complete success, to escape observation, for the state of things was so unfavourable to the object for which he had come that he did not even dare to visit the Queen, fearing that his access to her might do positive injury. So he went over to Brussels and reported his failure to the Emperor, who thereupon instructed Renard to apologise for him to the Queen. And
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 146 ; Ambassadors to the Emperor, 9th September, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 356.
174 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
Renard was further to say that in the Emperor's opinion Mendoza's visit to her ought still to be delayed ; for as yet nothing definite was known at Brussels of the issue of Renard's conferences with her, though, as a matter of fact, they had been fully successful at the date of the Emperor's despatch. Mary accepted the apology for Don Inigo, and said that she had no doubt the Emperor's advice was judicious.1
It was not expressly said in the Emperor's letter that Don Inigo's mission had any more important object than to congratulate the Queen on her accession, and to declare the great satisfaction it gave to one so nearly related to her as Philip. Yet it is quite clear that something more was implied, and that it was really the very special character of his commission that made it un advisable for him to attempt to carry it out.2 And now, apparently, it had become alto- gether superfluous, for Renard had done the vicarious wooing, and had persuaded the Queen to pledge herself to Philip on the 29th October. Since her rebuff to the Speaker and the Parliamentary deputation on the 16th November, every one knew that she was not going to marry Courtenay. But it was still necessary that a formal proposal should be made on Philip's behalf, and terms of a marriage contract settled. The Queen also desired to see a good painted likeness of her intended bridegroom before she saw him in the flesh. In this, Philip's aunt, Queen Mary of Hungary, was glad to gratify her, and despatched from Brussels a portrait painted by Titian three years before.3
1 The Emperor to Renard, 30th October, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 563- 65 ; Renard to the Emperor, 6th November, ib. p. 661.
2 " Et ceste commission si expresse a este cause que, combien il soit passe par Angleterre, voire et par Londres, aiant fait (a ce qu'il dit) ce qu'il a peu pour non estre congneu, il ne s'est voulu avancer en ce qu'il avoit en charge sans prealablement venir devers nous." — The Emperor to Renard, u.s.
3 R. 0. Transcripts, u.s., viz. :— Queen of Hungary to Renard, 19th November, pp. 725-8 (printed in Papiers du Card. Granvtlle, iv. 149-51) ; Renard to the Queen of Hungary, 29th November, pp. 811-3.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 175
The most important matter, however, from a national The point of view was the terms of the marriage settle- Trae7tiage ment ; and the Council very properly insisted on seeing them and coming to some agreement about them, before the great personages were sent who were to make the formal offer of marriage and conclude the matter. The Emperor had been left to draw up the articles, which the Council might afterwards criticise ; and he took great pains to have them draughted in such a way as to avoid wounding English susceptibilities. If the Queen died without heirs Philip was no longer to have any right whatever in the kingdom. He was not to suffer Spaniards to be in any way burdensome to the people, but while in England he was rather to use the services of Englishmen and men of the Low Countries. Any children that came of the marriage might have portions in the Low Countries along with the realm of England. The Emperor believed the articles he had drawn would be accepted on the Queen's behalf without dispute ; and he was justified in his opinion.1 The Council called the principal men of the kingdom to consider them and weigh the conditions of the marriage ; and though Renard understood that some criticisms were made, the general opinion was that they were satisfactory. The Council, accordingly, having consulted with the Queen, made a gracious answer to the Emperor, thanking him for the great consideration he had shown for the realm. They had made some changes in three or four articles, and some little additions, which Renard had no doubt the Emperor would accept, as he actually did, without hesitation.2
The special embassy was then appointed to make formal demand of the Queen's hand in marriage ; but
1 R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. viz. : — Renard to the Emperor, 21st November, pp. 755, 761-4 ; the Emperor to Renard, 28th November, pp. 781-99 (printed in Papiers du Card. Granvelle, iv. 157-66) ; Renard to the Emperor, 3rd December, pp. 599-819.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 8th December, 11th December, and 20th December, ib. pp. 839-45, 855-7, 898.
176 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
French feeling. Noailles is active.
as it did not reach London till a new year had begun, we shall pursue the matter no further here. So far as Imperial and Spanish diplomacy was con- cerned everything was going on smoothly.
But what of France ? Something has already been said of French feeling on this subject, and here it may be advisable to say a few words more in detail. Henry II. had been slow to believe, when it was first suggested by Noailles, that the Queen of England would take so ill-advised a step as to engage herself in marriage to the son of his mortal enemy. That she would cherish her political ties with the Emperor was likely enough. But as to a marriage with his son, surely, the French King thought, Noailles must have been forming exaggerated inferences from the declining favour shown to Courtenay, whom he and his master, on his information, supposed at first that the Queen affected. But, to prepare for the worst, Noailles had better, with all possible skill, impress on every influential man with whom he came in contact, the extreme danger that the kingdom would incur of being ruled by Spaniards, if such a match should take effect.1 That the Ambassador followed this advice we know, and the Parliamentary petition which the Queen so much resented was the result. That was the state of matters in November ; but diplomatic relations between the Queen and France still continued to be most friendly, while the rival Ambassadors of Henry and the Emperor were con- tinually jealous of each other and of the doings of each other's masters.2
On the 24th November Noailles wrote of an audience given him by the Queen, in which he seemed success- fully to have removed all suspicion that France had been fomenting trouble for her in Ireland.3 But on the 14th December Henry II. had received from
Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 191-3.
3 lb. pp. 264-5.
2 lb. pp. 224-5.
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 177
his Ambassador, through a special envoy named the Special in- Sieur de Hogius, such confirmation of the projected J^toTL marriage with Philip that he instructed Noailles to ontheuth demand an audience of the Queen. The object for December- which that audience was desired was assuredl)T a delicate one ; and what he was to say, he was to say fas if totally uninstructed, merely from his own observation of the state of matters, and from his own desire to fulfil his functions better. He was to tell the Queen that one of the things his master had most de- sired was sincere and perfect friendship with her, and between their realms, to be continued by their suc- cessors. And his master had felt so assured of this, that he had refused to listen to various proposals made to him to give her trouble since suspicions had begun to be entertained of her marriage with the Prince of Spain. He was a prince of good faith. But as Noailles now saw that the Queen's marriage was held as con- cluded, although he had no doubt that she, too, would keep her promises, he could not help thinking that when she had married the Prince of Spain, who, with the Emperor his father, was the greatest enemy the French King had, she would accommodate herself to the feelings of her husband, who was only seeking to make all the use he could of her realm against France. And for this reason he, Noailles, would beseech her to declare how, if the marriage took effect, she proposed to conduct herself with regard to the King his master, so that he might assure him of her disposition towards him, and there was no prince whose friendship could be more valuable to her for the tranquillity of her kingdom.1
Noailles seems to have received these instruc- Noauies tions by a messenger named La Marque on Monday, desires an 18th December, and he sent next day to desire an ' audience of the Queen. She was that day leaving Westminster for Richmond ; but the Council, anxious
1 lb. pp. 312-15. VOL. IV N
178 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
to promote his object, promised him an answer by Thursday, when an audience was appointed him for next day (the 22nd). To Richmond he went, and before he saw the Queen Paget endeavoured to extract from him what he came for. Oh, he said, he had no letters, but he felt it like ten years since he had seen Her Majesty, and there were matters on which he wished to communicate with her. Not to be put off in that way, Paget suggested to him the desirability of the Queen's mediation between France and the Emperor, and the ways in which a peace might be effected ; to which Noailles could only reply in general terms. Then passing from one subject to another, Paget touched upon the common report of the Queen's marriage with the Prince of Spain, which he thought as suitable a match as the Dauphin's with the young Queen of Scots. But as time was getting on, Noailles begged that Paget would see if the Queen was ready to receive him. He carries Soon afterwards the Chancellor, Arundel, and others came to escort him to the Queen, to whom he delivered the g'wem- spontaneous message as he had been instructed. The Queen replied that she certainly intended to maintain perfect friendship with the King of France as she had promised at Noailles' first interview with her at Havering.1 She had never varied from that purpose ; and though she married the Prince of Spain she would keep her treaties with France all her life. Far from yielding to the feelings of the Emperor, she desired with all her heart to see a firm peace between him and the King, as necessary for the whole of Christendom. Noailles caused her to repeat her words before the lords of her Council, and she added that if she acted otherwise she should offend God, from whom she had received greater grace than any other princess. If she could only effect a pacification she would think
1 " Haury," as Noailles or his editor makes it.
out his in- structions
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 179
herself the happiest princess living. Noailles assured her that God had prospered all her enterprises so much that he had little doubt that she would succeed in this, and that his master could not wish the management of it in better hands. With that he took leave of her.1
But four days after this interview with the Queen, would the Hogius returned from France, and Noailles sent to Qu?en request a new audience, which was at once accorded treaty with to him on Wednesday, 27th December. Again Paget France? endeavoured just before he saw the Queen to ascertain his object, and led him once more into a discourse about mediation, repeating some ideas that he had suggested on the former occasion as to how peace might be made between the two continental powers by certain diplomatic marriages. When admitted to the Queen's presence, Noailles presented the letters brought by Hogius and at once proceeded to follow his instructions ; in answer to which the Queen repeated what she had said before about her strong desire to mediate, adding that she had written on the subject to the Emperor, who was also most willing that she should do so, as the Chancellor and Paget and the Emperor's own ambassadors could testify. And as Henry was, no doubt, about to receive a communi- cation on this matter from the Queen herself, Noailles goes on to record what he had said to her further, on his own responsibility : of the need there would be of some security that when she was married her ships entering French harbours should not be laden and armed by enemies of France, and that French merchants trafficking with England should not be liable to capture by Flemings and Spaniards. He asked also if the Prince of Spain, after marrying her, would be able to use her vessels and ships against France ; and when she said No, he asked if it would not be well to make a new treaty by which this should
1 Ambassades dc Noailles, ii. 334-40.
i So LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
be assured. The Queen protested, as she had done before, that she loved her conscience better than a husband, as Noailles should see after she was married, but she left it to her Council to give him a more definite answer. The coun- Thereupon he withdrew with the Council to another cu declares room where he told them that the greatest honour
xliti exist-
ing treaties that he hoped for was that he might preserve a lasting sufficient. peace . an(} he begged them to consider not only the evils of war, and the blessings of peace, but the in- fluence that a foreign prince might have upon them, if provision were not made beforehand to prevent a breach of existing engagements. As the Council with- drew to deliberate upon their answer, Noailles could see that Paget was alone in resisting the opinions of several others. It was left to Gardiner to reply in the name of all, that the existing treaties were suffi- cient, and that nothing could be added by a new treaty that would either increase or diminish the security for the preservation of the peace, for which the Queen herself had given her word. In answer to this Noailles observed that the existing treaties had been made by Henry VIII. and Edward VI., and that as the English were now making a new alliance with a prince who was France's enemy, it seemed to him reasonable that the Queen should reconfirm them. If there was any one among them, he said, who from his own individual inclination was enveloped in the wings of that great eagle (the Imperial eagle), he begged him to divest himself of his inclination and to think only of the common good of their realm ; he would find Noailles' proposal not less profitable to England than to France. Paget, who felt the shaft aimed at him, asked scornfully, "You would like hostages, then, to assure you ? " Noailles answered with great civility that he valued the Queen's word more than any hostages, and that he had not made the proposal from any doubt of her,
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 181
but in order that a prince who might have power over both her and them, should be under the like obligation.
On this Paget at once said that there was an express Noauies article in the marriage treaty concerning France as {^Page't satisfactory as Noailles could wish for. Noailles said he would like to see it, and Paget promised that it should be shown him. On taking leave of the Council, Noailles said he did not count their answer as a refusal of his suggestion. Paget, however, said there was really no need of so much jealousy ; and just as the French had made the English friends with the Scots, so this marriage would make the French friends with the Emperor. This was a provoking reply ; and Noailles retorted that the goodness of the Queen and the strong desire of King Henry for the good of Christendom might lead to a pacification, but not by their means nor by the forces of the Emperor.
Noailles wrote that he thought it best not to argue His opinion too much with the Council. They seemed all to be qu*£ governed by the opinion of Paget, whom he took to and her be as much devoted to the Emperor's policy as Renard ounci1' himself ; and that in fact all the Council did nothing except according to the Emperor's will. As to the Queen, she was so entirely under his influence that there was no hope of getting anything from her that was not sent from the Imperial court ; and she was besides so obstinate after having once adopted an opinion, that it was impossible to move her from it.1 The French Ambassador's judgment was not altogether unjust. Mary was not a politician. She could only form resolutions by the advice of those whom she trusted, and having formed them, she held fast by them — with Tudor wilfulness, but not with Tudor wisdom. As for Paget, he had to mend a broken political fortune by studying the will
1 Ambassades de Noailles, ii. 349-56.
1 82 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
of his new mistress and doing all in his power to carry it out. But what effect was this war of intrigue between belligerent foreign Powers to have on the domestic affairs of the nation ?
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IV
(See p. 144, note 2) LETTERS OF THE SIEUR DE SELVE FROM VENICE
I. To the Constable of France, 12 September 1553
[From Ribier's Lettres et Mimoircs d'Estat, ii. 457]
Monseigneur, Ces jours passez, le Cardinal d'Angleterre estoit party d'aupres de Luna, pour s'en aller a Trente et dela Legat deuers 1'Empereur & le Roy, en intention de passer apres en Angleterre, et est certain qu'il auoit fait tous pre- paratifs pour son voyage, achepte" cheuaux & mulets, & enuoye querir quelques vns en cette ville qu'il vouloit mener quant & soy; & neantnioins tout soudain il s'en est reuenu tournant bride vers ledit lieu d'ou il estoit party pres de Luna, et y fait des prouisions comme pour y deuoir seiourner, qui est signe que son voyage est rompu, ce qui ne peut estre par sa faute, car il y alloit tres-volontiers, & ne luy est suruenu mal ny accident qui Ten empeche, & moins doit estre aduenu par le Pape, qui l'y enuoyoit encore de rneilleure deuotion, tellement que s'il l'eust voulu croire, il fut, ce dit-on, party il y a long-temps. II faut done ce me semble que cette rupture de voyage soit procedee de la part de 1'Empereur. Ce que presupposant, ie soupgonnerois facilement que le dit Sr. voulust essayer de faire quelque mariage de la Reyne Marie d'Angleterre auec son Fits, & craignant que ledit Cardinal d'Angleterre fut plustost pour luy rompre son dessein qu'autrement, pour la faueur que vray-semblement il portera a Milord de Courtenay qui est son parent, il luy ait voulu rompre son voyage. Ce qui me fait estimer que 1'Empereur y pense, & par aduenture ladite Reyne Marie mesme est 1° que combien que Ton tient le mariage de sondit Fils auec la Fille de Portugal pour tout asseure, et que ses ministres mesmes par deqa le diuulguent comme chose
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 183
conclue, depuis que ladite Dame Marie est paruenue a la Couronne d'Angleterre, Ton dit que ledit mariage de Portugal ne se fera point, & que les deniers que Ton en pensoit auoir comptans ne se peuuent deliurer ; qui est une maigre allegation d'empeschement, car il est bien croyable si ledit mariage auoit este long-temps traicte & conclu comme il se disoit, que Ton deuoit bien auoir sq.eu quels deniers il y auoit, et quand et comment le payenient s'en deuoit faire. Secondement, Ton dit que ledit Prince d'Espagne se prepare pour partir d'Espagne, aucuns disent pour passer en Italie, & autres en Flandre, & y a des particuliers icy qui ont aduis qu'il auoit fait descharger quelques grosses nauires Venitiennes qui s'en alloient chargees de marchandises en Angleterre, pour s'en seruir en son voyage. D'ailleurs ie considere que ladite Reine Marie ne se haste pas fort de se marier, ni faire couronner, qui sont les deux premieres choses quelle deuoit faire si elle auait enuie de prendre pour mary vn Anglois & acquerir la grace de son peuple ; ie la connois Dame de grand coeur & hautain, & qui ne se rangera pas facilement a espouser vn de ses suiets, si elle en peut auoir vn de plus grande estoffe. II est vray que si elle a ce dessein, ie croy qu'elle se gardera fort bien d'en faire Anglois qui viue, participant, & feindra tousiours de vouloir espouser Courtenay, ou quelqu'autre Seigneur de dela, ne conferant ses conseils qu'auec l'Empereur seul le plus secretement qu'elle pourra, iusques a ce que le Prince d'Espagne a l'aduenture sous couleur de passer en Flandre, pourroit aller descendre en Angleterre feignant ou estre iette du temps, ou bien aller voir la Reyne sa parente ; & se pourroit ainsi conclure & effectuer le mariage auant que personne y eust pense ; et quand il seroit fait, ie ne sc,ay quel remede ceux du pais y pourroient trouuer, & m'a este dit ici qu'il est sorti de la bouche de Vargas, qui est icy Ambassadeur de l'Empereur, que ledit Sr. enuoioit Dom Diego en Angleterre pour y resider Ambassadeur, qui est vn cerueau inquiet et remuant, & qu'on n'enuoie pas la, sinon pour maniement de quelque grande chose. I'entends aussi que ladite Reyne Marie faisoit assemblee de quatre cens hommes sous couleur de se faire obeir a ceux de Londres quant au fait de la reduction de la Religion, & combien que ie veuille croire qu'elle aye bien l'intention telle, si est-ce que Ton voit bien par la que ce n'est pas vne femme de petit cceur, ny de petite entreprise, & s'il luy reiissit de se faire obeir en cet endroit par force et a coups de baston, elle pourroit bien presumer de se faire
1 84 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vii
apres obeir en ses autres volontez, & de monstrer a son peuple qu'elle n'est pas pour receuoir la loy de luy, ny se niarier a son' appetit ; & se trouuant asseurer de ces forces qu'elle pourra encore augmenter d'estrangers, elle parlera apres a cheual, & ne se laissera conduire qu'a ce qu'elle voudra, & sera comme il est vray semblable l'Empereur son principal conseil: car ie pense qu'elle est en son interieur plus Espagnole qu'Angloise, & qu'il luy semble sous ombre que l'Empereur fait fort le bigot et l'hypocrite, qu'il n'y a pas au monde vn meilleur Chrestien que luy. Ce ne sont que soupQons et coniectures, ausquelles neantmoins il me semble qu'il n'est que bon de penser d'heure, car ce n'est chose qui ne puisse aduenir ; & si vous iugez que ce discours ait quelque fondement et apparence de vostre coste\ & que vous en voiez quelques autres indices, il me sembleroit, sauf meilleur aduis, que ce seroit bien fait d'imprimer en l'opinion dudit Milord de Courtenay dextrement et fort secrettement & couuertement, tant lesdits soupcons que les aduertissemens, que vous aurez tendans a cette fin, & que quand Ton n'en auroit point, feindre d'en auoir & faire entendre que pour l'amour que le Roy luy porte & au Royaume d'Angleterre qu'il ne voudroit point voir perir, ni venir ^s mains des Espagnols & estrangers, il le veut aduertir de tout ce qu'il doit considerer, qu'estant le premier dudit Roiaume, & du plus noble sang et luy estant mieux d'espouser ladite Reine qu'a nul autre, la raison veut que si elle espouse vn Espagnol, Ton le remette prisonnier, & qu'on le traite plus mal que iamais, comme celuy qu'on pensera se tenir le plus offense" dudit mariage, & auoir plus de cause de s'en ressentir, & que si luy et lesdits Srs. d'Angleterre ont enuie qu'elle espouse vn Anglois, qu'ils Ten fassent resoudre bien-tost sans plus differer, autrement qu'ils se tiennent tout asseurez si elle temporise, qu'elle ne tend a autre fin qu'a leur bailler vn Estranger pour Roy, auant qu'ils s'en doutent & qu'ils soient preparez pour y remedier. Ce que facilement ils pourront faire, en y pensant, & pouruoiant d'heure ; du quel office ledit de Courtenay ne pourroit iamais que scauoir gre & obligation au Roy, & luy en seroit tenu, & tous les Seigneurs qui sont de vrais Anglois & qui aiment le bien de leur patrie ; & si S.M. & vous iugiez a propos qu'on mist le mesme soupgon en teste dudit Cardinal d'Angleterre, qui est parent dudit Courtenay, & doit desirer sa grandeur, cela se pourroit bien faire, afin qu'il y obuiast de son coste" en ce qu'il pourroit ; & s'il falloit venir iusques a contrarier et
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 185
resister par force a ladite Reine Marie en ce dessein, il est croyable que la plus-part des Seigneurs et du peuple seroient en faueur dudit Courtenay, pourueu qu'on les preparast d'heure, & qu'il ne se declarast contraire quant a la Religion, ni aux Catholiques, ni a ceux qui se disent Euangelistes, tenans les nouvelles doctrines, mais monstrast de vouloir seulement le bien de sa patrie, le soulagement du peuple & le reglement de la Religion, par l'opinion & aduis des Estats & Parlemens du Roiaume bien et deuement conuoquez & assemblez, & se vouloir gouuerner en cela, & toutes autres choses par lesdits Estats, & le Conseil des Srs. du pays ; & pour luy donner cceur d'entreprendre, Ton luy pourroit dire que le Roy le fauoriseroit & garderoit, & que le Roy Henry VII fut bien mis au Roiaume d'Angleterre par l'aide du Roy Charles VIII, & qu'a plus forte raison il seroit facile au Roy d'a present de l'y conseruer desia a demy estably. De Venise, 12 Septembre 1553. De Selve.
77. To Henry II of France, 18 December 1553 [From Ribier, ii. 461-63]
18 Decembre MDLIII.
Le Sr. de Selue au Roy,
Sire, L'on dit que Rostan Bassa a plus d'authorite" qu'il n'eust iamais, non obstant sa demission, & qu'il n'a este" priue, ny renuoye a Constantinople, qu'a sa sollicitation & poursuite : & pour se sauuer des mains des Janissaires, ayant este seul cause de la mort de Mustafa, comme l'on dit que luy mesme s'en est decouuert a quelques vns en secret : & se iuge que le Grand Seigneur fera toutes choses pour auoir le fils dudit Mustafa qu'on pense s'estre retire au Sophy, & que cela pourra estre cause d'vne paix entr'eux ; and que ledit Seigneur ne passera pas si auant que l'on pensoit, dont l'on verra ce qui succedera. Sire, il n'est maintenant icy autre nouuelle que de la conclusion du mariage du Prince d'Espagne auec la Reyne d'Angleterre, que les Imperiaux disent auoir pour tout certain par lettres de Flandres, & en ay veu a des Marchands qui en parlent fort auant, & ces Seigneurs par leur Ambassadeur, qui est pr£s le dit Empereur, en ont conformes aduis. A quoy ie croy bien que l'ambition dudit Empereur aspire & fait tous ses efforts, & que la dite Reyne
1 86 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vn
en soit tres-bien d'accord avec luy, & par aduenture aucuns de son Conseil corrompus de luy & d'elle : mais ie ne puis penser que cela me semble dur au peuple, & qu'il ne fasse quelque mouuement s'il pense estre tourmente. I'ay ou'i dire que le Roy des Romains en pourchassoit le niariage pour vn de ses fils, ce qui vray-semblement le deura rendre d'autant plus mal content, voyant que son frere sans auoir esgard a sa pauurete, n'y a la multitude des enfans qu'il a, cherche d'empieter tout pour son fils seul. Aussi y a-il apparence que les villes maritimes des Ostrelins, qui de tout temps ont grand trafic de marehandises et grands priuileges en Angleterre, ne se trouuant gueres amis de l'Empereur, ne doiuent pas auoir plaisir du succes dudit mariage. Ce qui pourroit bien mouuoir ledit Roy des Romains & toute l'Allemagne a auoir d'autant plus volontiers quelque bonne intelligence auec vostre Majeste : ie pense bien qu'en ce cas die n'oubliera rien de ce qui se deura faire, & semble que si ledit Roy des Romains leue vne Ms le masque a bon escient contre sondit frere, de sorte qu'on ne doiue craindre secrette intelligence entr'eux, qu'il seroit bon de faire, stimuler & tenter de venir querir avec les armes au poing son partage en Flandres ; luy remonstrant que c'est le moien non seulement d'auoir ce qui luy appartient iustement, mais encore de se conseruer l'Allemagne & sans trop grand frais. Car estant l'Empereur en guerre avec V.M. & accule audit pais de Flandres, s'il auoit a tourner le visage de deux costez a la fois, il seroit bien empesche quelque secours qu'il put auoir d' Angleterre : de laquelle il n'est pas croyable qu'il dispose comme il voudra des le commencement. Ioint que si les Anglois estoient de sa partie, estans aussi infestez du coste d'Escosse & des Ostrelins, & du Roy de Dannemarck par mer, s'ils sen vouloient mesler, vne partie de la feste se pourroit faire chez eux. Ie pense, Sire, que si l'Empereur veut effectuer ledit mariage se sentant auoir gaigne vne partie des Ministres d'autour la Reyne, qui sont Imperiaux, il taschera d'abord de s'asseurer de Calais, pour estre maistre du Passage & du Traiet de la mer, avec lequel et l'intelligence de ladite Reyne et de son Conseil, il fera son compte de vaincre toute la repugnance que le peuple du pays luy pourroit faire, qu'il vaincra aisement a mon aduis, si ledit peuple du pays est sans chef. Aussi la plus grande & importante chose en tel cas, pour le bien de vos affaires, seroit de quelque chef d'estoffe audit peuple, comme Milord Courtenay ; car sans chef, ce sera vn feu de paille, comme i'y en ay veu par fois, & si ledit mariage
ch. iv PARLIAMENT AND RELIGION 187
va auant, ils ne manqueront pas de depescher ledit Courtenay, s'il ne prend garde a ses affaires.
Sire, allant auiourd'huy a la Messe, i'ay rencontre l'Ambassadeur d'Angleterre, auquel me demandant des nouuelles, i'ay respondu qu'il falloit qu'elles vinsent de son coste, & que sa Reyne pour le temps de maintenant donnoit a parler par tout le monde en beaucoup de fagons ; & luy ayant priuement demande- si elle espouseroit le Prince d'Espagne, il m'a hire & afferme qu'il auoit nouuelles bien fraiches d'Angleterre, par lesquelles on ne luy en mandoit rien, & qu'on ne luy faisoit mention, que des reformations & abrogations d'aucunes Loix faites du temps des Roys Henry & Edouard,& de la restauration & restitution de la Religion et des Sacremens,sans luy parler en aucune fagon de mariage de ladite Dame ; mais qu'il estoit bien vray que Me. Masson a present Ambassadeur pres l'Empereur, luy escriuoit qu'au lieu ou il est, ledit mariage se mettoit fort chaudement et instamment en auant, et qu'il esperoit que Dieu, qui auoit conduit & guide ladite Reyne iusques icy, l'inspireroit & conformeroit a ce qui seroit le plus honorable & utile pour elle & pour son peuple ; & m'a dit qu'il s'ebahissoit extremement de l'impudence d'aucunes personnes qui publioient ledit mariage par tout le monde, & qu'on n'auoit pas eu honte de feindre & forger des lettres, & les monstrer par tout, les intitulant doubles de lettres d'Angleterre venues a luy, portans la conclusion dudit Mariage, duquel ne luy auoit iamais este escrit que par ledit Mre. Masson en la fagon que dessus. Ie luy ay demande, si Ton ne luy mandoit rien de certaines protestations, faites par les Seigneurs du Parlement, & les Estats du pays a l'encontre de ladite Dame, en cas qu'elle se voulust marier au Prince d'Espagne. II m'a respondu que non, me disant en riant, que diriez vous si ledit mariage s'ensuivoit, & si ce n'estoit pas vne belle chose que d'vnir vne Comte de Flandres auec vn Royaume d'Angleterre. A quoy ie luy ay replique" que c'estoit encore vne plus belle addition & augmentation a vn Comte de Flandre d'acquerir & gaigner sans coup frapper vn Royaume d'Angleterre. II m'a apres cela dit qu'on s'esbahissoit fort icy que les Sacremens & toutes autres choses de la Religion eussent este remis et restituez en leur entier audit pays, & que l'obeissance n'eust point este rendue au Pape, & que plusieurs de ees Seigneurs luy auoient dit qu'ils s'en esmerueilloient. Auquel propos ie luy ay dit, Sire, qu'il deuoit respondre que ce dernier poinct se reseruoit au Prince d'Espagne, comme le plus a propos & important pour s'en
1 88 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. ™
gratifier avec sa Saintete\ et en faire quelque bon marche avec elle, quand il auroit pris possession dudit Royaume d'Angleterre, luy disant tout en riant que s'il espousoit leur Reyne, ie croyois qu'il en aduiendroit ainsi, & qu'vn Espagnol les feroit meilleurs chrestiens qu'ils n'auoient enuie d'estre, & la dessus nous estans entresaluez, nous nous soinnies quitter. De Venise, 26 Dec. De Selve.
BOOK VIII THE SPANISH MARRIAGE
189
CHAPTER I
THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS
From what has been already written it must be Foreign sufficiently apparent that at the end of the year ™fl"heence 1553, when Mary had reigned no more than six domestic months, a most dangerous state of public feeling England. existed, both about her intended marriage and about what seemed a retrogressive policy in religion, bring- ing Church order back to the state it was in just before the death of Henry VIII. There is no reason, indeed, to believe that, apart from questions about the Pope's authority, which it was evidently intended to restore, when possible, the old services of the Church were disliked by more than a section of the people, principally in London and other large towns, and in the populous eastern counties. But the marriage and the return to Henrician religion, though both settled by authority before the close of the year, had met with a large amount of opposition, both within and outside of Parliament ; and these things, together or singly, added fuel to disloyal thoughts that had been for some time burning.
Yet if either of these had been in its nature a purely domestic question, opposition would doubtless have been more easily overcome. Unfortunately, as we have also seen, there was, in both cases, a foreign power in the background. The whole of Northumber- land's policy had been based on a cordial amity with France, and on a very just confidence that
191
192 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
Charles V., beset with difficulties within the Empire, would be totally unable to interfere with anti-papal England. But Mary, without troubling her head about questions of the balance of power, believed that the weal of nations depended on their spiritual obedience to the Pope ; and in the Emperor she recognised the one constant friend who in the past had done his best to protect her from her father's and her brother's tyranny. Unversed in the ways of statesmanship, she needed counsel, and did not always see clearly who were her best friends at home. So the Emperor's ambassador became her chief adviser, and the match with Philip seemed to her the only way of putting her government on a sure foundation. But this, as it inevitably alarmed France, not less inevitably set the French ambassador intriguing to encourage sedition and tumult in England. The law The religious question would have been trouble-
couid s^ill1 some enough without this ; but it would only have
dg invoked o * •/
against the been a minor trouble. Henry VIII. himself knew how to temporise, and to keep within politic bounds those revolutionary tendencies in religion which had helped him to throw off the Pope ; but it had not been the Edwardine policy to put much restraint on a religious revolution. And as Edwardine religioD, based on Acts of Parliament, was in actual possession of the field, Mary's task was a particularly hard one. She had begun by proclaiming principles of religious toleration, of which she trusted that her own religion would get the benefit as well as that of Cranmer and the new school, until some parliamentary settlement could be achieved. But here she found herself thwarted. Edwardine religion, if not of divine foundation, had existing statutes to support it, and its adherents were not at all inclined to yield toleration to a religion that hoped to supplant it. Owing its ascendancy, even under Edward, to acts of tyranny and violence, it prevented men from listening
old religion.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 193
with patience to Dr. Bourne or other preachers in favour with the new Sovereign, and disorders enough were the result. But apart from mob law, the Queen was opposed by the upholders of law itself, and the statutes of Edward VI. could too easily be invoked to thwart her effort to secure toleration for her own religion.
This constituted the peculiar feature in the case of Judge Sir James Hales — a judge who has always been the Hales- object of much sympathy as a man of high honesty and independence. Alone among the judges, he had refused to put his signature to Edward's device for altering the succession. It has been suggested, how- ever, that he was able to maintain his independence because he was not so much urged as they were ; for the whole body of the judges disliked the matter, and he was not present at the most painful scenes.1 Thus it was, apparently, that he escaped the responsibility in which the other judges and the Council were involved by the threats of Northumberland. In other matters he had been an important agent of the Edwardine policy as regards religion. In 1549 he had been one of a Commission to suppress heresies and enforce respect for the new Prayer Book. In 1550 he had been one of the judges who confirmed the deprivation of Bonner. In 1551 he had been one of those who pronounced a similar sentence upon Gardiner; and in 1552 he had been on the Com- mission of Thirty-two for amending and codifying Ecclesiastical Laws.2
It was difficult for such a man to acquiesce in a He acts in state of affairs which implied that the steps taken to JS^JjJ"6 reform religion under Edward had been altogether wrong : and at the first assizes in Kent under the new reign, when some priests were brought before him for saying Mass, he charged the jury to pass a
1 Dixon, Hist, of the Church of England, iii. 542 note. 2 lb. pp. 41, 257, 439 ; Foxe, v. 798-99.
VOL. IV 0
i94 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
verdict in accordance with the still existing law. One might say that he simply did his duty. The law of the land was against the saying of Mass. But was it a law that deserved to be respected as not interfering with a higher duty than secular obedience ? The Queen, although tolerant of the new religion, expected toleration for the old,1 and Gardiner, as Lord Chancellor when swearing in the judges before Michaelmas term, declined to administer the oath to Sir James Hales.2 andisim- Although unsworn, as having lost the Queen's pnsoned. favourj Hales left Westminster Hall' a free man ; but within a few days he was committed to the King's Bench prison, where, if we may trust Foxe in this place, he remained till Lent. But in another passage3 Foxe informs us that he was committed to the Marshalsea on Saturday, the 27th January 1554, which was eleven days before Lent began. Be that
1 The following is Foxe's view of the situation (Acts and Mon. vi. 712) :— " As yet the Mass was not by the laws received and restored, although the Queen herself, by her consent and example, set it forward, wherewith divers priests, being couraged, presumed to say Mass. And, like as in a main and set battle there are certain nimble and light-armed soldiers, who in skirmishes amongst their enemies go before the force of battle ; even so, in this troublesome time, there lacked none before-law prelates, or light- armed but much more light-hearted soldiers, who ran before the law, who of duty should rather have followed and obeyed it." How much running before the law was there in Edward VI. 's time in the case of Hancock and in that of the image-breakers at Portsmouth ? How much putting down of altars before Ridley enforced it, even in his own diocese, for the sake of "godly unity"? But here royal authority was avowed, and royal aims not concealed. Under Edward transgressions were encouraged but dis- avowed, and were pardoned after they had been committed. Mary's government at least did nothing underhand. But when, even by Bishop Ridley's orders, the high altar at St. Paul's was taken down, it had to be done in the night-time !
2 Gardiner's language on this occasion, when Hales pleaded his duty as a judge, is not a little significant. "Why, Master Hales," he said, "although you had the rigour of the law on your side, yet ye might have had regard to the Queen's Highness's present doings in that case. And further, although ye seem to be more than precise in the law, yet I think ye would be very loth to yield to the extremity of such advantage as might be gathered against your proceedings in the law, as ye have some time taken upon you in place of justice ; and if it were well tried, I believe ye should not be well able to stand honestly thereto." This was a reference to the part taken by Hales in the prosecution of Gardiner himself — a prosecution which he would have found it difficult to justify.
3 Foxe, vi. 543, 713-14.
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as it may, he seems to have been removed at times from one prison to another, and ultimately to the Fleet. Here he was induced to make a recantation, He re- to which Foxe alludes in very mysterious language. " Being in the Fleet," he says, " what it was that he had granted unto the Bishops by their fraudulent assaults and persuasions (namely, of Dr. Day, Bishop of Chichester, and of Judge Portman, as it is thought, overcome at last), I have not to say." Translating this language by what we may call the key of Foxe's Puritan cipher, we may say that Bishop Day and Judge Portman were both benevolently anxious to induce Hales to conform to the Queen's proceedings, and that their persuasions were not without effect. There was also, it seems, a Hampshire gentleman named Forster (his fellow-prisoner in the Fleet, as Hooper tells us),1 suborned, as Foxe presumes, by the Bishops, to " draw him from the truth to error" ; and so the poor Justice, " assaulted with secret assaults, reculed and gave over." 2 Perhaps also these assail- ants had another fellow-worker ; for Ridley, writing to Cranmer in April, just after their Oxford disputa- tions, says it was reported that Justice Hales had recanted, "perverted by Mr. Moreman." 3 At all events Hale's recantation did not make him more happy. He lost appetite, and next morning stabbed himself in different places with a penknife, but was stopped in the act of self-destruction. Some time afterwards, however, having not only recovered from his wounds, but been delivered from prison, he con- destroys trived to drown himself.4 himself.
Just after his first attempt, Bishop Gardiner, sitting as Lord Chancellor in the Star Chamber on the 13th April, spoke of the Edwardine religion as
1 See Hooper s Later Writings (Parker Soc), p. 378.
2 Foxe, vi. 714. 3 lb. p. 536.
4 lb. p. 715. Foxe is certainly wrong in dating the suicide in January or February 1555, as the application of the deodand was considered in August 1554, see Acts of the Privy Council, v. 61.
196 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
Hooper's " Brief Treatise" concerning him.
Restora- tion of old religious usages in London.
one that brought men to despair and suicide. The imputation was deeply resented by Hooper, who retorted in "a brief treatise," written in prison to show " that Mr. Justice Hales never hurt himself until such time as he condescended unto their papis- tical religion and waxed weary of the truth. But now there is hope he will repent and continue in the same as he did before."1 His future, unfortunately, was not such as Hooper endeavoured to forecast. His mind, we may well believe, was unhinged by so great a change as the new reign had ushered in. Not many weeks after his uncomfortable interview with Bishop Gardiner in Westminster Hall, Parliament had passed Acts repealing the Edwardine legislation which he had enforced, restoring the Mass as it had been under Henry VIII., and protecting preachers authorised by the Queen or any of the Bishops from being disturbed in divine service. Judge Hales, no doubt, felt that the old religion was coming back in spite of him ; and what must have pained him the more as a conscientious man, looking back on his past career, he knew that in his readiness to go with the Edwardine current, he had not been a righteous judge in the case either of Gardiner or of Bonner.
The religious change effected by Parliament was to come into operation on the 20th December. But even before that day London saw some revival of old usages. The 25 th November was St. Katharine's Day ; " and they of Paul's went a procession about Paul's steeple with great lights, and before them St. Katharine, and singing with a 500 lights almost half an hour. And when all was done, they rang all the bells of Paul's at 6 of the clock."2 That was an entertainment that must have pleased many Londoners, and the Lollards in the City could not throw missiles at the procession as at a preacher.
1 This treatise, originally printed by Strype (Memorials, III. ii., Cat. of Originals, No. 24), also appears in Hooper's Later Writings, pp. 375-380.
2 Machyn, Diary, p. 49.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 197
Next day, the 26th, " Master White, Warden [of Win- chester], at Paul's made a goodly sermon that we should have procession." That is to say, the old Latin litany sung in procession was to be revived, which it actually was on St. Andrew's Day (the 30th), and the day following (which was a Sunday), and then the Wednesday after. On Sunday the 8th December, too, "was procession at Paul's "; and " when all was done, my lord of London commanded that every parish church should provide for a cross and a staff and cape for to go of procession every Sunday and Wednesday and Friday, and pray unto God for fair weather through London." Then on another day proclamation was made both in London and through- out England that English Church services must be put aside after the 20th December ; that no married priest should say Mass ; that every parish should make an altar, and have a cross and staff, providing also such old accustomed necessaries as holy bread, holy water, palms, and ashes.1
These orders were given, and no doubt were very generally obeyed, now that the law could no longer be pleaded in support of the Edwardine religion. But unquestionably there was a good deal of concealed ill- will, and it has been seen already what a strong spirit Mary was showing itself, even in the Queen's palace, just i^ngth of after the changes made by Parliament. Unfortunately popular the Queen would not let herself believe how very agtXher seriously that spirit was aggravated by the knowledge marriage. of the match to which she had committed herself, and though the Parliamentary address to her contained a strong enough warning on this point, she endeavoured to win over her nobility one after another by acts of clemency towards political opponents.2 We have already seen that in November she pardoned the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk the heavy fine to
1 lb. pp. 49, 50.
2 So Noailles interpreted her conduct, Ambassades, ii. 273.
198 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
which they were condemned, and that there was no doubt that she meant to be gracious also to their daughter, the Lady Jane. In the same month Sir Harry Gates, though condemned, was released from the Tower. So also, in December, was Katharine Parr's brother, the Marquis of Northampton ; and on the 18th of the month Lady Jane, although it was not felt safe to give her entire freedom, had " the liberty of the Tower, so that she might walk in the Queen's garden and on the Hill." Her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley, and his brother the Lord Robert, later so well known as Elizabeth's Earl of Leicester, had " the liberty of the leads in the Bell Tower." *
It was easy to fill people's minds with mis- givings about the Spanish match. Although the terms of the marriage treaty, drawn up by the Emperor himself, had studiously been devised to pro- tect England from foreign interference in all matters of government, the fact, even so far as it was known, did not counterbalance the very natural prejudice against having a foreign King ; and among foreigners Spaniards had a special reputation of being haughty and unbearable. By followers of the Edwardine religion they were more particularly disliked, because of all Continental Powers Spain was that which always maintained the most unshaken devotion to the Holy See. But apart from religious feeling, how could Englishmen relish having a King to rule over them so little qualified as Philip to understand their ways?
There was a conflict of feeling in the country ; and while some were grateful to the Queen and the Parlia- ment for restoring the Mass, others were dangerously outspoken on the subject of the royal marriage, as the following letter shows : —
1 Chr. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 33.
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Sir John Arundel of Treryse to the Earl of Arundel.1
In most humble wise, my duty remembered unto you, my seditions right honourable and singular good lord, May it please the talk in same to be advertised that on the 6th day of January last ornwa ' past being the feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, one John Come, of the parish of Lynkynhorne, came unto my house of Efford of his own free will, saying that he had matters to disclose ; and there in the presence of Thomas Arundell of Lee, John Beechampe, John Roscarocke, Robert Beckat and Roger Prydyax, esquires, declared and uttered that on Christmas Even last past Sampson Jackman and John Cowlyn of Stouke parish, came to the house of the said John Come; and the said Jackman demanded of the said Come when he came from church. He answered " An hour agone." And the said Come said that he had heard and seen that day that thing he saw not in four years before ; " for I have, thanked be God, heard mass and received holy bread and holy water." And Jackman said, " I would all priests were hanged ! " And Come said, " God forbid ! For the Queen's Grace hath granted it." And then said Cowlyn, " The Queen ! A vengeance take her ! " " Amen," said Jack- man. Cowlyn said, " I may say it well, for before New Year's day outlandish men will come upon our heads; for there be some at Plymouth already." And Jackman said that "before twelve months you shall see all houses of religion up again, with the Pope's laws." Cowlyn said, " We ought not have a woman to bear the sword." Jackman said, " If a woman bear the sword, my lady Elizabeth ought to bear it first."2 Which matter, as I have here written unto your Lordship, I declared unto Richard Chamonde, John Trelauny, Thomas Treffry, Robert Hyle, William Carnsew, and Henry Chynerton, Justices of Peace, at the Sessions golden at Bod- min the 10th of the said month of January ; who notwith- standing at the said Sessions bailed the said Jackman and Cowlyn. Whereof I have thought it my duty to signify unto your Lordship, being one of the Queen's Highness' most honorable Council, the whole circumstances of the premises. And thus to the tuition of the Lord I commend your good
1 State Papers, Domestic, Mary, ii. 2.
2 The theory of the invalidity of Henry VIII. 's first marriage was evi- dently still cherished by religious partisans.
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As yet tlie
religious
change
gratified
the
majority,
Lordship, wishing the same long life with increase of honor. From Cornwall, the 13th of January. — Yours to command,
John Arundell of Trerys.
Addressed: To the Right Honorable and my singular good Lord, my Lord Earl of Arundel.
Endorsed: Sir John Arundell of Treryse to my Lord Steward xiii0 Januarii 1553.
We have the advantage now of living in an age of religious toleration, and any one of us would repro- bate such persecution as Mary herself was compelled to endure under her brother's reign, when she was not allowed to hear Mass in her own household. And if this was the case in her particular instance, we may well imagine how the prevailing tyranny must have vexed the consciences of thousands, devoted in heart to the Mass as it used to be said, if not to Papal authority as well. Mary had determined on carrying her " Catholic Emancipation Act," and she had succeeded in the ODiy way that such an Act at that time could have been carried. For there was but one feeling everywhere, that religious authority must be supreme over all, and that it was the business of the temporal ruler to enforce true religion. This principle, no doubt, tended ultimately to repression, and the only difference might seem to be, on which side the dice were loaded. But as yet there was no severe coercion of heretics, and there could not very well be till England was reclaimed for the Pope. Only the services in churches were altered back again, and by-and-by, as we shall see, steps were taken to deprive married priests. Burning for heresy was not to be practised for a twelvemonth ; and, so far, it may reasonably be surmised, the Queen's policy gave much more general gratification than otherwise.
But undoubtedly there were many zealots who hated it, and there were interested men, especially among the landed gentry, who saw danger in the
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 201
distance to the new holders of Church property, but the It was with these men — not with the masses — church °f that the alarm at the Spanish marriage was most rroperty
were uneasy.
serious. For the Spanish marriage was clearly %;
intended to strengthen the Queen's hands in bringing back the nation wholly to the Church of Rome ; though perhaps it is not far from the truth that hardly anything could have been a greater hindrance to that result. But without discussing its con- sequences, it concerns us here, having already seen its diplomatic origin, to follow up the story of the negotiations.
More than a week before Christmas preparations Arrival had been made for the special Ambassadors whom the °f the ,
-inn i -r /r > i i • Emperor s
Emperor was to send, formally to ask Mary s hand in special Am - marriage for his son. Lodgings had been taken for bassadors- them both in London and at Richmond, whither the Queen went down as early as the 19th December to await their coming.1 But it was only on the 21st that the Emperor despatched them from Brussels with letters of credence.2 The persons were the Counts Egmont and Lalaing, the Sieur de Courrieres, and Philip de Nigry, Chancellor of the Order of the Golden Fleece. They arrived at Calais on the 23rd and stayed there over Christmas, awaiting the arrival of certain ships of war sent by the Queen for their escort.3 On what day they sailed is not recorded, but they landed at Tower Wharf on the 2nd January 1554. Their retinue and harbingers landed the day before, and were pelted with snowballs by the boys of London as they passed through the streets.4
But little would seem to have gone amiss as Their regards their reception here, of which they wrote If^l to the Emperor afterwards as if in every way satis- reception factory. Before their landing they were saluted by a m great peal of guns in the Tower, and they were met on
1 Renard to the Emperor, 17th December 1553, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 890. 2 Papiers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 171.
3 lb. p. 175. 4 Chr. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 34.
202 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vui
the wharf by Sir Anthony Browne in " very gorgeous apparel." On Tower Hill the Earl of Devonshire (that Courtenay of whom so much has been said), with a number of other noblemen, gave them a cordial welcome, and a great concourse of people in the city seemed to show much joy at their arrival. They were waited on by the whole of the Council except the Chancellor, to whom they shortly afterwards sent two gentlemen to know when the Queen would receive them. Next day at two o'clock was appointed, when, after presenting the Emperor's letters, they made a formal request for the marriage, and Renard, as their spokesman, enlarged upon the advantages it would bring not only to England but to Christendom.1 The The Queen read the Emperor's letters, and asked
tS*yage after him and his sister, the Queen of Hungary, and signed, his niece, the Duchess of Lorraine. Then in reply to the formal request, she said that it was not a woman's business to talk or treat of marriage, and that she committed that subject to her Chancellor as keeper of the law of her realm, which realm she said that she had espoused, and showed the ring delivered to her by the Chancellor on the day of her Coronation ; but she thanked the Emperor, as the alliance he pro- posed was most honourable. The Ambassadors said that it was the Emperor's intention to favour and assist her kingdom, as he had hitherto done. They then took leave of her, and the Council appointed with them that they should come to Court next day at two o'clock after dinner, communicate their powers, and discuss the Articles agreed upon. That day, accordingly, they were waited on and conducted to Court by the Earl of Devonshire and a great body of Lords and gentlemen ; and there they found the Lord Chancellor with various other high officials. In the reading of the Articles the Chancellor raised
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 7th January 1554, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 967-69.
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some points to guard against the possibility of England being drawn into war with France on the Emperor's account ; and the consideration of these was deferred. But all was finally settled on the 12th, when the treaty was signed and sealed on both sides, and only remained to be ratified by the Emperor. But for the marriage itself a power must come from Philip, so that the parties should first be espoused by mutual promises ; and the Queen was most anxious that he should come himself in person to England as soon as possible, as she objected to be married in Lent.1
Renard now wrote to the Emperor as if matters Popular had become tolerably smooth. The coming of the Londfu"1 Ambassadors, he said, had changed the face of matters considerably. They were found to be so gentle and affable that not only the Council, but the greater part of the nobility were highly pleased with them. The Count of Egmont especially knew how to accom- modate himself to English ways, and the Comptroller Rochester said that the Count had done so much in three days to prepare for Philip's coming that he had great hope the marriage would take place without any disorder. Renard was still doing his best to win over noblemen and others, and he was aware that some heretics, who objected to the restoration of the Mass, wanted to settle the succession on Elizabeth and Courtenay, who, he understood, was of the new religion now, in the hope of being aided by French intrigues ; but he trusted that the Queen would do justice on heretics who broke the law of Parliament, and make some show of readiness to defend herself by arms.2
No doubt Renard was putting the best face upon matters for the Emperor's satisfaction. The writer of a contemporary English Chronicle speaks of the
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, pp. 969-88 (despatches of 7th, 12th, and 13th January 1554).
2 lb. pp. 987-90 (13th January).
France
204 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
people as "nothing rejoicing," but holding down their heads sorrowfully as the Ambassadors passed through the city. And from the same authority we learn how imperfectly the Act of Parliament restoring the Mass, had as yet been carried out in London. On Wednesday the 3rd January " the Lord Chancellor sent for the churchwardens and substantiallest of thirty parishes of London, to come before him ; upon whose appearance he inquired of divers of them why they had not the Mass and service in Latin in their churches, as some of them had not, as St. [blank'] in Milk Street [St. Mary Magdalen.— Ed.], and others ; and they answered that they had done what lay in them." 1 Prepara- But the religious question, even in London, might
defence1 have quieted down if politics had not been mixed up against with it; and while French influence was sowing the seeds of disaffection and heresy among the people, the Council felt that, now that they were committed to the Spanish marriage, they must fortify the kingdom against France as a possible enemy. So they fell in with the advice of Renard, and sent two pinnaces and a ship of war to the coast of Normandy, to ascertain what fleet the French might have in those parts destined for an expedition against England. They also desired Renard to write to the Emperor for the aid of a thousand Liege " harness " for horsemen and men at arms, and for the return of a quantity of gunpowder which the Emperor had borrowed of Henry VIII. Renard in forwarding their requests suggested to his master the importance of maintain- ing the Council in their goodwill to him by judicious liberality.2 Nothing was done in diplomacy in those days without little gratuities — or large ones. States-
1 Chr. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 34.
2 " Laquelle " [votre Majeste] " pesera combien il emporte que par quelque liberalite et reconguoissence (sic) Ton maintienne le Conseil en ceste bonne devotion, et que Ton l'aceroisse pour l'advenir." — Renard to the Emperor, 13th January, u.s.
in Devon- shire.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 205
men did not exactly sell their country, but in inter- national affairs the services of ministers in preserving good relations between their own and other Princes had always to be considered by the Power which felt itself benefited by them. And the result of Renard's suggestion was that the Imperial Ambassadors im- mediately had the promise of a remittance of 3000 crowns for judicious distribution.1
To have won the Council's approval of the marriage, Disaffection however, was not everything, even if every Councillor had been altogether won. There was a dangerous spirit beginning to show itself in sundry places, and Sir John Arundel's letter was not the first intimation the authorities had received of disloyalty and irreverence in the West of England. At a gaol delivery held at Exeter a week or more before Christmas, Sir Thomas Dennis, Sheriff of Devonshire, received secret intima- tion that attempts had been made to tamper with the loyalty of some of the country gentlemen in connection with rumours industriously spread, that " the King of Spain," as Philip was prematurely called, would land in the county. A messenger, despatched by some unknown person, had applied to " Sir Thomas Pomery, Knight, being a simple gentleman," to know if he would " assent to the landing of the King of Spain or not," and Sir Thomas had answered " that he would not meddle in that matter." On hearing of this Sir Thomas Dennis, along with John Prideaux, one of the justices of the gaol delivery, determined next day to speak with Sir John Chichester, a large landowner within the county, whose loyalty might be specially trusted, to know if he had heard of any attempt to oppose the " King of Spain's " landing. Chichester knew of no one who would make such an attempt, if it were the Queen's pleasure that he should land ; and nothing more could then be discovered to that effect.
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 18th January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1005.
206 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
Christmas But the rumours grew till Tuesday after the th?Dean. Epiphany (that Tuesday was the 9th January, the ery at day of a new sessions) that the " King of Spain " would land in Devonshire with a great fleet. Dennis and Prideaux came to Exeter the day before, and supped at the house of one of the canons, where after supper an information was given to Dennis, as Sheriff, in presence of Prideaux and some of the Cathedral clergy, " that Sir Gawen Carew should cause harness to be made in the Christmas time in the Dean's house there, and that it was to be feared that it was to prepare against a tumult rather than otherwise. " The Dean of Exeter, James Haddon, of whom mention has already been made as a disputant in the late Con- vocation, had been raised to that dignity late in the reign of Edward VI. by the influence of Northumber- land ; and it seems that he allowed preparations for civil war to be made in the Deanery in the holy season of Christmas. To this information the Sheriff said, " I heard so much spoken this day, where I dined, by the mayor's deputy and old Mr. Hurste." It was at once agreed that each of the company should make secret inquiry by every means at his command as to the truth of this statement, and why such " harness " was made at the Christmas season. And it was further agreed, as the mayor and aldermen of Exeter " were of different religions, that Mr. Blackaller, the mayor's deputy, and Mr. Hurste, being known to be of good Catholic faith, should have good respect to the keeping of the said City." The suspicious character of the intelligence was increased by a rumour " that Sir Peter Carew, Sir Gawen Carew, and Sir Giles Strangways of Dorset would lie in Exeter." Rumour But next day, the day of the Sessions, the two
that Philip QarewS) Sir John Chichester, and Sir Arthur Champer- L Devon- nowne showed Sir Thomas Dennis and Prideaux shire. a ^at there was a great rumour in all parts of the
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 207
Shire of Devon, that if the King of Spain should land there it should be a great destruction to the country." Dennis told them that if it were the Queen's pleasure that he and his power should land there, " it were no subject's part to let it, ne defend it, but to be there- with contented." Sir Peter was careful not to contra- dict him. " Yet let us advertise the Queen's Highness of this rumour," he said, " and we can no less do, considering that we are put in trust here in this country for the keeping of the Queen's Highness' peace."
The Sheriff took up the suggestion, and in con- a report junction with Prideaux penned a letter ; but the cJincii. letter did not please Sir Peter and his friends, who said they would write another. Their letter, however, gave just as little satisfaction to Dennis and Prideaux, who " utterly denied it." The Sheriff then sent for a Mr. Ridgeway, who agreed with him and Prideaux ; and they desired that he would that Wednesday night (10th January) draw up the letter intended to be sent to the Queen, which would be laid next day before the justices of the peace in the city for consideration. That day, accordingly, they met in the Chapter house, and a letter addressed to the Queen was signed. But news came from London that the Spanish Prince was not to land in Devonshire, but at Portsmouth ; and that the Queen had appointed the Duke of Bedford, Lord Paget, and Bishop Bonner as Ambassadors to him. They were to take shipping at Portsmouth. It was therefore decided not to send the letter. But Prideaux drew up a letter to the Council, which was signed by him and several others, narrating the rumours and what they had done in connection with them.
Prideaux then returned home ; but a week later, The Earl on Wednesday the 17th, he visited Exeter again, ^ds™" and dined with Dr. Moreman and Blackstone, the Peter sub-dean, whom he promised to inform of anything Carew'
2o8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
that lie heard further. He departed to Honiton that night, and was told by one of his servants, on the authority of Thomas Prideaux, presumably his rela- tion, that on that day the Earl of Devon had come with one servant to Mohuns Ottery, Sir Peter Carew's house, and that Sir Peter took him into his lodge and entertained him. On hearing this he sent for Thomas Prideaux, who confirmed the report ; and thereupon he immediately wrote to Mr. Blackstone.1 The Earl of Devon ! Had that unsteady young nobleman now lent himself to a conspiracy against Queen Mary ? It was certainly thought so, and not with- out reason either. But, not to be too severe on Courtenay's weakness, let us see first what position he held in the eyes of his countrymen and of all Europe. French As far back as the 12th September 1553 — almost
mtngues. ag eariy as Noaines in London knew of it — the French Ambassador at Venice had written to the French Court his grave suspicions, founded partly on the way in which the Emperor had stopped Cardinal Pole's mission to England, that he was bent on getting his son Philip married to Mary, now that she had obtained actual possession of her kingdom. Now the French Ambassador at Venice was the Sieur de Selve, who had been Ambassador in England in the end of Henry VIII. 's reign and the beginning of Edward VI. 's ; and he had used his eyes to good purpose while there. He knew Mary, and did not believe that her pride would readily consent to a match below her rank — a fact which would in itself be an argument in Philip's favour. But pains, he considered, should be taken to impress upon Courtenay, as the highest in rank of all the English nobility, that a Spanish match for the Queen was a thing to be prevented at all hazards. The English people would be sold to the Spaniards, and Courtenay
1 State Papers, Dom., Mary, ii. 15.
disaffec- tion.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 209
himself, so lately released from the Tower, would be sent to prison again by a Spanish King.
Noailles in England took the same view and TheSieur endeavoured to inculcate these ideas at the English ^JrTas Court. And he was remarkably successful. English to English prejudice against foreigners of one nation was none the less vehement because fanned by foreigners of other nations ; and Soranzo, the Venetian Ambassador in England, joined the Frenchman in endeavouring to thwart the policy of the Court. That policy, more- over, was open to objections which were not the fruit of mere prejudice, and not a single member of the Council really liked the alliance, though Paget won his way to favour by approving of the Queen's choice. A cabal was formed ; and another French agent, pass- ing through England at this time, helped to promote it elsewhere than about London. The Sieur d'Oysel, the French Ambassador to Scotland, spent eight days in London on his way thither, and received very minute instructions from Noailles as to all the intrigues and conspiracies1 — Imperialist intrigues especially, but undoubtedly French intrigues as well. And on the 14th January, the last day of his stay there, he wrote to Henry II. as follows 2 : —
Sire, I could not add anything to the despatch which M. de Noailles and I wrote to your Majesty on the 12th of this month, except that, while the Queen and her Councillors, who have agreed upon and passed all the Articles with the Imperialists, are thinking themselves fully assured of this marriage, the fury of the commons at it is increased, and they speak of it in more unguarded and offen- sive language, and are determined to put an end to it. All the nobility except a certain number of those about the
1 Writing on the 15th January, Noailles tells Henry II. : "Sire, estant arrive' M. d'Oysel en celieu, ou, apres avoir communicque ensemble pour le bien de vos affaires, je luy ai faict entendre, veoir, et touschier a l'oeil et au doigt, en huict jours qu'il a sejourneicy, toutes les praticques et menees qui se font par deca, et l'ay faict parler aux principaulx auctheurs et conducteurs d'icelle." — Ambassadcs, iii. 17.
2 lb. pp. 14-16.
VOL. IV P
210 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
Queen use this language, and they have no lack of com- munication one with another. Some of them, not to be taken by surprise and made prisoners, are retiring to their own houses, there to stay with their people, awaiting the time which may be most suitable to their designs. And many of the party have been forced to take this course, having been informed, as is quite true, that the Council have despatched a very express commission to arrest in Devonshire, the country of "niillord de Courtenay," a gentleman named Pietro Caro (Carew) who has great influence with the people. But his friends and adherents think that they will be able to prevent this ; that the party of the said Caro will prove itself the stronger ; and that even if he were dead, and a hundred others such as he, their design would still be carried out (leur execution ne laisseroit a estrefait). For the last two or three days Sir James Croft and Sir Thomas Wyatt (another gentle knight, much esteemed throughout the kingdom) have had hopes that they will win over some even of the Queen's Council, believing that some of them are disaffected. And this I can easily see, especially because the import of this marriage becomes not less but all the more grave, and they see every one opposed to it ; and they can have no more doubt about this than about the feeling exhibited last year, of which I was a witness, when all united in calling to the Crown the Queen that now is. For they say that she has broken her promise in two articles, — the one the matter of religion, which she said she would leave at liberty ; the other not to marry a foreigner. This I remember hearing said to two or three lords of her Council, of whom my lord Privy Seal was one ; and, apart from her promise, this, they say, was expressly forbidden by the will of the late King Henry her father.
His report The Frenchman certainly was justified in saying faktothe that these things were alleged against the Queen; Queen, but the allegations were scarcely fair. Her promise of religious liberty to her subjects, such as she claimed for herself, was only provisional till a religious settle- ment could be arrived at in Parliament. Nor does it appear that she ever promised not to marry a foreigner, though at the beginning the Imperial Ambassador had told the Council his master would not urge her to do so. Neither did her father's will
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 211
forbid such a match, provided that she made it with the advice of her Council.
But this letter is peculiarly valuable for its account of things in England, and it is important to note the date. It was written, according to Vertot, the editor of the Noailles despatches, on the 14th January, and it could not have been later, as the letter of Noailles of the 15th, already cited in a footnote, speaks as if d'Oysel had by that time left London after an eight days' stay there. Renard also in a letter of the 13th mentions d'Oysel's arrival and his having had an audience of the Queen, in which he presented letters of credence, and urged on her the maintenance of peace and amity.1 Yet it was only on the 14th that Bishop Gardiner as Lord Chancellor, in the Chamber of Presence at Westminster, formally announced to the nobility, and a great body of gentle- men there assembled, the Queen's intended marriage with Philip, and the conditions on which it had been concluded with the consent of the Council, setting forth in an eloquent oration how it would contribute to the wealth of the realm and strengthen friendships abroad.
But the English chronicler who records the fact though agrees entirely with Noailles about the way the news S™117 was received : though not, he says, unknown before informed. to many " and very much misliked ; yet being now in this wise pronounced, was not only credited but also heavily taken of sundry men ; yea, and thereat almost each man was abashed, looking daily for worse matters to grow shortly after."2 And so little was this disaffection unexpected that d'Oysel, writing as Order for above on the very day of Gardiner's oration, says that JJ^JSter the Council had already issued an express com- Carew. mission for Sir Peter Carew's arrest in Devonshire, and that Sir James Croft and Sir Thomas Wyatt
1 Renard to the Emperor, 13th January, R. 0. Transcripts, ic.s. p. 991. 2 Citron, of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 34, 35.
212 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
(soon to be heard of as open rebels) bad even some days before been flattering themselves they could get some of the Queen's own Council to join in the conspiracy against her project. By the records of the Privy Council itself, the order for the arrest of Sir Peter Carew seems to have been despatched only on the 16th ; 1 and indeed, as we shall see from other evidence, it could not have been issued earlier, and so it looks as if the "express commission" that d'Oysel knew about had been delayed two days, and was then superseded by the issue of royal letters sent by a courier. How else are we to account for the following; minute and the date under which it appears ? —
Westminster the lQth of January, 1553 [1554].
A letter to Sir Thomas Denys, with the Queen's High- ness's letters enclosed, for the sending hither of Sir Peter Carewe, wherein his wisdom and diligence is required, and to give credit to the bearer.
Wisdom, no doubt, was required, as indeed the arrest turned out to be no easy matter. But had the Council themselves really shown diligence? How came it, then, that d'Oysel understood on the 14th that a commission had been issued for Carew's arrest, and yet from the records of the Council the order to arrest him was only issued on the 16th? The truth evidently is that steps had actually been taken against Sir Peter Carew at least as early as the 14th, and that there had been despatched — not, perhaps, an " express commission " for his arrest — but a royal letter requir- ing him to come up and present himself before the Council. For though one letter of information written at Exeter on the 10th had been withheld, the Council must certainly have been warned four days later that there was mischief brewing in the
1 Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 385.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 213
West and have taken steps to meet it. Moreover, it was well known in London by the 18th, that not only had the Council summoned Sir Peter to appear before them, but that he had sent an excuse that he had no horses, and, when pressed further, had taken up a plainly rebellious attitude.1
In Renard's opinion, Courtenay was afraid that The Con- if Sir Peter obeyed the summons, he would himself Snames be implicated in the conspiracy formed against ofEiiza- the Queen's government. Nor was even Courtenay's courtenay name the greatest involved in it, for on the 15th used. the French Ambassador despatched La Marque to his Sovereign with instructions to tell him among other things that "they are proposing to set up lord Courtenay and my Lady Elizabeth as their King and Queen." 2 This the French Ambassador fully believed. But a passage immediately following this information seems to have been omitted by Vertot, and is supplied by Lingard from the original manuscript, to the following effect : —
Nevertheless the principal authors and conductors of this enterprise are afraid they will be in great want of arms, ammunition and money, and they very humbly beg the King [of France] to interest himself therein.3
So there was a positive conspiracy invoking French aid to dethrone the Queen, and the names of Courtenay and Elizabeth were spoken of as the future King and Queen.
Had they, or either of them, really committed themselves to this ? Perhaps not entirely, or at least not deliberately. The story as regards them was but
1 " Ja le Conseil est si imbu desdites practiques que aiant mande venir devers luy Pierre Caro qui practiquoit au pais de West et Dansgie (sic for Devonshire) pour mutiner le peuple, ledit Caro n'est venu, et s'est excuse pour dire qu'il n'avoit chevaulx ; et sur recharge que Ton a faict, il se rend rebelle, demonstrant par ce clerement la mauvaise intention qu'il a ; et craint Cortenai et ses adherens qu'il ne revele le secret s'il vient." — Renard to the Emperor, 18th January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1011.
2 Ambassadcs de Noailles, iii. 23.
3 Lingard, Hist, of England, v. 205 n. (ed. 1854).
214 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vhi
the climax of many projects and surmises, about which much has already been said. Courtenay was always in danger of being driven about by winds from opposite quarters. From the first the Queen herself had felt it necessary to keep a careful watch upon him, lest he should become the tool of French intriguers. And as a preservative against them, she had been half inclined at one time to permit his marriage with Elizabeth if they could both be bound to the true faith ; and it looks as if some flirtations had passed between the two, of which he himself had talked a little too freely.1 But after the late Parliament had legitimated the Queen's birth, and thereby cast a slur upon that of Elizabeth, which she and the Protestant party alike resented, there seems to have been a design to wipe out that stain by marrying her to an undoubtedly legitimate great-grandson of Edward IV., whose claims united with hers would be preferable to those of her sister and a foreign prince. Strong Pro- testants, indeed, still believed that Elizabeth's father and mother had been truly married and Mary's had not been so ; besides, if legitimacy could be settled by Act of Parliament, why, a revolution and a new Parliament might settle it the other way.
That there was mischief brewing in Devonshire at least, if not elsewhere, was very certain ; and this was really a great reason why the Imperialists were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the power from Philip, which, with the papal dispensation for the marriage, would make everything secure,2 especially if the distri- bution of the Emperor's 3000 crowns were managed with sufficient judgment. Nobody attached much importance now to the Queen's mediation between the Emperor and France, though Wotton, the English Ambassador, was still pursuing it assiduously, and Henry II. declared that though he was the injured
1 See p. 97.
2 Ambassadors to the Emperor and to the Queen of Hungary, 18th January, R. 0. Transcripts, w.s. pp. 1003, 1007.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 215
party, he was ready to forbear much of his rights, not for fear that he could not vindicate them, but for the Queen of England's sake.1
But what was afoot in Devonshire ? The Council Courtenay were perhaps not so well informed as the French J^^ * e Ambassador. And Gardiner, who was more de- Gardiner. voted to the Queen than most of her Privy Council, and was a friend of Courtenay besides, called the young man one day (apparently on the 21st January) to an interview to see if he could explain matters ; at which interview, encouraged by a vain assur- ance that the Queen would show him favour, he was so indiscreet (from the French Ambassador's point of view) as to reveal the whole plot of the Carews ! He had abandoned the road to greatness and liberty, wrote Noailles, to be rewarded by a miserable captivity — at all events, as soon as the Prince of Spain should come, and the conspirators should have intercepted his landing.2 A writer who has had access to special sources of information, speaks of the exasperation expressed by Noailles " when everything was going on as well as could be wished."3 A general rising had been fixed for Palm Sunday, the 18th March, on which day it was to break out all over the kingdom at once.4 And owing to Courtenay the plot had been revealed two months earlier.
It had been reported to the Venetian Senate in December that the French King had sent a man to England to persuade Courtenay " not to brook the introduction of a foreign king, nor to wrong himself, the envoy promising him His Most Christian Majesty's assistance." 5 But this report the Senate did not
1 Renard to the Emperor, 13th January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 992-3.
2 Ambassades de Noailles, hi. 31, 32.
3 Wiesener, The Youth of Queen Elizabeth, i. 266 (Miss Yonge's transla- tion).
4 Venetian Calendar, v. 560.
5 lb. No. 837. The editor's suggestion that the "man " was Renard is a strange one.
216 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION BK. vm
believe. They only mentioned it to warn their Ambassador to be very careful not to excite suspicion by his intercourse with Courtenay, as, in fact, he had done to some extent. If Courtenay had really re- ceived such a message and had revealed it to Gardiner, it would have put an end to amicable relations with France, and to the Queen's efforts at mediation between France and the Emperor, which still continued. Still, the thing would not have been reported if it had not been plausible.
A fuller account of Courtenay's interview with Gardiner was given by Gardiner himself to Renard, and was reported by Renard to the Emperor on the 23 rd as follows : —
The Chancellor has to-day had a long talk with me in his house about Courtenay, — how he had warned him that the company he kept was suspecte ; that there was serious mis- giving that he would forget his duty to the Queen ; that if a mission he did it would be the worse for him ; and that he ought to the not t0 trust, the French or other partisans but order himself offeredTo honourably and respectfully; declaring to him that the him. Queen wished to send him to visit your Majesty.1
This was a very artful way of preventing the young man from going further wrong. Courtenay at once took the easy road of salvation — for himself, at least. "Although many persons," he said, "would have persuaded him in several respects touching religion and the marriage, he had never lent an ear to what they said, but had determined to live and die for the Queen's service. They had talked to him about marrying the Lady Elizabeth, but he would rather return to the Tower than ally himself with her. As to the mission to the Emperor, he would accept it willingly, and would hold it a much higher obligation than all the other benefits he had received from the Queen, and he would provide himself with a suitable equipage to accomplish it." The
1 Renard to the Emperor, 23rd January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1046.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 217
Queen, Gardiner said, had been pleased with this answer, and he desired Renard to write to the Emperor to recommend Courtenay to His Majesty's notice, which he promised to do as effectually as possible. Moreover, the Queen herself told the Ambassador that the Chancellor thought it would be well to find a match for him in the Emperor's countries to keep him favourable to her marriage.1
An outbreak of treason was precipitated by the Treason- Earl's untimely disclosure. In Devonshire the main potions object had been to stop Philip's landing, or give him of the a hostile reception if he came. Very soon outbreaks took place in various other quarters. But let us finish the story of the Carews. Exeter had been disquieted by hearing " that certain gentlemen of Devonshire would enter into the city and take the same into their hands," also that these gentlemen had got privy " coats [body armour] for the war, made in divers secret places within the said city " ; and that a man in the service of Sir Peter Carew had brought thither from Dartmouth Castle " six horses laden with harness and hand guns close packed." Even without admonition it would have behoved the Sheriff of Devonshire to be on the alert, and he had begun to take active steps when he received the following letter from the two Carews 2 : —
Sir Peter and Sir Gawen Carew to Sir Thomas Denys.
Right Worshipful, after our most hearty commendations. Being this morning informed that you prepare yourself with power to apprehend and take us, for what matter we know not, we have thought good to send unto you and to advertise you that we are as true and as faithful subjects unto the Queen's Highness as any, whatsoever they be, within the realm, and intend to observe and follow her religion as faithfully as they that most are affected unto it. Wherefore, knowing ourselfs without offence towards Her Majesty, we cannot but wonder for what cause you should prepare with force to take
1 lb. pp. 1047-8. 2 [Sir Gawen Carew was Sir Peter's uncle. — Ed.]
218 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
us. And if it be so that you have any such commission from Her Highness or her most honourable Council, we heartily pray you so to advertise us, and we shall without rumor or stirring immediately repair unto you wheresoever you shall appoint us ; whereas, if you do the contrary, you shall drive us to stand to the best of our powers for our liberty, until such time as we may better understand your authority. And so fare you most heartily well. From Monse Awtrey,1 the 19th of January, 1554. — Your loving friends,
P. Cakew. Ga. Carew.
To the Right Worshipful and our very loving friend, Sir Thomas Denys, Knight, High Sheriff of the County of Devon.
Endorsed : 19 Ja., 1553. Sir Pe. and Sir Gawen Carew to Sir Thos. Denys.2
It was not an easy thing for the Sheriff to arrest Sir Peter Carew, even after receiving express orders to do so. His house, as Dennis wrote to the Council on the 19th, was "strong for spear and shield," and after the great commotion in Edward VL's time every one had been commanded to bring all his armour and weapons into the city of Exeter, where they still remained. It would be impossible to give assault to the place without battery pieces, and even if they had such ordnance they could not convey it thither, the ground was so wet. So as the Carews had promised in their letter, which Dennis received a day before the Queen's, to come to him quietly, he commanded Sir Peter to be with him at Exeter at ten o'clock on the following morning. But instead of this, Sir Peter that day (the 23rd) sent a reply that he thought it better to clear his character at the Court by going up to London with all the speed he could. He said nothing in this reply about want of horses.
Sir Gawen pursued a different policy. He went first to Exeter, where he no doubt did his best to
1 Mohun's Ottery. 2 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 3.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 219
secure against capture the harness and hand guns sir Gawen which Sir Peter had got smuggled into the city two ®scaPes days before; and that same night (Friday the 19th), Exeter, just after the gates were closed, he escaped over the city walls. A few hours later, about ten or eleven o'clock, one of his servants offered the porter of the south gate of the city two shillings to let him out, on pretence that a ship was waiting for him to convey him over sea. But if the authorities had hitherto been remiss, they knew by this time that further negligence would be dangerous ; and that night " the Queen's lieutenant and other her officers of the said city made a privy search through the whole city for misdemeanors and suspect persons." Next day watch and ward were instituted within the city, to be continually kept up for its security. Sir Gawen, however, had made good his escape, and, followed by a lacquey, paid visits to different places within a few miles' compass. First he went " to John Christopher's house at Stoke ; then to Mr. Gybbes's house, and from that he returned to Mohun's Ottery."
Then five days after his escape from Exeter we and pro- find him at Tiverton, from which he again wrote to *ests his
O 1UHOC6HCG
Sir Thomas Dennis as follows, in the same tone of injured innocence as before : —
Sir Gawen Carew to Sir Thomas Denys.
Mr. Denys, after my hearty recommendations. I do not a little marvel to hear of such preparations as you prepare within the city of Exeter, being, as you are, a wise man. Whereof it doth proceed I cannot guess ; it should seem by slanderous bruits. You have shut and chained the gates, laid ordnance upon the walls, keep watch and ward as it should be besieged by the Queen's Highness' enemies, and, not content with this, but also blown abroad not only to the utter undoing and clean defacing of the most part of the gentlemen within this shire toward the Queen's Highness, but also to the discrediting us among our neighbours, that the gentlemen should practise to take the Queen's Highness' city. It is more than strange to think what occasion should
220 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
lead you thus to do. I dare boldly say, it was never thought by any man to practise so vile an enterprise against the Queen's Majesty that ways or any other kind of ways whereby her Highness might be offended. I stand out of all doubt from the best to the simplest there is not one within this shire but in the defence of her Highness' city, or other affairs, laws, statutes, proclamations or proceedings, but would with the sword in his hand defend the same with his blood to the death. And if farther it is bruited that the gentlemen should gather themselves together and levy a power to stand in the field, I marvel not a little to hear of these imagined lies. I do assure you by the faith I bear to the living God there was no such matter of gathering together of any gentlemen, nor no repair of any other but only as heretofore it hath been accustomably used. And for mine own part, I had no more with me than I do accustom- ably use to ride withal, which was but viij. persons, and Sir Peter Carew his household servants ; but the very occasion of my repair to Sir Peter Carew was for that you had gathered a power (as it was showed us) to apprehend us both, and what commission or authority you had so to do we know not. And upon that consideration wrote unto you our former letters; for* if you had sent declaring that you had such a commission from the Queen's Highness, we would have come to you as humble and obedient subjects according to our bounden duties. And so I pray you to make report none otherwise of us ; for I doubt not but the truth shall try us to be as faithful and obedient subjects as any other within the realm whatsoever they be. And so I bid you most heartily farewell. From Tyverton, the 24th of January, 1553. — Your friend,
Ga. Cakew.
Addressed: To the Right Worshipful and my very loving friend, Sir Thomas Denys, Knight.1
His arrest. Sir Gawen took refuge with his nephew, John Carew of Bickleigh ; and Sir John St. Leger, hearing of this on his way from London to Exeter, caused John Carew to be sent for and charged him as an enemy to the Queen for giving shelter to his uncle. He protested that his uncle had come upon him by surprise and that he knew nothing of his treason. He
1 State Papers, Dom., Mary, ii. 12.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 221
was ready to deliver him up. St. Leger and his neigh- bour, Sir Roger Bluet, then took a body of thirty servants and countrymen, and, keeping John Carew safe, next secured William Gibbes — the Mr. Gibbes whom Sir Gawen had visited after his escape from Exeter — who surrendered quietly, protesting his innocence. It was deposed against him, however, that at the time of the Christmas sessions he had declared in St. Peter's Church, Exeter, "that if any man would not stand to defend the King of Spain for his entry into this realm " he should have his throat cut, for the Spaniards "would ravish their wives and daughters and rob and spoil thecommous."1 This was manifestly the sort of rumour to set the country in a blaze, and it was repeated from mouth to mouth. St. Leger then took Gibbes with him and rode to Bickleigh, where Sir Gawen himself was ; and Sir Gawen, hearing of his coming, went out to meet him and made his submission likewise. So he took both Gibbes and Sir Gaweu prisoners to Exeter.2 Both were ultimately sent to the Tower of London, and on the 3rd March the lieutenant of the Tower received orders to keep them from conference with any other persons.3
As for Sir Peter, evidence came out later that sir Peter he managed to embark by night at Weymouth on SJt0 Tuesday 30th January, and escape to France. His enterprise had failed — not for lack of horses, for he had stationed relays of post horses from London right into the west country for the Earl of Devon's coming into those parts, and two horses were kept at Andover at the sign of the Bell by one of his servants till Wednesday the 24th.4 But though he himself had found safety in France, had his departure made Devonshire safe ? Sir John St. Leger wrote from Exeter on the 4th February 5 : —
1 State Papers, Dom., Mary, iii. 35. 2 lb. ii. 26.
3 Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 403. 4 State Papers, Dom., Mary, ii. 18 ; iii. 5, 6, 10. 5 Po. iii. 5.
222 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vhi
Consulting with certain gentlemen and other the Queen's faithful subjects for the better conservation and defence of the most dangerous places near the sea-coast in these parts, [we] find very great cause (for that Sir Peter Carew hath a castle at the town of Dartmouth and knoweth the country, as well by the sea as land, near thereunto) to stay the longer here. And as I am informed by credible report that the said Sir Peter Carew hath oftentimes, at his being at his castle there, said that if he were the King's enemy he could get the fort that the town hath there, and burn the town with fewer than a hundred persons, and let into the haven such as pleased him. I am also credibly informed, the way how he should be able so to do is, that within a mile or less of the said town there is a very good and open place called Blackpool for the Queen's enemies to land and invade, and from thence may come to the said town by the back side, and also burn the town and take the castle and the haven, and so to come in and out when it shall please the enemies, as the bearer hereof can make further declaration. Whereupon we have taken order for good watch to be kept at Dartmouth, and good respect to be had to the said place at Blackpool until such time as your pleasure may be known what is further to be done therein.
Loyalty of But St. Leger and others also reported continually Exeter and ^hat the people of Devonshire were loyal and the city
ot Devon i -ni ^ i
generally, ot Jiixeter also. .Both gentlemen and commoners
would do willing service to the Queen, and welcome
the Prince of Spain when he landed. There was some
doubt about Sir Arthur Champernowne, an ally of
Sir Peter's who had been with him at Mohun's Ottery.
Sir Peter, in truth, had sent for him, and he had
conferred with him there, but he distinctly refused
to resist Philip's landing, and he fully cleared his
loyalty. Before the last day of January the trouble
in Devonshire was at an end.1
The The Queen herself, no doubt, felt that she could
prodama- 1Q^J on the l°yalty of the Devonshire people generally,
tion. and of this she had received some intelligence, perhaps
even before St. Leger left the Court on his way to
1 State Papers, Dotn., Mary, ii. 13, 18 ; iii. 5, 6.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 223
Exeter — at all events before she got her first assurance of it from him. But to counteract the artifices of those who disseminated false and suspicious rumours, she on the 22nd January signed and prepared for despatch to him and others of that district royal letters of the following tenor : —
Marye the Quene —
Trusty and well -beloved, we greet you well. And where[as] certain lewd and ill-disposed persons, minding to set forth their devilish seditious purposes, some to the hindrance of the true Catholic Religion and divine service, now by the goodness of God restored within this our realm, other of a traitorous conspiracy against our person and State Royal, have of late and still do maliciously publish many false rumors of the coming of the High and Mighty Prince, our dearest cousin, the Prince of Spain, and others of that nation into this our realm. Albeit we nothing doubt but all our good loving subjects of the honest sort have that affiance of us that we neither have, nor will during our life agree to anything that may be to the hindrance or prejudice of the ancient liberties, freedoms,' and common wealth of this our realm or subjects ; yet to satisfy such as, through the crafty malice of other, be perchance abused with this thing, we have caused the very true effect of the Articles of the Treaty lately concluded to be delivered to sundry persons of credit, to be by them published in sundry parts of our realm ; wherewith, as we do right well know, the great part of our subjects be (as they have good cause) right well satisfied.
So, being credibly informed that the great number of our good subjects of that our county of Devon have showed themselfs well willing to obey and serve us, notwithstanding some lewd practices of late unnaturally attempted, and many false and untrue reports spread amongst them, we have thought good to signify unto you by these our letters, that we take and accept the same in very thankful part, and shall not fail to have it in our good remembrance ; winch our good determination towards them our pleasure is ye shall cause to be published unto them : so as the good, being thereby the better comforted to continue in their duties of allegiance, may take the better heed and beware of the authors of these or any such like false bruits
224 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION BK. vm
Why it was not sent into Devon.
Prepara- tions against rebellion.
Rebellion breaks out in Kent.
and rumors. Whereby, as they shall best provide for their own sureties, quiet and preservation, so shall we not fail to see them succoured and provided for, and be glad to show ourselfs their good and gracious lady as often as any occasion may serve. Given under our Signet at our manor of St. James the 22nd of January, the first year of our reign.
Addressed: To our trusty and well -beloved Sir Hugh Pollard, Sir John St. Leger, Sir Richard Edgecombe, and Sir John Fulford, Knights, and to every of them.1
It would seem, however, that these royal letters, though signed and prepared for despatch, could not actually have been sent, as they remain in the Record Office now. And a very probable reason may be found for their suppression. The Council seem already to have been suspecting further outbreaks, and were taking immediate steps for the defence of the realm, raising both horse and foot soldiers, and appointing lieutenants and captains for different parts of the country. Pembroke was to be despatched into the western counties and Shrewsbury (ap- parently) into Yorkshire, his own county ; while the Earl of Derby was to go elsewhere and keep an armed force of 7000 or 8000 men, to be used as required. The Admiral also (Lord William Howard) was charged to arm fourteen or fifteen vessels in the expectation that the Emperor and his Council would do the like, to keep the seas safe.2 Good measures had they been taken in time.
This was reported by Renard to the Emperor on the 23rd January. On that day, moreover, we should suppose, from a letter printed by Vertot, that the French Ambassador knew some secrets that his Imperial colleague did not ; for this letter is dated by the editor at the head with a double date " 23 et 26 Janvier 1553." And in the first part of it, which thus would seem to have been written on the 23rd, after stating that Courtenay's revelations had com-
1 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 5.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 23rd January, 1037-8.
R. O. Transcripts, u.s. pp.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 225
pelled confederates to take up arms prematurely, the writer goes on as follows : —
I assure you, Sire, that M. Thomas Wiat, who is one of them, did not disappoint his friends on the day he had promised to take the field, which he did yesterday with forces which increase from day to day. So that the Queen and her Council are astounded, and are determined to send the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Hastings (Sir Edward Hastings seems to be meant, as he is called grand escuyer, i.e. Master of the Horse),1 and all whom she can promptly assemble, to break them up before they grow too strong and join with others. Which I see will be very difficult for the said Lady (the Queen) to do, especially as those by whom she hopes to secure herself are prepared to turn with the said Wiat.2
But, knowing as the French Ambassador un- doubtedly was about conspiracies in England, it is clear that in this matter his intelligence was not earlier than that of the Queen's Council, and we must presume that the first date given by the editor, 23rd January, is a misprint for the 25th. For there seems to be no doubt that the 25th was the date when, as recorded by a contemporary chronicler,
The Council was certified that there was up in Kent Sir Thomas Wyatt, Mr. Cullpepper, the Lord Cobham, who had taken his Castle of Cowling, and the Lord Warden, who had taken the Castle of Dover, and Sir Harry Isely in Maidstone, Sir James Crofts, Mr. Harper, Mr. Newton, Mr. Knevet, for the said quarrel {i.e. the same cause as the Carews) in resisting the said King of Spain ; as they said, their pretence was this only and none other, and partly for moving certain councillors from about the Queen. And about this time Sir James Crofts departed to Wales, as it is thought, to raise his power there.3
Thus uncouthly does this English chronicler bring
1 It might be that " Comte d' Hastings " meant Francis Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, and this indeed would be highly probable in itself, as Huntingdon was certainly employed against rebels just after this, but that "grand escuyer" can hardly be a different person as the expression is not preceded by an article. 2 Ambassades, iii. 43, 44.
3 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 36.
VOL. IV Q
226 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
sir Thomas in the first report of a new rising, a report founded wyatt. on intelligence not altogether accurate. Sir Thomas Wyatt, called the younger in history, was the son of the poet of that name in Henry VIII.'s time. He had been the ally of the poet Surrey in his freakish aristocratic outbreak in Loudon in 1543, breaking windows with stone bows. His abilities in war were appreciated, and he was made captain of Basse Boulogne (the lower part of Boulogne) in 1545. There is no doubt that he hated Mary's religious aims no less than her proposed marriage to Philip ; but it was against the Spaniards that he was endeavouring to excite the feelings of Kentish men, and he was supposed at first to have had the co-operation of Lord Cobham and Sir Thomas Cheyney, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. But the statement that Lord Cobham had "taken" the Castle of Cooling meant simply that he had shut himself up in his own castle — as it was supposed, against the Queen's forces — and that the Lord Warden had "taken" the Castle of Dover in like manner, meant that he was keeping his official resid- ence. It was a wild rumour to group these two as allies with Wyatt and the other real insurgents named. It was not the first or second time in history that Kent had shown itself a peculiarly favourable field for organised insurrection. It was the county which more than any other blocked the way between London and the Continent, and in critical times had the Government at its mercy. And there were many elements of weakness in the Government now, almost sufficient, as events proved, to compel Mary to surrender to the people of Kent ; indeed, if plans had not been disclosed too soon, the Kentish movement would have been made still more effective by simultaneous action in the Western Counties, in Wales, and in the Midlands. How the Western movement had broken down we have already seen.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 227
But it was time now for those concerned to raise the Rebellious people in Wales and in the Midlands. Sir James m°™ts Croft, who had been Edward VI.'s Deputy of Ireland, districts. had undertaken the task in Wales, and he went thither. The Duke of Suffolk, ungrateful for the Queen's clemency, broke away from his home at Sheen, and, aided by his two brothers, Lord John and Lord Thomas Grey, sought to raise his tenants in Leicestershire. Of the failure of these movements I shall speak hereafter. For the present let us follow the story of Wyatt's rebellion, which I here condense for the most part from what may be called the official account of it, written by John Proctor, and published two years after its occurrence.1
Wyatt had arranged the whole scheme some time wyatt at before with Suffolk and his brothers in London ; and ^fpjo™6* as soon as he resolved on moving himself, he gave ciamation. notice of the time to his confederates. Having armed a body of followers, he published at Maidstone, on Thursday, the 25th January, being market-day there, a proclamation of his object. But if the extract from Noailles above quoted was really written on the 25th January, he had actually taken the field the day before, and that, indeed, is most probable, as the Council in London only learned of the rising on the 25th, though a premature suggestion of what was coming had been made in one place even on the 23rd.2 The pretext Wyatt put forward was simply to resist
1 It may be read conveniently in Tudor Tracts, pp. 199-257 (An English Garner) [where, in the Introduction by Professor A. F. Pollard, a note is given on Proctor which dates the first publication of his History of the Rebellion 1554, the second edition being dated 1555. — Ed.].
2 On Tuesday the 23rd, William Cotman, a smith, declared before a Justice of the Peace at Ightham, that " William Isley, gentleman, eldest son to Sir Harry Isley, knight, came this morning to his shop, two hours before day, to shoe his horse ; where he tarried the making of a shoe, and there used these words : ' that the Spaniards was coming into the realm with harness and hand-guns, and would make us Englishmen worse than coneys and viler ; for this realm should be brought to such bondage by them as it was never afore, but should be utterly conquered.' And, at his taking of his horse, he said with a loud voice, that all the street might hear it, being scarce day, ' Smith, if thou beest a good fellow, stir and encourage all the neighbours to rise against these strangers, for they should have lawful
228 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
the Spaniards ; not a word was said about religion, lest good Catholics should refuse their aid to preserve the land from Spanish domination. And he published abroad that all the nobility and almost all even of the Queen's Council were of the same mind; nay, that Lord Abergavenny and the Lord Warden would join them, and even Sir Robert Southwell, the Sheriff of the county, and the other gentry besides.
Of course such fictions were very telling, for they appealed to patriotism and to local feeling, and thereby won adherents. And similar proclamations were made by confederates that same Thursday at Milton, Ashford, and other towns in the eastern part of the county. A loyal gentleman named Christopher Roper, indeed, not only withstood Wyatt's pro- clamation [at Milton], but denounced Wyatt himself and his company as traitors. But he was hustled out of the market-place without any attempt being made to rescue him ; and two Justices of the Peace were even taken out of their houses and carried off to Rochester without any attempt to rescue them. At the same time, at Tunbridge, Sevenoaks, and other towns in the western part of the county, Sir Henry Isley, Anthony and William Knyvet, with others, were busy stirring the people in like manner "by alarms, drums, and proclamations." *
Wyatt, indeed, had gone so far on the evening
warning and help enough. For I would go to Maidstone and return again shortly.'
" ' Why,' quoth the smith, ' these he marvellous words ; for we shall be hanged if we stir.' ' No,' quoth Isley, ' we shall have help enough, for the people are already up in Devonshire and Cornwall, Hampshire and other counties.' "
The paper (State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 10, i.) is headed : "The saying of William Cotman of Itame, in the County of Kent, smith, this present Tuesday being the 23rd January." It was enclosed in a letter of the same date from Sir Robert Southwell to the Council.
1 It appears from the Acts of the Privy Coimcil, that the gentlemen in this part of Kent whose names now become prominent, had given trouble to Mary's Government from the very beginning of her reign, and apparently had been too gently dealt with. Note the following entries : —
1553. July 25th. — "Sir Henry Isley, Mr. Harper, Mr. Culpeper are
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 229
before the Maidstone proclamation as to send a letter to Sheriff Southwell, through the medium of an honest man named Thomas Monde who knew nothing of the contents, saying that, in spite of past grudges between them, he had no doubt Southwell would join him in his patriotic purposes ; and along with this letter he sent the Sheriff a copy of his proclamation. As Monde was charged, on peril of his life, to return to Wyatt with an answer, the Sheriff, though much occupied in sending out warnings, wrote a letter addressed to Monde himself, disdaining to answer Wyatt directly. In this letter he said that Wyatt had only justified by his arrogance and treason the bad opinion he had previously formed of him, and while leaving Monde free to carry the message or not as he pleased, he recommended him, as a friend, to seek better company. The messenger delivered the answer, but returned to the Sheriff to serve the Queen against Wyatt.
In order to alarm the country the more, the proclamation had stated : " Lo, now, even at hand, Spaniards be already arrived at Dover at one passage, to the number of a hundred, passing upward to London in companies of ten, four, and six, with harness, harquebusses, and morians, with match light ; the foremost company whereof be already at Rochester." This was most impudent lying ; for
committed to the custody of Sir Thomas Cornwales, Sheriff." — Acts, iv. 416.
July BOth. — "Sir Henry Isley, Mr. Harper, and Mr. Culpeper are licensed by the Council to return every one of them to their own houses, and are commanded to keep themselves there and not to depart thence until the Queen's pleasure be further known." — lb. p. 306.
Same date. — "A warrant to Sir Thomas Cornwales for the discharging of Sir Henry Isley, Mr. Harper, and Mr. Culpeper, remaining as prisoners in his ward, according to such order as is this day in that behalf heretofore taken." — lb. p. 307.
August 19th. — "Three several letters to Sir George Harper, Sir Harry Isley, and Thomas Culpeper, esquire, to repair to the Court." — lb. p. 427.
November 27th. — "A letter to Sir Robert Southwell, Knight, for the bringing up unto the Council of these persons following of Maidstone in the county of Kent, viz. Denley, Park, Isley, Jervys, Mapisdon, Tilden, Draper, Barret, and Grene, the mayor of the same town." — lb. p. 373.
230 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
Rochester is but seven miles from Maidstone, and if any Spaniards had been found there when the rebels, that same Thursday night, took possession of Rochester, we should certainly have heard of them. The rebels Wyatt, indeed, not only occupied Rochester that
Sster. niSnt (tne 25th)> but lie % tliere With his men
undisturbed till Monday morning, the 29th. On Saturday the 27th he gave new evidence of his amazing audacity. A herald of the Queen in coat armour, accompanied by a trumpeter, came to the Strood end of Rochester bridge, and a trumpet call gave warning of a royal proclamation, which the herald would fain have entered the town to deliver. But Wyatt offered to strike him if he ventured to press in, forbade him to read the proclamation, and tore it out of his hand, so the herald had to content himself with declaring the message to Wyatt and a few others at the bridge end. It was an offer of the Queen's pardon to all who would retire within four hours ; and the herald, though unable to make it public otherwise, managed to distribute some copies underhand among the people.1 LordAber- When Lord Abergavenny would have summoned gathered n*s wealthy neighbours to disperse the rebels, many force were inclined in their favour. So on they went to th'em,s Rochester, from whence, on Saturday the 27th, Wyatt wrote to Isley and the Knyvets at Tunbridge to come and join him. They had come from Penshurst, where they had rifled Sir Henry Sidney's place of his armour, while he was absent attending on the Queen, and were prepared to obey Wyatt's order; but hearing that Lord Abergavenny and the Sheriff, and George Clarke, had gathered a force which they would have to encounter, they changed their purpose. They pro- claimed Abergavenny, the Sheriff, and Clarke, traitors, at Tunbridge, and then marched to Sevenoaks.
1 Proctor ; cp. Ambassadors to the Emperor, 29th January, R. 0. Tran- scripts, u.s. pp. 1088-9.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 231
On this, Abergavenny and the Sheriff, who were at Mailing, preparing to pursue Wyatt to Eochester, changed their purpose likewise. They stayed a while at Mailing, and, it being market-day, addressed the people in order to counteract the effect of Wyatt's proclamation. The Sheriff read out an exhortation penned by himself denouncing Wyatt's lies, and showing how he and the Duke of Suffolk, now in arms, were in league together for the very same objects for which Lady Jane Grey was set up to supplant the Queen. He therefore warned all who had been seduced by the plausible pretences of traitors to return to their allegiance. The Sheriff got one Barram, a man with a loud clear voice, to repeat this exhortation after him, and at the conclusion the people cried heartily, "God save Queen Mary !" and declared, when appealed to, that they would die in her defence against Wyatt and his confederates.
Then on Sunday morning, the 28 th, as Lord and defeats Abergavenny had been informed during the night JJJJ ° that Isley and the two Knyvets were about to march from Sevenoaks towards Rochester in aid of Wyatt against the Duke of Norfolk, and would have destroyed George Clarke's house on their way,1 he with a strong company of gentlemen marched to Wrotham Heath, where they could hear the drums of the rebels, and awaited their coming at Borough Green. On their coming up, the rebels shrank from the combat, and the gentlemen climbing Wrotham Hill inflicted a severe defeat on them at a place called Blacksoll Field, taking over sixty prisoners. Sir Henry Isley lay that night in a wood and then fled into Hampshire, and the two Knyvets, though well horsed, were so hotly pursued that they were driven to leave their horses and creep into the wood also.
This seriously delayed Wyatt's intended march on London. But the gentlemen had to divide their
1 State Papers, Dom., Mary, ii. 22, i.
232 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
forces for want of supplies and quarters for their troops. One portion, with Lord Abergavenny, went to Wrotham, the Sheriff and others to Otford, where victuals were hard enough to obtain. The Duke We have already seen from the French Ambassador's of Norfolk despatch now the Council in London, startled by the
sentagainst r in- in -i i
wyatt. first news of the Kentish rebellion, had resolved on despatching the Duke of Norfolk against the insurgents. Norfolk left the Court apparently on Friday the 26 th — no doubt as soon as he could get ready. The report that some success had been already gained against the rebel forces may have con- tributed, along with another incident to be mentioned presently, to raise sanguine expectations at Court, and Renard wrote on the 29 th that it was believed Wyatt would be captured before another day had elapsed.1 But, with all his painful experience in life, Norfolk had not yet learned wisdom, and he had scarcely left when he committed a bad mistake. One of the insurgents, named Sir George Harper, had made application to the Vice-Chamberlain (Sir Henry Jerningham) to procure his pardon. The Duke, before he left, obtained Gardiner's consent to send for one Kyndlemershe, a friend of Harper, who came to him before he had well set out upon his march. He at once took counsel with him how to persuade Sir George to forsake the bad company he was in, and the result was that he actually wrote him a letter, forwarded presumably by Kyndlemershe, promising him the Queen's pardon if he would come to him. This he knew he was not authorised to do ; but he believed his act had been justified when, on his reaching Gravesend on Sunday the 28th, Sir George actually came to him ; and the Duke reported his coming to the Council, asking pardon for his own offence and entreating them to make good his promise.2 Sir
1 R. 0. Transcripts, U.S. p. 1093. 2 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 21.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 233
George had indeed stolen away from the rebels, and had even promised to obtain Wyatt's surrender into the Queen's hands and the disbanding of his forces. But it was not long before he stole away from the Duke and rejoined his old companions.
Next day the Duke wrote again from Gravesend.1 He had no one with him yet, save Jerningham and his company and Mr. Fogge, though he expected some others from Dartforcl, but he had heard nothing from the Lord Warden or Lord Abergavenny. How- ever, having 700 or 800 men, he would depart in about an hour to Rochester. The enemy had fortified the bridge there, and it would be stiff work crossing the Medway, but he would do his best. As he wrote, he received a letter from Lord Cobham from Cooling, stating that he had examined a spy of Wyatt's, who had been trying to tamper with his tenantry, and had found on him a letter from the rebel leader, declar- Wyatt's ing that the Pensioners, the Guard, and the Londoners "brass- would all take his part. Moreover, he reckoned on the desertion of some of the Duke's own followers ; and Cobham significantly warned his Grace not to allow Harper to "practise too much" with his men. Norfolk forwarded Cobham's letter to the Council with the comment : —
And by the same you may perceive of Wyatt's brags wherein I believe he will break promise, and not to fight it out. ... I shall with God's grace be within these four hours at Strood, where if he will have free passage with his whole company, I shall give him and them leave to come over the bridge to try the matter. And if he will not, I shall make him ill rest in the town with sending messages of such sort as I have here with me.
The broad stream of the Medway divides Eastern The Duke's from Western Kent, and the only bridge was at f0011^
■/ o lmpetu-
Rochester until you reached Maidstone, a long way osity. up its course. The Duke's hope was that Lord
1 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 23.
234 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
Abergavenny and Sheriff Southwell would cross the river at Maidstone and get behind Wyatt and his men at Rochester, while he approached them from the other side at Strood ; also that the Lord Warden would come up, of whom as yet he heard no news. Abergavenny and Southwell were now doing their best to come up and help him ; but they had been hampered in their movements by having to provide for the safe keeping of their prisoners. As for the Lord Warden (Sir Thomas Cheyney), he too was anxious to do his best, but he had sent repeated messages to the Council for instructions and got no answer. All the ways seem to have been blocked up. No one knew what Cheyney was doing, nor did he know what to do. Yet Norfolk might at least have waited till he had arranged matters with Abergavenny and Southwell, instead of marching on to Strood, where he actually arrived about four o'clock in the afternoon of Monday the 29th, with an insufficient and, as it proved, an untrustworthy force.1 He occupied Strood and set his ordnance to batter Rochester across the river. But just as they were firing the first gun, a company of 600 " White coats " under Captain Bret, who remained behind at Spittle Hill, raised a cry, " We are all Englishmen ! " and prepared to attack the Duke in the rear. The Duke Heisde- then gave orders to turn the artillery on Bret's re'treat.?.111 comPanY ', but from this climax of rashness he was dissuaded by Sir Henry Jerningham. As they had enemies on both sides, the Duke and his remaining forces withdrew. Wyatt with two or three companions came out from the town to welcome his new allies, among whom was Harper ; and the rebel leader embraced him with enthusiasm.
Wyatt, indeed, had much cause to rejoice, having been just before depressed by the defeat of Isley and the Knyvets. The Duke had left seven pieces of
1 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 30.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 235
artillery behind him, which gave new heart to the rebellion. Wyatt had already taken some other pieces from the Queen's boats in the Thames, and he was now strong. A great council of war was held in Rochester, the question being whether to push on to London, where the people, it was said, were in their favour, or first to make sure that Aber- gavenny and the Sheriff would not attack them in the rear. Wyatt yielded to the majority, who decided that it would be waste of time to secure themselves against Abergavenny when London actually longed for their coming ; and they only delayed in order to storm Cooling Castle, which was but little out of their way. On the 30th they battered it with cannon, and in six hours Cobham was compelled to yield it up to them.1
They then proceeded to Gravesend, and next day Wyatt at (31st) marched on to Dartford, where they were artford: met by Sir Edward Hastings, Master of the Horse, and Sir Thomas Cornwallis, who were sent by the Queen to learn from Wyatt the cause of his rising, and were empowered, as it was supposed, to offer pardons to any whom they found repentant and submissive. They were, indeed, empowered to do a good deal more than this. Wyatt said he was no traitor, but had gathered the people to defend the realm from being overrun by strangers if the marriage took place. The Queen's commissioners told him there were no strangers yet come that they need be afraid of. " But," they said, " if this be your only quarrel because ye mislike the marriage, will ye come to communication touching that case ? And the Queen, of her gracious goodness, is content ye shall be heard." Wyatt agreed to this, but said he lnsim- should require surety, and demanded the custody Reminds, of the Tower and of the Queen's person, the removal of certain members of the Council, and re-
1 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 28.
236 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION BK. vin
placing of them by others whom he should nominate. These monstrous demands gave rise to many and high words, and in the end the Master of the Horse declared that before they were granted, Wyatt should die and 20,000 with him. coustema- Wyatt, apparently, had gone so far that audacity Court. 3 was his only policy. He had already insulted a herald, and was now insolent to two Privy Councillors. The nobles with the Queen asked her leave to attack the traitors before they passed Blackheath ; but she desired to avoid bloodshed as long as possible, and that only ringleaders might suffer. The news, however, that Wyatt was actually marching on London showed that the rebellion, which had seemed so near extinction, had now grown unexpectedly formidable. There was consternation at the Court; and the great aim of the rebels, to break off the Spanish match, seemed now within an ace of success. For many, even of the Council, were but half-hearted in their opposition to them if not inwardly sympathetic.1 On the 30th, before definite news of Wyatt's intentions, the Ambassadors sent by the Emperor to conclude the marriage asked Gardiner what were they to do in case the rebellion should extend to London ? He said the Queen was counselled to withdraw to Windsor, and they could follow her thither. Meanwhile he would furnish them with arms if they would give him a list of what they required. The Ambassadors were sorely per- plexed, as they had received no fresh instructions from the Emperor, all communications with the Continent being cut off; and they were in doubt whether, when the power from Philip arrived, they ought to use it, and bind him to an alliance that might not be fulfilled. The rebellion, they believed, was probably connived at by influential persons who still hoped to promote the marriage with Courtenay.
1 R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1116.
ch. i THE ORGANISED INSURRECTIONS 237
The Queen, they wrote, had heard from Lord Cobham * that Wyatt was actually on the march to London, and she had at once sent for Renard to inform him. Wyatt himself had written, she said, to Cobham declaring his intention. The outlook was most serious. She had no gens de guerre about her, and, what was worse, she did not even know how to make her Council provide for her own personal security.2 What was she to do ? Would the Emperor advise her what to do in her necessity ?
On the return of Hastings and Cornwallis to the The Queen it became clear that the rebels were pressing fm^°rs on to London. The special embassy from the Emperor Ambassa- to conclude the marriage with Philip represented the En^and™ very object which they were most anxious to thwart. What were the Ambassadors to do ? The Queen and Council agreed that their further stay in England was unadvisable. Egmont sent a messenger accom- panied by a servant to the Lord Chancellor, to know how they could leave the kingdom with safety. The way by land to Harwich was, Gardiner thought, dangerously long, and the passage across from that port would expose them to risk of capture by the French. They might that night take one of their own country's vessels lying in the Thames ; but if they would wait till the morning and send their baggage to him, he would have it conveyed by barge as if to the Tower, and so to their ships in a way to avoid all suspicion.3
The rebels were by this time apparently at Green- wich or Deptford ; the Imperial Ambassadors them- selves say they were within a league of London. The Ambassadors, therefore, took leave of the Queen
1 This letter, written the day before, is preserved in State Papers, Bom,., Mary, ii. 24.
2 "Elle ne s9avoit tant faire envers ceulx de son conseil qu'ilz pour- veussent pour la seule garde de sa personne." — R. 0. Transcripts, u.s.
3 State Papers, Bom., Mary, ii. 32.
238 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
on the morning of the 1st February.1 They sent their horses on to Harwich under the care of some Englishmen whom they could trust, while they them- selves embarked in the Thames. On the 5th they wrote to the Emperor from Flushing an account of the circumstances which had enforced their abrupt departure.
1 The day on the afternoon of which, as the Ambassadors reported, she addressed the citizens at the Guildhall. — Ambassadors, from Flushing, to the Emperor, 3rd February. R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1135.
CHAPTER II
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE INSURRECTIONS
The Queen was brave in the hour of danger. She The Queen knew that London was to a great extent disaffected, QU^lmll and that the rebels were almost at the gates of the city, when on the afternoon of the 1st February, she went to the Guildhall and addressed the citizens in words which were reported, " as near out of her own mouth as could be penned," of the following tenor : —
I am come unto you in mine own person to tell you that which already you see and know ; that is, how traitorously and rebelliously a number of Kentish men have assembled themselves against both us and you. Their pretence (as they said at the first) was for a marriage determined for us ; to the which, and to all the articles thereof, ye have been made privy. But since, we have caused certain of our Privy Council to go again unto them and to demand the cause of this their rebellion ; and it appeared then unto our said Council that the matter of the marriage seemed to be but a Spanish cloak to cover their pretended purpose against our religion, for that they arrogantly and traitorously demanded to have the governance of our person, the keeping of the Tower, and the placing of our councillors.
Now, loving subjects, what I am ye right well know. I am your Queen, to whom, at my coronation, when I was wedded to the realm and laws of the same (the spousal ring whereof I have on my finger, which never hitherto was, nor hereafter shall be, left off), you promised your allegiance and obedience unto me. And that I am right and true inheritor of the Crown of this Eealm of England, I take all Christen- dom to witness. My father, as ye all know, possessed the same regal state, which now rightly is descended unto me ;
239
240 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
and to him always ye showed yourselves most faithful and loving subjects ; and therefore I doubt not but ye will show yourselves likewise to me, and that ye will not suffer a vile traitor to have the order and governance of our person, and to occupy our estate, especially being so vile a traitor as Wyatt is, who most certainly, as he hath abused mine ignorant subjects which be on his side, so doth he intend and purpose the destruction of you, and spoil of your goods. And I say to you, on the word of a prince, I cannot tell how naturally the mother loveth the child, for I was never the mother of any ; but certainly, if a prince and governor may as naturally and earnestly love her subjects as the mother doth love the child, then assure yourselves that I, being your lady and mistress, do as earnestly and tenderly love and favour you. And I, thus loving you, cannot but think that ye as heartily and faithfully love me, and then I doubt not but we shall give these rebels a short and speedy overthrow.
As concerning the marriage, ye shall understand that I enterprised not the doing thereof without advice, and that by the advice of all our Privy Council, who so considered and weighed the great commodities that might ensue thereof, that they not only thought it very honorable but also expedient, both for the wealth of the realm and also of you our subjects. And as touching myself, I assure you I am not so bent to my will, neither so precise nor affectionate, that either for mine own pleasure I would choose where I lust, or that I am so desirous as needs I would have one. For God, I thank Him, to whom be the praise therefor, I have hitherto lived a virgin, and doubt nothing but, with God's grace, I am able so to live still. But if, as my pro- genitors have done before, it may please God that I might leave some fruit of my body behind me to be your governor, I trust you would not only rejoice thereat, but also I know it would be to your great comfort. And certainly, if I either did think or know that this marriage were to the hurt of any of you, my commons, or to the impeaching of any part or parcel of the royal state of this realm of England, I would never consent thereunto, neither would I ever marry while I live. And on the word of a Queen I promise you, that if it shall not probably appear to all the nobility and commons in the high Council of Parliament that this marriage shall be for the high benefit and commodity of the whole realm, then will I abstain from marriage while I live.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 241
And now, good subjects, pluck up your hearts, and, like true men, stand fast against these rebels, both our enemies and yours, and fear them not ; for I assure you, I fear them nothing at all. And I will leave with you my Lord Howard and my lord Treasurer, who shall be assistants with the mayor for your defence.1
Surely this was not only a stirring, but a most The city pathetic appeal. Mary had no mind to marry for J™^,, her own sake ; it was solely for her country's. And her. rebellions had sprung up in various quarters on account of her choice, although she had been most conscientious even about that, and had not settled the matter without the approval of her Council. I am not concerned to criticise her choice, though it is easy to think too much ill of Philip. Here was a conscientious woman doing what she believed to be best for herself and her subjects, and opposed by rebels whose leaders raised a stir on false pretences, not wishing to avow their real motives. Her address had a marked effect, and was received with shouts of loyal applause. Only one man on her return to Whitehall uttered some incivility as she was passing, for which he was promptly committed to Newgate.2
Nor did the loyalty last only for a day. Next day, Friday, the 2nd February (Candlemas Day), " the aldermen of London and inhabitants of every ward were the whole day in harness (i.e. in armour) for fear of the aforesaid rebels who, as it was said, approached ; and my lord mayor was at Leaden Hall with a great number of men in harness, which were appointed forth by the companies of the City, double so many as before ; for where the merchant taylors at the first time armed 30, at this time they armed 60, etc." 3
1 Foxe, vi. 414-15 ; and Holinshed, iii. 1096-7, with slight verbal differences.
2 Proctor, whom I partly follow once more, has misdated the Queen's visit to the Guildhall, which he makes, apparently, to have taken place on the 31.st January.
3 Two London Chronicles, ed. Kingsford, Camden Miscellany, xii. 32.
VOL. IV R
242 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vih
Wyattat Wyatt, after resting two nights at Greenwich or warth' Deptford, advanced, on the afternoon of Saturday the 3rd, to Southwark, which he entered about three o'clock. This gave new alarm to the citizens of London, who closed the gate at the Bridge end, and cut down the drawbridge in the middle, letting it fall into the water, and all men armed in haste for the defence of the City. Six or eight shots were fired upon the rebels from the Tower, but missed them ; and Wyatt, approaching the gate of London Bridge, demanded that it should be opened for him. This was, of course, refused ; and he waited till night before taking further steps. The City, placed under the special charge of Lord William Howard and the lord mayor [Sir Thomas White], was not to be won so easily as he had hoped. Meanwhile his followers became unruly ; and though he had for- bidden plunder, and had just issued a proclama- tion that no soldier should take anything without paying for it, " divers of his company, being gentle- men (as they said), went to Winchester Place," Gardiner's town-house as bishop, where they made havoc of his goods, "not only of his victuals, whereof there was plenty, but whatsoever else, not leaving so much as one lock of a door but the same was taken off and carried, away, nor a book in his gallery or library uncut or rent into pieces, so that men might have gone up to the knees in leaves of books cut out and thrown under feet." Wyatt made a show of being very angry, so much so that it was supposed that he would have hanged a young gentleman who took the lead, but that Bret and others interceded for him. He cannot At eleven at night Wyatt, by breaking down an river the adjoining wall, managed to clamber over the leads of the bridge gate, and came down into the lodge ; where he found the porter asleep, while his wife with others were awake " watching a coal." He bade
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 243
them not be alarmed ; he would do them no hurt. He and a few others then passed on to the bridge as far as the drawbridge in the middle. But he saw on the further side Lord William Howard consulting with the lord mayor and others about the defences of the bridge. He listened for some time without being seen, and observing the great ordnance set there, returned, saying to his mates, "This place is too hot for us."
He then took measures for defence ; he " trenched Southwark at every end and planted his ordnance." But he saw that he must shift his quarters. A council was held. Some would have returned to Greenwich and crossed to Essex, in order to enter London by Aldgate. Wyatt himself proposed going back into Kent to meet Lord Abergavenny and the Sheriff's forces. But some of his company who knew him best, were said to have confessed before their execution that they suspected that he wished to return to Kent in order to make his way over sea. Kent, indeed, had now quieted clown since the insurgents had left it. Cheyney had come to Rochester and had proposed to the gentry to pursue the rebels ; but it was judged better not to move until orders had been received from the Queen and the lord lieutenant, and so he went "in post" to the Queen, leaving Abergavenny and the rest of the gentry in their quarters. He returned shortly after, encouraged to carry out his purpose. Wyatt's position was growing perilous ; on the night of 5th February some of the rebels fired on a boat and killed a man, either a waterman, or a servant of the lieutenant of the Tower who was with the waterman. On this the lieutenant next morning " bent seven great pieces of ordnance full against the foot of the bridge and against Southwark, and the two steeples of St. Olave and St. Mary Overy's, besides all the pieces on the White Tower, one culverin in Develin tower and six
244 -LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
fauconets over the Water gate." The inhabitants of South wark took alarm, and begged Wyatt to take pity on them, or their houses would be thrown down.1 He crosses But that morning, which was Shrove Tuesday, the KhiiVtonat 6fck' Wyatt marched with his men out of South wark to Kingston, and arrived there about four in the afternoon. Kingston bridge had been broken down, and about thirty feet of it taken away, the posts only standing. But Wyatt, having put to flight with his artillery 200 men who kept the opposite side, persuaded two mariners to swim over and bring him a barge, in which he and one or two others crossed the stream. He then, while his followers were refreshing themselves in Kingston, got the bridge mended with ladders and planks, so that by ten o'clock at night it was strong enough for their whole company and ordnance to pass over. The transit was safely accomplished about eleven ; 2 and he began the march to London at midnight. The rebel By about three in the morning there was an force enters outcry in the City of " Every man to arms ! " And as soon as it was day, those who had kept watch and ward on the bridge were ordered to Ludgate and other positions.3 That morning (Ash Wednesday) Wyatt hoped to pay an unwelcome visit to the Court before daybreak. But it was nine o'clock before he reached Hyde Park, where (having carried most of his artillery with him from Southwark) an ordnance wheel broke down, and the gun had to be left. Then he had to reckon with the Earl of Pembroke, who was in the field as the Queen's lieutenant, with other noblemen and loyal subjects, who, assured of the inferiority of the rebels in number, let them pass on between two lines of the Queen's horsemen ; the
1 This incident is recorded by Stow from the MS. printed by J. G. Nicholas as the Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary.
a Proctor, History ; and Stow, Annals. Cp. Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 41, 42.
3 Two London Chronicles, u.s. pp. 32, 33.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 245
one, under Lord Clinton, Marshal of the field, being drawn up on the south side ; the other, the light horse under Captain Musgrave, on the north ; so that while the great ordnance, further on, would fire full in the face of the rebels advancing eastwards, Pem- broke with the main battle of footmen and hand- guns on the north-east, would stop their approach to Holborn, and they would have no way of retreat.
Wyatt, who advanced in front of his men, seeing Defeat of this, suddenly rushed down with his followers under the brick wall which enclosed St. James's Park, " to the Queen's manor house, called St. James's." There Lord Clinton, watching his opportunity, set upon them and cut them into two parts ; and then the light horsemen, coming up, pursued the rear part, killing many but taking most of them prisoners. Wyatt himself, leading the van, pushed on under the wall and reached Charing Cross, where he had a skirmish with some of the Queen's House- hold servants, and lost sixteen men slain. Then, marching on with the remainder, he entered Fleet Street and passed over the Fleet Bridge towards Ludgate, meeting with no resistance. But by that time he found that all he had done was useless ; there was no help to be got from friends in London, as he had imagined. He rode back to Temple Bar, but was not permitted to pass through. He refused at first to yield to Sir Maurice Berkeley, but a herald in the Queen's coat armour came up, and to him he surrendered himself. He was taken to the Court at Westminster, and there brought before the Privy Council, and in less than an hour later was committed to the Tower.1
Meanwhile the Court had been unpleasantly surprised by another detachment of the rebels coming down from Charing Cross upon Whitehall ; and a gentleman of Lincoln's Inn, who was armed
1 Proctor, History, p. 250.
246 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
at the Court gate, had his nose shot through by an arrow. The Court had, indeed, been prepared for danger, and the very judges in Westminster Hall sat in armour, but it was expected that the rebels would be met in the field, and when this body of desperate men came down upon Whitehall, there were cries of " All is lost ! A barge ! A barge ! " The assailants, however, seem to have been but a remnant of the force that Clinton had cut in two. The Queen herself kept her composure, and only asked for news of the Earl of Pembroke. Then, on being "told that he was in the field, " Well then," she said, " fall to prayer, and I warrant you we shall hear better news anon. For my lord will not deceive me, I know well. If he would, God will not, in Whom my chief trust is." And very shortly after word came of the capture of Wyatt and the total defeat of the rebels.1
So ended the most formidable of all the risings ; and by this time the others had collapsed as well. But we must go back nearly a fortnight to relate what is to be told about them. Rebellion On the 25th January, according to some accounts, of the but more probably on Friday the 26th,2 which would be the very next day after the first news of Wyatt's rising in Kent, the Duke of Suffolk took flight from his house at Sheen, and his two brothers, Lord John and Lord Thomas Grey, also disappeared. Of the Duke's flight a contemporary writer remarks with a great appearance of probability — though only with the reservation " it is said " — " that the same morning he was going, there came a messenger to him from the Queen that he should come to the Court. ' Marry,' quoth he, ' I was coming to her Grace. Ye may see I am booted and spurred, ready to ride ; and I will break my fast and go.' So he gave the messenger a reward,
1 Proctor, History, pp. 251-52. 2 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 37, 122.
Greys.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 247
and caused him to be made to drink, and so thence departed himself, no man knew whither. Sir Thomas Palmer, servant to the Earl of Arundel, said on the morrow following to a friend of his, that the complot between the French King and the said Duke of Suffolk was now come to light." J
As soon as the flight of Suffolk and his two The Duke brothers was known, it was naturally interpreted ?n
in the
in the light of Courtenay's revelations. There was Midlands. clearly a general conspiracy against the Queen's policy and government. Insurrections in different parts of the country had been organised under different leaders with French sympathy and co- operation ; and Suffolk was going to take the lead in the Midlands, where his personal influence, aided in some places by adherents of the Edwardine religion bent on resisting the new change in the law, might even help to dethrone the Queen and set up Lady Jane Grey once more. That this was his aim seemed a natural presumption at first, and a legend prevailed later that he had actually proclaimed his daughter Queen again. But this was not so, for it did not suit his policy — at all events at the outset. His plan had been framed in complete harmony with that of Wyatt ; and he carried with him pro- clamations to be set forth identical with those of Wyatt — professing entire loyalty to the Queen, but a resolute determination not to be ruled by strangers, whom the Prince of Spain would bring into the realm ; and it was currently reported that he would arrive before Lent, which was close at hand.
Opposition to the restoration of the Mass and old Heresy the religious services was nowhere avowed as a real cause ™otiyeof
f. °. . . ■■ , . the risings.
of insurrection ; it was hoped to win thousands who were not " Protestants " (the word was now
1 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 37. The words immediately before this quotation are : "Note that the 25th day of January the Duke of Suffolk, the Lord John Graie, and the Lord Leonard Grey, fled." Lord " Leonard " must be an error.
248 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
coming into use among those who favoured " the Gospel "). But the Queen had no difficulty in seeing beneath the surface that the common motive of all the risings was heresy ; and the dangers by which she was surrounded impressed themselves upon her more acutely than they had done before. That her sister Elizabeth was not really unaware of conspiracies made in her favour was certainly more than a natural presumption ; and if she knew of them was she not positively disloyal ? That was the worst suspicion, and her case required delicate handling. But there were a number of prominent persons besides of whom serious doubts were entertained. Among these were Sir Edward Warner, who had been Edward VI. 's Lieutenant of the Tower ; Sir William Pickering, who had been his Ambassador in France ; and the Marquis of Northampton, noted as an ally of Lord Cobham, who, though his castle was afterwards besieged by the rebels and not surrendered without considerable resistance, was at this time considered of doubtful loyalty, as he had family ties with Wyatt. Northampton, who had been released from the Tower about a month before, seemingly at Christmas, was again sent thither on the 26th January, and Sir Edward Warner along with him.1 And on the 28th,
1 Writing on the 27th January (though the copyist of the R. 0. Tran- scripts has misdated it 29th in his heading) the Imperial Ambassadors say of the insurrection in Kent that it is " practique correspondante a celle dudit Caro ; et est bruit qu'elle s'extend plus avant ; et a Ton suspicion sur autres, tant du Conseil que autres, comme Warnier, Maistre Rogier, Picquerin ; et pour ce de l'alliance que le Marquis de Noirthanton a avec Coban, que Ton doubte soit de la partie, encore qu'il fut en liberte il fut hier mis en la Tour avec ledit Warnier ; et est Ton apres pour en reserrer d'autres." — Transcripts, u.s. pp. 1075-76. The date of Northampton's committal, given here as "yesterday," agrees with that given byNoailles — " ce matin " — in the despatch headed by the Editor " 23 et 26 Janvier," for (though " 23 " seems an error for "25 ") we may presume that this part of the letter was written on the later day, the 26th. The person named by the Imperial Ambassadors " Maistre Rogier " migbt conceivably be Sir Edward Rogers, who was committed to the Tower a month later (see Acts of the P. C. iv. 400) ; but is much more probably the preacher John Rogers, who in August was ordered to keep himself prisoner to his own house, and was still prisoner on parole, but was ordered to Newgate on the 27th January. (lb. pp. 321, 429 ; cp. Chester, John Rogers, pp. 113, 118, 120.)
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 249
as we learn from the French Ambassador writing that very day, Henry Dudley and Lord Darcy, who had been Great Chamberlain to King Edward, were committed to the Tower likewise. And Courtenay was expected to be sent thither very shortly, though he might even then, Noailles considered, very easily have got away.1
When Suffolk had escaped from his house at Suffolk at Sheen it was hardly a matter of much speculation Bradsate- whither he had gone. The Imperial Ambassadors, writing on the 29th, say that he had gone to another of his houses eighty miles from London.2 Noailles, on the 28th, says more vaguely that he and his two brothers had gone with a small company towards Wales. There is no doubt that he got down to his seat in Leicestershire, Bradgate, where his daughter, Lady Jane, had solaced herself in past years by reading Plato in Greek. From written confessions made afterwards by two of his dependents, we know something of his proceedings. Before he left Sheen he ordered his man of business, John Bowyer, to go to London for 100 marks due to him; but Bowyer, after leaving him, had no sooner mounted his horse than he received a further message by one of the Duke's servants. He was to tell Suffolk's two brothers " that they should depart by 6 of the clock at night," and he, Bowyer, was to come to the Duke in Leicestershire — for what purpose the messenger knew not. Bowyer obeyed the first part of the order ; but Lord John and Lord Thomas insisted on his staying and riding with them. " And so," he writes, " about 7 of the clock at night they took their horses and rode by Enfield Chace, till at length my Lord John said he would very fain go and leave Barnet, because of any watch, and would have one of Mr. Wrothe's men to be their guide." They failed to induce Wrothe
1 Ambassades, iii. 48.
2 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 29th January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1082.
250 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
or a man named Harrington to accompany them ; but rode on through St. Albans and Dunstable, and never baited till they reached Stony Stratford. Then they pushed on to Towcester, where they expected to have joined the Duke, but he had ridden on to Lutterworth, where they found him at one Johnson's house, from which they made the journey together to Bradgate next day. He rides to Here, apparently, Bowyer first became aware of Leicester. ^ q^j^ 0f the expedition, hearing them say " they would go with all the power they might against the Spaniards." The Duke employed him to write letters and copies of the proclamation which he was going to publish, but he told a Dr. Cave, a friend of the Duke, that he " did not like this gear." That night a form of the proclamation was put forth by the lords John and Thomas ; and next day the Duke had three or four more written. Then at night the Duke rode on to Leicester, and gave out that the Earl of Huntingdon had written that he would take part with him. As a matter of fact, the Earl of Hunting- don was his mortal enemy and was coming in pursuit of him, for he had particularly sought and obtained leave of the Queen to render her that service.1 Next day the Duke commanded Bowyer to write a letter to the town of Northampton to hold themselves in readi- ness, and a proclamation to accompany the letter. On Monday the 29th he caused Bowyer to make inquiry whether the Earl of Huntingdon were come or no. ms failure Next day, Suffolk received a message from Coventry that the townsmen were very anxious for his presence there, and would aid him, some with £100, others with more or less, and Lord Thomas said that he had got £500 from one Palmer there. So in the afternoon the Duke armed himself and caused
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 29th January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1087.
at Coven try
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 251
all his servants to put on armour. Bowyer then delivered to him the 100 marks he had got for him in London, and said he had marred both his geldings in carrying the money. The Duke handed the money over to one Gerves, and compelled Bowyer to put on armour ; then he rode towards Coventry that Tuesday afternoon with six or seven score horsemen. The gates, however, as he learned, were shut against him, and he went on to his manor of Astley five miles farther north, where the company disarmed, and the money he had brought was divided among them while he was out of the way, looking after his horse. The game was up ; the Duke had told every man. to look to himself, and Lord Thomas got Bowyer to change coats with him for his disguise.1
The Duke had reckoned on getting support in The Duke's Coventry — a town which had always been a con- country. siderable stronghold of Lollardy. One Rampton had been sent thither " for the having of the town to the Duke of kSuffolk's use." He first talked with " an old familiar," Anthony Corbet, whom he found he could not trust in the matter ; for Corbet only said he would be glad " to serve the Queen under my lord rather than any other." Then, meeting with Richard Aslyn and one Francis, he showed them what he called the Duke's " pretence, that is to say, that he would withstand the coming in of strangers." Their reply was : " The whole of this town is my Lord's, unless it be certain of the Council of the town. Marry, they consider, that if good fellows have the upper hand, their extremities heretofore should well be remembered."
Rampton asked, "How could my Lord be sure of the town, if the magistrates would not consent ? " But he was answered : " We are so many in number that will resist them that they nor their Council shall never prevail, for we are at the least ten men to one
1 State Papers, Dom., Mary, iii. 19.
252 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
of them." They said, however, that it would be very necessary to get possession of Kenilworth and Warwick Castles, for two reasons : first, because there were eight pieces of ordnance in Warwick Castle ; and secondly, that if the two castles were held by an adverse party, they could send out skirmishers and cut off any aid from Suffolk's friends. What followed on this I give verbally from Rampton's own con- fession : —
Then I inquired how the same castles might be taken. And they made light of it, declaring that upon a Sunday they would be enough that out of Coventry would take them both ; and said that if I would go straight with them, they two, with thirty or forty that they would choose, would give the attempt for the taking of them both; being therein much desirous to have me out for that purpose, which occasion and opportunity I omitted, and fell into talk of other matters.
Then said they: "William Glover is now come from London. We know he will be most glad of this gear. Will you let your servant go for him ? " I was contented there- with because my errand was chiefly to him.
As we were still in talk of this matter, came in William Glover, and with him a clerk. Then I delivered unto him my Lord's Grace's letter ; which was but to credit me. He read it, and delivered it to me again.
Then I declared unto him of my Lord's coming into the country, and of his pretence ; and therewith showed him the proclamation set forth by my Lord. After the reading of it he said : " My Lord's Grace is most heartily welcome into these parts, and I would to God he were here."
Then said I : " Sir, my Lord hath sent me hither for this cause, to practise with you and others, to the intent he might understand how he may be received here, and whether the people of this town will assist him or no in the quarrel for the defence of his country."
Glover answered : " My Lord's quarrel is right well-known. It is God's quarrel. Let him come. Let him come and make no stay; for this town is his own. Yea, I will say further, to a man this town is most assuredly his own, if I know it."
Then said Clerk : " No doubt this town is at my Lord's
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 253
commandment, and if he came hither, he cannot be but welcome." And then he began to declare how only my lord's Grace did cleave and stick to God's truth. Whereby I noted him to be a Protestant, and did confess the same of my Lord with him.
Then they declared to me that they were now come from London with Mr. Waringe and Master Over, and how they had talked by the way of my Lord's coming down.
The Clerk told me that my Lord's Grace had done evil in one point ; for by the way at Towcester, he had, coming now down into the country, spoken openly that he had not passing forty pounds in his purse ; for, sayeth he, that may be a discouraging to men that peradventure shall look for money at his hands. " Tush ! " sayeth Glover. " Let not my lord care of money ; for if he will come hither there will be money enough for him. I know he shall not want money. I know it."
Further, he said : " It is unhappy ; it could never have come worse to me than at this time, for I was not worst provided of money a great while. But let me alone. Say to my lord he shall want no money. But, for God's love, take order that my lord come hither without delay." And there- with asked me where my lord was. And I said, "At Leicester."
Then said they, as it were with one voice, " Alas ! Go, get you hence for hini with all speed."
I answered : " Here is Mr. Burdet. He shall go to my Lord and fetch hiin."
Then they would have had him gone straight. I answered, and so also did he answer, that he had not well slept the night before he went ; which they all did greatly mislike. To satisfy them, I said, " He shall sleep a time and then be gone."
Then I put doubt how he should pass out of the gate of the city. Glover answered me and said that he should pass at all hours of the night ; and further, he would warrant my lord at all hours in the night, whensoever he came, to come into the city.
So, after Burdet had slept a time and was ready to have gone, I had understanding that the gates of the city were shut ; and thereupon did consider that if we then should have given any attempt for the sending him forth, the whole matter at that time would straight have broken out. And so, the uproar once begun, I knew it could not be
254 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vkn
appeased without bloodshed and the great hazard of the chief and rich townsmen. Wherefore I persuaded my fellow Burdet to tarry the opening of the gates ; which he right willingly did.
This was the early morning of Tuesday the 30th. The further delay of Burdet was naturally very mortifying to Glover and his friends. But why should it be dangerous, he asked them, if the Duke was sure of entering the city at any hour ?
" There is no doubt," sayeth Glover, " that the town is my Lord's. That is most assured. But it might happen that upon the Queen's letters the Council of this town may give a sudden order. And yet there is no mistrust in that, sayeth [he], for I will so listen and understand of the doing of the mayor and his brethren, who indeed do presently this morning sit in Council, that they shall go about no such thing but I will foreknow it."
Then it was considered among us a thing very requisite to set forth my lord's Grace's proclamation immediately; and, that done, it was thought the common people would so incline thereunto that no other thing contrary to that would be received.
I considered that upon that proclamation all . . . town would be in a stir, did demand what would follow if the people were so stirred upon.
It was answered by Clerk that the undoubted spoil and peradventure destruction of many the rich men would ensue. Whereunto he required me for God's sake to have respect. " Ye may be sure," said I, " that I will not give tins attempt, but rather stay until my Lord's coming; for he shall come better able by his presence to order the rude people, which passeth my power."
With this answer they were satisfied ; but they begged Rampton to send to his fellow, Hudson, at Warwick, for advice about the taking of the castle. Rampton, accordingly, sent a servaDt to desire Hudson's presence at Coventry. But the messenger on his return brought word that Hudson was arrested, as he understood by the Earl of Huntingdon's orders. Then it was felt to be of the utmost importance to
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 255
hasten Suffolk's coming, and at their request he first sent a messenger, and afterwards took horse himself to go to the Duke.
Thus Hampton's narrative, like Bowyer's, leads on Protestants to the failure of the attempt on Coventry on Tuesday, J° Coven" the 30th, which completely destroyed the Duke of Suffolk's hopes. But there are some things to be noted in this latter " confession " which have a bear- ing on the whole history of the reign. For it shows that Rampton was sent to " practise " with men of a particular faction in Coventry, and that his " errand," as he said himself, was chiefly to William Glover. This Glover was one of three brothers all strongly opposed to the Queen's religion, another of whom, Robert Glover, suffered martyrdom a year and a half later. The recent Act of Parliament, which set up again the "idolatry" of the Mass, of course was not binding on their consciences ; and William Glover at least — for of his brothers John and Robert we hear nothing at this time — was ardent in behalf of " the pretence " of the Duke of Suffolk, and sanguine of his success. A pretence it certainly was, as Rampton called it ; for it was not an ill-founded fear of foreigners, but a deep-seated hatred of the Mass to which the Duke trusted for his chief support in Coventry ; and it was because he sympathised with that feeling that "Protestants" in Coventry found that "only my lord's Grace did cleave and stick to God's truth." That was an enviable distinc- tion for the harsh father of Lady Jane Grey — a man with as little parental feeling as loyalty to his sovereign. He tried to raise civil war by a " pre- tence," to be financed by a religious faction ; but his attempt had proved a failure.
The Earl of Huntingdon, therefore, had an easy Suffolk task. Suffolk, when unable to enter Coventry, had fnc\,his
i , ' , i- i at 1 1 « brothers
retired northwards to his own place at Astley, where his are cap- followers disbanded, and they were all taken prisoners tured"
256 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
by the Earl as soon as lie came up. Suffolk himself was believed to have taken the road to Scotland.1 But before long he and his brothers were captured, one after another. The Duke himself was found in a hollow tree, having been scented out by a dog. Lord John was found hidden under some hay.2 The Duke wrote a full confession. He said that his previous imprisonment, the little regard shown him by the Council, the fear which he felt when Warner was taken prisoner, and the intrigues of Carew and Croft and other conspirators who would have made the Lady Elizabeth Queen, had shaken his loyalty and made him act in concert with the rebels. His brother Thomas especially, who had attempted to inveigle Pembroke into the plot, had fully persuaded him.3 The Gov- As for the attempt of Sir James Croft to raise ernment a COmmotion in Wales, it was even a more complete in great failure than any other ; for Wales was entirely loyal. The Earl of Shrewsbury wrote that the people, both of Wales and of the North Country, were perfectly satisfied with the marriage.4 Croft himself was taken in his bed,5 and examined at Ludlow, but his examination throws very little light upon his move- ments. He was lodged in the Tower along with Lord Thomas Grey on the 21st February.6 So now things were pacified, but the Government had been shaken to its very core. And really it is little wonder, for was ever Government in such a state as Mary's had been? In their despatch to the Emperor of the 29th January, after recording the flight of Suffolk, Renard and his colleagues add :
1 Renard to the Emperor, 5th February, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1159.
2 lb. 8th February, pp. 1173-74.
3 lb. pp. 1179-80 (printed in Papiers du Card. Granvelle, iv. 210-11).
4 lb. p. 1182.
0 Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 70. 6 Acts of the P.O. iv. 396 ; Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 63 ;
Machyn, Diary, p. 56. Croft's examination at Ludlow, on the 14th, is preserved in State Papers, Dom., Mary, iii. 23.
danger.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 257
" There is great suspicion that some of the Council itsinWent may be participators and approvers of the rebellion, weakness- considering the manifest party spirit (partialite) among them, and the little care they take, either for good order in public affairs, or even for the surety of the Queen. Nay, the determinations they actually make are not acted upon, and we have been obliged to give warning to the Queen by the lieutenant d'Amont [Renard], that she must secure herself, and let us understand what she or her Council would like your Majesty to do for her assistance." That was the state of matters three days before her address to the citizens at the Guildhall. And there were things even more strange than this. For Renard had noted that for four days no provision seemed to have been made for the Queen's protection, and as she had not a single man except 200 archers of the guard, he asked Paget why the Council did not communicate with him and his colleagues. On which Paget threw himself on his knees, and said he had been trying all he could for fifteen days and more to obtain soldiers, but as he had only one voice in the Council, he had been unsuccessful. As to the reason why they would not communicate with the Imperialists, it was such as he neither would nor could declare ; Renard should ask the whole Council, not himself alone. There were several in the Council ill-affected towards the Emperor. The Queen had commanded Paget to desire the Council immediately to raise soldiers for her ; and the Emperor's Ambassadors hoped that this would be done.
Renard, moreover, wrote that he had informed the French Queen and the Chancellor that he had learned from intrisues- a French spy that the King of France had sent two gentlemen to his Ambassador in England, one to go on to Scotland, the other to return to France, who brought with them blancs signe'z to deliver to several individuals in England ; that six of these had been vol. iv s
258 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vhi
already delivered ; and that the King notified the rebels that he had eighty ships well armed and victualled, and eighteen companies of foot to send to their assistance ; and further that he had intelligence from various English seaports. The French Ambas- sador, Renard said, had given warning to the Duke of Suffolk to withdraw himself, else the Council would have him apprehended.1
The war between the Emperor and France had its counterpart in England in a diplomatic struggle for political supremacy ; and the rebellions favoured by France had now been put down ; the country was quiet, and all the rebel leaders secured. On Satur- day, the 10th February, the Earl of Huntingdon with a body of 300 horse brought the Duke of Suffolk and Lord John his brother prisoners to the Tower. They, or the Duke at least, had been three days left prisoner at Coventry in the custody of an alderman.2 Treason The Queen was victorious, but the Queen herself win be was governed by Renard and Paget, except that
punished o •> . i 1
with Paget was hindered, as we nave seen, by others.
seventy. fu3or government was always personal and could not be otherwise, and Mary had been driven by these com- motions to feel that she had been too regardless of the warnings of the Emperor and Renard against her undue clemency. The punishment of treason and of usurpation must now follow. But to justify her- self in practising severity she must be entreated to show herself severe. On the afternoon of Sunday, the day after Suffolk and his brother had been sent to the Tower, Gardiner preached before her in the Chapel Royal from the text 2 Corinthians vi. 1, " We beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." His sermon was in the main theo- logical, and aimed at rectifying what he considered the false teaching of past years. It was divided
1 Ambassadors to the Emperor, 29th January, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. pp. 1082-83.
2 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 53-4.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 259
under five heads, and only the last had to do with matters of policy. But after discoursing of freewill, observance of Lent, and good works, and denouncing the erroneous preaching of the last seven years, he proceeded, fifthly, to urge on the Queen, that as she had hitherto " extended her mercy particularly and privately," and her leniency had been abused as an encouragement to rebellion, she would now be merci- ful to the body of the Commonwealth and the con- servation thereof; which could not be unless the rotten and hurtful members thereof were cut off." 1
Of course it was remembered against Gardiner that he had urged the Queen to show no mercy, — just as if a Court preacher could have ventured to give from the pulpit political advice that had not been agreed upon beforehand. The severities began the very next day ; and the first victims, sad to say, were the inno- cent Lady Jane Grey and her husband Lord Guildford Dudley, who had received sentence of death in Nov- ember, but whom the Queen had never intended to put to death. Orders had, nevertheless, been given for their execution about a week before Gardiner's sermon ; for Renard writes on the 8 th : "If the Queen's command has been executed Joan of Suffolk and her husband were beheaded on Tuesday ; but I do not know yet." 2 That Tuesday would have been the 6th of February, the day on which Wyatt made his march to Kingston ; and the order must have been issued before then, when the rebel was in South- wark threatening the City. Afterwards the day was again fixed for Friday, the 9th ; but again the execution was respited.3
Most touching is the fate of Lady Jane Grey. Ladyjane The Queen herself seemed to feel that she had no Grey- alternative but to put the " meek usurper " to death,
1 Chron. of Queen Jane and I Queen Mary, p. 54.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 8th February, R. O. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1180. The passage is printed in the Papiers du Card. Granvelle, iv. 211.
3 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 55.
260 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
and the usurper herself was perfectly resigned to take leave of that earthly life in which she had only been made the unwilling tool of others. The Queen's consideration for her now was manifested by sending her a spiritual adviser in John Feckenham, whom she afterwards, when she began to restore the monasteries, made Abbot of Westminster ; and Feckenham seems to have discharged his duty in as delicate a way as possible. The Lady Jane, on her part, accepted his coming with gratitude to the Queen for her consideration, though she could not agree with him on matters of controversy, or admit that the Church could alter what seemed plainly written in the Divine Word.1 Deeply affecting is her farewell letter to her father, the Duke, which, embodied in voluminous works, is not so often read as it might be. Here it is : —
Father, although it hath pleased God to hasten my death by you, by whom my life should rather have been lengthened, yet can I so patiently take it as I yield God more hearty thanks for shortening my woful days than if all the world had been given unto my possession with life lengthened at my own will. And albeit I am well assured of your impatient dolours, redoubled manifold ways, both in bewailing your own woe and especially, as I hear, my unfortunate state, yet, my dear lather, if I may without offence rejoice in my own mishaps, meseems in this I may account myself blessed, that washing my hands with the innocency of my fact, my guiltless blood may cry before the Lord, Mercy to the innocent ! And yet, though I must needs acknowledge that, being constrained and, as you wot well enough, continually assayed, in taking upon me I seemed to consent, and therein grievously offended the Queen and her laws, yet do I assuredly trust that this my offence towards God is so much the less in that, being in so royal estate as I was, mine enforced honor blended never with mine innocent heart. And thus, good father, I have opened unto you the state wherein I at present stand ; whose death at hand, although to you, perhaps, it may seem right woful, to me there is nothing that can be more welcome, than from this vale of
1 Foxe, vi. 415-17.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 261
misery to aspire to that heavenly throne of all joy and pleasure with Christ our Saviour. In whose steadfast faith, if it may be lawful for the daughter so to write to the father, the Lord that hitherto hath strengthened you, so continue you, that at the last we may meet in heaven with the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.1
Less pleasing, certainly, is her long letter of remonstrance to Thomas Harding, once her father's chaplain, who had become a convert to Rome. But every one knows the pain that is always given by the conversion of a friend, from what we consider truth to what we consider error. She left other writings besides, including a letter written in the end of a Greek Testament which she sent to her sister Katharine.2
[On Monday 12th February, soon after 10 in the Theexecu- morning, she was led forth to die on Tower Green.] *™J °jane Her behaviour was calm and composed ; [her counte- Grey, nance changed not for fear of death, nor at the sight of her husband's corpse, which she saw borne to the chapel, for Guildford Dudley had been beheaded shortly before.] She confessed that she died for an unlawful act, but it was none of her seeking. She called the bystanders to witness that she died a true Christian woman. Kneeling down, she asked Fecken- ham, " Shall I say this Psalm ? " and when he agreed, repeated the Miserere mei, Deus (Ps. Ii.), in English, from beginning to end ; then she stood up and made presents of her gloves and handkerchief to her maid, and of a book to Master Bruges, the Lieutenant of the Tower's brother. She untied her gown, and her two gentlewomen weeping bitterly helped her to take it off. The hangman kneeled down to ask her for- giveness, which she readily gave him, begging him to despatch her quickly. On seeing the block she asked, " Will you take it off before I lay me down ? " He said, "No, madame." Then she tied a handkerchief
1 Foxe, pp. 417-18. 2 lb. pp. 418-23.
262 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
about her eyes, and feeling for the block, said, "Where is it?" Being guided to the place, she laid down her head, stretched forth her body, and saying, " Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit ! " submitted to the stroke.1 The judge How such sad " accidents of State" touched the deHvered neart of the general public at the time, we do not sentence always read very clearly in chronicles or records. When tyranny prevails, expressions of feeling have to be qualified by prudence. But in this case, besides the unquestionable sympathy shown at a later date, there is a melancholy story about the principal judge who tried her, Sir Richard Morgan, Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas. That he was an upright judge there is no reason to question, and he shared the responsi- bility of the sentence he delivered with others whose names were weighty. For there were fifteen named on the judicial commission, seven being of the quorum, and of these latter, all save the Lord Mayor and the Duke of Norfolk were trained lawyers, all, indeed, judges, the lowest in rank being the Recorder of London. The judgment given was inevitable, as the facts were plain, and Jane herself had pleaded guilty ; but it was never intended to be carried out till her father's rebellion seemed to show that while she lived, she was still a source of danger. The execution of such an innocent victim deeply affected the judge who had delivered sentence. During the spring he went mad, and " cried continually to have the Lady Jane taken away from him."2 Two years later he died.3 Royal The same day that Jane suffered there were many
seventy. Q^gj. victims of the new severity, and even it seemed as if Courtenay would come to be numbered among them ; for he was brought to the Tower a prisoner within half an hour of Lady Jane's execution. He
1 Foxe, pp. 423-4 ; Ohron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 55-9. 2 Foxe, vi. 425. 3 Machyn, Diary, p. 106.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 263
was brought in by water, and the Lieutenant apparently asked him why he was come ; to which he was heard to reply, " Truly, I cannot tell, except I should accuse myself. Let the world judge." x
The executions were purposely made to look as appalling as possible. That day gallows were set up in London, one pair at each of the city gates, two at the Bridge foot in South wark, one at Leadenhall, two in Cheapside, three or four pair in Fleet Street and about Charing Cross, and others in other places in the city. That day and on Thursday, as stated (though apparently Tuesday was meant), about 400 rebels were condemned, and all the London prisons were full. On Wednesday, 26 or more were hanged. On Thursday, the 15th, many were hanged in South - wark and other places in the suburbs ; and that day ten prisoners were taken from the Tower, arraigned and condemned. Bret and Cuthbert Vaughan, when they were arraigned, protested that they ought to have their lives, as they had yielded on a promise of the Queen's pardon made by a herald in the field. But their protests were unavailing.2
Yet, though such severities continued, there were Some acts comprehensive acts of mercy. For we read that on ofmercy- the 22 nd February, " all the Kent men went to the Court, with halters about their necks, and bound with cords two and two together, through London and Westminster ; and between the two tilts [in the tilt yard] the poor prisoners kneeled down in the mire, and the Queen's Grace looked out over the gate and gave them all pardon ; and they cried out ' God save Queen Mary ! ' and so to Westminster Hall ; and there they cast their halters about the Hall, and caps, and in the streets, and cried out ' God save Queen Mary !' as they went." Two days later there were more Kentish men pardoned in like
1 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 59. 2 lb. pp. 59, 60.
264 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
manner in South wark, whether by the Queen herself or by some other in her name does not appear. And these, too, flung their halters into the street, and cried out, " God save Queen Mary ! " l Suffolk's Five days before this, on the 17th, Suffolk was
condemna- arraigned at Westminster. In his defence he first tion. insisted that it was no treason for a peer of the realm
to raise his power, and make proclamation to cause foreigners to leave the kingdom. This plea seems to have been admitted, as indeed the Queen herself issued a proclamation that very day, requiring all foreigners, with the exception of denizens, known merchants, and Ambassadors' servants, to leave the realm within twenty-four days — a concession to English prejudices. But Suffolk had encountered the Queen's lieutenant, the Earl of Huntingdon, in arms, and though he pretended not to have known that the Earl was the Queen's lieutenant, he admitted that he had opposed him with a company of fifty men, and would not have shrunk from him if he had had fewer. This was practically an admission of his guilt, and he made a bad attempt to shield himself by laying on his brother, Lord Thomas, the blame of having advised him to fly into the country. He also confessed having said at his own table that with no more than a hundred men he could put the crown on Courtenay's head.2 [He was condemned to death and taken back to the Tower.] Sir Peter Let us now leave for a while the punishment of
rebels, and speak of some rebels who were beyond the Queen's power. On the 1 7th February — that same day that Suffolk was arraigned — Noailles had an audience of the Queen accompanied by his brother Francis, whom Henry II. had felt it advisable to send over, as delicate questions were arising between the two countries. Noailles was anxious to see if the Queen's success
1 Machyn, Diary, pp. 56-57. 2 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 60. 61.
Carew in France.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 265
over the insurgents had in any way affected the amity between the two Powers, and to assure her, by the despatches which his brother brought, of Henry's strong desire to preserve it. She received these assurances graciously, and told the Ambassadors that she was so true a Princess that neither the Emperor nor his son could ever make her break her word ; and that she was ready to show them the precise article in her marriage treaty for the preservation of her friendship with France. She had heard, however, that some of her rebels, guilty of treason, had fled to France, especially Peter Carew, who, she was told, had arrived in the French Court and had spoken with King Henry and the Constable, and she desired his extradi- tion, as she had given up a French rebel named Chesselles. Noailles replied that he did not know that Carew was in France, though all strangers had free admission there ; but if he was, and the King knew that he had given offence, he would doubtless take care that he should be delivered to her. The Queen replied that Carew was spreading about that he trusted entirely to Henry's aid, though she could not believe it. After returning from his audience, Noailles received a despatch from the King, dated the 10th, showing that the English Ambassador in France (Wotton) had already made complaint to him upon the subject. Wotton, indeed, had sought an interview with him, merely, as he said, owing to reports that had come to him that Carew had persuaded the King to give him 6000 foot soldiers in aid of the rebellion ; and Henry in reply professed never to have heard any- thing of Carew's coming into France. Far from favouring rebellion in England, he had, he said, given strict orders to the Constable to let him know of any- thing that might tend that way. He had always thought, indeed, that the proposed marriage might be prejudicial to the internal peace of England ; but he himself had done nothing unfriendly. On the con-
266 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vhi
trary, he had made overtures for a new treaty with Mary.1
Diplomatic insincerity might almost be pardoned in Henry II. ; for he had originally, and indeed still had, a strong wish to cultivate good relations with Mary, and he sincerely sympathised with her desire to restore papal authority in England ; indeed, he sympathised in that object, perhaps, more than Charles V. did. But a marriage between the English Queen and the son of his chief enemy, with whom he was still at war, was naturally a severe trial to friend- ship. It seemed a sure presage that England too would become his enemy sooner or later, whatever assurances Mary might sincerely offer to the contrary. Unless the marriage could be set aside, England was at least a potential, nay a probable enemy, even if not so declared. For the new alliance deprived France of some advantages which she naturally possessed as a belligerent, making the traffic by sea between Flanders and Spain much more secure, and the intercourse between France and Scotland less so. Noaiiies' Hence Noailles had all along encouraged those
aSshi°n intrigues in England which tended to break off the England, marriage ; and, though the movements had all ended in failure, they had almost effected their purpose. For the Queen herself had declared at the Guild- hall that the expediency of completing the match would still be considered in Parliament, and even Renard, who had conducted the negotiation so art- fully, was no longer sure of the policy of bringing Philip to a country where he was likely to meet with such a bad reception. The very severities used by the Queen, Noailles believed, were defeating their own object ; and people murmured much against the Spanish match. The finest sights to be seen in London, he said, were gibbets bearing the bodies of the bravest men in the kingdom, while all the prisons
1 Ambassades, iii. 57-58 ; 72 sqq.
ch. ii SUPPRESSION OF INSURRECTIONS 267
were so full that new victims had to be put to death daily that they might make room for others.1 The Queen, he wrote, was impoverished both in men and in money, she had been forced to spend 200,000 crowns which she had borrowed in various quarters. So far as she was concerned, King Henry would have no difficulty in doing what he pleased during the coming summer. She was taking the right way, he thought, to bring her kingdom to ruin ; and the Emperor would be obliged to send a great force to support her authority in England, which would weaken him as a belligerent against France.2 Already, it would seem, the French were threatening Guines and had laid a trench before it.3
1 Ambassades, iii. pp. 77, 78. 2 lb. pp. 62, 63.
3 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 62.
CHAPTER III
"the queen's proceedings"
Mary's There is one fact in Mary's reign of which the signi- J?^y ficance continually escapes observation ; and though respect to I have more than once already directed attention to religion. ^ j must now bespeak for it some special considera- tion. The Queen not only inherited a title which she abhorred — that of " Supreme Head of the Church of England " — but was obliged to put it in force against her will. In fact, even when she ultimately put the title aside, its functions still remained with her ; and just as by royal authority under Henry VIII. England was freed entirely from papal jurisdiction, so by royal authority alone could papal jurisdiction be restored. To hasten that blessed day her heart was entirely bent. And yet what could she do ? That Pole's advice, to step at once back again into St. Peter's bark, was not practically possible, she herself was obliged to tell him. Yet if practical politics were to be considered in clearing the way for Christ's Kingdom (that is to say, His Vicar's Kingdom) upon Earth, she was compelled to listen to her cousin, Charles V., who bade her first of all tolerate errors and heresy till Parliament could arrange a new religious settlement. And as for reconciliation of herself and her realm to Pome, she wanted a husband first to support her. When the marriage with his son Philip had been effected, no doubt Pole
268
ch. in "THE QUEEN'S PROCEEDINGS" 269
would be able to come to England as Legate and effect the reconciliation.
We have seen how far this programme had been Many carried out already. A Parliamentary settlement of ^Tdilf- religion had actually been enacted in the autumn like. Parliament of 1553, and the chief interest of the next half-year is the question how far the executive had the power to enforce that settlement. For it had many enemies both open and secret ; and this, quite apart from French aid to disaffection and rebellion, was the chief cause alike of the actual and of the contemplated rising of the early part of the year. But nothing could be a greater mistake than to suppose that with the suppression of these risings all difficulties were at an end. Holders of Church property were very jealous of every step which might lead to return to Rome. The Lords of the Council, mostly of Edwardine leanings, though they had accepted the Queen's will, even about the marriage, were afraid of its ultimate effects, and could not trust each other. No firm decisions were made. What was done one day was set aside the next ; and there was always a fear that if too energetic measures were taken, some Lords would withdraw themselves to their country houses, there to abide the results and give further trouble.
But deeper and stronger objections to a return to strong the old religion were manifested in some parts of the feel.ine
o _. . i against the
country, when Koyal Commissioners came to carry out old religion the new Parliamentary settlement. And especially ^Jeem was this the case in the Eastern Counties, which Counties. were undoubtedly a special stronghold of Edwardine religion. There the weaving, cloth - making, and other industries of England mostly flourished, and men hated having to pay for the support of priests who conferred intangible blessings, or of doctrines seemingly against reason and destitute of true Scrip- ture warrant. The inhabitants of those counties, moreover, had a special claim upon the Queen's
and Suffolk
270 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
gratitude for the loyalty with which they had sup- ported her against Northumberland's attempt to ensnare her before her accession. " a Godly Accordingly we read in Foxe's pages a very lengthy suppiica- document, placed by him, but certainly out of date, Norfolk in the year 1556,1 with the title prefixed : "A certain Godly Supplication exhibited by certain Inhabitants of the County of Norfolk, to the Commissioners come down to Norfolk and Suffolk, fruitful to be read and marked of all men." 2 This, of course, is Foxe's own heading. The document itself is too lengthy to quote in full, but its general spirit may be appre- ciated from a few extracts. The sincere loyalty with which it begins, gives all the greater significance to the remonstrance : —
In most humble and lowly wise we beseech your honors, right honorable Commissioners, to tender and pity the humble suit of us, poor men, and true, faithful, and obedient subjects, who, as we have ever heretofore, so intend we, with God's grace, to continue in Christian obedience unto the end, and (according to the Word of God) with all reverend fear of God, to do our bounden duty to all those superior Powers whom God hath appointed over us, doing, as St. Paul saith : " Let every soul be subject to the superior powers ; for there is no power but of God. Wherefore whosoever resisteth the powers, the same resisteth God; and they that resist get themselves judgment " [Rom. xiii. 1, 2].
These lessons, Right honorable Commissioners, we have learned of the Holy Word of God in our mother tongue. First, that the authority of a King, Queen, lord, and other their officers under them, is no tyrannical usurpation, but a just, holy, lawful and necessary estate to be governed by; and that the same is of God, the Fountain and Author of Righteousness. Secondly, that to obey the same in all things not against God, is to obey God ; and to resist them
1 Foxe does, indeed, introduce it with the words, "About this time, or somewhat before " ; but this scarcely suggests two years before. He has just been relating the story of the martyrdoms in the spring of 1556. But the document was certainly drawn up before there were any martyrdoms at all, and the frequent references to the Queen»(as sole sovereign) in themselves suffice to show that it was before her marriage to Philip in July 1554.
2 Foxe, viii. 121.
ch. ni "THE QUEEN'S PROCEEDINGS" 271
is to resist God. Therefore, as to obey God in his ministers and magistrates bringeth life, so to resist God in them bringeth punishment and death. The same lesson have we learned of St. Peter, saying, "Be ye subject to all human ordinances for the Lord's sake, etc." [1 Pet. ii. 13-16].
Wherefore, considering with ourselves, both that the magistrates' power is of God, and that for the Lord's sake we be bound to Christian obedience unto them having now presently a commandment, as though it were from the Queen's Majesty, with all humble obedience due to the regal power and authority ordained of God (which we acknowledge to stand wholly and perfectly in Her Grace), and with due reverence unto you, Her Grace's Commissioners, we humbly beseech you with patience and pity to receive this our answer unto this commandment given unto us.
First, Right honorable Commissioners, we have considered ourselves to be not only Englishmen but also Christians, and therefore bound by the holy vow made to God in our baptism to prefer God's honor in all things, . . . inso- much that no obedience can be true and perfect, either before God or man, that wholly and fully agreeth not with God's Word.
Then have we weighed the commandment concerning the restitution of the late abolished Latin service1 given unto us, to dissent and disagree from God's Word, and to command manifest impiety and the overthrow of godliness and true religion, and to import a subversion of the regal power of this our native country and realm of England, with the bringing in of the Romish Bishop's supremacy, with all errors, superstitions and idolatry, wasting of our goods and bodies, destroying of our souls, bringing with it nothing but the severe wrath of God, which we already feel, and fear lest the same shall be more fiercely kindled upon us. Wherefore we humbly protest that we cannot be persuaded that the same wicked commandment should come from the Queen's Majesty, but rather from some other, abusing the • Queen's goodness and favor, and studying to work some feat against the Queen, her crown and the realm, to please with it the Roman Bishop, at whose hands the same thinketh hereafter to be advanced. . . . For we cannot have so evil an opinion in Her Majesty that she should subvert the most godly and holy religion (so accordingly to God's Word set forth by the
1 See Bonner's admonition above referred to, which was dated 8th March 1553[-4].
272 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
most noble virtuous and innocent King, a very saint of God, our late most dear King Edward, her Grace's brother) except she were wonderfully abused. . . .
For truly, the religion lately set forth by King Edward is such in our conscience as every Christian man is bound to confess to be the truth of God ; and every member of Christ's Church here in England must needs embrace the same in heart and confess it with mouth and (if need require) lose and forsake, not only house, land and possessions, riches, wife, children and friends, but also (if God will so call them) gladly to suffer all manner of persecution, and to lose their lives in the defence of God's Word and truth set out amongst us. . . .
We humbly beseech the Queen's Majesty and you her honorable Commissioners, be not offended with us for confessing this truth of God, so straitly given us in charge of Christ, neither bring upon us that great sin that never shall be forgiven and shall cause our Saviour Jesus Christ in the great day of Judgment before his heavenly Father and all his angels to deny us, and to take from us the blessed price and ransom of his bloodshed, wherewith we are redeemed. For in that day, neither the Queen's Highness, neither you, nor any man, shall be able to excuse us, nor to purchase a pardon of Christ for this horrible sin and blasphemy of casting aside and condemning his word.1
Further on the petitioners give point to their remonstrances by an appeal to known facts which it becomes the historical student to mark well : —
For afore the blessed reformation (begun by the most noble prince of godly memory the Queen's good father, and by our late holy and innocent King her good brother finished) it is not unknown what blindness and error we were all in, when not one man in all this realm unlearned in the Latin could say in English the Lord's Prayer, or knew any one Article of his belief, or could rehearse any one of the Ten Commandments. . . .
We cannot therefore consent nor agree that the word of God, and prayers in our English tongue, which we understand, should be taken away from us, and for it a Latin service (we wot not what, for none of us understand it) to be again brought in amongst us, specially seeing that Christ hath
1 Foxe, viii. 121-3.
ch. in "THE QUEEN'S PROCEEDINGS" 273
said, " My sheep hear my voice and follow me ; and I give to them everlasting life." The service in English teacheth us that we are the Lord's people and the sheep of his pasture. . . . The service in Latin is a confused noise ; which if it be good (as they say it is) yet unto us that lack understanding what goodness can it bring ? St. Paul commandeth, etc.
The petitioners go on to say that they cannot give up their form of communion, more edifying than the Latin Mass, and complain that priests alter the institution of Christ, robbing the laity of the cup of Christ's blood. They are requested to go in pro- cession (as it is called) when the priests say in Latin things that they do not understand, but they have learned that to follow Christ's cross is another matter — it meant to take up their own cross and follow Christ in patient suffering, when required. They cannot cast away the word of God which they have received, and they protest that if that word had not taken some root in them, they could not in time past have done their duty to the Queen against her mortal foe. In the end they declare that they will not seek a remedy by any unlawful means but intend to obey her Majesty in all things " not against God and His Holy word."
The subscription is " Your poor suppliants, the lovers of Christ's true religion in Norfolk and Suffolk."
Similar attempts were also made in other quarters other to petition the Queen for the retention of the Edwardine religion, and we read in the Acts of the me feeling Privy Council under date 2nd December : —
William Smythe, of Maidstone, for his seditious moving the inhabitants there to the framing of a supplication for the retaining still of their new religion, soliciting first one, and syns another, was committed to the Gatehouse of West- minster, there to be severally kept without conference of any other person.1
1 Ads of the Privy Council, iv. 375. VOL. IV T
evidences of Edward-
!74 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
BK. VIII
•We have seen how, just before the outbreak of Wyatt's rebellion, evidence of a similar Edwardine feeling was expressed by individuals without the loyalty set forth in the Eastern Counties' petition, and though the strength of feeling on this subject was not universal even in the Home Counties, where it met with most vigorous expression, there was certainly enough to create considerable commotion, especially when the religious feeling was enlisted by a skilful captain like Wyatt in support of national prejudices against Spaniards and a foreign King. Renard also, on his side, felt the serious difficulty of allowing Philip to come to a country whose rulers were so factious and uncertain. But the Queen assured him of her constant devotion to the Prince, and her utmost anxiety that every measure should Theratifi- be taken for his protection. Count Egmont came cation of again from Flanders ; and on 6th March, before the marriage Host and in the presence of the Council, the articles tbeQueTn's 0I* the marriage treaty were ratified and sworn to by espousal, the Queen and by the Count, as the Emperor's and Philip's proctor ; the Count gave Mary a ring which had been sent by the Emperor ; Bishop Gardiner pronounced the blessing, and Mary was irrevocably bound to Philip. Two days later Egmont departed for Spain, to arrange matters on Philip's side also.1 Depriva- Thus the main fabric of the Queen's policy was
secured, and the " Queen's proceedings " could be carried on. On the 13th of March power was given to a commission consisting of Gardiner as Chancellor, Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, Bonner, Bishop of London, and three others, to deprive Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York, Robert Ferrar, Bishop of St. David's, John Bird, Bishop of Chester, and Paul Bush, Bishop of Bristol, as being married ; and on the 15th another commission was issued to the same
1 Egmont and Renard to the Emperor, 8th March, R. 0. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, pp. 176-77.
tion of Bishops
ch. in "THE QUEEN'S PROCEEDINGS" 275
persons to depose John Taylor, " naming himself Bishop of Lincoln," John Hooper, " naming himself Bishop of Worcester and Gloucester," and John Harley, Bishop of Hereford,1 who had received " pre- tensed Bishoprics given to them by Letters patent " from Edward VI. and to be held during good behaviour.
Of course, as they held their Bishoprics by patent on such a condition as that, they could be deprived at any time, when the government of the day con- sidered their behaviour not to have been good ; and the appointment to Bishoprics by patent under Edward was so great an innovation that, apart from the personal character of the men who held them, it seemed that the grantees could not rightly have been entrusted with such a sacred office. Marriage, however, was now an objection to the orders of any Bishop or of any priest, unless he dismissed his wife, as Shaxton, some time Bishop of Salisbury, had done in 1546, regarding his orders as more binding than the bond of matrimony. Hence when Hooper appeared before the Commissioners on the 19th of March, the Lord Chancellor Gardiner asked him if he was married. " Yea, my lord," said Hooper, " I will not be unmarried till death un marry me." On this Bishop Tunstall observed, "That is matter enough to deprive you," and he replied, " That it is not, my lord, except ye do against the law." Unpleasant words ensued, reported by Foxe as follows : —
The matter concerning marriage was no more talked of then for a great space ; but as well the commissioners, as such as stood by, began to make such outcries, and laughed, and used such gesture, as was unseemly for the place, and for such a matter. The Bishop of Chichester, Dr. Day, called Master Hooper " hypocrite," with vehement words and scorn- ful countenance. Bishop Tonstal called him " beast " ; so did Smith, one of the clerks of the Council, and divers others
1 Rymer, Foedera, xv. 370-71.
276 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
that stood by. At length the Bishop of Winchester said that all men might live chaste that would ; and brought in this text, " There be that have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of Heaven."
Master Hooper said, that text proved not that all men could live chaste, but such only to whom it was given ; and read that which goeth before in the text. But there was a clamour and cry, mocking and scorning, with calling him beast, that the text could not be examined.1
That Hooper, who had been so unruly even under the Edwardine rule, should have been a special rock of offence to the Bishops of the old school was only natural. But Gardiner was doing his duty in his position, and indeed without some such measures the Acts for restoring the Mass would have been in- effectual, for how could the Mass be restored properly if Bishops and priests unqualified to celebrate it still remained ? consecra- To fill the places of these and others, including tionofsix tjiat 0f Barlow, of Bath and Wells, who prudently Bishops, escaped abroad, and also the long vacant see of Rochester, Gardiner on the 1st April consecrated six new Bishops at St. Mary Overy's, namely, John White, Warden of Winchester College, as Bishop of Lincoln ; Gilbert Bourne, the Queen's secretary, as Bishop of Bath and Wells ; Henry Morgan, as Bishop of St. David's; James Brooks, as Bishop of Gloucester ; George Cotes, as Bishop of Chester ; and Maurice Griffen, as Bishop of Eochester. It is remarkable that Henry VIII.'s erection of the Bishopric of Chester, which was not effected under the Pope's jurisdiction, was recognised as valid.
Easter was now passed — it fell this year on the 25th March (Lady Day) — and the special preparations requisite to restore the old order before that holy season had met, as we shall see, with not a little opposition in divers places.
I cannot speak here of other voices which were
1 Foxe, vi. 646.
ch. in "THE QUEEN'S PROCEEDINGS" 277
raised in chorus against the Queen's proceedings. But it is well to take note in this place of the attitude of some special objectors who made them- selves prominent in this early part of the reign — men of very different types of character, but all requiring study as elements in a complicated situa- tion. It will be seen that among these — very naturally — will be found special leaders with special followings, while others, not worthy of so much respect, dropped out of notice.
CHAPTER IV
THE LADY ELIZABETH
But what of the two great personages in whose favour the rebellions of which we have read had been organised ? Courtenay, as we have seen, was by this time again committed to the Tower, the place with which he had so long been familiar. The Lady Elizabeth was still at Ashridge, whither she had gone in December, and if she was ill when she went there, things had not tended to make her, in mind at least, more comfortable. To the Queen, as she well knew, she had always been a source of anxiety, and frequent messages to inquire about her health were not altogether grateful, as she was fully conscious that she had become a centre of intrigue. Before the outbreak of Wyatt's rebellion, Mary had
Letters of written gracious letters to her sister ; and once, when
Elizabeth sne ^ac^ something very special to communicate, she
and a even wrote to her with her own hand.
reply. Tq ^ ftt iength Elizabeth felt that she could not
but reply, and though we have not the exact text of her answer, it was to the following effect : —
Elizabeth to Queen Maky
Although negligence of my duty, most noble Queen, may bring blame to me for not having written to show my poor goodwill since my departure from your Court, I still hope that your Grace will excuse me. I have had such rhume and headache as I have never had the like, especially during
278
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 279
these three weeks, aggravated by pain in the arms, that till now I have not been able to express my humble thanks, both for your having so often sent to inquire of my health, and for the plate you gave me, and still more now that you have written me with your own hand, which I know has been very tedious to you ; but further for intimating to me the conclusion of your marriage, and the articles and covenants thereof. This is a great matter, and I doubt not will all be to the glory of God, your own happiness, and the safety of your realm.1
This letter, though undated, must have been Elizabeth written in January ; certainly, as I shall show later to™h™oned on, some time before the 26th, on which day the Court. Queen wrote another letter to her, owing to the news received the day before of the outbreak of Wyatt's rebellion. And this is what she said in it : —
Queen Mary to Elizabeth
Right dear and entirely beloved Sister, we greet you well. And where certain evil-disposed persons, minding more the satisfaction of their own malicious and seditious minds than their duty of allegiance towards us, have of late foully spread divers lewd and untrue rumours ; and by that means and other devilish practices do travail to induce our good and loving subjects to an unnatural rebellion against God, us, and the tranquillity of our realm ; we, tendering the surety of your person, which might chance to be in some peril if any sudden tumult should arise where you now be, or about Donnington, whither, as we understand, you are minded shortly to remove, do therefore think expedient you should put yourself in good readiness, with all convenient speed, to make your repair hither to us. Which we pray you fail not to do ; assuring you that as you may most surely remain here, so shall you be most heartily welcome to us. And of your mind herein we pray you to return answer by this messenger. And thus we pray God to have you in His holy keeping. Given under our Signet at our manor of St.
1 The French translation of which this is an abstract is printed in Wiesener's The Youth of Queen Elizabeth (translated by Miss Yonge), i. 274-6 n.
280 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
James's, the 26th January in the first year of our reign. — Your loving sister,
Marye the Quene.1
Her niness. This royal letter seems to have been conveyed by Sir John Williams,2 who was despatched to Ashridge with a company of men to escort Elizabeth to London. But she was so very unwell that she could only make answer by word of mouth that she felt quite unable to come at that time, but hoped to be equal to the journey a little later. On this the Queen sent her one of her own physicians to ascertain exactly the state of her health, and his report must have satisfied Mary that her sister's illness was unfeigned.3 Indeed she sent her a second physician, and the two were both at Ashridge on the 10th February when some revelations made by Wyatt after his capture seemed gravely to implicate Elizabeth as well as Courtenay. There could be no doubt now that it was of the utmost importance that Elizabeth should come to London as speedily as possible. Nevertheless the utmost consideration for her was shown. Her grand- uncle, Lord William Howard, whom the Queen had made Lord Admiral, and with him Sir Edward Hastings, Master of the Horse, and Sir Thomas Cornwaleys, were despatched to Ashridge on this mission. How they fulfilled it they reported in a letter to the Queen next day ; and I give the very words of this letter, because many historians have followed Foxe in asserting that they were sent on a rude errand, and performed it rudely.
In our most humble wise ; it may please your Highness to be advertised that yesterday immediately upon our arrival
1 Strype, Eccl. Memorials, III. i. 126-7.
2 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 63. The Editor's correction in a footnote is not quite satisfactory. He has apparently confounded together the first and second sending for Elizabeth. Sir John Williams was very likely the first person sent to bring her up. Foxe {Acts and Mon. viii. 606) mixes up things a little further.
3 Renard to the Emperor, 29th January, R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 146, p. 1091.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 281
at Ashridge, we required to have access unto my Lady Eliza- beth's Grace ; which obtained, we delivered unto her your Highness' letter ; and I, the Lord Admiral, declared the effect of your Highness' pleasure according to the credence given to us, being before advertised of her estate by your Highness' physicians, by whom we did perceive the estate of her body to be such that, without danger of her person, we might well proceed to require her in your Majesty's name (all excuses set apart) to repair to your Highness with all convenient speed and diligence.
Whereunto we found her Grace very willing and con- formable, save only that she much feared her weakness to be so great that she should not be able to travel and to endure the journey without peril of life, and therefore desired some longer respite until she had better recovered her strength. But, in conclusion, upon the persuasion, as well of us as also of her own council and servants, whom, we assure your Highness, we have found very ready and forward to the accomplishment of your Highness' pleasure in this behalf, she is resolved to remove her hence to-morrow towards your Highness, with such journeys as by a paper herein enclosed your Highness shall perceive. Further, declaring to your Highness that her Grace much desireth, if it might stand with your Highness' pleasure, that she may have a lodging, at her coming to the Court, somewhat further from the water than she had at her last being there ; which your physicians, considering the state of her body, tbinketh very meet ; who have travailed very earnestly with her Grace both before our coming and after, in this matter.
And after her first day's journey, one of us shall await upon your Highness to declare more at large the whole estate of our proceedings here. And even so we shall most humbly beseech Christ long to preserve your Highness in honour, health, and the contentation of your godly heart's desire.
From Ashridge, the 11th of February at four of the clock in the afternoon. — Your Highness' most humble and bounden servants and subjects, ™- tt0WA1>d
Edward Hastings. t. cornwaleys.1
There is clearly no brutality here, and none antici- pated. Elizabeth herself hopes to have a lodging
1 State Pa,2iers, Dom., Mary, iii. 21. Printed in Tytler's England under Edward VI. and Mary, ii. 426-7.
282 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
at Court such as the royal physicians themselves approve ; and her journey to London is arranged to be effected in five days in easy stages of not more than eight miles at the utmost, for the following is the enclosure referred to : —
The Okdek of my Lady Elizabeth's Gkace's Voyage to the Court
Monday : Imprimis, to Mr. Cooke's, vi miles.
Tuesday : Item, to Mr. Pope's, viii miles.
Wednesday : To Mr. Stamford's, vii miles.
Thursday : To Highgate, Mr. Cholmeley's house, vii miles.
Friday : To Westminster, v miles.1
The patient, if this programme was so far fulfilled, would have reached Highgate on Thursday, the 15th, and rested at Mr. Cholmeley's house. But if there was no previous delay, she remained there for nearly a week ; and it looks rather as if the previous stages were not exactly kept. For Noailles, writing on the 21st, which was Wednesday in the following week, says she is seven or eight miles off ; 2 whereas High- gate was only reckoned five miles from Westminster, and the previous resting-place as pre-arranged was Mr. Stamford's, seven miles from Highgate and therefore twelve from Westminster. So it seems as if the easy stages pre-arranged had not been closely adhered to, even as far as Highgate. The extreme weakness of the patient was no doubt the cause, and even if she made more of it than necessary, we may well believe that it was real. Noailles, indeed, probably makes the most of it, for when she was,
1 Printed in Tytler's England under Edward VI. and Mary, ii. 428. How these two documents, the letter and enclosure, in themselves confute a number of historical misconceptions is very well shown by Tytler, but I will only cite one point, which he gives in a footnote, here: "The high opinion of Lord William Howard expressed by Elizabeth to the Count of Feria on 10th November, 1558, just before Mary's death, proves that he never could have conducted himself as Foxe describes. See Memorias de la Real Academia de la Historia, vi. 255, Madrid, 1832."
2 Ambassades, iii. 78, 79.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 283
by his account, seven or eight miles off, he says her life was despaired of, and when she reached London, on Thursday the 22nd, he says that she was looking so ill, and apparently dropsical, that the same apprehen- sions were entertained about her.1
And certainly, if she had not previously been she had ill, the occurrences which were now daily taking ^M°r place were almost enough to make her so. For distress. the Duke of Suffolk, who had been condemned on the 17th, was executed on the 23rd, the day after her arrival. And rebels were being con- tinually committed to the Tower, or taken from it to be tried at Westminster. On Monday, the 19th, Sir William and George and Thomas Cobham, as they were commonly called, though their proper surname was Brooke, sons of the Lord Cobham, were apparently sent from the Tower to be arraigned, and though a letter from the Council that day intimated the Queen's pleasure that the two first should not be sent to trial, Thomas Cobham received sentence of death. On Tuesday the 20th, Lord John Grey, who could not walk for gout, was taken out of the Tower to receive sentence at Westminster. And on the same day were brought in three notable prisoners whose trials took place two months later, William Thomas, Kobert Winter, and Sir Nicholas Throg- morton. On Wednesday the 21st, were brought in Sir James Croft and Lord Thomas Grey, with two others, " the one a spy and the other a post." These had been captured in Shropshire by the activity of the Sheriff, Thomas Mitton. Sir Nicholas Arnold also was committed to the Fleet.2 It could not have been pleasant to Elizabeth to think that every one of these persons had been accused or condemned on her account. Arriving at Whitehall, she protested her
1 lb. pp. 87, 88.
2 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 62, 63 ; Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 395. There are inaccuracies in the mode of statement both in the Chronicle and in the Council register.
284 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
innocence, and desired to be taken to the Queen. But she was told she must justify herself first.
Renard, writing in confidence to the Emperor on the 17th, says : —
To-day the Duke of Suffolk will be condemned, and my Lord Thomas and Croft will arrive in this place. They have ten or twelve others accused, of whom Rogier (Sir Edward Roger), who was of the Privy Chamber of the late King Henry, is one of the chief. Meanwhile they cannot execute Wyatt until he is confronted [with others]. Lady Elizabeth is withering with mortification (sdche de regret) and is be- coming emaciated and weak (ithicque et impotente), to such an extent that she makes some days only two leagues, such is the remorse of her conscience. She cannot sustain herself in any way, and will not drink or eat. Some think she is enceinte. They have already examined Courtenay, who denies the accusation, confessing the passage of his servant into France, but stating that it was against his will. His mother is away from the Court.1
These malevolent rumours of Elizabeth confirm to some extent the more sympathetic account given of her by Noailles, the latter looking upon her as an ally, and Renard as an enemy. We may well believe she was in a most painful and anxious state of mind, as well as ill in body. signifi- Now let us go back three weeks. In the Queen's canceof ietter to Elizabeth, written on the 26th January, it
her pre- » . . J *
viousiy will be seen that she alludes to an intention on the piannded Par^ °f ner sister to leave Ashridge for Donnington, a house of her own near Newbury, in Berkshire, where, no doubt, she would be surrounded by devoted followers. The Queen, indeed, does not put the matter thus, but suggests to her rather that, as evil- disposed persons are cropping up in various places, she would be safer at Westminster. It so happens, however, that the French Ambassador, writing to his Sovereign on that very same 26th January, speaks of her removal as actually accomplished, and the
1 Renard to the Emperor, R. 0. Transcripts, ser. ii. 146, pp. 1222-3.
ch. .v THE LADY ELIZABETH 285
expected assemblies of Elizabeth's followers as having actually taken place. This, of course, was what journalists now call " premature " intelligence. Nevertheless, the passage in which it is conveyed is interesting, not only as showing that the movement was planned in concert with a confederacy of which the French Ambassador was a member, but also for another reason. The passage is as follows : —
The Lady Elizabeth has withdrawn thirty miles further off than she was, to one of her houses, where, as is said, great assembly is already made of gentlemen devoted to her, and she is frequently inquired after by writing by the Queen (estant souvent visiUe par escript de la part de ceste Royne) on account of the suspicions entertained of her. I have got hold of {jay recouvert) the copy of a letter that she wrote to the Queen, which the Emperor's Ambassador has had trans- lated into French, and which is here enclosed.1
This is a pretty clear interpretation not only of the object of the contemplated withdrawal to Donning- ton, but also of the cryptic significance of the way in which the Queen dissuaded it in her letter to Eliza- beth. In fact, it shows the principal reason why Elizabeth was really wanted at Westminster rather than at Ashridsje.
But what about the copy of the letter written by inter- Elizabeth to Mary, of which apparently the Imperial ^Jf!^,, Ambassador had made a translation, and which Noailles afterwards got hold of? That is a curious story, but the facts seem clear, and can be explained, I think, without a suggestion which has been made, that the text of Noailles' letter has been corrupted. The original of Elizabeth's letter is not now extant, but there is no doubt of its genuineness, and the reader has already seen its substance.2 The French Am- bassador, somehow or other, procured a copy of it ; 3
1 Ambassades, iii. 44. 2 See pp. 278-9.
3 M. Wiesener, from sources which I have had no opportunity of seeing, says that it was by bribing one of Elizabeth's domestics ( Youth of Queen Elizabeth, i. 274).
286 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
and this copy, along with the French Ambassador's own despatches to his master, fell into the hands of the English Government. The Government had no scruple in laying the contents of the whole packet before Renard, who thereby obtained important information (when he was able to make out the cipher) as to the way in which Courtenay's disclosures had brought on the risings, both in Kent and else- where, sooner than they would otherwise have occurred. But the copy of Elizabeth's letter was in plain writing, and it was really nothing new ; for the Queen, to whom it was addressed, had laid it before Renard, and he had translated it into French for the benefit of Charles V. Then Noailles was clever enough to get hold of the copy of this letter, apparently with the translation which the Imperial Ambassador had had made of it ; and he sent them on to the French Court along with his despatch of the 26th. But they were recaptured together with the French Ambassador's despatch, and the translation was sent to the Emperor by Renard on the 29th January, three days after the date of the intercepted French despatches.
If this was what really took place, then there is no inaccuracy in what Noailles writes to Henry II., and no reason to regard the text as corrupted. But I think there was a slight mistake in the information given about the matter by Renard to the Emperor in a postscript to the letter of the 29th January, which it is important to take note of now as the earliest information we have of the liberties taken with the French Ambassador's budget. The very words of this postscript are as follows : —
Sire, nos lettres escriptes, et que le Sieur de St Martin vouloit partir, la royne m'a mande pour m'advertir comme Ton avoit destrouss^ un pacquet que l'ambassadeur de France envoioit au roy ; auquel Ton a treuve copie d'une lettre que Madame Elisabeth avoit escript a la royne, il n'y a que trois
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 287
jours ; par laquelle Ton a cogneu l'intelligence qu'elle a avec ledit roy de France ; et a Ton deja dechiffre aucuns articles des lettres dudit Ambassadeur. Et demain ladite Dame me doit faire veoir le tout. Neantmoins je n'ai voulu retarder ledit Sieur de St Martin, a ce que V. M. entende que le roy de France delibere promovoir ladite Elisabeth a la couronne, et y employer ses forces, et signamment j'ai advis que ledit roy envoit victuailles, munitions et artillerie en Escosse pour de ce costil la executer l'emprinse, confiant que avecq les rebelles il fera retourner le royaulme en ses mains ; sur quoi plaira a V. M. adviser pour aider ladite Dame, et obvier par contraires appretz, ce que lui semblera pour le mieux.1
This is plainly a hastily written postscript convey- Suspected ing the substance of a message sent to the writer ^H01^ of
o o . Elizabeth
from the Queen by word of mouth ; and, I take it, with the there is a slight inaccuracy in the statement. The ^rXs- French Ambassador's intercepted letter was un- sador. doubtedly written on the 26th January — that is to say, " only three days ago," as the writer would have said if he had stated the matter correctly. But what he does say (or seems to say) is that Elizabeth wrote that letter to the Queen " only three days ago " ; which is, to say the least, in a high degree im- probable. For, in the first place, Elizabeth's servant, who betrayed her confidence, must, before the Ambassador in London sent off his despatch, have put him in possession of a copy of a letter written by Elizabeth that same day at Ashridge — a distance of thirty- three miles by the computation of Lord William Howard — which, on the whole, is not likely. Moreover, the contents suggest that it was the very first letter written to the Queen by Elizabeth since her arrival at Ashridge in November, her excuse for not writing being her state of health. In the interval the Queen had sent repeated messages to inquire about her health, and finally had written to her with her own hand to inform her of her full engagement to Philip, and that the articles and conditions of the
1 R. O. Transcripts, U.S. pp. 1092-3.
288 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
marriage were settled. Now this news was common property as early as the 14th January, when it was announced by Gardiner to all the nobility and gentry at Westminster ; and surely the Queen would not write in her own hand to announce a piece of stale news to her sister. Neither can we suppose that her sister, who expressed herself as deeply sensible of the Queen's kindness for this in addition to other favours, still put off replying to it for nearly a fortnight, and that she only wrote at last to the Queen on the 26th January — a day on which the Queen wrote again to her on a totally different subject. Elizabeth's letter was an old one when Noailles got a copy of it. But the fact that the French Ambassador should have found means to send a copy of it to his Court was undoubtedly a very suspicious -looking matter. It seemed to indicate nothing less than a French con- spiracy, of which Elizabeth was cognisant, to depose Queen Mary and put Elizabeth in possession of the Crown.
Such, then, was the appearance of things when Elizabeth came up to Whitehall ; and who can wonder that Mary's natural feeling towards her sister had been put to a severe strain ? There was Wyatt's rebellion in Kent, Suffolk's rebellion in the Midlands, intended risings in Wales and in the North, and Elizabeth's departure to Donnington where she would find men devoted to her — all intended to take place at a time when Sir Peter Carew was in France, getting unacknowledged aid from the French King to re-enter England and stir up new troubles in the West. And though it was all to have taken place some weeks later but for Courtenay's awkward dis- closures, Noailles at the end of January was confident of the success of the conspiracy. The "entrepreneurs contre cedit prince d'Espaigne " had not lost heart ; Lord Thomas Grey, he said, had declared that he would take Courtenay's place and be King himself
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 289
or be hanged.1 Wyatt had kept promise to his friends, and later accounts showed that he was going on splendidly. Even after he was taken prisoner, Noailles spoke of him with admiration as " le plus vaillant et asseure de quoy j'aye jamais ouy parler." 2
Now it is a matter of importance for us to form a correct estimate of Monsieur de Noailles. We have seen already that his intelligence of what was going on at Court was not always to be relied on, and now we find the same thing as to his intelligence of what Elizabeth was doing in the country. He was above all things sanguine, and did not always anticipate mishaps or attribute much importance to them when they occurred. But it must have made him a little uncomfortable when he found out after- wards that his despatch of the 26th January had been intercepted and its contents, as he too surely believed, had been deciphered. He had, indeed, something to complain of; but the English Government, if they mastered his despatches, knew some cause likewise to complain of him — and indeed, probably, of his master Henry II. as well. So perhaps he did not feel it safe at once to complain to the Queen of the injuries inflicted on him, though he wrote on 11th February to the Constable Montmorency, that the English Ambassador in France ought to be informed how his courier had been waylaid and imprisoned, and his despatches stolen and laid before the Queen's Council, who had not returned them.3
We have already seen that on the 17th he and his Noailles' brother Francis were granted an audience by the tSSnt Queen, that she had then complained that some of despatches her subjects who were suspected of treason, and stoien?en especially Sir Peter Carew, had found refuge in France, and had told Noailles that she had ordered
1 Ambassades, iii. 48. 2 lb. p. 59.
3 lb. p. 60.
VOL. IV U
290 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
her Ambassador to request his extradition.1 The despatch of Noailles, in which this audience is reported, can hardly be printed in full ; for the text as published makes no mention of the complaint he made at this audience of the treatment of his messenger and j)acket. Of this we have a notice in a letter of the Council to Dean Wotton, the Queen's The false- Ambassador in France. In reply to Noailles' corn- Gardiner plaint the Queen referred him to her Council, and and the Gardiner was put up to answer him. Of course the answer had been arranged beforehand by the Council generally, and it was certainly sophistical, not to say unveracious, though Noailles could not well expose its untruth. The letters, Gardiner said, had been intercepted by the rebels when they were at Rochester, but the Council had afterwards got them into their hands and had delivered them to him for custody. Unfortunately, when the rebels came to Southwark they had made havoc of his papers, injuring many and throwing them into great disorder. This was true enough as regards the conduct of the rebels at his house, and for the time the Ambassador seemed satisfied. But he afterwards sent his secretary to inform the Council that he had letters from the King his master, directing him to ask for the delivery of the intercepted despatches which the King had been informed had been delivered to the Emperor's Am- bassadors to decipher. They had been so delivered, but again the Council met the allegation with a prompt lie. They would never think of doing such a thing, they said, for they looked upon the King of France as their friend ; besides, they could not decipher the letters.2
Now, long before Wyatt came near Southwark the Queen had, as we have seen, informed the Imperial Ambassadors of the French Ambassador's packet having been opened ; and they stated that she
1 See p. 265. 2 Foreign Calendar, Mary, pp. 60, 61.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 291
had done so in the postscript to the letter they wrote to the Emperor on the 29th January, enclosing the French translation of Elizabeth's letter to Mary which was found in the packet. And instead of being- unable to decipher the other contents of that packet, the English Government had even then deciphered some portions of Noailles' letters.1 Nor was this all ; for they had not only robbed his courier (Nicolas, chevaucheur cVescurie) of his letters, but of his money and arms as well, and imprisoned him besides ; and they did the like afterwards to an Englishman en- trusted by Noailles with another packet, whom they kept prisoner three or four days, threatening to hang him if he carried any more letters for the French- man.2 Nor had Noailles received his letters back again three weeks after the first seizure, when the Council made such plausible excuses to him for not having been able to deliver them. Perhaps the pre- varications of the Council which Gardiner uttered to the French Ambassador may partly be explained by the fact that there was more than one intercepted packet, and that the story of each was different.
But we must not do Gardiner the injustice to Noailles' believe that he adopted dishonourable courses and jj^cates lying without grave cause. The French Ambassador's Courtenay letter, written on the 26th January, fell into his hands ™bemon. the very next day. The news of Wyatt's outbreak in Kent, known on the 25th, had already led to a number of surmises and suspicions, and on the morning of the 27th Gardiner had been pursuing some inquiries at the Minories, as he wrote the same day to Sir William Petre. And he adds as follows : —
As I was in hand with that matter, were delivered such letters as in times past I durst not have opened. But now
1 Renard to the Emperor, 29th January, R. 0. Transcripts, v.s. p. 1092. 2 Ambassades, iii. 60, 61.
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LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
somewhat hette with these treasons, I waxed bolder ; wherein, I trust, I shall be borne with. Wherein hap helpeth me for they be worth the breaking up an I could wholly decipher them. Wherein I will spend somewhat of my leisure, if I have any. But this appeareth, that the letter written from my lady Elizabeth to the Queen's Highness now late in her excuse is taken a matter worthy to be sent into France ; for I have the copy of it in the French Ambassador's packet.
1 will know what can be done in the deciphering, and to-morrow remit that I cannot do unto you.1
So Gardiner applied himself to the task of de- ciphering the French Ambassador's despatch ; in the course of which he discovered matter not to his liking, for in one passage there was a symbol for which he left a blank, though he certainly had a too sure foreboding that it stood for the name of Courtenay, whom he had, as he hoped, delivered from French intrigues by a masterly stroke of policy. He would fain have kept his secret to himself, but Renard [who suspected that the document contained something which the Lords of the Council had not told him] obtained a sight of it from the Queen, and made another decipher, wherein the name of Courtenay was written plain. This decipher he showed to the Chancellor, who changed colour when he saw that the name of his protege was included among the conspirators.2
Renard could not help noting that Gardiner's partiality for his old fellow -prisoner was defeating what he thought justice, and certainly weakening the policy which he had been pursuing all along of making England a good deal more than a mere ally and friend of the Emperor. But if the Imperial Ambassador had had his way, it would certainly have cost the heads both of Courtenay and Elizabeth, as well as of many others, unless a renewal of insurrections had preserved their lives by actually dethroning the Queen. That
1 State Papers, Dom., Mary, ii. 20.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 5th February, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 1153 sq.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 293
this might well have happened may, perhaps, be sur- mised from information supplied by Renard as to the state of the kingdom. For some letters of Renard to the Emperor at this time, inform us more fully of the state of affairs in England than any other source ; and I can do no better than transcribe the greater part of them.
On the 20th February Renard writes as follows : —
Sire, — The whole Council of the Queen of England have Renard on resolved to summon Parliament for the fifteenth day after affairs in Easter, that the articles of the marriage of the Queen to his Highness maybe ratified and approved; for this purpose letters of summons are already in preparation, to be sent with all despatch to the different counties and districts, as it is the custom always to give six weeks' notice before the assembling of any Parliament.
The Chancellor still obstinately insists that they shall debate the subject of the Queen's right to be supreme head of the Church, which some members of the Council oppose ; nor am I without suspicion that the Chancellor is advised to this by Cardinal Pole, that he may accumulate difficulty upon difficulty. A point, the truth of which I hope to fathom, and to discover if he is to be trusted or not.
The Cardinal has not written to the Queen, nor sent any reply to two letters which she addressed to him, — one received on his journey, the other at Brussels, by which she required his advice how she should, without scruple of conscience, provide for the vacant sees, and whether he had authority to pronounce the requisite confirmation. This shows that he entertains some resentment against the Queen, because she had sent him no notice regarding the marriage ; and, accordingly, one of the principal persons about him, a theologian, named William Peto, has addressed a letter to Mary, which she received three days ago, giving her advice not to marry, but to embrace celibacy ; interspersing in his letters several texts of the Old and New Testaments, and repeating ten or twelve times that she would fall into the power and become the slave of her husband, — nay, that at her advanced age she cannot hope to bear children without the peril of her life ; a speech which has been often enough repeated. He concludes by an offer to come to visit her and tell her something more.
294 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
The Venetian Ambassador has had an audience of the Queen and the Council to offer his apology regarding the arms winch the rebels took from the Venetian ship, to which I alluded in my last letters. He insisted that they only carried off ten swords, ten partisans, and five or six arquebuses ; that they took away no guns, and entered the ship by force. To this the Admiral replied that he was well assured to the contrary. And, the day before, Cabot had accused the said ambassador, before some of the Council, of secret practices carried on by him and his secretary, by which the evil intentions which he has against the Queen and his Highness were evidently proved, there being a strong suspicion that the conspiracies were entered into in his house ; especially with Courtenay, who did not venture to go so openly to the house of the French ambassador.
It is certainly known that a courier passed over to Dover, who brought money to assist Wyatt. Condemnations of several noblemen occur from day to day, but the executions do not follow.
I have received a letter by this bearer from his Highness, in which he informs me that he has sent the necessary powers to your Majesty. Nevertheless I shall pretend that I have received letters from him.1
Four days later, on the 24th February, Renard writes again as follows : —
Sire, — Wyatt has plainly confessed in his deposition that the Sieur Osell [d'Oysel, see p. 209], when he passed through this kingdom into Scotland with the French Ambassador, now resident there, spoke to one named Crofts, at present a prisoner, to persuade him to hinder the marriage of his Highness and the Queen, to raise Elizabeth to the crown, to marry her to Courtenay, and put the Queen to death : that he had before this spoken to Mr. Rogers, also a prisoner ; and to Peter Carew, by one named South, and Pickering, to become accomplices, having promised money, assistance, and men on the part of the King of France. And that, to enable them more easily to carry on the chief enterprise, this monarch was to make a simultaneous attack on the sides of Scotland, Guines, and Calais, at the moment that they on their sides conducted the principal enterprise. With this object the
1 Tytler, England under Edward VI. and Mary, ii. 302-5. Translated from the French in the R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 156 sq. The original was in cipher.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 295
French had sent several officers into Scotland, and intended to despatch the Visdame with artillery, ammunition, money, and soldiers, to begin the war, in conjunction with the Scots in that quarter ; whilst the Marshal St. Andre is to make the attack on the side of Guines. . . .
And now, as the principals in the conspiracy are prisoners, and the design on this side has failed, there is great doubt whether the King of France will pursue his enterprise on the side of Scotland and Guines. . . .
Thus the practices of the French are discovered ; to prevent which, the Queen had despatched the Earl of Derby to enlist soldiers, and to take four counties under his government. The Earl of Westmorland and some others have also a command ; and, besides them, every member of the Council has 100 footmen and 50 horse under his command for the ordinary guard. The Admiral in haste is arming all the ships that he can get afloat ; they are fortifying and provisioning the seaports, and orders have been sent to their governors, directing them to favour the ships of your Majesty, as well Flemish as Spanish. . . .
The Parliament is fixed to be held at Oxford on the 7th of April next — a proceeding which gives umbrage to the Londoners, who foresee that, if the Queen leaves the city, it will soon be impoverished. . . .
To-day the Duke of Suffolk is to be executed ; . . . and all possible expedition is made in the trials of the criminals, who are very numerous, as the enclosed list shows, — there being more than twenty whose names are not given in it.
The Queen has granted a general pardon to a multitude of people in Kent, after having caused about five-score of the most guilty to be executed. Numerous are the petitions presented to her Majesty to have the pain of death exchanged for perpetual imprisonment, but to this she will not listen.
As to the divisions in the Council, I understand that Paget is against the Chancellor, the Grand Chamberlain, and the Comptroller, and I suspect that, from anmiosity against the Chancellor, he is doing something contrary to the expectations which the Queen has entertained.1 It is now more than six days since he has been absent from the Council, excusing himself on the plea of indisposition, and retiring to his house about twenty miles distant. Suspicions
1 Paget seems to have been absent from the Council ever since the 19th January {Acts of the Privy Council).
296 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
have risen against him, because Croft and Wyatt have repeatedly insisted on having an interview with him in secret, which is not permitted.
The Lady Elizabeth arrived here yesterday, clad com- pletely in white, surrounded by a great assemblage of the servants of the Queen, besides her own people. She caused her litter to be uncovered, that she might show herself to the people. Her countenance was pale ; her look proud, lofty, and superbly disdainful — an expression which she assumed to disguise the mortification she felt. The Queen declined seeing her, and caused her to be accommodated in a quarter of her palace from which neither she nor her servants could go out without passing through the guards. Of her suite, only two gentlemen, six ladies, and four servants are permitted to wait on her, the rest of her train being lodged in the city of London.
The Queen is advised to send her to the Tower, since she is accused by Wyatt, named in the letters of the French Ambassador, suspected by her own counsellors, and it is certain that the enterprise was undertaken in her favour. And assuredly, Sire, if, now that the occasion offers, they do not punish her and Courtenay, the Queen will never be secure ; for I have many misgivings that, if, when she sets out for the Parliament, they leave Elizabeth in the Tower, some treasonable means will be found to deliver either Courtenay or her, or both, so that the last error will be worse than the first.1
courtenay By the 1st March Courtenay had been confronted ^th°nted with Wyatt, whose deposition implicated him in the Wyatt. rebellion, but he denied participation in it. Croft, who at first would not confess, had written his con- fession, showing clearly the intrigues of the French with the rebels, especially with William Thomas, who was not a man to hesitate at trifles ; he had plotted with two others to assassinate the Queen, a proposal which Wyatt and others had rejected with abhorrence.2 He stabbed himself, but did not succeed in taking his own life.
So it is clear that sources of great danger had
1 Tytler, England under Edward VI. and Mary, ii. 306-12. 'l Renard to the Emperor, 1st March 1553-4, R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 164 sq. ; Chron. of Queen Join- and Queen Mary, pp. 63, 65, 69.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 297
been revealed, and that there was a painful connection between all the elements of disorder, among which it was impossible to deny that Courtenay and Elizabeth had very prominent parts. Elizabeth indeed, who was a born diplomatist, managed to receive if not to cultivate the applause of those who disliked the Queen's intentions, without committing herself too deeply to any of their projects. But Courtenay was of very different mould ; he had been easily led into intrigues, and the imprisoned rebels accused him. He had a cipher for communication with Sir Peter Carew cut upon a guitar, and he would have followed Sir Peter into France if Wyatt had not dissuaded him.1 In fact, at the time he was supposed to have been lurking in Carew's house in Devonshire, he had really projected going thither, and had arranged for post-horses on the road. But, as we have seen, Gardiner had made him confess the conspiracy, and so measures were taken to counteract it.
As for Elizabeth having arrived at Westminster on Elizabeth the 22nd February, instead of having an honourable jjjjjjjj a lodging assigned to her at Court, she found herself, as Renard records, virtually a prisoner. On the 8th March it was determined that she should be examined by Gardiner, Arundel, Petre, and Paget,2 but the examination seems to have been put off for a week. At least we hear nothing more about it until she was visited by twenty Privy Councillors, one of them being Gardiner ; the other nineteen, as Foxe, in relating the matter, says, " shall be nameless." But before we read what took place then, I must say something as to what occurred in the interval.
On the 15th Wyatt was arraigned at Westminster wyatt's before a Commission presided over by the Earl of JJ^jJ^ Sussex. He partly confessed the indictment, but tion. declared himself innocent of all attempt on the Queen's
1 Renard to the Emperor, 8th March, R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 173. 2 lb.
298 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
life ; his only intention had been to purge the realm of foreigners, particularly Spaniards. And he himself, though looked on as a leader, was, he said, only the fourth or fifth man concerned. He named Courtenay as one of the others : " the Earl of Devonshire wrote unto me by Sir Edward Kodgers to proceed as I had begun." And as to the plot against the Queen's life, " the first devisour thereof was William Thomas, who broke the matter to Master John Fitzwilliams, that he should have done the deed ; this Fitzwilliams denied the same [i.e. refused to do it] ; at last he was half- determined to show the same to Sir Nicholas Arnold . . . who much discommended the fact, and told it to Master Crofts, who also told it to Master Wyatt." Both detested " the horribleness of the crime," and Wyatt provided himself with a great " waster," that is to say, a heavy cudgel with iron in it, which he placed in the hands of his man with instructions to " bob him well," though they do not seem to have been carried out. His excuse for not revealing the fact was that he believed himself capable of restraining William Thomas.
Then, coming to matters of the highest interest, " Touching Courtenay, he said that Sir Edward Rodgers went between Courtenay and him, and that he sent him word to proceed in the same. Touching my lady Elizabeth's grace, he said, that indeed he sent her a letter that she should get her as far from the City as she could, the rather for her safety from strangers ; and she sent him word again, but not in writing, by Sir William Seyntlowe, that she did thank him much for his good- will, and she would do as she should see cause." what Wyatt received sentence of death, but it was not
done^with cari'ie(i °ut at once, apparently because it was felt that Elizabeth? further information of the highest importance might at any time be got out of him. The most critical question was, what to do with the Lady Elizabeth.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 299
So seriously was she compromised that it certainly seemed to some, especially to Gardiner, that she must be committed to the Tower ; and in preparation for this, according to Renard, the Chancellor had put Sir Richard Southwell in the Tower to be her custodian and examiner — a step which the Imperial Ambassador did not approve, because he thought Southwell would be too favourable to her ; he was always, according to Renard, the chief promoter of Courtenay's marriage with Elizabeth, and was besides " the most ignorant, the most corruptible, and the most prejudiced man in the kingdom."
This was written on the very day before Wyatt's trial, the result of which, as implicating Elizabeth, it must have been easy to foresee ; but the slackness of the Chancellor's proceeding as regards all the State prisoners filled Renard with the most painful mis- givings. It seemed to him that he was protecting the guilty ; but such was his position and authority with the Queen that there was no help for it.1
But in truth he was one of the least favourable to Elizabeth among the Council, for several of them were against her being sent to the Tower at all. Next morning, before Wyatt had received his sentence, several of them protested against the proposal to commit her to the Tower, on the ground that they were not clear about the conduct of her process ; but they were asked which of them would be security for the custody of such a very important prisoner, and as none of them would undertake such a respon- sibility, the decision to commit her was inevitably acquiesced in.
On Friday, 16th March, Elizabeth was waited upon The order by Bishop Gardiner and nineteen others of the j*£^on_ Council, who charged her with complicity with Wyatt's mentmtiu rebellion, in reply to which she protested her entire Tower' innocence. She likewise denied complicity with the
1 Renard to the Emperor, 14th March, R. O. Transcripts, u.s. p. 186 b.
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stir made by Sir Peter Carew in the West. But in the end they told her it was the Queen's pleasure that she should go to the Tower until the matter could be more fully investigated —
Whereat she, being aghast, said, that she trusted the Queen's majesty would be more gracious lady unto her, and that her Highness would not otherwise conceive of her but that she was a true woman.
She begged the intervention of the lords, as she was innocent of all that was imputed to her, that she might not be committed to so " notorious and doleful a place," declaring she asked for no favour if any of the charges were made out against her. The lords, however, told her that there was no remedy, as such were the Queen's commands, and they departed " with their caps hanging over their eyes." 1
On Saturday the 7th, two lords of the Council, one of whom was the Earl of Sussex,2 came to her to intimate that it was the Queen's pleasure she should go to the Tower, and that the barge was ready for her and the tide convenient. She implored them to delay for another tide, but this they durst not do, and then she begged leave to write a letter to the Queen ; to which objection was raised by the Marquis of Winchester as neither time nor tide waited for any one. But Sussex was more compliant and allowed her, so she sat down and with her ordinary bold handwriting wrote a letter to the Queen her sister, which, being preserved to this day, betrays nothing of agitation on the part of the writer, nor any want of care even in the formation and flourishes of her signature. It was in these words : —
If ever any one did try this old saying, that a king's
1 Foxe, viii. 607-8.
2 The other, says Foxe, shall be nameless ; he is in like manner reticent about the names of the nineteen councillors, who along with Gardiner charged Elizabeth with being accessary to Wyatt's rebellion. How very careful Foxe is about naming persons who doubtless stood high in Elizabeth's favour as Queen at the time he wrote. Both Gardiner and the Earl of Sussex died in Mary's time.
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 301
word was more than another man's oath, I must humbly Her letter beseech your Majesty to verify it in me, and to remember to the your last promise and my last demand, that I be not con- yueen- demned without answer and due proof, which it seems that I now am ; for that without cause proved I am, by your Council, from you commanded to go unto the Tower, a place more wonted for a false traitor than a true subject ; which, though I know I deserve it not, yet in the face of all this realm appears that it is proved, which I pray God that I may die the shamefullest death that any died afore I may mean any such thing ; and to this present hour I protest afore God, who shall judge my truth, whatsoever malice shall devise, that I never practised, counselled, nor consented to anything that might be prejudicial to your person any way, or dangerous to the state by any means. And I therefore humbly beseech your Majesty to let me answer afore yourself, and not suffer me to trust to your councillors ; yea, and that afore I go to the Tower, if it is possible, if not, afore I be further con- demned. Howbeit, I trust assuredly your Highness will give me leave to do it afore I go, for that thus shamefully I may not be cried out on, as now I shall be, yea, and without cause. Let conscience move your Highness to take some better way with me than to make me be condemned in all men's sight afore my desert known. Also, I most humbly beseech your Highness to pardon this my boldness, which innocency procures me to do, together with hope of your natural kindness, which I trust will not see me cast away without desert, which, what it is, I would desire no more of God than that you truly knew ; which thing, I think and believe, you shall never by report know, unless by yourself you hear.
I have heard in my time of many cast away for want of coming to their prince ; and in late days I heard my Lord of Somerset say that if his brother had been suffered to speak with him he had never suffered ; but persuasions were made to him so great that he was brought in belief he could not live safely if the Admiral lived, and that made him consent to his death. Though these persons are not to be compared with your Majesty, yet I pray God, as evil persuasions persuade not one sister against the other, and all for that they have heard false reports, and not hearken to the truth known ; therefore, once again kneeling with all humbleness of my heart, because I am not suffered to bow the knees of my body, I humbly crave to speak with your Highness,
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which I would not be so bold to desire, if I knew not myself most clear as I know myself most true. And as for the traitor Wyatt, he might, peradventure, write me a letter, but on my faith I never received any from him ; and as for the copy of my letter to the Trench King, I pray God confound me eternally if ever I sent him word, message, token, or letter by any means ; and to this my truth I will stand to my death your Highness's most faithful subject that hath been from the beginning and will be to the end.
Elizabeth.
I humbly crave but one word of answer from yourself.1
The writing of this letter effected one thing at least ; it caused such delay that the favourable tide passed by, and as the removal of the royal Lady by night was thought inexpedient for fear of attempts to rescue her, it had to be deferred to next day. That day was Palm Sunday, the 18th of March, and about nine in the morning the Earl of Sussex and the Marquis of Winchester returned to tell her that she must now embark.
" If there be no remedy," she replied, " I must be contented." She desired the lords to go on before. In passing through the garden, she cast up her eyes in the hope of catching sight of the Queen, but being disappointed in this, she wondered what the nobility meant by allowing her to be sent thus into captivity.
" In the meantime," says Foxe, " commandment was given in all London, that every one should keep the church, and carry their palms, while in the mean season she might be conveyed without all recourse of people into the Tower." 2
The same authority goes on to tell us : —
she is After all this, she took her barge with the two foresaid
fought to lords, three of the Queen's gentlewomen, and three of her own, her gentleman usher and two of her grooms, lying and hovering upon the water a certain space, for that they could not shoot the bridge, the bargemen being very unwilling to shoot the same so soon as they did, because of the danger
1 Ellis, Orig. Letters, 2nd ser. ii. 254-55. 2 Foxe, viii. 608-9.
the Tower,
ch. iv THE LADY ELIZABETH 303
thereof; for the stern of the boat struck upon the ground, the fall was so big and the water so shallow, that the boat being under the bridge, there staid again awhile. At landing she first stayed, and denied to land at those stairs where all traitors and offenders customably used to land, neither well could she unless she should go over her shoes. The lords were gone out of the boat before, and asked why she came not. One of the lords went back again to her, and brought word she would not come. Then said one of the lords, which shall be nameless, that she should not choose ; and because it did then rain, he offered to her his cloak, which she, putting it back with her hand with a good dash, refused. So she coming out, having one foot upon the stair, said, "Here landeth as true a subject, being prisoner, as ever landed at these stairs, and before Thee, 0 God ! I speak it, having no other friends but Thee alone." To whom the same lord answered again, that if it were so it were the better for her.
A graphic account is added of a body of warders and servants standing in order, to await her landing. On her asking why, she was told it was usual on the reception of a prisoner. If so, she said, she begged they might be discharged and go home. The warders kneeled down and prayed God to preserve her Grace. But, for their cordiality, we are told they were relieved of their liveries afterwards.
After landing she rested herself upon a cold stone, and the lieutenant begged her to come out of the rain, but she said :
It is better sitting here than in a worse place ; for God knoweth, I know not whither you will bring me.
The lords were in some difficulty, and Sussex warned them not to exceed their commission.
Within five days she was visited by the Chan- and is cellor Gardiner, with others, and questioned about examined- the talk that had taken place at Ashridge between her and Sir James Croft about her removal to Donnington Castle, and what was the intention of this movement. Her answer, as given by Foxe, is delicious : —
304 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
At the first she, being so suddenly asked, did not well remember any such house ; but within a while, well advising herself, she said, " Indeed," quoth she, " I do now remember that I have such a place, but I never lay in it in all my life. And as for any that hath moved me thereunto, I do not remember." 1
It had clearly come out on Wyatt's examination that she had received a message from him about her retiring to Donnington. The message was contained in a letter, but apparently she declined to receive the letter and returned answer by word of mouth to Sir William Saintlow. This, I imagine, is the true explana- tion of her saying that Wyatt might have written to her, but she had not received his letter. She had been very discreet — the rebels courted her, not she the rebels ; and the Earl of Arundel, hearing her defence, became friendly to her ; for apparently when con- fronted with Sir James Croft about his communications with her at Ashridge, she justified herself pretty sufficiently, and Croft himself bore out what she had said.
We may pass over a multitude of small details collected by Foxe as to the severity of her confine- ment and leave her now in the Tower, where she remained for some weeks.
1 Foxe, viii. 610.
CHAPTER V
HERETICS PAINTED MOSTLY BY THEMSELVES
During the three weeks that Elizabeth remained at Awkward Whitehall, there were several public manifestations of SSSSb- feeling both against the return to the Mass and content in against the Spanish marriage. About the beginning London- of March two women actually shot arrows at two priests inside a London church, which apparently was St. Dunstan's.1 On the 5th or 6th some hundreds of boys from separate schools met in a meadow and divided themselves into two bands, one calling itself the army of Philip and the Queen, the other that of the French King and Wyatt, and they fought together so lustily that the result was nearly fatal, the lad representing Philip having been all but hanged by his opponents. The Queen ordered the ringleaders to be whipped and imprisoned for some days.2 Then about the 14th there was a large collection of persons in Aldersgate Street, attracted by some mysterious sounds, uttered, as was thought, by a spirit inside a wall. About this, Renard writes as follows : —
Whilst closing these letters, I have heard that the heretics here have, for the purpose of raising a mutiny amongst the people, placed a man and woman in one of the houses in London, bidding them give out that they heard a
1 Renard calls it "Dompton."— Egmont and Renard to the Emperor, 8th March, R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 179.
2 Renard to the Emperor, 9th March, ib. p. 185 ; Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 129-30.
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voice in a wall, which they knew was the voice of an angel. When they said to it, " God save Queen Mary ! " it answered nothing. When they said, " God save the Lady Elizabeth ! " it replied, " So be it." If they asked it, " What is the Mass ? " it replied, " Idolatry." And such was the effect of this trick, that, at eleven o'clock in the morning, more than seventeen thousand people were collected round the house. The Council sent thither the Admiral and Paget with the Captain of the Guard, and they have seized the man and woman that they may find out the author of the trick, which every one (even Elizabeth herself, who is stayed at Court) believes to have been got up in favour of the prisoners, with the hope of exciting the people against the Queen, raising the heretics, and troubling the kingdom.1
Renard's In the beginning of the letter just quoted, Renard auxiety. j^j eXpressecl the acute anxieties of his position to the Emperor as follows : —
Sire, — When I consider the state of the affairs of the Queen and of this kingdom, the confusion which exists in religion, the partizanships among the Queen's own Councillors, the intestine hatred between the nobility and the people, the natural disposition of the English, who are so much given to party spirit, treason, and infidelity ; their natural enmity to foreigners and what they have done against them from time to time, which is increased against the Spaniards by French persuasions and the bad reports that your Majesty's subjects have made of it. And on the other hand, when I consider how very important it is that his Highness shall not incur any danger to his person, on which depends the welfare of so many kingdoms, and the difficulty there is of acting with sufficient caution as regards the English people, I feel the burden of this charge so weighty and of so much importance and consequence, and my spirit so troubled, that I know not by what means I can accomplish what your Majesty commands by your last letters of the viith. Because it would be too rash and perilous to make sure, whereas to withdraw and delay the marriage, things are too far advanced.2
And affairs in England were the more critical on
1 Printed by Tytler, England under Edward VI. and Mary, ii. 340-41, from R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 190 b.
2 lb. p. 186.
ch. v HERETICS 307
account of the relations between this kingdom and France, which were such as to cause the Imperial Ambassador much anxiety with respect to the coming of Philip ; for the intrigues ceaselessly carried on by M. de Noailles rendered the animosity of the people, and especially of the heretics, to the Spanish marriage peculiarly dangerous. Early in March the Queen had actually requested the recall of Noailles.1 And it was thought that he wished to leave for his own sake, for his position here had become extremely unpleasant. Had he left the kingdom war would have seemed not far off. But that would not have suited the policy of Henry II., and the two sovereigns still outwardly maintained terms of friendship ; even on St. George's Day, the 23rd of April, the King of France wore the insignia of the Garter, and Mary expressed her satis- faction on hearing of it.2 Compliments of that kind, however, were of little moment. Still, in spite of the existing discontent in England, when Egmont and was it Renard asked Paget and Sir Robert Rochester, the thlt'pwi Comptroller of the Household, whether they might be should sure that if Philip came he would be well received, they were answered by a visit on Sunday, 4th March, from the Chancellor, Paget, and others of the Council, who told them that, after careful consideration of all that they had heard, they were confident that Philip could come to England in perfect safety.3 It was on this assurance that the ratification of the marriage articles and the espousal took place, as we have seen, on the 6th. Nevertheless Renard considered, as we see from the second extract from his letter of the 14th, which is given above, that there still was abundant cause for anxiety.
1 Egmont and Renard to the Emperor, 8th March, R. O. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 177. See also letter of 9th March, ib. p. 185.
2 The Foreign Calendar dates this despatch 10th April, but the reference to St. George's Day shows that the docket of the Council from which this date is derived is inaccurate : the true date of despatch is evidently 10th May.
3 Egmont and Renard to the Emperor, 8th March, R. 0. Transcripts, u.s. p. 175.
'1'
308 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viix
Such, then, was the state of popular feeling after the final arrangements had been made for a marriage which the Queen was embarking on for the express purpose of reconciling her kingdom to Rome and putting down heresy and schism. The nation knew her purpose and endeavoured to thwart it : heresy was in many places more vigorous than ever. Uuderhiii's Some examples of individual heretics are pro- ^aphy. minent, and their several characters and conduct from the commencement of the reign are worthy of review. First among the enthusiasts of the day was Edward Underhill, known in his own day by the nickname of " The Hot Gospeller." l He was a gentleman of Warwickshire, who sold his family estate to serve Henry VIII. in the war with France in 1543 ; and he is said to have been one of the 200 men-at-arms who attended the King at the siege of Boulogne in the following year.2 He was controller of the ordnance at Boulogne in 1549 when the French attempted to recapture it. He had married in 1545 the daughter of a citizen of London, who gave him ultimately a family of eleven. [He was living at Limehouse, then in the parish of Stepney, when] his sixth child, Guildford, was born in July 1553, during the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, who was the child's godmother. Underbill's wife still lay in childbed after Queen Mary came to the Tower on the 3rd August, and the next day at 10 p.m. the Sheriff of Middlesex approached the house to apprehend Under- hill as the author of a ballad " against the papists." Fortunately, he had a good friend and neighbour in Thomas Ive, the high constable, a man " earnest for the gospel," who persuaded the Sheriff to keep his
1 The story of Underhill which follows is entirely derived from a MS. printed in Nichols's Narratives of the Reformation (Camden Soc. ), a volume which also furnishes the materials for the two other autobiographies which follow.
2 It is curious that his name does not occur in Letters and Papers under either of these years. Perhaps it was really under Edward VI. that he was made one of the band of gentlemen pensioners created by Henry VIII.
ch. v HERETICS 309
company outside, so as not to frighten the poor lady, saying he would bring her husband to him. The Sheriff, however, knocked at the door himself, and Underhill got out of bed and came to him. " I have commandment," he said, " from the Council to appre- hend you, and forthwith to bring you unto them."
" Why," said Underhill, " it is now 10 of the clock in the night. Ye cannot now carry me unto them."
" No, sir," said the Sheriff, " you shall go with me He is to my house, to London, where you shall have a bed, arrested- and to-morrow I will bring you unto them at the Tower."
What immediately follows must be given in the very words of Underhill himself : —
On the morrow, the Sheriff, seeing me nothing dismayed, thinking it to be some light matter, went not with me himself, but sent me unto the Tower with two of his men waiting upon me, with two bills, prisoner-like, who brought me unto the Council Chamber, being commanded to deliver me unto Secretary Bourne.
Thus standing waiting at the Council Chamber door, two or three of my fellows, the Pensioners, and my cousin- german, Gilbert Wynter, Gentleman Usher unto the Lady Elizabeth, stood talking with me. In the meantime conieth Sir Edward Hastings, newly made Master of the Horse to the Queen, and seeing me standing there prisoner, frowning earnestly upon me, said, " Are you come ? We will talk with you or you part [before you go], I warrant you ; " and so went in to the Council. With that my fellows and kinsman shrank away from me as men greatly afraid.
Sir Edward Hastings was a younger brother of the Earl of Huntingdon and had just been made Master of the Horse for services to Queen Mary's cause, while his brother, the Earl, had so far fallen under the spell of Northumberland that he had married his eldest son, Lord Hastings, to Lady Katharine Dudley at the time when her brother, Lord Guildford, married Lady Jane Grey. The Earl, accordingly, was at this time in disgrace, though afterwards pardoned, while his
3io LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
brother, Sir Edward, was in high favour. But four years before, when Huntingdon was sent over to Calais with a body of 6000 men, he had found Underhill excellent company, for he could play and sing to the lute, and solace him in illness during the long winter nights. " The Earl," to use Underbill's words once more,
would have me in his chamber, and had also a great delight to hear his brother reason with me in matters of religion ; who would be very hot when I did overlay him with the texts of the Scripture concerning the natural Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar, and would swear great oaths, specially " by the Lord's foot," that after the words spoken by the priest there remained no bread, but the natural Body that Mary bare. " Nay, then, it must needs be so," would I say, " and you prove it with such oaths." Whereat the Earl would laugh heartily, saying, " Brother, give him over; Underhill is too good for you." Wherewith he would be very angry.
Underhill believed that Sir Edward had instigated his prosecution, but he was not at his examination.
For, tarrying thus at the Council Chamber, Dr. Cox was within, who came forth and was sent to the Marshalsea. Then came forth the Lord Ferrers, and was committed to the Tower. Then it was dinner-time, and all were com- manded to depart until after dinner.
These particulars, except the last sentence, are verified by Machyn's Diary, which shows that the day was the 5th August. And it is interesting to note corroborative evidence, as Underhill wrote this narrative twenty years after the events he records. To continue the quotation : —
He appears My two waiting men and I went to an alehouse to dinner, before the and, longing to know my pain, I made haste to get to the Council. Council Chamber door, that I might be the first. Immedi- ately as they had dined, Secretary Bourne came to the door, looking as the wolf doth for a lamb ; unto whom my two keepers delivered me, standing next unto the door, for there was moo (more) behind me. He took me in greedily and
ch. v HERETICS 311
shut to the door ; leaving me at the nether end of the Chamber, he went unto the Council, showing them of me, and then beckoned me to come near. Then they began the table and set them down. The Earl of Bedford sat as chiefest uppermost upon the Bench ; next unto him the Earl of Sussex ; next him Sir Richard Southwell. On the side next me sat the Earl of Arundel ; next him the Lord Paget. By them stood Sir John Gage, then Constable of the Tower, the Earl of Bath, and Mr. Mason. At the board's end stood Serjeant Morgan that afterwards died mad, and Secretary Bourne. The Lord Wentworth stood in the bay window, talking with one all the while of my examination, whom I knew not.
Underbill remembered the whole scene minutely. I will not trouble the reader with notes about any of the persons above named except two. " Mr. Mason" was the learned and travelled Sir John Mason, who had been Clerk of the Council under Henry VIII., and Chancellor of Oxford University under Edward VI., as he afterwards was again under Mary. Serjeant Morgan, " that afterwards died mad," was very shortly after this date made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and the sad occasion of his going mad has already been mentioned.
Underbill was disappointed to find that the Earl of Bedford, who presided, did not treat him familiarly, though he had once saved his son Francis, Lord Russell, from drowning in the Thames. " Come hither, sirrah !" he said. "Did you not set forth a ballad of late in print ? "
I kneeled down, saying, " Yes, truly, my Lord. Is that the cause I am called before your honors ? " " Yea, marry," said Secretary Bourne. " You have one of them about you, I am sure." " Nay, truly have I not," said I. Then took he one out of his bosom and read it over distinctly, the Council giving diligent ear. When he had ended, " I trust, my Lords," said I, " I have not offended the Queen's Majesty in this ballad, nor spoken against her title but maintained it." " No have [sic], sir," said Morgan ; " yes, I can divide your ballad and make a distinction in it, and so prove at the least
312 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
sedition in it." " Yea, sir," said I, " you men of law will make of a matter what ye list." " Lo ! " said Sir Richard Southwell, " how he can give a taunt. You maintain the Queen's title with the help of an arrant heretic, Tyndale." " You speak of papists there, sir," said Mr. Mason. " I pray you, how define you a papist ? " I looked upon him, turning towards him, for he stood on the side of me. " Why, sir," said I, " it is not long since you could define a papist better than I." With that some of them secretly smiled, as the lord of Bedford, Arundel, Sussex, and Paget. In great haste Sir John Gage took the matter in hand. " Thou callest men papist there," said he ; " who be they that thou judgest to be papists ? " I said, " Sir, I do name no man, nor I come not hither to accuse any, nor none I will accuse ; but your honors do know that in this controversy that hath been some be called Papists and some Protestants." " But we must know whom thou judgest to be Papists, and that we command thee upon thine allegiance to declare." " Sir," said I, " I think if you look among the priests in Paul's ye shall find some old mumpsimuses there."
The nickname of " mumpsimus " had long been given to an ignorant priest who held fast to old prejudices. It was older than the Reformation, and arose out of a story of an illiterate English priest who for thirty years had misread the wTord sumpsimus in his breviary as mumpsimus, and when corrected said, " I will not change my old mumpsimus for your new sumpsimus" The writer goes on : —
" Mumpsimuses, knave," said he, " mumpsimuses ? Thou art an heretic knave, by God's blood ! " " Yea, by mass," says the Earl of Bath, " I warrant him an heretic knave indeed." " I beseech your honors," said I (speaking to the Lords that sat at the table, for those other Lords stood by and were not then of the Council), " be my good Lords. I have offended no laws, and I have served the Queen's Majesty's father and her brother long time, and in their service have spent and consumed part of my living, never having as yet any preferment or recompense, and the rest of my fellows likewise, to our utter undoings unless the Queen's Highness be good unto us. And for my part, I went not forth against Her Majesty, notwithstanding that I was
ch. v HERETICS 313
commanded, nor liked these doings." " No, but with your writings you would set us together by the ears," saith the Earl of Arundel. " He hath spent his living wantonly," saith Bourne, " and now saith he hath spent it in the King's service ; which I am sorry for. He is come of a worshipful house in Worcestershire." " It is untruly said of you," said I, " that I have spent my living wantonly, for I never consumed no part thereof until I came into the King's service, which I do not repent, nor doubted of recompense if either of my two masters had lived. I perceive you Bourne's son of Worcester, who was beholden unto my uncle Wynter, and therefore you have no cause to be my enemy ; nor you never knew me, nor I you before now, which is too soon." " I have heard enough of you," said he. " So have I of you," said I, " how that Mr. Sheldon drave you out of Worcestershire for your behaviour."
With that came Sir Edward Hastings from the Queen in great haste, saying, " My Lords, you must set all things apart, and come forth to the Queen." Then said the Earl of Sussex, " Have this gentleman unto the Fleet until we may talk further with him," — although I was " knave " before of Mr. Gage. " To the Fleet ? " said Mr. Southwell ; " have him to the Marshalsea." " Have the gentleman to Newgate," saith Mr. Gage again. " Call a couple of the guard here." " Yea," saith Bourne, " and there shall be a letter sent to the keeper how he shall use him, for we have other manner of matters to him than these." " So had ye need," said I, " or else I care not for you." " Deliver him to Mr. Garett the Sheriff," said he, " and bid him send him to Newgate." " My Lord," said I unto my lord of Arundel, for that he was next to me as they were rising, " I trust you will not see me thus used, to be sent to Newgate. I am neither thief nor traitor." " Ye are a naughty fellow," said he ; " you were always tutynge in the Duke of Northumberland's ear, that you were." " I would he had given better ear unto me," said I ; "it had not been with him then as it is now " [the Duke being then in prison awaiting trial]. Mr. Hastings [i.e. Sir Edward above named] passing by me, I thought good to prove him, although he threatened me before noon. " Sir," said I, " I pray you speak for me that I be not sent unto Newgate, but rather unto the Fleet which was first named. I have not offended. I am a gentleman, as you know, and one of your fellows when you were of that band of the Pensioners." Very quietly he said unto me, " I was not at the talk, Mr.
314 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vhi
Underbill, and therefore I can say nothing to it ; " but I think he was well content with the place I was appointed to. So went I forth with my two fellows of the Guard, who were glad they had the leading of me, for they were great Papists. " Where is that knave the prisoner ? " said Mr. Gage. " I know not," said I.
When we came to the Tower gate, whereof Sir John a Bridges had the charge, and his brother Mr. Thomas, with whom I was well acquainted but not with Sir John ; who seeing they two of the Guard leading me without their halberts, rebuked them, and stayed me while they went for their halberts. His brother said unto me, " I am sorry you should be an offender, Mr. Underhill." " I am none, sir," said I, " nor I went not against the Queen." " I am glad of that," said he.
We may give Underhill credit for being perfectly loyal to Queen Mary, though opposed to Papists. He had apparently studied Tyndale's book T7ie Obedience of a Christian Man, which so strongly enforced submission to secular authority ; and he showed himself at once loyal, brave, and knowing, whatever his prejudices may have been. It is hard to break off or abridge his very interesting narrative, but we must condense it a little. He was conveyed to Mr. Garett the Sheriff's house in the Stocks Market He is — where the Bank of England is now. The two •mNri'wUed men °f *^e ^uard told the Sheriff that he was to gate. send him to Newgate, whither they were ready to
carry him. But the Sheriff, on Underhill speaking to him aside, dismissed them, saying he would execute the Council's command by his own officers. Under- bill's old friend, Francis, Lord Russell, being present, was sorry for his plight, having been "familiar with him in matters of religion " both abroad and at home, and next day sent him twenty shillings, which he afterwards kept up as a weekly allowance while Underhill remained in Newgate. Underhill went thither with two officers of the Sheriff unarmed and following him a little way behind, as he told the
ch. v HERETICS 3i5
Sheriff he would have gone himself at the Council's order. As he went he seemed almost at liberty but for the crowd that followed, and his friend Ive conversed with him on his way through Cheap- side. On entering Newgate prison Ive went upstairs with him into the hall ; and Underhill besought him not to let his wife know that he was sent to Newgate, but to the Counter, till she was near her churching. Through him he also desired her to send him his nightgown, his Bible, and his lute.
He had supper in the great hall with Alexander, the keeper, and his wife and half a dozen prisoners sent there for felonies ; but one of these, a man named Brystow, had known him at the siege of Landrecies, and turned out a " good fellow " who could play on a rebeck, and who managed to arrange that he should have a bed in his chamber. " He was a tall man, and afterwards of Queen Mary's guard, and yet a Protestant, which he kept secret, for else, he said, he should not have found such favor as he did at the keeper's hand and his wife's, for to such as loved the Gospel they were very cruel." But the keeper and his wife happily loved music, with which both Underhill and Brystow could supply them.
After about a fortnight Underhill fell ill in prison, His illness desired to change his room, and was favoured by the and release- keeper and his wife, but could find comfort nowhere, till he was visited by his friend Dr. Record, a man " seen in all the seven sciences and a great divine " as well as a physician, who continued to attend him gratuitously after he was delivered, " to his great peril if it had been known." His wife, meanwhile, was churched before her time in order to make suit for his liberation, and obtained it by the help of his kinsman, John Throgmorton, Master of Requests, also a Warwickshire man. His release, it appears, was ordered by the Council on 21st August,1 but he was
1 See Ads of the Privij Council, iv. 324.
316 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
not actually liberated till the 5th September when a brother-in-law stood security for him that he would appear if called upon, and he was carried to his house in a horse-litter, his wife fearing that he would not reach home alive; and, indeed, the litter had to move very gently and rest at times not to distress him too much.
By the 1st October, when Mary was crowned, he was able to walk about his room ; and being eager to see the Queen pass, though still very weak, he got on horseback, scarce able to sit, "girded," as he writes, "in a long nightgown, with double kerchiefs about my head, a great hat upon them, my beard dubed harde too ; my face so lean and pale that I was the very image of death, wondered at of all that did behold me, unknown to any." On either side he had a man to stay him, and he went and took up a position among others on horseback at the west end of St. Paul's. At this point in the story he indulges in some interesting reminiscences : —
Before her (i.e. the Queen's) coming I beheld Paul's steeple bearing top and top gallant like a royal ship, with many flags and banners, and a man triumphing and dancing on the top. I said unto one that sat on horseback by me, who had not seen any coronation, " At the coronation of King Edward I saw Paul's steeple lie at an anchor, and now she weareth top and top gallant. Surely the next will be shipwreck or it be long ; which chanceth sometimes by tempestuous winds, sometimes by lightnings and fire from the heavens." But I thought that it should rather perish with some horrible wind than with lightning or thunderbolt.
When Underhill wrote this he was thinking of the destruction which afterwards overtook the steeple of St. Paul's, struck by lightning in 1561. Let us now go on with the narrative, once more in his own words : —
When the Queen passed by, many beheld me, for they might almost touch me, the room was so narrow, marvelling
enemies.
ch. v HERETICS 317
belike that one in such state would venture forth. Many of my fellows the Pensioners, and others, and divers of the Council beheld me, and none of them all knew me. I might hear them say one to another, " There is one loveth the Queen well, belike, for he ventureth greatly to see her ; he is very like never to see her more." Thus my men that stood by me heard many of them say, whose hearing was quicker than mine. The Queen herself when she passed by beheld me. Thus much I thought good to write, to show how God doth preserve that seemeth to man impossible, as many that day did judge of me.
He returned home to Limehouse, and was able in under two months to walk at an easy pace. But after JJJJ Christmas he felt it necessary to change his quarters, as he had " fierce enemies " among his neighbours, especially the vicar of Stepney (Henry Moore), once Abbot of Tower Hill, that is to say, of the monastery of St. Mary of Graces near the Tower : —
"... Whom," says Underhill, " I apprehended in King Edward's time, and carried him unto Croyden to Cranmer, bishop of Canterbury, for that he disturbed the preachers in his church, causing the bells to be rung when they were at the sermon, and sometimes begin [ning ?] to sing in the choir before the sermon were half done, and sometimes challenging ?] the preacher in the pulpit ; for he was a strong stout Popish prelate, whom the godly men of the parish were weary of — especially my neigh- bours of the Lyme hurst, as Mr. Dryver, Mr. Ive, Mr. Poynter, Mr. Marche, and others. Yet durst they not meddle with him until it was my hap to come dwell amongst them ; and for that I was the King's servant I took upon me, and they went with me to the Bishop to witness those things against him. Who was too full of lenity ; a little he rebuked him and bade him do no more so. ' My Lord,' said I, ' methinks you are too gentle unto so stout a papist.' ' Well,' said he, ' we have no law to punish them by.' ' We have, my Lord,' said I ; ' if I had your authority I would be so bold to unvicar him, or minister some sharp punishment unto him and such other. If ever it come to their turn, they will show you no such favor.' 'Well,' said he, ' if God so provide, we must abide it.' ' Surely,' said I, ' God will never con you thank for this, but rather take
31 8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
the sword from such as will not use it upon his enemies.' And thus we departed."
This is a striking retrospect of the times of Edward VI. An abbot after the dissolution of his monastery in Henry VIIL's day had been obliged to content himself with the position of vicar of Stepney. But under Edward VI. he was not allowed to conduct the services, even in his own parish church, according to his sense of what was fit. Preachers were forced upon him by the Council, and he took what seemed to be the only methods left him (unseemly, as they doubtless were) of still asserting his authority. Yet " the godly " in the parish who would have taken part with the preachers would not interfere till Underbill came among them and, as " the King's servant," carried the objectionable incumbent before Cranmer, with a little company to bear witness against him. But the Archbishop was too mild for this fervent gospeller. He only rebuked the vicar and told him not to conduct himself in that way again, excusing himself to Underhill for his lenity by saying, " We have no law to punish them." This was not satis- factory to a soldier who wanted something like military order in things ecclesiastical. " If I had your authority," he said, " I would unvicar him." He certainly appreciated the spirit of Edwardine rule in the Church.
Underhill says he had " another spiteful enemy at Stepney " named Banbury, a man of loose life, like several other well-known characters with whom Under- hill himself had been conversant till he " fell to reading the Scriptures and following the preachers." He had exposed their wickedness in a ballad which caused them to raise slanders against him, saying he was a spy for the Duke of Northumberland, and calling him " Hooper's champion," because he set a bill on the gate of St. Paul's in Hooper's defence and another at St. Magnus' Church, " where he (Hooper) was too
ch. v HERETICS 319
much abused by railing bills cast into the pulpit and other ways." For these things he was much hated in Edward's days and often in danger of his life. Moreover he had apprehended " one Allen, a false prophesier," for spreading reports of King Edward's death two years before it took place ; and he was called " the hot Gospeller" in derision of his fervour. Men mocked both at preachers and at magistrates in their ribald talk, but " one or other would look thorough the board saying, ' Take heed that Underhill be not here.' "
There is a flavour of zeal for the Lord in what Underhill next tells us : —
At Stratford on the Bow I took the pix off the altar, being of copper, stored with copper gods, the curate being present, and a Popish justice dwelling in the town, called Justice Tawe. There was commandment it should not hang in a string over the altar, and then they set it upon the altar. For this act the Justice's wife with the women of the town conspired to have murdered me ; which one of them gave me warning of, whose good will to the Gospel was unknown unto the rest. Thus the Lord preserved me from them, and many other dangers moo ; but specially from hell fire, but that of His mercy He called me from the company of the wicked.
It is impossible to doubt that many of the new Gospellers were filled with a real loathing of vice and profligacy which had long found harbour under the conventional forms of the old religion. That there was a large amount of unscrupulousness in the new governing powers of the Church, and that dissolute lives were still led by prelates and others whom the new religion upheld, did not abate the feeling against old-fashioned hypocrisy. Men saw something sacred in the royal power which could make itself felt, and mere emptiness in the Papal power which could not stand against regal authority ; and if the weaknesses of human nature were abundant on both sides, a strong despotism could at least educate men into some sense
320 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
of order. Nor was it altogether wonderful that in the new state of matters a soldier's sense of order (even in the rule of the Church) was stronger than an Archbishop's.
To avoid Banbury and other spies by whom his friend Ive was sent to the Marshalsea, Underhill took " a little house in a secret corner at the nether end of Wood Street." His wages were still paid him by Sir Humphrey Ratcliff, lieutenant of the Pen- sioners, who " always favored the Gospel " ; and tTnderhm's hearing that the Pensioners were commanded to loyal watch in armour the night that Wyatt came into
service <p J
rejected. Southwark, he thought it best to go on duty with them, lest his name should be struck off the wages book. After supper he put on his armour and came with the rest into the presence chamber. They all had pole - axes in their hands, which greatly frightened the ladies. Mr. Norris, chief usher of the Queen's Privy Chamber and " always a rank Papist," though he had been gentleman usher under Henry VIII. and Edward, was appointed to call the watch, and, receiving the book from Moore, the clerk of the check, when he came to Underbill's name exclaimed, " What doth he here ? " The clerk said he was ready to serve like the rest. " Nay, by God's body ! " said Norris, " that heretic shall not be called to watch here," and struck his name out of the book. Being told by the clerk he might go home, he felt it a favour, not being yet quite recovered from his illness. So he took his men with him, and a link, and went his way. Again we must let him tell the story in his own words, especially as they bear upon a very great crisis in Mary's reign : —
When I came to the court gate, there I met with Mr. Clement Throgmorton and George Ferrers tindynge ther lynges [q. : tending, or kindling their links ?] l to go to London.
1 Stratmann in his Middle English Dictionary gives " tenden, v. OE (on-) tendan = Goth, tandjan ; set on fire, burn."
ch. v HERETICS 321
Mr. Throgmorton was come post from Coventry, and had been with the Queen to declare unto her the taking of the Duke of Suffolk. Mr. Ferrers was sent from the Council unto the Lord William Howard, who had charge of the watch at London Bridge. As we went, for that they were both my friends and Protestants, I told them my good hap and manner of my discharge of the watch at the Court.
When we came to Ludgate, it was past eleven of the clock. The gate was fast locked, and a great watch within the gate of Londoners, but none without ; whereof Henry Peckham had the charge under his father [Sir Edmund Peckham], who belike was gone to his father, or to look to the water side. Mr. Throgmorton knocked hard and called unto them, saying, " Here is three or four gentlemen come from the Court that must come in ; and therefore open the gate." " Who ? " quoth one. " What ? " quoth another. And much laughing they made. " Can ye tell what ye do, Sirs ? " said Mr. Throgmorton, declaring his name, and that he had been with the Queen to show her Grace of the taking of the Duke of Suffolk, " and my lodging is within, as I am sure some of you do know." . . . Still there was much laughing amongst them. Then said two or three of them, " We have not the keys, we are not trusted with them ; the keys be carried away for this night." . . .
[Finally, at Underbill's suggestion, he and his companions decided to seek shelter with one of his friends, Newman, an ironmonger, whose house was just outside Newgate.]
So to Newgate we went, where was a great watch without the gate, which my friend Newman had the charge of, for that he was the Constable. They marvelled to see there torches coming that time of the night. When we came to them, " Mr. Underhill," said Newman, " what news that you walk so late ? " " None but good," said I ; "we come from the Court, and would have gone in at Ludgate, and cannot be let in ; wherefore I pray you if you cannot help us in here, let [us] have lodging with you." "Marry, that ye shall," said he, " or go in at the gate, whether ye will." " God-a-mercy, gentle friend," said Mr. Throgmorton, " I pray you let us go in if it maybe." He called to the Constable within the gate, who opened the gate forthwith. " Now happy was I," said Mr. Throgmorton, " that I met with you. I had been lost else."
VOL. IV Y
322 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
He helped
to guard
the Queen
when
Wyatt
entered
London.
At this time Sir Thomas Wyatt, having given up hopes of entering the city through London Bridge, made a circuit, and having crossed the Thames at Kingston on the 6th February, came next day by St. James's and by Temple Bar to the very gates of the city. Underbill accordingly continues : —
When Wyatt was come about, notwithstanding my discharge of the watch by Mr. Norres, I put on my armour and went to the Court, where I found all my fellows armed in the hall, which they were appointed to keep that day. Old Sir John Gage was appointed without the utter gate, with some of the Guard, and his servants and others with him. The rest of the Guard were in the great Court, the gates standing open. Sir Richard Southwell had the charge of the backsides, as the woodyard and that way, with 500 men. The Queen was in the gallery by the Gatehouse. Then came Knevett and Thomas Cobham with a company of the rebels with them, thorough the Gatehouse from Westminster upon the sudden; wherewith Sir John Gage and three of the Judges, that were meanly armed in old brigandines, were so frighted that they fled in at the gates in such haste that old Gage fell down in the dirt and was foul arrayed ; and so shut the gates. Whereat the rebels shot many arrows. By means of this great hurly-burly in shutting of the gates, the Guard that were in the Court made as great haste in at the hall door, and would have come into the hall amongst us, which we would not suffer. Then they went thronging towards the Watergate, the kitchens and those ways. Mr. Gage came in amongst us all dirt, and so frighted that he could not speak to us. Then came the three Judges, so frighted that we could not keep them out except we should beat them down.
With that we issued out of the hall into the Court to see what the matter was; where there was none left but the porters, and, the gates being fast shut, as we went towards the gate, meaning to go forth, Sir Richard Southwell came forth of the backyards into the Court. " Sir," said we, " command the gates to be opened that we may go to the Queen's enemies — we will break them open else. It is too much shame the gates should be thus shut for a few rebels. The Queen shall see us fell down her enemies this day before her face." "Masters," said he, and put off his morion off his head, " I shall desire
ch. v HERETICS 323
you all as you be gentlemen, to stay yourselves here that I may go up to the Queen to know her pleasure, and you shall have the gates opened ; and, as I am a gentleman, I will make speed." Upon this we stayed, and he made a speedy return, and brought us word the Queen was content we should have the gates opened. " But her request is," said he, " that you will not go forth of her sight, for her only trust is in you for the defence [of] her person this day." So the gate was opened, and we marched before the gallery window, where she spake unto us, requiring us, as we were gentlemen in whom she only trusted, that we would not go from that place. There we marched up and down the space of an hour, and then came a herald posting to bring news that Wyatt was taken. Immediately came Sir Maurice Berkeley and Wyatt behind him, unto whom he did yield at the Temple gate, and Thomas Cobham behind another gentleman.
Anon after, we were all brought unto the Queen's presence and everyone kissed her hand ; of whom we had great thanks and large promises how good she would be unto us ; but few or none of us got anything, although she was very liberal to many others that were enemies to God's word, as few of us were. Thus went I home to my house, where I kept, and came little abroad until the marriage was con- cluded with King Philip.
Here we take leave of Underbill for the present, though his story is not yet ended ; but this chapter had better be limited, at least to the first year of Queen Mary before her marriage, for there is a good deal yet to be said about the power of Edwardine religion during that period, and there is another vivid piece of autobiography from which I must Mown- quote largely. The writer this time is a City clergy- JJJJJJJ. man, not a soldier, and he begins as follows : — graphy.
In the year of Lord God a thousand five hundred and three Queen Mary was crowned Queen of England, such a day of the month [the 1st October] being Sunday. And the next Sunday after, I, Thomas Mowntayne, parson of St. Michael's in the Tower Boyal, otherwise called Whittington College, in London, did there minister all kind of service according to the godly order then set forth by
324 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vhi
that most gracious and blessed prince, King Edward the Sixth. And the whole parish, being then gathered together, did then and there most joyfully communicate together with me the Holy Supper of the Lord Jesus ; and many other godly citizens were then partakers of the same, who with bitter tears of repentance did not only lament their former wicked lives but also the lack and loss of our most dread Sovereign Lord King Edward the Sixth, whom we were not worthy of, for our unthankfulness and disobedience both towards Almighty God and his Majesty. Now, while I was even a breaking of the bread at the table, saying to the Communicants these words, " Take and eat this," etc., and "Drink this," there were standing by, to see and hear, certain serving men belonging to the Bishop of Winchester, among whom one of them most shamefully blasphemed God, saying, " Yea, God's Blood ! Standst thou there yet, saying ' Take and eat, Take and drink.' Will not this gear be left yet ? You shall be made to sing another song within these few days, I trow ; or else I have lost my mark."
It is not pleasant to hear of such a rite being thus commented on by strangers who purposely came to watch proceedings. But, however little we approve, we must understand the position of matters. It was fully expected by this time that Parliament would very shortly pass an Act restoring the old religious observances which had been abolished under Edward VI., and no doubt, notwithstanding the strength of Edwardine feeling in the City, the change had been anticipated in several churches. But Mowntayne would make no change, and he not only ministered to his own parishioners, but to " many other godly citizens" who came to his church expressly for the purpose of partaking the Edwardine Communion, which they could no longer do in their own. Let us go on : —
He is The next Wednesday following, the Bishop of Winchester
summoned sent one of his servants for me to come and speak with my before*63,1, lord his master ; to whom I answered that I would wait Gardiner, on his lordship after that I had done morning prayer.
" Nay," saith his man, " I may not tarry so long for you.
I am commanded to take you wheresoever I find you, and
ch. v HERETICS 325
to bring you with me. That is my charge given unto me by my lord's own mouth." "Well then," said I, "I will go with you out of hand, and God be my comfort, and strengthen me with his Holy Spirit this day and ever, in that same truth whereunto He hath called me, that I may continue therein to the end. Amen ! "
We may note here that Mowntayne is not sum- moned to appear before his own Bishop, Bonner, who perhaps could not have said much against his use of a service that was still legal, if it was ever so. He was summoned before Gardiner as Lord Chancellor, who had never looked upon it as legal ; and this was what took place : —
Now, when I came into the great chamber at St. Mary Overy's, there I found the Bishop standing at a bay window with a great company about him, and many suitors, both men and women, for he was going to the Court ; among whom there was one Mr. Sellinger (Sir Anthony St. Leger), a knight and lord Deputy of Ireland, being a suitor also to my lord. Then the Bishop called me unto him and said, ' Thou heretic ! how darest thou be so bold to use that schisniatical service still, of late set forth ? seeing that God has sent us now a Catholic Queen, whose laws thou hast broken, as the rest of thy fellows hath done, and you shall know the price of it if I do live. There is such abominable company of you as is able to poison a whole realm with your heresies." " My Lord," said I, " I am none heretic, for that way that you count heresy, so worship we the Living God ; and as our forefathers hath done and believed, I mean Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with the rest of the holy prophets and apostles, even so do I believe to be saved, and by no other means." " God's Passion ! " said the Bishop, " did I not tell you, my lord Deputy, how you should know a heretic ? He is up with the ' living God,' as though there were a dead God. They have nothing in their mouths, these heretics, but ' The Lord liveth, the living God ruleth, the Lord, the Lord,' and nothing but 'the Lord.'" Here he chafed like a bishop, and, as his manner was, many times he put off his cap, and rubbed to and fro, up and down, the fore part of his head where a lock of hair was always standing up, and that, as some say, was his grace. But to pacify this hasty bishop and cruel man, the Lord
326 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
Deputy said, " My good lord Chancellor, trouble not yourself with this heretic, I think all the world is full of them. God bless me from them ! But as your Lordship said even now full well, having a Christian Queen now reigning over us, I trust there will be shortly a reformation and an order taken for these heretics ; and I trust God hath preserved your honorable Lordship, even for the very same purpose." Then said Mr. Selynger unto me, " Submit yourself unto my Lord, and so you shall find favor at his hands." " I thank you, sir (said I), ply your own suit, and I pray you let me alone, for I never offended my Lord, neither yet will I make any such submission as he would have me to do, be assured of that, God willing." " Well," said he, " you are a stubborn man." Then stood there one by much like unto Dr. Martyn [a master in Chancery], and said, " My Lord, the time passeth He is away. Trouble yourself no longer with tins heretic, for he
accused of js n0^ on\j an heretic but also a traitor to the Queen's weiTas of Majesty ; for he was one of them that went forth with the heresy. Duke of Northumberland, and was in open field against her Grace ; and therefore as a traitor he is one of them that is exempt out of the general pardon, and hath lost the benefit of the same." " Is it even so ? " saith' the Bishop. " Fetch me the book that I may see it." Then was the book brought him, wherein he looked as one ignorant what had been done, and yet he being the chief doer himself thereof.
So Mowntayne, it appears, was a traitor as well as a heretic, a marked man excepted from the general pardon as one who had actually taken the field along with Northumberland to prevent Mary's succession to the throne. And there is no denial of this in Mowntayne's own narrative, coloured as it probably is to some extent in ways which we cannot detect. His religion, it is clear, gave a special sanction to treason when there was a plot to prevent the succession of a Catholic princess, who was the right heir to the throne, both by ordinary law and by special enactment confirming Henry VIII. 's will. And yet he had the assurance, in further conversation, to tell the bishop that he had neither deserved to be hanged as a thief nor burned as a heretic, and that he had not broken the laws of the
ch. v HERETICS 327
realm. Gardiner ordered one of his gentlemen to take "this traiterous heretic" to the Marshalsea, add- ing that he was one of the " new brochyd brethren " that spoke against all good works. But this only afforded Mowntayne an opportunity of protesting that he never spoke against good works, which every Christian ought to practise, though not to think himself justified thereby, but rather to count himself an unprofitable servant when he had done his best. "That is true," replied Gardiner, "indeed your fraternity was, is, and ever will be, altogether un- profitable ; " and he asked what good deeds they had done either in King Henry's days or King Edward's. Mowntayne was quite ready with an answer, pointing out a multitude of good deeds done from the abolition of Roman authority and idolatry to the erection of hospitals and schools, ending triumphantly, " Are not all these good works, my Lord ? "
The Bishop was contemptuous. " Sir," he said, " you have made a great speak ; for whereas you have set up one beggarly house, you have pulled down an hundred princely houses for it, putting out godly, learned and devout men, that served God day and night, and thrust in their place a sort of scurvy and lowsy boys." Then came a conversation about the Mass, in which Mowntayne declared he considered the Mass neither holy nor blessed, but abominable and accursed before God and man. And he adds : —
I kneeled down and held up my hands, looking up into heaven, and said in the presence of them all, " 0 Father of heaven and of earth ! I most humbly beseech thee to increase my faith and to help my unbelief, and shortly cast down for ever that shameful idol the mass, even [for] Jesus Christ's sake I ask it. Amen. God grant it for his mercy's sake shortly to come to pass."
" I cry you mercy, Sir," said the Bishop ; " how holy you are now ! Did you never say mass, I pray you ? " " Yes, my Lord, that I have, and I ask God mercy and most heartily
328 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
forgiveness for doing so wicked a deed." " And will you never say it again ? " said the Bishop. " No, my Lord, God willing ; never while I live, knowing that I do know ; not to be drawn in sunder with wild horses. I trust that God will not so give me over and leave me to myself." Then he cried, " Away with him ! It is the stubbornest knave that ever I talked with," etc.
He is It is rather surprising that Gardiner had so
In the°ned mucn patience. Mowntayne's unctuous prayer for Marshal- the abolition of the Mass was a deliberate insult to the Lord Chancellor, who had already tolerated the conversation long after it was made manifest that Mowntayne had committed flagrant treason in addi- tion to his heresy. He was conveyed to the Marshal- sea and left there by one of the Bishop's gentlemen. Brytyn, the porter, brought him to "the great block" and said, " Set up your feet here, Master Heretic, and let me see how these cramp-rings will become you." He fastened them on with a hammer and took the unfortunate man to his lodging in " Bonner's coal- house " — a notable place of detention for heretics — where he locked him in.
That heresy was the root from whence sprang treason, in Mowntayne's case as in that of many others, did not make it more worthy of toleration in Gardiner's eyes. As a Churchman he was concerned most with the root of the political evil, while as a . Statesman he was bound to protect the common- wealth against offenders. He was, indeed, very patient in controversy so long as there seemed any hope of winning over a misguided man ; but when a man brought before him showed no deference what- ever to him or any other authority but his own view of things, what could a Lord Chancellor do % We need not be surprised at the next piece of informa- tion : —
Within a ten days after, the Bishop's almoner came in with his master's alms baskets, and these words he said to the
ch. v HERETICS 329
porter: "My Lord's pleasure is that none of those heretics that lie here should have any part of his alms that he doth send hither ; for if he may know that they have any of it, this house shall never have it again so long as he live." " Well," said Brytyn, " I will see to it well enough, Mr. Brookes ; and (i.e. if) they have no meat till that they have of that, some of them are like to starve, I warrant you, and so tell my Lord — for any favor they get at my hand." Then Brookes went his ways ; and, going out, he beheld a piece of Scripture that was painted over the door in the time of King Edward's reign. " What have we here ? "saith he ; "a piece of heresy ? I command you in my Lord's name that it be clean put out against I come again ; for if I find it here my Lord shall know it, by the holy Mass ! "
Now, while I was prisoner in the Marshalsea, they came The in daily thick and threefold for religion. And then Mr. prisoners Wyatt was up in Kent, and so coming to London and lying watt's in Southwark, he sent one of his chaplains unto me and to offer of the rest of my fellow prisoners, to know whether that we liberation, would be delivered out of prison or no. If we would so do, he would set us at liberty, so many as lay for religion ; with the rest he would not meddle. Then we all agreed and sent him this answer, " Sir, we give you most hearty thanks for your gentle offer; but, forasmuch as we came in for our consciences, and sent hither by the Council, we think it good here still to remain till it please God to work our deliverance as it shall seem best to His glory and our lawful discharge ; and whether it [be] by life or death we are content, His will be done upon us ! And thus fare you well." With this our answer he was well content, as afterward report was made to us.
Apart from its unction it was a prudent answer. But the offer shows one thing, even if we had no other evidence. Wyatt's movement, based avowedly on dislike of foreign domination and hatred of the Queen's intended Spanish marriage, had in view a restoration of Edwardine religion, by this time abolished by Act of Parliament. So it was just as well for prisoners for religion not to involve them- selves in new treasons, as they would have done by accepting his aid and so becoming his allies. But to do Mowntayne full justice we must quote two para- graphs more : —
33Q LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
Mown- tayne refuses to recant.
That same Lent there came unto me Dr. Chadsey, Dr. Pendleton, Mr. Udalle, Parson Pyttyes, and one Wackelyn, a petty canon of Paul's. All these labored me very sore for to recant, and if that I would grant so to do, "my Lord Chancellor will deliver you I dare say," said Mr. Chadsey, "and you shall have as good livings as ever you had, and better." To whom I answered that "I would not buy my liberty, nor yet my Lord's favour, so dear, and to forsake my good God, as some of you have done ; the price whereof you are like one day to feel if that you repent not in time. God turn your hearts and make you of a better mind ! Fare you well. You have lost your mark, for I am not he that you look for." And so we parted.
Dr. Martyn also did one time send for me likewise, to come speak with Mm at my lord of Winchester's house, offering me good livings if that I would submit unto my lord. I told him that "if I should go about to please men, I know not how soon my Maker would take me away, for a double-hearted man is unconstant in all his ways. I trust that your sweet balms therefore shall never break my head; and seeing that I have begun in the Spirit, God forbid that I should now end in the flesh ! " And he, hearing this, parted from me in a great fury, and, going out of his chamber, he sware a great oath, saying that I was as crafty an heretic knave as ever he talked with, and that I did nothing but mock my Lord. " Thou shalt gain nothing by it, I warrant ye. Keeper, have him away and look straitly to him, I counsel you, till that you know further of my Lord's pleasure." So I returned to the Marshalsea again with my keeper.
And in the Marshalsea we must leave Mowntayne now, though his story is not complete, for the same reason that we broke off the tale of Underbill. We shall hear of both of them again. And yet before passing on to other subjects there are one or two things to be said about Mowntayne which he does not tell us himself, and which may as well be men- tioned now. " He does tell us that he was parson of St. Michael's in the Tower Royal, otherwise called
Whittington College." His church was that of " St. © ©
Michael called Paternoster," a church which, as we are informed by Stowe,
ch. v HERETICS 33i
was new builded and made a college of St. Spirit and St. He had Mary, founded by Eichard Whittington, mercer, four times ^^ _ Mayor, for a master, four fellows, masters of arts, clerks, ton's tomb. conducts, chorists, etc., and an almshouse called God's house, or hospital, for thirteen poor men, one of them to be the tutor and to have 16d. the week, the other twelve each of them to have 14d. the week for ever, with other necessary provisions, an hutch with three locks, a common seal, etc. These were bound to pray for the good estate of Eichard Whittington and Alice his wife, their founders, and for Sir William Whittington knight, and dame Joan his wife, and for Hugh Fitzwaren and dame Molde his wife, the fathers and mothers of the said Eichard Whittington and Alice his wife, for King Eichard the Second and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, special lords and promoters of the said Eichard Whittington, etc. . . . The alms houses with the poor men do remain, and are paid by the Mercers. This Eichard Whittington was in this church three times buried, — first by his executors under a fair monument. Then in the reign of Edward VI. the parson of that church, thinking some great riches (as he said) to be buried with him, caused his monument to be broken, his body to be spoiled of his leaden sheet, and again the second time to be buried. And in the reign of Queen Mary the parishioners were forced to take him up, to lap him in lead, as afore, to bury him the third time, and to place his monument, or the like, over him again ; which remaineth, and so he resteth.1
So this godly Thomas Mowntayne violated the tomb of Sir Richard Whittington in the hope of finding " some great riches " buried with him, and stripped his body of its leaden sheet. Was it wonderful that he was excepted from a general pardon ? The outrage could not but have been notorious, and may almost excuse a very bad pun of Bishop Gardiner which I have omitted in the account of his examination, in a passage which I thought it well to condense. But I may give it now : —
I said my name was Thomas Mowntayne. " Thou hast wrong," saith he. " Why so, my Lord ? " " That thou hast not mounted to Tyburn, or to such a like place."
1 Stow, Survey, i. 242-3, ed. Kingsford.
332 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
There were, doubtless, many bad priests before the Reformation; but a good many of them, probably, found godliness great gain in the days of Edward VI. He is Mowntayne must have been in prison when he
of Sr^ received, along with eight other priests who held benefice. London benefices, a citation, dated 7th March (1554), from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury (who directed such matters in the voidance of the Archi- episcopal see) requiring him to appear at Bow church before Henry Harvey, LL.D., vicar-general. The citation was personally served only on two of the nine, the others being either, like Mowntayne, in prison or absent for prudential reasons. In the other seven cases, including Mowntayne's, the citation was affixed to the church doors of the respective parishes. But Mowntayne could not have been left in ignorance that he was summoned for being a married man ; for which reason he, like the rest, received sentence of deprivation shortly afterwards.1
Hancock's An other preacher whose doings at this time call graphy." f°r n°tice is an old acquaintance — Thomas Hancock of Poole. How remarkably he evaded royal pro- clamations and laws, and was protected in so doing even in the days of Edward VI., we have seen already.2 But now, when times were changed, one might have supposed that he was less able to carry things with the high hand ; which, indeed, from his own words later, was clearly the case. He was not going to lower his own principles, however, merely to suit the times, in a place whose inhabitants " were the first that in that part of England were called Protestants." The Papists, indeed, had dared to set up an altar in the church again. This they had been encouraged to do by the Queen's proclamation, where- in she declared that she intended to adhere to the religion in which she was brought up, and wished all
1 Strypc, Cranmer, pp. 468-9. 2 Vol. III. 64, 65.
ch. v HERETICS 333
her subjects could agree to it, but she would use no compulsion.1 But Hancock took it upon him to read this proclamation to his parishioners, and explain it in his own way, " that whereas she willed all her loving subjects to embrace the same religion, they ought to embrace the same in her, being their Princess, that is, not to rebel against her, being their Princess, but to let her alone with her religion." Let Hancock himself also explain what followed. He writes : —
This, satisfied not the Papists, but they would need have His papist their masking mass. And so did old Thomas White, John parish- Notherel, and others build up an altar in the church and had 10Uers- procured a fit chaplain, a French priest, one Sir Brysse, to say their mass. But their altar was pulled down and Sir Brysse was fain to hide his head, and the Papists to build them another altar in old Master White's house, John Cradock, his man, being clerk to ring the bell and to help the priest to mass, until he was threatened that if he did use to put his hand out of the window to ring the bell, that a handgun should make him smart, that he should not pull in his hand again with ease.2
That was the way to uphold the new religion against the Papacy, first pulling down an altar in church and then forbidding Mass, even in a private house, and the ringing of a bell which would have called strangers to the celebration. A handgun, too, was to be used to enforce the prohibition. And this, be it observed, is recorded as the narrative of a Pro- testant writing in the days of perfect security for men of his kidney under Queen Elizabeth. But that handguns were actually used against preachers of the old religion under Mary we know positively. Just as a dagger was thrown at Dr. Bourne preaching at Paul's Cross in August 1553, so on the 10th June 1554, a gun was discharged at Dr. Pendleton preaching in the
1 Of course this is the proclamation of the 18th August (see pp. 16-18), not, as Strype makes it, of the 19th July, which was her proclamation as Queen.
2 Narratives of the Reformation, pp. 81-82. "Old Master White" was Thomas White, senior, several times Mayor.
334 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
same place, and the pellet of tin, which hit the wall, " came near the preacher's face." x Nor must we forget that the worthy Bishop Ponet, intruded into Gardiner's see of Winchester when Gardiner was deprived by the Edwardine Government, accompanied Wyatt in the march from Kingston, when he hoped to come upon London by surprise, but was prevented by the breaking of the wheel of a great piece of ordnance. Ponet and others, according to Stow, counselled Wyatt to leave the dismounted gun in its place, and march forward to "keep his appointment." But Wyatt objected to this, and Ponet having a shrewd suspicion that the accident involved the ruin of their cause, as indeed other confederates had stolen away already, " took his leave of his secret friends, and said he would pray unto God for their good success, and so did depart and went into Germany, where he died." 2
But we must return to Hancock's narrative. Immediately after the extract just given occurs the following passage : —
His own So had the Papists their mass in Mr. White's house, and
account f-ne Christians the gospel preached openly in the church. preaching The Papists also resorted to the church to hear the word of God, not for any love they had to the word, but to take the preacher in a trip for divers articles they took out of my doctrine, of the which they accused me before the Council at the time of the first Parliament ; amongst the which one of them was that in my doctrine I taught them that God had plagued this realm most justly for our sins with three notable plagues, the which without speedy repentance utter destruction would follow.
The first plague was a warning to England, which was the posting sweat, that posted from town to town through England, and was named " Stop gallant," for it spared none ; for there were dancing in the court at 9 o'clock that were dead on 11 o'clock. In the same sweat also at Cambridge
1 See Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 90 ; Macliyn, Diary, p. 65. '2 Stow's Annals, p. 620.
ch. v HERETICS 335
died two worthy imps, the Duke of Suffolk's son Charles and his brother.1
The second plague was a threatening to England when God took from us our wise, virtuous, and godly king, Edward the Sixth.
The third was to be robbed and spoiled of the jewel and treasure of God's Holy Word ; the which utter destruction should follow without speedy repentance. For had not our godly, wise, learned, and merciful Queen Elizabeth stond in the gap of God's wrath, and been the instrument of God to restore the everlasting Word of God to us, we had been bandslaves unto the proud vicious Spaniard.
Then after a prayer to God to make the nation duly thankful for the Word and for Queen Elizabeth's preservation, he adds : —
Another article that much offended, for the which I was exempted out of the first general pardon that Queen Mary granted, was that I, rebuking their idolatrous desire to have their superstitious ceremonies and their idolatrous mass, and to put down the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus, did in my doctrine ask them how this might be done, and how they would bring it to pass, having the law of the realm and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ against them, and God being against them, in whom they had their trust. I said, " Your trust is in flesh ; so you forsake the blessing of God and heap upon you his curse. Jeremi xvii. [5] sings : Maledictus homo qui confidit in homine, et ponit carnem orachium suum, etc. What flesh is that you trust unto ? Stephen Gardiner's, the Bishop of Winchester? He hath been a Saul; God make him a Paul ! He hath been a persecutor ; God make him a faithful preacher ! "
These words so much offended, that I was not thought worthy to enjoy the Queen's pardon. Whereupon I was counselled by Master William Thomas, the clerk of the Council, for safeguard of my life, to flee ; and so I came to Eoan (Eouen) in Normandy, where I did continue the space of two years, and half a year I spent at Paris and Orleans. After that, hearing of an English congregation at the city of
1 Henry and Charles Brandon, sons of Henry VIII. 's favourite, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. They were both carried off in one day, 16th July 1551, at Bugden in Huntingdonshire, to which they had retreated to escape the contagion, and as the elder died half an hour before the younger, they were both accounted Dukes.
336 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
Geneva, I resorted thither with my wife and one of my children, where I continued three year and somewhat more. In the which city, I praise God, I did see my lord God most purely and truly honored, and syn most straitly punished ; so it may be well called a holy city, a city of God. The Lord pour his blessings upon it, and continue his favor toward it defending it against their (sic) enemies.
influence Enough for the present of autobiographies of
Reformers' Reformers. Of the influence of their opinions in opinions, various parts of the country during this first year of Mary we have ample evidences in the Acts of the Privy Council, and I will conclude this chapter with a few citations in addition to those made already from this source.
In August 1553, besides committals (of which only the more important have been cited) in connection with the outrage on the preacher at Paul's Cross, we have Fisher, a seditious preacher at Amersham in Bucking- hamshire, sent for by the Council ; John Melvyn, a Scottish preacher, described as "very seditious," is sent to Newgate ; surety is ordered to be taken by Lord Mordaunt and Sir John St. John of seven persons committed by them to Bedford gaol for sedition, and they are to punish a woman there by the cucking-stool or otherwise for seditious language against the Queen. The Mayor of Coventry is to apprehend one Simondes of Worcester, now vicar of St. Michael's, Coventry, examine him, and send him up with a record of his examination.1
Of this last worthy we have both previous and subsequent notices. He had been presented to the vicarage of St. Michael's by King Edward at the beginning of this very year, and the Council had written letters to the Chancellor of the Tenths to forbear demanding of him five years' arrears due by his predecessor.2 He came up now on summons " for making a seditious sermon," and was sent
1 Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 321, 328, 330, 333. 2 lb. pp. 230-31.
ch. v HERETICS 337
back again to Coventry on the 4th September, with a letter to the Mayor and Aldermen to set him at liberty " in case he do recant the lewd words that he lately spake, wishing them hanged that would say mass." l This was surely a good example of that spirit of toleration which Mary herself had declared it her ardent desire to pursue, and for which historians have not given her credit. Another case, which followed shortly after, is akin to this, and is marked by good policy besides. On the 16th September the Council met in the Star Chamber and decreed as follows : —
Letters to the Mayors of Dover and Eye to suffer all such Fair treat- Frenchmen as have lately lived at London and hereabouts, ™n} of under the name of Protestants, to pass out of the realm by protest them, except a few whose names shall be signified unto them ants, by the ambassador, if he do signify any such, foreseeing that they do not carry with them all things forbidden by the laws of the realm.2
The colony of foreign weavers established at Glastonbury by the Duke of Somerset had already received notice that if they wished to return to their own country, they should be free to do so.3 They could not be expected to favour the Queen's religious policy, and if they encouraged Englishmen to resist it they would bring trouble on themselves. It is to be noted that on this subject Mary and her Council must have fully considered the advice given them by the Emperor, whose Ambassadors early in August had written to the Queen their master's view of the situation. As to religion, they said, she had certainly succeeded in making a good commence- ment. Nevertheless it would be well to keep good watch, as possibly many dissembled and had other intentions than they pretended, and the French would be glad to help English factions. Then
1 Acts of the Privy Council, pp. 338, 340. 2 lb. p. 349. 3 lb. p. 341.
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338 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
came a passage which it is well to give exactly in translation : —
Besides this, it seems to the Emperor that foreigners who are fugitives from their own countries for any crimes for which they may be charged, should be expelled from the kingdom, without making any mention of religion or country ; the French ambassadors have themselves judged it right that this should be done, and so the Emperor advises. Men- tion might be made in the edict . . . of purging the realm alike of Spaniards, Italians, Frenchmen, Flemings, and others who make the kingdom a receptacle of abuses and crimes, and by whom many intrigues may be carried on.1
Mary's Government seems to have taken a rather milder course than the Emperor suggested. Instead of driving out foreigners accused of crimes, it gave permission to all French Protestants to leave the kingdom, unless the French Ambassador should intimate the names of some whose liberty ought to be restrained. And the order was not extended to foreigners in general, as the Emperor advised.
It will be remembered that on the 1st September Bishops Hooper and Coverdale were before the Council, and Hooper was sent to the Fleet. On the 2nd the Mayor of Leicester was ordered to bring up in custody the vicar of St. Martin's in that town. On the 13th Latimer was committed to the Tower for " seditious demeanour," to remain a close prisoner, but attended by his servant Anstey.2 On the 14th attention was called to " certain lewd and heinous words " spoken of the Queen by a woman of Hampshire, who justified them by a vision. That was the day on which Arch-
1 "Oultre ce, semble a l'Empereur que Ton doit deschasser les estrangiers, fugitifz de leur pays pour quelconques crimes que leur soit impute, hors le royaulme, sans faire mention de la religion et pays, comrne les ambassadeurs francoys out d'eulx mesmes juge que cela se deust faire, et que l'Empereur conseille. L'on en pourroit faire mention par l'edict et mandement . . . pour repurger le royaulme, tant d'Espaignols, Italiens, Francoys, Flamans, que aultres qui font du royaulme un receptacle de mesuz et delictz, et par lesquelz Ton peult faire plusieurs menees et practiques." — Papier s d' Etat du Cardinal de Granvelle, iv. 65.
2 See p. 29.
ch. v HERETICS 339
bishop Cranmer was sent to the Tower. In ridiculous contrast with the minute recording his committal is an entry next day ordering a tailor of St. Giles's, who had shaved a dog to excite contempt of the priest- hood, to repair to his parish church on the following Sunday and " there openly confess his folly." In this month also we find steps taken for the recovery of church plate and other church goods, and for the dis- tribution of such recovered property among certain parish churches in Essex.1
In October the Queen's Coronation on the 1st, and the two short sessions of Parliament, perhaps tended to create a lull. But on the 29th Archbishop Holgate of York was committed to the Tower.2 In November again we hear much about sedition. On the 20th are the following two entries : —
This day were sent to the Lords by the mayor of Coven- try, Baldwin Clerc, weaver, John Careles, weaver, Thomas Wylcockes, fishmonger, and Eichard Astelyn, haberdasher, for their lewd and seditious behaviour on All Hallow day last past ; whereupon, and for other their naughty demeanour, the said Careles and Wylcockes are committed to the Gate- house, and the said Clerke aud Astelyn to the Marshalsea, there to remain till further order be taken with them.
A letter to Sir Christopher Heydon and Sir William Fermour, knights, for the apprehension of Huntingdon, a seditious preacher, remaining now about Lynn and Walsing- ham, and upon the same apprehension to send him under safe custody, who, as is informed the Council, made a railing rhyme against Dr. Stokes and the Blessed Sacrament.3
The substance of both these minutes is given by Foxe, with the fact that Huntingdon made his
1 Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 337, 338, 345, 348, 349. See also as to church goods 23rd November, p. 371. The name of the woman in Hamp- shire, who was expected to justify her words by a vision, is given as Jane Woodcock. Probably she was " one Woodcock's wife " mentioned in Hancock's narrative (see Narratives of the Reformation, p. 79), who had warned the Duke of Somerset just before his last apprehension "that there was a voice following her, which sounded always in her ears, that he whom the King did best trust should deceive him and work treason against him." Somerset, it appears, took serious heed of her warning.
2 lb. p. 354. 3 lb. pp. 368-9.
340 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
submission to the Council on the 3rd December, and was suffered to depart.1 But Foxe has not noted the further punishment of the Coventry men, indicated by an entry of the 25th November as follows : —
A letter to the mayor and aldermen of Coventry touching the punishment of Baldwin Clerke, and others, according to the minute.2
We shall hear more of the weaver John Careless of Coventry hereafter ; and also about John Denley of Maidstone, who is mentioned with others in an entry of the 27th November.3
I pass over a notice on the 25th November of " a seditious tumult of late attempted in the county of Leicester" into which the justices were ordered to inquire. For by a minute of 10th December it seems to have had nothing to do with religion, but only with the old objection to enclosures. There is comparatively little mention of sedition or disturb- ances later in the year.
On the 18th January 1554 there are two significant entries : —
A letter to Sir Henry Tirrell, knight, and William Barnes, esquire, to cause a lewd fellow in the parish of Sandon in Essex, who nameth himself a priest, and speaketh against the mass and other divine service, to be apprehended and committed to Colchester gaol ; and one Latham of the same parish, who is his maintainer, to be bound in recognisance in £100 to make his indelaied repair hither.
A letter of appearance for the vicar of Rye and divers other of the inhabitants there.4
1 Acts of the Privy Council, p. 375 ; Foxe, vi. 411-12.
2 lb. iv. 372.
3 lb. p. 373. [For the Maidstone men see p. 229 n. John Careless died in the King's Bench prison on 25th June 1556, Register of Martyrs (Tudor Tracts), p. 278 ; Foxe, viii. 160. Denley was burnt at Uxbridge on 23rd August 1555, Register, u.s. p. 272 ; Foxe, vii. 329-34. Sir Henry Isley and his brother Thomas were executed as traitors at Maidstone, for complicity in Wyatt's rebellion on 28th February 1554, Proctor (Tudor Tracts), p. 253 ; Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 66. — Ed.]
4 lb. p. 387.
ch. v HERETICS 341
On the 12th February the Sheriff of Gloucestershire is ordered to apprehend the notorious William Thomas, who had suggested to Wyatt the assassination of Queen Mary — advice from which even that sturdy rebel revolted. In prison he stabbed himself in the breast to forestall justice ; but the wound was not mortal. He was executed as a traitor on 18th May, and on the scaffold justified himself and said that he died for his country.1
Passing over some entries on the 16th and 17th about the examination of prisoners and like matters, we come next to an order on the 19th "for the punishment of certain lewd persons in Colchester, Copsall (Coggeshall ?), and other places thereabouts that have gone about to dissuade the Queen's people there from frequenting such divine service as is presently appointed by the laws to be observed in the realm." On the 21st some prisoners from Wales and elsewhere are committed to the Tower. On the 26th George Medley of Essex is committed to the Tower ; and on the 28th Lord Stourton is ordered to apprehend John Younge and send him up in safe custody.2
For nearly three months we hear less about sedition, except the order for Dr. Rowland Taylor's arrest. The most interesting points are about Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer's conveyance to Ox- ford for the disputation,3 and the matter already mentioned about setting up altars. And, though it does not concern the condition of England, we may note that the Deputy of Ireland was written to on the 10th May to send up Archbishop Browne of Dublin, the Council expressing surprise that a former order to that effect had been neglected."4
1 Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, pp. 63, 65, 69, 76.
2 Acts of the Privy Council, iv. 395, 396, 400, 401. 3 lb. p. 406, v. 17. 4 lb. v. 20. [The primacy granted to Abp. George Browne by Edward
VI. was taken from him, and he was later expelled from his see as a married man by the Abp. of Armagh, Ware, Be Praesul. Eib. p. 120.— Ed.]
342 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vni
But if during this time there was less sedition, at last the restless spirit broke out in the middle of May at no further distance than Stepney, and severity too much in character with Tudor times was used to put it down. On the 25th May we read : —
Whereas one Thomas Sandesborough, of Stepneth, labor- ing man, hath reported certain false and seditious rumors against the Queen's Highness and the quiet state of this realm, the said Sandesborough was, by order from the Lords, delivered into the hands of the bailiffs of Stepneth for execu- tion of his punishment as hereafter followeth, viz. : — That to-morrow next, being the 26th of May, they shall openly, at Stepney aforesaid, nail one of his ears to the pillory or some post to be set up for that purpose, and, having stood so a convenient time, to cut off his ear from his head, to the terror and example of others that would attempt the like. After- ward the said bailiffs shall deliver him to the Sheriff of London to be committed to Newgate ; and also the wife of one Mering of London, sent to the Sheriff of London, to be set to-morrow on the pillory for spreading like news, and two wives of Stepney set on the cucking-stool for like offence.
What the seditious rumour in question was we do not know. One might surmise that it was something against the approaching royal marriage. The woman spoken of as the wife of one Mering was very likely Margaret Mering, or Mearing, who was afterwards burnt. There is also a James Mearing mentioned by Foxe, but whether he was her husband is not quite clear.1
On the 26th May the Council wrote to Sir Henry Bedingfield " with instructions signed by the Queen for the ordering of the Lady Elizabeth " ; and they wrote again to him on the 31st, in answer to some doubts on the subject of his weighty charge.2 On that same 31st May another order was given to put
1 [Margaret Mering was burnt at Smithfield on 22nd December 1557, Register, u.s. p. 282 ; Foxe, viii. 450-51.— Ed.]
2 Acts of the Privy Council, v. 28, 29.
ch. v HERETICS 343
a man on the pillory. This offender was to undergo the first part of his punishment at Bicester on the next market-day, with a paper set on his head, inscribed : " For spreading false and slanderous rumors and speaking against the Queen's Highness's proclamation." After which he was to be kept in gaol till the next general sessions, when he was to be further ordered according to the Statute contra inventor es rumorum} On the 1st June the Council wrote to Bonner " to send into Essex certain discreet and learned preachers to reduce the people who hath been of late seduced by sundry lewd preachers named ministers there." 2 The spirit of religious insub- ordination was strong in Essex, and on the 7th orders were given to inquire into an attempt to pull down the walls of the church at Ongar.3 On the 14th July a yeoman of the Guard was dismissed and committed to the Marshalsea, his coat being first taken from his back, " for spreading abroad lewd and seditious books." This was just eleven days before the Queen's marriage to Philip, and very likely the books in question were against the marriage.
1 lb. p. 30. 2 lb. 3 lb. p. 34.
CHAPTER VI
SPIRIT OF THE EDWARDINE PARTY
The temper of the Edwardine party may be seen not less clearly in the story of what one, who like Bradford and Rogers was afterwards a Marian martyr, was doing about this time, and the spirit in which it is told by the martyrologist.1 Laurence Foxe's Saunders was brought up at Eton and was sent to Laurence* King's College, Cambridge, but after three years' Saunders, study, though he " profited in knowledge and learn- ing very much," he left the University and returned " to his parents, upon whose advice he minded to become a merchant." His mother, then a widow, bound him apprentice to William Chester,2 but not liking, however, the life for which he was intended, he was released by Chester from his indenture and went back to Cambridge, where he added to his knowledge of Latin a study of Greek and also of Hebrew. He proceeded M.A. in 1544, and continued at the University some time after. Under Edward VI. he had a licence to preach. He married, and read divinity lectures at Fotheringay College, and was then made reader at Lichfield Cathedral — a post which he afterwards left for the living of Church
1 [The story of L. Saunders, from which the following extracts are taken, is in Foxe, Acts and Mons. vi. 612-36. — Ed.]
2 [Chester, a wealthy London draper, was knighted on 7th February 1557 (Machyn), became lord mayor in 1560, received the degree of M.A. from the University of Cambridge in 1567, and was a benefactor to Christ's Hospital, Cooper, Ath. Cantab, i. 311-12.— Ed.]
344
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 345
Langton in Leicestershire. But from that again he was called
to take a benefice in the city of London named All Hallows, in Bread Street. Then minded he to give over his cure in the country ; and therefore after he had taken possession of his benefice in London, he departed from London into the country, clearly to discharge him thereof. And even at that time began the broil about the claim that Queen Mary made to the Crown, by reason whereof he could not accomplish his purpose.
Thus the private history of Laurence Saunders is brought down to the date of Mary's accession — the " broil" about her claim to the Crown — as an unjust usurper, apparently, ousting Queen Jane from her lawful right ! This prepares us for what follows : —
In this trouble, and even among the beginners of it (such, I mean, as were for the Queen), he preached at Northampton, nothing meddling with the State, but boldly uttered his conscience against popish doctrine and Antichrist's damnable errors, which were like to spring up again in England. . . . The Queen's men which were there and heard him were highly displeased with him for his sermon, and for it kept him among them as prisoner; but partly for love of his brethren and friends who were chief doers for the Queen among them, partly because there was no law broken by his preaching, they dismissed him. He, seeing the dreadful days at hand, inflamed with the fire of godly zeal, preached with diligence at both those benefices as time could serve him, seeing he could resign neither of them now but into the hand of a papist.
Thus passed he to and fro preaching until that proclamation was put forth of which mention is made in the beginning.
I must interrupt the quotation here as I have not He persists quoted verbally from the beginning. The reader, mtPreach- indeed, will scarcely require to be told that the defiance of proclamation referred to is that of the 18th August, ^^ which is given above in full — a proclamation carefully tion. devised, if anything whatever could do it, to promote good order and religious toleration.1 But the mention
1 See pp. 16-18.
346 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
made of it "in the beginning " of this story of Laurence Saunders is in these terms : —
After that Queen Mary, by public proclamation in the first year of her reign, had inhibited the sincere preaching of God's holy word, as is before declared.
That was Foxe's view of it. Let us now read on about Laurence Saunders : —
At that time he was at his benefice in the country, where he (notwithstanding the proclamation aforesaid) taught diligently God's truth, confirming the people therein, and arming them against false doctrine, until he was not only commanded to cease, but also with force resisted, so that he could not proceed there in preaching. Some of his friends, perceiving such fearful menacing, counselled him to fly out of the realm, which he refused to do. But seeing he was with violence kept from doing good in that place, he returned towards London to visit the flock of which he had there the charge.
A word here before we go on about the "fearful menacing" which made it seem advisable to fly the country. The terrible proclamation, as we have just seeu, was in behalf of religious toleration, and, as the heresy laws were not revived for more than a year after this, Saunders had nothing whatever to fear so long as he did not virulently attack the Queen's religion. Let us proceed once more : —
On Saturday the 14th of October, as he was coming nigh to the city4 of London, Sir John Mordaunt, a councillor to Queen Mary, did overtake him, and asked him whither he went. " I have," said Saunders, " a cure in London ; and now I go to instruct my people according to my duty." " If you will follow my counsel," quoth Master Mordaunt, " let them alone, and come not at them." To this Saunders answered, " How shall I then be discharged before God if any be sick and desire consolation ? if any want good counsel and need instruction ? or if any should slip into error, and receive false doctrine ? " " Did you not," quoth Mordaunt, " preach such a day (and named a day) in Bread Street, London ? " " Yes, verily," said Saunders, " that same is my cure." " I
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 347
heard you myself," quoth Master Mordaunt ; " and will you preach now there again ? " " If it please you," said Saunders, " to-morrow you may hear me again in that same place ; where I will confirm, by the authority of God's word, all that I said then, and whatsoever before that time I taught them." " I would counsel you," quoth the other, " not to preach." " If you can and will forbid me by lawful authority, then must I obey," said Saunders. " Nay," quoth he, " I will not forbid you, but I do give you counsel." And thus entered they both the city, and departed each from other. Master Mordaunt, of an uncharitable mind, went to give warning to Bonner, Bishop of London, that Saunders would preach in his cure the next day. Saunders resorted to his lodging with a mind bent to do his duty : where, because he seemed to be somewhat troubled, one who was there about him asked him how he did. " In very deed," saith he, " I am in prison till I be in prison : " meaning that there his mind was unquiet until he had preached, and that he should have quietness of mind though he were in prison.
Again we must pause to ask how Sir John Mordaunt, " a councillor to Queen Mary," was guilty of "an uncharitable mind " in informing Bishop Bonner, the spiritual ruler of the diocese, of Saunders's intention to preach. Mordaunt knew perfectly well that Saunders was opposed to the Queen's religion and Bonner's, and had done his best to counsel him to forbear from preaching. He, a layman, had no concern with preaching itself, but Saunders's preach- ing would be a breach of the truce in matters of religion which the Queen's proclamation was issued in order, if possible, to secure. What else, then, could he do but inform the Bishop, especially as he had given Saunders a fair enough warning ?
The next day, which was Sunday, in the forenoon, he made a sermon in his parish, entreating on that place which Paul writeth to the Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. 2, 3) : "I have coupled you to one man," etc. . . . The papistical doctrine he compared to the serpent's deceiving; and, lest they should be deceived by it, he made a comparison between the voice of God and the voice of the popish serpent; descending to more particular declaration thereof, as it were
348 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
to let them plainly see the difference that is between the order of the Church service set forth by King Edward in the English tongue, and comparing it with the popish service then used in the Latin tongue.
Saunders And so forth. It is not a question here whether
bXr^B ^ne theological views of Saunders were or were not Bonner. better than the views of the Church of Rome, or whether the English service was better than the Latin missal and breviary. The question was simply whether any order was to be kept in the Church or not, and whether bishops who, like Bonner, had been unconstitutionally displaced were to be obeyed when they were restored to their true and legitimate positions. Saunders was prepared in the afternoon to have given another exhortation to his people in his church. But the Bishop of London interrupted him by sending an officer for him, requiring his immediate attendance, and charged him with treason and heresy — treason for breaking the Queen's pro- clamation, and heresy and sedition for his sermon.
"The treason and sedition," says Foxe, "his charity was content to let slip until another time, but a heretic he would now prove him." Bonner was right there : civil offences were not his immedi- ate concern as a bishop, however great they might be ; and indeed heresy was a more serious offence even than treason in any true bishop's estima- tion. The Bishop said he would prove Saunders a heretic for maintaining that a ritual was most pure which came nearest to that of the primitive Church, forgetting the difference of circumstances and the requirements of later ages ; while Saunders accused " the Church papistical " of having an excess of ceremonies " partly blasphemous, partly unsavoury and unprofitable." The Bishop desired him to write what he believed of Transubstantiation. Saunders did so, saying, " My Lord, ye seek my blood, and ye shall have it. I pray God that ye may be so
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 349
baptised in it that ye may thereafter loath blood- sucking; and become a better man ! "
What prospect was there of anything like religious order if parsons were to be superior to their bishops, and to their Sovereign also ? Foxe tells us that the Bishop kept Saunders's written statement " for his purpose — even to cut the writer's throat, as shall appear hereafter." It does not appear hereafter that Bonner literally cut Saunders's throat, any more than that he was a blood-sucker. Saunders was simply a religious rebel, who could only justify his rebellion on the theory that the Edwardine settle- ment was divine, and that the Queen's religion was not to be tolerated in spite of the proclamation. And it was to deal with such rebels that, more than a twelvemonth later, after much provocation in the meantime, it was unhappily felt necessary to revive the old heresy laws. The story goes on : —
The Bishop, when he had his will, sent Laurence Bonner Saunders to the Lord Chancellor, as Annas sent Christ to sen(*s hira Caiaphas; and like favor found Saunders as Christ his chancellor. Master did before him. But the Chancellor being not at home, Saunders was constrained to tarry for him by the space of four hours in the outer chamber, where he found a chaplain of the Bishop's very merrily disposed, with certain gentlemen playing at the tables, with divers others of the same family or house occupied there in the same exercise. All this time Saunders stood very modestly and soberly at the screen or cupboard bareheaded, Sir John Mordaunt, his guide or leader, walking up and down by him ; who, as I said before, was one of the Council.
It is a pity to interrupt a long story so much, but there are pictorial beauties and contrasts to be pointed out. The reader might suppose from the preceding part of the narrative that the demeanour of Saunders was just a trifle arrogant ; now it is " modest" and " sober," contrasting strongly with the frivolity of the Bishop's chaplain and the gentlemen " playing at the tables " (that is to say, at back-
35o
LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Gardiner sends him to prison.
gammon). Moreover, he exhibits quite a marked degree of humility and meekness, as we shall see further : —
At last the Bishop [Gardiner] returned from the Court. . . . Saunders's leader gave him a writing containing the cause, or rather the accusation, of the said Saunders ; which, when he had perused, " Where is the man ? " said the Bishop. Then Saunders, being brought forth to the place of examina- tion, first most lowly and meekly kneeled down, and made courtesy before the table where the Bishop did sit. Unto whom the Bishop spake on this wise : —
" How happeneth it," said he, " that, notwithstanding the Queen's proclamation to the contrary, you have enterprised to preach ? "
Saunders denied not that he did preach, saying that for- somuch as he saw the perilous times now at hand, he did but according as he was admonished and warned by Ezekiel, the prophet — exhort his flock and parishioners to persevere and stand steadfastly in the doctrine which they had learned; saying also that he was moved and pricked forward thereunto by the place of the Apostle, wherein he was commanded rather to obey God than man ; and moreover, that nothing more moved or stirred him thereunto than his own conscience.
" A goodly conscience surely," said the Bishop. " This your conscience would make our Queen a bastard or mis- begotten, would it not, I pray you ? "
Then said Saunders, "We," said he, "do not declare or say, that the Queen is base or misbegotten, neither go about any such matter. But for that let them care whose writings are yet in the hands of men, witnessing the same, not without the great reproach and shame of the author: " privily taunting the Bishop himself who had before (to get the favor of Henry the Eighth) written and set forth in print a book of True Obedience, wherein he had openly declared Queen Mary to be a bastard. Now Master Saunders, going forwards in his purpose, said, " We do only profess and teach the sincerity and purity of the word ; the which, albeit it be now forbidden us to preach with our mouths, yet, notwithstanding, I do not doubt but that our blood hereafter shall manifest the same." The Bishop, being in this sort prettily nipped and touched, said, " Carry away this frenzy-fool to prison." Unto whom Master Saunders answered, that he did give God thanks, which had given him at last a place of rest and quietness where he might pray for the Bishop's conversion.
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 351
All this is doubtless from a report drawn up by Saunders himself, and further ornamented, perhaps, by marginal notes which appear in Foxe's book, such as "A privy nip to Winchester" and "Note how Winchester confute th Saunders " (referring to the Bishop's ordering him to prison). Gardiner was undoubtedly vulnerable in the matter of his book, which treated Mary as a bastard. Like others, he had only yielded to tyranny, and he bitterly repented afterwards. But the question now was whether men would be bold enough still to maintain the same falsehood, when Henry VIII. was dead and his daughter upon the throne ; and it is clear that Saunders himself would not take the responsibility of so doing. Yet if he did not maintain the righteous- ness of Henry VIII. 's plea for throwing off the Pope, what ground had he for resisting the restoration of papal authority ? Saunders afterwards sought to maintain that he had not broken the proclamation because he had caused no bell to be rung, and the doctrine he taught was in accordance with the service then used. But his own words, if truly reported in the above dialogue, show that he had done a thing forbidden ; and it is surely not extraordinary that he was taken for a firebrand.
One other story of Saunders, drawn from the same great storehouse of anecdote, is dated vaguely "at the change of religion in this realm and the beginning of Queen Mary's time." And from the details I should say that the scene was in Leicestershire, and before Saunders went up to his London benefice in October. The story is as follows : —
Dr. Pendleton and Master Saunders, men known in the Contrast world not only to be learned but also earnest preachers of between God's Word in the time of blessed King Edward, met to- ^™dera gether in the country, where, by occasion, they were at that Pendleton, time, and, as the case required (by reason of the persecution that was then at hand), fell to debate what was best for them
352 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
to do in so dangerous a season. Whereupon Master Saunders, whether through very frailty of his weak flesh that was loth to taste the bitter cup, though his spirit were ready there- unto; or whether it were upon the mistrust of his own strength . . . seemed so fearful and feeble spirited that he showed himself, in appearance, like either to fall quite from God and His Word, which he had taught, or at least to betake him to his heels, and to fly the land, rather than to stick to his profession and abide by his tackle ; so as Dr. Pendleton (who on the contrary side appeared not so big of body but as bold in courage ; nor so earnest before in pulpit but as ready now to seal the same with his blood) took upon him to comfort Master Saunders all that he might ; admonishing him, as he could do it very well, not to forsake cowardly his flock when he had most need to defend them from the wolf; neither, having put his hand to God's plough, to start now aside and give it over ; nor yet (that is worst of all) having once forsaken Antichrist, to fall either himself, or suffer others, by his example, to return to their vomit again.
After which and such like persuasions, bidding him be of good comfort and to take a good heart unto him, "What, man ! " quoth he, " there is a great deal more cause in me to be afraid than in you, forasmuch as, you see, I carry a greater mass of flesh upon my back than you do, and being so laden with a heavier lump of this vile carcase, ought therefore of nature to be more frail than you. And yet," said he, " I will see the uttermost drop of this grease of mine molten away, and the last gobbet of this pampered flesh consumed to ashes before I will forsake God and His truth." . . .
Now, when they were come to London, oh, what a great change was there between these two persons ! The poor, feeble, faint-hearted Saunders, by the goodness of Almighty God taking heart of grace to him, seeking the same in humility, boldly and stoutly confirmed his flock out of the pulpit where his charge lay, mightily beating down Antichrist and lustily preaching Christ his Master; for the which he afterwards suffered most willingly, as is before declared. Whereas, on the other side, Pendleton the proud (who, as it appeared by the sequel, had been more stout in words than constant in deeds, and a greater bragger than a good warrior) followed Peter so justly in cracks, howsoever he did in repent- ance (which God only knoweth), that he came not so soon to London but he changed his tippet and played the aiiostata
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 353
We may omit some moral reflections with which The the facts are followed up. Our business is with UtSsue! the facts themselves, which are no doubt presented here, even if through a coloured medium, pretty nearly as they were. And to appreciate them we must first take notice of the date, which is, beyond all doubt, between August and the middle of October 1553, when Saunders arrived in London. At the end of August, perhaps, a conversation took place in the country between Saunders and Dr. Pendleton about " what was best for them to do in so dangerous a season." But, once more the reader should take note, the danger was not pressing and immediate. No burnings really took place, or were likely to take place, till the realm was reconciled to Rome more than a year later, and till Parliament had revived the old heresy laws. What the Queen wanted at this time was a religious truce and toleration, in which people would forbear from calling each other papists and heretics, and unauthorised preaching and seditious books and plays should be put down. But this would have altogether prevented Saunders from " mightily beating down Antichrist " — the object that was dearest to his heart. Both he and Pendleton were committed to the Edwardine religion that had been set forth by authority, and the real question was whether that authority was divine or, as the Queen had held all along (with several of the bishops who had been imprisoned for withstanding it), not only human but uncon- stitutional. If the Queen's view was right, were they bound by their past compliance ? But if the Edwardine view was right, were they not bound to preach down " Antichrist " in spite of the Queen's proclamation ?
The question was now in the balance, and Saunders, though he felt the frailty of his flesh, determined when he came up to London to preach vol. iv 2 a
354 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
down "Antichrist" at all costs.1 Pendleton foresaw that — after a twelvemonth's interval or more — his friend's principles might lead them both to a fiery death, and he was not so clear about Edwardine doctrine as he had been under Edwardine tyranny. Certain it is that he very soon conformed to the Queen's religion, and became a prebendary of St. Paul's as early as 11th April 1554. He was highly esteemed as a preacher.
The difficulty of maintaining the religious truce which the Queen desired at the beginning of her reign, and still more of maintaining her parliamentary settlement later, is further illustrated in another quarter. And again we must take the story from the same voluminous collection of narratives as before 2 : —
The history " The town of Hadley," 3 writes Foxe, " was one of the first °f Rowland j-naj. receivec[ the Word of God in all England, at the preach- ing of Master Thomas Bilney."
The reader will not forget, what Foxe never would believe and what modern historians who follow Foxe have not been able to see, that Thomas Bilney repented of his preaching what is here called " the Word of God," and died very penitent for having stirred up trouble in the Church.4 Let us go on : —
" By whose [Bilney's] industry the gospel of Christ had such gracious success and took such root there, that a great number of that parish became exceeding well learned in the Holy Scriptures, as well women as men, so that a man might have found among them many that had often read the whole Bible through, and that could have said a great sort of St. Paul's Epistles by heart, and very well and readily have given a godly, learned sentence in any matter of controversy.
1 [Saunders was burnt at Coventry on 8th February 1555, Register of Martyrs, u.s. p. 270 ; Foxe, u.s. — Ed.]
2 [The story of R. Taylor from which the following extracts are taken is in Foxe, Acts and Mons. vi. 676-703.— Ed.]
3 Hadleigh in Suffolk is meant ; and I spell it so hereafter.
4 See Vol. I. pp. 400-404.
Taylor.
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 355
Their children and servants were also brought up and trained so diligently in the right knowledge of God's word that the whole town seemed rather a university of the learned than a town of cloth -making or laboring people; and (what is most to be commended) they were for the most part faithful followers of God's word in their living."
This is a wonderful picture of a town of cloth- makers turned into a university of learned divines who knew a great deal of the Bible by heart ! But let us once more proceed : —
" In this town was Dr. Rowland Taylor, doctor in both A faithful the civil and canon laws, and a right perfect divine, parson ; ParisQ who, at his first entering into his benefice, did not, as the pne!5 ' common sort of beneficed men do, let out his benefice to a farmer, that shall gather up the profits and set in an ignorant unlearned priest to serve the cure, and, so they have the fleece, little or nothing care for feeding the flock ; but, con- trarily, he forsook the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, with whom he before was in household, and made Ms personal abode and dwelling in Hadleigh, among the people committed to his charge ; where he, as a good shepherd, abiding and dwelling among his sheep, gave himself wholly to the study of Holy Scriptures, most faithfully endeavouring himself to fulfil that charge which the Lord gave unto Peter, saying, ' Peter, lovest thou me ? Feed my lambs, feed my sheep, feed my sheep.' This love of Christ so wrought in him that no Sunday nor Holy days passed, nor other time when he might get the people together, but he preached to them the word of God, the doctrine of their salvation."
All this is intelligible enough. A man of special learning comes to a village of cloth-makers and is highly looked up to, as such a man naturally would be. So the villagers are carried away by his special doctrine, which they feel to be far superior to the teaching anywhere else. The portrait of the fervid and able parson is further set off by a perfectly just reflection on the too common practices of other parsons, which, we know, prevailed in Chaucer's day as they did in the sixteenth century. But the glorification of this parson, I cannot help thinking,
356 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
is carried just a trifle too far in the passages which immediately follow : —
" Not only was his word a preaching unto them, but all his life and conversation was an example of unfeigned Chris- tian life and true holiness. He was void of all pride, humble and meek as any child ; so that none were so poor but they might boldly as unto their father, resort unto him ; neither was his lowliness childish or fearful, but, as occasion, time and place required, he would be stout in rebuking the sinful and evil-doers ; so that none was so rich but he would tell him plainly his fault, with such earnest and grave rebukes as became a good curate and pastor. He was a man very mild, void of all rancor, grudge or evil will; ready to do good to all men ; readily forgiving his enemies ; and never sought to do evil to any.
" Thus continued this good shepherd among his flock, governing and leading them through the wilderness of this wicked world, all the days of the most innocent and holy King of blessed memory, Edward the Sixth. But after it pleased God to take King Edward from this vale of misery unto his most blessed rest, the papists, who ever sembled and dissembled, both with King Henry the Eighth and King Edward his son, now seeing the time convenient for their purpose, uttered their false hypocrisy, openly refusing all good reformation made by the said two most godly Kings ; and, contrary to what they had all these two Kings' days preached, taught, written, and sworn, they violently overthrew the true doctrine of the Gospel, and persecuted with sword and fire all those that would not agree to receive again the Roman Bishop as Supreme Head of the Universal Church, and allow all the errors, superstitions and idolatries that before by God's word were disproved and justly condemned, as though now they were good doctrine, virtuous and true religion."
Foxe is too fast here. Things did not quite proceed at that rate. There was no persecution " by sword and fire " all at once of those who " would not agree," etc. But let us go on again : —
" In the beginning of this rage of Antichrist a certain petty gentleman, after the sort of a lawyer, called Foster, being a steward and keeper of courts, a man of no great skill,
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 357
but a bitter persecutor in those days, with one John Clerk of The Mass Hadleigh — which Foster had ever been a secret favourer of restored at all Romish idolatry — conspired with the said Clerk to bring by forc°e in the Pope and his niaumetry again into Hadleigh Church. For as yet Dr. Taylor, as a good shepherd, had retained and kept in his church the godly church service and reformation made by King Edward, and most faithfully and earnestly preached against the popish corruptions which had infected the whole country round about. Therefore the said Foster and Clerk hired one John Averth, parson of Aldham, a very money mammonist, a blind leader of the blind, a popish idolater, and an open advouterer and whoremonger, a very fit minister for their purpose, to come to Hadleigh and there to give the onset to begin again the popish mass.
" To this purpose they builded up with all haste possible the altar, intending to bring in their mass again about the Palm Monday. But their device took none effect ; for in the night the altar was beaten down (' Mark,' says the writer in a footnote, ' how unwilling the people were to receive the papacy again ') ; wherefore they built it up the second time and laid diligent watch lest any should again break it down.
" On the day following came Foster and John Clerk, bring- ing with them their popish sacrificer, who brought with him all his implements and garments to play his popish pageant, whom they and their men guarded with swords and bucklers, lest any man should disturb him in his missal sacrifice.
" When Dr. Taylor, who, according to Ins custom, sat at his book studying the word of God, heard the bells ringing, he arose and went into the church, supposing something had been there to be done, according to his pastoral office ; and coming to the church, he found the church doors shut and fast barred, saving the chancel door, which was only latched. Where he, entering in and coming into the chancel, saw a popish sacrificer in his robes, with a broad, new-shaven crown, ready to begin his popish sacrifice, beset round about with drawn swords and bucklers lest any man should approach to disturb him.
" Then said Dr. Taylor, ' Thou devil ! Who made thee so bold to enter into this church of Christ to profane and defile it with this abominable idolatry ? ' With that started up Foster, and with an ireful and furious countenance said to Dr. Taylor, ' Thou traitor ! What dost thou here to let and disturb the Queen's proceedings ? ' Dr. Taylor answered, ' I am no traitor, but I am the shepherd that God my lord
358 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
Christ hath appointed to feed this his flock ; wherefore I have good authority to be here ; and I command thee, thou popish wolf, in the name of God to avoid hence, and not to presume here, with such popish idolatry, to poison Christ's flock.'
" Then said Foster, ' Wilt thou traitorously, heretic, make a commotion and resist violently the Queen's proceedings ? '
" Dr. Taylor answered, ' I make no commotion ; but it is you papists that make commotions and tumults. I resist only with God's word against your popish idolatries, which are against God's word, the Queen's honor, and tend to the utter subversion of this realm of England. And further, thou dost against the canon law, which commandeth that no mass be said but at a consecrated altar.'
"When the parson of Aldham heard that, he began to shrink back, and would have left his saying of mass. Then started up John Clerk, and said, 'Master Averth, be not afraid ; you have a super-altare ; 1 go forth with your business, man.'
" Then Foster, with his armed men, took Dr. Taylor, and led him with strong hand out of the church ; and the popish prelate proceeded in his Romish idolatry. Dr. Taylor's wife, who followed her husband into the church, when she saw her husband thus violently thrust out of his church, she kneeled down and held up her hands, and with a loud voice said, ' I beseech God, the righteous Judge, to avenge this injury that this popish idolater to this day doth to the blood of Christ.' Then they thrust her out of the church also, and shut the doors ; for they feared that the people would have rent their sacrificer in pieces. Notwithstanding, one or two threw in great stones at the windows, and missed very little the popish masser."
We have not yet come to the end of this long and graphic story, which I have been unwilling to spoil by further interruptions. But long as the tale has been, there are points left out in it which are of very material importance. And first let us take into account the fact that, however diligent and praise- worthy Dr. Taylor may have been as a country clergyman, he was a good deal more than that ; for
1 A supcr-altare was a portable altar, a ledge, commonly of marble, already consecrated, perhaps twelve inches long.
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 359
he was, as we have seen, one of the two civilians, or doctors of laws, appointed on the Commission of Eight in 1551 for remodelling the Canon Law, and on the later Commission of Thirty-two of the following year his name was substituted for that of Latimer among the eight divines.1 So that he was a very well-known person at the accession of Queen Mary, and his utter opposition to a return to Kome might have been reckoned on as a certainty from the first. With this Foxe's own words, above cited, are in complete accord- ance where he says that Dr. Taylor, " as a good shepherd," had retained in his church the authorised Edwardine services, which he evidently meant to continue until he was stopped. Now the authority of these services was in question, and it is no great Eariierpro- wonder if, at the very commencement of the reign, [JJjnrt8 the Council took some measures in connection with Taylor. Dr. Rowland Taylor, of which Foxe says nothing in the above narrative. But the records of the Privy Council contain the following minutes : —
a.d. 1553, July 25. A letter to George Tyrrell esquire for to arrest the Parson of Hadleigh in the County of Suffolk.
July 26. The Parson of Hadleigh is committed to the custody and ward of the Sheriff of Essex by a warrant from the Council.
July 28. Dr. Rowland Taylour, parson of Hadleigh, is committed to the custody and ward of the Sheriff of Essex by a warrant from the Council.2
These warrants were out against him three weeks after King Edward's death and only six or seven days after Mary had been proclaimed in London, Lady Jane's brief reign being over. As yet the noisy scene at St. Paul's at Dr. Bourne's sermon had not taken place, and Mary's proclamation about religion had not been issued. Evidently, then, Taylor was arrested at this time, and he must therefore
1 See Vol. III. pp. 319, 337. 2 Acts of Privy Council, iv. 418, 420, 421.
360 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
either have been released, or have contrived to escape and get back to his benefice, where, it would seem, he again went on with the Edwardine services. For the whole story about the " conspiracy" of the lawyer Foster with John Clerk of Hadleigh to bring back popery in the church with the aid of the parson of the neighbouring village of Aldham must be referred to the spring of the following year (1554), seeing that the intention was to bring in the Mass " about the Palm Monday," which would be the 19th March. His con- Now it would really appear — and surely the fact is me^ai™3 important, though Foxe tells us nothing about it — that this "conspiracy" was simply a contrivance for putting the actual law in force in a village where it was very unpopular. For Parliament had met in the preceding October and had repealed the whole of the Edwardine Acts about religion, restoring the Church services as they were in the last year of Henry VIII. And surely if Parliament had the power to alter religion under Edward VI. — though some had regarded that as doubtful during a minority — Parliament had at least equal power to restore the old forms under Mary. The change was to take place on the 20th December 1553. Though the new school might call it " popish " it did not restore the Pope ; it only restored the Mass ; for another year had to elapse before the realm was reconciled to Pome and the Pope's jurisdiction was re-established. For the present, Mary could only govern the Church by that Royal Supremacy which she inherited and which she abhorred ; but she wished to govern it so as to make her kingdom worthy again to enjoy the Pope's favour. No doubt the passing of this Act was dis- liked in some quarters ; indeed, it seems perfectly clear that dislike of this Act had as much influence as dislike of the proposed Spanish marriage in stimulating Wyatt's rebellion and the other com- motions in the beginning of the following year.
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 361
And though these were suppressed in February, it is clear that in Hadleigh and in some other places strong objections were felt to the abrogation of the Edwardine services. These services, apparently, had been kept up by Dr. Taylor almost without interrup- tion, though no doubt against the feeling of the Queen and Council; for whatever may have taken place in consequence of the orders of the Council in July 1553, it is .certain that he pursued his own way afterwards.
In these circumstances, who can wonder at the The rights "conspiracy" to bring in the Mass again about JJj5j[!ors Palm Monday in 1554? By law it ought to have ioners. been begun again in December. Some of Taylor's parishioners must have wanted to have their disused Mass at Easter once more, especially now that they had a legal right to it; and it would have been a cruel injury to them not to have been allowed it. Indeed we have a positive record of another such "conspiracy" in the neighbouring county of Essex, in which four gentlemen gave bonds to the Queen four days before Easter to provide " decent altars " in the churches of Prittlewell, Eastwood, Barling, and North Shoebury.1 And the way in which the
1 " At St. James's, the 21st March 1553 [ - 4], John Hamond of Pritwell in Essex, gentleman, Edward Berye of Estwode, gentleman, Francis Clopton of Barling, gentleman, and James Baker of North Shouresbery [Shoebury], gentleman, stand all four of them severally bounden to the Queen's Highness in the sum of £100, which they acknowledge to owe unto her Grace if they and every of them do not cause decent altars to be erected and set up in their parish churches where they are presently dwelling at the furthest within a fortnight after the date hereof." — Acts of Privy Council. Easter Day in 1554 fell on the 25th March, and the gentlemen were only bound to have the thing done at latest by the 4th April. But this would still allow the parishioners to communicate during the Easter season. [Here I find it difficult to follow Dr. Gairdner's thought. We cannot surely imagine that these bonds were given voluntarily by a combination of gentlemen. It seems evident that these gentlemen, whether as impropriators or otherwise, were held responsible by the Council for the restoration of altars in their parish churches ; they had failed to restore them, and now had to give bonds for their immediate restoration under a heavy penalty. It may be noted that before the Dissolution Prittlewell church belonged to the priory there, and so did the churches of Eastwood and Shoebury, Monasticon, v. 23. — Ed.]
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rights of the Roman Catholic parishioners were secured at Hadleigh — unseemly though it was — would scarcely draw from a modern reader comments such as those with which Foxe follows up the story : —
Thus you see how, without consent of the people (Foxe takes no note of the fact that it was in obedience to an Act of Parliament), the popish mass was again set up with battle array, with swords and bucklers, with violence and tyranny : which practice the papists have ever yet used. As for reason, law or scripture, they have none on their part. . . . Within a day or two after, with all haste possible, this Foster and Clerk made a complaint of Dr. Taylor by a letter written to Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor. When the Bishop heard this, he sent a letter missive to Dr. Taylor, commanding him within certain days to come and to appear before him to answer such complaints as were made against him.
We accordingly find in the Acts of the Privy Council the following minute under date 26th March 1554:—
A letter to Sir Henry Doell and one Foster, to attach the bodies of Dr. Tailour, parson of Hadleigh, and Henry Alskewe of Holesley, and to cause them to be safely sent up hither unto the Lords of the Council to answer such matter as at their coming shall be objected against them.1
We may pass over briefly what next follows in Foxe — an account of the dismay of Taylor's friends, their entreaties that he would fly, as he could not hope for favour or justice at the Chancellor's hands, " who, as it is well known " (Foxe most unjustly says), " was most fierce and cruel." There is, in fact, a quasi verbatim report of their repeated solicitations on this point, and his steadfast refusals. He comes up to London, and his examination before Gardiner is next reported as follows : —
Now, when Gardiner saw Dr. Taylor, he, according to his common custom, all to-reviled him, calling him knave, traitor, heretic, with many other villanous reproaches. All which
1 Acts of the Privy Council, v. 3.
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 363
Dr. Taylor heard patiently, and at the last said unto him : Taylor " My Lord," quoth he, " I am neither traitor nor heretic, but a *xa^he0d true subject, and a faithful Christian man ; and am come, Garciiner. according to your commandment, to know what is the cause that your Lordship hath sent for me."
Then said the Bishop, "Art thou come, thou villain? How darest thou look me in the face for shame ? Knowest thou not who I am ? "
" Yes," quoth Dr. Taylor, " I know who you are. Ye are Dr. Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor ; and yet but a mortal man, I trow. But if I should be afraid of your lordly looks, why fear you not God, the Lord of us all? How dare ye for shame look any Christian man in the face, seeing ye have forsaken the truth, denied our Saviour Christ and his word, and done contrary to your own oath and writing? With what countenance will ye appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and answer to your oath made first unto that blessed King Henry the Eighth of famous memory, and afterwards unto blessed King Edward the Sixth his son ? "
The Bishop answered, "Tush, tush, that was Herod's oath, — unlawful, and therefore worthy to be broken ; I have done well in breaking it, and, I thank God, I am come home again to our mother, the Catholic Church of Rome. And so I would thou shouldest do."
Dr. Taylor answered, "Should I forsake the Church of Christ, which is founded upon the true foundation of the Apostles and prophets, to approve those lies, errors, super- stitions and idolatries, that the Popes and their company at this day so blasphemously do approve ? Nay, God forbid. Let the Pope and his return to our Saviour Christ and his word, and thrust out of the Church such abominable idolatries as he maintaineth, and then will Christian men turn unto him. You wrote truly against him, and were sworn against him."
" I tell thee," quoth the Bishop of Winchester, " it was Herod's oath — unlawful, and therefore ought to be broken and not kept ; and our Holy Father the Pope hath discharged me of it."
Then said Dr. Taylor, " But you shall not so be discharged before Christ, who doubtless will require it at your hands as a lawful oath made to our liege and sovereign lord the King, from whose obedience no man can assoil you, neither the Pope nor any of his."
364 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
If this conversation has been accurately reported — and substantially, if not verbally, no doubt it was much to this effect — we are not surprised that Bishop Gardiner's next observation should be, " Thou art an arrogant knave." Whether Bishop Gardiner began it by vituperation, as above shown, without hearing first what Taylor had to say for himself, may be a question; but as we read on, we begin to wonder whether Taylor is summoned before Bishop Gardiner or Bishop Gardiner is summoned before Taylor. Gardiner undoubtedly felt that under strong coercion he had given an oath to Henry VIII. that was not a lawful one, and so far he had to endure reproaches from the man who swallowed Royal Supremacy with- out misgiving. But even apart from Gardiner's plea that the Pope had absolved him from his oath, why should Royal Supremacy under Mary be forbidden to correct what Royal Supremacy had done under " that blessed King, Henry VIII. of famous memory," and his son Edward ? Gardiner, in truth, had very little reason to feel bound by what was done under Edward, from whose Government he had received treatment altogether indefensible. Yet, conscious of one weak point in his own armour, he seems to have put up with a great deal of insolence on the part of Taylor, in order to get at the whole facts of the case, which he was coming to in spite of it all. Let us resume the record : —
" I see," quoth the Bishop, " thou art an arrogant knave and a very fooL"
" My lord," quoth Dr. Taylor, " leave your unseemly railing at me, which is not seemly for such a one in authority as you are. For I am a Christian man, and you know that he that saith to his brother Raca is in danger of a Council, and he that saith Thou fool, is in danger of hellfire."
The Bishop answered, " Ye are false, and liars all the sort of you."
" Nay," quoth Dr. Taylor, " we are true men and know that it is written, The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul. And
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 365
again : Lord God, thou shalt destroy all that speak lies. And therefore we abide by the truth of God's word, which ye, contrary to your own consciences, deny and forsake."
" Thou art married ? " quoth the Bishop. " Yea," quoth Dr. Taylor, " that I thank God I am, and have nine children, and all in lawful matrimony ; and blessed be God that ordained matrimony and commanded that every man that hath not the gift of continency should marry a wife of his own, and not live in adultery or whoredom."
No doubt it was very honest in Dr. Taylor at this time to profess himself openly a married man and the father of nine children. But had he always been as plain before the world ? Under Henry VIII. he durst not have avowed being a married man ; and if he had nine children in the spring of 1554, one would think some of them must have been born before January 1547, when Henry VIII. died. This was pointed out by Parsons l a few years after the first publication of Foxe's work.
Then said the Bishop, " Thou hast resisted the Queen's proceedings, and wouldest not suffer the parson of Aldham (a very virtuous and devout priest) to say mass in Hadleigh." Dr. Taylor answered, " My Lord, I am parson of Hadleigh ; and it is against all right, conscience, and laws, that any man should come into my charge, and presume to infect the flock committed unto me, with venom of the popish idolatrous mass."
With that the Bishop waxed very angry and said, " Thou art a blasphemous heretic indeed, that blasphemest the blessed sacrament " (and put off his cap), " and speakest against the holy mass, which is made a sacrifice for the quick and the dead." Dr. Taylor answered, "Nay, I blaspheme not the blessed sacrament which Christ insti- tuted, but I reverence it as a true Christian man ought to do; and confess that Christ ordained the holy communion in the remembrance of His death and passion ; which when we keep according to His ordinance, we (through faith) eat the body of Christ and drink His blood, giving thanks for our redemption ; and this is our sacrifice for the quick and
1 Robert Parsons, Three Conversions of England {Third part, 1604), ii. 332.
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the dead, to give thanks for His merciful goodness showed to us, in that He gave His Son Christ unto the death for us."
Here it is plausibly, at least, observed by Parsons1 that the parenthesis " (through faith) " in the above passage must have been supplied by Foxe to suit his own theological views, which were Zwinglian, while Taylor, he considers, was a Lutheran ; otherwise Bishop Gardiner would never have made the reply which Foxe himself records that he made to Taylor's sentiments.
" Thou sayest well," quoth the Bishop. " It is all as thou has said, and more too ; for it is a propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and dead." Then answered Dr. Taylor, " Christ gave Himself to die for our redemption upon the Cross, whose body there offered was the propitiatory sacrifice, full, perfect, and sufficient unto salvation, for all them that believe in Him. And this sacrifice did our Saviour Christ offer in His own person once for all, neither can any priest any more offer Him, nor we need any more propitiatory sacrifice. And therefore I say with Chrysostome and all the doctors, ' Our sacrifice is only memorative, in the remembrance of Christ's death and passion — a sacrifice of thanksgiving ' ; and there- fore the Fathers called it eucharistia ; and other sacrifice hath the Church of God none."
" It is true," quoth the Bishop, " the sacrament is called eucharistia — a thanksgiving, because we there give thanks for our redemption ; and it is also a sacrifice propitiatory for the quick and the dead, which thou shalt confess ere thou Taylor sent and I have done." Then called the Bishop his men, and to prison. Sqi[^l> « Have this fellow hence, and carry him to the King's Bench, and charge the keeper he be straitly kept."
Then kneeled Dr. Taylor down, and held up both his hands, and said, " Good Lord, I thank thee ; and from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome and all his detestable errors, idolatries and abominations, good Lord deliver us ! And God be praised for good King Edward ! " So they carried him to prison, where he lay prisoner almost two years.2
Foxe here is a little confused ; for as a matter of
1 Three Conversions, u.s. p. 333.
2 [Rowland Taylor was burnt on Aldham Common, Hadleigh, on 9th February 1555, Register of Martyrs, u.s. p. 270 ; Foxe, u.s. — Ed.]
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 367
fact Taylor did not remain in prison quite a whole year. But Parsons also was mistaken in the second of the two criticisms just noticed, in which he took Taylor for a Lutheran ; for it is perfectly clear from his writings that he had no belief in the Corporal Presence at all. Parsons must have strangely mis- read some of the passages which he himself refers to in evidence that Taylor believed in that Presence, confounding him, moreover, as it would seem, with Dr. John Taylor, " who, in King Henry VIII. 's time, did help to burn Lambert and other Zwinglian heretics as Foxe himself doth confess in the story of Lambert."1 This Dr. John Taylor himself was probably less of a Lutheran in Edward VI. 's days, when he was made Bishop of Lincoln ; but, as we have seen, he was deprived under Mary just about the time Dr. Rowland Taylor was being thus examined by Gardiner, and died not long afterwards.2
It may be well, indeed, before taking leave of Dr. Rowland Taylor for a time, to read the freest utter- ance of his sentiments in a letter, which must have been written in prison shortly after this, to his wife, on hearing that a preacher named Robert Bracher, coming to Hadleigh to the burial of a friend, had preached against justification by faith and vindicated the doctrines of the Real Presence, praying for the dead, and auricular confession. He apparently met with a rough reception. For it is thus the Doctor expresses himself to his wife : —
I am glad that Hadleigh can skill of such packing- ware His letter as was brought thither the first day of May last past. to his wife- Christ's sheep can discern Christ's voice from the voice of strangers, thieves, or hirelings. The pack-bringer was sorry that he came too late to the funeral-market of his faithful friend. But here I will leave them both to God's judgment, and something touch the matter whereof the packer made mention in his opening day. At the first he called the
1 Foxe, v. 227, 228, 233, 234. 2 See pp. 79-80.
368 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
Scripture (as I hear) full of dark sentences, but indeed it is called of David "a candle to our feet, and a light to our paths." . . .
Now touching the packs of wool and the packs of cloth, I fear they were, as all other wares be, transubstantiate into flocks ; even his very finest packing stuff against only faith justifying, and for the corporal presence of Christ's body in the Sacrament, for praying for souls departed, and for auricular confession. Abraham's justification by faith, by grace, by promise, and not by works, is plainly set forth, both in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and in the third chapter to the Galatians ; and Abraham's works of obedience in offering up his son so long after his justification must needs be taken as a fruit of a good tree justifying before men, and not of justification before God ; for then had man to glory in ; then did Christ die in vain.
And whereas the sixth chapter of John was alleged, to prove that Christ did give his body corporally in his Supper, even as he had promised in the said chapter, it is most untrue. For only he gave his body sacramentally, spiritu- ally, and effectually, in his Supper, to the faithful Apostles, and corporally he gave it in a bloody sacrifice for the life of the world upon the Cross once for all. . . .
But the popish mass is another matter. The mass, as it is now, is but one of Antichrist's youngest daughters, in the which the Devil is rather present and received than our Saviour, the Second Person in Trinity, God and man. 0 Lord God, heavenly Father, for Christ's sake we beseech thee to turn again England to the right way it was in, in King Edward's time, from this Babylonical, Jewish, spiritual whoredom, conspiracy, tyranny, detestable enormities, false doctrine, heresy, hardness of heart and contempt of thy word and commandments, etc. . . .
In the end of the same letter, after much else about doctrine and much more railing at papists, he writes, " God be thanked that the nobility something of late have spied and stopped their tyranny," which surely means that the suppressed rebellions of the spring were not altogether ineffectual in diminishing the observance of the revived religion.
We had as true knowledge as ever was in any country, or at any time, since the beginning of the world; God be
ch. vi SPIRIT OF EDWARDINE PARTY 369
praised therefor. If Hadleigh, being so many years per- suaded in such truth, will now, willingly and wittingly, forsake the same, and defile itself with the cake-god, idolatry and other Antichristianity thereunto belonging, let it surely look for many and wonderful plagues of God shortly. Though another have the benefice, yet, as God knoweth, I cannot but be careful for my dear Hadleigh. And therefore, as I could not but speak, after the first abominable mass begun there, I being present no more, I cannot but write now being absent, hearing of the wicked profanation of my late pulpit by such a wily wolf.
This is downright earnest, and no mistake. And it hardly promised well for the peace of the country when earnest men felt like this. How, indeed, was the Queen to obtain, even under an Act of Parlia- ment, toleration for the old religion, or rather that of her father's days, which was all that was possible at present, if a few religious firebrands in different localities, regardless of the law, had the power actually to put that religion down within their limits ? Foxe's sneer about the papists trusting usually to armed force was the very reverse of truth, even in the case to which he particularly applied it ; for it is clear from his own account that the " popish mass," in which people still be- lieved, could never have been re-established at Hadleigh unless there had been an armed guard to protect it.
In fact, there is no doubt it had been forborne for oid ot>- a long time, not only in Hadleigh but in other stances places as well. A mere Act of Parliament received but scanty respect from enthusiasts who were per- suaded that their own religion was scriptural and the mass idolatrous. Yet from the beginning of the year 1554 a good deal was done to bring back Henrician order. On the 3rd January Gardiner called together the churchwardens and others of thirty London parishes to inquire why some of them had not the mass and service in Latin ; " and they answered that
vol. iv 2 b
370 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
they had done what lay in them."1 On the 13th Dr. Crome, parson of Aldermary (a man not unknown to us in Henry VIII. 's time),2 was sent to the Fleet for preaching on Christmas Day without a licence.3 On the 14th "began the procession on the Sundays" about St. Paul's, the Lord Mayor and aldermen in their cloaks taking part in it.4 This was just a day before Wyatt's insurrection broke out at Maidstone ; but the language of the chronicler suggests that the be- ginning then made was duly followed up, and that the procession became a permanent thing once more. On St. Paul's Day also, the 25 th of the same month, "was a goodly procession at Paul's, with a 50 copes of cloth of gold. " 5 The churches had been plundered of such vest- ments in Edward's time ; but they were now restored.6 The disorders of the time did nothing to diminish the steadfastness of those who upheld the old religion. On Ash Wednesday (7th February), when Wyatt was in arms against the Queen at Charing Cross, Dr. Weston sang mass before her, wearing a suit of armour under his vestments.7 As Palm Sunday and Eastertide drew near, Bishop Bonner, then doing the duty of a metropolitan for the whole province of Canterbury (as Cranmer had been condemned for treason), caused the clergy to warn their parishioners on the subject of past neglect, urging them to make their confession and receive the Sacrament henceforth, especially at the accustomed times, and peremptorily to cite auy who still delayed doing so before the Bishop at St. Paul's.8 Orders were also given that the Easter " sepulchre " should be set up again, in which the Host was reserved from Maundy Thursday till the morning of Easter Day.9
1 Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 34.
2 See Vol. II. of this work, pp. 435 sq.
3 Machyn, Diary, p. 51. ^ Grey Friars' Chronicle, p. 86.
8 Machyn, Diary, u.s. 6 See Dixon, History, iv. 128-31.
7 Narratives of the Reformation, p. 278.
8 Cardwell, Documentary Annals, i. 126.
9 Narratives of the Reformation, u.s.
CHAPTER VII
THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE
We have seen in the end of the last chapter how the Popular tide was beginning to turn again in matters of religion feelins
o O o o respecting
after the Act for the Restoration of Mass as in Henry religion. VIII. 's time. It may be thought that this was only a turn of the official tide, and such a view seems not a little to be favoured by the amount of remonstrance shown against the change, which remonstrance, it must be remembered, represented feelings which gained much more favour in the days of Queen Elizabeth. But it may be questioned whether Edwardine feeling at this time was half so strong as it was clamorous. Indeed, there are circumstances even in connection with Wyatt's insurrection which seem to show that, however greatly the leaders had at heart the cause of Edwardine religion, it was a motive which they wished to keep hidden from the people at large, who were only to be excited against Spaniards and the Spanish marriage.
In fact, even during a great part of the reign of Elizabeth, there seems much reason to believe that the majority of the people were still well affected to the old religion, though the question of submitting to Roman jurisdiction was another matter which affected men variously. Henry the Eighth had laid a very deep foundation for the future religious and social conditions of the country, when he
371
372 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
declared the Pope to be no more than a foreign bishop, and got Parliament to make it treason to acknowledge him as having any jurisdiction in England. It was a vast revolution, but, when one bishop and one great layman had protested against it at the cost of their heads, and a few other martyrs had submitted to the more horrible atrocities of the hangman and the ripping-knife, the nation at large was content to leave the spiritual jurisdiction of the realm in the hands of the King, who claimed it as his own equally with the temporal. The matter, most people felt, was none of theirs ; the responsibility lay with the King.
And now when the jurisdiction of Rome had been set aside for twenty years, was it likely that the old statesmen of the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., however willing they might profess themselves to return to the Queen's religion and accept the ancient observances, would be anxious to recall a jurisdiction which could not but treat them, if the point were pressed, as receivers of property which did not rightly belong to them ? They were almost all of them large grantees of monastic property and other lands of which the Church had been dispossessed ; and without some strong guarantee that Rome would not press for restitution, it was not in human nature, least of all in the nature of courtiers, that they should greatly favour the papal claims. Wyatt's rebellion then was due largely to causes which were not ostensible ones ; and though it was suppressed, the feelings out of which it originated still remained. The failure of the rebellion caused deep anxieties among those implicated, and far more people were really implicated than appeared upon the surface. Some, if not personally guilty, were painfully affected in their own domestic and social relations, as was Sir John Mason, who was prevented from going on an embassy to the Emperor by an illness brought
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 373
on, it was believed, by the execution of two of his wife's brothers, the Isleys, in Kent.1 Thus, even willing loyalists were perplexed, while part of the Council had no doubt been tampered with more or less directly by Wyatt himself, or others as deep in the conspiracy; and discord prevailed among them as much as ever.
The main director of the Queen's policy in Gardiner matters of religion was naturally the Lord Chancellor, ^ard Gardiner, a man incorruptible by Imperial bribes ; while in the matter of her marriage and what related thereto, she was almost entirely swayed by Renard. And it was impossible for Renard not to feel that, with all his great ability and craft, he was in Gardiner opposed by a statesman of true English feeling, who was not inclined to put his country and her institutions entirely at the mercy of a foreign power, especially of a belligerent foreign power. Mary had been led to believe that her marriage was the only means by which she could govern England at all ; she felt painfully her own weakness ; and what was worse from a practical point of view, she confessed it plainly on her knees before the Council. She was never mistress in her own house ; but ever since her one rather too sharp reproof to Gardiner 2 she was learning to estimate him more and more highly, while the courtly Paget, who had won so much favour at first by seconding her pro- posed marriage to Philip, had declined in her esteem.
Hence the main struggle now was between the native counsellor Gardiner and the Imperial coun- sellor Renard, who was filled with deep anxieties as to the possibility of crowning his own grand project with success by getting Philip safely into England. Renard's secret thoughts about Gardiner are expressed freely in his ciphered letters to the Emperor.
1 Renard to the Emperor, 9th March, R. 0. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 185. 2 See pp. 126-27.
summoned to Oxford.
374 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vih
Gardiner to him is the chief source of danger to the Imperial policy ; the bishop was always thinking more about the restoration of religion than about political expediency. He was retarding the due execution of justice upon the Queen's rebels, while he was depriving married priests, and correcting irregularities which might have been let alone till the Queen's own authority and her marriage were fully assured. It may be observed, however, that a Lord Chancellor was officially considered the keeper of the sovereign's conscience ; and even as a bishop, Gardiner was surely bound to do his utmost to enforce an Act of Parliament for the better ordering of religion. Parliament By Gardiner's advice only, as Eenard believed, in the middle of February, Parliament was summoned to meet at Oxford on the 15th day after Easter, to ratify the articles of the marriage treaty. At Oxford there would be less trouble about this than in London ; moreover, the removal might punish the Londoners for their sympathy with heretics by carry- ing away their trade elsewhere. At least this was the result apprehended by the Londoners themselves, and they made so strong a protest against the arrange- ment that it had to be altered. First the opening date was changed to the 7th April, while Oxford was still to be the place ; but ultimately both place and date were changed, and the Parliament actually met at Westminster on the 2nd April. But in summon- ing it a question naturally arose about the supremacy ; and in spite of the opposition of some members of the Council, Gardiner insisted that the Queen should still be styled, as she was by law entitled, " Supreme Head of the Church."
One arrangement, however, made in view of the Parliament at Oxford was adhered to, with some little delay. On the 8th of March the Council ordered a letter to be written to the Lieutenant of the Tower to deliver to Sir John Williams [the sheriff of
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 375
Oxfordshire] his three prisoners, Cranmer, now styled " late Archbishop of Canterbury," and Doctors Ridley and Latimer, to be conveyed to Oxford. This was with a view to a theological disputation, that they might say what they could to justify their heresies. At the last Convocation in October the new school had claimed the victory over the old, and their pre- tensions should now be met in a better ordered dis- cussion. Philpot had expressly challenged such a disputation. The prisoners had to remain, however, a month or more at Oxford instead of in the Tower, till the arena was prepared for them. For Convocation, like Parliament, had been summoned to Oxford in the first instance, and had been adjourned to London.
On the 2nd April, then, Mary's second Parlia- Mary's ment met at Westminster, and was occupied some p^"d_ days by mere preliminaries before the formal opening, ment. On the 5th the Houses were addressed by Gardiner, as Lord Chancellor, who stated that, in consequence of the stormy and inclement weather, the Queen could not be present at the opening, and he adjourned them to Whitehall till next morning at nine o'clock. There he addressed them again in the Queen's presence, showing the causes of their summons, which were, briefly : — First, for the ratification of the articles for the treaty of marriage ; and, secondly, for the restoration of true religion. He also said that a Bill would be laid before them for the restoration of the Bishopric of Durham, which had been suppressed and divided into two sees by the last Edwardine Parliament [though, so far as the erection of these new sees was concerned, the Act had been rendered ineffectual by the death of the King].1
Of this House of Commons, Canon Dixon informs us that —
Great changes in the Commons marked the efforts of the Court to secure a body pliant to the wishes of the Queen :
1 [Burnet, History of the Reformation, ii. 359.]
376 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
and of those who had sat in Mary's first Parliament no more than seventy members were returned.1
Lord Paget This Dixon found by examination of the printed Shier's retums to Parliament. The main results of the policy. labours of the Legislature were, in effect : that the marriage treaty was fully confirmed, and the See of Durham restored, but various Bills against Lollardy and heresies, which passed apparently with ease through the House of Commons, were rejected by the House of Lords ; while a Bill introduced by the Chancellor to make offences against Philip's person treason also failed, being dropped after the third reading.2 The chief opponent of these measures was Paget ; 3 a heretic at heart himself, he was alarmed at the heresy proceedings, and he was most anxious that the Parliament should finish as soon as possible. This feeling he expressed in April in a letter to the Imperial Ambassador, worded as follows : —
Sir, — As I know the entire affection which you bear to her Majesty the Queen and her crown, I cannot restrain myself; I must trouble you with the griefs I endure for her Majesty and my country. Behold he whom you wot of (meaning Gardiner) comes to me since dinner with a sudden and strange proposal ; saying that, since matters against Madame Elizabeth do not take the turn which was wished, there should be an act brought into parliament to disinherit her. I replied that I would give no consent to such a scheme for many reasons.
1 Dixon, History of the Church of England, iv. 164.
2 lb. pp. 169-70.
3 Renard to the Emperor, 1st May, in Tytler, ii. 385-86. [That Paget was a "heretic at heart" seems doubtful (see Strype, Mem. II. i. 536; Dixon, m.s. p. 162) ; "like the most powerful section of the English laity," he was an Erastian ; he made the safety of the State his first object ; he objected to persecution of the Protestants before the holders of Church lands were secured in possession of them (Renard to the Emperor, 6th May, u.s. p. 253), and the country was in such a settled state as to preclude resist- ance to the Queen's marriage, for he saw the danger of allowing religious disaffection to be strengthened by an alliance with secular interests (see Professor Pollard in Polit. History of England, vi. 121) ; whereas Gardiner made the suppression of heresy his first object. — Ed.]
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE Z77
Sir, for the love of God persuade the Queen to dissolve the parliament instantly, and to send those who have been chosen for the government of the counties into their districts ; for the times begin to be hot, men's humours are getting inflamed, warmed, fevered ; and I see that this person, for his own private respects and affection, has resolved to hurry forward such measures as will create too much heat, with no regard to the circumstances in which we are placed, and to the coming of his Highness, and with no forecast of the danger which may ensue.
You know, when the parliament began, we resolved, with consent of her Majesty, that only two acts should be brought forward; the one, concerning the marriage; the other, to confirm every man in his possessions ; reserving to her Majesty to take what steps she pleased regarding her title and style. By God, Sir, I am at my wits' end, and know not what to do except to pray God to send us hither his Highness with all speed, for then all will go well ; and, till then, things will take the course you see them running now.
Urge his voyage into England, and that with all diligence, and thus will you do the greatest service that ever was done to the Emperor, to the Prince, to the Queen, and to the kingdom ; as knoweth God, whom I pray to give you ever his grace, and to keep me in yours. — Yours, in all readiness to command, William Paget.1
It was unfortunate that Renard's influence over Mary was so complete ; he had filled her with the feeling that her marriage was of the first necessity for herself and for her realm, in order that it might be restored to the true faith and be reconciled to Rome ; and that all were heretics who objected to the marriage, forasmuch as they disliked the object for which that marriage was devised. Curiously enough, however, Gardiner, who was endeavouring to promote the true faith under the last Act of Parliament, was an object of dislike to Renard just because he was not zealous enough in the prosecution of offenders, and seemed anxious to spare the effusion of blood to satisfy the requirements of an Imperial, not an
1 Tytler, ii. 381-83.
378 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
English, policy. He was far too much devoted to religion for Renard, and too little to the practical work of destroying all elements of political disturb- ance in the kingdom, as a preparation for Philip's coming over and the completion of the marriage. [Renard complained that the Chancellor did all in his power to prevent Courtenay 's condemnation, and he constantly represented to the Queen that both Elizabeth and Courtenay were dangerous to the peace of the kingdom and to the security that it was neces- sary to establish before Philip could come hither. Elizabeth [Early in the session, on 11th April, Wyatt, who
comtenay hac^ Deen kept in the Tower in the hope that some removed information might be gained from him as to his Tower. e accomplices, and especially as to the complicity of Elizabeth and Courtenay in the rebellion, was executed as a traitor, and his head was placed upon a stake on the gallows " beyond St. James," 1 which stood on Hay Hill. Those opposed to the Government eagerly maintained that before his death he completely exonerated Elizabeth and Courtenay from all partici- pation in his designs.2 His speech on the scaffold was not ambiguous. But as far as regards the Earl, whatever Wyatt may have wished those present to believe, it is impossible, as we have seen, to regard him as guiltless. Nor is there any reason to doubt the word of Lord Chandos, the Lieutenant of the Tower, who told the Council that just before his death Wyatt urged Courtenay to confess his guilt. The lawyers considered that there was ground for his con- demnation, and Renard pressed for his immediate execution, but he had powerful friends in Gardiner and Rochester, the Comptroller, and Rochester per- suaded the Queen to regard him with favour. The question of Elizabeth's complicity in Wyatt's treason was also made the subject of legal inquiry, and the
1 [Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 74.] 2 [lb. pp. 72-4 ; Ambassadcs de Noailles, iii. p. 174 ; Foxe, vi. pp. 431-2.]
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 379
lawyers reported that there was not sufficient evidence to condemn her. In any case, Renard told his master, her relation (great uncle) the Lord Admiral, Lord Howard, would not allow her to be condemned, and " he had the whole force of the kingdom to support him," l apparently referring to his command of the fleet. Elizabeth was removed from the Tower on 19th May and lodged at Woodstock in the custody of Sir Henry Bedingfield, and on the 28th Courtenay also was taken from the Tower and was sent to Fotheringay. Wyatt's execution was followed by that of Lord Thomas Grey on 27th April, but his brother, Lord John, received a pardon won for him by the insistent efforts of his wife, Mary, sister of Sir Anthony Brown, who was created Viscount Montague later in this year.]
About the middle of April the Queen received a Trial of sir very notable warning, by which, unfortunately, she Throg.as failed to profit, that the severity which the Emperor morton. and Renard were urging her to pursue was by no means so politic as it appeared to them. On the 17th Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, or Throckmorton, along with Sir James Croft, Robert Winter, and Cuthbert Vaughan, were arraigned at the Guildhall before the Lord Mayor and a commission of judges and lawyers, as accomplices of Wyatt and the other rebels. But the trial of Throgmorton2 alone occupied the whole day, with a result which was scarcely expected, for Sir Nicholas was possessed of remarkable courage and forensic ability. An outline of some main portions of this trial will reflect a very curious light upon the state of things.
Throgmorton first asked for indulgence as his memory was not good. But he denied that his meeting with Winter was about a scheme for taking the Tower of London. On this, Winter's confession
1 [Tytler, ii. pp. 375, 384-5.]
2 [The trial, of which an abstract follows, is recorded at length in Holinshed, Chron. iv. 31 sqq. ed. 1808.]
380 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
winter's was read, to the effect that Throgmorton, meeting him evidence. in Tower Street, said that " Wyatt, who was at his house near Gillingham in Kent, desired to speak with him " ; that at another meeting later, Winter told him that Wyatt greatly disliked the coming of the Spaniards, which he feared would be soon, and thought it would be well if the Tower could be taken by night before the Prince came ; but Throgmorton had replied that he disliked this, and Winter said he disliked it also. Further, that at another time Throgmorton, meeting Winter at St. Paul's, said, " You are Admiral of the fleet that now goeth into Spain to convey the Lord Privy Seal (Bedford) thither," and suggested that, to avoid the danger of the French at sea, he might land his Lordship and his train in the West Country ; that Throgmorton said that Wyatt had changed his purpose for taking the Tower of London, and Winter replied he was glad of it ; and as for the French, he trusted he could keep the Queen's ships safely. Throgmorton was also said to have taxed Winter with having sold his
o
country for a chain presented to him by the Emperor — a charge which Winter denied.
Throgmorton said that if the whole of this were true, it would not implicate him in treason. And he gave his own explanation of the sending of Winter to Wyatt.
" Yes, sir," said the Attorney, " but how say you to the taking of the Tower of London, which is treason ? "
Throgmorton replied, that though Wyatt intended it and Winter had informed him of it, that did not bring him within the compass of treason. Winter really made it clear by his confession that Throgmorton did not like it, and Throgmorton added reasons from his own personal relations with the Lieutenant of the Tower l to show that he could never have contemplated
1 [Sir John Brydges, created Lord Chandos a few days previously.]
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 381
it. He confessed that he had had conferences with Wyatt and with Warner, before he knew the dangerous character of Wyatt's designs. The last time he talked with Wyatt, he had seen the Earl of Arundel also talk with him in the Chamber of Presence. As to his conference about opposing the Prince of Spain's coming, he confessed that he never liked the marriage, and he had learned his reasons for disliking it from Master Hare,1 Master Southwell, and others in the Parliament House, by which he saw that the whole feeling of the kingdom was against it. This was extremely effective, as both Hare and Southwell sat on the Bench as his judges. But he declared that he had never made any uproar or tumult against the Spaniards, and had resorted to Warner's house not to confer with Wyatt, but to show his friendship for the Marquis of Northampton who was lodged there.
Vaughan had confessed that Throgmorton showed Vaughan's him that he had sent a post to Sir Peter Carew to evidence- come forward with as much speed as might be, and to bring his force with him, and had likewise advised Wyatt to advance, as the Londoners would take his part, and various other details. Stanford2 said Throgmorton had better confess that he was im- plicated both in Sir Peter Carew's enterprise and in Wyatt's, and throw himself on the Queen's mercy ; and Bromley3 also urged him to take this course. But Throgmorton refused to accuse himself, and said that Vaughan had lied.
Vaughan was then called into Court, and having been sworn, said "he would rather have seven years' imprisonment than thus testify against Throgmorton," and he appealed to Throgmorton to say whether there ever had been any displeasure between them to move him to accuse him falsely. Throgmorton said, none that he knew, and asked Vaughan, " How
1 [Sir Nicholas Hare, Master of the Rolls.]
2 [William Stanford, Queen's Sergeant, later a judge.]
3 [Sir Thomas Bromley, Lord Chief Justice.]
382 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vih
say you ? What acquaintance was there between you and me, and what letters of credit or tokens did you bring me from Wyatt, or any other, to move me to trust you ? "
Vaughan said he only knew Throgmorton as he did other gentlemen ; and as for letters, he had brought him none but letters of commendation from Wyatt, as he had done to divers others.
Throgmorton answered him, " You might as well forge the commendations as the rest." Then, address- ing the Court and the jury, he pointed out the extreme unlikelihood that he would have spoken openly on so dangerous a matter to a man so com- paratively unfamiliar with him as Vaughan. No doubt Wyatt had been examined about him, and said what he could. Vaughan indeed said that young Edward Wyatt could confirm the matter of their con- versations, and he had made suit that Edward Wyatt should be brought face to face with him, or otherwise be examined. Moreover, he made a very powerful appeal to the jury, showing the inefficiency of Vaughan's testimony as that of a condemned man, who was not a sufficient and lawful witness, whereas the law required two witnesses in such cases to prove treason.
Throgmorton gave his own account of his com- munication with Vaughan at St. Paul's, in which Vaughan spoke of the cruelty of the Spaniards, and how " it would be very dangerous for any man that truly professed the Gospel to live here." And he had answered, " It was the plague of God justly come upon us. Almighty God dealt with us as He did with the Israelites, taking from them for their unthankfulness their godly Kings, and did send tyrants to reign over them. So God had taken away their King Edward VI., under whom they might both safely and lawfully profess God's word, and would send them tyrants."
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 383
Stanford thereupon desired Throgmorton's own confession to be read. Throgmorton requested Stanford himself to read it and the jury well to mark it. And Stanford did read it, accordingly, to the effect that Throgmorton had conferences with Wyatt, Carew, Croft, Rogers, and Warner, as well of the Queen's marriage with the Prince of Spain, " as also of religion, and did particularly confer with every the forenamed, of the matters aforesaid."
Moreover with Wyatt the prisoner talked of the bruit that the Western men should much mislike the coming of the Spaniards into this realm, being reported also that they intended to interrupt their arrival here. And also that it was said, that they were in consultation about the same at Exeter. Wyatt also did say that Sir Peter Carew could not bring the same matter to good effect as the Earl of Devon- shire, and specially in the West Parts, in so much as they drew not all by one line.
Throgmorton put forward very telling vindications Throg- of himself from charges connected both with Wyatt SK^8 and the Duke of Suffolk, asking why the Duke's brother, Lord Thomas Grey, still alive, though in prison, was not brought up to witness against him. He was then accused of conspiring the Queen's death with William Thomas, Sir Nicholas Arnold, and others ; that by Arnold's confession William Thomas devised that John Fitzwilliam should kill the Queen, and that Throgmorton knew of it. Throgmorton denied Arnold's statement, and said it was made only to excuse himself.
John Fitzwilliam, whom Throgmorton called as witness, was not suffered to speak, and Throgmorton begged the jury to note that it was because he had something to say on his behalf that he was for- bidden to speak ; and that there was nothing to support Arnold's assertion that Throgmorton knew of William Thomas's device.
384 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
Then, being reminded of Wyatt's accusation against him, he said :
Whatsoever Wyatt hath said of me in hope of his life, he unsaid it at his death, for since I came into the hall I heard one say (but I know him not) that Wyatt upon the scaffold did not only purge my Lady Elizabeth her Grace and the Earl of Devonshire, but also all the gentlemen in the Tower, saying, they were all ignorant of the stir and commotion ; in which number I take myself.
Hare interposed : Notwithstanding he said, all that he had written and confessed to the Council was true.
Throgmorton rejoined : Nay, Sir, by your patience, Master Wyatt said not so, that was Master Doctor's addition.1
Southwell. It appeareth that you have good intelligence.
Throgmorton. Almighty God provided this revelation for me this day since I came hither. For I have been in close prison this eight and fifty days, where I heard nothing but what the birds told me which did fly over my head. And now to you of my jury I speak specially, whom I desire to mark attentively what shall be said.
And then he pointed out to them the weakness of the evidence accusing him of compassing the Queen's death, levying war against her, and other treasons, especially in view of the repeal of certain statutes of treason by the October Parliament.
There followed some discussion on Throgmorton's desire to have the statutes read, which was objected to. And Throgmorton very ably proved the reason- ableness of his request ; following up his arguments with some words addressed to the Court which are highly interesting, as showing the Queen's desire, at the beginning of her reign, to purify justice from bad traditions of severity towards the accused.
"And now," he said, " if it please you, my Lord Chief Justice, I do direct my speech specially to you. What time it pleased the Queen's Majesty to call you to this honourable
1 [Chron. of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, p. 74. Dr. Hugh Weston, Dean of Westminster, attended Wyatt at his execution.]
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 385
office I did learn of a great person of her Highness' Privy- Council that, among other good instructions, her Majesty charged and enjoined you to minister the law and justice indifferently without respect of persons, and notwithstanding the old error amongst you which did not admit any witness to speak or any other matter to be heard in the favour of the adversary, her Majesty being party, her Highness' pleasure was, that whatsoever could be brought in the favour of the subject, should be admitted to be heard."
Bromley told him that the Queen spoke those He quotes words to Morgan, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, statutes of who, as the reader will remember, passed sentence on treason. Lady Jane Grey. Being denied his request that the statutes should be read in Court, Throgmorton said he would trust to his memory, and let them verify ; and his memory served him well. Then lie triumph- antly asked the jury what evidence had been shown them of any overt act, such as the law required, to make him accountable for treason, any open deed of taking the Tower of London.
Bromley asked why the Queen's Counsel did not answer him, and said to him, " You need not have the statutes, for you have them perfectly."
Throgmorton confessed in his pleading that he had agreed with Wyatt in disliking the coming of the Spaniards, and would withstand it as much as he could ; but this, he maintained, was no treason, his words being rightly understood. He absolutely denied that he had procured any act of treason.
The Crown lawyers pressed the prisoner severely, His in spite of the mitigation of the old treason laws. aciulttaL The Attorney-General complained of the prisoner's interruptions as if they were impertinent and unlawful, though they all tended to vindicate for him a fair hearing. But he conducted his own defence so ably that at five o'clock in the afternoon the jury came to an unanimous verdict of acquittal, and he was dis- charged, amidst the plaudits of the people.
vol. iv 2 c
386 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vih
Yet his acquittal, it is clear, could never have been secured except by a combination of very rare abilities, with a just cause ; for the old bad traditions of West- minster Hall were put as vigorously in use against him as if they had never been rebuked by the Queen herself. His defence exhibited marvellous courage, self-possession, and ability. Professing himself to be no lawyer, but an unlearned man who had picked up all his law in the Parliament Houses, he repeated from memory the statutes which the Chief Justice refused to have read in Court, and insisted on all that was due to an accused man on trial [in spite of a disgraceful appeal which Griffin, the Attorney- General, made to the Bench to silence him]. The case was almost unprecedented ; only one accused person in Tudor times had as yet escaped, Lord Dacre, in 1534, whose acquittal by the Lords showed that the influence of Anne Boleyn was shaken ; but here a jury of commoners had given effect to the general Popular English love of fair play against legal browbeating rejoicing. an(^ intimidation. Although acquitted, Throgmorton was carried back to the Tower [for it was alleged that there were other charges against him, and he was not released until the 18th January following. When the jury's verdict was known] caps were thrown up in joy and the people raised deafening cheers, a sharp rebuke to Royalty and Court influence, for the Queen had been perfectly persuaded by Renard that Throg- morton, being a heretic, was no less a traitor than Wyatt. [That same night Wyatt's head was secretly taken from the gallows and carried off by some of his party, a daring crime which caused no small sensa- tion.1 The Queen was so vexed by Throgmorton's acquittal that she was ill for the next three days, and the jury who had shown so courageous and independent a spirit were straitly imprisoned, and
1 [Renard to the Emperor, 22nd April, R. 0. Transcripts, ser. ii. 145, p. 244.]
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 387
only released towards the end of the year on payment of fines amounting to £2000.]
[The irritation excited by the untimely attempt to The revive the heresy laws, the severity of the Government, ofSpariil°n and the prospect of the Queen's marriage, caused merit. Eenard fully to agree with Paget's wish for a speedy dissolution of Parliament. That the country should be quieted so that Philip's coming might be made possible, was the one thing for which he really cared. It was impossible for the Prince to come to a land where men were ready to fly at one another's throats ; the summer was drawing near, and then the hot blood of the English would, he thought, become still hotter, and the Lords and gentlemen of Parliament would be doing more useful work than they were doing in London, if they returned to their own counties and kept them quiet. The reformation of religion must not be pushed on hastily ; it was a matter in which moderation was necessary in order to avoid discontent and trouble.1 Accordingly, Mary dissolved Parliament on 5th May. Some satisfaction was given to her by a representation that the rejection of the Bill for the re-enactment of the heresy laws left heresy still punishable by death by the common law. It may, however, be noted that no execution for heresy took place until after the heresy laws had been revived in the December of this year. Mary parted with the Parliament on good terms. Her speech, which she delivered in person, was more than once interrupted by cries of " God save the Queen" ; but we need not literally accept Renard's further statement that most of her audience were moved to tears by her eloquence and kindness.2 Shortly after the dissolution Paget entreated her forgiveness for his opposition to the Bills for the punishment of heretics and the extension of the law of treason to offences against Philip's
1 Renard to the Emperor, 28th April, U.S. p. 251. 2 lb. 6th May, u.s. p. 258 b.
388 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
person. After some reproaches she pardoned him, but did not regard him with favour, for she considered him, and was encouraged by Eenard to consider him, as a heretic, and as leagued with other heretics against Gardiner and his party.1]
The The Queen's great difficulty was want of money,
Queen's ancj jj. was no^ ^0 Parliament that she was looking
troubles. o
for relief; she thought that loans favoured by the
Emperor would meet all present difficulties.* [Already
want of this year her financial agent Gresham 2 had been busy
money. ^Q Antwerp negotiating a loan ; he had been successful,
though her credit was shaken by the news of Wyatt's
rebellion. In May she sent him again on a like errand,
and, with the Emperor's permission, to procure
powder, saltpetre, and harquebuses. He also went to
Spain, and there, after much difficulty and delay,
obtained £97,878. This was brought to England in
gold and silver ten weeks after the Queen's marriage.
It came at a time when money was terribly scarce,
and was carted through the streets of London, in
order to make people think that Philip's advent
would be profitable to the nation.
Unfriendly [Although England was at peace abroad, munitions
"J**10118 of war were in demand, for not only did domestic
France. affairs wear a threatening aspect, but Mary's relations
with Henry II. of France were severely strained.
Henry, who was still at war with the Emperor,
sought by all means in his power to prevent her
1 Renard to the Emperor, 13th May, u.s. p. 261.
* Dr. Gairdner intended to go on with an account of the Queen's difficulties and troubles during the two months and more next before her marriage, and a notice of those on which he would have written more fully and with greater knowledge is given in the text, for the sake of such small degree of completeness as is now possible. Dr. Gairdner was pre- vented from writing on tbe disputation (or rather the proceedings against Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer) held at Oxford by delegates from Convoca- tion and others in April, and as the subject stands apart from the main course of events, and in any case would be considered most conveniently in connection with the later proceedings against the three prelates, as was, perhaps, the author's intention, no attempt has been made to enter on it here.
2 The famous Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange, knighted 1559, died 1579. See further Burgon, Life of Gresham.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 389
marriage with Philip, which was certain, sooner or later, to enlist England on the side of his enemies, and would in any case strengthen the Emperor's hold on the Low Countries. The welcome which he ex- tended to refugees from England caused Mary per- petual annoyance. Sir Peter Carew had escaped from Weymouth to France in a ship belonging to Walter Raleigh, father of a famous son. Other refugees had sailed with him or joined him there, — Sir William Pickering, John Courtenay, son of Sir William Courtenay of Powderham, a Tremayne of Collacombe, a Killigrew, a Perceval, and many another gentleman of the West Country or elsewhere, — for the most part men bred to the sea, and either attached to the Edwardine religion, or, at least, enemies of the Government which was pledged to the Spanish marriage, and fugitives from its vengeance. To Mary's reiterated complaints of the shelter he afforded her rebels, Henry replied that he had a right to employ them in his wars, and that, provided he did not employ them against their own country, he was not guilty of any breach of amity with England. If the Queen wanted more she should have made a treaty with him, as he had proposed.1
[But these exiles were busy with maritime affairs The on the Norman coast, and were engaged in prosecuting refl,sees- schemes against the English Government. They were provided with ships and arms, and some of them sailed out and did, or tried to do, mischief. Carew, indeed, so his friend and biographer, Hooker, tells us, refused to serve against his country.2 This may be true literally, and no doubt Hooker wrote it on Carew's authority, but it is unlikely that either Sir Peter or his associates were invited by Henry to do
1 Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 199, 234.
2 Hooker, Life of Sir Peter Carew, p. 59, ed. Sir J. Maclean. Hooker passes in silence over the four months and more of Carew's stay in France, representing his departure from that country as though it followed im- mediately on his arrival and his alleged refusal to serve against his country.
390 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
so : they were employed by him against his declared enemies, their own Queen's allies ; they infested the Channel, rendering it unsafe for the ships of the Spanish and Netherlandish subjects of the Emperor, and acting with the support of France, they excited the hopes of the malcontents in England, and tried to embarrass the Government in all ways in their power. Wild reports of intended French invasion, of plans for a descent on Essex, where the heretics were many and turbulent, or on the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, had some basis in the hopes and intrigues of these refugees, whose activity, though of no signal consequence, hindered the establishment of peace and order in England, and were a source of alarm and irritation to the Queen. The dominance of France in Scotland added to the anxieties of the Government, and both there and in Ireland, where there seemed opportunities of making trouble by encouraging the ambitious policy of Shane O'Neill, English exiles in France appear to have been employed. [It was unfortunate for the future of the Protestants in England that men who were more or less identified with their party should have served the French king in these ways. Their cause, like that of Lollardy in the fifteenth century, was already injured by its con- nection with rebellion ; it was further discredited by connection with French hostility to their own country. For the English of that day had no liking for the French ; they were thoroughly insular in feeling, and were jealous of foreign interference ; and for the most part they cared far more for material prosperity, which depended on a settled Government, than they did for sacramental doctrines. A cause which seemed to depend for success on rebellion and alliance with France failed to excite sympathy among the majority of Englishmen, and especially among the wealthier and more powerful classes. That was awakened later by the persecution which was to follow.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 391
[To the Queen the doings of the refugees were The French peculiarly irritating, for Henry was hindering the channel. completion of her marriage. If her affianced husband was to come to her, she had to ensure him a safe voyage. French ships of war in the Channel served at once to make communication difficult between the Low Countries and Spain, and to delay Philip's voyage. A fleet at Plymouth under Lord Howard 1 was to bring him over; for it was intended that he should come in an English ship. A squadron was also stationed off Dover, for a French invasion was thought to be imminent. False alarms were rife, fleets of fishing- boats and other harmless vessels in company with French ships of war being mistaken for part of a large armed force. Acts of hostility were committed on both sides. The fishermen of Brest complained of English depredations. A French attempt to place artillery on Sark wTas foiled by some Flemish ships which were aided by the guns of the castle of Jersey, and the French commander, La Bretonniere, was forced to surrender ; in the Emperor's ships engaged in the action there were, King Henry averred, thirty Englishmen to one Fleming.2
[An English ship conveying to England the Grand Alcalde and another special envoy from the Emperor was chased by the French and barely escaped ; her companion with their horses and baggage was captured. The Queen was indignant ; but many an English heart must have been glad, for the long- expected coming of the Alcalde gave great offence, as it was held to threaten interference with the adminis- tration of justice, and his very title excited hatred.3 At a later time we read of English and Spanish ships
1 The Lord Admiral, Lord William Howard, a younger son of Thomas, second Duke of Norfolk, was created first Baron Howard of Effingham on 11th March 1551.
2 Ambassades, iii. 195, 232, 240.
3 lb. pp. 214, 221-22 ; Renard to the Emperor, 22nd March, R.O. Transcripts, ti.s. pp. 201-31 ; cp. pp. 305-8.
392 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vin
engaged together in chasing some French ships into the ports of Normandy.1 In spite of all this, and of angry interviews between the Queen and the French Ambassador,2 Henry had no intention of going to war with England.- If the malcontent party, heretics and opponents of the Spanish marriage, had shown themselves strong; enough to overthrow the Govern- ment, he would have gladly joined with them in making their victory secure, for he would thus have gained an important ally — whether under Elizabeth or Mary of Scotland — against the Emperor ; but he knew that they were crushed by the severity with which Mary had punished the late rebellion, and Noailles made them understand that they were not to expect any help from his master.3 Domestic [The co-operation of the ships of England with Indlts- those of the Emperor against the French does not picions. imply that the English seamen regarded the Queen's proposed marriage with favour. On the contrary, they hated it ; they treated the crews of the Emperor's ships so roughly that the Flemish commander had to forbid his men setting foot on shore in England ; and Howard's crews became mutinous at the prospect of having to bring Philip over, declaring that if they had him on board they would deliver him to the French. The Lord Admiral himself was suspected of disloyal dealings.4 Mary was harassed by a violent quarrel between the Lords of the Council and by her suspicions of those of them who were opposed to her, and to Gardiner, now her most trusted councillor. The quarrel was about religion, Gardiner apparently desiring to push forward the suppression of heresy, while his opponents — Paget, Arundel, and Pembroke — were determined that this should wait until the holders of Church lands were secured in possession, and the kingdom was in a settled state.
1 Tytler, ii. 408. 2 lb. p. 406 ; Amhassades, iii. 202.
3 lb. pp. 275-76. 4 lb. pp. 413-14 ; Ambassades, iii. 220.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 393
[Gardiner believed that his opponents were in league with the heretics against him, and that they were arm- ing with the intention of imprisoning him, of then making the Queen rule as they chose, and of marrying Elizabeth to Courtenay. He armed his followers and counselled the Queen to send Arundel and Paget to the Tower. These suspicions were met by removing both the Princess and the Earl from the Tower to places in districts where the Catholics were strong. After consultation, however, the Queen and the Chan- cellor agreed that the state of the kingdom, and the fact that their belief as to the existence of a conspiracy rested only on suspicion, rendered moderate measures advisable, and that it would be enough if the Queen was in a position which would prevent her from being surprised ; and Gardiner counselled her to leave Lon- don. She removed to Richmond on the 29th of May. Meanwhile the Earls of Sussex, Huntingdon, Shrews- bury, and Derby were sent each to his own district, ostensibly to prepare against any outbreak, which they did by keeping bodies of men under arms, but in reality to prevent them from being won over by the party suspected of conspiracy ; and an order was issued forbidding any one to come to Court with more than two attendants.1 Mary was in a pitiable state of perplexity and suspicion.
[The progress of her great design — the reconciliation The of her kingdom to Rome — brought her other anxieties ; cllurch
0 o lands.
she was still forced to use the title she abhorred, Supreme Head of the Church of England, and her kingdom was still heretical. Pole, who was spiritually minded and regardless of political considerations, pressed the restitution of the papal obedience as necessary to the eternal salvation of her people, and to her own claim to reign. Parliament, however, would not sanction reconciliation until the holders of Church lands were fully assured that they would
1 Tytler, ii. 393-95, 398-400 ; Ambassadcs, iii. 225-26, 265.
394 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vih
not be called upon to give them up, and until then the Queen would be unable to put in force effectual means for the suppression of heresy. English lay- men, though they might be Catholics, were not so eager to be received again into the Roman fold as to be willing to imperil their landed property to obtain that privilege. The legate's zeal was dis- pleasing to the Emperor, who saw that any attempt to force on a reconciliation with Rome without the consent of Parliament would endanger the success of his policy, and Gardiner, and even Mary herself, were fully convinced that Parliament must be satisfied as to the Church lands. The powers for the recon- ciliation first granted to Pole by Pope Julius, on the 8th March, expressly contemplated the restoration of these lands to the Church ; and it was not until the 28 th June that the Pope gave him powers enabling him to treat and agree with the possessors that they might retain them without scruple.1 This brief, however, was not satisfactory to Gardiner, for it seemed to open the door to an institution of pro- ceedings by the legate in individual cases. There must be no opportunity for summoning men before a legatine court to defend their title to their lands, and compound for undisturbed possession of them. This question, and another which concerned the finality of the legate's settlement, were not arranged until a later date.2
[While Mary and Gardiner were thus forced to defer the national reconciliation, they were not the less anxious for the complete re-establishment of ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; and Mary obtained from Pole the reconciliation of the newly appointed bishops, without which, according to the strict papal theory, they had no right to exercise episcopal jurisdiction or other functions. This step was vainly opposed
1 Burnet, Hist, of the Reformation, vi. 322, 332, Records, ed. Pocock. 2 Cal. of State Papers, Venetian, v. 581-82, 584-85.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 395
by Paget and his party, on the sufficient ground that it was still unlawful to recognise papal authority ; but Pole rejoiced, for he considered his absolution of individuals as necessary to their salvation, and as paving the way for the absolution of the nation collectively.1 The Emperor, fearing the probable consequences of his zeal for the Pope, still kept him from going to England ; Pole, indeed, incurred his displeasure, for Charles wrongfully suspected him of having expressed dislike of the Queen's marriage to Philip while on a visit to Henry of France, for the pur- pose of mediating a peace with the Emperor, an object which he failed to accomplish. Mary was convinced that the marriage was necessary to the success of her great design, and the Emperor was determined that her design should not be an obstacle to the completion of the marriage.
[But when would the marriage be completed ? Mary's Mary sorely needed her affianced husband. Though S£for she was apt to be guided by others, she was a hard- coming. working Queen ; she transacted business of State for many hours every day and until after midnight ; she gave constant audiences to her Privy Councillors, and expected them to tell her every detail of public affairs, and, we are told, received all who desired it.2 Trying as such work must have been to a woman of her delicate health, subject to frequent headaches and heart trouble, which her physicians met with the violent remedies usual at that time, it was rendered tenfold harder by the anxieties, vexations, and suspicions which beset her. And she had to bear her burden alone. In a personal government, such as that of the Tudor monarchs, no minister, however trusted, could relieve his Sovereign of the burden of ruling. In choosing Philip as her husband, Mary hoped that he would give her the support that she
1 Cal. of State Papers, Venetian, v. 495-97. 2 lb. pp. 533-34.
396 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vra
was conscious that she needed, and believed that his power would quell discontent in her kingdom.
[But his coming seemed indefinitely deferred. By the beginning of May she had made costly preparations for it, but about that time she was informed that he would not arrive for the next two months.1 From Richmond she went to Oatlands on the 16th of June, and so by Guildford to Farnham, that she might complete the preparations for Philip's landing at Southampton, and for her marriage, which she designed to take place at Winchester. Weeks passed, and no date was fixed for his coming, and she was left with scanty assurances of his regard. He had throughout treated the marriage simply as a matter of policy, in which his father was more immediately concerned than himself. As such it was certainly a matter of the highest importance, for it would, Charles thought, secure the possession of the Nether- lands to his house. If there were children of the marriage, England and the Netherlands were to be their common inheritance, while Spain and the Emperor's Italian dominions would go to Philip's issue by his first marriage ; and even if Mary should not have children, the marriage would for the time enable Spain, by alliance with England, to defend the Netherlands against France.2 Herun- [While Charles took infinite pains to arrange this
happiness. marrjage> Philip did not disguise how little his personal taste was gratified by the prospect of it. In the face of his neglect of the amenities of court- ship, Mary could not but feel bitterly that at thirty- eight she was too old to please a husband of twenty- seven. Day after day this was borne in upon her with increasing force, as she detected signs that age was stamping its marks upon her face. Philip did not come because he loved her not, and knew that he
1 Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 203-4. 2 Armstrong, The Emperor Charles V., ii. 276 sqq.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 397
would not love her. It is said that she was told by strangers, the Emperor's subjects, that he did not begin his journey because he did not desire to come to her, because he feared that French ships might catch him on his way, and because he hated the thought of the voyage, as he was subject to sea- sickness. Disappointment and mortification affected her health and soured her temper. She seems to have suffered from hysteria ; sometimes she was angry with every one, and at others gave way to depression. M. de Noailles entertained his master with particulars concerning her distress, betrayed by the lady who, as the custom then was, shared her bed, and to whom she seems to have talked freely. He represented her as a prey to amorous desires ; and in our own day his words have been insisted on in an equally unkind spirit by a master of historical style.1 They may well be true. She was her father's daughter ; she had reached middle life without having known man's love, and her woman's nature had so far been repressed ; and she belonged to a time when the natural instincts of sex, though not perhaps more often blindly obeyed than at present, were not regarded as feelings from which an unmarried lady is supposed to be exempt, or which she should not confess even to another woman.
[Her trouble and irritation were heightened by she suffers manifestations of popular discontent and by insults [ to herself, which would have exasperated the most patient sovereign of her time, and were especially annoying to her because they seemed to show that the country was by no means prepared to welcome Philip's coming, and that, in London and its neighbourhood at least, he and his followers might meet with an unpleasant reception. Open rebellion she had made hopeless, but she was sharply reminded that her pro-
1 Ambassades, iii. 248-49, 252-53 ; and cp. Froude, History, v. 401, cr. 8vo edition.
from insults.
398 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. vm
ceedings with respect to religion were abhorrent to many of her subjects, and her approaching marriage to her people generally. The undisguised delight with which Throgmorton's acquittal was hailed in London seemed to make it not unlikely that a riot might break out on May Day, which was always kept as a popular festival, and in 1517 had been the elate of a formidable riot raised by the London prentices, then usually of more mature age than in later times, and when roused by their gathering cry of Clubs! Clubs ! by no means easy to deal with in the narrow streets of the City. Accordingly, the Queen's guards were ordered to be in readiness to quell any disturb- ance, and the day passed off quietly. Very bitter to Mary must have been the evidences of her sister's popularity, when the Princess was conveyed to Wood- stock. The Londoners, indeed, had little opportunity of showing their joy at her release from the Tower, for the barge in which she was carried was rowed up to Richmond without drawing to land, but the Queen heard with ang-er the sound of cannon fired at the Steelyard as a sign of rejoicing.1
[Several persons, men and women, were arrested in London for slanderous and seditious words, and were punished by being set on the pillory with their ears nailed to it. Among these warnings against scandalis- ing the Queen, the "poor maid" employed in March in the imposture of a voice which seemed to issue from a wall in Aldersgate Street2 was made to confess her fault on a scaffold at Paul's Cross on the 6th July. A royal proclamation set forth that tumults, slanderous tales touching the Queen, " vain prophecies and un- true bruits, the very foundation of all rebellion," were rife in Norfolk, and charged the justices to be diligent in searching out the authors of them, and to make a monthly report to the Privy Council.3 In London
1 Wiesener, Youth of Queen Elizabeth (trans.), ii- 85-90 ; Papiers du Card, de Granvelle, iv. 249.
2 See pp. 305-6. 3 Strype, Memorials, III. ii. 214.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 399
libels on the Queen and her principal Councillors were found scattered in the streets and the Court, and some even in her bedchamber. A reward of a hundred crowns was offered for the discovery of the authors of this crowning insult, but the only effect of this seems to have been a repetition of the offence.1 Mary must have been glad to remove to Richmond at the end of May, leaving Lord Clinton to assist the Lord Mayor in keeping order in the city. The attempt on Pendleton's life during his sermon at Paul's Cross, of which we have already read,2 took place soon after- wards. The Queen's departure from London did not free her from insult. Slanderous placards and pamphlets still found their way into the Court, and so violently irritated her against her people that she could not speak to any of them, whether great or small, without lowering brow and angry voice.3
[These and similar manifestations are worthy of No note on account of their effect upon Mary's tempera- ^selhon ment, and upon the idea of a connection between possible, heresy, as a resistance to the Queen's proceedings, and disloyalty, and consequently upon the horrible persecution of the Protestants, which was soon to follow, and was eventually to change the feel- ings of a large part of the nation on the subject of religion. Otherwise they were of no great importance. By far the larger number of Mary's subjects were either pleased by the restoration of the old religious observances or at least perfectly content to acquiesce in it. We must not keep our eyes too much fixed on London, though, as our authorities were mostly written there, it is hard to remember not to do so ; nor even on the Eastern Counties, which, geographic- ally and through their industries, were specially open to foreign influences ; there were many districts in which the reformers' doctrines had taken little hold.
1 Ambassadcs de Noailles, iii. 213. 2 See pp. 333, 336.
3 Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 249.
400 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
Even in London the wealthier citizens, the governing class, were generally Catholics, while the large number of processions held during the, spring1 suggests that the majority of the inhabitants of all classes rejoiced at the revival of the religious pageantry which formed so prominent and attractive a feature in medieval civic life. With respect to the Spanish marriage the state of feeling was different. There were probably very few laymen that did not hate the prospect. But there was not now any cause to fear rebellion. The nobles and untitled gentry, for the most part loyal by inclination, were about to be gratified by a confirmation of their claim to the lands of which the Church had been despoiled. While there was some opposition in the Council to the Queen's policy, there do not appear at this time to have been sufficient grounds for her suspicions as to the existence of a conspiracy either to dethrone her in favour of Eliza- beth and an English husband, or to put her under any unconstitutional restraint.
[Mary had shown a remarkable aptitude for follow- ing her father's example in dealing with unsuccessful rebels and with those who, whether innocent or not, might be dangerous to her throne. She was keeping her sister a prisoner ; she had sent a young and innocent kinswoman to the block ; two dukes had been beheaded ; men of lordly rank, knights, gentle- men, and a multitude of lesser folk had been executed during the twelve months since she had gained the throne, and every week the danger of even speaking against the doings of the Queen and her Council was impressed on the people by the sight of the punishment that followed it. Whether all this severity was justi- fiable we need not discuss ; it is enough to note here that it was effectual, and that though there was much discontent in the country, there was no danger of rebellion. Any attempt at it would have been hope-
1 Macliju, Diary, pp. 62-4 ; Strype, Memorials, III. i. 189-90.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 401
less except as seconding a French invasion, and Henry had no intention of going to war with England, though he would have rejoiced to profit by a successful re- bellion, which would have made England his ally against the Emperor. His attitude discouraged the malcontents abroad as well as at home. As early as April, Pickering had given information against his associates to Mary's Ambassador in Paris, and escaped their vengeance by flight into Italy. Sir Peter Carew, having apparently failed in June to persuade the King to send a squadron to the neighbourhood of Plymouth, either to look out for Philip, or perhaps, as Mary feared, to take some hostile action,1 retired to Venice. Others remained in Paris, and some still cruised off the Scilly Isles, their accustomed haunt. They were joined by French ships, and Philip on his voyage to England, in spite of the great force he had with him, ordered that precautions should be taken that his fleet might escape observation, and passed by them in safety.
[By the middle of June Philip was expected in Last about a fortnight, and the Queen had made full and delay! costly preparations for his arrival; butRenard remarked that neither nobles nor the people generally were following her example, the nobles pleading that they were prevented by poverty from welcoming him with "tourneys and jousts." 2 When, however, the Prince did come, they obeyed the Queen's summons, and attended her wedding in great number and with a magnificence of array which excited the admiration of foreigners.3 London was relieved from the sight of gibbets with their ghastly burdens, the Corporation made a large grant for decorations and pageants,4 and later, by the Queen's command, the Lord Mayor pro-
1 Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 253. 2 Tytler, ii. 416-17.
"LaReina . . . accompagnata superbissiinaniente da tutti Signori del Regno ben ornati di vestimenti d' oro ed di gioie." — Rosso. / Succcssi a Inghilterra, p. 62.
4 Machyn, Diary, p. 65.
VOL. IV 2D
402 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION bk. viii
claimed that when the Prince entered the City he was to be received with acclamations.1 Compulsory cheers cannot but sound hollow ; but holidays, feasting, and fine shows, even if enforced by authority, will always be greeted with applause by the multitude. But here we are looking too far ahead. By the end of June ambassadors from the King of the Eomans and the King of Bohemia arrived with congratulations, and ambassadors from other sovereigns were expected shortly;2 but the bridegroom did not appear. How- ever, the Marquis de las Navas brought the Queen a large diamond as a present from him, and assured her that the Prince's baggage had been put aboard.3 By the 12th July his arrival was daily expected, for he had written to say that he was embarking on the 8 th. Mary was delighted, but her hope was still to be deferred a little longer.
The [Philip actually set sail from Coruna on the 15th.
thtrQueen°f ^e came attended by a splendid company of nobles of Spain and of the Empire, and with a fleet of eighty of his father's stately ships, besides smaller vessels, which were conveying some 4000 Spanish soldiers to reinforce the Emperor's army in Flanders.4 Procrasti- nation or difficulties in mustering this force may in a measure account for Philip's last delays.5 These soldiers were forbidden to land in England. The fleet anchored in Southampton Water on the 20th. The next day the Prince landed at Southampton]
[* and the Queen was married to him at Winchester on the 25th. The marriage service was performed by Gardiner in his own cathedral, and after the ceremony he announced that the Emperor, to make his son, who
1 Ambassades de Noailles, iii. 280. 2 lb. p. 262.
3 lb. p. 261 ; Cal. State Papers, Venice, v. 516.
4 Rosso, U.S. pp. 58, 61. 6 Cal. State Papers, Venice, v. 525.
* The remainder of this paragraph is taken from Dr. Gairdner's The English Church in the Sixteenth Century (which forms the fourth volume of A History of the English Church, edited by the late Dean Stephens and W. Hunt, in nine vols.), p. 340.
ch. vii THE QUEEN'S MARRIAGE 403
was only as yet Prince of Spain, a more equal match for his bride, had resigned to him the kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem. The couple then bore each other's titles, and were immediately proclaimed by heralds as King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy, and Brabant, and Counts of Habsburg, Flanders, and Tyrol. On 1st August they were also proclaimed in London ; and after Philip had been installed as a Knight of the Garter at Windsor on the 5th, they entered London on the 18th. We can read of the brilliant pageantry, and the wealth brought with them to England by Spanish visitors, when the riches of the New World displayed themselves in London streets ; but the under-currents were sad. The marriage itself was a political marriage, entered into on both sides from a desire to bring an erring nation back into the unity of Christendom.1 It was by this means in the first place, as the Emperor had persuaded Mary, that the thing was to be done ; Pole's legation from the Pope might follow when the knot was tied. But from the very first there were symptoms of bad feeling between the English and the Spaniards, and before many weeks were over there were Spaniards hanged for killing Englishmen, and Englishmen for fighting with Spaniards.]
1 Dr. Gairdner would not have written thus in 1912: as this volume shows, he had then come to see that on the Emperor's side the security of the Netherlands was a far more powerful motive than desire for the re-conversion of England.
INDEX
Abergavenny, Lord. See Nevill, Henry
Acts of the Privy Council, 6, 13, 14,
15, 29-30, 228 n., 229 n., 273,
337, 339, 340, 343, 359, 361 n,,
362
Alcade, the Grand, 391 Aldermary, 370
Aldham, 357, 360, 365
Alexander, , 315
Allen, , "the hot Gospeller,"
319
"Ally," John, 172
Alskewe, Henry, 362
Altars, pulling down of, 131, 194 n., 333, 357
Amersham, Bucks, 336
Amiens, 51
Andover, 221
Ankerwyke, Bucks, Bishop Taylors death at, 79, 80
Anstey, Latimer's servant, 338
Antwerp, loan negotiated at, 388
Aragon, Katharine of, Queen, concern- ing her marriage, 31, 88, 89 n., 98, 100, 108, 146, 150, 152, 153, 154, 164, 165
Armagh, Archbishop of, 341 n.
Arnold, Sir Nicholas, 283, 298, 383
Arras, Bishop of, Antoine Perrenot, 60, 61, 143 Mary's message to, 25 his reply to Renard's letter, 61-62
Arundel, Earl of. See Fitzalan, Henry
Arundel, Sir John, of Treryse, letter of, 199-200, 205
Arundell, Thomas, of Lee, 199
Ashford, 228
Ashridge, Bucks, 163, 166, 278, 280, 281, 284, 285, 287, 303, 304
Aslyn, Richard, 251
Astelyn, Richard, 339
Astley, 251, 255
Augsburg, Cardinal of, 144
Averth, John, 357, 358
Aylmer, John, tutor to Lady Jane Grey (afterwards Bishop of London under Elizabeth), 133, 134, 136, 137
Azevedo (Diego de), Philip's major domo, 173
Baker, James, 361 n.
Bale, John, Bishop of Ossory under Edward VI., 72
Banbury, , a spy, 318, 320
Barling, 361
Barlow, William, Edwardine Bishop of Bath and Wells, 79, 276
Barnes, William, 340
Barnet, 249
Barram, , 231
Barret, , 229 n.
Basill, Theodore, alias Thomas Becon, seditious preacher, 14
Bath, Earl of. See Bourchier, John
Bath, Knights of the, ceremony at creation of, 40
Bath and Wells, Bishop of. See Bar- low, William ; Bourne, Gilbert
Beal, Robert, Clerk of the Council under Elizabeth, 80, 81
Beaulieu or Newhall, Essex, 52, 54, 58, 114
Beckat, Robert, 199
Bedford, 336
Bedford, Earl of. See Russell, John
Bedingfield, Sir Henry, 342, 379
Beechampe, John, 199
Berkeley, Sir Maurice, 245, 323
Berye, Edward, 361 n.
Bicester, 343
Bickleigh, 220, 221
Bilney, Thomas, 354
Bird, John, Bishop of Chester, depriva- tion of, 274
Bishops, new, need of, 25, 26 consecration of, 276 reconciliation of, 394
4°5
4o6 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Blackaller, Mr., deputy Mayor of
Exeter, 206 Blackheath, 236
Blackpool, near Dartmouth, 222 Blacksoll Field, 231 Blackstone, Mr., Sub-Dean of Exeter,
207, 208 Bluet, Sir Roger, 221 Bodmin, 199 Bohemia, King of, Ferdinand, 68, 84,
85 n., 115, 402 his son Maximilian, 84, 85 n. Boisdauphin, Sieur de, French ambas- sador to Edward VI., 49 Boleyn, Anne, Queen, 4, 31, 87, 386 Bonner, Edmund, Bishop of London,
12, 197, 207, 274, 325, 343, 347,
348, 349 deprivation of, 193, 196 restored to his diocese, 25, 27 presides over Convocation, 130, 131,
160 n. serves as Metropolitan over province
of Canterbury, 370 his preface to Gardiner's book in
favour of the Royal Supremacy
{temp. Henry VIII.), 72 Borough Green, 231 Boulogne, cession of, 48
siege of, 308 Boulogne, Basse, Wyatt made captain
of, 226 Bourchier, John, 2nd Earl of Bath,
311, 312 Bourne, Gilbert, Queen's Secretary,
Bishop of Bath and Wells (1554),
276, 309, 310, 311, 313 his sermon at Paul's Cross and
the riot caused by it, 12-15, 16,
24, 193, 333, 359 Bowes, Sir Robert, 80 Bowyer, John, man of business to the
Duke of Suffolk, 249, 250, 251,
255 Bracher, Robert, 367 Bradford, John, Prebendary of St.
Paul's, 13, 14, 344 Bradgate, the Duke of Suffolk's seat in
Leicestershire, 249 Brandon, Charles, Duke of Suffolk,
335 Charles, son of the above, 335 Henry, son of the above, 335 Brest, 391
Bret, Captain, 234, 242, 263 Bridges, Sir John, Baron Chandos
(1554), Lieutenant of the Tower,
14, 221, 243, 263, 303, 314, 374,
378, 380
Bridges (Bruges), Thomas, brother of the Lieutenant of the Tower, 261, 314
Bristol, Bishop of. See Bush, Paul
Bromley, Sir Thomas, Lord Chief Justice, 381, 385
Brooke, George, Lord Cobham (1529- 1558), 225, 226, 233, 235, 237, 248, 283
Brooke, George, son of Lord Cobham, 283
Brooke, Thomas, son of Lord Cobham, 283, 322, 323
Brooke, Sir William, son of Lord Cob- ham, 283
Brookes, , 329
Brooks, James, Bishop of Gloucester, consecration of, 276
Browne, Sir Anthony, afterwards Vis- count Montague, 6, 202, 379
Browne, George, Archbishop of Dublin, 341
Brussels, 24, 25, 77, 88, 144, 153, 171, 173, 174, 201, 293
Brysse, Sir, 333
Brystow, , 315
Brytyn, , 328, 329
Bugden, Huntingdonshire, 335 n.
Burdet, Mr., 253, 254
Burnet, Bishop, his History of the Reformation, 154
Bush, Paul, Bishop of Bristol, depriva- tion of, 274
Cabot, Sebastian, 294 Calais, 52, 186, 201, 294, 310 Cambridge, 50, 334
King's College, 344 Canterbury, Archbishop of. See Cran-
mer, Thomas Canterbury, Dean and Chapter of, 332
province of, 370 Cardinals, College of, 150, 151 Cardwell, Documentary Annals, 16-18 Careless, John, 339, 340 Carew, Sir Gawen, rebel, 206, 215,
217, 218, 219, 220, 221
his letters to Sir Thomas Dennis,
217-18, 219-20 Carew, John, of Bickleigh, 220, 221 Carew, Sir Peter, his treason, 206, 207,
208, 210, 211, 212, 213, 215, 217,
218, 219, 220, 221, 248 n., 256, 294, 300, 381, 383, 401
his letter to Sir Thomas Dennis, 217-18
escapes to France, 222, 265, 288, 289, 297, 389 Carey, Henry, afterwards Lord Huns- don, 166
INDEX
407
Carnsew, William, 199
Catechism, The, denunciation of, 132-3
" Catholic Emancipation Act," 200
Cave, Dr. , friend of the Duke of Suffolk, 250
Cavvood, printer, 132 n.
Chamonde, Richard, 199
Champernowne, Sir Arthur, 206, 222
Channel, the, 390, 391
Chapuys, Eustace, Imperial ambas- sador, 88
Charles V., Emperor, 19, 52, 61, 62, 65 »., 66, 68, 75, 76, 77, 84, 92, 101, 102, 113, 115, 117, 118, 122, 123, 143, 144, 146, 148,
152, 153, 159, 162, 165, 166, 168, 173, 174, 175, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 192, 198, 202, 203, 204, 216, 224, 236, 237, 256, 257, 258, 265, 266, 267, 286, 291, 292, 337, 338, 372, 373, 377, 379, 380, 388, 390, 391, 392, 395, 396, 402, 403
at war with Henry II. of France, 23, 48, 56, 70, 88, 144, 170, 258, 264, 266, 388, 401
his advice to Mary on her religious policy, 10, 44, 45, 51, 74, 75, 143, 151, 152, 153, 268, 337
Mary's reliance on, 9, 43, 54, 57, 84, 114, 162, 168
detains Pole abroad, 22, 109, 144 n.,
153, 171, 172, 208, 395
his policy with regard to England,
36, 43-47, 50, 51, 106, 119 his policy with regard to Mary's mar- riage. See under Spanish Match Mary's marriage treaty arranged by.
See under Mary his remittance of 3000 crowns for
judicious distribution, 205, 214 sends Mary her espousal ring, 274 wedding honours conferred by, 403 Renard's letters to. See under
Renard his daughter Mary, 85 n. Chaucer, Geoffrey, 355 Chedsey, Dr. William, 135, 136, 139,
140, 330 Cheke, Sir John, 80 Chesselles, a French rebel, 265 Chester, Bishop of. See Bird, John ;
Cotes, George Chester, Bishopric of, 276 Chester, William, 344 Cheyney, Richard, Archdeacon of Here- ford (Bp. of Gloucester under Elizabeth), 133, 134, 136, 137
Cheyney, Sir Thomas, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, 6, 63, 65 n.,
225, 226, 228, 233, 234, 243 Chichester, Bishop of. See Scory,
John ; Day, George Chichester, Sir John, 205, 206 Cholmeley, Mr., 282 Christopher, John, 219 Church property, dangers to holders of,
200, 372 Church Langton, Leics., 345 Churches, outrages in, 11, 90, 163 Chynerton, Henry, 199 Cinque Ports, Lord Warden of the.
.See Cheyney, Sir Thomas Clarence, George, Duke of, his fate,
152 Clarence, Mistress or Lady, confidante
of the Queen, 37, 114, 163 Clarke, George, 230, 231 Clergy, marriage of, 154, 365
married, forbidden to say Mass, 197,
275-6 London, forbidden to preach, 13 Clerk, John, 357, 358, 360, 362 Clerke, Baldwin, 339, 340 Cleves, Anne of, 32, 41, 118 Clinton, Edward Fiennes de, 9th Baron
Clinton (Lord High Admiral under
Edward VI.), 35, 65 n., 245, 246,
399 Clinton, Lady, her marriage to Sir A.
Browne, 6 Clopton, Francis, 361 n. Cobham, Lord. See Brooke, George Coinage, the, under Edward VI. and
Northumberland, 34 Mary's vain attempt to correct, 34 reformation of, under Elizabeth, 35 Colchester, 340, 341 Collacombe, 389 Come, John, 199 Commendone, afterwards Cardinal, 24,
78, 151 Commissioners, Royal, inquiry by, 26-
27, 30 Committee of Thirty-two, 132, 193,
359 Common Prayer, Book of (1549), 193,
(1552?), 132 Commons, House of, composition of,
80 Commons, the, petition from, against
the Spanish match, 124, 125, 166,
197 Commons, Journals, 81, 92, 97, 154
n., 156 Compiegne, 53 Constantinople, 185
4o8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Continent, communication cut off with
the, 236 Convocation, 88, 99, 108, 130, 131-4, 206, 375 writs for summoning, 22, 79, 130 dissolution of, 160 Cooling, Castle of, 225, 226, 233, 235 Copsall (Coggeshall?), 341 Corbet, Anthony, 251 Cornwall, sedition in, 127, 165, 199,
228 n. Cornwallis, Sir Thomas, 229 n„ 232,
233, 234 Corufla, 402
Cotes, George, Bishop of Chester, con- secration of, 276 Cotman, William, 227 »., 228 n. Council, General, 108 Courrieres, Sieur de, Jean de Mont- morency, special ambassador from the Emperor, 44, 201. And see under Imperial ambassadors Courtenay, Edward, 12, 14, 38, 47, 86, 91, 94 Earl of Devon, 95, 97, 98, 104, 110- 112, 113, 115, 120, 123, 128, 129, 134, 143 n., 176, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 208, 216, 217, 264, 288, 292, 294, 383 his proposed alliance with Mary, 50, 55, 56, 62, 63, 65, 87, 94, 96, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107, 109, 127, 172, 183, 236, 294 his proposed alliance with Elizabeth, 86, 87, 97, 109, 127, 161, 162, 165, 168, 169, 203, 214, 216, 299, 393 in connection with conspiracy, 208, 213, 214, 215, 216, 221, 224, 280, 284, 286, 296, 297, 298, 378, 384 his probable imprisonment, 249 sent to the Tower, 262, 278, 296 released from the Tower, 379 Courtenay, Henry, Earl of Devon,
Marquis of Exeter, 94 Courtenay, John, 389 Courtenay, Sir William, 389 Coventry, 250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 258, 337, 340, 354 n. a stronghold of Lollardy, 251 Parliament in reign of Henry VI.
held at, 80 St. Michael's Church, 336 Mayor of, 336, 337, 339 Coverdale, Miles, deprived Bishop of
Exeter, 25, 26, 338 Cowlyn, John, 199
Cox, Dr. Richard, deprived Dean of Westminster, 131, 310
Cradock, John, 333
Cranmer, Thomas, Archbishop of Can- terbury, 192, 317, 318, 320, 355 his position, 26, 27 summoned before the Council, 29, 30 sent to the Tower, 29, 79, 130, 339 his manifesto, 27-29, 30, 31 tried and sentenced, 158, 159, 370 conveyed to Oxford for the disputa- tion, 195, 341, 375 the divorce granted by, to Henry
VIII., 31, 154 his Register, 138 Croft, Sir James, rebel, formerly Deputy in Ireland, 210, 211, 225, 227, 256, 283, 284, 294, 296, 298, 303, 304, 379, 383 Crome, Dr. Edward, 370 Cromwell, Thomas, servant of Henry
VIII., 118 Croydon, 317 Culpepper, Thomas, 225, 228 n., 229 n.
Dandino, Cardinal, papal legate to
Charles V., 24, 77 Darcy, Thomas, Baron Darcy of Chiche,
Lord Chamberlain under Edward
VI., 249 Dartford, 233, 235 Dartmouth Castle, 217, 222 Dauphin, the, marriage of, with Mary
Queen of Scots, 68, 101, 161, 178 Day, George, Bishop of Chichester,
195, 275 Denley, John, 229 n., 340 Dennis, Sir Thomas, Sheriff of Devon- shire, 205, 206, 207, 212, 217 letters to, 217-8, 219-20 Deptford, 237, 242
Derby, Earl of. See Stanley, Edward Devereux, Walter, Lord Ferrers, cr.
Viscount Hereford in 1550, 35,
310 Devon, Earl of. See Courtenay,
Edward Devon, Earls of, Courtenays, 94 Devonshire, 80, 127, 165, 297
disaffection in, 205, 206, 207, 210,
211, 212, 214, 215, 217, 221, 222,
223, 226, 228 n. Dey, John, parson of St. Ethelberga
within Bishopsgate, 15 Dillin^en, Bavaria, 143, 144, 146, 151,
153 n. Dixon, Canon, his History of the Church
of England, 80, 375-6 Doell, Sir Henry, 362 Donnington, 279, 284, 285, 288, 303,
304
INDEX
409
Dorsetshire, 80, 206 Dover, 294, 391 Castle of, 225, 226 mayor of, 337
Draper, , 229 n.
Dryver, , 317
Dudley, Lord Ambrose, 158 Dudley, Sir Andrew, 19, 159 n. Dudley, Lord Guildford, 20, 198, 309 sentenced to death, 158, 259 his execution, 259, 261 Dudley, Lord Henry, 158, 159 n. Dudley, Henry, his mission to France,
47, 52, 53, 91, 159 n., 249 Dudley, John, Earl of "Warwick, 155 Duke of Northumberland, 34, 50, 51, 53, 59, 65, 66, 71/91, 117, 151, 159 n., 193, 206, 309, 313, 318 conspiracy of, 3, 5, 17, 19, 20, 39,
44, 52, 270, 326 policy of, 45, 46, 47, 48, 76, 191 his repentance and confession, 19, 20,
21, 31 his execution, 19, 21, 24 adherents of, 35, 85, 86 n. Dudley, John, Eaid of Warwick, son
of above, 19, ? 64, ? 65 n. Dudley, Lady Katharine, her marriage
to Lord Hastings, 309 Dudley, Lord Robert (afterwards Earl
of Leicester), 6, 198 Dunstable, 250 Durham, Bishop of. See Tunstall,
Cuthbert Durham, See of, restored, 375, 376
Easterlings, the, 41 Eastern Counties, the, strong feeling against the old religion in, 269, 274, 399 Eastwood, 361
Eden, his Examinations of Philpot, 140 Edgecombe, Sir Richard, 224 Edward III., 81
Edward IV., Courtenay a great grand- son of, 94, 214 Edward VI., 14, 34, 70, 71, 72, 96, 128, 155, 160, 170, 180, 194 n., 206, 208, 218, 275, 317, 318, 319, 320, 327, 329, 331, 332, 335, 336, 341 n., 344, 351, 356, 363, 364, 366, 367, 370, 372, 382 his death, 3, 46, 49, 74, 359, 375 burial of, 9, 10, 27, 28 will of, 58 his device to exclude Mary from the
succession, 91, 193 his last Parliament, 80, 375
order of Holy Communion put forth by, 22, 28, 29, 273, 324, 348
religious settlement during reign of, 75, 122, 132, 140, 146, 154, 155, 156, 160, 187, 192, 193, 195, 197,
198, 247, 272, 274, 276, 318, 323, 349, 353, 359, 360, 361, 371, 389
his second Act of Uniformity, 157 Edwardine party, the, 344 et seq. See
also under Edward VI., religious
settlement of Efford, Sir J. Arundel's house of, 199 Egmont, Count, special ambassador
from the Emperor, 201, 203, 237,
274, 307 ; and see under Imperial
ambassadors Elizabeth, 34, 41, 83, 98, 104, 124,
160, 163, 289, 292, 298, 333, 335, 342, 371
her religious position, 10, 31, 32, 33,
69, 164, 165 her doubtful legitimacy, 4, 5, 67, 93,
99, 214 her interview with Mary, 32 her proposed alliance with Courtenay.
See tinder Courtenay, Edward danger or conspiracy through, 38,
199, 213, 248, 256, 280, 288, 294, 297, 299, 306, 378, 384, 400
and the Succession, 76, 93, 99, 110,
161, 162, 164, 166, 203, 376, 392 her probable imprisonment, 69, 119,
296 her illness, 278, 281, 283, 284, 287 her letters to Mary, 278-9, 285, 286,
300-302 summoned and brought to London,
279, 282, 296, 297, 305 sent to the tower, 300, 302, 303 examination of, 303-4 released from the Tower, 379, 398 prayer for her preservation as "Queen," 335 Emperor, the. See Charles V. Empire, the, succession in, 82, 85 Enfield Chace, 249 Englefield, Sir Francis, servant of Mary,
93, 100, 107, 112, 124 English church services to be set aside,
197 273 Essex, 243, 339, 340, 341, 343, 361 390 sheriff of, 359 Eton, 344 Exeter, Marquis of. See Courtenay,
Henry Exeter, Gertrude, Marchioness of, mother of Courtenay, 86, 94, 95, 97, 98, 128, 284
4io LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Exeter, Bishop of. See Coverdale,
Miles ; Voysey, John Exeter, 205, 206, 207, 212, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 383 St. Peter's Church, 221 Mayor and aldermen of, 206
Farnham, 396
Feckenham, John, 139, 260, 261
Feria, Count of, 282 n.
Fermour, Sir William, 339
Ferrar, Robert, Bishop of St. David's,
deprivation of, 274 Ferrara, Duke of, proposed for Mary's
hand, 67 Ferrers, Lord, Viscount Hereford. See
Devereux, Walter Ferrers, George, 320, 321
Fisher, , 336
Fitzalau, Henry, Earl of Arundel (1544-
1580), 40, 69, 104, 105, 113, 114,
120, 121, 123, 126, 128, 161, 164,
178, 247, 297, 311, 312, 313, 381,
392, 393 Lord Great Master, 134 letter to, 199-200 Fitzwarren, Hugh, 331
Molde, 331 Fitzwilliams, John, to be murderer of
the Queen, 298, 383 Flanders, 88, 109, 116, 151, 153, 170,
173, 182, 185, 186, 266, 274, 402 Flanders, Count of, 187 Florence, Duke of, Cosmo de' Medici, 68 Florentines, the, 41 Flushing, 238 Fogge, Mr., 233
Forster, , 195
Foster, , 356, 357, 358, 360, 362
Fotheringay, 379
College, *344 Foxe, John, his Acts and Monuments,
5, 6-8, 13, 132-3, 194 n., 195,
239-41, 260-1, 262, 270-2, 275-6,
300, 304, 354-8, 367 Framlingham, Mary at, 6 France, King of. See Francis I. and
Henry II. France, Dowager Queen of, Eleanor,
second wife of Francis I., sister of
Charles V., 55 n., 56, 62 France, 48, 148, 221, 265, 267, 284,
289, 297, 389, 390, 396 Northumberland makes peace with,
48, 76, 191 war with, probable, 67-68, 101, 115,
116, 122, 170 proposal for new treaties with, 179,
180, 266
Francis I., King of France, 148 ?i.
Francis, , 251
French ambassador. See Noailles
French diplomacy, perplexities of, 50
intrigues, 86, 91, 101, 146, 159, 162,
170, 192, 203, 204, 208, 209, 213,
257, 258, 266, 288, 292, 296, 306
invasion, danger of, 161, 167, 204,
390, 391, 402
Froude, James A., his History of Eng- land, 118, 119, 120, 128, 159 «., 397
Fulford, Sir John, 224
Gage, Sir John, Constable of the Tower,
6, 311, 313, 314, 322 Gardiner, Stephen, Bishop of Win- chester, Lord Chancellor, 20, 21, 25, 26, 38, 41, 42, 47, 64, 71, 73, 78, 90, 96, 104, 105, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 126, 128, 129, 142 n., 154, 155, 164, 178, 179, 180, 193, 194, 195, 196, 202, 204, 211, 215, 216, 217, 232, 236, 237, 257, 274, 275, 276, 288, 290, 291, 292, 293, 295, 297, 299, 303, 307, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 330, 331, 333, 334, 336, 349, 350, 362, 363, 364, 366, 369, 373, 374, 376, 377, 392, 393, 394
performs the coronation ceremony, 42
his interviews with Noailles, 69, 70-71
speaks at the opening of Parliament, 81, 375
gives Renard his opinion regarding the Queen's marriage, 116-18
the Queen tells him her decision for her marriage, 120
agrees to the Spanish match, 123, 149
he favours Courtenay and his suit, 62, 63, 93, 95, 96, 97, 100, 106, 108, 112, 115, 116, 119, 126, 127, 129, 215, 292
preaches before the Queen urging severity, 258-9
his book in favour of Royal Suprem- acy, 71, 72, 164, 350, 351
places the cause of religion above politics, 117, 164, 373
the Queen's most trusted councillor, 392
performs marriage ceremony, 402
Garett, , Sheriff of London, 313,
314 Gates, Sir Harry, 19, 198 Gates, Sir John, 19, 80
INDEX
411
Geneva, 336 Genoese, the, 41
Germany, 68, 75, 76, 115, 118, 129, 186, 334
Gerves, , 251
Gibbes, William, 219, 221
Gibbon, Edward, his Decline and Fall,
94 Gillingham, 380 Glastonbury, 337 Gloucester, Bishop of. See Brooks,
James Gloucester, Sheriff of, 341 Glover, John, 255 Robert, 255
William, 252, 253, 254, 255 Glyn, Master, 139 Goldwell, Thomas, afterwards Bishop
of St. Asaph, 147, 150, 151 Gospellers, the new, 319 Granvelle, minister of Charles V., 25
state papers of, 338 Gravesend, 232, 233, 235 Greenwich, 71, 128, 237, 242, 243 tumult in, 39
Grene, , 229 n.
Gresham, Sir Thomas, 388 Grey, Henry, Duke of Suffolk (1551- 1554), 158, 161, 167, 169, 197 treason of, 227, 231, 246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 288, 321, 383 taken prisoner, 256, 258 his trial and condemnation, 264, 284 his execution, 283, 295 Grey, Lady Jane, or Queen, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 198, 231, 247,
249, 255, 259, 260, 308, 345, 359 her marriage, 20, 309
her opinion on Northumberland's
recantation, 21 n. sentenced to death, 158, 385 her farewell letter to her father,
260-1 her execution, 261-2 her tutors, 133 Grey, Lord John, brother of the Duke
of Suffolk, joins in the Duke's
treason, 169, 227, 246, 247, 249,
250, 256, 258, 283 is pardoned, 379
his wife Mary, 379 Grey, Lady Katharine, 261 Grey, Lord Thomas, brother of the Duke of Suffolk, joins in the Duke's treason, 169, 227, 246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 256, 264, 283, 284, 288, 383 his execution, 379
Grey, Lord, brother of Suffolk, 91 Grey Friars' Chronicle, 5, 131, 141 Griffen, Maurice, Bishop of Rochester,
consecration of, 276 Griffin, Edward, Attorney-General, 386 Guildford, 396 Guines, 267, 294, 295
Haddon, James, Dean of Exeter, 133,
134, 136, 137, 206 Hadleigh, Suffolk, 354, 355, 357, 359,
360, 361, 362, 365, 367, 369 Hales, Sir James, judge, 193, 194, 195,
196 Hales, John, 79 n. Hamburg, 72 Hamond, John, 361 n. Hampshire, 80, 228 n., 231, 338,
339 n. Hancock, Thomas, heretic, 194 n.,
332, 339 n. his narrative of his doings, 332, 333,
334-6, 339 n. Harding, Thomas, 261 Hare, Sir Nicholas (Master of the
Rolls), 381, 384 Harley, John, Edwardine Bishop of
Hereford, 79, 275 Harper, Sir George, 225, 228 «., 229 n.,
232, 233, 234 Harpsfield, John, Bonner's chaplain,
131, 132 n., 136, 138, 139
Harrington, , 250
Harvey, Henry, LL.D., Vicar-General,
332 Harwich, 237, 238 Hastings, Sir Edward, " Lord," Master
of the Horse, 41, 225, 235, 236,
237, 309, 310, 313 Hastings, Francis, 2nd Earl of Hunting- don, 91, 158, 225 n., 250, 254,
255, 258, 264, 309, 310, 393 Hastings, Lord, eldest son of the Earl
of Huntingdon, 309 Havering, 178 Heath, Nicholas, Bishop of Worcester,
30 Henry II., King of France, 23, 49, 50,
51, 52, 53, 64, 70, 103, 113, 124,
128, 144, 179, 181, 182, 213,
215, 264, 267, 286, 289, 295,
302, 305, 390, 391, 395 at war with the Emperor. See under
Charles V. pleased at Mary's accession, 53 sympathises with Mary's desire to re- store Roman Catholicism, 51, 266 encourages rebellion in England, 247,
257-8, 265, 287, 288, 294
4i2 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
his attitude with regard to the
Spanish Match, 64, 70, 71, 86 «.,
117, 167, 170, 176, 177, 266,
388, 389
wishes to maintain friendship with
Mary, 178, 290, 307, 392, 401 letters to, 185-8, 209-10 Henry VI., his Parliament at Coventry,
80 Henry VII., his policy concerning re- bellions, 35 Henry VIII., 71, 81, 94, 149, 180, 204, 208, 226, 276, 284, 308, 318, 320, 327, 350, 351, 356, 363, 364, 365, 367, 370, 372 his marriage to Anne of Cleves, 118 his breach with Rome and policy regarding the Church of England, 23, 132, 192, 268, 351, 371-2 religious settlement during reign of, 28, 75, 78, 122, 123, 146, 154, 156, 160, 165, 187, 191, 196, 360, 369, 371 provisions of the will of, 3, 37, 93,
109, 161, 210, 326 his divorce from Katharine of Aragon,
31, 91, 98, 152 validity of his marriage to Katharine of Aragon, papal recognition of, 88, 89, 90, 150, 154 and see Parliament, Mary's first Herbert, Sir William, Earl of Pem- broke, 62, 125, 224, 244, 245, 246, 256, 392 Hereford, Bishop of. See Harley,
John Herefordshire, 80
Heresy the cause of treason, 247-8, 328 burning for, not yet enacted, 200,
353 laws, not yet revived, 353, 387 Heretic plots, 102-3, 294 Heretics, 117, 131, 159, 162, 163, 164, 203, 305, 306, 307, 308, 326, 328, 329, 374, 390, 393 Hesdin, capture of, 53 Heydon, Sir Christopher, 339 "Higham, Mr.," 155 Highgate, 282
Hoby, Sir Philip, ambassador from Edward VI. to the Emperor, 31, 63, 64, 65 n. Hodgkin, Dr., suffragan of Bedford,
preaches at Paul's Cross, 5 Hogius, Sieur de, special envoy between Henry II. and Noailles, 177, 179 Holesley, 362
Holgate, Robert, Archbishop of York (1545-54), 79, 274, 339
Honiton, 208
Hooker, John, his Life of Sir Peter
Carew, 389 Hooper, John, Edwardine Bishop of
Worcester, 26, 30, 275, 276, 318 committed to the Fleet, 79, 195, 338 his " Brief Treatise " concerning
Hales, 196 Howard, Thomas, 3rd Duke of Norfolk,
41, 47, 49, 125, 160, 225, 231,
232, 233, 234, 262 Howard, Lord William, Deputy of
Calais, 51, 52 Lord High Admiral, 65 n., 224, 241,
242, 243, 280, 282 n., 287, 306,
321 Baron Howard of Effingham, 379,
391, 392
Hudson, , 254
Hungary, Queen of, Mary, the Em- peror's sister, 174, 202 Hunsdon, 6, 49 Huntingdon, Lord. See Hastings,
Francis Huntingdon, a seditious preacher, 339 Hurste, Mr., 206 Hyle, Robert, 199
Ightham, 227 n.
Imperial Ambassadors, 4, 9, 10, 16, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 52, 54, 59, 60, 65, 71, 91, 112, 179, 257, 337 letters of, 37 n., 40 n., 58 n., 76 sent specially to conclude the marriage treaty, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 236, 237, 290 Innsbruck, 115, 143 n. Ireland, troubles in, 103, 146, 168, 176 the Queen's desire to replace the kingdom under the Roman obedi- ence, 22 Iseley, Sir Henry, rebel, 225, 227 n., 228, 229 n., 230, 231, 234 execution of, 340 n., 373 Iseley, Thomas, 340 n., 373 Iseley, William, 227 n. Italy, 68, 85, 121, 139, 182, 401
Princes of, 115 Ive, Thomas, 308, 315, 317, 320
Jackman, Sampson, 199 Janissaries, the, 185 Jerningham, Sir Henry, the Vice- Chamberlain, 232, 233, 234 Jersey, Island of, 391 Jerusalem, kingdom of, 403
Jervys, , 229 n.
Johnson, , 250
INDEX
413
Julius III., Pope. See under Pope
Kenilworth Castle, 252 Kent, 71, 163, 193, 243, 295, 373, 380 rebellion in. See under Wyatt
Killigrew, , 389
Kingston, 244, 259, 322, 334
Kingston, Sir Anthony, 80
Knyvet, Anthony, rebel, 228, 230,
231, 234 Knyvet, William, rebel, 228, 230, 231,
234 Knyvet (Knevet, Knevett), rebel, 225,
322 Kyndlemershe, , 232
La Bertonniere, , French com- mander, 391
Lalaing, Count, special ambassador from the Emperor, 201, and see Imperial ambassadors
La Marque, , 113, 177, 213
Lambert, John, martyr, 367
Landgrave, the, 115
Landrecies, siege of, 315
Latham, , 340
Latimer, Hugh, formerly Bishop of Worcester, 26 committed to the Tower, 29, 338 conveyed to Oxford for the disputa- tion, 341, 375
Legh, Thomas, 80
Leicester, 250, 253
St. Martin's Church, 338 mayor of, 338
Leicestershire, seditious tumult in, 340
Lennox, Countess of, niece of Henry VIII., her place in the succession, 161
Lichfield Cathedral, 344
Liege, 142, 144, 204
Lincoln, Bishop of. See Taylor, John ; White, John
Lingard, his History of England, 213
Litany, the, sung in procession, 197, 273
Lollardy, 75, 251, 376, 390
London, 22, 80, 90, 128, 173, 176, 183, 191, 196, 197, 201, 204, 207, 208, 209, 211, 213,218, 220,226, 227, 229, 231, 235, 236, 237, 243, 244, 245, 249, 251, 252, 263, 266, 280, 302, 320, 329, 332, 334, 337, 345, 346, 351, 353, 362, 369, 374, 375, 387, 393, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 403 popular feeling against reaction in religion in, 33, 59
will be loyal to Mary, 241
Bishop of. See Ridley, Nicholas ;
Bonner, Edmund Lord Mayor of. See White, Sir
Thomas Lord Mayor and aldermen of, 11,
12, 13, 18, 370 Recorder of, 262 Sheriff of, 342 London, buildings, places, and streets
in — Aldersgate Street, 305, 398 Aldgate, 243 Bridge, 321, 322 Charing Cross, 245, 263, 370 Cheapside, 263, 315 Conduit, Great, 41 Conduit, Little, 41 Cornhill, 41 Counter, the, 315 Fenchurch Street, 41 Fleet Bridge, 245 Fleet prison, 79, 195, 283, 313,
338, 370
Fleet Street, 245, 263 Gatehouse, the, 322, 339 Gracechurch Street, 41 Guildhall, the, 71, 158, 239, 257,
266 Hay Hill, 378 Holborn, 245 Hyde Park, 244 King's Bench Prison, 194, 366 Leaden Hall, 241, 263 Limehouse, 308, 317 Lincoln's Inn, 245 Ludgate, 244, 245, 321 Marshalsea prison, 29, 194, 310,
313, 320, 327, 328, 329, 330,
339, 343
Newgate prison, 241, 248 n., 313,
314, 315, 321, 336 Paul's Cross, 398
sermons preached at, 5, 8, 12, 20, 333, 336, 359, 399 St. James's manor house, 224, 245,
322, 378 St. James's park, 245 Smithfield, 13, 342 n. Southwark, 71, 242, 243, 244, 259,
263, 264, 290, 320, 329 Star Chamber, the, 195, 337 Steelyard, the, 122, 398 Stepney, 308, 317, 318, 342 Stocks Market, 314 Temple Bar, 245, 322 Temple gate, the, 323 Tower, the, 6, 10, 11, 13, 42, 49,
50, 55, 79, 88, 91, 94, 119, 163,
414 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
London, buildings — continued
197, 201, 209, 216, 221, 235, 237,
239, 242, 245, 249, 258, 262, 263,
264, 278, 283, 296, 299, 302, 304,
308, 309, 310, 338, 339, 341, 375,
378, 379, 380, 384, 385, 386, 393,
398 Bell Tower, 198 Develin Tower, 243 White Tower, 243 Tower Hill, 158, 202 Tower Street, 380 Tower Wharf, 201 Tyburn, 331 Westminster, 39, 88, 108, 177, 211,
212, 245, 263, 264, 273, 282, 283,
284, 285, 288, 297, 322, 374, 375 Westminster Hall, 19, 194, 196,
246, 263, 386 Westminster Palace, 42, 82 Whitehall, 241, 245, 246, 283, 288,
305, 375 Winchester Place, Gardiner's town
house, 242 Wood Street, 320 London, Churches in —
All Hallows, Bread Street, 345, 346
Bow church, 332
St. Bartholomew's, Smithfield, riot
in, 11 St. Dunstan's, 305 St. Ethelberga within Bishopsgate, 15 St. Giles, 338 St. Magnus, 318 St. Mary of Graces, near the Tower,
317 St. Mary Magdalen, Bread Street,
204 St. Mary Overy, 243, 276, 325 St. Michael called Paternoster, 330 St. Michael in the Tower Royal,
called Whittington College, 323,
330 St. Nicholas Cold Abbey, 21 St. Nicholas Olave's, 21 St. Olave, 243
St. Paul's, 42, 130, 134, 136, 141, 194 »., 196, 316, 318, 370, 382
procession at, 196, 197
Convocation sitting at, 99, 107
steeple, 41, 316 St. Spirit and St. Mary, 331 Westminster Abbey, 42, 50 Lorraine, Duchess of, niece of the
Emperor, 202 Low Countries, the, 61, 64, 68, 102,
116, 117, 121, 166, 175, 389, 391,
396 Ludlow, 256
Luna, 182 Lutterworth, 250 Lynkynhorne, 199 Lynn, 339
Machyn, Henry, his Diary, 12, 15, 20,
196, 310, 370 Maguzzano, monastery of, Cardinal
Pole at, 23, 24, 142 Maidstone, 225, 227, 229, 230, 233,
234, 273, 339, 340 n., 370 Mailing, 231
Mapisdon, , 229 n.
Marche, , 317
Martyn, Thomas, 326, 330 Martyr, Peter, 28 Mary, accession of, 3, 23, 359 the first Queen Regnant, 8, 46 youth and training of, 3-4 her difficulties in choosing ministers, 8 persecution of, under Henry VIII.,
43, 192 proposals for her marriage during the
life of Henry VIII. , 56, 65 n. persecution of, under Edward VI.,
4, 43, 192, 200 her reliance on the Emperor. See
under Charles V. proclaimed in London, 48, 50, 51,
359 her humanity and gentleness, 19, 20,
35, 61, 143 n., 258 her proclamation of religious tolera- tion, 16-18, 171, 192, 210, 332,
345, 349, 351, 353, 359 her proclamation of paying the debts
of her father and brother, 35 her progress through London, 40-42 precautions for the safety of, 39, 64,
77, 257 her coronation, 22, 36, 39, 40, 42,
76, 77, 79, 88, 112, 143, 202, 323 her coronation oath, 36, 77, 123,
126 her difficulties concerning Elizabeth,
31, 32, 33, 93, 162, 163, 164 her distrust of her Councillors, 37,
43, 58, 144 her touching appeal to the Council,
39-40 her confidence in Renard, 59, 149,
159, 192
abhors her title of Supreme Head, 21, 22, 29, 38, 79, 89, 98, 119, 130, 131 n., 132, 145, 148, 151,
160, 374, 393
applies to the Pope to remit the
ecclesiastical censures, 22, 77, 145
longs for reconciliation with Rome,
INDEX
415
22, 33, 74, 84, 89, 98, 99, 183,
187, 192, 268, 393 regards religion above politics, 57,
77 her allegiance to papal sovereignty,
77, 78 her religious toleration, 75, 194 her delicate health, 76, 124, 127 her hopes that Parliament will recog- nize her legitimacy, 33, 151 opens Parliament, 81 Parliamentary legitimation of her
birth, 99, 214 receives deputation from the Com- mons, 125-6 her anger with Gardiner, 126-7 urged by Pole to be reconciled with
Rome, 142, 143, 147 writes to Pole, 143, 144, 145, 146 her concern for the succession, 161,
169 her desire to mediate between Henry
II. and the Emperor, 178, 179, 214,
216 not a politician, 181, 192 her high sense of duty induces her to
marry, 61, 67, 83, 84, 125, 184,
240, 241 proposal for her marriage with
Courtenay. See under Courtenay,
Edward proposal for her marriage with Philip.
See Spanish Match remains continually in the presence
of the Blessed Sacrament, 114 pledges herself to marry Philip, 114,
174 formal demand for her hand, 175,
201, 202 the conclusion of her marriage, 274,
279, 288, 293, 307 her marriage treaty, 86, 102, 159,
175, 181, 198, 202, 203, 223, 265,
274, 374, 375, 376 her espousal, 274 insults to, 170-1, 397, 399 custody of her person demanded by
Wyatt, 235, 239 her letter to Elizabeth, 279-80 plot to assassinate, 296, 298, 341,
383, 384 her enforced severity, 258, 262, 387,
392, 400 her confidence in Gardiner, 392 forced to defer national reconciliation,
394 her anxieties and unhappiness, 395,
396, 397 her financial difficulties, 388
her marriage at Winchester, 402 her wedding titles, 403 her Grand Chamberlain, 295 Mary, Queen of Scots, her right to the
English Crown, 70, 117, 161, 169 her marriage with the Dauphin, 68,
101, 178 Mason, Sir John, Chancellor of Oxford
University, 1552-56, and ambas- sador to the Emperor, 187, 311,
312, 372 Mass, the, revival of, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22,
27 feeling against, 33, 37, 39, 271-2,
305 English Church service to be put
aside for, 197, 273 no married priest to say, 199, 275-6 law concerning (under Edward VI.),
193, 194 restoration of, 196, 198, 203, 247,
255, 271, 276, 357, 360, 361, 371 contempt of, 327, 328 Mass of the Holy Ghost, 79, 130 May, Dr. William, Dean of St. Paul's,
26 Mearing, James, 342 Mearing or Mering, Margaret, 342 Medley, George, 341 Medway, the, 233 Melvyn, John, 336 Mendoza, Diego de, agent of Philip, 62,
173, 183 Mendoza, Inigo de, 173, 174 Mendoza, Juan de, 144 Mendoza, de, , Viceroy of India,
173 Middlesex, Sheriff of, 308, 309 Midlands, the, 226, 227, 247, 288 Milan, 67
Mildmay, Sir Walter, 80 Milton, 228 Minories, the, 291 Mirtiz or Mertyz, Captain, 34 n. Mitton, Thomas, Sheriff of Shropshire,
283 Mohun's Ottery, Sir Peter Carew's
house, 208, 218, 219, 222 Monde, Thomas, 229 Monmouthshire, 80 Mons, 61
Montague, Baron. See Pole, Sir Henry Montmorency, the French Constable,
51, 52, 144 n., 265, 289 de Selve's letter to, 182-5 Moore, Henry, Vicar of Stepney, once
Abbot of Tower Hill, 317, 318 Mordaunt, Sir John, 1st Baron, 336,
346, 347, 349
4i 6 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
Moremaii, Dr. John, 134, 136, 138,
139, 195, 207 Morgan, Henry, Bishop of St. David's
(1554), 136, 138, 139, 276 Morgan, Sir Richard, the judge who
sentenced Lady Jane Grey, 262,
311, 385 Morvilliers, Jean de, Bishop of Orleans,
French envoy, 51, 95 Morysine, Sir Richard, ambassador
from Edward VI. to the Emperor,
31, 63, 64, 65 n. Mowntayne, Thomas, heretic, his auto- biography, 323-31 deprival of his benefice, 332 " Mumpsimuses," 312 Musgrave, Captain, 245 Mustapha, death of, 185 son of, 185
Naples, 67, 403
Navas, Marquis de las, 402
Nevill, Henry, Baron Abergavenny, 228, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 243
Neville, Henry, 5th Earl of Westmor- land, 295
New Learning, the, 26, 31, 79, 124, 192
Newbury, Berks, 284
Newhall, Essex. See Beaulieu
Newman, , 321
Newton, Mr., 225
Nichols, Gough, his Chronicles of Queen Jane and Queen Mary, 131 n., 159 n., 198, 204, 211, 225, 247, 259
Nicolas, courier to Noailles, 291
Nigry, Philip de, Chancellor of the Order of the Golden Fleece, special ambassador from the Emperor, 201, and see under Imperial ambassadors
Noailles, French ambassador, 10, 33, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 65 n., 76, 86 «., 103, 110, 113, 125, 127, 144 n., 165, 166, 176, 177, 180, 181, 208, 211, 213, 215, 224, 227, 249, 257, 282, 284, 285, 288, 294, 338, 397 his interviews with Gardiner, 69, 70-
71 his mistake about Courtenay's suit,
95, 112 his attitude towards the Spanish Match, 64, 67, 68, 72, 73, 90, 91, 116, 124, 170, 176, 192, 266, 307 his audiences with the Queen, 176, 178-9, 264-5, 392
his intercepted despatches, 286, 287,
289, 290, 291, 292, 296 his letters to Henry: II., 89 n., 95,
96, 111, 128-9, 209 n., 285, 291-2 his letter to the Dowager Queen of
Scotland, 98 his brother Francis, 264, 289 Norfolk, insurrection in, 69, 71, 163,
398 Mary's flight from Hunsdon into,
49 Norfolk and Suffolk, Godly Supplica- tion from (Foxe), 270-3 Norfolk, Duke of. See Howard,
Thomas Normandy, 204, 335, 389, 392
Norris, , 320, 322
North, Sir Edward, 80 North Shoebury, 361 Northampton, 250, 345 Northampton, Marquis of. See Parr,
William Northumberland, 80 Northumberland, Duke of. See Dudley,
John Norton, Sir John, 80 Norwich, Bishop of. See Thirlby,
Thomas Notherel, John, 333
Oatlands, 396
O'Neill, Shane, 390
Ongar, 343
Orleans, 335
Ostrelins, the, 186
Otford, 232
Over, Master, 253
Oxford, disputations at, 195, 341
Parliament to be held at, 295, 374, 375
New College, 139 Oxford, Earl of. See Vere, John de Oysel, Sieur d', French ambassador to Scotland, 53, 209, 211, 212, 294
his letter to Henry II., 209-10
Paget, Sir William, Lord Paget, privy councillor, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 84, 87, 96, 104, 105, 109, 114, 119, 120, 121, 123, 125, 128, 149 153, 159, 161, 162, 164, 172, 178, 179, 180, 181, 207, 209, 257 258, 295, 297, 306, 307, 311, 312, 373, 376, 387, 392, 393, 395 his letter to Renard, 376-7
Palatine, Count, 143
Palmer, Sir Thomas, 19, 247
Pamphlets and libels, 34, 59, 71, 399
Paris, 335, 401
INDEX
4i7
Park, , 229 n.
Parliament of Heury VIII., pronounces
against papal jurisdiction, 372 Parliament, whether the Coronation shall precede the meeting of, 24, 25, 34, 37, 38, 63 religious changes to be effected by,
51, 59, 75, 268, 353 Mary's first, meeting of, 42, 74, 79 opened by the Queen in person, 81 declares the marriage of Henry VIII. and Katharine of Aragon lawful, 100, 108, 146, 153 petition from, urging the Queen to marry Courtenay, 115, 166, 176 prorogation and resumption of,
108, 153 religious change effected by, loO,
197, 324, 329 religious settlement enacted by, 141, 146, 171, 185, 187, 191, 269 its dread of the restoration of Papal authority, 78, 90, 91, 92, 93, 109, 145, 154 opposition to the Queen's marriage
in, 191 Acts repealing Statutes of Edward
VI., 154, 167, 196, 203, 360 Acts for the settlement of religion,
122, 123, 125 Act against rebellious assemblies,
155-6 Act against disturbing divine ser- vice, 156, 196 Act to repeal certain Acts of
Treason, 81-82, 92, 383 dissolution of, 160 Mary's second, to be held at Oxford, 293, 295, 374 meets at Westminster, 375 refuses to sanction reconciliation
with Kome, 393, 394 dissolution of, 387 Parr, Katharine, Queen, 198 Parr, William, Marquis of Northamp- ton, 6, 19, 20, 62, 198, 248, 381 Parsons, Robert, his Three Conversions
of England, 365-6 Paulet, William, Marquis of Win- chester, Lord High Treasurer, 41, 96, 158, 169, 241, 300, 302 Peckham, Sir Edmund, 321 Peckham, Henry, 321 Pembroke, Earl of. See Herbert, Sir
William Pendleton, Henry, D.D., 330, 333, 351, 352, 353, 354, 399
VOL. IV
Penning, Henry, messenger sent to England by Cardinal Pole, 24, 77, 143, 144, 151 his report to the Pope, 81
Penshurst, 230
Pensioners, the, 309, 320
Perceval, , 389
Pern, Andrew, 136
Peto, William, the Queen's confessor, 64, 293
Petre, Sir William, Secretary, 96, 104, 105, 113, 114, 121, 123, 291, 297
Philip of Spain, son of Charles V., 48, 55, 56, 61, 62, 84, 85, 86, 88, 102, 104,114, 115, 116, 117. 118, 122, 167, 172, 174, 179, 187, 192, 203, 208, 214, 222, 225, 236, 241,
247, 274, 287, 288, 305, 307, 323, 343, 373, 376, 377, 378, 387, 388, 391, 392, 395, 396, 397, 403
character of, 83, 85, 86, 87, 104, 111
his engagement to Princess Mary of Portugal. See under Portugal
popular dislike of. See under Span- ish Match
plots to prevent his landing, 169, 170, 205, 206, 207
conditions imposed on. See under Mary, marriage treaty of
his arrival in England, 401, 402
his marriage. See under Mary
his first wife Mary, of Portugal, 55 n.
his son Don Carlos, the Infant, 57, 85 Philips, Walter, Dean of Rochester,
133, 134, 139 Philpot, John, Archdeacon of Win- chester, 133, 134, 135, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 375
his " carefully composed " report of
the disputation on the Sacrament
of the Altar, 133-7
Pickering, Sir William, Ambassador
for Edward VI. in France, 103-4,
248, 294, 389, 401
Piedmont, Prince of, Emmanuel Phili- bert. See Savoy, Duke of
Plymouth, 199, 391, 401
Pole, Sir Henry, Baron Montague, brother of the Cardinal, fate of, 152
Pole, Reginald, Cardinal, Legate for England, 22, 23, 24, 25, 38, 74, 77, 83, 109, 115, 127, 129, 144, 145, 171, 172, 182, 184, 208, 268, 293, 393, 394, 395, 403 appointed Legate to Charles V. and Henry II. of France, 23, 143 n.
2 E
4i 8 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
considered as a husband for the
Queen, 65, 73 writes to Mary, 24, 142, 145 n.,
146-7 pleads the injustice done to him,
149 his advice to Mary concerning the
Royal Supremacy, 142, 148, 151 detained abroad by the Emperor.
See under Charles V. his disapproval of the Emperor's
prudence, 143 his legation distasteful in England, 144 Pollard, Sir Hugh, 224 Pollard, John, Speaker of the House of Commons, 81, 120, 121, 125, 126, 127 Pomery, Sir Thomas, 205 Ponet, John, deprived Bishop of Win- chester, 25, 334 Poole, 332 Pope Julius III., 22, 23, 57, 70, 77,
149, 172, 363, 364, 394, 403 Pope, the, no jurisdiction in England, 21, 130, 268, 360, 372 breach with, 130, 192, 327 supremacy of the, popular feeling against the restoration of, 117, 150, 151, 160, 191, 200, 271, 319, 356, 371 dread in Parliament of the restora- tion of, 78, 90, 91, 92, 93, 109, 145, 154, 360 restoration of, a year later, 353, 360 Portman, Sir William, judge, 195 Portsmouth, 194 n., 207, 390 Portugal, King of, Emmanuel, his daughter Mary, her proposed mar- riage with Philip, 55, 56, 60, 62, 68, 182, 183 Portugal, King of, John III., his daughter Mary, her marriage with Philip, 55 n. Portugal, Don Luis of, brother of John III., proposed for Mary's hand, 63, 66, 67 Powderham, 389
Poynter, , 317
Prideaux, John, 205, 206, 207
Prideaux, Thomas, 208
Prittlewell, 361
Proctor, John, his official account of
Wyatt's rebellion, 227 Protestants, 127, 128, 214, 247, 253, 255, 321, 332, 390, 399 ; and see Heretics French, 337, 338 Prydyax, Roger, 199
Pye, William, Dean of Chichester,
132 n. Pyttyes, Parson, 330
Radcliffe, Henry, 2nd Earl of Sussex, privy councillor, 297, 300, 302, 303, 311, 312, 313, 393
Raleigh, Walter, 389
Rampton, — — •, 251, 255 narrative of, 252-4
Ratcliff, Sir Humphrey, lieutenant of the Pensioners, 320
Rebellion, 163, 224, 241, 247, 258, 265, 269, 288. See cdso Devon- shire and Kent
Record, Dr., 315
Reformation, the, 80, 312, 332
Renard, Simon, Imperial ambassador, 20, 26, 36, 43, 44, 46, 54, 56, 59,
60, 77, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 97, 98, 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 113, 115, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 140, 142, 153, 154, 155, 162, 163, 168, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 181, 202, 203, 204, 205, 210, 211, 213, 224, 232, 237, 256, 257, 258, 274, 285, 286, 292, 297, 299, 373, 374, 379, 386, 387, 388, 401
his letters to the Emperor, 84 n., 92 «., 93, 108, 114, 115, 157, 158 «., 159, 166, 169 W.-170 n., 174 n., 204 n., 213 «., 216, 225, 259, 284, 286-7, 293-4, 294-6, 305-6
his great influence with the Queen, 57, 58, 149, 159, 167, 192, 377
his interviews with Gardiner, 116-9, 121-3
his secret audiences, 55, 56, 62, 82-86, 100, 104, 113
his interview with Paget, 66-68
his letter to the Bishop of Arras,
61. And see Imperial ambassa- dors
Richard II., 331
Riche, Richard, Baron Riche of Leeze,
96 Richmond, Surrey, 11, 16, 20, 21, 55, 56, 177, 178, 201, 393, 396, 398, 399 Ridgeway, Mr., 207 Ridley, Nicholas, Edwardine Bishop of London, 131, 133, 194 n., 195 his endeavour to convert Mary during
life of Edward VI., 6-8 visits Mary at Frainlingham, 6 deprivation of, 25, 27 preaches at Paul's Cross, 5, 8
INDEX
419
sent to the Tower, 6 conveyed to Oxford for the disputa- tion, 341, 375 Rochester, 228, 229, 230, 231, 233,
234, 235, 243, 290 See of, 276 Rochester, Bishop of. See Griffen,
Maurice Rochester, Sir Robert, Comptroller of
the Household, 93, 106, 112, 121,
124, 203, 295, 307, 378 receives special letter from the
Emperor, 106, 113 Rogers, Sir Edward, 248 «., 284, 298,
383 Rogers, John, prebendary of St. Paul's,
13, 14, ?133, 248 »., ? 294, 344 Rohan, Francois de, Sieur de Gie,
French envoy, 51, 95 Romans, King of the, Ferdinand, 60,
61, 186, 402 his son, the Archduke, 61 Rome, 139, 144, 148, 151 Roscarocke, John, 199 Rostan Bassa, 185 Rouen, 335 Royal Supremacy, 148, 152, 268, 319,
360, 364, 372 Russell, John, Earl of Bedford (1550-
1554), Lord Privy Seal, 105, 120,
207, 210, 311, 312, 380 Russell, Francis, Lord, son of the
above, 311, 314 Ruy Gomez, 55 n. Rye, 340
mayor of, 337
Sacrament of the Altar, disputation on,
133-7, 138, 139, 140 St. Albans, 250 St. Andre, Marshal, 295 St. Augustine, interpretation of, 134 St. David's, Bishop of. See Ferrar,
Robert ; Morgan, Henry St. John, Sir John, 336 St. Leger, Sir Anthony, Lord Deputy
of Ireland, 102, 325, 326, 341 St. Leger, Sir John, 220, 221, 222,
224 his report, 222 St. Martin, Sieur de, 286, 287 "St. Peter's Ship," 147, 171, 268 Saintlow (Seyntlowe), Sir William,
298, 304 Salisbury, Bishop of. See Shaxton,
Nicholas Salisbury, Countess of, mother of
Cardinal Pole, fate of, 152 Sandesborough, Thomas, 342
Sandon, 340
Sark, island of, 391
Saunders, Laurence, Edwardine parson,
his history, examination before
Bonner and Gardiner, and im- prisonment, 344-54 martyrdom of, 354 n. Savoy, Duke of, Emmanuel Philibert,
Prince of Piedmont, proposed for
Mary's hand, 63, 66 proposed for Elizabeth's hand, 165,
166, 168 Scheyfve, Imperial ambassador, 26, 44,
60, 61, 62, 104, 173. And see
Imperial ambassadors Scilly Isles, 401
Scory, John, Bishop of Chichester, 30 Scotland, 48, 117, 168, 186, 257, 266,
287, 294, 295, 390 Scotland, King of, 86 n. Scotland, Queen of. See Mary, Queen
of Scots Scotland, Dowager Queen of, letter to,
98 Scotland, late Dowager Queen of,
Margaret, sister of Henry VIII.,
161 Seigneur, Grand, 185 Selve, Odet de, French ambassador at
Venice, letters of, 144 n., 182-8,
208 Sevenoaks, 228, 230, 231 Seymour, Edward, Duke of Somerset,
the Protector, 9, 48, 155, 301,
337, 339 n. Seymour, Thomas, Baron, Lord High
Admiral (1508 ?-1549), 301 Shaw, Dr., " shameful sermon " of,
referred to, 8 Shaxton, Nicholas, Bishop of Salis- bury, 275 Sheen, 227, 246, 249
Sheldon, , 313
Shrewsbury, Earl of. See Talbot,
Francis Shropshire, 283 Sicily, 67 Sidney, Sir Henry, 230
Simondes, , 336
Six Articles, re-enactment of, 118
Smith, Sir Thomas, 26
Smythe, William, 273
Somerset, Duke of. See Seymour,
Edward Somersetshire, 80 Sophia, 185
Soranzo, Venetian ambassador in Eng- land, 209, 216 Soto, the Emperor's confessor, 151
420 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
South, , 294
Southampton, Philip's landing at, 396,
402 Southwell, Sir Richard ("Sudvez"),
93, 299, 311, 312, 313, 322 Southwell, Sir Robert, sheriff of Kent,
228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 234,
235, 243, 381, 384 Spain, 56, 85, 115, 121, 129, 170,
173, 182, 198, 266, 274, 380, 388,
391, 396, 402 Spanish Match, the, 70, 71, 87, 107,
109, 112, 120, 124, 159, 166, 169,
171, 173, 178, 182, 183, 184, 185,
187, 188, 192, 265, 266, 268, 307,
323, 343, 373, 378 popular dislike of, 72, 73, 116, 128,
161, 166, 167, 169, 170, 198, 201,
209, 226, 236, 239, 274, 305, 306,
307, 329, 360, 371, 381, 383, 392,
400 petition from the Commons against,
124, 125, 166, 197 attitude of the Council towards, 67,
69, 82, 94, 100, 101, 104, 106,
167, 168, 169, 175, 181, 204, 205,
211, 228, 237, 241 the Emperor's policy concerning, 45,
54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 63, 64, 65, 66,
82, 83, 85, 101, 104, 105, 107,
121, 144 ii., 153, 201, 208, 395 French hatred of, 67, 91, 101, 170,
176, 266, 389 papal dispensation necessary for,
117, 214 arrangements for children by, 121,
175, 396 political nature of, 201, 308, 377,
394, 395, 403 Spittle Hill, 234 Stamford, Mr., 282 Stanford, William (afterwards judge),
381, 383 Stanley, Edward, 3rd Earl of Derby,
16, 125, 224, 295, 393 Stoke, 219 Stokes, Dr., 339 Stony Stratford, 250 Stourton, Charles, 2nd Lord, 341 Stow, his Annals, 334
his Survey, 331 Strangways, Sir Giles, 206 Stratford on the Bow, 319 Strood, 230, 233, 234 Strype, his Memorials of Cranvier,
' 131, 149, 150 Succession Act, the, 162 Suffolk, 71, 270 Suffolk, Duke of. See Brandon, Charles
Suffolk, Duke of. See Grey, Henry Suffolk, Frances, Duchess of, 161, 197 Surrey [Henry, Earl of], the poet, his
outbreak in London, 226 Sussex, Duke of. See Radcliffe, Henry
Talbot, Francis, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury,
125, 224, 256, 393 Tawe, Justice, 319 Taylor, John, Edwardine Bishop of
Lincoln, his deprivation and death,
79, 80, 275, 367 Taylor, Dr. Rowland, Edwardine parson
of Hadleigh, account of his history
and arrest, 341, 355, 356, 357-8,
359, 360, 361 his examination before Gardiner,
362-6 his letter to his wife, 367-9 Thames, the, 235, 237, 322 Theodoret, his authority quoted, 136 Theodosius, Emperor, his rigour quoted
as example, 20 Thirlby, Thomas, Bishop of Norwich,
member of the Queen's Council,
93, 105, 121, 123, 125 Thomas, William, clerk of the Council
to Edward VI., his part in Wyatt's
rebellion, 283, 296, 298, 335, 341,
383 Thomas of Woodstock, 331 Thornden, Dr., suffragan bishop of
Dover, 27 Throgmorton, Clement, 320, 321 Throgmorton, John, Master of Requests,
315 Throgmorton, Michael, Pole's servant,
109, 145 Throgmorton, Sir Nicholas, his trial
and defence, 283, 379-85 his acquittal, 385-6, 398 Throgmorton, Sir Richard, 80
Tilden, , 229 n.
Tirrell, Sir Henry, 340
Titian, portrait of Philip by, 174
Tiverton, 219
Toulouse, Sieur de, Jacques de Marnix,
special ambassador from the
Emperor, 44 Towcester, 250, 253 Tower, the. See London Tower, the, Lieutenant of. See Bridges,
Sir John Trausubstantiation, 133, 310, 348 Treffry, Thomas, 199 Trelauny, John, 199
Tremayne, , 389
Trent, 142, 143 n., 182 Tunbridge, 228, 230
INDEX
421
Tunstall, Cuthbert, Bishop of Durham,
27, 72, 274, 275 Tyudale, William, 312
his Obedience of a Christian Alan,
314 Tyrrell, George, 359
Udalle, , 330
Underbill, Edward, "The Hot
Gospeller," a pensioner, 308, 314,
315, 318, 320, 330 his autobiography, 309-14, 316-8,
319 Uxbridge, 340 n.
Valenciennes, 65
Vaughan, Cuthbert, concerned in
Wyatt's rebellion, 263, 379, 381,
382 Venetian ambassador, 91, 103, 116,
294 Venetian senate, 215 Venice, 182, 185, 188, 208, 401
English ambassador to, 187 Vere, John de, 16th Earl of Oxford,
41 Verron, John, seditious preacher, 14 Vertot, the editor of the Noailles
despatches, 211, 213, 224 Visdame, the, 295 Voysey, John, Bishop of Exeter,
restoration of, 25
Wackelyn, , 330
Waldegrave, Edward, servant of Mary,
93, 101, 107, 112, 124, 158 Wales, 225, 226, 227, 249, 256, 288,
341 Walsingham, 339 " Wantour," Lord, 69 Waringe, Mr., 253 Warner, Sir Edward, Edward VI. 's
Lieutenant of the Tower, 248, 256 Warner (Sir Edward ?), 381, 383 Warwick, Earl of. See Dudley, John Warwick, Earl of, afterwards Duke of
Northumberland. See Dudley,
John Warwick, 254
Castle, 252, 254 Warwickshire, 308, 315 Watson, Dr. Thomas (afterwards Bishop
of Lincoln), 20, 134, 136, 139 Wentworth, Thomas, second Baron
(1525-84), 311 Westminster. See London Westmorland, Earl of. See Neville,
Henry
Weston, Hugh, Dean of Westminster, Prolocutor of Convocation, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 370, 384 n.
Weymouth, 221, 389
Wharton, Sir Thomas, 7
White, John, warden of Winchester College, 197 consecrated Bishop of Lincoln, 276
White, Sir Thomas, Lord Mayor of London, 11, 12, 15, 241, 242, 243, 262, 333, 334, 401
Whittington, Alice, 331
Whittington, Joan, 331
Whittington, Richard, his tomb vio- lated, 331
Whittington, Sir William, 331
Wight, Isle of, 390
Wilkins, his Concilia, 130, 139
Williams, Sir John, 280
Williams, Sir John, sheriff of Oxford- shire, 374
Wiltshire, 80
Winchester, Mary's marriage at, 396, 402 William of Wykeham's school at,
139 cathedral, 139
Winchester, Bishop of. Set Gardiner, Stephen ; Ponet, John
Winchester, Marquis of. See Paulet, William
Windsor, 236, 403
Winter, Robert, 283, 379
" Wood, Michael," pseudonym of John Bale, 72
Woodcock, Jane, 339 n.
Woodstock, 379, 398
Worcester, Bishop of. See Hooper, John ; Heath, Nicholas
Worcester, 336
Worcestershire, 313
Wotton, Dean Nicholas, ambassador in France, 101, 167, 214, 265, 289, 401
Wroth, Sir Thomas, 80
Wrotham, 232
Wrotham Heath, 231
Wrothe, Mr., 249
Wiirtemberg, Duke of, 143
Wyatt, Edward, 382
Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 210, 211, 240, 284, 289, 290, 294, 296, 302, 305, 320, 341, 373, 381, 382, 383, 384 his proclamation, 227, 229, 231 his rebellion, 71, 259, 274, 278, 279, 288, 291, 299, 340 »., 360, 370 388
422 LOLLARDY & THE REFORMATION
his rebellion, account of, 225-37, 242-
246, 322-3, 334 his rebellion, causes of, 247-8, 329,
372, 378, 380, 385 his impudent demands, 235, 239 capture of, 246, 280 his trial, 297, 298, 299, 304 his execution, 379, 386 Wylcockes, Thomas, 339 Wymsley, John, Archdeacon of London,
132 n.
Wynter, Gilbert, Gentleman Usher to
Elizabeth, 309 Wynter, , 313
York, Archbishop of. See Holgate,
Robert Yorkshire, 224 Young, Thomas, Chanter of St. David's,
afterwards Archbishop of York
under Elizabeth, 133 Younge John, 341
THE END
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