The history of the reformation of the Church of England

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i

^Cc'LSe. /iiOl,1\CAi

THE

HISTORY

OF THE

REFORMATION

OF THE». •/.* •. .•*••

• •

• • »

• • •

CHURCH

. * • ' • • • • .

OF ENbU-'J^Htl'r

• »

N

BY

GILBERT BURNET, D. D.

LATE LORD BISHOP OF SARUM.

VOL. I.

OXFORD,

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
MDCCCXXIX.

• a • • •
• • ,• • •

• • •

• •

• • •

• ••

.•••

-i.:<

• • •••
•• • •

•••.:\

' f

..■ :^i^.

■'0^: ■■'

TO THE

K I N G-

SIR,

The first step that was made in the reformation
of this Church was the restoring to your royal ances-
tors the rights of the crown, and an entire dominion
over all their subjects ; of which they had.b^eir djiK :'
seized by the craft and violence ;o{Van\liojust ppe-
tender : to whom the clergy, though jonrla^e^y'S .

int)genitors had enriched them by a bbvptjriiQ-i^ ''

- * i*' I'- - "*- -
profuse than ill-managed, did not onl^/mlh'efe, but

drew with them the laity, over whose consciences

they had gained so absolute an authority, that our

kings were to expect no obedience from their people,

but what the popes were pleased to allow.

It is true, the nobler part of the nation did fre-
quently in pm'liament assert the regal prerogatives
against those papal invasions: yet these were but
faint endeavours ; for an ill-executed law is but an
unequal match to a principle strongly infused into
the consciences of the people.

But how different was this from the teaching of

Christ and his apostles ! They forbade men to use

all those arts by which the papacy grew up, and yet

subsists: they exhorted them to obey magistrates,

when they knew it would cost them their lives : they

were for setting up a kingdom, not of this world *
VOL. I. a

ii THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

nor to be attained, but by a holy and peaceable reli-
gion. If this might every where take place, princes
would find government both easy and secure: it
would raise in their subjects the truest courage, and
unite them with the firmest charity : it would draw
from them obedience to the laws, and reverence to
the persons of their kings. If the standards of jus-
tice and charity, which the gospel gives, of doing
as we would be done by, and loving our neighbours
•V^RS.oufselveSj were made the measures of men's ac-
■ ••^i.U.^ite w^ld «>de.ie, be g.ven,«l, ^
httfr ^^aiiflj.woum princes be obeyed !
Yilji^:^ of the reformation was to restore
Chnstiikiif^ti) what it was at first, and to purge it
of those corruptions, with which it was overrun in
the later and darker ages.

Great Sir, this work was carried on by a slow
and unsteady progress under king Henry the Eighth ;
it advanced in a fuller and freer course under the
short, but blessed reign of king Edward ; was sealed
with the blood of many martyrs under queen Mary;
was brought to a fiiU settlement in the happy and
glorious days of queen Elizabeth ; was defended by
the learned pen of king James : but the established
frame of it, under which it had so long flourished,
was overthrown with your Majesty's blessed father,
who fell with it, and honoured it by his unexampled
suffering for it ; and was again restored to its former
beauty and order, by your Majesty's happy return.
What i*emains to complete and perpetuate this

THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. iii

Uessing, the composing of our differences at home,
the establishing a closer correspondence with the re-
formed churches abroad, the securing us from the
restless and wicked practices of that party, who hoped
so lately to have been at the end of their designs ;
and that which can only entitle us to a blessing
from God, the reforming of our manners and lives,
as our ancestors did our doctrine and worship ; all
this is reserved for your Majesty, that it may ap-
pear, that your royal title of Defender of the Faith
is no empty sounds but the real strength atid glory of
your crown.

For attaining these ends, it will be of great use to
trace the steps of our first reformers ; for if the land-
marks they set be observed, we can hardly go out of
the way. This was my chief design in the follow-
ing sheets, which I now most humbly offer to your
Majesty, hoping, that as you were graciously pleased
to command that I should have free access to all
records for composing them, so you will not deny
your royal patronage to the history of that work,
which God grant your Majesty may live to raise to
its perfection, and to complete in your reign, the
gloiy of all your titles. This is a part of the most
earnest as well as the daily prayers of,

May it please your sacred Majesty,
Your Majesty's most loyal,
most faithful, and most

devoted subject and servant,

G. BURNET.
a2

[

THE

PREFACE.

jL here is no part of history better recdved than the ac-
count of great changes, and revolutions of states and go-
yemments, in which the variety of unlooked-for accidents
and events both entertains the reader and improves him.

Of all changes, those in religion that have been sudden
and signal are inquired into with the most searching curiosity:
where the salvation of souls being concerned, the better sort
are much affected ; and the credit, honour, and interest of
churches and parties draw in those, who, though they do
not much cal^ for the religious part, yet make noise about
it to serve other ends. The changes that were made in re-
ligion in the last century have produced such effects every
where, that it is no wonder if all persons desire to see a clear
account of the several steps in which they advanced, of the
counsels that directed them, and the motives, both religious
and poliucal, that inclined men of all conditions to concur
in them. Germany produceth a Sleidan, France a Thu-
anus, and Italy a Friar Paul, who have pven the world as
full satisfaction in what was done beyond sea, as they could
desire. And though the two last lived and died in the com-
munion of the church of Rome, yet they have delivered
things to posterity with so much candour and evenness,
that their authority is disputed by none but those of their
own party.

But while foreign churches have such historians, ours at
home have not had the like good fortune : for whether it
was, that the reformers at first presumed so far on their
legal and calm proceedings, on the continued succession of
their clergy, the authority of the law, and the protection of

aS

vi THE PREFACE.

the prince, that they judged it needless to write an history,
and therefore employed their best pens, rather to justify
what they did, than to deliver how it was done; or whether
by a mere neglect the thing was omitted ; we cannot deter-
mine. True it is, that it was not done to any degree of ex-
actness, when matters were so fi«sh in men^s memories, that
things might have been opened with greater advantages, and
vouched by better authority, than it is to be expected at
this distance.

They were soon after much provoked by Sanders^s his-
tory, which he published to the world in Latin : yet, ^ther
despiang a writer, who did so impudently deliver falsehoods,
that from his own book many of them may be disproved, or
expecting a command from authority, they did not then set
about it. The best account I can give of their silence is,
that most of Sanders'^s calumnies being levelled at queen
Elizabeth, whose birth and parents he designed chiefly to
disgrace, it was thought too tender a point by her wise
counsellcnrs to be much inquired into: it gave too great
credit to his lies, to answer them ; an answer would draw
forth a reply, by which those calumnies would still be kept
alive ; and therefore it was not without good reason thou^t
better to let them lie unanswered and despised. From
whence it is come, that in this age that author is in such
credit, that now he is quoted with much assurance : most of
all the writers in the church of Borne rely on his testimony
as a good authority. The collectors of the general history
of that age follow his thread closely ; some of them tran-
scribe his very words. One Pollini, a Dominican, published
an history of the changes that were made in England, in
Italian, at Rome, anno 1594, which he should more ingenu-
ously have called a translation or paraphrase of Sanders^s
history : and of late more candidly, but no less maliciously,
one of the best pens of France has been employed to trans-
late him into their language ; which has created such pre-
judices in the minds of many there, that our reformation,
which generally was more modestly spoken of, even by those
who wrote against it, is now looked on by such as read San-

THE PREFACE. vii

den, and believe him, as one of the foulest things that ever

Fox, fin* all his Toluminous work, had but few things in
his eye when he made his collection, and designed only to
discover the corruptions and cruelties of the Roman clergy,
and the sufferings and constancy of the reformers. But his
work was written in haste, and there are so many defects in
it, that it can by no means be called a complete history of
these times ; though I must add, that, having compared his
Acts and Moouments with the records, I have never been
able to discover any errors or prevarications in them, but
the utmost fiddity and exactness* Parker, archbishop of
Canterbury, designed only in his account of the British An-
tquities to do justice and hcmour to his see, and so gives us
bardy the Life of Cranmer, with scmie few and general hints
of what he did. Hall was but a superficial writer, and was
more careful to get full infcmnations of the clothes that were
worn at the interviews of princes, justs, tournaments, and
great solemnities, than about the counsels or secret trans-
actions of the time he lived in. Holinshed, Speed, and
Stow, give bare relations of things that were public, and
commit many faults. Upon their scent most of our later
writers have gone, and have only collected and repeated
what they wrote. -

The lord Herbert judged it unworthy of him to trifle as
others had done, and therefore made a more narrow search
into records and original papers than all that had gone be-
fore him ; and with great fidelity and industry has given
us the history of king Henry the Eighth. But in the trans-
actions that concern religion, he dwells not so long as the
matter required, leaving those to men of another profession,
and judging it perhaps not so proper for one of his con-
dition to pursue a full and accurate deduction of those
matters.

Since he wrote, two have undertaken the ecclesiastical his-
tory ; Fuller and Heylin. The former got into his hands
some few papers, that were not seen before he published
them ; but being a man of fancy, and aflecting an odd way of

a 4

1 1

viii THE PREFACE:

wridng, his work gives no great satisfaction. But doctor
Heylin wrote smoothly and handsomely, his method and
style are good, and his work was generally more read than
any thing that had appeared before him : but either he was
very ill-informed, or very much led by his passions ; and
he b^g wrought on by most violent prejudices against
some that were concerned in that time, delivers many things
in such a manner, and so strangely, that one would think
he had been secretly set on to it by those of the church of
Rome, though I doubt not he was a sincere protestant, but
violently carried away by some particular conceits. In one
thing he is not to be excused, that he never vouched any
authority for what he writ, which is not to be forgiven any
who write of transactions beyond their own time, and deliver
new things not known before. So that upon what grounds
he wrote a great deal of his book we can only conjecture,
and many in their guesses are not apt to be very favourable
to him.

Things being delivered to us with so much alloy and un-i
certiunty, those of the church of Rome do confidently dis-
parage our reformation : the short history of it, as it is put
in their mouths, being, that it was begun by the lusts and
pasfflons of king Henry the Eighth, carried on by the raven-
ousness of the duke of Somerset under Edward the Sixth,
and confirmed by the policy of queen Elizabeth and her
council to secure her title. These things being generally
talked and spread abroad in foreign parts, especially in
France, by the new translation of Sanders, and not being
yet sufficiently cleared, many have dedred to see a fuller
and better account of those transactions than has yet been
given ; so the thing being necessary, I was the more encou-
raged to set about it by some persons of great worth and
eminence, who thought I had much leisure and other good
opportunities to go through with it, and wished me to un-
dertake it. The person that did engage me chiefly to this
work, was on many accounts much fitter to have undertaken
it himself, being the most indefatigable in his industry, and
the most judicious in his observations, of any I know, and ia

THE PREFACE. ix

one of the greatest masters of style now living. But being en-
gaged in the service of the church, in a station that affords
him very little leisture, he set me on to it, and furnished me
with a curious collection of his own observations. And in
some sort this work may be accounted his, for he corrected
it with a most critical exactness ; so that the first materials,
and the last finishing of it, are from him. But after all this,
I lie under such restraints from his modesty, that I am not
allowed to publish his name.

I had two objections to it, besides the knowledge of my
own unfitness for suich a work. One was, my unacquainted-
ness with the laws and customs of this nation, not being bom
in it : the other was, the expense that such a seafch as was
necessary required, which was not easy for me to bear. My
acquaintance with the most ingenious master William Petyt,
counsellor of the Inner Temple, cleared one difficulty ; he
offering me his assistance and direction, without which I
must have committed great faults. But I must acknow-
ledge myself highly obliged by the favour and bounty of
the honourable master of the rolls, sir Harbottle Grim-
stone, of whose worth and goodness to me I must make a
large digression, if I would undertake to say all that the
subject will bear : the whole nation expressed their value of
him, upon the most signal occasion, when they made him
their mouth and speaker in that blessed assembly which
called home their king ; after which real evidence all little
commendations may be well forborne. The obligations he
has laid on me are such, that, as the gratitude and service
of my whole life is the only equal return I can make for
them ; so, as a small tribute, I judge myself obliged to
make my acknowledgments in this manner, for the leisure
I enjoy under his protection, and the support I receive from
him : and if this work does the world any service, the best
part of the thanks is due to him, that furnished me with
particular opportunities of carrying it on. Nor must I con-
ceal the nobleness of that renowned promoter of learning
Mr. Boyle, who contributed liberally to the expense this
work put me to.

i

X THE PREFACE-

Upon these encouragements I set about it, and began
with the search of all public records and oiBces, the parlia-
ment and treaty rolls, with all the patent rolls, and the re-
l^ters of the sees of Canterbury and London, and of the
augmentation 'office. Then I laid out for all the MSS. I
could hear of, and found things beyond my expectation in
the famous Cotton library, where there is such a collection
of ori^nal papers relating to these times, as perhaps the
world can show nothing like it. I had also the favour of
some MSS. of great value, both from the famous and emi-
nently learned doctor Stillingfleet, who gave me great assist-
ance in this work, and from Mr. Petyt and others. When
I had looked these over, I then used all the endeavours I
could to gather together the books that were printed in
those days, from which I not only got considerable hints of
matters of fact, but (that which I chiefly looked for) the ar-
guments upon which they managed the controversies then
on foot, of which I thought it was the part of an ecclerias-
tical historian to give an account, as I could recover them,
that it may appear upon what motives and grounds they
proceeded.

The three chief periods of Henry the Eighth his reign, in
which reli^on is concerned, are, first, frt>m the be^nning of
his reign, till the process of his divorce with queen Katherine
commenced. The second is frt>m that, till his total breaking
off from Rome, and setting up his supremacy over all causes
and persons. The third is from that to his death.

When I first set about this work, I intended to have car-
ried on the History of the Reformation to the reign of queen
Elizabeth, in which it was finished and fully settled ; but I
was forced to change that resolution. The chief reason,
among many others, was, that I have not yet been able to
discover such full informations of what passed under the
succeeding reigns as were necessary for a history ; and
though I have searched the public registers of that time,
yet I am still in the dark myself in many particulars. This
made me resolve on publishing this volume first, hoping,
that those, in whose hands any manuscripts or papers

THE PREFACE. xi

of that time lie, will, from what is now performed, be en-*
oouraged to communicate them : or if any have made a con*
aderahle progress in those collections, I shall be far from
allying them the honour of such a work, in which it had
been inexcusable canity in me to have meddled, if the de-
sires of others, who have great power over me, had not pre*
vailed with me to set about it; and therefore, though I
have made a good advance in the following part of the work,
I shall most willingly resign it up to any who will undertake
it, and they shall have the free use of all my papers. But
if none will set about it, who yet can furnish materials to-
wards it, I hope their zeal for carrying on so desired a work
will engage them to give all the help to it that is in their
power.

There is only one passage belonging to the next volume,
which I shall take notice of here, since frt>m it I must plead
my excuse for several defects, which may seem to be in this
work. In the search I made of the rolls and other offices,
I wondered much to miss several commisuons, patents, and
other writings, which by clear evidence I knew were granted,
and yet none of them appeared on record. This I could
not impute to any thing but the omission of the clerks, who
failed in the enrolling those commissions, though it was not
likely that matters of so high concernment should have been
n^lected, espedally in such a critical dme, and under so se^
vere a king. But as I continued down my search to the
fourth year of queen Mary, I found, in the twelfth roll of
that year, a commission, which cleared all my former doubts,
and by which I saw what was become of the things I had
10 anxiously searched after. We have heard of the expur-
gation of books practised in the church of Rome ; but it
might have been imagined, that public registers and records
wcMild have been safe; yet, lest these should have been
afterwards confessors, it was resolved they should then be
martyrs ; for on the 29th of December, in the 4th year of
her reign, a commission was issued out under the great seal
to Bonner bishop of London, Cole dean of St. Paurs, and
Martine a doctor of the civil law, which is of that importance.

xii THE PREFACE,

that I shall here insert the material words of it : Wherects
U is come to our knowledge j that in the time of the late
schism divers comptSj books, scrolls, instruments, and other
writings, were practised, devised, and made, concerning
professions against the pope*s holiness, and the see aposto*
lie, and also sund/ry infamous scrutinies taJecfi in abbeys
and other religious houses, tending rather to subvert and
overthrow aU good religion and religious Jumses, tfianjbr
any truth contained tlierein : which being in the custody of
divers registers, cmd we intending to have those writings
brought to knowledge, whereby they may be considered, and
ordered according to our wiU and pleasure; thereupon,
those three, or any two of them, are empowered to cite any
persons befbre\ them, and examine them upon the premises
upon oath, and to bring aU such writings before them, and
certify their diligence about it to cardinal Pool, thatjuriher
order might be given about them.

When I saw this, I soon knew which way so many writ-
ings had gone : and as I could not but wonder at their bold-
ness, who thus presumed to raze so many records ; so their
ingenuity in leaving this commission in the rolls, by which
any who had the curiosity to search for it, might be satis-
fied how the other commissions were destroyed, was much
to be commended. Yet in the following work it will ap-
pear that some few papers escaped their hands.

I know it is needless to make great protestations of my
sincerity in this work. These are of course, and are little
considered ; but I shall take a more effectual way to be be-
lieved, for I shall vouch my warrants for what I say, and
tell where they are to be found. And having copied out
of records and MSS. many papers of great importance, I
shall not only insert the substance of them in the following
work, but at the end of it shall give a collection of them at
their full length, and in the language in which they were
originally written : from which, as the reader will receive
full evidence of the truth of this history ; so he will not be
ill pleased to observe the genius and way of the great men
in that time, of which he will be better able to judge, by

THE PREFACE. xiii

iBeeing their letters, and other papers, than by any repre*
sentation made of them at second hand. They are di»
gested into that order in which they are referred to in the
History.

It will surprise some to see a book of this bigness written
€i the hbtory of our reformation under the reign of king
Henry the Eighth ; since the true beginnings of it are to
be reckoned from the reign of king Edward the Sixth, in
which the articles of our church, and the forms of our wor*
ship, were first compiled and set forth by authority. And
indeed in king Henry''s time the reformaUon was rather
concaved than brought forth; and two parties were in the
last dghteen years of his reign struggling in the womb,
having now and then advantages on either side, as the un«-
ocmstant humour of that king changed, and as his interests,
and often as his pasaons, swayed him.

Cardinal Wolsey had so dissolved his mind into plea-
sures, and puffed him up with flattery and servile com-
pliances, that it was not an easy thing to serve him ; for
b^ng bobterous and impatient naturally, which was much
heightened by his most extravagant vanity, and high con«
c^t of his own learning and wisdom, he was one of the
most uncounsellable persons in the world.

The book which he wrote had engaged him deep in these
controversies ; and by perpetual flatteries, he was brought
to fancy it was written with some degrees of inspiration.
And Luther in his answer had treated him so unmannerly,
that it was only the necessity of his affturs that forced him
into any correspondence with that party in Germany.

And though Cranmer and Cromwell improved every ad*
vantage, that either the king^s temper or his aflairs offered
them, as much as could be ; yet they were to be pitied,
having to do with a prince, who, upon the slightest pre-
tences^ threw down those whom he had most advanced ;
which Cromwell felt severely, and Cranmer was sometimes

Dear it.

The faults of this-king being so conspicuous, and the se-
verity of his proceedings so unjustifiable, particularly that

xiT THE PREFACE.

heinous violation of the most sacred rules of justice and
government, in condemning men without bringing them to
make their answers, most of our writers have separated the
concerns of this church from his reign ; and, imagining that
all he did was founded only on hb revenge upon the court
of Aome for denying his divorce, have taken little care to
examine how matters were transacted in his time.

But if we oonader the great things that were done by
him, we must acknowledge that there was a ngnal provi-
dence of Grod in raising up a king of his temper, for clear-
ing the way to that blessed work that followed : and that
could hardly have been done, but by a man of his humour;
so that I may very fitly apply to him the witty simile of an
ingenious writer, who compares Luther to a postilion in his
waxed boots and oiled coat, lashing his horses through
thick and thin, and bespattering all about him.

This character befits king Henry better, (saving the
reverence due to his crown,) who, as the postilion of ref<Mr-
mation, made way for it through a great deal of mire and
filth. He abolished the pope's power, by which not only
that tyranny was destroyed, which had been long an heavy
burden on this oppressed nation ; but all the opinions, rites,
and constitutions, for which there was no better authority
than papal decrees, were to fall to the ground ; the founda-
tion that supported them being thus sapped. He sup*
pressed all the monasteries; in which though there were
some inexcusable faults committed, yet he wanted not rea-
son to do what he did. For the foundation of those houses
being laid on the superstitious conceit of redeeming souls
out of purgatory, by saying masses for them ; they whose
oflice that was, had, by counterfeiting relics, by forging of
miracles, and other like impostures, drawn together a vast
wealth, to the enriching of their saints, of whom some per-
haps were damned souls, and others were never in being.
These arts being detected, and withal their great vicious-
ness in some places, and in all their great abuse of the
Christian religion, made it seem unfit they should be con-
tinued. But it was their dependance cm the see of Rome,

THE PREFACE. xv

wluch, as the state of things then was, made it necessary
that they should be suppressed. New foundations might
have done well ; and the scantness of those, considering the
number and wealth of those which were suppressed, is one
of the great blemishes of that reign. But it was in vain to
endeaTour to amend the old ones. Their numbers were so
great, their riches and interests in the nation so considerable,
that a prince of ordinary metal would not have attempted
such a deagn, much less have completed it in five years
time. With these fell the superstition of images, reUcs,
and the redemption of souls out of purgatory. And those
extravagant addresses to saints that are in the Roman offices
were thrown out; only an Orapro nobis was kept up, and
even that was left to the liberty of priests to leave it out of
the litanies as they saw cause. These were great prepara-
dons for a lefiurmation. But it went further; and two
things were done^ upon which a greater change was reason- *"
aUy to be expected. The scriptures were translated into
the English tongue, and set up in all churches, and every
one was admitt^ to read them, and they alone were de-
clared the rule of faith. This could not but open the eyes
of the nation ; who, finding a profound silence in these writ-
ings about many things, and a direct opposition to other
things that were still retained, must needs conclude, even
without deep speculations or nice disputing, that many
things that were sUll in the church had no ground in scrip-
ture, and some of the rest were directly contrary to it.
This Cranmer knew well would have such an operation,
snd therefore made it his chief business to set it forward,
which in conclusion he happily efiected.

Another thing was also established, which opened the
way to all that followed ; that every national church was a
complete body within itself: so that the church of England,
with the authority and concurrence of their head and king,
might examine and reform all errors and corruptions, whe-
ther in doctrine or worship. All the provincial councils in
the andent church were so many precedents for this, who
condemned heresies, and reformed abuses, as the occasion

xvi THE PREFACE.

required. And yet these being all but parts of one empire,
there was less reason for their doing it, without staying for
a general council, which depended upon the pleasure of one
man, (the Roman emperor,) than could be pretended when
Europe was divided into so many kingdoms ; by which a
common concurrence of all these churches was a thing
scarce to be expected : and therefore this church must be
in a very ill condition, if there could be no endeavours for
a reformation till all the rest were brought together.

The grounds of the new covenant between God and man
in Christ were also truly stated, and the terms on which sal-
vation was to be hoped for were faithfully opened according
to the New Testament And this being, in the strict no-
tioQ of the word, the gospel, and the glad tidings preached
through our blessed Lord and Saviour, it must be confessed
that there was a great progress made, when the nation was
well instructed about it; though there was still an alloy of
other corruptions, embasing the purity of the faith. And
indeed, in the whole progress of these changes, the king^s
design seemed to have been to terrify the court of Rome,
and cudgel the pope into a compliance with what he de-*
sdred : for in his heart he continued addicted to some of the
most extravagant opinions of that church, such as transub-
stanUation and the other corruptions in the mass ; so that
he was to his lifers end more papist than protestant.

There are two prejudices, which men have generally
drunk in against that time. The one is, from the king^s
great enormities, both in his personal deportment and go-
vernment ; which make many think no good could be done
by so ill a man, and so cruel a prince. I am not to defend
him, nor to lessen his faults. The vastncss and irregularity
of his expense procured many heavy exactions, and twice
extorted a public discharge of his debts, embased the coin,
with other irregularities. His proud and impatient spirit
occasioned many cruel proceedings. The taking so many
lives, only for denying his supremacy, particularly Fisher^s
and Morels, the one being extreme old, and the other one
of the glories of his nation for probity and learning : th^

TH£ PREFACE. ami

takikig 9dfantBg^ from some imiptioin in the north, (o
break the indemnity he had befons ptoclaimed^ to those in
the rebellictfi, even though they could not be proved guilty
of those second disorders : his extreme severity to all cardi-
nal PooFs family: his cruel uang, first Cromwell, and
afterwards the duke of Norfcdk and his son, besides his un-
escampled proceedings against some of his wives; and that
which was worst of all, the laying a precedent for the sub-
version of justice, and oppressing the clearest innocence, by
attainting men without hearing them : these are such re*
markable blemidies, that, as no mim of ingenuity can go
about the whitening them, so the poor refiMtners drunk so
deep of that Utter cup, that it very ill becomes any of their
ffdlowers to endeavour to give fair colours to thote red
and bloody diaracters, with which so much of his reign is
stained.

Yet, after all this sad enumeration, it was no new nor
unusual thing in the methods of God's providence, to em^
jdoy princes who had great mixtures of very gross faults to
do signal things for his service. Not to mention David and
Solomon, whose sins were expiated with a severe repent-
ance ; it was the bloody Cjrrus that sent back the Jews to
their land, and gave them leave to rebuild their temjde.
Constantine the Great is by some of his enemies charged
with many blemishes both in his life and government. Clo*
vis of France, under whom that nation rec^ved the Christ-
ian faith, was a monster of cruelty and perfidiousness, as
even Gregmry of Tours represents him, who lived near his
time, and nevertheless makes a saint of him. Charles the
Grreat, whom some also make a saint, both put away his
wife for a very slight cause, and is said to have lived in
most umwtural lusts with his own daughter. Irene, whom
the diurch of Rome magnifies as the restorer of their reli-
gion in the east, did, both contrary to the impressions of
nature and of her sex, put out her own son's eyes, of which
be (tied soon after; with many other execrable things. And
whatever reproaches those of the church of Rome cast on

VOL. I. b

xviii THE iPREFACE.

the reformation, upon the account of this king's faults, may
be easily turned back on th&r p(^)es, who have never failed
to court and extol princes that served ihekr ends, how gross
and scandalous soever their other faults have been: as
Fhocas, Brunichild, Irene, Mathildis, Edgar of England,
and many more. But our church is not near so much con-
cerned in the persons of those princes, under whom the re-
formation began, as theirs is in the persons of their popes,
who are believed to have far higher characters of a divine
power and Sfint in them, than other princes pretend to.
And yet if the lives of those popes, who have made the
greatest advances in their jurisdiction, be examined, par-
ticularly Gr^ory the Seventh, and Bomtace the Eighth,
vices more esiinent than any can be charged on king Henry,
will be found in them. And if a lewd and vricked pope may
yet have the Holy Ghost dwelling in him, and directing
him in£Edlibly ; why may not an ill king do so good a work
as set a reformation forward ? And if it were proper to enter
into a dissection of four of those popes that sat at Rome
during this reign, pope Julius will be found beyond him in
a vast ambition ; whose bloody reign did not only embroil
Italy, but a great part of Christendom. Pope Leo the
Tenth was as extravagant and prodigal in his expense,
which put him on baser shifts, than ever this king used, to
raise money; not by embasing the coin, or raising new
and heavy taxes, but by embasing the Christian religion,
and prostituting the pardon of an in that foul trade of in-
dulgences. Clement the Seventh was false to the highest
degree ; a vice which cannot be charged on this king : and
Paul the Third was a vile and lewd priest, who not only
kept his whore, but gloried in it, and raised one of his
bastards to an high dignity, making him prince of Parma
and Piaeenza ; and himself is said to have lived in incest
with others of them. And except the short reign of Adrian
the Sixth, there was no pope at Rome all this while, whose
example might make any other prince blush for his faults :
so that Guicciardine, when he calls pope Ckmont a good

ki:i

PBEFACE.

' good fOf€ A&t dUnoi ftwwfJlJiw,

Goft wmjs aie a grait deep; who has cAn

vdom in nniqg up mdikd^and
tDdagmit leraoet inlhew«y;
dhniji cnqpioyiaf the belt moi in thcB^ kit geod in-
AmU dnn too deqi in die pnnei at durt,
vkidk ie o^ due to die npnmeCmtor and Gtytenior tf
dievorid: indldiniiroliiviHaftMiJkimd^^afi^bvy,
^MmtkmgkrpmogmiggkrgmAeLoitd. Jchndid
■I'noBipnUe eornoe lo God in dertiojriBg die idolntij ef
fhnqgK nadwr dm way rfdoing it be to be iimtated;

' vm toe icBsiuMKioD flODunetiL
WMii|HBng the tnwo calfea was itill hqit op; ind
it bwylike^lM chkr &^ in it WW to dcrtnjall die
party that fcfWMwl AhiJft&aMly; jat the diii« was gMid,
md vm mnnded by Chid* So^ vhatefcr tUa idagf a odier
finuta vcR^ and bov dgfiidifii soever the change he made
va% and upon vliat iH molivei loever it majr sem to have
pnneeded; yet the things dicnMehres bong good^ we oog^
not to tinnk the woise of tiicni became of the imtmmenty
or manner by wUdi thqr were wiong^; but are toadoni
and admiie the patha of the divine wisdom, that hnrnght
about sncb a cbnige in a dinidi, whidi, being sabjected to
die see of Borne, had been mne than any odier part of En-
rape OHist tame under its upprvwinnij and was most deeply
flwwhfd in supemiuon; and tUabythemeaniof aprinoe,
who was the OHist devoted to the intereit of Rome of any
a Christendnmy and seaned to be so npon knowledge^ bang
very leaiiifdj and cwnfimifd to the last modi leavened with
wpcrrtition; and was the only king in the world whom
that see dedaicd dtfomder tf AeJuiO. And diat diis
dioald have been eirried on so fitf widb lo Httle oppoatioo;
tome finngi^ tlioaglh nnmefous and fiomiidaMe, being scat-
tered and qnieled without blood; and that a mighty prince,
vlio was vrictorions almost in all bis undertakings, Charles
the Fifth, and was both provoked in point of honour and

b2

TH£ PREFACE.

interest^ yet could never find one spare aeaaoD to turn hi
arms upon England; are great demonstrations of a par
licular influence of Heaven in these alterations, and of it
watchful care of thenL

But the other prejudice touches the reformation in i
more vital and tender part : and it is, that Cranmer am
the other bishops, who promoted the reformation in the sue
ceeding rrign, did in this comply too servilely with kin|
Henry^s humours, both in carrying on his frequent di
voroes, and in retaining those corruptions in the worship
which, by their throwing them off in the be^nning of kin^
Edward^s reign, we may conclude were then condemned b;
them ; so that they seem to have prevaricated against thei
consciences in that compliance.

It were too ttant a way of answering so severe a charge
to turn it back on the church of Home, and to show tb
base compliances of some, even of the best c^ their popes
as GregcMry the Great, whose congratulations to the usurpe
Fhocas are a strain of the meanest and undeoentest flatten
that ever was put in writing ; and hb compliments to Bru
nichild, who was one of the greatest monsters both for lus
and cruelty that ever her sex produced, show that there wa
no person so wicked that he was ashamed to flatter : bn
the blemishing them will not (I confess) excuse our reform
ers; therefore other things are to be considered fo/r theii
vindication. They did not at once attain the full know
ledge of divine truth, so that in some particulars, as in tha
of the corporal presence in the sacrament, both Cranmei
and Ridley were themselves then in the dark ; Bertram*!
book first convinced Ridley, and he was the chief instru
ment in opening Cranmer^s eyes : so if themselves were noi
then enlightened, they could not instruct others. As fix
other things, such as the giving the cup to the laity, thi
worshipping God in a known tongue, and several refmna
tions about the mass, though they judged them necessar]
to be done as soon as was possible, yet they had not so ful
a persuasion of the necessity of these, as to think it a an
not to do them. The prophets words to Naaman the Sy«

THE PBEFACE. xzi

riaA nught give tbem some colour far that mistake; and the
practioe of the apoBtleft, who oontiiiued not <»ly to wonship
at the temple, but to circumcise and to offer sacrifices,
(whidi must have be^ done by St Paul, when he purified
himself in the temple,) even after the law was dead by the
qipearing of the gospd, seemed to excuse their compliance.
They had also observed, that as the apostles were all Mngt
to all meny thai 80 they might gain some ; so the primitive
Christians had brought in many rites of heathenism into
thdr worship : upon which inducements they were wrought
on to comply in some uneasy things, in which if these ex-
cuses do not wholly dear them, yet they very much lessen
their guilt.

And, after all this, it must be confessed they were men,
and had mixtures of fear and human infirmities with their
other excellent qualities: and indeed Cranmer was in all
other pcHnts so extraordinary a person, that it was perhaps
fit there should be some ingredients in his temper to lessen
the veneration,(which his great worth might have raised too
high, if it had not been for these feeblenesses, which upon
some occasions appeared in him. But if we examine the
failings of some of the greatest of the primitive fathers, as
Athanasius, Cyril, and others, who were the most zealous
assertors of the faith, we must conclude them to have been
nothing inferior to any that can be charged on Cranmer ;
whom if we consider narrowly, we shall find as eminent vir-
tues, and as few faults in him, as in any prelate that has
been in the Christian church for many ages. And if he
was prevailed on to deny his Master through fear, he did
wash off that stain by a sincere repentance and a patient
martyrdom, in which he expressed an eminent resentment of
his former fndlty, with a pitch of constancy of mind above
the rate of modem examples.

But their virtues, as well as their faults, are set before us
fOT our instruction ; and how frail soever the vessels were,
they have conveyed to us a treasure of great value, the pure
Gospel of our Lord and Saviour: which if we follow, and
govern our lives and hearts by it, we may hope in easier

bS

I

xxii THE PREFACB.

and i^iner paths to attain that blessedness, which thej
could not reach but through scorching flames; and if wc
do not improve the advantages which this light aiFords, w<
may either look for some of those trials, which were sent
for the exercise of their faith and patience, and p^haps foi
the punishment of their former compliance; or, if w<
escape these, we have cause to fear worse in the conclu-
sion.

i

\i

^

I"

■

THE

CONTENTS

OP

THE FIRST PART.

BOOK L

A nmmmry view ffhmg Hemyike EighiVs reigt^ tiU
Aeprocui qfhU divorce wa$ b^iun ; in wMA Ae ^aie
^ England^ Me/ljf a$ U rdaUd to religion^ u opened.

King Henry't suooesnon to
the crown P. i

He proceeds against Dudley
and Empson a

He holds a parUament 3

His great expense 4

AflBurs beyond sea ib.

A peace, and match with
fVance 5

He oflfers his daughter to the
dauphin 6

The king of Spain diosen em-
peror lb.

He comes to England ib.

A second war with France 7

Upon Leo the Tenth's death
Adrian chosen pope ib.

He dies, and Clement the Se-
venth succeeds ib.

Charles the Fifth at Windsor
contracted to the king's
daughter 8

But breaks his ftuth 9

The Clementine league ib.

Rome taken and sacked 1 1
The pope is mtule a prisoner ib.
The longs success against
Scotland ib.

A faction in his council i a
Cardmal Wolsey's rising 14
His preferments 15

Hie character of the dukes of
Norfolk and Suffolk 17

Cardinal Wolsey against par-
liaments 19
The king's breeding in learn-
ing ib.
He is flattered by scholars a i
The king's prerogaUve in eccle-
siastic affiiirs a a
It was still kept up by him 2^
A contest concerning immuni-
ties a4
A public debate about them 35
Hunne murdered in prison 37
The proceedings upon that a8
The kmg much courted by
popes 37

b4

XXIV

CONTENTS.

And declared Defender of the
Faith 38

The cardinal absolute in Eng-
land ib.

He designed to reform the
clergy ib.

And to su|ipres8' mpnaiteriei

40

The several kinds of convoca-'
tions ib.

The clergy grant a subsidy to
the king ' 41

Of the state of inonasteiles 42
TBe cardinal founds two col-
lies 4i

The first beginning of reforma-
tion in England ^5

The cruelties of the church oP

. Rome ^6^

The laws made in Bnghmd a-
gainst heretios 49

Under Richard the Second 49

Under Henry the Fourth 50

And Henry the fifth 52

Heresy declared by the king's
judges 54

W^rbam's proceedings against
heretics ib.

The bishop of London's pro-
ceedings against them 58

The progress of Luther's doc-
trine 60

Mh books were tiimslated into
English 6a

The king wrote against him 63

He replied ib.

Endeavours to suppress the
New Testament ib.

Sir Thomas More writes a-
ffainst Luth^ 64

Biuey and others proceeded a-
gainst for heresy ib.

BOOK II,

Of the process of divorce bettveen king Henry emd quern
Katharine, and of what passed Jrom the nineteenth to the
twenty-jyih year of his r^gn, in which he was dedared
supreme head of the chwrch of England.

i

The beginning of the suit of
divorce 6j

Prince Arthur married the in-
fanta 68

And died soon after ib.

A marriage proposed between
Henry and her 69

It is allowed by the pope lb.

Henry protested against it Vi

His fother dissuaded it ib.

Being come to the crown, he
marries her ib.

She bore some children, but
only the lady Mary lived ib.

Several matches proposed for
her ^ yt

The king's marriage is ques-
tioned by foreigners 73

He himself has scruples con-
cerning it J A

The grounds of these 75

All his bishops, except Fisher,
condemned it 76

The reasons of state agunst'lt^

iST^

Wolsey go^ into France 77

QWTW^.

MXW

AiRiiments agiioit Aft Ml 72^
frfUDiuMi ctft on Aabmi Bck*
kjn 81

TbOT. we fihe and OtconitnfMl

Ar fabth wd dhooiciii 86
She WH ooatnctfid to the lord

Tlw ifiporaa mofod for «fc Itone

Tbo frit dwpttrh ooooomiiiff

The pope glinted it ^_

And gMe e bell of diqpepMtioe

The pop^ • cieft and poucy ^

A nMe method piopoeed W

thepope .98

fltuhilem oent fivw Bodeod

Hie cvdioal'e letteis to m
pope 100

AbUer huU U dei^ed by the
king xoa

flidincr and Pes are «ent to
Borne 103

The bull deured by tbem X04

Wobey's earaeatness to pro-
cure it ib.

Campcgio declared legate X07

He delays bis Journey ib.

The pope grants the decretal
bull 109

Two letters from Anne Boleyn
to Wolscy ib.

Wolsey desires the bull may be
seen b¥ some of the lung's
council 112

The emperor opposes the Idog's
business 113

A breve is found in Spain ib.

It was thought to be foiged

Campegio comes to England 116
Aod lets the king see the bull

ib.

Bm loiiiseg to show it IQ oibeia

116
Wobey moiea the pope that

some might see it ib.

Bminfaei . 116

OHnpana is sent by t!ha pope

toBnf^hnd 119

The U^ idStn the pope a

geard jag

The pope inclines to the em*

pern lai

Tlieatenings used to him ib.

1529-
]3b repents the sending over a

bull 199

Alt feeds the king with pro*

mises 194

ThfB pope's sickneis 195

Wolaey aqpirsa to the papacy

196
lastmodon fiir pmmoting him

197
New motions for the divorce

199
The pope relapses daogerouily

130

A new despatch to Rome 131

Wolsey's bulls for the bidiop-

ricofWinton 133

The emperor protests against

the l^tes 134

Yet the pope promises not to

recall it 135

The Iq;ates write to the pope

136
Campegio led an ill life 138

The emperor moves for an avo-
cation 139

The pope's disumulatioo 140

Great contests about the avo«
cation 141

The legates begin the process

I4S
A severe charge against th^

queen 144

The king and queen appear in

court 145

The queen's speech 146

XXVl

CONTENTS.

The Idog declares his scru|^es

H7
The queen appeals to the pope

ib.

Articles framed, and witnesses

examined 148

An avocation pressed at Rome

149
The pope Joins with the empe-
ror 150
Yet is in great perplexities

IS'
The avocation is granted 153

The proceedings of the legates

ib.

Campc^o adjourns the court

Which gave great ofience ib.
Wolsey's dai^er 156

Anne Boleyn returns to court

158
Crannier*s o[Mnion about the

divorce 159

Approved bj the king 160

Caidinal Wdse]r*s M 161

The meanness of his temper

1 6a

He is attadied of treason 163

He dies. His character 164

A parliament called ib.

Complaints if;ainst the clergy

The kill's debts are disduuged

167

The pope and the emperor

unite 169

The women's peace 170

^530-

The emperor is crowned at Bo-
nonia ib.

The univernties consulted in
the king's suit of divorce 171

The answers firom Oxford and
Cambrid^ 173

Dr. Crooke employed in Ve-
nice 175

Many in Italy wrote for the di-
vorce . 178

It was opposed by the pope
and the emperor 179

No money given by the king's
agents 180

Great rewards given bytheem-
peror 181

It is determined for the king
at Bononia, Fadua, Ferrwa,
and Orleance 183, 184

At Fun, Bouigesy and Thokise

184, 185

The opinions of some lefoiuiers

186, 187

And of the Lutherans 189

The long will not appear at
Rome 191

Cranmer ottm to defend Uie
divorce ib*

The nobility, cleigy, and gentiT
write to the pope for rae ^
voroe ft.

The pope's answer to diem 199

A proclamation against bulls 194

Books written m the cBvuroe

19s
Reasons out of the Old and

•New Testament 196. 197

The authoritieB of popes and
coundk 197

And the Greek and Latin fii-
thers 200

And canonists 201

Marrii^ b complete by con-
sent 203

Violent presumptions of the
consummation of the former
marm^^ 203

The pope's di^nsation of no
foroe 204

Bishops are not to obey his de-
crees 206

The authority of tradition ib.

The reasons against the A-
voroe 207

Answers made to these 2 10

The queen is intractable 213

A sesskm of parliament ibw

CONTENTS.

lit pBBRMlim of illli UoiBi of
Sndmd in oodoiiiititiT tf-

*^^bO ODCIOOCBIIlOOitt Ok DODMI

ib.
cHDHinni iiHKio flaniK UMni

si6

Ihft f€ft cndgifouiod to Mfo

tibow rqwakd 333

3at with DO cflbbt aao

ib.

Yi0t tbOT ODDmitf SDCl OdOBOW*

leikn the king mpione head
Of thocoiiich 997

The kiiigpiifdoM them sso
•And wmi eooie difkohy the
: hnty 939

^Jbo stteiiwCo uPr iBOttootott low
Tlie kott kctei the qoeeo 931
A diiomr tmoDg the deigjr ib.
The pope turns to the French

And oflbrs hit niece to the duke

of Oriemce . ib.

The Turic invades the empire

The parliament complains of

the qiiritaal courts 935

They rgect a bill concemira

wards 936

An act if;ainst annates 937
The pope writes to the king

939
The king's answer 940

Sir Edward Kame sent to

Rome 249

His negotiation there 943

He corrupts the cardinal of

Ravenna 944

The process against the king

at Home 945

A bull for new bishoprics 246
The pope desires the kinir

woi£l^bmit to him 947

It 947

A sohsidj is voted 949

The oaths of the dmr swore

to the pope.and to me king

ib. 950
-Ghanonlor Ifofe denven up

UsoAee 951

The king meets with the French

king 959

Eliot sent to Rome 953

The king manries Anne Bolejn

New overtures tot the divofoe

ih.

1533-
A session of parfiameiit 956
An act against appeabtoRome

ib.
AichUshop Warham dies 958
Cranmer succeeds him m.

His buUs from Rome 959
His consecration 960

The judgment of the convoca-
tion concerning the divorce

961
Endeavoure to make the queen
submit 963

But in vain 964

Cranmer gives Judgment 965
Censures passed upon it 966
The pope united to the French
king 969

A sentence against the king's
proceedings ' 970

Queen Elizabeth is bom 971
An interview between the pope
and the Frendi king ib.
Thekingsubmitsto the pope 973
The imperialists oppose the a-
greement 975

Aikl procure a definitive sen-
tence ib.
The king resolves to abolish
the pope's power in England

976
It was long disputed 277

Arguments against it from scrip-
ture 978

CONTENTS.

And the primitife dmich 281
Aij^umeots for the Idng s so-

pteiiiei'y 284

From ecnptuie, &c and the

lawsofEngland 285, 286,287
The rapfemaejr explained 289
Fnns taken to satiify Fiaher

290

1534-
A aeniaD of parlianieBt 291
An act for taldog awaj the

pope's power 292

AlK)ut the ancoession to the

crowu 294

For puniahing heretics 298
The suhmisaion of the detgf

299
Ahout the dectioD of bishops

And the maid of Kent 301
The insolence of some firran

306
The nan's speech at her dmuh

310
Raher is dealt with gentlj 311
The oath for the succession
- taken by manj 313

More and Fisher refose it 315
And are proceeded againat 317
Another session of parlianient

318
The king's supremacy is enaoted

lb.

An act for suffiragan bishops

319
A subsidy is granted 320

More and Fisher are attainted

3a«

The progress of the raformt-
non 322

Tkidai and others at Antwerp
send ofer books and the New
Testament 323

The Supplication of the B^-
gw 325

More answers it» and FMi re-
plies 326
Crnd proceedings against rs»
formers 329
Bilney's sufferings 330
The sufierings cl By6eld 333
And Bainham 334
Artidea abfured by some 335
Tracy's Testament 336
FVith's sufferings 338
His aigomenta against the oor-
porsl presence in the sacra-
ment ib.
Hia opinion of the sacrament
and purgatory* for which he
. was condemned 343
His constancy at his death 344
A stop put to cniel proceedings

346
The queen fiivourad the reform-
ers 347
Granmer promoted it ib.
And was assbted by Cromwell

349
A strong party against it ib.

Reasons use^d against it 350

And for it 351

The judgment of some bishops

concerning a general council

3S«
A speech of Cranmer's of it

353

mtm

\

1535-

The rest of the king's reigD

was troublesome 36 1

By the practices of the clergy

Which provoked the king much

^ . 363

The bishops BWear to the king's

supremacy 365

The Franciscans only refuse it

366

A visitation of monasteries 367

The iDstnicdoiis of the visitors

370

Injunctions sent by them 373

The stale of the r = - ■■■

„ , 375.376

Tb^ were dsMfted, hot igun

«t iq> bjr Ung E^pr 3^
Am «aed bj the mooka $Jf
The; were genenllj corrupt 3 So
UpM wfcM gmr iIm friu*
lb.
ne kti^a other reawm for

•nppreanog monuteriea 3B1

Cratuner's AaSga in it 363

Tbe pTOceefit^ of dte viiilom

383

Some kottsei lea^ned to the

Uug 184

^536.

Queen Kuharine dies 385

A sesBioD of pariiament, in which

the leawr moDasterica were

Mif^reaaed 388

The reasou (or doing it 389

Tbe trenslation of the Bible in

Bogliah dcNgned 391

Tbe reasous for it 39I

Tbe opposition made to it 391
Queen Anne's iall driveD on bf

the popish party 394, 395
The king became jealous 396
She 13 put in the Tower 399
She confessed some indiscreet

words 40O

403-
4all

40$

She ia liruught to a trial
And condemned
And also divorced
She prepares for death
The lieutenant of the Tutver'C
< '^tter about hv 411

HcrenoatioH 4it.

Tba oenaurea made on this 413
Lsdj Mary ia reconciled to> htf

^ufaer, and makea a Ml subt'

misHon 416,417

Lady Elizabeth is well used I7

Ae kiiu> 419

A letter of hera to tbeoMeen ib.
A new parliament ii called 410
An act of tbe aucceaKOB 41a
Tbe pope endeavoun a lecoocib.

liation 433

Bat in tmb 434:

The ^rooeedii^ of tba eonva^

cation 4^7

Aiticleaagreed en about rdigmi

43 »

Putnahed by tbe king ■ authe«v

•ty 436

But variously censured 437

The convocation declared a-

gainat tbe council nimniOD^

ed by the pope 439

Tbe king publiibes hia reaaona

against It 441

XXX

CONTENTS.

Cardinal Pool writes against the

king 44a

Biany books are written for the

king 445

Instructions for the dissolution

of monasteries ib.

Great discontents among all

sorts 447

Endeavours to qualify these

44B
The people were disposed to

rebel 450

The king's injunctions about

religion 453

They were much censured 454
A risinff in Lincolnshire 456
Their &n»nds. and the king's

answer ib.

It was Quieted by the duke of

Sufiblk 458

A great rebellion in the north

"^ ib.

The duke of Norfolk was sent

against them 461

They advance to Doncaster

46a
Tbeir demands 464

Tlie king's answer to them 465

1537-
The rebellion is quieted 468
New risings, but soon dispersed

469
The chief rebels executed 470
A new visitation of monasteries

471
Some great abbots resign 47a

Confattion of horrid crimes are
made 475

Some are attainted* and their
abbeys suppressed 478

The superstition and cheats of
those houses discovered 485

1538-
Some images publicly broken

486
Thomas Iiecket*s shrine broken

488

New injunctions about religion

Invectives against the king
printed at BxMne ib«

The pope's bulls against Ae
king 49a

The clergy in England declared
against these 498

The Bible is printed in Engltth

499
New injunctions 500

Prince Edward is bom 50a

The compliance of the popiali

I»rty 563

Lambert appealed to the king

505
And IS publicly tried 506

Many arguments brought

against him 597

He is condemned, and burnt

S09
The popish party gain ground

A treaty with theGerman princes

ib.
Bonner's dissimulation 511

1539-
A parliament is called 513
The six articles are proposed

5»4
Arguments against them 515

An act passed for them 5 1 8

Which is variously censured 5 ao

An act about the suppression of

all monasteries 5a i

Another for erecting new bi*

shoprics 5a4

The king*s design about these

An act of obedience to the Idng's

proclamations 5a7

An act concerning precedence

Some acts of attainder 539
The king's care of Cranmer 530
Who wrote against the six arti-
cles 53 a
Proceedings upon that act 533

CONTENTS.

XXXI

Boiuiei's COmitiiasion for hold-
bg his bitthopric of the king

534
The total dinolutioo of abbeys

536
Which were sold or given away

538
A project for a seminary for

ministers of state 539

A proclamation for the use of

the Bible 540

The king designs to marry Anne

ofCleves 541

Who comes over, but is disliked

by the king 543^544

154a

But he marries her, yet could
never love by 547

A parliament is called 548
Where Cromwell speaks as lord
vio^erent 549

The suppression of the knights
of St. John of Jerusalem 55 1
Cromweli^s M 552

The king is in love with Kathe-
rine Howard. 554

Cranmer's friendship to Crom-
well 555
Cromweirs attainder 556
Censures passed upon it 559
The king's divorce is propc^ed

560
And referred to the convocation

56"

Reasons pretended for it ib.
The convocation agree to it 562
Which was much censured ib.
It is confirmed in parliament

5<54
The queen consents to it 565

Ad act about the incontinence
of priests ib.

Another act about religion 566

Another concerning precon-
tracts 567

Subsidies granted by clergy and
laity 568

Cromweirs death 569

His character 570

Designs against Cran mer 571
SoAie bishops and divines con-
sult about religion 572
An explanation of faith 573
Cranmer's opinion about it 576
They explain the Apostles*

Creed 577

And the seven sacraments, with

great care 578

As also the Ten Commandments

582
The Lord's Prayer, the Ave-

Maria, and free-will 583
And justification, and ^ood

works 584. 585

Published by the kibg, but much

censured 586, 587

A correction of the missals 589
The sufferings of Barnes and

others 590

They are condemned unheard

594
Their speeches at their death

595
Bonner*s cruelty 598

New bishoprics founded 600

Cranmer's design is defeated

602
These foundations are ceiisured

603
The state of the court 604

The Bible is set up in churches

605
An order for churchmen's house-
keeping 607
The king goes to York 608
The state of Scotland 609
The beginning of the reforma-
tion there ib.
Patrick Hamiltons sufferings

611
A further persecution 616

The king was wholly guided by
the clergy 6 1 9

Some put to death, others es-
caped 622
The queen's ill life is discovered

624

A puifi—f r qflad 614

Aa Kt ftboQS the qaea Dnch
ctBAond 6i6i»627

A deiiffn to amyyttm the Emr-
Mi Bible 629

The Bible ordered to be revised
bj the onifcrnties 63 1

Bonner's injimccioiis ib.
Tbe wsy of pmcfaing at that
time ^ 633

Hijft and interludes then acted

636
iVar^Mtireen England and Soot-
land 637
The .Hcotn are defeated, and their
king diea 640, 641

f.rarifnrr pronioteii a refonna-

tUm 643

An Hi-.t trf iiarliiimcnt for it 644

Afytlht'f MwiiJt the king's pro-

f\ntnttttoun 646

A li*n^if«' ht'Awiien the king and

fli«i I'lfiiMffrhr 647

A riiMliih JiHiiKriwI ivith ^kx)Uand

ib.

Il«f^ ihM Kriuicli party prevailed

Hii*f»< 649

A WHt w'llU Kritnrr 651

A pitr^m'iiUofi nf i)i« reforiiieri

652
MmMim'Ii'n f^nifii IfiKfiniouHncm

653
'I liMM JMiriil Nt WiiiilMir 654
'll«»l» pMi«pi«iiiiini arr |H*rjiiml

A ilii^lfiii iif)iilii«t I 'niiinirr ib.

Il l-HIIIM III IllltllillH fi^H

Mill I liiUiliiii iMiliiiviiiiir ib.
A iifiv piiilliiiiM>iii f|^(J

All lll'l hImiIII lliit MllH*|iMioh ill.

All ml iiuiilnni iMiMii)i|iit««li^fifin
All lll'l ilii i«t\|MlM|( |||,« (Hinoii

llIM f»fM

orikUi«*a

66s

ib.

«}

664

1545.
The Germaoa nedwte a pani
between England and Pkaaoe

66t
Some great diaicfa pieftnnaitB

666

Wnhart'a sufieringa b Seothnd

667
Cardinal Beaton is killed 674

A new parlianient ^y^

Chapeb and chantries given to
the king ||^

The king's q>eech to the par-
liament ^m

The kin^ confirms the ruhts of
theuniversitieB 590

A peace with France 681

Designs of a further reformatiov

Shaxton's apostasy i^.

The troubles of Anne Askew

68s
She endures the rack 684

And is burnt, with some othen

ft.
A desip against Cranmer 685
llie king takes care of him 686
A design against the queen 688
The cause of the duke of Nor-
folk's disgrace 5qi

1547.
llic earl of Surrey is executed

693
The duke of Norfolk's submis-
sion ib.
A |Kirltainent meets 695
Tho duko of Norfolk is attainted

lb.

CONTENTS.

XXXIU

eath prevented by the
's 696

nperor s designs against
protestants 697

ng*a sickness 698

ter will a foigery 699
ng's severities against the
sh partv 702

[Carthusians executed for
ring the king's supremacy

704
priest for treason 705
DM>nks executed 706
I trial and death 707

Hb character 708

More*s trial and death 709
His character 711

Attainders after the rebellion
was quieted 713

Censures passed upon it 714
Friar Forrest's equivocation and
heresy 715

The proceeding against cardi-
nal Fool's fhen(£ 717
Attainders without hearing the
parties 719
The conclusion 724
Addenda 727

c

THE

HI STORY

OF THE

REFORMATION

OP THK

CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

BOOK I.

A summaty vie9 of king Henry the EighiKsreign^ till the
process qfhis divorce teas begun^ in which the state qf
England^ chiefly as it related to religion^ is opened.

CNGLAND had for a whole age felt the miseries book

of a long and cruel war between the two houses of-^ — '- —
York and Lancaster; during which time, as the rv^s^aco^s.
crown had lost g»at dominions beyond sea, so thefz^X.
nation was much impoverished, many noble families ^^> '^^
extinguished, much blood shed, great animosities
eveiy where raised, with all the other miseries of a
lasting civil war : but they now saw all these happily
composed when the two families did unite in king
Henry the Eighth. In his father's reign they were
rather cemented and joined than united ; whose
great partiality to the house of Lancaster, from which

VOL. I. B

2 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK he was descended, and severity to the branches of

'• — the house of York, in which even his own queen had

a large share, together with the impostors that were
set up to disturb his reign, kept these heats alive,
which were now all buried in his grave: and this
made the succession of his son so universally accept-
able to the whole nation, who now hoped to revive
their former pretensions in France, and to have again
a large share in all the affairs of Europe, from which
their doinestic broils had so long excluded them.
ifeproccmu There was another thing, which made his first

r?iui"<!y Mil coming to the crown no less acceptable, which was,
KtiipiKiii. ^jj^^ ^jjg g^y^^ j^y j.jj^^ jjjg father died •he ordered

i\m iisme * Dudley and Empson to be committed to the Tower.
mr^tert'^ His father, whether out of policy, or inclination, or
3«y"f»!ioi»r- ^>^^9 was all his life much set on the gathering of
^"v- treasure, so that those ministers were most accept-

able, who could fill his coffers best; and though this
occasioned some tumults, and disposed the people
to all those commotions which fell out in his reign ;
yet he lieing successful in them all, continued in his
course of heaping up money.

'i\)ward8 the end of his life, he found out those
two iuHtruments, who outdid all that went before
them ; and what by vexatious suits upon penal but
obNoh^te laws, what by unjust imprisonments, and
other violent and illegal proceedings, raised a gene-
ral mlium upon the governmeqt; and this grew upon
him with his years, and was come to so great a height
towards the end of his life, that he died in good time
for his j()wu quiet: for as he used all possible endea-
vours to gi't money, so what he got he as carefully
kept, and distributed very little of it among those
mi him ; so that he had many enemies and but

THE HKFOKMATION. 3

few friendB. This beiag well considered by his BOn, book
he began his goretument with the di^;race of 4hoee — — —
two niinisters, against whom he proceeded according
to hiw; all the other inferior i^cers whom they had
made use of were also imprisoned.

When they had thus fallen, many and great com-
plaints came in from all parts against them ; they
also, apprehending the danger they were like to be
in upon their master's death, had been practising
with their partners to gather about them all the
power they could bring tf^ether, whether to secure
themsdves from popular rage, or to make themselves
seem considerable, or formidable to the new king.
This and other crimes being brought in against
thein, tb^ were found guilty of treason in a legal
trial. But the king judged this was neither a suf-
fideot reparation to his oppressed people, nor satis-
faction to justice : therefore he went further, and
both ordered restitution to be made by his father's Hdi
executors of great sums of money, which had been
unjustly extorted from his subjects ; 'and in his first
parliament, which he summoned to the twenty-first h«|wW<ii
of January following, he not only delivered upj«n.ii,
Empson and Dudley, with their complices, to the'*"*"
justice of the two houses, who attainted them by act
of parliament, and a little after gave order for their
execution; but did also give his royal assent to Aug. 18.
those other laws, by which the subject was secured
fi:t>m the like oppressions for the future : and, that
he might not at all be suspected of any such inclina-
tions as bis father had to amass treasure, h^ was the
most magnificent in his expense of any prince in
Christendom, and very bountiful to all about him ;
and as one extreme commonly produces another, so
b2

■ ■ I

— ♦

w,-f iTj» iicutr * r.'yqg.imsiif^g is£ izm b le vnriieal; and
ju-. /'^'^ *.ui:i I^«<4jC^I«3iiL "v-ifr 31 iMkmx iuas disEi-

V-vrt'ujft *ar- vr iwirrpr. sfsarm^Kii^ dake off Xor-

^^> V. »?j»:^ jy/v cnmiLsizi he vi» id ike hmnouR
-/ *A^, yr;:^^ -jrLoci be aorrf. s lie had been kfd
«^*s(»nv/*r V/ tljit father the last serea ¥ean off his
//*>, vy >!7/#^ CfMiULued in the same office by this
tf''9^^. <^ ^ d^ztnnaiir oGfcpIr widi bis prodigality,
*» ^.^ t/;!!^ 4/irj« fr/rmerly with bis firther^s qparing-

K'it thiat in th«; beginning of the princes reign did
^/>'i/h t^t^^ar hirri fK>th to the court and nation;
fh*^f* Mftff a fnri'r circulation of money, by which
ifM/N' wstH i'UCjpurHgtd ; and the courtierB tasted so
liUr^illy /;f Um; king's bounty, that he was erery
f/U^r*' niinh rnagnifieil, though his expense proved
iitU'twnrtln Ui'styh'r to the subject, than ever his fa-
IImth iiviiriri; li;ifl been.
II .*«r«r'#. AnofhiT thing that raised the credit of this king
/'"" •"' ^^j,^^ 1 1,,, prmif I'HtiM'ni he was in beyond sea, both for
b)«i wlMilnni anil power; so that in all the treaties of
lii'iM'i* iMiil war ill* waH always much considered; and
iw illil (to i«Knr1ly purNUc* that great maxim of princes,
of /inftliHff IIh* haUinvi\ that still as it grew heavier,
ivIm'IIiit in the* Nrair of France or Spain, he go-
vi*rni*cl hIniNcir nitcl tlirni as a wise arbiter. His first
iii'llnn WMM iigiiinNt. France, which by the accession
of I ho iliii'hy of llritnin, through his father's over-
NiKhli WMM inii«h« givntrr and more formidable to the
llg prihi't^N; therefore the French suc-
Italy having unitiHl all the princes there

THE REFORMATION.

agauoat thsm* Spain and Kogland willingly jcnned book.
themadves hi the quarrel. The kingdom of Spain -

being alao then united, conquered Navarre, which p,^''^
set them at great ease, and weakened the king
ai France on that side. Whose affairs also de-
' dining in Italy* this king finding him so much less-
ened, made peace with him, having first managed
his share of the war with great honour at sea and
land: for.going over in person, he. did both defeat
the French army, and take Terwin and Tourney ;
the former he demolished, the latter he kept: and in ^os- 14-
theae exploits he hod an unusual honour done him,i5i3. '
which though it waa a sli^t Uiing, yet was very
jdeasant tohim; Maximilian the emperor taking
pay in his army, amounting to a hundred crowns a
di^, and upon all public solemnities giving the king
the precedence.

The peace between England and France was raadeAu8-7>
firmer by Lewis the French king's marrying Marype>cc,Mnd>
the king's sister; but he dying soon after, new.FAnrcT
counsels were to be taken. Francis, who succeeded, ^^i^'divi
did in the banning of his reign court this king''"''-'*
with great offers to renew the peace with him, which
was accordingly done. Afterward Francis falling in
with all his force upon the duchy of Milan, all en-
deavours were used to engage king Henry into the
war, both by the pope and emperor, this last feed-
ing him long with hopes of resigning the empire
to him, which wrought much on him ; insomuch
that he did give them a great supply in money,
but he could not be engaged to divert Francis by
making war upon him: and Francis ending the war
of Italy by a peace, was so far from resenting what
the king had done, that he courted him into a
B 3

6 THE HISTORY OF

B(iOK Htraiter league, and a match was agreed between

I.

tlie dolphin and the lady Mary the king^s daiigfa-
M^Jtb^rl to ter, and Tourney was delivered up to the French

H. i5i». But now Charles, archduke of Austria by his

father, and heir to the house of Burgundy by his
grandmother, and to the crown of Spain by his mo-
ther, began to make a great figure in the world ;
KinpiTor H»d his grandfather Maximilian dying, Francis and
'i!i7jf I*"' **^' w^re corrivals for the empire : but Charles being
lllvtSi preferred in the competition, there followed, what
JiiMf jh. through i>er8onal animosities, what through reason
of state, and a desire of conquest, lasting wars be-
tween them ; which though they were sometimes
for a while closed up, yet were never clearly ended.
And those two great monarchs, as they eclipsed
nioKt other princes about them, so they raised this
kingV glory higher, both courting him by turns, and
that not only by eaniest and warm addresses, but
oft l)y unuNunI submissions; in which they, knowing
how great an ingredient vanity was in his temper,
wcTo never deficient when their affairs required it :
all which tended to make him' appear greater in the
1(110, oyoH of his own |>eople. In the year 1520 there was

5 nil interview agreed on between the French king

I and him ; hut tlie enii>eror, to prevent the effects he

^ feiir^Ml fh)ni it. resolved to outdo the French king in

, the ettmplimont. and without any treaty or previous

h^tnu nHNuriuteeN came to Dover, and solicited the king's
iKitnimiii. tViendship against Francis ; and to advance his de-
' "y*'^ »iign giiiuiHl cartlinal Wolsi^v, who then governed
mH Uio kings counsels, by the promise of making

^In which he judged be might for a
ltii|p» pnunise a thing that seemed

THE REFORMATION. 7

to be at so great a distance, (pope Leo the Tenth book

being then but a young man,) and with rich presents,

whidi he made both to the king, the cardinal, and
all the court, wrought much on thfem. But that
which iH*evailed most with the king, was, that he
saw, though Charles had great domioions, yet they
lay at such a distance, that France alone was a suf-
ficient counterpoise 'to him ; but if Francis could
keep Milaln, recover Naples, Burgundy, and Navarre,
to all whi<£ he was then preparing, he would be an
uneasy ndghbour to himself; and if he kept the
footing he then had in Italy, he would lie so heavy
on the papaiy, that the popes could no longer carry
equally in the affairs of Christendom, upon which
much depended, according to the religion of that
time. Ther^ore he resolved to take part with the
emperor, till at least Francis was driven out of Italy,
and reduced to juster terms: so that the following jdqc 7.
interview between Francis and him produced nothing
but a vast expense and high compliments: and from
a second interview between the king and the em-
peror, Francis was full of jealousy, in which what
followed justified his apprehensions; for the war July 10.
going on between the anperor and Francis, thew»rwitii
king entered into a league with the former, and''''"°"'
made war upon France.

But the pope dying sooner than it seems the em-^^^-^*h
peror looked for, cardinal Wolsey claimed his' pro-1511.'
mise for the papacy; but before the messenger raihe
to him, Adrian the emperor's tutor was chosen pope:AiJ'"i«nri">-
yet, to feed the cardinal with fresh hopes, a new Jan. g, '
promise was made for the next vacancy, and in the
mean while he was put in hope of the archbishopric
of Toledo. But two years after, that pope dying, sepL 14,
B 4 ''^3.

8 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the emperor again faroke his word with him ; yet

'. — - though he was thereby totally alienated from him^

he concealed his indignation till the pablic eoncema
should give him a good opportunity to prosecute it
upon a better colour ; and by his letters to Rome
dissembled his resentments so artificially^ that, in a
cicmcDt congratulation he wrote to pope Clement, he **pro-

VII. cho- ii-i* i»i*«i

BCD, Nov. ^* tested his election was matter of sudi joy both to

'^ '^ the king and himself, that nothing had ever be-

^ fallen them which pleased them better, and that he

^^ was the very person whom they had wished to see

1523. ** raised to that greatness." But while the war went

on, the emperor did cajole the king with the highest

compUments possible, which always wrought much

Emperor on him, and came in person into England to be in*

Dover, May stalled knight of the garter, where a new league

The empe- was coucluded, by which, beside mutual assistance,

tractpd to ^ match was agreed on between the emperor and the

dau^lter' ^^^y Mary, the king's only child by his queen, of

June 19. whom he had no hopes of more issue. This was

sworn to on both hands, and the emperor was oblige

ed, when she was of age, to marry her, per verba de

pnesentiy under pain of excommunication and the

forfeiture of 100,000 pounds.

The war went on with great success on the em-
peror's part, especially after the battle of Pavia, in
which Francis his army was totally defeated, and
himself taken prisoner and carried into Spain. After
which the emperor, being much offended with the
pope for joining with Francis, turned his anns against
May 6, him, which were so successful, that he besieged and
'^^^' took Rome, and kept the pope prisoner six months.
The cardinal, finding the public interests concur
so happily with his private distastes, engaged the

THE REFORMATION* 9

Idaag to take part with Fnuooe, and afterward^ with, book
the pope againgt the emperor, his greatness now be-*— -

eondng theiterrdr of Christendom ; for the emperor,
lifted up with his success^ began to think <rf no less
than an universal empire. ' And first, that he might
unite aB Spain together, he preferred a matdi with
Portugal, to that which he had before contracted in
England : and he thought it not enough to break off
his sworn alliance with the king, but he did it with
an heavy imputation on the ladjr Mary; for in his
council it was said that she was iU^timate, as being
bom in an unlawftd marriage, so that no advantage
could be expected from her title to. the succession, as
will appear more particularly in the second book.
And the popis having dispensed with the oath, he
married the infiinta of Portugal. Besides, though
the king of England had gone deep in the charge,^
he would give him no share in the advantages of the
war; much lese give him that assistance which he
had promised him to recover his ancient inheritance
in France. The king, being irritated with his ma^
nifold ill usage, and led on by his own interests, and
by the offended cardinal, joined himself to the in-
terests of France. Upon which there followed not
only a firm alliance, but a personal friendship, which
appeared in all the most obliging expressions that
could be devised. And upon the king's threatening
to make war on the emperor, the French king was
set at liberty, though on very hard terms, if any Mar. i8,
thing can be hard that sets a king out of prison;
but he still acknowledged he owed his liberty to
l^gHemy. ^,^.,.

Then followed the famous Clementine league be- mcntiuc

T^ "Til league,

tween the pope and Francis, the Venetians, the Flo-M«y 22,

15^6.

10 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK rentines, and Francis Sforza, duke of Milan, b^ which

the pope absolved the French king from the oath he

had aworn at Madrid, and they all united against
the emperor, and declared the king of England pro-
tector qf the league. This gave the emperor great
distaste, who complained of the pope as an ungrate-
ful and perfidious person. The first beginning of
the storm fell heavy on the pope; for the French
king, who had a great mind to have his children
again into his own hands, that lay hostages in
Spain, went on but slowly in performing his part.
And the king of England would not openly break
with the emperor, but seeined to reserve himself to
be arbiter between the princes. So that the Ckdon-
nas, being of the imperial faction, with SOOO men
ept lo. entered Rome, and sacked a part of it, fon^ng the
pope to fly into the castle of St. Angelo, and to
make peace with the emperor, fiut as soon as that
fear was over, the pope returning to his old arts,
complained of the cardinal of Colonna, and resolved
to deprive him of that dignity, and with an army
entered the kingdom of Naples, taking divera places
that belonged to that family. But the confederates
coming slowly to his assistance, and he hearing of
great forces that were coming from Spain against
him, submitted himself to the emperor, and made
a cessation of arms ; but being again encouraged
1 some hopes from his allies, and (by a creation
fourteen cardinals for money) having raised
0,000 ducats, he disowned the treaty, and gave
i kiugtlom uf Naples to count Vauderaont, whom
: with forces to subdue it: but the duke of
. him, and went to Rome; and
f in which himself received bis

THE REFORMATION. 11

nKHtal wound, the city was taken 1^ storm, and book

plundered for Beveral days, about 5000 bdog killed.

The pope with Beventeen cardinals fled to the caatle||'„7'^'^
otSt-Angeio, but' was forced to render his person, ""^'^ ,
and to pay 400,000 ducats to the army.

TtoB gare great offence to all the princes of Christ-
endom, except the Lutherans of Germany; but none
resented it more loudly than this king, who sent
over cardinal Wolsey to make up a new tr^ty with Joiyii.
Francis, which was chiefly intended for setting the
pope at liberty. Nor did the emperor know well
how to justify an action which seemed so inconsist-
ent with bis devotion to the see of Rome ; yet the
pc^ was far some months detained a prisoner, till
at length the emperor, having brought him - to his
own tenns, ordered him to be set at liberty : but he,
being weary of his guards, escaped in a disguise, dk. 9.
and owned his liberty to have flowed chiefly from
the king's endeavours to procure it. And thus stood
the king as to foreign aflairs : he bad infinitely
obliged both the pope and the French king, and
was firmly united to them, and engaged in a war
against the emperor, when he began first to move
about his divorce.

As for Scotland, the near alliance between him The king's
and James the Fourth, king of Scotland, did not take.gaiD(t
away the standing animosities between the two na- °°
tions, nor interrupt the alliance between France and
Scotland. And therefore, when he made the first
war upon France, in the fourth year of his reign,
the king of Scotland came with a great army into
the north of England, but was totally defeated bysepto,
the earl of Surrey in Floudon Field. The king him- '''^*
self was either killed in the battle, or soon' after;

12 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK SO that the kingdom falling under factions, during
' the minority of the new king, the government was
but feeble, and scarce able to secure its own quiet.
And the duke of Albany, the chief instrument of
the French faction, met with such opposition from
the parties that were raised against him by king
Henry's means, that he could give him no disturb-
ance. And when there came to be a lasting peace
between England and France, then, as tb^ king
needed fear no trouble from that warlike nation, so
he got a great interest in the government there.
And at thia time money becoming a more effectual
engine than any the war had ever produced, and
the discovery of the Indies having brought great
wealth into Europe, princes b^an to deal more in
that trade than before; so that both France and
England had their instruments in Scotland, and
gave considerable yearly pensions to the chief heads
of parties and families. In the search I have made,
I have found several warrants for sums of money, to
be sent into Scotland, and divided there among the
favourers of the English interest ; and it is not to be
doubted but France traded in the same manner;
which continued till a happier way was found out
for extiuguisliing these quarrels; both the crowns
being set on one head.

li emm- Having thus shewed the state of this king's go-
vernment as to foreign matters, I shall next give an
account of the administration of affairs at home,
both as to civil and spiritual matters. The king,
upon his first coining to the crown, did choose a wise
council, partly out of tliose whom his father had
trusted, i>arUy out of those that were recommended

his graudinother, the countess c^ Rich-

THE REFORMATION. 13

mood md Dferby; in wfarai wag the right nf the BoolL

hoiue at LancMtcr, tboogfa she valliiigly-. deT<dTed '•

her preteinidiu on her wb, clabnisg nothing to hw-
selfi, trat'^esatisfeotiOTiof'being niotfaer-to a king. ^
She WM a wise and zeligious wcHBan« and died sooD
after hdr grandMn cotne to the crown* Thets-was
a ftction in the council between Fox bisht^ of WiiK-
dieBtffl-, ond-the lord treasurer, which coidd never bfe
wdl made up, tboai^ t&ey werfoft reconciled: Fox
always coml^ainiDg of ^'Irad bvoBurCT, far squan~
dering awi^ so doon that rast mass of tEeasore,. left
hy the Im^ father ; in whidj' the- oth«r justified
himself, that what he did was hy the king's war-
ranty which he icoflld not ffisobey : but Fox objected,
that he was too easf^ answer, if not to pn>cure
these warrants, and that he ought to have given the
king bettw advice. In the king's first parliament Ju.ii,
things went as he desired upon his delivering up'
Empson and Dudley, in which his preventing the
severity of the houses, and proceeding against them
at the common law, as it secured his ministers from
an unwelcome precedent, so the whole honour of it
fell on the king's justice.

His next parliament was in the third year of hisi'^i*- 4.
reign, and there was considered the brief from pope
Julius the Second to tiie king, complaining of the in-
dignities and injuries done to the apcffitolic see and
the pope by the Frendi Icing, and entreating the
king's assistance with such cajoling words as are
always to be expected from popes on the like occa-
sions. It was fir^ read by the master of the rolls in
the house of lords, and then the lord chancellor (War-
bam, archbishop of Canterbury) and the ^lord trea-
surer, with other lords, went down to the house of

14 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK commons and read it there. Upon this aad othv

! — reasons they gave the king subsidies towards the

war with France. At this time Fox, to strengthen
c>rdiP4] his party against the lord treasurer, finding Thomas
rahig' Wolsey to be a likely man to get into the king's fa-
vour, used all his endeavours to raise him, who was
at that time neither unknown nor inconsiderable,
being lord almoner ; he was at first made a privy
counsellor, and frequently admitted to the king's
presence, and waited on him over to France. The
king liked him well, which he so managed that he
quickly engrossed the king's favour to himself, and
for fifteen years together was the most absolute fa-
Tourite that had ever been seen in England : all fo-
reign treaties and places of , trust at home were at
his ordering ; he did what he pleased, and his as-
cendant over the king was such, tJbat there never
appeared any party against htm ell that while. The
great artifice by which he insinuated himself so
much on the king, is set down very plainly by one
c>.rrn- that kflew him well, in these words: In him the
afVotsc^, hing conceived such a loving Jitney ^ espemtUyJbr
bl^fflUi" ^^^ ^ ^^"' *^^^ earnest and readiest in all the
^^^f- council to advance the king's only will and plea-
sure, having no resjiecl fo iJie case ; and whereas
the anvirnt counsellors would, according to the qffice

^^good counsellors, divers times persuade the ting
/Is have sometime a recourse unto ike counal, there
t' ' r uliat was done in iccighUf matters, the
IS uothing at all pleased therewith; Jor he
ptlmtfr worse than to he constrained to do any
contrary to his pleasure, and that knew the
\ tecrei imeimuaHong ^
I M Jftsf at the other*

THE REFORMATION. 15

counseUed the king to leave his pleasures, and to rook
attend his affairs, so busily did the almoner per- ,

suade him to the contrary, which delighted him
much, and caused him to have the greater affection
and love to the almoner. Having got into such
power, he observed the king's inclinations exactly,
and followvd bis iotereste ctosely-: for though he
made other princes retain him with great present!
and penaioiis, yet he never engaged the king into
any ^iaooe hut what was for his advantage. Vot
albirs at btwae, after he was established in bis great-
ness, he affected to govern without parliameats;
there being from the seventh year o£ his reign, after
whidi he got the great seali but one parliament in
the fourterath^^d fiftemt^ year, and no more tiU
the one and twentieth, when matters were tmnii^
about : but he raued great sums of money by loans
and benevolences. And indeed if we look on him
as a minister of state, he was a very extraordi-
nary person ; but as he was a churchman, he was
the disgrace of his profession. He not only served
the king in all his secret pleasures, but was lewd and
vicious himself; bo that hia having the French pox
(which in those days was a matter of no small in-
famy) was so public, that it was brought against
him in parliament when he fell in disgrace : he was
a man of most extravagant vanity, as appears by
the great state be lived in ; and to feed that, bis
ambition and covetousness were proportionable.

He was first made bishop of Tourney, when that^'* 'S'S-
town was taken from the French ; then he was made . h^^
bishop of "Liocoln, which was the first bishopric J*^^
that fell void in this kingdom ; after that, upon car- s- '^tfi^
dinal Bembridge his death, he parted with Lincoln, Rot. p>t.

16 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and waa made archbishop of^York; then Hadrian,
- that waa a cardinal and bishop of Bath and Wells,

,^J' ■ being deprived, that "^see was given to him ; then
^ ^ the abbey of ''St. Alban's was given to him m com-
" Aug. 38. oieTidam : he next parted with Bath and Wells, and
I. put. ' got the bishopric of "Duresme, which he afterwards
iDec. 7. exchanged for the bishopric of 'Winchester: but
if'pl^"'' besides all that he had in his own hands, the king
B A*"' « granted him a full power of disposing of all the eo-
<5- nf- clesiastical benefices in England, (which brought him
iC P. in as much money as all the places he held ;) for
10. ngt having so vast a power committed to him both from
^^' the king and the pope as to church preferments, it
may be easily gathered what advantages a man of
his temper would draw from it Warham was lead
chancellor the first seven years of the king's reign,
but retired to give place to this aspiring favourite,
who had a mind to the great seal, that there might
be no interfering between the legantine tud chan-
cery courts. And perhaps it wrought somewhat on
his vanity, that even after he was cardinal, Warham
as lord chancellor took place of him, as appears from
the entries made in the journals of the house of
peers in the parliament held the seventh year of the
king's reign, and afterwards gave him place, as ap<
I aa many occasions, particularly in the letter
I to Ibe pope 1530, set down by the lord Her-
, which the cardinal subscribed before Wariiam.
Wb have nothing on record to shew what a speaker
- for bU tlie Journals of parliament from the
he twonty-fifth year ofthis king are lost ;
L> Spake UH his predecessor in that office
I, as they ore entered in
1 with a text of scrip-

THE REFORMATION. 17

ture ; wliidi he expounded and applied to the bud- book
ness thej were to go upon, stuffing them with the ''

most fulsome flattery of the king that was possible.

The next in iaTour and power was the lord trea-
surer, restored to his £Either's honour of duke of Nor-
folk, to whmn his son succeeded in that office as well
as in his hereditary honours ; and managed his in-
terest with the king so dexterously, that he stood in
all the changes that followed, and continued lord
treasurer during the reign of this king, till near the
end of it, when he Ml through jealousy rather than
guilt: this shewed how dexterous a man he was,
that could stand so long in that employment under
such a king.

But the chief faTOunte in the king's pleasures was
Charles Brandon, a gallant graceful person, one of
the strongest men of the age, and so a fit match for
the king at his justs and tiltings, which was the
manly diversion of that time ; and the king taking
much pleasure in it, being of a robust body, and sin-
gulariy expert at it, he was so able to second him in
these courses, grew mightily in his favour, so that he
made him first viscount Lisle, and some months after May 15.
duke of Suffolk. Nor was he less in the ladies' fa-i'^rt^Rnt.
vours, than the king's ; for his sister the lady Mary ^*^-
Uked him, and being but so long married to king
Lewis of France, as to make her queen dowager of
France, she resolved to choose her second husband
herself, and cast her eye on the duke of Suffolk, who
was then sent over to the court of France. Her bro-
ther had designed the marriage between them, yet
would not openly give his consent to it ; but she by
a strange kind of wooing prefixed him the term of
four days to gain her consent, in which she told him

VOL. I. c

IS THE HISTOKY OF

if he did not prevail, he should for ever kxe all his
- hopes of having her, though after such a dedaratioD
he was like to meet with no great difficultj from
her. So they were mairied, and the king was easily
pacified,. and received them into favour; neither did
his favour die with her, for it continued all his life :
but he never meddled much in business, and, by all
that appears, was a better courtier than statesman.
Little needs be said of any other person more than
will afterwards occur.

The king loved to raise mean persona, and upon
the least distaste to throw them down : and falling
into disgrace, he spared not to sacrifice tiiem to pub-
lic discontents. His court was magnificent, and his
expense vast ; he indulged himself in his pleasures :
and the hopes of children (besides the lady Mary)
foiling by the queen, he, who of all things desired
issue most, kept one Elizabeth Blunt, by whom he
had Henry Fitzroy, whom in the seventeenth year
of his reign he created earl of Nottingham, and tiie
same day made him duke of Richmond and Scmter-
set, and intended' afterwards to have put him in the
succession of the crown after his other children ; but
his death prevented it.

L^Al fbr his parliament, he took great care to keep
[ understanding with them, and chiefly with
leuse of commons, by which means he seldom
I to carry matters as he pleased among them:
D the parliament held in the fourteenth and fif-
I of his reign, the demand of the subsidy ta^
b the war with France lieing so high as 800,0002;
"k.tijuta^^uaAi and lands, to be paid in four

Ing much hated, there was

P"*" "W^^ V'H: ibr which the cardinal

THE REFORMATION. 19

Uamed sir Thomas More much, who ^as then book

wpeaker of the house of oommoos ; and finding that

whidi was offered was not above the half of what
was Bskeif went himself to the house of commons,
and deflned to hear the reasons of those who op-
posed his demands, that he mi^t answer them : but
he was told the order of their house was to reason
onlj among themselves, and so went away much
dissatisfied. It was with great difficulty that they
obtained a subsidy of three shillings in the Kb. to be
paid in four years. This disappointment, it seems,
did so offend the' cmrdinal, that as no parliament had
been called for seven years before, so there was none
summoiied for seven years after. And thus stood
the dvil government of En^nd in the nineteenth
year of the king^s reign, when the matter of the di-
vorce was first moved. But I shall next open the
state of affiurs in reference to religious and spiritual
concerns.

King Henry was bred with more care than had He was
been usuaUy bestowed on the education of princes scholar.
for many ages, who had been only trained up to
those exercises that prepared them to war; and if
diey could read and write, more was not expected
of them. But learning began now to flourish ; and
as the house of Medici in Florence had great honour '
by the protection it gave to learned men, so other
princes every where cherished the Muses. King
Henry the Seventh, though illiterate himself, yet
took care to have his childi*en instructed in good
letters. And it generally passes current, that he
bred his second son a scholar, having designed him
to be archbishop of Canterbury ; but that has no
foundation ; 'for the writers of that time tell, that

c2

so THE HISTORY OF

BOOK his elder brother prince Arthur was aho bred a sdio-
|«- And all the instraction kii^ Hemj had in
learning must have been after his farather was dead*
when that design had vanished with his life. For
he being bom the twenty-eighth of June 1491, and
prince Arthur djing the second of April 1502, he
was not full eleven jears of age when he became
prince of Wales ; at which age princes have seldom
made anj great pn^ress in learning. But king
Henry the Seventh judging either that it would
make his sons greater princes, and fitter finr the ma-
nagement of their affairs, or being jealous of their
looking too early into business, or their pretending
to the crown upon their mother's title, which might
have been a dangerous competition to him, that was
so little beloved by his subjects, took this method
for amusing them with other things : thence it was,
that his son was the most learned prince that had
been in the world for many ages, and deserved the
title Beau-clerke^ on a better account than his pre-
decessor that long before had carried it. The learn-
ing then in credit was either that of the schools,
about abstruse questions of divinity, which from the
days of Lombard were debated and descanted on
with much subtlety and nicety, and exercised all
speculative divines ; or the study of the canon law,
which was the way to business and preferment. To
the former of these the king was much addictedi and
delighted to read often in Thomas Aquinas; and
this made cardinal Wolsey more acceptable to him,
who was chiefly conversant in that sort of learning.
He loved the purity of the Latin tongue, which
be so kind to Erasmus, that was the great
it, and to Polydore Virgil ; though nei-

T

THE REFORMATION. 21

ther of these made their court dexterously with the book
cardinal, which did much intercept the king's favour .'
to them ; bo that the one left England, and the other
was but coarsely used in it, who has suflSciently re-
venged himself upon the cardinal's memory. The
philosophy then in £E»hion was so intermixed with
their divinity, that the king understood it too ; and
was also a good musician, as appears by two whole
masses which he composed. He never wrote well,
but scrawled so that his hand was scarce legible.

Being thus inclined to learning, he was much court-
ed by all hungry scholars, who generally over Eu-
rope dedicated their books to him, with such flatter-
ing epistles, that it very much lessens him, to see how
he delisted in such stuff. For if he had not taken
pleasure in it, and rewarded them, it is not likely
that others should have been every year writing after
such ill copies. Of all things in the world flattery
wrought most on him ; and no sort of flattery pleased
him better than to have his great learning and wis-
dom commended. And in this his parliaments, his
courtiers, his chaplains, foreigners and natives, all
seemed to vie who should exceed most, and came to
speak to him in a style which was scarce fit to be
used to any creature. But he designed to entail
these praises on his memory, cherishing churchmen
more than any king in England had ever done ; he
also courted the pope with a constant submission,
and upon all occasions made the popes' interests his
own, and made war and peace as they desired him.
So that had he died any time before the nineteenth
year of his reign, he could scarce have escaped being
canonized, notwithstanding all his faults ; for he
abounded in those virtues which had given saintship

c 3

at THE HISTORY OF

BOOK to kings for near a thousand years tc^ether, and had

' done more than thej all did, by writing a botdc for

the Roman faith.
TbB kiDg-i Enirland had for above three hundred years been
inecdoi- the tamest part of Chrutendom to the papal au-
^ thority, and bad been accordingly dealt with. Bat
though the parliaments, and two or three high-ajn-
rited kings, had given some interruption to the cruel
exactions and other illegal proceedings of the court
of Rome, yet that court always gained their designs
in the end. But even in this king's days, the crown
was not quite stript of all its authority over spiritual
persons. The investitures of bishops and abbots,
which had been originally given by the delivery of
the pastoral ring and staff, by the kings of England,
were after some opposition wrung out of their bands;
yet I find they retained another thing, which upon
the matter was the same. When any see was va-
cant, a writ was issued out of the chancery for seiz-
cuttodM ing on all the temporalities of the bishopric, and
utu. then the king recommended one to the pope, upon
which his bulls were expeded at Rome, and so by a
warrant from the pope he was consecrated, and in-
vested in the spiritualities of the see ; but was to ap-
^^ pear before the king either in person or by proxy,
^A and renounce every clause in his letters and bulls,
^B that were or might be prejudicial to the pren^tive
^F of the crown, or contrary to the laws of the land, and
^m was to swear fealty and allegiance to the king. And
X afler this a new writ was issued out of the chancery,
bearing that this was done, and that thereupon the
I should be restored. Of this there are
dents in the rec(nrds, that every one
Dched them must needs find them in

THE BEFORBCATION. tS

0

everjr year ; but when this began, I leave to the more book
learned in the law to discover. And for proof of it_il_

the reader will find in the Collection the fullest re-couect
cord which I met with concerning it in Henry the
Seventh his reign, of cardinal Adrian's being invested
m the bishc^iric of Bath and Wells. So that upon
the matter die kings then diq>osed of all faishopricsf,
keeping that still in their own hands which made
them most desired in those ages; and so had the
bishops much at their devotion.

But king Henry in a great degree parted with
this, by the abovementioned power granted to car-
dinal Wolsey, who being l^ate as well as lord chan-
cellor, it was thought a great error in government
to lodge such a trust with him, which might have
passed into a precedent for other l^ates pretending
to the same power; since the papal greatness had
thus risen, and oft upon weaker grounds to the
height it was then at. Yet the king had no mind Liceme to
to suffer the laws made against the suing out of peLrt!!^!
bulls in the court of Rome without his leave to be ^**^«"*»- 3.

I. part. 5*»

n^lected ; for I find several licenses granted to sue ^^s* i^^
bulls in that court, bearing for their preamble the
statute of the sixteenth of Richard the Second against
the pope's pretended power in England.

But the immunity of ecclesiastical persons was a
thing that occasioned great complaints. And good
cause there was for them. For it was ordinary for
persons after the greatest crimes to get into orders ;
and then not only what was past must be forgiven
them, but they were not to be questioned for any
crime after holy orders given, till they were first de-
graded ; and till that was done they were the bi-
shop's prisoners. Whereupon there arose a great

c 4

84 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK dispute in the b^oning of this king's reign, o£

'. which none of our historians having taken any no*

tice, I shall give a full account of it.
Aa»>"«« King Henry the Seventh in his fourth partiameot
eccieuMti- did & little lessen the privileges of the clergy, enact-
D>tT.'°K!rii- ing that clerks convicted should be burnt in the
^j*'^ hand. But this not proving a sufficient restraint, it
was enacted in parliament, in the fourth year of this
king, that all murderers and robbers should be de-
nied the benefit of their clergy. But though this
seemed a very just law, yet to make it pass through
the house of lords, they added two provisos to it, the
one for excepting all such as were within the holy
orders of bishop, priest, or deacon ; the other that
the act should only be in force till the next parlia-
ment. With these provisos it was unanimously as-
sented to by the lords on the twenty-sixth of Janu-
ary, 1513, and being agreed to by the commons, the
royal assent made it a law : pursuant to which, many
murderers and felons were denied their clergy, end
the law passed on them to the great satisfaction of
the whole nation. But this gave great offence to the
clei^, who had no mind to suffer their immunities
to be touched or lessened. And judging that if the
laity made bold with inferior orders, they would pro-
ceed further even against sacred orders ; therefore as
their opposition was sucli, that the act not bdng
cobtiMlBd* did determine at the next parliament*
(tbM Was ia the fifth year of the king,) so they, not
' ~\ that, resolved to fix a censure on that
> the iVanchises of the holy church.
f Winchelconili bting mote forward
1 of periiament in the
. at

THE REFORMATION. 85

PauFs Cron, said <^ieiily, That that act was ean^ book

trarjf to the law ofGod, and to the liberties qftke^,.^

koly church, and that all who assented to it, as well
spiritual as temporal persons, had by so doings in-
curred the censures qfthe church. And for confir-
mation of his opinion, he published a book to proye,
that all clerks, whether of the greater or lower or-
ders, were sacred, and exempted from all temporal
punishments by the secular 'judge, even in criminal
cases. This made great noise, and all the temporal
kurds, with the concurrence of the house of commons^
denred the king to suppress the growing insolence
of the clergy. So there was a hearing of the matter
before the kii^, with all the judges, and the king's
temporal council. Doctor Standish, guardian of the
Mendicant Friars in London, (afterwards bishop of
Saint AsajA,) the chief of the king's spiritual coun-
cil, argued, That, by the law, clerks had been still
convened and judged in the king's court for civil
crimes, and that there was nothing either in the
laws of God, or the church, inconsistent with it ; and
that the public good of the society, which was chiefly
driven at by all laws, and ought to be preferred to
all other things, required that crimes should be pu-
nished. But the abbot of Winchelcomb, being coun-
sel for the clergy, excepted to this, and said, There
was a decree made by the church expressly to the
contrary, to which all ought to pay obedience un-
der the pain of mortal sin ; and that therefore the
trying of. clerks in the civil courts was a sin in
itself. Standish upon this turned to the king, and
said, God forbid that all the decrees qf the church
should bind. It seems the bishops think not so ;
Jbr though there is, a decree that they should reside

M THE HISTORY OP

BOOK at their cathedrals aU tie JitMtivalu^ tke ^eoTf yet

'-^ the greater part <^them do it not; sddiiig, that no

decree could have aaj force in En^nd till it was
received there ; and that this decree was never re-
ceived in England, but that, as well since the mak-
ing of it, as before, clerks had been tried for crimes
in the civil courts. To this the abbot made no an-
swer, but brought a place of scripture to prove this
exemption to have come from our Saviour's words.
NoUte tangere ehrittoa meo». Touch not mine
anointed; and therefore princes ordering derks to
be arrested, and brought before their courts, was
contrary to scripture, against which no custom can
take place. Standish replied, these words wti\: ner^
said by our Saviour, but were put by David in his
Psalter one thousand years before Christ ; and he said
these words had no relation to the civil judicatories,
but because the greatest part of the world was then
wicked, and but a small number believed the law,
they were a charge to the rest of the world, not to
do them harm. But though the abbot had been very
violent, and confident of his being able to confound
all that held the contrary opinion, yet he made no
answer to this. The laity that were present, being
confirmed in their former opinion by hearing the
matter tlius argued, moved the bishops to order the
abbot to renounce his former opinion, and recant his

Pmon at Paul's Cross. But they flatly refused
do ill and said they were bound by the laws
MM||^ diufch to maintain the abbot's t^nnion
^^^ nt of it. Great heats followed upon
^ sitting of the parliament, of whidi
^^■rtial e^ti^ made in the journal of
, the clerk of the

?

THE REFORMATION. S7

pariiamentt doctor Tjrlor, doctor of the canon law, book
being at the same time speaker of the lower hoiise

of omvocaticm. The entry is in these words: /iioct.99. *
tkU parliament and canpocaiian there were ^^^^lij^^tj^
dangerans contentions between the dergy and the^J^^^^^
secular power, about the ecclesiastical liberties, oneFroetmm 7
Standish^ a minor friar, being the instrument andiZiomtmL
promoter qfaU that mischitf. But a passage fell^l^f^
oot» that made this matter be more fully prosecuted^UJ[f^^
in the Michaelmas term. One Richard Hunne, a^^-'^is-

merchant taylor in London, was questioned by SL7)^,Mit
derk in Middlesex for a mortuary, pretended to be doct. ck~

due for a child of his that died five weeks old. The^IZS!!^
derk daimed the beering sheet, and Hunne refusing Jjf^X
to give it ; upon that he was sued, but his counsel '^^ ^^
advised him to sue the derk in a prtemumre, tor ctaore

bringing the king's subjects before a foreign court i"^^
the spiritual court sitting by authority from the le- /H^*^'
gate. This touched the dergy so in the quick, that^^JJ^^'
they used all the arts they could to fasten heresy on onepeHeu.

him ; and understanding that he had WickliflTs Bible, •editumet
upmi that he was attached of heresy, and put in the te/«rcim(m
Lollard's tower at Paul's, and examined upon some^J^J^I^^
artides objected to him by Fitz-James, then bishop ^^^'
of London. He denied them as they were chanred cfcrf««^,
against him, but acknowledged he had said some /re m^More,
words sounding that way. for which he was sony.Zl^A.
and asked God's mercy, and submitted himself to^[[|]^^
the bbhop's correction; upon which he ought toJJ^^JJ^
have been enjoined penance, and set at liberty ; but "^^ ^^
he persisting still in his suit in the king's courts,
they used him most cruelly. On the fourth of De-
cember he was found hanged in the chamber where Hanne
he was kept prisoner. And doctor Horsey, chancel- ^^^ '°

^j siiould appear for him any b

•e : whereas, on the contrary, it occasioned a great

cry, the man having lived in very good reputa-

\ among his neighbours; so that after that day

dtj of London was never well affected to the

ish dergy, but indined to follow any body who

ke against them, and every one looked on it as a

se of common concern. All exclaimed against

cruelty of their dergy, that for a man's suing

ilerk according to law he should be long and

dly used in a severe imprisonment, and at last

dly murdered ; and all this laid on himself to de-

le him, and ruin his family. And then to bum

t body which they had so handled, was thought

1 a complication of crudties, as few barbarians

ever been guilty of. The bishop, finding that

inquest went on, and the whole matter was dis-

1^9 used all possible endeavours to stop their

^^ngs ; and they were often brought before the

s council, where it was pretended that all pro-

d from malice and heresy. The cardinal la-

d to procure an order to forbid thdr going any

^9 but the thing was both so foul and so evi-

^at it could not be done ; and thn* /*—'"'

80 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK commmM was but cmce Kad in the house of lordsy for
._— the power of the clergy was great there. But the trial
^"^^' went on, and both the bishop's chancellor and the
sumner were indicted as principals in the murder.

The convocation that was then sitting, finding so
g^at a stir made, and that all their liberties were
now struck at, resolved to call doctor Standish to an
account for what he had said and argued in that
matter; so he being summoned before them, some
articles were objected to him by word of mouth,
concerning the judging of clerks in civil courts;
and the day following, they being put in writing,
the bill was delivered to him, and a day assigned for
him to make answer. The doctor, perceiving their
intention, and judging it would go hard with him if
he were tried before them, went and claimed the
king's protection from this trouble that he was now
brought in, for dischai^ng his duty as the king^s
spiritual counsel. But the clergy made their excuse
to the king, that they were not to question him for
any thing he had said as the king's counsel ; but for
some lectures he read at St. Paul's and elsewhere,
contrary to the law of God^ and liberties of the
holy churchy which they were bound to maintain ;
and desired the king's assistance according to his
coronation oath, and as he would not incur the cen-
sures of the holy church. On the other hand, the
temporal lords and judges, with the concurrence of
the house of commons, addressed to the king to mam-
tain the temporal jurisdiction according to his coro-
nation oath, and to protect Standish from the malice
of his enemies.

This put the king in great perplexity, for he had
no mind to lose any part of his temporal jurisdic-

THE REFORMATION. 91

tion» and an tike<oth8^ haad was no lew apprebcnrare boos

ai the daagenxu effecta .that m^^ follow on a .

Ih«mA with the t^srgy. So he called for doctor
Veysey, tbes dean of hia ch^iel* and afterwardg bi-
■hop (tf £xeter, and chafed him upon his aflegiaDce
to declare the trutli to him in that matter : which
after scnne ttndj he did, and said* upon his &ith,
coosdeDce, and all^janc^ he did think that the con-
vening of derks before the secular judge, which had
been always practised ia En^aod, mi^t well con^
list with the law of God, Mid the frw0 fii«r«w ^<;k
kofyekurdk. This gave the king great salisfiulioD;
so be (»mmanded aUtbejadges, and bis coandl both
spifitnal and temporal, uid some of both hooses, to
meet at Blacfc*£Viars,'>and to hear the matter ar-
gued. Hie [nil against doctor Standish was read^
which consisted of six articles that were objected to
him. First, Utat he kadtaid that the lower orders
were not sacred. Secondly, TTutt the exemption of
eieris wot notjimnded on a divine right. Thirdly^
7%at the laity might coerce clerk* when the pre-
lates did not their duty. Fourthly, That no posi-
tive eedesiastieal law binds any but those who re-
ceive it. Fifthly, That the study (ffthe canon law
was needless. Sillily, That of the whole volume
Hfthe Decretum, so much as a man could hold in
his ,fistt and no morSj did oblige Christians. To
these doctor Standisb answered. That for those things
expressed in the third, the fifth, and the sixth arti-
cles, he had never taught them ; as for his asserting
them at any time in discourse, as he did not remem-
ber it, so he did not much care whether he had done
it or not. To the first he said. Lesser orders in one
tense are saered,tD.d in another they are not sacred.

». TEL

mU0 ^Ji0tUd/04^ iuej

ai »^4u ^ MiAiiUik^ to tunr a jndge

»4U4J, 77///^/ i»/e//// lif/// iti//^ jet i
ImwMI^ kiH; ^; in tli^ ctie id

Hut iU^upr Wi'ym*y'% argumeiit
ii/«/li iiii/tii «yii|i mU tlmt were pmeni. He sidLit
i^m«i4.'Hm)m llitfi l>M' inwNiif thecbuidi dWaif Maif
////// ///// lhtm$f uhii fftthed them. To {vove dni,
hi: iiwiili I If Ml \h iilil (hiN*» all secular prierti woe
i»»MMl»iil » liMl Ifi lliii iliiyN of Ht. Augiudne, the mgo-
»li»j ol I'lMijhiiiili Ihm'i* wim a decree made to the
iiiMlMMi'f ivhlih WM« i'cm'HvihI in England, and in
iMiiiiy oliii:! |»ifiii'«i liy virtue whereof the secular
IMli'Mn ill MMulfUifl iniiy not marry : but thb law not
lirlMH mmIvkumIIv runilvniL Iht* Greek church never
JH^iM*'9f /Ai'ii«4fi7«>«*4 honml Ay it* no that to thb day
lliii piiiiMn III I hill I'liiiiH'h have wives as well as
iillim «iti iiliii iiimi. ir I lion tlio churches of the east,
ii«il liii\ 111(1 ti'«i^v«'«l llio law of the celibate of the
«1i'V)i>, liii\« iio>oi' Ihvii «'«iiulonuuHt by the church
\W not «ilii'\ 111(1 M X \\\v\\ I liiM'^mvouiug clerks having

THE REFORMATION. 8S

been always practised in England, was no mn^ noU book

withstanding the decree to the contrary, which was 1 —

never received here. Nor is this to be compared to
those privileges that concern only a private man's
interest, for the commonwealth of the whole realm
was chiefly to be looked at, and to be preferred to
all other things.

When the matter was thus argued on both sides,
all the judges delivered their opinions in these words:
not all those qf the convocation who did award
the citation against StantUsh, were in the case qf
u pramumre Jaeias ; and added somewhat about
the constitution of the parliament, which being
ftragn to my business, and contrary to a received
opinion, I need not mention, but refer the reader to
Keilway for his information, if he desires to know
more of it : and thus the court broke up. But soon
after, all the lords spiritual and temporal, with many
of the house of commons, and all the judges, and the
king^s council, were called before the king to Bay-
nard's Castle ; and in all their presence the cardinal
kneeled down before the king, and in the name of
the dei^ said, ITuU none of them intended to do
any thing thai might dentate from his preroga-
five, and least qfaU himseff^ who owed his advance^
ment only to the hin^s favour. But this matter
of convening if clerks did seem to them cdl to be
contrary to the laws of God, and the liberties qf
the church, which they were bound by their oaths
to maintain according to their power ; therefore in
their naihe he humbly be^ed. That the king, to
avoid the censures ff the church, would rrfer the
matter to the decision qf the pope and his council,
at the court qf Rome. To which the king answered,

VOL. I. D

34 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK It seems to us that iloctar Standish, and others of
'' our spiritual council^ have answered youJuUy in
all points. The bishop of Winchester replied. Sir,
I warrant you doctor Standish will not abide by
his opinion at his peril. But the doctor said^
fVhat should one poor friar do alone, against
all the bishops and clergy of JEngland ? After a
short silence the archbishop of Canterbury said,
That in Jbrmer times divers holy fathers of the
church had opposed the execution of that law, and
some qf them suffered martyrdom in the quarreL
To whom Fineux, lord chief justice, said, T%at
many holy kings had maintained that law, and
many holy fathers had given obedience to it, which
it is not to be presumed they would have done,
had they known it to be contrary to the law qf
God : and he desired to know by what law bishqia
could judge clerks for felony, it being a thing only
determined by the temporal law; so that either it
was not at all to be tried, or it was only in the tem-
poral court ; so that either derks must do as they
please, or be tried in the dvil courts. To this no
answer being made, the king said these woids : Sy
the pennission and ardiimmce if God we are kit^
^ JKi^fiand, and the ki^^ if Ei^glmmd m tismes
past kmd merer any smperioTy but God omfy. Hkere^
fMrr kupw you weU that we wiO maimimim the r^gki
ffomr crowmy mmd^omr ten^iMrmlJmrisdietiam m»
wtUimtkis^ms in mO other pointSy in msamqJe
mr #» amy ifomrpn^geiuMrshmMr dome h^mrm
MM^^ Jmm sfsfmr yomr dttrtes^ my are wewl lunvwf
tkmt ymf if the spiritmmlity go espetisJy
the m^iMrds if 0h€rw9 ifthem$y0Nt imih betem
yum by xaif ffour emmmeii : mmd yom imterpnetfmmr

THE REFORMATION. 36

decrees at your pleasure, but we will not agree to book

tkem mare tkan our progenitors have dame injbr^ .^-J

mer times. But the archbishop of Canterbury made
most humble instance, that the matter m^ht be so
bng respited, till they could get a resolution from
the court of Rome, which they should procure at
their own charges; and if it did consist with the law
of Ckxl, they should conform themselves to the law
of the land. To this the king made no answer :
but the warrants being out against doctor Horsey,
the btthop of London's chancellor, he did abscond in
the archfaishc^'s house; though it was pretended he
was a prisoner there, till afterwards a temper was
fimnid that Horsqr should render himself a prisoner
in the king^s bench, and be tried. But the bishop
of London made earnest applications to the cardinal
that he would move the king to command the at-
torney general to confess the indictment was not
true, that it might not be referred to a jury ; since
he said the citizens of London did so favour heresy,
that if he were as innocent as Abel, they would find
any derk guilty. The king, not willing to irritate
the dergy too much, and judging he had main-
tained his prerogative by bringing Horsey to the
bar, ordered the attorney to do so. And accord-
ingly, when Horsey was brought to the bar, and in-
dicted of murder, he pleaded Not guilty ; which the
attorney acknowledging, he was dismissed, and went
and lived at Exeter, and never again came back to
London, either out of fear or shame. And for doctor
Standish, upon the king's command, he was also
dismissed out of the court of convocation.

It does not appear that the pope thought fit to
interpoEie in this matter. For though, upon less

d2

36 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK pn/woatioa%y popes had pruceedcd to the hiighest
— I — censures against princes; yet tUs long was other-

wise so necessary to the pope at this time^ that be
was not to be offended. The deigjr suffered mudi
in this business, besides the kns of their reputation
with the peoide, who inrolved them all in the guilt
of Hunne's murder ; f(v now their exemption being
wdl examined, was found to haTe no foundation at
all but in their own decrees ; and few were mudi
convinced by that authority, since upon the matter
it was but a judgment of their own, in their own
favours : nor was the dtj of Lcmdon at all satisfied
with the proceedings in the king^s bench, since
there was no justice done; and all thought the king
seemed more careful to maintain his prerogative
than to do justice.

This I hare rekted the more full^, because it
seems to hare had great influence on peojAe's minds,
and to hare disposed them much to the changes
that followed afterwards. How these things were
entered in the books of convocation, cannot be now
known. For among the other sad losses sustained
in the late burning of London, this was one, that
almost all the registers of the spiritual courts were
burnt, some few of the archbishops of Canterbury
and bishops of London's rasters being only pre-
served. But having compared Fox his account of
this and some other matters, and finding it exactly
according to the registers that are preserved, I shall
the more confidently build on what he. published
fimn tlKMe records that are- now lost.

the only thing in the first eighteen years
's reign that seemed to lessen the great-
defgy, but in all other matters he was a

THE REFORMATION. S^

most fisuthful son of the see of Rome. Pope Julius, book
soon after his coming to the crown, sent him a

golden rose, with a letter to archbishop Warham to th^ ^^
deliver it; and though such {nresents might seem ^2^,,
fitter for young diildren than for men of discietion,
yet the king was much delighted with it ; and, to
riiew his gratitude, there was a treaty concluded theTnttj
year following between the king and Ferdinand of^%.
Arragon, for the defence of the papacy against the
French king. And when, in opposition to the coun-
cil that the French king and some other princes and
cardinals had called, firat to Pisa, (which was after-^
wards translated to Milan, and then to Lyons, that
summoned the pope to appear before them, and sus-
pended his authority,) pope Julius called another 19 April,
council to be held in the Lateran ; the king sent the '^'''
bishops of Worcester and Rochester, the prior of
St. John% and the abbot of Winchelcomb, to sit in
that coundl, in which there was such a representa-
tive of the catholic church as had not been for se-
veral of the later ages in the western church : in
which a few bishops, packed out of several king-
doms, and many Italian bishops, with a vast number
of abbots, priors, and other inferior dignified clergy-
men, were brought to confirm together whatever the
popes hftd a mind to enact; which passing easily
among them, was sent over the world with a stamp of
sacred authority, as the decrees and decisions of the
holy universal church assembled in a general council.
Nor was there a worse understanding between
this king and pope Leo the Tenth, that succeeded Ju-
lius, who did also compliment him with those papal
presents of roses, and at his desire made Wolsey a
cardinal ; and above all other things obliged him by

38 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK conferring on him the title of JDefenckf of the Faiths

! (upon the presenting to the pope his book against

^^' "* Luther,) in a pompous letter signed by the pope, and
belt."*'' twenty-seven cardinals, in which the king took great
pleasure; affecting it always beyond all his other
titles, though several of the former kings of Eng-
land had carried the same title, as Spelman informs
us. So easy a thing it was for popes to oblige princes
in those days, when a title or a rose was thought a
suflScient recompense for the greatest services.

The cardinal governing all temporal affairs as he
did, it is not to be doubted but his authority was
absolute in ecclesiastical matters, which seemed na-
turally to lie within his province; yet Warham
made some opposition to him, and complained to the
king of his encroaching too much in his legantine
courts upon his jurisdiction ; and the things being
clearly made out, the king chid the cardinal sharply
for it, who ever after that hated Warham in his
heart, yet he proceeded more warily for the fiiture.
^fom.S B"^ ^^^ cardinal drew the hatred of the clergy
the clergy, upon himsclf, chicfly by a bull which he obtained
15 19. Ld. from Rome, giving him authority to visit all monas*
aDd article terics, and all the clergy of England, and to dis«
fm^ach- pense with all the laws of the church for one whole
■^"^ year after the date of the bull. The power that
was lodged in him by this bull was not more invi-
dious than the words in which it was conceived were
offensive ; for the preamble of it was full of severe
reflections against the manners and ignorance of the
J^ifSS$ff9 who are said in it to have been delivered
reprobate mind. This, as it was a public
them, so, how true soever it might be,
ht it did not become the cardinal, whose

THE REFORMATION. 39

vices were notorious and scandalous, to tax others^ book
whose ftults weare neither so great nor so eminent ''
as his were.

He did also affect a magnificence and greatness, Tbe omfi-
not only in his habit, (being the first clergyman in Poijdore
England that wore silks,) but in his &mily, his train, ^''^^
and other pieces of state equal to that of kings.
And even in performing divine offices, and saying
mass, he did it with the same ceremonies that the
popes use; who judge themselves so nearly related
to God, that those humble acts of adoration, which
are devotions in other persons, would abase them too
much. He had not only bishops and abbots to
serve him, but even dukes and earls to give him the
water and the towel. He had certainly a vast mind;
and he saw the corruptions of the clergy gave so
great scandal, and their ignorance was so profound,
that unless some effectual ways were taken for cor-
recting these, they must needs fall into great dises-
teem with the people : for though he took great li^
berties himself, and perhaps, according to the maxim
of the canonists, he judged Cardinals, as princes of
the church, were not comprehended within ordinai-y
ecclesiastical laws ; yet he seemed to have designed He ^estgan

a reforma-

the reformation of the inferior clergy by all theuon:
means he could think of, except the giving them a
good example : therefore he intended to visit all the
monasteries of England, that so, discovering their
corruptions, he might the better justify the design
he had to suppress most of them, and convert them
into bishoprics, cathedrals, collegiate churches and
colleges : for which end he procured the bull from
Borne ; but he was diverted from making any use
of it by some, who advised him rather to suppress

D 4

40 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK monasteries by the pope's authority, Uian pro-

'. — ceed in a method whidi would raise great hatred

pi^oq'o^ against himself, cast foul aspersions on religious
moDMte- orders, and give the enemies of the church great
advantages against it. Yet he had communicated
his design to the king ; aud his secretary Cromwell
understanding it, was thereby instructed how to
proceed afterwards, when they went about the total
suppression of the monasteries.
The oJiiDF The summoning of convocations he assumed by
J^^"'*"' virtue of his legantine power. Of these there were
two sorts: the first were called by the king; tar
with the writs for a parliament there went out al-
ways a summons to the two archbishops for calling
a convocation of their provinces ; the style of which
Collect. ^1 ^ found in the Collection. It differs in no-
Numb. 3. thing from what is now in use, but that the king
did not prefix the day ; requiring them only to be
summoned to meet with all convenient speed ; and
the archbishops, having the king's pleasure signified
to them, did in their writs prefix the day. Other
convocations were called by the archbishops in their
seveivl provinces, upon great emergencies, to meet
and treat of things relating to the church, and were
CoUwt. provincial councils. Of this I find but one, and that
Nmb. 4. jjgjigd by Warham, in the first year of this king, for
restoring the ecclesiastical immunities, that had been
very much impaired, as will appear by the writ of
summons. But the cardinal did now, as l^ate, is-
fitgaL >ue out writs for convocations. In the year 152S.
^*^'°'- I find by the register th^e wja a writ issued from
the king to ^V^arham to call one, who upon that sum-
it to meet at St. Paul's the twentieUi of April.
ardinal prevailed bo far with the king.

THE REFORMATION. 41

that, on the second of Maj after, he by his legantme book

authority dissolTed that convocation, and issued out L--

a writ to TonstaO, bishop of London, to bring the
dergj of Canterbury to St. Peter's in Westminster,
there to meet and reform abuses in the church, and
consider of other important matters that should be
proposed to them. What they did towards i^or-
mation, I know not, the records being lost : but as
to the king's supply, it was proposed. That they
should give the king the half of the full value of
their livings for one year, to be paid in five years.
The cardinal laid out to them how much the king
had merited from the church, both by suppressing
the schism that was like to have been in the papacy
in pc^ Julius his time, and by protecting the see
of Rome from the French tyranny ; but most of all, -
for that excellent book written by him in defence of
the faith against the heretics : and that therefore,
since the French king was making war upon him,
and had sent over the duke of Albany to Scotland
to make war also on that side, it was fit that on so
great an occasion it should appear that his clergy
were sensible of their happiness in having such a
king; which they ought to express in granting
somewhat, that was as much beyond all former pre-
cedents, as the king had merited more from them
than all former kings had ever done.

But the bishops of Winchester and Rochester op-
posed this : for they both hated the cardinal. The
one thought him ungrateful to him who had raised
him : the other, being a man of a strict life, hated
him for his vices. Both these spake against it
as an unheard-of tax, which would so oppress the
clergy, that it would not be possible for them to live

4S THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and pay it ; and that this would become a precedent
*• for after-times, which would make the condition of

the clergy most miserable. But the cardinal, who
intended that the convocation, by a great subsidy,
should lead the way to the parliament, took much
' pains for carrying it through ; and got some to be
absent, and others were prevailed on to consent to
it : and, for the fear of its being made a precedent,
a clause was put in the act, that it should he no pre-
cedent for afier^imes. Others laughed at this, and
said. It would be a precedent for all that, if it once
passed. But in the end it was granted, with a most

Collect, glorious preamble ; and by it all the natives of Eng-
°" ' ^' land that had any ecclesiastical benefice were to
pay the full half of the true value of their livings in
five years ; and all foreigners who were beneficed in
England were to pay a whole year's rent in the
same time : out of which number were excepted the
bishop of Worcester and Landaffe, Pdlydore Virgil,
Peter the Carmelite, Erasmus of Roterdam, Silves*
ter Darius, and Peter Vannes, who were to pay
only as natives did. This increased the hatred that
the clergy bore the cardinal. But he despised them,
and in particular was a great enemy to the monks,
and looked on them as idle mouths that did neither
the church nor state any service, but were through
their scandalous lives a reproach to the church, and
a burden to the state. Therefore he resolved to
suppress a great number of them, and to change
them to another institution.

2f^2^ Prom the days of king Edgar the state of monk-
still growing in England. For most
dergy being then married, and refusing
their wives, were by Dunstan archbishop

THE REFORMATION. 4A

of Cantertmry, and Ethel weld bishop of WiDches- 900K
ter, and Oswald bishop of Worcester, who were all

mcmks, turned out of their livings. There is in the^^*^*
rolls an Intpeximus of king Edgar's, erecting theviii.par. i.
priory and convent of Worcester, which bears date
anno 964. Edgari VI^ on St. Innocent's day, signed
by the king, the queen, two archbishops, five bi«
shops, six abbots, (but neither bishopric nor fd)bey
are named,) six dukes, and five knights ; but there
is no seal to it. It bears, that the king, with the
counsel and consent of his princes and gentry, did
confirm and estaUish that priory ; and that he had
erected forty-seven monasteries, which he intended
to increase to fifty, the number of jubilee; and that
the former incumbents should be for ever excluded
from all pretensions to their benefices, because they
had rather chosen with the danger of their order,
and the prejudice of the ecclesiastical benefice, to
adhere to their wives, than to serve God chastely
and canonically.

The monks being thus settled in most cathedrals
of England, gave themselves up to idleness and
pleasure, which had been long complained of; but
now that learning b^an to be restored, they, being
every where possessed of the best church-benefices,
were looked upon by all learned men with an evil
eye, as having in their hands the chief encourage-
ments of learning, and yet doing nothing towards
it ; they on the contrary decrying and disparaging
it all they could, saying, It would bring in heresy,
and a great deal of mischief. And the restorers of
learning, such as Erasmus, Vives, and others, did
not spare them, but did expose their ignorance and
ill manners to the world.

44 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK Now the king naturally loved learning, and- tliere-
' fbre the cardinal, either to do a thing which he knew

would be acceptable to the king, or that it was also
agreeable to his own inclinations, resolved to set up
The cwdi- gome coU^cs, in which there should be both great
leges. encouragements for eminent scholars to prosecute
their studies, and good schools for teaching and
training up of youth. This he knew would be a
great honour to him, to be looked upon as a patron
of learning ; and therefore he set his heart much on
it, to have two colleges (the one at Oxford, the other
at Ipswich, the place of his birth) well constituted
and nobly endowed. But towards this, it was ne«
cessary to suppress some monasteries, .which was
thought every whit as justifiable and lawful, as it
had been many ages before to change secular pre-
bends into canons regular ; the endowed goods being
still applied to a religious use. And it was thought
hard to say. That if the pope had the absolute power
of dispensing the spiritual treasure of the church,
and to translate the merits of one man, and apply
them to another ; that he had not a much more ab-
solute power over the temporal treasure of the
church, to translate church-lands from one use, and
apply them to another. And indeed the cardinal
was then so much considered at Rome as a pope of
another world, that whatever he desired he easily
^dbtained. Therefore on the third of April, 15S4,
'!pope Clement by a bull gave him authority to sup-
press the monastery of St. Frideswide in Oxford,
and in the diocese of Lincoln, and to carry the
monks elsewhere, with a very full non obstante.
^^ ttlte ifcft kJPg gave his assent the nineteenth of

After this there followed many

THE REFORMATION. 45

otlier bulls for other religious houses and rectories book

that were impropriated. These houses being thus ^— ^

suppressed by the law, they belonged to the king ;
who thereupon made them over to the cardinal by
new and special grants, which are all enrolled. And
so he went on with these great foundations, and
brought them to perfection ; that at Oxford in the
eighteenth year, and that at Ipswich in the twen-
tieth year of the king's reign, as appears by the dates
of the king's patents for founding them.

In the last place, I come to shew the new opinions
in religion^ or those that were accounted new then in
England ; and the state and progress of them till the
nineteenth year of the king's reign.

From the days of Wickliffe, there were many that The fint
disliked most of the received doctrines, in several of ^ofom-
parts of the nation. The clergy were at that time ^^^^^^
very hateful to the people ; for as the pope did exact
heavily on them, so they, being oppressed, took all
means possible to make the people repay what the
popes wrested from them. Wickliffe being much
encouraged and supported by the duke of Lancaster
and the lord Piercy, the bishops could not proceed
against him till the duke of Lancaster was put from
the king, and then he was condemned at Oxford.
Many opinions are charged upon him ; but whether
he held them or not we know not but by the testi-
monies of his enemies, who writ of him with so
much passion, that it discredits all they say ; yet he
died in peace, though his body was afterwards burnt.
He translated the Bible out of Latin into English,
with a long preface before it, in which he reflected
severely on the corruptions of the clergy, and con-
demned the worshipping of saints and images, and

46 THE HISTORY OF

BOOR denied the corporal presence of Christ's body in the
— ! — sacrament, and exhorted all people to the study of

the scriptures. His Bible, with this preface, was
well received by a great many, who were led into
these opinions rather by the impressions which com-
mon sense and plain reason made on them, than by
any deep speculation or study. For the followers of
this doctrine were illiterate and ignorant men : some
few clerks joined to them, but they formed not them-*
selves into any body or association ; and were scat*
tered over the kingdom, holding these opinions in
private, without making any public profession of
them : generally they were known \)j their disparag-
ing the superstitious clergy, whose corruptions were
then so notorious, and their cruelty so enraged, that
no wonder the people were deeply prejudiced against
them. Nor were the methods they used likely to
prevail much upon them, being severe and cruel.
S^*onthe ^^ *^^ primitive church, though in their councils
church of they were not backward to pass anathematisms on

Rome.

every thing that they judged heresy, yet all capital
proceedings against heretics were condemned ; and
when two bishops did prosecute Priscillian and his
followers before the emperor Maximus, upon which
they were put totleath, they were generally so blam-
ed for it, that many refused to hold communion
with them. The Roman emperors made many laws
against heretics, for the fining and banishing of them,
and secluded them from the privileges of other sub-
jects ; such as making wills, or« receiving legacies ;
* only the Manichtes (who were a strange mixture

heathenism and Christianity) were to soflfer

•tiieir errors. Yet the bishops in those days^

in Afric, doubted much, whether, upon

THE REFORMATION. 47

the insdencies of heretics or schismatics, th^ m^t book

desire the emperor to execute those laws for fining, 1—

banishingy and other restraints. And St. Austin was
not easily prevailed on to consent to it. But at
length the Donatists were so intolerable, that, after
several consultations about it, they were forced to
consent to those inferior penalties, but still con-*
demned the taking away of their lives. And even
in the execution of the imperial laws in those infe-
rior punishments, they were always interposing, to
moderate .the severity of the prefects and governors*
The first instance of severity on men's bodies, that
was not censured by the diurch, was in the fifth
century, under Justin the First, who ordered the
tmigae of Severus (who had been patriarch of Anti-
och, but did daily anathematize the council of Chal-
cedon) to be cut out. In the eighth century, Justi->
nian the Second (called Rhinotmetus from his cropt
nose) burnt all the Manichees in Armenia : and in
the end of the eleventh century, the Bc^mili were
condemned to be burnt by the patriarch and council
of Constantinople.' But in the end of the twelfth,
and in the b^inning of the thirteenth century, a
company of simple and innocent persons in the
sourthem parts of France, being disfgusted with the
corruptions both of the popish clergy and of the
public worship, separated from their assemblies ; and
then Dominic and his brethren-preachers, who came
among them to convince them, finding their preach-
ing did not prevail, betook themselves to that way
that was sore to silence them. They persuaded the
civil magistrates to bum all such as were judged ob-
stinate heretics. That they might do this by a law,
the fourth council of Liateran did decree, that all he?

4a THE HISTORY OF

BOOK letics should be ddivered to the secular power to be
«— I — extirpated ; (they thought not fit to speak out, but
bjr the practice it was known that burning was that
which they meant ;) and if they did it not, they
were to be excommunicated ; and after that» if they
still refused to do their duty, (which was upcm the
matter to be the inquisitor's hangmen,) they were to
deny it at their utmost perils. For not only the ec-
desiastical censures, but anathemas were thought too
feeble a punishment for this omission. Therefore a
censure was found out, as severe upon the i»inoe^ as
burning was to the poor heretic : he was to he de-
posed by the pope, his subjects to be absohedjram
their oaths of allegiance^ and hie dominions to be
given away to any other faithful son f(fihe chmreh^
such as pleased the pope best; and all this by the
authority of a synod, that passed for a ho^ general
council. This, as it was fatal to the counts of Tho-
louse, who were great princes in the south of nrance^
and first fell under the censures ; so it was terrible
to all other princes, who thereupon, to save them*
selves, delivered up their subjects to the mercy of
the ecclesiastical courts.
Tits Her- Buming was the death they made choice of, be-
Nftt. Bre- cause wltches, wizards, and Sodomites had been so
executed. Therefore, to make heresy appear a ter-
rible thing, this was thought the most proper punish-
ment of it. It had also a resemblance of everiasting
biuming, to which they adjudged their souls, as weU
as their bodies, were condemned to the fire; but
with this signal difference, that they could find no
such effectual way to oblige God to execute their
sentence, as they contrived against the civil magifr-
But however, they confidently gave it out,

fiuiu.

THE BEFOBMATION. 49

that, bjr virtue of that protohie of our Saviour^ book
fFAaie mm pe himd on earth, they are hound in ''
heaicem, thdr deof^es were ratified in heaven. And
it not being eaij to diqvrove what they said, people
believed the one» as they saw the other sentence ex-
ecuted. So that whatever they condemned as heresy
was looked on as the worst thing in the world.

There was no occasion for the execution of this
law in England tin the days of Wickliffe. And the
fiftvour he had from some great men stopped the pro-

u,.^i

against lum. But in the fifth year of king The ]«wb of
Bkliard the ScccmmI, a bill paraed in the house of|^^
locds, and was' asiented to by the king^ and pub-^**^^
lished fiir an act of pariiamenty though the bill was
never sent to the house of eomoMins. By this pre-Uoder
tended law it appearsp Wicklifie's foUowers were
then very numerous ; that they had a certain haUt,
and did preach in many {daces, both in churches,
dunrdiyardsy and markets, without license firom the
ordinary; and did preach several doctrines, both
against the fidth, and the laws of the land, as had
been proved \xSore the archbishop of Canterbury,
the other bishops, prelates, doctors of divinity, and
of the civil and canon law, and others of the clergy :
that they would not submit to the admonitions nor
censures of the churoh ; but by their subtle ingeni-
ous wQfds did draw the people to follow them, and
defend them by stnn^ hand, and in great routs.
Therefinre it was ordained, that, upon the bishop's
certifying into the chancery the names of such
preachers and their abettors, the chancellor should
issue finrth commissions to the sheriffs and other the
king's ministers, to hold them in arrest and strong
prison, till they should jMf{^ them according to the

VOL. I. E

50 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK law and reason of holy dmrcli. Fiom the gentleness

! of which law it may ai^iear, that England was not

then so tame as to bear the severity of those cruel
laws which were settled and put in execution in
other kingdoms.
Coke's In- 'Hie custom at that time was to engross copies of
'***vmn! ^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^ parliament, and to send them with a
cbsp. 5. of ^irrit under the great seal to the sheriffs, to make
them be proclaimed within their jurisdictions. And
Robert Braibrook, bishop of London, then lord chan-
cellor, sent this, with the other acts of that parlia-
ment, to be - proclaimed. The writ bears date the
6^ Rkb. twenty-sixth of May, 5^ r^. But in the next par-
"^nb^ss'. liament that was held in the sixth year of that king's
Rat. pui. |iieign, the commons preferred a bill reciting the for-
mer act, and constantly affirmed that they had never
assented to it, and therefore desired it might be de-
clared to be void: for they protested it was never
their intent to \)e Justified, and to bind thenuehes
and their successors to the prelates mare than their
ancestors had done in times past. To which the king
gave the royal assent, as it is in the records of parlia^
ment. But in the proclamation of the acts of that par-
liament this act was suppressed ; so that the former
act was still looked on as a good law, and is printed
in the book of statutes. Such pious frauds were
always practised by the popish clergy, and were in-
deed necessary for the supporting the credit of that
church. When Richard the Second was deposed, and
Another the CTown usurped by Henry the Fourth, then he, in
ki»g Hen^ gratitude to the clergy that assisted him in his com-
'^' ing to the crown, granted them a law to their hearts

content in the second year of his reign. The pre-
amble bears, That some had a new faith about the

I

THE REFORMATION. 51

saeramenta qftheckurch, and tke autkariiy iff the book

mhm; and^ preach without authority y gtMerei 1_

eamf^entidee^ taught sehaob, wrote hooke agmnet
the tMhelieJmth ; with mamjf ether heinous aggro-
vatieme. Upon which theprekUee and eletgy, and
the commane qfthe realmy prayed the ting to pro^
^nde a sufficient remedy to 90 great an etU. There^
fore the hing^ hyihe assent qfAe states, and other
discreet men ^the realm, being in the saidparUa^
ment, did ordain, That none should preach without
license, except per sons privileged : that none should
preach emy doctrine contrary to the eatiioUc fai&,
or ike determsnation f^ihe holy church, and that .
none dkouldjaotmr and abet them, nor heep their
boois, but deliver Aem to tke iUocesan t^the place,
wiMn farty days after the proclamation qf that
statute. And Aat if amy persons were doomed,
or suspected f^ doing against that ordinance, then
the ordinary might arrest them, and keep them in
his prison till they were canonicaUy purged of the
articles laid agmnet them, or did allure them ae-
cordi$ig to the laws of the church. Provided always,
that the proceedings against them were publicly and
judicially done and ended within three months afUr
they had been so arrested; and ifAey were con^
viet, the diocesan, or his commissaries, might keep
Aem in prison as long as to his discretion shall
seem expedient, and might ^ne them as should seem
con^tent to him, certifying the fine into the hinges
exckequer : and (fany being convict did refuse to
allure, or after al^mralion did faU into relapse,
then he was to be U^ to the secular court, accord^
ing to the hdly caitoM. And the mayors, sheriffs,
or bailiffs were tifbe personally present at the pass-

E 2

vium.

5« THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ing the sentence when they should be required by

'^^—ihe diocesan f or his commissaries^ and tifter the

sentence they were to receive them, and them be-
fore the "people in a high place do to be brent. By
this statute the sheriffs, or other officers, were in^
mediately to proceed to the burning of heretics with-
out any writ, or warrant from the king. But it
seems the king^s learned council advised him to issue
out a writ, De hteretico comburendo, upon what
grounds of law I cannot tell. For in the same year,
when William Sautre (who was the first that was
put to death upon the account of heresy) was judged
riu-Her- relapse by Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canter-
tmBnT bury, in a convocation of his province, and thereupon
was d^raded from priesthood, and left to secular
power ; a writ was issued out to bum him, which in
the writ is called the customary punishment, (relat-
ing, it is like, to the customs that were beyond sea.)
But this writ was not necessary by the law, and
therefore it seems these writs were not enrolled:
for in the whole reign of king Henry the Eighth J
have not been able to find any of these writs in the
rolls. But by Warham's register I see the common
course of the law was, .to certify into the chancery
the conviction of an heretic, upon which the writ
was issued out, if the king did not send a pardon.
Thus it went on all the reign of Henry the Fourth.
But in the beginning of his son^s reign, there was a
conspiracy (as was pretended) by sir John Oldcastle,
and some others, against the king and the dergy ;
upon which many were put into prison, and twenty-
nine were both attainted of treason, and condemned
of heresy, so they were both hanged and burnt.
But, as a writer that lived in the following age says.

THE REFORMATION. <S

Certain.qfirimed tkat these were but^ei^^ book

eunmued qf the epkituality more tff dUpleanre ^^.1^^
than truth. * That contpincjr^ whether real or pre-
tendedt produced a severe act against those heretics,
who were then best known by the name of Lollards.
By which act all officers of state, judges, justices of
the peace, mayors, sheriffs, and bailiffs, were to be
sworn, when they took their employments, to use
their whole power and diligence to destroy all here-
sies and errors, called Lollardles, and to assist the
ordinaries and their commissaries in their prooeedp*
ings against them ; and that the Lollards should fixr<«
&Et an the lands they held in Jee simple, and their
goods aikl chatteb to the king.

The clergy, according to the genius of that reli-
gion, having their authority fortified with such se-
vere laws, were now more cruel and insolent than
ever. And if any man denied them any part of that
respect, or of those advantages, to which they pre-
tended, he was presently brought Under the suspicion
of heresy, and vexed with imprisonments, and arti-
cles were brought against him.

Upon which great complaints followed. And the
judges, to correct this, granted habeas carpus upon
their imprisonments, and examined the warrants,
and either bailed or discharged the prisoners as they
saw cause : for though the decrees of the church had
made many things heresy, so that the clergy had
much matter to work upon; yet when offenders
against them in other things could not be charged
with any formal heresy, then by consequences they
studied to fasten it on them, but were sometimes

vvemikd by the judges. Thus, when one Keyser Fifth year
(who was excommunicated by Thomas Bourchier,iv. "^^

£ S

54 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK archbishop of Canterbury, at the suit of another)
— '. — said openly, that That sentence was not to hefoar^
ed; for though the archbishop or his commissary had
excommunicated him, yet he was not excommunl'
cated before God ; he was upon this committed by
the archbishop's warrant, as one justly suspected of
heresy : but the judges, upon his moving for an Ao-
beas corpus, granted it; and the prisoner being
brought to the bar, with the warrant for his impri-
sonment, they found the matter contained in it was
not within the statute, and first bailed him, and after
that they discharged him. One Warner of London,
having said, ITuit he was not bound to pay tithes to
his curate, was also imprisoned by Edward Vaugham
at the command of the bishop of London ;' but he
escaped out of prison, and brought his action of falsei
imprisonment against Vaughan. Whereupon Vaughan
pleading the statute of Henry the Fourth, and that
his opinion was an heresy against the determination
of the catholic faith, the court of the common pleas
judged. That the words were fiot within the statute,
and that his opinion was an error, but no heresy.
So that the judges, looking on themselves as the in-
terpreters of the law, thought, that even in the case
of heresy they had authority to declare what was he-
resy by the law, and what not : but what opposition'
the clergy made to this, I do not know.

I hope the reader will easily excuse this digress
sion, it being so material to the history that is to
follow. I shall next set down what I find in the re-'
cords about the proceedings against heretics in the
of this reign.

of May, in the year 1511, six meq
most of them being of Tenterden,

THE REFORMATION. 65

appeared before archbishop Warham, in his manor book
of KnoU, and abjured the following errors. - First,

That in the sacrament of the altar is not the body j^J^
of Christ, but material bread. Secondly, That the^~^^^'
sacraments of baptism and confirmation are not ne*
cessarj nor profitable for men's souls. Thirdly, That
confession of sins ought not to be made to a priest,
l^durthly. That there is no more power given by
God to a priest than to a layman. Fifthly, That the
soleAinization of matrimony is not profitable nor ne-
cessaiy for the well of man's soul. Sixthly, That
the sacrament of extreme unction is not profitable
nor necessary for man's soul. Seventhly, That pil-
grimi^es to holy and devout places be not profitable,
neither meritorious for man's soul. Eighthly, That
images of saints be not to be worshipped. Ninthly,
That a man should pray to no saint, but only to
Crod. Tenthly, That holy water and holy bread be
not the better after the benediction made by the
priest, than before. And as they abjured these opin-
ions, so they were made to swear, that they should
discover all whom they knew to hold these errors, or
who were suspected of them, or that did keep any
private conventicles, or were fautors, or comforters
of them that published such doctrines. Two other
men of Tenterden did that day in the afternoon ab-
jure most of these opinions. The court sat again
the fifth of May, and the archbishop enjoined them
penance, to wear the badge of a fagot in flames on
their clothes during their lives, or till they were dis-
pensed with for it ; and that in the procession, both
at the cathedral of Canterbury, and at their own pa-
rbh churches, they should carry a fagot op th^ir

E 4

56 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK shoulders : which was looked on as a puUic confess
L. sion that they deserved burning.

r

That same day another of Tenterden abjured the
same doctrines. On the fifteenth of May the court
sat at Lambeth, where four men and one wimiaii
abjured. On the nineteenth four men more ab«
jured. On the third of June a man and a woman
abjured. Another woman the twenty-sixth of July.
Another man the twenty-ninth of July. Two wo-
men on the second of August. A man on the thirdf
and a woman on the eighth of August. Three men
on the sixteenth of August ; and three men and
a woman on the third of September. In these abju-
rations some were put to abjure more» some fewer of
the former doctrines ; and in some of their abjura-
tions two articles more were added : First, That the
images of the crucifix, of our Lady, and other saints,
ought not to be worshipped, because they were made
with men's hands, and were but stocks and stones.
Secondly, That money and labours spent in pilgri-
mages were all in vain. All these persons {whether
they were unjustly accused, or were overcome with
fear, or had but crude conceptions of those opinions,
and so were easily frighted out of them) abjured and
performed the penance that was enjoined them.
Others met with harder measure ; for on the twenty^
ninth of April, in the same year 1511, one WilUam
Carder of Tenterden being indicted on the former
articles, he denied them all but one, T%at he kmd
said it was enough to pray to Ahmghtff God ahm^
and therefore we needed not to pray to saints Jor
any mediation. Upon which witnesses were brought
against him, who were all such as were then prison-

i

T

THE REFORMATION. «7

, but intended to abjure, and were now made ute book
tOL convict others. They swore that he had taught '
m these opimoiis. When their depositions were
blishedy he said he did repent if he had said any
ng against the fiuth and the sacraments ; but he
L not remember that he had ever said any such
ng. Sentence was given upon .him as an obstinate
petic, and he was delivered up to the secular power.
I the same day a woman, Agnes GreviU, was ita*
tad upon the same artkdes. She pleaded Not
Sty ; but, by a strange kind of proceeding, her
iband and her two sons were brought in wit-
■es against her. Her husband deposed, that in the
1 of the reign of king Edward the Fourth, one
Im Ive had persuaded her into these opinions, in
ocfa she had persisted ever since: her sons also
posed, that she had been still inftising these doc*
DCS into them. One Robert Harrison was also in-
ied, and pleading Not guilty, witnesses did prove
t articles against him. And on the second of May
itence was given against these two as obstinate
retics. And the same day the archbishop signed
i writs for certifying these sentences into the chan*
7, which conclude in these words : Our holy mo-
tr ike church having nothing Jurther that ^he
w do in this matter, we leave the Jorementioned
reiiee, and every one qfthem, to your royal high-
u, and to your eecular council. And on the eighth
May, John Brown and Edward Walker, being

0 indicted of heresy on the former points, they
th fdeaded Not guilty. But the witnesses depos-

1 against them, they were judged obstinate here-
8 ; and the former a relapse, for he had abjured
fore cardinal Morton. And on the nineteenth of

58 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK May sentence was given. When or how the'sen-^

— -^ — tences were executed, I cannot find. Sure I am,

there are no pardons upon record for any of them ;

and it was the course of the law, either to send a

pardon, or to issue out the writ for burning them.

Fox mentions none of these proceedings; only
he tells that John Brown was taken for some words
said in discourse with a priest, about the saying of
masses for redeeming souls out of purgatory. Upon
which he was committed for suspicion of heresy:
but Fox seems to have been misinformed about the
time of his burning, which he says was anno 1517 ;
for they would not have kept a condemned heretic
six years out of the fire. I never find them guilty
of any such clemency. These severe sentences made
the rest so apprehensive of their danger, that all the
others who were indicted abjured. And in the
year 1512, on the fifth of June, two men and two
women abjured that article. That in the sacrament
of the altar there was only material bread, and not
the body of Christ. And on the fourth and thir-
teenth of September, two other women abjured the
former articles : and this is all that is in Warham's
register aI)out heretics.
Fitz. In what remains of Fitz-James, bishop of Lon-

•hJ!J"f ' don's register, there are but three abjurations. In
\rX' *he year 1509, one Elizabeth Sampson, of Alder-
••«^|ngi manbury, was indicted for having spoken reproach-
iwretiw, fully of the imagcs of our lady of Wilsden, Crom,
and Walsingham, condemning pilgrimages to them,
and saying. It was better to give alms at home to
poor people, than to go on pilgrimages; and that
images were but stocks and stones ; and denying the
of the sacrament of the altar, when the priest

THE REFORMATION. 59

was not in clean life, and saying, It was but bread, book

and that Christ could not be both in heaven and^— !

in earth ; and for denying Christ's ascension to hea-
ven, and saying. That more should not go to heaven
than were already in it. But she, to be free of fur- ,
ther trouble, confessed herself guilty, and abjured all
those opinions. It is generally observed, that in the
proceedings against Lollards, the clergy always mix-
ed some capital errors, which dl Christians rejected,
with those for which they accused them ; and some
particulars being proved, they gave it out that they
were guilty of them all, to represent them the more
odious. And in this case the thing is plain : for
this woman is charged for denying Christ's ascen-
sion ; and yet another of the articles was, That she
said Christ's body could not be in the sacrament,
because it could not be both in heaven and on earth.
Which two opinions are inconsistent. In the year
1511 William Potier was indicted for saying. There
were three Gods, and that he knew not for what
Christ's passion, or baptism, availed ; and did abjure.
Whether he only spoke these things impiously, or
whether he held them in opinion, is not clear ; but
certainly he was no Lollard. One Joan Baker was
also made to abjure some words she had said, Th^t
images were but idols, and not to be worshipped ;
and that they were set up by the priests out of co-
vetousness, that they might grow rich by them ;
and that pilgrimages were not to be made. More
is not in that register : but Fox gives an account of
six others, who were burnt in Fitz-James his time.
On this I have been the longer, that it may appear
what were the opinions of the Lollards at that time,
before Luther had published any thing against the

60 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK indulgences. For these opinions did very mudi dis-
: — pose people to receive the writings which came af-

terwards out of Germany.
^/JT ^^^ ^^^ beginnings and progress of Luther^s
Luther** doctrine are so well known, that I need not tell how,
upon the publishing of indulgences in Germany, in
so gross a manner, that for a little money any man
might both preserve himself, and deliver his friends
out of purgatory. Many were offended at this mer-
chandise, against which Luther wrote. But it con-
cerning the see of Rome in so main a point of their
prerogative, which would also have cut off a great
branch of their revenue, he was proceeded against
with extreme severity : so small a spark as that colli-
sion made could never have raised so great a fire^ if
the world had not been strongly disposed to it by the
just prejudices they had conceived against the popish
clergy, whose ignorance and lewd lives had laid
them so open to contempt and hatred, that any one
that would set himself against them, could not but be
kindly looked on by the people. They had engrossed
the greatest part both of the riches and power of
Christendom, and lived at their ease and in much
wealth. And the corruptions of their worship
and doctrine were such, that a very small proportion
of common sense, with but an overly looking on the
New Testament, discovered them. Nor had they any
other varnish to colour them by, but the authority
and traditions of the church. But when some studious
men began to read the ancient fathers and councils,
(though there was then a great mixtm*e of sophisti-
cated stuff that went under the ancient names, and
joined to their true works, which critics have
iijdiscovered to be spurious,) they found a vast

THE REFORMATION. 61

difference between the first five ages of the Chris- book
tian church, in which piety and learning prevailed, '
and the last ten ages, in which ignorance had buried
all their former learning ; onlj a little misguided de-
votion was retained for six of these ages; and in
the last four, the restless ambition and usurpation
of the popes was supported by the seeming holiness
of the begging friars, and the false counterfeits of
learning, which were among the canonists, school-
men, and casuists. So that it was incredible to see
how men, notwithstanding all the opposition the
princes every where made to the prepress of these
reputed new opinions, and the great advantages by
which the church of Rome both held and drew
many into their interests, were generally inclined
to these doctrines. Those of the clergy, who at first
preached them, were of the begging orders of friars,
who having fewer engagements on them from their
interests, were freer to discover and follow the truth :
and the austere discipline they had been trained
under, did prepare them to encounter those diffi-
culties that lay in their way. And the laity, that
had long looked on their pastors with an evil eye,
did receive these opinions very easily ; which did
both discover the- impostures with which the world
had been abused, and shewed a plain and simple
way to the kingdom of heaven, by putting the
scriptures into their hands, and such other instruc-
tions about religion as were sincerie and genuine. The
clergy, who at first despised these new preachers,
were at length much alarmed when they saw all peo-
ple running after them, and receiving their doctrines.
As these things did spread much in Germany,
Switzerland, and the Netheriands, so their books

es THE HISTORY OF

BOOK came over into England, where there was modi mat-
^^r already prepared to be wrought on» not only

by the prejudices they had conceived agiunrt^the
corrupt clergy, but by the opinions of. the Lollards,
which had been now in England since the days of
Wickliffe, for about one hundred and fiAy years : be-
tween which opinions, and the doctrines of the re-
formers, there was great affinity ; and therefore, to
give the better vent to the books that came out of
Germany, many of them were translated into the
English tongue, and were very much read and ajK-
plauded. This quickened the proceedings against
the Lollards, and the inquiry became so severe, that
great numbers were brought into the toils of the bi-
shops and their commissaries. If a man had spoken
but a light word against any of the constitutions of
the church, he was seized on by the bishop's officers;
and if any taught their children the Lord's Plrayer,
the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed,
in the vulgar tongue, that was crime enough to bring
them to the stake : as it did six men and a wonian
FoK. at Coventry, in the Passion week, 1519, being the
fourth of April. Longland, bishop of Lincoln, was
very cruel to all that were suspected of heresy in his
diocese: several of them abjured, and some were
burnt.

But all that did not produce what they designed
by it. The clergy did not correct their own faults ;
and their cruelty was looked on as an evidence of
guilt, and of a weak cause ; so that the method they
took wrought only on people's fears, and made them
cautious and reserved, but did not at all remove
cause, nor work either on their reasons or affec-
ts.

THE REFORMATION. 63

Upon all this, the king, to get himself a name, and book
to have a lasting interest with the clergy, thought

it not enough to assist them with his authority, but Inte!!'"^
would needs turn their champion, and write ^^i^st J^^"'^""
Luther in defence of the seven sacraments. This
book was magnified by the clergy as the most
learned work that ever the sun saw ; and he was
compared to king Solomon, and to all the Christian
emperors that had ever been : and it was the chief
subject of flattery for many years, besides the glo-
rious title of Defender of the Faith, which the pope
bestowed on him for it. And it must be acknow-
ledged, that, considering the age, and that it was
the work of a king, it did deserve some commenda^
tion. But Luther was not at all daunted at it, but
rather valued himself upon it, that so great a king
had entei^ the lists with him, and answered his
book. And he replied, not without a large mixture
of acrimony, for which he was generally blamed, as
foi^getting that great respect that is due to the per-
sons of sovereign princes.

But all would not do. These opinions still gained
more footing ; and William Tindal made a transla-
tion of the New Testament in English, to which he
added some short glosses. This was printed in
Antwerp, and sent over into England in the year
1526. Against which there was a prohibition pub-octob. 13.
lished by every bishop in his diocese, bearing thatf^f.'45."'
some of Luther's followers had erroneously trans- JJ^at in fL
lated the New Testament, and had corrupted theJ^[J^"**"
word of God, both by a false translation, and by he-
retical glosses: therefore they required all incum-
bents to charge all within their parishes, that had
any of these, to bring them in to the vicar-general

64 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK within thirty dajs after that premonition, under the
paina of excommunication, and incurring the sus-

picion of heresy. There were also many other books

prohibited at that time, most of them written by

Tindal. And sir Thomas More, who was a man

couect. celebrated for virtue and learning, undertook the

Numb. D. ^

answering of some of those; but, before he went
about it, he would needs have the bishop's license
for keeping and reading them. He wrote, according
to the way of the age, with much bitterness : and
though he had been no friend to the monks, and a
great declaimer against the ignorance of the clergf,
and had been ill used by the cardinal ; yet he was
one of the bitterest enemies of the new preachers ;
not without great cruelty when he came into power,
though he was otherwise a very good-natured man.
So violently did the Roman clergy hurry all their
friends into those excesses of fire and sword.

When the party became so considerable, that it
was known there were societies of them, not only in
London, but in both the universities, then the cardi-
nal was constrained to act. His contempt of the
clergy was looked on as that which gave encourage-
ment to the heretics. When reports were brou^t
to court of a company that were in Cambridge, Bil-
ney, Latimer, and others, that read and propagated
Luther's book and opinions; some bishops moved,
in the year 1523, that there might be a visitation
appointed to go to Cambridge, for trjring who were
the fautors of heresy there. But he, as legate, did
inhibit it, (upon what grounds I cannot imagine,)
which was brought against him afterwards in par-
(art. 48. of his impeachment.) Yet when
were spread every where, he called

THE REFORMATION. 05

a meetiiig of ill the Ushopa, dnd divines, and ca- book
nonisU about L(mdon ; where Thomas Bilney and '
Thomas Arthmr were brought before them, and ar«
tides were brought in against them. The whole
process is set down at length by Fox, in all points
aocording to Tonstidl's Roister, except one fault in
the translation. When the cardinal asked Bilney
whether he had not taken an oath before, not to
preachy or defend any of Luther's doctrines ; he con-
fessed he had done it, but not judicially , (JudickUi-
ter in the Register.) This Fox translates, not law-
fidig. In all the other particulars there is an ex-
act agreement between the Register and his Acts.
The sum of the proceedings of the court was. That
after examination of witnesses, and several other
steps in the process, which the cardinal left to
the bishop of London, and the other bishops, to
manage, Bilney stood out long, and seemed re-
solved to suffer for a good conscience. In the end,
what through human infirmity, what through the
great importunity of the bishop of London, who set
all his friends on him, he did abjure on the seventh
of December, as Arthur had done on the second of
that month. And though Bilney was relapsed, and
so was to expect no mercy by the law, yet the bishop
rf London enjoined him penance, and let him go.
For Tonstall being a man both of good learning and
an unblemished lUe, these virtues produced one of
their ordinary effects in him, great moderation, that
was so eminent in him, that at no time did he dip
his hands in blood. Geoffry, Loni, and Thomas
Gerrard^ also abjured for having had Luther's books,
and defending his opinions.
These were the proceedings against heretics in

VOL. I. F

66 HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION.

BOOK the first haff of this rdgn. And thus £Eur I have
^' opened the state of affairs, both as to religious and
civil concerns, for the first eighteen years of this
king's time, with what observations I could gather
of the dispositions and tempers of the nation at that
time, which prepared them for the changes that fol-
lowed afterwards.

THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK.

THE

HISTORY

OF THB

REFORMATION
CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Of the procesi of divorce betu>een king Henry and queen
Katharitte, and of what patted Jrom the nineteenth to the
twenty-_^iflh year ij/* hit reign, in which he was declared
tupreme head of the- church {^England.

King Henry hitherto lived at ease, and enjoyed book
his pleasures ; he made war with much honour, and _

that always produced a just and advantageous peace. '^^*^
He had no trouUe upon him in all his affairs, except *■" '"it °f
about the getting of money, and even in that the
cardinal eased him. But now a domestic trouble
arose, which poplexed all the rest of his government,
and drew after it consequences of a higher nature.

Henry the Seventh, upon wise and good consi'

derations, resolved to link himself in a close coniede-

ncy with Ferdinand and Isabella, kings of Casdle

F a

68 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and Arragon, and with the house of Burgundy
''* against France, which was looked on as the lasting

1501. and dangerous enemy of England. And therefore
'^J^ a match was agreed on between his son, prince Ar-
princeAr- thur, and Katharine, the infanta erf Spain, whose

thur to the ' r ^

infanu of eldcst sistcr Joan was married to Philip, that was

Spain.

then duke of Burgundy, and earl of Flanders ; out
of which arose a triple alliance between England,
Spain, and Burgundy, against the king of France,
who was then become formidable to all about him-
There was given with her 200,000 ducats, the great-
est portion that had been given for many ages with
any princess, which made it not the less acceptable
to king Henry the Seventh.

The infanta was brought into England, and on
the fourteenth of November was married at St. Paul's
to the prince of Wales. They lived together as man
and wife till the second of April following ; and not
See the de- only had their bed solemnly blest when they were
witoeoet in put iu it, ou the night of their marriage, but also
u!rt."^ were seen publicly in bed for several days after, and
went down to live at Ludlow Castle in Wales, where
they still bedded together. But prince Arthur,
Prince Ar. though a strong and healthful youth when he mar-
death, Apr. ried her, yet died soon after, which smne thought
a* »5oa. ^^g hastened by his too early marriage. The l^ian-
ish ambassador had by his master's orders taken
proofe of the consummation of the m^uriage, and
sent them into Spain ; the young prince also him-
self had by many expressions given his servants
cause to believe, that his marriage was consum-
mated the first night, which in a youth of sixteen
years of age, that was vigorous and healthful, was
not at all judged strange. It was so constantly be*

r

THE REFOBMATION. 09

Ueved, that, when he died, his younger brother book
Heniy duke of York was not caH^ prince of Wales

for some considerable time : some say for one month,- ^^® ' *
some for six months. And he was not created prince Henry vii.
of Wales, till ten months were elapsed, viz. in the
February following/ when it was apparent that his
brother's wife was not with cliild by him. These
things were afterwards looked on as a full demon-
stratioii (being as much as the thing was capable of)
that the princess' was not a vii^in after prince Ar-
thur's death.
But the reason of state still standing for keepinir contuita.

tioof about

up the alliance against France, and king Henry theftteamd
Seventh having no mind to let so great a revenue ^helnS^to
as she had in jointure be carried out of the kingdmn, [^ ^"^
it was [nroposed. That she should be married to the
younger brother Henry, now prince of Wales. The
two prelates that were then in greatest esteem with
king Henry the Seventh were Warham, archbishop
of Canterbury, and Fox, bishop of Winchester.
The former delivered his opinion against it, andwarhMi**
told the king, that he thought it was neither ho-iaTd!!Her-
nourable nor well-pleasing to Grod. The bishop of ^'^^
Winchester persuaded it; and for the objections
that were against it, and the murmuring of the peo-
ple, who did not like a marriage that was disput-
able, lest out of it new wars should afterwards arise
about the right of the crown, the pope's dispensation
was thought sufficient to answer all; and his au-
thority was then so undisputed that it did it effec-
tually. So a bull was obtained on the twenty-sixth it u aiiow.
of December, 1508, to this effect, That the pope, ac- ^^ coi-
carding to the greatness of his authority, having ^^J^\
received a petition Jrom prince Henry and the

f8

70 THE HISTORY OF

ooK princess Katharine, bearings That whereas the

_J princess was lawfully married to prince Arthur,

^^'' {which was perhaps consummated by the carnalis
copula,) who was dead without any issue, but they,,
being desirous to marry for preserving the peiaee
between the crowns of England and Spain^ did
petition his holiness for his dispensation; ihere-^
fore the pope, out (f his care to maintain peace
among all catholic kings, did absolve them from
all censures under which they might be, and dis--
pensed unth the impediment of their qffinity, not-
withstanding any apostolical constitutions or ordi-
nances to the contrary, and gave them leave to
marry ; or if they were already married, he con-
firming it, required their confessor to etfjoin them
some healthful penance for their having married
before the dispensation was obtained.
Mnpoii. It was not much to be wondered at, that the
Bt.'*Ld. POP^ did readily grant this ; for though very many,
prbert. y^^^y^ Cardinals and divines, did then oppose it, yet
the interest of the papacy, which was preferred to
all other considerations, required it. For as that
pope, being a great enemy to Lewis the Twelfth,
the French king, would have done any thing to
make an alliance against him firmer ; so he was a
warlike pope, who considered religion very little,
and therefore might be easily persuaded to confirm
a thing that must needs oblige the succeeding kings
of England to maintain the papal authority, since
from it they derived their title to the crown ; little
thinking that by a secret direction of an overruling
Providence, that deed of his would occasion the ex-
tirpation of the papal power in England. So strangely
doth God make the devices of men become of no

M
«

M

M
M

THE REFORMATION. 71

effiectp and turn them t»a contrary end to that which book
18 intended. •'

Upon this bull they were married, the prince of •^^'*
Wales being yet under age. But Warham had so tJHuI^^
possessed the king with an aversion to this marriage, 1505!^
that, on the same day that the prince was of age, he
by his fiither's command, laid^on him in the presence
of many of the notuUty and others, made a protesta- conect
tion in the hands of Fox, bishop of Winchester, be-j^^i;;
fixre a public notary, and read it himself, by which
be dedaredf **That whereas he, being under age,
was married to the ^ncess Katharine ; yet now, t

coming to be 4)f age, he did not confirm that mar-
riage, but retracted and annulled it, and would
not proceed in it, but intended in full form of law
'* to void it and break it ofi*; which he declared he
did fi'eely and of his own accord."
Thus it stood during his father's life, who con- His father
tinned to the last to be against it ; and when he was t^tdit,
just djring, he charged his son to break it off, though
it is possible that no consideration of religion might
work so much on him, as the apprehension he had
of the troubles that might follow on a controverted
title to the crown ; of which the wars between the
houses of York and Lancaster had given a fresh and
sad demonstration. The king being dead, one ofApr.aa,
the first things that came under consultation was, He?iV vif.
that the young king must either break his marriage ^'
totally, or conclude it. Arguments were brought Henry, be.
on both hands ; but those for it prevailed most with the ^^^
the king : so, six weeks after he came to the crown, jlTiJI^'j.***''
he was married again publicly, and soon after they ^^y ^^
were both crowned. On the first day of the year June 24!
she made him a very acceptable new year's gift of a^ j^"''

78 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK son, but he died in the Febnuurj thereafter: die
' miscarried often, and another son died soon after he

1511. ^ng bom; onlj the ladj Mary lived to a perficct
aa. age.

^^i;^^^ In this state was the king's fiEimily what the
diMNof. queen left bearing more children, and contracted
lid^Mary somc discascs that made her person unacceptable
^"|>^^ to him; but was, as to her other qualities, a vir-
tuous and grave princess, much esteemed and be-

1518. loved both of the king and the whole tiaticm. The
'j^^' king, being out of hopes of more children, dedared
lortg. his daughter princess of Wales, and sent her to
Ludlow to hold her court there, and projected divers
Hn dMigh. matches tar her. The first was with the ddlfAin,
I^Mitn!^ which was agreed to between the king of France
^i^o^r ^°^ ^^^ ^^^ ninth of November, 1518, as aj^iears by
"- the treaty yet extant. But this was brc&en after-

1

wards upon the king's confederating with the em-
peror against France, and a new match agreed and
AftwwMib sworn to between the emperor and the kinir at

to the cm- '^ ^

peror.june Wiudsor the twenty-sccoud of June, 15SS, the em-
' ' peror bemg present in person. This being after-
wards n^lected and broken by the emperor, by the
advice of his cortes and states, as was formerly re-
oaBRd to lated, there followed some overtures of a marriage
Sept. 1514- with Scotland. But those also vanished ; and there
Agaiato was a sccoud treaty b^un with France, the king
Apni 3^ offering his daughter to Francis himself, which he
'^'^' gladly accepting, a match was treated : and on the
last of April it was agreed, that the lady Mary
Forkmg should bc given in marriage either to Francis him^
kuMeif, or self, or to his second son the duke of Qrleance ; and
tke dakHr ^hat alternative was to be determined by the two
kings, at an interview that was to be between them

THE UEFOiniATION- 73

soon after at Calais, with forieitures on both sides if book
the match went not on. '. —

Bat while this was in agitation, the laAop of '^^^'.
Tarbc^ the Ffoich ambassador, made a great demur muTMst
^Kmt the princess. Mary's being ill^timate, as be-brbnign-
gotten in a marriage that was contracted against a*^
divine precept, with which no human authority
could dispense. How far this was secretly concerted
between the French court and ours, or between the
cardinal and the ambassador, is not known. It is '
surmised that the king or the cardinal set on the
French to make this exception publicly, that so the
king might have a tetter colour to justify his suit of
divorce, since other princes were already question-
ing it. For if, upon a marriage proposed of such
infinite advantage to France, as that would be with
the heir of the crown of England, they nevertheless
made exceptions, and proceeded but coldly in it ; it
was very reasonable to expect that, after the king's
death, other pretenders would have disputed her
title in another manner.

To some it seemed strange that the king did offer
his daughter to such great princes as the emperor
and the king c^ France, to whom if Enghind had-
fallen in her right, it must have been a province :
for though, in the last treaty with France, she was
offered either to the king, or hb second son; by
whidi either the children which the king might
hare by her, or the children of the duke of Orleance,
should have been heirs to the crown of England, and
tberebjr it would still have continued divided from
FVance ; yet this was full of hazard : for if the duke
of Orleance by his brother's death should become
king of Frsace, as it afterwards fell out; or if the

74 THE HISTORY OF

»K king of France had been once possessed of ESngland,

then, according to the maxim of the French gaven^

^* ment, that whatever their king acquires, he hdds it
in the right of his crown, England was still to be a
province to France, unless thej freed themselves hy
arms. Others judged that the king intended to
marry her to France, the more effectually to seclude
her from the succession, considering the aversion his
subjects had to a French government, that so he
might more easily settle his bastard son, the duke
of Richmond, in the succession of the crown.
ii( While this treaty went on, the king^s scruples
^ it, about his marriage b^an to take vent. It is said
that the cardinal did first infuse them into him, and
!• made Longland, bishop of Lincoln, that was the
*'"* king's confessor, possess the king's mind with them
in confession. If it was so, the king had, according
to the religion of that time, very just cause of scruide,
when his confessor judged his marriage sinful, and
.the |X)|)e's legate was of the same mind. It is also
said that the cardinal, being alienated from the em-
I)cror, that he might irreparably embroil the king
and him, and unite the king to the French interests,
designed this out of spite ; and that he was also dis-
satisfied toward the queen, who hated him for his
lewd and dissolute life, and had oft admonished and
chci ked him for it : and that he therefore, designing
to engage the king to marry the French king's sister,
the duchess of Alem^^on, did (to make way for that)
set this matter on foot : but as I see no good au-
thority for all this, except the queen^s suspicions, who
did al\er^-ards charge the caHinal as the cause of
all her trouble : so I am inclined to think the king*s
pies wore much ancienter ; for the king dedared

T

T

THE REFORMATION. 75

to Simon Grineus, four years after this, that for book
seven years he had abstained from the queen upon

these scruples, so that by that it seems they had '^^^*
been received into the king's mind three years before to Bacer,
this time. ^^uU

What were the king^s secret motives, and the true ^^^
grounds of his aversion to the queen, is only known Tbe '
to God; and till the discovery of all secrets at thcof bu
day of judgment, most lie hid. But the reasons ^^^^^
which he always owned, of which all human judica-
tories must only take notice, shall be now fiiUy
opened. He found by the law of Moses, if a man
took his hrothef^s wife, they should die childless.
This made him reflect on the death of his children,
whidi he now looked on as a curse from God for
that unlawful marriage. Upon this he set himself
to study the case, and called for the judgments of
the best divines and canonists. For his own inquiry,
Thomas Aquinas being the writer in whose works
he took most pleasure, and to whose judgment he
submitted most, did decide it clearly against him.
For he both concluded, that the laws in Leviticus
about the forbidden degrees of marriage were moral
and eternal, such as obliged all Christians ; and that
the pope could only dispense with the laws of the
church, but could not dispense with the laws of God ;
upon thb reason, that no law can be dispensed with
by any authority but that which is equal to the au-
thority that enacted it. Therefore he infei-s, that
the pope can indeed dispense with all the laws of
the church, but not with the laws of God, to whose
authority he could not pretend to be equal; But as
the king found this from his own private study ; so
having commanded the archbishop of Canterbury to

76 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK require the opinions of the bishops of England, they
all, in a writing under their hands and seals, de-

^^^^; Glared they judged it an unlawful marriage. Onlj
•bopt,'ex. the bishop of Rochester refused to set his hand to it;
d^hJ^iT" and, though the archbishop pressed him most eam-
uniiwfui. gg^jy jQ j^^ y^^ jjg persisted in his refusal, sayings

Cftvendiih that it was against his conscience. Upon which the
woitey. ^ archbishop made another write down his name, and
set his seal to the resolution of the rest of the bi-
shops. But this being afterwards questioned, the
bishop of Rochester denied it was his hand, and the
archbishop pretended that he had leave given him
by the bishop to put his hand to it ; which the other
denied. Nor was it likely that Fisher, who scrupled
in conscience to subscribe it himself, would have
consented to such a weak artifice. But all the other
bishops did declare against the marriage ; and as the
king himself said afterwards in the l^antine court,
ncitlier the cardinal nor the bishop of Lincoln did
first suggest these scruples; but the king, being
|X)ssessoil with them, did in confession propose them
to that bishop ; and added, that the cardinal was so
far from cherishing them, that he did all he could
to stifle them.
Tii< «un. The king was now convinced that his marriage
mv like to ^as unlawful, l)oth by his own study, and the reso-
^'^^^ lution of his divines. And as the point of conscience
wn>ught on him, so the interest of the kingdom re-
quiivil« that there should be no doubting about the
succession to the crown : lest, as the long civil war
lie! ween the houses of York and Lancaster had been
buried with liis father* so a new one should rise up
at his death. The king of ScoUand was the next
heir to the crown after his daughter. And if he

THE REFOHMATION. 77

married his (laughter to any out of France, then he book

had reason to judge, that the French, upon their '■ — .

ancient alliance with Scotland, and that they might
divide and distract England, would be ready to as-
sist the king of Scotland in his pretensions ; or if he
married her in France, then all those in England to
whom the French government was hateful, and the
emperor, and othei- princes, to whom the French
power grew formidable, would have been as ready
to support the pretensions of Scotland : or if he
should either set up his bastard son, or the children
which his sister bore to Charles Brandon, there was
stQl cause to fear a bloody decision of a title that
was so dcHibtful. And thou^ this may aeem a con-
nderatioD too ptriidc and foreign to e matter of that
nature, yet the obligation that lies on a prince to
- provide for the happiness and quiet of his subjects,
was so weighty a thing, that it might well come in,
among other motives, to incline the king much to
have this matter determined^ At this time the car- woIk;
dinal went over into France, under colour to con-^"^*"
dude a league between the two crowns, and to treat ^"!,y>
about the means of setting the pope at liberty, who
was then tbe enfperor's prisoner at Rome ; and also
f<Hr a project of peace between Francis and the em-
peror. But his chief business was to require Francis
to declare his resolutions concerning that alternative
about the lady Mary. To which it was answered,
that tbe duke of Orleance, as a fitter match in years,
was the French king's choice ; but this matter fell
to the ground upon the process that followed soon
after. •

Tbe king did much apprehend the opposition thej^^i^t'*
empenH* was like to make to his designs, either outhap»Bbaut

78 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK of a principle of nature and honour to protect hid
aunt, or out of a maxim of state, to raise his en^ny

^^27. all the trouble he could at home. But on the other
hand he had some cause to hope well even in that
particular. For the question of the unlawfulness of
the match had been first debated in the cortes, or as-
sembly of the states, at Madrid ; and the emperor
had then shewed himself so £Eivourable to it, that he
broke the match (to which he had bound himsdf )
with the princess. Therefore the king had reason
to think that this at least would mitigate his oi^KMd*
tion. The emperor had also used the pope so hardly,
that it could not be doubted that the pope hated
him. And it was believed that he would find the
protection of the king of England most necessary to
secure him^either from the greatness of France or
Spain, who were fighting for the best part of Italy^
which must needs fall into one of their hands.
Therefore the king did not doubt but the pope
would be compliant to his desires. And in this he
was much confirmed by the hopes, or rather assure
ance, which the cardinal gave him of the pope's &-
vour; who, either calculating what was to be ex-
pected from that court on the account of their own
interest, or upon some promises made him, had un-
dertaken to the king to bring that matter about to
Lord Her- his heart's content. It is certain that the cardinal
had carried over with him out of the king's treasure
240,000/. to be employed about the pope's liberty^
But whether he had made a bargain for the divorce,
or had fancied that nothing could be denied him at
Rome, it does not appear. It is dear by many of
his letters, that he had undertaken to the king, that
business should be done ; and it is not like that

THE BEFORMATION. 79

a man of his wisdom would have adventured to do book
that without some good warrant. ^^'

But now that the suit . was to be moved in the ^ ^^^'
oourt of Rome, they were to devise such arguments m«nt8
as were like to be well heard there. It would have ^Sl*
been unacceptable to have insisted on the nullity of
the bull on this account, because the matter of it was
imlawftil, and fell not within the pope's power : for
popes, Uke other princes, do not love to hear the ex-
tent of their prerogative disputed or defined. And
to condemn the bull of a former pope as unlaw-*
fidt was a dangerous precedent at a time when the
pope's authority was rejected by so many in Ger-
many. Therefore the canonists, as well as divines,
were consulted to find such nullities in the bull of
dispensation, as, according to the canon law, and the
proceedings of the rota, might serve to invalidate it
without any dinunution of the papal power. Which
being once done, the marriage that followed upon it.
must needs be annulled. When the canonists ex"
amined the bull, they found much matter to procecfd
upon. It is a maxim in law. That if the pope be
surprised in any thing, and bulls be procured upon
fialse suggestions and untrue premises, they may be
annulled afterwards. Upon which foundation most
of all the processes against pope's bulls were ground-
ed. Now they found by the preamble of this bull
that it was said. The king had desired that he might
be dispensed with to marry the princess. This was
false ; for the king had made no such desire, being
of an age that was below such considerations, but
twelve years old. Then it appeared by the pream-
ble that this bull was desired by the king to preserve
the peace between the king of England, and Ferdi-

80 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK nand and Isabella, (called Elizabetha in the bull,)
the kings of Spain. To which they excepted^ That

1527. {^ ^113 plain this was false, since the king, being then
but twelve years old, could not be supposed to have
such deep speculations, aiid so large a prospect, as to
desire a match upon a politic account. Then it
being also in the bull, that the 'pope's dispensation
was granted to keep peace between the crowns ; if
there was no hazard of any breach or war between
them, this was a false suggestion, by which the pqie
had been made believe, that this match was neces-
sary for averting some great mischief; and it was
known that there was no danger at all of that : and
so this bull was obtained by a surprise. Besides,
both king Henry of England, and Isabella of Spain,
were dead before the king married his queen ; so the
marriage could not be valid by virtue of a bull that
was granted to maintain amity between princes that
were dead before the marriage was consummated :
and they also judged that the protestation, which the
king made when he came of age, did retract any such
pretended desire, that might have been preferred to
the pope in his name ; and that, from that time for-
ward, the bull could have no further operation, since
the ground upon which it was granted, which was
the king's desire, did then cease, any pretended de-
sire before he was of age being clearly annulled
and determined by that protestation after he was of
age ; so that a subsequent marriage, founded upon
the bull, must needs be void,
obty*! These were the grounds upon which the canonists
Jf2n^, advised the process at Rome to be carried on. But
>w^ '* ^^^ *^ amuse or overreach the Spaniard, the king

" to his ambassador in Spain to silence the

THE REFORMATION. 81

noiae.that was made about it in that court. Whe- book

ther the king had then resdved on the person that "'

should succeed the queen, when he had obtained i527t

what he desiredt or not, ia much questioned. Some

suggest, that from the beginning he was taken with

the charms of Anne Boleyn, and that all this process

was moved by the unseen spring of that secret affec-

ticm. Others will have this amour to have been later

in the king's thoughts. How early it came there, at

this distance it is not easy to determine. But before

I say more of it, she being so considerable a person

in the following relation, I shall give some account

of her. Sanders has assured the world, ** That the sudm hb

^ king had a liking to her mother, who was daugh- adm bo^

^ ter to the duke of Norfolk; and to the end that |;;j[|'^;

^^ he might enjoy her with the less disturbance, he

** sent her husband, sir Thomas Boleyn, to be ambas-

*' sador in France : and that, after two years ab-

'* sence, his wife being with child, he came over,

^ and sued a divorce against her in the archbishop

^' of Canterbury's court ; but the king sent the mar-

** quis of Dorset to let him know, that she was with dtls lus.

"* child by him, and that therefore the king desired ^*/!^^*^^

•* he would pass the matter over, and be reconciled J*ore,»

' b<»ok that

^ to his wife : to which he consented. And so Anne wm never

seen by any

** Boleyn, though she went under the name of his bo.17 else.
" daughter, yet was of the king's begetting." As he
describes her, ^ she was ill-shaped and ugly, had six
** fingers, a gag tooth, and a tumour under her chin,
^* with many other unseemly things in her person.
" At the fifteenth year of her age," he says, " both
^ her father's butler and chaplain lay with her :
** afterwards she was sent to France, where she was
^ at ^nrt kept privately in the house of a person of

VOL. I. G

89 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK ^ quality ; then she went to the French court, where
^ she led such a dissdute life, that she was called the

1527. « English Hackney. That the French king liked
*' her, and, from the freedoms he took with ha, she
** was called the King^s Mule. But returning to
<* England, she was admitted to the court, where sh^
^ quickly perceived how weary the king was of the
*< queen, and what the cardinal was designing ; and
*^ having gained the king's affection, she governed it
^ so, that by all innocent freedoms she drew him int6
" her toils, and by the appearances of a severe vir-
tue, with which she disguised herself, so increased
his affection and esteem, that he resolved to put
^ her in his queen's place, as soon as tke dhoree
was granted."^ The same author adds. That tke
king had Uewiske enjoyed her sister^ with a great
deal more, to the disgrace of this lady and her fa-
mily.

I know it is not the work of an historian to refute
the lies of others, but rather to deliver such a plain
account as will be a more effectual confutation than
any thing can be that is said by way of argument,
which I)elongs to other writers. And at the end of
this king's reign, I intend to set down a collection of
the most notorious falsehoods of that writer, toge-
tlier witli the evidences of their being so. But all
this of Anne Boleyn is so palpable a lie, or rather ti
c()tni>licated heap of lies, and so much depends on it,
that i ])resumc it will not offend the reader to be de-
tained a few minutes in the refutation of it. For if
it were true, very much might be drawn from it, both
to disparage king Henry, who pretended conscience
to annul his marriage for the nearness of affinity,
• and yet would after that marry his own daughter.

THE BEFOBMATION. 8S

It leJEives abb a foul and lastii^ stain both on the book
memory of Anne BolejrA^ and of her incomparable

daughterqueen Elizabeth. It also derogates so much ^^^^*
fimn the first reformers^ who had some kind of de«
pendance cm queen Anne Boleyris that it seems to be
of great importance^ for directing the reader in the
jvdgment he is to make of persons and things, to
bjr open the fidsehood of this account. It were suf-
ficient ibr Uasting it, that there is no proof pretended
to be brought for any part of it, but a book of one
Rastal, a judge, that was never seen by any other
pinqfa than that writer. The title of the book is.
The Life of Sir Thomas More. There is great rea-
SOD to think that Rastal never writ any such book ;
finr it is most cotnmoii for the lives of great authors
to be prefixed to their worics. Now this Rastal pub^
lished all More's works in queen Mary's reign, to
which, if he had written his life, it is likely he would
have prefijced it. No evidence therefore being given
fin: his relation, eithei^ from records, letters, or the
testimony of any person who was privy to the matter,
the whole is to be looked upon as a black forgery^
devised on purpose to defome queen Elizabeth. For^
upon her mother^s~ deaths who can doubt but that
some, either to flatter the king, or to defame her,
would have published these things, which, if they
had been true, could be no secrets ? For a lady of
her mother's condition to bear a child two years after
her husband was sent out of England on such a pub-
lic employment, and a process thereupon to be en-
tered in the archbishop's courts, are things that are
not so soon to be forgotten. And that she herself
was under eo ill a reputation, both in her father's fa-
tally, and in France, for Common lewdness, and for

G 2

84 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK being the king's concubinei are things that could not

II.

lie hid. And yet, when the books of the archbishop's
\ntt^n ^^"^ (which are now burnt) were extant, it was
denis. published to the world, and satisfaction offered to
every one that would take the pains to inform them-
selves, that there was no such thing on record. Nor
did any of the writers of that time, either of the im-
perial or papal side, once mention these things, not«
withstanding their great occasion to do it. But
eighty years after, this fable was invented, or at
least it was then first published, when it was safer
to lie, because none who had lived in the time could
disprove it.

But it has not only no fi3undation, but Senders,
through the vulgar errors of liars, has strained his
wit to make so ill a story of the lady, that some
things in his own relation make it plainly appear to
be impossible. For, to pass by those many improbable
things that he relates, as namely. That both the king
of England and the French king could be so taken
with so ugly and monstrous a woman, of so notori-
ous and lewd manners ; and that this king, for the
space of seven years, that is, during the suit of the
divorce, should continue enamoured of her, and never
discover this, or having discovered it, should yet re-
solve at all hazards to make her his wife ; which are
things that would require no common testimony to
make them seem credible : there is beside, in that
story, an heap of things so inconsistent ^ith one
another, that none but such an one as Sanders could
have had either blindness or brow enough to have
OMde or published it. For first, if the king, that
the more freely enjoy sir Thomas Boleyn's
him over into France, as Sanders says, I

THE REFORMATION. 85

shall allow it as soon as may be, that it was in the book

II

very b^inning of his reign, 1509. Then the time

when Anne Bokyn was born, being, according to ^^^^*
Sanders his account, two years after, that must be
anno 1511 ; and being, as he says, defloured when
she was fifteen, that must be anno 1526. Then some
time must be allowed for her going to France, for
her living privately there for some time, and after*
wards for her coming to court, and meriting those
characters that he says went upon her ; and, after all
that, for her return into England, and insinuating
herself into the king's favour : yet, by Sanders his
own relation^ these things must have happened in
the same year 1526 ; for in that year he makes the
king think of putting away his wife, in order to
marry Anne Boleyn, when, according to his account,
she could be but fifteen years old, though this king
had sent sir Thomas Boleyn into France the first
day of his coming to the crown. But that he was
not sent so early, appears by several grants that I
have seen in the rolls, which were made to him in
the first four years of the king's reign : they suffi-
ciently shew that he was all that while about the
king's person, and mention no services beyond sea,
but about the king's person, as the ground upon
which they were made. Besides, I find in the
treaty-rolls no mention of his being ambassador the
first eight years of the king's reign. In the first March lo,
year, the bishops of Winchester and Duresme, and
the earl of Surrey, are named in the treaty between
the two crowns, as the king's ambassadors in France.

After this, none could be ambassadors there for twof*^ "»

1511.

years together; for before two years elapsed there is >4.
was a war proclaimed against France ; and, when

g3

86 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK overtures were made for a peace, it appears by the
"' treaty-rolls, that the earl of Worcester was sent

1527. Qyg|. ambassador. And when the king's sister was
sent over to Lewis the French king, though sir
Sept. 23. Thomas Boleyn went over with her, he was not
^s»>* ^^^ ^ much considered as to be made an ambassa-t
dor. For in the commission that was given to many
persons of quality, to deliver her to her husband,
king Lewis XIL sir Thomas Boleyn is not named.
The persons in the commission are the duke of Nor-
folk, the marquis of Dorset, the bishop of Duresme,
the earls of Surrey and Worcester, the prior of St.
15 15. John's, and doctor West, dean of Windsor. A year
after that, sir Thomas Boleyn was made ambassa-
dor ; but then it was too late for Anne Boleyn to be
yet unborn, much less could it be, as Sanders says,
that she was born two years after it.
cmmb. io But the Icamed Cambden, whose study and pro-
HUtjsiiz. fession led him to a more particular knowledge of
'*^' these things, gives us another account of her birth.

He says, that she was bom in the year 1507, which
was two years before the king came to the crown.
And if it be suggested, that then the prince, to enjoy
her mother, prevailed with his father to send her
husband beyond sea, that must be done when the
prince himself was not fourteen years of age : so
they must make him to have corrupted other men's
wives at that age, when yet they will not allow his
brother (no, not when he was two years older) to
have known his own wife.
Her birth, But HOW I Icavc tMs foul fiction, and go to deliver
certain truths. Anne Boleyn's mother was daughter
to the duke of Norfolk, and sister to the duke that
was at the time of the divorce lord treasurer. Her

THE REFORMATION. 87

father^s mother v&s one of the daughters and h^irsi book
to the earl of Wiltshire and Ormond ; and her great

graodfatherj sir Geoffiy Boleyn, who had been lord ^^^^*
mayor of London, married one of the daughters and
heirs of the lord Hastings ; and their family, as they
had mixed with so much great Uood, so had married
their daughters to very noble families. She, being 15 <4-
but seven years old, was carried over to France with
the Idng^s sister ; which shews she could have none
of those deformities in^er person, since such are not
lirought into the courts and families of queens. And fod breed.
thou^, upon the French king's death, the queen '°^'
dowager came soon back to England, yet she was
so Uked in the French court, that the next king
Francis's queen kept h» about herself for some
years; and after her death, the king^s sister, the
duchess of Alen9on, kept her in her court all the
while she was in France : which as it shews there
was somewhat extraordinary in her person, so, those
princesses being much celebrated for their virtues, it
is not to be imagined that any person, so notoriously
defamed as Sanders would represent her, was enter-
tained in their courts.

When she came into England is not so clear: it Her coming
is said, that in the year 1522, when war was made|^„/H^.'
on France, her father, who was then ambassador, ^[j; ^^
was recalled, and brought her over with him, which J^^*^^j^,,
is not improbable : but, if she came then, she did tay* ^be
not stay long in England, for Cambden says, that young.
she served queen Claudia of France till her death,
(which was in July, 1524 ;) and after that she was
taken into service by king Francises sister. How
long she continued in that service, I do not find ;
but it is probable that she returned out of France

G 4

88 THE HISTORY OF

^ with her father from his embassy, in the jeast 1587;
— when, as Stow says, he brought with him the pic*
ture of her mistress, who was offered in marriage
to this king. If she came out of France before, as
those authors before mentioned say, it appears that
the king had no design upon her then, because he
suffered her to return, and when one mistress died,
to take another in France ; but if she stayed there
all this while, then it is probable he had not seen
her till now at last, when she* came out of the prin-
cess of Alen9on's service : but whensoever it was
that she came to the court of England, it is certain
that she was much considered in it. And though
the queen, who had taken her to be one of her
maids of honour, had afterwards just cause to be
displeased with her as her rival; yet she carried
herself so, that, in the whole pn^ress of the suit, I
never find the queen herself, or any of her agents,
fix the least ill character on her ; which would most
certainly have been done, had there been any just
cause or good colour for it.
on- And so far was this lady, at least for some time,
1 from any thoughts of marrying the king, that she
had consented to marry the lord Piercy, the earl
of Northumberland's eldest son, whom his father, by
a strange compliance with the cardinal's vanity, had
placed in his court, and made him one of his ser-
vants. The thing is considerable, and clears many
things that belong to this history ; and the relate
of it was an ear-witness of the discourse upon it, as
lith'i himself informs us. The cardinal, hearing that the
lord Piercy was making addresses to Anne B<deyn,
one day as he came from the cotirt called fbr him
before his servants, {before ns all, says the relator,

if
if

THE REFORHATION. 89

mduding Mmi0^) ^< and chid him Sat it, pretend- book

" ing at first that it was unworthj of. him to match«

** so meanly ; but be justified his choice, and reckon- ^'^*
''ed up her birth and quality, which he said was
" not infierior to his own. And the cardinal insist-
^ ing fiercely to make him lay down his pretensions,
** he told him, he would willingly submit to the king
** and him ; but, that he had gone so far before many
^ witnesses, that he could not forsake it, and knew
^ not how to discharge his conscience ; and there-
" finre he entreated the cardinal would procure him
** the king^s fhvour in it Upon that the cardinal
** in great rage said. Why, thinkest thou that the
king and I know not what we have to do in so
weighty a matter? Yes, I warrant you: but I
^ can see in thee no submission at all to the pur-
^ pose ; and said, You have matched yourself with
^* such an one, as neither the king, nor yet your
^ father, will agree to it ; and therefore I will send
** for thy father, who at his coming shall either
^ make thee break this unadvised bargain, or dis-
•* inherit thee for ever. To which the lord Piercy
'^ replied. That he would submit himself to him, if
** his conscience were discharged of the weighty
** burden that lay upon it : and soon after, his father
** coming to court, he was diverted another way."

Had that writer told us in what year this was
done, it had given a great light to direct us ; but by
this relation we see that she was so far from think-
ing of the king at that time, that she had engaged
herself another way : but how far this went on her
ride, or whether it was afterwards made use of,
when she was divorced from the king, shall be con-
sidered in its proper jdace. It also appears, that

90 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK there was a design about her then formed betweeii

II.

the king and the cardinal ; yet how far that went,

1527. whether to make her queen, or only to corrupt her,

Lord Her- 15 not evident. It is said, that upon this she ever

after hated the cardinal, and that he never designed

the divorce after he saw on whom the king had

fixed his thoughts : but all that is a mistake, as will

afterwards appear.

1527. And now, having made way through these things

that were previous to the first motion of the divorce,

my narration leads me next to the motion itself.

^▼Jd for ^^^ ^^^S* resolving to put the matter home to the

bis divorce popc, scut doctor Knight, secretary of state, to

ftt Rome, -r* . 1 . .

Rome, with some instructions to prepare the pope
for it, and to observe what might be the best me-
thod, and who the fittest tools to work by. At that
time the family of the Cassali, being three brothers,
were entertained by the king as his agents in Italy,
both in Rome, Venice, and other places. Sir Gre-
gory Cassali was then his ordinary ambassador at
Rome : to him was the first full despatch about this
business directed by the cardinal, the original where-
of is yet extant, dated the fifth of December, 1527,
which the reader will find in the Collection : but
here I shall give the heads of it.
The first << After great and high compliments, and assur-
ft^ot it. *^ ances of rewards, to engage him to follow the bu-
J^^J^. " siness very vigorously and with great diligence,
** he writes, that he had before opened the king's
'' case to him ; and that, partly by his own study,
partly by the opinion of many divines and other
1< learned men of all sorts, h^ found that he could
<' no longer, with a good conscience, continue in
maniage with the queen, having God. and

THE REFORMATION. 91

the quiet and salvation of his soul, chiefly before book
his eyes ; and that he had consulted both the most

^ learned divines and canonists, as well in his own ^^^*
^dominions as elsewhere, to know whether the
* pope's dispensation could make it good ; and that
'^ many of them thought the pope could not dis-
^ pense in this case of the first degree of affinity,
*' which they esteemed forbidden by a divine, moral,
^ and natural law ; and all the rest concluded, that
^ the pope could not do it, but upon very weighty
^ reasons, and they found not any such in the bull.
^ Then he lays out the reasons for annulling the bull,
** which were touched before ; upon which they alt
*^ concluded the dispensation to be of no force ; that
^ the king looked on the death of his sons as a
** curse from Gk>d ; and, to avoid further judgments,
** he now desired help of the apostolic see, to con-
" sider his case, to reflect on what he had merited
" by these services he had done the papacy, and to
" find a way that he, being divorced from his queen,
•* may marry another wife, of whom, by the blessing
" of Grod, he might hope for issue male. Therefore
'* the ambassador was to use all means possible to be
** admitted to speak to the pope in private, and then
" to deliver him these letters of credence, in which
** there was a most earnest clause added with the
" king's own hand. He was also to make a con-
" dolence of the miseries the pope and cardinals
" were in, both in the king's name and the car-
" dinal's, and to assure the pope, they would use all
" the most effectual means that were possible for
setting him at liberty, in which the cardinal
would employ as much industry as if there were
" no other way to come to the kingdom of heaven

»^^

V. 4m*i *,^ »UV'* '^anC 'Sift

f/^<^ ^ t^KU^ nnjpi laut a
»iui.#4 gv» u*-!.^ A^bjcrgvMd 31 OIK

" ¥^r^iUu fftii top itid' |^/|^; to feign- A

w^ii ii)/^/ fei III iM <lii<' f//rrn : and, if these w«r €3
" p /li 'I, li« MM|/lil utMiin' Um; pope, tfast a» tfe Ud
" ImmI Hi ui 9t^ir H vif«i Niirn to the Ffeacii kin
" Int |'N)^hiK lfi« iiMiiy in lUily, so he would spu
" iiti iMivi'l finr iM'ii^urf, hut make war upon tl
" iMi|N nil hi KIimiiIki'n, wlili Win whole strength, ti
*• Imj ImimiI liiiii III Mill ilip |w,|^. at liberty, ai
•• ii'vImii: Hill nliiiii III iliii rlmrrli to its former pow(
*' iiiiil illHMllv Ami II' IJir piipo were already atl
•• liMlVi iMmI liiiil iiiiiiln nil ii|{n*nnent with the ei
•• |iiiitii, hti wiu III iii|iitiMtiii III liiin how little cau
•• lu' hiiil III lui«| luiii li III ilio tMU|H>ror, who had
** \s\\ hiHikv liU iUuh, iimt iIi'^I^uihI to do all he cou
l^limiMiU I ho «U'|UH'*«iitg \\\\^ (Hvlesiastical stat

^yf^M

tliepope

tothe
ooetlwkbid
the
lwBj% piid Us a
would
[ AmI to tn

tojjmdgtmm

dl Mfiifff Id
;.«tiwfc]iewiMld
« Bat if the pope
-mens be
«fhe catdfaid,
^dean of the i
*wai to
** pope dumoed
'^ to lepreMnt i
'^ opoii a dcfaf M a doHBl; sad. if the pope oi-
<< dined to ooHok vith ar of the cwtinls afaoat
« it, he was to dircrt Uat Iraa it aB that was poa-
"sible; bat if the pope woald aec^ do it, then he
<* was to addieas hiBadf to them, and, partlr br ia-
<* fiamiBg theaa of the rcaaoas of the king's caase,
^ partly by leaaidiag the good officei ther should
« do, he was to enga^ them far the king. And
«< with tins deqwrtrh letters were sent to cardinal
« Pood, Sandoram Qnatoor, and the other cardinals.

** to be made use of as there should be occasion for

• it. And becaase money was like to be the most

• puwetM argament, especially to men impoverished

• by a captinty, 10,000 ducato were remitted to

'.V

' _ ^ '^ur"^ lOfed iifc w uuffwoud i» Bike Itf^ yi

~ ^ ^^

7V>b MJXi^ Uiir-g* had beea ooHHBfeBd to Ike ae^
*:i^jtr}\ ca:.^, sDd they were hoik to }Muijetii bf

'«^^

'^ ''^ u9f^u0Afi xisf: lA^ioess. But hefcre dits ifjched Ronei
%^/7«rl«rr Kxiight vas ocMiie Uiither; lad findiiig it

^ ''•' '/

if/^|//mt/U: t/i Ix- admitted to the pope's |Mumte, he
h^vJ, l/Y /y/fTupting some of his piards» sent Um the
til r/i ^^ t h<r k i nf^> demands. Upoo which the pope sent
turn wmA, ttiat the dispensatioD should be sent fully
iAff^^UuL ht9 gracious was a pc^ in capliTitT. But
Mi f fiAi time the general of the obserrants in Spain
l/«'ifig Hi f <//me, refjuired a promise of the pc^ not to
ffjuut twy thing that might prejudice the queen's
/Mijv, till it were first communicated to th^ irnpe*
v^ ••'-1 thi\i%i% there* Hut when the pope made his escape,
iIm' %^'in'iary and the amtiassador went to him to
OrviHo aUiut the end of December, and first did, in
th«' king'M and cardinal's name, congratulate his
in'i'doni. 'J*hen the isecretary discoursed the busi-
ui'>M. T\\v |K>])e owned that he had received the
ini'MMigf wliirh he had sent to him at Rome; but in
i'i»jMTl fii' hirt proniihc, and that yet in a manner he
wiiN in (ijplivity, he liegged the king would have a
iitlle paticnre, unci he should l>efore long have not
finly iliui diN|M*nsation, but any thing else that lay
in hiN |Niwer. But the secretary not being satisfied
wilii lliul t'xciise, the pope in the end said, he should

THE REFuRMATli \

W it; but with this oonditicm, That he would be- Book
^^ the king nottopraoeed vpoo it till the pope

^ Mfy St libertj, and the Germaiis and ^nn- '^^-
irti were driven out of Italjr. And upon the
tt^s promising this, the diqiensation was to he
]iQt in his hands. So the seoetaiy, who had a great
iiUDd once to have the ball in his possession, made
bo scruple to engage his promise tat that. The
pope also told them^ he was not expert in those
thhigSy but he eanlj apprehended the danger that
might arise frop any dispute about the succession
to the crown, and that theiefiire he would commu*
' nicate the business to the cardinal Sanctorum Qua-
taior ; upon whidi they resolved to prevent that car-
dinal's being with the pope, and went and delivered
the letters they had tar him, and promised him a
good reward, if he were fiivouraUe to their requests
in the king^s hehalf. Then they shewed him the
commissions that were sent firom England ; but he,
upon the perusal of them, said, they could not pass
without a perpetual dishonour on the pope and the
king too ; and excepted to several clauses that were
in them. So they desired him to draw one that
might both be sufficient for the king's purpose, and
such as the pope might with honour grant ; which
being done, the pope told them. That, though he
apprehended great danger to himself if the emperor
should know what he had done, yet he would rather
expose himself to utter ruin, than give the king or
the cardinal cause to think him ingrate ; but, with
many si^s and tears, he begged that the king
would not precipitate things, or expose him to be
undone, by beginning any process upon the bull, auiberty"^
And so he delivered the commission and dispensa- ^^^ * **""

96 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK tion, signed, to Knight. But the means that the
pope proposed for his publishing and owning what

^^V' he now granted was, that Lautrech, with the French
craft^Md' army, should march, and, coming where the pope
poi"7f ^Qg^ should require him to grant the commission:
so that the pope should excuse himself to the em-
peror, that he had refused to grant it upon the de-
sire of the English ambassador, but that he could
not deny the general of the French army to do an
act of public justice : and by this means he would
save his honour, and not seem guilty of breach of
promise ; and then he would despatch the commis-
sion about the time of Lautrech's being near him,
and therefore he entreated the king to accept of
what was then granted for the present. The com^
mission and dispensation was given to the secretary ;
and they promised to send the bull after him, of the
same form that was desired from England, and the
pope engaged to reform it as should be found need-
ful. And it seems by these letters that a dispensa-
tion and commission had been signed by the pope
when he was a prisoner, but they thought not fit to
make any use of them, lest they should be thought
null, as being granted when the pope was in cap-
tivity.
And the Thus the pope expressed all the readiness that
thaTgo? could be expected from him, in the circumstances
JJ^*^ he was then in ; being overawed by the imperialists,
who were harassing the country, and taking castles
very near the place where he was. Lautrech with
the French army lay still fast about Bononia, and
^e season of the year was not favourable, so he
^express any inclinations to enter into action^
Sanctorum Quatuor got 4000 croivns

THE REFORMATION. 97

eward of his pains, and in earnest of what book

Q expect when the matter should be brought l-_

b1 conclusion. In this whole matter the '^^^■
iried himself as a wise and politic prince,
sidered his interest, and provided against
with great foresight. But as for apostolical
and the simplicity of the gospel, that was
! expected from him. For now, though the
nding names of Christ's vicar, and St. Pe-
xessor, were still retained to keep up the
gnity and authority, yet they had for many
emed themselves as secular princes ; so that
ims of that court were no more to keep a
ascience, and to proceed according to the
the gospel, and the practice of the primitive
committing the event to God, and subniit-
118 will in all things ; but the keeping a ba-
e maintaining their interest in the courts
tM, the securing their dominions, and the
beir families, being that which they chiefly
^ it is not to be wondered at that the pope
t himself bj these measures, though religion
le made use of to help him out of straits.
I set down the more particularly, both be-
take my information ^m original letters,
. it may clearly appear how matters went
ime in the court of Rome,
ary Knight, being infirm, could not travel Cait«ct.
t haste that was required in this business, °*''''"
ifore he sent the proto-notary Gambara with
mission and dispensation to England, and
in easy journeys. The cardinals that had
suited with did all express great readiness
ng the king's desire. The cardinal Datary

98 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK had forsaken the courts and betaken himself to 8er?e
' God and his cure ; and other cardinals wdre host-

^^^' ages: so that now there were but five about the pope^
Monte, Sanctorum Quatuor, Ridolphi, ftavennat^
and Perusino. But a motion being made of sending
over a legate, the pope would by no means hearkeii
to it, for that would draw new troubles on him firom
the emperor. That had been desired from England
bj a despatch of the twenty-seventh of December,
which pressed a * speedy conclusion of the business;
upon which the pope, on the twelfth of January, did
communicate the matter under the seal of confession
The me. to the cardiuals Sanctorum Quatuor and Simoneta,

thod pro- / , ,

posed by (who was then come to the court,) and upon confer
cou^' ence with them he proposed to sir Gr^ory Cassali,
Numb. 6. ^Yi^i he thought the safer way was, « That, either by
virtue of the commission that the secretary had
'^^ obtained, or by the legantine power that was lodged
with the cardinal of York, he should proceed in
the business. And if the king found the matter
** clear in his own conscience, (in which, the pope
'^ said, no doctor in the whole world could resolve
*^ the matter better than the king himself,) he should
without more noise make judgment be given ; and
presently marry another wife, and then send for a
legate to confirm the matter. And it would be
easier to ratify all when it was once done, than to
go on in a process from Rome. For the queen
** would protest, that both the place and the judges
were suspected, and not firee ; upon which, in the
course of law, the pope must grant an inhibition
for the king's not marrying another while the suit
depended, and must avocate the business to be
" heard in the court of Rome ; which, with other

it

THE REFORMATION. 09

** prejudices, were unamdaUie in a public process book

^ br bidb firom Rome. But if the thing went on in

- England, and the king had once married another ^^«-
^ wife, the pope then would find very good reasons
^ to justify the confirming a thing that was gone so
* fiuTt and promised to send any cardinal whom they
^ should name." This the pope desired the ambas-
sador would signify to the king, as the advice of the
two cardinals, and take no notice of him in it. But
the despatch shews he was a more faithful minister
than to do so.

The ambassador found all the earnestness in the
pope that was possible to comfdiy with the king, and
that he was jealous both of the emperor and Francis,
and depended wholly on the king ; so that he found,
if the terror of the imperial forces were over, the
court of En^and would dispose of the apostolical
see as they pleased. And indeed this advice, how
little soever it had of the simplicity of the gospel,
was certainly prudent and subtle, and that which of
all things the Spaniards apprehended most. And
therefore the general of the observants moved cardi-
nal Campegius, then at Rome, for an inhibition, lest
the process should be carried on and determined in
England. But that being signified to the pope, he
said. It could not be granted, since there was no
suit depending ; in which case only an inhibition
can be granted.

But now I must look over again to England, tostaphutoa
open the counsels there. At that time Staphileus, Eagund.
dean of the rota, was there ; and he, either to make
his court the better, or that he was so persuaded in
qnnion, seemed fully satisfied about the justice of
the king^s cause. So they sent him to Rome with

H 2

100 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK instructions both public and secret. The public in-
structions related to the pope's affairs, in which all

jjjj^^^^ possible assistance was promised by the king. But

tioot. one proposition in them flowed from the cardinal's

libr. ^'tei. ambitiou, *' That the kings of England and France

B. lo. Jao. t( thought it would advance the pope's interests, if

DapKcates ** hc should commaud the cardinals that were under

by the ** no restraint, to meet m some secure place, to con-

oirijD.1'. u gjder of the affairs of the church, that they might

'* suffer no prejudice by the pope's captivity : and

^^ for that end, and to conserve the dignity of the

*^ apostolic see, that they should choose such a vicar

^^ or president, as, partly by his prudence and cou-

<< rage, partly by the assistance of the two kings,

*^ upon whom depended all their hopes, might do

*^ such services to the apostolic see, as were most

'* necessary in that distracted time, by which the

" pope's liberty would be hastened."

It cannot be imagined but the pope would be of-
fended with this proposition, and apprehend that the
cardinal of York was not satisfied to be intriguing
for the popedom after his death, but was aspiring to
it while he was alive. For as it was plain, he was
the person that must be chosen for that trust ; so if
the pope were used hardly by the emperor, and
forced to ill conditions, the vicar so chosen and his
cardinals would disown those conditions, whick might
end in a schism, or his deposition. But Staphileus
his secret instructions related wholly to the king's
business, which were these : ** That the king had
opened to him the error of his marriage; and
that the said bishop, out of his great learning, did
now clearly perceive how invalid and insufficient it
was: therefore the king recommended it to his

^

ft
ft

THE B£FORM ATION. 101

^ caie» that he would conWnce the pope and the car- book
** dinab with the arguments that had been laid be-

<« fore him, and of which a breviate was given him. ^^^^-
^ He was also to represent the great mischiefs that
<« might foUoWy if princes got not justice and ease
Mfirom the apostolic see. Therefore, if the pope
^ were yet in captivity, he was to propose a meet-
^ ing <tf the cardinals, for choosing the cardinal of
** York to be their head during the pope's imprison-
^ ment, or that a full commission might be sent to
^ him for the king's matter. And in particular he
^ was to take care that the business might be tried
^ in England. And, for his pains in proitnoting the
''king's concerns, the king promised to procure abi-
** shopric for him in France, and to help him to a
^cardinal's hat." By him the king wrote to the
pope. The rude draught of it remains under the
cardinal's hand, earnestly desiring a speedy and fa-
vourable despatch of his business, with a credence to
the bearer.

The cardinal also wrote to the pope by him, and. The cardi.
after a long congratulating his liberty, with many by him.
diarp reflections on the emperor, he pressed a de-
spatdi of the king's business, in which he would not
use many words : this only I will add, says he, *^ That
that which is desired is holy and just, and very
much for the safety and quiet of this kingdom,
^ which is most devoted to the apostolical see. He
^^ also wrote by the same hand to the ambassador,
^ that the king would have things so carried, that
*^ all occasion of discontent or cavilling, whether at
** home or abroad, might be removed ; and therefore
'^ desired that another cardinal might be sent legate
** to England, and joined in commission with him-

h3

€4
<(
€1

IW THE HISTORY OF

BOOK *' ^^ ^ judgiqg the matter. He named cither
^^' " Campegius, Tranus, or Famese. Or if that could
1527. << not be obtained, that a fuller commisBion might be
*< sent to himself with all possiUe haste, since dda/s
** might produce great inconveniences. If a legate
^ were named, then care must be taken that he
*' should be one who were learned, indifferent, and
'' tractable ; and if Campegius could be the man, he
** was the fittest person. And when one was named*,
he should make him a decent present, attd usure
him that the king would most liberallj recom-
pense all his labour and expense. He also re-
^ quired him to press his speedy despatch, and Hiat
<' the commission should be full to try and deter-
^ mine, without any reservation of the sentence to
^ be given by the pope." This despatch is inteilined,
and amended with the cardinal's own hand.
A larger But upon the arrival of the messenger, whom the
^liff secretary had sent, with the commission and dispen-
^°*^' sation, and the other packets before mentioned, it
was debated in the king's council, whether he should
go on in his process, or continue to solicit new bulls
from Rome. On the one hand, they saw how tedi-
ous, dangerous, and expensive a process at Rome
was like to prove ; and therefore it seemed the easi-
est and most expedite way to proceed before the
cardinal in his legantine court, who should ex qfficioy
and in the summary way of the court, bring it to a
speedy conclusion. But, on the other hand, if the
cardinal gave sentence, and the king should marry,
then they were not sure but before that time the
pope might either change his mind, or his interest
might turn him another way. And the pope's power
was so absolute by the canon law, that no general

THE BEFQBMATION. 100

dniMp in conmuMions to legates could bind him to book
eonfinn thdr arataices: and if, upon the lung's

nuynying another wife, the pope should refuse to '^^^-
eonfinn ity then the king would be in a worse case
than he was now in, and his marriage and issue by
it should be atiU disputable : therefore they thought
this was, by no means to be adventured on, but they
iIioqUL make new addresses to the court of Rome.
In tho defaate« some sharp words fell either from the
kii^ or some of his secular counsellors ; intimating,
that if the pope continued under such fears, the king
must flnd some other way to set him at ease. So itovdiner
was resolved, that Stephen Gardiner, commonly Mot to'
called doctor Stevens, the cardinal's chief secre-^"^'
tary» and Edward Fox, the king's almoner, should
be aent to Rome ; the one being esteemed the ablest
canonist in England, the other one of the best di-
vines : they were despatched the tenth of February.
^ By them the king wrote to the pope, thanking him with let-
^ that he had expressed such forward and earnest the kmg.
'^ willingness to give him ease, and had so kindly
^ promised to gratify his desires, of which he ex-
^ pected now to see the effects. He wrote also to couect.
^ the cardinals his thanks for the cheerfulness with
which they had in consistory promised to promote
his suit ; for which he assured them they should
^ never have cause to repent." But the cardinal
wrote in a strain, that shews he was in some fear
that if he could not bring about the king's desires,
he was like to lose his favour. ^* He besought the And the

, cwdiiiAl.

'* pope as lying at his feet, that if he thought him a coiiect.
** Christian, a good cardinal, and not unworthy of N""**- ^'
** that dignity, an useful member of the apostolic
*' see, a promoter of justice and equity, or thought

H 4

«

THE REFORMATION. 105

^ dispiitable title; upon a full consultation with the book
** cardinaby haring also heard the opinions of di-

<* vines and canonistsy deputed ^for his legate to '^^*

^ concur with the cardinal of York, either together,
^ or (the one being hindered or unwilling) severallj.
^ And if thej found those things that were sug-
^ geated against the bull of pope Julius, or anj of
^ them, well or sufEcientlj proved, then to declare it
^ void and null, as surreptitiouslj procured, upon
^ fidae grounds ; and thereupon to annul the mar-
^ liage that had followed upon it : and to give both
<* pnties fidl leave to numy again, notwithstanding
^ any appdlation or protestation, the pope making
<* them faia vicars^ with fiill and absolute power and
** authiMri^ ; empowering them also to declare the
^ issue begotten in the former marriage good and
** Iq^itimate, if thej saw cause for it ; the pope bind-
^ ing himself to confirm whatever they should do
^ in that process, and never to revoke or repeal
^ what they should pronounce : declaring also, that
^ this bull should remain in force till the pro-
** cess were ended, and that by no revocation or in-
^ hibition it should be recalled ; and if any such
^ were obtained, these are all declared void and null,
** and the legates were to proceed notwithstanding :
** and all ended with a full non obstante.''

This was judged the uttermost force that could
be in a bull ; though the civilians would scarce allow
any validity at all in these extravagant clauses : but
the most material thing in this bull is, that it seems
the king was not fully resolved to declare his daugh-
ter ill^timate. Whether he pretended this to mi-
tigate the queen's or the emperor's opposition, or did
really intend it, is not clear : but what he did after-

:* ,J»4

r ous deep in hn
e iid soon after
aeainsl her
uso join a moit

Lher were

:t^

X secret instnot
jordinaL Cm-
:ixe repatitkiB
JK ^ns a tncl-

Jeoiio of Stfin"

;*j: — ^.:". -'* -"^-C »=^-i icx^n^ n 5ura?c as Rome

•^' jii- "^ - T4Li-r. ,r^'-"r 1 tJ3t imt ixs h^rs; so

,,,,;- -zlj: ^'^ ''^ -zsiafc^awnr ? ^rjcitir in which

^ .rr^ne:^!' .:-. . n^^c iniiiuus ^imd could

. r - '^^ -^ --^^ T.t^ ::t:r x: 7tr^;;^e the

—^r -r iu::;r rt-^^r^v. A-n-rc^r other

:.n. • - *v It ijii i^^iu»i to the

# '.

... ■■:- ■-,■ -tct T.->uii ICC itcT 3: That the
/.'- .'." f ^^^7"^ '^ -- asoKno:. i3»i because

, ,-./,./'/: -•==■■•- *-- --•=^'^ -*"^ ^- =^"-'^- and,

,1'.. .f » .- '/'■:''■ --•-^— '^:- -''■ -' "^. P*^^ re-
1/, »>.' «:rr,>- -'' '-^ ^^ iE«;x:nr^ic. the king

'' ,1.1 fU""* a^''^'^-'" '■*-^-" ^^" ^^■^'^^ *'-^ **^^
■ I'/ ' ,^,,„,„ „i it „pon his own soul, it it were

" ' .„„, ,„„„Y other particulars in which he is

, ,, O.iil I uirinot imagine what moved the

, ','(|.Tl.M. who ««»v thr«e letters, to think that

„;; I .M n.H. rr..lly intend the divorce. He,

IBS MMrOKMATIOS. IDT

MWotfHT pqper off tfatir kirtractk— , by book
H^wcR ardered to vy to the pap^ Thit-

WmsBot the antiur of the counsel. But '^^-

vai MteDded hf A>t was only to excnae

fcr, tfaat he n^^ aot be thought too pntial,

facpHiprttnt judge: fiir a> be was far firoa

fag the jortioe off the kii^i suit, so he would

M tniited a Mcret of that ii^iortaiice to paper,

Virhen it Aodd be known to the fcin^ would

Int tarn hm fimmr. Bat nndmbCedly it was

Itod bLtwatu the king and luni to remove aa

fiin, wMA otherwiM the cardinals of the iin-

4 hcHam would hare niade, to bis bong the

jtoB that Mrtter.

WiA thoae letter* aad inatrBctiaas were Gardiner c<>ii«t-
1 Fox sent to Rone, iriiere both the Caasalis and
jpUlens were pa-onwting the king's business aU
!f oould. And being strei^tbened with the ac-
■ioa of those other two, diey made a greater |Mro>
MB ; so that in Ajnil the pope did in consistoiy
dare cardinal Camp^o l^te to go to England, cucprgio
it he, with the cudinal of York, might try the i '^r.
idity of the king's marriage : but that carding n^I^ij.
ide great excuses. He was then l^^ate at Home,
whicb he had such adrantages, that be had no
ad to enter into a business which must for ever
i;i^ either the emperor or the king against him :
also pretended an inability to travel so great a
imey, being much subject to the gout. But when
B was known in England, the cardinal wrote him WoImj
Dost earnest letter, to basten over, and bring with *"***'
a all such things as were necessary for making
•ir sentence firm and ineversible. so that it might
rer again be questioned.

I

108 THE HISTORY OF

But here I shall add a remark, which though it is
- of no great importauce, yet will be diverting to the
reader. The draught of the letter is in Wolsey's
secretary's hand, amended in some places by his own,
and concluded thus : / hope all things shall be dome
according to the wiU qf God, the desire qf the Hug,
the quiet qf the kingdom, and to our honour, with
a good eonsdenee. But the cardinal dashed out
this last word, with a good conscience; perhaps
judging that was a thing fit for meaner persona, but
that it was below the dignity of two cardinals to
consider it much. He wrote also to Cassati high
compliments for his diligence in the step that was
made ; but desired hiro, with all possible means, to
get the bull granted and trusted to his Iceepiog, with
the deepest protestations that no use should be made
of it, but that the king only should see it ; by which
hb mind would be at ease, and he, being put in
good hopes, would employ his power in the service
of the pope and apostolic see ; but the pope was not
a man to be cozened so easily.

When the cardinal heard by the next despatch
what excuses and delays Campegio made, he wrote
to him again, and pressed his coming over in haste.
' For his being legate of Rome, he desired him to

* name a vice-legate. For his want of money and

* horses, Gardiner would furnish him as he desired,

* and he should 6nd an equipage ready for him in
' France; and he might certainly expect great le-

* wards from the king. But if he did not make
" -more haste, the king would incline to believe an

' advertJaanient that was sent him, of his turning
B party. Therefore if he either
r kindness, or were grateful for

THE REFORMATION. lOg

* the fimmra he had received from him ; if he va- book
" loed Ae cardinal's friendship or safety, or if he

" would hinder the diminuticm of the authority of '^^^*
« the Roman church, all excuses set aside, he must
^make what haste in his journey was possible."
Yet the l^^te made no great haste ; for till October
Mowing he came not into England. The bull that
was derired could not be obtained, but another was
granted, which perhaps was of more, force, because
it had not those extraordinary clauses in it. There
K the copy of a bull to this purpose in the Cottonian
library, which has been printed more than once by
some that have taken it for a copy of the same bull
that was sent by Campegio ; but I take it to be ra-
ther a copy of that bull which the pope signed at
Rome while he was there a prisoner, and probably
afterward at Orvieto he might give it the date that
it bears, 15S79 December 17* But that there was ariie pope
decretal bull sent by Campegio, will appear evidently d^retaT
in the sequel of this relation. About this time I Antusan-
meet with the first evidence of the progress of the ^^'^tr.
king^s love to Anne Bolejm, in two original letters ^^'
of hers to the cardinal ; from which it appears, not
only that the king had then resolved to marry her,
but that the cardinal was privy to it. They bear no
date, but the matter of them shews they were written
after the end of May, when the sweating-sickness
began, and about the time that the legate was ex-
pected. They give such a light to the history, that
I shall not cast them over to the Collection at the
end, but set them down here.

My lord, in my most humblest wise that my

UO THE HISTORY OF

BOOK heart can thinks I desire yM to pardon me thtt I

II.

^am M bold tn trofMe you with m^^bnple and rude

>^28. fg^ritingi esteeming it to proceed from her that is

of Anne much dcsirous to know that your grace doee well,

woS^* ^ as I perceive by this bearer that you do. The

which I pray God long to continue, as I am most

bound to pray; for I do know the great pains and

troubles that you have taken for me both day and

night, is never like to be recompensed on my part,

but alonehf in loving you next unto the kin^s

grace, above all creatures living. And I do not

doubt but the daUy proofs qfmy deeds shaU mani^

fesUy declare and qffirm my writing to be true ;

and I do trust you do think the same. My lord,

I do assure you I do long to hear from you news

^f the legate : for 1 do hope and they come from

you they^ shall be very good; and I am sure you

desire it as much as I, and more and it were pos'

sible, as I know it is not : and thus remaining in

a steadfast hope, I make an end of my letter writ*

ten with the hand qfher that is most bound to be.

Apoftscript The writer of this letter would not cease till she
kiQg*8to had caused me likewise to set to my hand ; desiring
youy though it be short, to take it in good part. I
ensure you there is neither of us but that greatly
desireth to see you, and muqh more joyous to hear
that you have scaped this plague so well, trusting
the Jury thereof to be passed, specially with them
that keepeth good diet, as I trust you do. T%e not
hearing of the legate's arrival in France, causeth
us somewhat to muse ; notwithstanding we trust by
your diligence and vigilaney {with the assistance

bim.

THB BSFORMATION. Ill

^Akmghig CM) tktrtfy to he eated out ^f that book

a1»

inmkie. N4 man to yem mt thu tme; but that /.
pntjf 6^ Mnd yam as good keabh 0md pray)eriijf ^^^
m Ab writier woM.

Bjrymir loving wkstdf^ and iriend, Henry K.

Your humble servant, Anne Boleyn.

My hrdf in my moet humble wise that my poor
heart eon thinh^ I do thanh your grace Jbr your
land letter^ and for your rich and goodly present^
Ae whidk I shall never be able to describe without
yomr hdp; tf the which I have hitherto had so
great plenty^ that all the days of my life lam most
bound iff all creatures, next the hif^s grace, to
kioe and serve your grace : of the which I beseech
you never to doubt thai ever I shall vary from this
thought as long as any breath is in my body. And
as touching your grace's trouble with the sweat, I
ihanh our Lord, that tiicm that I desired and
prayed for are scaped, and that is the king and
you ; not doubting but that God has preserved you
both for great causes known alonely of his high
wisdom. And as for the coming of the legate, I
desire that much ; and if it be Gods pleasure, I
pray him to send this matter shortly to a good end,
and then I trust, my lord, to recmtpense part of
your great pains : in the which I must require you
in the mean time to accept my good-will in the
stead ff the power, the which must proceed partly
from you, as our Lord knoweth ; to whom I be-
seech to send you long life, with continuance in ho-
nour. Written with the hand of her that is most
bound to be

Your humble and obedient servant, Anne Boleyn.

11« THE HISTORY OF

BOOK The cardinal, hearing that Camp^us had the
! — decretal bull committed to his trust, to be shewed

^^^^* only to the king and himself, wrote to the ambassa-
Namb. 14. dor that it was necessary it should be also shewed
to some of the king's council ; not to make any use
of it, but that thereby they might understand how
to manage the process better by it. This he bagged
might be trusted to his care and fidelity; and he
undertook to manage it so, that no kind of danger
could arise out of it.
The car- At this time the cardinal, having finished his
tegct fi^h- foundations at Oxford and Ipswich, and finding they
^ were very acceptable both to the king and to the

clergy, resolved to go on and suppress more monas-
teries, and erect new bishoprics, turning some abbeys
Octob. 30. to cathedrals. This was proposed in the omsistoffyy
and granted, as appears by a despatch of CassaU's.
He also spoke to the pope about a general visitation
of all monasteries : and on the fourth of November
the bull for suppressing some was expected ; a copy
whereof is yet extant, but written in such a hand,
that I could not read three words together in any
place of it : and though I tried others that were
good at reading all hands, yet they could not do it.
But I find by the despatch, that the pope did it with
some aversion ; and when Gardiner told him {dainly.
More mo. // tcos necessoTy, and it mu^t he dame, he paused a
IH^^be little, and seemed unwilling to give any fiurther of-
mfpresMd. f^Qc^ iQ religious orders : but since he found it so
uneasy to gratify the king in so great a point as the
matter of his divorce, he judged it the 'more neces-
sary to mollify him by a compliance in all other
^^^l^^hings. So there was a power given to the two le-
1^^ w'^''^ ^ examine the state of the monasteries, and

THE REFORMATION. 118

t0 luppRtB 8uch as they thought fit, and convert book
them into bishopries and cathedrals.

While matters went thus between Rome and ^^^'
En^andf the queen was as active as she could be toperor o^.
engage her two nephews, the emperor and his bro-ki^« ^it.
Aer, to appear for her. She complained to them
modi of the king, but more of the cardinal : she
abo gave than notice of all the exceptions that were
made to the bull, and desired both their advice and
assistance. They^ having a mind to perplex the
Idog^s affiurs, advised her by no means to yield, nor
to be induced to enter into a religious life ; and gave
her aasurance, that, by their interest at Rome^ they
would support her, and maintain her daughter's
tide, if it went to extremities. And as they em-
ployed all their agents at Rome to serve her con-
cerns, so they consulted with the canonists about
the force of the exceptions to the bulL The issue
of which was, that a breve was found out, or forged,
that supplied some of the most material defects in
the bulL For whereas in the bull, the preamble
bore, that the king and queen had desired the pope's
dispensation to marry, that the peace might continue
between the two crowns, without any other cause
given : in the preamble of this breve, mention is a brere
made of their desire to marry, ** because otherwise m'^s^n,
" it was not likely that the peace would be con- NumS!\s.
** tinued between the two crowns : and for that and
'' divers other reasons they asked the dispensation."
Which in the body of the breve is granted, bearing
date the twenty-sixth of December, 1503. Upon
this they pretended that the dispensation was granted
upon good reasons ; since by this petition it appear-
ed, that there were fears of a breach between the

VOL. I. I

THE REFORMATION. 116

oetary when it wa* pretended to hive been signed, book
WIS an exact man, and no such errors were found ^'*
m breves at that time. But that which shewed it 1^23.
a manifest foi^gerj was, that it bore date the twenty-
ncth of December, anno 1503, on the same day
Ihat the bull was granted. It was not to be ima-
gfaied^ that in the same day a bull and a breve
ihould have been expedited in the same business,
with such material differences in them. And the
fijle of the court of Rome had this singularity in
it, that in all their breves they reckon the beginning
of the year from Christmas-day ; which being the na-
tivity of our Lord, they count the year to begin thert.
But in their bulls they reckon the year to begin at
the feast of the Annunciation. So that a breve dated
the twenty-sixth of December 1503, was, in the
vulgar account, in the year 1502, therefore it must
be false ; for neither was Julius II. who granted it,
then pope, nor was the treaty of the marriage so far
advanced at that time, as to admit of a breve so soon.
But allowing the breve to be true, they had many
of the same exceptions to it that they had to the
bull, since it bore, that the king desired the marriage
to avoid a breach between the crowns ; which was
£dse. It likewise bore, that the marriage had been
consummated between the queen and prince Arthur,
which the queen denied was ever done ; so that the
suggestion in her name being, as she said, false, it
could have no force, though it were granted to be a
true breve: and they said it was plain the impe-
rialists were convinced the bull was of no force, since
they betook themselves to such arts to fortify their
cause.
When cardinal Campegio came to England, he

i2

116 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK was received with the public solemmties ordinaqr iui
"' such a case ; and, in his speech at his fint aur*^'*

♦ »[;-i ^

^^28. he called the kinjr The deliverer of the pope,

Campegio mr * *

comes into o/* the City of Itome^ with the highest com]
°^ ' ' that the occasion did require. But when he was;
mitted to a private conference with the king
the cardinal, he used many ailments to dissuade
king from prosecuting the matter any further,
the . king took very ill, as if his errand had
rather to confirm than annul his maniage;
complained that the pope had broken his word til
AndtbewB him. But the legate studied to qualify him, ^\z
the bull; shcwcd the dccrctal bull, by which he might left

that, though the pope wished rather that the
ness might come to a more friendly conduaion, yet
if the king could not be brought to that, he was em-
powered to grant him aU that he desired. But he
could not be brought to part with the decretal bull
out of his hands, or to leave it for a minute, eithor
Bui refiues with the kincr or the cardinal, sayinip, that it was

to let it be - , , ^ . ^ , -^ ®\^

MCDtothe demanded on these terms, that no other person
^"°^ ' should see it ; and that Gardiner and the ambassador
had only moved to have it expedited, and sent by
the legate, to let the king see how well the pope
was affected to him. With all this the king was
much dissatisfied ; but, to encourage him again, the
legate told him, he was to speak to the queen in the
pope's name, to induce her to enter into a religioin
life, and to make the vows. But when he proposed
that to her, she answered him modestly, that she
could not dispose of herself but by the advice of hef
nephews.
woiiey'. Of all this the cardinal of York advertised the

eDdeftvour

e Cassalis, and ordered them to use all possiUe en-

m^^px

THE REFORMATION. UT

deaYours that the bull might be shewn to some of book
Ihe king's council*, « Upon that (sir Gregory being '''

cot of Rome) the proto-notary went to the pope, ^^^^^•^^'
complained that Camp^o had dissuaded the might be

shewed *

The pope justified him in it, and said. He • couei^.
:4Ui as he had ordered him. He next complained cXct/^'
tiial the l^ate would not proceed to execute the^"""^''^'
[Iqgantine commission. The pope denied that he
kftd any order from him to delay his proceedings,
kit that by virtue of his commission they might go
an and pass sentence. Then the proto-notary pressed
Um for leave to shew the bull to some of the king's
minciL complaining of Campegio's stiffness in re-
fining it» and that he would not trust it to the car-
dinal of York, who was his equal in the commission.
To this the pope answered in passion, That he
OQuld shew the cardinal's letter, in which he assures
Um that the bull should only be shewed to the king
and himself; and that if it were not granted, he
was ruined ; therefore to preserve him he had sent
it, but had ordered it to be burnt when it was once
shewed. He wished he had never sent it, saying,
he would gladly lose a finger to recover it again,
and expressed great grief for granting it ; and said.
They had got him to send it, and now would have
f it shewed, to which he would never consent, for
then he was undone for ever. Upon this, the proto-
notary laid before him the danger of losing the king,
and the kingdom of England, of ruining the cardinal
of York, and of the undoing of their family, whose
hopes depended on the cardinal ; and that by these
means heresy would prevail in England, which, if it
once had got footing there, would not be so easily
rooted out ; that all persons judged the king's cause

I 3

118 THE HISTORY OF

ooK right, but though it were not so, some things
' were not good must be borne with to avoid
evils. And at last he fell down at his feet, and
most passionate expressions begged him to be
compliant to the king's desires, and at least not
deny that small favour of shewing the deoretal
some few counsellors, upon the assurance of
secrecy. But the pope interrupted him, and
great signs of an unusual grief told him. These
effects could not be charged on him ; he had kefVl
his word, and done what he had promised, but upwi
no consideration would he do any thing that mi|^
wound his conscience, or blemish his integaltji
therefore, let them proceed as they would in Eng-
land, he should be free of all blame, but should ooo-
firm their sentence. And he protested he had given
Campegio no commands to make any delays, but
only to give him notice of their proceedings. If the
king, who had maintained the apostolic see, had
written for the faith, and was the defender of it,
would overturn it, it would end in his own disgrace.
But at last the secret came out : for the pope con-
fessed there was a league in treaty between the
emperor and himself; hut denied that he had bound
hiinst^f up by it, as to the king's business.

The poi>e ctmsulted with the cardinals Sanctorum
Quatuor and $imonetta« (not mentioning the decre-
tal to them, which he had granted without conunu-
nicating it to any body, or entering it in any regis-
ter.) and they were of opinion that the process
should be carried on in England, without demand-
ing any thing further from Rome. But the impe-
rial eardinals spake against it. and were moving
Pt^esently for an inhibition, and an avocation of the

N

rilE KEFOmiATIOX. 11!)

^uasey to be tried at the court of Rome. The pope book
look notice, that the intercession of England ^^'

fVoDce had not prevailed with the Venetians to ^^^^'

Cervia and Ravenna, which they had taken
him ; and that he could not think that repub-
darst do so, if these kings were in earnest. It
been promised, that they should be restored as
as his legate was sent to England ; but it was
yet done. The proto-notary told him, it should
certainly be done. Thus ended that conver-
But the more earnest the cardinal was to
live the bull seen by some of the privy-council, the
pope was the more confirmed in his resolutions
to consent to it : for he could not imagine the
of seeing it was a bare curiosity, or only to
ditect the king's counsellors, since the king and the
cardinal could inform them of all the material
dauses that were in it. Therefore he judged the
desire of seeing it was only that they might have so
many witnesses to prove that it was once granted,
whereby they had the pope in their power ; and this
he judged too dangerous for him to submit to.

But the pope, finding the king and the cardinal The pope
so ill satisfied with him, resolved to send Francisco pana to
Campana, one of his bedchamber, to England, tocon,^.'
remove all mistakes, and to feed the king with fresh ^'"™^' *^'
hopes. In England, Campegio found still means,
by new delays, to put off the business, and amused
the king with new and subtle motions for ending
the matter more dexterously. Upon which, in the
b^nninfiT of December, sir Francis Brian, and Peter New am-

. n 1 T • bassadors

Vannes, the king's secretary for the Latm tongue, teot tu
were sent to Rome. They had it in commission to "*'
search all the records there for the breve that was

I 4

190 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK now so much talked of in Spain. They were to
"' propose several overtures ; ^ Whether, if the queen

1528. M vowed religion, the pope would not dispense with
oTcrtum. ^ the king^s second marriage ? Or, if the qi

^ would not vow religion unless the king also did
** it, whether in that case would the pope dispense
** with his vow ? Or whether, if the queen would
*^ hear of no such proposition, would pot the pope
^^ dispense with the king^s having two wives, ftr
^* which there were divers precedents vouched firom
** the Old Testament ?"* They were to represent to
the pope, that the king had laid out much of his
best treasure in his service, and therefore he ex-
pected the highest favours out of the deepest trea-
Collect, sure of the church. And Peter Vannes was oom*
Namb.19. manded to tell the pope, as of himself, that if he
did, for partial respects and fears, refuse the kingfs
desires, he perceived it would not only alienate the
king from him, but that many other princes, his
• confederates, with their realms, would withdraw
their devotion and obedience from the apostolic see.
A guard of By a despatch that followed them, the cardinal
ofl^rcd'to tried a new project, which was an offer of 2000 men
^«pop«* fQf a guard to the pope, to be maintained at the
cost of the king and his confederates. And also
proposed an interview of the pope, the emperor, the
French king, and the ambassadors of other princes,
to be eitheJr at Nice, Avignon, or in Savoy; and
that himself would come thither from the king of
England. But the pope resolved steadfastly to keep
his ground, and not to engage himself too much to
JljjMflBHMj prince ; therefore the motion of a guard did not
^^^^^dl work upon him. To have guards about him

another prince's pay^ was to be their prisoner;

f-

THE REFORMATION. l^l

and he was so wearj of bis late imprisonment, that book
he would not put himself in hazard of it a second

1528.

time. Besides, such a guard would give the em-
peror just cause of jealousy, and yet not secure him
against his power. He had been also so unsuccess-
fid in his contests with the emperor, that he had no
Bind to give him any new provocation ; and though
the kings of England and France gave him good
wordsy yet they did nothing; nor did the king
make war upon the emperor; so that his armies
lyii^ in Italy, he was still under his power. There- The pope
Ibre the pope resolved to unite himself firmly to the ^Jbim.
emperor; and all the use he made of the king's ^^^^'^
earnestness in his divorce, was only to bring the em-
peror to better terms. The Lutherans in Germany
were like to make great use of any decision he
might make against any of his predecessor's bulls.
The cardinal elector of M entz had written to him
to consider well what he did in the king's di-
vorce; for if it went on, nothing had ever fallen
out since the beginning of Luther's sect, that would
so much strengthen it as that sentence. He was
also threatened on the other side from Rome, that
the emperor would have a general council called,
and whatsoever he did in this process should be ex-
amined there, and he proceeded against accordingly.
Nor did they fonret to put him in mind of his birth, Beiug
that he was a bastard, and so by the canon mcapabie with the
of that dignity, and that thereupon they would de- thrTmp^,
pose him. He, having all these things in his pros- "*^"**-
pect, and being naturally of a fearful temper, which
was at this time more prevalent in him by reason of
his late captivity, resolved not to run these hazards,
which seemed unavoidable, if he proceeded further

19S THE HISTORY OF ,

BOOK in the king's business. But his constant maxim
being to promise and swear deepest when he in-

I

1528. tended least, he sent Campana to England^ with tf
letter of credence to the cardinal, the effects of which
message will appear afterwards. And thus ended
this year, in which it was believed, that if the king
had employed that money, which was spent in a
fruitless negociation at Rome, on a war in Flanders,
it had so distracted the emperor's forces, and en-
couraged the pope, that he had sooner granted that,
which in a more fruiUess way was sought of him.
■5^< In the beginning of the next year Cassali wrote

to the cardinal, that the pope was much inclined to
unite himself with the emperor, and proposed to ga
in person to Spain, to solicit a general peace ; but
intended to go privately, and desired the cardinal
would go with him thither, as his friend and coun-
sellor, and that they two should go as legates. But
Cassali, by Salviati's means, who was in great favour
with the pope, understood that the pope was never
in greater fear of the emperor than at that time ;
for his ambassador had threatened the pope severely,
if he would not recall the commission that he had
sent to England ; so that the pope spoke oft to Sal-
Bcpenu bis viati of the great repentance that he had inwardly
SJdtealtai.«» his heart for granting the decretal: and said.
He was undone for ever^ if it came to the empe^
ror's knowledge. He also resolved, that, though the
legates gave sentence in England, it should never
take effect, for he would not confirm it : of which
Gregory Cassali gave advertisement by an express
jjH messenger, who, as he passed through Paris, met

Knight and doctor Bennet, whom the king
itched to Rome to assist his other ambassa-^

TBE REFORMATION. 123

dors there, and gave them an account of his mes-» book
81^ ; and that it was the advice of the king's friends '''

at Rome, That he and his confederates should fol- l^^^-
low the war more vigorously, and press the emperor
harder, without which all their applications to the
pope would signify nothing. Of this they gave the
cardioal an account, and went on but faintly in their
journey, judging that upon these advertisements they
would be recalled, and other counsels taken.

At the same time the pope was with his usual arts Jan. 9:
cajoling the king's agents in Italy: for when sir
Francis Brian and Peter Vannes came to Bononia,
the proto-notary Cassali was surprised to hear that
the business was not already ended in England:
amce, he said, he knew there were sufficient powers
sent about it, and that the pope assured him he
would confirm their sentence ; but that he made a
great difference between the confirming their judg-
ment, by which he had the legates between him and
the envy or odium of it, and the granting a buU, by
which the judgment should arise immediately from
himself. This his best friends dissuaded; and he
seemed apprehensive, that in case he should do it, a
council would be called, and he should be deposed
for it. And any such distraction in the papacy, con-
sidering the footing which heresy had already gotten,
would ruin the ecclesiastical state, and the church :
so dexterously did the pope govern himself between
such contrary tides. But all this dissimulation was
short of what he acted by Campana in England,
whose true errand thither was to order Campegio to
destroy the bull ; but he did so persuade the king
and the cardinal of the pope's sincerity, that, by a
despatch to sir Francis Brian, and Peter Vannes, jan. 15.

THE REFORMATION. 1^5

the kings of England and France. And for any book

II.

pretended council or meeting of bishops, which the -
emperor by the cardinals of his party might call, he '^^^*
■eeded not fear that » for his towns, they should be
most certainly restored. Nor was the emperor's of-
fering to put them in his hand to be much regarded ;
tat though he restored them, if the pope had not a
better guarantee for them, it would be easy for him
to take them from him when he pleased. He was
dso to propose a firmer league between the pope,
Siq^nd, and France ; in order to which, he was to
waave the pope most earnestly to go to Nice : and if
die pope proposed the king's taking a second wife,
with a Intimation of the issue which she might
have, so the queen might be induced to enter into a
state of religion, to which the pope inclined most, he
waft not to accept of that ; both because the thing
would take up much time, and they found the queen
resolved to do nothing but as she was advised by her
nephews. Yet if the pope offered a decretal about
it, he might take it, to be made use of as the occa-
sion might require. But by a postscript he is re-
called, and it is signified to him, that Gardiner was
sent to Rome to negociate these affairs, who had re-
turned to England with the legate ; and his being
so successful in his former message made them think
him the fittest minister they could employ in that
court ; and to send him with the greater advantage,
he was made a privy counsellor.

But an unlooked-for accident put a stop to all The pope
proceedings in the court of Rome ; for on Epiphany-
day the pope was taken extreme ill at mass, and a
great sickness followed, of which it was generally
believed he could not recover ; and though his dis-

126 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK temper did soon abate so much, that it was thought
to be over, yet it returned again upon him, insomuGh

^^^^' that the physicians did suspect he was poisoned.
Then followed all the secret caballings and intrigues,
which are ordinary in that court upon such an oc-
casion. The Colonnas and the other imperialists
were very busy, but the cardinal of Mantua opposed
them; and Farnese, who was then at his house in
the country, came to Rome and joined with Man«
tua ; and these of that faction resolved, that, if the
Spanish army marched from Naples toward them,
they would dispense with that bull which provides
that the succeeding pope should be chosen in the
same place where the former died, and ii^ould retire
Jan. 37. to some safe place. Some of the cardinals spoke
highly in favour of cardinal Wolsey, whom (if the
ambassadors did not flatter and lie grossly in their
letters, from which I draw these informations) they
reverenced as a deity. And the cardinal of Man-
tua, it seems, proposing him as a pattern, woidd
needs have a particular account of his whole course
of life, and expressed great esteem for him. When
Gardiner was come as far as Lyons, he wrote the
cardinal word, that there went a prophecy that an
angel should be the next pope, but should die soon
after. He also gave advice, that, if the pope died,
the commission for the legates must, needs expire
with him, unless they made some step in their busi-
ness, by a citation of parties, which would keep it
alive ; but whether this was done or not I cannot
jardiMi find. The cardinal's ambition was now fermenting
ntrigue. strongly, and he resolved to lay his project for the
*"' **•• popedom better than he had done before. His letter

it to Gardiner, and the king's instructions to

THE REFORMATION. 127

his ambanadorsy are printed by Fox, and the origin- book
ab fifom which they are taken are yet extant. He '''

wrote also another letter to the ambassadors, which '^^^*
the reader will find in the C!ollection. But, because coiiect.
the instrucUonff shew what were the methods i^^""***'*^'
dniosing popes in these days, by which it may be
easily gathered how such an election must needs re-
commend a man to infallibility, supremacy, and all
the other appendages of Chrisfs vicar an earthy I
ihall give a short summary of them.

^ By his letter to his confidant Gardiner, he com-
^ nuts the thing chiefly to his care, and orders him
^ to employ all his parts to bring it to the desired
** issue, sparing neither presents nor promises ; and
^ that as he saw men's inclinations or affections led
^ them, whether to public or private concerns, so he
^ should govern himself towards them accordingly.
" The instructions bear, that the king thought the xiie kings
"caidinal the fittest person to succeed to the pa- ;";\™f '**"•
** pacy ; (they being advertised that the pope was *^'<^c*'0"-
^ dead ;) that the French king did also of his own
^' motion offer his assistance to him in it, and that,
'* both for public and private ends, the cardinal was
^'the fittest. Therefore the ambassadors are re-
^ quired with all possible earnestness and vigour to
'^ promote his election. A schedule of the cardinals'
^ names is sent them, with marks to every one, whe-
^ ther he was like to be present or absent ; favour-
" able, indifferent, or opposite to them. It was reck-
" oned there could be but thirty-nine present, of
" which twenty-six were necessary to choose the
^ pope. Of these the two kings thought themselves
*' sure of twenty. So six was all the number that
'* the ambassadors were to gain, and to that number

4<

«
€(

it

198 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK '^ they were first to offer them good reaaons to con-
^'' ** vince them of the cardinal's fitness for the papacy.
1529. << But because human frailty was such, that rernxm
^^ did not always take place, they were to promise
** promotions and sums of money, with other good
rewards, which the king gave them commission to
offer, and would certainly make them good : be-
sides all the great preferments which the cardinal
had, that should be shared among those who did
procure his election. The cardinals of their party
** were first to enter into a firm bond, to exclude all
** others. They were also to have some creatures of
'^ theirs to go into the conclave, to manage the bosi-
^* ness. Sir Gr^ory Cassali was thought fittest for
that service. And if they saw the adverse party
too strong in the conclave, so that they could cany
nothing, then Gardiner was to draw a protestation,
'^ which should be made in name of the two crowns ;
^* and that being made, all the cardinals of their fiu>
** tion were to leave the conclave. And if the fear
^* of the emperor's forces overawed them, the ambas-
^^ sadors were to offer a guard of two or three thou-
^' sand men to secure the cardinals : and the French
^* king ordered his armies to move, if the Spanish
troops did move either from Naples or Milan.
They were also to assure them, that the cardinal
^' would presently upon his election come and live
'* at Rome, and were to use all endeavours to gain
** the cardinal de Medici to their faction ; but at the
'* same time to assure the Florentines, that Wolsey
** would assist them to exclude the Medici out of the
" government of their town and state. They were
^' also to have a strict eye upon the motions of the
ch faction, lest, if the cardinal were excluded.

it

THE REFORMATION. 129

^ they should consent to any other, and refuse to book
** make the inrotestation as it was desired. But to '''

oblige Camp^io the more, it was added, that if '^^^*
"they found all hopes of raising the cardinal oT
" York to vanish, then they should try if Campegio
" could be elected ; and in that case the cardinals of
^ their faction were to make no protestation."

These were the apostolical methods then used for
dioosiDg a successor to St. Peter ; for though a suc-
cessor had been chosen to Judas by lot, yet more
caution was to be used in choosing one for the
Prince of the apostles. But when the cardinal heard
that the pope was not dead, and that there was hope
of his recovery, he wrote another long letter to the
ambassadors, (the original of which is yet extant,)
''to keep all their instructions about a new pope
**very secret, to be gaining 'as many cardinals as
^they oould, and to take care that the cardinals
** should not go into the conclave, unless they were
'' free and safe from any fears of the imperial forces.
" But if the pope recovered, they were to press him Feb. ao.
*" to give such orders about the king's business, that ^uioli^'
" it might be speedily ended : and then the cardinal Jj^^"^***
** would come and wait on the pope over to Spain,
" as he had proposed. And for the apprehensions
^ the pope had of the emperor's being highly of-
'^ fended with him if he granted the king's desire, or
** of his coming into Italy, he needed not fear him.
** They knew, whatever the emperor pretended about
** his obligation to protect his aunt, it was only for
*^ reason of state : but if he were satisfied in other
"things, that would be soon passed over. They
'* knew also that his design of going into Italy was
'* laid aside for that year, because he apprehended

VOL. I. K

130 THE HISTOllY OF

" that France and England would make war on
_ " him in other places. There were also many pre-
" cedents found, of dispensations granted by popes
" in like cases : and lately there had been one
" granted by jrape Alexander the Sixth to the king
" of ' Hungaiy, against the opinion of his cardinals,
" which had never been questioned ;" and yet he
could not pretend to such merits as the king had.
And all that had ever been said in the king's cause
was summed up in a short breviate by Cassnii, and
offered to the pope ; a copy whereof, taken from an
original under his own hand, the reader will find in
the Collection.

The king ordered his ambassadors to make as
many cardinals sure for his cause as they could, who
might bring the pope to consent to it, if he were
still avei'sc. But the pope was at this time pos-
sessed with a new jealousy, of which the French
king was not free, as if the king had been tamper-
ing with the emjieror, and had made him great of-
fers, so he would consent to the divorce ; about
which Francis wrote an anxious letter to Rome, the
original of which I have seen. The pope was also
surprised at it, and questioned the ambassadors
alwut it ; but they denied it, and said the union be-
tween England and France was inseparable, and that
these were only the practices of the emperor's agents
to create distrust. The pope seemed satisfied with
what they said, and added, " that in the present
V onyuncture p. firm union between them was neces-
Lsir Francis Brian wrote a long

put a new stop to business ;
being informed, as he ordered

THE REFORMATION. 181

the king^s agents to continue their care about his pro- book

motion, so he charged them to see if it were ^^ possible '• —

•^ to get access to the pope, and though he were in the ^ |j^^^"

* very agony of death, to propose two things to him :

• the one, that he would presently command all the Another
"princes of Christendom to agree to a cessation of^P*****^**
^ arms, under pain of the censures of the church, as couect.

Numb. 32.

" pope Leo and other popes had done ; and if he
** should die, he could not do a thing that would be
"more meritorious, and for the good of his soul,
^ ** than to make that the last act of his life. The
^ other thing was concerning the king's business,
^ which he presseth as a thing necessary to be done
**i0r the clearing and /ease of the pope's conscience
** towards God : and withal he orders them to gain
^ as manylUbout the pope, and as many cardinals
** and officers in the rota as they could, to promote
" the king's desires, whether in the pope's sickness
^ or health. The bishop of Verona had a great in-
" terest with the pope ; so by that, and another de-
** spatch of the same date, (sent another way,) they
f* were ordered to gain him, promising him great re-
^ wards, pressing him to remain still about the pope's
^ person ; to balance the ill offices which cardinal
•* Angel and the archbishop of Capua did, who never
** stirred from the pope ; and to assure that bishop,
^ that the king laid this matter more to heart than
" any thing that ever befell him ; and that it would
^ trouble him as much to be overcome in this mat-
'' ter by these two friars, as to lose both his crowns :
" and for my part, {writes the cardinal^ I would
"expose any thing to my life, yea life itself, ra-
'' ther than see the inconveniences that may ensue
"* upon disappointing of the king's desire." For pro-

K 2

182 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK moling the business, the French king sent thebidiop

— ! of Bayon to assist the English ambassadon in \k

1529. i^gme, who was first sent over to England to bewdl
instructed there. They were either to piocine i
decretal for the king's divorce, or a new Gommimot
to the two legates, with ampler clauses in it than
the former had ; ** to judge as if the pope were ia
** person, and to emit compulsory letters againik
any, whether emperor, king, or of what degree so-
ever : to produce all manner of evidences or r^
cords which might tend towards the clearing the
matter, and to bring them before them." Thii
was sought because the emperor would not send
over the pretended original breve to England, and
gave only an attested copy of it to the king^s ambas-
sadors : lest therefore from that breve « new suit
might be afterwards raised for annulling any sen-
tence whidi the legates should give, they thought it
nei^dful to have tlie original brought before them.
In the penning of that new commission. Dr. Oar«
diner was ordered to have special care that it should
be done by the best advice he could get in Rome.
It ap{)ears also from this despatch, that the pope's
lioUicitation to confirm the sentence which the le-
gates should give, was then in Gardiner's hands;
for tie was ordered to take care that there might be
no disagi*eement between the date of it and of the
new commission. And when that was obtained,
sir Francis Brian was commanded to bring them
with tiim to England. Or if neither a decretal nor
a new commission could be obtained, then, if any
other ex{)edient were proposed that upon good ad-
vice sliouUl be found sufficient and effectual, they
rere to accept of it, and send it away with all pos-

^^'

THE REFORMATION. 183

fllie diligence. And the cardinal conjured them, book
tfcy the reverence of Almighty Grod, to bring them *
^mit of their perplexity, that this virtuous prince '^^^•
'^■lay have this thing sped, which would be the
^mo6t joyous thing that could befall his heart upon
^carth. But if all things should be denied, then
^fbey were to make their protestations, not only to
^ihe pope, but to the cardinals, of the injustice that
'was done the king ; and in the cardinal's name to
' let them know, that not only the king and his
' realm would be lost, but also the French king and
'Ida realm, with their other confederates, would
^abo withdraw their obedience from the see of
^ Rome, which was more to be regarded than either
' the emperor^s displeasure, or the recovery of two
' dties.** They were also to try what might be
bne in law by the cardinals in a vacancy, and they
rere to take good counsel upon some chapters of
he canon law which related to that, and govern
bemselves accordingly, either to hinder an avocation
r inhibition, or, if it could be done, to obtain such
kings as they could grant, towards the conclusion
f the kind's business. At this time also the cardi- The cardi-

^ nal's bulb

aI's bulls for the bishopric of Winchester were ex- for the bi-
edited ; they were rated high at fifteen thousand whwhes"^
lucats; for though the cardinal pleaded his great ^'''
nerits, to bring the composition lower, yet the car-
finals at Rome said the apostolic chamber was very
loor, and other bulls were then coming from France,
0 which the favour they should shew the cardinal
rould be a precedent. But the cardinal sent word,
hat he would not give past five or six thousand ducats,
lecause he was exchanging Winchester for Duresme;
ind by the other they were to get a great composition.

K S

IM THE HISTORY OF

KOOK And if thej hekl hb bolb so higti, lie waald iMk have
them ; for he needed them not, sfaice he enjoyed al-

^^'^^' TfmAjf \iy the king's gnmt, the temponlides of li^o-
che^iter ; which it is Teiy likdj was aD that ke consi-
dered in a Mshopric. Thej were at last espediledy at
what rates I cannot tell; hot this I set down to shew
how severe the exactions of the court of Rome were.
T^r*v^ As the pope recovered his health, so ke inclined
\hin irith fnonr to join himself to the emperor than ever, and

f nA Aita#^a

fM, WAS Tnore alienated than fonnerlj from the king and
thcr cardinal ; which perhaps were increased hjr the
distaste he took at the cardinal's aspiring to the
lioiMulom. Ilie first thing that the emperor did in
wiw pw^ the king's cause, was to protest in the queen of Eng-
ffniiitt lilt land's name, that she refused to submit to the le-
(Xmu. gates : the one was the king's chief minister, and
May IK. ''^*'' mortal enemy ; the other was also justly sus-
])ectc(l, since he had a bishopric in England. The
king's ambassador pressed the pope much not to ad-
mit tlio protestation ; but it was pretended that it
(*oul(l not 1)0 denied, either in law or justice. But
that this might not offend the king, Salviati, that
was the |>o|)e'H favourite, wrote to Campegio that the
protestation could not be hindered, but that the
po|H' did still most earnestly desiro to satisfy the
king, and that the ambassadors were much mistaken,
who wore so distnistful of the pope's good mind to
the king\s cause. But now good words could de-
ceive tlie king no longer, who clearly discovered the
|>o]H'V mind ; and being out of all hopes of any thing
more from Rome, resolved to proceed in England
l>cfore the legates ; and tlierefore Gardiner was re-
^^pg|MUed, who w*as thought the fittest person to ma-
|^^^^\|e the process in England, being esteemed the

THE REFORMATION. 135

greatest canonist they had; and was so valued by book
the king, that he would not begin the process till he

M

came. Sir Francis Brian was also recalled. And ^ !.^^.^'

Collect*

when they took leave of the pope, they were ordered ^^^^- »3.
to expostulate, in the king's name, '* upon the par-
^ tiality he expressed for the emperor, notwitbstand-
" ing the many assurances that both the legates had
** given the king, that the pope would do all he
^ could toward his satisfaction ; which was now so
** ill performed, that he expected no more justice
from him. They were also to say as much as
they could devise in the cardinal's name to the
^ same purpose ; upon which they were to try if it
*^ were possible to obtain any enlargement of the
^ commission, with fuller power to the legates ;"
for they saw it was in vain to move for any new
bulls or orders from the pope about it. And though xbe pope
Gardiner had obtained a pollicitation from the pope, S^°to re-
by which he both bound himself not to recall the^U^^^^^^^
cause from the legates, and also to confirm their
sentence, and had sent it over ; they found it was so
conceived, that the pope could go back from it when
he pleased. So there was a new draught of a poUi*
citation formed, with more binding clauses in it,
which Grardiner was to try if he could obtain by the
following pretence : " He was to tell the pope, that
^ the courier to whom he trusted it, had been so
** little careful of it, that it was all wet and defaced,
^* and of no more use; so that he durst not deliver it.
" And this might turn much to Gardiner's preju-
^' dice, that a matter of such concern was through
<* his neglect spoiled ; upon which he was to see if
*^ the pope would renew it. If that could be ob-
** tained, he was to use all his industry to get as

K 4

((

186 THE HISTORY OF

ROOK '< many pregnant and material words added, as
' <' might make it more binding. He was also to as-
1529. t€ gure ii^^ pope, that though the emperor was gone
*< to Barcellona to give reputation to his affairs in
** Italy, yet he had neither army nor fleet ready ;
so that they needed not fear him. And he was
to inform the pope of the arts he was using both
in the English and French courts to make a sepa-
rate treaty ; but all that was to no purpose, the
two kings being so firmly linked together." But
the pope was so great a master in all the arts of dis-
simulation and policy, that he was not to be over-
reached easily; and when he understood that his
pollicitation was defaced, he was in his heart glad
at it, and could not be prevailed with to renew it.
So they returned to England, and Dr. Bennet came
Tht It- in their place. He carried with him one of the

cttct write

to Um pope, fullest and most important despatches that I find in
this whole matter, from the two legates to the pope
Collect, and the consistory ; who wrote to them, ^' That
they had in vain endeavoured to persuade either
party to yield to the other ; that the breve being
shewed to them by the queen, they found great and
** evident presumptions of its beiig a mere foi^ery ;
and, that they thought it was too much for them
to sit and try the validity or authenticalness of
the pope's bulls or breves, or to hear his power of
^ dispensing in such cases disputed : therefore it
" was more expedient to avocate the cause, to which
*' the king would consent, if the pope obliged him-
" self, under his hand, to pass sentence speedily in
" his favour : but they rather advised the granting
^* a decretal bull^ which would put an end to the
matter ; in order to which, the bearer was

Numb. 34.

tt

THE REFORMATION. 187

^instructed to shew very good precedents. But, book
^ in the mean while, they advised the pope to press

the queen most effectually to enter into a religious ^^^^'
<< life^ as that which would compose all these differ-
^ences in the softest and easiest way. It pitied
** them to see the rack and torments of conscience
^ under which the king had smarted so many years ;
** and that the disputes of divines, and the decrees
^ of &thers, had so disquieted him, that, for clearing
" a matter thus perplexed, there was not only need
*^ of learning, but of a more singular piety and iUu-
^ mination. To this were to be added, the desire
^ of issue, settlement of the kingdom, with many
^ other pressing reasons ; that as the matter did ad-
" mit of no further delays, so there was not any
^ thing in the opposite scale to balance these consi-
** derations. There were false suggestions surmised
^ abroad, as if the hatred of the queen, or the desire
* of another wife, (who was not perhaps yet known,
^ much less designed,) were the true causes of this
^ suit. But though the queen was of a rough tem-
^ per, and an unpleasant conversation, and was pass-
** ed all hopes of children ; yet who could imagine
^ that the king, who had spent his most youthful
^ days with her so kindly, would now, in the decline
^ of his age, be at all this trouble to be rid of her,
•* if he had no other motives ? But they, by search-
^ ing his sore, found there, was rooted in his heart,
** both an awe of God, and a respect to law and or-
'* der ; so that though all his people pressed him to
'* drive the matter to an issue, yet he would still wait
** for the decision of the apostolic see. Therefore
** they most pressin^y desire the pope to grant the
^* cure which his distemper required, and to consider.

it

ii

138 THE HISTORY OF

: " that it was not fit to insist too much on the rigour
. ** of the law : but since the soul and life of all the
'' laws of the church was in the pope's breast, in
" doubtiul cases, where there was great hazard, he
" ought to mollify the severity of the laws ; which
'' if it were not done, other remedies would be found
out, to the vast prejudice of the ecclesiastical au-
thority, to which many about the king advised
'' him : there was reason to fear they should not
only lose a king of England, but a Defender of
the Faith. The nobility and gentry were already
enraged at the delay of a matter in which all their
'' lives and interests were so nearly concerned ; and
said many things against the pope's proceedings,
which they could not relate without horror. And
they plainly complained, that whereas popes had
'^ made no scruple to make and change divine laws
" at their pleasure ; yet one pope sticks so much at
" the repealing what his predecessor did, as if that
" were more sacred, and not to be meddled with.
*^ The king betook himself to no ill arts, neither to
** the charms of magicians, nor the forgeries of im-
" postors ; therefore they expected such an answer
^* as should put an end to the whole matter."
'• But all these things were to no purpose ; the pope
I. had taken his measures, and was not to be moved
by all the reasons or remonstrances the ambassador
could lay before him. The king had absolutely gained
(Janipcgio to do all he could for him, without losing
the pofHs's favour. He led at this time a very dis-
flohitc life in England, hunting and gaming all the
day long, and following whores all the night ; and
^amuAi a bastard of his own over to England with
^^Krbom the king knighted : so that if the king

THE RKFOUMATION. V^d

sought his pleasure, it was no strange thing, since book
Ire had such a copy set him by two legates, who re-

presenting his holiness so lively in their manners, it '^^^'
was no unusual thing if a king had a slight sense of
inch disorders. The king wrote to his ambassadors, April 6.
that he was satisfied of Campegio's love and affec-
tion to him, and if ever he was gained by the empe-
lor^s agents, he had said something to him which
did totally change that inclination.

The imperialists, being alarmed at the recalling The empe-
of some of the English ambassadors, and being in-foranaro-
formed, by the queen's means, that they were form-****^°*
ing the process in England, put in a memorial for
an avocation of the cause to Rome. The ambassa-
dors answered, that there was no colour for asking
it, since there was nothing yet done by the legates.
For they had strict orders to deny that there was
any process forming in England, even to the pope
himself in private, unless he had a mind it should go
on ; but were to use all their endeavours to hinder
an avocation ; and plainly in the king's name to tell
the pope. That if he granted that, the king would
look on it as a formal decision against him. And it
would also be an high affront to the two cardinals :
and they were thereupon to protest, .that the king which the
would not obey, nor consider the pope any more, if bi^^'
he did an act of such high injustice, as, after he had ^^
granted a commission, upon no complaint of any il-
legality or unjust proceedings of the legates, but only
upon surmises and suspicions, to take it out of their
hands. But the pope had not yet brought the em-
peror to his terms in other things; therefore, to
draw him on the faster, he <rontinued to give the
English ambassador good words ; and in discourse

140 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK with Peter Vannes, did insiDuate as if he had founi

"• a means to bring the whole matter to a good condu

1529. sion, and spoke it with an artificial smile, adding

d^p «S- ^» '*« "«"»« ?/" ^ Father, &c. but would no

'™'*^'^ speak it out, and seemed to keep it up as a secic

coiket. not yet ripe. But all this did aAerwards appear t

HB»b. »s. j^ ^^ deepest dissimulation that ever was practised

And in the whole process, though the cardint

studied to make tricks pass upon him, yet he wa

always too hard for them all at it ; and seemed a

infallible in his arts of ju^Iing, as he pretended t

Collect, be in his decisions. He wrote a cajoling letter t

^ the cardinal But words went for nothing.

The pop« Soon after this, the pope complained much to d

^!(Uk t\a- Gh:<^;ory Cassali of the ill usage he received from th

j'diw's^' French ambassador, and that their confederates, th

Florentines, and the duke of Ferrara, used him s

ill, that they would force him to throw himself int

the emperor's hands : and he seemed inclined t

grant an avocation of the cause, and complaine

that there was a treaty of peace going on at Can

bray, in which he had no share. But the ambassi

dor undertook that nothing should be done to giv

him just offence ; yet the Florentines continued t

put great affronts on him and his family; and tb

■" ,' d)bot of FaHa, their general, made excursions to th

rg»tes of Rome ; so that the pope, with great sigt
'J- of fear, said, " That the Florentines would some da
" seize on him, and carry him, with his hands boun
" behind his back, in procession to Florence : an
" that all this while the kings of England an
L^^**Rwtce did only entertain him with good woid
W^^^r^ >"*'* so much as restrain the insolencies <

^^r ^Bfcflderates. And whereas they used 1

THE REFORMATION. 141

^say, that if he joined himself to the emperor^ he book

" would treat him as his chaplain ; he said with ! —

^ great commotion, that he would not only choose ^^^^*
^father to be his chaplain, but his horse^oom,
" than suffer such injuries from his own rebellious
"vassals and subjects." This was perhaps set on
hy the cardinal's arts, to let the pope feel the weight
tf offending the king, and to oblige him to use him
better: but it wrought a contrary effect, for the
treaty between the emperor and him was the more
advanced by it. And the pope reckoned that the
emperor, being (as he was informed) ashamed and
grieved for the~ taking and sacking of Rome, would
study to repair that by better usage for the future.

The motion for the avocation was stUl driven on. Great eon.
and pressed the more earnestly, because they heard the aro.
the legates were proceeding in the cause. But the T^^^'

o x- o June 23.

ambassadors were instructed, by a despatch from the coiiect.
king, to obviate that carefully ; for as it would re-
flect on the legates, and defeat the commission, and
be a gross violation of the pope's promise, which
they had in writing ; so it was more for the pope's
interest to leave it in the legates' hands, than to
bring it before himself; for then, whatever sentence
passed, the ill effects of it would lie on the pope
without any interposition. And as the king had
very just exceptions to Rome, where the emperor's
forces lay so near, that no safety could be expected
there; so they were to tell the pope, that by the
laws of England, the prerogative of the crown royal
was sucAf that the pope could do nothing that was
prejudicial to it; to which the citing the king to
Rome, to have his cause decided there, was contrary
in a high degree. And if the pope went on, not-

144 THE HISTORY OF

withstanding all thie diHgecce thej could use to the
coTitraiy, th^j wer^. bj anocher de^Mitdi which Gar-
dmer sent, ordered to protest and appeal from the
pope as if 0/ M^ ^nriT ricar €^'Ckrut. to a true vicar.
But the king upon second thoughts judged it not fit
to proceed to this extremitr so soon. They were
also ordered to advertise the foipe, that all the nobi-
lity had assured the king, they would adhere to him,
in case he were so ill used by the pope, that he were
constrained to withdraw his obedience from the
apostolic see ; and that the cardinal^s ruin was un-
avoidable, if the pope granted the avocaticm. The
emperor's agents had pretended they could not send
the original breve into England, and said their
master would send it to Rome, upon which the am-
bassadors had solicited for letters compulsory, to re-
quire him to send it to England ; yet, lest that might
now Ix: made an argument by the imperialists for
an avocation, they were ordered to speak no more
of it, for the legates would proceed to sentence, upon
the attested copy that was sent from Spain.

Thi: ambassadors had also orders to take the best
t'ounsel in Rome about the l^al ways of hindering
an avocation. But they found it was not fit to rely
much on the lawyers in that matter. For as, on the
mv hand, there was no secrecy to be expected from
liny of them, they having such expectations of pre-
Uruwuts from the pope, (which were beyond all the
UrcM that could be given them,) that they 'discovered
nil nrrri'iH to him ; so none of them would be earnest
III hifiihr an avocation, it being their interests to
liring nil matters to Rome, by which they might
m||Ar much greater fees. And Salviati^ whom
^^feftMadors had gained, told them, that Cam-

ny

THE REFORMATION. 143

pna brought word out of England, that the process book
then in a good forwardness. They with many

oaths denied there was any such thing ; and Silvester ^^^^*
Darius, who was sent express to Rome for opposing
4he avocation, confirmed all that they swore. But
nothing was believed ; for, by a secret conveyance,
Campana had letters to the contrary. And when
they objected to Salviati what was promised by
Campana, in the pope's name, that he would do
[ every thing for the king that he could do out of the
/klmess of hi^ power; he answered, ** that Campana
"swore he had never said any such thing.'' So
hard is the case of ministers in such ticklish nego-
dations, that they must say and unsay, swear and
forswear, as they are instructed, which goes of course
as a part of their business.

But now the legates were proceeding in England : The le-
of the steps in which they went, though a great dealf^giJId. "
be already published, yet considerable things are
passed over. On the thirty-first of May, the king,
by a warrant under the great seal, gave the legates
leave to execute their commission, upon which they
sat that same day. The commission was presented orig.journ.
by liOngland, bishop of Lincoln, which was given toiibr.vitei.
the proto-notary of the court, and he read it pub-^* "•
licly : then the legates took it in their hands, and
said, they were resolved to execute it : and first gave
the usual oaths to the clerks of the court, and or-
dered a peremptory citation of the king and queen
to appear on the eighteenth of June, between nine
and ten o'clock ; and so the court adjourned. The
next session was on the eighteenth of June, where
the citation being returned duly executed, Richard
Sampson, dean of the chapel, and Mr. John BeU, ap-

THE REFORMATION. 146

^ afao in their consci^iioes thought hb life was in book
f inch danger, that he ought to withdraw himaelf , "'
^ ftom her company, and not suffer the princes to be 1529.

* with her. Hiese things were to be told her, to .

* induce her to enter into a religious order, and to

* parwiade her -to submit to the king." To which
pqier the cardinal added in Latin, That she played Qmoi ttmUe
AeJM, ffske emUended with the king, that her^^t^
tUldren had not been blessed; and somewhat of^^^
the emdent suspicions that were of the forgery ^^.^*~
He hre^e. But she had a constant mind, and was ^^ «e
Mfc to be threatened to any thing. On the treaty ^/aidimtu.
fist of June the court sat; the king and queen nw uog
iren present m person. Uampegio made a long appew in

speech of die errand they were come about : * " That "^"^^
" H was a new, unheard-of, vile, and intolerable terviimfiMi
« thii^ for the king and queen to live in adultery, or^^j^.'^''
'^ rather incest;'* which they must now try, and
pooeed as they saw just cause. And both the le-
grtes made deep protestations of the sincerity of
their minds, and that they would proceed justly and
fidrly, without any favour or partiality.

As for the formal speeches which the king and
qoeen made. Hall, who never failed in trifles, sets
them dofwn, which I incline to believe they reaUy
^oke ; for with the journals of the court I find those
speeches written down, though not as a part of the
JQumaL

But here the lord Herbert's usual diligence fails
Idm ; for he fancies the queen never appeared after
the eighteenth ; upon which, because the journal of
the next sessions are lost, he infers, against all the his-
tories of that time, that the king and the queen were
not in court together. And he seems to conclude,

VOL. I. L

146 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK that the twenty-fifth of June was the next session
after the eighteenth : but in that he was mbtaken;

^^^^' for by an original letter of the king's to his ambas-
Numb. 38. sadorsy it is plain that both the king and queen came
in person into the courts where they both sat^ with
their council standing about them; the bishops of
Rochester and St. Asaph, and doctor Ridley, being
the queen's council. When the king and queen
were called on, the king answered, Here; but the
queen left her seat, and went and kneeled down be-
fore him, and made a speech, that had all the insi-
nuations in it to raise pity and compassion in the
The ^ court. She said, '* She was a poor woman, and a
speech. ** Stranger in his dominions, where she could neither
** expect good counsel, nor indifferent judges ; she
'* had been long his wife, and desired to know
*' wherein she had offended him : she had been his
*' wife twenty years and more, and had borne him
** several children, and had ever studied to please
«^ him ; and protested he had found her a true maid,
*^ about which she appealed to his own conscience.
'^ If she had done any thing amiss, she was willing
" to be put away with shame. Their parents were
" esteemed very wise princes, and no doubt had
'' good counsellors, and learned men about them,
" when the match was agreed : therefore she would
** not submit to the court ; nor durst her lawyers,
" who were his subjects, and assigned by liim, speak
freely for her. So she desired to be excused till
she heard from Spain." That said, she rose up,
and made the king a low reverence, and went out
of the court. And though they called after her,
she made no answer, but went away, and would
never again appear in court.

it

THE REFORMATION. 147

8lie hasag gone, the king did publicly dedare book
vlyit a true and obedient wife she had alwajrs been^

ad oommended her much for her excell«[it qua- ^^^^*
iliea. Then the cardinal of York desired the kinggimtht
«€iild witness whether he had been the iBrst or chief S^^^^
■over of that matter to him, since he was suspected
la haye done it. In which the king did vindicate
Um, and aaid, that he had always rather opposed it»
and protested it arose merely out of a scruple in his
conscience, which was occasioned by the discourse
of the French ambassador ; who, during the treaty
of a match between his daughter and the duke of
Qileanoe^ did except to her being legitimate, as be-
gottea in an unlawful marriage : upon which he re-
solved to try t||^ lawfulness of it^ both tor the quiet of
bis ooDsdence^ and for clearing the succession of the
crown : and if it were found lawful, he was very
well satisfied to live still with the queen. But upon
that, he had first moved it in confession to the
Ushop of Lincoln ; then he had desired the archbi-
shop of Canterbury to gather the opinions of the bi-
flbopa, who did all under their hands and seals de-
dare against the marriage. This the archbishop
confirmed, but the bishop of Rochester denied his
hand was at it. And the archbishop pretended he
had his consent to make another write his name to
the judgment of the rest, which he positively do*
ided.

The court adjourned to the twenty-fiflh, ordering
letters monitory to be issued out for citing the queen
to appear under pain of contumacy. But on the The
twenty-fifih was brought in her appeal to the pope, app«a.
the ori^nal of which is extant, every page being
both subacribed and superscribed by her. She ex-^

l2

1*8 THE HISTORy OF

:epted both to the place, to the judges, and to her
x)unsel, in whom she could not conJBde ; and there^
Pore appealed, and desired her cause might be heard
by the pope, with many things out of the auDon
law, on which she grounded it. This being read;
and she not appearing, was declared cantmmas.
Then the l^ates, being to proceed ex qfficiOj drew
up twelve articles, upon which they were to ex-
amine witnesses. The substance ofthem was, ''That
^< prince Arthur and the. king were brothers; that
'' prince Arthur did marry the queen, and consum-
** mated the marriage; that upon his death the king,
<< by virtue of a dispensation, had married her ; that
'' this marrying his brother's wife was forbidden
'' both by human and divine law ; ihd that, upon
'' the complaints which the pope had received, te
'< had sent ihem now to try ahd judge in it"
The king's counsel insisted most on prince Arthur^s
having consummated the marriage, and that led
them to say many things that seemed incident ; of
which the bishop of Rochester complained, and said,
they were things detestable to be heard: but car-
dinal Wolsey checked him, and there passed some
sharp words between them.

The legates proceeded to the examination of wit-
nesses, of which I shall say little, the substance of
their depositions being fully set down, with all their
names, by the lord Herbert. The sum of what was
most material in them was, that many violent pre-
sumptions appeared by their testimonies, that prince
Arthur did carnally know the queen. And it can-
not be imagined how greater proofs could be made
twenty-seven years after their marriage. Thus the
rt went on several days examining witnesses:

THE BEFORICATION. 149

hit as the matter was going oti to a ocmchisioD^ boojk
came an avocation from Rome : of which I "'

AaB BOW give an account ^'^*

The queai wrote most earnestly to her nephews tim pro-
la pvocure an avocation ; protesting she would suffer st rmm
mf tim^t and even death itself rather than depart ^;^'
HMD her marriage: that she expected no justice
ftom the Iq^ates, and therefore looked for their as-
rfstamcej tfaat» her appeal being admitted by the
|8p^ the cause mig^t be taken out of the legates'
hnda. Gampegio did also give the pope an acccnint au tut is
sff their fkrogress, and by all means advised an avo- tb^^^nai
ealkm; for by this he thought to excuse himself toj^^^^.
the kiiif^ to oblige the emperor much, and to have^^g^*,^
the repotatioB of a man of conscience. 9*

The empetor^ and his brother Ferdinand, sent
their ambassado^ at Rome orders, to give the pope
no rest till it were procured ; and the emperor said,
He would lock on a sentence against his aunt as a
dishonour to his family, and would lose all his
kii^pdoms sooner than endure it. And they plied
the pope so warmly, that between - them and the
Bngliah ambassadors he had for some days very
Httie rest. To the one he was kind, and to the
other he resolved to be dvil. The English ambassa-
dors met oft with Salviati, and studied to persuade
him, that the process went not on in England ; but he
told them, their intelligence was so good, that what-
ever they said on that head would not be believed.
They next suggested, that it was visible Campegio's
advising an avocation was only done to preserve
himself from the envy of the sentence, and to throw
it wholly on the pope ; for were the matter once
called to Rome, the pope must give sentence one

l8

160 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK W&7 or another, and so bear the whole burden of it t
Thprp were also secret surmises of deposing the t
'*29. pope, if he went so far ; for seeing that the emftoror i
prevailed so much by the terrors of that, the car^ i
dinal resolved to try what operation such threaten- i
ings in the king's name might have. But they had '■
no armies near the pope, so that big words did only )
provoke and alienate him the more. •■

The matter was such, that by the canon law it '
could not be denied. For to grant an avocation of :
a cause upon good reason, from the del^ated to the ^
supreme court, was a thing which by the course d
law was very usual: and it was no less apparent
that the reasons of the queen's appeal were just and
The pofB good. But the secret and most convincing motives,
the cm- that wrought more on the pope than all other things,
were, that the treaty between him and the emperor
was now concerted : therefore, this being to be pub-
lished very speedily, the pope thought it necessary
to avocate the matter to Rome before the puUica-
tion for the peace, lest, if he did it after, it should
be thought that it had been one of the secret artU
cles of the treaty, which would have cast a foul
blot upon him. Yet, on the other hand, he was
not a little perplexed with the fears he had of losing
the king of England ; he knew he was a man of an
high spirit, and would resent what he did severely.
" And the cardinal now again ordered Dr. Bennet
" in his name, and as with tears in his eyes, lying
" at the pope's feet, to assure him, that the king
" and kingdom of England were certainly lost if
1 were avocated: therefore he besought
i it still in their hands, and assured
' himself, he should rather be tfflu

THE REFORMATION. 151

•in piflMi joint bjr joint than do anj thing in that Boor
V^mailer oontniy to his conscience or to justice."

tbings had been oft said^ and the pope did ^^^
that ill effects would follow: for if thegnnTp^.
fidi from his obedience to the apostolic see, no^*^*^^^
ikmbt all the Lutheran princes, who were already
hml J ing against the emperor, would join them-
idvea with bun ; and the interests of France would
■Mat certainljr engage that king also into the union,
Vrtdch woiiU distract the church, give encourage-
•ant to heiesjr, and end in the utter ruin of the
jopedmn. But in all this the crafty pope comforted
IjwapH^ that many times threatenings are not in-
taided ta be made good, but are used to terrify;
and that the king, who had written for the faith
sgaiatk Lather, and had been so ill used by him,
woold never do a thing that would sound so ill, as,
because he could not obtain what he had a mind to,
flieiefoie to turn heretic : he also resolved to caress
flie French king much, and was in hopes of making
peace between the emperor and him.

But that which went nearest the pope's heart of
afl other things, was the setting up of his family at
IWenqe; and the emperor having given him assur-
•noe of that, it weighed down all other considera-
ticnis. Therefore he resolved he would please the
empetor, but do all he could not to lose the king :
so on the ninth of July, he sent for the king's am->
bassadors, and told them, the process was now so
&r set cm in England, and the avocation so earnestly
pressed, that he could deny it no longer ; for all the
bwyers in Rome had told him, the thing could not be
denied in the common course of justice. Upon this
the ambassadors told him what they had in commisn

l4

162 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK sion to say against it, both from tbe king and the

___! cardinal, and pressed it with great vehemence : bo

'*^''' that the pope by many sighs and tears shewed how
deep an impression that which they said made upon
him : he wished himself dead, that he might be de-
livered out of that martyrdom : and added these
words, which, because of their savouring so much of
an apostolical spirit, I set down : H^oe is me, mo-
body apprehendg all those evils better than I do.
But I am so between the hammer and the Jorge,
that, when I would comply with the king's desires,
the whole storm then mustfaU on my head ; and,
which is worse, on the church of Christ. They,
did object the many promises he had made them,
both by word of mouth, and under his hand. He
answered, He desired to do more for the king than
he had promised: but it was impossible to rejiue
what the emperor now demanded, whose forces did
so surround him, that he could not only force him
to grant him justice, but could dispose of him and
all his concerns at his pleasure.

The ambassadors, seeing the pope was resolved to
grant the avocation, pressed against it no further,
but studied to put it off for some time : and there-
fore proposed, that the pope would himself write
about it to the king, and not grant it till he received
hii answer. Of all this -they gave advertisement to
^ the king, and wrote to him, that he must either

, drive the matter to a sentence in great haste, or, to

m .ffW*ft the affront of an avocation, suspend the pro-
^^^^^^^^Kaptne time. They also advised the search-
^^^^^ «|packetfi tliflt went or came by the way of

^^ jk^^M||^up all Campepo's letters,

^^^^^^**I'6m11 migfet conw to Eng-

THB BEFOBMATION. 15S

Imd; fiir thej did much aj^yrehend that the avoca- book
tioo would be granted within very few days. Their

isxfc deqiatch bore, that the pope had sent for them '^^^*
to let them know, that he had signed the avocation The

■ro-

the dmj befinre. But they understood another way, !^^
that the treaty between the emperor and him was
iniihedj and the peace was to be proclaimed on the
dig^rteenth of July ; and that the pope did not only
fiear the emperor more than all other princes, but
that he also trusted him more now. On the nine- '
teenth of July, the pope sent a messenger with the
Sffocation to England, with a letter to the cardinal, couect.
To the king he wrote afterwards. ""^ ' ^^'

All this while Campegio, as he had orders from '<*!>« pn>-

ceedingi of

the pi^ to draw out the matter by delays, so he the legatet.
did it veiy dexterously : and in this he pretended a
fair excuse, that it would not be for the king's ho-
nour to precipitate the matter too much, lest great
advantages might be taken from that by the queen's
party. That therefore it was fit to proceed slowly,
that the world might see with what moderation as
wdl as justice the matter was handled. From the
twenty-fifth of June, the court adjourned to the
twenty-eighth, ordering a second citation for the
qoeen, under the pains of contumacy, and of their
piooeeding to examine witnesses. And on the
twenty-eighth they declared the queen contumacious
a seoood time ; and examined several witnesses upon
the articles, and adjourned to the fifth of July. On
that day the bull and breve were read in court, and
the kiDg^s counsel argued long against the validity
tf the one, and the truth of the other, upon the
groypdi that have been already mentioned; in
whkb CSaiBpegb was much disgusted to hear them

l»i THE m^roMT OF

ynling sadi a
jigaiiiat a diTiiie
did Dol extend sa
legates oierraledy and said, that that
point for dftem to judge bnyorso mudi
at to hear argued ; and that the pope himself was
the onlj proper jndge in that : ^ and it was odds
•^ hot he would judge fiiToiirafalT for himsdf.** Tbe
ooort adjourned to the twdfth, and firom that to the
fburteenth. On these dajs the depositions of the
rest of the witnesses were taken, and some that
were ancient persons were examined by a commis-
sion from the legates ; and aU the depositions were
puUished on the seventeenth ; other instruments re-
lating to the process were also read and verified in
court. On the twenty-first the court sat to con-
clude the matter, as was expected, and the instru-
ment that the king had signed when he came of
age, protesting that he would not stand to the con-
tract made when he was under age, was then read
and verified. Upon which the king^s counsel (of
whom Gardiner was the chief) closed their evidence,
and summed up all that had been brought ; and, in
mrtrtiidj (.jjg king's uamc, desired sentence might be given.
unce. But Campegio, pretending that it was fit some in-
terval should be between that and the sentence, put
it oflF till the twenty-third, being Friday; and in
the whole process he presided, both being the an^
cienter cardinal, and chiefly to shew great equity;
since exceptions might have been taken, if the other
had appeared much in it: so that he only sat by
fc him for form ; but all the orders of the court were

still directed by Campegio- On Friday there was a
groat appearance, and a general ezpecUtion; but

AU thini^t

THE REFORMATION. IBB

hjr a ifamige surprise Camfefpo acgourned the court hook
to ike first of October, for which he pretended, that

tkj sat there as a part of the consistory of Rome, ^^^^*
and therefiire must follow the rules of that court, adOomSd
which firqm that time till October was in a vacation,^' ""^^
sad heard no causes : and this he averred to be true
m. the word of a true prelate.

The king was in a chamber very near, where he
heard what passed, and was inexpressibly surprised
at it. The dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk were in
court, and complained much of this delay; and
pressed the l^;ates to give sentence. Campegio an-
swered^ That what they might then pronounce
would be of no force, as being in vacation-time;
but gave great hopes of a favourable sentence in the
beginning of October. Upon which the lords spake
Toy high. And the duke of Suffolk, with great com-
motion, swore by the masSj that he saw it was true
which had been commonly said, That never car-
dinal yet did good in England; and so all the tem-whicfa
poral lords went away in a fury, leaving the legates dfenoe.
(Wolsey especially) in no small perplexity. Wolsey
knew it would be suspected that he understood this
beforehand, and that it would be to no purpose for
him, either to say he did not know, or could not help
it; all apologies being ill heard by an enraged
prince. Camp^o had not much to lose in Eng»
land but his bishopric of Salisbury, and the reward
he expected from the king, which he knew the em-
peror and the pope would plentifully make up to
him. But his colleague was in a worse condition ;
he had much to fear, because he had much to lose ;
for as the king had severely chid him for the delays
of the business, so he was now to expect a heavy

166 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK storm from him ; and after so long an administration

II

of affairs by so insolent a favourite, it was not to be

^^29. doubted, but as many of his enemies were joinii^
danger, agaiust him, so matter must needs be found to work
his ruin with a prince that was alienated from him:
therefore he was under all the disorders which a fear,
that was heightened by ambition and covetousness.
could produce.

But the king governed himself upon this occasion
with more temper than could have been expected
from a man of his humour : therefore, as he made
no great shew of disturbance, so, to Avert his uneasy
thoughts, he went his progress. Soon after, he re-
ceived his agent's letter from Rome, and made Oar-
diner (who was then secretary of state) write to the
cardinal, to put Campegio to his oath, whether he
had revealed the king's secrets to the pope or not ?
and if he swore he had not done it, to make him
swear he should never do it. A little after that, the
messenger came from Rome with a breve to the le-
gates, requiring them to proceed no ftirther, and with
August 4. an avocation of the cause to Rome ; together with
letters citatory to the king and queen to appear
there in person, or by their proxies. Of whiclT when
the king was advertised, Gardiner wrote to the car-
dinal by his order, That the king would not have
the letters citatory executed, or the commission dis-
charged by virtue of them ; but that, upon the pope's
breve to them, they should declare their commission
void : for he would not suffer a thing so much to the
prejudice of his crown, as a citation be made to ap-
^^^^^jomt in another court, nor would he let his subjects
j^^HHtattiie that he was to be cited out of his kingdom.
^^^^^Vpvas the first step that he made for the lessening

THE BEFORMATION. 157

flf tte pope^ power: upon which the two cardinals book
(far tbef were ]egBtes no longer) went to the king

MGnfton. It was generally expected that Wolsey ^^^^-
. Aould have been disgraced then ; for not only the
kmg was offended with him, but he received new in-
imiatiQiis of his haying juggled in the business, and
ttat he secret]^ advised the pope to do what was
done. This was set about by some of the queen's
agentiy as if there was certain knowledge had of it
■t BcHiie ; and it was said, that some letters of his
to the pope were by a trick found, and brought over
to Etngiand, The emperor looked on the cardinal
as his inveterate enemy, and designed to ruin him if
k was posnUe; nor was it hard to persuade the
qoeen to concur with him to pull him down. But
sH this seems an artifice of theirs only to destroy
him. .For the earnestness the cardinal expressed in
this matter was such, that either he was sincere in
it, or he was the best at dissembling that ever was.
But these suggestions were easily infused in the
king^s angry mind : so strangely are men turned by
tiieir aflfeclions, that sometimes they will believe no-
thing, and af other times they believe every thing.
Tet when the cardinal, with his colleague, came to
court, they were received by the king with very
hearty expressions of kindness; and Wolsey was
cften in private with hinf, sometimes in presence of
the council, and sometimes alone: once he was
many hours with the king alone, and when they took
leave, he sent them away very obligingly. But that ^*jP*J3- "*
which gave cardinal Wolsey the most assurance was, from the
that all those who were admitted to the king's pri- secrrtar^ to
raoies did carry themselves towards him as they ''**"*^' '
were wont to do ; both the duke of Suffolk, sir Tho-

168 THE HISTORY OF j

BOOK mas Boleyn, then made viscount of Rochford, sir i
Brian Tuke, and Gardiner: concluding that from ii

^^^^* the motions of such weathercocks the air of the ]
prince's affections was best gathered. . i

Anne Bo- Anne Bolcyn was now brought to the court agaioi i
t?Muri. out of which she had been dismissed for some time^ :
for silencing the noise that her being at court, dur-
ing the process, would have occasioned. It is said, )
that she took her dismission so ill, that she resolved j
never again to return; and that she was verj ^
hardly brought to it afterwards, not without threat-
enings from her father. But of that nothing appears
to me ; only this I find, that all her former kindness
to the cardinal was now turned to enmity, so that
she was not wanting in her endeavours to pull him
down.

But the king being reconciled to her, and, as it is
ordinary after some intermission and disorder be-
tween lovers, his affection increasing, he was casting
about for overtures, how to compass what he so ear-
nestly desired. Sometimes he thought of procuring
a new commission ; but that was not advisable, for
after a long dependance it might end fts the former
had done. Then he thought of breaking off with
the pope : but there was great danger in that : for,
besides that in his own persuasion he adhered to all
the most important parts of the Roman religion, his
n subjects were so addicted to it, that any such a

change could not but seem full of hazard. Sometime
he inclined to confederate himself with the pope and
the emperor, for now there was no dividing of them,

thereby bring the emperor to yield to

But that was against the interests of

mUuI the emperor had already proceeded

THE REFORMATION. 109

•

9 fiv ID Ui oppositioD, that he could not be eadly frooK
Inwgiit about. "'

While his thoughts were thus divided, a new pi'o-^^^
Motkm was made to Iiini, that seemed the most rea^ propotitioo
wahh and feasible of them all. ^There was one uog*! au
Ik. Cranmer, who had been a fellow of Jesus college
m Camlnridge; but having married, forfeited his
ftOowship; yet continued his studies, and was a
leader of divinity in Buckingham college. His wife
d^Fing^ he was again chosen fellow of Jesus coU^e ;
and was much esteemed in the university for his
letming, which appeared very eminently on all pub-
lic OGcaaions. But he was a man that neither courted
prefennent, nor did willingly accept of it when of-
ftred. And therefore, though he was invited to be
a reader of divinity in the cardinal's college at Ox-
&rd, he declined it. He was at this time forced to
fly out of Cambridge, from a plague that was there ;
and having the sons of one Mr. Cressy of Waltham
Cross committed to his charge, Jie went with his pu-
pils to their father's house at Waltham. There he
was when the king returned from his progress, who
tock Waltham in his way, and lay a night there.
The harbingers having appointed Gardiner, and Fox,
the king's secretary and almoner, to lie at Mr. Cres-
sjr's house, it so happened that.Cranmer was with
them at supper. The whole discourse of England
being then about the divorce, these two courtiers,
knowing Cranmer's learning and solid judgment, en-
tertained him with it, and desired to hear his opinion
concerning it. He modestly declined it; but told
them, that he judged it would be a shorter and safer
way once to dear it well, if the marriage was unlaw-
ful in itself by virtue of any divine precept : for if

160 THE HISTORY OF

BOOR that were proved, then it was certain, that the pope's
dispensation could be of no force to make that law-

1529. fui^ which God had declared to be unlawful. There-
fore he thought, that, instead of a long fruitless ne-
gociation at Rome, it were better to consult all the
learned men, and the universities of Christendom ;
for if they once declared it in the king^s favour, then
the pope must needs give judgment ; or otherwise,
the bull being of itself null and void, the marriage
would be found sinful, notwithstanding the pope's
dispensation. This seemed a very good motion,
which they resolved to offer to the king ; so next
night, when he came to Greenwich, they proposed
it to him ; but with this difference, that Gardiner
had a mind to make it pass for their own contriv-
ance ; but Fox, who was of a more ingenuous na-
Approved turc, told the king from whom they had it. He
kin^^f was much affected with it, so soon as he heard it,
and said, had he known it sooner, it would have
saved him a vast expense, and much trouble ; and
would needs have Cranmer sent for to court, saying,
in his coarse way of speaking. That he had the sow
by the right ear. So he was sent for to court, and
being brought l^efore the king, he carried himself so,
that the king conceived an high opinion of his judg-
ment and candour, which he preserved to his death,
and still paid a respect to him, beyond all the other
churchmen that were about him: and though he
made more use of Gardiner in his business, whom he
found a man of great dexterity and cunning ; yet he
never had any respect for him. But for Cranmer,
though the king knew that in many things he dif-
him, yet, for all his being so impatient of
he always reverenced him.

THE REFORMATION. Iffl

He was won looked od as a rising churchman, and book
tte nidiery because the cardinal was now dedining ; '''

ftr in the following Michaelmas-tenn the king sent '^^*
ftr the great seal, which the cardinal at first wasmiwhef
Bbfc willing to part with. But the next daj the kingS^"^
Wtate to him, and he presently delivered it to the '^7^'

_ ^ '^ 7 md • fill.

dokes of Norfolk and Suffolk. It was offered back
again to Warham, archbbhop of Canterbury ; but
Iw, being very old, and foreseeing great difficulties
in the keeping of it^ excused himself. So it was
given to sir Thomas More, who was not only emi-
nent in his own profession, but in all other learning :
and was much esteemed for the strictness of his life,
and his contempt of money. He was also the more
fit to be made use of, having been in ill terms with
tte cardinal. Soon after. Hales, the attorney gene-
ral, put in an information against the cardinal in the
king^s bench ; bearing, ihat notwithstanding the sta-
Me qfBichard the Second^ against^ the procuring
hnttejrom Some, under the pains o/" praemunire, yet
he had procured bulls for his legantine power,
wkiek he had far many years executed ; and some
partiadarsjfor form, were named out of a great
wumy more. To this he put in his answer by his
attorney, and confessed the indictment, but pleaded
his ignorance of the statute, and submitted himself
to the king^s mercy. Upon this it was declared, that
he was out of the king^s protection, and that he had
forfeited his goods and chattels to the king, and that
his person might be seiased on. llien was his rich
palace of York-house, (now Whitehall,) with all that
vast wealth and royal furniture that he had heaped
together, (which was beyond any thing that had
ever been seen in England before,) seized on for the

VOL. I. M

im THE HISTORY OF

BOOK king. But it seems the king had not a mind to de-
stroy him outright, but only to bring him lower, and

'^^^- to try if the terror of that would have atiy influence
Roi. Put. a. on the pope : therefore, on the twenty-^first of No-
prio.r^'i. vember, the king granted him first his protection,
Feb. 12. ^^j jjjgjj jjjg pardon, and restored him to the arch-
bishopric of York, and the bishopric of Winchester,
and gave him back in money, goods, and plate, that
which amounted to 6374/. 3^. 7d. and many kind
messages were sent him, both by the king and Anne
Boleyn.
TiMmean. ' But as he had carried his greatness with moat
temper. ^ cxtravagant pride, so he was no less basely cast
down with his misfortune; and having no ballart
within hiifnself, but being wholly guided by things
without him, he was lifted up, or cast down, as the
scales of fortune turned : yet his enemies had gcme
too far ever to suffer a man of his parts or temper to
return to favour. And therefore they so ordered it,
that an high charge of many articles was brought
against him, into the house of lords, in the parUa-
ment that sat in November following ; and it passed
there, where he had but few friends, and many and
great enemies. But when the charge was sent down
to the house of commons, it was so managed by the
industry of Cromwell, who had been his servant, that
it came to nothing. The heads of it have been oft
printed, therefore I shall not repeat them ; they re-
lated chiefly to his legantine power, contrary to law,
to his insolence and ambition, his lewd life, and other
things that were brought to defame, as well as de-
stroy him.

All these things did so sink his proud mind, that
a deep melancholy overcame his spirits. The king

THE BEFORMATION. IflS

KDt Um frequent aMurances of his favour, which he book
moeived with extravaguit transports of joj» falling[

iora on his knees in the dirt liefore the messenger ^^^^'
ftift broi^lfat one of them, and holding up his hands •^I'.^^or*
ftr jogTf wUdi shewed how mean a soul he had, a^d
Alt, as Uqssdf afterwards acknowledged, he pr^^
fihrtd A$ khtf^9 fawmr to God Almighty's. But
thfli king finrnd they took little notice of hii^ at
Boine; the emperor hated him, and the pope <}i4
■ot love him^ looking on him as one that was almost
equal to himself in power : and though thej did not
love the precedent to have a cardinal so used, yet
thqr were not much troubled at Rome to see it fall
SB him. So in Saster-week he was ordered to go
■orthp thougli be had a great mind to have stayed
at Bichmond, which the king had given him in ex-
change for Hamjrtan-court, that be had also built.
But that was too near the court ; and his enemies
had a mind to send him further from it. Accord-
im^ he went to Cawood in Yorkshire, in which
journey it appears, that the ruins of his state were
omsideraUe, for he travelled thither with one bun-
dfed and sixty horse in' his train, and seventy-two
carts following him, with his household-stuff.

To conclude his story all at once, he was in No- He u aftn.
vember the next year seized on by the earl of North- ^J^i^'r
umbeiland, who attached him for high treason, and ^'^^^ '
committed him to the keeping of the lieutenant of
the Tower, who was ordered to bring him up to
London. And even then he had gracious messages
from the king: but these did not work much on
him, for whether it was that he knew himself guilty
of some secret practices with the pope, or with the
emperor, which yet he denied to the last ; or wbe-

M 2

164 THE HISTORY OP .

BOOK ther he could no loneer stand under the king's dis^

II'

pleasure, and that change of condition ; he was so .

>529. ^j^t down, that, on his way to London, he sickened
at Shefl5eld-park, in the earl of Shrewsbury's house,
from whence by slow journeys he went as far as i
Leicester, where after some days languishing he , i
died ; and at the last made great protestations of his, \
having served the king JdithJvUy^ and that he had \
Utile regarded the service of Chd, to do him jdea^ \
sure ; but if he had served God as he had done j
him^ he would not have given him over so, as he ^
did in his gray hairs. And he desired the king
to reflect on ail his past services, and in particular,
in his weighty matter, (for by that phrase they
usually spoke of the king's divorce,) and then he
would find in his conscience whether he had of-

And dies, fended him or not He died the twenty-eighth of
November, 1590, and was the greatest instance that
several ages had shown of the variety and incon-
stancy of human things, both in his rise and fall ;
and by his temper in both, it appears he was
unworthy of his greatness, and deserved what he
suffered. But, to conclude all that is to be said of
him, I shall add what the writer of his life ends it

Hit cbmc- with : Here is the end and fall of pride and arro^
gancy ; for I assure you, in his time he was the
haughtiest man in all his proceedings alive, having
more respect to the honour of his person, than he
had to his spiritual profession, wherein should he
shewed all meekness and charity.

Apariit But now, with the change of this great minister,

ed. there followed a change of counsels, and therefore

the king resolved to hold a parliament, that he
might meet his people, and establish such a good

THE REFORMATION. 165

undentandiog between himself and them» that he book
mii^t have all secured at home; and then he re-

nlfed to proceed more confidently abroad. There ^^^^'
had been no parliament for seven years; but the
Uame of that, and of every other miscarriage, falling
■atimlly on the disgraced minister^he did not doubt
fhaft he dionld be aUe to give his people full satis-
ftction in that, and in every thing else. So a par-
Hament was summoned to meet the third of Novem-
ber. And there, among several other laws that were
made-fior the public good of the kingdom, there were
Ub sent up by the house of commons against some
of the most exorbitant abuses of the dei^ : one
was against the exactions for the probates of wills ;
another was for the r^^ating of mortuaries; a
third was about the plurality of benefices, and non-
residence, and churchmen's being farmers of lands.
In the passing of these bills there were severe re-
flections made on the vices and corruptions of the
clergy of that time, which were believed to flow
fifom men that favoured Luther's doctrine in their
hearts.

When these bills were brought up to the house of Haii.
lords, the bishop of Rochester speaking to them,
did reflect on the house of commons : saying, That
they were resolved to bring down the church ; and
he desired they would consider the miserable state
of the kingdom of Bohemia, to which it was reduced
by heresy, and ended, T%at all this was for lack of
faith. But this being afterwards known to the The bouse
house of commons, they sent their speaker, sirmou^mm.
Thomas Audley, with thirty of their members, to Pj^°'.,^(^p
complain to the king of the bishop of Rochester, for j|f Roc»>e«-
feaying, that their acts flowed from the want of

M S

166 THE HISTORY OF

BOOR faith f which was an high imputation on the whole
nation, when the representative of the commons was

^^^^' so charged, as if they had been infidels and heathens.
This was set on by the court, to mortify that bishop,
Who was unacceptable to them, for his adhering 'so
firmly to the queen's cause. The king sent for the
archbishop of Canterbury, and six other bishops, and
before them told the complaint of the commons.
But the bishop of Rochester excused himself, and
said, he only meant of the kingdom of Bohemia,
when he said, all flowed from the want of faith, and
did not at all intend the house of commons. This
explanation the king sent by the treasurer of his
household, sir William Fitz- Williams. But though
the matter was passed over, yet they were not at all
satisfied with it, so that they went on, laying open
the abuses of the clergy.
Some bills In the house of peers great opposition was made
formln'if'the '^ ^^c biUs, and the dergy both within and without
the cTer*' doors did defame them, and said, these were the or-
dinary beginnings of heresy, to complain of abuses,
and pretend reformation, on purpose to disgrace the
clergy, from which heresy took its chief strength.
And the spiritual lords did generally oppose them,
the temporal lords being no less earnest to have them
passed. The cardinal was admitted to sit in the
house, where he shewed himself as submissive in his
fawning, as he had formerly done iii his scorn and
contempt of all who durst oppose him. But the
king set the bills forward; and, in the end, they
were agreed to by the lords, and had the royal as-
sent.

The king intended by this to let the Jwpe see
what he could do if he went on to ofiend him, and

THE REFORMATION. 167

how willinglx hb parliameDt would concur with him, book
i£be went to extremities. He did also endear him* "'
idf miich to the pec^le, by relieving them from the ^^29.
oppresrions of the clergy. But the clergy lost much
kf this means; for these acts did not only lessen
ibejr present profits, but did open the way for other
tbiogBy that were more to their detriment afterward.
Their exposing of thb, and all other motions for re-
temation, did very much increase the prejudices
tiiat were conceived against them : whereas if such
■Mitions had dther risen from themselves, or had at
least been cherished by them, their adversaries had
not perhaps been so favourably heard; so fatally
Hd they Hiistake their true interest, when they
thought they were concerned to link with it all
dnuKS and corruptions.

But there passed another bill in this parliament, ooe act,
which, because of its singular nature, and Uiat itth^kiD^'°^
was not printed with the other statutes, shall be^jf^^'
found in the Collection of instruments at the end.^"°>^*3i-
The bill bore in a preamble the highest flattery
that could be put in paper, of the great things the
king had done for the church and nation, in which
he had been at vast charges ; and that divers of the
subjects had lent great sums of money, which had
been all well employed in the public service ; and
irhereas they had security for their payment, the
parliament did offer all these sums so lent to the
king, and discharged him of all the obligations or
assignations made for their payment, and of all suits
that might arise thereupon.

Thb was brought into the house by the king's
servants, who enlarged much on the wealth and
peace of the nation, notwithstanding the wars, the

M 4

168 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK king always making his enemies* country the scene
of them ; and shewed, that for fourteen years the kii^

'^^^' had but one subsidy from his people; that now be
asked nothing for any other purpose, but only to be
discharged of a debt contracted for the public, the
accounts whereof were shewn, by which they might
see to what uses the money so raised had been ap-
plied. But there were several ends in passing this
bill : those of the court did not only intend to de-
liver the king from a charge by it, but also to ruin
all the cardinal's friends and creatures, whom he
had caused every where to advance great sums, for
an example to others. CHhers in the bouse, that
were convinced that the act was unjust in itself, yet
did easily give way to it, that they might effectually
for the future discredit that way of raising money
by loans, as judging it to be the public interest of
the kingdom, that no sums of money should be
raised but by parliament. So this act passed, and
occasioned great murmuring among all them that
suffered by it. But, to qualify the general discon-
tent, the king gave a free pardon to his subjects for
all offences, some capital ones only excepted, as is
usual in such cases ; and, to keep the clergy under the
lash, all transgressions against the statutes of pr(h
vigors and pnemunire were excepted, in which they
were all involved, as will afterwards appear. There
are two other exceptions in this pardon, not fit to
be omitted: the one is, of the pulling or digging
down crosses on the highways, which shews what
a spirit was then stirring among the people; the
other is, of the forfeitures that accrued to the king by
the prosecution against cardinal Wolsey, that is, the
cardinal's college in Oxford, with the lands belong-

THE REFORMATION. 169

iag to it, which are excepted^ upon which Uie dean BOOk
jttd canons resigned ■ their lands to the king^the

eiigiiial of which is yet extant : but the king founded ^^^'*
the coUiq^e anew soon after. All this was done,
both to keep the dergy quiet, and to engage them
to 086 what interest they had in the court of Rome,
lodispose the pope to use the king better in his great
.suit. After those acts were passed, on the seven-
teenth of December the parliament was pronged
till April following; yet it did not sit till January
after that, being continued by several prorogations.
There had been great industry used in canying
elections for the parliament, and they were so suc-
oeasfb], that the king was resolved to continue it for
some time. This great business being happily over,
the king's thoughts turned next to affairs beyond
sea. The whole world was now at peace. TheThepop«
pope and the emperor (as was said before) had made ^^p^^r
an alliance on terms of such advantage to the pope, ^^^J^
that as the emperor did fully repair all past injuries, Jnn« 20.
so he laid new and great obligations on him : for he
engaged that he would assist him in the recovery of
his towns, and that he would restore his family to
the government of Florence, and invest his nephew
in it with the title of duke, to whose son he would
marry his own natural daughter; and that he
would hold the .kingdom of Naples of the papacy*
These were the motives that directed the pope's
conscience so infallibly in the king's business. Not
long after that, in August, another peace was made
in Cambray, between the emperor and the French
king, and lady Margaret, the emperor's aunt, and
the regent of Flanders : where the king first found
the hoUowness of the French friendship and alliance t

170 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK for he was not so much considered in it as he ex-
II*

pected, and he clearly perceived that Francis would

•hmm^' ^^' cn^'^^^i^ his own affairs to carry on his divorce.

men'! . The euiperor went over into Italy, and met the

Aug. '5. pope at Bononia, where he was crowned with great

1^,^ magnificence. The pope and he lodged together in

D^ion at th^ same palace, and there appeared such signs of a

familiar friendship between them, that the king's

ambassadors did now clearly perceive that they

were firmly united. The emperor did also, by a

rare mixture of generosity and prudence, restore the

duchy of Milan to Francis Sforza. By this he set-

FioKDce tied the peace of Italy, nothing holding out but Flo-

Aogutt 9. rence, which he knew would be soon reduced, when

j^e^'mi^'e there was no hope of succour fix)m France ; and ac-

j^Vi7,'^' cordingly, after eleven months siege, it was taken,

j^'f yj. and within a year after Alexander de Medici was

eDM ni»ed,tnade duke of it. About the time that the em-

Octob. t$p

1529. peror came to Bononia, news was brought that the
crowo^' Turk was forced to raise the siege of Vienna ; so that
L^"mbarfy, ^ tMngs concurrcd to raise hb glory very high. At
Feb. a«, Bouonia he would needs receive the two crowns of
Rom. rmp. the Romau empire, that of Milan, and that of Rome,
which was done with all the magnificence possible,
the pope himself saying mass both in Latin and
Greek. There is one ceremony of the coronation
fit to be taken notice of in this work ; that the em-
peror was first put in the habit of a canon of Sancta
Maria de la Torre in Rome, and after that in the
habit of a deacon, to ihake him be looked on as an
ecclesiastical person. This had risen out of an ex-
travagant vanity of the court of Rome, who devised
such rites to raise their reputation so high, that, on
the greatest solemnity, the emperor should appear

THE REFORMATION. 171

in the halnt of the lowest of the sacred orders, by book
which he must know, that priests and bishops ai*e-

above him. When the pope and he first met, the ^^^^'
ceremony of kissing the pope's foot was much looked
for, and the emperor very gently kneeled to pay
that submission ; but the pope (whether it was that
he thought it was no more seasonable to expect such
compliments, or more signally to oblige the emperor)
did humble himself so far as to draw in his foot, and
kiss his cheek.

But now the divorce was to be managed in an- The kiojr
other method, and therefore Cranmer, after he had ^^nities
discoursed with the king about that proposition ^^"^**
which was formerly mentioned, was commanded by
him to write a book for his opinion, and confirm it
with as much authority as he could ; and was re-
commended to the care of the earl of Wiltshire and
Ormond, (to which honour the king had advanced
nr Thomas Boleyn in the right of his mother,) and
in the beginning of the next year he published his
book about it. Richard Crooke (who was tutor to
the duke of Richmond) was sent into Italy, and
others were sent to France and Germany, to consult
the divines, canonists, and other learned men in the
universities, about the king's business. How the rest
managed the matter, I have not yet been able to
discover ; but from a great number of original letters
of Dr. Crooke's, I shall give a full account of his ne-
gotiation. It was thought best to begin at home ;
and therefore the king wrote to the two universities
in England, to send him their conclusions about it.
The matters went at Oxford thus. The bishop of Lord Her-
Lincoln being sent thither with the king's letters for the record.
their resolution, it was by the major vote of the con- ij^©.^'

172 THE HISTORY OF

*

BOOK vocation of all the doctors and masters, as well r^ents
^'' as non-regents, committed to thirty-three doctors

1530. and bachelors of divinity, (who were named by their
own faculty,) or to the greater number of them, to
determine the questions that were sent with thie
king's letters, and to set the common seal of the
university to their conclusions; and by virtue of
that warrant, they did on the eighth of April put
the common seal of the university to an instrument,
declaring the marriage of the brother's wife to be
both contrary to the laws of God and nature. The
vid. Wood, collector of the Antiquities of Oxford informs us of
the uneasiness that was m the university m this

p. 225.

matter, and of the several messages the king sent
before that instrument could be procured, so that
from the twelfth of February to the eighth of April
the matter was in agitation, the masters of arts ge^
nerally opposing it, though the doctors and heads
Lib. I. were, for the greatest part, for it. But after he has
set down the instrument, he gives some reasons
(upon what design I cannot easily imagine) to shew
that this was extorted by force; and being done
without the consent of the masters of arts, was of
itself void, and of no force : and, as if it had been
an ill thing, he takes pains to purge the university
of it, and lays it upon the fears and coiTuptions of
some aspiring men of the university : andj without
any proof, gives credit to a lying story set down by
Sanders, of an assembly called in the night, in which
the seal of the university was set to the determina-
tion. But it appears that he had never seen or con-
sidered the other instrument, to which the university
set their seal, that was agreed on in a convbcatibn
of all the doctors and masters, as well regents as non-

f

THE REFORMATION. 178

r^ents; giving power to these doctors and bache- book
kn of divinity to determine the matter, and to set

the seal of the university to their conclusion : the '^^^*
original whereof the lord Herbert saw, upon which
the persons so deputed had full authority to* set the
university seal to that conclusion, without a new
convocation. Perhaps that instrument was not so
carefully preserved among their records, or was in .
queen Mary's days taken away, which might occa-
sion these mistakes in their historian.

There seems to be also another mistake in the re-
lation he gives : for he says, those of Paris had deter-
mined in this matter before it was agreed to at Ox-
fiyrd. The printed decision of the Sorbonne contra-
dicts this : for it bears date the second of July, 15S0,
whereas this was done the eighth of April, 1530.
But what passed at Cambridge I shall set down
more folly from an original letter written by Gar- collect.
diner and Fox to the king in February, (but the "" '^ *
day is not marked.) When they came to Cam- And at
bridge, they spake to the vice-chancellor, whom Feb.
they found very ready to serve the king; so was
also doctor Edmonds, and several others ; but there
was a contrary party that met together, and re-
solved to oppose them. A meeting of the doctors,
bachelors of divinity, and masters of arts, in all
about two hundred, was held. There the king's let-
ters were read, and the vice-chancellor calling upon
several of them to deliver their opinions about it,
they answered as their affections led them, and were
in some disorder. But it being proposed, that the
answering the king's letter, and the questions in it,
should be referred to some indifferent men; great
exceptions were made to doctor Salcot, doctor Reps,

17* THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and €nMne, and all others who had approved Dr«
Cranmer's book, as having already declared them*

^^^^* selves partial. But to that it was answered, that
after a thing was so much discoursed of, as the
king's matter had been, it could not be imagined
that any number of men could be found who had
not declared their judgment about it one way or
another. Much time was spent in the debate ; but
when it grew late, the vice-chancellor commanded
every man to take his place, and to give his voice^
wheth^ they would agree to the motion of referring
it to a select body of men : but that night they would
not agree to it.

The congregation being adjourned till next day,
the vice-chancellor offered a grace (or order) to
refer the matter to twenty-nine persons, (himself,
ten doctors, and sixteen bachelors, and the two
proctors,) That (the que^ions being publicly dis*
puted) what two parts of three agreed to, should
be read in a congregation, and without any further
debate the common seal of the university should be
set to it. Yet it was at first denied; then being
put to the vote, it was carried equally on both sides.
But being a third time proposed, it was carried for
the divorce. Of which an account was presently
sent to the king, with a schedule of their names to
whom it was committed, and what was to be ex-
pected from them ; so that it was at length deter-
mined, though not without opposition. That the
king's marriage was against the law of Grod.
Though It is thought strange, that the king, who was

di'fficuHy^^ otherwise so absolute in England, should have met
^ with more difficulty in this matter at home than he
^^ did abroad. But the most reasonable account 1 can

THE REFORMATION. 176

give <^ it is» that at this time there were many in book
die universities (particularly at Cambridge) who

were addicted to Luther's doctrine. And of those • ^^^•
Cranmer was looked on as the most learned : so
that Crome, Shaxton, Latimer, and others of that
society, favoured the king's cause; besides that,
Aone Boleyn had in the duchess of Alanson's court
(who inclined to the reformation) received such im-
pressions as made them fear, that her greatness, and
Cranmer's preferment, would encourage heresy; to
which the universities were furiously averse, and
therefore they did resist all conclusions that might
promote the divorce.

But as for Crooke in Italy, he being very learned crooke em.
in the Greek tongue, was first sent to Venice, tovei^ce.'"
search the Greek manuscripts that lay in the library ^!^t\^
of St. Mark, and to examine the decrees of the an- V^°' ^*^*°

' _ irom many

dent councils : he went incognito, without any cha- ^^ J»« o"gi-

^ -^ nal letters.

racter from the king ; only he had a letter recom- cott. libr.
mending him to the care of John Cassali, then am- ' ' '^'
bassador at Venice, to procure him an admittance
into the libraries there. But in all his letters he
complained mightily of his poverty, that he had
scarce whereby to live and pay the copiers who he
employed to transcribe passages out of MSS. He
staved some time at Venice, from whence he went
to Padua, Bononia, and other towns, where he
only talked with divines and canonists about these
question^}: Whether the precepts in Leviticus of
the degrees of marriage do still oblige Christians?
And whether the pope's dispensation could have
any force against the law of God f These he pro-
posed in discourse, without mentioning the king of
England, or giving the least intimation that he was

176 THE HISTORY FO

BOOK sent by him, till he once discovered their opinions.

.. — '. — But finding them generally inclining to the king's

1530. i^^yge^ lie (Qok more courage, and went to Rome;

where he sought to be made a penitentiary priest,
that he might have the freer acce^ into libraries,
and be looked on as one of the pope's servants. But
at this time the earl of Wiltshire, and Stokesley,
(who was made bishop of London, Tonstall being
translated to Duresme,) were sent by the king into
Italy, ambassadors both to the pope and emperor.
Cranmer went with them to justify his book in both
these courts. Stokesley brought full instructions to
Crooke to search the writings of most of the fathers
on a great many passages of the scripture ; and, in
particular, to try what they wrote on that law in
Deuteronomy, which provided, that when one died
without children, his brother should marry his wife
to raise up children to him. This was most pressed
against the king by all that were for the queen, as
either an abrogation of the other law in Leviticus,
or at least a dispensation with it in that particular
case. He was also to consult the Jews about it;
and was to copy out every thing that he found in
any manuscript of the Greek or Latin fathers, relat-
ing to the degrees of marriage. Of this labour he
complained heavily, and said, that though he had a
great task laid on him, yet his allowance was so
small, that he was often in great straits. This I
take notice of, because it is said by others, that all
the subscriptions that he procured were bought. At
this time there were great animosities between the
ministers whom the king employed in Italy ; the two
families of the Cassali and the Ghinucci hating one
another. Of the former family were the ambassa-

THE REFORMATION. 177

don at Rome and at Venice. Of the other, Hie- book
rome was bishop of Worcester, and had been in

sereral embassies into Spain. His brother Peter ''^^^'
was also employed in some of the little courts of
Italy, as the king^s agent. Whether the king out
of pdicy kept this hatred up, to make them spies
one on another, I know not. To the Ghinucci was
Crooke gained, so that in all his letters he com-
plained of the Cadsali, as men that betrayed the
king's affairs ; and said, that John, then ambassador
at Venice, not only gave him no assistance, but used
him ill: and publicly discovered, that he was em-
ployed by the king; which made many, who had
finmerly spoken their minds freely, be more reserved
to him. But as he wrote this to the king, he be^ed
of him, that it might not be known, otherwise he
exflected either to be killed, or poisoned by them :
yet they had their correspondents about the king,
fay whose means they understood what Crooke had
informed against them. But they wrote to the king,
that he was so morose and ill-natured, that nothing
could please him : and, to lessen his credit, they did
all they could to stop his bills. All this is more fully
set down than perhaps was necessary, if it were not
to shew that he was not in a condition to corrupt so
many divines, and whole universities, as some have
given out. He got into the acquaintance of a friar
at Venice, Franciscus Georgitis, who had lived forty-
nine years in a religious order, and was esteemed the
most learned man in the republic, not only in the
vulgar learning, but in the Greek and Hebrew, and
was so much accounted of by the pope, that he called
him the hammer of heretics. He was also of the
senatorian quality, and his brother was governor of

VOL. I. N

178 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK Padua, and paid all the readers there. This firiar.
1 ^. had a great opinion of the king : and, havii^ studied:

the case, wrote for the king's cause, and «;«w»w«<^««.i»- ^
to satisfy all the other divines of the republic, — — •"

whom he had much credit. Thomas Omnibonus, a^,
►r'uir"^*^ Dominican, Philippus de Cremis, a doctor of the lKWi*\
luSe* Valerius of Bergamo, and some others, wrote finr the ^^
king's cause. Many of the Jewish rabbins ^did gite
it under their hands in Hebrew, That the laws qf
Ijevificus and Deuteronomy were thus to he ream-
cited: That taw of marrying the hrotJief^s wifii
when he died witJiout children^ did only bind id
the land ofJudea^ to preserve families^ and wioim^
tain their succession in the land^ as it had been
divided by lot : hut that in all other places of the '
worlds the law of Leviticus^ of not marrying the
brother's wi/Cf was obligatory. He also seardled-
nil the Greek MSS. of councils, and Nazianzen's and
Chrysostom's works. After that, he run over Ma-
carius, Acncius, Ai>ollinaris, Origen, Gregory Nys-
sen, Cyril, Severian, and Gennadius; and copied out
of them all that which was i^ertinent to his purpose.
He procured several hands to the conclusions, before
it was known that it was the king's business in which
he was employed. But the government of Venice
was so strict, that, when it was known whose agent
he was, he found it not easy to procure subscrip-
tions: therefore he advised the king to order his
minister to procure a license from the senate, for
their divines to declare their opinions in that mat-
ter. Which being proposed to the senate, all the
answer he could obtain was, that they would be neu-
eu. is. trals ; and when the ambassador pressed, as an evi-
dence of neutrality, that the senate would leave it

THE REFORMATION. 179

[fae tolheirJdiyuies to declare of either side as their book
I ' • ' 11

mmdeoca led them ; he could procure no other an-

\ the former being again repeated. Yet the se- ^^^^

making no prohibition, many of their divines

their hands to the conclusions. And Crooke

that success, that he wrote to the king, he had

rer met with a divine . that did not favour his

: but the conclusions touching the pope's power Though the
Lagents did every where discourage, and threaten ^^m
jifaoae who jubscribed them.* And the emperor's am- J'^^^'**^
[kiiador at Venice did threaten Omnibonus for writ-*'°^7 4-
[iBg.iD prejudice of the pope's authority; and assert-.
I log condusions, which would make most of the
fom^es of '. Europe bastards. He answered, he ^did
aot consider things as a statesman, but as a divine.
Yet, to take off this fear, Crooke suggested to the
kin^ to onder his minister at the court of Rome to
procure a breve, *^ That divines or canonists might
** without fear or hazard deliver their opinions ac-
' ^-cording to their consciences, requiring them, under
^'-the pain of excommunication, that they should
^ write nothing for gain, or partial affections, but
^«8ay the pure and simple truth, without any arti-
^ fioe, as they would answer to God in the great day
^ of judgment." This seemed so fair, that it might
liave been expected the successor of St. Peter would
not deny it ; yet it was not easily obtained, though
the king wrote a. very earnest letter to the bishop of August 7.
Verona, to assist his minister in procuring it. And
I find by another despatch, that the breve was at sept. 16.
length gained, not without much opposition made
to it by the emperor's ambassadors : for at Rome,
though they knew not well how to oppose this me-
thod, because it seemed so very reasonable ; yet they

N 2

180 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK had great apprehensions of it, because they thdu^t
it was designed to force the pope to determine as

1530. f.)|g ^],g pleased : and they abhorred the precedent,
that a company of poor friars should dictate to them
in matters of this nature. Crooke reports, out of a
Juij 38. letter of Cranmer's to him from Rome, these words:
As Jbr our successes kerej they he very little^ nor
dare we attempt to know any maiCs mind, because
qf the pope ; nor is he content with what you hoM
done ; and he says, no friars shall discuss his
power : and as Jbr any favour in this court, I looh
Jbr none, but to have the pope with all his cardi*
Aug. 5. nais declare against us. But Crooke, as he went
up and down procuring hands, told those he came to,
he desired they would write their conclusions ac^
cording to learning and conscience^ without any
respect or favour , as they would answer it at the
No money lost day; and protested he never gave, or promised
giren for any divinc any thing, till he had JUrst Jreely wril-
iTo^."^ '^^ ^<^ mind, and that what he then gave was ra-
ther an honourable present than a reward. And
septemb. 7. in another letter to tbe king he writ^ : Upon pain
of my head, if the contrary be proved, I never gave
any man one halfpenny bejbre I had his conclusion
to your highness, without former prayer, or pro-
mise of reward Jbr the same. From whence it ap-
pears, that he not only had no orders from the king
to corrupt divines, but that his orders were express
to the contrary.

As for the money he gave, the reader will be best

able to judge, by the following account, whether it

was such as could work much on any man. There

Feb. 8. is an original bill of his accoimts yet extant, audited

and signed by Peter a Ghinucdis, out of which I

THE BBFORMATION. Itt

fsltaiol^ these particulan i liem^ to a Seniie book

tke doctor of the SHervitei^ ^'^oJi^Slle
TotkeO^Hn^ntJHarM^twotrounu^ T6«^*^
qfS^. John and St. PoluP9, who. wr^^ m^uf^
ifttJtii^it: eam$e^ fifteen crowns. To that content.
emtnui Item. Oiven to John Maria Jbr hit
qf going to Milan Jrom Venice, and^
the doctors thire, thiiiy crowns. Itemf
If iJUW Marino^ miniUer qf tike FVanciixans, who
ttMpir^ hoohjbr the hinges cause, twenfy crowns.
mr dKWSIlkat thej must hare had rerf prostitiited
eonfldBB6p8i if they could be* hired so dieap. It is
tM^-Ctoeke in many of his letters rays. That. ffheFtb.22.
Mdmsmtsf enmigh, he did not doubt hut he should
getihe hands qf all the divines in .Uafy; Jbr he
Jhmnd the greatest part qf them all mercenary.
Ban tiie Udiop aS Worcester, in his letters to him, Feb. 9.
Offered him only to promise rewards to those who
eaqiected them, and lived by them, that ip, to the
IsMVUits, who did not use to give their opinion
wiilidut a fee.

'But, at the same time, the emperor did reward
and fee divinies at another rate ; for Crooke inform- ^^ >6-
ed the king, that one friar Felix having written for
the vdidity of the marriage again^ the king, there
WW ir benefice of five htindred ducats a year given
him in reward. And the emperor's ambassador of- But grmi
fisred a thousand ducats to the provincial of the Gray- given bj
friars in Venice, if he would inhibit all within his^**"^
province to write or subscribe for the king's cause.
But the provincial refused it, and said, he neither
ooidd nor yet would do it.. And another that wrote Sept. 39.
for the queen had a benefice of six hundred crowns.

N S

182 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK So that it was openly said at Ferrara^ that thej who

II.

wrote for the. king had but a few crowns. a-pieo5,j
1530. Y^^^ ^ijgy ^jjQ wrote on the other side had good

benefices. They also tried what- could be done Ji
Padua, both by threatenings, entreaties, and reward^
to induce them to reverse the determination tbef
had made in the matter ; but with no success. Aei.l
though Francis Georgius, the Venetian friar^ fid
greatly promote the king's cause, both by his wiiIh

Feb. i8. ings and authority ; yet Crooke wrote, that he eoM
not prevail to make either him or his nephew oe-
cept one farthing of him. By such fair means it
was that Crooke procured so many subscriptions.

First, of particular divines, many Franciscans, Do-
minicans, and Servites, set their hands to the conclu-
sions; though even in that there was opposition
made by the pope's agents. Campegio was now en^.
gaged in the emperor's faction, and did every where

March 29. misrepresent the king's cause. Being at Venice, he
so wrought on the minister of the Franciscans, that,
though he had declared for the king, and engaged
to bring the hands of twenty-four doctors and learn-
ed men of his order for it, and had received a small
present of ten crowns ; yet, after he had kept the
money three weeks, he sent it back, and said, he
would not meddle more in it: but they procured

May 36. most of thcsc hauds without his help. ' At Milan, a
suffragan bishop and sixteen divines subscribed. Nine
doctors subscribed at Vincenza ; but the pope's nun-
cio took the writing out of his hands that had it,

June 27. and suppressed it. At Padua all the Franciscans^
both Observants and Conventuals, subscribed ; and
so did the Dominicans, and all the canonists : and
Jthough the pope's and emperor's emissaries . did

THE REFORMATION. 18^

thrcatfii all that subscribed, yet there were got book
oghty hands at Padua. Next the universities de- -.

' teimined. '^30.

At Bononia, though it was the pope's town, many nwj detcr-
subscribed. The governor of the town did at first Ihl^u^u
oppose the granting of any determination; but the^"™"*-
pope's breve being brought thither, he not without
great difficulty gave way to it; so on the tenth of June lo.
June, the matter being publicly debated, and all
Cajetan's arguments being examined, who was of
opinion, That the laws of marriage in tieciticus
did not bind the Christian church ; they deter-
mined. That these laws are still injiyrce, and that
they bind all, both Christiana and ii^ldels, being
jtarts of the low of nature, as well as of the law of
God; and that there/ore they judged marriage in
these degrees unlawjid, and that the pope had no
authority to dispense with them.

The university of Padua, after some days public ai p«dH«;
dispute, on the first of July determined to the samecuUcct.
purpose ; about which Crooke's letter will be found '^™ ' ^'.
among the instruments at the end of this book.

At Ferrara, the divines did also confirm the same And fn-
conclusion, and set their seal to it ; but it was taken !^' ^ '
away violently by some of the other faction ; yet the
dnke made it be restored. The profession of the
canon law was then in great credit there, and in a
congregation of seventy-two of that profession, it
was determined for the king ; but they asked one
.hundred and fifty crowns for setting the seal to it,
and Crooke would: not give more' than an hundred :
Uie next day he came and offered the money ; but
then it was told him, they would not meddle in it,
snd be could not afterwards obtain it.
n4

184 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK 111 all, Crooke sent over by Stokesley an hundred
several books, papers, and subscriptions, and there

1530. Yrere many hands subscribed to many of those pa-
pers. But it seems Crooke* died befidre he could re*
ceive a reward of this great service he did the king;
for I do not find him mentioned after this. I hope
the reader will forgive my insisting so much on tfa&l
negotiation ; for it seemed necessary to give full
and convincing evidences of the sincerity of the
king's proceedings in it, since it is so confidently
given out that these were but mercenary subscript
tions.
And in What difficulties or opposition those who were

Apru 7?' employed in France found, does not yet appear to
me; but the seals of the chief universities there
were procured. The university of Orleance deter-
At Paris mined it on the seventh of April. The faculty of
of the C4. ^Yie canon law at Paris did also conclude, that the
>i>y 25. pope had no power to dispense in that case, on the
Of the twenty-fiflh of May. But the great and celebrated
sorbonne, f^^yj^y ^f ^j^g Sorboone (whose conclusions had been

looked on for some ages as little inferior to the de-
crees of councils) made their decision with all possi-
ble solemnity and decency. They first met at the
church of St. Mathurin, where there was a mass of
the Holy Ghost, and every one took an oath to
study the question, and resolve it according to his
conscience ; and from the eighth of June, to the se-
cond of July, they continued searching the matte:
with all possible diligence, both out of the scriptures,
the fathers, and the councils ; and had many dis-
putes about it. After which, the greater part ol
the faculty did determine. That the king of JSmg-
lands marriage was unlawfuly and that tiie pope

THE REFORMATION. 185

had mo power io diapetue in it; and they set their book
oommoD seal to it at St Mathurin% the second of.

Jnljr^ 1580. To the same purpose did both the i^-Jl^^
odties of law» civil and canon, at Angiers, determine ^^7 7-
die seventh of Maj. On the tenth of June, the fa-^J^^>
cal^ of divinity at Bourges made the same deter*
flriqatioii. And on the first of October the whole And Tho-
univeEnty of Thdose did aU with one consent give couVct.
ttieir judgment, agreeing with the former condu-^""^'^^
riona. More of the decisions of universities were
not printed, though many niore were obtained to
the same effect. In Germany, Spain, and Flanders,
die emperor's authority was so great, that much
amid not be expected, except from the Lutherans,
with whom Cranmer conversed; and chiefly with
Oriainderj whose niece he then married. Osiander jao. ss.
upon that wrote a book about incestuous marriages, !:^:,';^t.
which was published ; but was called in by a prohibi-"^';^^******
tion printed at Ausburg, because it determined in
the king's cause, and on his side.

But now I find the kinir did likewise deal amonffP«i«noe
those in Switzerland that had set up the reforma-
tion. The duke of Suffolk did most set him on to
this ; (so one who was employed in that time writes ;)
for he often asked him. How he could so humble
Umse^f as to submit his cause to such a vHe, vi^
doiur, strangers-priest, as Campegio wasf To
which the king answered. He could give no other
reason, hut that it seemed to him, spiritual men
should Judge sjnritual things: yet, he said, he
would search the matter further ; but he had no
great mind to seem more curious than other
princes. But the duke desired him to discuss the
matter secretly amongst learned men, to which he

186 THE HISTORY OF

■i

BOOK consented; and wrote to some foreign writers that j

'• — were then in great estimation. Erasmua was jnuch ^

^^^^' in his favour, but he would not appear in it: he jj

had no mind to provoke the emperor, and live on- ]

Grineus easily in his own country. But Simon Grineos was 1

^D^ sent for, whom the king esteemed much for his

ed* "sX learning. The king informed him about his pio-

wh^^'iet. ^^^^' ^"^ ^^^^ ^™ ^^^^ *° Basil, to try what Ub
ten are io frieuds in Germany and Switzerland thoufffat of it-

ft MS in . o •

R. Smith's He wrote about it to Bucer, (Ecolampadius, ZuiiH
^^"^"^^ glius, and Paulus Phrygion.

The opin- (Ecolampadius, as it appears by three letters, one
^um- dated the tenth of August 15S1, another the last of
p^diui ; ^Yie same month, another to Bucer the tenth of Sep-
tember, was positively of opinion. That the law in
Leviticus did bind all mankind ; and says, 2%a/
law of a brother's marrying^ his sister4n4aw was
a dispensation ^iven by God to hi^ own law^ which
belonged only to the Jews; and therefore he
thought that the king might without any scruple
Bnoer; put awtty the quccn. But Bucer was of another
mind, and thought the law in Leviticus did not
bind, and could not be moral, because God had dis-
pensed with it in one case, of raising up seed to his
brother: therefore he thought these laws belonged
only to that dispensation, and did no more bind
Christians than the other ceremonial or judiciary
precepts ; and that to marry in some of tiiese de-
uces was no more a sin, than it was a sin in the
disciples to pluck ears of com on the sabbath-day^
There are none of Bucer's letters remaining on this
head; but by the answers that Grineus wrote to
him, one on the twenty-ninth of August, another on
the tenth of September, I gather his opinion, and

THE REFORMATIOH 187

^Ibe temem fcnr it. But they all agreed, that tKe booi^
'a dispeimatiM was of no force to alter the na- ..' "

of a^thing: Paulus Phrygion was of <q)inioii, p^^*^'.
lawa.m Leviticus did Innd all nations, be-

it is said in the text, I^i the Canamites
Ipmpi^Ml Jbr doing contrary to them, which
Wijnot consist with the justice qf God, \f those
^jjn^Sokibitians hadnof been parts qf the law of no-
iMTtf. DatM Basil, the tenth of September. In
fifnew's letter to Bucer, he tells him, that the king
had ''said to him; I^at now Jbr seven years he had
perpetual trouble upl&n him about this marriage.
2bra|^iuA's fetter is very fiill« First, he largely zniDgiiiis ;
pri(»fes,'tliat neither the pope, nor any other power,
iBBB|itd]8|iense with the law of Gbd : then, that the
IpoMles had made no new laws about marriage, but
lEBd! left it as tbey found it : that the marrying
iftidiiii near degreeis was hated by the Greeks, and
dtfaer heathen nations. But whereas Grineus seem-
ed to bt oi opinion, that though the marriage was
flit made, yet it ought not to be dissolved; and in-
dined rather to advise, that the king should take
another wife, keeping the queen still: ZuingUus
cbnfiit^ that, and says, if the marriage be against
the law of Crod, it ought to be dissolved ; but con-
dudes the queen' should be put away honourably,
add still used as a' queen; and the marriage should
Ofiily be dissolved for the future, without illegitimat-
ing the issue begotten in it, since it had gone on in
a public way, upon a received error : but advises,
diat the king should proceed in a judiciary way, and
not establish so ill a precedent, as to put away his
queen, and take another, without due form of law.
Dated Basil, the seventeenth of August. There is

188 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK a second letter of his to the same puipoae from
Zurich, the first of September. There is abo with

i5ao. these letters a long paper of Osiander^s^ in the
form of a direction how the process should be ma-
naged.
iiS^E bt. There is also an epistle of Calvin's, published
3^4* among the rest of his. Neither the date, nor. the
person to whom it was directed, are named. Yet I
fancy it was written to Grineus upon this occasion :
Calvin was dear in his judgment that the marriage
was null, and that the king ought to put away the
queen, upon the law of Leviticus. And whereas it
was objected, that the law is only meant qf marfy*
ing the brother^ s wife while he is yet aUve ; he
shews that could not be admitted ; for all the pro*
hibited degrees being forbidden in the same style,
they were all to be understood in one sense : there-
fore, since it is confessed, that it is unlawful to marry
in the other degrees, after the death of the father^
son, uncle, or nephew, so it must be also a sin to
marry the brother's wife after his death. And for
the law in Deuteronomy, of marrying the brather^s
wife to raise up seed to him ; he thought, that by
brother there is to be understood a near kinsman^
according to the usual phrase of the Hebrew tongue:
and by that he reconciles the two laws, which otiier*
wise seem to differ, illustrating his exposition by the
history of Ruth and Boaz. It is given out that Me«
lancthon advised the king's taking another wife, jus-
tifying polygamy from, the Old Testament ; birt I
cannot believe it. It is true, the lawfulness of poly-
gamy was much controverted at this time. And as
in all controversies newly started, many crude things
are said ; so some of the Helvetian and German ^

THE REFOiniATION. 189

vioes seem not so fierce against it; though none of book
them went so far as the poj* did, who did plainly _

' Voti Her.

and it was a motion the imperialists consented to, '>«^'^

'^ an artf . M.

and promoted, though upon what reason, the ambas- Saft. rt,
sador Cassali, who wrote the account of it to the
king, could not learo. The pope forhade him to
write about it to the king, perhaps as whisperers en-
join silence, as the most effectual way to make a
thing public. But for Melancthon's being of that
mind, great evidences appear to the contrary ; for
there is a letter of Osiander's to him, giving him
many reasons to persuade him to approve of the
king's putting away the queen, and marrying an-
other: the letter also shews he was then of opinion,
that the law in Leviticus was dispensable,

And after the thing was done, when the king ^^-"^^^
sired the Lutheran divines to approve his second mai'- V?'*'"
riage, they begged his excuse in a writing, which they
sent over to him ; so that Melancthon not allowing
the ttdi^ when it was done, canpot be imagined to
have adriaed p<dygqmy beforehand. And to open iiutme.
at ioDce all that may clear the sense of the protes-byDrr
tants m the question ; when, some y^ra afler this, ^^^h.
Fox, being made bishop of Hereford* and much in-^^^'
dined to their doctrine, was sent over to get the di- '$■
vines of Germany to approve of the divorce, and the
mbseqaent marriage of Anne Boleyn ; he found
that Melancthon and others had no mind to enter
adch into the dispute about it> both for fear of the
emperor, and because they judged the king was led
in it by dishonest affections : they also thought the
lavs in Leviticus were not moral, and did not oblige
Christians ; and since there were no rules made

190 THE HISTORY OF

ff

BOOK about the degrees of marriage in the gospel, they
'■ — thought princes and states might make what laws

1530. |.jjgy pleased about it: yet after much disputing
^ntb^* they were induced to change their minds, but could
kiQg^g fint not be brought to think that a marriage once made
but are ' might bc annulled, and therefore demurred upon
MTO^. * that ; as will appear by the conclusion they passed

Numb!'3s. "P^° ^^ ^^ ^ found at the end of this volume. All
this I have set together here, to give a right repre-.
dentation of the judgments of the several parties of
Christendom about this matter.

It cannot be denied, that the protestants did ex*
press gr^t sincerity in this matter ; such as became
men of conscience, who were acted by true princi-
ples, and not by maxims of policy. For if these had
governed them, they had struck in more compliantly
with so great a prince, who was then alienated from
the pope, and in very ill terms with the emperor ;
so that to have gained him by a full compliance to
have protected them, was the wisest thing they could
do : and their being so cold in the matter of his mar-
riage, in which he had engaged so deeply, was a
thing which would very much provoke him against
them. But ^luch measures as these, though they
very well became the apostolic see, yet they were
unworthy of men, who designed to restore an apo-
stolic religion. '

Fox. The earl of Wiltshire, with the other ambassa-

dors, when they had their audience of the pope at
Bononia, refused to pay him the submission of kiss-
ing his foot, though he graciously stretched it out to
them ; but went to their business, and expostulated
in the king's name, and in high words ; and in con-
clusion told the pope, that the prerogatme of the

*

THE REFORMATION. 191

etimm ^JEk^gbmdwm such, that their mairter Would aoais
not sttfio^any citation to be mJEide of him to any fi>-

pBon^

fog^toqmt; and Uiat therefore the king would notT„i^*
\mrb fais eause tried at Rome. The pope answered,'re^tu«t to
that'tiiough ihe queen's solicitor had pressed him to Rome,
piwcied in . the citation ; both that her marriage,
betng; further examined, might receive a new con-'
firoMilioii;. fo silencing the disputes about it, and
because the king had withdrawn himself from her ;
yel if tbe:king did not go further, and did not inno-
vate in religioii, the pope was willing to let the mat^
ter re^t^ They, went next to the emperor, to justify
tbe kmg^s proceedings in the suit of the divorce.
But he iM them,, he was bound in honour and jus-i
tioe to;8tt|q|)ort his aunt, and that he would not aban^
doD her. Cranmer offered to maintain what he had craDmer
written in his book; but whether they went so fhrmaiauin
as to naake their divines enter into any discourse cause!"* *
with him about it, I do not know. This appears,
that the pope; to put a compliment on the king, de-
clared Cranmer his penitentiary in England. He,
having stayed some months at Rome after the am-
bassadors were gone, went into Germany ; where he
became acquainted with Cornelius Agrippa, a man
very famous for great and curious learning, and, so
satisfied him* in the king^s cause, that he gave it out,
that the thing was clear and indisputable, for which
he was afterwards hardly used by the eiiiperor, and
died in' prison.

But when the king received the determinations TUenobi-
and conclusions of the universities, and other learned and'com.
men beyond sea, he resolved to do two things. First, England
to-make a new attempt upon the pope, and then toJJJ^**^^^
publish those conclusions to the world, with the ar-

198 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK l^uments upon which they were grounded. But, to
'^' make his address to the pope carry more terror with
1530. it, he got a letter to be signed by a great many mem-
bers of parliament, to the pope. The lord Herbert
saith, it was done by his parliament ; but in that he
had not applied his ordinary diligence : the letter
bears date the thirteenth of July. Now by the re-
cords of parliament it appears, there could be no ses-
sion at that time, for there was a prorogation from
the twenty-first of June till the first of October that
year : but the letter was sent about to the chief mem-

In the Life {^ers for their hands ; and Cavendish tells, how it was

of Woliej*

brought to the cardinal, and with what cheerfiilness
he set his hand to it. It was subscribed by the car-
dinal and the archbishop of Canterbury, four bishops,
two dukes, two marquises, thirteen earls, two vis-
counts, twenty-three barons, twenty-two abbots, and
eleven commoners, most of these being the king's
servants.
This letter The contcnts of the letter were, " that their near

And the ui'

fwer are ** relation to the king made them address thus to the
th*e"iord ^ " pope. The king's cause was now, in the opinion
Herbert. « ^£ jj^^ Icamed men, and universities both in Eng-

** land, France, and Italy, found just, which ought
*^ to prevail so far with the pope, that though none
** moved in it, and notwithstanding any contradic-
^^ tion, he ought to confirm their judgment ; espe-
** cially it touching a king and kingdom, to whom
he was so much obliged. But since neither the
justice of the cause, nor the king's most earnest
** desires, had prevailed with him, th^ were all
** fi>rced to complain of that strange usage of the
ffkiDg; who both by his authority, and with his
hild supported the apostolic see, and the catho-

«

u

answer.

THE REFORMATION. 19S

^ lie ^tb^ and yet was now denied justice4 From book

^ which they apprehended great mischief and civil 1—

•• wars, which could only be prevented by the king^s ^^^^'
^ manying another wife, of whom he might have
^ iisue. This could not be done till his present mar-
^ riage were annulled. And if the pope would still
** refuse to do this, they must conclude that they
^ were abandoned by him, and so seek for other re-
** medies. This they most earnestly prayed him to
^prevent, since they did not desire to go to ex-
^ tremities till there was no more to be hoped for at
«« his hands."

To this the pope made answer the 27th of Sep- tik pope's
tember. ^ He took notice of the vehemency of their
** leCtar, which he forgave them, imputing it to their
** great affection to their king: they had chained
** him with ingratitude and injustice ; two grievous
** imputations. He acknowledged all they wrote of
^ the obligations he owed to their king, which were
for greater than they called them, both on the
apostolic see, and himself in particular. But in
the king's cause he had been so far from denying
^ justice, that he was oft charged as having been too
partial to him. He had granted a commission to
two legates to hear it, rather out of favour, than in
rigour of law ; upon which the queen had ap-
p^ed : he had delayed the admitting of it as long
as was possible ; but when he saw it could not be
any longer denied to be heard, it was brought be-
" fore the consistory, where all the cardinals, with
** one consent, found that the appeal, and an avoca-
" tion of the cause, must be granted. That since
" that time the king had never desired to put it to
« a trial, but, on the contrary, by his ambassadors at

VOL. I. o

u

M

*h«t posture
in a thing
^0k ao mucji as
of muTersities
tl^em firom
** was true, some
■™ «iiotIi» way ;
given, but only
ke liad abo aeen vay iiB,
^partanltliiiigsfiDrtbeotlierBde; and therefore he
•* most not [■tti|HUtff a Knleno^ in a cause of such
^ high importance, till aU things were fuUy heard
^ and coosideied* He wialied their king might have
^ male48sue, but he was not in God's stead to give
^ it. And f» their threatoungs of seeking othw
^ remedies, they were neither agreeable to their
^ wisdom, nor to their rdigion. Therefore he ad-
^ monished them to abstain firom such counsels ; but
** minded them, that it is not the physician's fault if
" the patient will do himself hurt. He knew the
** king would never like such courses ; and though
•* he had a just value for their intercession, yet he
<< considered the king much more, to whom, as he
" had never denied any thing, that he could grant
** with his honour, so he was very desirous to ex-
** amine this matter, and to put it to a speedy issue,
'* and would do every thing that he could without
" offending God.'*

^hu. *^^' t*^^ ^^"K» either seeing the pope resolved to
grant nothing, or apprehending that some bull m^ht
be brought into England in behalf of the queoi, m*
tho disgraced cardinal, did on the nineteenth of Sep-
ItsoUior {Hit forth a prodamatiou against any '^ who
"^ |Hincha$ed any thinf^ firom Bome» or daewheii^ con-

THE BEFOBJtf ATION. 196

' trary to his royal prerc^ative and auUnri^, or book
' should publish or divulge any such thiogt requir-_

" ing them not to do it, under the pains of iacumng '*™'
" bis indignation, imprisonment, and other piuUBh-
" ments on their persons." This was founded oa
the statute otprovisors and prtemunireft. But that
being done, he resolved next to publish to the worlds
and to his subjects, the Justice of his cause : there-
fore some learned men were appointed to oompare
all that had been written on it, and out of all the
transcripts of the manuscripts, of fathers and couu-BMinwrit-
cils, to gather together whatsoever did rtrengthen id^-,
it. Several of these manuscripts I have seeo; <Mie'"°^
b in Mr. Smith's library, where are the quotations
of the fathers, councils, schoolmen, and canonists,
written out at length. There are three other such
MSB. in the Cotton library, of which one contains aotba.c.
large vindication of these authorities, from sorae ex-
ceptions made to them ; another is an answer to the ibidem,
bishop of Rochester's book for the queen's cause. A veip, b. j.

, . , ,. , , ■ 1 !_■ . Collect.

third digests the matter uito twelve articles, wnichNiimb.36.
the reader wiU find in my Appendix ; and these are
there enlai^ed on and proved. But all these, and
many more, were summed up in a short book, and
printed first in Latin, then in English, with the de-
terminations of the universities before it. These are
of such weight and importance, and give bo great a
light to the whole matter, that I hoiK; the reader
will not be ill pleased to have a short abstract of
them laid before him.

An abstract of those things ivhich were written Jbr

ike divorce.

" The law of marriage was originally given by

o3

196 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK " God to Adam in the state of inijocence, with this
*' declaration, that man and wife were one flesh ;

^1^530. €i jjy|. being afterwards corrupted by the incestuous
grouDds of « commixtures of those which were of kin in the

it in the . • . , •

Old Tesu- " nearest degrees, the primitive law was again re-

mcDt;

Lei

20.

tt
it
tt

tt
tt

Lev. xViii. " vivcd by Moscs. And he gives many rules and pro-

^* hibitions about the degrees of kindred and afl^nity,

^' which are not to be looked on as new laws and

judiciary precepts, but as a restoring of the law of

nature, originally given by God, but then much

corrupted. For as the preface which is so oft

Lev. xTiii. « repeated before these laws, / am the Lard, in-

21. ' ' ' " sinuates that they were conform to the divine na-

** ture ; so the consequences of them show they were

Ver.i7,24,« moral and natural. For the breaches of them are

*^ called wickedness and abomination, and are said

ver. 24, 25. " to defile the land ; and the violation of them is

charged on the Canaanites, by which the land was

polluted, and for which it did vomit out the in-

" habitants. From whence it must be concluded,

" that these were not positive precepts, which did

." only bind the Jews, but were parts of the law of

** mankind and nature ; otherwise those nations

" could ^contract no guilt by their violating them.

Lev. xviii. « Among the forbidden degrees, one is, T^hou shalt

" not discover the nakedness of thy brother's wife ;

** it is thy hrother^s nakedness. And it is again re-

Uv. XX.2I." peated, If a man shall take his brother^ s wife, it

" is an unclean thing ; he hath uncovered his bro-

" therms nakedness : they shall be childless. These

" are clear and express laws of God, which therefore

" must needs oblige all persons of what rank soever,

" without exception.

" In the New Testament, St. John Baptist said to

THE BEFORMATION. 197

" Herod. It is not lawful for thee to taie thy hro- book

" ther'a wife ; which shows that these laws Of Moses '.

'* were still obligatory. St. Paul also, in hifl EpiBtle^,^^*,

" to the Corinthians, condemns the incestuous per-

" son for having his father's wife, which is one of

" the degrees forbidden by the law of Moses, and

" calls it aJhrnicatioH not so much as named amttHg i Cw. ». i.

" the Gentiles. Prom whence it is inferred, that

" these forbidden degrees are excluded by the law

" of nature, since the Gentiles did not admit them :

*' St. Paul also calling it by the common name of

"fornication, within which, according to that place,

" all undue commixtures of men and women are in-

" eluded ; therefore those places in the New Testa-

" ment, that condemn ybr«tcdr/io», do also condemn

" marriages in forbidden degrees. Our Saviour did

" also assert the foundation of affinity, by saying,

" thai man and wij'e are onefiesh.

" But in all controverted things, the sense of the
"scriptures must be taken from the tradition of the
"church, which no good catholic can deny: and
" that is to be found in the decrees of popes and
" councils, and in the writings of the fathers and
" doctors of the church : against which, if any argue
" from their private understanding of the scriptures,
" it is the way of heresy,' and savours of Luther-
" anism. The first of the fathers, who had occasion
" to write of this matter, was Tertullian, who lived Lib. n.
"within an age after the apostles. He in express ei<m^
" words says, that the law of not marrying the bro-
" ther's wife did still oblige Christians.

" The first pope, whose decision was sought inii>«»«"tbor-
" this matter, was Gregory the Great, to whom Aus-popw.
" tin, the apostle of England, wrote for his resohition
OS

198 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** of some things, in which he denred direction { and
"' << one of these is. Whether a man may marry

1530, « brother's wife 9 (who in the lai^uage ci that tune
<< was called his kinsweman.) The p(^ answered
^ negatively, and proved it by the law of Moses> and
'< therefore defined, that if any (^ihe EngUsknaiien,
*^ who had married within that degree, were eon^
<< verted to the faith, he must be admcnished to oft-
<* stainfrom his wife, and to look on suchamarriage
^ as a most grievous sin. From which it appears,
^ that that good pope did judge it a thing which by
** no means could be dispensed with, otherwise he
** had not pressed it so much under such drcum-
<< stances ; since, in the first conversion of a nation
to the Christian faith, the insisting too much upon
it might have kept back many from receiving the
Christian religion, who were otherwise wdl inclined
• Ad omnet ^^ to it. 'Calixtus,^Zacarias,and ^Innocent the Third,
•cop^.*^' ** have plainly asserted the obligation of these pre-
3?c»p."pi-' " ^P^ ^^ '^^ ^^^ ^^ Moses ; the last particularly,
l*^"™- " ^^^ treats about it with great vehemency : so
cap. cum <^ that the apostolic see has already judged the mat-

injuven. ^
tutem. tcr.

And conn- ** Scvcral provincial councils have also declared
ca^. 3. ^^ the obligation of the precepts, about the d^rees
*^ of marriage in Leviticus, by the council at Neo-
*^ caesarea ; If a woman had been married to two
'< brothers, she was to be cast out of the communion
*\qf the church till her death, and the mam that
^* married his brother^s wife was to be anathema-
Chap. T.' '^ tisied, which was also confirmed in a council held
by pqie Gregory the Second. In the council of
where the .degrees that make a marriage
lous are reckoned, this of marrying the hto-

THB REFORMATION. 199

** Hba^B wife is one of them : and there it was de- book
^cseed, tkat all marriages tmtkin these degrees

* were nmU: and the parties so contracting were ^^^*
^tobe east out ^ the comimunMn of the church,

* and put among Me catechumensy till they sepa-

^ rated tkemsehes Jirom one another. And in the chip. ▼•
^ second council of Toledo, the authority of the Mo-

* saical prohibitions about the degrees of marriage

* is ackoowledged. It was one of Wickliffe's errors,
^ that the prohibition of marriage within such de-
^ grees was without any foundation in the law of
^ God : for which, and other points, he was con-
^.demned, first in a convocation at London, then at
^ Qxfinrd; and last of all, at the general council of
^Coiurtance, these condemnations were confirmed.
^So fermally had the church in many provincial
^ councils, and in one that was general, decided this
^matter.

** Next to thcise, the opinions of the fathers were
^ to be considered. In the Greek church * Oriiren > And the

Greek

^ first had occasion to treat about it, writing on Le-inxz.'Lcvit.
*viticus; and ^Chrysostom after him; but most^||^*)*^''
" ftdly ^ St. Basil the Great, who do expressly assert ^^\^ ^
^ the obligations of these precepts. The last parti- niodor.
^ cularly refuting, at great length, the opinion of
^ some who thought the marrying two sisters was
^ not unlawful, lays it down as a foundation, that
the laws in Leviticus about marriage were still in
force. Hesychius also, writing upon Leviticus, on Lerit.
" proves that these prohibitions were universally ob- ^^^ *°
^ ligatory, because both the Egyptians and Canaan-
*< ites are taxed for manying within these degrees ;
•* from whence he infers, they are of moral and eter-
<' nal obligation.

o 4

u

SOO THE HISTORY OP

BOOK '' From the Greek they went to the Latin fkthersi
^ and alleged, as was already observed, that Tertul-

Aiid^tffu- " ^^*° ^^^^ *^® same opinion ; and with him agreed
tin hxhen. w ^iig three great doctors of the Latin church, » Am-
Ep. li^."' ^* brose, ^ Jerome, and ^ St. Austin, who do plainly
^Coo^Hei. ,r deliver the tradition of the church about the obli-
Fw*c. 8 " gation of those laws, and answer the objections
9> 'o. << that were made, either from Abraham's marrying
64. in LeT. ** his sister, or from Jacob's marrying two sisters ;
lib. titc. 4! " or the law in Deuteronomy, for the brother^s mar-
aTi&J* " ^"fif *^ brother's wife, if he died without chil-
cxvi. M dren.

And of the

iDodcra << They observed, that the same doctrine was also

wiiton.

In Epift. *' taught by the fathers and doctors in the latter

finteem^ ^' &g^* ^ Ausclm held it, and pleads much for mar-

jon xfui it rying in remote degrees, and answers the objection

*' from the decision in the case of the daughters of

• Lib. ii. d« << Zelophehad. ^ Hugo Cardinalis, Radulphus Fla-

a. c iv. ^' ^ viacensis, and Rupertus Tuitieiisis, do agree, that

*^ ** " these precepts are moral, and of perpetual obliga-

Epiit. ad *^ tion ; as also Hugo de Sto. Victore. Hildebert,

^'^^ " bishop of Mans, being consulted in a case of the

Epit. ^. << same nature with what is now controverted, plainly

^^ determines, that a fnan may not marry his hro-

** ther*s tvife ; and by many authorities shows, that

Epitt.240. ^' by no means it can b^ allowed. And Ivo Car-

** notensis, being desired to give his opinion jn a

** case of the same circumstances, of a king's mar-

" rying his brother's wife^ says. Such a marriage

** is nuUy as inconsistent with the law of God;

and that the king was not to be admitted to the

communion of the church till he put away his

wife J since there was no dispensing with the

law of God, and no sacrifice could be qffered

THE REFORMATION. 5i01

• • • •

'^Jhr Hum tkat continued wSUnghf in sin. Pas- book
^ futgCB (dso to the same purpose are in other places

ofhisepisUes. i^^^*

^ From these doctors and fathers the inquiry de- The schooi-
** aoended to the schoolmen, who had with more nice- ^^^'
^ ness and subtlety examin^ things. ^ They do all
** agree in asserting the obligation of these Levitical
''prohibitions. Thomas Aquinas does it in many a<(*. 2dc,
''{daces, and confirms it with many arguments. St!^* 'in
" Altisiodorensis says, they are moral laws, and part ^'^**"
" of tiie law of nature. Petrus de Palude is of the Quest 54.
" same mind; and says, that a man's marrying his^dbtT
" brother's wife was a dispensation granted by God, ^- ^ ^'
" but could not be now allowed, because it was con-
trary to the law of nature. St. Antonine of Flo-
rence, Joannes de Turre Cremata, Joannes de
" Tabia, Jacobus de Lausania, and Astexanus, were
^ also dted for the same opinion. And those who
" wrote against Wickliffe, namely, *Wydeford, **Cot-^^*-^
" ten, and ^ Waldensis, charged him with heresy, for ».
<' denying that those prohibitions did oblige Chris- et uiidtu
" tians : and asserted, that they were moral laws, Mib^^sa.
'i which obliged all mankind. And the books of Wal-?^/^^™-
" densis were approved by pope Martin the First.
There were also many quotations brought out of
Petrus de Tarentasia, Durandus, Stephanus Bru-
" lifer, Richardus de Media Villa, Guido Briancon,
*' Gerson, Paulus Ritius, and many others, to con-
<' firm the same opinion, who did all unanimously
'* assert, that those laws in Leviticus are parts of the
" law of nature, which oblige all mankind, and that
*' marriages contracted in these degrees are null and
«* void. All the canonists were also of the same And ca-

DODUtt,

** mind ; Joannes Andreas, Joannes de Imola, Abbas

MSB THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ Panormitanus, Matthaeus Nera^ VincentiuB, Inno-
*^ centius, and Ostieiids, all conduded that these

€€

15S0. M ii^^g ^gjg gtiii in forc^ and could not be dispensed
"with.
MMriage " There was also a great deal allied to prove,
faTo^wDt. ^ that a marriage is completed bf the marriage-con-
" tract, though it be never consummated. Many
authorities were brought to prove that Adonijah
could not marry Abishag, because she was his fa-
therms wife, though never known by him. And by
the law of Moses, a woman espoused to a man, if
" she admitted another to her bed, was to be stoned
^^ as an adulteress ; from whence it appears, that the
validity of marriage is from the mutual covenant.
And though Joseph never knew the Messed Virgin,
yet he was so much her husband by the espousals,
" that he could not put her away but by a bill of
" divorce : and was afterwards called her husband,
** and Christ's father. Affinity had been also defined
by all writers, a reloHan arising out of marriage;
and since marriage was a sacrament qfthe churchy
its essence could only consist in the contract : and
" therefore, as a man in orders has the character,
^^ though he never consecrated any sacrament ; so
'^ marriage is complete, though its effect never fol-
*' low. And it was shewed, that the canonists had
*' only brought in the consummation of marriage as
^* essential to it by ecclesiastical law : but that, as
'• Adam and Eve were perfectly married before they
** knew one another, so marriage was comjdete upon
^* the contract ; and what followed was only an
effect done in the right of the marriage. And there
_..^ was a great deal of filthy stuff brought together,
iHBk^ of the different opinions of the canonists conoftm-

1

TBE RBFORMATION. tW

* im ttiiitiiiiniiiitkm» to what degree it naiiBt go, to book

* Atw that it coold not be efuential to the marriage

^ contioct^ whidi in modesty were suppressed. Both ^^^^*
^ HEDdebert of Mans> Ivo CamotensiS) and Hugo de
* Sto. Victore, had delivered this ojnnioni and proved
^ it out of St. Chrysostom, Ambrose^ Austin^ and
^ Udinre. Pope Nichdas^ and the council of Tribar,
^ defined, that marrii^ was completed by the con-
^ sent and the benediction. From all wliich they
^ oondudedy that although it could not be proved
^ that prince Arthur knew the quefen, yet that» she
** beii^ once lawfiiUy married to him, the king could
^ not afterwards marry her.

^ It was also said, that violent presumpticns were vioieiitfiv-
^ aolEcient in the <^»nion of the canonists to prove^^b!!^.
^ coBsammation. Formal proofs could not be ex-^'|^|^'^
^ pected ; and for persons that were of age, and in ^^^^^^
^ good healthy to be in bed together, was, in all trials
^ about consummation, all that the canonists sought
^ for. And yet this was not all in this case ; for it
^ appeared, that, upon her husband's death, she Was
^ kept with great care by some ladies, who did think
^ her with child ; and she never said any thing
^* against it. And in the petition offered to the
*^ pope in her name, (repeated in the bull that was
^ procured for the second marriage,) it is said, she
** was perhaps known hy prince Arthur ; and in
*' the breve it is i^inly said, she was known by
^ ^nce Arthur : and though the queen offered to
" purge herself by oath, that prince Arthur never
** knew her, it was proved by many authorities out
** of the canon-law, that a party's oath ought not to
'< be taken, when there were violent presumptione
^ to the contrary.

)^ THE HISTORY OF

((
€€
€(
C(
€€
€t
€€
H
((
ii

As for the validity of the pope's dispensation, it
was said, that though the schoolmen and canonists
" did generally raise the pope's power very high,
and stretch it as far as it was possible ; yet they
^< all agree that it could not reach the king's case ;
upon this received maxim, that only the laws of
*^ the church are subject to the pope, and may he
dispensed with by him, but that the laws qf God
are above him, and that he cannot dispense with
^* them in any case. This Aquinas delivers in many
places of his works. Petrus de Palude says, the
pope cannot dispense with marriage in these de-
grees, because it is against nature. But Joannes
** de Turre Cremata reports a singular case, which
^^ fell out wl^n he was a cardinal. A king of France
*^ desired a dispensation to marry his wife's sister.
'^ The matter was long considered of, and debated
in the rota, himself being there, and bearing a
share in the debate ; but it was concluded, that if
any pope, either out of ignorance, or being cor-
rupted, had ever granted such a dispensation,
*^ that could be no precedent or warrant for doing
^* the like any more, since the church ought to
be governed by laws, and not by such exam-
ples. Antonin, and Johannes de Tabia, held the
*^ same. And one Bacon, an Englishman, who had
** taught the contrary, was censured for it even at
*^ Rome ; and he did retract his opinion, and ac-
" knowledged, that the pope could not dispense with
" the degrees of marriage forbidden by the law of
**God.

6 canonists agree also to this ; both Joannes

as, Joannes de Imola, and Abbas Panormi-

us, assert it, saying, that the precepts in Levi-

(C

it

THE REFORMATION. 905

^ ticus oblige for erer^ and therefore cannot be dis- book
^ pensed with. And Panonnitan says, Tke^e things ^^'

are to be observed in practice, because great ^^^^*
^ princes do often destre dispensations Jrom popes, dien. spon.
^ Pope Alexander the Third would not suffer a citi-
^ z^ of Pavia to marry his younger son to the wi-
^* dow of his eldest son, though he had sworn to do
^ it. For the pope said, it was against the law of
** God, therefore it might not be done ; and he was
*^ to repent of his unlawful oath.

• ^ And for the power of dispensing even with the
^ laws of the church by popes, it was brought in in
^ the latter ages. All the fathers with one consent
^ believed, that the laws of God could not be dis-
** pensed with by the church, for which many places
** were cited out of St. Cjrprian, Basil, Ambrose, Isi-
'* dore, Bernard, and Urban ; Fabian, Marcellus, and
^' Innocent, that were popes ; besides an infinite num-
*• ber of later writers. And also the popes Zosimus,
^ Damascus, Leo, and Hilarius did freely acknow-
** ledge they could not change the decrees of the
** church, nor go against the opinions or practices
** of the fathers. And since the apostles confessed
** they could do nothing against the truth, but for
" the truth ; the pope, being Christ's vicar, cannot

be supposed to have so great a power as to abro-
gate the law of God : though it is acknowledged,
that he is vested with 2l fulness of power, yet the
phrase must be restrained to the matter of it, which

* is, the pastoral care of souls. And though there
was no court superior to the pope's, yet as St. Paul

*' had withstood St. Peter to his face ; so in all ages,
** upon several occasions, holy bishops have refused
** to comply with, or submit to orders sent from

a06 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK *' Rom^ when thejr thought the matto* of them ud<
"• " lawful

1530. « Laurence, that succeeded Austin the monk in

iiM>p«TefiiM^* the see of Canterbury^ having excommunicated

toUMi^'t*^ king Edbald for an incestuous marri9ge» would

^^^ " not absolve him till he put away his wife ; though

Mftimesbiir. « the pope pUcd Mm earnestly, both by entreaties

*^ and threatenings, to let it alone, and absolve him.

'< Dunstan did the like to count Kdwin^ for another

'^ incestuous marriage ; nor did all the pope's inter-

*^ position make him give over. They found many

** other such instances, which occurred in the ecde-

^* siastical history, of bishops proceeding by censures,

*^ and other methods, to stop the course of sin, not-

'< withstanding any encouragement the parties had

*♦ from popes.

** And it is certain that every man, when he finds
'^ himself engaged in ^ny course which is clearly
^^ sinful, ought presently to forsake it, according to
** the opinion of all divines. And therefore the king,
^^ upon these evidences of the unlawfulness of his
** marriage, ought to abstain from the queen ; and
•* the archbishop of Canterbury, with the other bi-
*^ shops, ought to require him to do it, otherwise
^* they must proceed to church-censures. Many
** things were also brought from reason, (or at least
^ the maxims of the school philosophy, which passed
** for true reasons in those days,) to prove marriage
•* in the degrees forbidden by Moses to be contrary
'^ to the law of nature ; and much was alleged out
*' of profane authors, to show what an abhorrency
heathen nations had of incestuous marriages,
whereas the chief strength of the argu-
for the contrary opinion rested in this, that

'^ THE BEFORHATION. . im

^ these tow9 of Mofles weie not ootifini^ liy Chi^ 9oaK

M

or hi« apostles io the New Testament; to that^ '*

ffC

t€

tbejF answeredy that if the laws about marriage ^^^*
^ w»e moral, as had been proved^ then there was
^ no need of a particular confirmation^ since those
^ words of our Saviour, / came not to deMtrojf the
^ ktm^hmt tojkyu it, do confirm the whofe moral
^ law. Qmi9t bad also e^ipressly asserted the relar
^ tion of aObiily, saying. That man and wtfe are
em fieek* St. Paul also condemned a match as
inoastiiouii finr aflEinity. But though it w^re not
expressly set down in the gospel, yet the traditions
^ of the church are receiyed with equal authority
^ to writtm verities. This the court of Rome, and
<^ aU the learned writers for the catholic faith, lay
*^ down as a fundamental truth. And without it,
'< how could the seven sacraments, (some of which
^ are not mentioned in the New Testament,) with
many other artides of catholic belief^ be maintain-
ed against the heretics? The tradition of the
church being so full and formal in this particular,
must take place : and if any corruptions have been
brought in by some popes within an age or two,
which have never had any other authority from
the decrees of the church, or the opinions of learn-
ed men, they are not to be maintained in opposi-
tion to the evidence that is brought on the other

•^side." ^

Hiis I have summed up in as short and compre-
hensive words as I could, being the substance of
what I gathered out of the printed books and ma-
nuscripts for the king's cause. But the fidelity of
an historian leads me next to open the arguments
that were brought against it, by those who wrote on

, 908 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the otha* side for the queen's cause, to prove the
validity of the marriage, and the pope's power of

1^^^- dispensing with a marriage in that d^ree of affi-
nity.

I could never, by all the search I have made, see
either MSS. or printed books that defended their
cause, except Cajetan's and Victoria's books, that
are printed in their works. But from an answer
.that was written to the bishop of Rochester's book,
and from some other writings on the other side, I
gather the substance of their arguments to have been
what follows :
rh€ Mgu. u Cardinal Cajetan had by many anruments en-

meoU for ^ ^ j o

the mar- « deavourcd to prove, that the prohibitions in Levi-
" ticus were not parts of the moral law. They were
" not observed before the law, no not by the holy
** seed. Adam's children married one another, Abra-
*^ ham married his sister, Jacob maiTied two sisters,
Judah gave his two sons to Tamar, and promised
to give her the third for her husband. By the law
of Moses, a dispensation was granted in one case,
** for marrying the brother's wife, which shows the
" law was not moral, otherwise it could not be dis-
pensed with ; and if Moses dispensed with it, why
might not the pope as well do it ? Nor was there
" any force in the places cited from the New Testa-
" ment. As for that of Herod, both Josephus and
" Eusebius witness, that his brother Philip was alive
" when he took his wife, and so his sin was adultery,
and not incest. We must also think that the in-
cestuous person in Corinth took his father's wife
when he was yet living ; otherwise, if he had been
dead, St. Paul could not say it was a Jbmication
M/ named among the Gentiles : for we not only

it

a

€€

mm

THE REFORMATION. tOi»

^ findlf boUi among the Pendaas and other nations, book
^tlte marriage of step-mothers allowed; but even_l_
^ among the Jews, Adonijah desired Aliishag in mar- ^^^
** riage, who had been his father^s concubine."

Frmn all which they concluded, ** That the laws
^ about the degrees of numriage were only judiciary
^ precepts, and so there was no other obligation on
^ Christians to obey them, than what flowed from
^ the laws of the church, with which the pope, might
** dispense. They also said, that the law in Leyi-
^ ticttStOf not taking the brother's wife, must be^
^ understood of not taking her while he was alire ;
^ for after he was dead, by another law, a man might
^ many his Inrother's wife.

^ They also pleaded, that the pope's power of dis-
^ pensing did reach • further than the laws of the
^ diurch, even to the law of God ; for he daily dis-
^ pensed with the breaking of oaths and vows,
^* though that was expressly contrary to the second
^ oonamandment : and though the fifth command-
"^ ment, 7%otf shalt do na murder^ be against kill-
^ ii^f y^ the pope dispensed with the putting thieves
** to death ; and in some cases, where the reason of
^ the commandment does not at all times hold, he
^ 18 thf only judge according to Summa Angelica.
^ They concluded the pope's power of dispensing
^ was a9 necessary as his power of expounding the
SGriptuf^ ; and since there was a question made
concerning the obligation of these Levitical prohi-
bitions, whether they were moral, and did oblige
^ Christians or not, the pope must be the only judge.
^ There were also some late precedents found, one
*^af P. Martin, who, in the case of a man's having'
** married his own sister, who had lived long with

VOL. I. P

M

€€

«10 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK " her* upon a consultation with divines and Uwyen*

'. " coDfiroied it, to prevent the scandal which the dis-

1531. tt solving of it would have given. Upon wbidi St.
" Antonin of Florence says, that since the thing was
*< dispensed with, it was to be referred to the judg-
" tnent of Gk>d, and not to be condemned.

" The pope had granted this dispensation, upon a
" very weighty consideration, to keep peace between
" two great crowns : it had now stood above ivi&Aj
" years : it would therefore raise an high scandal to
" bring it under debate ; besides that it would do
" much hurt, and bring the titles to most crowns
" into controversy.
>« u- " But they concluded, that, whatever informali-
tbcM. " ties or nullities were pretended to- be in the bulls
" or breves, the pope was the only competent judge
" of it ; and that it was too high a presumption for
" inferior prelates to take upon them to examine or
" discuss it."

But to these arguments it was answered by the
writers for the king's cause, " that it was strange to
" see men, who pretended to be such enemies to all
" heretical novelties, yet be guilty of that which ca-
" tholic doctors hold to be the foundation of all he-
" resy ; which was, the setting up of private senses
" of scripture, and reasonings from them, against
'* the doctrine and tradition of the church. It was
'* fully made out, that the fathers and doctors of the
** chnrch did univerBally agree in this, that the Le-
** vitical prohibitions of the d^rees of marriage are
\ and do oblige all Christians. Against this
tiiy, Cajetan was the first that presumed to
^opposing his ]vivBte conceits to the tradi-
\ the church : which is the same thing for

THE. REFOBMATION. Sll

** which Lather and his fidlowren are so sererdr book

II

^ doodemiied; . May it not then be justly said of.

** sack OMD^ihat they plead much for tradition when ^^^'
«< it oiakes for them, but ngect it when it is against
^tliem? Theiefore all these exceptions are over-
" thrown with this one maxim of catholic doctrine,
'* I%ai they are novelties against the constant tra-
^* dMm qf the Christian church in aU ages. But
^* if the force of them be also examined, they will be
<< found as weak as they are new. That before the
^ law these d^prees were not observed, jNroTes only,
« that tiiey are not evidently contrary to the com-
** num sense of all men : but as there are some moral
^ precepts^ which have that natural evidence in them,
^ that all men must discern it ; so there are others,
^^ that are drawn from public inconvenience and dis-
^^ honesty, which are also parts of the law of nature:
^ these {NTohibitions are not of the first, but of the
<^ second sort, since the immorality of them appears
<^ in this, that the familiarities and freedoms amongst
<< near relations are such, that if an horror were not
^ struck in men at conjunctures in these degrees,
^ fomilies would be much defiled. This is the foun-
*^ dation of the prohibitions of marriages in these
d^prees : therefore it is not strange if men did not
appreh^id it, before Ood made a law concerning
^ it. Therefore all^ examples before the law, show
^ only the thing is not so evident, as to be. easily
** collected by the light of nature. And for the story
*f of Judah and Tamar, there is so much wickedness
<< in all the parts of it, that it will be very hard to
*f make a. precedent, out of any part of it. As for
^^ the provision about marrying the brother*^ wife,
'^ that only proves the ground of the .law. is not of

p2

21« THE HISTORY OP

BOOK ** its own nature immutable, but may be dispensed
^^ with by God in some cases. And all these moral

u

€€

€€
tt
CI

1531. «( laws, that are founded on public convenienqr and
** honesty, are dispensable by Grod in some cases ;
** but because Moses did it by divine revelation, it
^* does not follow that the pope can do it by his or-
dinary authority.

^* For that about Herod, it is not dear from Jose-
phus that Philip was alive when Herod married
^^ his wife. For all that Josephus says is, that she
** separated from her husband when he was yet alive,
^^ and divorced herself from him. But he does not
say, that he lived still after she married his bro-
ther. And by the law . of divorce, marriage was
at an end, and broken by it as much as if the*
*^ party had been dead, so that in that case she
** might have married any other: therefore. Herod's
^* sin in taking her was from the relation of having
" been his brother's wife. And for the incestuous
person in Corinth, it is as certain, that though
some few instances of a king of Syria, and some
" others, may be brought of sons marrying their
*' step-mothers, yet these things were generally ill
" looked on, even where they were practised by some
** princes, who made their pleasure their law. Nor
** could the laws of Leviticus be understood of not
" marrying the brother's . wife when he was alive;
** for it was not lawful to take any man's wife from
** him living : therefore that cannot be the meaning.
*^ And all those prohibitions of marriage in other
degrees, excluding those marriages simply, whe-
ther during the Ufe, or after the d^th of the la-
son, uncle, and other such relations, there is
ind to disjoint this so much from the rest.

THE BEFORMATION. 218

i^M'to mike dt' only^ extend to a marriage before book
.^ tbe hosbaiid's death. And for any precedents that

wete bhnight, they were all in the latter ages, ^^^*-
t^ ttnd were never confirmed by any public authority.
' ^ Mor must the practices of latter popes be laid in
^tiie balance against the decisions of former popes,
^ and the doctrine of the whole church; and* as to
^ ibe power that was ascribed to the pope, that be-
** gan now to hi inquired, into with great freedom,
^ aa diafl appear afterwards.''

ISieie reasons on both sides beinir thus opened, tim queen
the censures of thiem^ it is like, will be as different uue.
ndw, as they were then : for they prevailed very
i&tle' o» the queen, who still persisted to justify her
marriage; and to stand to her appeal. And though Haii.
the king carried it very kindly to her in all outward
appearance, and employed every body that had cre-
dit with her to bring her to submit to him, and to
pass from her appeal, remitting the decision of the
matter to any four prelates, and four secular men
in England, she was still unmoveable, and would
hearken to no proposition. In the judgments that
pec^Ie passed, the sexes were divided; the men ge-
neraUy approved the king's cause, and the women
favoured the queen. But now the session of parlia- a letiion of
ment came on the sixteenth of January, and there ^
the king first brought into the hous^ of lords the
determination ofjthe universities, and the books that
were written for his cause by foreigners. After they
were read and considered there, the lord chancellor
did on the twentieth of March, with twelve lords More.
both of the spirituality and temporality, go down to
the house of commons, and shewed them what the
universities and learned men beyond sea had writ-

pS

•:. TIC nMrooT OP

^. >^ ii^ nv.rt-riv. m pmduced twelve original
l^^r • fii li^ »<iu ir- the universities to them
^'•u:. >•' /^«i Tiki* rook out of his hand, and
f.A*\ »y^ih/ rt rJift hniifie. translating the Latin into
^^,i/j;-i. Th«*rn ahoiit an hundred books, written
Wf r-.Vi-ijrA /tivin»T« for the divorce, were also shewed
Ml' iM , fi'»ri#- ^if wrhtrh were read, but put off to ao-
fiHi# • run*-, It liftin({ late. When that was done, the
lifiil ihAiifHIor dinired they would report in their
I <.iiiihii:« uhut tkey had heard and seem^ and Hen
hII Mt'H nhunM vieurfy perceice^ that tie Um^ kati
siitf u/hmf^ii-ii this matter of will ami piemMmrr om
%liiti4/i%>'iJi Jiiiff, hut Qtdy for the dijtckur^ j/ iu
iuHMU'HiW unit the 'iecurity of' tie ^mceejt^wum ro "
six»{%a. t lav tug Nuitl that, bt; lell ihe huuae. ^
iiMiui v»ii* .iInu brought Ix^tbre the convotaM^nn . ^
ih, > . Imv iiig ^iciglKti all that wa{> 5aid on imcit ^j,.^
..^auAi >,uiMKxl iliai the luaiTiage was unrnwiia. ami
.K., .!v »uii \vd* >i 'luimxe, iiui-e lut }eiriir -i^

•:,. V % «. L -ii:«iifti<r iiittt tiiib iiiauei' went 5*j4-£j^y^y.
.. iv •..*»^'v.^tJ«*ii, vi!tji LuuiUei' Mi iiir ^ttfiitej- ■ -m-.

.„ ..v- vti'Uiii. nuilfju 'Voisty. 'V eXt:ici&4Uic 'lb

... uifci-Lf, t'Ulu: >-i.f!acu .14. . ?it: ^iuuuil
111, lUu IC vIIltC> .'CULU \j:axkkst%, i*i :iit t..r&^

\ •

u,.

I

THE REFORMATION. ms

It is to be considered, that the idngs of Ei^laod book
having claimed in all ages a power in ecdesiastical '
autters/ equal to what the Roman emperors had in^^^^'-

*^ The prero-

liiat empire, they exercised this authority both over ^^'^''^ <>'
the clergy and laity ; and did at first erect bishop- of Eogiaod
lies, grant in vestures in them, call synods, make laws, l^iod ar.'
idioot sacred as well as ci?il concerns ; and, in a word, ^^'
Ihey governed their whole kingdom. Yet when the
Inshqps of Rome did stretch their power beyond
tither the limits of it in the primitive church, or
what was afterward granted them by the Roman
emperors, and came to assume an authority in all
die diurches of Europe ; as they found some resist-
ance every where, so they met with a great deal in
this kingdom ; and it was with much difficulty that
tihey gained the power of giving investures, receiv-
ing appeals to Rome, and of sending legates to Eng^
land, with several other things, which were long
contested, but were delivered up at length, either
by feeble princes, or when kings were so engaged
at home or abroad, that it was not safe for them to
i^end the clergy. For in the first contest between
the kings and the popes, the clergy were generally
on the pope's side, because of the immunity and pro-
tection they enjoyed from that see ; but when popes
became ambitious and warlike princes, then new The en*
projects and taxes were every where set on foot to of the pa-
raise a great treasure. The pall, with many bulls '***^^'
and high compositions for them, annates, or first*
firuits and tenths, were the standing taxes of the
ciCTgy^ besides many new ones upon emergent occa-
sions. So that they, finding themselves thus op-
pressed by the popes, fled again back to the crown

p4

816 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK for protection, which their predecesscNrs had aban-
— ! doned.

1^31. From the days of Edward the First, maiij statotes
were made to restrain the exactions of Rome. For
then the popes, not satisfied with their other ojqpres-
ifit. piurit. sions, (which a monk of that time lays open fullj,
Tb« lawB and from a deep sense of them,) did by proyisions,
•gainft bulls, and other arts of that see, dispose of lnshq>-
rics, abbeys, and lesser benefices, to foreigners, car-
dinals, and others that did not live in En^Uind.
Upon which the commonalty of the realm did repre-
ss Edw. I. sent to the king in parliament, T^hat the biskoprieSf
^tS^Ju abbeys, and other benefices were founded hy the
^^T^l^'hings and people of England, to inform ike people
^' of the law of God, and to make hoepitaUiy, alms,

and otker works of charity, for which end they
were endowed by the king and people of England;
and that the king, and his other sulyects who en-
dowed them, had upon voidances the presentment
and collations of them, which tiow the pope had
usurped and given to aliens, by which the crown
would be disinherited, and the ends of their endow-
ments destroyed, with other great inconveniences.
Therefore it was ordained, That these oppressions
should not be steered in any 7nanner. But, not-
withstanding this, the abuse went on, and there was
no effectual way laid down in the act to punish these
transgressions. The court of Rome was not so easily
driven out of any thing that either increased their
35 Kd. III. power or their profits ; therefore, by another act in
prov?Mn. his grandchild Edward the Third's time, the com-
mons complained, that these abuses did abound,
}td that the pope did daily reserve to his coUa-

THE REFORMATION. 21

<^

turn church^eferments in England^ and raised book
Ae firH^frwUy with other great prqfits, hy which "*
ikfi ^risamure qf ihe realm woe carried out qfit^ and ^^^ ^ *
wumy derhey advanced in the realm, were put out
tf their benefices by those provisors ; therefore the
Ut^9 being bound by oath to see the laws kept, did,
with the assent qfaU the great men and the com^
wuf^flUy^the realm, ordain. That the free dec-
Uome^ presentments, and collations qf benefices,
^komld stand in the right of the crown, or ^any
^ksM esAgeds, as they had formerly enjoyed them,
notmUhstemding any provisions from Bome. And
jf any did disturb the incumbents by virtue qfsuch
provisions, those provisors, or others employed by
th^m^ were to be put in prison till they made fine
and ransom to the king at his will; or if they could
not he apprehended, writs were to be issued out
to eei$e them; tmd all benefices possessed by them
mm:^ to fall into the hinges hands, except they were
aUeys.or priories, that fell to the canons or col-
leges. B7 another act, the provisors were put out
of the hinges protection; and if any man qffended
against them, in person or goods, he was excused,
and was never to be impeached for it. And two 37 Edwani
jean after that, upon another complaint of their '^^''*
suing the king's subjects in other courts, or beyond
sea, it was ordained, TT^at any who sued, either be^
yond sea, or in any other court, for things that
had been sued, and about which judgment had been
given informer times in the kin^s courts, were to
be cited to answer for it in the king's courts within
two months ;, and if they came not, they were to be
put out qf the king's protection, and to forfeit their
lands, goods, and chattels to the king, and to be

S18 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK imprisomed and rammmed at Ae Mmgfs wUL Both
these statates reoeiTed a new euufiniiatioo deirai

jt^iuhil^ y^^ ^^'^ ^^^' ^^ ^'^^^^ statutes proved inefieo-
III. taf. t, tual ; and in the beginniiig of the ve^ of Ridiaid
Il^^Tj. ^^ Second^ the former acts were coofimied faj an-
other statute, and appointed to be executed: and
not only the provisors themsdves, but all such as
took procuratories, letters of attorney, or fiurms fiom
them, were involved in the same guik. And in the
seventh year of that king, provisions were made
against aliens having benefices without the king^s
license, and the king promised to abstain fiom
granting them licenses: for this was another arti-
fice of the Roman court, to get the king of their
side, by accepting his license, which by this act was
restrained. This failing, they betook themsdves to
another course, which was, to prevail with the in-
cumbents that were presented in England according
to law, to take provisions for their benefices firom
13 Richard Romc, to confirm their titles. This was also forbid-
• «»p»5- ^^^ under the former pains. As for the rights of
presentations, by the law they were tried and judged
in the king's courts, and the bishops were to give
institution according to the title declared in these
judgments : this the popes had a mind to draw to
themselves, and to have all titles to advowsons tried
in their courts ; and bishops were excommunicated,
who proceeded in this matter according to the law.
i6 Richard Of wliich great complaint was made in the sixteenth
^^ \ yco^ of ^h^ ''cign of Richard the Second. And it
was added to that, that the pope intended to make
many translations of bishops, some to be within, and
out of the realm, which, among other inconve-
reckoned in the statute, would produce this

l^D^ BEFOBMATION. fl9

«ffi9ct: Tkat tike eroum qf England^ whieh had bom:
iitii wjree ut off times, shauM be sulffe^d 1o

\

Ae imhopi^ Borne, and the laws and statutes ^ ^^'-
tike realm by him defeated and destroyed at his
m9. nkey also found those things to be against
tim iin^s crown and regaUty, used and4ipproved
im iSite time qf his progenitors : therefore aU the
esmmons resohed to tive and die with him and his
ermm ; and they required him, by way of justice,
to emamine all the lords, ^ritual and temporal,
^dkat they thought of those things, and whether
they would be with the crown to typhoid the rega^
Bty qf U^ To whieh aU the temporal lords an^
swered, Aey would be with the crown. Sut the
spiritual lords, being ashed, said, they would nei^
ther deny nor affi/rm that the bishop of Borne might,
or might not, excommunicate bishops, or make trans^
lotions of prelates : but upon that protestation, they
said, ^at if such things were done, they thought it
was against the crown ; and said, they would be
with the king, as ^ey were bound by their legeance.
Whareupon it was ordained, that if any did pur^
those translations, sentences of excommunication,
bulls, or other instruments from the court of Borne,
against the king or his crown ; or whosoever brought
them to England, or did receive or execute them ;
they were out of the hinges protection, and that
they should forfeit their goods and chattels to the
king, and their persons should be imprisoned. And
because the proceedings were to be upon a writ,
called fironi the most material words of it, praemu-
nire fades, this was called the statute of pnemu-
nire.

When Henry the Fourth had treasonably usurped

ftM ■ THE HISTORY OF

;ooK the crown, all the bishops (Carlisle only excepted)
"' did assist him in it, and he did very gratefully oUige
^^** them again in other things ; yet he kept up the force
of the former statutes. For the Cistercianr order
having procured bulls, discharging them of paying
tithes, and forbidding them to let their farms to any,
but to possess them themselves : this was complained
ien. IV. of in parliament in the second year of his reign, and
**'*' those bulls were declared to he of no force ;• and if
any did put them in execution^ or procured other
such bulls, they were to be proceeded against upon
the statutes made in the thirteen A year qftheJoT'
mer king's reign against promisors. But all this
while, though they made laws for the future, yet
they had not the courage to put them in execution :
and this feebleness in the government made them so
much despised, and so oft broken ; whereas the se-
vere execution of one law, ' in one instance, would
more effectually have prevented the mischief, than
ien. IV. all these laws did without execution. In the sixth
year of his reign, complaints being made of the ex-
cessive rates of compositions for archbishoprics and
bishoprics in the pope's chamber, which were raised
to the treble of what had been formerly paid; it
was enacted, that they should pay no more than
ieD. IV. had been formerly wont to be paid. In the seventh
year of his reign, the statute made in the second
year was confirmed ; and by another act, the licenses
which the king had granted for the executing any
of the pope's bulls are declared of no force to pre-
judice any incumbent in his right. Yet the abuses
j^Qcroachments of the court of Rome still in-
all former statutes against provisors were
r again, and all elections declared free, and

THE REFORMATION. til.

it

t' to be.intemipted^ either by the pope or the book
wgi' bat, at the same time, the king pardoned aU

i fiormer transgressions against these statutes. By ^^^^*
Jte pardons the court of Rome was more enoou*
jped than terrified by the laws; therefore there
IS a necessity of making another law, in the reign
-Henry the Fifth, against provisors, that the fii-4Heiiryv.
wihents lawJuUy invested in their livings shauld^^'
t be molested by them, tiumgh they had the hinges
rdom; arid both bulls and licenses were de^
wed void and of no value ; and those who did
\on such grounds molest them, should ii^cur the
ins qfthe statutes against provisors. .
Our kings took the best opportunity that ever
nil! have been found to depress the papal power;
r firom the beginning of Richard the Second's reign,
1 the fourth year of Henry the Fifth, the popedom
18 broken by a long and great schism ; and the
Dgdoms of Europe were divided in their obedi-
loe ; some holding for those that sat at Rome, and
hers for the popes of Avignon : England, in op*
idtion to France, that chiefly supported the Avig-
m popes, did adhere to the Roman popes. The
ipacy being thus divided, the popes were as much

the mercy of kings for their protection, as kings
id formerly been at theirs ; so that they durst not
lunder as they were wont to do ; otherwise this
ngdom had certainly been put under excommuni-
itions and interdicts for these statutes, as had been
>ne formerly upon less provocations.

But now that the schism was healed, pope Martin
\e Fifth began to reassume the spirit of his prede-
»sors, and sent over threatening messages to Eng-
nd^ in the beginning of Henry the Sixth's reign.

SSS THE HISTORY, OF

BOOK None of our books have taken any notice of this

II.

piece of our history ; the manuscript out of whidi
Ex M^ ' I draw it has been written near that time, and con-
D. PMyt. tains many of the letters that passed between Rome

and England upon this occasion.
Reg. Chi- The first letter is to Henry Chichely, then archbi-

dicl. fol.

30. shop of Canterbury, who had been promoted to that

see by the pope, but had made no opposition to the
statute against provisions in the fourth year ci
Henry the Fifth ; and afterwards, in the eighth year
of his reign, when the pope had granted a provision
of the archbishopric of York to the bishop of Lin-
coln, the chapter of York rejected it, and, pursuant
to the former statute, made a canonical election.
Henry the Fifth being then the greatest king in
Christendom, the pope durst not offend him : so the
law took place, without any further contradiction,
till the sixth year of his son's reign, that England
was both under an . infant king, and had fallen from
its former greatness : therefore the pope, who waited
for a good conjuncture, laid hold on this, and first
expostulated severely with the archbishop for his
remissness, that he had not stood up more for the
right of St. Peter and the see of Rome, that had be-
stowed on him the primacy of England ; and then
says many things against the statute of prttmunire^
and exhorts him to imitate the example of his prede-
cessor, St. Thomas of Canterbury the martyr, in as-
serting the rights of the church ; requiring him, un-
der the pain of excommunication, to declare at the
1% parliament to both houses the unlawftilness of
»te, and that all were under excommunica-
obeyed it. But, to make sure work among
lie, he also commands him to give orders,

THE REFORMATION. 9»

under the same pains, that aU the clerg7 of Englaiid book
dMNild preach the same doctrine to the people.

bean date the fifUi day of December 1486, and will ^^^^*
be found in th^ Collection of papers.

Bat it seems the pope was not satisfied with his
answer; for the next letter in that MS. is yet^'^*

Numb. 37"

more severe, and in it his legantine power is sus-
pended. It has no date added to it ; but the paper
that fcdiows, bearing date the sixth of April 1427,
leads us pretty near the date of it. It contains an
appeal of the archbishop's, from the pope's sentence,
to the next general council ; or, if none met, to the
tribunal of God and Jesus Christ.

Ther^ is also another letter, dated the sixth of
May, directed to the archbishop, and makes mention
of letters written . to the whole clergy to the same
porpoae, requiring him to use all his endeavours for
iqiealing the statute, and chides him severely be-
cause he had said, that the pope's xeal in this mat-
ter was atdy that he might raise much money out
tf England; which he resents as an high injury,
and protests that he designed only to maintain those
; rights that Christ himself had granted to his see,
[ which the holy &thers, the councils, and the ca-
tholic church has always acknowledged. If this
does not look like teaching ex cathedra^ it is left to
the reader's judgment.

But the next letter is of an higher strain. It is
directed to the two archbishops only ; and, it seems,
m despite to Chichely, the archbishop of York is
named before Canterbury. By it the pope annuls
the statutes made by Edward the Third and Richard
the Second, and commands them to do no act
m pursuance of them : and declares, if they, or any

S24 THE HISTORY OF *

(00 K Other, gave obedience to them^ they were wptofado
"' excommunicated, and not to be relaxed, unless at

1531. the point of death, by any but the pope.. He
charges them also to intimate that his monitory let-
ter to the whole nation, and cause it to be affixed
in the several places, where there might be occasion
for it. This is dated the eighth of December, the
tenth year of his popedom. Then follow letters,
from the university of Oxford, the archbishop of
York, the bishops of London, Duresme, and Lincoln,
to the pope ; all to mitigate his displeasure against
the archbishop of Canterbury, in which they gave
him the highest testimony possible, bearing date the
tenth and the twenty-fifth day of July. These the
archbishop sent by an express to Rome, and wrote
the humblest submission possible to the pope ; pro-
testing that he had done, and would do, aU that was
in his power for repealing these statutes. One thing
in this letter is remarkable : he says, He hears the
pope had proceeded to a sentence against him,
which had never been done from the days of St.
Austin to that time : but he knew that only by re-
port, for he had not opened, much less read, the
bulls in which it was contained ; being commanded
by the king to bring them, with the seals entire,
and lay them up in the paper-qffice, till the par-
liament was brought together,

d to the There are two other letters to the king, and one

C Mid

liM&eat. to the parliament, for the repeal of the statute. In

^^g. those to the king the pope writes, that he had often

pressed both king and parliament to it; and that

^^^^^pg had answered, that he could not repeal it

^^^Hl|tiie parliament : but he excepts to that, as

^Bpg the business, and shews it is of itself un-

THE REFORMATION. 885

lawful, and that the king was under excommunica- book
don as long as he kept it; therefore he expects.

that, at the furthest, in the next parliament it should ^^^'*
be repealed. It bears date the thirteenth of Octo- coUect.
ber, in the tenth year of his popedom. In his letter "™ '^^'
to the parliament, he tells them, that no man can be
saved who is for the observation of that statute:
therefore he requires them under pain of damnation
to repeal it, and offers to secure them from any
abuses which might have crept in formerly with these
provisions. This is dated the third of October, de^
cimo pontfficat. But I believe it is an error of the
transcriber, and that its true date was the thirteenth
of October.

The parliament sat in January 1427, being the
3ixth year of king Henry the Sixth ; during which,
pn the thirtieth of January, the archbishop of Can-
terbury, accompanied by the archbishop of York,
the bishops of London, St. David's, Ely, and Nor-
wich, and the abbots of Westminster and Reading,
went from the house of lords to the place where the
house of commons ordinarily sat, which was the re-
fectory of the abbey of Westminster, where the arch-
bishop made a long speech, in the form of a sermon,
upon that text. Render to Caesar the things which
are CtBsafSy and to God the things that are Gtods.
He began with a protestation, that he and his bre-
thren intended not to say any thing that might de-
rogate from the king, the crown, or the people of
England. Then he alleged many things for the
pope's power in granting provisions, to prove it was
of divine right, and admonished and required them
to give the pope satisfaction in it, otherwise he laid
put to them with tears, what mischiefs might follow,

VOL. I. Q

'I

•\o i-n v.'i-yjt'. *-frir.r irrm? 1^

V/m// / va=t fslr'ri^dj hroc^iJt vsder the fash fcr it,
//# »* *,;»* /,//%' rfta<Jf: o-se of: pwrtlv to gtre the CtNDt
f4 iUtfUi ii*ffn^\if-:r\WiTs^ of what th^y were to expect
tff,th fh' Ho/, if thw w€Bt on to vse him iD; and
tfhiUy, u, i,tf,4tif\ n4rv(:re\Y against all those of the
minify, v/ho tuUitral oljotinatelr to the interests of
iliiif tnuil,iifi(i to makr; the rest compound the mat-
iM, h/rfh hy ;i full submission and a .consideraUe
«»iil»«!iily ff wfiH in vain to pretend, it was a puUic
iifiil iill/iwffl nior, iind that the king had not cMily
roiinivHl III. Uir raniinnrs proceedings, but had made
him fill Ihiil whil(* his chief minister: that therefore
llii'V UTiT ixciiiiiahic in submitting to an authmty
<M whlih ilir king gave so great encouragement;
mnl lliMt ir llu»y IiimI demo otherwise^ they had been
unnvtiididily nihird. For to all this it was an-
"wnvd. lliiif ilir hii\N wore still in force, and that

THE m^FORMATION. MY

fl»cir ignonunce could not excuse them, sinoe they book
inght to have known the law; yet smce the vio-

•liftion of it was so public, though the court proceeded ^^^'
to a sentence, that they were all out of the king^s
'protection, and were liable to the pains in the sta-
tutes ; the king was willing, upon a reasonable coub- Tet they
peedtioD, and a full submission, to pardon them. <»mpoao )
So, in the convocation of Canterbury, a petition
brought in to be offered to the king. In the

king^s title, he was called. The Protector and Su^ ^^^^
preme Head of the Church and Clergy of JEng^^^^^^g
kmd. To this some opposition was made, and itheanf*
was put off to another day ; but, by the interposition of Eog^lS.
of Cromwell, and others of the king's council, whoj^^""'
cane to the convocation, and used arguments to
persuade them to it, they were prevailed with to
pass it with that title, at least none speaking against
it: for when Warham, archbishop of Canterbury,
said. That silence was to be taken for consent^ they
cried out, they were then all silent: yet it wasAotiqmt.

, BritaDiiis

moved by some to add these words to the title, in in vita
so far as is lawful by the taw of Christ. But Par-^***"'
ker says, the king disliked that clause, since it left
his power still disputable ; therefore it was cast out,
asd the petition passed simply as it was first brought
in. Yet in that he was certainly misinformed ; for
when the convocation of the {»t)vince of York de-
murred about the same petition, and sent their rea-
sons to the king, why they could not acknowledge
him supreme head^ which (as appears by the king's Pn"***' in
answer to them) were chiefly founded on this, that
the term head was improper, and did not agree to
any under Christ; the king wrote a long and sharp
answer to them, and showed them, that words were

Q 2

/^ * '

^•^ "Mil

• •• '* i!*^. /tcr t-r ret* I

/I I*/ r«i- 5€f.ijslj«rc It liavt n 1

i ■'•/. *•//«;». f, V, 11V Hint UlSilOni.
«*«-C •-!«< ii'i.-^vr ;Airt U? lilt IDlFCr

ifii'j ^*J'^ «?,;,.». tf^ir iiifig would IlCC BTSQC llf
!/*« ^l*$'/J Oih'fi^ij uiA*:ht tbtT"

->^////v/r/' ///'////. i,# U'ifjg then <kam itf
ol li*/ J';w*i li'/iiM: of c(/rjvocatiaD:

fHj'l vtln f « hun }> j;ir^ imcntb he had. if br kid le-
ht»uil fi/ i-j^ii ii^fit |>«'iiijori and submissioo. Brh
Hi* y innyn\ iUi kiri(( Vt accept of 100,000/. in lieu
ol iiH |iiiiiia|iiiii fiU wlijrii Ujey had incurred brgoii)^
mnihiixi iIji' hi III III ih of proviJtarSf and did promise
tni ilii liiiiiH , iiriihir ill make nor execute any con-
Mil iiiiuii willifiiii ihr kiiif;*H license; upon which he
)i.<iiiilnl iliiiii II ^nirnil pardon: and the convoca-
liiMi III llir |iinviiin' i if York oflTcring 18,840/. with
iniiiiliii miliiiiiti.iiiiii (if tho miwc nature afterwards,
tli«Mi|^li lliiil 1111*1 ^^iiii inoiv opposition, they were also

puiiliiiinl.

ii»v,Hu, Wlhu (||,i liixir'a imnlon lor the clergy was
0 1., lit nioii^hi tiihi ||||« liouM* of I'tuumons^ thoy were much
l^'L!*^ IiomUUhI (ii iiiul ihrm.Mlvcs not included within it;
r h,Y tho !«(<ilulr!» \\( f^vriiBur^ many of them were

THE REFORMATION. 229

iso liable ; and they apprehended, that either they book

night be brought in trouble, or at least it might be '• —

Bade use of to draw a subsidy from them : so they ^^^^'
ent their speaker, with some of thdr members, to
epresent to the king the great grief of his commons
0 find themselves out of his favour, which they con-
luded from the pardon of the pains of pr€Bfnunire

0 his spiritual subjects, in which they were not in-
luded; and therefore prayed the king that they
aigfat be comprehended within it. But the king
iiiswered them, that they must not restrain his
nercy, nor yet force it ; it was free to him either to
Xiecute, or mitigate the severity of the law : that he
night well grant his pardon by his great seal with-
ittt their assent, but he would be well advised before
le pardoned them, because he would not seem to be
xmipelled to it. So they went away, and the house
jvas in some trouble : many blamed Cromwell, who
pvas growing in favour, for this rough answer ; yet
;he king's pardon was passed.

But his other concerns made him judge it very which the
unfit to send away his parliament discontented ; and JTrdi
rince he was so easy to them as to ask no subsidy, he ^"**"
liad no mind to offend them ; and therefore, when
the thing was over, and they out of hopes of it, he
)f his own accord sent another pardon to all his
temporal subjects of their transgressions of the sta-
tutes of provisars and pr€emunire ; which they re-
:eived with great joy, and acknowledged there was

1 just temperature of majesty and clemency in the
dng's proceedings.

During this session of parliament, an unheard-of oneattaint-
:rime was committed by one Richard Rouse, a cook, soningf***"
ivho on the sixteenth of February poisoned a vessel

Q 3

SSO THE HISTORY OF

BOOK of jest, that Was to be used in porridge in the bishofi
of Rochester's kitchen, with whidi seventeen persons

^^^'- of his family were mortally infected, and one of the
gefntlemen died of it ; and some poor people, that
were charitably fed with the remainder of it, were
also infected, one woman dying. The person was

32 HeD. apprehended, and by act of parliament poisoning

Act. 16. was declared treason, and Rouse was attainted, and
sentenced to be boiled to death, which was to be the
punishment of poisoning fbr all times to come, that
the terror of this unheard-of punishment might
strike a horror in all persons at such an unexampled

Hall. crime. And the sentence was executed in 8mith««
field soon after.

Of this I take notice the rather because of Sio^
ders's malice, who says, this Rouse was set on by
Anne Bolejm, to make away the bishop of Rochester^
of which there is nothing on record, nor does any
writer of that time so much as insinuate it. But
persons that are set on to commit such crimes, are
usually either conveyed out of the way, or secretly
despatched; that they may not be brought to an
open trial. And it is not to be imagined, that a
man that was employed by them that might have
preferred him, and found himself given up and ad-
judged to such a death, would not have published
their names who set him on, to have lessened his
own guilt, by casting the load upon them that had
both employed and deserted him. But this must
pass among the many other vile calumnies, of which
Sanders has been the inventor, or publisher, and for
which he had already answered to his Judge.

Lord Her- When the session of parliament was over, the

hprf

king continued to ply the queen with all the appli-

'f

THE UEFORMATIOxN. 231

cations he could think of^ to depart from her appeal, book
H^.grew very melancholy, and used no sort of di-

vfoc^QUf but was observed to be very pensive. Yet^^^^J'
nothing could prevail with the queen. She answered ^^^^ ^^^
the lords of the council, when they pressed her much
to it, that she prayed God to send the king a quiet
eomsdence, but that she was his latvful wife, and
wmld abide by it till the court qf Borne declared
fhe contrary. Upon which the king forbore to see
her, or to receive any tokens from her, and sent her
word, to choose where she had a mind to live, in
•ay of hb manors. She answered, that to which
place soever she were removed, nothing could remove
her from being his wife. Upon this answer the king
left her at Windsor the fourteenth of July, and never
saw her more. She removed first to Moor, then to
fUttthamstead, and at last to Amptliill, where she
stayed longer.

The clergy went now about the raising of the a disorder
hundred thousand pounds, which they were to payd^^g°y^of
in five years ; and, to make it easier to themselves, Jl^uiJ'Sie
the prelates had a great mind to draw in the inferior ^^^l^^'
clergy to bear a part of the burden. The bishop of
London called a meeting of some priests about Lon-
don, on the first of September, to the chapter-house
At St. Paul's : he designed to have had at first only
ft small number, among whom he hoped it would
easily pass, and that being done by a few, others
would more willingly follow. But the matter was
not so secretly carried, but that all the clergy about
the city hearing of it, went tliither. They were not
a little encouraged by many of the laity, who thought
it no unpleasant diversion to see the clergy fall out
among themselves. So when they came to the chap<

Q 4

ad2 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ter-house on the day appointed, the bishop's officers
'^' would only admit some few to enter ; but the rest

^^31- forced the door» and rushed in, and the bishop's ser-
vants were beaten and ill used. But the bishop,
seeing the tumult was such that it could not be easily
quieted, told them all. That as the state of men in
this life was Jrail, so the clergy, through JraUty
and want qf wisdom, had misdemeaned themselves
towards the king, and had fallen in a pramunire,
for which the king of his great clemency was
pleased to pardon them, and to accept qf a little,
instead of the whole, of their benefices, which by
the law had fallen into his hand: therefore he de^
sired they would patiently bear their share in this
burden. But they answered, they had never med*
died with any of the cardinal's faculties, and so had
not fallen in the pnemunire ; and that their livings
were so small, that they could hardly subsist by
them. Therefore, since the bishops and abbots were
only guilty, and had good preferments, they only
ought to be punished, and pay the tax ; but that for
themselves, they needed not the king's pardon, and
so would pay nothing for it. Upon which the bi-
shop's officers threatened them; but they, on the
other hand, (being encouraged by some laymen that
came along with them,) persisted in their denial to
pay any thing ; so that from high words the matter
came to blows, and several of the bishop's servants
were ill handled by them. But he, to prevent a
further tumult, apprehending it might end upon
himself, gave them good words ; and dismissed the
meeting with his blessing, and promised that nothing
should be brought in question that was then done.
Yet he was not so good as his word ; for he com-

•U _ _.

I haT€ IMC twen able

«f aaEnrs bereod set duu:^\} ^^ f"^^
Tke pope eiqKctied not oohr to xkt r^^^^
to Ub fraflr bj the enpetw^ii
to vieft llodena and Bcjigio inwi
to vlncli he pieceDdeiL m$ heiiig
7; aid the emperor having t'tigai^xl
to lestove them to him« Bui
now that the pope s pRCenskms wei^ aji^f^ntcd to
be naminwl hj wome judges delegated by the om«
perar, tfaejr detenaioed against the pope for tho duke
of Fcffiara: wfakfa so disgusted the pc^* thai ho
fen totaDjr fiom the emperor, and did unite with
the Idi^ of Franoe, a match being abo projected
bctirecn the doke erf" Orieance* (aftemards Henry
the SeocMMl,) and his niece Catharina do Modici:
which did watk much on the (dope's ambition« to
have his &milj alUed to so mighty a monarch. S.)
that DOW he became wholiv French.

The Frendi kin^ was also, on account of this -^ "**'**
marriage, to resign all the pretensions he had to anv M>»«<ni^
temtorj m Italy to his younger son ; whuiu as it mi.) iii»
would give less umbrage to the other princes of lt4Uy«^^||.|]^Y.
who liked rather to have a king^s younger son among
them, than either the emperor, or the French king ;
so the pope ivas wonderfully pleased to raise another
great prince in Italy out of his own family. On
these grounds was the match at this time dcsignciK
which afterwards took effect ; but with tliis differ-

2S4 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ence, that by the dolphin's death the duke of Or*
kance became king of France, and his queen made

l^^l* the greatest figure that any queen of Franoe had
done for many ages.

This change in the pope's mind might have pro-
duced another in the king's affairs, if he had not al-
ready gone so far, that he was less in fear of the
pope than formerly. He found the credit of ik
clergy was. so low, that, to preserve themselves from
the contempt and fury of the people, they were
forced to depend wholly on the crown. For Luther-
anism was then making a great progress in Eng-
land, of which I shall say nothing here, beiug le?
solved at the end of this book to give an account of
the whole course of it in those years that fall within
this time. But what by the means of the new
preachers, what by the scandals cast on the d&rgfj
they were all at the king's mercy ; so he did not fear
much from them, especially in the southern parts,
which were the richest and best people : therefore
the king went on resolutely. The pope, on the other
hand, was in great perplexity ; he saw England
ready to be lost, and knew not what to do to rescue
or preserve it. If he gave way to what was lately
done in the business of the prteviunire^ he must
thereby lose the greatest advantages he drew from
that nation ; and it was not likely, that, after the
.king had gone so far, he would undo what was done.
The emperor was more remiss in prosecuting the

i^ipieen's appeal at Rome ; for at that time the Turk,
^with a most numerous and poweiful army, was mak-

jing an .impression on Hungary, (which, to the great

most Christian king, was imputed to
presents at the Port ;) and all the

THE REFORMATION. 985

emperor's thoogfats were taken up with this. Thare- book
fivey as he gave the protestant prinoes of Germany

sme present satuf action in religion and other mat- ^^^"
ters ; so he sent over to England, and desired the
king^s assistance against that vast armj of 300^000
Hien that was falling in upon Christendom. To this
the king made a general answer, that gave some hopes
•f assisting him. But at the same time the protest-
ant princes, resolving to draw some advantage from
that conjuncture of affairs, and being courted by the
French king, entered into a lei^e with him, for the
defence of the rights of the empire. And, to make
tin firmer, the king was invited by the French king
to join in it ; to which he consented, and sent over
to France a sum of money, to be employed for the
safety of the empire. And this provoked the empe*'
ror to renew his endeavours in the court of Rome
for prosecuting the queen's appeal.

The French king encouraged the king to go on
with his divorce, that he might totally alienate him
from the emperor. The French writers also had
another consideration, which seems unworthy of so
great a king, that he himself, being at that time so
public a courtier of ladies, was not ill pleased to set
forward a thing of that nature. ^^ But though princes
** allow themselves their pleasures, yet they seldom
** govern their affairs by such maxims.*'

In the beginning of the next year a new session of 1532.
parliament was held, in which the house of commons ^^^^^^^
went on to complain of many other grievances they "p^^ ®/
lay under from the clergy, which they put in a writ- siwticai
ing, and presented it to the king. In it they com- ^
{dained of the proceedings in the spiritual courts,
and especially their calling men before them, ex of-

886 THE HISTORY OF

HOOK ficio^ and laying articles to their chai^, without any
accuser; and then admitting no purgafcioiiy but

J 532. causing the partj accused, either to abjure, or to be
H«». Ijumt ; which thej found very grievous and intoler-
able. This was occasioned bj some vicdent proceed*
ing against some reputed heretics, of which an ac-
count shall be given afterwards. But those com-
plaints were stifled, and great misunderstandings
arose lx;tween the king and the house of commons
upon this following occasion.
Biit rfjMt There was a common practice in England of men's
wardt. '^ making such settlements of their estates by tbdr
last wills, or other deeds, that the king and some
great lords were thereby defrauded of the advantages
they mode by wards^ marriages^ and primer sea-
sin. For regulating which, a bill was brought into
the house of peers, and assented to there ; but when
it was sent down to the house of commons, it was
rejected by them, and they would neither pass the
bill, nor any other qualification of that abuse. This
gave the king great offence ; and the house, when
they addressed to him about the proceedings of the
Tht com- clergy, also prayed, T/tat he would consider what
tion ihAt cosfi charge^ and paipis they had been at since the
bi'di^lr- hcginniptg of the parliament, and that it would
^' f}lease his grace of his princely benignity to dis-

solve his court qfparliamenty and that his subjects
might return into their countries. To which the
Tjje^jttg'* king answered, " That for their complaints of the
clergy, he must hear them ako before he could
give judgment, since in justice he ought to hear
both {Kirties ; but that they desiring the redress of
such abuses, was contrary to the other part of
petition ; for if the parliament were dbsolved.

THE llEFOR:\rATIO\. ^>37

^^ how could those things thej complained of be book

^ amended ? And as they complained of their long .
^ attendance, so the king had stayed as long as they ^^^^'
** had done, and yet he had still patience, and so
^ they must have, otherwise their grievances would
^ be without redress. But he did expostulate se-
•* verely upon their rejecting the bill about deeds, in
** prejudice of the rights of the crown. He said, he
<« had offered them a great mitigation of what by
^ the rigour of the law he might pretend to ; and,*
•* if they would not accept of it, he would try the
^ utmost severity that the law allowed, and would
*' not offer them such a favour again." Yet all this
did not prevail ; for the act was rejected, and their
complaint against the clergy was also laid aside, and
the parliament was prorogued till April next.

In this parliament the foundation of the breach
that afterwards followed with Rome was laid, by an
act for restraining the payment of annates to that
court ; which, since it is not printed with the other
statutes, shall be found in the end of this volume.
The substance of it is as follows :

** That fireat sums of money had been conveyed An act
" out of the kinfi^dom, under the title o{ annates or naif,

• Collect.

" first-fruits to the court of Rome, which they ex- Numb. '41.
" torted by restraint of bulls, and other writs ; that
it happened often, by the frequent deaths of arch-
bishops and bishops, to turn to the utter undoing
** of their friends^ who had advanced those sums for
*^ them. These annates were founded on no law ;
'^ fcHT they had no other way of obliging the incum-
'^ bents of sees to pay them, but by restraining their
" bulls. The parliament therefore, considering that
" these were first begun to be paid to defend Christ-

ie

S88 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK ^ endom against infidels, but were now turned to a 1 1
_i!l_" duty claimed by that court, against all right and 1 1

u

((

1532. ^ conscience, and that vast sums were carried awaj 1 1
upon that account, which, from the second year | \
of king Henry the Seventh to that present time,
amounted to 800,000 ducats, besides many other
^ heavy exactions of that court ; did declare, that
^ the king was bound by his duty to Almighty .God,
'^ as a good Christian prince, to 'hinder these oj^res-
^' sions* And that the rather, because many of the
^ .prelates were then very aged, and like to die in a
^ diort time, whereby vast sums of money should be
'^ carried out of England, to the great impoveridiing
^ of the kingdom. And therefore all payments of
^ first-fruits to the court of Rome were put down,
^^ and for ever restrained, under the pains of the for*
'^ feiture of the lands, goods, and chattels of him
^* that should pay them any more, together with the
^ profits of his see, during the time that he was
** vested with it. And in case bulls were restrained
** in the court of Rome, any person presented to a
" bishopric should be notwithstanding consecrated
" by ihe archbishop of the province ; or if he were
presented to an archbishopric, by any two bishops
in the kingdom, whom the king should appoint
" for that end ; and that, being so consecrated, they
** should be invested, and enjoy all the rights of their
^ sees in full and ample manner ; yet, that the pope
^ and court of Rome might have no just cause of
** complaint, the persons presented to bbhoprics are
" allowed to pay them five lib. for the hundred, of
^^tejdear profits and revenues of their several sees,
psriiament, not willing to go to extremi-
the final ordering of that act to the

THE RSPORMATlCm. 989

** ftiii|^, tbat if the pope would «ther cbaritabljr and book

^-.'.t.ti.

Ij put down the payment cf annates^ or

u

so moderate them that they might be a tolerable ^^^^•
^ burdeii, the king might at any time before Easter
** 1588, or before the next session of parliament, de-
^ clare by his letters patents, whether the premisses,
* or any part of them^ should be observed or not,
'^ which should give them the fiiU force and author-
^ ity of a law. And that if upon this act the pope
^ should vex the king, or any of his subjects, by ex-
^ communications or other censures, these notwith-
^ standing, the king should cause the sacraments,
^ and other rites of the church, to be administered,
^ and that none of these censures might be pub-
•* lished or executed.**

This 1^ began in the house of lords ; from them

it was sent to the commons, and being agreed to

by them, received the royal assent, but had not

that final confirmation mentioned in the act before

the ninth of July 1533; and then by letters pa- Pari, noiit.

tents (in which the act is at length recited) it was

confirmed.

But now I come to open the final conclusion of The pope

the king's suit at Rome. On the twenty-fifth of Peking ..

i€

€t

January ** the pope wrote to the king, that he heard ^n»^ap.
^ reports, which he very unwillingly believed, thatP****
he had put away his queen, and kept one Anne
aibout him as his wife; which as it gave much
scanda^ so it was an high contempt of the aposto-
^* lie see, to do such a thing while his suit was still
^* depending, notwithstanding a prohibition to the
*^ contrary. Therefore the pope, remembering his
** former merits, which were now like to be clouded
'* with his present carriage, di4 exhort him to takl^

840 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK *' home his queen, and to put Anne away ; and not

ft

■ " to continue to provoke the emperor and his bro-

1532. « ther by so high an indignity, nor to break the ge-
'' neral peace of Christendom, which was its only se-
*^ curity against the power of the Turk." What an-
swer the king made to this, I do not find ; but, in-
stead of that, I shall set down the substance of a de-
spatch, which the king sent to Rome about this
time, drawn from a copy of it ; to which the date is
not added. But it being an answer to a letter be
received from the pope the seventh of October, it
seems to have been written about this time ; and it
concluding with a credence to an ambassadcn*, I

Loni Her. ludfi^e it was scut bv doctor Bennet, who was de-
spatched to Rome m January 1532, to shew the
pope the opinions of learned men, and of the univer-

coiiect. sities, with their reasons. The letter will be found

Numb. 42.

in the end of this volume ; the contents of it are to
this purpose :
A despatch <« The pope had writ to the king, in order to the
to the pope. '^ clearing all his scruples, and to give him quiet in
" his conscience ; of which the king takes notice,
" and is sorry that both the pope and himself were
" so deceived in that matter ; the pope, by trusting
to the judgments of others, and writing whatever
they suggested; and the king, by depending so
" much on the pope, and in vain expecting remedy
from him so long. He imputes the mistakes that
were in the pope's letters (which, he says, had
things in them contrary both to God's law, and
man's law) to the ignorance and rashness of his
<^ counsellors : for which himself was much to be
'^ blamed, since he rested on their advice ; and that
^< he had not carried himself as became Christ's

it
ti

THB BBFORM ATION. . SM ;

V bat had dealt both unbonstaiitlj and deceit- qqok

^. fidfy : finr when the king^s cause was first opened 1-

^ to him^ and all things that rekited to it were ex- ^^^^\
^ pfainedy he had granted a commission, with a pro*-
^ nriae not to recall it, but to confirm the sentence
^ which the l^ates should give : and a decretal was
^ sent orer, defining the cause. If these were justly
^ granted, it was injustice to revoke them ; but if
^ they were justly revoked, it was unjust to grant
^ them. Sq he presses the pope, that either he could
^ grant these things, or he could not ; if he could
^ do it, where was the faith which became a friend,
^ much more a pope, since he bad broke these pro-
^ mises ? But if he said, he could not do them, had
^ he not- then just cause to distrust all that came
^ ftom him, when at one time he condemned what
'* he ^ad allowed at another ? So that the king saw
^ clearly he did not consider the ease of his con-
*^ science, but other worldly respects ; that had put
him on consulting so many learned men, whose
judgments differed much from those few that were
^ about the pope, who thought the prohibition of
^ such marriages was only positive, and might be
^ dispensed with by the pope : whereas all other
learned men thought the law was moral and in-
'* dispensable. He perceived the apostolic see^ was
destitute of that learning, by which it should be
directed : and the pope had oft professed his own
ignorance, and that he spake by other men's
mouths: but many universities in England, France,
^ and Italy, had declared the marriage unlawfiil, and
^' the dispensation null. None honoured the ^)osto- ^
*' lie see more than he had done, and therefore he
<< was sorry to write such things, if he could have

VOL. I. R

4€
€€
M
U
€€

248: THE HISTORY OF

BOO K << been silent. If he should obey the pope*s letters,
!_x ** he would offend God and his own conscience^ and

1532. ((give scandal to those who condemned his mar«
** liage : he did not willingly dissent from him with-
** out a very urgent cause, that he might not seem'
*^ to despise the apostolic see; therefore he desired'
** the pope would forgive the freedom that he used,*
'V since it was the truth that drew it from him. And
« he added, that he intended not to impugn the-
'< ix>pe's authority further, except he compelled him;
'< and what he did was only to bring it within its
^' first and ancient limits, to which it was better to-
<< reduce it, than to let it always run on headlong
<< and do amiss ; therefore he desired the pope would
'' conform himself to the opinions of so many learned
'< men, and do his duty and office. The letter ends
*^ with a credence to the ambassador."

The pope, seeing his authority w^s declining in
England, resolved now to do all he could to recover
it, either by force or treaty : and so ordered a cita-
tion to be made of the king to appear in person,
or by proxy, at Rome, to answer to the queen's*
ir Edward appeal : upon which sir Edward Kame was sent to
l^mT."* Kome, with a new character of excusator. " Hi»
** instructions were, to take the best counsel for
'^ pleading an excuse of the king's appearance at
" Rome. First, upon the grounds that might be
*^ found in the canon law ; and those being not
" sufficient, he was to insist on the prerogative of
" the crown of England." Doctor Bonner went
with him, who had expressed much zeal in the
king's cause, though his great zeal was for prefer-
MM|Mnty which by the most servile ways he always
^^^^■pited.. He was a forward bold man ; and since

THE REFORMATION. 246

there were tnany threatenings to be used to the pope book
lUDd cvdinals, he was thought fittest for the employ-

fnent, but was neither learned nor discreet. '^^^*

They caihe to Rome in March^ where they found Hit nego^ •
great heats m the consistory about the king's busi-tbcn, taken
ness. The imperialists pressed the popie to proceed, oii^i»i let.
but all the wise and indifferent cardinals were of ^ u^r.
another mind. And when they understood what an ViteUB. 13.
act was passed about annates, they saw clearly, that
the' parliament was resolved to adhere to the king in
everything he intended to do against their interests.
The pdpe expostulated with the ambassadors about
it s but they told him, the act was still in the king^s
pcmer ; and except he provoked him, he did not in-
tend to put it in execution. The ambassadors,
finding the cardinal of Ravenna of so great reputa-
tion, both for learning and virtue, that in all matters
of that kind his opinion was heard as an oracle, and
gave law to the whole consistory ; they resolved to
gain him by all means possible; And doctor Bennet
made a secret address to hiin9 and offered him what
bishopric either in France or England he would
desire, if he would bring the king's matter to a good
issue. He was at first very shy : at length hie said,
he had been oft deceived by many princes, who had
made him great promises, but, when their business
was ended, never thought of performing them;
therefore he would be sure : and so drove a bargain,
and got under doctor Rennet's hand a promise, (of
which a copy being sent to the king, written by
Bennet himself, will be found at the end of this vo-
lume,) bearing, that he, having powers from the
king for that effect, dated the twenty-ninth of De-
cember last, did promise the cardinal, for his help in

R 2

244 THE HIVROLY CV

^ the king*8 affair^

-. France, to the vitfue of six

. and the first bishopifc that ftB ^MOM !■

- and if it were not Ely, that
vacant, upon his resigning the otlMtvlie
provided with the bishopric of Eljr : diMed «t Ikit j
the seventh of February, 158S. TVt I ifeiJiJIj
as one of the most considefalile
could be used to satisfy the cuniSmatU
about the justice of the king^s
was the fittest to work secretly Ibr the U^^ tvlf
had appeared visibly against him. I find ilVfr^
other letters, that both the cardioals
Monte (afterwards pope Julius the TUfd)
vailed with by arguments of the mm
though I cannot find out what the bugafaw
Providellus, that was accounted the greetert
ist in Italy, was brought from Boaonia, mmi
tained by the ambassadors, to give eomael in Hi
king^s cause, and to plead his excuse from mpptairi^
at Rome. The plea was summed up in tiKuiy
eight articles, which were offered to the pope ; aid
he admitted them to be examined in the oonsistiifyi
appointing three of them to be opened at a aessisa.
But the imperialists opposed that, and, after fiAeca
of them had been heard, procured a new order, thlt

^' they should be heard in a congregation of mndinaln
before the pope ; pretending that a consistory aitliag
but once a week, and having a great deal of 4ther
business, it would be long before the iimttAr caald
be brought to any issue. So Kame was served #ith
a new order to appear in the congregation the thiid
of April, with this certification, that if he appeared
not, they would proceed. Upon which he protested,

THE REFORMATION. MS

he irould adheie to llie fonner order : fet being book

the seoMid time, he went first and protested 1—

it, which he got entered in the datary. Thb ^^^^'
considered in the congregation, they renewed
order of hearing it in the consistory on the tenth
and then Providellus opened three condu-
Two of them related to Kame's powers ; the
was concerning the safety of the place to hoth
But the imperialists, and the queen's coun-
Ibmg dissatisfied with this order, frovid not ap^
Upon which Kame complained of their con-
^ktncf^ And said, by that it was visible they were
fcUmtful of thenr cause. On the fourterath of April
¥:mffw intimation was made to Kame, to appear on
he seventeenth with his advocates, to opesa all the
Bit at the condusiims ; but he, aiocofding to the first
ivdert would only jdead to three of them, and se-
Itded the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first:
fvhat these related to I find not) Upon which ^o^i^c^-

. , Numb. 45.

Aovidelhis appealed, and answered the objections
that did seem to militate again^ them ; but neither
Nrould the imperialists appear that session.

Jn June, news were brought to Rome, which
|ive the pope great offence ; a priest had preadied
Bnt the pope's authority in England, and was for
klMil; cast into jNrison. And another priest, being
put in prison by the archbishop of Canterbury, upon
vspidon of heresy, had appealed to the king as the
nq[>reme head : upon which he was taken out of the
srdibishop's hands, and being examined in the king's
courts, was set at liberty. This the pope resented
much; but the ambassadors said, all such things
might have been prevented, if the king had got
justice at the pope's hands.

e3

S46 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK The king also at this time desired a bull for a
commission to erect six new bishoprics, to be eo-

A M?for ^^w^ ^y monasteries that were to be suppressed,
erecting This was expedited and sent away at this time:

new o^ -

iboprict. aiid the old cardinal of Ravenna was so jealous, that
the ambassadors were forced to promise him the U-
shdpric of Chester, (one of the new bishopric^)
with which he was well satisfied, having seen^ hf
a particular state of the endowment that Was de-
signed for it, what advantage it would jrield hmi.
But he had declared himself so openly before agtdnst
the reasons for the excuse, that he could not serve
the king in that matter ; but in the tnain causei he
undertook to do great service, and so did the caidi«
nals de Monte and Ancona. -

Upon the twenty-seventh of June the debate was
brought to a conclusion about the plea excusatory ;
and, when it was expected that the pope should
have given sentence against the articles, he admit*-
ted them all, si etprout dejure. Upon which the
imperialists made great complaints: the cardinal^
grew weary of the length of the debate, since it
took up all their time; but it was told them, the
matter was of great importance, and it had been
better for them not to have proceeded so precipi^
tately at first, which had now brought them into
this trouble, and that the king had been at much
pains and trouble on their account ; therefore it was
unreasonable for them to complain, who were put
to no other trouble, but to sit in their chairs two or
three hours in a week to hear the king's defences.
l^tejAie imperialists, had also occasioned the delays,
^^^flnqgh they comjdained of them, by their cavils, and
■Igations of laws, and decisions that never were

TH£ REFORMATION. SMT

fnade»'by which much time w^ ^tit. But it was book
dbgected, that the king's excuse for not coming to

-Rome^ because it was too remote from his kingdom, '^^*
and not safe, was of no force, since the place was safe
to his proxy. And the cardinal of Ravenna pressed
ihe ambassadors much to move the king, instead of
the excusatory process, to send a proxy for examining
and discussing the merits of the cause, in which it
would be much easier to advance the king^s matter ;
^and that he, having appeared against the king in this
•prooess, would be tl^ less suspected in the other.

The business being further consider^ in three ^p<^ '
-sessions of the consistory, it was resolved, that, since idog would
the vacation was coming on, they would neither al-bLT
low o^ nor reject the king^s excusatory plea; but^'^'^^
the pope and coll^;e of cardinals would write to the
idng, entreating him to send a proxy for judging the
cause against the winter. And with this, Bonner
was sent over, with instructions from the cardinals
that were gained to the king, to represent to him,
that his excusatory plea could not be admitted ; for
since the debate was to be, whether the pope could
grant the dispensation or not, it could not be com-
mitted to legates, but must be judged by the pope
and the consistory. He was also ordered to assure
the king, that the pope did now lean so much to the
Prench faction, that he needed not fear to refer the
matter to him.

But while these things were in debate at Rome, a Mt«on of
there was another session of parliament in April ;
and then the king sent for the speaker of the house
of commons, and gave him the answer which the
clergy had drawn to the addresses they made in the
former session about their courts. The king him^

R 4r

THB REFOBMATION. SM

' well; ftnd thought it convraitlit to give the book
p Bomt aid^ for the charges df so detieifai^ a

ki and theMfore desired the comlnoiis to coDsult ^^^^*
it it. Upon Which the house YtfteA a subsidjr a subsidy u
fifkcenth : but, before the biU could be finished/''^*'''
plagne broke out in London, and the parliament
nrorcffued till February foUowinir^ On theTbeUog

remits the

etitfa of May (three days before the jproroga^onths which
) the king sent for the speaker t£ the house ^twJntShe
mom, tad tM him, <' That he found, upon ii^-^'Slf^
dfji that all the prdates, whom he hiUl tooked"^'^-
I m wholly his subjects, were but half Subjects;
r m their conaecration they swore an oath quite
ntiary to the oath they vwore to the crown ; so
■t ii seemed they were the pope^ subjects mAer
an his. Which he referred to their care, that
dk order might be taken in it> that the king
ight not be deluded." Upon whidi the two
IS that the clergy swore to the king and the
t were read in the house of commons ; but the
sequence of them will be bettei^ understood by
ing them down.

The oath to the pope.

1 John, bishop or abbot of A. from this hour for- Their oath
srd shall be faithful and obedient to St. Peter, *^****^'*
id to the holy church of Rome, and to my lord
e pope, and his successors, canonically entering,
shall not be of counsel nor consent, that they
lall lose either life or member, or shall be taken,
' suffer any violence, or any wrong by any means,
heir counsel to me credited by th^m, their mes-
ngers or letters, I diall not willingly discover to
ly person. The papacy itf Rome, the rules of

850 THE HISTORY OF

DK << the holy fathers, and the reality of St. FMer, I

1 ^ shall help and maintain, and defend aganut d

'^- << men. The legate of the see ^KKtolic going and
** coming, I shall honourably entreat. The li^il^
^ honours, privil^es, authcnrities of the chuidi flf
** Rome, and of the pope and his successors, I did
^ cause to be conserved, defended, augmented, ml
^ promoted. I shall not be in coundl* treaty, cr
^' any act, in the which any thing shall be inii|piied
^ against him, or the church of Rome, their ri^il%
^ seats, honours, or powers. And if I knowLanj
*' such to be moved or oNnpasaed, I shall resist it to
*^ my power, and, as soon as I can, I shall advertise
him, or such as may give him knowledge. The
rules of the holy fathers, the decrees, ordfmmnm
** sentences, dispositions, reservations, provaaionsband
commandments apostolic, to my power I shall Jseep^
and cause to be kept of others. Heretics, adiis-
matics, and rebek to our holy father and his suc-
eymar « ccssors, I shdU resist and * persecute to my power.
»ng. ** I shall come to the synod when I ^am called, ex-
cept I be letted by a canonical impediment. The
thresholds of the apostles I shall visit yearly per-
sonally, or by my deputy. I shall not alienate or
sell my possessions without the pope^s counsd. So
God me help and the holy evangelists.^

The oath to the tinff.

Mtb « J John, bishop of A. utterly renounce, and dear-
^' ly forsake all such clauses, words, sentences and
grants, which I have, or shall have hereafter of
the pope's holiness, of and for the bishopric of A.
that in any wise hath been, is, or hereafter may
*' be hurtful or prejudicial to your highness, your

«
tt
tt
tt

tt

tt

■

tt

THE REFORMATION. ftAl

^' heinly 8UC<:;essors, dignitjr^ privilege^-or estlite foyal. book
^ And also I do swear, that I shall be faithful and

i^tru^ and faith and truth I shall bear to you my ^^^^*
i^^iovereign lord, and to your heirs, kings of the
1^ same, of life and limb, and earthly worship above
''all creatures, for to live and die with you and
9 yours against all people. And diligently I shall

* be attendant to all your needs and business, after

* my wit and power, and your counsel I shall keep

* ttid hold, acknowledging myself to hold my bishop-
f fie of you only, beseeching you of restitution of
^ the temporalities of the same, promising as before,
^. that I shall be a faithful, true, and obedient sub*-
' ject to your said highness, heirs, and successors,

* during my life ; and the services and other things

* due to your highness for the restitution of the
f temporalities of the same bishopric, I shall truly
f do, and obediently perform. So God me help and

' all saints.'' In the original, it is only, So help me cieop. e. 6.
Gkid, and these holy evangelists. foi/54.

Xhe contradiction that was in these was so visible,
ihat it had soon produced a severe censure from the
Mmse, if the plague had not hindered both that, and
lie bill of subsidy. So on the fourteenth of May
he parliament was prorogued. Two days after, sir More lud
rhomas More, lord chancellor, having oft desired ofi^. '*
eave to deliver- up the great seal, and be discharged
)f his office, obtained it; and sir Thomas Audley was
nade lord chancellor. More had carried that dig-
lity with great temper, and lost it with much joy.
Ele saw now how far the king's designs went ; and
;hough he was for cutting off the illegal jurisdiction
;frhich the popes exercised in England, and therefore
Rrent cheerfully along with the suit of pnemunire ;

wmfm w» cr/octTUd whom, dB their mtma. Thef
fmiAi^heA a les^ae that they Bade* io nae a aiil^
uffftf f9trxt jear against the Toik: int this was aot
$fiuit$ '//n^jrj^rfrdy it bdi^ genefalj believed that
Mm' Kri-ri/;h king and the Turk vere in a good con
f^«|ir#fMl« ri/^;. Afi for the matter of the kmjfs di-
i^^rr/i. Kmndu enrouraged him to go on in it, and
Uf Iii4 iriUm<li;d marriage with Anne Boleyn; pro-
MiU)ff|r, if it wizra r|ue8tioDed, to assist him in it: and
H« ln$ Iii4 iip|K!nriuH;c at Rome, as it was certain he
I *Mili| uni no ihiihcr in person, so it was not fit to

• •••Ml I III. mtrvin of his conscience to a proxy. The
•'••••iili hiiiif NfTHird also resolved to stop the pay-
••iMiU f,| fni99nivsi, and other exactions of the court
••' lltMiir. mill Niiid^ )|(. would send an ambassador
••• Ihii |Mi|N., Ill „Rk rrdress of these, and to protest,

• ••••I II H ivi«ir not grunted, they would seek other
HiMiKilliiM hy iiriivincial councils : and since there wis

THE REFOBMATION. UB

9m interview designed between the pope and the book

eiBperar at Boncnna in Beoember, the French king ! —

to send two cardinals tbitlier to procure jodgen ^^^'

ending the business in England. There was also

' an intenriew ptaposed between the pope aiid the

L Vrench king at Nice or Avignon. To this the king

\ af En^nd had some inclinations to go for ending

sll differences, if the pqpe were well dkposed to it. '

Upon this sir Thomas Eliot was sent to Borne Eiiotwiii
wilii answer to a message'the pope had sent to Aewith ia-
kdng^ from vrhose instructions both the substance of ^^^^
the messi^ and of the answer may be gathered ^'^ ^' '^-
** The pope had offered to the king» diat, if he woidd
^ name any indifferent place out of his own Jdngdom,
^ he would send a legate and two auditors of the
^ rota thither, to form the process, reserving only
^ the sentaace to himself. The pc^ also proposed
*^ a truce of three or four years, and promised that
^ in that time he would call a general counciL For
¥ this message the king sent the pope thanicB ; but
^for the peace, he could receive no propositions
^ about it, without the concurrence of the French
** king ; and though he did not doubt the justice of
^ a general council, yet, considering the state of the
^ emperor's afiairs at that time with the Lutherans,
^ be did not think it was seasonable to call one.
^ That^as for sending- a proxy to Rome, if he were
*' a private person, he could do it ; but it was a part
^ of the prerogative of his crown, and of the privi-
^* legeg of ids subjects, that all matrimonial causes
^ should be originally judged within his kingdom
^ by the English church, which was conscmant to
^ the general councils and customs of the ancient
*< church, whereunto he hoped the pope would have

854 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** rpgarcl : and that for keqnng up Ui
"' *' ity, to wliirh he was bound by

4<

4«

153*2. « without the consent of the realm,

*' to tt foreign jurisdiction ; hopiiq^ the
not desin* any violation of the
reaUn, or to bring these into public
*' which had been hitherto enjoyed withoot
^* or molestation. The pope had coi
** without an urgi*nt cause, the dispenntiaa
'' not Ir} granted. This the king laid hold
** ordered his aniliassador to shew him that Aoe
was no war, nor api)earance of any, between tag:
land and K|uihi| when it was granted. To vcril^
** tliat, he sent an attested copy of the treaty be-
** tween liis father and the crown of Spain at tiat
time : liy tlie worck of which it appearedl, that it
was then taken for granted that prince Artinu* had
consummated the nnirriage, which was also proved
by gooil witnesses. In fine, since the thing did
** so much concern the |K^ace of the realm^ it was
^' fitter to judge it within the kingdom than any
" where else; theivftire he desired the pope would
** remit the discussing of it to the church of £i^-
" land, and then confirm the sentence they should
give. To the obtaining of this, the ambassador
was to use all iHKssiblc diligence ; yet if he found
'' real intentions in the |h>ih^ to satisfy the king, be
'* was not to insist on that as the king's final resolu-
" tion : and to let the cardinal of Ravenna see that
'' the king intendeil to moke good what was pro-
** mised in his name, the bishopric of Coventry and
'' Litchfield falling vacant, he sent him the offer oi
** it, with a promise of the bisho{iric of Ely when it
*' should be void.**

it

tt

THE REFORMATION. S55

^Soon after this, he married Anne Bcdeyn, on the book

nth of November, upcm hicr landing in £ng«

but Stow says, that it was on the twenty-fiftli '^f ^*
anuary. Rowland Lee (who afterwards got the mani^
ipric of C!oventry and Litchfield) did officiate in t^^vw.
I.mamage. It was done secretly, in the presence J>^,_jr^
;ihe duke of Norfolk, and her father, her mother, Hoiimtiet,

^" Mid Saq*

IHid brother. The grounds on which the king did den,
itbiM. were, that hb former marriage being of itself-
:tHill9 there was no need of a declarative sentence,
jifter so many universities and doctors had given
llMnr judgments against it. Soon aft;er the marriage^
dus was with child, which. was looked on as a signal
Qfidence of her chastity, and that she had till then
ktpt the king at a due distance-
But when the pope and the emperor met at Bo- ad inter.
Bonia, the pope expressed great inclinations to fa- tw^^ tii«
▼our the French king, from which the emperor could J^^^^
not remove him, nor engage him to accept of a
match for his niece, Katherine de Medici, with
Francis Sforza, duke of Milan. But the pope pro-
mised him all that he desired as to the king of
England ; and so that matter was still carried on.
Dr. Bennet made several propositions to end the some orer.
matter ; either that it should be judged in England, the diforoe.
according to the decree of the council of Nice,, and ^^ ***''
that the archbishop of Cantei*bury, with the whole
clergy of his province, should determine it ; or, that
the king should name one, either sir Thomas More
or the bishop of London ; the queen should name
another, the French king should name a third, and
the archbishop of Canterbury to be the fourth ; or,
that the cause should be heard in England ; and if th6^
queen did appeal, it should be referred to three dele-

868 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK parliament about the king's marriage did clearly ap-
pear ; but in the convocation, the business was more

1533. fyjjy ^jebated. The convocation of the province of
Canterbury was at this time destitute of its head
warbam's ^nj principal member : for Warham, archbishop of
Aug.aa. Canterbury, was dead since August last year. He
was a great canonist, an able statesman, a dexterous
courtier, and a favourer of learned men. He always
hated cardinal Wolsey, and would never stoop to
him, esteeming it below the dignity of his see. He
was not so peevishly engaged to the learning of the
schools as others were, but set up' and encouraged a
more generous way of knowledge ; yet he was a se-
vere persecutor of them whom he thought heretics,
and inclined to believe idle and fanatical people, as
will afterwards appear, when the impostures of the
Maid of Kent shall be related.
The king The kiuff saw well of how great importance it

resolves to ° . . ^ '^

promote was to the dcsigns he was then forming, to fill that
see with a learned, prudent, and resolute man ; but
finding none in the episcopal order that was quali-
fied to his niind, and having observed a native sim-
plicity, joined with much courage, and tempered
with a great deal of wisdom, in Dr. Cranmer, who
was then negociating his business among the learned
men of Germany, he of his own accord, without any
addresses from Cranmer, designed to raise him to
that dignity, and gave him notice of it, that he
might make haste, and come home to enjoy that re^

Fox. ward which the king had appointed for him. But
Cranmer, having received this, did all he could to
excuse himself from the burden which was coming
upon him ; and therefore he returned very slowly to
England, hoping that the king's thoughts cooling.

THE REFOJIMATION. 259

some other person might step in between him and a book

dignity, of which having a just and primitive sense^ '■ —

he did look on it with fear and apprehension, rather •^^^*
than joy and desire. This was so far from setting
him back, that the king (who had known well what
it was to be importuned by ambitious and aspiring
churchmen, but had not found it usual that they
should decline and fly from preferment) was thereby
confirmed in his high opinion of him ; and neither
the delays of his journey, nor his entreaties to be de-
livi^red from a burden, which his humility made him
imagine himself unable to bear, could divert the
king. So that, though six months elapsed before
the thing was setUed, yet the king persisted in his
opinion, and the other was forced to yield.

In the end of January the king sent to the pope cranmer's

^ • 111 bulls from

for the bulls for Cranmer s promotion ; and though Rome.
the statutes were passed against procuring more
bulls from Rome, yet the king resolved not to begin
the breach till he was forced to it by the pope. It
may easily be imagined, that the pope was not hearty
in his promotion, and that he apprehended ill con-
sequences from the advancement of a man, who had
gone over many courts of Christendom, disputing
against his power of dispensing, and had lived in
much familiarity with Osiander, and the Lutherans
in Grermany: yet, on the other hand, he had no
mind to precipitate a rupture with England ; there-
fore he consented to it, and the bulls were expedited,
though, instead of annates, there was only nine hun-
dred ducats paid for them.

They were the last bulls that were received in
England in this king's reign ; and therefore I shall
give an account of them, as they are set down in the

s 2

«6tt THE HISTORY OF

BOOK beginning of Cranmer's Register. By one bull he is,
-upon the king's nomination, promoted to be archbi-

1533. gjjQp of Canterbury, which is directed to the king.
By a second, directed to himself, he is made archbi-
shop. By a third, he is absolved from all censures.
A fourth is to the suffragans. A fifth to the dean
and chapter. A sixth to the clergy of Canterbury.
A seventh to all the laity in his see. An dgbtb to
all that held lands of it, requiring them to receive
and acknowledge him as archbishop. All these bear
date the twenty-first of February 1583. By a ninth
bull, dated the twenty-second of February, he was
ordained to be consecrated, taking the oath that was
in the pontifical. By a tenth bull, dated the se-
cond of March, the pall was sent him. And by an
eleventh, of the same datei the archbishop of York
and the bishop of London were required to put it on
him. These were the several artifices to make com-
positions high, and to enrich the apostolical cham-
ber ; for now that, about which St. Peter gloried
that he had none of it, {neither silver nor g<dd,)
was the thing in the world for which his successes
were most careful.

When these bulls were brought into England,
Thomas Cranmer was on the thirtieth of Mwch
consecrated by the bishops of Lincoln, Exeter, and
St. Asaph. But here a great scruple was moved by
him concerning the oath that he was to swear to
the pope, which he had no mind to take ; and writ-
ers near that time say, the dislike of that oath was
one of the motives that made him so unwillingly ac-
cept of that dignity. He declared, that he thought
: were many things settled by the laws of the
hX to be reformed ; and that the

THE REFORMATION. 261

obligation which that oath brought upon him, would 300 K
bind him up from doing his duty, both to God, the

king, and the church. Bui this being communicated ^^^-
to some of the canonists and casuists, they found a
temper that agreed better with their maxims than
Cranmer^s sincerity; which was, that, before he
should take the oath, he should make a good and
formal protestation, that he did not intend thereby
to restrain himself from any thing that he was bound
to, either by his duty to God, or the king, or the
country ; and that he renounced every thing in it
that was contrary to any of these. This protestation
he made in St. Stephen's chapel at Westminster, in
the hands of some doctors of -the canon law, before
he was consecrated, and he afterwards repeated it
when he took the oath to the pope ; by which, if
he did not wholly save his integrity, yet it was plain
he intended no cheat, but to act fairly and above-
board.

As soon as he was consecrated, and had performed AnUquit.
every thing that was necessary for his investiture, in yiu
he came and sat in the upper house of convocation. ^'•'"™*'^-
There were there at that time hot and earnest de-
bates upon these two questions; whether it was
against the law of God, and indispensable by the
pope, for a man to marry his brother's wife, he
being dead without issue, but having consummated
the marriage ? And whether prince Arthur had con-
summated his marriage with the queen ? As for the
first, it was brought first into the lower house of
convocation, and when it was put to the vote, four*
teen were. for the affirmative, seven for the negative ;
one was not dear, and another voted the prohibition
to 'be moral, but yet dispensable by the pope. In

fl62 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the upper house it was long debated, Stokesly, bi-
' shop of London, aiding for the aflBrmative ; and

1533. i^isher, bishop of Rochester, for the negative. The
opinions of nineteen universities were read for it;
and the one house being as full as the other was
empty, two hundred and sixteen being present, ei-
ther in person or bj proxy, it was carried in the af-
firmative, nemine cantradicente ; those few of the
queen's party that were there, it seems, going out
For the other question about the matter of fact, it
was remitted to the faculty of the canon law, (it
being a matter that lay within their studies,) whe-
ther the presumptions were violent, and such as,
in the course of law, must be looked on as good evi-
dences of a thing that was secret, and was not ca-
pable of formal proof? They all, except five or six,
were for the affirmative; and all the upper house
confirmed this, the bishop of Bath and Wells only
excepted.

In this account it may seem strange, that there
were but twenty-three persons in the lower house
of convocation, and two hundred and sixteen in the
upper house. It is taken from an unquestioned au-
thority ; so the matter of fact is not to be doubted.
The most learned sir Henry Spelman has in no
place of his Collection of our Councils considered the
constitution of the two houses of convocation ; and
in none of our records have I been able to discover
of what persons they were made up in the times of
popery : and therefore, since we are left to conjec-
ture, I shall ofier mine to the learned reader. It is,
that none sat in the lower house, but those who
were deputed by the inferior clergy ; and that bi-
■k|^riiops, abbots, mitred and not mitred, and priors.

THE REFORMATION. 5663

deans and archdeacons sat then in the upper house book
of convocation* To which I am induced by these

two reasons: it is probable that all who were de* ^^^*
dared prelates by the pope^ and had their writ to
sit in a general council, had likewise a right to come
to the upper house of convocation, and sit with the
other prelates. And we find in the tomes of the
councils, that not only abbots and priors, but deans
and archdeacons, were summoned to the fourth
council in the Lateran, and to that at Vienna. An-
other reason is, that their sitting in two houses (for
in all other nations they sit together) looks as if it
had been taken from the constitution of our par-
liament ; in which all that have writs personally sit
in the lords' house, and those who come upon an
election sit in the lower house. So it is not improba-
ble, that all who were summoned personally sat in the
tipper house, and those who were returned with an
election sat in the lower house of convocation.

This account of that convocation I take from that
collection of the' British antiquities, which is be-
lieved to have been made by Matthew Parker, who
lived at that time, and was afterwards archbishop of
Canterbury. But the convocation-books being burnt,
there are no records to be appealed to ; yet it is not
to be supposed, that, in a matter of fact that was so
public and well known, any man (especially one of
that high rank) would have delivered falsehoods,
wliile the books were yet extant that would have
disproved them.

The church of England having in her rcpresenta- New en-
tive made such a tuU decision, nothing remained make the
but to give judgment, and to declare the marriage ^"^"^
null. The thing was already determined ; only the

s4

264 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK formality of a sentence declarative was waotu^.

— '. — But, before they proceeded to that, a new meange

^^^' was sent to the queen, to lay all that had passed be-
fore her, and to desire her to acquiesce in the apoh
ions of so many universities and learned men. But
she still persisted in her resolution to own bet mar-
riage, and to adhere to her appeal till the pope
should judge in it. And when it was tdd her, tbit
the king would settle the jointure that she was to
have by his brother, and that the honour of prinooi
of Wales should still be paid her, she rejected it But

lutMimn.the new queen was now with child, and brought
forth queen Elizabeth the seventh of September this
year : from which, looking backwards nine montfaSi
to the beginning of December, it shews that she
must have been married at or before that time : ftr
all the writers of both sides agree, that she wtt
married before she conceived with child. The Idog
therefore thought not fit to conceal it much longer ;
so on Easter-eve she was declared queen of Eng-
land. It seems it was not thought needful at that
time to proceed to any further sentence about the
former marriage ; otherwise I cannot see what made
it be so long delayed, since the thing was in their
power now, as well as after. And it was certainly
a preposterous method to judge the first marriage
null after the second was published. So that it
seems more probable, they did not intend any sen-
tence at all, till afterwards, perhaps upon advertise-
ments from beyond sea, they went on to a formal
process. Nor is it unlikely that the king, remem-
bering the old advice that the pope sent him, once
to marry a second wife, and then to send for a com-
mission to try the matter, which the pope was will-

THE REFORMATION. 96B

ing to confirm, though he would not seem to allow book
it origmally» resolved to follow this method ; tor the

pope was now closing with Francis, from which '^^'
union the king had reason to expect great advan-

Whatsoever were the reasons of the delay, the
process- was framed in this method. First, CranmercntDmer
wrote to the king, that the world had been long a tentence^
scandalized with his marriage, and that it lay onT^n^*^^'
him, as his duty, to see it tried and determined ; o^"iD^id!.
therefore craved his royal leave to proceed in it. cott. ubr.

^ '^ Otho.C.io.

Which being obtained, both the king and queen
were dted to appear before the archbishop, at Dun-
stable, the twentieth of May ; ^ and the archbishop
went thither, with the bishops of London, Winches-
ter, (Gardiner,) Bath and Wells, and Lincoln, and
many divines and canonists. That place was chosen
because the queen lay then very near it at Ampthill,
and so she could not pretend ignorance of what was
done; and they needed not put many days in the
citation, but might end the process so much the
sooner. On the tenth of May the archbishop sat in
court, and the king appeared by proxy, but the
queen appeared not. Upon which she was declared
cantumax; and a second citation was issued out,
and after that a third : but she intended not to ap-
pear, and so she was finally declared contufnaxJ
Then the evidences that had been brought before
the legates, of the consummation of the marriage
with prince Arthur, were read. After that, the
determinations of the iiniversities, and divines, and
canonists, were also produced and read. Then
the judgments of the convocations of both provinces
were also read, with many other instruments, and the

266 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK whole merits of the cause were opened. Uponwhich,
after many sessions, on the twenty-third of May,

coiiert^' sentence was given, with the advice of all that were
Numb. 47. there present, declaring it only to have been a mar*
riage dejiictoj but not dejure^ pronouncing it null
from the beginning. One thing is to be observed,
that the archbishop in the sentence is called, the le^
gate of the apostolic see. Whether this went of
course as one of his titles, or was put in to make the
sentence firmer, the reader may judge. Sentence
being given, the archbishop, with all the rest, re^
turned to London ; and five days after, on the
twenty-eighth of May, at Lambeth, by another judg-
ment he in general words (no reasons being given in
the sentence) confirmed the king's marriage with
the new queen Anne ; and the first of June she was
crowned queen.
The cen- When this great business, which had been so long
at that in agitation, was thus concluded, it was variously
censured, as men stood affected. Some approved
the king's proceedings as canonical and just, since so
many authorities, which, in the interval of a general
council, were all that could be had, (except the pope
be believed infallible,) had concurred to strengthen
the cause ; and his own clergy had, upon a full and
long examination, judged it on his side. Others,
who in the main agreed to the divorce, did very
much dislike the king's second marriage before the
fii'st was dissolved ; for they thought it against the
common course of law, to break a marriage without
any public sentence : and since one of the chief po-
litic reasons that was made use of in this suit was to
settle the succession of the crown, this did embroil it
more, since there was a fair colour given to except

]5dd.

THE REFORMATION. 867

to the validity of the second marriage, because it book
was contracted before the first was annulled. But -
to this others answered, that the first marriage being
judged bj the interpreters of the doctrine of the
church to have been null from the beginning, there
was no need of any sentence, but only for form. And
aD concluded, it had been better there had been no
sentence at all, than one so late. Some excepted to
the archbishop of Canterbury's being judge, who, by
his former writings and disputes, had declared him-
self partial. But to this it was answered, that, when
a man changes his character, all that he did in an-
other figure is no just exception : so judges decide
causes in which they formerly gave counsel; and
popes are not bound to the opinions they held when
they were divines or canonists. It was also said, that
the archbishop did only declare, in legal form, that
which was already judged by the whole convocation
of both provinces. Some wondered at the pope's
stiffness, that would put so much to hazard, when
there wanted not as good colours to justify a bull, as
they had made use of to excuse many other things.
But the emperor's greatness, and the fear of giving
the Lutherans advantages in disputing the pope's
authority, were, on the other hand, so prevalent
considerations, that no wonder they wrought much
on a pope, who pretended to no other knowledge
but that of policy ; for he had often said, He un^
derstood not the matter^ and therefore left it in
other men's hands. All persons excused queen Ka-
tharine for standing so stiffly to her ground ; only
her denjring so confidently that prince Arthur con-
summated the marriage, seems not capable of an ex-
cuse. Every body admired queen Anne's conduct.

268 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK who had managed such a king's spirit so long, and
^^' had neither surfeited him with great freedom, nm

1533. provoked him by the other extreme : for the king,
who was extremely nice in these matters, conceived
still an higher opinion of her ; and her being so soon
with child after the marriage, as it made people con-
clude she had .been chaste till then, so they hoped
for a blessing upon it, since there were such eariy
appearances of issue. Those that favoured the re-
formation expected better days under her protecti<Hi,
for they knew she favoured them : but those who
were in their hearts for the established religion did
much dislike it ; and many of the clergy, especially
the orders of monks and friars, condemned it, ^both
in their sermons and discourses.

But the king, little regarding the censures of the
vulgar^ sent ambassadors to all the courts of Europe,
to give notice of his new marriage, and to justify it
by some of those reasons, which have been opened
in the former parts of this history. He also sent
the lord Mountjoy to the divorced queen, to let her
know what was done, and that she was no more to
be treated as queen, but as princess dowager. He
was to mix promises with threatenings, particularly
concerning her daughter's being put next to the
queen's issue in the succession. But the afflicted
queen would not yield ; and said, she would not
damn her soul, nor submit to such an infamy : that
she was his wife, and would never call herself by
any other name, whatever might follow on it ; since
Colt. lib. the process still depended at Rome. That lord hav-
ing written a relation of what had passed between
him and her, shewed it to her ; but she dashed with
a pen all those places in which she was called prin-

Otho. C.
lo.

THE REFORMATION. 869

oess dowager, and would receive no service at any book
one's hands, but of those who called her queen ; and

she continued to be still served as queen by all about '^^^
her. Against which, though the king used all the
endeavours he could, not without both threatening
and violence to some of the servants, yet he could
never drive her from it : and what he did in that
was thought far below that height of mind which
appeared in his other actings; for since he had
stript her of the real greatness of a queen, it seem-
ed too much to vex her for keeping up the pageantry
of it.

Bat the news of this made great impressions else-
where. The emperor received the king's justifica-
tion very coldly, and said he would consider what
he was to do upon it; which was looked on as a
declaration of war. The French king, though heTii«popc
expressed still great friendship to the king, yet was self to th«
now resolved to link himself to the pope ; for the kiag.^
crafty pope, apprehending that nothing made the
king of England so confident, as that he knew his
friendship was necessary to the French king, and
fearing they had resolved to proceed at once to the
putting down the papal authority in their kingdoms,
(which it appears they had once agreed to do,) re-
solved by all means to make sure of the French
king ; which, as it would preserve that kingdom in
his obedience, so would perhaps frighten the king of
England from proceeding to such extremities ; since
that prince, in whose conjunction he trusted so much,
had forsakep him : therefore the pope did so vigor-
ously pursue the treaty with Francis, that it was as
good as ended at this time, and an interview was
projected between them at Marseilles. The pope

J870 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK did also grant him so great power over his own

II.

- clergy, that he could scarce have expected more, if
^^^^' he had set up a patriarch in France ; so that Francis
did resolve to go on in the designs, which had
been concerted between him and the king of Eng-
land, no further : but still he considered his alliance
so much, that he promised to use his most effectual
intercession with the pope to prevent all censures
and bulls against the king; and, if it were possible,
to bring the matter to an amicable c9nclusion. And
the emperor was not ill pleased to see France and
England divided. Therefore, though he had at first
opposed the treaty between the pope and Francis,
yet afterwards he was not troubled that it took ef-
fect; hoping that it would disunite those two
kings, whose conjunction had been so troublesome
to him.
Aad coo- But when the news was brought to Rome of what
kfn^pro. w^ done in England, with which it was also re-
EngiaS/" J^i^^d, that books were coming out against the pope's
supremacy, all the cardinals of the imperial faction
pressed the pope to give a definitive sentence, and
to proceed to censures against the king. But the
more moderate cardinals thought, England was not
to be thrown away with such precipitation : and
therefore a temper was found, that a sentence should
be given upon what had been attempted in Eng-
land by the archbishop of Canterbury, (which, in
the style of the canon-law, were called the atten^
totes;) for it was pretended, that the matter de-
pending in the court of Rome, by the queen's ap-
peal, and the other steps that had been made, H
was not in the archbishop's power to proceed to any
sentence. Therefore in general it was declared.

THE REFORMATION. 271

that all that had been attempted or done in England book

about the king's suit of divorce was nuU, and that L^

the king by such attempts was liable to excommu- *^^^'
nication, unless he put things again in the state they
were in, and that before September next, and that
then they would proceed further; and this sentence
was affixed in Dunkirk soon after.

The king, resolving to follow the thing as far as
it was possible^ sent a great embassy to Francis, who
was then on hi3 journey to Marseilles, to dissuade
the interview and marriage till the pope gave the
king satisfaction. But the French king was en-
gaged in honour to go forward; yet he protested
he would do all that lay in his power to compose
the matter, and that he would take any injury that
were done to the king as highly as if it were done
to himself; and he desired the king would send some
to Marseilles, who thereupon sent Gardiner and sir
Francis Brian.

But at this time the queen brought forth a daufl:h-Q"««n Eii-

^ ° ^ zabeth born

ter, who was christened Elizabeth ; (the renowned sept. 7.
queen of England ;) the archbishop of Canterbury
being her godfather. She was soon after declared
princess of Wales; though lawyers thought that
against law, for she was only heir presumptive^ but
not apparent^ to the crown, since a son coming after,
he must be preferred. Yet the king would jus-
tify what he had done in his marriage with all pos-
sible respect; and having before declared the lady
Mary princess of Wales, he did now the same in fa-
vour of the lady Elizabeth.

The interview between the pope and the French An inter-

V10W Ufi«

king was at Marseilles in October, where the mar- tween the
riage was made up between the duke of Orleance J^^*""*

272 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and Katharine de Medici ; to whom, besides 100,000
' crowns portion, the principality of many towns in

kin^rt^' Italy, as Milan, Reggio, Pisa, Legorn, Parma^ and

Marseilles. Piaccnza, and the duchy of Urbino, were given. To

the former the pope pretended in the right of the

popedom, and to the last in the right of the house

of Medici. But the French king was to clear all

those titles by his sword. As for the king's busi-

The pope uoss, the popc referred it to the consistory. But it

tT^^n- seems there was a secret transaction between him

the*kin**'of ^°^ Francis, that if the king would in all other

England's thinfi^ rctum to his wonted obedience to the apo-

diForce*

stolic see, and submit the matter to the judgment
of the consistory, (excepting only to the cardinals
of the imperial faction, as partial and incompetent
judges ;) the decision should be made to his heart's
content. This I collect from what will afterwards
appear. The king, upon the sentence that was
Fidel. seiT. passed against him, sent Bonner to Marseilles ; who,
du^.'^^lj^n- procuring an audience of the pope, delivered to him
the authentic instrument of the king's appeal from
him to the next general council lawfully called. At
this the pope was much incensed, but said he would
consider of it in consistory ; and, having consulted
about it there, he answered, that the appeal was un-
lawful, and therefore he rejected it ; and for a gene-
ral council^ the calling of it belonged to him, and not
to the king. About the same time the archbishop
of Canterbury, being threatened with a process from
Rome, put in also his appeal to the next general
council. Upon which Bonner delivered the threat-
enings which he was ordered to make, with so much
^ehemency and fury, that the pope talked of throw-
ing him in a caldron of melted lead, or of burning

SIO.

THE BEFOBMATION. 878

him alive ; and he, apprehending some duiger, made book
his esci^ie. About the middle of November the in-

terview ended, the pope returning to Rome, and the '^^'
French, king to Paris ; a firm alliance being esta<-
bliahed between them. But upon the duke of Or-
leance his marrying the pope's niece, I shall add one
observation, that will neither be unpleasant or im-
pertinent. The duke of Orleance was then but four-
teen years and nine months old, being bom on the
last of March 1518, and yet was believed to have Bxoirias.
consummated his marriage the very first night after:
so the pope's historians tell us with much triumph ;
though they represented that improbable, if not im-
posaiUey in prince Arthur, who was nine months elder
when he died. i

Upon the French kinir's return from Marseilles, The French
the bishop of Paris was sent over to the king ; which mis with
(as may be reasonably collected) followed upon some Engiilnd to
agreement made at Marseilles; and he prevailed JU^^JJ^p^.
with the king to submit the whole matter to the
pope and the consistory, on such terms that the im-
perialists should not be allowed a voice, because they
were parties, being in the emperor's power. None,
that has observed the genius of this king, can think,
that, after he had proceeded so far, he would have
made this submission without very good assurances ;
and if there had not been great grounds to expect
good effects from it, the bishop of Paris would not
in the middle of winter have undertaken a journey
from England to Rome. But the king, it seems,
would not abase himself so far as to send any sub-
mission in writing, till he had fuller assurances. The
lord Herbert has published a letter, (which he trans-
cribed firom the original^ written by the archbishop

VOL. I. T

5r74 THE HISTORY OF

jiooK tji Yatk and the bishop of Duresme to the king, the

*^ eleventh of May 1534,) giving an account of a con*

^^^' ference they had with queen Katharine ; in which,
among other motives they used, this was one; to
persuade her to comply with what the king had
done : That the pope had said at Marseilles, that
jfthe king would send a proxy to Rome, he would
give the cause for him against the queen, because
he knew his cause was good and Just Which is a
great presumption, that the pope did really give
some engagements to the French king about the
king's business,
wbidi WM When the bishop of Paris came to Rome, the mo-

well reociT* *

cd at Rome, tion was Ukcd, and it was promised, that if the kii^
H sent a promise of that under his hand, with an order

to his proxies to appear in court, there should be
HietCouK judges scut to Cambnty to form the process, and
byPMira then the matter should be determined for him at
***"'*' Rome. This was sent to the king, with the notice
of the dfjr that was prefixed for the return of his
answer ; and with other motives, which must have
been very great, since they prevailed so much. For
in answer there was a courier despatched from the
king, with a formal promise under his hand. And
now the matter seemed at a point, the French inter-
est was great in the court of Rome ; four new car-
dinals had been made at Marseilles, and there were
six of that faction before, which, with the pope's
creatures, and the indifferent or venal voices, ba^
lanced the imperial faction ; so that a wound, that
was looked on as fatal, was now almost healed. But
God, in his wise and unsearchable providence, had
designed to draw other great ends out of this rup-
ture; and therefore suffered them that were the

THE REFORMATION. «d7

niOBt ooocened to hinder it, to be the chief instni- book

ments of drivhig it otk. For the cardinals of the —

imperial faction were now very active; they liked ^J^^;
Mt the precedent of exdudinir the cardinals of the p«ri^«J«.
nation concerned out of any business. But above
an things they were to hinder a conjunction between
the pope and the king of England ; for the pope
bemg then allied to France, there was nothing the
emperor feared more than the closing the breach
with England ; which would make the union against
him 80 much stronger. Therefore, when the day
that had been prefixed for the return of the courier
fiiom England was elapsed, they all pressed the pope
to proceed to a sentence definitive, and to censures.
Bellay, the bishop of Paris, represented the injus-
tice of proceeding with so much precipitation, since,
where there were seas to cross, in such a season,
many accidents might occasion the delay of the ex-
press. The king of England had followed this suit
six years, and had patience so long : therefore he
desired the delay of six days ; and if in that time no
return came, they might proceed. But the impe-
rialists represented, that those were only delays to
gain time ; and that the king of England was still
ivoceeding in his contempt of the apostolic see, and
of the cardinals, and publishing books and libels
against them. This so wrought on the angry pope,
that, without consulting his ordinary prudence, he
brought the business into the consistoiy, where the
plurality of voices carried it to proceed to a sen-
tence. And though the process had been canied ^nd with
on all that winter in their usual forms, yet it was mtioD pra
not so ripe, but, by the rules of the consistory, there tei^\^°
ought to have been three sessions before sentence f|^^ ^^*

t2

876 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK was given. But they concluded all in one day;

- • and so, on the twenty-third of March, the marriage

1533. between the king and queen Katharine was deidared

good, and the king required to take her as his wife ;

otherwise censures were to be denounced against

him.

Two days after that, the courier arriyed from
England, with the king's submission under his hand
in due form ; and' earnest letters from the French
king to have it accepted, that so the business might
be composed. When this was known at Rome» all
the indifferent and wise cardinals (among whom was
Famese, that was afterwards pope Paul the Third)
came to the pope, and desired that it might be again
considered, before it went further. So it was brought
again into the consistory. But the secret reason of
the imperialists opposing it was now more pressing;
since there was such an appearance of a settlement,
if the former sentence were once recalled. There-
fore they so managed the matter, that it was con-
firmed anew by the pope and the consistory ; and
they ordered the emperor to execute the sentence.

The king was now in so good hope of his busi-
ness, that he sent sir Edward Kame to Rome to
prosecute his suit ; who, on his way thither, met the
bishop of Paris coming back with his melancholic
The king account of his unprospcrous negociation. When the
Ib^iiITtbe king heard it, and understood that he was used with
^^|^.Q so much scorn and contempt at Rome, being also
England, the morc vexed because he had come to such a sub-
mission, he resolved then to break totally fit)m Rome.
And in this he was beforehand with that court : for,
judging it the best way to procure a peace, to ma-
nage the war vigorously, he had held a seision of

THE REFORMATION. 877

pflriiajnent from the fifteenth of January till the thir- book
tieth of March ; in which he had procured a great

change of the whole constitution of the government ^^^*
of the church. But, before I give an account of
that^ I shall first open all the arguments and rea-
so(DE, upon which I find they proceeded in this
matter.

The pope's power had been then for four years which had
together much examined and disputed in England ; ditpatod
in which they went by these steps^ one leading to^*^'
another. They first controverted his -power of dis-
pensing with the law of God. From that they went
to examine what jurisdiction he had in England ;
upon which followed the convicting the clergy of a
pr^trnmnire, with their submission to the king. And
that led them to controvert the pope's right to an^
nates, and other exactions, which they also con-
demned. The condemning all appeals to Rome fol-
lowed that naturally. And now so many branches
of that power were cut off, the root was next struck
at, and the foundations of the papal authority were
examined. For near a year together there had been
many public debates about it ; and both in the par-
liament and convocation the thing was long disputed,
and all that could be alleged on both sides was con-
sidered.. The reader will be best able to judge ofPe>«"ncin.

irlcsc*

their reasons (and thereby of the ripeness of their
judgments, when they enacted the laws that passed h&ii.
in this parliament) when he sees a full account of
them ; which I shall next set down : not drawn from
the writings and apologies that have been published
since, but from these that came out about that time.
For then were written The Institution Jar the ne^
eessary Erudition of a Christian Man, concluded

t8

278 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK in the conyocation, and published by auth(»ity ; and
another book^ De Differentia Regi€B et JScclesias--

1533. ^^ Patestatis. The former of these was called the
tnshops', and the latter the king's book. Gardiner
~ also wrote, a book, De vera Obediential to which
Bonner prefixed a preface upon the same subject*
Stokesly bishop of London^ and Tonstal bishop of
Duresme, wrote a long letter in defence of the king^s
proceedings in this matter to Reginald (soon after
cardinal) Pool: from these writings, and the ser-
mons preached by some bishops at this time, with
other lauthentic pieces, I have extracted the sub-
stance of the arguments upon which they grounded
their laws, which I shall divide in two heads. ThQ
one, of the reasons for rejecting the pope's pretended
power: the other, for setting up the king^s su-
premacy, with the explanations and limitations of it
Th€ urgQ. « First, of the pope's power, they declared that

menu upon x^ ^ x^

which it ** they found no ground for it in the scripture. All
WM reject- ,, ^y^^ apostlcs wcrc made equal by Christ, when he

** committed the church to their care in conunon.
** And he did often declare, there was no superiority
<' of one above another. St. Paul claimed an equal-
ity with the chief apostles, both Peter, James, and
John; and when he thought St. Peter blame-
worthy^ he withstood Aim to hiejhce. But what-
soever preeminence St. Peter might have, that was
only personal, and there was nO reason to affix it
*' to his chair at Rome, more than at Antioch. But
** if any see be to be preferred ttefore another, it
** should be Jerusalem, where Christ died^ and out
" of which the faith was propagated over jeiU na-
tions, Christ commanding his disci jdes to begin
their preaching in it ; so that it was truly the mo-

ft

tt

THE REFORMATION. 979

** iher ekurek, and is so called by St. Paul : whereas book

II«

^ in the scriptiire, Rome is called Babylon, according

•* to TertuUian and 8t Jerome. '5^-

^ For the places brought from scripture in fiivour
** of the papacy, they judged that they did not prove
^any tldng for it. That Thau art Peter, and
^ jC^MMi tUe rock I wiU build my churchy if it
^ prove any thing in this matter^ would prove too
^ much ; even that the church was founded on St.
^ Petar, as he was a private person, and so on the
^ popes in their personal capacity. But both St.
^ Ambrose, St. Jerome, and St. Austin think, that
^ by the nKk, the confession he had made was only
^ to be meant. Others of the fiithers thought, by
^ the roeA, Christ himself was meant, who is the
^ only true foundation of the church ; though in an^
^ other sense all the apostles are also called founda-
^ tions by St. Paul. That, Tell the church, is
^ thought by Gerson and .^neas Silvius (after-
^ wards pope Pius the Second) rather to make
«< against the pope and for a general council. And
^ the fathers have generally followed St. Chrysostom
'* and St. Austin, who thought, that the giping
*' {if the keye qf the kingdom of heaven, and the
'^ charge. Feed my sheep, were addressed to St.
Peter, in behalf of all the rest of the. apostles.
And that, / have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not, was only personal, and related to his fall,
^< which was then imminent. It is also clear by St.
'* Paul, that every apostle had his peculiar province,
'* beyond which he was not to stretch himself; and
<* St. Peter's province was the circumcision, and his
^ the uncircumcision ; in which he plainly declares
<< his equality with him.

T 4

880 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** This was also clear from the oonstant tradition
"' *^ of the church. St. C3rpriaii was against appeals to
isas. ii Rome, and would not submit to pope Stephen's
** definition in the point of rebaptizing of heretics ;
^ and expressly says. That all ^ apostles were
^ equal in power, and that all the bUhops were
** abo equal, since the whole qfflee and epiecopMte
<^ was one entire thing, of which every bishop had
** a comjdete and equal share. And though sonie
'* places are brought out of him concerning the umty
^ of the Roman church, and of other churches with
^ it ; yet those places have no relation to any au-
*' thority that the Roman church had over other
^ churches, but were occasioned by a schism that
^* Novatian had made there at Rome, being elected
<< in opposition to the bishop that was rightly chosen ;
^* and of that unity only St. Cyprian writes in those
'* places. But from all his epistles to the bishopa of
>^ Rome, it is visible be looked on himself as their
<^ equal, since he calls them brother, coUeague^ atnd
\fellowJfishop. And whatsoever is said by any
ancient writer of St. Peter's chair, iis to be nnder-
** stood of the pure gospel which he delivered ; as
St. Austin observes, that by Moses^ chair is to be
understood, the delivering of Moses" law. But
though St. Peter sat there, the succeeding popes
have no more right to pretend to such authority,
than the kings of Spain to claim the Roman em-
'* pire, because he that is now their king is emperor.
" When Constantine turned Christian, the dignity
" of the chief city of the empire made Rome to be
" accounted the first see ; but by the general coun-
'^ cil of Nice it was declared, that the patriarchs of
'^ Alexandria and Antioch had the same authority

«

THE REFOBBiATION. 881

<< orer-4he ooantries round about theoi, that he of book

^ Rome had over those that lay about that city. It 1 —

^ 18 true^ at that time the Arian •ha:«sy having spread ^^^*
^ generally over the eastern churches, from which
^ the western were free, the oppressed catholic bi-
^ rfiopa of the east made appeals to Rome, and ex-
*' tailed that see by a natural maxim in all men,
^ who magnify that from which they have protec-
^ tion. But the second general council took care
^ that that should not grow a precedent ; for they
^ decreed, that every province should be governed
^ by its own synod ; and that bishops, when they
^ were accused, must first be judged by the bishops
^ of their own province, and from them they might
^ aj^ieal to the bishops of the diocese, but no higher
^' appeal was allowed : and by that council it ap-
^ pears, what was the foundation of the greatness of
^ the bishop of Rome ; for when Constantinople was
^* made the seat of the empire and new Rome, it had
^* the same privil^es that old Rome had, and was
^ set next to it in order and dignity. In a council
^' at Milevi, in which St. Austin sat, they appointed,
^< that every derk that should appeal to any bishop
'* bejTond the sea, should be excommunicated. And
'* when Faustianus was sent by the pope to the
^ African churches, to claim the right of receiving
<< appeals, and pretended a canon of the council of
** Nice for it ; the pretension was rejected by the
** African fathers, who acknowledged no such right,
** and had never heard of that canon. Upon which
^^ th^ sent to the eastern churches, and search was
^ every where made for the copies of the canons of
^ that council ; but it was found that it was a for-
'* gery. From whence two things were observable :

SSS THE HISTORY OF

BOOK << the one» that the church in that age had do tradi-

<C
€€

€1
ii

^ tion of any divine institution for the ieuithority of
i533. M iiin^ g^^ since as the popes, who claimed it, never
pretended to any such thing ; so the African bi-
shops, by their rejecting that power, shew that
they knew nothing of any divine warrant ; all the
contest being only about the canon of the diurdi.
<< It also appeared, how early the church of Rome
« aspired to power, and did not stick at making use
of forged writings to support it. But pope Agatho,
more modestly writing to the emperor in his own
name, and in the name of all the synods that were
^* subject to his see, calls them, a Jew bishops in the
*^ northern and western parts. When afterwards
'* the patriarch of Constantinople was declared by
the eniperor Mauritius the universal bishop^ Gre-
gory the Grreat did exclaim against the ambition
'< of that title, as being equal to the pride of Lu-
'* cifer ; and declared, that he who assumed it was
the forerunner of Antichrist ; sajring, that none of
his predecessors had ever claimed such a power.
'< And this was the more observable, since the Eng-
** lish were converted by those whom he sent over ;
^< so that this was the doctrine of that see, when this
" church received the faith from it.

*^ But it did not continue long within those li-

*^ mits ; for Boniface the Third assumed that title,

upon the grant of Phocas. And as that BonifieM^e

got the spiritual sword put in his hand, so the

** eighth of that name pretended also to the tempo*

" ral sword ; but they owe these powers to the in-

*^ dustry of those popes, and not to any donation of

" Christ's. The popes, when they are consecrated,

promise to obey the canons of the eight first ge-

ii
ii

it

THE REFORMATION. 888

^ nenl oooncilsy which if they observe, they will re- book
^ cdve no appeals, nor pretend to any higher juris- —ill—
** diction than these give to them, and the other ^^^'
M patriarchs equally.

^ As finr the decrees of latter councils, they are
^ cf less authority. For those councils consisted of
« monks and friars in great part, whose exemptions,
^ obtained from Home, ohh'ged them to support the
^ authority of that court ; and those who sat in
^ them knew little of the scriptures, fathers, or the
^* tradition of the church, being only conversant in
^ the disputes and learning of the schools. And for
^ tlie Florentine council, the eastern churches, who
^ sent the Greek bishops that sat there, never re-
^ ceived their determination ; neither then, nor at
any time since.

Many places were also brought out of the fa-
^ thers, to show that they did not look on the bishops
** of Rome as superior to other bishops ; and that
^ they understood not those places of scripture, which
"were afterwards brought for the pope's supremacy,
** in that sense ; so that if tradition be the best ex-
^ pounder of scripture, those latter glosses must give
" place to the more ancient. But that passage of
St. Jerome, in which he equals the bishops of £u-
gubium and Constantinople to the bishop of Rome,
** was much made use of, since he was a presbyter
<' of Rome, and so likely to understand the dignity
of his own church best. There were many things
brought from the contests that other sees had with
Rome, to show, that all the privileges of that and
other sees were only founded on the practice and
** canons of the church, but not upon any divine
*' warrant Constantinople pretended to equal pri-

€1
€€

884 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ vileges. Ravenna, Milan, and Aquileia pretended
^^ to a patriarchal dignity and exemption. Some

1638. u archbishops of Canterbury contended, that popes
<^ could do nothing against the laws of the church ;
^ 80 Laurence and Dunstan. Robert Grostest, bi-
^ shop of Lincoln, asserted the same, and many popes
*^ confessed it. And to this day no constitution of
^^ the pope's is binding in any church, except it be
^ received by it ; and in the daily practice of the
^ canon law, the customs of churches are pleaded
^ against papal constitutions ; which shows their
^ authority cannot be from God, otherwise all must
^^ submit to their laws. And from the latter con-
*' tests up and down Europe, about giving investi-
^ tures, receiving appeals, admitting of l^ates, and
<^ papal constitutions, it was apparent, that the pa-
'< pal authority was a tyranny, which had been ma-
^ naged by cruel and fraudulent arts, but was never
'< otherwise received in the church than as a con-
'^ quest, to which they were constrained to yield.
*^ And this was more fully made out In England,
^ from what passed in William the Conqueror, and
** Henry the Second's time, and by the statutes of
** promsors in many kings' reigns, which were still
** renewed, till within an hundred years of the pre-
** sent time."

Upon these grounds they concluded, that the pope's

power in England had no foundation, neither in the

law of God, nor in the laws of the church, or of the

land.

The argu- « As for the king's power over spiritual persons,

the king's ^^ and in spiritual causes, they proved it from the

]Zm"ih7 " scriptures. In the Old Testament they found the

Old Testa- « kings of Jsrad intermeddled in all matters ecde-

ment. °

THE REFORMATION. 285

*' iiaiiti€«l, Samuel, though he bad been judge, yet book
" admowledged Saul's authority : so also did Abi- ^^

melech the high priest, and appeared before him *^^-
*^ when cited to an^er upon an accusation. And
^ Samuel (l^Sam. xv. 18.) says, he was made the
^ head of aU the tribes. Aaron, in that, was an
<< example to all the following high priests, who sub-
'* mitted to Moses. David made many laws about
'' sacred things, such as, the order of the courses of
'' the priests, and their worship ; and when he was
« dying, he declared to Solomon how far his au-
<< thority extended. He told him, (1 Chron. xxviii.
<^ 21.) That the courses of the priests and all the
^ people were to be whoUy at his commandment :
pursuant to which^ Solomon (2 Chron. viii. 14, 15.)
did appoint them their charges in the service of
** €h)d, and both the priests and Levites departed
** not from his commandment in any matter: and
though he had turned out Abiathar from the high
priesthood, yet they made no opposition. Jeho-
saphat, Hezekiah, and Josias made likewise laws
« about ecclesiastical matters.

'* In the New Testament, Christ himself was obe- And the
*^ dient ; he paid taxes, he declared that he pretend- ^^^'
ed to no earthly kingdom, he charged the people
to render to Ccesar the things that were Gesar's,
** and his disciples not to affect temporal dominion,
** as the lords of the nations did. And though the
^ magbtrates were then heathens^ yet the apostles
<^ wrote to the churches to obey magistrates, to sub-
^ mit to them, to pay taxes ; they call the king su-
^* preme, and say he is God's minister to encourage
<< them that do well, and to punish the evil-doers,
^^ which is said of all persons without exception, and

288 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ every soul is chained to be subject to the higher

u»

•• power.

1^33. a Many passages were cited out of the writu^
^ of the fathers, to shew, that they thought church-
^ men were included in these places as well as other
^^ persons ; so that the tradition of the church was
^^ for the king's supremacy : and by one place of
^ scripture, the king is called supreme ; by another,
<< he is called head; and by a third, Every wul
*' must be sul^ect to him ; which laid together, make
^^ up this conclusion, that the king is the supreme
<' head. over all persons. In the primitive church,
** the bishops in their councils made rules for order-
*' ing their dioceses, which they only called canons
^ or rules ; nor had they any compulsive authority,
** but what was derived from the dvil sanctions.
And the « After the emperors were Christians, they made

ife c arc . ^^ ^^ codcs ; and when Justinian digested the Ro-
** man law, he added many novel constitutions about
^ ecclesiastical persons and causes. The emperors
** called general councils, presided in them, and con-
^' firmed them. And many letters were cited of
*^ popes to emperors, to call councils, and of the
" councils to them to confirm their decrees. The
^ election of the popes themselves was sometimes
made by the emperors, and sometimes confirmed
by them. Pope Hadrian in a synod decreed, that
*^ the emperor should choose the pope : and it was
a late and unheard-of thing, before the days of
Gregory the Seventh, for popes to pretend to de-
** pose princes, and give away their dominions. This
" they compared to the pride of Antichrist and Lu-
" cifer.

THE REFORMATION. J887

^ Tbey also argued from reason, that there must book
^ be but one supreme ; and that the king being 8u« "'

preme over all his subjects, clergymen must be in- aJJ.^'
*' dttded, for thej are still subjects. Nor can their nMon.
^ bdng in orders change that former relation, found-
^ ed upon the law of nature and nations, no more
*^ than. wives or servants, by becoming Christians,
^' were not, according to the doctrine of the apostles,
<< discharged from the duties of their former rela-
'^ tions.

** For the great objection from those offices that
'^ are peculiar to their functions, it was answered,
^ that these notwithstanding the king might well
^ be supreme head ; for in the natural body there
^ were many vital motions that proceeded not from
*^ the head, but from the heart, and the other inward
^ parts and vessels ; and yet the head was still the
*^ chief seat and root of life : so, though there be

peculiar functions appropriated to churchmen, yet

the king is still head ; having authority over them,
*^ and a power to direct and coerce them in these.

** From that they proceeded to show, that in Eng- And from
^' land the kings have always assumed a supremacy EogiMid.
*' in ecclesiastical matters. They began with the
^^ most ancient writing that relates to the Christian
** religion in England then extant, pope Eleuthe-
^ rius's letter to king Lucius, in which he is twice
*< called by him, God's vicar in his kingdom; and
" he writ in it, that it belonged to his office to bring
** his suljjects to the holy churchy and to maintain,
" protect, and govern them in it. Many laws were
^ dted, which Canutus, Ethehred, Edgar, Edinond,
^ Athelstan and Ina had enacted concerning church-
" men ; many more laws since the conquest were

UL ^

^ capfied Oasmstbrnrr. mmi Ofa St. AMmm\ from

^catfe dMn c£ VnaSam xht Cmmfaemri Ibr Iie^to
^ pcrpccsate l^ itami of tbe rktonr be obUioed
"^ ofTcr HaiakL sad to eMieor himself to the deigj,
" fouDded an abber in the field vheie the battle was
^ fiwgfat. and caDed it Battle Abbev ; and in the
** charter be granted tbem these words are to be
^ found : // skaH be also Jree and qmietjar ever
**frcm all smhjeciiom to iUiifps, or the domimum oj
^ any other persons, as Christ s chnrch in Canter-
*^ bury is. Many other things were brought out of
^* king Alfred's laws, and a speech of king Eklgar's,
^' with several letters written to the popes from the
kings, the parliaments, and the cleigy of England,
to show, that their kings did always make laws
afK)Ut sacred matters, and that their power reached
'* to that, and to the persons of churchmen as well
" as to their other subjects."

if

THE REFORMATION. £89

But at the same time that thqr pleaded so much book
for the king's supremacy, and power of making laws

for restraining and coercing his subjects, it appeared ^.^^^\
that thejr were far from vesting him with such anicstiooof
abaolute power as the popes had pretended to ; for bimtT^
thej thus defined the extent of the king's power :
7b tkem specially and prineipaUy it pertaineth NicMwry
to drfend ikefaitk &f Christ and his reUgian, /Dopontbt
eamserve and maintain the true doctrine qf Christ, ^T^t^
and aU such as be true preachers and setters forth
Aere^; and to abolish abuses, heresies. And ido-
iairies, and to punish with corporal pains such as
^malice be the occasion qfthe same. And finally,
to oversee and cause that the said bishops and
priests do execute their pastoral qffice truly and
Jmi^fuOy, and specially in these points, which by
CSkHst and his apostles was given and committed
to them; and in case they shall be negligent in any
part thereof, or would not diligently execute the
same, to cause them to redouble and sujoply their
loch : and if they obstinately withstand their princess
. kind monition, and will not amend their faults, then
amd in such case to put others in their rooms and
places. And God hath also commanded the said
bishops and priests to obey with all humbleness
and reverence, both tings, and princes, and govern-
ore, and all their laws, not being contrary to the
laws qf God, whatsoever they be : and that not only
propter iram, but also propter conscientiam, that is
to say, not only for fear qf punishment, but also for
discharge qf conscience.

Thus it' appears, that they both limited obedience
to the king's laws, with the due caution of their not
being contrary to the law of Grod, and acknowledged

VOL. I. u

ago THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the discharge of the
pastoral c^ce, committed to the pastors of the church

1834. Ijj ciaign^ fokd his apostles ; and that the supremacy

then pretended to was no such extravagant power as

some imagine.

'SrShat^ ** Upon the whole matter, it was concluded, that

<< the pope's power in England had no good founda-

^ tion, and had been managed with as much tjrranny,
<' as it had b^un with usurpation ; the exactions of
** their courts were every where heavy, but in no
place so intolerable as in England: and though
many complaints were made of them in these last
'* three hundred years, yet they got no ease, and all
^ the laws about provisors were still defeated and
^ made ineffectual ; therefore they saw it was im-
^ possible to moderate their proceedings^ so that
^ there was no other remedy but to extirpate thdr
'^ pretended authority, and thenceforth to acknow-
ledge the pope only bishop of Rome, with the ju-
risdictioii about it, defined by the ancient canons :
and for the king to reassume his own authority,
^' and the prerogatives of his crown, from which the
kings of England had never formally departed,
though they had for this last hundred years con-
** nived at an invasion and usurpation upon them,
" which was no longer to be endured."
Pftins token Thcsc wcre the grounds of casting off the pope's
Fiiber power^ that had been for two or three years studied
*^ ' and inquired into by all the learned men in England,
and had been debated both in convocation and par-
liament ; and, except Fisher bishop of Rochester, I
do not find that any bishop appeared for the pope's
power : and for the abbots and priors, as they were
generally very ignorant, so what the cardinal had

M

THE REFORMATION. 901

done in sujipressing some monasteries, and what book
they now heard, that the conrt had an eye on their "•

landsj made them to be as complknt as eouM be. i^^^
But Usher was a man of great reputation, and very
ancient, so that much pains was taken to satisfy
him. A week before the parliament sat down, the
archbish<^ of Canterbury proposed to him, that he
and any five doctors, such as he should choose, and
the faish<^ of London, and five doctors with him,
mig^t confer about it, and examine the authorities
of both sides, that so there might be an agreement
amoi^ them, by which the scandal might be re-*
BKyved, which otherwise would be taken from their
jai^fii^ and contests among themselves. Fisher
aoeepted of this, and Stokesley wrote to him on the
e^th of January, that he was ready whenever the The ongi.
otter pleased, and desired him to name time and^t^ub! ^
iritace ; and if they could not agree the matter among ^^"^ ^* *®*
themsdves, he moved to refer it to two learned men
whom they should choose, in whose determination
ihey would both acquiesce. How far this overture
went, I cannot discover ; and perhaps Fisher's sick-'
ness hindered the progress of it. But now, on the
fifteenth of January, the parliament sat down ; by
the Journals I find no other bishops present but the
archbishop of Canterbury, the bishops of London,
Winchester, Lincoln, Bath and Wells, Landafie, and
Carlisle. There were also twelve abbots present;
but upon what pretences the rest excused their at-
tendance, I do not know : perhaps some made a dif-
ference between submitting to what was done, and
being active and concurring to make the change.
During the session, a bishop preached every Sunday
at PauPs Cross, and declared to the people, that the

u 2

«« THE HISTORY OF

BOOK poJ)e had no authority at all in England. In the
two former sessions the bishops had preached> that

1^*<- the general council waa above the pope; but now
tfaejr struck a note higher. This was done to letthe
people see what justice and reason was in the acts
that ware then passing, to which I now turn; and
shall next give an account of this great session of
parliament, which L shall put rather in the natural
method according to the matter of the acts, than in
the order of time as they passed.
[;^>^ On the ninth of March a bill came up from the
commons for discharging the subjects of all depend-
race on the court of Rome :' it was read the-first
time in the house of lords the thirteenth of March,
and on the fourteenth was read the second time,
and committed. The committee reported it on the
. iiineteenth, by which it appears, there was no stiff
nor long opposition ; and he that was likeliest 4o
make it was both obnoxious and absent, as will
afterwards appear. On the nineteenth it was read
the third time, and on the twentieth the fourth time,
and then passed without any protestation. Some
provisos were added to it by the lords, to which the
commons agreed ; and so it was made ready for the
royal assent,
lie act for *^ In the preamble the intolerable exactions for
lie pope?^ *' Peter-pence, provisions, pensions, and bulls of all
sorts, are complained of, which were contrary to
all laws; and grounded only on the pope's power
of dispensing, which was usurped. But the king,
^ and the lords and commons within his own realm,
^* had only power to consider how any of the laws
<< were to be dispensed with or abrogated ; and ^ce
^* the king was acknowledged the supreme head of

ower. t(

€4

it

THE REFORMATION. S9S

^ tbe church of England hj the prelates and clei^ book
*< in iheir convocations, therefore it was enacted, that "'

•* an pajrments made to the apostolic chamber, andj^]^^^;^

^ lull' provisions, bulls, or dispensations, should from^'^^c

^ thenceforth cease. But that all dispensations or Book, a; in

^''licenses for things that were not contrarjr to the^s^""'

" law of God, but only to the law of the land, should ^^"^

^be granted within the kingdom, by and under the

^seals of the two archbishops in their several pro-

*^' vinces ; who should not presume to grant any con-

^'trary to the laws of Almighty Grod, and should only

^ giant such licenses as had been formerly in use to

^ be granted, but give no license for any new thing

(^'tfllit were first examined by the king and his

^ comicil, whether such things might be dispensed

^ with ; and that all dispensations, which were for-

^ merly taxed at or above 4/. should be also con-

*' finned under the great seal. Then many clauses

** follow about the rates of licenses, and the ways of

^procuring them. It was also declared, that they

^ did not hereby intend to vary from Christ's church

^ about the articles of the catholic faith of Christen-

*^ dom, or in any other things declared by the scrip-

•* tures, and the word of God, necessary for their

^ salvation ; confirming withal the exemptions of

^ monasteries formerly granted by the bishop of

^ Rome, exempting them still from the archbishops'

'^ visitations ; declaring that such abbeys, whose elec-

^ tions were formerly confirmed by the pope, shall

^ be now confirmed by the king; who likewise shall

« give commission under his great seal for visiting

** them ; providing also, that licenses and other writs

^ obtained from Rome before the twelfth of March

^ in that year should be valid and in force, except

u 3

fl94 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK " they were contrary to the laWB frf* the Tealin ; gir-

'. — " ing also to the king and his council power to of>

I53'i. „ jg^ j^j,^ i-eform all indulgences and privflegei (or
" the abuses of them) which had been granted by
" the see of Kome. The ofTenden against this act
" were to be punished according to the statutes of
" provisorg and pramunire"

This act, as it gave great ease to the subject, so
it cut off that base trade of iodulgenoes about divine
laws, which had been so gainful to the churdl of
^^^- R«ne, but was of late fatal to it. All in the rdi>
Bdonibu ipous bouses saw their prinl^;eg now struck at,
HDce they were to be reformed as the king saw
cause, which put them in no small confusion. Tboae
that favoured the reformation rejoiced at this act»
not CHily because the pope's power was rooted out,
but becuise the &ith that was to be adhered to was
to be taken from those things, which the scriptures
declared necessary to salvation; so that all their
ffears were now much qualified, since the scripture
was to be the standard of the catholic foith. On the
same day that this bill passed in the house of lords,
another bill was read for confirming the succession
to the crown in the issue of the king's present mar-
riage with queen Anne. It was read the second
time on the twenty-first of March, and committed.
It was reported on the twenty-third, and read the
third time and passed, and sent down to the com-
mons, who sent it back again to them on the twen-
ty-sixth ; so speedily did this bUl go through both
houses without any opposition.
*^^^ The preamble of it was : " The distractions that
* had been in Bngland about the succession to the
' crown, which had occasioned the effusion of much

THE REFORMATION. «kS *

^Uood^wiihjniuqr<^tlier mis^^ book

^ fi«mi the want itf* a dear dedskm of the true title, ^

firam wfaich the popes had usurped a power of in*^ ]^sL
^▼esting sudh as pleased them m other princes* tote-Book,
^ kfagdmns, and princes had often maintained suchalooid,
<" donafcions for their other ends; therefore, to BToidioi^
^ the lilEe inconveniences, the Idng^s former marriage
^ widi the princess Katharine is judged contrary to
^ the hiws of God, and void and of no effect ; and
the sentence passed by the archbishop of Canter-
bury, annulling it, is confirmed, and the lady Ka-
tharine is thenceforth to be reputed only princess
dowager, and not queen, and the marriage with
qaeea Anne is estaUished and confirmed: and
marriages within the degrees prohibited by Moses
(wfaidi are enumerated in the statute) are declared
to be unlawful, according to the judgment of the
convocations of this realm, and of the most famous
** universities and learned men abroad, any dispen-
sations to the contrary notwithstanding, which
are also declared null, since contrary to the laws
^ of God ; and all that were married within these
degrees are appointed to be divorced, and the
dbildren begotten in such marriages were declared
illegitimate : and all the issue that should be be-
tween the king and the present queen is declared
** lawful, and the crown was to descend on his issue
male by her, or any other wife ; or in default of
issue male, to the issue female by the queen ; and
in default of any sudi, to the right heirs of the
king's highness for ever : and any that after the
first of May should maliciously divulge any thing
to the slander of the king's marriage, or ci the
issue batten in it, were to be a4judged for mis-

€4

€4
€€

€4

€4

it
€i
ti
it
it
tt
tt

u4

a06 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** prisicm of treason, and to suffer impruJonmeiit'at
^' << the king's will, and forfeit all their goods and diat-

J5d4. €f f^ to him ; and if the queen outlived the king,
** she is declared r^ent till the issue by her were of
<* age, if a son eighteen, and if a daughter sixteen
^ years of age ; and all the king's subjects were to
** swear that they would maintain the contents of
^^ this act ; and whoever, being required, did refuse
'* it, was to be judged guilty of misprision of treason,
** and punished accordingly." The oath, it seems,
was likewise agreed on in the house of lords ; for
the form of it is set down in their Journal as follows.
riM oath « Ye shall swear to bear faith, truth, and obedience
** alonely to the king's majesty, and to his heirs of

it

« his body of .his most dear and entirely beloved
** lawful wife queen Anne, begotten and to be be-
gotten. And further, to the heirs of /)ur said sove-
reign lord according to the limitation in the sta-
** tute made for surety of his succession in the crown
** of this realm mentioned and contained, and not to
any other within this realm, nor foreign authority
or potentate. And in case any oath be made, or
hath been made by you, to any person or persons,
** that then ye to repute the same as vain and anni-
** hilate. And that to your cunning, wit, and utter-
" most of your power, without guile, fraud, or other
^^ undue means, ye shall observe, keep, maintain,
** and defend the said act of succession, and all the
** whole effects and contents thereof, and all other
^ << acts and statutes made in confirmation, or for ex-

** ecution of the same, or of any thing therein con-
** tained. And this ye shall do against all manner
" of persons, of what estate, dignity, degree, or con-
•* dition soever they be ; and in no wise to do or at-

THE REFORMATION. S97

** temptj nor to jour power suffer to be done or at- book

f uint)t\.t

directly or indirectlj^ any thing or things, -
** pmrily or apartly, to the le^ hinderance, damage, ^^^•
*' or derogation thereof, or of any part of the same,
^ by any manner of means, or for any manner of
^ pretence. So help you God, and all saints, and
^ tihe holy evangelists."

Aad thus was the king^s niarriage confirmed.
Bat' when the commons returned this bill to the
kwdi^ they sent them another with it, concerning
the proceedings against heretics. There had been
complaints made formerly, as was told before, of the
aerjeie ' and intolerable proceedings in the ecclesias-
tical courts against heretics: and on the fourth of
FdJimary the commons sent up a complaint made by
one Thomas Philips against the bishop of London,
i» finr using hin^ cruelly in prison, upon the suspicion
of heresy ; but the lords doing nothing in it, on the
first ci March the house of commons sent some of
their number to the bishop, requiring him to make Journal
answer to the complaints exhibited against him, who
acquainted the house of lords with it the next day :
but as they had formerly laid aside the complaint as
not worthy of their time, so they all with one con-
sent answered, that it was not fit for any of the peers
to appear or answer at the bar of the house of com-
mons. Upon this the house of commons, finding
they could do nothing in that particular case, re-
solved to provide an effectual remedy for such abuses
for the future : and therefore sent up a bill about
the punishment of heretics, which was read that
day for the first time, and the second and third time
on the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth, in wbiclr
it passed.

99S THE HISTORY OP

ROOK " The act was a repeal of the statute of the second

: — " of Henry the Fourth, by which tdsfaops, upm sm-

Acl »wi't " P>*=io" of haesy, mi^t commit any to finaim, as

puniibing " was before told ; but in that act there waa no de-

in tu> Ma- " claration made, what was heresy, except in the

33 tn lue ' " general words of what was contrary to scriptures,

^I'^'ki'liie " °^ canonical sanctions. This was liable to great

ji>urn.t. » ambiguity, 1^ which men were in much danger,

" and not suflSdently instructed what was heresy.

" They also complained of their proceedings without

" presentment or accusation, contrary to what was

*' practised in all other cases, even of treason itsdf ;

" and many canonical sanctions had been establiahed

/ ** only by popes, without any divine precept : there-

" fore they repealed the act (^ Henry the Fourtl^

" but left the statutes of Richard the Second and

** Henry the Fifth sdll in force, with .the following

" r^ulatim : That heretics should be proceeded

" f^^ainst upon presentments by two witnesses at

" least, and then be committed, but brought to an-

" swer to their indictments in open court; and if

'" they were found guilty, and would not abjure, or

** were relapse, to be adjudged to death ; the king's

" writ de hetretieo comhurendo being first obtained-

" It was also declared, that none should be troubled

" upon any of the pope's canons or laws, or for

" speaking or doing against them. It was likewise

" provided, that men committed for heresy might be

" bailed,"

It may easily be imagined how acceptable this
act was to the whole nation, since it was such an
effectual limitation of the ecclesiastical power, in one
of the uneasiest parts of it ; and this regulation of
the arbitrary proceedings of the spiritual courts was

r

THE REFORMATION. 889

t partacular Messing to all that favoured reformation, book
Suty 88 the parliament was going on with these good "*

aw8, there came a submission from the clergy^ then 1^34.
itting in convocation, to be passed in parliament.
iVith what opposition it went through the two houses
f convocation^ and the house of commons, is not
mown ; for as the registers of the convocation are
nautf so it does not appear that there were any
ournab kept in the house of commons at that time.
)ii the twenty-seventh of March it was sent up to
he lords ; and since the spiritual lords had already
soDsented to. it, there was no reason to apprehend
my opposition fi^m the temporal lords. The ses-
ion was now near an end ; so they made haste, and
ead it twice that day, and the third time the next
lay* and passed it. The contents of it were : ^* The The sub.
clergy acknowledged that all convocations had^^by
been and ought to be assembled by the king's |J*,J;'*^'^.
writ ; and promised, in verbo sacerclotii, that they ^^ jn^«
would never make nor execute any new canons or Book, 35 in
constitutions, without the royal assent to them;
and since many canons had been received that
were found prejudicial to the king's prerogative,
contrary to the laws of the land, and heavy to the
subjects; that therefore there should be a com-
mittee of thirty-two persons, sixteen of the two
houses of parliament, and as many of the clergy,
to be named by the king, who should have full
power to abrogate or confirm canons as they found
it expedient; the king's assent being obtained.
This was confirmed by act of parliament ; and by
the same act all appeals to Rome were again con-
demned. If any party found themselves aggiieved
in the archbishops' courts, an appeal might be

ii

ft'

«

300 THE HISTORY Of ■

BOOK << made to the king in the court of chancery ; and
— -I — ^* the lord chancellor was to grant a commissioti un-
1-534. « ^^j. the great seal for some delegates, in whose de-
*^ termination all must acquiesce. All exempted ab-
^ hots were also to appeal to the king : and it con-
*' eluded with a proviso, that till such correction of
*^ the canons was made, all those which were then
received should still retnain in force, except such
as were contrary to the laws and customs of the
realms, or were to the damage or hurt of the
king^s prerogative.**
This proviso seemed to have a fair colour, that
there might still be some canons in force to go-
vern the church hj ; but since there was no day
jNTefixed to the determination of the commission,
this proviso made that the act never took effect ;
for now it lay in the prerogative, and* in the judge's
breast, to declare what canons were contrary to
the laws, or the rights of the crown : and it was
judged more for the king's greatness to keep the
matter undetermined, than to make such a col-
lection of ecclesiastical laws as should be fixed
and unmoveable. The last of the public acts of
. this session, that related to the church, was about
the election and consecration of bishops. On the
fourth of February the commons sent up a bill to
the lords about the consecration of bishops ; it lay
on the table till the twenty-seventh of February,
jotirnfti and was then cast out, and a new one drawn. On
what reason it was cast out, is not mentioned ; and
the Journal does not so much as say that it was
once read. The new bill had its second reading the
third of March, and on the fifth it was ordered to be
engrossed ; and on the ninth it was read the third

THE REFORMATION. 801

time, and agreed to, and sent down to the commons, book
i^o returned it to the lords on the sixteenth of —

Blarch. " The first part of it is a confirmation of ^^^^^
** their former act against annates ; to which they election of

« • bUboM ;

^ added, that bishops should not be any more pre- 20 m tbe
^ sented to the bishop of Rome, or sue out any bulls Book, Ve in

* there, but that all bishops should be presented to^*** ^~"*-
^ the archbishop, and archbishops to any archbishop

^ in the king^s dominions, or to any four bishops
^ whom the king should name ; and that, when any
'^ see was vacant, the king was to grant , a license
'* for a new election, with a letter missive, bearing
^ the name of the person that was to be chosen :

* and twelve days aflter these were delivered, an
^ election was to be returned by the dean and chap-
•^ ter, or prior and convent, under their seals. Then
^ the person elected was to swear fealty to the king,
'^ upon which a commission was to be issued out for
^ consecrating and investing him with the usual ce-

* remonies ; after which, lie was to do homage to
'* the king, and be restored both to the spiritualities
'^ and temporalities of his see, for which the king
'^ granted commissions during the vacancy : and
•^ whosoever refused to obey the contents of the act,
'* or acted contrary to it, were declared within the

^ statute of pnemunire" There passed a private coiiect.
act for depriving the bishops of Salisbury and Wor-
cester ; who were, cardinal Campegio and Jerome de
Qhinuccii : the former deserved greater severities
it the king's hand; but the latter seems to have
served him faithfully, and was recommended both
by the king and the French king, about a year
[)efore, to a cardinal's hat. ^* The preamble of the
'* act bears, that persons pi^moted to ecclesiastical

1534.

SOS THE HISTORY OF

BOOK €€ benefices ought to reside within the kingdom, for
** preaching the laws of Almighty God, and for
** keeping hospitality ; and since these prelates did
*' not that, but lived at the court of Rome, and
n^lected their dioceses, and made the revenues
^ of them be carried out of the kingdoms, contrary
to the intentions of the founders, and to the pre-
judice of the realm, 8000/. being at least carried
'* yearly out of the kingdom ; therefore their die-
" ceses were declared vacant.**
Tbe act But now I come to the act of the attainder of
^of ^ Elizabeth Barton, and her complices, which I shall

«

€€
«

f^l^ open fully, since it was the first step that was made
piioet. fQ rebellion, and the first occasion of putting any to
isinSte- death upon this quarrel; and from it one may
JJ^^'^ dearly see the genius of that part of the clergy that
T^^cotd, adhered to the interests of the court of Rome. On

7 in the

Journal, the tweuty-first of February the bill was sent up to
the lords, and read the first time ; on the twenty-
sixth it was read the second time, and committed ;
then the witnesses and other evidences were brought
before them, but chiefly she with all her complices,
who confessed the crimes charged on her. It was
reported and read the sixth of March the third
time, and then the lords addressed to the king to
know his pleasure, whether sir Thomas More, and
others, mentioned in the act as complices, or at least
concealers, might not be heard to speak for them-
selves in the star-chamber : as for the bishop of Ro«
Chester, he was sick, but he had written to the house
all that he had to say for his own excuse. What
presumptions lay against sir Thomas More, I have
s^ hi, not been able to find out, only that he wrote a let-
workt, ter to the Nun, at which the king took great excep-

pag. 1435*

THE REFORMATK>N. M8

tioDS ; yet it appears he had a mean opinion of her, ^^p*^
fixr in > discourse with his beloved daughter mirtress

Bopcty he called her commonly the silly Nun« Bttt^ ^^^
toir justifying himself, he wrote a full account of all
the intercourse he had with the Nun and her com-*
pficea to Cromwell : but though, by his other printed
ktterSf both to Cromwell and the king, it seems
some ill impressions remained in the king^s mind
about it» he still continued to justify, not only his
int^itiims, but his actions in that particular. One
thing is not unworthy of observation, that Rastal,
who published his works in queen Mary's time,
printed the second letter he wrote to Cromwell, yet
did not publish that account which he sent first to
hka concerning it, to which More refers himself in
aU his following letters; though it is more like a
o^y of that would have been preserved, than of
those other letters that refer to it. But perhaps it
was kept up on design ; for in queen Mary's time
they had a mind to magnify that story of the Nun's,
since she was thought to have suffered on her mo-
therms account: and among the other things she
talked, one was, that the lady Mary should one day
reign in England, for which Sanders has since
thought fit to make a prophetess of her. And it is
certain More had a low opinion of her, which ap-
pears in many places of his printed letters ; but that
would have been much plainer, if that full account he
wrote of that affair had been published : and there-
fore^ that one of their martjnrs might not lessen the
esteem of another, it was fit to suppress it. Whether
my conjectures in this be well grounded or not, is
left to the reader's judgment. In conclusion, More's
justifications, seconded with the good offices that the

S04 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK lord chancellor Audley and Cromwell did him^ (who, ,
as appears hj his letters, stood his friends in that

it
tt

^^^^* matter,) did sa work on the king, that his name was
put out of the bill, and so the act was agreed on by
both houses, and the royal assent followed. The
matter was this : '^ Elizabeth Barton of Kent, in
^' the parish of Aldington, being sick and distem-
'* pered in her brain, fell in some trances, (it seems
by the symptoms they were hysterical fits,) and
spoke many words that made great impressions on
some about her, who thought her inspired of God ;
'^ and Richard Master, parson of the parish, hoping
'^ to draw great advantages from this, went to War-
*' ham, archbishop of Canterbury, and gave him a
'^ large account of her speeches, who ordered him to
^* attend her carefully, and bring him a further re-
*' port of any new trances she might afterwards fall
*^ in. But she had forgot all she had said in her
fits ; yet the crafty priest would not let it go so,
but persuaded her, that what she had said was by
^* the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and that she
" ought to own that it was so. Upon which he
*^ taught her to counterfeit such trances, and to
" utter such speeches as she had done before ; so
" that, after a whiles practice, she became very
ready at it. The thing was much noised abroad,
and many came to see her ; but the priest had a
*^ mind to raise the reputation of an image of the
'^ blessed Virgin, that was in a chapel within his pa-
'^ rish, that so, pilgrimages being made to it, he
*^ might draw these advantages from it, that others
*^ made from their famed images ; but chose for his
*^ associate one doctor Bocking, a canon of Christ
" Church in Canterbury: upon which they instruct-

(€

tt
€€

THE REFORMATION. 305

' «d her to saj in her counterfeited trances, ^at the book
* blessed Virgin had appeared to her, and toldi her _

'' she could nerer recover, till she went and vinted '^3^*
" her image in that chapel. They had also tau^t
" her in her fits to make strange motions with her
" body, by which she was much disfigured, and to
'* apeak many godly words against sin, and the new
" doctrines, which were called heresies ; as also a^
" gainst the king's suit of divorce. It was also noised
" abroad, on what day she intended to go and visit
'* the image of the Virgin, so that about two faun-
" dred people were gathered together; and she, being
" tavught to the chapel, fell into her fits, and made
" many strange grimaces and alterations of her bocty,
" and ^loke many words of great piety, saying, that
" by the inspiration of Crod she was called to be a
'* religious woman, and that Becking was to be her
'■' ghostly father. And within a little while she
■* seemed, by the intercession of our Lady, to be per-
'•* fectly recovered of her former distempers, and she
'' afterwards professed a religious life. There were
'* also violent suspicions of her incontinency, and
'* that Bocking was a carnal, as well as a spiritual
' father. She fell in many raptures, and pretended

< she saw strange visions, heard heavenly melody,
' and had the revelation of many things that were
' to come ; so that great credit was given to what
' she said, and people generally looked on her as a

* prophetess, and among those the late archbishop of

* Canterbury was led away with the rest. A book

< was writ of her revelations and prophecies by one

* Deering, another monk, who was taken into the
' conspiracy, with many others. It was also given

* out, that Mary Magdalen gave her a letter that

VOL. 1. X

a06 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ was writ in heaven, which was shewed to many^

— -^ — ^ being all writ in golden letters. She pretended,

1534. u ^hen the king was last at Calais, that he beii^ at

<« mass, an angel brought away the sacrament and

^* gave it to her, being then invisibly present, and

*^ that she was presently brought over the sea to her

monastery, again. But the design of all these

trances was to alienate the people from their duty

to the king ; for the Maid gave it out, that God

revealed to her, that if the king went on in the

*' divorce, and married another wife, he should not

be king a month longer , and in the reputation of

Abnighttf Crod not one hour longer ^ but should

*' die a villain's death. This, she said, was revealed

to her in answer to the prayers she had put up to

God, to know whether he approved of the king^s

^ proceedings, or not ? Which coming to the know-

'* ledge of the bishop of Rochester, and some others,

" who adhered to the queen's interests, they had

'^ frequent meetings wiCh the Maid, and concealed

** what she spake concerning the king ; and some of

** them gave such credit to what she said, that they

" practised on many others to draw them from their

" allegiance, and prevailed with several of the fa-

** thers and nuns of Sion, of the charter-house in

<^ London, and Shene, and of the Observants of Rich-

** mont, Greenwich, and Canterbury, with a great

" many other persons."

Hie iiMo- This appeared most signally at Greenwiclr, where

lome of the king lived most in summer ; for one Peto, being

*"* to preach in the king's chapel, denounced heavy

^tow. judgments upon him to his face, and told him, that

many lying prophets had deceived him ; hut he, as

a true Micaiah, warned him, that the dogs should

€€

4€

THE REFORMATION. 807

Uek M^ hlood as they had done Ahab's ; {far that book

prophecy about Ahab was his text;) with many 1—

other Utter words : and concluded, that it was the *^^^-
greaieH misery of princes^ to he daily so abused
by/UMerers as they were. The king bore it pa-
tientihir^ and expressed no signs of any commotion ;
but, to undeceive the people, he took care that Dr.
Corren, or Curwin, should preach next Sunday, who
justified the king^s proceedings, and condemned Peto
as a rebel, a slanderer, a dog, and a traitor. Peto
was gone to Canterbury ; but another Observant friar
of the same house, ELston, interrupted him, and said,
he was one of the lying prophets, that sought by
adultery' to establish the succession to the crown,
and that he would justify all that Peto had said,
and spake many other things with great vehe-
mency ; nor could they silence him, till the king
himself commanded him to hold his peace. And
yet an that was done either to him or Peto was,
that, being called before the privy-council, they were
rebuked for their insolence; by which it appears,
that king Henry was not very easily inflamed
against them, when a crime of so high a nature was
so slightly passed over.

*< Nor was this all ; but the fathers that were in
*^ the conspiracy had confederated to publish these
*^ revelations in their sermons up and down the king-
'^ dom. They had also given notice of them to the
** pope's ambassadors, and had brought the Maid to
<< declare her revelations to them ; they had also
<< sent an account to queen Katharine, for encourag-
** ing her to stand out and not submit to the laws ;
** of which confederacy Thomas Abel was likewise
" one.'* The thing that was in so many hands could stow.

X 2

806 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK not be a secret ; Uierefore the king, who had despised
it long, ordered that in November the former year

^^^' the Maid and her complices, Richard Master, doctor
Boddng, Richard Deering, Henry Gold, a parson in
London ; Hugh Rich, an Observant friar ; Richaid
Risby, Thomas Gold, and Edward Twaites, gentle*
men ; and Thomas Laurence ; should be brought
into the star-chamber, where there was a great ap^
pearanoe of many lords : they were examined upon
the premises, and did all, without any rack or tor-
turCf confess the whole conspiracy, and were ad-
judged to stand in Paul's all the sermon-time; and
after sermon the king's officers were to give every
one of them his bill of confession to be openly, read
before the people ; which was done next Sunday,
the bishop of Bangor preaching, they being all set
in a scaffold before him. ' This public manner was
thought, upon good grounds, to be the best way to
satisfy the people of the imposture of the whole
matter, and it did very much convince them, that
the cause must needs be bad, where such methods
were used to support it From thence they were
carried to the Tower, where they lay till the session
of parliament ; but when they lay there, some of
their complices sent messages to the Nun, to encou-
rage her to deny all that she had said; and it is
very probable, that the reports that went abroad of
her being forced or cheated into a confession, made
the king think it necessary to proceed more severely
against hen The thing being considered in parlia-
ment, it was judged a conspiracy against the king's
life and crown. So the Nun, and Master, Booking,
Deering, Rich, Risby^ and Henry Gold, were at-
tainted of high treason. And the bishop of Ro-<*

THE REFORMATION. ^09

•dbester, Thomas Gold, Thomas Laurence. Edward book

II
Twaites, John Adeson, and Thomas Abel, were

judged guilty of misprision of treason, and to forfeit ^^^*
their goods, and chattels to the king, and to be im-
prisoned during his pleasure : and all the books that
were written of her revelations were ordered to be
sent in to some of the chief officers of state, under
the pains of fine and imprisonment. It had been also
found, that the letter, which she pretended to have
got firom Mary Magdalen, was written by one Hank-
herst of Canterbury ; and that the door of the dor-
mitory, which was given out to be made open by
miracle, that she might go into the chapdi for con-
verse with Ood, was opened by some of her com-
pHces for beastly and carnal ends. But, in the con-
clusion of the act, all others who had been corrupted
in their alliance by these impostures, except the
persons before named, were, at the earnest interces-
sion of queen Anne, pardoned.

The two houses of parliament (having ended their
business) were prorogued on the twenty-ninth of
March to the third of November ; and before they
broke up, all the members of both houses, that they
might give a good example to the king's other sub-
jects, swore the oath of succession, as appears from
the act made about it in the next session of parlia- '
ment. The execution of these persons was delayed
for some time ; it is like, till the king had a return
from Rome of the messenger he had sent thither
with his submission.

Soon after that, on the twentieth of April, the
Nun, and Bocking,. Master, Deering, Risby, and
Gold, (Rich is not named, being perhaps either dead
or pardoned,) were brought to Tyburn. The Nun

x3

810 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK spake these words : Hither I am came to die ; amt I
^'' have not been only the cause of mine own death,

^^H^'. which most justly I have deserved, hut also I, am

The Nun't !.,,,>.»., »•»

•pMcb •! iAe cause (f the death of all those persims, whseh
^J^ at this time here suffer. And yet, to say the
truth, lam not so much to be blamed, considering
that it was well known to these learned men that I
was a poor wench, without learning; and there^
Jore they might easily have perceived, that the
tilings that were done by me, could not proved
in no such sort ; but their capacities and learning
could right well judge Jrom whence they proceeded^
and that they were altogether feigned : but be^
cause the thing which I feigned was prqfitable to
them, therefore they much praised me ; and b&re
me in hand, that it was the Holy Ghost, and not
I, that did them: and then I, being p^ffedup with
their praises, fell into a certain pride and foolish
fantasy with myself, and thought I might feign
what I would; which thing hath brought me to
this case : and far the which now I cry God and
the king's highness mast heartily mercy, and de-
sire you all, good people, to pray to Crod to have
mercy an me, and an aU them that here suffer with
me.

On all this I have dwelt the longer, both because
these are all called martyrs by Sanders, and that
this did first provoke the king against the r^ular
clergy, and drew after it all the severities that were
done in the rest of his reign. The foulness and the
wicked designs of this imposture did mucK alienate
people from the interest of Rome, and made the
other acts both pass more easily, and the better re-
ceived by the people. It was also generally believed,

THE REFORMATION. 811

«

that iduit was now discovered was no new practice^ book
but that many of the visions and miracles, by wUcfa

rd^bus orders bad raised their credit so high, were ^^^*
oC Uie same nature : and it made way for the de-
stroying of all the monasteries in England, though stow.
aiD the severity firhich at this time followed on it
was, that the Observant friars of Richmont, Green-
Unidky Canterbury, Newark, and Newcastle, were re^
moved out of their houses, and put with the other
Gny friars ; and Augustin friars were put in their
houses.

But because of the great name of Fisher, bishop
c^ Rochester, and since this was the first step to his
mill, it is necessary to give a fuller account of his
caRiaiEe in this matter. When the cheat was first ^^^'^^^

^ gently dealt

discovered, CromweU, then secretary of state, sent with;
the bishop's brother to him, with a sharp reproof
for his carriage in that business ; but withal advised
him to write to the king, and acknowledge his of-
fence, and desire his pardon, which he knew the
king, considering his age and sickness, would grant.
But he wrote back, excusing himseU; that all he did But u ob.
was only to try whether her revelations were true : i^lJUllliSSe.
he confessed, he conceived a great opinion of her
holiness, both from common fame, and her entering
into religion ; from the report of her ghostly father,
whom he esteemed learned and religious, and of
many other learned and virtuous priests ; from the
good opinion the late archbishop of Canterbury had
of her ; and from what is in the prophet Amos, that
God will do nothing without revealing it to his ^
servants. That, upon these grounds, he was in-
duced to have a good opinion of her ; and that, to
tij the truth about her, he had sometimes spoken

x4

StS THE HISTORY OF

BOOK with her, Eind sent bJs chaplains to her, but nerer

'- — discovered any falsehood in her. And for his coo-

' ^^'^' cealing what she had told him about the king, whidi
was laid to his chaige, he thought it needless for
him to speak of it to the king, since she had said to
him, that she had told it to the king herself: she
had named no person who should kill the king,
which, by being known, might have been prevented.
And as in spiritual things every churchman was not
t>ound to denounce judgments against those that
could not bear it; so in temporal things the case
may be the same ; and the king had, on other occa-
sions, spoken so sharply to him, that he had reasoo
to think the king would have been offended with
him for speaking of it, and would have suspected
that be had a hand in it ; therefore he deaired» fat
the passion of Christ, to be no more trouUed about
that matter; otherwise be would speak his con-
science freely. To all which Cromwell wrote a
CoUect. long letter, which the reader will find in the Col-
co^ iib^' lection, copied from the rude draught of it, written
^^ with bis own hand. In which he charges the mat-
ter upon him heavily, and shews him, that he had
not proceeded as a grave prelate ought to have
done ; for he bad taken all that he had heard of her
upon trust, and had examined nothing: that if every
person that pretends to revelations were believed on
their own words, all government would be thereby
destroyed. He had no reason to conclude, from the
prophecy of Amos, that every thing that is to fall
* out must be revealed to some prophet, since many
potable things had fallen out, of which there was no
revelation made beforehand. But he told him, the
true reason that made him give credit to her was,

THE REFORMATION. SIA

the matter of her prophecies: to which he was so book
addicted, as he was to every other thing in wluch

he once entered, that nothing could come amiss that ^^^^'
served to that end* And he appealed to his con-
science, whether, if she had prophesied for the king,
he would have given such easy credit to her, and
not have examined the matter further. Then he
shows how guilty he was in not revealing what con-
cerned the king's life, and how frivolous all his ex-
cuses were: and, after all, tells him, that though
his excusing the matter had provoked the king, and
that, if it came to a trial, he would certainly be found
guilty ; yet again he advises him to beg the king^s
pardon for his negligence and offence in that matter,
and undertakes that the king would receive him into
his fiivour, and that all matters of displeasure^ passed
befcne that time, should be forgiven and forgotten.
This shews, that though Fisher had, in the progress of
the king's cause, given him great offence, yet he was
ready to pass it aU over, and not to take the ad-
vantage which he now had against him. But Fisher
was still obstinate, and made no submission, and so
was included within the act for misprision of trea-
son ; and yet I do not find that the king proceeded
against him upon this act, till by new provocations
he drew a heavier storm of indignation upon him-
self.

When the session of parliament was at an end. The oath
commissioners were sent every where to offer the .uccewion
oath of the succession to the crown to all, according f^°^"^
to the act of parliament, which was universally {^^»-^^-
taken by all sorts of persons. Gardiner wrote from c. lo.
Winchester, the sixth of May, to CromwelJ, that, in
the presence of the lord chamberlain, the lord Audley,

S14 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and Maigr oIlMr gentleBMn, all abbots, prioriB^ war-
■ ^ dens» wilb tke cwatesof all parishes and duqpds
'^^ within the shure» had appeared and taken the oath
Terj ohedkndj ; and had gsrea in a list of all the
nl^gmis petsoss in their hoiises of fo^^
I|PN «sd ahQMre» fiir takinff whose oaths soase com-
wissioMffs weie iypainl<d> The fismis in which
thejr took the oaA aie not known; and it is no
wonder; fcrthoaghtfMywereenroilBd^yctinqnBen
liaix'^ tisae tt«e wk a rniii^winn giren to Bon-
ner and othetsy to esssaiae the records, and raae oat
of iheos nU dMHBS Asft were done^ cither in oonftenmt
of the see of Boinc^ ar to the debsBstkn of rdi^ons
hon«»; pnnnanit to whi^ there are snaj things
token ant of the Sols^ whkh I stoB
SHpTe occassaa anerwaros sa taBe nonce or I ycs

SMna» hnt two of the sntasa^tioBs of leBgions or-
derss both bearing dito d« fbnrth of Uaj 15S4.
Chaie k br the prior and convent of Laasglef Regis,
that weie I>oflainkans : Aefranciscnns of Ailesfaniy,
thenwnJMfc-ansofnaaTt^ttr.theFranciMnsofBed-
fiMTd,. the Canaelite^ «f Heckiiic;* a^
de Mare. The other b bp d« prioress and conrent
of the I>oaaittican nans at DeptfiwL
cattKC "^ I^ these» besides d« renewiai^ their aDegianoe
^^ ^ to the king. theT swear the kwlUness of his aar-
^ riage wiih i|neen Aaw^ and that they doll be
*^ true to the issne begotten in it ; that tfKj shsD
^ alvars nckwyniedge tkt king Ixnd of the chnrdi
^ofEaglaad: and thtt d« fa^hop of Roase has ao
- sure power than mar other bsdup hK in Us om
*^ diocese; and that ther shonU snbaik to dU the
s bws^ nolaiihilHnlng d« pope s

M

THE REFORMATION. 815

to tbe coDtrary. That in their qermons they book

IL

«

<< should not pervert the scriptures, but preach -

" Christ and his gospel sincerely, accordii^ to the.p^^

'* scriptures, and the tradition of orthodox and ca- ci«iMt m

\ not io Hht

** tholic doctors; and in their prayers, that they other
^ should pray first for the king, as supreme head"^^"^'
*' of the church of England, then for the queen and
her issue, and then for the archbishop of Canter-
bury, and the other ranks of the clergy." To this
these six priors set Cheir hands, with the seals of
their convents ; and in their subscriptions declared,
that they did it freely and uncompelled, and in the
name of all the brethren in the convent.

But sir Thomas More and the bishop of Roches- mo» •»>

Fblier re-

ter refused to take the oath as it was conceived : foae the ^
whose fall being so remarkable, I shall shew the
steps of it. There was a meeting of the privy-coun-
dl at Lambeth, to which many were cited to appear,
and take the oath. Sir Thomas More was first see bis
called, and the oath was tendered to him under the p. 1438.
great seal : then he called for the act of succession,
to which it related, which was also shewed him.
Having considered of them, he said, he would neither
blame these that made the act, nor those that swore
the oath ; but, for his part, though he was willing to
swear to the succession, if he might be suffered to
draw an oath concerning it ; yet for the oath that
was offered him, his conscience so moved him, that
he could not without hazarding his soul take it.
Upon this the lord chancellor told him, that he was
the first who had refused to swear it, and that the
king would be highly offended with him for den}dng
it ; and so he was desired to withdraw and consider
better of it. Several others were called upon, and

»16 THE HISTORY OF

■BOOR did aU take the oath, except the bishop of Roches-
-t^*, who aDSwered upon the matter as More had

^**^- done. When the lords had despatched all the rest,
More was again brought before them : they shewed
him how many had taken it: he answered, he
judged DO man for doing it> only he could not do it
himself. Then they asked the reasons why he re-
fiisedit: he answered, he feared it might provoke
the king more against him, if he should offer rea-
sons, which would be called a 'disputing against law:
bat when he was further pressed to give his reasons,
he ^id* if the king would command him to do it, he
would put them in writing.

The archbishop of Canterbury urged him with
this argument, That since he said he blamed no
other person for taking it, it seemed lie was not per-
suaded it was a sin, but was doubtful in the matter :
but he did certainly know, he ought to obey the
king and the law ; so there was a certainty on the
one hand, and only a doubt on the other ; therefore
be was obliged to do that about which he was cer-
tain, notwithstanding these his douhtings. This did
shake him a little, especially (as himself writes) com-
ings out of so noble a prelate's mouth : but he an-
swered, that though he had examined the matter
very carefully, yet his conscience leaned positively
to the other side ; and he offered to purge himself
by his oath, that it was purely out of a principle of
conscience, and out of no light fantasy or obstinacy,
that he thus refused it. The abbot of Westminster
pressed him, that however the matter appeared to
him, he might see his conscience was erroneous,
since the great council of the realm was of another
mind; and therefore he ought to change his con-

THE REFORMATION. »17

science. (A reasoning very fit for so rich an abbot, book
which discovers of what temper his conscience was.)

But to this More answered, that if he were alone *^^'*'
against the whole parliament, he had reason to sus-
pect his own understanding ; but he thought he had
the whole council of Christendom on his side, as
well as the great council of England was against
him. Secretary Cromwell, who (as More writes)
tenderly Juvoured him, seeing his ruin was now ui-
evitable, was much affected at it, and protested with
an oath, he had rat«i€|j^ his own only son had lost his
head, than that he should have refused the oath.
Thus both he and the bishop of Rochester refused
it; but both offered to swear another oath for the
succession of the crown to the issue of the king's
present marriage, because that was in the power of
the parliament to determine it. Cranmer, who was
a moderate and wise man, and foresaw well the ill
effects that would follow on contending so much
with persons so highly esteemed over the world, and
of such a temper, that severity would bend them to
nothing, did, by an earnest letter to Cromwell, dated weaTer*t
the twenty-seventh of April, move, that what they menu]
offered might be aipcepted ; for if they once swore to ^' ^^' ^^'
the succession, it would quiet the kingdom : for they
acknowledging it, all other persons would acquiesce
and submit to their judgments. But this sage ad-
vice was iiot accepted.

The king was much irritated against them, and And »«
resolved to proceed with them according to law ;•§«"•<•
and therefore they were both indicted upon the sta-
tute, and committed prisoners to the Tower. And it
being apprehended, that if they had books and paper
given them, they would write against the king's

818 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK marriage or his supremacy, these were denied them.
The old bishop was hardly used ; his bishopric was

1534. seized on, and all his goods taken from him, only
some old rags were left to cover him ; and he was
neither supplied well in diet nor other necessaries, of
which he made sad complaints to CromweU. But
the remainder of this tragical business, whidi left
one of the greatest blots on this king's proceed-
ings, falling within the limits of the next book, I
haste on to the conclusion of this.
Another The Separation from Rome^;iiF^ made in the for-
^^ribLeot. nier session of parliament, but the king's supremacy
was not yet fully settled. This was reserved for the
next session^ that sat in November from the third of
that month to the eighteenth of December, about
which we can have no light from the Journals, they
being lost. The first act confirmed what had been
TheHng't already acknowledged by the clergy, •'That the
deciai«d. *^ king was the supreme head in earth of the church
** of England, which was to be annexed to his other
'• titles. It was also enacted, that the king, and
•• his heirs and successors, should have power to
'• visit and reform all heresies, errors, and other
'' abuses, which in the spiritual jurisdiction ought
" to be reformed."
The oath By the sccoud act they confirmed the oath about
•acMttion the succession, concerning which some doubts had
confinned. jj^^^ made, bccausc there was no oath specified in
the former act, though both houses had taken it :
it was now enacted, that all the subjects were obliged
to take it when offered to them, under the pains con-
Thefirat- taiucd in the act passed in the former session. By

fruits of - • . J .

benefices thc third act, the first-fruits and tenths of all eccle-
fhridng. siastical benefices were given to the king, as the su-

THE. REFORMATION. 319

preme headof the church. The derey were easily book

If

prevailed on to consent to the putting down of the

amuUes, paid to the court of Rome; for all men '^^^'
readily concur to take off any imposition: but at
that time it had perhaps abated much of their hearti-
nesa^ if they had imagined that these duties should
have been still paid ; therefore that was kept up till
t)iey had done all that was to be done against Rome.
And DOWy as the commons and the secular lords
wonld no doubt .easily agree to lay a tax on the
clergy; so the others, having no foreign support,
were not in a comSit|{^ to wrestle against it.

In the, thirteenth act, among other things thatsundrj
were made treason, one was, the denying the kingdeduU^
the dignity, title, or name, of his estate royal; or^"^^°'
the calling the king heretic, schismatic, tyrant, in-
fidel, or usurper of the crown. This was done to
restrain the insolencies of some friars : and all such
offimders were to be denied the privilege of sanctu-
aries. By the fourteenth act, provision was made An act for
for suffragan bishops, which, as is said, had been*^!^^
accustomed to he had within this realm, for the
mare speedy administration of the sacraments^ and
other good^ wholesome, and devout things, and laud-
able ceremonies, to the increase of God's honour,
and for the commodity of good and devout people :
therefore they appointed for suffragans' sees, the
towns of Thetford, Ipswich, Colchester, Dover, Gil-
tard, Southampton, Taunton, Shaftsbury, Molton,
Marlborough, Bedford, Leicester, Gloucester, Shrews-
bury, Bristol, Penrethi Bridgwater, Nottingham,
Grantham, Hull, Huntiilgton, Cambridge ; and the
towns of Pereth and Berwick, St. Germans in Corn-
wall, and the Isle of Wight. For these sees, the

SaO THE HISTORY OP

BOOK bishop of the diocese was to present two to the lda|^

1 — who might choose either of them^ and preaent the

^^'^' person so named to the archbishop of the province
to be consecrated : after which, they might exercise
such jurisdiction as the bishop of the diocese should
give to them, or as suffragans had been fiMiiieiljr
used to do ; but their authority was to last no longer'
than the bishop continued his commission to then.
But, that the reader may more clearly see how this
couect act was executed, he shall find in the Collection a
' writ for making a suffragan bishop. These were
believed to be the same witK the Chorepiscopi in
the primitive church; which, as they were hegOM
before the first council of Nice, so they continued in
the western church till the ninth century, and then
a decretal of Damasus being forged, that condemned
them, they were put down every where by degrees,
Act. 36. and now revived in England. Then followed the
A lubaidy grant of a subsidy to the king. It was now twelve
granted, yg^rs siuce there was any subsidy granted. A fif-
teenth and a tenth were given, to be paid in three
years, the final payment being to be at Allhallontide,
in the year 1537- The bill began with a most glo-
rious preamble *^ of the king's high wisdom and po-
licy in the government of the kingdom these twen-
ty-four years in great wealth and quietness, and
the great charges he had been at in the last war
*^ with Scotland, in fortifying Calais, and in the war
'^ of Ireland, and that he intended to bring the wil-
*^ ful, wild, and unreasonable and savage people of
** Ireland, to order and obedience ; and intended to
'' build forts on the marches of Scotland for the se-
'' curity of the nation, to amend the haven of Calais,
^^ and make a new one at Dover. By all which they

THE REFORMATION. 821

^'did peiteive the entire love aiid zeal which the book
^ king bore to his people, and that he sought not '''

^ their wealth and quietness only for his own time, ^^^^^
^ being a mortal man^ but did provide for it in all
** time coming : therefore they thought that of very
** equity reason, and good conscience, they were
^* bound to shew like correspondence of zeal, grati-
*' tude, and kindness." Upon this the king sent a
general pardon, with some exceptions ordinary in
such cases. But Fisher and More were not only ex- More and
duded from this pardon by general clauses, but by^^H^^
two particular acts they were attainted of misprision ^.^'^i.
of treason. By the third act, according to the re-
cofrdf J<din bishop of Rochester, Christopher Plum-
mer, Nichcdas Wilson, Edward Powel, Richard Fe^
therstone^ and Miles WyUir, clerks, were attainted
for refusing the oath of succession ; and the bishop-
ric of Rochester, with the benefices of the other
derks, were declared void from the second of Janu-
iuy next : yet it seems few were fond of succeeding
him in that see ; for John Hilsey, the next bishop of
Rochester, was not consecrated before the year 1537.
By the fourth act, sir Thomas More is by an in-
vidious preamble charged with ingratitude for the
great favours he had received from the king, and
for studying to sow and make sedition among the
king^s subjects, and refusing to take the oath of suc-
cession : therefore they declared the king's grants to
him to be void, and attaint him of misprision of
treason.

This severity, though it was blamed by many, yet The pro.

, , • • • , ceeding*

others thought it was necessary m so great a change; agiUntt
since the authority of these two men was such, that, ooti^ ^*.'
if aome signal notice had not been taken of them, '"^*''

VOL. I. Y

L -

9Xi THE HISTORY OF

BOOK many might by their endeavours^ especially encou-
raged by that impunity, have been corrupted in their

1^3^- affections to the king. Others thought the pnte-
cuting them in such a manner did rathar raise their
reputation higher, and give them more credit with
the people, who are naturally inclined to pity those
that suffer, and to think well of those opinions, finr
which they see men resolved to endure all extremi-
ties. But others observed the justice of God iq
retaliating thus upon them their own severities to
others : for as Fisher did grievously prosecute the
preachers of Luther^s doctrine ; so More's hand had
been very heavy on them as long as he had power,
and he had shewed them no mercy, but the extre-
mity of the law, which himself now felt to be very
heavy. Thus ended the session of parliament^ wiA
which this book is also to conclude ; for now I comi
to a third period of the king's reign, in which he did
govern his subjects without any competitor : but I
am to stop a little, and give an account of the pro-
gress of the reformation in these years that I have
passed through.
^iiL^l^Tthe ^^^ cardinal was no great persecutor of heretics,
reforma- which was generally thought to flow from his hatred
of the clergy, and that he was not ill pleased to have
them depressed. During the agitation of the king's
process, there was no prosecution of the preadimi
of Luther's doctrine. Whether this flowed from aaj
intimation of the king's pleasure to the bishop, or
not, I cannot tell; but it is very probable it must
have been so, for these opinions were received by
many, and the popish clergy were so inclined to
severity, that as they wanted not occasions, so they
had a good mind to use those preachers cruelly ; so

tion.

THE REFORMATION. 823

that it 18 likely the king restrained them, and that
was always mixed with the other thieatenings to.
work upon the pope^ that heresy would jvevail in
England^ if the king got not justice done him ; so
that, till the cardinal fell, they were put to no fur-
ther trouble.

But as soon as More came into ftvour, he pressed
the king much to put the laws against heretics in
execution ; and su^^ested, that the court of Rome
would be more wrought upon by the king*s support-
ing the churchy and defending the faith vigorously,
than by threatenings : and therefore a long jHxxJa-
mation was issued out against the heretics, many off
their bod^s were prohibited, and all the laws against
them were appointed to be put in execution, and
great care was taken to seize them as they came
into England : but many escaped their diligence.

There were some at Antwerp, Tindal, Joye, Con- t
stantine, with a few more, that were every year a
writing and printing new books, chiefly against the
corruptions of the clergy, the superstition of pil-
grimages, of worshipping images, saints, and relics,
and against relying on these things, which were then
called, in the common style, good works ; in oppo-
sition to which they wrote much about faith in
Christy with a true evangelical obedience, as the
only means by which men could be saved. The
book that had the greatest authority and influence
was TindaFs translation of the New Testament, of
which the bishops made great complaints, and said,
it was full of errors. But Tonstal, then bishop of
London, being a man of invincible moderation, would
do nobody hurt, yet endeavoured as he could to get
their books into his hands : so, being at Antwerp in n,

y2

SM THE HISTORY OP

BOOK the year 1529> as he returned from his embassy at
the treaty of Cambray, he sent for one Paddogton,

^^^' an English merchant there, and desired him to see
how many New Testaments of Tindal's translation
he might have for money. Packington, who was a
secret favourer of Tindal, told him what the bishop
proposed. Tindal was very glad of it ; fbr, being
convinced of some faults in his work, he was de*
signing a new and more correct edition; but he
was poor, and the former impression not being scdd
off, he could not go about it : so he gave Packing-
ton all the copies that lay in his hands, for which
the bishop paid the price, and brought them over,
TbtNew and burnt them publicly in Cheapside. This had
burnt. such au hatcful appearance in it, being generally
called a burning of the word of God, that people
from thence concluded there must be a visible con-
trariety between that book and the doctrines of those
who so handled it ; by which both their prejudice
against the clergy, and their desire of reading the
New Testament, was increased. So that next year,
when the second edition was finished, many more
were brought over, and Constantine being taken in
England, the lord chancellor in a private examina-
tion promised him, that no hurt should be done
him, if he would reveal who encouraged and sup-
ported them at Antwerp; which he accepted of,
and told, that the greatest encouragement they had
was from the bishop of London, who had bought up
half the impression. This made all that heard of it
laugh heartily, though more judicious persons dis-
cerned the great temper of that learned bishop in it
When the clergy condemned TindaPs translation of
the New Testament, they declared they intended to

THE REFORMATION. 3S5

set out a true translation of it ; which many thought book
was never truly designed by them, but only pretend-

ed» that they might restrain the curiosity of seeing '^^^*
Tindal's work, with the hopes of one that should be
anthcnrized : and as they made no progress in it, so
at length, on the twenty-fourth of May, anno 15S0,
tJiere was a paper drawn and agreed to by arch-
bishop Warham, chancellor More, bishop Tonstal,
and many canonists and divines, which every in-
cumbent was commanded to read to his parish, as a
warning to prevent the contagion of heresy. The
contents of which were, ^' That the king having The lart
"^ called together many of the prelates, with other ^'si!d.
^ learned men out* of both universities, to examine "T,''"!'
^ some books lately set out in the English tongue,
^f they had agreed to condemn them, as containing
^ several points of heresy in them ; and it being pro-
^* posed to them, whether it was necessary to set
^ forth the scriptures in the vulgar tongue, they
^ were of opinion, that though it had been some-
^ times done, yet it was not necessary, and that the
^ king did well not to set it out at that time in the
M Einglish tongue." So by this all the hopes of a
translation of the scriptures vanished.

There came out another book, which took might- suppiica-
ily ; it was entitled. The SuppUcatian of the Beg-^^^. ^
gars, written by one Simon Fish, of Gray's-Inn. In
it the beggars complained to the king, that they
were reduced to great misery, the alms of the people
being intercepted by companies of strong and idle
friars ; for, supposing that each of the five mendi-
cant orders had but a penny a quarter from every
household, it did rise to a vast sum, of which the in-
digent and truly necessitous b^gars were defrauded,

yS

996 THE HISTORY OF

[ Their being unprofitable to the connonweaMi, wifk
_ several cyther things, were abo oomphincd of. He
also taxed the pc^ for cmeHy and oovctamneak
that did not deliver aU persons out of puigatoj;
and that none but the rich, who paid wcfl fiir it,
could be dischai^ed out of that prison, liiis ws
written in a witty and taking strie, and the ^i^
had it put in his hands by Anne Bdejm, and fiked
it well, and would not suffer any thing to be done
to the author.

Chancellor More was the most sealous cfaaaqpioa
the clei^ had ; for I do not find that any of thoa
wrote much, only the bishop of Rodiester wrote fir
purgatory ; but the rest left it wholly to luun, either
because few of them could write well, or that he
being much esteemed, and a disinterested pemn,
things would be better received from him than from
them, who were looked on as parties. So he an-
swered this Supplication by another, in the name of
the souls that were in purgatory, representing the
miseries they were in, and the great relief they
found by the masses the friars said for them, and
brought in every man*s ancestors calling earnestly
upon him to befriend those poor friars now, when
they had so many enemies. He confidently asserted
it had been the doctrine of the church for many agei,
and brought many places out of the scriptures to
prove it, besides several reasons that seemed to con«
firm it. This, being writ of a subject that would allow
of a great deal of popular and moving eloquence,
in which he was very eminent, took with many.

But it discovered to others what was the founda-
tion of those religious orders ; and that, if the belief
of purgatory were once rooted out, all that was built

THE REFORMATION. 327

on that foundation must needs fall with it. So John book

Frith wrote an answer to More's Supplication, to '.

ahew, that there was no ground for purgatory in ^^^'^*
acripture, and that it was not believed in the pri-
mitive diurch. He also answered the bishop of Ro-
chester's book, and some dialogues that were writ-
ten on the same subject, by Rastal, a printer, and
kinsman of More's: he discovered the fallacy of
their reasonings, which were built on the weakness
or defects of our repentance in this life ; and that
therefinre there must be another state ; in which we
must be further purified. To this he answered.
That our sins were not pardoned for our repentance,
or the perfection of it, but only for the merits and
suffarings of Christ ; and that, if our repentance is
sincere, God accepts of it ; and sin being once par-
doned, it could not be further punished. He shewed
the difference between the punishments we may
suffer in this life, and those in purgatory : the one are
either medicinal corrections for reforming us more
and more, at for giving warning to others; the
other are terrible punishments, without any of these
ends in them : therefore the one might well consist
with the free pardon of sin, the other could not.
So he argued from all these places of scripture, in
which we are said to be freely pardoned our sins by
the blood of Christ, that no punishment in another
state could consist with it : he also argued, from all
those places in which it is said that we shall, at the
day of judgment, receive according to what we have
done in the body, that there was no state of purga-
tory beyond this life. For the places brought out
of the Old Testament, he shewed they could not be
meant of purgatory, since, according to the doctrine

Y 4

SS8 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK of the schoolmen, there was no going to purglfltti^*
_i!l_ before Christ. For the places in the New Testa-'

^^^^- ment he appealed to More's great fiiend ErBsaras,
whose exposition of these places differed much from
his glosses. That place in the Epistle to the Corin-
thians about the fire^ that was to try every man's
work, he said, was plainly allegorical ; and siivoe ^
foundation, the building of gold, sy)rer, atid ffrtedous
stones, of wood, hay, and stubble, were figuralivdy
taken, there was no reason to take the^r^ in a li-
teral sense : therefore hjjire was to be understood
the persecution then near at hand, called in other
places, the fiery trials

For the ancient doctors, he shewed, that in the
fourth century, St. Ambrose, Jerome, and St. Austin;
the three great doctors of that age, did not believe
it ; and cited several passages out of their writings.
It is true, St. Austin went further than the rest;
for though in some passages he delivered his opinion
against it, yet in other places he spake of it more
doubtfully, as a thing thdt might be inquired into,
but that it could not be certainly known : and in-
deed before Gregory the Great's time it was not re-
ceived in the church, and then the Benedictine
monks were beginning to spread and grow numer-
ous, and they, to draw advantages from it, told
many stories of visions and dreams, to possess the
worid with a belief of it ; then the trade grew so
profitable, that ever since it was kept up, and im-
proved : and what succeeded so well with one society
and order, to enrich themselves much by it, was an
encouragement to others to follow their track in the
same way of traffick. This book was generally well
received; and the clergy were so offended at the

THE REFORMATION. SS9

author, that they resolved to make him feel a real book

11
fire, whenever he was catched, for endeavouring to

put out their imaginary one. ^^^'*'

That from which More and others took greatest
advantage, was, that the new preachers prevailed
only on simple tradesmen, and women, and other
illiterate persons: but to this the others answered,
that the Pharilies made the same objection to the
followers of Christ, who were fishermen, women,-
and rude mechanics ; but Christ told them, that to
the poor the gospel was preached : and when the
philosophers and Jews objected that to the apostles,
they said, Grod's glory did the more appear, since
not many rich, wise, or noble, were called, but the
poor and despised were chosen : that men who had
much to lose had not that simplicity of mind, nor
that disengagement from worldly things, that was a
necessary disposition to fit them for a doctrine,
which was like to bring much trouble and persecu-
tion on them.

Thus I have opened some of these things, which The cniei
were at that time disputed by the pen, in which op-^nstTbe
position new things w^te still started and examined. '^^^"°®"*
But this was too feeble a weapon for the defence of
the clergy ; therefore they sought out sharper tools.
So there were many brought into the bishops' courts,
some for teaching their children the Lord's Prayer
in English, some for reading the forbidden books,
some for harbouring the preachers, some for speaking
against pilgrimages, or the worshipping and adorn-
ing of images, some for not observing the church-
fasts, some for not coming to confession and the sa-
crament, and some for speaking against the vices of
the clergy. Most of these were simple and illiterate

980 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK men ; and the terror of the bishops* courts and pri-

_-J sons, and of a fagot in the end^ wrought so much on

^^^^* their fears and weakness, that thej generally ab-
jured and were dismissed. But in the end of the
More. year 15S0, one Thomas Hitton, who had been curate
of Maidstone, and had left that place, going oft to
Antwerp, he bringing over some of the books that
rindai. were printed there, was taken at Gravesend^ wd
brought before Warham and Fisher, who, after be
had suffered much by a long and cruel imprison-
ment, condemned him to be burnt.
9iiiiej*t The most eminent person that suffered about this
"^' time was Thomas Bilnej, of whose abjuratioii an
account was given in the first book : he after that
went to Cambridge, and was much troubled in his
conscience for what he had done, so that the rest of
that society at Cambridge were in great appreben-
' sion of some violent effect, which that desperation
might produce, and sometimes watched him whole
Lfttimer't nights. This continued about a year ; but at length
his mind was more quieted, and he resolved to ex-
piate his abjuration by as public and solemn a con-
fession of the truth: and, to prepare himself the
better, both to defend and suffer for the doctrines
which he had formerly through fear denied, he fol-
lowed his studies for two years. And when he
found himself well fortified in this resolution, he took
leave of his friends at Cambridge, and went to his
own country of Norfolk, to whom he thought he
owed his first endeavours.
JJ^J2jjj°S ^^ preached up and down the country, confessing
him. his former sin of denying the faith, and taught the
people to beware of idolatry, or trusting to pilgrim-
ages, to the cowl of St. Francis, to the prayers (rf*

THE REFORMATION. au

saiHti, w to images; but exhorted them to stay at book
home, to give much alms^ to believe in Jesus Christ,

and to offer up their hearts, wills, and mii^ to him p ^^^^
in the sacrament. This being noised about, he was^
seised on by the bishop's officers, and put in prison
at Norwich, and the writ was sent for to bum him
as a relapse, he being first condemned and de*
graded from his priesthood. While he was in pri-*
son, the friars came oft about him to persuade him
to recant again, and it was given out that he did
read a bill of abjuration.

More, not being satisfied to have sent the writ for it u pvcn
his burning, studied also to defame him, publishing abjund.
this to the world; yet in that he was certainly
abused, for if he had signed any such paper, it had
been put in the bishop's roister, as all things of that
nature were: but no such writing was ever shewn;
only some said they heard him read it ; and others,
who denied there was any such thing, being ques-
ti<med for it, submitted and confessed their fault.
But, at such a time, it was no strange thing if a lie
of that nature was vented with so much authority,
that men were afraid to contradict it ; and when a
nmn is a dose prisoner, those who only have access
to him may spread what report of him they please ;
and when once such a thing is said, they never want
officious vouchers to lie and swear for it. But since
nothing was ever shewed under his hand, it is dear
there was no truth in these reports, which were
spread about to take away the honour of martyrdom
from the new doctrines. It is true, he had never
inquired into all the other tenets of the church of
Rome, and so did not differ from them about the
presence of Christ in the sacrament, and some other

S8S THE HISTORY OF

BOOK things. But when men durst speak freely^ there
w^n* several persons that witnessed the constancj
rhlfebel ^^^ sincerity of Bihiey in these his last conflicts;
Mod of and, among the rest, Matthew Parker, afterwards
tftwwaidt archbishop of Canterbury, was an eyewitness of his
pSSr**^ sufferings, which from his relation were puUished
afterwards: he took his death patiently and con-*
stantly, and in the little time that was allowed him
to live after his sentence, he was observed to be
cheerful ; and the poor victuals that were brought
him, bread and ale, he eat up heartily ; of whidi
when one took notice, he said he must keep up that
ruinous cottage till it fell ; and often repeated that
passage in Isaiah, When thou waUtest through the
fire^ thou shalt not be burnt; and, putting his finger
in the flame of the candle, he told those about him»
that he well knew what a pain burning was, but
that it should only consume the stubble of his body»
and that his soul should be purged by it.
ine man- When the day of execution came, being the tenth
"lUferiDg? of November, as he was led out, he said to one that
exhorted him to be patient and constant, that as the
mariners endured the tossing of the waves, hoping
to arrive at their desired port, so, though he was now
entering into a storm, yet he hoped he should soon
arrive at the haven; and desired their prayers*
When he came to the stake, he repeated the creed,
to shew the people that he died in the faith of the
apostles ; then he put up his prayers to Grod with
great shews of inward devotion ; which ended, he
repeated the hundred and forty-third Psalm, and
paused on these words of it. Enter not into judg-
ment with thy servant^ for in thy sight shall no
man Uving be justified^ with deep recollection : and

THE REFORMATION. 888

when doctor Warner, that accompanied him to the rook
stake, took leave of him with manj tears^ "^^

a cheerful countenance exhorted him to feed '^^*
his flock, that at his Lord's coming he might find
him 80 doing. Many of the begging firiaw desiml
him to declare to the people, that they had not pro-
cured his death ; for that was got among them, and
they feared the people would give them no more
alms: so he desired the spectators not to be the
worse to these men for his sake, for thej had not
procured his death. Then the fire was set to, and
his bodj consumed to ashes.

Thus it appears, both what opinion the people
had of him, and^n what charity he died, even to*
words his enemies, doing them good for evil. But
this, though it perhaps struck terror in weaker
nainds, yet it no less encouraged others to endure
patiently all the severities that were used to draw
them from his doctrine. Soon after, one Richard
Byfield suffered : he was a monk of St. Edmunds- ByBeid't
bury, and had been instructed by doctor Barnes,*" *"°^'
Who gave him some books ; which being discovered,
he was put in prison, but through fear abjured : yet
afterward he left the monastery, and came to London.
He went oft over to Antwerp, and brought in for-
bidden books, which being smelled out, he was seized
on, and examined about these books: he justified
them, and said, he thought they were good and pro-
fitable, and did openly exclaim against the dissolute
lives of the clergy : so being judged an heretic, he
was burnt in Smithfield the eleventh of November.

In December, one John Tewksbury, a shopkeeper And Tewki.
in London, who had formerly abjured, was also taken "^^ '*
and tried in sir Thomas More's house at C!helsey,

884 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK where aaitedce was given against him by SMketiny^

! lHshq> of London^ (for Tonstal was translated the

^^^* fiarmer year to Duresme,) and was burnt in Smith*
field. There were also three burnt at York this
year, two men and one woman.

These proceedings were complained of in the fol-
lowing session of parliament, as was formerly UAd ;
and the ecclesiastical courts being found both arbi-
trary and cruel, the house of commons desired a re-
dress of that from the king : but nothing was done
about it till, three years after that, the new act
against heretics was made, as was already told. The
dergy were not much moved at the address which
the house of commons made, and therefore went on
in their extreme courses ; and, to strike a terror in
the gentry, they reserved to make an examfde of one
Bainbam't James Bainham, a ijeutleman of the Temple : he was

luffiniogSa

carried to the lord chancellor's house, where much
pains was taken to persuade him to discover such as
he knew in the Temple, who favoured the new opin-
i^<"- ions ; but fair means not prevailing. More made him
be whipt in his own presence, and, after that, sent
him to the Tower, where he looked on and saw him
put to the rack. Yet it seems nothing could be
drawn from him, that might be made use of to any
other person's hurt ; yet he himself afterwards, over-
come with fear, abjured and did penance, but had
no quiet in his conscience till he went publicly to
church, with a New Testament in his hand, and con-
fessed, with many tears, that he had denied God,
and prayed the people not to do as he had done;
and said, that he felt an hell in his own conscience
for what he had done. So he was soon after carried
to the Tower ; (for now the bishops, to avoid the

THE REFORMATION.

ioipittatiqpi of vsiiig men cntdly in their' plisonB, did boos
pat heretics in the king's prisons.) He was chained ^

for hftYiBg said, ^^ That Thomas Becket was a mur- ^^^-
^^ derer, and damned in hell if he did not repentt
<< and fbr speaking contemptuously of prajong to
^ saints, and saying, that the sacrament of the altar
^^ was only Christ's mystical body, and that his bo^
** was not chewed with the teeth, but received fay
^' fiuth. So he was judged an dbstinate and rebqps^
^ heietic and was burnt in Smithfi'dd about the end
^ of April 15S2.*' There were also some others burnt
a little befi3re this time, of whom a particular account
could not be recovered by Fox, with all hb industry.
But with Bainfaam, Morie's persecution ended ; for
800O after he Udd down the great seal, whidi set t&e Resist.
poor preachers at ease.

Crome and Latimer were brought before the con-
vocation, and accused of hereqr. They both sub- Articles
scribed the articles offered to them, '^That there ^me at.
** was a purgatory : that the souls in it were pro*^**^*
<' fited by masses said for them : that the saints are
^^ now in heaven, and as mediators pray for us :
^ that men ought to pray to them, and honour
*< them : that pilgrimages were pious and merito-
^ rious : that men who vowed chastity might not
^ marry without the pope's dispensation : that the
^^ keys of binding and loosing were given to ^.
** Peter, and to his successors, though their lives
^* were bad ; and not at all to the laity : thai meti
^ merited by prayers, fasting, and other good woiics :
^^ that priests prohibited by the bishop should not
*^ preach till they were purged and restored : that
*^ the seven sacraments conferred grace : that con-
^ secvations and benedictions used by the church

886 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ were good : that it was good and proStable to set

' ^ up the images of Christ and the saints in the

1534. €i churches, and to adorn them and bum candles be-
fore them ; and that kings were not obliged to give
their people the scriptures in a vulgar tongue."
Bj these articles it may be easily collected, what
were the doctrines then preached by the reformers.
There was yet no dispute about the presence of
Christ in the sacrament, which was first called in
question by Frith ; for the books of Zuinglius and
(Ecolampadius came later into England, and hitherto
they had only seen Luther's works, with those writ-
ten by his followers,
j,^,^.. But in the year 158S, there was another memor-

T^'^^B^^ aUe instance of the clergy's cruelty against the dead
bodies of those whom they suspected of heresy. The
common style of all wills and testaments at that time
lugist. ^as, first, '* I bequeathe my soul to Almighty God,
Piu^amet. « ^^ ^^ ^^^ j^^^y g^ Mary, and to all the saints in

heaven: but one William Tracy of Gloucester
dying, left a will of a far different strain ; for he
bequeathed his soul only to God through Jesus
^' Christ, to whose intercession alone he trusted,
'' without the help of any other saint ; therefore he
" left no part of his goods to have any pray for his
[Ugut. " soul." This being brought to the bishop of Lon-
>tokef . o . ^j^)g court, he was condemned as an heretic, and an
order was sent to Parker, chancellor of Worcester,
to raise his body. The officious chancellor went be-
yond his order, and burnt the body ; but the record
bears, that though he might by the warrant he had
raise the body according to the law of the church,
yet he had no authority to bum it. So, two years
after, Tracy's heirs sued him for it, and he was

THE REFORMATION. 887

tturned out of his office of chancellor, and fined in book
four hundred pound.

There is another instance of the cruelty of the„l5?^'

"^ riArding t

dei^ Uiis year. One Thomas Harding of Buck- •uffsriugt.
inghamahire, an ancient man, who had abjured in
the year 1506, was now observed to go often into
woods, and was seen sometimes reading. Upon
which his house was searched, and some parcels of
the New Testament in English were found in it.
So he was carried before Longland, bishop of Lin-
coId ; who, as he was a cruel persecutor, so, being
the king's confessor, acted with the more authority.
This aged man was judged a relapse, and sent to
Chesham^ where he livedo to be burnt ; which was
executed on Corpus Christi eve. At this time there
was an indulgence of forty days pardon proclaimed
to all that carried a fagot to the burning of an here-
tic ; so dexterously did the clergy endeavour to in-
fect the laity with their own cruel spirit : and that
wrought upon this occasion a signal cfiect ; for, as
the &re was kindled, one flung a fagot at the old fux.
man's head, which dashed out his brains.

In the year 15SS, it was thought fit by some sig- i^^j.
nal evidence to convince the world, that the king
did not design to change the established religion,
though he had then proceeded far in his breach with
Rome ; and the crafty bishop of Winchester, Gardi-
ner, as he complied with the king in his second mar-
riage and separation from Rome, so, being an in-
veterate enemy to the reformation, and in his heart
addicted to the court of Rome, did by this argument
often prevail with the king to punish the heretics ;
That it would most effectually justify his other pro-
ceedings, and convince the world that he was still a

VOL. I. z

888 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK good cathdic king : which at several times drew the
''* king to what he desired. And at this time the steps

1634« fn^ iJQg hgii made in his separation from the pope^
had given such heart to the new prAchers^ that
they grew bdder and ioiore public in theur assem-
blies.
Frith*! Jdbn Frith) as he was an excellent schdar^ whidi

was so taken notice of, some years befiHre, that he
was put in the list of those whom the cardinal in^
tended to bring flrom Cambridge, and put in his col-
lege at Oxford ; so he had offended them by several
writings, and, by a discourse which he wrote against
the corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament, had
provoked the king, who continued to hb death to
Hit Mgii- believe that firmly. ** The substance cl£ his argu-
•giiMttiie '* ments was. That Christ in the sacrament gave
^^!SmSt. ^* eternal life, but the receiving the bare sacrament
*' did not give eternal life, since many took it to
" their damnation ; therefore Christ's presence there
" was only felt by faith. This he further proved by
** the fathers before Christ, who did eat the same
spiritual food, and drink of the Rock, which was
Christ, according to St. Paul. Since then, they and
we communicate in the same thing, and it was
certain that they did not eat Christ's flesh corpo-
'^ rally, but fed by faith on a Messias to come, as
** Christians do on a Messias already come ; there^
" fore we now do only communicate by faith. He
*' also insisted much on the signification of the word
" sacramentj from whence he concluded, thai the
'^ elements must be the mystical signs of Christ's
" body and bk>od ; for if they were truly the flesh
** and blood of Christ, they should not be sacra^
'* ments. He concluded, that the ends of the saora-

«

THE REFORMATION. 889

^ ment were these three; by a vvible •ction to knit book

II.

'^ the sodetjr of ChriBtians together in one bodjr, to -
be a means of conveying grace upcm our due par<- '^^^'
ticipating of them^ and to be remembrances to
^* stir up men to bless God for that unspeakaUe
'* love^ which in the death of Christ appeared to man-
^' kind. To all these ends the corporal presence of
^ Christ availed nothing, they being sufficiently ao-
** swered by a mystical presence : yet he diew no
*^ other conclusion from these premises, but that be-
^ lief of the corporal presence in the sacrament was
'^ no necessary article of our faith." This either
flowed from his not having yet arrived at a sure
persuasbn in the matter^ or that he chose in that
modest style to encounter an opinion, of which the
world was so fond, that to have opposed it in down-
right words would have given prejudices against all
that he could say.

Frith, upon a long conversation with one upon
this subject, was desired to set down the heads of it
in writing, which he did. The paper went about,
and was by a false brother conveyed to sir Thomas
More's hands, who set himself to answer it in his
ordinary style, treating Frith with great contempt,
calling him always the young man. Frith was in
prison before he saw More's book ; yet he wrote a
reply to it, which I do not find was then published ;
but a copy of it was brought afterwards to Cranmer,
who acknowledged, when he wrote his apology
against Gardiner, that he had received great light
in that matter from Frith's bode, and drew most of
his arguments out of it. It was afterwards printed
with his works, anno 1578 : and by it may appear,
how nmch truth is stronger than error : for though

z2

840 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK More wrote with as much wit and eloqiienoe itt any
man in that age did, and Frith wrote plainly, with-

1^^* oat any art; yet there is so great a difference be-
tween their books, that whoever compares thenii
will dearly perceite the one to be the ingauoua de-
-fender of an ill cause, and the other a simple as*
sertor of truth. Frith wrote with all the disadvan*
tage that was possible, being then in the gad, where
he could have no books, but some notes he wigjbA
have collected fbrmerly ; he was also . so loaded
^th irons, that he could scarce sit with any ease.
He b^;an with confirming what he had ddivered
-about the fiithers before Christ, their feeding on fasi
body in the same manner that Christians do since
his death: this he proved from scripture, and se-
'veral places of St. Austin's works ; he {Mroved also
from scripture, that, after the consecration, the de»
ments were still bread and wine, and were so called
both by our Saviour and his apostles; that our
senses show they are not changed in their natures,
and that they are still subject to corruption, which
can no way be said of the body of Christ. He
proved that the eating of Christ's flesh in the sixth
of St. John cannot be applied to the sacrament ;
since the wicked receive it, who yet do not eat the
flesh of Christ, otherwise they should have eternal
life. He ^owed also, that the sacrament coming
in the room of the Jewish paschal lamb, we must
understand Christ's words. This is my body, in the
same sense in which it was said, that the lamb was
the Ldfrets passaver. He confirmed Uiis by many
passages cited out of Tertullian, Athanasius, Chrys-
ostome, Ambrose, Jerome,^ Austin, Fulgentius, Eu-
sebius, and some later writers, as Beda, Bertram,

THR REFORlfATION. 841

and Druthmar» who did all assert, that the elements book

retained their former natures, and were only the mjs^ ^

teries, signs, and %ures of the body and blood of ^^^*
Christ. But Gelasius's words seemed so remaricaUe
that they could not but determine the controversy^
especially considering he was bishop of Rome:
he therefore^ writing against the Eutychians, who
thought the human nature of Christ was changed
into the divine, says^ l%atasthe elements qf bread
and tnnej being consecrated to be the sacraments
i^ihe body and blood qf Christy did notecase to be
bread and wine in stthstancCy but continued in their
aum proper natures ; so the human nature of Christ
continued still, though it was united to the divine
nature : this was a manifest indication of the belief
of the church in that age, and ought to weigh more
than a hundred high rhetorical expressions. He
brought likewise several testimonies out of the
&thers, to show, that they knew nothing of the con*
sequences that foUow transubstantiation ; of a body
being in more places at once, or being in a place
after the manner of a spirit ; or of the worship to
be given to the sacrament. Upon this he digresses,
and says, that the German divines believed a cor-
poral presence ; yet since that was only an opinion
that rested in their minds, and did not carry along
with it any corruption of the worship, or idolatrous
practice, it was to be borne with, and the peace of
the church was not to be broken for it : but the case
of the church of Rome was very different, which
had set up gross idolatry, building it upon this doc»
trine.

Thus I have given a short abstract of Frith's
book, which I thought fit the rather to do^ because

zS

U» THS BISTORT OF

looit it was the firit book that was written on this
^ ' . ject in Bngtand by any of the refinmien. And tram

'^'^* hence it may appear^ upon what solid «id weighty
reasons they then began to shake the*teoeived ofiin^
ion of transnbstantiation ; isind with how much leiin^
hfig this controversy was managed by Urn who fat
undertook it.

One thing was singular in Frith's opauoD, that
he thought there should be no ccmtest made aboat
the manner of Christ's presence in the sacraoMnl;
fi>r whatever opinion men held in speculatidiii if il
Went not to a practical error, (which was, the addra-
tion of it, for that was idolatry in his opinioi^) then
were no disputes to be made about it : therefbi^ he
was much against all heats between the Lutheraai
and Zuinglians; for he thought in such a matter,
that was wholly speculative, every man migfat held
his own opinion without making a breach in the
unity of the church about it.

He was apprehended in May 15SS, and kept in
prison till the twentieth of June ; and then he was
brought before the bishop of London, Gardiner, and
Stok^foi ^^Sl^nd Batting with him. They objected to him his
71. and R opinions about the sacrament and purgaUnry. He
in Ftoz. answered, that, for the first, he did not find tran-
substantiation in the scriptures, nor in any approved
authors; and therefore he would not admit any
thing as an article of faith, without clear and cer-
tain grounds : for he did not think the authority of
the churph reached so far. They argued with him
upon some passages out of St Austin and St Chrys-
ostome: to which he answered, by opposing other
places of the same fathers, and shov^ how they
were to be reconciled to themselves : when it came

^

THE REFORMATION. 84S

to a coeduflioii, these words a» set down in the re* book
gister as bis confession.

** Frith thinketh and judgeth, that the natural J^^!^:

•^ ^^ Hit opinion

*^ hod J of Christ is not in the sacrament of the altar, of the aa.
^ but in one place only at once. Item^ he saith,
^ that neither part is a necessary article of our £Eiith,
^ whether the natural body be there in the sacra-
^* inent> or not."

As for puigatory^ he said srman consisted of two
partly his body and soul; his body was purged by
sickness and other pains, and at last by death, and
waa not by their own doctrine sent to purgatory.
And for the soul, it was pui^ed through the word
of God receiTod by fidth. So his confession was
written down in these words. ** Item^ Frith think- And of pur.
^^ etb and judgeth, that there is no purgatory for
^* the soul, after that it is departed from the body ;
« and as he thinketh herein, so hath he said, writ-
** ten, and defended : howbeit he thinketh neither
^* part to be an article of faith, necessarily to be be-
<< lieved under pain of damnation.''

The bishops, with the doctors that stood about
them, took much pains to make him change ; but
he told them, that he could not be induced to be-
lieve that these were articles of faith. And when
they threatened to proceed to a fiqal sentence, he
seemed not moved with it, but said. Let judgment
h^ dime in righteousness. The bishops, though
none of them were guilty of great tenderness, yet
seemed to pity him much ; and the bishop of Lon-
don professed, he gave sentence with great grief of
heart. In the end, he was judged an obstinate here- He is
tic, and was delivered to the secular power. There is ^^ *""* *

z 4

844 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK one clause in this sentence^ which is not in manj
_!!l— others ; therefore I shall set it down.

J 634. « Most earnestly requiring, in the bowels of our
^ Lord Jesus Christ, that this execution and punish-
<< ment, worthily to be done upon thee, may be so
'* moderate, that the rigour thereof be not too ex-
** treme, nor yet the gentleness too much mitigated,
** but that it may be to the salvation of thy soul, to
*< the extirpation, terinr, and conversion of hereticfl^
** and to the unity of th6 catholic faith." This was
thought a scorning of God and men, when thbse^
who knew that he was to be burnt, and intended it
should be so, yet used such an obtestation by the
bowels of Jesus Christ, that the rigour might not be
extreme. This being certified, the writ was issued
out; and, as the register bears, he was burnt in
Smithfield the fourth of July, and one Andrew
. Hewet with him, who also denied the presence of
Christ in the sacrament of the altar. This Hewet
was an apprentice, and went to the meetings of these
preachers, and was twice betrayed by some spies,
whom the bishops' officers had among them, who
discovered many. When he was examined, he would
not acknowledge the corporal presence, biit was il-
literate, and resolved to do as Frith did ; so he was
also condemned, and burnt with him.

Hit con- When they were brought to the stake, Frith ex-

hulSfcr- pressed great joy at his approaching martyrdom;

■ns^ and, in a transport of it, hugged the fagots in his
arms, as the instruments that were to send him to
his eternal re^t. One doctor Cook, a parson of Lon-
don, called to the people, that they should not pray
for them any more than they would do for a d(^. At

THE REFORMATION. 84S

which Frith smiled, and prayed Grod to forgive him; book

so the fire was set to, and they were consumed to 1— «

ashes. ^^34.

This was the last act of the dergy^s cruelty against
men's lives, and was much condemned: it was
thou^t an unheard-of barbarity, thus to bum a
moderate and learned young man, only because he
would not acknowledge some of their doctrines to
be articles of faith ; and though his private judg-
ment was against their tenet, yet he was not positive •
in it any further, than that he could not believe the
contrary to be necessary to salvation. But the clergy
were now so bathed in blood, that they seemed to
have stript themselves of those impressions of pity
and compassion which are natural to mankind ; they
therefore held on in their severe courses, till the act
of parliament did effectually restrain them.

In the account that was given of that act, men- pi»»»'p»'»
tion was made of one Thomas Philips, who put in
his complaint to the house of commons against the
bishop of London. The proceedings against him
had been both extreme and illegal : he was first ap-
prehended, and put in the Tower upon suspicion of
heresy ; and when they searched him, a copy of
Tracy's testament was found about him, and butter
and cheese were found in his chamber, it being in
the time of Lent. There was also another letter
found about him, exhorting him to be ready to suffer
constantly for the truth. Upon these presumptions
the bishop of London proceeded against him, and
required him to abjure. But he said, he would will-
ingly swear to be obedient, as a Christian man
ought, and that he would never hold any heresy
during his life> nor favour heretics : but the bishop

S46 THE HISTOBT OT

( would not accept of thatt aiiioe then wSffbt la
. biguitiei in it : therefiNre he nqnmeA him to

the al^juration in common form;
to do, and appealed to the king m ttt
of tlio church. Yet the bidiop
tumoM, and did excommunicate
he wai released on his appeal, or noC 1 4» MiMt
yrt |)erhap8 this was the man of whon the |W|iiMi
idained to the English ambassadenw UHMIL
iierctici having appealed to the kiiig as the
head of the church, was taken bat of the
hands, and Judged and acquitted in the
It is iirobable this was the man; onlj the
Informed, that it was firom the archbiabop of
hury that he appealed, in whidi there ni|^ be s
mistake for the bishop of London. B«t whalcw
ground there may be for that coqjectuv^ WSf^
got Ills lilierty, and put in a complaint to the ham
of iHitumons. which produced the act about ho^
ti(ii.

And now that act being passed, together with the
^ DXlirimtton of the po)>e*s authority, and the power
lM*itig ImigtHi in the king to correct and reform he-
ivn\vn% idolatries, and abuses ; the standard of the ca-
tliollc faith lieing also declared to be the scriptures;
tht* in'mfcuted preachers had ease and encourage*
ment every where. They also saw that the neoes*
sity of the king^s affairs would constrain him to be
gentle to them; for the sentence which the pope
gavo against the king was committed to the emperor
to Im^ executed by him, who was then aspiring to an
universal monarchy ; and therefore, as soon as his
other wars gave him leisure to look over to England
and Ireland, he had now a good colour to justify an

THE REFORMATION. 347

ai invasion, both from the pope's sentence, and the in- book

II
terests and honour of his family, in protecting his

jimt and her daughter: therefore the king was to ^^^'^«

Ifite him work elsewhere; in order to which, his

interest obliged him to join himself to the princes

B! if Germany, who had at Smalcald entered into a

^ lei^e offensive and defensive, for the liberty of re-

B Ugion, and the rights of the empire. This was a

y thorn in the emperor's side, which the king^s interest

r would oblige him by all means to maintain. Upon

which the reformers in England concluded, that

either the king, to recommend himself to these

fNrinces, would relax the severities of the law against

them ; or otherwise, that their friends in Germany

would see to it : for in these first fervours of reforma-

timis, the princes made that always a condition in

their treaties, that those who favoured their doctrine

might be no more persecuted.

But their chief encouragement was from the The queen
queen, who reigned m the king s heart as absolutely the reform.
as he did over his subjects; and was a known fa-*"'
vourer of them. She took Shaxton and Latimer to
be her chaplains, and soon after promoted them to
the bishoprics of Salisbury and Worcester, then va-
cant by the deprivation of Campegio and Ghinuccii ;
and in all other things cherished and protected them;
and used her most effectual endeavours with the
king to promote the reformation. Next to her,
Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, was a professed cranmer
favourer of it ; who, besides the authority of his cha^ JJ^'IJ^!''*
racter and see, was well fitted for carrying it on, '^'"^•**"'
being a very learned and industrious man. He
was at great pains to collect the sense of ancient
writers upon all the heads of religion, by which he

S48 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK might be well directed it such an important nuittff.

! — I have seen two volumes in folio, written with Ui

' ^^'^' own hand, containing, upon all the heads of rd^po^i
a vast heap both of places of scripture, and quolih
tions out of ancient fathers, and later doctors and
schoolmen ; by which he governed himself in tint
work. There is also an original letter of the kri
Burghley's extant, which I have seen, in whidi W
writes, that he had six or seven volumes of his writ
ings ; all which, except two other that I have seeoi
are lost, for aught I can understand. From whidi
it will appear, in the sequel of this work, that he
neither copied from foreign writers, nor proceeded
rashly in the* reformation. He was a man of grett
temper ; and, as I have seen in some of his letttiv to
Osiander, and some of Osiander^s answers to him,
he very much disliked the violence of the German
divines. He was gentle in his whole behaviour;
and though he was a man of too great candour and
simplicity to be refined in the arts of policy, yet he
managed his affairs with great prudence : which did
so much recommend him to the king, that no ill
offices were ever able to hurt him. It is true, he
had some singular opinions about ecclesiastical func-
tions and offices, which he seemed to make wholly
dependent on the magistrate, as much as the dvil
were : but as he never studied to get his opinion in
that made a part of the doctrine of the churchy re-
serving only to himself the freedom of his own
thoughts, which I have reason to think he did after-
wards either change, or at least was content to be
overruled in it ; so it is clear, that he held not that
opinion to get the king's favour by it ; for in many
other things, as in the business of the six articles, he

f

THE REFORMATION. 849

boldlj and freelj argued, both in the convocation book
and the house of peers, against that which he knew

was the king's mind, aiid took his life in his hands, ^^^^'
which had certainly been offered at a stake, if the
king's esteem of him had not been proof against all
attempts. .

. Next him, or rather above him, was Cromwell, Mnstod by
who was made the king's vicegerent in ecclesiastical ^"''^^'^*
matters. A man of mean birth, but noble qualities ;
as appeared in two signal instances : the one being,
his pleading in parliament so zealously and success-
fully for the £Edlen and disgraced cardinal, whose se-
cretary he was when Gardiner, though more obliged
by him, had basely fcnrsaken him. This was thought
so just and generous in him, that it did not at all
hinder his preferment, but raised his credit higher :
such a demonstration of gratitude and friendship in
misfortune being so rare a thing in a court. The
other was, his remembering the merchant of Lucca,
that had pitied and relieved him when he was a
poor stranger there, and expressing most extraordi-
nary acknowledgments and gratitude, when he was
afterwards, in the top of his greatness ; and the
other did not so much as know him, much less pre-
tend to any returns for past favours, which show-
ed that he had a noble and generous temper : only
he made too much haste to be great and rich. He
joined himself in a firm friendship to Cranmer, and
did promote the reformation very vigorously.

But there was another ^arty in the court that The uuke
wrestled much against it; the head of it was theaodGa^i.
duke of Norfolk, who, though he was the queen's |;*' '^'^p'*^
uncle, yet was her mortal enemy. He was a dexter-
ous courtier, and complied with the king both in his

8S0 THE HISTORY OF

dinmvt md wepuwtkm ftoM Rmm^ jct dU
oocnioDi pemiade the kiag to
idigioii. His great fiiend, tlmt
with hini id tiioK imiHUflis wi
Winchater, wbo was a crafty and politic
midentood the kii^ wdl, and oomplied wilk lii
temper in ererj thing : he despised Onamicr, asd
hated aD lefiinnatioD. Longjland, that had
the Idng^s coofessoTy was also managed bj
and thej had a great party in tiie comrt, and
all the cfaorchmen were on their side.

That wUcfa prendled most with the king
that himself had writ a boA in defience of the&ilh;
and they said, would he now retract that, whidk si
learned men admired so much ? or woold he
rage Luther and his party, who had treated
with so little respect? If he went to dumge the
doctrines that were formeriy received, all the world
would say he did it in qnte to the pope, which
would cast a great dishonour on him, as if his pas*
sion governed his religion. Foreign princes, who in
their hearts did not much blame him for what he
had hitherto done, but rather wished for a good <^
portunity to do the like, would now condemn him if
he meddled with the religion : and his own snbjects,
who complied with that which he had done, and
were glad to be delivered from foreign jurisdiction,
and the exactions of the court of Rome, would not
bear a change of the faith, but might be th^^y
easily set on, by the emissaries of the pope or empe-
ror, to break out in rebeUion. These things bebg
managed skilfully, and agreeing with his own pri*
vate opinion, wrought much on him : and particu-
larly, what was said about- his own book, which had

1

THE REFORMATION. S51

been w much commended to him, that he was al* book
moat made believe it was written by a special in-

qnration of the H0I7 Ghost. ^ ^^'^-

But» on the other side, Cranmer represented to Heasont for
him, that since he had put down the pope's author*
itj^ it was not fit to let those doctrines be still
tauj^t, which had no other foundation but the de-
crees of popes: and he offered upon the greatest
hasard to prove, that many things, then received as
articles of fidth, were no better grounded; there-
fore he pressed the king to give order, to hear and
examine things freely, that, when the pope's power
was rejected, the people migfat not be obliged to be^
lieve doctrines, which had no better warrant. And
for political councils, he was to do Hie duty of a
good Christian prince, and leave the event to Gfod ;
and things might be carried on with that due care,
that the justice and reasonableness of the king's
proceedings should appear to all the world* And
whereas it was objected, that the doctrines of the
catholic church ought not to be examined by any
particular diurch ; it was answered, that when all
Christendom were under one emperor, it was easy
for him to call general councils, and in such circum-
stances it was fit to stay for one; and yet, even then,
paTticukur churches did in their national synods con-
demn heresies, and reform abuses. But the state of
Christendom was now altered ; it was under many
princes, who had different interests, and therefore
they thought it a vain expectation to look for any
such council. The protestants of Germany had now
for above ten years desired the emperor to procure
one, but to no effect ; for sometimes the pope would
not grsffft it, and at other times the French king

S5S THE HISTORY OF

BOOK protested against it. The former year. tiiepq».liad
sent to the king to offer a geqeral council to be tdd

jj^^* at Mantua this year ; but the king found that was
but: an illusion ; for the marquis of Mantua pratest-
ed, he would not admit such a number of. atraagen^
as a council would draw together, into his tow^:
yet the king promised to send his ambasaajott
thither, when the council met. . But now; the king
consulting his prelates whether the emperor. migU
by his authority summon a general amncil, aa tbe
A nMiii. Bonum emperors had done ; some of than gave ihe
•oMt bu fi)Ilowinff answer, copied from the original that is

trJSSj^eJ^ which ^. h..e hee-TZo -,

•|[||y*^tinie between the year 15S4, in which Tlimnas

Goodridc . was made bishop of Ely, . and the year

1540, in which John Clark, bishop of Bath and

WeUs, died : but I incline to think, from other cir»

cumstances, that it was written about the end of the

year 15S4.

Far the General Council.

Ex Mss. ** lliough that in the old time, when the empire
liogiieet.' *V of Rome had his ample dominion over the most
*^ part of the world, the first four general councib
^* (the which at all times have been of most esUma-
** tion in the church of Christ) were called. and ga-
*^ thered by the emperor^s commandment, and for a
*^ godly intent : that heresies might be exjtinct,
'V schisms put away, good order and manners in the
*V ministers of the church and the people of the same
^* established. Like as many councils more were
*\ called : till now of late, by the negligence, as w^
<'of the emperor, as other princes, the bishop of
'^ Rome hath been suffered to usurp this power ; yet
*^ now for so much that the empiro, of Rome, and

THE BEFOBMATION. SBS

tiie mmarehy of the same, hath no such general book

but many princes have absohite power

I L I 1 1 1 m , I ; 1

in thenr own realms, and a whole «nd entire mo- ^^^^*
narcfay, na one prince may by his authority call
any general council ; but if that any eae or more
<if these princes, for the establishing of the fidth,
ftr.the extirpation of schisms, &c. lovingly, cha-
ritaUf ^ with a good sincere intent, to a sure {dace,
lequfae any other prince, or the rest of the great
pcinces, to be content to agree, that for the wealth,
ipdetness, and trapquillity of all Christian people,
by his or their free consent, a general councfl
mig^t be assembled: that prince, or those princes
ao required, are bound by the order of charily, for
the good fruit that may come of it, to condescend
and agree thereunto, having no lawful impedi-
ment, nor just cause moving to the contrary. The
chief causes of the general councils are before ex-
piresseci*

^ In all the ancient coundUs of the church, in
matters of the faith and interpretation of the scrip-
ture, no man made definitive subscription, but bi-
shops and priests, for so much as the declaration
of the word of Grod pertaineth unto thenu
** T. Cantuarien.

** Cuthbertus Dunelmen.

" Jo. Bath. Wellen.

" Tho.Elien."
But, besides this resolution, I have seen a long a tpewh of

' • Cnunner'i

leech of Cranmer's, written by one of his secreta^ about a ge-
es. It was spoken soon after the parliament had cii.
issed the acts formerly mentioned, for it relates to
lem as lately done : it was delivered either in the
Mise of lords, the upper house of convocation, or at

VOL. I. A a

8M THB HI8TQBY QB

BOi[>K the council' board; bdt I nther think til wm-.lmtk^

..^ii_ bouse of lords, for it begins, J^^ TIrt <Mtlir

>5S4. ^{f ^1^^^ g^ nrach concern the bosineni^^ of -illinii'

tioo, that I know the reader will expeok X^
set down the beedi of it. It ^ypeers lir hnd
ordered to inform the house about tlieae 4biipr
The pfeamble of his speech runs upon Aim
Ex 1^ (« Th^t as rich men, flyinff firom their

€€
€€

liogflect. ** away all they can with them, and what: tlieycsi'^

niort; take away, they either hide or detHnf,3tiM

the court ot Rome had destroyed Mmaafimtiilk0

writingis, and hid the rest, having cagefuJ^ griir

^ served evary thing Uiat was of advanti^Jto^Anii^

^ that it was not easy to discover wfaait tiMfr^haAiV

*• artificially cbnceakdi- therefore^ in^the oamMi htfV

^ soqie honest truths^ were yet to be jTound^ btt sv

mislaid, that they are not placed whefe. OM

expect them ; but are to be met with <ia

other chapters, where one would least. look ftr

them. And many more things, said by the so-

** cients of the see of Rome, and against their antho^

ity, were lost, as appears by the fragments yet fe^

maining. He showed, that many of the andertf

** called every thing which they thought wdU doac^ \i

of divine institution^ by a large extent of tiie h

phrase, in which sense the passages of many fit- ri

^* thers, that magnified the see of Rome, were to be \\

** understood. f ^

** Then he shewed, for what end general cooacOs f n

** were called ; to declare the faith, and refomr «^K

*' rors : not that ever any council was truly genentf I

for even at Nice there were no bishops almost'W

out of Egypt, Asia, and Greece; but thej wetftji

** called general, because the emperor sumnMrn'ra

M
«

it

tt
€t

THE REFORMATION. S$S

' tliem^ and all ChriBtendom did agree to their de- book
« fimtiom^ which he proved bj several authorities :

* tfiereSbre, though there were many more bishops in

* the council of Arimini, than at Nice or Constanti-
' Mple, yet the one was not received as a general

* ooiincil» and the others were : so that it was not

* the number, nor authority of the bishops, but the

* matter of their decisions, which made them be re-

* oeived with so general a submission.

^' As for the head of the council : St Peter and

* BL James had the chief direction of the council of

* the apostles, but there were no contests then

* about headship. Christ named no head ; which

* ooold be no more called a defect in him, than it

* was one in God, that had named no head to govern
*' the world. Yet the church found it convenient to

* have one over them, so archbishops were set over

* provinces. And though St. Peter had been head

* of the apostles, yet as it is not certain that he was

* ever in Rome, so it does not appear, that he had

* his headship for Rome's sake, or that he left it
*' there ; but he was made head for his faith, and
« not for the dignity of any see : therefore the hi-
^ shops of Rome could pretend to nothing from him,

* but as tiiey foUowed his faith ; and Liberius, and
'* some other bishops there, had been condemned for

* heresy ; and if, according to St. James, foith be to
'^ be tried by works, the lives of the popes for seve-
'^ ral ages gave shrewd presumptions, that their

* £Edth was not good. And though it were granted
^ that such a power was given to the see of Rome,
^ yet by many instances he showed, that positive
^ precepts, in a matter of that nature, were not for
^ ever obligatory. And therefore Gerson wrote a

A a 2

1534.

8S8 I'HE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ hM\i, De AufsfihiUtate'Papa. So that if a po
- ^< with the cardinals be corrupted, they ought ta
^ tried bj a general council, and submit to it. I
** Peter gare an account of his baptizing Comdi
^ when he was questioned about it. So Damas
'< Sixtus, and Leo, purged themselves of some ta
'*dals.

*' Then he shewed how corrupt the present pc

^^ was, both in his person and govemmenty finr whi

^ he was abhorred, even by some of his cardinaby

^* himself had heard and seen at Rome. It k tr

^* there was no law to proceed against a vicii

^* pope, for it was a thing not foreseen, and thoiq

** scarcely possible ; but new diseases required n

^^ remedies : and if a pope that is an heretic may

^* judged in a council, the same reason would b

*^ against a simoniacal, covetous, and impious pa

^* who was salt that had lost its savour. And

*^ several authorities he proved, that every man w

^* lives so is thereby out of the communion of 1

" church ; and that, as the preeminence of the \

" of Rome flowed only from the laws of men,

^^ there was now good cause to repeal these, for t

pope, as was said in the council of Basil, was oi

vicar of the church, and not of Christ ; so he n

^* accountable to the church. The council of Cc

^* stance, and the divines of Paris, had, according

^^ the doctrine of the ancient church, declared t

*^ pope to be subject to a general council, which mai

^^ popes in former ages had confessed. And all tli

the pope can claim, even by the canon law,

only to call and preside in a general council ; b

not to overrule it, or have a negative vote in it

The power of councils did not extend to prina

it

I

THE REFORMATION. 357

^< dominions, or secular matters, but only to points book
•* of faithy which they were to declare; and to can^ "'

^ demn heretics: nor were their decrees laws, till i^^"^*
^ ihey were enacted by princes. Upon this he en-
larged much, to show, that though a council did
proceed against a king, (with which they then
^ threatened the king,) that their sentence was of
^ no finrce, as being without their sphere. The de-
' ^ termination of councils ought to be well considered
^ ^ and examined by the scriptures ; and in matters
^ '^ indifferent, men ought to be left to their freedom.
■ » He taxed the severity of Victor's proceedings

* ^ against the churches of the East, about the day of

* ^ Easter : and concluded, that, as a member of the
^ ** body is not cut off, except a gangrene comes in it ;
> 'c so no part of the church ought to be cut off, but

** upon a great and inevitable cause. And he very
^ lurgely showed, with what moderation and charity
** the church should proceed even against those that
^ h'dd errors. And the standard of the council's de-
'* finitions should only be taken from the scriptures,
*' aAd not from men's traditions.

^ He said, sokne general councils had been re-
^ jected by others ; and it was a tender point, how
** much ought to be deferred to a council : some de-
** crees of councils were not at all obeyed. The di-
** vines of Paris held, that a council could not make
** a new article of faith, that was not in the scrip-
^ tures. And as all God's promises to the people of
'*' Israel had this condition implied within them. If
^ they kept his commandments ; so he thought the
** promises to the Christian church had this condi-
" tion in them, J^ they kept the faith. Therefore
** he had much doubting in himself as to general

A aS

SS8 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ coundfc; and he thought that onljr tiie word cfj
"' ^ God was the rule of fiuth, which ouf^t to lakti
i<^« ^ place in all controvetides of religion. The 8cri^|
^ tures were called canonical, as hdngthe onlyrakr]
^' of the faith of Christians ; and these, bjr kpp
^* ment of the ancient council, wei^ onty t6 be f0it]
»in the churches. The fathers SS. Ambrdae, Jd^l
^ rome, and Austin, did in many thinga diffiei* ttatt
^ (Hie another; but always appealed to the weAf^
^ tures^ as the common and certain standard. And'
** he dted some remarkable passage out of 6t Awj
** tin, to show, what difference he put betwten
^ scriptures, and all the other writings even of 1M]
'* best and holiest fathers. But when all the fiitbttlj
- ^ agreed in the exposition of anj place of acriptar^
^ he acknowledged he looked on that as flowing
^^ from the Spirit of God; and it wai a moat daii&
^^ gerous thing to be wise in our own conceit : there^
^^ fore he thought councils ought to ibund their de»
*' cisions on the word of God, and those en^KMsitioDS
<* of it that had been agreed on by the doctors of the
" church. •

" Then he discoursed very largely what a person
** a judge ought to be ; he must not be partial, nor
*' a judge in his own cause^ nor so much as sit on
*^ the bench when it is tried, lest his presence should
** overawe others. Things also done upon a cooi-
^' mon error cannot bind, when the error upon which
*^ they were done comes to be discovered ; and all
'' human laws ought to be changed, when a public
" visible inconvenience follows them. Prom which
'' he concluded, that the pope, being a party, and
having already passed his sentence, in things which
ought to be examined by a general council, could

THE BEFOUiATIOX. S3S

t be a ji>4B^ ^^ A m iu Rriaoes aln» vIkil bck^il

thialiiig the pope bead

the cjuirdi, bad §mmm to bni, fiodm^ thai this '^^^
IB done iipoB a fidK gnnnid, mar poD their neck
A of bis 7ofce» as evcTf Baa Bttj make his escape
ft nf the baads of a robber. And the court of
ome was ao oomqit, thai a pope, thoogh he
emt welly as Hadrian did, jet coold nerer hrii^
lyr good deaign to an isne; the cardinals and
te rest of that comt being so a^i^ed to main-
in their carmptions.* These were the heads of
; diaoomRse^ whidi it seems he gave them in writ-
after be had ddirered it; bat he {xomised to
stain them with another discoiirse, cf the power
bishops of the Christian drardi hare in their
9 and of the power (tf a Christian prince to make
n do their duty : bat that I could never see, and
a afiraid it is lost.

H this I thought necessary to open^ to show the
e of the court, and the principles that the seve-
parties in it went upon, when the reformation
first brought under consideration io the third
od of this king^s reign ; to which I am now ad-
Ded.

THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK.

A a 4

Ill

THE

HISTORY

OF THE

REFORMATION

or ras

CHURCH OF ENGLAND

BOOK III.

BOOK
III.

Cff the other transactions about reUgion and re/brfnation^
during the rest of the reign of king Henry the Eighth.

JLHE Idngy having passed through the traverses
and tossings of his suit of divorce, and having, with
the concurrence both of his clergy and parliament, 1535.
brought about what he had projected, seemed now ^^^f
at ease in his own dominions. But thouffh matters ^^fP^ srowi

^ trouble-

were carried in public assemblies smoothly and sue- some.
cessfully, yet there were many secret discontents,
which, being fomented both by the pope and the
emperor's agents, wrought him great trouble; so
that the rest of his life was full of vexation and dis-
quiet. «

. . All that were zealously addicted to that which
they called the old religion, did conclude, that what-

802 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ever firmness the Idng expressed to it now, was
either pretended out of policy, for avoiding the in-

^^^* conveniences which the fears of a change might
produce ; or, though he really intended to perfinrm
what he professed^ yet the interests in which he
Skust embark with the princes of Germany, against
the pope and the emperor, together with the power
that the queen had over him, and the credit Cran-
mer and Cromwell had with him^ would prevail on
him to change some things in religion. And they
looked on these things as so complicated together,
that the change of any one must needs make way
* for change in more; since that struck at the au-

thority of the church, and left people at liberty
to dispute the articles of faith. This they thouj^t
was a gate opened to heresy; and therefore they
were every where meeting together, and consulting
what should be done for suppressing heresy, and
preserving the catholic faith.
BjthepiM- That zeal was much inflamed by the mcnks and
B^i^'ud friars, who clearly saw the acts of parliament were
fritrt. ^ levelled at their exemptions and immunities, that
they were now like to be at the king's mercy. They
were no more to plead their bulls, or claim any pri-
vil^^, further than it pleased the king to allow
tiiem. No new saints from Rome could draw more
riches or honour to their orders. Privileges and in-
dulgences were out of doors; so that the arts of
drawing in the people, to enrich their churches and
houses, were at an end. And they had also secret
intimations, that the king and the courtiers had an
eye on their lands; and they gave themselves tor
lost, if they could not so embroil the king's affairs,
that he should not adventure on so invidious a

THE REFORMATION. 868

thing: therefore, both in confessions and confer- boor
ences, they infused into the people a dislike of the ^"'
king^s proceedings ; which though for some time it ^^^*
did not break out into an open rebellion, yet the
humour still fermented, and people only waited for
an opportunity : so that if the emperor had not been
otherwise distracted, he might have made war upon
the king with great advantages; for many df his
discontented subjects would have joined with the
enemy. But the king did so dexterously manage
his leagues with the French king, and the princes of
the empire, that the emperor could never make any
impressions on his dominions.

But those factious spirits, seeing nothing was to wiiich pio-
be expected from any foreign power, could not con-uo^to**
tmn themselves, but broke out into open rebellion. ^|^"*^
And this ptovoked the king to great severities : his
spirit was so fretted by the tricks the court of Rome
had put on him, and by the ingratitude and sedi-
tious practices of Reginald Pool, that he thereby
lost much, of his former temper and patience ; and
was too ready, upon slight grounds, to bring his
subjects to the bar. Where though the matter was
always so ordered, that according to law they were
indicted and judged ; yet the severity of the law bor-
dering sometimes on rigour and cruelty, he came to ^
be called a cruel tyrant. Nor did his severity lie
only on one side : but, being addicted to some tenets
of the old religion, and impatient of contradiction ;
or perhaps blown up, either with the vanity of his
new title of head of the church, or with the praises
which flatterers bestowed on him; he thought all
persons were bound to regulate their belief by his
dictates, which made him prosecute protestants, as

864 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK well as proceed against papists. Yet it does not ap*
— — pear that cruelty was natural to him ; for in twen^-

1^»35. g^^ years reign, none had suffered for any cRme
against the state, but Pool earl of Suffolk, and Staf-
ford duke of Buckingham. The former he pro-
secuted in obedience to his father^s last commands
at his death. His severity to the other was im-
puted to the cardinal's malice. The proceedings
were also legal. And the duke of Buckingham had,
by the knavery of a priest, to whom he gave great
credit, been made believe he had a right to the
crown; and practices of that nature touch princes
so nearly, that no wonder the law was executed in
such a case. Thb shews that the king was not
very jealous, nor desirous of the Uood of his subjects.
But though he always proceeded upon law, yet, in
the last ten years of his life, many instances of se-
verity occurred, for which he is rather to be pitied,
than either imitated or sharply censured.

The former book was full of intrigues and foreign
transactions; the greatest part of it being an ac-
count of a tedious negotiation with the subtlest and
most refined court in Christendom, in all the arts of
human policy. But now my work is confined to
this nation ; and, except in short touches by the way,
I shall meddle no further with the mysteries of state ;
but shall give as clear an account of those things
that relate to religion and reformation, as I could
possibly recover. The suppression of monasteries,
the advance and declension of reformation, and the
proceedings against those who adhered to the interest
of the court of Rome, must be the chief subjects of
this book. The two former shall be opened in
the series of time as they were transacted : but the

THE REFORMATION. S66

last shall be left to the end of the book, that it may book
be presented in one full view.

After the parliament had ended their business, ^^*^^
the bbhops did all renew their allegiance to thes^^^^bc
king, and swore also to maintain his supremacy in premacy.
ecclesiastical matters; acknowledging that he was
the supreme head of the church of England, though
there was yet no law for the requiring of any such
oath. The first act of the king's supremacy was
his naming Cromwell vicar-general, and general-
visitor of all the monasteries, and oth^r privileged
places. This is commonly confounded with his fol-
lowing dignity of lord vicegerent in ecclesiastical
matters; but they were two different places, and
held by different commissions. By the one he had
no authority over the bishops, nor had he any prece-
dence ; but the other, as it gave him the precedence
next the royal family, so it clothed him with a com-
plete delegation of the king's whole power in eccle-
siastical affairs. For two years he was only vicar-
general : but the tenor of his commissions, and the
nature of the power devolved on him by them, can-
not be fully known : for neither the one nor the other
are in the rolls, though there can be no doubt made,
but commissions of such importance were enrolled ;
therefore the loss of them can only be charged on
that search and rasure of records made by Bonner,
upon the commission granted to him by queen Mary,
of which I have spoken in the preface of this work.
In the prerogative office there is a subaltern com-
mission granted to doctor (afterwards secretary)
Petre, on the thirteenth of January, in the twenty-
seventh year of the king's reign ; by which it ap-
pears, that Cromwell's commission was at first con-

aOt THE HfSTOBY OF

BOOK oeiTed in.Terjr general words ; fbr he is diBed^ Huf
^'' king's vicegerent in ecclesiastical causes^ liia

IJ'*** genenlfUndofficial-principaL But because he eoiM
not himself attend upon all these affairst thettfiHe
doctor Petre is deputed under him, for leeeiviiig^^ Aa
probates of wiUs : fifom thence likewise it mppam^
that aU willst where the estate was 900 Hb.ot Bbofn^
wene no more to be tried or proved in the bishops'
courts, but in the vicar-general*s court Yet, thoa^
he was called vicegerent in that commission, lie w4a
spoken of, and writ to, by the name of vic«r<f(e(M*
r«l; but after the second commissioni seen aai
m^tiotied by the lord Herbert, in July 1586^ he
was always designed lord vic^^erent.
AativiH. The next thing, that was every where labounsd
jh^^* with great industry, was, to engage all the rest ct
ml tettSb the clergy, chiefly the regulars, to own the kingi'a
iacoti. gupremacy ; to which they generally submitted I»
|^]^P-^-^- Oxford the question being put, Whether the pc^
had any other jurisdiction in England than any other
foreign bishop? it was referred to thirty doctors
and bachelors, who were empowered to set the uni-
versityrseal to their conclusion. They all agreed in
the negative ; and the whole university, being ex-
amined about it man by man, assented to their de-
termination. All the difficulty that I find made
rbe Fran- was at Richmoud, by the Franciscan friars, where
^^i^ the bishop of Coventry and Litchfield, (Rowland
Lee,) and Thomas Bedyl, tendered some conclusions
to them ; among which this was one, I%at the pope
of Borne has no greater jurisdiction in this kingdom
qf England, by the law of God, than any other^
reign bishop. This, they told them, was already sub-
scribed by the two archbishops, the bishops of London,

f

THE REEOBBfATICm. 9m

Winchester, Duresme, Bath, mA all the other nre- »ook
lates and heads of houses^ and all the fatuous derfcs

of 'the realm. And therefore they desired that the ^^^*
fiiaiB would refer the matter to the four seniors cX
the house, and acquiesce in what they should do^
But the friars said, it ccmcemed their consciences ;
and therefore they would not submit it to a small
part of their house; they added, that they had
swicnm to follow the rule of St. Francis^ and in that
they would live and die; and cited a chapter of
their rule, ^* That their order should have a cardinal
for their protector, by whose directions they mi^t
be governed in their obedience to the hoty see.^
But to this the bishop answered. That St. FratKria
lived in Italy, where the monks and other regulars,
that had exemptions, were subject to the pope, as
they were in England to the archbishop of Canter-
bury. Aqd for the chapter which they dted, it
was showed them, that it was not written by St.
Francis, but made since his time ; and though it
were truly a part of his rule, it was told them, that
no particular rule ought to be preferred to the laws
of the land, to which all subjects were bound to give
obedience, and could not be excused from it, by
any vcduntary obligation under which they brought
themselves. Yet all this could not prevail on them ;
but they said to the bishop, they had professed St.
Francis's rule, and would still continue in the ob-
servance of it.

But though I do not find such resistance made a general
elsewhere, yet it appears that some secret practices ™nK>.**"
of many of those orders against the state were dis-J^?*^"*
covered : therefore it was resolved, that some effectual

S68 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK means must be taken for lessening their credit and
authority with the people; and so a general Tisit-

^^^^JL ation of all monasteries and other religibua houies

Ong. Cott. ^^

libr. s. 4. ^as resolved on. This was chiefly advised by doc-
tor Leighton, who had been in the cardinal's service
with Cromwell, and was then taken notice of fay
him as a dexterous and diligent man ; and thereCbie
was now made use of on this occasion. He by a
letter to Cromwell advertised him, that upon a laog
conference with the dean of the arches, he finind the
dean was of opinion, that it was not fit to make any
visitation in the king's name yet for two or three
years, till his supremacy were better received ; and
that he apprehended a severe visitation so eeattf
would make the clergy more averse to the king's
power. But Leighton, on the other hand, thought
nothing would 'so much recommend the supremacy^
as to see such good effects of it, as might follow upon
a strict and exact visitation. And the abuses of re-
ligious persons were now so great and visible, even to
the laity, that the correcting and reforming these
would be a very popular thing. He writ ftirther,
that there had been no visitation in the northern
parts since the cardinal ordered it ; therefore he ad-
vised one, and desired to be employed in Yorkshire.
And by another letter, dated the fourth of June, he
wrote to Cromwell, desiring that doctor Lee and he
might be employed in visiting all the monasteries,
from the diocese of Lincoln northwards : which they
could manage better than any body else, having
great kindred, and a large acquaintance in those
parts : so that they would be able to discover all the
disorders or seditious practices in these houses. He

THE REFOBBCATION. 90d

I ' «« 'r I

that former visitatunis had been diefat book

III.
and insignificant, and pronuaed great faithfulness

and diligence both from himself and doctor Jje^. ^^^^*

The archbishop of Canterbury was nour making crmomer
his metropolitical visitation, having obtained them^p^luu
king^s license for it ; which says, that he having de- ^S,^**"
sired, that, according to the custom, and the prero*
giltive of his metropolitical see, he might make his
visitation, the king granted him license to do it,
and recpured all to assist and obey him : dated theRat.Pftt.
twenty-eighth of April. Things were not yet ripe ^' ,*
for doing great matters ; so that which he now
lo(4^ to was, to see that all should submit to the
king^s supremacy, and renounce any dependance on
the pope, whose name was to be struck out of all
the public offices of the church. This was begun in
May 15S5. Stokesley bishop of London submitted Reg»t.
not to this visitation, till he had entered three pro- foi. 44.
testations for keeping up of privileges.

In October b^an the great visitation of monaste- The kiog't
ries, which was committed to several commissioners, began. ^
Leighton, Lee, and London, were most employed.
But many others were also empowered to visit. For
I find letters from Robert SouthweU, Ellice Price,
John Ap-price, Richard SouthweU, John Gage, Rich^
ard Bellasis, Walter Hendle, and several others, to
Cromwdl, giving him an account of the progress
they made in their several provinces. Their com-
missions, if they were passed under the great seal,
and enrolled, have been taken out of the rolls ; for
there are none of them to be found there. Yet I in-
cline to think, they were not under the great seal.
For I have seen an original commission for the vi- lo mss.
sitation, that was next year, which was only under pierpoint.

VOL. I. B b

870 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the king^g hand and signet. From which H inaj far
"'* inferred; that the commissions this year were of the

1535. gmne nature: yet whether such commissions could
authorize them to grant dispensations, and disdiaige
men out of the houses they were in, I am not skiUed
enough in law to determine. And by their letters
to Cromwell I find, they did assume authori^ for
these things. So what their power was, I am not'
able to discover. But, besides their power andcom*
missions, they got instructions to direct them in
their visitations, and injunctions to be' left in
every house ; of which, though I could not recover
coH. liN". the originals, yet copies of very good authority I
have seen, which the reader will find in the Gdlec-
tion at the end of this book. The instructions con-
tain eighty-six articles. The substance of them was
to try,
lottnic- *^ Whether divine service was kept up, day and
Titttation. " i^ight, in the right hours ? And how many were
" commonly present, and who were frequently ab-
« sent ?
See Collect. " Whether the full number, according to the
Numb. I. "foundation, was in every house? Who were the
*^ founders ? What additions have been made since
^^ the foundations ? And what were their revenues ?
" Whether it was ever changed from one order to
" another ? By whom ? And for what cause ?

" What mortmains they had ? And whether their
*^ founders were sufiiciently authorized to make such
" donations ?

Upon what suggestions, and for what causes,
they were exempted from their diocesans ?
^* Their local statutes were also to be seen and
" examined.

THE REFORMATION. 871

^ The election of their head was to be inquired book
** into. The rule of every house was to be consi-

€€

44
€(
44
€i
44

€4

"dered. How many professed? And how many ^^^^^

** novices were in it ? And at what time the novices

" professed ?

Whether they knew their rule, and observed it?
Chiefly the three vows of poverty, chastity, and

** obedience ? Whether any of them kept any tfio-
ney. without the master's knowledge ? Whether

** they kept company with women, within or with-
out the monastery? Or if there were any back-
doors, by which women came within the precinct?
Whether they had any boys lying by them ?
" Whether they observed the rules of silence,
fasting, abstinence, and hair-shirts? Or by what

** warrant they were dispensed with in any of these?
" Whether they did eat, sleep, wear their habit,

^* and stay within the monastery, according to their

** rules ?

" Whether the master was too cruel, or too re-

" miss ? And whether he used the brethren without

" partiality or malice ?

" Whether any of the brethren were incorrigible?
^^ Whether the master made his accompts faith-

" fully once a year ?

" Whether all the other officers made their ac-

" compts truly ? And whether the whole revenues

** of the house were employed according to the in-

" tention of the founders ?

" Whether the fabric was kept up, and the plate

" and furniture were carefully preserved ?

** Whether the covent-seal, and the writings of

" the house, were well kept? and whether leases

" were made by the master to his kindred and

B b 2

ISS5.

$7S THE HI8T0BY OV

BOOK << fnends, to the damage of the hone? Wbeliicr
^^ hospitality was kept ? And whethert at the raeoh^
^ ing of novices, any money er ravrafd wm de»
^ manded or promised? What care was taken ts
^' instruct the novices ?

^' Whether any had entered into the houae^ in
** hope to be once the master of it?

** Whether, in giving presentations to lifmga» the
'< master had reserved a pension out of them? Or
** what sort of bargains he made concerning them?

** An account was to be taken of all the ponon^
<< ages and vicarages belonging to every houac^ and
<< how these benefices were disposed of, and haw the
« cure was served.**

All these things were to be inquired after im the
houses of monks or friars. And in the viailiMioii ef
nunneries, they were to search,

** Whether the house had a good endosiiK ; and
^^ if the doors and windows were kept shut, ao that
*' no man could enter at inconvenient hours ?

** Whether any man conversed with the aisten
^* alone, without the abbess's leave ?

^* Whether any sister was forced to professy either
^' by her kindred, or by the abbess ?

" Whether they went out of their precinct withoot
<< leave ? And whether they wore their haUt then?

'^ What emplojrment they had out of the times of
*' divine service? What familiarity they had wiA
*^ religious men ? Whether they wrote love4fitten ?
«< Or sent and received tokens or presents ?

** Whether the confessor was a disoreet and
*^ learned man, and of good reputation ? Aaid how
'^ oft a year the sisters did confess and commnrn*
" cate ?''

I

THE REFORMATION. 87S

They were also to visit all coll^ate churches, book
Ikispitab, and cathedrals; and the order of the —

knights of Jerusalem. But, if this copy be complete, ^^^'
thej were only to view their writings and papers,
to see what could be gathered out of them about
the reformation of monastical orders. And as thej
were to visit according to these instructions, so
fbey were to give some injunctions in the king^s
name.

^ That thej should endeavour, all that in them injuoctioot
^ lay, that the act of the king's succession should be i^'^igiom
« observed;" (where it is said, that they had under^'''^
iheir handa and seals cofffirmed it This shows see coiiect.
that an the religious houses of England had acknow-^*^^' '*
k^^ed it r) ^^ and they should teach the people, that
^ the king^s poWer was supreme on earth, under
^ God, and that the bishop of Rome's power was
^ usurped by craft and policy, and by his ill canons
^ and decretals, which had been long tolerated by
^ the prince, but was now justly taken away.

'' The abbot and brethren were declared to be ab-
^ solved from any oath they had sworn to the pope,
or to any foreign potentate ; and the statutes of
any order, that did Innd them to a foreign sub-
^ jection, were abrogated, and ordered to be razed
*' out of their books.

'* That no monk should go out of the precinct,

nor any woman enter within it, without leave

from the king or the visitor; and that there

should be no entry to it, but one.

^ Some rules were given about their meals ; and

^ a chapter of the Old or New Testament was or-

" dered to be read at every one. The abbot's table

^ was to be served with common meats, and not

BbS

874 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK << with delicate and strange dishes; and either M

1 — ^ or one of the seniors, were to be always theie to

1535. «« entertain strangers.

^ Somie other rules foUow about the distributiQB
^' of their altns, their accommodation in health and
^ sickness. One or two of every house was to be
'* kept at the university, that, when they were wdl
^ instructed^ they might come and teach others:
'< and everyday there was to be a lecture of divinilj
^ for a whole hour : the brethren must all be wdl
^eitaployed.

** The abbot or head was every day tx> .ezpfada
^ some part of the rule, and apply it aoponling to
'< Christ's law ; and to show them, that their cer&*
^ monies were but elements, introductory to tnie
^ Christianity; and that religion consisted not in
^ habits, or in such like rites, but in deani^ess of
'* heart, pureness of living, unfeigned fidth, bro-
*^ therly charity, and true honouring of God in spirit
^' and truth : that therefore they must not rest in
** their ceremonies, but ascend by them to true re-
'* ligion.

^' Other rules are added about the revenue^ of
'* the house, and against wastes ; and that none be
*^ entered into their house, nor admitted, under
twenty-four years of age.

Every priest in the house was to say mass daily;
** and in it to pray for the king and queen.

*^ If any break any of these injunctions, he was to
*' be denounced to the king, or his visitor«generaL
** The visitor had also authority to punish any
** whom he should find guilty of any crime, and to
** bring the visitor-general such of their books and
** writings as he thought fit."^

J

}

THE REFORMATION. 875

But, before I give an account of this visitation, I book
presume it will not be ingrateful to the reader to

offer him some short view of the rise and prc^^ress of^^j^^^
monastic orders in England, . and of the state they o^ ^^^ p^
were in at this time. What the ancient British monasticai
m^onks were, or by what rule they were governed^ Engii!^.
whether it was from the eastern churches that this
^constitution was brought into Britain, and was ei-
ther . suited to the rule of St. Anthony, St. Pa-
chom, or St. Basil; or whether they had it from
France, where, Sulpitius tells us, St. Martin set up
monasteries ; must be left to conjecture. But, from
the little that remains of them, we find they were
▼ery numerous, and were obedient to the bishop of
Caerfeon, as all the monks of the primitive times
were to their bishops, according to the canons of the
council of Chalcedon. '*

But, upon the confusions which the Gothic wars
brought into Italy, Benedict and others set up reli-
gious houses : and more artificial rules and methods
were found out for their government. Not long
after that, Austin the monk came into England ;
and having baptized Ethelbert, he persuaded him to
found a monastery at Canterbury, which the king. The ex-
by his charter, exempted from the jurisdiction of the of'Lc^"''
archbishop and his successors. This was not only ^ j^^^'
done by Austin's consent, but he, by another writ- «"*»«>»•
ing, confirms this foundation ; and exempted both
the monastery, and all the churches belonging to it,
from his or his successors' jurisdictions ; and most
earnestly conjures his successors never to give any
trouble to the monks, who were only to be subject
to their own abbot. And this was granted, that they
might have no disturbance in the .service of God.

B b 4

t^Mtlt

876 THE mSTOBY OV

BOOK (Bttt whether this, withmmy other madmA fmmfli
tioii8» were not hitter finrgeriei, which I vehcinwl^f

15S5. gygpecty I leave to critics to discnss.) The next cft*
empdon that I iSnd, was granted in the year 680, to
the abbey of Peterborough, by pope Agatho, oi
was signed by Theodore, archbishop of Canterbny^
called the pope's legate. (This I donbt was fttgei
afterwards.) In the year 785| king Ina's chatter to
the abbey of Olassenbury rekites to their ancMSt
charters, and exempts them from the laAaffs j«BS»
diction. King Offa founded and exempted the ■m»
nastery of St. Alban% in the year 798f which pops
Honorius the Third confirmed, anno 1S18. Kennlpfci
king of Merda, founded and exempted AfaingtoB, hi
the year 8B1. Knut founded and exempted 8k. BiU
mundsboiy, in the year lOSO.
MooiM- About the end of the eighth century, the Danea be»
^^^ gan to make their descents into England, «nd made
warted and evcry whcrc great depredations ; and, finding the
Antiqnit. uionks had possessed themselves of the greatest part
Brituni*. Qf tijg riches of the nation, they made theur most
fVequent inroads upon those places where they knew
the richest spoil was to be found. And they did so
waste and ruin these houses, that they were gene-
rally abandoned by the monks ; who, as they loved
' the ease and wealth they had enjoyed formerly ia
their houses, so had no mind to expose themselves to
the persecutions of those heathenish invaders. But
when they had deserted their seats, the secular deigy
came and possessed them ; so that, in king Edgar^
time, there was scarce a monk in all England. He
But an was a most dissolute and lewd prince ; but, beiag
^bj"*^ persuaded by Dunstan, and other monks, that what
^s ^' he did towards the restoring of that decayed state

THE REFORMATION. S77

would be a matter of great merits became the great booic
promoter of the monastical state in England ; for he .

converted most of the chapters into monasteries : ^^^^*
and hy his foundation of the priory of Worcester, it
appears; he had then founded no fewer than forty-
seven, which he intended to increase to fifty, the
number qf pardon. Yet in his foundations he only
exempted the monasteries from all exactions or dues
which the bishops claimed. There are exemptions
c^ several rates and sizes : some houses were only
exempted from all exactions ; others from all juris-
diction or visitations : others had only an exemption
for their precinct ; others for all the churches that
belonged to them. Edward the Confessor exempted
many of these houses which Edgar had founded, as
Ramsey, &c. He also founded and exempted Coven-
try and Westminster, and the exemption of the last
was likewise confirmed by pope Nicolas, in a bull to
king Edward. William the Conqueror founded and
exempted the abbey of Battel from all episcopal ju-
risdiction.

But after that time I do not find that our kings
exempted abbeys from any thing but episcopal ex-
actions ; for though formerly kings had made laws,
and given orders about ecclesiastical matters, yet
now the claim to an immunity from the civil juris-
diction, and also the papal authority, were grown to
that height, that princes were to meddle no more
with sacred things. And henceforth all exemptions
were granted by the popes, who claimed a juris-
diction over the whole church; and assumed that
power to themselves, with many other usurpations.

All the ancient foundations were subscribed by Arts mcd
the king, the queen, and prince, with many bishops nfonk! for

I

878 THE HISTORY OF'

BOOK and abbots, and dukes and eaSM conunitii^ Hi;
—J — abbeys, being exempted from all jurisdictiop, bo&
^j^ civil and spiritual, and from all impontioiMf, and
having generally the privil^e of sanctuary ftr aU
that fled to them, were at ease, and aoooimtafaie tp
none ; so they might do what they pleased. Th^
found also means to enrich themselves, firsts .by tix
belief of pui^tory : for they persuaded allpeopkb
Jthat the souls departed went generally thither.; fiiir
were so holy, as to go straight to heaven ; and tern
so bad, as to be cast to hell. Then people wei9
made believe, that the saying: of masses for thor
souls gave them great relief in their torments^ and
did at length deliver them out of them. This bemg
generally received, it was thought by all a piece jof
piely to their parents, and of necessary care lor
Ihemselves and their fomilies, to give some part cf
their estates towards the enriching of the«e houses^
for having a mass said every day for the souls of
their ancestors, and for their own, after their death.
And this did so spread, that if some laws had not
restrained their profuseness, the greater part of aU
the estates in England had been given to thos^
houses. But the statutes of mortmain were not
very effectual restraints ; for what king soever had
refused to grant a mortmain, was sure to have an
uneasy reign ever after.

Yet this did not satisfy the monks ; but they fe&
upon other contrivances to get the best of aU men*s
jewels, plate, and furniture. For they persuaded
them, .that the protection and intercession of saints
were of mighty use to them ; so that, whatsoever re-
spect they put on the shrines and images, but chi^y
on the relics of saints, they would find their account

i

THE REFORMATION. 879

in it, and the saints would take it kindly at their book
hands, and intercede the more earnestly for them. ™'

And people, who saw courtiers much wrought on by ^^^^•
presents, imagined the saints were of the same tem-
per ; only with this difference, that courtiers love to
have presents put in their own hands, but the saints
were satisfied if they were given to others. And as
in the courts of princes, the new favourite commonly
hfid greatest credit, so every new saint was believed
to have a greater force in liis addresses ; and there-
fore every body was to run to their shrines, and
make great presents to them. This being infused
into the credulous multitude, they brought the rich-
est things they had to the places where the bodies
or relics of those saints were laid. Some images
were also believed to have a peculiar excellency in
them ; and pilgrimages and presents to these were
much magnified. But, to quicken all this, the monks
found the means, either by dreams or visions, and
strange miraculous, stories, to feed the devotion of the
people. Relics without number were every where
discovered; and most wonderful relations of the
martyrdom, and other miracles of the saints, were
made and read in all places to the people ; and new
improvements were daily made in a trade, that,
thtough the craft of the monks, and the simplicity
of the people, brought in great advantages. And
though there was enough got to enrich them all, yet
there was strange rivalling, not only among the se-
veral orders, but the houses of the same order. The
monks, especially of Glassenbury, St. Albanls, and
St. Edmundsbury, vied one with another who could
tell the most extravagant stories for the honour of
their house, and of the relics in it.

no THE HIiTORY OF

BOOK The m<mki in these houses abouodifig itt ^usihlb
and living at ease and in idleness, did so

j^J^^ that, from the twelfth centurf downward^ tMr »
putation abated much ; and the jMrivilegei df ^^^^

;^ .1. • ► -> )

com^tad. tuaries were a general grievance, and oft edttpiakfei

of in parliament: for ihejr received all thttt fled If

them, which put a gteat stop to justice, and did mh

courage the most criminal offenders. Tbejr becikM

lewd and dissolute, and so impudent in it, tlist soMs

of their farms were let for bringing in a jeaAf iA*

hate to their lusts ; nor did they keep hoa|ihdilf^

and relieve the poor, but rather enooumged tigl^

bonds and beggars, against whom laws winner iiiid%

both in Edward the Third, king Hemrjr the SeMnfl^

and this king^s reign.

ng« ^ But, from the twelfth century, the ordera ofll^

bagging ging friars were set up; and they, by the apfltMMWi

S^ST^ of severity and mortification, gained great

•■^^ At first they would have nothing, no real

but the ground on which their house stood. But
afterwards distinctions were found for satisfy lag
their consciences in larger possessions. They wert
not so idle and lazy as the monks ; but went about
and preached, and heard confessions, and Garried
about indulgences, with many other pretty Mtd^
things, j4gnus Defs, Bosaries, and Pebbles ; wIogIi
they made the world believe had great virtne Itt
them. And they had the esteem of the peOfls
wholly engrossed to themselves. They were idM
more formidable to princes than the monks, becatt^
they were poorer, and, by consequence, more luodf
and bdd. There was also a firmer union of thsir
whole order, they having a general at Ronae, aal
being divided into many provinces, subject to Hktk

THE REFORMATION. 881

IMroTinciab. They had likewise the schooUearning book
whoUj in their haDds, and were great preachers, so « ^"'

that many things concurred to raise their esteem ^^S^-
with the people very high; yet great complaints
lay against them, for they went more abroad than
the moi{ks did, and were believed guilty of corrupt-
ing families. The scandals that went on them, upon
their relaxing the primitive strictness of their orders,
were a little rectified by somd reformations of these
orders. But that lasted not long ; for they became
liable to much censure, and many visitations had
been made, but to little purpose. This concurring
with their secret practices against the king, both in
the matter of his divorce and supremacy, made him
more willing to examine the truth of these reports ;
that, if they were found guilty of such scandals, they
might lose their credit with the people, and occa^
Ams be ministered to the king to justify the sup-
pression of them.

There were also two other motives, that inclined The kin^r*
the king to this counsel. The one was, that he ap- tivet for
prehended a war from the emperor, who was then tb^^^"^
the only prince in the world that had any consider- ****"^-
able force at sea; having both great fleets in the
Indies, and being prince of the Netherlands, where
the greatest trade of these parts was driven. There-
fore the king judged it necessary to fortify his ports;
and, seeing the great advantages of trade, which be-
gan then to rise much, was resolved to encourage it:
fi>r which end he intended to build many havens
and harbours. This was a matter of great charge ;
and, as his own revenue could not defray it, so he
had no mind to lay heavy taxes on his subjects:

dm THE HISTORY OF

BOOK therefim the suppresricm of monasteri
the easiest way of raising mooej.

1535. n^ ojg^ intended to erect many more faishopricp,
to which Cranmer advised him much ; that the rait-
ness of some dioceses being reduced to a njarrower
compass, bishops might better discharge the^ dutieib
and oversee their flocks, according to the acriptuics
and the primitive rules.
Cfioiner'a But Oanmcr did on another reason press the ia»-

iUnigl ID ,

it. pression of monasteries. He found that their firan-

dations, and whole state, was inconsistent wi£h a
fill! and true reformation. For among the things to
be reformed were these abuses, which were essential
to their constitution ; (such as, the belief of puiga-
toiy, of redeeming souls by masses, the wmibip of
saints and images, and pilgrimages, and the Ukei)
- And therefore those societies, whose intere^ it was
to oppose the reformation, were onc^ to be sup-
pressed : and then he hoped, upon new endowinents
and foundations, new houses should have been erected
at every cathedral, to be nurseries for that whole
diocese; which he thought would be more suitable
to the primitive use of monasteries, and more profit-
able to the church. This was his scheme, as will
afterwards appear ; which was in some measure ef-
fected, though not so fully as he projected, for rea-
sons to be told in their proper place.
FintmoDM. There had been a bull sent from Rome for dissdl?-
wu dis. iiig some monasteries, and erecting bishoprics out of
'^^''^' them, as was related in the former book, in the year
1532. And it seems it was upon that authority,
that, in the year 1533, the priory of Christ C!hindi,
near Algate in London, was dissolved, aiid given to

THE REFORMATION. 388

the lord chancellor, sir Thomas Audley; (not to book
make hini speak shriller for his master in the house '
of commons, as Fuller mistakes it; for he had been ^^^^-
lord chancellor a year before this was given him.)
The pope's authority not being at that time put
down, nor the king's supremacy set up, I conjecture
it was done pursuant to the bull for the dissolution
of some religious houses ; but I never saw the disso-
lution, and so can only guess on what ground it was
made. But in the parliament held the former year. Act. lo.
in which the king's grant of that house to the lord, ego. 35/
chancellor was confirmed, it is said, in the preamble,
^* that the prior and convent had rested that house
to the king the twenty-fourth of February, 23
regni, and had left their house ;" but no mention
is made upon what reason they did it.

But now I come to consider how the visitors car- The pro.
ried on their visitations. Many severe things are ^the^
said of their proceedings ; nor is it any wonder that ^**'^"'
ihen, who had traded so long in lies as the monks
had done, should load those, whom they esteemed
the instruments of their ruin, with many calumnies.
By their letters to Cromwell it appears, that in most cott. lib.
houses they found monstrous disorders. That many ^'***^' ^' ^'
fell down on their knees, and prayed they might be
discharged, since they had been forced to make vows
against their wills : with these the visitors dispensed,
and set them at liberty. They found great factions
in the houses, and barbarous cruelties exercised by
one faction against another, as either of them pre-
vailed. In many places, when they gave them the
king's injunctions, many cried out that the severity
of them was intolerable, and they desired rather to
be suppressed than so reformed. ' They were all ex-

384 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK tremely addicted to idolatrj and supentitioii. Ii

some they found the instruments, and other todi»

1535. gjj. multiplying and coining.

But for the lewdness of the confessors of nunneiia»
and the great corruption of that state, whole houei I i
being found almost all with child ; for the dissolute- 1 c
ness of abbots, and the other monks and friars, not 1 1
only with whores, but married women ; and for their
unnatural lusts, and other brutal practices ; these sie
not fit to be spoken of, much less enlai^ed on, in a
work of this nature. The full report of this vista-
cott. ub. tion is lost ; yet I have seen an extract of a part of
it, concerning one hundred and forty-four hoives,
that contains abominations in it equal to any that
were in Sodom.

One passage, that is more remarkable, I shall onlj
set down ; because upon it followed the first resigoa-
tion of any religious house, that I could ever find.
Some Doctor Lcighton beset the abbot of Langden's houses
signed up and brokc open his door of a sudden, and found his
Un^.* whore with him ; and in the abbot's coffer there wtf
an habit for her, for she went for a young brother.
Whether the shame of this discovery, or any other
consideration, prevailed with him, I know not ; but,
on the thirteenth of November, he and ten monks
signed a resignation, which hath an odd kind of pre-
coiiect. amble, to be found in the Collection. *^ It says, that
s^ i/' ^^ the revenue of the house was so much endanuiged»
and engaged in so much debt, that they, consider-
ing this, and what remedies might be found for it,
saw, that except the king, of whose foundation the
" house was, did speedily relieve them, it must be
very quickly ruined, both as to its spiritual and
temporal concerns; therefore they surrender up

THE REFORMATION. S86

•^ their house to the king.** They were of the order book
of Premonstre, and their house was dedicated to the 1—

honour of the blessed Virgin, and St, Thomas *^^'
Becket. This precedent was followed by the like The orici.
gurrender, with the same preamble, on the fifteenth mig^aatioiis
a£ November, by the prior of Folkeston, a Benedic- Jl^gi^entL
tine ; and on the sixteenth, by the prior of Dover, ^^ ■^^®***
with eiirbt monks. These were all of them in the^ued.

^^ . Rot. CImis.

county of Kent. But neither among the original part. r.
surrenders, nor in the clause-rolls, are there any "^°' *^'
other deeds in this year of our Lord. There are in-
deed, in the same year of the king, (which runs till
April 15S6,) four other surrenders, with the same
preambles : of Merton in Yorkshire, a convent of
Augustinians, signed by the prior and five monks,
the ninth of February: of Bilsingtoun in Kent,
sighed by the prior and two monks, the twenty-first
rf February ; of Tilty in Essex, a convent of Cister-
cians, signed by the prior and five monks ; and of
Hornby in Yorkshire, a convent of the Premonstre,
signed by the prior and two monks, the twenty-third
of March. These were all the surrenders that I
can discover to have been made before the act of
parliament for suppressing the lesser monasteries,
passed in the next session that was assembled in
February.

But before that the afflicted and unfortunate 1536.
queen Katharine died at Kimbolton ; she had been J|f*^jjJ^
much disquieted, because she would not lay down J^*i»»"n«-
her title as queen. Many of her servants were put
from her on that account ; but she would accept of
no service from any that did not use her as a queen,
and call her so. The king sent oft to her to per-
suade her to more compliance : but she stood her

VOL. 1. c c

386 THE HISTORY OF

ilooK ground) and said, since the pope had judged her
_1_ marriage good, she woidd lose her life before she
ori ^^* did any thing in prejudice of it. She became more
otiip.c.io. cheerful than she had wont to be; and the couotiy
people came much to her, whom she received, and
used very obligingly. The idng had a mind she
should go to Fotheringhay*castle : but when it was
proposed to her, she plainly said, she would never
go thither, unless she were carried as a priscHi^,
bound with ropes. She desired leave to come nearer
London ; but that was not granted. She had the
jointure that was assigned her as princess dowager,
and was treated with the respect due to that dig-
nity ; but all the women about her still called ber
queen. I do not find she had any thoughts of goii^
out of England ; though her life in it was but melaii-
choly. Yet her care to support her daughter's title
made her bear all the disgraces she lay under. The
officious and practising clergy, that were for the
court of Rome, looked on her as the head of thdr
party, and asserted her interest much. Yet she was
so watched, that she could not hold any great cor-
respondence with them ; though in the matter of
the Maid of Kent she had some meddling.

When she sickened, she made her will ; and ap-
pointed her body to be buried in a convent of Obser-
vant friars, (who had done and suffered most for
her,) and ordered five hundred masses to be said fisr
her soul ; and that one should go a pilgrimage to
our Lady of Walsingham, and give twenty noUes
by the way to the poor. Some other small legacies
she left to her servants. When the king heard she
was sick, he sent a kind message to her ; and the
emperor's ambassador went to see her, and to cheer |

THE REFORMATION. 887

her up; but when she found her sickness like to book

prove mortal, she made one about her write a letter L-

in her name to the king. In the title she called ^^^^'
him, ^ Her good lord^ king, and husband. She
^ advised him to look to the health of his soul. She
^' forgave him all the troubles he had cast her into,
*^ She recommended their daughter Mary to him,
** and desired he would be a loving father to her.
^^ She also desired, that he would provide matches
^ for her maids, who were but three; and that he
'* would give her servants one year's wages more
** than was due to them. And concluded lastly, /
*^ make this vow. That mine eyes desire you above
** all things.'^ By another letter, she recommended
her daughter to the emperor's care. On the eighth
of January she died, in the fiftieth year of her age,
thirty-three years after she came to England. She
was a devout and pious princess, and led a severe
and mortified life. In her greatness she wrought
much with her own hands, and kept her women
well employed about her; as appeared when the
two legates came once to speak with her. She came
out to them with a skein of silk about her neck, and
told them, she had been within at work with her
women. She was most passionately devoted to the
interests of the court of Rome, they being so inter-
woven with her own : and, in a word, she is repre-
sented as a most wonderful good woman ; only I find,
on many occasions, that the king complained much
of her uneasiness and peevishness. But whether the
fault was in her humour, or in the provocations she
met with, the reader may conjecture. The king re-
ceived the news of her death with some regret : but
he would not -give leave to bury her, as she had of-

c c 2

888 THE HISTORY OF

K dered; but made her body be laid in the abbey

church of Peterborough, which he afterwards om-

^' verted to an episcoi)al cathedral. But queen Anne
did not carry her death so decently; for she ex-
pressed too much joy at it, both in her carriage and
dress.

On the fourth of February the parliament sat,
eot. upon a prorogation of fourteen months, (for in the
record there is no mention of any intermedial proro-
gation,) where a great many laws, relating to civil
concerns, were passed. By the fift;eenth act, the
power that had been given by a former act to the
king, for naming thirty-two persons, to make a col-
lection of ecclesiastical laws, was again confirmed :
for nothing had been done upon the former act
But there was no limitation of time in this act, and
so there was nothing done in pursuance of it.
ler The great business of this session of parliament
was, the suppressing the lesser monasteries. How
this went through the two houses, we cannot know
from the Journals, for they are lost : but all the his-
torians of that time tell us, that the report which
the visitors made to the king was read in parUa-
ment; which represented the manners of these
houses so odiously, that the act was easily carried.
The preamble bears, ** That small religious houses,
" under the number of twelve persons, had been
long and notoriously guilty of vicious and abomin-
able living; and did much consume and waste
*^ their church's lands, and other things belonging to
" them ; and that for above two hundred years there
" had been many visitations for reforming these
** abuses, but with no success, their vicious living
** increasing daily : so that, except small houses were

THE REFORMATION. 889

^ dissolved, and the religious put into greater mp- book
'^ nasteries, there could no reformation be expected

i€
€€

in that matter. Whereupon the king, having re- *^^^*
^' ceived a full information of these abuses, both by
his visitors, and other, credible ways; and consi-
dering that there were divers great iponasteries in
which religion was well kept and observed, which
f* had not the full number in them that they might
^^ and ought to receive, had made a full declaration
^ of the premises in parliament. . Whereupon it was
^ enacted^ that all houses which might spend yearly
*' SOO/. or witlun it, should be suppressed, and their
^ revenues converted to better uses, and they com-
'^ pelled to reform their lives." The lord Herbert
thinks it strange that the statute in the printed book
:has no preamble, but begins bluntly. Fuller ,tells us,
that he wonders that lord did not see the record ;
and he sets down the preamble, and says. The rest
ybSow as in the printed statute^ chap. 9!7th ; by a
mistake for the 28th. This shows, that neither the
one nor the other ever looked on the record: for
there is a particular statute of dissolution, distinct
from the 28th chapter; and the preamble which
FuUer sets down belongs not to the 28th chapter,
as he says, but to the 18th chapter, which was never
printed : and the 28th relates in the preamble to
that other statute, which . had given these monas-
teries to the king.

The reasons that were pretended for dissolving Rcasow for

1 doing it,

these houses, were ; that whereas there was but a
: small number, of persons in them, they entered into

confederacies together, and their poverty set them
*on to. use many ill arts to grow rich. They were

also much abroad, and kept no manner of discipline

c c 3

990 ^HE HISTORY OF

BOOK in their houses. But those houses were genentty
'"' much richer than they seemed to be : for the afalNit8»

1536. raising great fines out of them, held the leases stiD
low ; and by that means they were not obliged to
entertain a great number in their house, and so en-
riched themselves and their brethren by the fines
that were raised : for many houses, then rated at
two hundred pounds, were worth many thousands,
as will appear to any that compares what they were
then valued at, (which is collected by Speed,) with
what their estates are truly worth. When this was
passing in parliament, Stokesley, bishop of Liondon,
said, '^ These lesser houses were, as thomsy soon
^* plucked up ; but the great abbots were like putre-
** fied old oaks : yet they must needs follow^ and so
** would others do in Christendom, before many yean
^* were passed."

By another act, all these houses, their churches,
lands, and all their goods, were given to the king,
and his heirs and successors, together with all other
houses, which within a year before the making of
the act had been dissolved or suppressed : and, for
the gathering the revenues that belonged to them, a
new court was erected, called the court of the aug-
mentations of the king's revenue ; which was to con-
sist of a chancellor, a treasurer, an attorney and so-
licitor, and ten auditors, seventeen receivers, a clerk,
an usher, and a messenger. This court was to bring
in the revenues of such houses as were now dissolved,
excepting only such as the king, by his letters-pa-
tents, continued in their former state ; appointing a
seal for the court, with full power and authority to
dispose of these lands so as might be most for the
king's service.

THE REFORMATION. flBl

Thus fell the lesser abbeys, to the number of three book

III
hundred and seventy-six ; and soon after^ this par-.

liamait) which had done the king such eminent ser- ^^^^*
▼ice^ and had now sat six years, was dissolved on
the fourteenth of April.

In the convocation, a motion was made of great The tnuit-
consequence ; that there should be a translation of the^Bibie
the Bible in English, to be set up in all the churches ^'L^^''
of England. The clergy, when they procured Tin- -
dal's translation to be condemned, ^nd suppressed it,
giBve out that they intended to make a translation
into the vul^ur tongue : yet it was afterwards, upon
a long consultation, resolved, that it was free for the
church to give the Bible in a vulgar tongue, or not,
as they pleased ; and that the king was not obliged
to it, and that at that time it was not at all ex-
pedient to do it. Upon which, those that promoted
the reformation made great complaints, and said, it
was visible the clergy knew there was an opposition
between the scriptures and their doctrine : that they
bad first condemned Wickliffe's translation, and then
Tindal's ; and though they ought to teach men the
word of God, yet they did all they could to suppress
it.

In the times of the Old Testament, the scriptures The rea.
were writ in the vulgar tongue, and all were charged
to read and remember the law. The apostles wrote
in Greek, which was then the most common lan-
guage in the world. Christ did also appeal to the
scriptures, and sent the people to them. And by
what St. Paul says of Timothy, it appears, that chil-
dren were then early trained up in that study. In
the primitive church, as nations were converted to
the faith, the Bible was translated into their tongue.

c c 4

SOS THE HISTORY OP

BOOK The Latin translation was very ancient: the Bible
'^^' was afterwards put into the Scythian, Dalinatiaii»

1536. ^qJ Gothic tongues. It continued thus for several
ages^ till the state of monkery rose ; and then, when
they engrossed the riches, and the popes assumed
the dominion, of the world, it was not consistent
with these designs, nor with the arts used to pro-
mote them, to let the scriptures be much known :
therefore legends and strange stories of visions,
with other devices, were thought more proper fiir
keeping up their credit, and carrying on their
ends.

It was now generally desired, that if there were
just exceptions against what Tindal had done^ these
might be amended in a new translation. This was
a plausible thing, and wrought much on all that
heard it ; who plainly concluded, that those who de-
nied the people the use of the scriptures in their
vulgar tongues, must needs know their own doc-
trine and practices to be inconsistent with it. Upon
these grounds Cranmer, who was projecting the
most effectual means for promoting a reforma-
tion of doctrine, moved in convocation, that they
should petition the king for leave to make a trans-
lation of the Bible. But Gardiner and all his party
oi)posed it, both in convocation, and in secret with
the king. It was said, that all the heresies and ex-
travagant opinions, which were then in Germany,
and from thence coming over to England, sprang
The oppo- from the free use of the scriptures. And whereas

»ilion made • mjr . , . tt n i

to it. m May the last year, nineteen Hollanders were ac-
cused of some heretical opinions ; " denying Christ
" to be both God and man, or that he took flesh
" and blood of the Virgin Mary, or that the sacra-

THE REFORMATION. 898

** ments had any effect on those that received them ;" book

III
in which opinions fourteen of them remained obsti- —

nate, and were burnt by pairs in several places: it ^^^^'
was complained, that all those drew their damnable
errors from the indiscreet use of the scriptures. And
to offer the Bible in the English tongue to the
whole nation, during these distractions, would prove,
as they pretended, the greatest snare that could be.
.Therefore they proposed, that there should be a
short exposition of the most useful and necessary
doctrines of the Christian faith given to the people
in the English tongue, for the instruction of the
nation, which would keep them in a certain sub-
jection to the king, and the church, in matters of
£uth.

The other party, though they liked well the pub-
lishing such a treatise in the vulgar tongue, yet by
no means thought that sufficient ; but said, the peo-
ple must be allowed to search the scripture, by
which they might be convinced that such treatises
were according to it. These arguments prevailed
with the two houses of convocation : so they peti-
tioned the king, that he would give order to some
to set about it. To this, great opposition was tnade
at court. Some, on the one hand, told the king,
that a diversity of opinions would arise out of it ;
and that he could no more govern his subjects
if he gave way to that : but, on the other hand, it
was represented, that nothing would make his su-
premacy so acceptable to the nation, and make the
pope more hateful, than to let them see, that
whereas the popes had governed them by a blind
obedience, and kept them in darkness, the king
brought them into the light, and gave them the free

894 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK use of the word of God. And nothing would moie
'^^' effectually extirpate the pope's authcnity, and dm-

] 536. ^Qver the impostures of the monks, than the BiUe
in English ; in which all people would dearij db-
cem, there was no foundation for those things.
These arguments, joined with the power that die
queen had in his affections, were so much considered
by the king, that he gave order for setting about it
immediately. To whom that work was committed,
or how they proceeded in it, I know not : tor tbe
account of these things has not been preserved nor
conveyed to us with that care that the importance
of the thing required. Yet it appears, that the
work was carried on at a good rate ; for^ three years
after this, it was printed at Paris; which shows
they made all convenient haste in a thing that re-
quired so much deliberation.
The fall Q^t this was the last public c^ood act of this un-

of queen *-'

Anne. fortunatc queen ; who, the nearer she drew to her
end, grew more full of good works. She had dis-
tributed in the last nine months of her life between
fourteen and fifteen thousand pounds to the po(V,
and was designing great and public good things.
And by all appearance, if she had lived, the money
that was raised by the suppression of religious
houses had been better employed than it was. In
January, she brought forth a dead son. This was
thought to have made ill impressions on the king;
and that, as he concluded from the death of his sons
by the former queen, that the marriage was dis-
pleasing to God ; so he might, upon this misfortune,
begin to make the like judgment of this marriage.
Sure enough the jxjpish party were earnestly set
against the queen, looking on her as a great sup-

THE REFORMATION. 9»

NTter of heresr. And at that time Fox, then bir book

III

lop of Hereford, was in Germany, at Smalcald,

eating a league with the protestant princes, who ^^^^'
OBted much, on the Ausburg CSonfession. There i^e ^boie
ere many conferences between Fox and doctor party drove

mm

ames, and some others, with the Lutheran divines, * ^°'
r accommodating the differences between them;
id the thing was in a good forwardness : all which
as imputed to the queen. Gardiner was then am-
lasador in France, and wrote earnestly to the king,
I dissuade him from entering into any religious
ague with these princes; for that would aUenate
i the world from him, and dispose his own subjects
» rebel. The king thought the German princes
id divines should have submitted all things to his
idgment; and had such an opinion of his own
aming, and was so puffed up with the flattering
raises that he daily heard, that he grew impatient
f any opposition, and thought that his dictates
lould pass for oracles. And because the Germans
ould not receive them so, his mind was alienated
wn them.

But the duke of Norfolk at court, and Gardiner
3yond sea, thought there might easily be found a
lean to accommodate the king, both with the em-
sror and the pope, if the queen were once out of
le way ; for then he might freely marry any one
hom he pleased, and that marriage, with the male
sue of it, could not be disputed : whereas, as long
I the queen lived, her marriage, as being judged
all from the beginning, could never be allowed by
le court of Rome, or any of that party. With
lese reasons of state, others of affection concur-
)d. The queen had been his wife three years : but

896 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK at this time he entertained a secret love for Jane
Seimour, who had all the charms both of beautj

*^^^- and youth in her person ; and her humour was ton-
pered between the severe gravity of- queen Katfat-
rine, and the gay pleasantness of queen Anne. The
queen, perceiving this alienation of the king^s heart,
used all possible arts to recover that affection, of
whose decay she was sadly sensible. But the w>
cess was quite contrary to what she designed: fo
the king saw her no more with those eyes, wliidi
she had formerly captivated ; but grew jealous, and
ascribed these caresses to some other criminal affec-
tions, of which he began to suspect her. This bang
one of the most memorable passages of this reign, I
was at more than ordinary pains to learn all I coaU
concerning it ; and have not only seen a great manj
letters that were writ by those that were set about
the queen, and catched every thing that fell froni
her, and sent it to court, but have also seen an ac-
count of it, which the learned Spelman, who was
a judge at that time, writ with his own hand ii
his common-place hook ; and another account of it,
writ by one Anthony Anthony, a surveyor of the
ordnance of the Tower. From all which I shall givf
a just and faithful relation of it, without concealing
the least circumstance, that may either seem favoiff-
able or unfavourable to her.
The king's She was of a very cheerful temper, which was not
ifer.**"'*^ "' always limited within the bounds of exact decencf
and discretion. She had rallied some of the king^s
servants more than became her. Her brother, tte
lord Rochford, was her friend, as well as brother;
but his spiteful wife was jealous of him : and, beiflf
a woman of no sort of virtue, (as will appear afto*

THE REFORMATION. 307

wards, hy her serving queen Katharine Howard in book
her beastly practices, for which she was attainted

and executed,) she carried many stories to the king, *^^^*
or some about him, to persuade, that there was a
fiuniliarity between the queen and her brother, be-
jrond what, so near a relation could justify. All that
Dould be said for it was only this ; that he was once
Been leaning upon her bed, which bred great sus-
picion. Henry Norris, that was groom of the stole;
Weston and Brereton, that wereW the king's privy-
dhamber ; and one Mark Smeton, a musician ; Were
all observed to have much of her favour. And their
seal in serving her was thought too warm and dili-
gent to flow from a less active principle than love.
Many circumstances were brought to the king,
arbich, working upon his aversion to the queen, to-
ipetber with his affection to mistress Seimour, made
bim conclude her guilty. Yet somewhat which him-
self observed, or fancied, at a tilting at Greenwich,
is believed to have given the crisis to her ruin. It
is said, that he spied her let her handkerchief fall to
one of her gallants to wipe his face, being hot after
i course. Whether she dropped it carelessly, or of
design ; or whether there be any truth in that story,
the letters concerning her fall making no mention
of it, I cannot deterinine; for Spelman makes no
mention of it, and gives a very different account of
the discovery in these words : As for the evidence
^this matter^ it was discovered hy the lady Wing"
Held, who had been a servant to the queen^ and, .
becoming on a sudden infirm some time before her

^kath, did swear this matter to one of her

md here unluckily the rest of the page is torn off*
By this it 9eems, there was no legal evidence against

898 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the queen, and that it was but a witness at seoosd
- hand, who deposed what they heard the lady Wing-

1536. ggjj swear. Who this person was, we know ml,
nor in what temper of mind the lady Wingfield m%hl
be, when she swore it. The safest sort of fbrgoj,
to one whose conscience can swallow it, is, to I17 1
thing on a dead person's name, where there is no
fear of discovery before the great day. And who
it was understood that the queen had lost the king^
heart, many, either out of their zeal to popeiy, cr
design to make their fortune, might be easily in-
duced to carry a story of this nature. And this, H
seems, was that which was brought to the king it
Greenwich ; who did thereupon immediately reton
to Whiteliall, it being the first of May. The queei
was immediately restrained to her chamber< the
The letters Other five wcre also seized on. But none of thett
c^t! Hb .** wo"W confess any thing but Mark Smeton, oi •
otho.c. 10. ^92y actual things so Cromwel writ. Upon thb
they were carried to the Tower. The poor quecB
was in a sad condition ; she must not only fall under
the king's displeasure, but be both defamed and (k-
stroyed at once. At first she smiled, and carried it
cheerfully ; and said, she believed the king did tl0
only to prove her. But when she saw it was in ea^
nest, she desired to have the sacrament in her closed
and expressed great devotion, and seemed to he prfr
pared for death.

The surprise and confusion she was in raised ftf
of the mother, which those about her did not seem
to understand : but three or four letters, which wert
writ by sir William Kingston to secretary Cromwdl)
concerning her, to court, say, that she was at some
times very devout, and cried much ; and of a sud-

THE REFOKMATIDN. ■?.)[)

den would hurst out in laughter : which are evident h o

signs of vapours. When she heard that those, who

were accused with her, were sent to the Tower, she '^'
then concluded herself lost ; and said, she should be
sent thither next ; and talked idly, saying, ** that if
her bishops were about the king, they would all
speak for her. She also said, that she would |je a
saint in heaven, for she had done many good
'* deeds ; and that there should be no rain, but heavy
judgments on the land, for what they were now
doing to her." Her enemies had now gone too
fjEur not to destroy her. Next day she was carried si.e a
to the Tower, and some lords, that met her on the^'^^^^.
river, declared to her what her offences were. Upon P'*"*^*
which she made deep protestations of her innocence,
and begged leave to see the king ; but that was not
to be expected. When she was carried into the
Tower, ^she fell down on her knees, and prayed
^ God to help her, as she was not guilty of the thing
** for which she was accused.'' That same day the
king wrote to* Cranmer to come to LamlK'th ; but
ordered him not to come into his presence : which
was procured by the queen's enemies, who trxik care,
that one who had such credit with the king should
not come at him till they had fully persuaded liirn
that she was guilty. Her uncle's lady, the lady H/i-
lejm, was appointed to lie in the chamlx^r with hrrr,
which she took very ill ; for, upon what nravm f
know not, she had been in very ill terms with inTs
She engaged her into much discourse, and .studii.-rl
to draw confessions from her. Whatsoever she laid
was presently sent to the court : and a wom;jii full
of vapours was like enough to tell every thing that
was true, with a great deal more ; frir [MrnuiriH in

400 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK that condition not only have no command of thein-

'. — selves, but are apt to say any thing that comes in

^^^^' their fancy.

The duke of Norfolk^ and some of the king^s
council, v(^ere with her; but could draw nothing
from her, though they made her believe, that Norris
and Mark had accused her. But when they were
gone^ she fell down on her knees and wept, and
prayed often, Jesu, have mercy an me ; and then
fell a laughing : when that fit was over, she desired
to have the sacrament still by her, that she might
cry for mercy. And she said to the lieutenant of
the Tower, she was as clear of the company of all
men, as to sin, as she was clear jQrom him ; and
that she was the king's true wedded wife. And
she cried out, ^^ O Norris, hast thou accused me ?
" Thou art in the Tower with me, arid thou and I
^^ shall die together; and Mark, so shalt thou too."
She apprehended they were to put her in a dun-
geon; and sadly bemoaned her own, and her mo-
thers misery ; and asked them, whether she must
die without justice. But they told her, the poorest
sul)jects had justice ; much more would she have it
The same letter says, that Norris had not accused
her ; and that he said to her almoner, that he could
swear for her, she icas a good woman. But she,
l>eing made believe that he had accused her, and not
being then so free in her thoughts as to consider
that ordinary artifice for drawing out confessions,
told all she knew, both of him and Mark : whidi
though it was not enough to destroy her, yet cer-
tainly wrought much on the jealous and alienated

But con*
fesseU so

words. ' " why he did not go on with his marriage? who an-

fesseu some king. She told them, " that she once asked Noriisy

indiscreet

THE REFORMATION. 401

" swered her. That he would yet tarry some time, book
'* To which she replied, You look for dead men's

^' shoes ; for if aught come to the king but good, *^^^'
l^ you would look to have me. He answered. If he
^^ had any such thought, he would his head were cut
** off. Upon which she said, She could undo him if
^^ she pleased ; and thereupon she fell out with him."
As for Mark, who was then laid in irons, she said he
was never in her chamber but when the king was
last at Winchester, and then he came in to play on
the virginals: she said, ^Hhat she never spoke to
^^ him after that, but on Saturday before May-day,
'' when she saw him standing in the window, and then
** she asked him. Why he was so sad ? he said, It
was no matter : she answered. You may not look
to have me speak to you, as if you were a noble-
man, since you are an inferior person. No, no,
^ madam, said he ; a look sufficeth me." She seem-
ed more apprehensive of Weston than of any body.
For on Whitsun-Monday last he said to her, ^^ That
•* Norris came more to her chamber upon her ac-
"** count, than for any body else that was there.
^* She had observed, that he loved a kinswoman of
'* hers, and challenged him for it, and for not loving
*• his wife. But he answered her, That there were
•* women in the house whom he loved better than
** them both : she asked. Who is that ? Yourself,
** said he ; upon which, she said, she defied him."

This misery of the queen's drew after it the com-
mon effects that follow persons under such a dis-
grace ; for now all the court was against her, and
every one was courting the rising queen. But
Cranmer had not learned these arts ; and had a bet-
ter soul in him than to be capable of such baseness
VOL. I. D d

408 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and ingratitude. He had been much obliged bj her,
and had conceived an high opinion of her, and so could

ber.
Cott. lib.

1536. QQi; easily receive ill impressions of her ; yet he kneir
the king's temper, and that a downright justifica-
tion of her would provoke him : th^efbre he wrote
the following letter on the third of May, with aD
the softness that so tender a point required; io
which he justified her as &r as was consistent witk
prudence and charity. The letter shows of what a
constitution he was that wrote it ; and oontaios so
many things that tend highly to her honour, that I
shall insert it here, as I copied it from the origniaL

cnnner't '^ PleMCth it youT most Hobk gTOce to be adveN
^'£wt ^ tisedj that at your grace's commandment, by Ifr.
** Secretary his letters, written in your grace's name^
^ I came to Lambeth yesterday, and do there le-
** main to know your grace's further pleasure. And
** forsomuch as without your grace's commandment
" I dare not, contrary to the contents of the said
<* letters, presume to come unto your grace's presence;
** nevertheless, of my most bounden duty, I can do
no less than most humbly to desire your grace, bf
your great wisdom, and by the assistance of God*8
help, somewhat to suppress the deep sorrows of
*^ your grace's heart, and to take all adversities of
God's hands both patiently and thankfully. I
cannot deny but your grace hath great causes^
many ways, of lamentable heaviness : and also,
that, in the wrongful estimation of the world, your
grace's honour of every part is so highly touched,
(whether the things that commonly be spoken of be
true, or not,) that I remember not that ever Al-
mighty God sent unto your grace any like

it

a

«

€(
it

it
it

THE REFORMATION. 403

€€
t€

€€
t$
«(
€€

" to try your grace's constancy throughout, whether book
^ your highness can be content to take of God's— — ^
" hand, as well things displeasant, as pleasant. And '^^^'
*' if he find in your most noble heart such an obe-
** dience unto his will, that your grace, without mur-
muration and overmuch heaviness, do accept all
adversities, not less thanking him than when all
things succeeded after your grace's will and plea-
sure, nor less procuring his glory and honour;
then I suppose your grace did never thing more
acceptable unto him, since your first governance
of this your realm. And moreover, your grace
shall give unto him occasion to multiply and in-
crease his graces and benefits unto your highness,
*' as be did unto his most faithful servant Job ; unto
^ whom, after his great calamities and heaviness, for
^* his obedient heart, and willing acceptation of
^ Grod's scourge and rod, addidit ei Dominus cuncta
•* dupUcia. And if it be true, that is openly re-
ported of the queen's grace, if men had a right es-
timation of things, they should not esteem any
part of your grace's honour to be touched thereby,
'* but her honour only to be clearly disparaged.
** And I am in such a perplexity, that my mind is
•* clean amazed : for I never had better opinion in
<^ woman,, than I had in her ; which maketh me to
^* think, that she should not be culpable. And
** again, I think your highness would not have gone
** so far, except she had surely been culpable. Now
^ I think that your grace best knoweth, that, next
*' unto your grace, I was most bound unto her of
" all creatures living. Wherefore I most humbly
** beseech your grace to suffer me in that, which
*^ both God's law, nature, and also her kindness

Dd2

r

404 THE HISTOIIY Of

BOOK << bindeth me unto;, that is, that I may with your
« grace's favour wish and pray for her^ that she msj

it

ii
it

€€

if

15S6. (( declare herself inculpaUe and innocent. And if
she be found culpable, considering your gnoe*s
goodness towards her^ and fix>m what conditjc
<< your grace of your only mere goodness took hA
<< and set the crown upon her head ; I repute Urn
not your grace's faithful servant and sutgect^ nor
*' true unto the realm, that would not desire the A
fence without mercy to be punished, to the ffr
ample of all other. And as I loved her nots
little, for the love which I judged her to bear bv
ff wards Ood and his gospel ; so, if she be proved cut
** pable, there is not one that loveth God and Us
** gospel that ever will favour her, but must hsti
** her above all other ; and the more they &Tour tin
^' gospel, the more they will hate her : £»> then then
** was never creature in our time that so much sbiw
dered the gospel. And God hath sent her thii
" punishment, for that she feignedly hath pro&sMd
his gospel in her mouth, and not in heart and
deed. And though she have offended so, that sba
" hath deserved never to be reconciled unto yov
*' grace's favour ; yet Almighty God hath manifeldlf
declared his goodness towards your gprace^ and
never offended you. But your grace, I am siii%
^^ knowledgeth, that you have offended him. Whe»
" fore I trust that your grace will bear no less eo*
** tire favour unto the truth of the gospel, than 70s
*^ did before: forsomuch as your grace's favour to
the gospel was not led by affection unto her^ M
by zeal unto the truth. And thus I beseech Al-
mighty God, whose gospel he hath ordained jatVi
grace to be defender of, ever to preserve joff'i

ft

THE REFORMATION. 405

'' grace from all evil, and give you at the end the book

•* promise of his gospel. From Lambeth, the third —

" day of May. ^^3^-

*• After I had written this letter unto your grace,
*• my lord chancellor, my lord of Oxford, my lord of
^ Sussex, and my lord chamberlain of your grace's
^ house, sent for me to come unto the star-chamber ;
^ md there ' declared unto me such things as your
^ grace's pleasure was they should make me privy
*' unto. For the which I am most bounden unto
^ your grace. And what communication we had
^ together, I doubt not but they will make the true
" report thereof unto your grace. I am exceedingly
*' sorry that such faults can be proved by the queen,
^ as I heard of their relation. But I am, and ever
*" shall be, your faithful subject.

*^ Your grace's most humble subject, and chaplain,

" T. Cantuariensis."

But jealousy, and the king's new affection, had
quite defaced all the remainders of esteem for his
late beloved queen. Yet the ministers continued
practising, to get further evidence for the trial;
which was not brought on till the twelfth of May ;
and then Norris, Weston, Brereton, and Smeton,
were tried by a commission of Oyer and Terminer
in Westminster-hall. They were twice indicted,
and the indictments were found by two grand juries,
in the counties of Kent and Middlesex : the crimes
with which -they were charged being said to be done
in both these counties. Mark Smeton confessed he
had known the queen carnally three times; the
other three pleaded, Not guilty : but the jury, upon
the evidence formerly mentioned, found them all

Dd3

406 THE HISTORY OF

; and judgment' was giren, that they ahouU
be drawn to the place of execution, and some of
them to be hanged, others to be beheaded, and aU
to be quartered, as guilty of high treason. On the
fifteenth of May, the queen, and her brother the kid
Rochford, (who was a peer, having been made ^
viscount when his fiEither was created eail of W3t>
shire,) were Jbrought to be tried by their peers : the
duke of Norfolk being lord high steward for that
occasion. With him sat the duke of Suffolk, the
marquis of Exeter, the earl of Arundel, and twenty-
five more peers, of whom their father, the earl of
Wiltshire, was one. Whether this unnatural 000^
pliance was imposed on him by the imperious kiii^
or officiously submitted to by himself, that he might
thereby be preserved from the ruin that fell on his
family, is not known. Here the queen of England,
by an unheard-of precedent, was brought to the bar,
and indicted of high treason. The crimes charged
on her were, That she had procured her brother,
and the other four , to lie with her^ which they had
done often; that she had said to them, that the
king never had her heart, and had said to every
one of them by themselves, that she loved them bet-
ter than any person whatsoever : which was to the
slander (jfthe issue that was begotten between the
king and her. And this was treason, according to
the statute made in the twenty-sixth year of this
reign, (so that the law that was made for her, and
the issue of her marriage, is now made use of to de-
stroy her.) It was also added in the indictment,
that she and her complices had consjnred the king's
death : but this, it seems, was only put in to swell
the charge ; for if there had been any evidence for

f

THE REFORMATION. 407

t, there was no need of stretching the other statute ; book

III.

r if they could have proved the violating of the-
iieen, the known statute of the twenty-fifth year '^^^•
f the reign of Edward the Third had been suffi-
lent. When the indictment was read, she held up
ler hand, and pleaded Not guilty ^ and so did her
irother ; and did answer the evidence was brought
gainst her discreetly. One thing is remarkable,
bat Mark S'meton, who was the only person that
onfessed any thing, was never confronted with the
ueen, nor was kept to be an evidence against her,
nr he had received his sentence three days before,
nd so could be no witness in law; but perhaps,
bough he was wrought on to confess, yet they did
ot think he had confidence enough to aver it to the
ueen's face ; therefore the evidence they brought,
s Spelman says, was the oath of a woman that was
ead : yet this, or rather the terror of offending the
ing, so wrought on the lords, that they found her
nd her brother guilty ; and judgment was ^ven,
liat she should be humt or beheaded at the king's
leasure. Upon which Spelman observes, that
rhereas burning is the death which the law ap-
oints for a woman that is attainted of treason ; yet,
ince she had been queen of England, they left it to
lie king to determine, whether she should die so in-
imous a death, or be beheaded: but the judges
omplained of this way of proceeding, and said, such
disjunctive, in a judgment of treason, had never
een seen. The lord Rochford was also condemned
) be beheaded and quartered. Yet all this did not
itisfy the enraged king ; but the marriage between
im and her must be annulled, and the issue illegiti-
lated. The king remembered an intrigue that had

D d 4

408 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK been between her and the earl of NorihiiinfaeilaDdy
_-l_ which was mentioned in the former book ; and that

^^^^* he, then lord Piercy» had said to the cardiiial, ''Tiiat
^ he had gone so fiur befinre witnesaest that it I17
^ upon his conscience, so that he could not go badc^
this, it is like, might be some promise he made ts
marry her, per verba de Jnturo^ which though it
was no precontract in itself, yet it seema the poor
queen was either so ignorant, or so ilLadviaed, as to
be persuaded afterwards it was one ; though it is
certain that nothing but a contract per verba ie
praeenH could be of any force to annul the subse-
quent marriage. The king and his councilf reflect-
ing upon what it seems the cardinal had told Ub,
resolved to try what could be made of it,and preased
the earl of Northumberland to confess a contract be-
tween him and her. But he took his oath befise
the two archbishops, that there was no contract, nor
promise of marriage, ever between them ; and re-
ceived the sacrament upon it, before the duke of
Norfolk, and others of the king's learned council in
the law spiritual, wishing it might be to his damna-
tion, if there were any such thing: (concerning
which I have seen the original declaration under his
own hand.) Nor could they draw any confession
from the queen, before the sentence : for certainly if
they could have done that, the divorce had gone be-
fore the trial ; and then she must have been tried
only as marchioness of Pembroke. But now, she
Ijring under so terrible a sentence, it is most probable
that either some hopes of life were given her, or at
least she was wrought on by the assurances of miti-
gating that cruel part of her judgment, of being
burnt, into the milder part of the sentence of having

THE REFORMATION. 4t»

r head cut aff; so that she confessed a preoon- book
ict, and on the seventeenth of May was brought

Lambeth: and in court, the afflicted archbishop '^^^*
^i)g judge, some persons of quality being present,
e confessed some just and lawful impediments ; upon an
which it was evident, that her marriage with the confession
Dg was not valid. Upon which confession, the " *'''^"**^
UTiage between the king and her was judged to
ve been null and void. The record of the sen-
Qce is burnt : * but these particulars are repeated in
e act that passed in the next parliament, touching
e succession to the crown. It seems this was se-
etly done, for Spelman writes of it thus ; It was
id, there was a divorce made between the king
id her, upon her confessing a precontract with an-
her before her marriage with the king ; so that it
IS then only talked of, but not generally known.
The two sentences that were passed upon the
leen, the one of attainder for adultery, the other of
vorce, because of a precontract, did so contradict
le another, that it was apparent one, if not both of
em, must be unjust ; for if the marriage between
e king and her was null from the banning, then,
ice she was not the king's wedded wife, there
uld be no adultery : and her marriage to the king
Eis either a true marriage, or not : if it was true,
en the annulling of it was unjust ; and if it was
> true maiiiage, then the attainder was unjust ; for
lere could be no breach of that faith which was
^ver given: so that it is plain, the king was re-
ived to be rid of her, and to illegitimate her
lughter, and in that transport of his fury did not
insider that the very method he took discovered
te injustice of his proceedings against her. Two

410 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK days after this, she was ordered to be executed xA
"'' the green on Tower-bill. How sbe reoeiTed tbese

15S^« tidings, and how stead&st sbe continued in the pro-
testations of her innocence, will best appear bjr the.
Her pff^ following circumstances. The day befinre she sof-
death. fered, upon a strict search of her past life, she called
to mind, that she bad played the step-mother too
severely to lady Mary, and had done her many in-
juries. Upon which, she made the lieutenant of the
Tower's lady sit down in the chair of state ; whidi
the other, after some ceremony, doing, she fell down
on her knees, and with many tears charged the lady,
as she would answer it to God, to go in her name»
and do, as she bad done, to the lady Mary, and ask
her forgiveness for the wrongs she had done her.
And she said, she had no quiet in her conscience till
she had done that, but th9Ught she did in this what
became a Christian. The lady Mary could not so
easily pardon these injuries ; but retained the resent-
ments of them her whole life.

This ingenuity and tenderness of conscience about
lesser matters, is a great presumption, that if she
had been guilty of more eminent faults, she had not
continued to the last denying them, and making
protestations of her innocency. For that same
night she sent her last message to the king, and ac-
knowledged herself much obliged to him, that had
continued still to advance her. She said^ he had,
from a private gentlewoman, first made her a mar-
chioness, and then a queen ; and now, since he could
raise her no higher, was sending her to be a saint in
heaven : she protested her innocence, and recom-
mended her daughter to his care. And her carriage
that day she died will appear from the following let*

THE REFORMATION. 411

ter^ writ by the lieutenant of the Tower, copied from book
the original, which I insert, because the copier em-

ployed by the lord Herbert has not writ it out faith- *^^^*
fully ; jTor I cannot think that any part of it was left
out on design.

"Sir, These should be to advertise you, I have The neu-
" received your letter, wherein you would have the Tower's
" strangers conveyed out of the Tower; and so^**^*'*
*' they be by the means of Richard Gressum and
" William Loke, and WythspoU. But the number
*' of strangers passed not thirty, and not many of
" those armed ; and the ambassador of the emperor
" had a servant there, and honestly put out. Sir, if
" we have not an hour certain, as it may be known
^ in London, I think here will be but few, and I
^* think a reasonable number were best ; for I sup-
" pose she will declare herself to be a good woman,
** for all men but for the king, at the hour of her
** death. For this morning she sent for me, that I
" might be with her at such time as she received
** the good Lord, to the intent I should hear her
" speak as touching her innocency always to be
** clear. And in the writing of this she sent for
** me, and at my coming she said : Mr. Kingston, I
" hear say I shall not die aforenoon, and I am very
" sorry therefore, for I thought to be dead by this
*^ time, and past my pain. I told her, it should be
^^ no pain, it was so sottle. And then she said, I
" heard say the executioner was very good, and I
^^ have a little neck ; and put her hands about it,
" laughing heartily. I have seen many men, and
•* also women, executed, and that they have been in
^^ great sorrow ; and to my knowledge ttiis lady has

41C THE HISTORY OP

BOOK «< much joy and pleasure in death. Sir, her altiHimr

'"' ^ is continually with her, and had been once two-

1536. €i a^ock after midnight. This is the effect aiwttf

^ thing that is here at this time, and thus five jou

•• well.

** Yours,

'' William Kingston."

tion.

Her ezecD- A Uttie before noon, being the nineteenth of May,
she was brought to the scaffold, where she mtide t
short speech to a great company that came to hA
on the last scene of this fatal tn^;edy : the ddef rf
whom were, the dukes of Suffolk and lUdimond, the
lord chancellor, and secretary Cromwell, with the
lord mayor, the sheriffs, and aldermen of Londoo.
^* She said, she was come to die, as she Was judged
^ by the law ; she would accuse none, nor aay any
thing of the ground upon which she was judged
She prayed heartily for the king, and called him a
*^ most merciful and gentle prince, and that he had
** been always to her a good, gentle, sovereign lord ;
^^ and if any would meddle with her cause, she re-
quired them to judge the best. And so she took
her leave of them, and of the world, and heartily
" desired they would pray for her." After she had
been some time in her devotions, her last words
being, To Christ I commend my soul^ her head was
cut off by the hangman of Calais, who was brought
over as more expert at beheading than any in Eng-
land : her eyes and lips were observed to move after
her head was cut off, as Spelman writes ; but her
body was thrown into a common chest of elm-tree,
that was made to put arrows in, and was buried in
the chapel within the Tower, before twelve o'clock.

€i

TH^: REFORMATION. 413

Her brother, with the other four, did also suffei* : book

none <^ them were quartered^ but they were all be^ .

headed, except SmetoD, who was hanged. It was ^^^^'
generally said, that he was corrupted into that con-
fession, and had his life promised him ; but it was
not fit to let him live to tell tales. Norris had been
much in the king's favour, and an offer was made
him of his life, if he would confess his guilt, and
accuse the queen. But he generously rejected that
unhandsome proposition, and said, ^^ That in his con*

sidence he thought her innocent of these things

laid to her charge : but whether she was or not,
** he would not accuse iier of any thing; and he
'* would die a thousand time^, rather than ruin an
^* innocent person."

These proceedings occasioned as great variety of The several
censures, as there were diversity of interests. The that were
popish party said. The justice of God was visible, *n*°h^J^
that she^ who had supplanted queen Katharine, met f^^^^*'^^^
with the like, and harder measure, by the same
means. Some took notice of her faint justifjring
herself on the scaffold, as if her conscience had then
prevailed so far, that she could no longer deny a
thing, for which she was so soon to answer at an*
other tribunaL But others thought her care of her
daughter made her speak so tenderly ; for she had
observed, that queen Katharine's obstinacy had
drawn the king's indignation on her daughter ; and
therefore, that she alone might bear her misfortunes,
and derive no share of them on her daughter, she
spake in a style that could give the king no just
offence : and as she said enough to justify herself, so
she said as much for the king's honour as could be
expected. Yet, in a letter that she wrote to the

414 THE HISTORY O^

m

booK king from the Tower, (whidi will be fiiiiBd in the
Collection,) she pleaded her innooenoe in a stniB of

^J^^* go much wit, and moving passionate eloqiieiioe^ m
Vvmh. 4. perhaps can scarce be paralleled : certainly her spt
rits were much exalted when she wrote it, ftr il
is a pitch above her ordinary style. Yet the copf I
take it from, lying among CromweU's other pqwr^
makes me believe it was truly written by her.

Her carriage seemed too free; and all peopfe
thought that some freedoms and levities in her bad
encouraged those unfortunate persons to speak rach
bold things to her, since few attempt upon the dias-
tity, or make declarations of love, to persons of so
exalted a quality, except they see some invitationsi
at least in their carriage. Others thought that t
free and jovial temper might, with great intiooenoe^
though with no discretion, -lead one to all those
things that were proved against her ; and therefore
they concluded her chaste, though indiscreet. Others
blamed the king, and taxed his cruelty in proceeding
so severely against a person whose chastity he had
reason to be assured of, since she had resisted his
addresses near five years, till he legitimated them
by marriage. But others excused him. It is cer-
tain her carriage had given just cause of some jea-
lousy, and that being the rage of a man, it was no
wonder if a king of his temper, conceiving it against
one whom he had so signally obliged, was trans-
ported into unjustifiable excesses.

Others condemned Cranmer, as a man that obse-
quiously followed all the king's appetites ; and that
he had now divorced the king a second time, which
showed that his conscience was governed by the
king's pleasure^ as his supreme law. But what he

«■»•

f

THE REFORMATION. 416

did was unavoidable. For whatever motives drew book
from her the confession of that precontract, he was _^1_
obliged to give sentence upon it ; and that which she ^^^^*
confessed being such as made her incapable to con-
tract marriage with the king, he could not decline
the giving of sentence upon so formal a confession.
Some loaded all that favoured the reformation ; and
said, it now appeared what a woman their great
patroness and supporter had been. But to those it
was answered, that her faults, if true, being secret,
could cast no reflection on those, who, beingJ^orant
of them, made use of her protection. And the
church of Rome thought not their cause suffered by
the enraged cruelty and ambition of the cursed Irene,
who had convened the second council of Niq^, and
set up the worship of images again in the ^ east;
whom the popes continued to court and magnify,
after her barbarous murder of her son, with other
acts of unsatiated spite and ambition. Therefore
they had no reason to think the worse of persons for
claiming the protection of a queen, whose faults (if
she was at all criminal) were unknown to them when
they made use of her.

Some have, since that time, concluded it a great
evidence of her guilt, that, during her daughter's
long and glorious reign, there was no full nor com-
plete vindication of her published. For the writers
of that time thought it enough to speak honourably
of her, and, in general, to call her innocent: but
none of them ever attempted a clear discussion of
the particulars laid to her charge. This had been
much to her daughter's honour ; and therefore, since
it was not done, others concluded it could not be
done, and that their knowledge of her guilt re-

416 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK Strained their pens. But others do not aft aB aHonr itf
III

that inference, and think rather^ that it was At

^^^* great wisdom of that time not to sttffer mch tUap
to be called in question, smce no wise goTamiaeni
will admit of a debate about the dearaeaa of thr
prince's title. For the very attempting to piofe iti
weakens it more than any of the proofii that un
brought can confirm it ; therefine it was priodeBtlp
done of that queen, and her great ministersy nefcf
to suffer any vindication or apdogy to be wiittask
Some indiscretions could not be denied; and these
.would all have been catched hold of» and impnwed
by the busy emissaries of Rome and Spain.

But nothing did more evidently discover tfaie ss«

cret cause of this queen's ruin, than the king^s mas^

rying Jane Seimour the day after her execntioii.

She, of all king Henry's wives, gained mort; on Ui

esteem and affectioa: but she was happy in one

thing, that she did not outlive his love ; otherwise

she might have fallen as signally as her predecessor

had done. Upon this turn of affairs a great change

of counsels followed.

The lady There was nothing now that kept the emperor

dea^an'a and the king at a distance, but the iUegitimation of

j^^^th" ^hc Iftdy Mary ; and if that matter had been adjusted,

her father. |.j^^ j^^^g ^^g jyj ^^ luorc hazard of trouble fiom

him : therefore it was proposed, that she might be
again restored to the king's favour. She found this
was the best opportunity she could ever look for,
and therefore laid hold on it, and wrote an humUe
submission to the king, and desired again to be ad-
mitted to his presence. But her submissions had
some reserves in them; therefore she was pressed
to be more express in her acknowledgments. At

J

THE HEFORMATION. 417

this ^* stuck Ixmft, and luid almost embroiled her-* book

III

self again with her fiither. She freely oflfered to

submit to the laws of the land about the succession, ^^^^*
and confessed the fault of her former obstinacy.
But the king would have her acknowledge, that his
marriage to her mother was incestuous and unlaw-
ful; and to renounce the pope's authority, and to
accept him as supreme head of the church of Eng-
land. These things were of hard digestion with
her, and she could not easily swallow them ; so she
wrote to Cromwell to befriend her at the king's
hands. Upon which many letters passed between
them. He wrote to her, that it was impossible to
recover her father's favour, without a full and clear
submission in all points. So in the end she yielded ;
and sent the following paper, all written with her
own hand, which is set down as it was copied from
the original yet extant.

** The confession of me, the lady Mary, made Her tub-
^ upon certain points and articles under-written : in d^The" o^wi
^ the which, as I do now plainly, and with all mine ^^' ,1^,.
" heart, confess and declare mine inward sentence, ^'*°' ^*

lOa

** belief, and judgment, with a due conformity of
'< obedience to the laws of the realm ; so, minding
^^ for ever to persist and continue in this determina-
tion, without change, alteration, or variance, I do
most humbly beseech the king's highness, my fa-
•* ther, whom I have obstinately and inobediently
^* offended in the denial of the same heretofore, to
** forgive mine offences therein, and to take me to
*^ his most gracious mercy.

First, I confess and knowledge the king's ma-
jesty to be my sovereign lord and king in the im-
perial crown of this realm of England ; and do

VOL. I. EC

1
I.

«a THE HISTORY OF

" submit mjself to his highness, and to all and sin-
" gular laws and statutes of this realia, w beconeth
"a true and faithful sutgect to do; whkA I duA
" also obey, keep, obserre, advancei and mamtibi.
" according to my bounden duty* with all the power*
*' force, and qualities, that God hath endued me
** with, during my life.

" Item, I do reo^nise, accept* take, »|Mite, and
'* knowledge, the king's highness to be tupreme
" head in earthy under Christ, <if the cAairal ^
" England; and do utterly refuse (he bu^K^ of
" Rome's pretended authority, power, and juriadic-:
" .tion, within this realm heretofore usurped, accords
** ing to the laws and statutes made in that bdalA
** and of all the king's true subjects humbly receiYed,
" admitted, obeyed, kept, and observed ; and alsa
*' do utterly renounce and forsake all mamm o£
" remedy, interest, and advantage which I may bj
" any means claim by the bishop of Bome's laws,
" process, jurisdiction, or sentence, at this present
" time, or in any wise hereafter, by any manner of
" title, colour, mean, or case, that is, shall, fir can
" be devised for that purpose. „ «

" Item, I do freely, frankly, and for the dischaige

" of my duty towards God, the king's highness, and

" his laws, without other respect, recognise and knov-

" ledge, that the marriage heretofore had between

" bis majesty, and my mother, the late princess

" dowager, was, by God's law, and man's law, ince»-

" tuous and unlawful. ,, ., . „

" Mary.

Upon this she was again received into favour.

THE REFORMATION. 419

One circumstance I shall add» that shows the fhi« book

III
gailty of that time. In the establishment that was i

made for her family, there was only 40/. a quarter ^^^^'

assigned for her privy-purse. I have seen a letter

of hers to Cromwell, at the Christmas-quarter, de-

airing him to let the king know, that she must be at

some extraordinary expense that season, that so he

might increase her allowance, since the 40/. would

not defray the charge of that quarter.

For the lady Elizabeth, though the king divested The udj
her of the title of princess of Wales, yet he con-weiimed
tinned still to breed her up in the court with all theunyud
care and tenderness of a father. And the new^°^"*
queen, what from the sweetness of her disposition, -
and what out of compliance with the king, who
loved her much, was as kind to her as if she had
been her mother. Of which I shall add one pretty
evidence, though the childishness of it may be
thought below the gravity of a history ; yet by it
the reader will see both the kindness that the king
^nd queen had for her, and that they allowed her to
subscribe, daughter. There are two original letters
of hers yet remaining, writ to the queen when she
was with child of king Edward ; the one in Italian,
the other in English ; both writ in a fair hand, the
same that she wrote all the rest of her life. But
the conceits in that writ in English are so pretty,
that it will not be unacceptable to the reader to see
this first blossom of so great a princess, when she
was not full four years of age, she being bom in
September 1533, and this writ in July 1537.

" Although your highness' letters be most joyful Her letter
'^ to me in absepce^ yet, considering what pain it isqaeen
" to you to writ^ your grace being so great withj^"***

jean

E e 2 "»'•«••

420 THE HISTORY OT

900K ^^chiUjlf and so sickly, yotir commeodtttkm were
III. "^ ^

/^enough in my lord's letter* I much rejoice at
1636. u y^jp health, with th« well liidng 0f tha countiy;
*^ with my humble thanks that your grace wished
*^ me with you till J were weary oi that country.
<< Your highness were like to be cumbered if I should
not depart till I were weary being with you ; alf>
though it were in the worst soil in the world, yoor
** presence wouki make it pleasant. I cannot reprove
^ my lord fbr not doing your commendatieiia in his
letter, for he did it ; and although he had not, yet
I will not complain of him, for that he shall be di-
*^ ligent to give me knowledge from time to tune^
<* how his busy child doth ; and if I were at his Inrthi
^^ no doubt I would see him beaten, for the trouble he
^' has put you to. Mr. Denny, and my lady, widi
^^ humble thanks prayeth most entirdy fair your
grace, praying the almighty Grod to send you a
most lucky deliverance. And my mistress wisheth
^^ no less, giving your highness most humble thanks
** for her commendations. Writ with very little leir
^^ sure, this last day of July.

" Your humble daughter,
*' Elizabeth.'*

A new But to proceed to more serious matters. A par-

^?^*°* liament was summoned to meet the eighth of June.
If full forty days be necessary for a summons, then
the writs must have been issued forth the day be-
fore the late queen's disgrace; so that it was de-
signed before the justs at Greenwich, and did not
flow from any thing that then appeared. When
Journal thc parliament met, the lord chancellor Audley, in
"* *"' his speech, told them, ** That when the former par-

1" '-?

THE REFORMATION. 4ei

liament was dissolved, the king had no thoughts book
of summoning a new one so soo^. But for two

^* reasons he had now called them. The one Was, *^^^*
^< that he, finding himself subject to so many infirm-
^^ ities, and considering that he was mortal, (a rare
^ thought in a prince,) he desired to settle ah ap-<
^f parent heir to the crown, in case he should die
^ without children lawfully begotten. The other was,
^* to repeal an act of the former parliament, concem-
^'* ing the succession of the crown to the issue of the
king by queen Anne Boleyn. He desired them
to reflect on the great troubles and vexation the
king was involved in by his first unlawful mar-
riage, and the dangers he was in by his second ;
which might well have frighted any body from ai
^/ third marriage. But Anne, and her conspirators,
being put to death, as they well deserved ; the
king, at the humble request of the nobility, and
not out of any carnal concupiscence, was pleas^ to
** marry again a queen, by whom there were very
^* probable hopes of his having children : therefore
^ he recommended to them, to provide ah heir to
the crown by the king's direction, who, if the
king died without children lawfully begotten,
might rule over them. He desired they would
pray God earnestly, that he would grant the king
issue of his own body ; and return thanks to al-
mighty God, that preserved such a king to them
out of so many imminent dangers, who employed
all his care and endeavours, that he might keep
his whole people in quiet, peace, and perfect cha-
rity, and leave them so to those that should suc-
*^ ceed him."

But though this whs the chief cause of cdUng the

E e 8

4€

«

it
it

it

ti
tt

it

4eat THE HISTORY OF

BOOK parliament, it seems the ministers met with great

difficulties, and therefore spent much time in pre-

•^^nt P»"*'g men's minds. For tlie bill about the succes-
»««"i»n' sion to the crown was not brought into the house of
lords before the thirtieth day of June, that the lord
chancellor offered it to the house. It went through
both houses without any opposition. It contained,
first, " A repeal of the former act of succession, and
" a confirmation of the two sentences of di%'orce;
** the issue of both the king's former marriages be-
" ing declared illegitimate, and for ever extended
" from claiming the inheritance of the crown, as
" the king's lawful heirs by lineal descent. The at-
«« tunder of queen Anne and her complices is con-
** firmed. Queen Anne is said to have been in-
" fiamed with pride and carnal desires of her body;
*' and, having confederated herself with her com-
" plices, to hare committed divers treasons, to the
" danger of the king's royal person ; (with other ag-
" gravating words ;) for which she had justly suffered
** death, and is now attainted by act of parliament
" And all things that had been said or done against
" her, or her daughter, being contrary to an act of
" parliament then in force, and pardoned ; and the in-
" heritance of the crown is established on the issue
" of queen Jane, whether male or female, or the
" king's issue by any other wife whom he mi^t
*' marry afterwards.

" But since it was not fit to declare to whom the
" succession of the crown belonged after the king's
" death, lest the person so designed might be thereby
*' enabled to raise trouble and commotions ; there-
" fore they, considering the king's wise and excel-
" lent government, and confiding in the love and af-

THE RBFORMATION. 4StS

** fection which he bore to his subjects, did give him book
^' full power to declare the succession to the crown

^* either by his letters patents under the great seal> ^^^'
^' or by his last will, ngned with his hand ; and pro-
^^ mised all faithful obedience to the persons named
^ by him. And if any^ so designed to succeed iti
^^ default of others, should endeavour to usurp upon
^^ those before them, or to exclude them, they are
<< declared traitors, and were to forfeit all the right
** they might thereafter claim to the crown. And
^ if any should maintain the lawfulness of the for-
^ mer marriages, or that the issue by them was le-
** gitimate, or refused to swear to the king's issue
** by queen Jane, they were also declared traitors.'*

By this act it may appear how absolutely this
king reigned in England. Many questioned much
the validity of it ; and (as shall afterwards appear)
the Scots said, That the succession to the crown was
not within the parliament's power to determine
dbout it, but must go by inheritance to their king,
in default of issue by this king. Yet by this the
king was enabled to settle the crown on his children,
whom he had now declared illegitimate, by which
he brought them more absolutely to depend upon
himself. He neither made them desperate, nor gave
them any further right than what they were to de-
rive purely from his own good pleasure. This did
also much pacify the emperor, since his kinswoman
was, though not restored in blood, yet put in a ca-
pacity to succeed to the crown.

At this time there came a new proposition from The pope
Rome, to try if the king would accommodate mat-^^^^^n'
ters with the pope. Pope Qement the Seventh died ^||^*;*;^"^
two years before this, in the year 1584, and cardi-i"«s;

E e 4

4M THE HISTORY OF

BOOK nal Funcse succeeded him, called pope Paul the
- Third. He had before this made one unsuccessful

1636. attempt upon, the king ; but, upon the beheading of
the hishop (and declared cardinal) of Rochester, he
had thundered a most terrible sentence of deposition
^[ainst the king, and designed to commit the exe-
cution of it to the emperor : yet now, when queen
Katharuie and queen Anne, who were the occasioos
of the rupture, were both out of the way, he
thought it was a proper conjuncture to try if a re-
conciliation could be effected. This he proposed to
nr Gregory Cnssnii, who was no more the king's
ambassador at Bome, but was still his correspondent
there. The pope desired he would move the king
in it, and let him know, that he had ever favoured
his cause in the former pope's time, and though be
was forced to give out a sentence against him, yet
he had never any intention to proceed upon it to
further extremities.
Sutionia. Qyj- ].),g j^j^g ^^as HOW SO entirely alienated firom
the court of Rome, that, to cut (^ all b<^>es of re*
conciliation, he procured two acts to be passed in
this parliament. The one was for the utter extin-
guishing the authority of the bishop of Rome. It
was brought into the house of lords on the fourth d"
July ; and was read the first time the fifth, and the
second time on. the sixth of July, and lay at the
committee till the twelfth. And on the fourteenth,
it was sent down to the commons, who, if there he
no mistake in the Journals, sent it up that same
day : they certainly made great haste, for the par-
liament was dissolved within four days.

** The preamble of this first act contains severe
" reflections on the bishop of Rome, (whom some

THE REFORMATION. 4U

** called the pope,) who had btig darkened God^ book
words that it might serve his pomp, glory, arcrice;

ambitiOD, and tyranny, both upon the soids, bodies; ^^^^
and goods of all Christians ; excluding Christ out
** of the rule of man's soul, and princes out of their
^'dominions: and had exacted in England great
'< sums, by dreams, and vanities, and other super-
^ stitious ways. Upon these reasons his usurpations
^* had been by law put down in thb nation ; yet
<< many of his emissaries were still practising up and
** down the kingdom, and persuading people to ac«
*^ knowledge his pretended authority. Therefore
every person so offending, after the last of July
next to come, was to incur the pains of a prte-'
^^ munire ; and all officers, both civil and ecdesias-*
*' tical, were commanded to make inquiry about such
^ offences, under several penalties."

On the twelfth of July a bill was brought in con-
cerning privileges obtained from the see of Rome,
and was read the first time : and on the seventeenth
it was agreed to, and sent down to the commons,
who sent it up again the next day. It bears, that
the popes had, during their usurpation, '* granted
** many, immunities to several bodies and societies
in England, which upon that grant had been how
long in use : therefore all these bulls, breves, and
^^ every thing depending on, or flowing from them,
" were declared void and of no force. Yet all mar-
riages celebrated by virtue of them, that were not
otherwise contrary to the law of Gk)d, were de-
clared good in law ; and all consecrations of bi-
shops by virtue of them were confirmed. And for
^^ the future, all who enjoyed any privil^es by bulls,
« were to brii^ them into the chancery, or to snch

it
U
tt

«6 THE HISTORY OP

** persons as ttie king should appoint for that end.
_**And the archbishop of Canterbury was lawfully
f* to grant anew the effects contained in them, which
** grant was to pass under the great seal, and to be
" of full force in law."

This struck at the abbots' rights : but they were
^lad to bear a diminution of their greatness, so tbt^
might save the whole, which now lay at stake* Bf
the thirteenth act, they corrected an abuse wbaA
had come in, to evade the force o£a staiate made ill
the twenty-first year of this king, about the resi-
dence of all ecclesiastical persons in their Urti^
One qualification, that did excuse from Teatdeno^
was the staying at the unirersity for t^e competing
of their studies. Now it was fbund, that 'many dis-
solute cletgymen went and lived at the
not for their studies, but to be excused from
their cures. So it was enacted, that none above the
age of forty, that were not either heads of houses,
or public readers, should have any exemption from
their residence, by virtue of that clause in the for-
mer act. And those under that age should not hare
the benefit of it, except they were present at the lec-
tures, and performed their exercises in the schools.

By another act, there was provision made against
the prejudice the king's heirs might receive, before
they, were of age, by parliaments held in the non-
age: that whatsoever acts were made before they
were twenty-four years of age, they might, at any
time of their lives after that, repeal and annul by
their letters patents, which should have equal force
with a repeal by act of parliament. From these acts
it appears, that the king was absolute master both
of the affections and fears of his subjects, when, in &

THE REFORMATION. 4set

new parliament called on a sudden, and in a ses-^ book
sion of six weeks, from the eighth of June to the

eighteenth of July, acts of this importance were . ^*3^»
passed without any protest or public opposition.

But, having now opened the business of the par- The pro-
liament, as it relates to the state, I must next give the mq^ ^
an account of the convocation, which sat at this^^^^^'^°'
time, and was very busy, as appears by the Journals
of the house of lords ; in which this is given for a
reason of many adjournments, because the spiritual
lords were busy in the convocation. It sat down
on the ninth of June, according to FuUer's extract ;
it being the custom of all this reign for that court
to meet two or three days after the parliament. Hi*
ther Cromwell came as the king's vicar-general :
but he was not yet vicegerent. For he sat next the
archbishop ; but when he had that dignity, he sat
above him. Nor do I find him styled in any writ-
ing vicegerent for some time after this ; though the
lord Herbert says, he was made vicegerent the
eighteenth of July this year, the same day in which
the parliament was dissolved.

Latimer, bishop of Worcester, preached the Latin
sermon on these words : TTie children of this world
are wiser in their generation than the children of
light. He was the most celebrated preacher of that
time: the simpUcity and plainness of his matter,
with a serious and fervent action that accompanied
it, being preferred to more learned and elaborate
composures. On the twenty-first of June, Cromwell
moved, that they would confirm the sentence of the
invalidity of the king's marriage with queen Anne^
which was accordingly done by both houses of con-
vocation* But certainly Fuller was asleep when he

488 THE HISTORY OP

JOK. wrote, 7%aA te» days he/are tkat, the archbisk&p
— — had pasted the sentence of divorce, on the day he-
^** ,fi>re the queen was beheaded. Whereas, if he had
considered this more fully, he must have seen that
the queen was put to death a month before this, and
waa divorced two days before she died. Yet, with
this animadversion, I must give him my thanks fur
his pains in copying out of the Journals of convo-
cation many remarkable things, which had been
otherwise irrecoverably lost. - .

On the twenty-third of June the lower honae U
convocation sent to the upper honae ■ adlectka ot
many opinions, that were then in the realm ; wIih^
as they thought, were abuses and errors wovtiiy of
special rdbrmation. But they b^an this reprtaea-
tt. iation with a protestation, " That they intended not
" to do or speak any thing which mif^t be unide»-
" sant to the king ; whom they acknowledged their
" supreme head, and were resolved to obey his com-
" mands, renouncing the pope's usurped authority,
" with all his laws and inventions, now extinguished
" and abolished ; and did addict themselves to al'
" mighty God and his laws, and unto the king and
" the laws made within this kingdom."

There are sixty-seven opinions set down, and are
either the tenets of the old Lollards, or the new re-
formers, together with the anabaptists' opinions.
Besides all which, they complained of many unsa-
voury and indiscreet expressions, which were either
feigned on design to disgrace the new preachers, or
were perhaps the extravagant reflections of some il-
literate and injudicious persons ; who are apt upon
all occasions, by their heat and folly, rather to pre-
judice than advance their party ; and afiect some

THE REFORMATION. M0

nt jeers, which they think witty, and aire per* book

irell entertained by some others, who, though 1—

ure more judicious themselves, yet, imagining '^^^'
uch jests on the contrary opinions will take
he people, do give them too much encourage^
Many of these jests about confession, pray-
* saints, holy-water, and the other ceremonies
I church, were complained of* And the last
s contained sharp reflections on some of the
«, as if they had been wanting in their duty
^press such things. This was clearly levelled
tnmer, Latimer, and Shaxton, who were noted
great promoters of these opinions. The first
prudently and solidly: the second zealously
imply: and the third with much indiscreet
and vanity. But now that the queen was
who had either raised or supported them,
enemies hoped to have advantages against
and to lay the growth of these opinions to
charge. But this whole project failed, and
tier had as much of the king's favour as ever ;
istead of that which they had projected, Crom*
by the king's order, coming to the convocation,
ed to them, that it was the king's pleasure
he rites and ceremonies of the church should
formed by the rules of scripture, and that no-
was to be maintained which did not rest on
tuthority ; for it was absurd, since that was ac-
ledged to contain the laws of religion, that re-
3 should rather be had to glosses, or the de-
of popes, than to these. There was at that
one Alexander Alesse, a Scotchman, much es-
d for his learning and piety, whom Cranmer
rained at Lambeth. Him Cromwell brought

4S0 THE HISTORY OF ^^^

9K mth him to the convocation, and desired him to 6t-

1 liver his opinion about the sacratnents. He en-

'^^ laired himself much to convince them, that onlj
1 haptiflD and the Lord's supper were instituted hj
Christ.

Stokesl^f bisliop of London, answered him m a
long discourse, in which he showed he was hetur
acquainted with the learning of the schools, aD<!
the canon law, than with the gospel : he was se-
conded by the archbishop of York, and others of that
party.

But Cranmer, in a long and learned speech,
showed how useless these niceties of the schoob
were, and of how little authority they ought to be;
and discoursed largely of the authority of the scrip-
tures, of the use of the sacraments, of the uncer-
tainty of tradition, and of the corruption which the
monks and friars had t>rought into the Christian
doctrine. He was vigorously seconded by the bi-
shop of Hereford, who told them, the .worid would
be no longer deceived with such sophisticated stuff as
the clei^ had formerly vented : the laity were now
in all nations studying tiie scriptures, and that not
only in the vulgar translations, hut in the original
tongues ; and therefore it was a vain imagination to
think they would he any longer governed by those
arts, which in the former ages of ignorance had been
BO effectual. Not many days atler this, there were
several articles brought into the upper house of con-
vocation, devised by the king himself, about which
there were great debates among them ; the two arch-
bishops heading two parties : Cranmer was for a re-
formation, and with him joined Thomas Goodrich, bi-
shop of Ely, Shaxton of Sarum, Latimer of Worces-

THE REFORMATION. «S1

ter> Fox of Hereford, Hilsey c^Rochester^ and Bar^ BOOic
low of St. David's. .

But Lee, ^chbishop of York, was a known ia- * *
Tourer of the pope's interests : which as it first ap^
peared in his scrupling so much, with the whole con-.
Tocation of York, the acknowledging the king to be
supreme head of the church of England ; so he had
since discovered it on all occasions, in which he
durst do it without the fear of losing the king's fa-«
your : so he, and Stokesley, bishop of London, Ton-
stall of Duresm, Grardiner of Winchester, Longland
of Lincoln, Sherburh of Chichester, Nix of Norwich,
and Kite of Carlisle, had been still against all
chimges. But the king discovered, that those did
in their hearts love the papal authority, though Gar-
diner dissemUed it most artificially. Sherbum, bi-
shop of Chichester, upon what inducement I cannot
understand, resigned his bishopric, which was given
to Richard Sampson^ dean of the chapel ; a pension
of 400/. being reserved to Sherbum for his life,
which was confirmed by an act of this parliament.
Nix of Norwich had also ofiended the king signally,
by some correspondence with Rome, and was kept
long in the Marshalsea, and was convicted and found
in a praemunire: the king, considering his great
age, .had upon his humble submission dischai^ed
him out of prison, and pardoned him. But he died
the former year, though Fuller, in his slight way, ,
makes him sit in this convocation ; for by the seven-
teenth act of the last parliament, it appears that the Act 17.
bishopric of Norwich being vacant, the king had re-* ^^'
commended William Abbot of St. Bennet's to it ;
but took into his own hands all the lands and ma-
pors of the bishopric, and gave the bishop several

4S2 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK of the priories in Norfolk in exdiange, which «'35

. '. — confirmed in parliament.

153C. I gjigii ngjjj gj^.g g short abstract of the articles

about religion, which were, after much consultation

and long debating, agreed to.

«iciM " Fii-st, All bishops and preachers must instruct

ontreii- " the tJCoplc to believe the whole Bible and the

"5 Fni'" " t'lree Creeds ; that made hy the Apostles, the Ni-

'■ " cene, and the Athanasian ; and interpret all things

" according to them, and in the very same words,

*" and condemn all heresies contrary to them, parti-

" cularly those condemned by the first four general

" councils.

" Secondly, of baptism. The people must be in-
" structed, that it is a sacrament instituted by Christ
" for the remission of sins, without which none coiild
" attain everlasting life : and that, not only those of
" full age, but infants, may and must be baptized
" for the pardon of original sin, and obtaining the
" gift of the Holy Ghost, byi which they became tlie
" sons of Grod. That none baptized ought to be
** baptized again. That the opinions of the Ana-
" liaptists and Pelagians were detestable heresin
*' and that those of ripe age, who desired baptisin,
'* must with it join repentance and contritioD 'fiir
" their sins, with a firm belief of the articles trf the
" faith.

" Thirdly, concerning penance. They were to
" instruct the people, that it was instituted by Christ,
" and was absolutely necessary to salvation. That
" it consisted of contrition, confession, end amend*
" ment of life ; with exterior works of charity, whkb
*' were the worthy fruits of penance. For contri*
" tion, it was an inward shame and sorrow fi»- sin,

I

I

THE BEFOBMATION. 488

^ became it is an cfience to Ood, which prorokes book
** his displeasure. To this must be Joined a faith of ^^

€€
€€

the mercj and goodness of God, Whereby the pe- ^^^*
nitent must hope, that God will forgive him, and
repute him justified, and of the number of his elect
^ children, not for the worthiness of any merit or
^ work done by him, but for the only merits of
^ the blood and passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
^ That this faith is got and confirmed by the appli<-
I f' cation of the promises of the gospel, and the use
I '^ of the sacraments : and for that end, confesaion to »
^^ a priest is necessary, if it may be had, whose ab-
** solution was instituted by Christ, to apply the
^ promises of Gh>d's grace to the penitent ; therdEbre
^ the people were to be taught, that the absolution
^' is spdLen by an authority given by Christ in the
^ gospel to the priest, and must be believed, as if it
^ were spoken by God himself, acccmling- to our Sa-
*^ viour's words ; and therefore none were to con«
'< demn auricular confession, but use it for the com*
** fort of their consciences. The peo^de were also to
be instructed, that though God pardoned sin only
for the satisfiEtction of Christ ; yet they must bring
^ forth the iruits of penance, prayer, fasting, alms^
^ deeds, with restitotion and satis&ction for wrongs
^ done to others, with other wcnrks of mercy and
charity, and obedience to God's commandments,
else they could not be saved ; and that, by doing
** these, they should both obtain everlasting life, and
mitigation of their aflOictions in this present life,
according to the scriptures.
*< Fourthly, as touching the sactament of the altar,
<< people were to be instructed, that under the forms
<« of bread and wine, there was truly and substan-
VOL. I. F f

4M . THE HISTORY OF^

HOOK « tiaUy gi^en the very same body of Clnrfat thtt was

! — ^ bom of the Virgin Mary ; and therefiire it wat to

1536. u (^ received with aU reverence, every one dnly ex-
^ amining himself, according to the words of St
« Paul.

** Fifthly, the people were to be inatmcted, tint
<' justification signifieth the remission of ains^ and
^* acceptation into the favour of Ood; that is to 817,
'* a perfect renovation in Christ. To the attainiif
^ which, they were to have contritioo^ fiuih» cfavitf,
^ which were both to concur in it, and fiiOow it;
^ and that the good works necessary to salvation
^ were not only outward dvil works, but the inward
^ motions and graces of God's holy l^pirit» to dread,
*^ fear, and love him, to have firm confidence in God^
^^ to call upon him, and to have patience in aU ad-
^ versities, to hate sin, and have purposes and wiDs
** not to sin again ; with such other motions and
** virtues, consenting and agreeable to the law of
^•God.

" The other articles were about the ceremonies of
^ the church. First, of images. The people were
to be instructed, that the use of them was war-
ranted by the scriptures, and that they served to
represent to them good examples, and to stir up
•• devotion ; and therefore it was meet that they
" should stand in the churches. But, that the people
might not fall into such superstition as it was
thought they had done in time past, they were to
be taught to reform such abuses, lest iddatrj
might ensue ; and that in censing, kneeling, oflfer-
ing, or worshipping them, the people were to be
^ instructed not to do it to the image, but to God
*^ and his honour.

4€
it

4€

THE REFORMATION. . 4S5

' ^ Secondly, for the honouring of saints. They book
^ were not to think to attain these things at their '"'

^ hands, which were only obtained of God ; but '^^^*
that they were to honour them as persons now in
glory, to praise God for them, and imitate their
.^ Tirtues, and not fear to die for the truth, as many
f* of them had done.

. " Thirdly, for prajing to saints. The people
^ were to be tau^t, that it was good to pray to
f* them, to pray for and with us. And, to correct
f* all superstitious abuses in this matter, they were
*Vto keep the days appointed by the church for
f* their memories, unless the king should lessen the
^ number of them, which if he did, it was to be
^ obeyed.

•* Fourthly, of ceremonies. The people were to
^ be taught, that they were not to be condemned
^ and cast away, but to be kept as good and laudable,
^ having mystical significations in them, and being
f* useftd to lift up our minds to God. Such were,
^ the vestments in the worship of Grod ; the sprink-
f* ling holy water, to put us in mind of our baptism
f^ and the blood of Christ ; giving holy bread, in sign
^ of our union in Christ, and to remember us of the
^ sacrament ; bearing candles on Candlemas-day, in
*^ remembrance that Christ was the spiritual light ;
giving ashes on Ash-Wednesday, to put us in mind
of penance and of our mortality ; bearing palms
^< on Palm-8unday, to show our desire to receive
f^ Christ in out hearts, as he entered into Jerusalem ;
•* creeping to the cross on Good-Friday, and kissing
** it in memory of his death, with the setting up the
f^ sepulchre on that day ; the hallowing the font,
f* and other exorcisms and benedictions.

pf2

406 THE HISTORY OF

»O0K " And lastly, as to purgatory, they were to declare

" It good and charitable to pray for the souls de-

IMq. i< parted, which was said to have continued in the
" church from the beginning ; and therefore tlie
" people were to be instructed, that it consisted well
" with the due order of charity to pray for tbein,
" and to make others pray for them, in masses and
" exefjuies, and to give alms to them for that end.
" But since the place they were in, and the pains
" they suffered, were uncertain by the scripture, we
" ought to remit them wholly to God's mercy:
" therefore all these abuses were to be put away,
" which, under the pretence of purgatory, had been
*' advanced, as if the {wpe's pardons did deliver sou);
" out of it, or masses said in certain places, or before
" certain images, had such efficiency ; with other
" such-like abuses." '

These articles, being thus conceived, and in sere-

ral places corrected and tempered by the king's own

hand, were signed by Cromwell and the archbishop

of Canterbury, and seventeen other bishops, forty

abbots and priors, and fifty archdeacons and proctors

of the lower bouse of convocation. Among whom,

Pdydore Vii^ and Peter Vaanes signed with tte

sm AjUtn- rest ; aa appears by the originid yet extant. Hi^

pubiuiMd ^°K tendered to the king, he confirmed them, md

ud^* ordered them to be published with a pre&ce m bk

tbority; name. " It is said in the preface, that be^ acooiat

** ing it the chief part of his charge that the ward

'* and oommandments of God should be bdiered and

" observed, and to maintain unity and oonoonl in

** opinion; and understanding, to hia great ngret^

" that there was great diversity of opinion anaoi

" among his subjects, both about articles (^ ftuth

THE REPOftMATION. 487

^ and oereniomes, had in his own person taken great booij

^ pains and study about these things, and had or- L

^ dered also the bishops, and other learned men of '^^^'
^ the cteigy, to examine them ; who, after long de-
^ liberation, had concluded on the most special
^ points, which the king thought proceeded firom a
^ good, right, and true judgment^ according to the
^ laws of God ; these would also be profitable fw
^ estaUishing unity in the church of England :
^ therefore he had ordered them to be published, re-
^ quiring all to accept i£ them, praying Grod so to
^ illuminate their hearts, that they might have no
^ less zeal and love to unity and concord in reading
^ them, than he had in making them to be devised,
^ set forth, and published ; which good acceptance
^ should encourage him to take iurther pains for
^ the future, as should be most for the honour of
^^ God, and the profit and the quietness of his sub^
** jects.**

This being published, occasioned great variety of And vnn.
cpnsures. Those that desired reformation were glad g^d.^"'
to see so great a step once made, and did not doubt
but this would make way for further changes. They
rtgoiced to see the scriptures and the ancient creeds
made the standards of the faith, without mentioning
tradition or the decrees of the church. Then the
foundation of Christian faith was truly stated, and
the terms of the covenant between God and man in
Christ were rightly opened, without the niceties of
the schools of either side. Immediate worship of
images and saints was also removed, and purgatory
was declared uncertain by the scripture. These
were great advantages to them ; but the establishing
t(ie necessity ^ auricular confession, the corporal

Ff3

1536.

488 THE HISTORY OF

tooK presence Sn the sacrament, the keeping up and daof^
reverence to images, and the praying to aaintiidid
allay their joy ; yet they still counted it a Tidtoiy td
have things brought under debate, and to have sone
grosser abuses taken away.

The other party were unsfpeakaUy troubled. Foirf
sacraments were passed over, which would enocraiagi
ill-affected people to neglect them. The gainfol
trade by the belief of purgatory was put down ; §Bi
though it was said to be good to give alma fior pr^^^
ing for the dead, yet since both the dreadlbl stories
of the miseries of purgatory, and the certainty of re^
deeming souls out of them by masses, were made
doubtful, the people^s charity and bounty that way
would soon abate. And, in a word, the faringiiig
matters under dispute was a great mortification to
them ; for all concluded, that this was but a pnttOh
ble to what they might expect afterwards.

When these things were seen beyond sea, the pa*
pal party made every where great use of it, to show
the necessity of adhering to the pope ; since the king
of England, though, when he broke off from his obe-
dience to the apostolic see, he pretended he would
maintain the catholic faith entire, yet was now mak-
ing great changes in it. But others, that were more
moderate, acknowledged that there was great tem-
per and prudence in contriving these articles. And
it seems the emperor, and the more learned divines
about him, both approved of the precedent, and liked
the particulars so well, that, not many years after,
the emperor published a work not unlike this, called
The Interim ; because it was to be in force in that
interim, till all things were more fully debated and
determined by a. general council, which in many

THB REFORMATION. MO

particulars agreed with these articles. Yetsomcf book

itricter persons censured this work much^ as being a 1— .

[political daulnng, in which^ they stdd, there was ^^^^*
nore pains taken to gratify persons, and senre par^
dcular ends, than to assert truth in a free and un-
Inassed way, such as became divines* He was again
excused ; and it was said, that all things could not
be attained on a sudden : that some of the bishops
md divines, who afterwards arrived at a clearer un«
lerstanding of some matters, were not then so fully
ixmvinced about them ; and so it was their ignorance^
md not their cowardice or policy, that made them
compliant in some things. Besides, it was said, that
te oiir Saviour did not reveal all things to his disd-^
pies till they were aUe to bear them; and as the
Eipostles did not of a sudden abolish all the rites of
Judaism, but for some time, to gain the Jews, com*
plied with them, and went to the temple, and offered
sacrifices ; so the people were not to be over-driven
in this change. The clergy must be brought out of
their ignorance by d^rees, and then the people were
to be better instructed : but to drive furiously, and
ilo all at once, might have spoiled the whole design^
and totally alienated those who were to be drawn on
by degrees; it might have also much endangered
the peace of the nation, the people being much dis-
posed, by the practices of the friars^ to rise in arms :
therefore these slow steps were thought the surer
and better method.

On the last day of the convocation, there was an- The conro.
Dther writing brought in by Fox, bishop of Hereford, ci J^"
occasioned by the summcms for a general council to ^^ *^'
»it at Mantua, to which the pope had cited the kitig^^^'
ta appear. The king had made his appeal from the

Ff4

--J

Ma THE HISTOBY OF

BOOK pope td a general oouncfl ; but then vm bo

1— to expect any justioe in an anemfaljF ao coostitatod

'^^- as this wa8 like to be. Therefore it WM Aongfak ft
to publith eoniewhat pf the leaioaa wlij ih« Idag
eoiild not sabmit his matter to the deciski of socfa
a Goundlt as was then intended. And it wn* iMfed,
that the convocation should give their seme of it
The substance of their answer (which the

Collect, will find in the Collection) was, ''That aa nMhiag
^ was better instituted I^ the ancient fiiUciij fe
'' the establishment of the faith, the extirpation sf
** heresies, the healing of schisms, and the ointj sf
^ the Christian church, than general cauncih gih
^ thered in the Holy Ghost, duly called to aa inlSt
^ ftrent place, with other necessary requadtes ; so^
'^ on the other hand, nothing could prodaoe mm
'' pestiferous effects, than a general council called
^ upon private malice, or ambition, or other camal
** respects : which Ghr^ory Nazianzen so well ob-
** served in his time, that he thought all assemUiei
'' of bishops were to be eschewed; for he never sas
** good some of any qfthem, and they had enereased^
** rather than healed^ the distempers qftke ehurdk.
^ For the appetite qf tain-glory , and a coaloi*
'< iious humour^ bore down reason ; therefixre they
<' thought Christian princes ought to employ all
*< their endeavours to prevent so great a miachied
'^ And it was to be considered, first. Who had au-
thority to call one. Secondly, If the reascms for
calling one were weighty. Thirdly, Who should
'' be the judges. Fourthly, What should be the man-
*^ ner of proceeding. Fifthly, What things should
'^ be treated of in it. And as to the first of these,
** they thought neither the pope, nor any one prince^

THE RtlFOtlM ATION. Ml

^ of irfiat dignity sdever, had authorily to ball one, book
^ -without the consent of all other CSuriskian princes,

1536.

^ eqiedallj such as had entire and supreme govcrn-
^ ment over aU their subjects.'' This was signed,
on the twentieth of July, by Cromwell, and the
archbidiop of Canterbury, with fourteen bishops, and
finty abbots, priors, and clerks of the convocation of
Omterbury. Whether this and the former articles
were also signed by the convocation of the province
of York, does not appear by any record ; but that I
think is not to be doubted. This being obtained. The uog
the king published a long and sharp protestation hu i««o!is
against the council now summoned to Mantua. In ^^^ '^'
which he shows, that the pope had no power to call
one ; ^ For as it was done by the emperors of old ;
^^ so it pertained to Christian princes now. That Fox.
^* the pope had no jurisdiction in England, and so
^ could summon none of this nation to come to any
^ such meeting. That the place was neither safb
^ nor proper. That nothing could be done in a
^ council to any purpose, if the pope sat judge in
^ chief in it ; since one of the true ends, why a
** council was to be desired, was to reduce his power
f* within its old limits. A free general council was
^ that which he much desired ; but he was sure this
** could not be such : and the present distractions of
^ Christendom, and the wars between the emperor
** and the French king, showed this was no proper
^^ time for one. The pope, who had long refused or
ddayed to call one, did now choose this conjunc-
ture of affairs, knowing that few would come to
(^ it ; and so they might carry things as they pleased.
^ But the world was now awake ; the scriptmres
f^ were again in men's hapds, and peofde would not

Mt THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ^ be 80 tamely cozened as thqr had been. Ttim hH

L. ^ shows how unsafe it was for any Bngliahmm to

ISS6. «( go to Mantua ; how little regard was to be had to
« the pope's safe-conduct, they having so oft faiokeii
^ their oaths and promises. * He also shows how
^ little reason he had to trust, himself to the pope^
^* how kind he had been to that see fomieilyr md
how basely they had requited it : and that now.
these three years past, they had been stiniiig
** up all Christian princes against him» and using aD
^* possible means to create him trouUe. Tlierefne
** he dedaredy he would not go to any council caDsd
** by the bishop of Rome ; but when there was a
^ general peace among Christian princes, he would
^^ most gladly hearken to the motion of a true gene*
*^ tel council : and the mean while, he would pse*
** serve all the articles of the faith in his fcriii|p|^^
*^ and sooner lose his life and his crown, than suffer
<< any of them to be put down. And so he protested
** against any council to be held at Mantua, or any
^* where else, by the bishop of Rome's authority:
*^ that he would not acknowledge it, nor receive any
** of their decrees."
iTdinai At this time Reginald Pool, who was of the royal
Met the blood, being by his mother descended from the duke
^1^7 of Clarence, brother to king Edward the Fourth,
and in the same degree of kindred with the king by
his father's side, was in great esteem for his learning,
and other excellent virtues. It seems the king had
determined to breed him up to the greatest dignity
in the church ; and to make him as eminent in learn-
ing, and other acquired parts, as he was for quality,
and a natural sweetness and nobleness of temper.
Therefore the king had given him the deanery of

1

THE REFORMATION. 448

Exeter/ with several other digoities^ towards his Booic
maintenance beyond sea; and sent him to PiEuis,

where he stayed several years. There he first in- *^^
curred the king's displeasure : for, being desired by
him to concur with his- agents in procuring the sub*
scriptions and seals of the French universities, he
excused himself; yet it was in such terms, that he
did not openly declare himself against the king.
After that, he came over to England, and (as he
writes himself) was present when the clergy made
their submission, and acknowledged the king su-
{ureme head : in which, since he was then dean of
Exeter, and kept his deanery several years after
that, it is not to be doubted, but that, as he was by
his idace obliged to sit in the convocation, so he con-
curred with the rest in making that submission.
From thence he went to Padua, where he lived
long, and was received into the friendship and so-
ciety of some celebrated persons, who gave them-
selves much to the study of eloquence, and of the
Roman authors. These were Centareno, Bembo,
Caraffa, Sadoletti, irith a great many more, that be-
came afterwards well known over the world: but
all those gave Pool the preeminence; and that
justly tooy for he was accounted one of the most elo-
quent men of his time.

The king (called him oft home to assist him in his
affairs, but he still declined it: at length, finding
delays could prevail no Icmger, he wrote the king
word, that he did not approve of what he had done,
neither in the matter of his divorce, nor his separa-
tion from the apostolic see. To this the king an-
swered, desiring his reasons why he disagreed from
him, and sent him over a book which doctor Samp-

4M THE HISTORY OF

c BOD had writ in defence of the proooedii^ in Bq^
-.land. Upon which he wrote hii book De Unitate
:^ Ecclesiastica, and sent it over to the king ; and aoon
after printed it this year. In which book he con*
demned the king's actions, and praned hnn to re-
turn to the obedience he owed the lee of ILomft,
with many sharp reflections; but the book was man
considered for the author, and the wit and eloquence
of it, than for any great learning, or deep reasoning
in it He did also very much depress the rojal, aad
exalt the papal authority : he compared the king to
Nebuchadonosor, and addressed himself in the con*
dusion to the emperor, whom he ponjuved to tun
his arms rather against the king than die Turk. Aod
indeed the indecencies of his expressions against the
king, not to mention the scurrilous language hebe-
stows on Sampson, whose book he undertakea to an>
swer, are such, that it appears how mudi the Itafiaa
air had changed him; and that his convarse at
Padua had for some time defaced that generous
temper of mind, which was otherwise so natural to
him.

Upon this, the king desired him at flrst to come
over, and explain some passages in his bo<4L: but
when he could not thus draw him into his toils, be
proceeded severely against him, and divested him of
all his dignities ; but these were plentifiilly made up
to him by the pope's bounty, and the emperor's.
He was afterwards rewarded with a cardinal's hat,
but he did not rise above the degree o£ a deacon.
Some believe, that the spring of this (^position be
made to the king, was a secret affection he had for
the lady Mary. The publishing of this book made
the king set the bishops on work to write vindica-

THE UEFOBMATION. Mi

tkNi8 of bis actkms ; which Stokedey and Toattai boos
did in a bng atid karned letter that thef wrote to

Pool And Gardiner pufaUflfaed his book of True ^^^^ J{^^,
CM)edience ; to which Bonnen who was liot on the ^^ "'^'^^^

' for the

scent of preferment) added a preface. Bui the Ipng king.
designed sharper tods for Pool's punishment; jet
an attainder in absence was all he could do against ~
himself. But his family and kindred felt the weight
of the king's displeasure rerj sensiUj.

But now I must give an account ci the dissolu-
tion of the monasteries, pursuant to the act of parlia-
ment, though r cannot fix the exact time in which
it was done. I ha?e seen the original instructions,
with the commission gimen to those who m^ite to
visit the monasteries in ted dbout Bristol. All the
reat were of the same kind: they bare date the
twenty-e^hth of April, after the session oi parlia-
ment was over ; and the report was to be made in
the octaves of 8t. Michael the archangel. But I am
inclined to think, that the great concussion and dis^
order things were in by the queai's death, made
the commissioners unwilling to proceed in so invi-
dious a matter till they saw the issue of the new
parliament. Therefore I have delayed giving any
account of the proceedings in that matter till this
place. The instructions will be found in the Col-
lection. The substance of them was as follows.

^ The auditors of the court of augmentaJtaons were coiiect.
^* the persons that were employed* Foui^, or any iDitroc- '
^< three of them, were commissioned to execute ^e f^e°!iu^i!f.
•* instructions in every particular visitation. One^*^"^^^^^
'^ auditor or receiver, and one of the derks of the ^^'
^' Former visitation, were to call for three discreet
^^ persons in the county, who were also named by

446 THB HISTORY OF

^ the tdi^. Thqr were to ngoify to everj house
^ the statute of dissolutioOy and shoir than their
^ oommiarion. Then they were to put the goveni-
or, or any other officer of the houae^ to dedare
upon oath the true state of it; and to require him
^ speedily to appear before the court of augmenta-
** tions, and in the mean time not to meddle with
^ any thing belonging to the house. Then to ex*
^ amine how many religious persona were in the
^* house, and what lives they led ; how many of them
'< were priests ; how many of than woidd go to
^ other religious houses ; and how many of them
^ would take capacities, and go into the world.
^* They were to estimate the state and fiEdnric of the
^ house, and the number oi the servants they kqpt;
^ and to caU for the covent-aeal, and writingSt nd
^ put them in some sure place, and take an inven*
** tory of all their plate, and their moveable goodly
** and to know the value of all that, before the first
^^ of March last, belonged to the house, and what
" debts they owed. They were to put the covent-
^' seal, with the jewels and plate, in safe keeping,
^* and to leave the rest (an inventory being first
** taken) in the governors' hands, to be kept by them
** till further order. And the governors were to
<< meddle with none of the rents of the house, except
'* for necessary sustenance, till they were another way
<^ disposed of. They were to try what leases and
** deeds had been made for a whole year, before the
^^ fourth of February last. Such as would still live in
** monasteries were to be recommended to some of
** the great monasteries that lay next : and such as
*^ would live in the world must confie to the archbi-
'^ shop of Canterbury, or the lord chancellor, to re-

-»- -- ■

i

THE REFORMATION. M?

'* ceive capacities.'' (From which it appears, that book
Cromwell was not at this time lord vicegerent, for he

granted these capacities when he was in that power.) 1^^*
^> And the commissioners were to give them a rea^
f* sonable allowance for their journey, according to
*^ the distance they lived at. The governor was to
*^ be sent to the court of augmentations, who were
^ to assign him a yearly pension for his life.''

What report those commissioners made, or how
they obeyed their instructions, we know not; for
the account of it is razed out of the records. The
writers that lived near that time represent the mat*
ter very odiously, and say, about ten thousand per-
sons were set to seek for their livings ; only forty
shillings in money, and a crown, being given to
every religious man. The rents of them all rose to
about thirty-two thousand pounds : and the goods,
plate, jewels, and other moveables, were valued at an
hundred thousand pound : and it is generally said,
and not improbably, that the commissioners were as
careful to enrich themselves, as to increase the king's
revenue. The churches and cloisters were for the
most part pulled down ; and the lead, bells, and
other materials, were sold; and this must needs
have raised great discontents every where.

Th6 religious persons that were undone went^"»*^"»-

^ , , * contents

about complaining of the sacrilege and injustice of among aii
the suppression ; that what the piety of their an- people.
cestors had dedicated to God and his saints, was now
invaded and converted to secular ends. They said,
the king's severity fell first upon some particular per-
sons of their orders, who were found delinquents ;
but now, upon the pretended miscarriages of some
individual persons, to proceed against their houses.

MB THE HISTORY OB .

looK ftnd fluppren them, was an utikeidcd^ pcaolice.
*"* The nobflity aad gentry, vhofle anoeitan had fisud*

1M6. ed or enriched these houses, and who pnnded ftr
their younger children, or imporefkhed frSfndt^ by
' putting them into these sanctuaries, complained
much of the prejudice they sustained by it. The
people, that had been well entertained at the abbotf
tables, were sensible of their loss; tat generally, m
they travelled over the country, the abbeys were
their stages, and were houses of receptum to travd-
krs and steangers. The devouter sort of. people sf
their persuasion thought their fiiends must now lie
in purgatory without rdief, except they were.afc (he
chai^ to keep a priest, who should daily aay na«
for their souls. The poor, that fed on their dsl^
alms, were deprived of that supply.

^ft^i^rmsn But, to composc thcsc discoutents, firsts mai^

let tbeM. books wcrc published, to show what dimes, chesty
and impostures those religious persons were guiltf
of. Yet that wrought not much on the people ; fiv
they said, why were not these abuses severely pu-
nished and reformed ? But must whole houses, and
the succeeding generations, be punished for the faults
of a few? Most of these reports were also denied;
and even those^ who before envied the ease and
plenty in which the abbots and monks lived, began
now to pity them, and condemned the proceedii^
against them. But, to allay this general discontent,
Cromwell advised the king to sell their lands, at
very easy rates, to the gentry in the several countieSi
obliging them, since they had them upon such terms,
to keep up the wonted hospitality. This drew in
the gentry apace both to be satisfied with what was
done, and to assist the crown for ever in the defence

THE REFORMATION. 449

of these laws; their own interest being so inter- book

woven with the rights of the crown. The com- 1—

moner sort, who, Uke those of old that followed ^^^^*
Christ for the loaves, were most concerned for the
loss of a good dinner on a holyday, or when they
went over the country about their business, were
now also in a great measure satisfied, when they
heard that all, to whom these lands werp given, ,
were obliged, under heavy forfeitures, to keep up
the hospitality; and when they saw that put in
practice, their discontent, which lay chiefly in their

And, to quiet other people, who could not be sa-
tisfied with such things, the king made use of a clause
in the act that gave him the lesser monasteries,
which empowered him to continue such as he should
think fit. Therefore, on the seventeenth of Au-
gust, he by his letters patents did of new give back,
in perpetuam eleemosynam^ for perpetual alms, five
abbeys. The first of these was the abbey of St.
Mary of Betlesden, of the Cistercian order, in Buck-
inghamshire. Ten more were afterwards confirmed. Collect.
Sixteen nunneries were also confirmed ; in all thirty- sect. 2.
one houses. The patents (in most of which some
manors are excepted, that had been otherwise dis-
posed of) are all enrolled, and yet none of our writ-
ers have taken any notice of this. It seems these
houses had been more regular than the rest: so
that, in a general calamity, they were rather re-
prieved than excepted ; for two years after this, in
the suppression of the rest of the monasteries, they
feU under the common fate of other houses. By
these new endowments they were obliged to pay
tenths and first-fruits, and to obey all the statutes

VOL. 1. G g

450 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK and rules that should be sent to them from the kiiur,

III
— '- — as supreme head of the church. But it is not mi-

1536. jjj^g^ ^i^^^ some presents to the commissioners, or to
Cromwell, made these houses outlive this ruin ; for
I find great trading in bribes at this time, which is
not to be wondered at, when there was so much to
be shared.
!t people But great disorders followed upon the dissolution
dine to of the other houses. People were still generally
discontented. The suppression of religious houses
occasioned much outoying, and the articles theo
lately published about religion increased the distaste
they had conceived at the government. The old
clergy were also very watchful to improve all oppor*
tunities, and to blow upon every spark. And the
pope's power of deposing kings had been for almost
five hundred years received as an article of fidtAu
The same council that established transubstantiatioB
had asserted it; and there were many precedents,
not only in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, but
also in England, of kings that were deposed by
popes, whose dominions were given to other princes.
This had begun in the eighth century, in two fa-
mous deprivations. The one in France, of Chil-
deric the Third, who was deprived, and the crown
given to Pepin : and, about the same time, those
dominions in Italy, which were under the east-
em emperors, renounced their allegiance to them.
In both these the popes had a great hand; yet
they rather confirmed and approved of those trea*
sonable mutations, than gave the first rise to them.
But after pope Gregory the Seventh's time^ it was
clearly assumed as a right and prerogative of th6
papal crown to depose princes, and absolve sub-

THE REFORMATION. 451

jects from the oaths of allegiance, and set up others book
in their stead. And all those emperors or kings.

that contested anj thing with popes, sat very uneasy ^^^^*
and unsafe in their thrones ever after that. But if
they were tractable to the demands of the court of
Rome, then they might oppress their subjects, and
govern as unjustly as they pleased ; for they had a
mighty support from that court. This made princes
more easily bear the pope's usurpations, because they
were assisted by them in all their other proceedings.
And the friars, having the consciences of people ge-
nerally ip their hands, as they had the word given
by their general at Rome, so they disposed people
either to be obedient or seditious, as they pleased.

Now, not only their own interests, mixed with
their zeal for the ancient religion, but the pope's au-
thority, gave them as good a warrant to incline the
peofde to rebel, as any had in former times, of whom
some were canonized for the like practices. For in
August the former year, the pope had summoned
the king to appear within ninety days, and to an-
swer for putting away his queen, and taking another
wife; and for the laws he had made against the
church, and putting the bishop of Rochester and
others to death, for not obeying these laws : and if
he did not reform these faults, or did not appear to
answer for them, the pope excommunicated him,
and all that favoured him ; deprived the king, put
the kingdom under an interdict, forbade all his sub-
..Jects to obey, and other states to hold commerce
^with Min; dissolved all his leagues with foreign
princes, commanded all the clergy to depart out of
England, and his nobility to rise in arms against
llkn. But now, the force of those thunders, which

Gg2

45« THE HISTORY OP

BOOK had formerly produced great earthquake and oom^
motions, was mtich abated : yet some storms were

^^^^' raised by this, (hough not so violent as had been in
former times,
rbe king's The people were quiet till they had reaped their
lUa^ re^ harvest : and though some injunctions were pub-
^'^°' Kshed a little before, to help it the better forward,
most of the holydays of harvest being abolished bjr
the king's authority, yet that rather inflamed them
the more. Other injunctions were also published in
the king's name by Cromwell, his vicegerent, which
was the first act of pure supremacy done by the
king : for in all that went before, he had the concur-
rence of the two convocations. But these» it is like^
were penned by Cranmer. The reader is referred
to the Collection of Papers for them, as I transcribed
them out of the Register.
Collect. << The substance of them was, that, first, all eede^
" siastical incumbents were for a quarter' of a year
" after that, once every Sunday, and ever after that
" twice every quarter, to publish to the people, that
" the bishop of Rome's usurped power had no ground
" in the law of God ; and therefore was on good
" reasons abolished in this kingdom : and that the
king's power was by the laws of God supreme over
all persons in his dominions. And they were to
do their uttermost endeavour to extirpate the
pope's authority, and to establish the king's.

Secondly, They were to declare the articles
lately published, and agreed to by the convoca*
tion ; and to make the people know which of them
were articles of faith, and which of them rules for
the decent and politic order of the church.
'* Thirdly, They were to declare the articles lately

^nmb. 7.

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THE REFORMATION. 458

set forth for the abrogation of some superfluous book

holydays, particularly in harvest-time. 1-

" Fourthly, They were no more to extol images ^^^^'
or relics, for superstition or gain ; nor to exhort
people to make pilgrimages, as if blessings and
good things were to be obtained of this or that
saint or image. But, instead of that, the people
were to be instructed to apply themselves to the
keeping of God's commandments, and doing works

^^ of charity ; and to believe, that God * was better
served by them when they stayed at home, and pro-
vided for their families, than when they went pil-
grimages^ and that the monies laid out on these
were better given to the poor.

Fifthly, They were to exhort the people to

^* teach their children the Lord's Prayer, the Creed,
and the Ten Commandments in English: and

^* every incumbent was to explain these, one article
a day, till the people were instructed in them.

^' And to take great care that all children were bred

^* up to some trade or way of living.

Sixthly, They must take* care that the sacra-
ments and sacramentals be reverently administered

^* in their parishes ; from which when at any time

^* they were absent, they were to commit the cure
to the learned and expert curate, who might in-
struct the people in wholesome doctrine ; that they
might also see their pastors did not pursue their
own profits or interests so much as the glory of God,
and the good of the souls under their ciure.

Seventhly, They should not, except on urgent
occasion, go to taverns or alehouses ; nor sit. too
long at any sort of games after their meals, but
give themselves to the study of the scripture, or

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^^

454 THE HISTOBY OF

BOOK «< some other honest exercise; and rememijer that
<^ they must excel others in purity of life, and be
1^36. « examples to all others to liire well and chris-
tianly.

Eighthly, Because the goods of the chureh were
the goods of the poor, every beneficed person that
** had twenty pound or above, and did not reside
^^ was yearly to distribute the fortieth part of bis
benefice to the poor of the parish.
^^ Ninthly, Every incumbent that had a liundred
pounds a year, must give an exhibition for one
^* scholar at some grammar-school, or university;
** who, after he had completed his studies, was to |
^^ be partner of the cure and charge, both in preadi-
*^ ing, and other duties: and so many hundred
pounds as any had, so many students he was to
breed up.

Tenthly, Where parsonage or vicarage-houses

** were in great decay, the incumbent was every

year to give a fifth part of his profits to the repair-

*^ ing of them, till they were finished ; and then to

maintain them in the state they were in.

Eleventhly, All these injunctions were to be
observed, under pain of suspension and seques-
tration of the mean profits till they were ob-
" served."
hich These were equally ungrateful to the corrupt

n7u"d'** clergy, and to the laity that adhered to the old doc-
trine. The very same opinions about pilgrimages,
images, and saints departed, and instructing the
people in the principles of Christian religion in the
vulgar tongue, for which the Lollards were, not
long ago, either burnt or forced to abjure them,
were now set up by the king's authority. From

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it
66

THE BEFORMATION. 465

whence they concluded, that whatsoever the king book

said of his maintaining the old doctrine^ yet he was !

DOW changing it. The clergy also were much troubled ^^^^'
at this precedent^ of the king's giving such injunc-
tions to them, without the consent of the convoca-
tion: from which they concluded, they were now
to be slaves to the lord vicegerent. The matter of
these injunctions was also very uneasy to them.
The great profits they made by their images and re-
lics, and the pilgrimages to them, were now taken
away ; and yet severe impositions and heavy taxes
were laid on them ; a fifth part for repairs, a tenth
at least for an exhibitioner, and a fortieth for cha-
rity, which were cried out on as intolerable burdens.
Their labour was also increased, and they were
bound up to many severities of life : all these things
touched the secular clergy to the quick, and made
them concur with the regular clergy in disposing
the people to rebel.

This was secretly fomented by the great abbots.
For though they were not yet struck at, yet the
way was prepared to it ; and their houses were op-
pressed with crowds of those who were sent to them
£rom the suppressed houses. There was some pains
taken to remove their fears : for a letter was sent to
them all in the king's name, to silence the reports
that were spread abroad, as if all monasteries were
to be quite suppressed. This they were required
not to believe, but to serve God according to their
order, to obey the king's injunctions, to keep hospi-
tality, and make no wastes nor dilapidations. Yet
this gave them small comfort ; and, as all such things
do, rather increased than quieted their jealousies
and fears. So many secret causes concurring, no

Gg4

ire.

466 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK wonder the people fell into mutinous and seditiout

III. ..
practices.

^f^..^- The first risincr was in Lincolnshire, in the be-
Liocoio. ginning of October ; where a churchman, disguised
into a cobbler^ and directed by a monk, drew a great
body of men after him. About twenty thousand
were gathered together. They swore to be true to
Grod, the king, and the commonwealth, and digested
their grievances into a few articles, which they sent
to the king, desiring a redress of them.
beir dc- '« They complained of some thingis that related to
*^ secular concerns, and some acts of parliament that
were uneasy to them : they also complained of the
suppression of so many religious houses ; that the
*^ king had mean persons in high places about him,
** who were ill counsellors : they also complained of
some bishops, who had subverted the faith ; ' and
they apprehended the jewels and plate of their
churclies should be taken away. Therefore they
desired the king would call to him the nobility of
" the realm, and by their advice redress their griev-
" ances : concluding with an acknowledgment of tiie
" king's being their supreme head, and that the
" tenths and first-fruits of all livings l>elonged to
" him of right."

When the king heard of this insurrection, he pre-
sently sent the duke of Suffolk with a commission to
raise forces for dispersing thjem : but with him he
he king's scut an answcr to their petition. " He began with
^^ that about his counsellors, and said, it was never
" before heard t)f, that the rabble presumed to dic-
" tate to their prince what counsellors he should
" choose : that was the prince's work, and not theirs.
The suppression of religious houses was done pur*

M
«
«

(«

«

?

THE REFORMATION. 457

'* suant to an act of parliament, and was not set book

forth by any of his counsellors. The heads of.

tbese Yeligious houses had under their own hands ^^^^'
*^ confessed those horrid scandals, which made them
'^ a reproach to the nation. And in many houses
** there were not above four or five religious persons.
*' So it seemed they were better pleased that such
^'dissolute persons should consume their rents in
^' riotous and idle living, than that their prince
'^ should have them, for the common good of the
'^ whole kingdoDb. He also answered their other
^ demands in the same high and commanding strain ;
^' and required them to submit themselves to his
^' mercy, and to deliver their captains and lieute-
^' nants into the hands of his lieutenants ; and to
^' disperse, and carry themselves as became good
^* and obedient subjects, and to put an hundred of
^ their number into the hands of his lieutenants, to
^* be ordered as they had deserved."

When this answer was brought to them, it raised
their spirits higher. The practising clergymen con-*
tinned to inflame them. They persuaded them,
that the Christian religion would be very soon de-
faced, and taken away quite, if they did not vigor-
ously defend it: that it would come to that, that
no man should marry a wife, receive any of the sa-
craments, nor eat a piece of roast meat, but he
should pay for it : that it were better to live under
the Turk, than under such oppression. Therefore
there was no cause in which they could with more
honour and a better conscience hazard their lives,
than for the holy faith. This encouraged and kept
them together a little longer. They had forced
many of the gentry of the country to go along with

-K lTt*iiMtt I

4S8 THE HISTORY OF

looK them. These sent a secret message to the dake of

— ! Suffolk, letting him know what ill effects the kmg^s

1536. fough answer had produced : that they had joined

with the people only to moderate them a little, and

they knew nothing that would be so effectual as the

it quieted offer of a general pardon. So the duke of Suffolk,

ke of as he moved towards them with the forces which he

^'^' had drawn together, sent to the king to know his

pleasure, and earnestly advised a gentle composing

new re- of the matter without blood. At that same time

II* *

i nOTth. the king was advertised from the north, that there
was a general and formidable rising there. Of
which he had the greater apprehensions, because of
their neighbourhood to Scotland ; whose king, beii^
the king*s nephew, was the heir presumptive of the
crown, since the king had illegitimated both his
daughters. And though the king^s firm alliance
with France made him less apprehensive of tiouUe
from Scotland, and their king was at this time in
France, to marry the daughter of Francis ; yet he
did not know how far a general rising might invite
that king to send orders to head and assist the re*
l)els in the north. Therefore he resolved first to
quiet Lincolnshire. And as he had raised a great
force about London, with which he was marching
in person against them ; so he sent a new procla-
mation, requiring them to return to their obedience,
with secret assurances of mercy. By these means
they were melted away. Those who had been
carried in the stream submitted to the king's mercy,
and promised all obedience for the future: others,
that were obstinate, and knew themselves unpar-
donable, fled northward, and joined themselves to
the rebels there ; some of their other leaders were

?

THE REFOBMATION. 459

«|ipreheDded, in particular the cobbler, and were book
executed. '

But for the northern rebellion, as the parties con- '^^^-
oerned, being at a greater distance from the court,
liad hu^er opportunities to gather themselv^ into a
huge body ; so the whole contrivance of it was bet-
ter laid. One Ask commanded in chief. He was a
gentleman of an ordinary condition, but understood
well how to draw on and govern a multitude. Their
inarch was called the pilgrimage of grace : and, to
inveigle the people, some priests marched before
them with crosses in their hands. In their banners
they had a crucifix with the five wounds, and a cha-
lice ; and every one wore on his sleeve, as the badge
of the party, an emblem of the five wounds of Christ,
with the name Jesus wrought in the midst. All
that joined to them took an oath, *^ that they entered
into this pilgrimage qf grace for the love of God,
the preservation of the king^s person and issue, the
purifjring the nobility, and driving away all base-
** bom and ill counsellors ; and for no particular pro*
** fit of their own, nor to do displeasure to any, nor
^' to kill any for envy ; but to take before them the
«< cross of Christ, liis faith, the restitution of the
** church, and the suppression of heretics, and their
*^ opinions." These were specious pretences, and
very apt to work upon a giddy and discontented
multitude. So people flocked about their crosses which
and standards in great numbers; and they grew |Jj^^j J][^^
to be forty thousand strong. They went over the
country without any great opposition. The arch-
bishop of York and the lord Darcy were in Pomfret
cBstle ; Which they yielded to them, and were made
to swear their covenant. They were both suspected

4€

460 THE HISTORY OF

I of being secret promoters of the rebeUion. The Iat>
. ter suffered for it ; but how the former excused him-
self, I cannot give any account. Thej also took
.York and Hull; but though they summoned the
castle of Skipton« yet the earl of Cumberland, who
would not degenerate from his noble ancestors, held
it out against all their force : and though many of
the gentlemen, whom he had entertained at his own
cost, deserted him, yet he made a brave resistance
Scarborough castle was also long besieged; but
there sir Ralph Evers, that commanded it, gave an
unexampled instance of his fidelity and courage;
for though his provisions fell short, so that for
twenty days he and his men had nothing but bread
and water, yet they stood it out tiU they were re*
lieved.

This rising in Yorkshire encouraged those of Lan*
cashire, the bishopric of Duresm and Westmorland,
to arm. Against these the earl of Shrewsbury, that
he might not fall short of the gallantry and loyalty
of his renowned ancestors, made head ; though he
had no commission from the king. But he knew
his zeal and fidelity would easily procure him a par-
don, which he modestly asked for the service he had
done. The king sent him, not only that, but a com-
mission to command in chief all his forces in the
north. To his assistance he ordered the earl of
Derby to march ; and sent Courtney, marquis of
Exeter, and the earls of Huntington and Rutland,
to join him. He also ordered the duke of Suffolk,
with the force that he had led into Lincolnshire, to
lie still there; lest they, being but newly quieted,
should break out again, and fall upon his armies be-
hind, when the Yorkshire men met them before.

?

THE REFORMATION. 461

Oft the twentieth of October he sent the duke of book
Norfolk with more forces to join the earl of Shrews-

bury : but the rebels were very numerous and despe-^^**^
rate. When the duke of Norfolk understood their Norfolk and
strength^ he saw great reason to proceed with much against
caution : for if they had got the least advantage of ^^^°''
the king's troops, all the discontents in England
would, upon the report of that, have broken out;
He saw their numbers were now such, that the gain-
ing some time was their ruin : for such a great body
could not subsist long together without much provi- .
aons, and that must be very hard for them to bring
in : so he set forward a treaty. It was both honour-
aUe fw the king to offer mercy to his distracted sub-
jects, and of great advantage to his affairs ; for as
their numbers did every day lessen, so the king's^
forces were still increasing. He wrote to the king,
that, considering the season of the year, he thought
the offering some fair conditions, might persuade
them to lay down their arms, and. disperse them-
selves : yet when the earl of Shrewsbury sent a he-
rald with a proclamation, ordering them to lay down
their arms, and submit to the king's mercy ; Ask re-
ceived him sitting in state, with the archbishop on
the one hand, and the lord Darcy on the other ; but
would not suffer any proclamation to be made, till
he knew the contents of it. And when the herald
told what they were, he sent him away without
suffering him to publish it. And then the priests
used all their endeavours to engage the people to a
firm resolution of not dispersing themselves, till all
matters about religion were fully settled.

As they went forward, they every where repos-
sessed the ejected monks of their houses ; and this

4es THE HISTORY OF

BOOK encoun^;ed the rest, who had a great mind to be in

'- — their old nests again. They published also manj

^^^^' stories among them, of the many growing burdens
of the king's government ; and made them beliere,
that impositions would be laid on every thing that
was either bought or sold. But the king, heaiii^
how strong they were, sent out a general summom
to all the nobility to meet him at Northampton the
seventh of November. And the forces sent against
^«y ^- the rebels advanced to Doncaster, to hinder then

woet to

HNicastcr. from coming further southward; and took the
bridge, which they fortified, and laid their forces
along the river to maintain that pass.

The writers of that time say, that the day of bat*
tie was agreed on ; but that, the night before, ex-
cessive rains falling, the river swelled so, that it was
unpassable next day, and they could not force the
bridge. Yet it is not likely the earl of Shrewsbury,
having in all but five thousand men about him,
would agree to a pitched battle with those who were
six times his number, being then thirty thousand.
Therefore it is more likely, that the rebels only in-
tended to pass the river the next day, which the rain
that fell hindered : but the duke of Norfolk conti-
nued to press a treaty, which was hearkened to by
the other side, who were reduced to great straits;
for their captain would not suffer them to spoil the
country, and they were no longer able to subsist
without doing that. The duke of Norfolk directed
some that were secretly gained, or had been sent
over to them as deserters, to spread reports among
them, that their leaders were making terms for them-
selves, and would leave the rest to be undone. This,
joined to their necessities, made many fall off every

THE REFORMATION. 408

ay. The duke of Norfolk, finding his arts had no book

III
ood an operation^ offered to go to court with anj

^hom they would send with their demands, and to^^^^^j^^^
itercede for them. This he knew would take up Norfolk

breaks tiMM

>nie time, and most of them would be dispersed be-b^deiayt.
we he could return. So they sent two gentlemen,
rhom they had forced to go with them, to the king
> Windsor. Upon this, the king discharged the
sndezTous at Northampton, and delayed the send-
ig an answer as much as could be: but at last,
earing that though most of them were dispersed,
et they had engaged to return upon warnings and
liat they took it ill that no answer came ; he sent
tie duke of Norfolk to them with a general pardon,
ix only excepted by name, and four others, that
^ere not named. But in this the king's counsels
rere generally censured ; for every one was now in
nsr, and so the rebels rejected the proposition. The
ing also sent them word by their own messenger.
That he took it very ill at their hands, that they
had chosen rather to rise in arms against him, than
to petition him about those things which were un-
easy to them." And, to appease them a little, the
ing, by new injunctions, commanded the clergy to
imtinue the use of all the ceremonies of the church.
*his, it is like, was intended for keeping up the four
icraments, which had not been mentioned in the
nrmer articles. The clergy, that were with the re-
ek, met at Pomfret to draw up articles to be offered
t the treaty that was to be at Doncaster; where
iree hundred were ordered to come from the rebels
I treat with the king's commissioners. So great a
limber was called, in hopes that they would dis- .
I^ree about their demands, and so fkll out among

464 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK themselves. On the sixth of December they met to

III ^

' treat ; and» it seems, had so laid their matter before,
1536. ^i^Q^ (ji^y agreed upon these foUowiDg demands.
Their de- <« A general pardon to be granted : a parliament
** to be held at York, and courts of justice to be
V there ; that none on the north of Trent might be
** brought to London upon any lawsuit. They de-
** sired a repeal of some acts of parliament : those
*^ for the last subsidy, for uses, for making wards
'^ misprision of treason, and for the clergy's paying
*^ their tenths and first-fruits to the king. Tbey
** desired the princess Mary might be restored to
** her right of succession, the pope to his wonted
*' jurisdiction, and the monks to their houses again:
** that the Lutherans might be punished ; that Aud-
** ley, the lord chancellor, and Cromwell, the lord
^^ privy-seal, might be excluded from the next par-
** liament ; and Lee and Leighton, that had visited
** the monasteries, might be imprisoned for bribery
" and extortion."

But the lords, who knew that the king would by
no means agree to these propositions, rejected them.
Upon which the rebels took heart again, and were
growing more enraged and desperate; so that the
duke of Norfolk wrote to the king, that if some con-
tent were not given them, it might end very iU, ftr
they were much stronger than his forces were : and
both he, and the other commanders of the kings
forces, in their hearts wished, that most of their de-
mands were granted; being persons, who, though
they complied with the king, and were against that
rebellion, yet were great enemies to Lutheranism*
and wished a reconciliation with Rome; of which
the duke of Norfolk was afterwards accused by the

THE REFORMATION. 465

lord Darcjr, as if he had secretly encouraged them book
to insist on these demands. The king, seeing the

humour was so obstinate, resolved to use gentler re- ^^^^'
medies ; and so sent to the duke of Norfolk a gene-
ral pardon, with a promise of a parliament, ordering
him not to make use of these except in extremity.

That was no easy thing to that duke ; since he
might be afterwards made to answer for it, whether
the extremity was really such as to justify his grant-
ing these things. But the rebels were become again
as numerous as ever, and had resolved to cross the
river, and to force the king's camp, which was still
mudi inferior to theirs in number : but rains falling
the second time, made the fords again unpassable.
This was spoken of by the king's party as little less
than a miracle ; that Grod's providence had twice so
opportunely interposed for the stopping of the pro-
gress of the rebels : and it is very probable, that, on
the other side, it made great impression on the su-
perstitious multitude; and both discouraged and
disposed them to accept of the offer of pardon, and
a parliament to be soon called, for considering their
other demands. The king signed the pardon at
Richmond the ninth of December: by which all
their treasons and rebellion to that day were par-
cloned, provided they made their submission to the
duke of Norfolk and the earl of Shrewsbury, and
lived in all due obedience for the future.

The king sent likewise a long answer to their de- The king's

_ . 1.11 1 answer to

jnands. '^As to what they complamed about the them.
^ subversion of the faith : he protested his zeal for
^^ the true Christian faith, and that he would live
'^ and die in the defence and preservation of it ; but
^^ the ignorant multitude were not to instruct him
VOL. I. H h

m THE HISTORY OF

BOOK << what the true fidth was, nor to pcesmne toeonDect
^* what he and the whole convocation had degreed
1536. M^^ That as he had preserved the dHiEcfa of ibqr-
^* knd in her true liberties^ so he would do itfll;
^ and that he had done nothing that was 00 opprti*
^ sive, as many of his progenitors had done upon
*' lesser grounds. But that he took it veaf HI cf
'' them, who had rather one churl or two should es-
^joy the profits of their nuHiasterieSy to siqiport
^ them in their dissolute and abominaUe comae cf
** living, than that their king should have them fir
^ defraying the great charge he was at finr tlieir de-
^ fence against foreign aiemies. For the lawa; it
** was high presumption in a rude nndtitude to take
^ on them to judge what laws were good» and whst
^ not : they had more reason to think, that he^ after
twenty-eight years reign, should know it better
than they could. And for his govenunent; he
had so long preserved his subjects in peace aod
justice, had so defended them firom their enemies^
had so secured his firontier, had granted so maoy
** general pardons, had been so unwilling to punish
** his subjects, and so ready to receive them into
*^ mercy ; that they could show no parallel to bis
government among all their former kings. And
whereas it was said, that he had many of the no-
bility of his council in the beginning of his reign^
** and few now ; he showed them, in that one in-
** stance, bow they were abused by the lying dan-
** ders of some disafiected persons : for when be
** came to the crown, there were none that were
bom noble of his council, but only the earl of Sur-
rey and the earl of Shrewsbury; whereas aoWi
^^ the dukes of Norfolk and Sufiblk, the marquis of

€€

€€
€€

€€

€4

r

€t

THE REFORMATION. 467

Exeter, the lord Steward, the earls of Oxford and book

Sunex, and the lord Sands, were of the priry- 1—

'^ council : and for the spiritualtyv the ardU)tshop of ^^^'*
'^ Canterbuiy, the bishops of Winchester, Hereford,
^^ and Chichester were also of it. ^And he and his
^ whole council, judgpung it necessary to have some
** at the board who understood the law of Eng^d^
*^ and the treaties with foreign princes; he had^ bgr
^* their unanimous advice, brought in his chancellor,
'< and the lord pdvy-seal. He thought it* strange^
^ that they, who were but Inxites, should think they
^' could better judge who should be his counsellors
^ than himself and his whole. council: therefinre he
'* would bear no such thing at their hands ; lit being
^ inconsistent witfa the duty of good subjects to medr
*^ die. in «uch matters. But if they, or any of his
^ other mbjects, could bring any just complaint
« against any about him, he was ready to hear it ;
** and if it were proved, he would punish it aocordi*
** ing to law. As for the complaints against some
^ oC the prelates for preaching against the faith,
^ they could know none of these things but by the
** report of others ; since they Uved at such a dis-
^ tancev that they themselves had not heard ai^y of
^ them preach. Therefore he required them not to
** give credit to lies, nor be misled by those who
^ spread such calumnies and ill reports : and he
^ concluded all with a severe expostulation ; adding,
** that such was his love to his subjects, that, im-
^ puting this insurrection rather to their folly anji
** lightness, than to any malice or rancour, Jie Was
** willing to pass it over more gently, as they would
*• perceive by his proclamation."

Now the people were come to themselves again^ 1537.

H h 2

488 THE HISTORY OF

3K and glad to get off so easily ; and thqr all cheerftillf
-I — accepted the king^s offers, and went home again to
^',. their several dwellings. Yet the clergy were no
^ way satisfied, but continued still to practiae amongst
them, and kept the rebellion still on foot ; ao that it
broke out soon after. The duke of Norfolk and the
earl of Shrewsbury were ordered to lie still in the
country with their forces, till all things were more
fuUy composed. They made them all come to a foil
submission : and, first, to revoke all oaths and pro-
mises made during the rebellion, for which ibej
asked the king's pavdon on their knees; secondly,
to swear to be true to the king, and his heirs and
successors; thirdly, to obey and maintain all the
acts of parliament made during the king^s leign;
fourthly, not to take arms again, but by the king^s
authority; fifthly, to apprehend all seditious parsons;
sixthly, to remove all the monks, nuns, and friars,
whom they had placed again in the dissolved monas-
teries. There were also orders given to send Ask,
their captain, and the lord Darcy, to court. Ask
was kindly received, and well used by the king. He
had shewed great conduct in commanding fiie re^
bels ; and it seems the king had a mind, either to
gain him to his service, or, which I suspect was the
true cause, to draw from him a discovery of all
those, who, in the other parts of the kingdom, had
favoured or relieved them. For he suspected, not
without cause, that some of the great abbots had
given secret supplies of money to the rebeb : for
which many of them were afterwards tried -and at-
tainted. The lord Darcy was under great appre-
hensions, and studied to purge himself, that he was
forced to a compliance with thetn ; but pleaded, that

THE REFORMATION. 469

the long and important services he had done the book
crown for fifty years, he being then fourscore, to*

gether with his great age and infirmity, might miti- ^^^^'
gate the king's displeasure. But he was made pri-
soner. Whether this gave those who had been in
arms new jealousies, that the king^s pardon would
not be inviolably observed ; or whether the clergy
had of new prevailed on them to rise in arms ; I New ^s.
cannot determine: but it broke out again, though l^'du-
not so dangerously as before. Two gentlemen of ^"**'*
the north, Musgrave and Tilby, raised a body of
8000 men, and thought to have surprised Carlisle ;
but were repulsed by those within. And in their
return, the duke of Norfolk fell upon them, and
routed them. He took many prisoners; and, by
martial law, hanged up all their captains, and se-
venty other prisoners, on the walls of Carlisle.
Others, at that same time, thought to have sur-
prised Hull ; but it was prevented, and the leaders
of that party were also taken and executed.

Many other risings were in several places of the
<x>untry, which were all soon repressed : the ground
of them all was. That the parliament which was
promised was not called : but the king said. They
had not kept conditions with him, nor would he call
a parliament till all things wero quieted. But the
duke of Norfolk's vigilance every where prevented
their gathering together in any great body: and,
after several unsuccessful attempts, at length the
country was absolutely quieted in January following.
And then the duke of Norfolk proceeded according
to the martial law against many whom he had
taken. Ask had also left the court without le^tve,
and had gone amongst them, but was quickly ta^en

Hh3

m THE HISTORY OF

BOOK So he and many othdrs were ient to aetnendi phoo^

— I to be made puUic examples. He sufibred at Yeifc;

'^^* cithen at Hull> and in other townee fa^ YorUifae
Bot the lord Darcy, and the lord iiuaaj^ were v^
raigned at Westminster, and attainted of traasn;
the former for the northern, and the other fiir.'the
be cfaier Lincolnshire insurrection. The lordDarcf was fce»
beit«». headed at Tower-hill; and was: nrach famlentsi
''^ ETevy body thought, that, considering Ira uKriH
his age, and former services, he had hard mcmifia
The lord Hussy was beheaded at lancoln. The loid
Darcy, in his trial, accused the duke of Noilblk
that, in the treaty at Doncaster, he had enooun^
the rebels to continue in their demands. This tiM
dtike denied, land desired a trial by oombet;.aad
gave some presumptions to show, that the: had
Darcy bore him ill-will, and said this out of > mdioa
The king either did not believe this, or would iiol
seem to believe it : and the duke's great diligence
in the suppression of these commotions set him be*
yond all jealousies. But, after those executions, the
king wrote to the duke, in July following, to pni^
daim an absolute amnesty over all the north ; which
was received with great joy, every body being is
fear of himself: and so this threatening storm was
dissipated without the effusion of much blood, save
what the sword of justice drew. At the same time,
the king of Scotland returning from France with
his queen, and touching on the coast of England,
many of the people fell down at his feet, jnraying
him to assist them, and he should have all. But he
was, it seems, bound up by the French king ; aad
so went home, without giving them any encourage-
ment. And thus ended this rebellion, which was

THE REFORMATION. 911

diieflj. carried on hy the deigy, under the pretence book
Lon. — - —

And now the king was delivered of all his appre- ^ ^^^^:
hensions, that he had been in for some years, in fear>itatioaof
of stirs at home. But, they being now happily tenet,
composed, as he knew it would so overawe the rest
of his discontented subjects, that he needed fear no-
thing firom them for a great while ; so it encouraged
him to go on in his other designs of suppressing the
rest of the monasteries^ and reforming some other
points of religion. Therefore there was a new vi-
sitation appouited for all the mmiasteries of Eng«
land. And the visitors were ordered to examine all
things that related either to their conversation, to
their affection to the king and the supremacy, or
to their superstition, in their several houses; to
discover what cheats and impostures there were,
either in their imi^es, relics, or other miraculous
things, by which they had drawn people to their
houses on pilgrimages, and gotten from them any
great presents. Also to try how they were affected
during the late commotions ; and to discover every
thing that was amiss in them, and report it to the
lord vicegerent. In the records of the whole twenty-
eighth year of the king's reign, I find but one ori-
ginal surrender of any religious house : the abbot of
Fnmese in Lancashire, valued at 960 Ub. with thirty
mociks, resigning up that house to the king on the
moth of April, which was very near the end of the
year of the king's reign ; for it commenced on the
twentyrsecond of Aprfl. Two other surrenders are
enrolled that year. The one was of Bermondsey in
Surrey, the first of June, in the twenty-eighth of the
king's reign. The preamble was, that theysurrendered

H h 4

47t THE HISTORY OF

BOOK in hopes of greater benevdende fipom the Iring. 'B«t
this was the effect of some secret practice^ aid not

1537. ^ ^i^^ n^ Qf parUament : fin* it was vahwd at 548
Ub. and so fell not within the act The other was
of BushUsham, or Bishtam, in Berkriiire^ mad^ bf
Barlow, bishop of St. David's, that was oomiiiendate
of it, and a great promoter of the refimnfitioii; It
was valued at S27 ^* But in the fiiUowing jesr
they made a quicker progress ; and fimnd stnuqe
enormities in Hie greater houses. It aeema all the
houses under 200 Ub. of rent weare not yet sup-
pressed : for I find many within that value after-
wards resigning their houses. So that I am in-
clined to believe, that the first visitation benag made
towards the suppression of the lesser monaateriefi
and that (as appears by their instructions) being not
to be finished till ihey had made a report of what
they had done to the court of augmentatioii8» who
were, after the report made, to determine what
pensions were to be reserved to the abbot and other
officers ; (which report was to be made in the oc-
taves of St. Michael ; and, after that, a new conunis-
sion was to be given for their suppression ;) whea
that was done, they went no further at that time.
So that I cannot think there were many houses sup-
pressed when these stirs began : and, after their first
rising, it is not lil&ely that great pn^ress would be
made in a business that was like to inflame the
people more, and increase the number of the rebels.
Neither do I find any houses suppressed by virtue of
the former act of parliament till the twenty-ninth
year of the king's reign,
sonw of And yet they made no great haste this year. For
abbots sur- thei'c are but twenty-one surrenders all this year.

THE REFORMATION. 478

either in the rolls, or augmentatioh-ofllce. And book
now, not only small abbeys, but greater oims, were

surrendered to the king. The abbots were brought ^Jj^^^
to do it upon several motives. Some had beeniM»>Mf
&ulty during the late rebellion, and were liaUe td
the king's displeasure ; and these, to redeem them-
selves, compounded the matter by a resignation of
their house. Others began to like the rdbrmation,
and that made them the more willing to surrender
their houses ; such as Barlow, bishop of St. David^s,
who not only surrendered up his own house of Bush-
lisham, but prevailed on many others to do the like.
Others were convicted of great disorders in their
conversation ; and these, not daring to stand a trial,
were glad to accept of a pension for life, and deliver
up their house. Others were guilty of making
great wastes and dilapidations. For they all saw
the dissolution of their houses approaching, and so
every one was induced to take all the care he could
to provide for himself and his kindred ; so that the
visitors found, in some of the richest abbeys of Eng-
land, as St. Alban's and Battel, such depredations
made, that at St. Alban's an abbot could not subsist
any longer, the rents were so low ; and in Battel,
as all their furniture was old and torn, not worth an
100 Ub. so both in house and chapel they had not
four hundred marks-worth of plate. In other houses
they found not above twelve or fifteen ounces of
plate, and no fiimiture at all, but only such things
as they could not embezzle, as the walls and win-
dows, bells and lead. In other houses the abbot
and monks were glad to accept of a pension for
themselves during life ; and so, being only concerned
for their own particular interest, resigned their house

«r4 THE HI8T0R7 OF

>K to the king. OenenUyt the moiiki^ had tight mnfei
I-^a year pension, till they/w^re |krovided fiar. His
'^* abbots* pensions were proportioned to the vafaie ef
their house, and to their innocence. The dbhots of
St. Alban's and Tewksbury had four hundred maiki
a year a-piece. The abbot of St. Edmutklafaiiifj wis
more innocent ; for the visitors inrote from theno^
that they could find no acandab in that house: so
he, it seems, was not easily brought to rerign Ui
house ; and had five hundred marks penaion nacitfd
to him. And for their inferior oflloer8» acme had
thirty, some ten, or eight, and the lowest al^ £&. pen*

In other places, upon a vacancy either by deaUi or
deprivation, they did put in an abbot only to resiga
up the house. For, after the king^s. supremacy wm
established, all those abbots that had been Ibrmerif
confirmed by the pope, were placed in thia manners
the king granted a conge (fSUre to the jnior and
convent, with a missive letter, declaring the name
of the person whom they should choose ; then they
returned an election to the king, who, upon that,
gave his assent to it by a warrant under the gresft
seal, which was certified to the lord vic^erent ; who
thereupon confirmed the election, and returned him
back to the king, to take the oaths : upon whidi
the temporalities were restored. Thus all the ab-
hots were now placed by the king, and were gene*
rally picked out to serve this turn. Others, in hope
of advancement to bishoprics, or to be suffhigan
bishops, as the inferior sort of them were made.ge*
nerally, were glad to recommend themselves to the
king's favour by a quick and cheerful surrender of
their monastery. Upon some of these inducements

THE REFORMATION. 475

it was, tibat ^the (greatest number of the religious booe

houses were resigned to the king, before there was 1-

any act o£ parliament made for their suppression; ^^^
In several houses the visitors, who were generally
either masters of chancery, or auditors of the court
of augmentations, studied not only to bring them to
resign their houses, but to sign confessions of their
past lewd and dissolute lives. • Of these there is
only one now extant ; which, it is like, escaped the
general raisure and destruction of all papers of that
kind, in queen Mary's time. But, from the letters
that I have seen, J perceive there were such confeSf-
sions made by many other houses. That confession confet-
of the prior and Benedictines of St. Andrew's iubomd
Northampton, is to be seen in the rec(»ti of the^^i^
court of augmentations: in which, with the niost^^
sggraEfatiDg expressions that could be devised, they
acknowledged their past ill Ufe, *^ for which the pit
^ of hell was ready to swallow them lip. They
^ confessed that they had neglected the worship of
<^ Ood, lived in idleness, gluttony, and sensuality ;
^* with many other woeful expressions to that piir-
^^pose."

Other houses, as the monastery of Betlesdien, re- coiiect.
a^ed with this preamble; ^ That they did pro-sea?4l^*
fbundly consider, that the manner and trade of liv*
ing, which they, and others of their pretended re^
Itgion, had for a long time followed, consisted in
** some dumb ceremonies, and other constitutions of
the bishops of Rome, and other foreign potentates,
as the abbot of Cisteaux ; by which they were
Uindly led, having no true knowledge of God's
laws ; procuring exemptions from their ordinary
^^ and diocesan, by the power of the bishop of Rome ;

..^

476 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** and sulmiitting thenuielves whoUy^ to A tangi
"'* << power, who never came Mther to refimn their

1538. M abuses, which were now found among them. But
<< that now, knowing the most perfiect way of fifing

is sufficiently declared bjr Christ and his apostki;

and that it was most fit for them to be gorened
^ by the king, who was theur supreme head on
** earth, they submitted themsdves to Ida mercyi
^ and surrendered up theur monastery to him on the
^ twenty-fifth of September in the thirtieth yenrnf
*^ his reign." This writing was signed by tiie ab-
bot, the sub-prior, and nine monks. There are fif6
other surrenders to the same purpose ; by the Qaj
and White friars of Stamfinrd, the Gray fnan of Go-
Tentry, Bedford, and Ailesbury, yet to be seen.
Some are resigned upon this preamble, ^ That thej
'* hoped the king would of new found their hoose;
'' which was otherwise like to be ruined, both in
^ spirituals and temporals.'' So did the abbot rf
Chertsey in Surrey, with fourteen monks, on the
fourteenth of July, in the twenty-ninth year of this
reign ; whose house was valued at 744 Kb. I have
some reason to think that this abbot was for the re-
formation, and intended to have had his house new
founded, to be a house of true and well regulated
devotion. And so I find the prior of Oreat Malve-
rine in Worcestershire offered such a resignation:
he was recommended by bishop Latimer to Crom-
well, with an earnest desire that his house might
stand, not in monkery ^ but so as to be converted to
preachings study, and prayer. And the good prior
was willing to compound for his house by a present
of five hundred marks to the king, and of two hun-
dred to Cromwell. He is commended for being an

THE REFORMATION. 4Tr

I worthy man, a good housekeeper, and one thai book

ily fed many poor people. To this Latimer adds : '- —

kis, my good lord! Shall we not see two or three ^^^^"
every shire changed to such remedy.
But the resolution was taken once to extirpate
• And therefore, though the visitors interceded
rnestly for one nunnery in Oxfordshire, Godstow,
lere there was great strictness of life, and to which
nat of the young gentlewomen of the country were
it to be bred ; so that the gentry of the country
sired the king would spare the house ; yet all was
effectual.

The general form in which most of these resigna-Tbe form
ms begins, is, ^ That the abbot and brethren, upon tamndm.
full deliberation, certain knowledge, of their own ^^3,
proper motion, for certain just and reasonable^
causes, specially moving them in their souls and
cxHDsciences, did freely, and of their own accord, give
and grant their houses to the king.'* Others, it
?ms, did not so well like this preamble ; and there-
re did, without any reason or preamble, give away
eir houses to the visitors, as feoffees in trust for
e king's use. And thus they went on, procuring
ily more surrenders. 80 that, in the thirtieth
iar of the king's reign, there were one hundred
id fifty-nine resignations enrolled, of which the
iginab of one hundred and fifty-five do yet re-
ain. And for the reader's ftirther satisfaction, he
all find, in the Collection at the end of this book, ^oiiect.

' ^ Numb. 3.

e names of all those houses so surrendered, with ^ct. 3.
her particulars relating to them, which would too
uch weary him, if inserted in the thread of this
Drk. But there was no law to force any to make
ch resignation^ : so that many of the great abbots

' 478 THE HISTORY OF

iooK would not comply with the king in this matter, and
™* flood it out till after the fbllowii^ p«rKament> tint

1^^* was in the thirfy-firat year ci\aB rdgn.

if«n It was questioned by numy, whether tfaeae snr-

MMit renders could be good m law, since Ihe abbots were
'^' but trustees and tenants for li& It was thought
they could not absolutely alienate and pve aw^
their house for ever. But the pariiament aftck^-
wards declared the resignations were good in hnr:
for, by their foundations, sU was trusted to the ab-
bot and the seniw brethren of the houae ; wlui pat-
ting the covent-seal to any deed, it was of fiMceia
law. It was also said, that they, thus surrenderiDg,
had forfeited their charters and foundationa ; matk so
the king might sei^e and possess them with a good
title, if not upon the resignation, yet upon forfiaiiue
But others thought, that, whrtsoerer the nkefyiof
law might give the king, yet there was no sofftcf
equity in it, that a few trustees, who were either
Uibed, or frighted, should pass away that which was
none of theirs, but only given them in trust, and far
life. Other abbots were more roughly handkd.
Dme ftb- The prior of Wooburn was suspected of favouring
iinted of the rebels ; of being against the king's supremacy.
^^"' and for the pope's ; and of being for the general
council, then summoned to Mantua. And he was
dealt with to make a submission and admowle^
ment. In an account of a long conference which he
had with a privy counsellor, under his own hand,
I find that the great thing which he took offence
at was, that Latimer, and some other bishops,
preached against the veneration of the blessed Vir-
gin, and the other saints ; and that the English Bi*
ble, then set out, differed in manjT things from the

T

THE REFORMATION. 479

Latin: with several lesser matters.. 80 that they book

looked on their religion as changed ; and wondered L.

that the judgments of God upon queen Anne had ^^^'
not terrified others from going on to subvert the
faith : yet he was prevailed with^ and did agiiin
submit to the king, and acknowledged his supre-
macy ; but he afterwards joined himself to the re*
b^ls, and was taken with them, t(^ether with the
abbot of Whaley, and jtwo monks of his house ; and
the abbot of Gfervaux, with a monk of his house;
and the abbot of Sawley, in Lancashire^ with the
prior of that house ; and the prior of Burlington ;
who were all attainted of high treason, and exe-
cuted. The abbots of Glastanbury and Readmg
were men of great power and wealth : the one was
rated at 8508 Ub. and the other at 2116 lUf. They,
seeing the storm like to break out on themselves,
sent a great deal of the plate and money that they
had in their house to the rebels in the north ; which
being afterwards discovered, they were attainted of
high treason a year after this : but I mention it here
for the affinity of the matter. Further particulars
about the abbot of Reading I have not yet disco-
vered. But there is an account given to Cromwell
of the proceedings against the abbot of Gkstenbury
in two letters which I have seen : the one was writ
by the sheriff of the county ; the other by sir John
Russel, who was present at his trial, and was re-
puted a man of as great int^rity and virtue as any
in that time ; which he seems to have left as an in-
heritance to that noble family that has descended
from him. These inform, that he was indicted of
burglary, as well as treason, for having broken the
house in his monastery where the plate was kept.

460 THE HISTORY OF -

BOOK and taken it out; which, as or WilUam Tbom

III ' —w

'' — says, was sent to the rebels. The evidenoe bong

^^^' brought to the jury, who (as sir John Ruasel wrfts)
were as good and worthy men as had ever been a
any jury in that county, they found hinoi guikf.
He was carried to the place of execation, near In
own monastery; where (as the sheriff writes) he
acknowledged his guilt, and bqgged God and die
king pardon for it The abbot of Colchester wai
also attainted of high treason. What the paiticnlsn
were, I cannot tell : fiir the record of Uieir attain*
ders is lost. But some of our own writers deserve
a severe censure, who write. It was for denying the
king^s supremacy : whereas, if they had not ludv-
taken to write the history without any infbnnatka
at all, they must have seen that the whole deigf,
but most particularly the abbots, had over and ofcr
again acknowledged the king's guptemacy.

For clearing which, and discovering the impu-
dence of Sanders's relation of this matter, I shall \kj
before the reader the evidences that I find of the
submission of these, and all the other abbots, to the
king's supremacy. First, in the convocation, in the
twenty-second year of this reign, they all acknow-
ledged the king supreme head of the church of Eng-
land. They did all also swear to maintain the act
of the succession of the crown, made in the twentjr-
fifth year of his reign, in which the pope's power wss
plainly condemned : for, in the proceedings against
More and Fisher, it was frequently repeated to
them, that all the clergy had sworn it. It is also
entered in the Journal of the house of lords, that sU
the members of both houses swore it at their break-
ing up : and the same Journals inform us, that the

f

ItlE AEFORMA'f tON. 181

abbots of* Oilcliester and Readiiig sdt in thM {mr- ^^p^
fiament; and as there was no protestation made

against any of the acts passed in that session, so it id '^^*
often entered, that the acts were agreed to by thd
linanimous^ consent of the lords. It appears also, bjr
sereral original letters, that the heads Of all the reli^
gious houses in England had signed that pontion,
T%at the pope had no more Jurisdiction in this
kingdom than anyfot^eigh tnshop whMoef>er. And
it was rejected by none but some Carthilsiaiis^ and
Franciscans of tlie Observance, who were proceeded
against for refusing to acknowledge it. Wheti they
were so pressed in it, none can ithagine that a par-
liamentary abbot would have been dispensed With;
And in the last parUaittent, in whieh the second
oath about the succession to the crown was enacted,
it was added. That tiiey should also s^eai" the king
to be the supreme head of the church. The abbots
of Olastenbury and Beading ware then present, as
appeals by the Journals, and consented to it t so lit*
tie reason there is for imagining that they reiilsed
that, or atiy other compliance that might seihire
them their abbejrs.

In particular, the abbot of Reading had so got
into Cromwell's good opitnon, that, in some differ-
ences between him and Shaxton, liishop of Salis-
bury, that was Cromwell's creature, he had the bet-
ter of the bishop. Upon which Shaxton, who was a
proud ill-natured man, wrote an high expostulating
letter to Cromwell, ^ complaining of an mjunetiM
^ he had granted against him at the abbot's desire.
*' He also shewed, that, in some contests between
^ him and his re^dentiaries, and between him and
**the mayor of Salisbury, Cromwell Was always

VOL. I. I i

4M THE HISTORY <^

BOOK «< againM him : he likewise diaUengedfaiiii fiiriioiaB-
•< swering his letters. He tells hiiii» God wiH jii48e

1538. M iijin fQp abusing his power as he did: he pnji
«< God to have pity on him, and to turn his heart;
<< with a great deal more provoking kngoage." Be
also adds many insolent praises of himself; and hii
whole letter is as extravagant a piece of vanity and
insolence as ever I saw. To this Cromwdl wrole
an answer^ that shows him to have been indeed i
coUMt. great man. The readar will find it in the CoDeo*
^^"^^' tion, and see from it how modestly and diacreetfy
he carried his greatness.

But how justly soever these abbots wero «ttainte4
the seLdng on their abbey4andi^ pursuant to thosQ
attainders, was thought a great stretch of kw;
since the offence of an ecclesiastical incumbent isa
personal thing, and cannot pi^udice the cfauich; ns
more than a secular man, who is in an office^ doe%
by being attainted, bring any diminution of the
rights of his office on his successors. It is tnie^
there were some words cast into the thirteenth act
<tf the parliament, in the twenty-sixth year of tUs
reign, by which divers offences were made treasom
that seemed to have been designed for such a pur-
pose. The words are, that whatsoever lands any
traitor had qf any estate of inheritance m tue or
pMsesstan, hy any rights title^ or mean^^ should be
forfeited to the king. By which, as it is certain,
estates in tail were comprehended, so the lands that
any traitor had in possession or use seem to be in-
cluded ; and that the rather, because, by some fid-
lowing words, their heirs and successors are for ever
excluded. This either was not thought on when the
bishop of Rochester was attainted, or perhaps was

TH^ REFORMATION. 48S

not claimed ; since the king intended not to lessen book

the number of bishoprics, but rather to increase 1—

them. Besidesythe words of the statute seem only ^^^'
to belong to an estate qf inheritance ; within which
<church benefices could not be included without a
great force put on them. It is true, tha word
successor favoured these seizures ; except that be
thought an expletoiy word, put in out of form, but
still to be limited to an estate of inheritance. That
word does also import, that such criminals might
have successors. But if the whole abbey was for-
feited, these abbots could have no successors. Yet,
it seems, the seizures of these abbeys were founded
on that statute ; and this stretch of the law occa-
sioned that explanation, which was added, of the
words estate of inheritance, in the statute made in
Edward the Sixth's reign about treasons : where it
is expressed, that traitors should forfeit to the crown
what lands they had of any estate of inheritance :
to which is added, in their own right; it seems,
pn design to cut off all pretence for such proceeding
for the future, as had been in this reign. But if
there were any illegality in these seizures, the fol-
lowing parliament did at least tacitly justify them :
for they excepted out of the provisos made concern-
ing the abbeys that were suppressed, such as had
been forfeited and seized on by any attainders qf
treason.

Another surrender is not unlike these, but rather
less justifiable. Many of the Carthusian monks of
X^ondon were executed for their open denying of the
Jnng^s supremacy, and for receiving books from fo-
^ reign parts against his marriage, and other proceed-
ings : divers also of the same house, that favoured

ii2

«A THE HISTORY of

t them, but so secretly, that clear proof could not be
=. found to convict them, were kept prisoners in their
cells till they died. But the prior was a worthy
man, of whom Thomas Bedyl, one of the visitors,
writes, (hat he icas a man of such charity that he
had not seen the like, a?id that the eyes of the peo-
ple were muck on that house; and therejhre head'
■ msed, that the house might be converted to some
good use. But the prior was made to resign, with
this preamble, " That many of that house had of-
" fended the king, so that t)ieir goods might be
" justly confiscated, and themselves adjudged to a
" severe death : which they desired to avoid, by an
" humble submission and surrender of their house
" to the king." But there were great coniplaints
made of the visitors, as if they had practised with
the abbots and priors to make these surrenders ; and
that they had conspired with them to cheat the king,
and had privately embezzled most of the plate and
fiirniture. The abbess of Gbrapstov complafaied ai
particular of doctor London, one oS the visitam» thtt
he had been corrupting her nuns ; and l^drUly it
viu cried out on, that underhand and ill pncNtttt
were used. Therefore, to quiet these reportsi tioA
to ^ve some colour to justify what they were riMri^
all the foul stories that could be found out w«n^{lMb^
Ushed to defame these houses. Battd abb^ ^tm
represented to be a little Sodom ; so was Christ
Church in Canterhnry, with several other
But far whoredom and adulteiy they fbund
without number ; and of many other unDataMd^prK-
tiees and secret lusts* with turts to hinder cattte^tiota
and make abortions. But no stoiy became to ptiUBc^
as a discovery made of the prior of the Crossed SMt

f

THE BBFORMATION.

A London; who, on a Friday, at eleven o'clock iii book
be day, was found in bed with a whore. He fiell

i>wn on his knees, and prayed those who surprised ^^^
lim not to publish his shame : but they had a mind
0 make some advantage by it, and asked him money,
le gave them 30 Ub. which he protested was all he
tad ; but he promised them 30 lib. more : yet, faiU
Qg in the payment, a suit followed on it : and in a
ill which I have seen, given to Cromwell, then mas-
er of the rolls, the case is related.

But all the stories of this kind served only to dis-The tu-

;raee those abbots or monks that were so faulty. ^dcheMt

^nd the people generally said, these were personal ho^^du-

rimes, which ought to be punished : but they were ^^^^'^^

10 way satisfied with the justice of the king^s pro-

eedings against whole houses for the &ults of a few.

rherefore another way was thought on, which in*

ieed proved more effectual, both for recovering the

leople out of the superstitious fondness they had for

heir images and relics, and for discovering the se-

ret impostures that had been long practised in these

lOUses. And this was, to order the visitors to exa-

nine well all the relics and feigned images, to which

ilgrimages were wont to be made. In this, doctor

tfOndon did great service. From Reading he writes,

' That the chief relics of idolatry in the nation were

' there : an angel with one wing, that brought over

the spear's head that pierced our Saviour's side.

To which he adds, a long inventory of their other

relics; and says, there were as many more as

would fill four sheets of paper. He also writes

from other places, that he had every where taken

down their images and trinkets." At St. Edmunds-

«ry, as John ap Rice informed, they found some of

lis

486 THE HtSTOEt Otf ■'

BOOK tbe coals that roasted 8t. Lawienoe^ the parii^ ^
^"' St. Edmund's toe«, St llionias Btdcei's peakniK

1638. ^j boots, with as'ttai^ piecies of the dmi vimi
Sbviour as would make a large whole craaa. Tkigp
had also rdics against raiiit and tat famdenng weedi
to spring. But to pursue this fiirther weve eodkai
the relics were so innumerable. And the Take
which the people had of them inaj be gatfijeRd frosi
this ; that a piece of St Andrew's fii^ger^ act in aa
ounce of silver, was laid to pledge bj the house d
Wastacre for 40 Ub. but the yisiton» when thqr sap-
pressed that house, did not think fit to ledeem it i<
so high a rate.
iMH« ^^^ ^^^ images, some of them were hroughi l0
^^ London, and were there, at St. Paul's Croaa, in fbe
right of all the people, broken ; that thej in^ht be
fully convinced of the juggling impostures of ttie
monks. And in particular, the crucifix of Boxl^ is
Kent, commonly called the rood qf grace ; to whkh
many pilgrimages had been made, because it was ob^
served sometimes to bow, and to lift itself up; to
shake, and to stir head, bands, and feet ; to rcdl tbe
eyes, move the lips, and bend the brows : all whidi
were looked on by the abused multitude as tbe
effects of a divine power. These were now puUicfy
discovered to have been cheats : for the springs were
showed, by which all these motions were made.
Upon which John Hilsey, then bishop of Rochesttf»
made a sermon, and broke the rood in pieces. Tliere
was also another famous imposture discovered at
Hales in Gloucestershire ; where the blood of Christ
was showed in a vial of crystal, which the jpeojk
sometimes saw, but sometimes they could not see it :
so they were made believe, that they were not capa-

f

T&E REFORMATION. 46t

ble of so signal a favour, as long as they were in boor
tnortal sin ; and so they continued to make presents, '

till they bribed Heaven to give them the sight of so ' ^.^^•
[dessed a relic. This was now discovered to haveingiese.
)een the blood of a duck, which they renewed every
tveek : and the one side of the vial was so thick that
there was no seeing through it, but the other was
dear and transparent; and it was so placed, near
:Iie altar, that one in a secret place behind could
;um either side of it outward. So when they had
Irained the pilgrims that came thither of all they
lad brought with them, then they afforded them the
Bvour of turning the clear side outward ; who upon
;liat went home very well satisfied with their journey^
ind the expense they had been at. There was
irought out of Wales a huge image of wood, called
Oarvel Gatheren, of which one Ellis Price, visitor of
lie diocese of St. Asaph, gave this account, on the
dxth of April, 1587 ; " That the people of the coun-

* try had a great superstition for it, and many pil-

* grimages were made to it : so that, the day before

* he wrote, there were reckoned to be above five or

* six hundred pilgrims there : some brought oxen
' and cattle, and some brought money ; and it was
^ generally believed, that, if any offered to that
^ image, he had power to deliver his soul from heU.*^
3o it was ordered to be brought to London, where it
larved for fuel to bum friar Forrest. There was
m huge image of our Lady at Worcester, that was
lad in great reverence ; which, when it was stript of
iome veils that covered it, was found to be the sta-
ne of a bishop.

Barlow, bishop of St. David% did also give many
idvolisements of the superstition of his country,

I i 4

488 THE HISTORY OF

ooK and of tlie dei^ and monks of tha$ diocese, who
"'' were guilty of heathenish idohitry, gross impiety
I ^^- and ignorance, and of abusing the people wHh maiif
evident forgeries : about which, he said, he had good
evidence when it should be called for. But that
which drew most pilgrims and presents in tboie
parts, was, an image of our Lady with a taper in
her hand ; which was believed to have burnt nine
years, till one forswearing himself ujion it, it went
out ; and was then much reverenced and warshipped.
He found all about the cathedral so full of supersti-
tious conceits, that there was no hope of woridng
on them ; therefore he proposed the translating the
episcopal seat from St. David's to Caermaerden;
which he pressed by many arguments, and in seve-
ral letters, but with no success. Then many rich
shrines of our Lady of Wakingham, of Ipswich, and
Islington, with a great many more, were brought up
to London, and burnt by Cromwell's orders.
lomas But the richest shrine in Enfi^land was that of

•cket't

rine Thomas Becket, called St. Thomas of CanterbuiT
^ *°* the Martyr : who being raised up by king Henrj
the Second to the archbishopric of Canterbury, did
afterwards give that king much trouble, by opposing
his authority, and exalting the pope's. And though
he once consented to the articles agreed on at Cla*
rendon, for bearing down the papal, and securing
the regal power ; yet he soon after repented of that
only piece of loyalty of which he was guilty all the
while he was archbishop. He fled to the pope, who
received him as a confessor for the dearest article of
the Roman belief: the king and kingdom were ex«
communicated, and put under an interdict upon his
account. But afterwards, upon the intercession of

f

T9I: REFORMATION. m

p Freqcb king* king Henry and he waf€ recoo-^ book

^ and the interdict wa^ taken off. YeT his un-* L-

Liet spirit could take no rest ; for he was no sooner ^^^^*
Canterbury, than he began to embroil the king*
«n again ; and was proceeding by censures against
e archbishop of York^ and some other bishops, for
pwning the king's son in his absence. Upon the
^ws of that, the king bemg then in Normandy, said,
^ he had faithful servants^ he would not he eo
mMed with euch a priest ; whereupon some 2eal-«
» or o^dous courtiers came over and killed him :
r which, as the king was made to undergo a severe
(nance, so the monks were not wanting in their or-
nary arts to give out many miraculous stories con-*
ming his blood. This soon drew a canonizaticxi
3m Rome ; and he, being a martyr for the papacy,
ss more extoUed than all the apostles or primitive
iqts had ever been. 80 that, for three hundred
iars, he was accounted one of the greatest saints in
iayen, as may appear from the accounts in the
dger-books of the offerings made to the three great*
t altars in Christ's Church in Canterbury. The
le was to Christ, the other to the Virgin, and the
ird to St. Thomas. In one year there was offered
Christ's altar, 3l. is. 6d; to the Virgin's altar,
U. 5s. 6d ; but to St. Thomas's altar, 882/. l%s. Sd.
ut the next year the odds grew greater ; for there
as not a penny offered at Christ's altar, and at the
iigin's only 4/. 1^. Sd; but at St. Thomas's, 954/.
K Sd. By such offerings it came, that his shrine
as of inestimable value. There was one stone of-
red there by Lewis the Seventh of France, who
me over to visit it in a pilgrimage, that was he-
aved the richest in Europe. Nor did they think it

490 THE HISTORY OF

ooK enough to give him one day in the calendar, the
''^' twenty-ninth of December; but unusual honours were

1538. devised for this martyr of the liberties of the churdi,
greater than any that had been given to the mar-
tyrs for Christianity. The day of raising his bodj,
or, as they called it, of his translation, being the
seventh of July, was not only a holyday» but eveij
fiftieth year there was a jubilee for fifteen days to-
gether, and indulgence was granted to all that came
to visit his shrine ; as appears from the recxird of the
«»«![*• sixth jubilee aft;er his translation, anno 1420 ; wfaidi
Canter- bcars, that there were then about afl hundred tboo-
^' sand strangers come to visit his tomb. The jubilee
began at twelve o'clock on the vigil of the feast, and
lasted fifteen days. By such arts they drew an in-
credible deal of wealth to his shrine. The riches of
that, together with his disloyal practices, made the
king resolve both to unshrine and iinsaint him tt
once. And then his skull, which had been much
worshipped, was found an imposture : for the true
skull was lying with the rest of his bones in his
grave. The shrine was broken down, and carried
away ; the gold that was about it filling two chests,
which were so heavy, that they were a load to eight
strong men to carry them out of the church. And
his bones were, as some say, burnt ; so it was under-
stood at Rome : but others say, they were so mixed
with other dead bones, that it would have been a
miracle indeed to have distinguished them afto"-
wards. The king also ordered his name to be struck
out of the calendar, and the office for his festivity
to be dashed out of all breviaries. And thus was
the superstition of England to images and relics ex-
tirpated.

THE REFORMATION. 40l

Yet the king took ciare to qualify the distaste book
bich the articles published the former year had

ven. And though there was no parliament in the j^^J^f 2?!.
lar 1687f yet there was a convocation; upon the«>*»*^«*

, , • religion

Delusion of which, there was printed an explana^ pubiidied.
m of the chief points of religion, signed by both
e archbishops, and seventeen bishops, eight arch-
aeons, and seventeen doctors of divinity and law.
I which there was an exposition of the Creed, thcf
ren Sacraments, the Ten Commandments^ the
>rd's Prayer, and the salutation of the Virgin^
ith an account of justification and pui^tory. But
is work was put in a better form afterwards,
liere the reader will find a more particular account
it. When all these proceedings of the king^s
sre known at Rome, all the satirical pens there
sre employed to paint him out as the most infa-
ous sacrilegious tyrant that ever was. They re-ioTectiTet
esented him as one that made war with heaven, ^ pnnt!
id the saints that were there : that committed but-*^ atRome.
ges on the bodies of the saints, which the heathen-
I Romans would have punished severely upon any
at committed the like on those that were dead,
>w mean or bad soever they had been. All his
oceedings against the priests or monks that were
tainted and executed for high treason^ were re-
esented as the effects of savage and barbarous cru-
y. His suppressing the monasteries, and deyour-
g what the devotion of former ages had conse-
ated to Grod and his saints, was called ravenous
d impious sacrilege; nor was there any thing
litted that could make him appear to posterity
e blackest tyrant that ever wore a crown. They
mpared him to Pharaoh, Nebuchadonosor, Bel-

408 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK shazgar, Nero, Domitiap, and Dioctesian ; bwtduefly
'"' to Julian the Apostate. This last parallel liked tfaem

^^^^' best ; and his learning, his apostasy, and pretence of
reforming, were all thought copied irom Jafian;
only they said, his manners were woirse. Theie
things were every day printed at Borne; and the
informations that were brought out of England wm
generally addressed to cardinal Pool, whose s^
was also known in some of them. All which pos-
sessed the king with the deepest and most implac-
able hatred to him that ever he bore to any penoo;
and did provoke him to all those severities that fid-
lowed on his kindred and family.
Collect. But the malice of the court of Rome did not sKf
' ^' there. For now the pope published all those tbon-
ders which he had threatened three years befiire.
The bull of deposition is printed in Cherubin's Bulh
Rerum Romanarum; which, since many have the
confidence to deny matters of fact, though most pub-
licly acted, shall be found in the Collection papers.
rhe pope's The substance of it is as follows ; " The pope, being
niinsube '^ God's vlcar on earth, and, according to Jeremy's
"ng- a prophecy, set over nations and kingdoms, to root
out and destroy ; and having the supreme power
over all the kings i?i the whole world; was
" bound to proceed to due correction when milder
" courses were ineffectual : therefore, since king
" Henry, who had been formerly a defender ((fthe
^^ faiths had fallen from it ; had, contrary to an in-
'^ hibition made, put away his queen, and married
^* one Anne Boleyn, and had made impious and
^^ hurtful laws, denying the pope to be the supreme
'* head of the church, but assuming that title to
'' himself; and had required all his subjects, under

THE REFORMATION. 460

*' pain of death, to swear k; and had put the ttd-- Book
<^ dinal of Rochester to death> because he would not ' *

consent to these heresies ; and by all these thfai^ '^^^*
had rendered himself unworthy of his regal dig-
nity ; and had hardened his heart (as Pharaoh did)
^ against all the admonitions of pope Clement the
^ Seventh : therefore, since these his crimes were s6
notorious, he, in imitation of what the apdStle did
to Elymas the magician, proceeds to sndi cenfllure&
^ as he had deserved ; and, with the advice of his
** cardinals, does first exhort him and Idl his com-
plices to return from their errors, to annul the acts
lately made, and to in*OGeed no further upon thetn^
^ which he requires him and them to do^ under the
pains of excommunication and rebdlion, and of
the king^s losing his kingdom, whom he l«quil^
within ninety days to appear at Rome, by himsielf
or proxy, and his compH^s within siity days, to
give an account of their actions; otherwise he
^ would then proceed to a further sentence against
them. And declares, that i£ the king and his com-
plices do not appear, he has fallen from the right
•^ to his crown, and they from the right to their es-
** tates ; and when they die, they were to be denied
^* Christian burial. He puts the whole kingdom
^ under an interdict ; and declares all the king's
^ children by the said Aniie, and the children
^^ of all his complices, to be under the saiiie pains,
though they be now under age, and incapacitates
them for all honours or employments; and de-
clares all the subjects or vassals of the king's, or
his complices, absolved from all oaths or obliga-
tions to them, and requires them to acknowledge
^ them no more. And declares him and them in-

44
€4
44
U

44
44

44
44
44

4t

404 THE HI8TOEY OP

jPOOK ^ 0uiioii8» flo that thqr waif^ mStbftB ht
, ^' ^nor make wills. Hereqwrei aDolihtrpBMMtti
IMS. M imye no deaUngs with him or then, aeitibar Igr
^ trading, nor any other way, uodor the pani of cx-
^ cpmmunication ; the annuffing tfwir jDontaadiy
^ and the exposing goods so traded in, tQ ail |Ait
^ should catch them. And that |dl clqqgjQMli dwii
^ within five days after the eaqpbatiQa at Ijbe timt
^ prefixed^ go out of the kiiigdom» Qnenog odfm
^ many iniests as would be nooeamrf fiir Iwmliiin
^ infants, apd giving the sacrament to tfBtth^ mAi
f* in penitence,) under the pains of
M tion and deprivation. And diai|^ A
^ and others in his dominions, under the
^ to rise up in arms against him, jmd to dim Ini
^ out of his kingdom ; bibiIL that none .dioiiUl tahe
^ arms for him, or any wojr assist him^ jmd dtfdsm
^ all other princes absolved from any confederaeis
'' made, or to be made, with him ; and eamestff
<< obtests the emperor and all kings, and requires
'* other princes, under the former pains, to trade no
'* more with him ; and in case of their disobedience,
'' he puts their kingdoms under an interdict. And
'* requires all princes and military persons, in the
*^ virtue of holy obedience, to make war upon hin,
** and to force him to return to the obedience of the
apostolic see; and to seize on all goods or mer-
^^ chandizes belonging to the king or his comidices>
wherever they could find them ; and that such of
his subjects that were seized on, should be made
'' slaves. And requires all bishops, three days after
'^ the time that was set down was elapsed, to inti-
^' mate this sentence in all their churches witlt. pot-
'* ting out of candles, and other ceremonies that

TH]B REFORMATION. 496

<^ ought to be usedy in the most solemn and publio book

<< manner that might be. And all who hindered 1—

*• the publication of this sentence are put under the *^^^*
f* same pains. He ordained this sentence to be af-
^' fixed at Rome, Toumay, and Dunkirkj which
^ should stand for a sufficient publication ; and con-
^ eludes, that if any should endeavour to oppose, or
^ enervate any of the premises, he should incur
f' the indignation of Almighty God, and the holy
*' apostles St. Peter and Paul. Dated at Rome the
^ thirtieth of August 1535." But the pope found
the princes of Christendom liked the precedent of
using a king in that matter so ill, that he suspended
the execution of this bull till this time, that the sup-
pression of abbeys, and the burning of Thomas
Becket's bones, (for it was so represented at Rome^
though our writers say they were buried,) did so
inflame the pope, that he could forbear no longer ;
and therefore, by a new sentence, he did all he
could to shake him in his throne.

The preamble of it was, ** That as our Saviour *
^* had pity on St. Peter after his fall, so it became ,

^ SL Peter's successors to imitate our Saviour in his
^' clemency ; and that therefore, though he, having
^ heard of king Henry's crimes, and had proceeded
*' to a sentence against him, (here the former bull
^ was recited,) yet some other princes, who hoped
*^ he might be reclaimed by gentler methods, had in-
^ terposed for a suspension of the sentence ; and he,
'* being easy to believe what he so earnestly desired,
^* had upon their intercession suspended it. But
'' now he found they had been deceived in their
<< hop^, and that he grew worse and worse ; and
** had done such dishonour to the saints, as to raise

40ft THfe tiistoitir a» ^

BOOK "" HtTbMiias tf GaiitetlNii^s MT^ <o %ldl^|tlLli«
"* *^ of high treftsim, flEnd to IMM hi* UOfi dn

1538. << legkmsly to rob the riches that htA htKtk

« to his shrine: as alsotoiUpp«i Stb AdMiiAi sll-
'* bej in Canterbury; and that» hattfalg tkniit «if
^ the monks, he had put ib wild beam liilii tk^
" grounds, baring transfinrttied hilnai^ into a bsirt.
^ Therefore he takes off the suspenilw^ «iid pth
« lishes the bull, comitiaodiBg it to be tttooMed t ds-
^ daring, that the affixing it At IKepe Hr JMUlBI
^m France, at St.Andrew's or Qi^aMeli (dM i^
^ CaDstream, a town near the botder of fii^hli^
« in Scotland, or Tuam or AMiftrt in iMlind^ wt
^ any two of these, should be a staAdieal paUba^
^ tion. Dated the seventeenth eC Heeendbar^ aMs
'' Dom. ISSSr

No man can read these bolls, but lie Mmft Mh
elude, that if the pope be the infiiHible and nainai
pastor of the church, whom all are bound to obef,
he has a full authority over all kings to proceed to
the highest censures possible : and since the matteis
of fact, enumerated in the sentence as the grounds
of it, were certainly true, then the pope h eitiier
clothed with the powers of deposing jninces ; or, if
otherwise, he lied to the world when he preteuded
to it thus, and taught false doptrine. Which caniMi
stand with infallibility : and the pretended grounds
of the sentence, as to matter of feet, being evidenOy
true, this must be a just sentence ; and therefore all
that acknowledged the infallibility of that see were
bound to obey it, and all the rebdlions that followed,
during the reign of the king or his chUdren, were
founded on this sentence, and must be justified by
it ; otherwise the pope's infallibility must ftll to tk

THE REFOEMATION. 497

ground. But this was to be said for the pope, that boor
though he had raised the several btenches of this

sentence higher thtti any of his predecessors had '^^-
ever done, yet, as to the main, he had very good and
authentic precedents for what he did, from the de-
positions of emperors or kings, that were made by
former popes, for about five hundred years together.
This I thou^t needful to be more fully opened, be-
cause of the present circumstances we are now in ;
since hereby every one, that will consider things,
must needs see, that the belief of the pope's itifalli-
biUty does necessarily infet* the acknowledgment of
their power of deposing heretical kings. For it is
plain the pope did this ex cathedra^ and as a pas-
tor feeding and correcting his flock.

But, not content with this, he also wrote to other
princes, inflaming them against the king ; particu-
larly to the kings of France and Scotland. To the Lesiej,
last of these he sent a breve, declaring king Henry ""^* ^***'
an heretic, a schismatic, a manifest adulterer, a pub*
lie murderer, a rebel, and convict of high treason
against him, the pope his lord ; for which crimes he
had deposed him, and offered his dominions to him,
if he would go and invade them. And thus the
breach between him and the pope was past recon-
ciling ; and at Rome it was declared equally merito-
rious to fight against him, as against the Turk. But
cardinal Pool made it more meritorious in his book.
Yet the thunders of the Vatican had now lost their
force ; so that these had no other effect but to en-
rage the king more against all such as were sus-
pected to favour their interests, or to hold any cor-
respondence with cardinal Pool. Theriefore he first
procured a declaration against the pope's pretensions^

VOL. I. K k

108 THE HISTOBT OF

BOOK to be signed bjr all the biahcyps of Shug^aiid :iii
"^ wiiichy after they had dedared against tbe pop^

''^^ ecdesiastical jarisdictioiiy upon Ae grounds ftr^
Th«ei«g7 touched, they concluded, **That the people ought to
dMimd ^ be instructed, that Christ did exprenly forbid Ik

tCiar ^ apostles or their successors to take to themadfes
^ the power of the sword, or the antfaorify of Idiigii
^ And that, if the bishop of Rome, or any other B-
^ shop, assumed any such power, he was a tjrnot
^ and usurper of other men*s rights, andla siibvertar
"^ of the kingdom of Christ'' This was sobscribel
by nineteen bishops, (all that were then in SSngiaiMl)
and twenty-five doctors of divinity and law. It irm
at some time before May 15S8 : for Edwaid Foa^
bishop of Hereford, w1k> was one that fl%ned itydtel
the eighth of May that year. There was no confo-
catnm caHed by writ for doing this; for as there is
no mention of any such writ in the r^^iaters^ so^ if
it had been done by convocation, Cromwell had
signed it first ; but his hand not being at it, it is
more probable that a meeting of the clergy was
called by the king^s missive letters ; or that, as was
once done before, the paper was drawn at Londoo,
and sent over the kingdom to the episcopal sees, ibr
the bishops' hands to it.
couect. There is another original paper extant, signed at
Numb. 10. iiiig tiujg by eight bishops ; from which I conjecture
those were all that were then about London. It
was to show, ** That, by the commission which Chnt
gave to churchmen, they were only ministers of
his gospel, to instruct the people in the pniity of
the faith ; but that, by other places of scripture^
the authority of Christian princes over aU their
subjects, as well bishops and priests, as others, was

€€

r

THE REFORMATION. 499

** also dear. And that the bishops and priests hare book
<< charge of souls within their cures ; power to- ad-

*• minister sacraments^ and to teach the word of ^^^'
** God : to the which word of God, Christian princes
acknowledge themselves subject ; and that, in case
the bishops be negligent, it is the Christian prince's
** office to see them do their duty." This being
signed by John Hilsey, bishop of Rochester, must
be after the year 1537» in which he was contecrated;
and Latimer and Shaxton also signing, it must be
before the year 1539) in which they resigned. But
I belieye it was signed at the same time that the
other was : and the design of it was, to refute those
calumnies spread at Rome, as if the king had wholly
suppressed all ecclesiastical officers, and denied them
any divine authority, making them wholly depend-
ent on the dvil power, and acting by commission
only from him. And therefore they explained the
limits of both these powers in so dear and moderate
a way, that it must have stopped the mouths of all
opposers. But whether there was afiy public use see Adden.
niade of this paper, I can by no means discover.

The king did also set forward the printing of the The sibie
English Bible, which was finished this year at Lon-En^utb!"
don by Grafton the printer, who printed one thou*
sand five hundred of them at his own charge. This
Bible Cromwell presented to the king, and procured
his warrant, allowing all his subjects, in all his do-
minions, to read it» without control or hazard.
For which the archbishop wrote Cromwell a letter
pf most hearty thanks, dated the thirteenth of Au
gust : ** who did now rejoice that he saw this day of
^* reformation, which he concluded was now risen in
f< England, since the light of God's word did shine

K k 2

500 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK ^ over it without any doad.** The tnnaMlcNi M
III

been sent over to France to be prinled at Fuiiy tihe

^^^^' workmen in England not being judged able to do it
alB it ou^t to be. Therefore^ in the year lASTt &
was recommended to Bonner^s care^ who waa fhen
ambassador at Paris, and .was much in CnminBi
&vour, who was setting him up againvt GaidiiKr.
He procured the king of France's leare to print^it
at Paris in a large volume; but^ upon a oom^aiiit
made by the French clergy, the pereaa waa atoppsi
and most of the copies were seised on, and paNfid^
burnt ; but some copies were conveyed out of tk
way, and the workmen and fiirms were bronglit oner
to England; where it was now finished and pab-
New in- fished. And injunctions were given out in the U^fk
•ct out by name, by Cromwell, to all incumbents^ *' to pioftt
coii^* ^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^ Bibles, and set it up puUidy in Ik
Numb. II. » church, and not to hinder or discourage the read^
** ing of it, but to encourage all persons to peruse it,
" as being the true lively word of God, which enxj
** Christian ofight to believe, embrace, and fdloir, if
** he expected to be saved. And all were exhorttd>
'^ not to make contests about the exposition or sense
** of any difficult place, but to refer that to men of
** higher judgment in the scriptures. Then soott
'* other rules were added, about instructing the pea-
" pie in the principles of reUgion, by teaching die
*' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and Ten Command*
*^ ments in English : and that in every church tiieve
** should be a sermon made every quarter of a year
** at least, to declare to the people the true gospel of
** Christ, and to exhort them to the works of chariot
" mercy, and faith ; and not to trust in other nien)
^' works, or pilgrimages to images, or reUc8» or saf*

I

R

THE REFORMATION. 601

^' iDg over beads, which they did not understand; book

*^ since these things tended to idolatry and supersti- -
•* tion, which of all offences did most provoke Grod's ^^^®"
^"^ indignation. They were to take down all images
«' which were abused by pilgrimages, or offerings
<< made to them, and to suffer no candles to be set
*^ before any image ; only there might be candles
^^ before the cross, and before the sacrament, and
about the sepulchre : and they were to instruct the
people, that images served only as the books of the
^ unlearned, to be remembrances of the conversa-
tions of them whom they represented ; but if they
made any other use of images, it was idolatry : for
^^ remedying whereof, as the king had already done
*^ in part, so he intended to do more for the abolish-
<' ing such images, which might be a great offence
** to God, and a danger to the souls of his subjects.
^^ And if any of them had formerly magnified such
images, or pilgrimages, to such purposes, they
were ordered openly to recant, and acknowledge,
** that in saying such things they had been led by
no ground in scripture ; but were deceived by a
vulgar error, which had crept into the church
through the avarice of those who had profit by it.
They were also to discover all such as were letters
of the reading of God's word in English, or hin-
' '< dered the execution of these injunctions. Then
^ /^ followed orders for keeping of registers in their
' '* parishes ; for reading all the king's injunctions
^ " once every quarter at least ; that none were to
^ '* alter any of the holydays without directions from
the king ; and all the eves of the holydays, for-
merly abrogated, were declared to be no fasting-
^ days ; the commemoration of Thomas Becket was

KkS

€€
(€
U
€€

€€
€€

tm THE HISTOBY^CH?

BOOK •« to be clean omitted; the knpdiitt fsr the Av^

** after sermon were abo finliidden, irtddi wen waA

4€
$i
M

1538. €€ ill jiQpe to obtain the pope's pardon. And wtaoNM
^ in their processions they used to aaj so numj spf^
«^ frages, with an ora pro iiobU to die auntib hf

which they had not time to say the aoffin^es it

God himself; they were to teadi the peopk^thiC
^ it were better to omit the &ra pro nobis, and ts

sing the other suffrages» whidi were moat neotf
<< sary and most effectuaL'*

These injunctions struck at three main points d
popery ; containing encouragements to the Tu%ar to
read the scriptures in a known tongue, and puttiiil
down all worship of images, and leaving it fiee Ar
any curate to leave out the suflSra^^es to the ssliali:
so that they were looked on as a deadly fallow to tlit
religion. But now those of that party dM ao artifi-
cially comply with the king, that no advantages
could be found against any of them for their disobe-
dience. The king was master at home, and no
more to be disobeyed. He had not only broken tbe
rebellion of his own subjects, and secured himsdC
by alliance, from the dangers threatened him by tbe
pope ; but all their expectations from the lady Msrf
were now clouded : for, on the twelfth of Octobei')

Prince Ed- 1537, queen Jane had borne him a son, who

' christened Edward ; the archbishop of Canterbmy
being one of his godfathers. This very much ea-
couraged all that were for reformation, and dishesit-
ened those who were against itr But the joy fir
this young prince was qualified by the queen's death
two days after, which afflicted the king very mwi;
for of all his wives she was the dearest to hna
And his grief for that loss is given as the reasM wkj

THE REFORMATION. BOA

he continued two years a widower. But others book
thought he had not so much tenderness in his nature

1538.

as to be much or long troubled for any thiQg : there-
fore the slowness of his marrying was ascribed to
some reasons of state. But the birth of the princie
was a great disappointment to all those whose hopes
rested on the lady Mary's succeeding her father:
therefore they submitted themselves with more than
ordinary compliance to the king.

Gardiner was as busy as any in declaiming against ^f^ ^^'
the religious houses ; and took occasion^ in many of the popiah
bis sermons, to commend the king for suppressing ^*^^'
them. The archbishop of York had recovered him-
self lit court ; and I do not find that he interposed
in the suppression of any of the religious houses,
except Hexham, about which he wrote to Cromwell,
that it was a great sanctuary when the Scots made
inroads ; and so he thought that the continuing of it
might be of great use to the king. He added in
that letter, ^^that he did carefully silence all the
preachers of novelties. But some of these boasted,
that . they would shortly have licenses from the
king, as he heard they had already from the arch-
bishop of Canterbury ; but he desired Cromwell
to prevent that mischief." This is all that I find
of him.

_ There is a pardon granted to Stokesley, bishop of
Liondon, on the third of July, in the thirtieth year
of his reign, being this year, for having acted by
conmiission from Rome, and sued out bulls from
thence. If these crimes were done before the sepa^
ration from Rome, they were remitted by the gene-
ral pardon. If he took a particular pardon, it seems
strange that it was not enrolled till now. But I am

K k 4

4i

€€
4€
€€

S04 THE HiSTOBar or

BOOK apt to bdieve, it was mther tiie oomImi of a dnki
'"' than hklwiDg guilty of moii a twnigwhm afaool

1538. this time; for I see no cause to think -tfae kiaf
would have pardoned such a crime m m hishnp k
those days. All that party had iiow» by their ooai*
pliance and submission, gained so iqadi on tlie Jck^
that he began to torn more to their eounaela than he
had done of late years. Gardiner was lekumcd ftosi
France, where he had been ambassador finr sons
years ; he had been also in the emperai^s eourty and
there were violent presumptions that lie had aeerell^
reconciled himself to the pope^ and entered into a
conrespcmdence with him. For one of tke hg/ta^
servants discoursed of it at Ratisbone to one ef ar
Henry Knevet*s retinue, (who was joined ia the ess*
bassy with Gardiner,) whom he took to be GardnM^
servant, and with whom he had an old acqnanilanoB^
The matter was traced, and Knevet qpoke with the
Italian that had first let it fall, and waa persuaded
of the truth of the thing : but Grardiner smelling it
out, said, that Italian, upon whose testimony the
whole matter depended, was corrupted to ruin him ;
and complained of it to the emperor's chancdlor
Granvel : upon which Ludovico (that was the Ita-
lian's name) was put in prison. And it seems the
king either looked on it as a contrivance of Gardi-
ner's enemies, or at least seemed to do so, for he
continued still to employ him. Yet on many occa-
sions he expressed great contempt of him, and used
him not as a counsellor, but as a slave. But he was
a man of great cunning, and had observed the king^s
temper exactly, and knew well to take a fit occasion
for moving the king in any thing, and could im-
prove it dexterously. He therefiMe represented to

p THE REFORMATION. flQg

^ king, that nothing would so secure him, both at book

jpie and abroad, against all the mischief the pope 1_

JIW contriving, as to show great zeal against here^ oal^ffr*
jm, chiefly the Sacramentaries ; (by that name ^}^ ^p ^«

f' ijr branded all that denied the corporal presence guoit those
Christ in the eucharist.) And the king, being all ^^^ ^'

cramenta-
ries.

Jfi life zealous for the belief of the corporal pre*
Mce^ was the more easily persuaded to be severe

C'* at head : and the rather, because the princes of
any, whose friendship was necessaiy to him,
iipg all Lutherans, his proceedings against the
%C9ramentaries would give them no offence.
uAxk occasion at that time presented itself as ojqixir- And Lam-
iHely as they could have wished ; (me John Nicol- uc^;^'
IM, alias Lambert, was then questioned by the areh-*
Ikhop of Canterbury for that opinion. He had been
pmister of the English company at Antwerp, where
tMing acquainted with Tindal and Frith, he improv*
iril that knowledge of religion, which was first in-
(bsed in him by Bilney : but chancellor More or-
the merchants to dismiss him ; so he came
to England, and was taken by some of arch-
bishop Warham's officers, and many articles were
ribgected to him. But Warham died soon after.
Mid the change of counsels that followed occasioned
his liberty. So he kept a school at London, and
hearing doctor Taylor, afterwards bishop of Lincoln,
preach of the presence of Christ in the sacrament, he
oame to him upon it, and offered his reasons why he
eould not believe the doctrine he had preached:
wliich he put in writing, digesting them into ten ar-
guments. Taylor showed this to doctor Barnes,
who, as he was bred among the Lutherans, so had
not only brought over their opinions, but their tem-

006 THE HIOTOBY OF

r

BOOK per with him: he thought that notfafaBif fronid

— obstruct the progress of the refiinnatioBt thaa the

'^®* yenting that doctrine in England. Therefine Tsj-^
lor and he carried the paper to Cruuner^ who wai
at that time also of Luther^s ojnnioD^ whidi he had
drunk in from his friend Osiander. Liitiaier was sf
the same belief. So Lambert was brought befiie
them^ and they studied to make him retract hb pik
iMjMd per: but all was in vain ; for Lambert, hj a fital
b« UBg. resolution, appealed to the lung.

This Gardiner laid hold on, and persoaded the
king to proceed solemnly and severely in it. Tlie
king.was soon prevailed with ; and both interest and
vanity concurred to make him improve, this oppiav
tunitf for showing his zeal and laming. So ktten
were written to many of the nobility and faiabops to
come and see this trial ; in which the king intended
to sit in person, and to manage some part of the ar-
gument. In November, on the day that was pre-
fixed, there was a great appearance in Westminsttf-
hall of the bishops and clergy, the nobility, judges,
and the king's council ; with an incredible nunlier
of spectators. The king's guards were ^ in white,
and so was the cloth of state,
^nd wM When the prisoner was brought to the bar, the
ied at trial was opened by a speech of doctor Dayes, which
***^°" was to this effect : " that this assembly was not at aft
convened to dispute about any point of faith ; but
that the king, being supreme head, intended openly
to condemn and confute that man's hereqr in all
their presence." Then the king commanded him
to declare his .opinion about the sacrament. To
which Lambert began his* answer with a prefieic^
acknowledging the king's great goodness, that he

«

THE REFORMATION. 807

would thus hear the causes of his subjects, and com- book
mending his great judgment and learning. In this '*''

the king interrupted him, telling him in JLatm, that 1^^*
he came not there to hear his own praises set forth ;
and therefore commanded him to speak to the mat-
ter. This he uttered with a stem countenance ; at
which Lambert being a little disordered, the king
asked him again. Whether was Christ's body in the Argmnenu
sacrament or not ? He answered in the words of St. gaum bim.
Austin, // was his body in a certain manner. But
the king bade him answer plainly. Whether it was
Christ's body or not ? So he answered, TTuit it was
not his body. Upon which the king urged him with
the words of scripture, Hiis is my body ; and then
he commanded the archbishop to confute his opin-
ion, who spake only to that part of it, which was
gprounded on the impossibility of a body's being in
two places at once. And that he confuted from
Christ's appearing to St. Paul ; showing, that though
he is always in heaven, yet he was seen by St. Paul
in the air. But Lambert affirmed, that he was then,
only in heaven; and that St. Paul heard a voice,
and saw a vision, but not the very body of Christ.
Upon this they disputed for some time ; in which, it
seems, the bishop of Winchester thought Cranmer
argued but £Edntly, for he interposed in the argu-
ment.

Tonstal's arguments run all upon God's omnipo-
tency, that it was not to be limited by any appear-
ances of difficulties, which flowed from our want of
a right understanding of things ; and our faculties
being weak, our notions of impossibilities were pro-
portioned to these. But Stokesley thought he had
found out a demonstration that might put an end to

806 THE RI8TDBT OF.

BOOK the whole controTertjr ; finr he ihownct tlHrit in
^^ tare we see one sabetanoe dunged into nnoHiflryini

ltS8. jet the accidents remain. 80^ when water ia boilei
tin iteTaporates into air^ one substanoe ia danged
into another ; and moisture^ that waa the mt^tltmk^
remains^ it being still mdist This (aa ooe of the
eyewitnesses relates) was received with great q^
jdause, and mudi joy appeared in the faiahop'iB looki
upon it. But whether the spectators could distia-
guish well between laughter fyt joj» and a aoomM
8niile» I cannot tell : finr certainly this arotehet mart
hare provoked the latter rather> auioe it waa a ss-
phism not to be fiirgiven any above a jamor ao^Us-
ter ; thus from .an accidental conversion, where Urn
substance waa still the same» only altered in ita ftrai
and qualities, (aooording to the language of tint
philosophy which was then most in vogue^ to infer
a substantial mutation, where one substance was aa«
nihilated, and a new one produced in its place. But
these arguments, it seems, disordered Lambert some-
what ; and, either the king^s stem looks, the variety
of th^ disputants, ten, one after another, engaging
with him, or the greatness of the presence, with tiie
length of the action, which continued five hours, put
him in some confusion : it is not improbable but
they might in the end bring him to be quite silent
This, one that was present said, flowed from his
being spent and wearied ; and that he saw what he
said was little considered : but others ascribed it to
his being confounded with the arguments that were
brought against him. So the general i^plause of
the hail gave the victory on the king's side. Whdi
he was thus silent, the king asked him. If he was
convinced by the arguments, and whether he wouU

THE REFORMATION. 509

live or die ? He answered, That he committed hie fiooic

III

soul to God, and submitted hie body to the kin^e 1—

clemency. But the king told bim, if he did not re- '^^®'
cant, he must die ; for he would not be a patron of
heretics : and since he would not do that, the king
ordered Cromwell to read the sentence, (which he, He is coq-
as the kmg's vicegerent, did,) declaring him an in«
corrigible heretic, and condemning him to be burnt.
Which was soon after executed in Smithfield, in a
most barbarous manner; for, when his legs and
thighs were burnt to the stumps, there not being fire
enough to consume the rest of him suddenly, two
of the officers raised up his bodj on their halberds,
be being yet alive and crying out, None hut Chriet,
none but Christ; and then they let him fall down
into the fire, where he was quickly consumed to And bunt.
ashes. He was a learned and good man. His an-
swers to the articles objected to him by Warham,
and a book which in his imprisonment he wrote for
justifying his opinion, which he directed to the king,
do show both great learning for those times, and a
very good judgment.

This being done, the party that opposed the re-
formation persuaded the king, that he had got so
much reputation to himself by it, that it would ef*-
fectually refute all aspersions, which had been cast
on him, as if he intended to change the faith : nei«-
ther did they forget to set on him in his weak side,
and magnify all that he had said, as if the oracle had
uttered it : by which, they said, it appeared, he was
indeed a defender of the faith, and the supreme
head of the church. And he had so good a conceit
of what was done, that he intended to pursue these
severities fturther ; and therefore, soon after, he re*

no THE HISTORY OF

BOOK wived on summoniiig a pariiameptb pVfStf tar
'"' finning what he had done» and eompletiiiig: what le-

J^^- mained to be done further, in the wippreMJon of Ae
monasteries ; and likewise fiir makiiig a new kw
fiir punishing some opinions, whidi weve thea
spreading about the sacrament, and tome other arts-
des, as will soon appear,
ntfopui Now the archbishop of Canterfaiii7*8 intenst it
gmLttfc court suffered a great diminution. Hiadiieffiiedi

among the bishops was Fox, bishop of Herefivi
who was much esteemed and emplojed by the Uag.
He was a privy oounsdlor, and had been emplofed
in a negotiation with the jprinces of Genniay, to
whom he was a very acceptable nunister. Th^
proposed, that the king would receive the Anshm
Confession, except in such things as should be st
tered in it by common consent, and defend it in i
free council, if any such were called ; and that a»
ther of them should acknowledge any council called
by the pope : that the king should be called the jtir
tron of their league, and tbey should mutually si*
sist one another, the king giving 100,000 crowns s
year towards the defence of the league.

The bishop of Winchester, being then in Franoe^

did much dissuade the king from making a religioiD

league with them; against which he gave some

plausible politic reasons, for his conscience never

struggled with a maxim of state. But the long

liked most of the propositions ; only he would not

accept the title of defender of their league, till some

TiM king's differences in the doctrine were agreed. So tb^

draM^*^ were to have sent over Sturmius as tbeir agent; and

German Mclancthon, Bucer, and George Draco, to confer

princes, ^jjjj ^jjg king^s . divines. But, upon queen Anne's

THE REFORMATION. 511

fall* this vanished ; and though the king entered into boo k
a civil league with them, and had frequently a mind

to bring over Melancthon, for whom he had a great '^^®'
value, yet it never took effect. There were three
things in which the Grermans were more positive
than in any other point of reformation ; these were,
the communion in both kinds, the worship in a
known tongue, and an allowance for the marriage of
the clergy. All the people had got these things in
their heads ; so that it was generally believed, that
if the pope had in time consented to them, the pro-
gress of the reformation had been much stopped.
The express words of the institution, and the novelty
of the contrary practice, had engaged that nation
very early for communion in both kinds. Common
sense made them all desire to understand what they
did and said in the worship of God ; and the lewd
and dissolute practices of the unmarried clergy were
so public, that they thought the honour of their fa-
milies, of which that nation is extremely sensible,
could not be secured, unless the clergy might have
wives of their own. But at these the king stuck
more than at other things that were more disput-
able : for in all other points that were material, he
had set up the doctrine of the Ausburg Confession ;
and there was good ground to hope, that the evi-
dence of at least two of these would have brought
over the king to a fuller agreement, and firmer union
with them. But the bishop of Hereford's death gave See Adden-
a great blow to that design : for though that party
thought they had his room well filled, when they
had got Bonner to be his successor ; yet they found Bonoer't
afterwards what a fatal mistake they committed, in tion.
raising him now to Hereford, and translating him,

518 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK within a few months, to London^ vacant by Stokes-
^"' ley's death. But, during the yacancy of the see of

1538. Hereford, Cranmer held a visitation in it» where he
:>oiiect. left some injunctions (to be found in the CollectioD)
which chiefly related to the encouraging of reading
the scriptures, and giving all due obedience to the
king's injunctions. For the oth^ bishops that ad-
hered to Cranmer, they were rather dogs than hdps
to him. Latimer's simplicity and weakaeas made
him be despised ; Shaxton's proud and litigious hu-
mour drew hatred on him; Barlow was not veiy
discreet; and many of the preachers whom thef
cherished, whether out of an unbridled forwardness
of temper, or true zeal, that would not be managed
and governed by politic and prudent measures, were
flying at many things that were not yet abolished.
Many complaints were brought of these to the Idog.
Upon which, letters were sent to all the bishops, in
the king's name, to take care, that as the people
should be instructed in the truth, so they should not
be unwarily charged with too many novelties ; since
the publishing these, if it was not tempered with
great discretion, would raise much contention, and
other inconveniences, that might be of dangerous
consequence. But it seems this caveat did not pro-
duce what was designed by it, or at least the oppo-
site party were still bringing in new complaints : for
I have seen an original letter of Cromwell's to the
Collect, bishop of Landaffe, bearing date the sixth of Ja-
Numb. 13. nuary, in which he makes mention of the king^s let^
See Adden- tcr scnt to that purposc, and requires him to look to
the execution, of them, both against the violence of
the new preachers, and against those that secretly
carried on the pretended authority of the bishop of

THE REFORMATION. 518

I Rome; otherwise he threatens to proceed i^mst book

him in another manner. AU these things concurred 1—

I to lessen Cranmer's interest in the court; nor had '^^'
I he any firm Mend there but CromweU, who was
I also careful to preserve himself: there was not a
queen now in the king's bosom to favour their mo-
tions. Queen Jane had been their friend, though
she came in Anne Boleyn's room, that had supported
them most. The king was observed to be much
guided by his wives, as long as they kept their in-
terest with him. Therefore Cromwell though^ the
only way to retrieve a design that was almost lost
was to engage the king in an alliance with some of
the princes of Germany ; from whence he had heard
much of the beauty of the htiy Anne of Cleves, the
duke of Cleves' sister, whose elder sister was married
to the duke of Saxony.

But^ while he was setting this on foot, a parUa- a new par.
ment was summoned to meet the twenty-eighth of

; to which all the parliamentary abbots had
their writs. The abbots of Westminster, St. Alban's,
St. Edmundsbury, St. Mary York, Olastenbury, Glo-
^ eester, Ramsey, Evesham^ Peterborough, Reading,
p Mafanesbury, Croyfamd, Selby, Thorny, Winchel-
^ comb, Waltham, Cirencester, Teukesbury, Cokhes-
g ter, and Tavestoke, sat in it. On the fifth of May
^ the lord diancellor acquainted them, that the king,
p. being most desirous to have all his subjects of one
P' mind in religion, and to quiet all controversies about
it, had commanded him to move to them, that a
I committee might be appointed for examining tKese
different opinions, and drawing up articles for an
agreement, which might be reported and consi-
dered by the house. To this the lords agreed \

VOL. 1. L 1

514 THEHISTORTOF

BOOK and named for « committee, Cromwell the vicege-
rent, the two archbishops, the Ushqps of Duiesm^

1538. Q3|}^ QQJ Wells, Ely, Bangor, Carlisle, and Wor-
cester: who were ordered to go about it with al
haste, and were dispensed with for their attendance
in the house tin they had ended their bnsinM-
But they could come to no agreement; for Ae
archbishop of Canterbury, having Uie biahops of
Ely and Worcester to second him, and boi^ ft-
voured by Cromwell, the other five oonld cany no-
thing against them: nor would either party yidl
to the other; so that eleven days passed in thw
debates.
TiMtisar. On the sixteenth of May the duke of Norfolk toU
propoMd. the lords, that the committee that was named hd
made no progress, for thqr were not of one nind;
which some of the lords had objected^ when tli9
were first named. Therefore he offered 8<mie arii'
cles to the lords' consideration, that they might be
examined by the whole house, and that there nugbt
be a perpetual law made for the observation of thon^
after the lords had freely delivered their minds about
them. The articles were ;

** First, Whether in the eucharist Christ's ted
*^ body was present without any transubstantiation?'
(so it is in the Journal, absque transubstantiatimie)
It seems, so the corporal presence had been esta-
blished, they would have left the manner of it inde-
finite.

^^ Secondly, Whether that sacrament was to be
'^ given to the laity in both kinds ?

" Thirdly, Whether the vows of chastity, made
" either by men or women, ought to be observed by
" the law of God ?

€€

THE REFORMATION. 5l6

" Fourthly, Whether, by the law of God, private book

masses ought to be celebrated ?

** Fifthly, Whether priests, by the law of God, ^^^^•
<• might marry ?

" Sixthly, Whether auricular confession was ne-
<* cessary by the law of God ?"
• Against these the archbishop of Canterbury ar-
gued long. For the first, he was then in his opinion
a Lutheran, so he was not like to say much against
it. But certainly he opposed the second much ; Reuons
since there was not any thing for which those with th^.^
whom he held correspondence were more earnest,
and seemed to have greater advantages, both from
Christ's own words in the institution, and the con-
stant practice of the church for twelve ages.
: For the third, it seemed very hard to suppress so
many monasteries, and set the religious persons at
liberty, and yet bind them up to chastity. That
tame parliament, by another act, absolved them from
their vow of poverty, giving them power to purchase
lands : now it was not reasonable to bind them up
to some parts of their vow, when they absolved them
firom the rest. And it was no ways prudent to bind
them up from marriage, since, as long as they con-
tinued in that state, they were still capable to re-
enter into their monasteries, when a fair occasion
"riiould offer; whereas they, upon their marrying,
xlid effectually lay down all possible pretensions to
iheir former houses.

For the fourth, the asserting the necessity of pri-
vate masses was a plain condemnation of the king's
proceedings in the suppression of so many religious
houses, which were societies chiefly dedicated to that
purpose : for if these masses did profit the souls de-

l12

516 THE HISTORY OF

HOOK parted, the destrojring so manj

-not l>c justified. And for the Utid^ these

'''^^**'' iiiiiMHCfl were clearly contraij to the first
tioii, by which that which was blessed and
rratiHl was to l)e distributed : and it was I
iHunmunion, and so held by the primitiTe
wliich admitted none so much as to see tl
lira t ion of that sacrament, but those who r
it : laying censures upon such as were pre
tho rest of that office, and did not stay sjod c
nicatc.

For the fifth, it touched Cranmer to the
ftir he was then married. The scripture di
|daiv ei\join the celibate of the cleif;7. On tl
tniry« scripture speaks of their wives, and gii
rules of their living with them. And St I
ex|HV» words, condemns all men's leaving
wives* without exception : saying, that tk
AtiM «!»/ poicer over his own hcdy^ hut the wi
Iho iMrinutivo church, though those that were
dor9 did not marry, yet such as were married
iuxlcnt kept their wives ; of which there wet
iiMamvs. And when some moved in the i
K>i Niw. that all that had been married* whe
cntcrtxl into iuxlers should put away their w
^ a$ n^kx^txl : and ever since, the Greek di
Kaw ;iiUowcd their priests to keep their wives
^:iis it ever commanded in the western cfaur
t!v^* ivjv* be^n their usurpation. TheffefiH
(MX'^ibitx'a iU' it being only grounded on ik
vVit^ututioos^ it was noc reasonable co keep
^iNv thtai authoritv, on which ic

\V\s\ %4s^ siikl cvHKXL'ming auric

THE REFORMATION. «1T

)t to easily recover. For though Cranmer ar- book
three days against these articles, I can only ga-

the substance of his arguments firom what him-sJidfeii-
nrote on some of these heads afterwards : for ^
ng remains of what passed there but what is
ijed to us in the Journal, which is short and de^
^e.

I the twenty-fourth of May the parliament waft
igued to the thirtieth ; upon what reason it does
ppear. It was not to set any of the bills back-
; for it was agreed, that the bills should conti-
jk the state in which they were then, till their
meeting. When they met again, on the thir-
of May, being Friday, the lord chancellor inti-
d to them, that not only the spiritual lords, but
king himself, had taken much pains to bring
^ to an agreement, which was effected. There-
he moved, in the king's name, that a bill might
rought in for punishing such as offended against
t articles. So the lords appointed the archbishop
anterbury, the bishops of Ely and St David's,
doctor Petre, a master of chancery, (afterwards
ftary of state,) to draw one bill ; and the archbi-
of York, the bishop of Duresme, and Windbes-
smd doctor Tregonnel, another master of chanr
» to draw another bill about it; and to have
I both ready, and to offer them to the king by
lay next. But the bill that was drawn by the
bishop of York, and those with him, was best
L : yet it seems the matter was long contested,
it was not brought to the house before the
nth of June ; and then the lord chancellor of-
1 it, and it was read the first time. On the
h of June H had the second reading, and on tly^

- ^«-'- • Lis

618 THE HISTORY OF .

ooK tenth it was engrossed^ and read tlie third
III. ^.. _,.„ z. passed, the king desired ^^-

for

1539. bishop of Canterbury to go out of the honae^ since
he could not give his consent to it ; but he fanni-
Uy excused himself, for he thoi^ht lie was bomid
in conscience to stay and vote against it. It w»
sent down to the house of commons, whone it art
with no great opposition ; for on the fourteenth it
was agreed to, and sent up again: and on the
twenty-eighth it had the force of a law by the mji
assent

The title of it was, an act Jar aboliMhmg divermlf
qfapinums in certain articles canceminig OkriMli^
Anftrt^ religian. It is said in the preamble, that the Ub^
^ considering the blessed effects of union, and Ae
^ mischiefii of discord, since there were mainy iSt
*^ ferent opinions, both among the dei^ and Uty,
<< about some points of religion, had called this p■^
^* liament, and a synod at the same time, for re*
^< moving these differences, where six articles were
*^ proposed, and long debated by the clergy : and
^^ the king himself had come in person to the p8^
*' liament and council, and opened many things of
^^ high learning and great knowledge about than:
*^ and that he, with the assent of both houses of
^* parliament, had agreed on the following artidei
<^ First, That in the sacrament of the altar, after the
^* consecration, there remained no substance of bresd
^* and wine, but under these forms the natural bodj
^^ and blood of Christ were present. Secondly, That
communion in both kinds was not necessaiy to
salvation to all persons by the law of Grod ; but
that both the flesh and blood of Christ were toge-
ther in each of the kinds. Thirdly, That priests,

it

THE REFORMATION. 619

^' after the order of priesthood, might not many by book

the law of God. Fourthly, That vows of chastity — — 1-
ought to be observed by the law of God. Fifthly, ^^^^*
'' That the use of private masses ought to be con-
^ tinued ; which as it was agreeable to God's law,
** so men received great benefit by them. Sixthly,
*' That auricular confession wasr expedient and ne-
** cessary, and ought to be retained in the church.
^' The parliament thanked the king for the pains he
^ had taken in these articles : and enacted, that if
^* any, after the twelfth of July, did speak, preach,
or write against the first article, they were to be
judged heretics, and to be burnt without any abju-
'* ration, and to forfeit their real and personal estate
to the king. And those who preached, or obsti-
nately disputed against the other articles, were to
be judged felons, and to suffer death as felons,
without benefit of clergy. And those who, either
in word or writing, spake against them, were to be
prisoners during the king's pleasure, and forfeit
their goods and chattels to the king, for the first
time : and if they offended so the second time,
^^ they were to suffer as felons. All the marriages
^' of priests are declared void ; and if any priest did
^ still keep any such woman, whom he had so mar-
*^ ried, and lived familiarly with her, as with his
wife, he was to be judged a felon : and if a priest
lived carnally with any other woman, he was upon
the first conviction to forfeit his benefices, goods,
^' and chattels, and to be imprisoned during the
king's pleasure ; and upon the second conviction,
was to suffer as a felon. The women so offending
were also to be punished in the same manner as
the priests : and those who contemned, or ab-

Ll4

4

4C

4€

4i

MO . THE/ HISTORY QV

BOOK << stained from caoSdaAaa, or the wrrinminL il tte

III.

44

^ dccustomed timei» for the first offiance woe to ft^
1639. « feit their goods and diattd^^ and lie imprisoMd;
<^ and for the second* were to be a4ji^iged of fils^^i
^ And, for the execution of this act, oommisMH
** were to be issued out to all arcfabiahops nd K-
shops, and their chancdlors and rommisaBi ki, v^
such others in the several shires aa the kingdiCMU
name» to hold their sessions quarterly, or oftener;
and they ware to proceed upon praaentment^ aal
by a jury. Those cortmissjooers were Co swesr,
** that they should execute their ooQiBiiaaiiMi indif-
<' ferently, without fovour, aflbction, OQnru]itiali» or
^ malice. All ecclesiastical incuknbenta were to
^ read this act in their chqrchea once a qqarter.
<< Andy in the end, a proviso was added, oomoeniiBg
<^ TOWS of chastity : that^they should not oUige aaft
^ except such as had taken than at or above the
** age of twenty-one years ; or had not been oooi*
" palled to take them."
Which it This act was received by all that secretly favoured
ceosamL popery With gTcat joy ; for now they hoped to be
revenged on all those who had hitherto set forward
a reformation. It very much quieted the bigots,
who were now persuaded that the king would not
set up heresy, since he passed ^ severe an set
against it ; and it made the total suppression of mo-
nasteries go the more easily through. The papsb
clergy liked all the act very weU, except that severe
branch of it against their unchaste practices. This
was put in by Cromwell, to make it cut with both
edges. (Some of our inconsiderate writers, who
never perused the statutes, tell us, it waa done by
a different act of parliament; but greater faults

THE REFORMATION. Ctl

must be for^ven them wbo write upon hearsay.) book
There was but one comfort that the poor reformers

could pick out of the whole act; that they were not ^^^^*
left to the m^cy of the clergy, and their ecclesiasti-
cal courts, but were to be tried by a jury ; where
they might expect more candid and gentle dealing.
Yet the denjdng them the benefit of abjuration, was
a severity beyond what had ever been put in prac-
tice before: so now they began to prepare for new
Storms, and a heavy persecution.

The other chief business of this parliament was, Ah act ».

* boat the

the suppression of monasteries. It is said in the tapprettion
preamble of that act, ''that divers abbots, priors, ermoall^
*' and other heads of religious houses, had, since the ^"^'
"•* fourth of February in the twenty-seventh year of
«' the kuig's reign, without constraint, of their own
** accord, and according to the due course of the
^^ common law, by sufficient writings of record,
** under their covent-seals, given up their houses,
and all that belonged to them, to the king. There-
fore all houses that were since that time sup-
pressed, dissolved, relinquished, forfeited, or given
up, are confirmed to the king and his successors
** for ever : and all monasteries that should there-
^' after be suppressed, forfeited, or given up, are also
*' confirmed to the king and his successors. And all
^' these houses, with tiie rents belonging to them,
*^ were to be disposed of by the court of augmenta-
^' tions for the king's profit ; excepting only such as
were come into the king's hands by attainders of
treason, which belonged to the exchequer : reserv-
ing to all persons, except the patrons, founders,
^' and donors of such houses, the same right to any
parts of them, or jurisdiction in them, which they

€€
€€
€€

44

((

toot THE HISTOBT OF

BOOK ^ could have claimed if that act had never beea
"'' ^ made. Then followed manj daoaea for annnDiiig

•15S9. u 3]i deeds and leases made within one year hefise
^ the suppression of any religious houae» to the pn-
^*judice of it, or different from what had beeo
^granted formerly. And all churches or chi^di^
^ which belonged to these monasteffies, and were
<* formerly exempted firom the visitation or jutisdio*
^ tion of their ordinary, are declared to be witUi
'* the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diooes^ or
of any other that should be appointed by tke

king."

This act passed in the house of peers without mj
protestation made by any of the abbots, though ft
appears by the Journal, that, at the first .reading of
it, there were eighteen abbots present ; at the second
reading, twenty; and seventeen at the third tesd-
ing ; and the abbots of Glastenbury, Colchester, sod
Reading, were among those who were present ; so
little reason there is to think they were attainted
for any open withstanding the king^s proceedingSi
when they did not protest against this act, which
was so plainly levelled at them. It was soon de-
spatched by the commons, and offered to the royal
assent. By it no religious houses were suppressed,
as is generally taken for granted ; but only the snr-
renders, that either had been, or were to be made,
were confirmed. The last proviso, for annulling aB
exemptions of churches and chapels, had h&m t
great happiness to the church, if it had not been for
that clause, that the king might appoint others to
visit them; which in a great degree did enervate
it. For many of those who afterwards purchased
these lands, with the impropriated tithes, got this

THE REFORMATION. 528

likewise in their grants, that they should be the vi- book

sitoi*s of the churches and cliapels formerly ex- —

empted : from whence great disorders have since *^^^'
followed in these churches, which not falling within
the bishop's jurisdiction, are thought not liable to his
censures; so that the incumbents in them, being
under no restraints, have often been scandalous to
the church, and given occasion to those who were
disaffected to the hierarchy, to censure the prelates
for those offences which they could not punish;
since the offenders were thus excepted out of their
jurisdiction. This abus^ which first sprang from
the ancient exemptions that were confirmed or
granted by the see of Rome, has not yet met with
an effectual remedy.

Upon the whole matter, this suppression of abbeys
was universaUy censured ; and, besides the common
exceptions, which those that favoured the old super-
stition made, it was questioned, whether the lands
that formerly belonged to religious houses ought to
have returned to the founders and donors by way of
revertir, or to have fallen to the lords of whom the
lands were holden, by the way of escheat, or to have
come to the crown ? It is true, by the Roman law,
or at least by a judgment of the senate in Theodo-
sius's time, the endowments of the heathenish temples
were, upon a friU debate, whether they should re-
turn to the right heirs, or be confiscated ? in the end
adjudged to the fisc, or the emperor's exchequer,
upon this reason ; that, by the will of the donors,
they were totally alienated from them and their
heirs. But in England it went otherwise. And
when the order of the knights templars was dis-
solved, it was then judged in favour of the lord by

THE REFORMATION. 5S5

wcond, and third time; and sent down to the cont- book
mons. The preamble of it was, " that it was known "'
*• what slothful and ungodly life had been led by *^^-
** those who were called religious. But that these
^ houses might be converted to better uses ; that
•• God's word might be better set forth, children
** brought up in learning, clerks nourished in the
^ universities, and that old decayed servants might
^ have livings ; poor people might have almshouses
** to maintain them ; readers of Greek, Hebrew, and
^ Latin, might have good stipends ; daily alms
^ might be ministered, and allowance might Ife made
^ for mending of the highways, and exhibitions for
^ ministers of the church ; for these ends, if the king
^^ thought fit to have more bishoprics or cathedral
^ churches erected out of the rents of these houses,
^ full pow^ was given to him to erect and found
^ them, and to make rules and statutes for them,
^ and such translations of sees, or divisions of them,
^ as he thought fit." But on this act I must add a But tee
lingular remark. The preamble and material parts
of it were drawn by the king himself; and the first
draught of it, under his hand, is yet extant ; which
shows his extraordinary ^plication and understand-
ing of business. But in the same paper there is a
list of the sees which he intended to found ; of which
what was done afterwards came so &r short, that I
know nothing to which it can be so reasonably int-
puted, as the declining of Cranmer's interest at court,
who had proposed the erecting of new cathedrals
and sees, with other things mentioned in the pre-
amble of the statute, as a great mean for reforming
the church. The sees which the king then designed. The king't
with the abbeys out of which they were to be erectr ^!1^3^,

lUU

5S6 THE HISTORY OF ^

ed» foDow, as in the paper under tbe ldng|% own

hand.

Essex, Waltham.

Hartford, St Alban'k.

Bedfordshu^ and 1 DunstaUe^ Newaduun,
Buckinghamshire, j Clowstown.

Oxford and Berk- 1 ^ „

, * t Osnar and Tame.

shire, ) ^

Northampton and 1 ^ . ,
Huntington, } Peterbaroagh.

Middlesex, Westminster.

Leicester and. Rut-) , .
land, [Leicester.

CHocestershire, StPeter^s.

Lancashire, j Fountains, and the an^

( deaconry of Richmond.
Suffolk, Edmondsbury.

Stafford and Salop, Shrewsbury.

Nottingham and 1 Wdbeck, Wersop, Thur-
Derby, ) garton.

ComwaU, J Lanceston, Bedmynne,

I Wardreth.

Over these is written, l^e hishoprics to be made.
In another corner of the page he writes as fol-
lows:

Places to he altered according to our device^
which have sees in them. Chrisfs Church in Can-
terbury, St. Sunthih*s, Ely^ Duresm^ Rochester j
with a part of Leedsy Worcester ^ and all others
having the same. Then a little below ; Places t$
be altered into cdlesres and schools : Burton super

THE REFORMATION. 5«T

Trent. More is not written in that paper. But I book
wonder much, that in this list Chester was forgotten :

yet it was erected before any of them ; for I, have ^^^^*
seen a commission under the privy-seal, to the bi-'
shop of Chester, to take the surrender of the monas-
tery of Hammond in Shropshire, bearing date the
twenty-fourth of August this year. So it seems the
see of Chester was erected and endowed before the
act passed, though there is among the rolls a charter
for endowing and founding of it afterwards. Bristol
is not mentioned in this paper, though a see was
afterwards erected there. It was not before the
end of the next year that these sees were founded ;
and there was in that interval so great a change
made, both of the council and ministers, that no
wonder the things now designed were never accom-
plished.

Another act passed in this parliament, concern^ Aa act
ing the obedience due to the king's proclamations, king's pro-
There had been great exceptions made to the legal- *'**°****^"''
ity of the king's proceedings in the articles about re-
ligion, and other injunctions published by his author-
ity, which were complained of as contrary to law ;
since by these the king had, without consent of par-
liament, altered some laws, and had laid taxes on
his spiritual subjects. Upon which an act passed,
which sets forth in the preamble, " the contempt and
disobedience of the king's proclamations, by some
who did not consider what a king by his royal
power might do ; which, if it continued, would
'^ tend to the disobedience of the laws of God, and
^< the dishonour of the king's majesty, (who may
*< full ill bear it.) Considering also, that many oc-
*^ casions might require speedy remedies, and that

5S8 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** debtying these till a pailianient met miglit oocaMB
^"' « great prejudices to the reahn ; and that the km^
1539. << by his royal power given of Ood, might do ffiaoj
<< things in such cases : therefore it is enacted, that
<< the king for the time being, with advice of bii
<< council, might set forth proclamations, with paini
** and penalties in them, which were to be obeyed
*< as if they were made by an act of parliament
^* But this was not to be so extended, that any of
^< the king^s subjects should suffer in their estato*
<* liberties, or persons, by virtue of it : nor that by it
'^ any of the king^s proclamations, laws, or customs
*^ were to be broken and subverted." Then foDow
some clauses about the publishing of proclamatioDa^
and the way of prosecuting those who contemned
and disobeyed them. It is also added, << that if tflj
offended against them, and, in further contempt
went out of the realm, he was to be adjudged a
traitor. This also gave power to the counsellors
" of the king's successor, if he were under age, to
set forth proclamations in his name, which were
to be obeyed in the same manner with those set
forth by the king himself." This act gave great
power to the judges, since there were such restric-
tions in some branches of it, which seemed to lessen
the great extent of the other parts of it ; so that the
expositors of the law bad much referred to them.
Upon this act were the great changes of religion io
the nonage of Edward the Sixth grounded.
An act There is another act, which but collaterally belongs

cedeiic^. to ecclesiastical affairs, and therefore shall be but
slightly touched. It is the act of the precedency of
the officers of state, by which the lord vicegerent has
the precedence of all persons in the kingdom, next

THE REFORMATION. 599

the royal family : and on this I must make one re- book

III
mark) which may seem very improper for one of my

profession, especially when it is an animadversion on ^^^^*
one of the greatest men that any age has produced ;
the most learned Mr. Selden. He, in his Titles of
Honour, says, ** That this statute was never printed
^' in the Statute-Book, and but incorrectly by an-
^ other ; and that therefore he inserts it literally, as
^* it is in the record.'' In which there are two mis-
takes: for it is printed in the Statute-Book that
was set out in that king's reign, though left out in
some later Statute-Books : and that whicb he prints
is not exactly according to the record. For, as he
jnrints it, the bishop of London is liot named in the
precedency, which is not according to the pariia*
ment-roU, in which the bishop of London has the
precedence next the archbishop of York; and though
this is corrected in a'posthumous edition, yet in that
6et out by himself it is wanting : nor is that omis-
sion among the errors of the press ; for, though there
are many of these gathered to be amended, this is
Heme of them. This I do not take notice of out of
any vanity, or humour of censuring a man so great in
all sorts of learning ; but my design is only to let in*
genious persons see, that they ought not to take things
on trust eaaly, no, not from the greatest authors.

These are all the public acts that relate to reli- som« acu
gion, which were passed in this parliament. With ^eA. *'°*
these there passed an act of attainder of the marquis
of Exeter, and the lord Montacute, with many othen^
that were either found to have had a great hand in
the lata rebdlion, or were discovered to hold corre-
spondence with cardinal Pool, who was then traf-
ficking with foreign princes, and projecting a league

VOL. I. - Mm

580 THE HISTORY OP <

BOOK among them agsinst the kiiig. But eCtU* I >UI
'"' gi^6 A D'^'^ ^^ account at the eod of this beok;

.1539. tieing there to open the grounds of all the attaJncJai
that were passed in these last years of the kuqfk
reign. There is one remarkable thing that bdoiy
to this act.

Some were to be attainted in abaenoe; otfaes
they had no mind to bring to make their answo^
but yet designed to attaint them. Sudi were, da
marchioness of Exetef , and the counteaa of Sam^
mother to cardinal Pool» wlKttn» by a groaa mistab
fipeed fancies to have been condemned without »
raignment or trial, as CiomweU had been by psdh*
ment : for she was now condemned a year beflic
him. About the justice of doiiig this thefe w
some debate ; and, to dear it, Crood well aent tat the
judges, and asked their opinions^ Whether a ■■
might be attainted in parliament, without beof
brought to make his answer ? They said. It was a
dangerous question. That the parliament ouf^i t0
be an example to all inferior courts ; and that, whei
any person was charged with a crime, he, by the
common rule of justice and equity, should be heari
to plead for himself. But the parliament being tk
supreme court of the nation, what way soever th^
proceeded, it must be good in law; and it cooli
never be questioned, whether the party was broqght
to answer or not : and thus a very ill precedent wai
made, by which the most, innocent person in the
world might be ruined. And this, as has often bees
observed in the like cases, fell very soon heavily oa
the author of the counsel ; as shall appear.
Tbekiog't When the parliament was prorogued^ on the
cl^mer. tweuty-cighth of June, the king apprehended tid

THE REFORMATION. 5S1

the archbishop of Canterbury might be mach cast book
down with the act for the six articles, sent for him,

and told him, that he had heard how much, and . \^^^\

' ' Antiq. Bnt.

with what learning, he had argued against it; and'°^^^

• Cranmcr,

therefore he desired he would put all his arguments
in writing, and bring them to him. Next day he
sent the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the lord
Cromwell, to dine with him : ordering them to as-
Sure him of the king^s constant and unshaken kind-
ness to him, and to encourage him all they could.
When they were at table with him at Lambeth, they
run out much on his commendation, and acknow-
ledged he liad opposed the act with so much learn*
ing, gravity, and eloquence, that even those that dif-
fered from him were much taken with what he said ;
and that he needed fear nothing from the king.
CromweU saying, that this difference the king put
between him and all his other counsellors; that

: when complaints were brought of others, the king

received them, and tried the truth of them; but

he would not so much as hearken to any com-

, plaint of the archbishop. From that he went on to

!" make a parallel between him and cardinal Wolsey ;
, Hiat the one lost his friends by his haughtiness and
pride, but the other gained on his enemies by his
gentleness and mildness. Upon which the duke of
Norfolk said, he might best speak of the cardinal,
lor he knew him well, having been his man. This
nettled Cromwell ; who answered, that, though he
had served him, yet he never liked his manners:
and that, though the cardinal had designed (if his
attempt for the popedom had been successful) to
have made him his admiral; yet he had resolved
not to accept of it, nor to leave his country. To

M m 2

589 THE BISTORT OF

BOOK which the duke of Norfidk rqiKed, wHb a de^
^"* oath, that he Ued; with other reproachful lan^iuagfr

1539. ^j^is troubled Cranmer extremely, who did all he
could to quiet and reconcile them. But now the
enmity between those two great ministers broke oat
to that height, that they were never aHerwirii j
hearty friends,
rranmer But Craumer went about that which the king hal
^!^^^ commanded ; and made a book of the reasons thit
^g^ll^^ led him to oppose the six artides : in which tke
places out of the scriptures, the authorities of tk
ancient doctors, with the ai^^ments drawn fim
these, were all digested in a good method. lUi lie
commanded his secretary to write out in a fidr luuA
that it might be given to the king. The secretsiy
returning with it from Croyden, where the arcUs*
shop was then, to Lambeth, found the key of lA
chamber was carried away by the archbishop's almo*
ner : so that he, being obliged to go over to London
and not daring to trust the book to any other^s keep-
ing, carried it with himself ; where both he and tk *
book met with an unlooked-for encounter. Some |
others, that were with him in the wherry, would
needs go to the Southwark side, to look on a beir*
baiting that was near the river, where the king W0
in person. The bear broke loose into the river, and
the dogs after her. They that were in the best
leaped out, and left the poor secretary alone theie
But the bear got into the boat, with the dogs aboit
her, and sunk it. The secretary, apprehending Us
life was in danger, did not mind his book ; which be
lost in the water : but, being quickly rescued, and
brought to land, he began to look for his book, sod
saw it floating in the river. So he desired the betf*

THE REFORMATION. 888

ird to bring it to him; who tqok it upt but» be- book

re he would restore it, put it into the hands of a 1-^

iest that stood there^ to see what it might con- '^^^*
in. The priest, reading a little in it, found it a
nfutation of the six articles ; and told the bear-
urd, that whosoever claimed it would be hanged
r his pains. But the archbishop's secretaiy, think-
^ to mend the matter, said, it was his lord's book,
lis made the bearward more intractable; for he
IS a spiteful papist, and hated the archbishop : so
at no offers or entreaties could prevail with him
give it back. Whereupon Morice (that was the
aretary's name) went and opened the matter to
tnmwell the next daj : Cromwell was then going
court, and he expected to find the bearward there,
>king to deliver the book to some of Cranmer^s
emies ; he therefore ordered Morice to go along
th him. Where, as they had expected, they found
e fellow with the book about him; upon whom
•omwell called, and took the book out of his hand,
reatening him severely for his presumption in
sddling with a privy counsellor's book.
But though Cranmer escaped this hazard, yet in Proctediogt
mdon the storm of the late act was falling hea- act
iy on them that were obnoxious. Shaxton and
itimer, the bishops of Salisbury and Worcester,
thin a week after the session of parliament, as it
pears, resigned their bishoprics. For on the se-
nth of July the chapters of these churches peti-
»ned the king for his leave to fill those sees, they
ing then vacant by the firee resignation of the for-
sr bishops. Upon which the cang^ ^iUre for
th was granted. Nor was this all : but they, be-
% presented as having spoken against the six ar-

M m 3

S94 THE HISTORY OF

HOOK ticks, were put in prison ; where the one lay till d> 1
-king died, and the other till a little before his death,

1539. j^g shall be shown in its proper place. There were
also commissions issued out for proceeding upon that
statute : and those who were commissioned for Lon-
don were all secret favourers of popery ; so they
proceeded most severely, and examined many wit-
nesses against all who were presented ; whom the;
interrogated, not only upon the express words of
the statute, but upon all such collateral or presump-
tive circumstances, as might entangle them, or con-
clude them guilty. So that, in a very little while,
five hundred persons were put in prison, and involved
in the breach of the statute. Upon this, not only
Cranmer and Cromwell, but the duke of Suffi^
and Audley the chancellor, represented to the kit^
how hard it would be, and of what ill consequeoce.
to execute the law upon so many persons. So the
king was prevailed with to pardon them all ; and I
find no further proceeding upon this statute tlD
Cromwell fell.

But the opposite party used all the arts possiUe

•f- to insinuate themselves into the king. And there-

fore, to show how far their compliance would gOj
Bonner took a strange commission from the kingi
ou tlie twelfth of November this year. It has beoi

' certainly enrolled; hut it is not there now : so that

I judged it was razed in that suppression of records,
which was in queen Mary's time. But, as men are
commonly more careless at home, Bonner has left it
on record in his own register. Whether the other
bishops took such commissions from this king, 1
know not : but I am certain there is none such is
Cranmer's register ; and it is not likely, if any such

THB SEXOBMATIOir. U5

bad been taken out bff Unsu tbat ercar k wmdd bave

UL.

€€
4i

been razed* The Gommisaion ttsdf will be found-
in the C!ollection of papers at the isnd. The nil>-cou^^'
stance of it is, *^ That, since afi jurisdiction, both ec-^om^- ^4-
^ desiastical and civile flowed firom the king as su-
^ preme head, and he was the foundati<m of all
power; it became those, who ex;ercised it onlj
{prtBcarib) at the king's courtesf , gratefully to
^ acknowledge, that thejr had it only of his bounty ;
^ and to declare, that they would deliver it up again
^ when it should please him to call for it And
^ suoipe the king had constituted the lord Cromwell
^ his vicegerent in ecclesiastical affairs ;. yet, because
^^ be could not look into all those matters, therefore
^ the king, upon Bonner's petition, did empower him,
^ in his own stead, to ordain such as he fimnd wor*
^ thy, to present and give institution, with all the
^' other parts of episcopal authority, for which he is
<^ duly commissionated : and this to last during the
f* king's pleasure onlyw And all the parts of the
^ episa^ial function being reckoned up, it ocmduded
^ with a strict charge to the bishop to ordain none
^* but such, of whose integriQr, good life, and learn-*
^ ing, he had very good assurance. For as the coru
^ ruptions of the Christian doctrine, and of men's
<' manners, had chiefly proceeded from ill pastors ;
^ so it was not to be doubted, but good pastors, well
'^ chosen, would again reform the Christian doctrine^
^ and the lives of Christians." After he had taken
this commission, Bonner might well have been called
one of the king's* bishops. The true reason of this
profound compliance was, that the popish party ap^
prehended, that Cranmer's great interest with the
kii^ was chiefly grounded on some opinions he had

M m 4

6S6 THE HISTORY OF

BooE of the ecclesiastical officers being as much subject to
" ' thy king's power as all other dvU officers were.
1539. j^pj ^^^]^ having endeared him so much to the king,
therefore they resolved to outdo him in that point
But there was this difference: that Ci-anmer was
once of that opinion, and, if he followed it at all, it
was out of conscience ; hut Bonner against his con-
science (if he had any) complied with it.
ni«oimion Now followed the fioal dissolution of the abbeyi;
»ut»p. there are fifty-seven surrenders upon record tim
year ; the originals of about thirty of these are yet
to be seen. Thirty-seven of them were abbeys or
priories, and twenty nunneries. The good house
of Godstow now fell, suiTendered with the rest,
though among the last of them. Now the great
parliament abbots surrendered apace ; as those of
Westminster, St. Alhan's, St. Edmundsbury, Can-
terbury, St. Mary in York, Selby, St. Peter's in Glo-
cester, Cirencester, 'WaUham, Winchcombe, Malroes-
bury, and Battel. Three others were attainted;
Glastenbury, Reading, and Colchester. The deeds
of the rest are lost. Here it will not be unaccept-
able to the reader to know who were the parliarooii-
» ary abbots. There were in all twenty-eight, as thej

were commonly given : Fuller has given a cata-
logue of them in three places of his History of Ab-
beys ; but as every one of these differs from the
others, so none of them arc according to the Jour-
nals of parUament ; the lord Herbert is also mistaken
in his account. I shall not rise higher in my in-
quiry than this reign ; for anciently many more ab-
bots and priors sat in parliament, beside other cler-
gy, that had Ukewise their writs; and of whotf
right to sit in the house of commons there was i

THE REFORMATION. 887

question moved in Edward the Sixth's reign^ as book
shall be opened in its proper place. Much less will

I presume to determine so great a point in law, ^^^^*
Whether they sat in the house of lords as being a
part of the ecclesiastical state, or as holding their
lands of the king by baronage? I am only to ob-
serve the matter of fact, which is, that, in the Jour-
nals of parliament in this reign, these twenty- eight
abbots had their writs; Abington, St.Alban's, St.
Austin's Canterbury, Battel, St. Bennet's in the
Holm, Berdeny, Cirencester, Colchester, Coventry,
Croyland, St. Edmundsbury, Evesham, Olastenbury,
Glocester, Hide, Mahnesbury, St. Mary's in York,
Peterborough, Ramsey, Reading, Selby, Shrewsbury,
Tavenstock, Teuksbury, Thomey, Waltham, West-
minster, and Winchelcomb ; to whom also the pricnr
of St. John's may be added. But, besides all these, I
find that, in the twenty-eighth year of this king, the
abbot of Burton upon Trent sat in parliament. Ge-
neraUy Coventry and Burton were held by the same
man ; as one bishop held both Coventry and Litch-
field, though two different bishoprics: but in that
year they were held by two different persons, and
both had their writs to that parliament. The me-
thod used in the suppression of these houses will ap-
pear by one complete report made of the suppression
of the abbey of Teuksbury, which, out of many I
copied, is in the Collection. From it the reader will coUect.
see what provision was made for the abbot, the prior, ^^^5! ^'
the other officers, and the monks, and other ser-
vants of the house ; and what buildings they ordered
to be defaced, and what to remain ; and how they
did estimate the jewels, plate, and other ornaments.
But monasteries were not sufficient to stop the m^

KSa THE HISTORY OF

KOo K petite of some that were ^wut the king ; for hotfif
- tals were next looked after. One of these was ibk

B-^^" year surrendered by Thomas Thirleby, with two
fHui' *«'- other priests ; he was master of St. Thomas's bo»-
pital in Southwark, and was designed bishop of
Westminster, to which he made his way by that i*
signation. He was a learned and modest man; bot
of so fickle or cowardly a temper, that he turned
always with the stream, in every change that wv
made, till queen Elizabeth came to the crown: but
then, being ashamed of so many turns, he resolved
to show he could once be firm to somewhat.
nid>t»;i Now were all the monasteries of England sup-
^J^^^ pressed; and the king had then in his hand the
greatest opportunity of making royal and ndJe
foundations that ever king of England had. But,
whether out of policy, to give a general content to
the gentry by selling to them at low rates, or out rf
easiness to his courtiers, or out of an unmeasured !►
vigbness in his expense; it came far short of whit
he had given out he would do, and what himself
seemed once to have designed. The clear yearly vahe
of all the suppressed houses is cast up, in an account
then stated to be, viz. 131,607/. 6». 4rf. as the rents
were then rated ; but was at least ten times so much
in true value. Of which he designed to convert
18,000/. into a. revenue for eighteen bishoprics and
cathedrals : but of these he only erected six, as shall
be afterwards shown. Great sums were indeed laid
out on building and fortifying many ports in the
channel, and other parts of England, which wen
raised by the sale of abbey-lands.

At this time many were offering projects for noUt
foundations, on which the king seemed very earnest:

THE RBFORMATION. «09

but it is very likely, that, befote he i^as aware 4>f it, booK

he had so outrun himself in his bounty, tliat it was not -
possible for him to bring these to any efl^t. Yet 1 ^ *ro?ert of
shall set down one of the projects, which shows the»"«™»"»'y
greatness of his mind that designed it ; that is, of sir i>ten of
Nicholas Bacon, who was afterwards one of the wisest '
ministers that ever this nation bred. The king de-
signed to found a house for the study of the civil law,
and the purity of the Latin and French tongues: so he
ordered sir Nicholas Bacon, and two others, Thomas
Denton, and Robert Gary, to make a full- project of
the nature and orders of such a house ; who brought
it to him in a writing, the original whereof is yet ex- in bibuotb.
tant. The design of it was, that there should be guii. iHerl
firequent pleadings, and other exercises, in the Latin ^'°^*
and French tongues : and, when the king^s students
were brought to some ripeness, they should be sent
with his ambassadors to foreign parts, and trained
up in the knowledge of foreign affairs ; and so the
house should be the nursery for ambassadors. Some
were also to be appointed to write the history of all
embassies, treaties, and other foreign transactions;
as also of all arraignments, and public trials at home:
but, before any of them might write on these sub-
jects, the lord chancellor was to give them an oath,
that they should do it truly, without respect of per-s
sons, or any other corrupt affection. This noble de-
sign miscarried : but, if it had been well laid and
regulated, it is easy to gather what great and public
advantages might have flowed from it: among which,
it is not inconsiderable, that we should have been
delivered from a rabble of ill writers of history, who
have, without due care or inquiry, delivered to us
the transactions of that time so imperfectly, that

540 THE HISTORY OF

ROOK- there is still need of inquiring into re^sters and

,_ papers for these matters; which, in such a house,

****■ had been more certainly and clearly conveyed W
posterity than can he now expected, at such a dis-
tance of time, and after such a razure of records,
and other confusions, in which many of these papers
have lieen lost. And this help was the more necet'
sary ailer the suppression of religious houses; in
most of which a chronicle of the times was kept,
and still filled up, as new transactions came to thdr
knowledge. It is true, most of these were written
by men of weak judgments, who were more puno
, ,. tual in delivering fables and trifles than in opening
■„^ - observable transactions: yet some of them were
men of better understandings, and, it is like, were
directed by their abbots, who, being lords of parlia-
ment, understood affairs well ; only an invincible
humour of lying, when it might raise the credit of
their religion, or order, or house, ruDS throu^ aU
tbqir manuacripts.
K pnicu- One thiDiF was Terr remarkable ; whicA was thit

natJoD »• T ^ . . .

Muttbc year granted at Cranmers intercession. There was

rftbf* nothing could so much recover reformation, thatwai

*"''""'■ declining so fast, as the free use of the scriptures;

and, though these had been set up in the churches a

year ago, yet he pressed, and now procured leav^

for private persons to buy Bibles, and keep them in

coUeet- their houses. So this was granted by letters p^ents

' directed to Cromwell, bearing date the thirteenth (d

November ; the substance of which was, '* That the

" king was desirous to have bis subjects attain the

" knowledge of God's word ; which could not be ef<

" fected by any means so well, as by granting them

" the fi'ee and liberal use of the Bible in the English

THE REFORMATION. 541

<< tongue^ whidi^ to avoid dissensioiiy he intended book
*' should pass among them only by one translation.

** Therefore Cromwell was charged to take care, *^^^'
'' that, for the space of five years, there should be
no impression of the Bible, or any part of it, but
only by such as should be assigned by him." But
Gardiner opposed this all he could ; and one day, in
a conference before the king, he provoked Cranmer
to show any difference between the authority of the
scriptures, and of the apostolical canons, which he
pretended were equal to the other writings of the
apostles. Upon which they disputed for some time.
But the king perceived solid learning, tempered
with great modesty, in what Cranmer said ; and no-
thing but vanity and affectation in Gardiner's reason-
ings. So he took him up sharply, and told him, that
Cranmer was an old and experienced captain, and
was not to be troubled by fresh-men and novices.

The great matter of the king's marriage came on The ung

,.. ««• « m m m • design* to

at this time. Many reports were brought the king mmrrj Anne
of the beauty of Anne of Cleves, so thai he inclined^ cieyefj
to ally himself with that family. Both the emperor
and the king of France had courted him to matches
which they had projected. The emperor proposed
the duchess of Milan, his kinswoman, and daughter
to the king of Denmark. He was then designing
to break the league of Smalcald, and to make him-
self master of Germany: and therefore he took
much pains with the king, to divide him from the
princes there ; which was in great part effected by
the statute for the six articles : upon which the am-
bassadors of the princes had complained, and said,
that whereas the king had been in so £ur a way of
union with them, he had now broke it off^ and made

CM THE HISTORY OK

BOOK SO severe a law about communion in one kind, pri-
' vate masses, and the celibate of the clergy, whidi

1539. (jijfered so luuch from their doctrine, that they could
entertain no further correspondence with him, if
that law was not mitigated. But Gardiner wrought
much on the king's vanity and passions ; and told
bim, that it was below his dignity and high leam*
ing to have a company of dull Germans, and small
princes, dictate to him in matters of religion. There
was also another tiling which he oft made use of;
(though it argues somewhere a great ignorance of
the constitution of the empire ;) that the king could
not expect these princes would ever be for his supre-
macy, since, if they acknowledged that in him, thej
must likewise yield to the emperor. This was a
great mistake ; for, as the princes of Germany never i
BdLnowledged the emperor to have a sovereignty iB I
their dominions ; so they did acknowledge the diet,

V-' in which the sovereignty of the empire lies, to liave
a power of making or changing what Jswa tli^
pleased about religion. And in things that vat
not determined by the diet, every prince pretended
to it as highly in his own dominions as the fcir^
could do in England. But, as untrue as this aiBegt-
iion was, it served Gardiner'a turn : fw the kiog
w^ sufficiently irritated with it against the princes;
so that there was now -a great coldness in their car>
Kspondeace. Yet the project of a match with die
ddch^s of Milan foiling, and those jmiposed bj
France not being acceptable, Cromwell moved Ae
king about an alHance with the duke of dens;
who, as be was the emperor^s nagfahour in I<?laiKlen,
had also a pretension to the dud^ of GueMres, xai
his eldest daughter was married to the duke of

I

THE REFORMATION. 648

Saxony. So that the Idng, havii^ then sAne ap^ ^9?^
prehensions of a war with the empeHor^ this seemed
a very proper alliance to give him a diversion.

There had been a treaty between her father and
the duke of Lorrain, in order to a match between
the duke of Lorrain's son and her ; but they both
being under age^ it went no further than a contract
between their fathers. Hdns HoB)in, having taken
her picture^ sent it over to the king. But in that he
bestowed the common coiApliment of his art some-
what too liberally on a lady that was in a fidr way
to be queen. The king liked the picture better
than the original, when he had the occasion iafter-
wards to compare them. The duke of Saxony, who
was very zealous for the Ausburg Confession, find-
ing the king had declined so much from it, dis-
suaded the match. But Croinwell set it on mightily^
expecting a great support from a queen of his own
making, whose friiends being all Lutherans, it tended
also to bring down the popish party at court, and
^ again to recover the ground they had now lost.
J Those that had seen the lady did much commend
. her beauty and person. But she could speak no
I language but Dutch, to which the king was a
^ stranger : nor was she bred to music, with which
the king was much taken. So that, except her per-
son had charmed him, there was nothing left for her
to gain upon him by. After some months' treaty,
one of the counts palatine of the Rhine, with other
ambassadors from the duke of Saxony, and her bro^
ther the duke of Cleves, (for her fether was lately
dead,) came over, and concluded the match.

In the end of December she was brought over to ^^o comes
England: and the king, being impatient to see her, England;

544 THE HISTORY OF

BOOR went down incognito to Rochester. But when he

_I had a sight of her, finding none of those channs

1539. ^iiich he was made believe were in her, he was so
QQch du- extremely surprised, that he not only did not like
be king, her^ but took an aversion to her, which he could
never after overcome. He swore they had brougiit
over a Flanders mare to him ; and was very sonj
he had gone so far, but glad it had proceeded no
further. And presently he resolved, if it were pos-
sible, to break off the matter, and never to yoke him-
self with her. But his affairs were not then in sodi
a condition, that he could safely put that affitmt od
the dukes of Saxony and Cleves, whidi the sendmg
back of this lady would have done. For the Ger-
mans being of all nations most sensible of eveiy tbSoi
in which the honour of their fiunily is touched, be
knew they would resent such an injury : ai^ it w»
not safe for him to adventure that at sudi a tiiD&
For the emperor was then in Paris, whither he Vd
gone to an interview with Francis : and his rec^
tion was not only as magnificent as could be, but
there was all the evidence possible of hearty friend-
ship and kindness. Hie king also understood, that
between them there was somewhat projected against
himself. And now Frauds, that had been as modi
obliged by him as possibly one prince could be bf
another, was not only foigetful ct it, but intended
to take advantage, from the distractions and discon-
tents of the English, to drive them out of France, if
it were possible. And it is not to be doubted but
ihfi emperor would gladly have ^nhrailed these two
kings* that he might have a better opportunity bodi
to make himself mast» of Germany, and to ftrce
the king of England into an alfianoe, by whidi the

THE REFORMATION. MS

Mary should be legitiinatedf and the princes of book
lany be left destitute of a support^ which made

insolent and intractable. The king appre- ^^^^*
ed the conjunction of those two great princes
ist himself, which was much set forward bj the
; and that they would set up the king of Soot-
against him, who^ with that foreign assistanoe,
he discontents at home> would . have made war
great advantages ; especially those in the north
Dgland l)eing ill-affected to him : and therefore
dged it necessary for his affairs, not to lose the
es of Germany. Only he resolved^ first, to try
y nullities or precontracts could excuse him

at their hands. He returned to Gfreenwich
melancholy. He much blamed the earl of
lampton, who, being sent over to receive her
illice, had written an high commendation of her
7* But he excused himself, that he thought
hing was so far gone, that it was decent to
t as he had done. The king. lamented his con-
1 in that marriage, and expressed great trouble,
to the lord Russel, sir Anthony Brown, sir An-
r Denny, and others about him. The last of
told him, ^* This was one advantage that mean
sons had over princes : that great princes must
e such wives as are brought them, whereas,
aner persons go and choose wives for them-
res." But when the king saw Cromwell, he
his grief a freer vent to him. He, finding the
so much troubled, would have cast the chief
i on the earl of Southampton, for whom he had
eat kindness : and said, when he found her fiaur
of what reports and pictures had made her, he
d have stayed her at Callice, till he had fpyexL
L. I. N n

646 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the king notice of it. But the eeril*s
^^ being only to bring her over, he said.

15S9.

too great a presumption in him to have interpond
in such a manner. And the Idng was oonviiiced he
was in the right. So now» all thej had to insist m
was, the clearing of that contract that had paaed
between her and the marquis of Larrain ; which tk
ambassadors^ who had been with the Idfig, had u-
dertaken should be fully done^ and facoaght oiv
with her in due form of law. So^ after the hil
was brought in great state to Ghreenwich^ the coua-
dl met, and sent for the ambassadors <»f the dnke d
Glevest that conducted her over ; and desired to m
what they had brought for dealing the breach d
that contract with the marquis of Loimin. Bst
they had brought nothings and made no acooaaft d
it» saying, that the contract was in their minoritfi
when they could give no consent ; and that nothing
had followed on it after they came to be of age. Bit
this did not satisfy the king^s council^ who slid,
these were but their words, and they must see bettff
proofi. The king*s marriage was annulled with
Anne Bolejm upon a precontract ; therefore be mail
not again run the like hazard. So Olialeger MBti
Hogesden, the ambassadors from CleFes, did, bj
a formal instrument, protest before Cromwell, that,
in a peace made between their late master, John
duke of Cleves, and Anthony duke of Lorrain, oae
of the conditions was, that this lady, beii^ then
under age, should be given in marriage to Frandi»
son to the duke of Lorrain, who was likewise under
age : which treaty they affirmed they saw and raid
But that afterwards Henry de Groffe, ambassador cf
Charles duke of Gueldres, upon whose mfMJiati^

THE REFORMATION. BVl

that peace had been concladed, declared in tbdr book
hearings that the espousals were annulled, ahd of no

effect : and that this was r^stered in the chancery ^^^^*
of Qeves, of which they promised to bring an au-
thentical extract, within three months, to England.
Some of the counsellors, who knew the king^s secret
dislike of her person^ would have insisted more on
this. But the archbishop of Canterbury, and the bi-
shop of Duresme, said, if there was no more than
that, it could be no just hinderance to the solemniza-
tion of the marriage. So the king, seeing there was 1540.
no remedy, and being much pressed, both by the
ministers of Cleves, and by the lord Cromwell, mar- But yet
ried hftr on the sixth of January : but expressed so ^ '
much aversion and dislike of her, that every body
about him took notice of it. Next day the lord
Cromwell asked him, how he liked her then ? He
told him, Se was not every man, therefore he
would be free with him ; he liked her worse than
he did. He suspected she was no maid ; and had ^^^ ^^^

* Derer lore

such ill smells about her, that he loathed her more ber.
than ever, and did not believe he should ever con-
mmmate the marriage. This was sad news to Crom-
well, who knew well how delicate the king was in
; these matters, and that so great a misfortune must
I needs turn very heavy on him, that was the chief
promoter of it. He knew his enemies would draw
^ great advantages from this; and understood the
king^s temper too well to think his greatness would
I last long, if he could not induce the king to like the
I queen .better. But that was not to be done; for
I though the king lived five months with her in that
g state, and very oft lay in the bed with her, yet his
^ aversion rather increased than abated. She sieexxisbSL

Xn 2

6« THE HISTORY I

BOOK not much concerned at it ; and as their conversa-
' tion was not great, so she was of an heavy coniposi-
1540. tJQn, and was not much displeased to be deliverpd
from a marriage in which she had so little satisfac-
tion. Yet one thing shows that she wanted not capa-
city, for she learned the English language very soon ;
and,before her marriage was annulled, she spoke Eng-
lish freely, as appears by some of the depositions.

There was an instrument brought over front
Cleves, taken out of the chancery there, by which it
appeared, that Henry de Groffe, ambassador from
the duke of Gueldres, had, on the fifteenth of Fe-
bruary in the year 1535, declared the nullity of the
former contract in express words, which ire sel
down in High-Dutch, but thus put in Latin ; Spw-
salia ilia progressum suum non hahUura, (I will
not answer for the Latin,) ex quo dictus dnx Can-
lus admodum doieret, et propterea quesdam ft-
cissef, et amplins Jacturus esset: and Pallandus,
that was ambassador from the duke of Cleves in the
duke of Gueldres' court, wrote to his master ; lUus-
triisimttm diicem Gueldrite cerfo scire jtriirui ilk
gpousalia inter Domicellam Annamjbrc inania et
progressum suum non habitura. When this iras
showed the king, his council found great exceptions
to it, upon the ambiguity of the word sponsaiia ; it
not being expressed, whether they were espousals
by the words of the present, or of the future tense:
and intended to make use of that when there should
he a fit opportunity for it.
Apiriik- On the twelfth of April a session of parliament
ui i was held. The Journal shows, that neither the ab-

bot of Westminster, nor any other abbot, was pre-
sent. After the lord chancellor had opened the

\

THE REFORMATION. B4Q

reasons for the king's meeting them at that time, as b ook
they related to the civil government ; Cromwell, as

lord vicegerent, spake next in the king's name, and ^^^^'
said, '' There was nothing which the kinir so much ^^^^

, . ® Cromwell

** desured as a firm union among all his subjects, in ipemks m
** which he placed his chief security. He knew ^reJt!*'
there were many incendiaries, and much cockle
grew up with the wheat. The rashness and licen-
'' tiousness of some, and the inveterate superstition
^ and stiffness of others in the ancient corruptions,
^' had raised great dissensions, to the sad regret of
'' all good Christians. Some were called papists,
^^ others heretics ; which bitterness of spirit seemed
*^ the more strange, since now the holy scriptures,
by the king's great care of his people, were in all
their hands, in a language which they understood. ^
But these were grossly perverted by both sides;
who studied rather to justify their passions out of
** them, than to direct their belief by them. The
^' king leaned neither to the right nor to the left
^^ hand, neither to the one nor the other party ; but
** set the pure and sincere doctrine of the Christian
^' faith only before his eyes : and therefore was now
^' resolved to have this set forth to his subjects, with-
** out any corrupt mixtures ; and to have such de-
^ cent ceremonies continued, and the true use of
^* them taught, by which all abuses might be cut off,
<< and disputes about the exposition of the scriptures
<< cease, and so all his subjects might be well in-
<' structed in their faith, and directed in the reverent
** worship of God : and resolved to putiish severely
« all transgressors, of what sort or side soever they
'^ were. The king was resolved, that Christ, that
<^ the gospel of Christ, and the truth, should have

Nn 3

fiSO THE HISTORY OF

" the victory : and therefore had appointed some bo*
- " shops and divinea to draw up an exposition of
" those things that were necessary for the institution
" of a Christian man ; who were, the two archbishops,
" the bishop of London, Duresme, Winchester, Ro-
"Chester, Hereford, and St. David's; and doctors
•' Thirleby, Robertson, Cox, Day, Oglethorp, Red-
" mayn, Edgeworth, Crayford, Symonds, Rc^ios.
" and Tresham. He had also appointed others to
" examine what ceremonies should be retained, and
" what was the true use of them ; who were, the bi-
" shops of Bath and \Vells, Ely, Sarum, Chichester,
" Worcester, and Landaff. The king had also coin-
" manded the judges, and other justices of the peace,
" and persons commissioned for the execution of the
" act formerly passed, to proceed against all trans-
" gressors, and punish them according to law. And
" he concluded with an high commendation of the
" king, whose due praiECB, he said, a man (^ £u
" greater eloquence than himself was could not fa^
'* set forth." The lords approved of this iKHnint-
tion, and ordered that these comniittees should nt
constanUy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridayi;
and on other days they were to sit in the afiemooB.
But their proceedings will require so full a rdation,
that I shall first open the other affairs that pHsed
in this session, and leave these to the last.
k On the fourteenth of April the king created
CromweU earl of Essex ; the male line <tf the Boor-
chiers, that had earned that title, being extinguisbed.
This shows, that the true causes of Cromwdl's 60
must be found in some other thing than his miiHw|r sp
the king's marriage ; who had never thus raised hii
title, if he bad- intended so soon to pull him down.

THE BEFORlfATION. 551

On the tweiitf<4econd of April a bill was farougfat book

in for suppressing the knights of St, John of Jerusa L-

lem. Their first foundation was to be a guard to^,,^^^^*^*
the piknrims that went to the Holy Land. For some vr^^on of
ages, that was extolled as the highest expression ofof st.Joba
devotion, and a reverence to our Saviour, to go and ?em *™^
view the places of his abode, and chiefly the places
where he was crucified, buried, and ascended to hea-
ven. Upon which, many entered into a religious
knighthood,* who were to defend the Holy Land^
and conduct the pilgrims. Those were of two sorts ;
the Knights Templars, and Hospitallers. The for-
mer were the greater and richer, but the other were
also very considerable, llie popes and their clergy
did every where animate all princes and great per-
sons to undertake expeditions into these parts, which
were very costly and dangerous, and proved fatal to
almost all the princes that made them. Yet the be^
lief of the pains of purgatory, from which all were
by the pope's power, who went on this ex*
^n, such as died in it being also rediconed mar*
tyrs, wrought wonderfully on a blind and supersti*
tious age. But such as could not go were persuaded^
that if on their deathbeds they vowed to go upon
their recovery, and left some lands to maintain a
knight that should go thither and fight against the
infidels, it would do as well. Upon tl|}8» great and
vast endowments were made. But there were many
complaints made of the Templars for betraying and
robbing the pilgrims, and other horrid abuses, which
may reasonably be believed to have been true;
though other writers of that age lay the blame ra«
ther on the covetousness of tKe king of France, and
the pope's malice to them : yet, in a general council

N n 4

SS2 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK the whole order was condemned and suppressed, and
-such of them as could be taken were cruelly put

1646. jp death. The order of the Hospitallers stood, yet
, did not gi-ow much after that. They were beaten
out of the Holy Land by the sultans, and lately out
of the isle of Rhodes, and were at this time in Malta.
Their great master depended on tl»e pope and tk
emperor ; so it was not thought fit to let a house,
that was subject to a foreign power, stand longer.
And it seems they would not willingly surrender up
their house, as others had done : therefore it was ne-
cessary to force them out of it by an act of parlit
ment, which on the twenty -second of April was read
the first time, and on the twenty-sixth the secoDd
time, and on the twenty-ninth the third time, b;
which both their house in England, and another
they had in Kilmajnam in Ireland, were suppressed;
great pensions being reserved by the act to the
priors, a lOOOA to him of St. John's near London,
and five hundred marks to the other, with very con-
siderable allowances for ttie knights, which in d
amounted to near 3000^. yearly. But on the four-
teenth of May the parliament was prorogued to iIk
twenty-fifth, and a vote passed, that their bills shouU
remain in the state they were in.
crominiri Upon their next meeting, as they were going ai
^' in their business, a great change of court broke out

For, on the thirteenth of June, at the council-tablf-
the duke of Norfolk, in the king's name, challenge!
the lord Cromwell of high treason, and, arrestii^
him, sent him prisoner to the Tower. He had mso;
enemies among all sorts of persons. The nobilit.'
despised him, and thought it lessened the greatiKS
of their titles, to see the son of a blacksmith raised

THE REFORMATION. 65S

ao mavj degrees above them. His aspiring to the book

order of the garter was thought inexcusable vanity ; L-

and his having so. many places heaped on him, as ^^^^*
lord privy seal, lord chamberlain of England, and
lord vic^erent, with the mastership of the rolls,
with which he had but lately parted, drew much
envy on him. AU the popish party hated him out
of measure. The suppression of the abbeys was laid
wholly at his door : the attainders, and all other se-
vere proceedings, were imputed to his counsels. He
was also thought to be the person that had kept the
king and the emperor at such distance ; and there-
fore the duke of Norfolk, and Gardiner, beside pri-
vate animosities, hated him on that account. And
they did not think it impossible, if he were out of
the way, to bring on a treaty with the emperor,
which they hoped would open the way for one with
the pope. But other more secret reasons wrought
his ruin with the king. The fear he was in of a
conjunction between the emperor and France did
now abate ; for he understood that it went no fur-
ther than compliments : and though he clearly dis-
covered, having sent over the duke of Norfolk to
Francis, that he was not to depend much on his
iriendship ; yet at the same time he knew that the
emperor would not yield up the duchy of Milan to
him, upon which his heart was much set. So he
saw they could come to no agreement ; therefore he
made no great account of the loss of France, since
he knew the emperor would willingly make an alli-
ance with him ; the hopes of which made him more
indifferent whether the German princes were pleased
with what he did or not, since he had now attained
the end he had proposed to himself in all his nego-

MM ■ THE HISTORY OP^

BOOK tiadoni wiUi them, which was, to secure bimM^
-from anj trouble the emperor might give him.

'MO. Ther^ne Cnmiwell's counsels were now disliked,
tar he had always inclined the kiog to favour those
princes against the emptmr. Aaotber aecret ciHt
Was, that, as the king had an onocnqiHSaUe xm-
»ion to bis queeD, so he was taken with the faeai^
nt kia^io and behariour of Mistress Katherine Howard, dau^ I
Hittim ter to tbe lord Edmund Howard, a brother of the '
Howari?* duke of Nozfolk's. And as this designed mstdi
raised the credit of her uncle, so the ill consequences
of the former drew him down who had been the
dnef counsellor in it. The king also found his gi>>
Temmeat was grown uneasy, and therefore judgei
it was no ill policy to cast over all that had becB
done amiss upon a minister who had great powft
with him ; and, being now in disgrace, all the blame
of these things would be taken off from the kii^
and laid on him, and his ruin would much appeaie
discontents, and make them more moderate in cen-
suring the king, or his proceedings. It is said that
other particulars were charged on him, which lost
him the king's favour. If this be true, it is lite they
related to the encouragement he was said to have
given to some reformers, in the opposition they made
to the six articles ; upon the execution of which the
king was now much set. His fall was so secretij
carried, that, lliough he had often before looked for
it, knowing the king's uneasy and jealous temper,
yet at that time he had no apprehensions of it, till
the storm broke upon him. In his fall he had the
common fate of all disgraced ministers ; to be for>
saken by his friends, and insulted over by his ene-
mies. Only Cranmer retained still so much of his

€€

4€

THE REFORMATION. 555

former simplidtj, that he could never learn these book
court arts. Therefore he wrote to the king about ^"'
him next daj, *^ He much magnified hk diligence in '^^^
** the king's service and preservation, and discover- friendship
^* ing all plots as soon as they were made ; that he ^ur*"'
^^ had always loved the king above all things, and
** served him with great fidelity and success ; that
he thought no king of England had ever such a
servant : upon that account he had loved him, as
one that loved the king above all others. But if
^ he was a traitor, he was glad it was discovered*
^^ But he prayed Qod earnestly to send the king
^ such a chancellor in his stead, who could and
^ would serve him as he had done." This shows
both the firmness of Cranmer's friendship to him,
and that he had a great soul, not turned by the
changes of men's fortunes to like or dislike them, as
they stood or declined from their greatness. And
had not the king^s kindness for Cranmer been deeply
rooted, this letter had ruined him : for he was the
most impatient of contradiction, in such cases, that
could be. Cromwell's ruin was now decreed; and
he, who had so servilely complied with the king's
pleasure in procuring some to be attainted, the year
before, without being brought to make their answer,
fell now under the same severity. For, whether it
was that his enemies knew, that if he were brought
to the bar he would so justify himself, that they
would find great difficulties in the process; or whe-
ther it was that they blindly resolved to follow that
injustifiable precedent of passing over so necessary a
rule to all courts, of giving the party accused an
hearing ; the bill of attainder was brought into the
house of lords, Cranmer being absent that day^ as

656 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK appears by the Journal, on the seventeenth of June,
_ and read the first time, and on the nineteenth was

1540. j.pgj j|,g second and third time, and sent down to
the commons : by which it appears, how few friendi
he had in that house, when a bill of that nature
went on so hastily. But it seems he found in the
house of commons somewhat of the same measure
which, ten years before, he had dealt to the cardiDsl,
though not with the same success: for his matter
stuck ten days there. At length a new hill of at-
tainder was brought up, conceived in the house of
commons, with a proviso annexed to it. They alM
sent back the bill which the lords sent to them : but
it is not clear from the Journals what they nieanl
by those two bills. It seems they rejected the lords'
bill, and yet sent it up with their own, either in re-
aped to the lords, or that they left it to their choice
which of the two bills they would offer to the royil
assent. But though this lie an unparUamentary waf
of proceeding, I know no other sense which the
words of the Journal can bear, which I shall set
down in the margin, that the reader may judge bel-
ter concerning it ". And that very day the king as-
sented to it, as appears by the letter written the neit
day by Cromwell to the king.
CTotnweir« The act said, '* That the king, having raised Tho

litlunder.

coricft. " mas Cromwell from a base degree to great digni-

Numb. 1 6.

' Journal Proceriim, parag. ilein concemens SeomiUn

58. Item billa aninctumTho- Wellensem perlecta est, «>

ms Criimwell Comiiis Essex fommani omnium ProcerMHi

e htpreiis et Iffsie mn- seniu nemine discrepante rtpedi-

jestatis, per Communes de novo la ; et Hiniul rum ea rcfen6i-

conceptit, et assenHii, et simul tur billa atiinctune que pma

rum provisione i:i(leni aniiexa. missa eral in Domum Conunu-

QniE quiden) billa i", a''°, et niiim.
3"", lecta esl; et proviso ejus-

THE REFORMATION. ff57

*' ties and high truMs ; yet he had now, bj a great boo k

lit*

*^ number of witnesses, persons of honour, found him •
" to be the most corrupt traitor, and deceiver of the *^^^'
<* king and the crown, that had ever been known in
^* his whole reign. He had taken upon him to set
'* at liberty divers persons put in prison for mispri-
** sion of treason, and others that were suspected of
^< it. He had also received several bribes, and for
them granted licenses to carry money, com, horses,
and other things, out of the kingdom, contrary to
the king's proclamations. He had also given out
many commissions without the king's knowledge ;
and, being but of a base birth, had said, that he
was sure of the king. He had granted many
passports, both to the king^s subjects and foreign-
ers, for passing the seas without search. He, being
also an heretic, had dispersed many erroneous
books among the king's subjects, particularly some
•^ that were contrary to the belief of the sacrament.
** And when some had informed him of this, and
^ had showed him these heresies in books printed in
<< England, he said, they were goad^ and that he
^JbundnoJauU in them ; and said, it was as law^
^fulfor every Christian man to he the minister of
** that sacrament^ as a priest. And whereas the
'^ king had constituted him vicegerent for the spirit-
<< ual affairs of the church ; he had, under the seal
^^ of that office, licensed many that were suspected
^* of heresy to preach over the kingdom ; and he
** had, both by word and in writing, suggested to se-
veral sheriffs, that it was the king's pleasure they
should discharge many prisoners, of whom some
** were indicted, others apprehended for heresy. And
^ when many particular complaints were brought to

€i
4t
€i
4t

44

4t
44

088 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK " him of detestaUe heresies, with the names of tbe
, " offenders, he not only defended the heretics, bol

1540. « severely checked the informers; and vexed some
** of them by imprisonment, and other ways, the
" particulars of ail which were too tedious to be re-
" cited. And he, having entertained many of the
" king's subjects about himself, whom he had in-
" fected with heresy, and imagining he was by forte
" able to defend his treasons and heresies ; on fte
" last of March, in the thirtieth year of the king's
" reign, in the parish of St. Peter's the Poor in Lou-
" don, when some of them complained to hiro oftbc
" new preachers, such as Barnes and others, he said,
•* their preaching was good ; and said also, among
" other things, that if the king would fumjrom H,
*' yet he would not turn : and i/the king did tun,
** and all his people with him, he wouUlJight in lit
'*Jield in his own person, with his sword in hit
" hand, against htm, and all others : and then ix
" pulled out his dagger, and held it up, and said, w
" else this dagger thrust me to the heart, if I
" would not die in that quarrel against them oB,
" and I tntsf, if J live one year or two, it shall not
'' be in the king's power to resist, or let it, if he
" would : and, swearing a great oath, said, / would
" do so indeed. He had also hy oppression and tai-
" bery made a great estate to himself, and extorted
*' much money from the king's subjects ; and bring
" greatly enriched, had treated the nobility with
" much contempt. And on the last of January, in
" the tliirty-first year of the king's reign, in the pa-
*' rish of St. Martin's in the Fields, when some had
" put him in mind to what the king had raised him.
" he said, If the lords would handle him so, he

I
I

t

I

■

i
I

THE REFORMATION. 659

^< would give them such a hreaJ^fuU as was never book
^ made in England; and that the proudest jjf ^^

<* them should know it. For aU which treasons and '^'^^•
^ heresies he was attainted to suffer the pains of
** death for heresy and treason, as should please the
** king, and to forfeit all his estate and goods to the
^ king's use, that he had on the last of March, in
^ the thirty-first year of the king^s reign, or since that
^ time. There was added to thisl>ill a proviso, that
^ this should not be hurtful to the bisHS^HP Bath and
^ Wells, and to the dean and chapter of W^Ss^ with
^ whom, it seems, he had made some exchanges of
«*land."

From these particulars the reader will clearly see centum
why he was not brought to make his answer, most upon it.
of them relating to orders and directions he had
given, for which it is very probable he had the
king^s warrant. And for the matter of heresy, it
has appeared how far the king had proceed^ to-»
wards a reformation, so that what he did that way
was most likely done by the king^s order : but the
king now falling from these things, it was thought
they intended to stifle him by such an attainder,
that he might not discover the secret orders or di-
rections given him for his own justification. For
the particulars of bribery and extortion, they being
mentioned in general expressions, seem only cast
into the heap to defame him. But for those trea-
sonable words, it was generally thought that they
were a contrivance of his enemies ; since it seemed
a thing very extravagant for a favourite^ in the
height of his greatness, to talk so rudely : and if he
had been guilty of it. Bedlam was thought a fitter
place for his restraint than the Tower. Nor was it

THE REFORMATION. 561

to desire their concurrence in the address* To which boor
thej agreed, and ordered twenty of their number to

jgp along with the peers. So the whole house of lords, ^^^^'
with these commoners, went to the king, and told
Inm, they had a matter of great consequence to pro-
IKNte to him, but it was of that importance, that
Ibey first begged his leave to move it. That being
obtained, they desired the king would order a trial
to be made of the validity of his marriage. To
wrluch the king consented; and made a deep pro-
testation, as in the presence of Grod, that he should
^Mmceal nothing that related to it, and all its circum-
^iloiices; and that there was nothing that he held
idearer than the glory of Grod, the good of the com-
^HMmwealth, and the declaration of truth. So a com-
Snussion was issued out to the convocation to try it.
: On the seventh of July it was brought before the iturefcrwi
DODVocation, of which the reader will see a fuller Tocatioo. *
account in the Collection at the end than is needful
to be brought in here. The case was opened by
Hie bishop of Winchester, and a committee was ap-
pointed to consider it ; and they deputed the bishop
gf Duresme, and Winchester, and Thirleby, and
Richard Leighton, dean of York, to examine the
iritnesses that day. And the next day they re-
ceived the king^s own deposition ; with a long de- collect.
daration of the whole matter, under Cromwell's hand, cXct/^'
in a letter to the king ; and the depositions of most of ^"°***' *^"
Qie privy counsellors, of the earl of Southampton,
the lord Russel, then admiral, of sir Anthony Brown,
rir Anthony Denny, doctor Chambers, and doctor
Butts, the king's physicians, and of some ladies that
liad talked with the queen. All which amounted toR<:«son9

• • - ,,. 11 1 pretended

Shis; that the king expected that the precontract for u.

VOL. I. CO

66S THE HISTORY OF

BOOK with the marquis of LfOrrain should have been more
fuUy cleared. That the king always disliked her,

1^^^* and married her full sore against his heart; and
since that time he had never consummated the mar-
riage. So, the substance of the whole evidence
being considered, it amounted to these three pardcii*
lars. First, That there had been a contract between
the marquis of Lorrain and the queen, which was not
sufficiently cleared : for it did not yet appear, wbe*
ther these espousals were made by the parties then-
selves, or in the words of the present tense. Tbeo
it was said, that the king having married her againt
his will, he had not given a pure, inward, and com-
plete consent : and since a man's act is only what if
inward, extorted or forced promises do not bind.
And, thirdly. That he had never consummated tk
marriage. To which was added, the great inteiat
the whole nation had in the king's having mott
issue, which they saw he could never have by the
queen. This was furiously driven on by the popish
party : and Cranmer, whether overcome with these
arguments, or rather with fear, for he knew it wis
contrived to send him quickly after Cromwell, coo-
conroca- scutcd with the rest. So that the whole convoct-
tou. tion, without one disagreeing vote, judged the mar-
N?^*i9. riage null, and of no force : and that both the king

and the lady were free from the bond of it.
It been- This was the greatest piece of compliance that
ever the king had from the clergy. For as they all
knew there was nothing of weight in that precon-
tract, so they laid down a most pernicious precedent
for invalidating all public treaties and agreements:
since, if one of the parties being unwilling to it, tf
that his consent were not inward, he was not IxxukI

THE REFORMATION. SOS

J it, there was no safetj among men more. For book

10 man can know whether another consents inward- L.

P'; and when a man does anj thing with great ^^^^'
version, to infer from thence that he does not in-
[rardly consent, may furnish every one with an ex-
use to break loose frbm all engagements: for he
oay pretend he did it unwillingly, and get ' his
riends to declare that he privately signified that to
hem. And for that argument, which was taken
rom the want of consummation, they had foi^otten
rfaat was pleaded on the king's behalf ten years be-
bre : that consent, without consummation, made a
oarriage complete ; by which they concluded, that
hough prince Arthur had not consummated his
[larriage with queen Katherine, yet his consent did
0 complete it, that the king could not afterwards
iwfuUy marry her. But as the king was resolved
o any terms to be rid of this queen, so the cleigy
rere also resolved not to incur his displeasure ; in
rhich they rather sought for reasons to give some
dour to their sentence, than passed their judgment
ipon the strength of them. This only can be said
bar their excuse, that these were as just and weighty
easons as used to be admitted by the court of
lome for a divorce : and most of them being canon-
its, and knowing how many precedents there were
o be found for such divorces, they thought they
night do it, as well as the popes had formerly done.
On the ninth of July sentence was given ; which
ras signed by both houses of convocation, and had
he two archbishops' seals put to it ; of which whole
rial the record does yet remain, having escaped the
ate of the other books of convocation. The ori-
ginal depositions are also yet extant.

0 0 2

564 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK Onlj I shall add here a reflection upon Cromwdl'f

■ misfortune, which may justly abate the loftiness of

^^^^' haughty men. The day after he was attainted,

being required to send to the king a full accoonty

under his hand, of the business of his marriage;

coiieet. which accouut he sent, as will be found in the Cd-

Numb. 17. i^^Jqu . ]jg concludes it with these abject words:

** I, a most woful prisoner, ready to take the death
when it shall please Grod and your majesty ; and
yet the frail flesh inciteth me continually to call to
^^ your grace for mercy, and grace for mine offences.
*^ And thus Christ save, preserve, and keep yoo.
" Written at the Tower this Wednesday Jthe last rf
*^ June, with the heavy heart, and trembling hand,
^* of your highness' most heavy, and most miserabk
*^ prisoner, and poor slave, Thomas Cromwell." And
a little below that, *^ Most gracious prince, I cry
^^for mercy ^ mercy ^ mercy T
Report On the tenth of July, the archbishop of Canter*

the pariia- bury reported to the house of lords, that the convo-
'°*'^*' cation had judged the marriage null, both by the
law of God, and the law of the land. The bishop
of Winchester delivered the judgment in writiif;
which being read, he enlarged on all the reasons of
it. This satisfied the lords, and they sent down
Cranmer and him to the commons, to give them the
same account. Next day the king sent the lord
chancellor, the duke of Norfolk, the earl of South-
ampton, and the bishop of Winchester, to let the
queen know what was done; who was not at all
troubled at it, and seemed not ill-pleased. They
told her, that the king would by letters patents de-
clare her his adopted sister, and give her precedence
before all the ladies of England, next his queen and

THE REFORMATION. £85

daughters, and assign her an estate of 3000/. a year ; book
and that she had her choice, either to live in Eng-

land, or to return home again. She accepted the ^J^^^Jl^^j^
offer, and under her hand declared her consent and <»iM«utt to

it,

approbation of the sentence ; and chose to live still
in England,, where she was in great honour, rather
than return under that disgrace to her own country.
She was also desired to write to her brother, and let
Um know, that she approved of what was done in
her matter, and that the king used her as a father,
or a brother ; and therefore to desire him, and her
other friends, not to take this matter ill, or lessen
their frien^hip to the king. She had no mind to do
that ; but said, it would be time enough, when her
brother wrote to her, to send him such an answer.
But it was answered, that much depended on the
first impressions that are received of any matter.
She in conclusion said, she should obey the king in
every thinc^ he desired her to do. So she wrote the coUect.

^ o Namb. ao.

letter as they desired it ; and the day following, being
the twelfth of July, the bill was brought into* the
house for annulling the marriage, which went easily
through both houses.

On the sixteenth of July, a bill was brought io^"fL
fi>r moderating the statute of the six articles in the ioconti-
dauses that related to the marriage of the priests, piiettt.
tar their incontinency with other women. On the
seventeenth it was agreed by the whole house, with-
out a contradictory vote, and sent down to the com-
mons ; who the twenty-first sent it up again. By it
the pains of death were turned to forfeitures of their
goods and chattels, and the rents of their ecclesiasti-
cal promotions, to the king.

On the twentieth of July, a bill was brought in

GoS

666 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK concerning a declaration of the Christian rdi^ooi
! and was then read the firsts second, and third tim^

AnL^' and passed without anj opposition, and sent down to
About feti- the commons ; who agreeing to it, sent it up again
the next day. It contained, '^ That the king, as so-
** preme head of the church, was taking much pain
** for an union among all his subjects in matters of
^* religion ; and, for preventing the further progreai
^ of heresy, had appointed many of the bishops, and
*^ the most learned divines, to declare the prindpil
*' articles of the Christian belief, with the ceremo-
** nies, and way of Grod's service to be observed.
** That therefore a thing of that weight might not
** be rashly done, or hasted through in this session of
*^ parliament ; but be done with that care which was
** requisite ;" therefore it was enacted, ** that wbat-
** soever was determined by the archbishops, bishopfi
'' and the other divines, now commissionated for that
" effect, or by any others appointed by the king» or
** by the whole clergy of England, and published bj
" the king's authority, concerning the Christian faith,
" or the ceremonies of the church, should be belieTed
" and obeyed by all the king's subjects, as well as if
^^ the particulars so set forth had been enumerated
" in this act, any custom or law to the contraiy not-
•^ withstanding." To this a strange proviso was
added, which destroyed the former clause; "that
" nothing should be done or determined by the an-
" thority of this act, which was contrary to the laws
* *^ and statutes of the kingdom." But whether this
proviso was added by the house of commons, or
originally put into the bill, does not appear. It was
more likely it was put in at the first by the king's
council; for these contradictory clauses raised the

THE REFORMATION. 667

prerogative higher, and left it in the judge's power book
to determine which of the two should be followed ;

by which aU ecclesiastical matters were to be brought *^^*
under trials at common law : foi* it was one of the
great designs, both of the ministers and lawyers, at
this time, to bring aU ecclesiastical matters to the
cognizance of the secular judge.

But another bill passed, which seems a little odd,
eonceming the circumstances of that time. ** That
whereas many marriages had been annulled in the
time of popery, upon the pretence of precontracts,
^ or other degrees of kindred, than those that were
^ prohibited by the law of Grod : therefore, after a
^ marriage was consummated, no pretence of any
'< precontract, or any degrees of idndred or aUiance,
^ but those mentioned in the law of Grod, should be
^ brought or made use of to annul it ; since these
things had been oft pretended only to dissolve a
marriage, when the parties grew weary of each
^ other, which was contrary to God's law. There-
^ fore it was enacted, that no pretence of precon*
'^ tract, not consummated, should be made use of to
*^ annul a marriage duly solemnized and consum-
^ mated ; and that no degrees of kindred, not men-
tioned by the law of Grod, should be pleaded to an-
nul a marriage." This act gave great occasion of
€3ensuring the king's forikier proceedings against
queen Anne Boleyn, since that which was now con-
demned had. been the pretence for dissolving his
marriage with her. Others thought the king did it
en design to remove that impediment out of the way
of the lady Elizabeth's succeeding to the crown ;
since that judgment, upon which she was ill^ti-
mated, was now indirectly censured : and that other

o o 4

€€
4*

4€
€4

668 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK branch of the act, for taking away all prohilntioiif
^^'' of marriages, within any degrees but those forbidden

1540. in scripture, was to make way for the king^s mar-
riage with Katherine Howard, who was cousin-ger-
man to queen Anne Boleyn ; for that was one of the
prohibited degrees by the canon-law.
.siiiMidiet The province of Canterbury offered a subsidy of
tbTcierg/; four shilHugs iu the pound of all ecclesiastical pre-
ferments, to be paid in two years ; and that in ac-
knowledgment of the great liberty they enjoyed bf
being delivered from the usurpations of the bishopr
of Rome, and in recompense of the great changes
the king had been at, and was still to be at, in build-
ing havens, bulwarks, and other forts, for the de-
fence of his coasts, and the security of his subjects.
This was confirmed in parliament. But that did not
satisfy the king, who had husbanded the money that
came in by the sale of abbey-lands so ill, that now
he wanted money, and was forced to ask a subsidy
And laity, for his marriage of the parliament. This was ob-
tained with great difficulty : for it was said, that if
the king was already in want, after so vast an in-
come, especially being engaged in no war, there
would be no end of his necessities ; nor could it be
possible for them to supply them. But it was an-
swered, that the king had laid out a great treasure
in fortifying the coast ; and though he was then in
no visible war, yet the charge he was at in keeping
up the war beyond sea was equal to the expense of
a war ; and much more to the advantage of his peo-
ple, who were kept in peace and plenty. This ob-
tained a tenth, and four fifteenths. After the pass-
ing of all these bills, and many other that concerned
the public, with several othe^ bills of attainder, for

1

THE REFORMATION. 569

some that favoured the pope's intarests, or corre- book

sponded with cardinal Pool, which shall be mentioned ! —

in another place, the king sent in a general pardon, ^^^®-
with the ordinary exceptions ; and in particular ex-
cepted Cromwell, the countess of Sarum^ with many
others, then in prison : some of them were put in for
opposing the king's supremacy, and others for trans-
gressing the statute of the six articles. On the
twenty-fourth of July the parliament was dissolved. I

And now CromweU, who had been six weeks acromweU's
prisoner, was brought to his execution. He had
used all the endeavours he could for his own pre-^
servation. Once he wrote to the king in such melt-
b> ing terms, that he made the letter to be thrice read,
and seemed touched with it. But the charms of
Katherine Howard, and the endeavours of the duke
cxf Norfolk and the bishop of Winchester, at length
prevailed. So a warrant was sent to cut off his
head, on the twenty-eighth of July, at Tower-hill.
When he was brought to the scaffold, his kindness
to his son made him very cautious in what he said : '
he declined the purging of himself, but said, *^ he
^ was by law condemned to die, and thanked God
^* for bringing him to that death for his offences.
*' He acknowledged his sins against Grod, and his of-
*^ fences against his prince, who had raised him from
^ a base degree. He declared that he died in the
^* catholic faith, not doubting of any article of faith,
'* or of any sacrament of the church ; and denied
^* that he had been a supporter of those who de-
^* livered ill opinions : he confessed he had been se-
^ duced, but now died in the catholic faith, and de-
** sired them to pray for the king, and for the prince,
and for himself: and then prayed very ferventiy

44

670 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK << for the remission of his past sins, and admittance
III

** into eternal glory." And having giyen the sign,

1540. jijg executioner cut off his head very barbarously.
Hitcbanu:. Thus fell that great minister, that was raised
^'' merely upon the strength of his natural parts. For

as his extraction was mean, so his education was
low : all the learning he had was, that he had got
the New Testament in Latin by heart. His grett
wisdom, and dexterity in business, raised him up
through several steps, till he was become as great as
a subject could be. He carried his greatness with
wonderful temper and moderation; and fell under
the weight of popular odium rather than guilt. Hie
disorders in the suppression of abbeys were generallf
charged on him : yet, when he fell, no bribery, nor
cheating of the king, could be fastened on him;
though such things come out in swarms on a dis-
graced favourite, when there is any ground for them.
By what he spoke at his death, he left it modi
doubted of what religion he died : but it is certain
he was a Lutheran. The term catholic Juithj used
by him in his last speech, seemed to make it doubt-
ful ; but that was then used in England in its true
sense, in opposition to the novelties of the see of
Rome, as will afterwards appear on another occa-
sion. So that his profession of the catholic faith
was strangely perverted, when some from thence
concluded, that he died in the communion of the
church of Rome. But his praying in Gnglish, and
that only to God through Christ, without any of
those tricks that were used when those of that
church died, showed he was none of theirs. With
him the office of the king's vicegerent in ecclesiasti-
cal affairs died, as it rose first in his person : and as

THE REFORMATION. 571

all the clergy opposed the setting up a new officer, book
whose interest should oblige him to oppose a recbn- ^'''

ciUation with Rome, so it seems none were fond to 1^^^-
succeed in an office that proved so fatal to him that
had first carried it. The king was said to have la-
mented his death after it was too late ; but the fall
of the new queen, that followed not long after, and
the miseries which fell also on the duke of Norfolk
and his family, some years after, were looked on as
the scoui^es of Heaven for their cruel prosecution of
this unfortunate minister.

With his fall, the progress of the reformation,
which had been by his endeavours so far advanced,
was quite stopped. For all that Cranmer could do
after this was, to keep the ground they had gained ;
but he could never advance much further. And in-
deed every one expected to see him go next : for, as i>etigiit
one Grostwick, knight for Bedfordshire, had named cranmer.
him in the house of commons as the supporter and
promoter of all the heresy that was in England ; so
the popish party reckoned they had but half done
their work by destroying Cromwell ; and that it was
not finished till Cranmer followed him. Therefore
all possible endeavours were used to make discoveries
of the encouragement which, as was believed, he
gave to the preachers of the condemned doctrines.
And it b very probable, that had not the inconti-
nence of Katherine Howard (whom the king de-
clared queen on the eighth of August) broken out
not long after, he had been sacrificed the next ses-
sion of parliament.

But now I return to my proper business, to give
an account of church-matters for this year; with
which these great changes in court had so great a

678 THE HISTORY OF ^

BOOK relation, that the reader will excuse the digreflsioii
'"• about them.

1540. Upon Cromwell's fall, Gardiner, and those that
followed him, made no doubt but they should quickty
recover what they had lost of late years. So thdr
greatest attempt was upon the translation of the
scriptures. The convocation-books (as I have been
forced often to lament) are lost; so that here I cannot
stir, but as Fuller leads me ; who assures the worlds
that he copied out of the records with his own pen
what he published. And yet I doubt he has mis-
taken himself in the year ; and that which he caQs
the convocation of this year, was the convocation of
the year 1542 : for he tells us, that their seventli
session was the tenth of March. Now in this year
the convocation did not sit down till the thirteenth
of April ; but that year it sat all March. So like-
wise he tells us of the bishops of Westminster, Gb-
cester, and Peterborough, bearing a share in this
convocation : whereas these were not consecrated
before winter, and could not sit as bishops in this
synod. And, besides, Thirleby sat at this time in
the lower house ; as was formerly shown in the pro-
cess about Anne of Cleves' marriage. So that their
attempt against the New Testament belongs to the
year 1542.
A com- But they were now much better employed, though

^tTibout ^^* ^" ^^^ ^^y ^^ convocation ; for a select number
religion, of them sat by virtue of a commission from the
king, confirmed in parliament. Their first work
was to draw up a declaration of the Christian doc-
trine, Jbr the necessary erudition of a Christian
man. They thought, that to speak of faith in ge-
neral ought naturally to go before an exposition </

THE REFORMATION. 673

the Christian belief; and therefore with that they book

f nil

began.

The church of Rome, that designed to keep ^^T^j^n^x^L
children in ignorance, had made no great account of "*^<>" ^^
faith ; which, they generally taught, consisted chiefly
in an implicit believing whatever the church pro-
posed, without any explicit knowledge of particulars :
so that a Christian faith, as they had explained it,
was a submission to the church. The reformers,
finding that this was the spring of all their other
errors, and that which gave them colour and au-
thority, did on the other hand set up the strength
of their whole cause on an exjdicit believing the
truth of the scriptures, because of the authority of
God, who had revealed them : and said, that as the
great subject of the apostles' preaching was faiths
80 that which they every where taught was, to read
and believe the scriptures. Upon which followed
nice disputing, what was that saving faith by which
the scriptures say, we are justified. They could
not say, it was barely crediting the divine revelation,
since in that sense the devils believed: therefore
they generally placed it, at first, in their being as-
sured that they should be saved by Christ dying for
them. In which^ their design was, to make holiness,
and all other graces^ necessary requisites in the com-
position of faith ; though they would not make them
formally parts of it. For since Christ's death has
its full virtue and effect upon none but those who
are regenerate, and live according to his gospel;
none could be assured that he should be saved by
Christ's death till he first found in himself those ne-
cessary qualifications which are delivered in the
gospel. Having once settled on this phrase, their

674 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK followers would needs defend it, but really made it
^'^' worse by their explanations. The church of Rome

1540. thought they had them at great advantages in it,
and called them Solifidians, and said, they were
against good works : though, whatever unwary ex-
pressions some of them threw out, they always de-
clared good works indispensably necessary to salra-
tion. But they differed from the church of Rome
in two things that were material. There was abo
a third, but there the difference was more in the
manner of expression. The one was. What were
good works? The church of Rome had generaDy
delivered, that works which did an immediate ho-
nour to Grod, or Ids saints, were more valuable tbtn
works done to other men ; and that the honour thef
did to saints, in their images and relics, and to God,
in his priests that were dedicated to him, were the
highest pieces of holiness, as having the best objects.
This was the foundation of all that trade, which
brought in both riches and glory to their church.
On the other hand, the reformers taught, that jus-
tice and mercy, with other good works, done in obe-
dience to God's commandments, were only neces-
sary. And for these things, so much magnified at
Rome, they acknowledged there ought to be a de-
cent splendour in the worship of Grod, and good pro-
vision to be made for the encouragement of those
who dedicated themselves to his service in the
church ; and that what was beyond these was the
effect of ignorance and superstition. The other
main difference was about the merit of good works,
which the friars had raised so high, that peoiJe
were come to think they bought and sold with Al-
mighty God, for heaven and all other his blessings-

THE REFORMATION. 676

This Hie refonners judged was the height of arro- book
gance : and therefore taught, that good works were

indeed absolutely necessary to salvation; but that ^^^^'
the purchase of heaven was only by the death and
intercession of Jesus Christ. With these material
differences, they joined another, that consisted more
in words ; Whether obedience was an essential part
of faith? The reformers said, it certainly accom-
panied and followed faith; but thought not fit to
make it an ingredient in the nature of faith. These
things had been now much canvassed in disputes :
and it was thought by many, that men of iU lives
made no good use of some of the expressions of the
reformers^ that separated faith from good works,
and came to persuade themselves, that if they could
but attain to a firm assurance that fhey should be
saved by Christ, all would be well with them. There-
fore now, when they went about to state the true
notion of faith, Cranmer commanded doctor Red-
mayn, who was esteemed the most learned and ju-
dicious divine of that time, to write a short treatise
on these heads ; which he did with that solidity and
deamess, that it wiU sufficiently justify any advan-
tageous character that can be given of the author :
and, according to the conclusions of that treatise,
they laid down the nature of faith thu^ ; ^^ That it
^ stands in two several senses in scripture. The
one is, the persuasion of the truths, both of natural
and revealed religion, wrought in the mind by
" God's holy Spirit. And the other is, such a belief
^' as begets a submission to the will of (rod, and
^ hath hope, love, and obedience to God's command-
'' ments joined to it ; which was Abraham's faith,
'^ and that which, according to St. Paul, wrought by

€€
ft

676 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK ^< charity, and was so much commended in the Epistle

! '* to the Hebrews. That this was the £uth which

1540. «( Jq baptism is professed, from which Christians are
called the faithful. And in those scriptures, where
it is said, that we are justified bjr faith, they de»
*' clared, we may not think that we be justified \sj
faith, as it is a separate virtue from hope and cha-
rity, fear of God, and repentance ; but by it is
meant faith, neither only, nor alone, but with the
foresaid virtues coupled together; containing (as
*< is aforesaid) the obedience to the whole doctrine
and religion of Christ. But for the definition of
faith, which some proposed, as if it were a cer-
** tainty that one was predestinated, they found no-
thing of it, either in the scriptures, or the doct(Nrs;
and thought that could not be known : for though
*' God never failed in his promises to men^ yet, such
** was the frailty of men, that they often failed in
" their promises to God, and so did forfeit thdr
right to the promises, which are all made upon
conditions that depend on us."
ranmer's Upon this occasion I shall digress a little, to show
bia'nt. with what care Cranmer considered so weighty a
point. Among his other papers, I find a collection
of a great many places out of the scripture, concern-
ing justification by faith, together with a vast num-
ber of quotations out of Origen, Basil, Jerome, Theo-
doret, Ambrose, Austin, Prosper, Chrysostom, Gen-
nadius, Beda, Hesychius, Theophylact, and (Ecu-
menius ; together with many later writers, such as
Anselm, Bernard, Peter Lombard, Hugo Cardinalis»
Lyranus, and Bruno ; in which the sense of those
authors in this point did appear ; all drawn out with
his own hand. To this is added another collection

THE REFORMATION. 677

of many places of the fathei*s, in which they speak book
of the merit qfgood works: and at the end of the

tt

m

U

whole collection he writes these words ; " This pro- '^'*^*
position, that we are justified by Christ only, and
not by our good works, is a very true and neces-
<< sary doctrine of St. Paul's, and the other apostles,
" taught by them to set forth thereby the glory of
•* Christ, and the mercy of God through Christ."
And, after some further discourse to the same pur-
pose, he concludes, ** Although all that be justified
must of necessity have charity as well as faith ;
yet neither faith nor charity be the worthiness nor
-*' merits of our justification : but that is to be as-
^ cribed only to our Saviour Christ, who was offered
^ upon the cross for our sins, and rose again for our

L ^justification." This I set down, to let the world

- 'flee that Cranmer was not at all concerned in those
niceties, which have been so much inquired into
since that time, about the instrumentality of faith
in justification ; all that he then considered being,

^ that the glory of it might be ascribed only to the
death and intercession of Jesus Christ.

After this was thus laid down, there followed an They ex-
explanation of the Apostles' Creed, full of excellent A^otties'*
matters ; being a large paraphrase on . every article ^"^*
'of the Creed, with such serious and practical infer-

"^ encesy that I must acknowledge, after all the prac-
tical books we have had, I find great edification in
reading, that over and over again. The style is
strong, nervous, and well fitted for the weakest ca-
pacities. There is nothing in this that is contro-
verted between the papists and the reformers ; ex-
cept the definition of the holy catholic church,
which they give us thus : That it comprehends all
VOL. 1. * P P

678 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK assemblies qf men over the whole world, that re-
"'' /tptW the faith of Christ; who ought to hold as

1540. unity of love J and brotherly agreement together jhf
which they become members of the catholic churek.
Upon which a long excursion is made^ to show the in-
justice and unreasonableness of the plea of the churdi
of Eome, who place the unity of the catholic church
in a submission to the bishop of their citjr, without
any ground from scripture, or the ancient writers.
The teven From that they proceeded to examine the seven
Mcraments. gacraments ; and here fell in stiff debates, which re-
main in some authentic writings, that give a grest
light to their proceedings. The method which they
followed was this: first, the whole business they
were to consider was divided into so many head^
which were proposed as queries, and th€»e weie^
given out to so many bishops and divines : and, at t
prefixed time, every one brought his opinion in writ*
With great ^^g ^poH all the qucrics. So, concerning the sevea
matunty. sacraments, the queries were given out to the two
archbishops, the bishops of London, Rochester, and
Carlisle, (though the last was not in the commis-
sion,) and to the bishops of Duresme, Hereford, and
St. David's. For though the bishop of Winchester
was in this commission, yet he did nothing in this
particular ; but I imagine that he was gone out of
town, and that the bishop of Carlisle was appointed
to supply his absence. The queries were also given
to doctor Thirleby, then bishop elect of Westminster,
to doctors Robertson, Day, Redmayn, Cox, Leigb-
ton, (though not in the commission,) Symmon^
Tresham, Coren, (though not in the commissiam)
Edgeworth, Oglethorp, Crayford, Wilson, and Bo-
bins. When their answers were given in, two were | ^

THE REFORMATION. 679

k appointed to compare them, and.draw an extract of book
I the particulars in which they agreed or disagreed : ''^'

I which the one did in Latin^ and the other in Eng- 1^"^^*
i Msh ; only those who compared them, it seems, doing
r it for the archbishop of Canterbury, took no notice
t of his opinions in the extract they made. And of
:: these, the original answers of the two archbishops^
the bishops of London, Rochester, and Carlisle ; and
these doctors. Day, Robertson, Redmajm, Cox, Leigh-
ton, Symmonds, Tresham, Coren, Edgeworth, tend
C^lethoip; are yet extant. But the papers given
m by the bishops of Duresme, Hereford, and St.
David's, and the elect of Westminster, Mid doctors
Crayford, Wilson, and Robins, though they are men-
tioned in the extracts made out of them, yet are
lost. This the reader will find in the Collection : ck>iiect.
Which, though it be somewhat large, yet I thought ^""''- ^'
such pieces were of too great importance not to be
communicated to the world ; since it is perhaps as
great an evidence of the ripeness of their proceed-
ings as can be showed in any churchy or any age of
it. And though other papers of this sort do not
occur in this king's reign; yet I have reason to
conclude, from this instance, that they proceeded
with the same maturity in the rest of their delibera-
tions : in which I am the more confirmed, because
I find another instance like this in the reformation
tbat was further carried on in the succeeding reign
of Edward the Sixth ; of many bishops and divines
giving in their opinions under their hands, upon
0CHiie heads then examined and changed. In Cran-
mer^s paper, some singular, opinions of his about the
Bature of ecclesiastic^ oflices will be found ; but, as
I they are delivered by him with all possible modesty,

p p 2

1540.

680 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK SO they were not established as the doctrine of the

III '

church, but laid aside as particular con€:eits of his
own. And it seems, that afterwards he changed his
opinion : for he subscribed the book that was soon
after set out; which is directly contrary to those
opinions set down in these papers. Cranmer was
for reducing these sacraments to two : but the pofHsh
party was then prevalent ; so the whole number of
seven was agreed to.

Baptism was explained in the same manner that
had been done three years before, in the artides
then set out : only the matter of original sin was
more enlarged on.

Secondly, Penance was formerly placed in the ab-
solution of the priest ; which by the former artides
was only declared a thing desirable^ and not to be
contemned, if it might be had ; yet all merit of good
works was rejected, though they were declared ne-
cessary ; and sinners were taught to depend wholly
on the suflTerings of Christ ; with other good direc-
tions about repentance.

Thirdly, In the explanation of the eucharist, tran-
substantiation was fully asserted : as also the conco-
mitancy of the blood with the flesh ; so that commu-
nion in both kinds was not necessary. The use of
hearing mass, though one did not communicate, was
also asserted. To which were added, very good
rules about the disposition of mind that ou^t to
accompany this sacrament.

Fourthly, Matrimony was said to be instituted of
God, and sanctified by Christ: the degrees in the
Mosaical law were declared obligatory, none else:
and the bond of marriage was declared not separable
on any account.

THE REFORMATION. 581

Fifthly, Orders were to be administered in the book
ihurch, according to the New Testament: but the ^^^'

particular forms of nominating, electing, presenting, 1 540.
»r appointing ecclesiastical ministers, was left to the
aws of every country, to be made by the assent of
he prince. The office of churchmen was to preach,
administer the sacraments, to bind and loose, and to
)ray for the whole flock: but they must execute
.bese with such limitation as was allowed by the
aws of every kingdom. The scripture, they said,
nade express mention only of the two orders of
>riests and deacons. To these the primitive church
lad added some inferior degrees, which were also
lot to be contemned. But no bishop had any au-
licnity over other bishops by the law of God. Upon
vhich followed a long digression, confuting the pre-
ensions of the bishops of Rome ; with an explana-
ion of the king's authority in ecclesiastical matters ;
vhich was beforehand set down in another place, to
ihow what they understood by the king's being su-
weme head of the church.

Sixthly, Confirmation was said to have been used
n the primitive church, in imitation of the apostles;
rBo, by laying on their hands, conferred the Holy
}host in an extraordinary manner: and therefore
ras of great advantage, but not necessary to salva-

Seventhly, Extreme unction was said to have
leen derived from the practice of the apostles, men-
ioned by St. James, for the health both of body and
oul: and though the sick person was not always
recovered of his bodily sickness by it, yet remission
tf sins was obtained by it; and that which God
mew to be best for our bodily condition, to whose

pp3

682 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK will we ought always to submit. But this sacn-
"^' wiATif was only fruitful to those who by peuanoe

*^^^' were restored to the state of grace.
The Ten Then followed an explanation of the Ten Com*
oommMd. mandments, which contains many good rules of mo-
rality, drawn from every one of them. The second
Commandment Grardiner had a mind to have short*
ened, and to cast into the first. Cranmer was ftr
setting it down as it was in the law of Moses. But
a temper was found: it was placed as a distiad
commandment, but not at full length; the woidi^
For I the Lord thy Crod, &c. being left out, and
only those that go before being set down. In the
explanation of this Commandment, images were soil
to be profitable for putting us in mind of the greit
blessings we have received by our Saviour, and of
the virtues and holiness of the saints, by whidi ive
were to be stirred up to imitate them: so tint
they were not to be despised, though we be forbid-
den to do any godly honour to them. And there-
fore the superstition of preferring one image to an-
other, as if they had any special virtue in them, or
the adorning them richly, and making vows and pil-
grimages to them, is condemned; yet the cenang
of images, and kneeling before them, are not con-
demned : but the people must be taught, that these
things were not to be done to the image itself but
to God and his honour. To the third Command-
ment, they reduced the invocation of God's name for
his gifts : and they condemned the invocation of
saints, when such things were prayed for from them,
which were only given by Grod. This was the
giving his glory to creatures ; yet to pray to saints
as intercessors is declared lawful, and according

THE REFORMATION. 58S

to the doctrine of the catholic church. Upon the book

III
fourth Commandment, a rest from labour every

seyenth day is said to be ceremonial, and such ^^^*
as only obliged Jews ; but the spiritual signification
of rest among Christians was, to abstain from sin,
and other carnal pleasures. But, besides that, we
were also bound by this precept sometimes to cease
from labour, that we may serve and worship God
both in public and private : and that, on the days
appointed for this purpose, people ought to examine
their lives the past week, and set to amendment,
and give themselves to prayer, reading, and medita-
tion. Yet in cases of necessity, such as saving their
com or cattle, men ought not superstitiously to think
that it is a sin to work on that day, but to do their
work without scruple. Then follow very profitable
expositions of the other Commandments, with many
grave and weighty admonitions concerning the duties
by them enjoined, and against those sins which are
too common in all ages.

After that, an explanation of the Lord's Prayer The Lord's
was added. In the preface to which it is said, that
It is meet and requisite that the unlearned people
should make their prayers in their mother-tongue;
whereby they may be the more stirred to devotion,
and to mind the things they prayed for. Then fol-
lowed an exposition of the angel's salutation of the
blessed Virgin : in which the whole history of the
incarnation of Christ was opened, and the Ave Maria The at«
explained; which hymn was chiefly to be used in *™'
oonunemoration of Christ's incarnation, and likewise
to set forth the praises of the blessed Virgin. The
next article is about free-will, which they say mustFive-wui.
be in man ; otherwise all precepts and exhortations

p p 4

584 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK are to no purpose. They defined it, a power cfiht
will^ joined with reason, whereby a rea^cmdkk

1540. creature, without constraint, in things of reason,
discerneth afid wiUeth good and evil; but choosetk
good hy the assistance of Chd's grace, and evil oj
itself. This was perfect in the state of innocencf,
but is much impaired by Adam's fall ; and now, bj
an especial grace, (offered to all men, but enjoyed
only by those who by their free-will do accept the
same,) it was restored, that with great watchfulness
we may serve God acceptably. And as many places
of scripture show that free-will is still in man, so
there be many others which show that the grace <^
Grod is necessary, that doth both prevent us and as-
sist us both to begin and perform every good work.
Therefore all men ought most gratefully to receive
and follow the motions of the Holy Ghostj and to
beg God's grace with earnest devotion, and a stead-
fast faith ; which he will grant to all that so ask it,
both because he is naturally good, and he has pro-
mised to grant our desires. For he is not the author
of sin, nor the cause of man's damnation ; but this
men draw on themselves, who by vice have cor-
rupted those natures which God made good. There-
fore all preachers were warned so to moderate them-
selves in this high point, that they neither should so
preach the grace of God, as to take away free-will ;
nor so extol free-will, as injury might be done to the
grace of God.
juBtifica- After this, they handled justification. Having
stated the miseries of man by nature, and the guilt
of sin, with the unspeakable goodness of God in
sending Christ to redeem us by his death, whowas
the mediator between God and man; they next

tiOD.

THE REFORMATION. ' 586

show how men are made partakers of the blessings book

which he hath procured. Justification is the making 1—

of us righteous before God, whereby we are recon- ^^^^*
oiled to him, and made heirs of eternal life : that by
his grace we may walk in his ways^ and be reputed
just and righteous in the day of judgment, and so
attain everlasting happiness. God is the chief cause
of our justification : yet man, prevented by grace, is
by his free consent and obedience a worker toward
the attaining his own justification. For though it
is only procured through the merits of Christ's death,
yet every one must do many things to attain a right
and claim to that, which, though it was offered to
all, yet was applied but to a few. We must have a
steadfast faith, true repentance, real purposes of
amendment; committing sin no more, but serving
God all our lives ; which if we fall from, we must
recover it by penance, fasting, alms, prayers, with
other good works, and a firm faith, going forward in
mortification and obedience to the laws of Grod ; it
being certain that men might fall away from their
justification. All curious reasonings about predesti-
nation were to be set apart; there being no cer-
tainty to be had of our election, but by feeling the
motions of God's Spirit in us, by a good and virtuous
life, and persevering in it to the end. Therefore it
was to be taught, that as on the one hand we are to
be justified freely by the free grace of Grod ; so, on
the othe^ hand, when it is said, we are justified hy
Jhiihf it must be. understood of such a faith, in which
the fear of God, repentance, hope, and charity, be
included ; all which must be joined together in our
justification: and though these be imperfect, yet
God accepteth of them freely through Christ.

586 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK Next, good works were explained, whkdi were
said to be absolutely necessary to salvation. But

^}^^^' these were not only outward corporal woite, but in-
worki. ward spiritual works ; as the love and fear of God|
patience, humility, and the like. Nor were thejr
superstitions and men's inventions, such as those id
which monks and friars exercised themselves; nor
only moral works, done by the power of natural rea-
son ; but the works of charity, flowing from a pure
heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, wbick
were meritorious towards the attaining of everlast-
ing life. Other works were of an inferior sort ; such
as fasting, almsdeeds, and other fruits of penance.
And the merit of good works is reconciled with the
freedom of God's mercies to us, since all our worb
are done by his grace ; so that we have no cause of
boasting, but must ascribe all to the grace and good-
ness of Grod. The last chapter is about prayers fiir
souls depai*ted, which is the same that was formerij
set out in the articles three years before.
All this set And this was finished and set forth this year, with
ix)ok ;"* * a preface written by those of the clergy who had
been employed in it ; declaring with what care they
had examined the scriptures, and the ancient doctors,
out of whom they had faithfully gathered this expo-
And pub- sition of the Christian faith. To this the king added
the king^»s another preface some years after, declaring, that at
authority, though he had cast out the darkness, by setting
forth the scriptures to his people, which had pro-
duced very good effects ; yet, as hypocrisy and su-
perstition were purged away, so a spirit of presump-
tion, dissension, and carnal liberty was breaking io-
For repressing which, he had, by the advice of to
clergy, set forth a declaration of the true knowied^

THE REFORMATION. 587

of (jodt for directing all men'0 belief and practice; book
which both houses of parliament had seen, and liked

very well. So that he verilj trusted it contained a ^^^^'
true and sufficient doctrine, for the attaining ever-
lasting life. Therefore he required all his people to
read, and print in their hearts, the doctrine of this
book. He also willed them to remember, that as
there were some teachers, whose office it was to in-
struct the people; so the rest ought to be taught,
and to those it was not necessary to read the scrip-
tures : and that therefore he had restrained it from
a great many, esteeming it sufficient for such to hear
the doctrine of the scriptures taught by their
preachers, which they should lay up in their hearts,
ond practise in their lives. Lastly, he desired all
)us subjects to pray to God to grant them the spirit
of humility, that they might read and carry in their
hearts the doctrine set forth in this book. But
though I have joined the account of this preface to
the extract here made of the Bishops' Book, yet it
was not prefixed to it till above two years after the
other was set out.

When this was published, both parties found cause it is ran-
ill it both to be glad and sorrowful. The reformers ^.^"^
rejoiced to see the doctrine of the gospel thus opened
more and more ; for they concluded, that ignorance
and prejudices, being the chief supports of the errors
they complained of, the instructing people in divine
matters, even though some particulars displeased
them, yet would awaken and work upon an inquisi-
tive humour that was then a stirring ; and they did
sot doubt but their doctrines were so clear, that in->
quiries into religion would do their business. They
were also glad to see the morals of Christianity so

688 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK well cleared, which they hoped would dispose people
^"' to a better taste of divine matters ; since they had

1540. observed, that purity of soul does mightily prepare
people for sound opinions. Most of the superstitious
conceits and practices, which had for some ages em-
based the Christian faith, were now removed ; and
the great fundamental of Christianity, the covenant
between God and man in Christ, with the conditicHM
of it, was plainly and sincerely declared. There
was also another principle laid down, that was big
with a further reformation ; for every national
church was declared a complete body within itsell^
with power to reform heresies, correct abuses, and
do every thing else that was necessary for keeping
itself pure, or governing its members: by which
there was a fair way opened for a full discussion of
things afterwards, when a fitter opportunity should
be offered. But, on the other hand, the popish party
thought they had gained much. The seven sacra-
ments were again asserted, so that here much ground
was recovered, and they hoped more would follow.
There were many things laid down, to which they
knew the reformers would never consent : so that
they, who were resolved to comply with every thing
that the king had a mind to, were pretty safe.
But the others, who followed their persuasions and
consciences, were brought into many snares; and
the popish party was confident that their absolute
compliance, which was joined with all possible sub-
mission and flattery, would gain the king at length :
and the stiffness of others, who would not give that
deference to the king's judgment and pleasure,
would so alienate him from them, that he woidd in
the end abandon them ; for, with the king's years,

THE REFORMATION. 689

his uneasiness and peevishness grew mightily on book
him. —

The dissolution of the king's marriage with Anne ^^^^'
of Cleves had so offended the princes of Grei*many,
that though, upon the lady's account, they made no
public noise of it ; yet there was little more inter-
course between the king and them, especially Crom-
well falling, that had always carried on the corre-
spondence with them. And, as this intercourse went
off, so a secret treaty was set on foot between the
king and the emperor ; yet it came not to a conclu-
sion till two years after.

The other bishops, that were appointed to ex- Correctiont
amine the rites and ceremonies of the church, drew book, and '
up a rubric and rationale of them ; which I do not os!^.
find was printed: but a very authentical MS. of a^^^^^jj^
great part of it is extant. The alterations they ""«*****•
made were inconsiderable, and so slight, that there
was no need of reprinting either the missals, bre-
viaries, or other offices ; for a few razures of those
collects, in which the pope was prayed for, of Thomas
Backet's office, and the offices of other saints, whose
days were by the king's injunctions no more to be
observed, with some other deletions, made that the
old books did still serve. For whether it was, that
the change of the mass-books, and other public
offices, would have been too great a charge to the
nation ; or whether they thought it would have pos-
sessed the people with an opinion that the religion
was altered, since the books of the ancient worship
were changed; which remaining the same, they
might be the more easily persuaded that the religion
was still the same : there was no new impression of
the breviaries, missals, and other rituals, during this

S90 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK king's reign. Yet in queen Mary's time they took
care that posterity should not know how much was

1^40. dashed out or changed : for, as all parishes were re-
quired to furnish themselves with new comjdete
books of the offices ; so the dashed books were every
where brought in, and destroyed. But it is likdy
that most of those scandalous hymns and prayen,
which are addressed to saints in the same style in
which good Christians worship God, were all struck
out ; because they were now condemned, as appean
from the extract of the other book, set out by the
bishops.
A pemca- But, as they went on in these things, the popish
u^tmJ^ P&rty, whose counsels were laid very dose^ and ma-
naged with great dexterity, chiefly by the duke of
Norfolk and Gardiner, pursued the ruin of those
whom they called heretics : knowing well, that if
the king was once set against them, and they pro-
voked against the government, he would be not only
alienated from them, but forced, for securing him-
self against them, to gain the hearts of his other
' subjects by a conjunction with the emperor, and by
his means with the pope. The first on whom this
design took effect were doctor Barnes, Mr. Grerrard,
and Mr. Jerome, all priests ; who had been SLtnong
Of Barnes the earUest converts to Luther's doctrine. Barnes
*"'had, in a sermon at Cambridge during the cardinaTs
greatness, reflected on the pomp and state in which
he lived so plainly, that every body understood of
whom he meant. So he was carried up to London ;
but, by the interposition of Gardiner and Fox, who
were his friends, he was saved at that time, having
abjured some opinions that were objected to him-
But other accusations being afterwards brought

THE REFORMATION. 091

against him, he was again imprisoned, and it was be- book
lieved that he would have been burnt. But he made L.

his escape, and went to Germany, where he gave ^^^'
himself to the study of the scriptures and divinity :
in which he became so considerable, tlmt not only
the German divines, but their princes, took great
notice of him ; and the king of Denmark sending
over ambassadors to the king, he was sent with
them : though perhaps Fox was ill-informed when
he says, he was one of them. Fox, bishop of Here-
ford, being at Smalcald in the year 15S6, sent him
over to England, where he was received and kindly
entertained by CromweU, and well used by the
king. And by his means the correspondence with
the Germans was chiefly kept up : for he was often
sent over to the courts of several princes. But, in
particular, he had the misfortune to be first employ-
ed in the project of the king's marriage with the
lady Anne of Cleves : for that giving the king so
little satisfaction, all who were the main promoters
of it fell in disgrace upon it.

But other things concurred to destroy Barnes. In
IfCnt this year, Bonner had appointed him, and Ger-
rard, and Jerome, turns in the course of sermons at
BL Paul's Cross ; they being in favour with Crom-
well, on whom Bonner depended wholly. But Gar-
dmer sent Bonner word, that he intended himself to
inreach on Sunday at St. Paul's Cross : and in his
termon he treated of justification, and other points,
with many reflections on the Lutherans. Barnes,
when it came to his turn, made use of the same
text, but preached contrary doctrine ; not without
•ome unhandsome reflections on Gardiner's person :
and he played on his name, alluding to a gardener's

69S THE HISTORY OF

BOOK setting ill plants in a garden. The other two

, preached the same doctrine, but made do reflections

^^^^* on any person. Gardiner seemed to bear it with i
great ap])earance of neglect and indifferency : but
his friends complained to the king of the insufierabk
insolencies of these preachers, who did not spare
so great a prelate, especially he being a privy coun-
sellor. So Barnes was questioned for it, and com-
manded to go and give the bishop of Winchester sa-
tisfaction. And the bishop carried the matter with
a great show of moderation, and acted outwardly in
it as became his function: though it was bdieved
the matter stuck deeper in his heart ; which the ef-
fects that followed seemed to demonstrate. The
king concerned himself in the matter, and did aigue
with Barnes about the points in difference. But
whether he was truly convinced, or overcome rather i
with the fear of the king than with the force of lus
reasonings, he, and his two friends, William Jerome
and Thomas Gerrard, signed a paper (which will be
Collect, found in the Collection) in which he acknowledged,
uni . 22. ^^ 'pjjgi-^ having been brought before the king for

** things preached by him, his highness, being as-
" sisted by some of the clergy, had so disputed with j
" him, that he was convinced of his rashness and ,
" oversight ; and promised to abstain from such in-
" discretions for the future, and to submit to any oc-
" ders the king should give for what was past.**

The articles were, " First, That, though we are re-
" deemed only by the death of Christ, in which we
" participate by faith and baptism ; yet, by not fol-
" lowing the commandments of Christ, we lose the
*' benefits of it, which we cannot recover but by pe-
" nance.

€i

THE REFORMATION. 69S

** Secondly, That Ood is not the author of sin, or book

HI.

evil, which he only permits.

U

** Thirdly, That we ought to reconcile ourselves ^^'*^-
to our neighbours, and forgive, before we can be
forgiven.

Fourthly, That good works, done sincerely ac-
cording to the scriptures, are profitable and helpful
'' to salvation.

'^ Fifthly, That laws made by Christian rulers
** ought to be obeyed by their subjects for con-
*^ science-sake : and that whosoever breaks them
** breaks God's commandments."

It is not likely that Barnes could say any thing
directly contrary to these articles; though, having
brought much of Luther's heat over with him, he
might have said some things that sounded ill upon
these heads. There were other points in difference
between Gardiner and him about justification : but
it seems the king thought these were of so subtile a
nature, that no article of faith was controverted in
them; and therefore left the bishop and him to
agree these among themselves, which they in a
great measure did. So the king commanded Barnes
and his friends to preach at the Spittle in the Easter-
week, and openly to recant what they had for-
merly said. And Barnes was in particular to ask
the bishop of Winchester's pardon, which he did ;
and Gardiner, being twice desired by him to give
some sign that he forgave him, did lift up his finger.
But in their sermons, it was said, they justified in
one part what they recanted in another. Of which,
complaints being brought to the king, he, without
hearing them, sent them all to the Tower. And
Cromwell's interest at court was then declining so
VOL. I. Q q

094 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK fast, that either he could not protect th^m, or ebe
"'' would not prejudice himself by interposing in a

1540. niatter which save the king so great offence. They

Who were o o «=»

ooodemned ]^y in the Towcr till the parliament met ; and thai
^nt. "^ they were attainted of heresy, without ever hmg
brought to make their answer. And it seems, for
the extraordinariness of the thing, they resolved to
mix attainders for things that were very differeat
from one another. For four others were by the
same act attainted of treason ; who were, Or^orj
Buttolph, Adam Damplip, Edmund . Brindhohiie,
and Clement Philpot, for assisting Reginald Pool,
adhering to the bishop of Rome, denying the king
to be the supreme head on earth of the churdi of
England, and designing to surprise the town of Gd*
lice. One Derby Gunnings was also attainted cf
treason, for assisting one Fitz-Gerald, a traitor m
Ireland. And, after all these, Barnes, Gerrard, sod
Jerome are attainted of heresy ; being, as the act
says, " detestable hereticsj, who had conspired to-
" gether to set forth many heresies ; and, taking
" themselves to be men of learning, had expounded
" the scriptures, perverting them to their heresies,
*^ the number of which was too long to be repeated:
" that, having formerly abjured, they were now in-
*' corrigible heretics ; and so were condemned to
" be burnt, or suffer any other death, as shoold
** please the king." And two days after CromwelTs
death, being the thirtieth of July, they were brought
to Smithfield, where in their execution there was as
odd a mixture as had been in their attainders For
Abel, Fetherstom, and Powel,that were attainted bf
another act of the same parliament for owning tk
pope's supremacy, and denying the king's, were car-

I
t

to

n

i!

THE REFORMATION. 59S

lied to the place of execution, and coupled with the book

III
other three : so that one of each was pot into a

4€

€4

hurdle, and carried t(^ther ; which every bodj con- ^^^*
demned as an extravagant affectation of the show of
impartial justice.

When they were brought to the stake, Barnes 'ri>«ir
spake thus to the people : '^ Since he was to be thTstd!^
burnt as an heretic, he would declare what opin*
ions he held. So he enlarged on all the article^ of
'^ the Creed, to show he believed them alL He ex-
^' pressed a particular abhorrence of an opinion
^ which some anabaptists held, that the Uessed
Virgin was as a saffron bag ; (by which indecent
simile they meant, that our Saviour took no sub-
stance oi her.) He explained his opinion of good
^ works ; that they must of necessity be done, since
^ without them none should ever enter into the
^ kingdom of Grod. They were commanded of Ood;
*^ to show forth ouir profession by them : but he be-
** lieved, as they were not pure nor perfect, so they
^^ did not avail to our justification, nor merit any
^ tiling at the hands of (rod ; fbr that was to b^ as-
^ cribed to the merits of the death and passion of
^ Christ. He professed great reverence to die
** blessed Virgin and saints : but said, he saw no
^ warrant in scriptures for praying to them : nor
•• was it certain whether they prayed for us, or not ;
^ but if the saints did pray for those on earth, he
•* trusted, within half an hour, to be praying for
^ them all.'' Then he asked the sheriff if he had
any articles against them, for which they were con-
denmed: who answered, he had none. He next
asked the people, if they knew wherefore he died;

Qq 2

696 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK or if they had been led into any errors by his preadi-
_l!!l_ing; but none made answer. Then he said, he
'^^^* heard he was condemned to die by an act of parlia-
ment ; and it seemed it was for heresj, since thejr
were to be burnt. He prayed God to forgive those
who had been the occasions of it: and in par-
ticular for the bishop of Winchester; if he had
sought or procured his death, he prayed God heart-
ily to forgive him, as Christ forgave his murderors.
He prayed earnestly for the king, and the prince ;
and exhorted the people to pray for them. He
said, some had reported that he had been a preacher
of sedition and disobedience : but he declared to the
people, that they were bound by the law of God to
obey their king's laws with all humilitj, not odIj
for fear, but for conscience ; adding, that if the king
commanded any thing against God's law, though it
were in their power to resist him, yet thej might not
do it. Then he desired the sheriflF to carry five re-
quests from him to the king.

*^ First, That, since he had taken the abbey-lands
'' into his hands, for which he did not blame him,
(as the sheriff fancied he was about to do, and
thereupon stopped him,) but was glad that super-
stition was taken away, and that the king was
then a complete king, obeyed by all his subjects;
" which had been done through the preaching of
them, and such wretches as they were ; yet he
<* wished the king would bestow these goods, or
some of them, to the comfort of his poor subjects,
who had great need of them,
*^ Secondly, That marriage might be had in greater
esteem, and that men might not upon light pre-

€i

((
ft

t€
€i

THE REFORMATION. 697

^' tences cast off their wives; and that those who book

in.

€(
€€

U

'* were unmarried might not be suffered to live in -

** whoredom. '^^^'

Thirdly, That abominable swearers might be

punished.

Fourthly, That, since the king had begun to set

forth Christian religion, he would go forward in it,
*^ and make an end ; for though he had done a great
^* deal, yet many things remained to be done : and .
^* he wished that the king might not be deceiyed
*• with false teachers."

The fifth desire, he said, he had forgot.

Then he begged that they all would forgive him,
if at any time he had said or done evil unadvisedly ;
and so turned about, and prepared himself for his
death.

Jerome spake next, and declared his faith upon
every article of the Creed; and said, that he be-
lieved all that was in the holy scriptures. He also
prayed for the king, and the prince : and concluded
with a very pathetical exhortation to mutual love
and charity ; that they would propose to themselves
the pattern of Christ's wonderful love, through
whom only he hoped to be saved ; and desired all
their prayers for himself and his brethren. Then
Gerrard declared his &ith, and said, that if, through
ignorance or n^ligence, he had taught any error,
he was sorry for it; and asked God pardon» and
them, whom he had thereby offended* But he pro-
tested, that, according to his learning and know-
ledge, he had always set forth the honour of God,
and the obedience of the king^s laws. Then they all
prayed for the pardon of their sins, and constancy
and patience in their suflferings: and. so they ecc^

Qq3

THE REFORMATION. 599

;at means very familiar with Bonner,) meeting him, book
lid. He was very sorry for the news he heard L.

Cromwell's being sent to the Tower. Bonner ^^'*^*
'biwered. It had been good he had been despatched
mg ago. So the other shrunk away, perceiving
change that was in him. And, some days after
Grafton being brought before the council for
verses which he was believed to have printed
"n commendation of CromweU, Bonner informed the
■^^btadl of what Grafton had said to him upon Crom-
Vb being arrested, to make the other charge seem
more probable. Yet Audley the chanceUor was
■^''Snfton's friend, and brought him off. But Bonner
the city of London quickly cause to apprehend
utmost severities from him : for many were in-
by his procurement. Yet the king was loath
«^^ give too many instances of cruelty in this dedina-
w^km of his age ; and therefore, by an order from the
i^ftar-chamber, they were discharged. But, upon
w^wimt motives I cannot fancy, he picked out an in-
which, if the deeper stains of his following
had not dashed all particular spots, had been
i^^nffident to have blemished him for ever. There
one Richard Mekins, a boy not above fifteen
of age, and both illiterate and very ignorant,
^^o had said somewhat against the corporal pre-
^ wnce of Christ's body in the sacrament, and in com-
' nendation of doctor Barnes. Upon this he was in-

* dieted. The words were phroved by two witnesses,

* and a day was appointed for the juries to bring in
^ their verdict. The day being come, the grand-jury
' was called for : then the foreman said, they had

fiiund nothing. This put Bonner in a fury, and he
ehaiged them with peijury : but they said they could

Qq 4

600 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK find nothing, for the witnesses did not Agree. The
"** one deposed, that he had said the sacrament was

^^^^* nothing but a ceremony; and the other, that it wm
nothing but a signification. But Bonner still per-
sisted, and told them, that he had said, thiU Bonn
died holy. But they could not find these words to
be against the statute. Upon which Bonner cursed,
and was in a great rage, and caused them to go
aside again : so they, being overawed, returned and
found the indictment. Then sat the jury upon life
and death, who found him guilty ; and he was ad-
judged to be burnt. But when he was brought to
the stake, he was taught to speak much good of
Bonner, and to condemn all heretics, and Barnes is
particular, saying, he had learned heresy of him.
Thus the boy was made to die with a lie in hs
mouth. For Barnes held not that opinion of the
sacrament's being only a ceremony or signification,
but was a zealous Lutheran : which appeared very
signally on many occasions, chiefly in Lambert's
case. Three others were also burnt at Salisbuiy
upon the same statute, one of whom was a priest
Two also were burnt at Lincoln in one day: be-
sides, a great number of persons were brought in
trouble, and kept long in prison upon the statute of
the six articles. But more blood I find not spilt at
this time.
New bi- In the end of this year were the new bishoprics
fo'ufide^. founded. For in December was the abbey of West-
minster converted into a bishop's see, and a deaneij
and twelve prebends, with the officers for a cathe-
dral and a choir. And in the year following, on the
fourth of August, the king erected, out of the mo-
nastery of St. Werburgh at Chester, a bishopric, «

THE REFORMATION. 601

deanery, and six prebends. In September^ out of book
the monastery at St. Peter's at Glocester, the king '^^^

endowed a bishopric, a deanery, and six prebenda^ ^^^-^
lies. And in the same month, the abbey of Peter-
borough was converted to a bishop's seat, a deanery,
and six prebendaries. And to lay this whole matter
together, two years after this, the abbey of Osney in
Oxford was converted into a bishopric, a deanery,
and six prebends. And the monastery of St. Aus-
tin's in Bristol was changed into the same use.
There are many other grants also in the rolls, both
to the bishops, and deans, and chapters of these sees.
But these foundations will be better understood by
their charters ; of which, since the bishopric of West-
minster is least known, because long ago suppressed,
I have chosen to set down the charter of that see,
which the reader will find in the Collection: andcoii«ct.
ihey running all in the same style, one may serve ^^ ' '^*
finr the rest. The substance of the preamble is.
That the king, being moved by the grace of God,
and intending nothing more than that true re-
ligion, and the sincere worship of God, should not
^ be abolished, but rather restored to the primitive
^ sincerity, and reformed from those abuses with
^ which the profession and the lives of the monks
^ had so long and so lamentably corrupted religion ;
1' had, as far as human infirmity could foresee, de-
^ signed that the word of €rod might be sincerely
^ preached, the sacraments purely administered,
^ good order kept up, the youth well instructed,
^^ and old people relieved, with other public alms-
*^ deeds : and therefore the king erected and en-
■^ dowed these sees." The day after these several
grants, there followed a i^t to the archbishop, coa-

M

<S

60S THE HISTORY OF

BOOK taining, that the king had appointed such a peraon

, to be bishop of that see, requiring him to consecrate

^^^* and ordain him in due form. Then the priories at

most cathedrals, such as Canterbury, Winchester,

Duresme, Worcester, Carlisle, Rochester, and Elj,

were also converted into deaneries, and collies of

prebends, with many other officeri, and an allowance

of charity to be yearly distributed to the poor.

Crmnmert gut as all this camc far short of what the kioff

design mis- , , °

curries. had oncc intended, so Cranmer's design was quite
disappointed: for he had projected, that in eveiy
cathedrgl there should be provision made for readen
of divinity, and of Greek and Hebrew ; and a great
number of students, to be both exercised in the
daily worship of (rod, and trained up in study and
devotion, whom the bishop might transplant out of
this nursery into all the parts of his diocese. And
thus every bishop should have had a college of cler-
gymen under his eye, to be preferred according to
their merit. He saw great disorders among some
prebendaries, and, in a long letter, the original of
which I have seen, he expressed his regret that these
endowments went in such a channel. Yet now his
power was not great at court, and the other party
run down all his motions. But those who observed
things narrowly, judged, that a good mixture of pre-
bendaries, and of young clerks, bred up about ca-
thedrals under the bishop's eye, and the conduct
and direction of the dean and prebendaries, had
been one of the greatest blessings that could have
befallen the church; which not being suflSciently
provided of houses for the forming of the minds and
manners of those who are to be received into orders,
has since felt the ill effects of it very sensiUy.

THE REFORMATION. qp»

Against this» Cranmer had projected a noUe remedy) book

lad not the popish party then at court, who very 1— .

Fell apprehended the advantages such nurseries ^^^^*
rould have given to the reformation, borne down
his proposition, and turned all the king's bounty
ind foundations another way.
These new fouifdations gave some credit to the'^^^ .

, , foundatioiis

Ling's proceedings, and made the suppression oSceosartd.
ihantries and chapels go on more smoothly. But
hose of the Roman party beyond sea censured this,
18 they had done all the rest of the king's actings.
They said it was but a slight restitution of a small
Mut of the goods of which he had robbed the church.
Ind they complained of the king's encroaching on
he spiritual jurisdiction of the church, by dismem-
lering dioceses, and removing churches from one ju->
isdiction to ai^ther. To this it was answered, that
he necessities which their practices put on the king,
»oth to fortify his coast and dominions, to send
aoney beyond sea for keeping the war at a distance
rom himself, and to secure his quiet at home by
ttsy grants of these lands, made him that he could
kot do all that he intended. And for the division
£ dioceses, many things were brought from the
loman law, to show, that the division of the eccle*
iastical jurisdiction, whether of patriarchs, primates^
aetropolitans, or bishops, was regulated by the em-
lerors, of which the ancient councils always ap-
proved. And in England, when the bishopric of
Jncoln being judged of too great an extent, the bi*
hopric of Ely was taken out of it, it was done only
ty the king, with the consent of his clergy and no*
Jes. Pope Nicholas indeed officiously intruded him**
df into that matter^ by sending afterwards a cooc^

TTTR KI5TO&T CXF

done : int that was «

i^BiT' to offier cQofimuitkai

■e widiout the popes. For

^ by them that thought of

^^ the better countenance to

s afterwards fiMmded a ri^

The ▼«y receiTh^ oftben

i be an adknowlei^ment crf'a titkis

tJK matter was ao artifidaUy mft-

aed mto some approb^

pnaoK^ b^nre thej were aware of h.

Amd ties ciit — cRiirit* of the canon-law preyaflii^

in it, by which the most
arts of princes were coostmed
to Mch asKs, « aB advanced the greatness of the

This bosineas of Ae new fixmdat^pns bdng thus
settled, the matters of the church were now put in a

method ; and the Bishops* Book was the standard of
relif^on : so that whatsoerer was not agreeable to
tliat was judged heretical, whether it leaned to the
one side or the other. But it seems that the king;
by some secret order, had chained up the party,
which was going on in the execution of the statute
of the six articles, that they should not proceed ca-
pitally.

t'i!i\^^rt«[ ^^^^ matters went this year; and with this the
t»»i. time, series of the history of the reformation, made by this
king, ends : for it was now digested and formed into
a body. What followed was not in a thread, but
now and then some remarkable things were done;
sometimes in favour of the one, and sometimes of
the other party. For, after Cromwell fell, the king
^ did not go on 80 steadily in any thing as he bad

THE REFORMATION. 605

done fonnerly. Cromwell had an ascendant over book
him, which, after cardinal Wolsey's fall, none be-

himself ever had. They knew how to manage '^'*^*
the king's uneasy and imperious humour ; but now
none had such a power over him. The duke of
Norfolk was rich and brave, and made his court
well, but had not so great a genius : so that the king
did rather trust and fear, than esteem him. Gardi-
ner was only a tool ; and, being of an abject spirit,
was employed, but not at all reverenced, by the king.
Cranmer retained always his candour and simplicity^
and was a great prelate ; but neither a good courtier,
nor a statesman : and the king esteemed him more
for his virtues, than for his dexterity and cunning in
business. So that now the king was left wholly to
himself; and, being extreme humorous and impa-
tient, there were more errors committed in the last
years of his government, than had been for his whole
reign before. France forsook him ; Scotland made
war upon him, which might have been fatal to him,
if their king had not died in the beginning of it,
leaving an infant princess, but a few days old, be-
hind him. And though the emperor made peace
with him, yet it was but an hollow agreement : of
all which I shall give but slender hints in the rest of
this book; and rather open some few particulars,
than pursue a continued narration, since the matter
of my work fails me.

In May, the thirty-third year of the king's reign. The BiWe
a new impression of the Bible was finished ; and the Mt ap^in ru
^^f by proclamation, ^' required all curates, and pa- coui^!''
rishioners of every town and parish, to provide ^""*^- *^
themselves a copy of it before Allhallowtide, under
the penalty of forfeiting forty shillings a month.

e06 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK << after that, till they had one. He declared that he

III
, <* set it forth to the end that his people might, by read-

1540. u Jug jt^ perceive the power, wisdom, and goodna
** of Grod ; observe his commandments, obey the bwi
** and their prince, and live in godly charity amaof
^* themselves : but that the king did not thereby in-
tend that his subjects should presume to expoondt
or take arguments from scripture, nor disturb di-
vine service by reading it when mass was cdeteit-
ing ; but should read it meekly, humbly, and ^ev^
rently, for their instruction, edification, and amend-
** ment." There was also care taken so to r^^ubte
the prices of the Bibles, that there should be no ei-
acting on the subjects in the sale of them. And
Bonner, seeing the king's mind was set on this, or-
dered six of these great Bibles to be set up in serafil
places of St. Paul's ; that all persons, who could readi
might at all times have free access to them. And,
upon the pillars to which these Bibles were chained,
Collect, an exhortation was set up, *^ admonishing all that
Numb. 25. ,, ^^j^g thither to read, that they should lay aside
" vainglory, liypocrisy, and all other corrupt affec-
" tions, and bring with them discretion, good inten-
" tions, charity, reverence, and a quiet behaviour, for
" the edification of their own souls ; but not to draw
multitudes about them, nor to make expositions of
what they read, nor to read aloud, nor make noise
" in time of divine service, nor enter into dilsputes
" concerning it." But people came generally to hear
the scriptures read ; and such as could read, and had
clear voices, came often thither with great crowds
about them. And many set their children to school
that they might carry them with them to St. PauTSf
and hear them read the scriptures. Nor could the

THE REFORMATION. fi07

people be hindered from entering into disputes about book
some places : for who could hear the words of the in-

stitution of the sacrament, Dnink ye aU of ity or *^^^*
St. Paul's discourse against worship in an unknown
tongue, and not from thence be led to consider, that
the people were deprived of the cup, which, by
Christ's express command, was to be drank by all :
and that they were kept in a worship, to which the
unlearned could not say. Amen ; since they under-
stood not what was said, either in the collects or
hymns ? So the king^ had many complaints brought
him of the abuses that were said to have risen from
the liberty given the people to read the scriptures.
Upon which Bonner (no doubt having obtained the
king's leave) set up a new advertisement, in which
he complained of these abuses in the reading the
Bible ; for which he threatened the people, that he
would remove these Bibles out of the church, if they
continued, as they did, to abuse so high a favour.
Yet these complaints produced no further severity
at this time : but by them the popish party after-
wards obtained what they desired. This summer
the king turned the monastery of Burton upon Trent
into a collegiate church for a dean and four pre-
bends ; and the monastery of Thornton in Lincoln-
shire into another for a dean and four prebends. In * 1541.
this year Cranmer took it into consideration, to what -^"SJgf "^
, excess the tables of the bishops had risen, whereby ^[^-^

those revenues, that ouirht to have been applied to »boot
\ , ® - . church-

better purposes, were wasted on great entertain- men's

* ments ; which, though they passed under the decent k^i^ng.

^ name of hospitality, yet were in tliemselves both too

high and expensive, and proved great hinderances to

churchmen's charity in more necessary and profitable

e06 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK instances. He therefore set out an order fin- rego-

ui.

- lating that expense ; by which an archbishop's table
• J^^'.' was not to exceed six dishes of meaty and four of*
banquet ; a bishop's, five dishes of meat, and three
of banquet ; a dean's or archdeacon's taUe was not
to exceed four dishes, and two of banquet ; and oClier
clergymen might be served only with two dishei
But he that gives us the account of this, laments
that this regulation took no effect : and complains,
that the people, expecting generally such splendid
housekeeping from the dignified clergy ^ and not con-
sidering how short their revenues are of what thef
were anciently ; they, out of a weak compliance with ^
the multitude, have disabled themselves of keeping
hospitality, as our Saviour ordered it, not for the lidif
but the poor ; not to mention the other ill effects that
follow too sumptuous a table.
T|)e king In the end of this year, the tragical fall of the
^^® queen put a stop to all other proceedings. The king
had invited his nephew, the king of Scotland, to me^
him at York, who was resolved to come thither.
The king intended to gain upon him all he could
and to engage him to follow the copy he had set
him, in extirpating the pope's supremacy, and sup-
pressing abbeys, and to establish a firm agreement in
all other things. The clergy of Scotland feared the
ill effects of that interview ; especially their king
being a prince of most extraordinary parts, who, had
he not blemished his government with being so ex-
tremely addicted to his pleasures, was the greatest
prince that nation had for several ages. He was a
great patron of learning, and executor of justice: he
used in person and incognito to go over his kingdom,
and see how justice was every where done. He had

THE REFORMATION. 609

HO very good opinion of the religious orders, and had book

encouraged Buchanan to write a severe and witty \ —

libel against the Franciscan iriars. So that they were ^^^'*
veiy apprehensive that he might have been wrought
on by his uncle : therefore they used all their endea-
vours to divert his journey. But the French king,
that had him fast engaged to his interest, falling
then off from the king, wrought more on him. So,
instead of meeting the king at York, where magni-
ficent preparations were made for his reception, he
sent his excuse; which provoked his uncle, and
gave occasion to a breach that followed not long
after.

But here I shall crave the reader's leave to give a An acooant
full representation of the state of religion at this timeofscotund.
in Scotland, and of the footing the reformation had .
got there. Its neighbourhood to England, and the
union of these kingdoms first in the same reli^on,
and since under the same princes, together with the
intercourse that was both in this and the next reign
between these nations, seem not only to justify this
digression, but rather challenge it as a part of the
history, without which it would be defective. And

I it may be the rather expected from one, who had
his birth and education in that kingdom.

The correspondence between that crown a^d^**^'**"

I France was the cause, that what learning they had i»niiDg

I came from Paris, where our kings generally kept
some scholars; and fit)m that great nursery they
were brought over, and set in the universities of
Scotland to propagate learning there. From the
year 1412, in which Wardlaw, archbishop of St. An-
drew's, first founded that university, learning had

I made such a progress, that more colleges were soon
VOL. I. R r

610 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK after founded in that dty. UniTenitiea wete ain
^^ founded both at Glasgow and Aberdeen, which have

^^^^* since furnished that nation with many eminent sdio-

And of tht lars in all professions. But at the time that leamiag

JS^**^ came into Scotland, the knowledge of true tdi^poa

also followed it : and, in that same archbishop*8 tiinck

one John Resbj, an Englishman, a follower of ¥i^ck-

AfdiUAop liffe^s opinions, was chai^^ed with heresy. Forty sn

^'^'*^' tides were objected to himi of which two are mif

mentioned. The one was, that the pope u wd

Chris fs vkar. The other was, that he woe not k

be esteemed a pope^ tfhe was a num qfwiched^

For maintaining these, he was burnt anno 140f*

Ledty. Twenty-four years after that, one PHul Craw came

out of Germany, and, being a Bohemian and li

Hussite, was infusing his doctrine into some at 8L

Andrew's; which being discovered, he was Judged

an obstinate heretic, and burnt there anno liSSL

And, to encourage people to prosecute such pers^m

Fogo, who had discovered him, was rewarded with

the abbey of Melross soon after.

It does not appear that those doctrines, whkh
were called Lollardies in England, had gained
many followers in Scotland till near the end of that
century. But then it was found that they were
much spread over the western parts ; which behf
in the neighbourhood of England, those who were
persecuted there might perhaps fly into Scotland,
Spottwood. and spread their doctrine in that kingdom. Several
persons of quality were then charged with these ar-
ticles, and brought to the archbishop of Glasgow^
courts. But they answered him with such confi-
dence, that he thought fit to dischai^ them, wilk
an admonition to take heed of new doctrine^

I

THE REFORMATION. 611

1 to content themselves with the faith of the book

, III.
jrch.

At this time the clergy in Scotland were both^'^^^^|'
7 ignorant and dissolute in their manners. The ^«»* ^^
nlar clergy minded nothing but their tithes, and and cmeL
[ either hire some friars to preach, or some poor
ests to sing masses to them at their churches,
le abbots had possessed themselves of the best
ts, and the greatest wealth of the nation : and,
a profuse superstition, almost the one half of the
igdom fell into the hands of the churchmen,
le bishops looked more after the affairs of the
te, than the concerns of the church ; and were re-
ved to maintain, by their cruelty, what their pre-
ressors had acquired by fraud and impostui'es.
d, as Lesley himself confesses, there was no pains
:en to instruct the people in the jprinciples of reli-
n; nor were the children at all catechised, but
t in ignorance : and the ill lives of the clergy, who
re both covetous and lewd, disposed the people to
our those that preached for a reformation. The
t that suffered in this age was Patrick Hamilton, Patrick Ha«
»erson of very noble blood: his father was brother .affenogt.
the earl of Arran, and his mother sister to the
ke of Albany ; so nearly was he on both sides re-
hI to the king. He was provided of the abbey of
rti in his youth ; and, being designed for greater
ferments, he was sent to travel. But, as he went
ough Germany, he contracted a friendship with
ther, Melancthon, and others of their persuasion ;
whose means he was instructed in the points
mt which they differed from the church of Rome.

*

: returned to Scotland, that he might communi-
e that knowledge to others, with which himself

Rr 2

els THE HISTOBY OF

BOOK was 80 happily enUglitened. And^ Ettle ponadcring
.J!!!!!l— either the hinderance of his. Anther prefcriDeul» or

1541. |]|^ other dangers that might lie in liia way, Ik
spared not to lay open the cormptiona of the Bo-
man church, and to show the exvms that had cnpt
into the Christian reUgion. He waa a man both d
great learning, and of a sweet and duorming ooi-
versation, and came to be followed and esteemed If
an sorts of people.

The clergy^ being enraged at thist inyited him Is
St Andrew's, that there might be conferences bdi
with him about those points which he caodmomi
And one friar Campbdt prior of the DomimosMk
who had the reputation of a learned man» was if>
pointed to treat with him» They had many CQofi^
ences together, and the prior seemed te be oonviniwl
in most points ; and acknowledged there were mtf
things in the church that required refiMnaaiioSi
But all this while he was betrajring him ; so tbA
when the abbot looked for no such thing, he wss fl
the night-time made prisoner, and carried to dK
archbishop's castle. There several articles were A'
jected to him, about original sin, free-will, justifict-
tion, good works, priestly absolution, auricular oa*
fession, purgatory, and the pope's being AntidiriiL
Some of these he positively adhered to, the otbed
he thought were disputable points ; yet he said b
would not condemn them, except he saw better ro*
sons than any he had yet heard. The nmtter wa
referred to twelve divines of the university , of wfaoi
fiiar Campbel was one : and, within a day or tili
they censured all his tenets as heretical, and contaayj
to the faith of the church. On the first of Msid
judgment was given upon him by Beaton, arebt

f!

THE REFORMATION. 61S

shop of St. Andrew's; with whom sat the archbi- book
shop of Glasgow, the bishop of Dunkeld, Brichen ^^^'

and Dunblain, five abbots, and many of the inferior ^^^l*
dergy. They ako made the whole university, old
and young, sign it. He was declared an obstinate

. heretic, and delivered to the secular power.

The king had at that time gone a pilgrimage to
Boss : and the clergy, fearing lest nearness of blood,
with the intercessions which might be made for him,
riiould snatch this prey out of their hands, proceeded
tiiat same day to his execution. So in the afternoon
he was brought to the stake before St. Salvator*s
college. He stripped himself of his garments, and
gave them to his man ; and said. He had no more
to leave him, but the example of hie death : that he
prayed him to keep in mind. For though it was
Utter and painful in man^s judgment^ yet it was
the entrance to everlasting life, which none could
inherit that denied Christ before such a congrega-
turn. Then he was tied to a stake, and a great deal
ef fuel was heaped about him ; which he seemed not
to fear, but continued lifting up his eyes to heaven,
and recommending his soul to Ood. When the train
of powder was kindled, it did not take hold of the

^ liiel, but only scorched his hand, and the side of his
face. This occasioned some delay, till more powder

* was brought from the castle; during which time

* tiie friars were very troublesome, and called to him
^ to turn, and pray to our Lady, and say, Salve Be-
^ ffina. None were more officious than friar Campbel.
' The abbot wished him often to let him alone, and
^ give him no more trouble. But the friar continuing

to importune him, he said to him. Wicked man,
' Aoti knowest that I am not an heretic^ and thai it

Rr 3

614i . THl^ HISTORY OF

EOO& is tke truth ^ Oodjwt which I mam nsfffkr. A
'"* much thou didst confess /o Me m privaief md

'^^^* thereupon I appeal Aeetaamnoer h^^fbre the j^^
Meut-eeat qf Christ. By tbiB time more powder
was brought, and the fire was liindled. He cried
out with a loud voice^ Haw kmg, O Lord^ JuA
darkness oppress this realm f Hawmlamg wilt Ifcn
stfffer this tyranny qf men f and died rqieatnf
these words. Lard Jesus, receive mp spiriL Thi
patience and constancy he expressed in hia soflbs
ings made the spect&tors genarally ccmclude that k)
was a true martyr of Christ ; in which they wm
the more confirmed^ by firiar Campbel'a fidKng intai
great despair soon after, who from that turned fim-
tic, and died within a year.

On this I have insisted the more fully, becaoie k
was indeed the beginning of the reformation in Soot«
land ; and raised there an humour of inquiring into
points of religion, which did always prove fatal to
iiie king;;f the cliurch of Rome. In the university itself manj
foro^tbe were wrought dn, and 'particularly one Seaton, a
reformi- Dominican friar, who was the king's confessor. H«^
being appointed to preach the next Lent at St As*
drew's, insisted much on these points : ** That the
** law of God was the only rule of righteousnea; J
'* that sin was only committed when Grod's law wai
** violated ; that no man could satisfy for sin ; and
that pardon was to be obtained by unfeigned re*
pentance, and true faith." But he never men-
tioned purgatory, pilgrimages, merits, nor prayers to
saints ; which used to be the subjects on whidi tb
friars insisted most on these occasions. Being go0^
from St Andrew's, he heard that another friar d
his own order had refuted these doctrines^ So k

€€

THE REFORMATION. 615

returned, and confirmed them in another sermon; book

9 9 W

in which he also made some reflections on bishops

that were not teachers, calling them dumb dogs. ^^^^'
For this he was carried before the archbishop ; but
he defended himself, saying, that he had only, in St.
Paul's words, said, A bishop should teach ; and in
Esaias's words^ that such as did not teach were
dumb dogs : but having said this in the general, he
did not apply it to any bishop in particular. The
archbishop was nettled at this answer ; yet resolved
to let him alone till he should be brought into dis-
grace with the king. And that was soon done ; for
the king being a licentious prince, and friar Seaton
having often reproved him boldly for it, he grew
weary of him. The clergy perceiving this, were re-
solved to fall upon him. So he withdrew to Ber-
wick ; but wrote to the king, that if he would hear
him make his defence, he would return and justify
all that he had taught. He taxed the cruelty of the
dergy, and desired the king would restrain their
tjrranny, and consider, that he was obliged to pro-
tect his subjects from their severity and malice.
JSut receiving no satisfactory answer, he lived in
England, where he was entertained by the duke of
Suffolk as his chaplain. Not long after this, one
Forrest, a simple Benedictine monk, was accused ''*T*f^'»
for having said, that Patrick Hamilton had died a
martyr ) yet since there was no sufficient proof to
cxmvict him, a friar, one Walter Lainge, was sent to
confess him, to whom in confession he acknowledg-
ed, he thought Hamilton was a good man, and that
the articles for which he was condemned might be
defended. This being revealed by the friar, was
taken for good evidence : so the poor man was con-

R r 4

616 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK demned to be bamt as .an hepetic ^ As he wai U
™' ^i» to hii ezjecatkni, he nid^ Fff 9m ^fiibekood^fy

^'^^** cm Jrim-Mf revedkrM qf ew^emomi let me^er po
trust tkem after me: Aejf ere deefUere tf CM,
and deceivere qf mem. When ibej were oonddo-
uig in what place to bum Unit a aipiple man, tlat
attended the anddiisbopf ad^riaed to bum him ii
some low cellar; iotr, laid he, ike emoke ^ Jir.
Patrick HamilUm has itffifeied all tkoee am whm
itbkw.

Afeftwr Soon after thia, al4x»t Hamilton's brother aad

CsSSS^. lister were brought into the bishops* courts ; but tke
king, who fisiToured this brother^ penmded Urn t»
absent himself. His sister and six others haaf

^ > brought before the bishop of Ross, wha was depaled
by the archlnshop to proceed against tbem, the kaf
himself dealt with tl^ woman to algure^ whkh die
and the other six did. Two others were more rev-
lute; the one was Normand Gowrlay, who wis
charged with denying the pope's authori^ in Soot-
land, and saying, there was no purgatory : the other
was David Straiton. He was charged with the
same opinions. They also all^;ed, that he had de-
nied that tithes were due to churchmen ; and thit»
when the vicar came to take the tithe out of scsne
fish-boats that belonged to him, he allied, the tithe
was to be taken where the stock grew, and therefore
ordered the tenth fish to be cast into the ^ea, and
bade the vicar to seek them there. They were both
judged obstinate heretics, and burnt at one stske
the twenty-seventh of August, 1584. Upon this
persecution, some others, who w^re cited to appesft
fled into England. Those were, Alexander Aksse^
John Fife, John Mackbee, and one ACackdowgdL

THE REFORMATION. eiV

The finBt of these was receiyed by Cromwell into boob:

III

his family, and grew into great £EiTonr with king

Henry, and was commonly caUed his sdiolar; of ^^^^*
whom see what was said, page 429* But after Crom-
well's death, he took Fife with him, and they went
^nto Saxony, and were both professors in Leipsick.
Mackbee was at first entertained by Shaxton, bishop
of Salisbury ; but he went afterwards into Denmark,
where he was known by the name of doctor Mac-
cabeus, and was chaplain to king CSuistian the Se-
cond.

But all these violent proceedings were not ef-
fectual enough to quench that light which was then
shining there. Many, by searching the scriptures. The pro-
came to the knowledge of the truth ; and the noise SbHefor.
c£ what was then doing in England awakened others "^^^'^
to make further inquiries into matters of religion.
Pope Clement the Serenth, i^prehending that king ^^^^y-
Henry might prevail on his nephew to follow his
example, wrote letters full of earnest exhortations
to him to continue in the catholic faith. Upoq
which king James called a parliament, and there,
in the presence of the pope's nuncio, declared his
seal for that faith and the apostolic see. The par-.
Uament also concurred with him in it ; and made
acts against heretics, and for maintaining the pope's
authority. That same pope did aft;erwards send to
desire him to assist him in making war against the
king of England ; for he was resolved to divide that
kingdom among those who would assist him in driv-
ing out king Henry. But the firm peace at that
time between the king of Enj^and and the French
king kept him quiet from any trouble, which other-
wise the king of Scotland might have given hipi,^

,<t^^ I'

KM* 3^ Uog Heniy^ leQt «i^

J^L^^ dnke of Norlblk^^J^^ kiid^p9«HaKlftolnBi^
•'^A* lo )|ini 80 uaexpeotedly, thi^ tiwf^ttM^ilo Vm li
fifeexliii befeiie he had hmKdJai4h(ai^^mt^mtlA. Ip
lidiop faorougfat with Idm 9im% d^1^1gaA^ibBA%d
htm writ for the justifying Hug fiterf^g prooedl'
iiigl and desired that hkig w«dd tiD^pwrtiany ^^
fBsine them. Bat he put tfaem^iili the iMiiditf
some dxmt him that were addieted to^iiie iatenM
of Bomey who, withaat erer reading dM«9 toM Vm
they were full of pestilent doetrfaie aiMi heRsy .
. The secret business lAey came ior^warig ^^^
tiiat Idng to concur wi& his niid^ att#^^agMe sa
(m iatenriew between them: and^lhqr iJUijl tMH
la their masterfs nmne, the ladf JMtaEijP i^[l|u^^
aipl imd Oat he diould be made dulm^ei^lfiwliS^^i^
^"^ lieutenant of all England. But^fae dkirgy Mmgbd
liim from it, and persuaded him n^er to go oa is
his design of a match with BVance. And their
counsels did so prevail, that he resolved to go in
person, and fetch a queen from thence. On the
first of January 1537, he was married to Magdalen,
daughter to Francis the First : but she being then
gone far in a consumption, died soon after he bad
brought her home, on the twenty-eighth of May.
She was much lamented by all persons, the cleigj
only excepted ; for she had been bred in the queoi of
Navarre's court, and so they apprehended she migbt
incline the king to a reformation. But he had seen
another lady in France, Mary of Gkiise, whom he
then liked so well, that, after his queen's death, he
sent cardinal Beaton into BVance to treat for a
match with her. This gave the clergy as much
joy as the former marriage had raised fear ; for no

THE REFORMATION. 619

£Eiinily in Christendom was more devoted to the in- book

III
terests of the papacy than that was. And now the

king, though he had freer thoughts himself, yet was ^^^*'
90 engaged to the pretended old religion, that he
became a violent persecutor of all who differed ftom
it.

The king grew very expensive ; he indulged him- The king
self much in his pleasures ; he built four noble pa- ^ided by
laces, which, considering that kingdom and that^^^^^'^'
age, were very extraordinary buildings ; he had also
many natural children, all which things concurred
to make him very desirous of money. There were
two different parties in the court. The nobility, on
the one hand, represented to him the great wealth
that the abbots had gathered ; and that, if he would
do as his uncle had done, he would thereby raise his
revenue to the triple of what it was, and provide
plentifully for his children. The clergy, on the
other hand, assured him, that, if he would set up a
strict inquisition of heretics, he would discover
so many men of estates that were guilty, that, by
their forfeitures, he might raise about an hundred
thousand crowns a year : and for his children, the
easiest way of providing for them was^ to give them
good abbeys and priories. This they thought would
engage both the king and his sons to maintain their
rights more steadily, if their own interests were in-
terwoven with them. They alsa persuaded the king,
that, if he maintained the estabUshed religion, it
would give him a good interest in England, and
make him be set up by foreign princes as the
bead of the league, which the pope and the em-
peror were then projecting against king Henry.
These counsels being seconded by his queen, who

aiO THE HISTORY OF

ooK was • wife and good Ifldy, but wonderfldlj ndov
""• - • "•" prevrnQ with 'Urn, tiuit, "

IMI* made four of hiB children abbots or prion, ao he gnt
waj to the persecuting humour of hia inieata; isd
gave sir James Hamilton (a natural brother of the
eari of Arran's, in whom the clei^ put much coi-
fidence) a commission to proceed- agaiiiat all ibt
were suspected of heresy. In the year 15S9 Huaf
were dted to appear before a meeting of tiie bidiQ|i
at Edinbui^h. Of those, nine abjtured, many wen
banished, and five were burnt Forrester, a gentfe-
man, Simpson, a secular priest ; Killore aad BefOP-
age, two firiars; and Forrest, a canon regokur; wM
burnt on the castle-hill of Edinburgh. The last d
these was a zealous, constant preacber ; whiift ms
a rare thing in those days. His diooesan^ the tt
shop of Dunkeld, sent for him, and rebuked Urn fiv
it, and bid him, when hejbund a gawi EpUde^ er
good Crospelj that madejbr the Uherties t^the keif
church, to preach on that, and let the rest al(me.
The good man answered, he had read bath the Old
Testament and the New ; and never Jbund an tf
Epistle, or ill Gospel, in any of them. The bi-
shop replied, that he thanked God he had livei
well these many years, and never knew either <Jk
Old or New : he contented himself ^^ his pot-
tuise and his pontifical; and if the other wodd
trouble himself with these Jantasies, he would re-
pent it when he could not help it. Forrest said, k
was resolved to do what he conceived was his duff,
whatever might be the danger of it. By this it i^^*
pears, how deliberately the clergy at that time de-
livered themselves up to ignorance and superstitiofr
I^^H^' In the same year Russd, a Franciscan ftiar, sd

THE REFORMATION. 621

one KeDnedj, a young man of eighteen yean of age, book
were brought before the archbishop of Glasgow.

That bishop was a learned and moderate man, and ^^^'*
was much against these cruel proceedings ; he was
also in great credit with the king» having been his
tutor. Yet he was forced, by the threatenings of
his brethren, to go on with the persecution. So
those two, Russel and Kennedy, being brought be-
fore him, Kennedy, that was young and fearfiil, had
resolved to submit and abjure; but, being brought
to the bar, and encouraged by Russel's discourses,
he felt so high a measure of courage and joy in his
heart, that he fell down on his knees, and broke
forth in these words : " Wonderful, O God, is thy
<< love and mercy towards ine, a miserable wretch !
^ for now, when I would have denied thee, and thy
Son my Saviour, thou hast by thine own hand
pulled me back from the bottom of hell, and given
me most heavenly comfort, which hath removed
^^ the ungodly fear that before oppressed my mind.
** Now I defy death ; do what you please ; I thank
^^ God I am ready." There followed a long dispute
between the friar and the divines that sat with the
archbishop ; but when he perceived they would hear
nothing, and answered him only with revilings and
jeers, he gave it over, and concluded in these words:
^ This is your hour, and power of darkness ; now ye
^^ sit as judges, and we stand wrongfully condemned:
** but the day cometh which will show our inno«
^' oence, and you shall see your own blindness to
^* your everlasting confrision : go on, and fulfil the
^ measure of your iniquity." This put the archbi<«
shop in great confrision, so that he said to those
about him, that these rigorous executions did hurt

4i

0» THE HISTORY Ot '

BOOK the cause of the diurdi Inore than ^ixndd wA be
"'* thought of; and he dedared tJiat his opinion

1541. ^^^ Hi^r li^Qg should be spared, imd some olhef
course taken with them. But those that sat with
him said, if he took a course different from what die
other prelates had taken, he was not the chutdifh
friend. This, with other threatoiing fTprrwinat
prerailed so far on his fears, that he gave judgmenL
So they were burnt: but at their death they ei-
pressed so much constancy and joy, that the peofie
were much wrought on by their behaviour. Bamd
encouraged Kennedy, his partner in anfferii^ is
these words : ** Fear not, brother, for he is moR
^mighty that is in us, than he that is in the
^ world. The pain which we shall suffer is dnrt
M and light; butour joy and consolatioii shall nenr
'* have an end. Death Cannot destroy us, fixr it if
** destroyed already by him, for whose sake we at
^ fer. Therefore let us strive to enter in bjr the
'* same strait way, which our Saviour hath takes
^ before us.** With the blood of such martyrs wis
the field of that church sown, which did quiddf
rise up in a plentiful harvest.

Among those that were at this time in hazard,
George Buchanan was one. The clergy were r^
solved to be revenged on him for the sharpness d
the poems he had written against them. And the
king had so absolutely left all men to their metcjt
that he had died with the rest, if he had not made
his escape out of prison : then he went beyond sei^
and lived twenty years in that exile, and was fbiced
to teach a school most part of the time ; yet the
greatness of his mind was not oppressed with thit
mean employment. In his writings there appeM

THE REFORMATION. 6S8

not only all the beauty and graces of the Latin book
tongue, but a vigour of mind, and quickness of

thought, far beyond Bembo, or the other Italians, ^^^^*
who at that time affected to revive the purity of the
Roman style. It was but a feeble imitation of TuUy
in them ; but his style is so natural and nervous, and
his reflections on things are so solid, (besides his im-
mortal poems, in which he shows how well he could
imitate all the Roman poets in their several ways of
writing, that he who compares them will be often
tempted to prefer the copy to the original,) that he
is justly reckoned the greatest and best of our mo-
dem authors. This was the state of affairs at this
time in Scotland. And so I shall leave this digres-
sion ; on which if I have stayed too long, my kindness
to my native country must be my excuse : and now
I return to the affairs of England.

The king went his progress with his fair and be-
loved queen ; and, when he came to York, he issued
out a proclamation, *^ that all who had been ag-
^ grieved for want of justice, by any whom he had
*^ formerly employed, should come to him and his
^* council for redress." This was done to cast aU
past miscarriages on Cromwell, and to put the peo-
ple in hopes of better times. But, upon his return
to London, he met with a liew affliction. He was
so much taken with his queen, that, on AU-Saints
day, when he received the sacrament, he openly
gave God thanks for the good life he led, and trusted
ttill to lead with her ; and desired his ghostly father
' to join with him in the same thanksgiving to QoA.
^ But this joy lasted not long ; for the next day the
^^"^-archbishop of Canterbury came to him, and gave
^ lam a doleful account of the queen's iU life, as it had

mt THE HISTORY OF

BOOK been brought him by one Jdin Lundb: 'itrlicfc-wM
™* the king was in his progress, had told him, thai Ut

1541. ti8ter» who had been an old senrant of the duke rf
Norfolk's, under whose care the queen was bnimpi
up, said to him, that the queen was lewd^ and Art
one Frauds Deirham had enjojed her often ; asd»
one Mannock ; with other foul cSrcumstanbes, notft
to be related. The ardibishop communicated it to
the lord diancelkr, and the other privy ooonsdhn
that were at London. They agreed^ that the aick-
btshop should open it to the king. But he^ aol
knowing how to do it in discourse^ set it down is
TiM Writing, and put it in the kin|^s handa. WhA Ik
iuttbls king read it, he seemed much perplexed; but kriel
^' the queen so tenderiy, that he looked on it asaftv
gery. And now the archbishop waa in akml
danger; for if full evidence had not been faml^
it had been certainly turned on him to his im
The king imparted it to some other counaellorB, td
told them, that he could not believe it ; yet he wodl
try it out, but with all possible secrecy. So the kri
privy-seal was sent to London to examine huaAt
who stood to what he had informed. Then he sent
the same lord into Sussex, where Lassels* sister linA
to try if she would justify what her brother had l^
ported in her name. And she owning it, he ariad
Deirham and Mannock to be arrested upon sooe
other pretences ; but they, being examined, not osif
confessed what was informed, but revealed sooe
other circumstances, that showed the queen had hH
aside all sense of modesty, aa well as the fear of i
discovery; three several women having been wit*
nesses to these her lewd practices. The report '
that struck the king into a most profound pearfv^

THE REFORMATION. 6«6

Bess, and he burst out into tears, and lamented his book

in
xnisfortune. The archbbhop of Canterbury, and

some other counsellors, were sent to examine the *^'*^'
queen. She at first denied every thing ; but when And con-
she perceived it was already known, she confessed h^if Ld
an, and set it under her hand. There were also^^^'"'
evident presumptions that she had intended to con-
tinue that course of life : for, as she had got Deir-
ham into her service, so she had brought one of the
women, who had been formerly privy to their fami-
liarities, to serve about her bedchamber. One Cul-
peper was also charged upon vehement suspicion:
&r, when the king was at Lincoln, by the lady
•Rochford's means he was brought into the queen's
chamber at eleven o'clock in the night, and stayed
:there till four the next morning. The queen also
gave him a gold chain, and a rich cap. He, being
examined, confessed the crime ; for which both Deir-
ham and he suffered. Others were also indicted of
misprision of treason, and condemned to perpetual
imprisonment. But this occasioned a new parlia-
ment to be summoned.

On the sixteenth of January the parliament met; 1542.
to which the bishops of Westminster, Chester, Peter- ija^wt^
borough, and Glocester^ had their writs. The lord*^*****
Cromwell also had his writ, though I do not find by
any record that he was restored in blood. On the
twenty-eighth of January, the lord chancellor moved
the house of lords, to consider the case the king was
in, by the queen's ill carriage ; and, that there might
be no ground of suspicion or complaint, he proposed,
that some of their number should be sent to examine
the queen. Whereupon the archbishop of Canter-
bury, the duke of Suffolk, the earl of Southampton,

VOL. I. s s

096 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK and the bishop of Westminster, were sent to her.

'"' How much she confessed to them is not Teiy dear,

^^^^' neither by the journal nor the act of parliament;

which only says, that she confessed, without men*

tioning the particulars. Upon this, the pnMsesses of

those that had been formerly attainted being abo

brought as an evidence, the act passed in both

houses. In it they petitioned the king,

Th« act ** First, Not to be troubled at the matter, sfaioe

qoeeD. ** that might be a means to shorten his life.

'< Secondly, To pardon every thing that had been
*' spoken against the queen.

'* Thirdly, That the queen and her comidioes
<^ might be attainted of high treason, for her taking
** Deirham into her service ; and another woman
*' into her chamber, who had known their ibrmar 31
'' life ; by which it appeared what she intended to
'^ do : and then admitting Culpeper to be so long
" with her in a vile place, so many hours in the
" night. Therefore it is desired, that she and
" they, with the bawd, the lady Rochford, may
*^ be attainted of treason ; and that the queen
" and the lady Rochford should suffer the pains of
" death.

" Fourthly, That the king would not trouUe
** himself to give his assent to this act in his own
" person, but grant it by his letter^ patents under
" his hand and great seal.

« Fifthly, That the duchess dowager of Norfolk,
" countess of Bridgwater, the lord William Howard
" and his lady, the four other men, and five women,
" who were already attainted by the course of com-
" jnon law, (except the duchess of Norfolk, and the
" countess of Bridgwater,) that knew the queen"^

THE REFORMATION. 687

^ Tictoua life; and had concealed it, should be all book
" attainted of misprision of treason/' ^^''

€4
€S
€€

It was also enacted, " That whosoever knew anj *^^^-
thing of the incontinence of the queen, (for the
time being,) should reveal it with all possible
speed, under the pains of treason. And that, if
the king or his successors should intend to marrj
^^ Buj woman, whom they took to be a pure and
^^ dean maid ; if she, not being so, did not declare
** the same to the king, it should be high treason ;
*^ and all who knew it, and did not reveal it, were
guilty of misprision of treason. And if the queen,
or the prince's wife, should procure any, by mes-
sages or words, to know her carnally; or any
** iHher, by messages or words, should solicit them ;
^ they, their counsellors, and abettors, are to be ad-
^' judged high traitors."

This act being assented to by the king's letters centuret
patents, the queen and the lady Rochford were be- on it.
headed on Tower-hill the twelfth of February. The
queen confessed the miscarriages of her former life,
before the king married her: but stood absolutely
to her denial, as to any thing after that : and pro-
tested to Dr. White, afterwards bishop of Winches-
ter, that she took Ood and his angels to be her wit-
.nesses, upon the salvation of her soul, that she was
guiltless of that act of defiling her sovereign's bed,
fat which she was condemned. Yet the lasdvious-
ness of her firmer life made people incline to believe
any ill thing that could be reported of her. But for
tbe lady Rochford, every body observed God's jus-
tice on her ; who had the chief hand both in queen
Amie Boleyn's, and her own husband's death.: and
it now appearing so evidently what sort rf woman

ss 2

628 THE HISTORY OF

Book she was, it tended much to raise their reputations
again, in whose fall her spite and other artifices had

^^^^' j3o great a hand. She had been a lady of the bed-
chamber to the last four queens : but now it was
found how unworthy she was of that trust.

^ It was thought extreme cruelty to be so sevm
to the queen's kindred for not discovering her ftr-
mer ill life : since the making such a discovery bad
been inconsistent with the rules of justice or decenqr.
. The old duchess of Norfolk, being her grandmother,
had bred her of a child ; and it was said, for her to
have gone and told the king, that she was a whores
when he intended to marry her, as it was an un-
heard-of thing, so the not doing of it could not have

'^ •^ drawn so severe a punishment from any but a prince
of that king's temper. But the king pardoned hsr^
and most of the rest ; though some continued in pri-
son after the rest were discharged.

But for the other part of this act, obliging a wo-
man to reveal her own former incontinence, if the
king intended to marry her, (which, by a mistake,
the lord Herbert says, was passed in another act,
taking it from Hall, and not looking into the record;)
it was thought a piece of grievous tyranny : since if
a king, especially one of so imperious a temper as
this was, should design such an honour to any of his
subjects, who had failed in their former life, they
must either defame themselves, by publishing so
disgraceful a secret, or run the hazard of being after-
wards attainted of treason. Upon this, those that
took an indiscreet liberty to rally that sex injustlj
and severely, said, the king could induce none that
was reputed a maid to marry him : so that not so
much choice, as necessity, put him on marrying a

THE REFQRMATIOtN. 6*9

widow about two years after this. * But this part of book
the act was afterwards repealed in the first parlia-

mept of king Edward the Sixth. ^^^^'

There passed another act in this parliament, that Act about
made way for the dissolution of colleges, hospitals, ^c^ '
9od other foundations of that nature. The courtiers
had been practising with the presidents and govern-
ors of some of these, to make resignations of them
to the king ; which were conceived in the same style
that most of the surrenders of monasteries did run
ID. Eight of these were all really procured, which
are enrolled : but they could not make any great
progress, because it was provided by the local sta-
tutes of most of them, that no president, or any other
fellows, could make any such deed, without the
Gonseqt of all the fellows in the house; and this
could not be so easily obtained. Therefore all such
statutes were annulled, and none were any more to
be sworn to the observation of them.

In the convocation that sat at that time, which, Tbe papitti
as was formerly observed. Fuller mistakes for the.^p^
convocation in the thirty-first year of this king; the ^Blwer*^'^**
translation of the Bible was brought under exami-
nation, and many of the bishops were appointed to
peruse it: for it seems complaints were brought
figainst it. It was certainly the greatest eyesore of
the popish party ; and that which they knew would
most effectually beat down all their projects. But
there was no opposing it directly, for the king was
fiiUy resolved to go through with it. Therefore the
way they took was, once to load the translation then
set out with as many faults as they could ; and so
to get it first condemned, and then to promise a new
ODje: in the making and publishing of which it

# s s 3

eso THE HISTORY OF

BOOK would be easy to breed mkny delays. But Gardhier
"^ had another singular conceit : he fancied there wew

1542. many words in the New Testament of such noajestyy
that they were not to be translated ; but must stand
in the English Bible as they were in the Latin. A
hundred of these he put into writing, which wm
read in convocation. His design in this was visible;
that if a translation must be made, it should be so
daubed all through with Latin words^ that the peo-
ple should not understand it much the better fcnr its
being in English. A taste of this the reader mvf
have by the first twenty of them : eeele9ia^ paanUei^
tia, pantife^, ancUla, eaiUritus^ oloeauHa, JnslUkj
justificatioy idiotay elementa, haptmare^ wuartft^
adoraref sandalium, implex, tetrarcha^ sacrameih
turn, simulacrum^ gloria. The design he bad of
keeping some of these, particularly the last save one,
is plain enough , that the people might not discover
that visible opposition, which was between the scrip-
tures and the Roman church, in the matter of
images. This could not be better palliated than by
disguising these places with words that the people
understood not. How this was received. Fuller has
not told us. But it seems Cranmer found, that the
bishops were resolved, either to condemn the trans-
lation of the Bible, or to proceed so slowly in it, that
it should come to nothing : therefore he moved the
king to refer the perusing of it to the two universi-
ties. The bishops took this very ill, when Cranmer
intimated it to them in the king's name; and ob-
jected, that the learning of the universities was much
decayed of late ; and that the two houses of convo-
cation were the more proper judges of that, where
the learning of the land was chiefly gathered to-

THE REFORMATION. 681

gether. But the archbishop said he would stick book
dose to the Idug's pleasure^ and that the universi-

ties should exatnine it. Upon which, all the bishops ^^^^'
of his province, except Elj and St. David's, pro-
tested against it ; and soon after the convocation was
dissolved.

Not long after this, I find Bonner made some In- Bonner*!
junctions for his clergy ; which have a strain in them tions".*^
fio £Eur di£ferent from the rest of his life, that it is
more probable they were drawn by another pen, and
imposed on Bonner by an order from the king.
They were set out in the thirty-fourth year of the
king^s reign ; but the time of the year is not ex-
pressed. The reader will find them in the C!ollection coiiect.
at their full length : the substance of them is ;

** First, That all should observe the king's Injunc-
" tions.

** Secondly, That every clergyman should read
" and study a chapter of the Bible every day, with
'^ the exposition of the gloss, or some approved doc-
^' tor ; which having once studied, they should re-
^ tain it in their memories, and be ready to give an
'^ account of it to him, or any whom he should ap-
** point.

** Thirdly, That they should study the book set
*^ forth by the Inshops, of the Institution of a Chris-
** tian Man.

^^ Fourthly, That such as did not reside in their
*^ benefices should bring their curates to him, or his
<< officers, to be tried.

«* Fifthly, That they should often exhort their pa-
^^ rishioners to make no private contracts of mar-
*' riage.

** Sixthly, That they should marry none who were

• s s 4

688 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ** married before, till they were Sufficiently assured
'"• «« that the former husband or wife were dead.
1542. « Seventhly, That they should instruct the diil-

*^ dren of their several parishes ; and teach them to

** read English, that they might know how to be-

** lieve, and pray, and live according to the will of

"God.

** Eighthly, That they should reconcile all that

** were in enmity, and in that be a good example to

" others.

" Ninthly, That none should receive the commo-

** nion who did not confess to their own curates.
^^ Tenthly, That none should be suffered to go

^^ to taverns, or alehouses, and use unlawful games

^^ on Sundays, or holydays, in time of divine ser-

" vice.

*^ Eleventhly, That twice every quarter they

" should declare the seven deadly sins, and the Ten

" Commandments.

" Twelfthly, That no priest should go but in his

*' habit.

Thirteen thly, That no priest should be admitted
to say mass, without showing his letters of orders

" to the bishop or his oflScers.

Fourteenthly, That they should instruct the peo-
ple to beware of blasfrfiemy, or swearing by any
parts of Christ's body ; and to abstain from scold-

" ing and slandering, adultery, fornication, gluttony,

" or drunkenness ; and that they should present at

" the next visitation those who were guilty of these

ft

it

" sms.

((

Fifteenthly, That no priest should use unlawful
" games, or go to alehouses or taverns, but upon an
** urgent necessity.

THE REFORMATION. 68S

• *' Sixieenthly/No plays or interludes to be acted booK
•* in the churches. 1—

€€

** Seventeenthly, That there should be no sermons *^^^*
** preached, that had been made within, these two
^ hundred or three hundred years. But when they
^ preached, they should explain the whole Grospel and

Epistle for the day, according to the mind of some

good doctor allowed by the church of England ;
^ and chiefly to insist on those places that might stir
^ up the people to good works, and to prayer ; and
^' to explain the use of the ceremonies of the church.
^ That there should be no railing in sermons ; but
^ the preacher should calmly and discreetly set forth
^* the excellencies of virtue, and the vileness of sin ;

and should also explain the prayers for that day^

that so the people might pray with one heart ;
^' and should teach them the use of the sacraments,
^* particularly of the mass ; but should avoid the re-
^'. citing of fables, or stories, for which no good writer
^* could be vouched ; and that, when the sermon was
^* ended, the preacher should in few words resume
^' the substance of it.

'^ Eighteenthly, That none be suffered to preach,
^ under the degree of a bishop, who had not ob-
*^ tained a license, either from the king, or him their
** ordinary."

These Injunctions, especially when they are consi-Ti>« "»«»-
dered at their full length, will give great light into premchiog
the temper of men at that time ; and particularly in-ume.
form us of the design and method in preaching, as it
was then set forward : concerning which the reader
will not be ill pleased to receive some information.
In the time of popery there had been few sermons
but in Lent; for their discourses on the holydays

BM THE HISTORY OP

BOOK were rather pan^yrics on the sainta, m the Tain
' magnifjdng of some of their relics, which were laid

^^^' up in such or such places. In Lent there was a
more solemn and serious way of preaching; and
the friars, who chiefly maintained their credit by
their performances at that time, used all the force of
their skill and industry to raise the people into heaU
by passionate and affecting discourses. Yet these
generally tended to raise the value of some of the
laws of the church ; such as abstinence at that time^
confession, with other corporal severities : or some d
the little devices, that both inflamed a blind devotioDi
and drew money ; such as indulgences, jMlgiimages^
or the enriching the shrines and relics of the saintiL
But there was not that pains taken to inform the
people of the hatefulness of vice, and the exceUencj
of holiness, or of the wonderful love of Christ, I^"
which men might be engaged to acknowledge and
obey him. And the design of their sermons was ra-
ther to raise a present heat, which they knew after-
wards how to manage, than to work a real reforma-
tion on their hearers. They had also intermixed
with all divine truths so many fables, that they were
become very extravagant ; and that alloy had so em-
based the whole, that there was great need of a good
discerning to deliver people from those prejudices,
which these mixtures brought upon the whole Chris-
tian doctrine. Therefore the reformers studied with
all possible care to instruct the people in the funda-
mentals of Christianity, with which they had beea
so little acquainted. From hence it came, that the
people ran after those new preachers with wonderiiil
zeal. It is true, there seem to be very foul and in-
discreet reflections on the other party, in some d

{

THE REFORMATION. 685

their sermons : but if any have applied themselves boor
much to obsenre what sort of men the friars and the '
rest of the popish clergy were at that time, they *^^^"
shall find great excuses of those heats. And as our
Saviour laid open the hypocrisies and impostures of
the Scribes and Pharisees, in a style which such cor-
ruptions extorted ; so there was great cause given to
treat them very roughly ; though it is not to be de-
med^ but those preachers had some mixtures of their
own resentments, for the cruelties and ill usage which
they received from them. But now that the refor-
mation made a greater progress, much pains was
taken to send eminent preachers over the nation ;
not confining them to particular charges, but send-
ing them with the king^s license up and down to
many places. Many of these licenses are enrolled,
and it is likely that many were granted that were
not so carefiiUy preserved. But provision was also
made for people's daily instruction : and because, in
that ignorant time, there could not be found a suffi*
cient number of good preachers, and, in a time of so
much juggling, they would not trust the instruction
of the people to every one : therefore none was to
preach, except he had gotten a particular license for
it from the king, or his diocesan. But, to qualify
this, a book of Homilies was printed, in which the
Ckispels and Epistles of all the Sundays and holydays
of the year were set down, with an h9mily to every
one of these, which is a plain and practical para-
phrase on these parcels of scripture. To these are
added, many serious exhortations, and some short
explanations of the mo^t obvious di£Sculties, that
show the compiler of them was a man both of 'good
judgment apd learning. To these were also added*

686 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK lermoDS upon several occasions; as. for wedding
'^'' christenings, and funerals ; and these were to be read

1542. ^o the people by such as were not licensed to preadi.
But those who were licensed to preach, being oft ac-
cused for their sermons, and complaints being made
to the king by hot men on both sides, they came ge-
nerally to write and read their sermons. From
thence the reading of sermons grew into a practice
in this church ; in which, if there was not that heat
and fire which the friars had showed in their decla-
mations, so that the passions of the hearers were lot
so much wrought on by it ; yet it has produced the
greatest treasure of weighty, grave, and solid ser-
mons, that ever the church of God had ; which does
in a great measure compensate that seeming flatness
to vulgar ears, that is in the delivery of them.
Steri^ The Injunctions take notice of another thii^
then acted, which the sincerity of an historian obliges me to
give an account of, though it was indeed the great-
est blemish of that time : these were, the stage-plays
and interludes, that were then generally acted, and
often in churches. They were representations of
the corruptions of the monks, and some other feats
of the popish clergy. The poems were ill-contrived,
and worse expressed ; if there lies not some hidden
wit in these ballads, (for verses they were not,) which
at this distance is lost. But, ft'om the representing
the immoralities and disorders of the clergy, they
proceeded to act the pageantry of their worship.
This took with the people much ; who, being pro-
voked by the miscarriages and cruelties of some of
the clergy, were not ill pleased to see them and their
religion exposed to public scorn. The clergy com-
plained much of this ; and said, it was an introduc-

THE REFORMATION. 687

tion to atheism, and all sort of irrellgion : for if book
once they began to mock sacred things, no stop

could be put to that petulant humour. The grave '^^^'
and learned sort of reformers disliked and condemn-
ed these courses, as not suitable to the genius of
true religion ; but the political men of that party
made great use of them, encouraging them all they
could ; for they said, contempt being the most ope-
rative and lasting affection of the mind, nothing
would more effectually drive out many of those
abuses, which yet remained, than to expose them to
the contempt and scorn of the people.

In the end of this year a war broke put between war be.
England and Scotland, set on by the instigation of il^^'^'
the French king ; who was also beginning to be an ^*^^"^'
uneasy neighbour to those of the English pale about
•Callice. The king set out a long declaration, in which
he very largely laid out the pretensions the crown of
England had to an homage from the kings of Scotland.
In this I am no fit person to interpose ; the matter
being disputed by the learned men of both nations.
The Scots said, it was only for some lands their
kings had in England, that they did homage; as the
kings of England did for Normandy and Guienne,
to the kings of France. But the English writers
cited many records, to show that the homage was
-done for the crown of Scotland. To this the Scots
replied, that, in the invasion of Edward the First, he
had carried away all their ancient records ; so, these
being lost, they could only appeal to the chronicles
that lay up and down the nation in their monaste-
ries : that all these affirmed the contrary, and that
they were a free kingdom ; till Edward the First»
taking advantage of their disputes about the sucoea-

ess THE HISTORY OF

BOOK aon to thdir crown, upon the death of Alexmkr

III *

the Third, got some of the competitors to lay down

1^^^* their pretensions at his feet, and to promise homi^:
that this was also performed by John Balliol, whom
he preferred to the crown of Scotland ; bat by theie
means he lost the hearts of the nation ; and it wis
said, that this act of homage could not give awif
the rights of a free crown and people. And thej
said, that whatsoever submissions had been nmde
since that time, they were only extorted by force;
as the effects of victory and conquest, but gave no
good right, nor just title. To all this the EngM
writers answered, that these submissions by their re-
cords (which were the solemn instruments of a na-
tion; that ought never to be called in question) wm
sometimes freely made ; and not by the kings onlff
but by the consent of their states. In this uncer-
tainty I must leave it with the reader.

But, after the king had opened this pretensioD,
** he complained of the disorders committed by the
*' Scots ; of the unkind returns he had met with
from their king fgv his care of him while he was
an infant ; taking no advantage of the confusions
in which that kingdom then was, but, on the coo-
'* trary, protecting the crown, and quieting the
^^ kingdom. But that of late many depredations
** and acts of hostility had been committed by the
^' Scots ; and though some treaties had been began,
^^ they were managed with so much shuffling and
^^ inconstancy, that the king must now try it hj
^* war." Yet he concluded his declaration amfai'
guously, neither keeping up nor laying down Ui
pretensions to that crown ; but expressing them ii
such a manner, that, which way soever the sucoe*

THE REFORMATION. 6B9

' the war turaed» he might be bound up to nothing book
r what he now declared. 1—

But whatsoever justice might be in the king^s ^^^^'
tie or quarrel, his sword was much the sharper.
!e ordered the duke of Norfolk to march intoi>u^«of

- , Norfolk's

Gotland, about the end of October, with an army inroad into
' twenty thousand men. Hall tells us, they burnt
any towns ; and names them : but these were
ily single houses, or little villages ; and the best
iwn he names is Kelso, which is a little open mar-
^t-town. Soon after, they returned back into
ngland : whether, after they had spoiled the neigfa-
Hiring country, they felt the indonveniences of the
ttson of the year; or whether, hearing the Scots
ere gathering, they had no mind to go too far, I
innot determine ; for the writers of both nations
sagree as to the reason of their speedy return,
ut any, that knows the country they spoiled, and
here they stopt, must conclude, that either they
id secret orders only to make an inroad, and de-
rqy some places that lay along the river of Tweed,
id upon the border, which done, without driving
te breach too far, to retire back; or they must
ive had apprehensions of the Scotch armies coming
» lie in these moors and hills of Sautrey, or Lam-
er-Moor, which they were to pass if they had gone
irther : and there were about ten thousand men
might thither, but he that commanded them was
ach blamed for doing nothing; his excuse was,
lat his number did not equal theirs. About the
id of November, the lord Maxwell brought an
my of fifteen thousand men, together with a train
' artilleTy of twenty-four pieces of ordnance. And
Btce the duke of Norfolk had retired towards Ber^

640 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK wick, they resolved to enter England on the west'

, '• — em side by Solway Frith. The king went thither

.1542. jjiuiself, but fatally left the army, and yet was not
many miles from them when they were defeated.
The truth of it was, 'that king, who had hitherto
raised the greatest expectation, was about that dme
disturbed in his fancy, thinking that he saw appari-
tions, particularly of one, whom, it was said, he
had unjustly put to death ; so that he could not
rest, nor be at quiet. But as his leaving the armj
was ill advised, so his giving a commission to
Oliver Sinclair, that was his minion, to command m
chief, did extremely disgust the nobility. Thej
loved not to be commanded by any but their kin^
and were already weary of the insolence of that &-
vourite, who, being but of ordinary birth, was de-
spised by them ; so that they were beginning to »
The Scot- parate. And when they were upon that occasioi

tisb Anny , ,

defeated, in great disorder, a small body of English, not above
five hundred horse, appeared : but they, apprehend*
ing it was the duke of Norfolk's army, refused to
fight, and fell in confusion. Many prisoners were
taken, the chief of whom were, the earls of Glencain
and Cassillis, the lords Maxwell, SommerveU, 06-
phant, Gray, and Oliver Sinclair; and about W
hundred gentlemen, and eight hundred soldiers;
and all the ordnance and baggage was also takes.
The news of this being brought to the king of Scot-
land, increased his former disorders : and, some lev ■ ]
days after, he died, leaving an infant daughter, W I [
newly born, to succeed him. I j

Many pri- The lords that were taken prisoners were brosftf I \
taken. to Londou ; where, after they had been chargdi'^mi
council, how unkindly they had used the king, t^l %

THE REFORMATION. 641

^ were put in the keeping of some of the greatest book
I quality about court. But the earl of Cassillis had "'*

the best luck of them all; for being sent to Lam- ^^^^*
beth, where he was a prisoner upon his parole, Cran-
mer studied to free him from the darkness and fet-
ters of popery : in which he was so successful, that
y the other was afterwards a great promoter of the
reformation in Scotland. The Scots had been hi.
^ therto possessed with most extraordinary prejudices
^ against the changes that had been made in Eng-
land ; which, concurring with the ancient animosi-
ties between the two nations, had raised a wonder-
. fill ill opinion .of the king's proceedings. And
^ though the bishop of St. David's (Barlow) had been
; sent into Scotland with the book of the Institution
. ^ a Christian Man, to clear these ill impressions ;
jet his endeavours were unsuccessful. The pope,
at the instance of the French king, and to make
^ ' that kingdom sure, made David Beaton, archbishop
, of St. Andrew's, a cardinal ; which gave him great
. authority in the kingdom : so he, with the rest of
, the clergy, diverted the king from any correspond-
ence with England, and assured him of victory, if
he would make war on such an heretical prince.
^ The clergy also offered the king fifty thousand
^ crowns a year towards a war with England; and
^ possessed all the nation with very ill thoughts of
t the court and clergy there. But the lordd that were
ilow prisoners (chiefly the earl of Cassillis, who was
. liest instructed by his religious host) conceived a
]ietter opinion of the reformation, and carried home
;;9|rith them those seeds of knowledge, which pro-
afterwards a very fruitful harvest. On all
things I have dwelt the Jonger, that it might
VOL. 1. T t

642 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK appear, whence the inclination of the Scottish oo^

'"' bility to reform did take its first rise ; though there

1542. y^^ afterwards in the methods, by which it was

advanced, too great a mixture of the heat and

forwardness that is natural to the genius of that

country.

When the news of the king of Scotland's deatb,
and of the young queen's birth, that succeeded him,
came to the court, the king thought this a very ft-
vourable conjuncture to unite and settle the whok
island. But that unfortunate princess was not bora
under such happy stars, though she was mother to
him, in whom this long-desired union took effect
The lords that were then prisoners b^;an the mo-
tion ; and* that being told the king, he called fir
them to Hampton-Court, in the Christmas-time^
and said. Now an opportunity was put in their
hands, to quiet all troubles that had been between
these two crowns, by the marriage of the prince of
Wales to their young queen ; in which he desired
their assistance, and gave them their liberty, ther
leaving hostages for the performance of what was
then offered by them. They all promised their con-
currence, and seemed much taken with the great-
ness of the English court, which the king always
kept up, not without affectation; they also said,
they thought God was better served there than in
their own country. So on new-year's-day they
took their journey towards Scotland ; but the sequel
of this will appear afterwards.
J 543. A parliament was summoned to meet the two and

Lm7nr' twentieth of January, which sat tiU the twelfth of
May. So the session begun in the thirty-fourtiif
and ended in the thirty-fifth year of the king^J

THE REFORMATION. 648

reign ; from whence it is called in the Records, the book

III
parliament of the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth year —

Here both the temporality and spirituality gave ^^'*^'

great subsidies to the king of six shillings in the

pound, to be paid in three years. They set forth in

their preambles, ^^ the expense the king had been at,

'' in his war with Scotland, and for his other great

^ and urgent occasions :" by which was meant, a

war with France, which broke out the following

summer. But, with these, there passed other two

acts of great importance to religion. The title of the

first was, An act for the advancement of true re^

Ugum^ and abolishment of the contrary. The king

was now entered upon a n^ar ; so it seemed reasonable

to qualify the severity of the late acts about religion,

that all mificht be quiet at home. Cranmer moved ^™>n«r

o 1 promote!

it first, and was faintly seconded by the bishops of » reforma.
Worcester, Hereford, Chichester, and Rochester;
who had promised to stick to him in it. At this
time a league was almost finished between the king
and the emperor, which did again raise the spirits
6f the popish faction. They had been much cast
down ever since the last queen's fall. But now
that the emperor was like to have an interest in
JBnglish councils, they took heart again ; and Gar-
diner opposed the archbishop's motion with all pos-
sible earnestness. And that whole faction fell so upon
it, that the timorous bishops not only forsook Cran-
mer, but Heath of Rochester, and Skip of Hereford,
were very earnest with him to stay for a better op-
portunity : but he generously preferred his conscience
to those arts of policy, which he would never prac-
tise ; and said, he would push it as far as it would
go. So he plied the king, and the other lords, so

T t 2

about it.

cc
a

644 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK earnestly 5 that at length the bill passed, though dog-
'"• ged with many provisos, and very much short of
1543. ^i,at he had designed.
Ad act The preamble set forth, ^ That, there being many

** dissensions about religion, the scriptures, whidi
<< the king had put into the hands of his peqiiCr
« were abused by many seditious persons, in tbdr
sermons, books, plays, rhymes, and soi^; fma
which great inconveniences were like to arise.
For preventing these, it was neoessaory to establish
*^ a form of sincere doctrine, confinmiafale to that
** which was taught by the apostles. Therefore ill
<' the books of the Old and New Testament, of Tin-
^ dal*s translation, (which is called crafty, iabe, and
^* untrue,) are forbidden to be kept or used in the
*' king^s dominions ; with all other boioks, contmy
** to the doctrine set forth in the year 1540 ; with
** punishments, and fines, and imprisonment upon
** such as sold or kept such books. But Bibles, that
" were not of Tindal's translation, were still to be
** kept, only the annotations, or preambles, that were
" in any of them, were to be cut out, or dashed ; and
^* the king's proclamations and injunctions, with the
" Primers, and other books printed in English, fcr
** the instruction of the people before the year 1540,
" were still to be in force ; and among these, Chau-
cer's books are by name mentioned. No boob
were to be printed about religion, without the
king's allowance. In no plays nor interludes they
might make any expositions of scripture ; but onlj
reproach vice, and set forth virtue in them. None
miglit read the scripture in an open assembly, or
" expound it, but he who was licensed by the kii^
or his ordinary ; with a proviso, that the chancet-

it
ii

a

THE REFOHMATION. 645

^ lors in parliament, judges, recorders, or any others, book
*' who were wont in public occasions to make L-

** speeches, and commonly took a place of scripture '^^^'
^ fiir their text, might still do as they had done for-
** merly. Every nobleman or gentleman might cause
** the Bible to be read to him, in or about his house,
^ quietly and without disturbance. Every merchant,
^ that was a householder, might also read it : but no
^ woman, nor artificers, apprentices, journeymen, «
^ serving-men, under the degree of yeomen ; nor
^* JEU> husbandmen, or labourers, might read it. Yet
^ every noble woman, or gentlewoman, might read it
^ for herself; and so might all other persons, but
^ ifaofle who were excepted. Every person might read,
^ and teach in their houses, the book set out in the
** year 1540, with the Psalter, Primer, Paternoster,
^' the Ave, and the Creed, in English. All spiritual
'^ persons, who preached or taught contrary to the
^ doctrine set forth in that book, were to be ad-
^ mitted, for the first conviction, to renounce their
^.enrors; for the second, to abjure, and carry a
^« jGngot ; whidi if they refused to do, or fell into a
^ third offence, they were to be burnt. But the
^ laity, tor the third offence, were only, to forfeit
^ their goods and chattels, and be liable to perpetual
^ imprisonment. But these offences were to be ob-
** jected to them within a year after they were com-
^ mitted. And whereas before, the party accused was
'^* not allowed to bring witnesses for his own purga^
^ tion ; this was now granted him. But to this a
^ severe proviso was added, which seemed to over-
^* throw all the former favour ; that the act of the
«< six articles was still in the same force in which it
^ was before the making of this act. Yet that was

T t3

646 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK *' moderated by the next proviso; that the Idi^

III

** might, at any time hereafter, at his pleasure,
1543. it change this act, or any provision in it.**

This last proviso was made stronger by another
act, made for the due execution of proclamations, in
pursuance of a former act to the same effect, of
which mention was made in the thirty-first year of
the king*s reign. By that former act there was so
great a number of officers of state, and of the kiogfs
household, of judges, and other persons^ to sit <m
these trials, that those not being easily brought toge-
ther, the act had never taken any effect. Therefiire
it was now appointed, that nine counsellors should
be a sufficient number for these trials. At the pass-
ing of that act, the lord Montjoy protested against it,
which is the single instance of a protestation i^ainst
any public bill throdgh this king^s whole reign.

The act about religion freed the subjects from the
fears under which they were before. For now the
laity were delivered from the hazard of burning;
and the spirituality were not in danger, but upon
the third conviction. They might also bring their
own witnesses, which was a great favour to them.
Yet that high power which was given the king, of
altering the act, or any parts of it, made, that they
were not absolutely secured from their fears, of
which some instances afterwards appeared. But as
this act was some mitigation of former severities, so
it brought the reformers to depend wholly on the
king's mercy for their lives ; since he could now
chain up, or let loose, the act of the six articles upon
them at his pleasure.

Soon after the end of this parliament* a league
was sworn between the king and the emperor, on

THE REFORMATION. ,647

Trinity Sunday, offensive and defensive, for Eng- book
land, Calais, and the places about it, and for all

Flanders ; with many other particulars, to be found ^ /^^*
in the treaty set down at large by the lord Herbert, between

r«i . . © ^ the king

There is no mention made of the legitimation of the and the
lady Mary ; but it seems it was promised, that she *"^'^'''
should be declared next in the succession of the
crown to prince Edward, if the king had no other
children ; which was done in the next .parliament,
without any reflections on her birth: and the em-
peror was content to accept of that, there being no
other terms to be obtained. The popish party, who
had set up their rest on bringing the king and em-
peror to a league, and putting the lady Mary into
the succession, no doubt pressed the emperor much
to accept of this ; which we may reasonably believe
was vigorously driven on by Bonner, who was sent
to Spain an ambassador for concluding this peace,
by which also the emperor gained much ; for, having
engaged the crowns of England and France in a
war, and drawn off the king of England from his
league with the princes of Germany, he was now at
wore leisure to prosecute his designs in Germany.

But the n^otiation in Scotland succeeded not to a treaty
the king's mind, though at first there were very with thV
good appearances. The cardinal, by forging a will s^tiind.
for the dead king, got himself and some of his. party
to be put into the government. But the earl of
Arran, (Hamilton,) being the nearest in blood to the
young queen, and being generally beloved for his
probity, was invited to assume the government ;
which he managed with great moderation, and an
universal applause. He summoned a parliament,
which confirmed him in his power, during the mi*

T t 4

MB

ISBHISfOBY OF

BOOK nority of the quaeD. Tbthirngmul
^ ler to hitt, to aggee <he «Myiag>,

Balghftil.

to

IB^* to send the joung q/aefsa into jftfiglimd : asi^i if fd-
▼ate ends wrouglit mpoli mi Mm^ Sai&er «w em-
powered to dftar another OMRiage of tlw kin^in-
coDddai^ter.thekdy Eynheth»to4i]seQD. Ik
«arl of Arnm was himadf JanKnoHe'to TrfonMlMiij
wid very much hated the cttriinid'; oo be waseid^
brought toMODsent Id « treBtf ftr the matdi, vttdi
WW -cionduded in August: fay winch the yMf
queen was to he hied in Sootfaind, till ehe ww M
years of age; but the kii^ augjbt eead «
and his wife, with other persoBS, Hot
twenty, to wait on her. Andl^ fiir yeifminanop 4
this, six noUemen were to be aeut ftooi Sdodsid
lor hostages. The earl of Arrun, beii^ Ihen fh
▼emor, kept the cardinal under readmit tiH tta
treaty was concluded ; but he, corruptiiig his kee/en,
made his escape, and, joining with the queen-modMr}
they made a strong faction against the governor: d
the iclergy joined with the cardinal to oppose tk
match with England, since they looked for rum if it
succeeded. The queen, being a sister of Guise, ail
bred in the French court, was wholly for their ii-
terests ; and all that had been obliged by that cout
or depended on it, were quickly drawn into tk
party. It was also said to every body, that it M
much more the interest of Scotland to matdi wiA
The diffe. France, than with England. If they were unitd
etta there, to France, they might expect an easy govemmesl:
for the French, being at such a distance from tbd^
and knowing how easily they might throw the^
selves into the arms of England, woujd certsiit
rule them gently, and avoid giving them great jp^

TH£ REFO&MATION. Ott

ocations* But if they were united to England, book
bey had no remedy ; but must look finr an beavier ^^'

eke to be laid on them. This meeting with the *^*^*
ooted antipathy, that by a long continuance of war
ras grown up amcmg them, to a savage hatred of
he English nation, and being inflamed by the con-
[derations of religion, raised an universal dislike of
he match with England in the greatest part of the
^hole nation ; only a few men of greater probity,
rho were weary of the depredations and wars in the
orders, and had a liking to the reformation of die
burch, were still for it.
The French court struck in vigorouslT with i^« ^^oci^

I • ^ ^ p*rty pre*

beir party in Scotland, and sent over the earl of tuu.
lenoK ; who, as he was next in Uood to the crown.
Bier the earl of Arran, so was of the same femily of
le Stewards, which had endeared him to the late
tng. He was to lead the queen's party against the
[amiltons ; yet they employed anoliier tool, which
'as John Hamilton, base brother to the governor,
tio was afterwards archbishop of St. Andrew's. He
ad great power over his brother ; who, being then
oC above four and twenty years of age, and having
een the only lawful son of his father in his old age,
as never bred abroad ; and so understood not the
diciea and arts of courts, and was easily abused
f his base brother. He assured him, that, if he
ent about to destroy religion, by matching the
iieen to an heretical prince, they would depose him
om his government, and declare him ill^timate.
Iiere could be indeed nothing clearer than his &-
tar's divorce from his first wife: for it had been
rmerly proved, that she had been married to the
rd Tester's son before he married her, who claimied

ftn THB HiraOBY OF '

*

BOOK ""iivlttDMcif wkk die Turit Aai MlidMSlioiiiiat
™' ^ being ^ven in those jmtkukWy a wm if de-

^^^- ^dafed."

n^ lo July the king mwnAtd Katiiaum Pvk^ vbi
Jbed been formerly married to Nenit )Md Letims:
fihe WM a secret dToiiner at the nforaMAion; jvt
oenld not divert a storm, wihich at this ^toe fidl «i
some in Windsor : for thait being n plaoe to wbjkh
liie kmg did oft retire, M wm tfMugfalt fit to make
some examples there. Andjiavlbele^giie withttr
emperar gatre the popish fiustkinii greats jnteiestii
the kjng^s Qcmncils. Therie «» at lUa time « aociely
at Windsor, that fiiyouked the rafimnatvm ; Aothos^
Person, a priest ; lUibert Tealniood» aod Jahni Man-
heck, sfaogingHBieh ; and Henny EjBmec; toC the ton
of Windsor; vere the chief ot tfan. Stat tbm
wme much fitvouitd by sir PkMp Bobbj and fab
lady, and several others of the bii^s ftmily. Dmy
ing Cromwell's power, none questioned them ; but
after his fall, they were looked on with an ill eye.
Doctor London, who had by Che most servile flatte-
ries insinuated himself into Cromwell, and was much
employed in the suppression of monasteries, and ex«
pressed a particular zeal in removing all images and
relics which had been abused to superstition, did
now, upon Cromwell*s fall, apply himself to Gkudi-
ner, by whose means he was made a prebendary
there. And, to show how dexterously :he could
make his court both ways, or to make compensation
for what he had formerly done, he took care to ga>
ther a whole book of informations against those in
Windsor who &voured the new learnings (which
was the modest phrase by whidi they termed the re^
formation). He carried this book to Gardiner, who

REFORMATION.

Doved fUe king in c(>iueicil, that a cCimmidsion niigfit book
le granted for searching suspected houses at Wind«

tor, in which it was inibrmed there were manj hooks ^^^*
igainst the six articles. The king granted the war^
ant for the town, but Hot for the castle. So those
lefore named were sensed on, and some of these
K>oks were found in their houses. Br. Hains, dean
if Exeter, and prebendary of Windsor, being in-
brmed against, Was also put in prison ; so was like-
rise sir Philip Hobby. But there were likewise
ome papers of notes on the fiiU^ and of a concord-
mce in English, found in Marbeck's house, written
rith his own hand ; and he being an illiterate man,
hey did not doubt but these were other men's works,
rhich he was writing out. So they began with him, *
md hoped to draw discoveries from him. He was
requently examined^ but would tell nothing that
night do hurt to any other person. But being ex«
imined who wrote these notes, he said, they were h&
>wn ; for he read all the books he could light on,
ind wrote out what every man had written on any
dace of scripture. And for his concordance, he tM
hem, that, being a poor man, he could not buy one
if the Bibles when they came 6rst out in English,
rat set himself to write one out ; by which another,
perceiving his industry, su^ested to him, that he
rould do well to write a concordance in English :
)ut he said, he knew not what that was; so the
ither person explaining it to him, he got a Latin
roncordance, and an English Bible; and, having Marbeck't
earned a little Latin when he was young, he, by
tmiparing the En^ish with the Latin, had drawn
mi a concordance, which he had brought to the lett-
er L. This seemed so extravagant a thing to Gar-

gpreat inge-
niousnett.

dM THE HI8T0BY OF

BOOK diner, and the other hidiopB that ficmnmed him, tint
™' . they could by no means bdiere it Bat he deared

>543. |]|0y would draw out any words of the letter M,aiid
give him the Latin concordance, with the Ed|^
Bible, and after a little time they should see whether
he had not done the rest. So the trial was made;
and in a day's time he had drawn out three sheeb
of papor, upon those woids that were given hiiB.
This both satisBed and astomshed the bishopi, woa-
dering at the ingeniousness and.diligaioe of so poor
a man. It was much talked of; and being tdd the
king, he said, Marbedk ewtphjfed kU time better
tkan those thai exammed kim. For the others, thej
were kept in prison at London till the twenty-^Miith
of July, that the king gave oiders to try them st
Windsor.
]^^^*J^]|^ There was a court held there on the twenty-
seventh of July, where Capon Inshop of Sarum, and
Franklin dean of Windsor, and Fachel parson of
Reading, and three of the judges, sat on those four
men. They were indicted ibr some words spokai
against the mass. Marbeck only for writing out an
Epistle of Calvin's against it ; which, he said, he co-
pied before the act of the six articles was made.
The jury was not called out of 4he town, for thej
would not trust it to them ; but out of the farms of
the chapel. They were all found guilty, and so con-
demned to be burnt, which was executed on three
of them the next day; only Marbeck was recom-
mended to the bishop of Winchester's care to pro-
cure his pardon, which was obtained. The other
three expressed great composure of mind in their
sufferings, and died with much Christian resolytion
and patience, forgiving their persecutors, and com*

THE REFORMATION. ^6B5

Hitting themselves to the mercies of God, through book
esus Christ. L.

But in their trial, doctor London, and Siroonds, a^.^^^*

' ^ ' Their per-

iwyer and an informer, had studied to fish out ac- •ecaton m
usations against many of the king s servants ; as
ir Philip Hobby, and sir Thomas Cawarden, with
heir ladies, and several others who had favoured
hose men. With these informations, Oakam, that
lad been the clerk of the court, was sent to Gardi*
ter : but one of the queen's servants, who had dis-
covered the design, was before him at court. Upon
be advertisement which he had brought, Oakam
iras seized on at his coming to court, and all his pa-
pers were examined ; in which they discovered a
onspiracy against those gentlemen, with other plots,
hat gave the king great offence : but the particulars
ire not mentioned. So doctor London and Simonds
rere sent for, and examined upon this discovery.
3ut they, not knowing that their letters were inter-
:epted, denied there was any such plot ; and, being
itut to their oaths, swore it. Then their. own hand-
writing was {NToduced against them: upon which,
hey being thus perjured, were ordered to be carried
m horseback, with their faces to the horse-tails, and
lapers on their foreheads, for their perjury; and
hen to be set in the pillory, both in Windsor, Read-
ng, and Newbury, where the king was at that
ime. This was accordingly executed on them ; but
unk so deep in doct6r London's heart, that he died
oon after. From all this it will appear what sort of
nen the persecutors at that time were.
But this was a small part of what Grardiner had^<»<>v|'_

racjBguiiit

nrojected ; for he looked on these as persons un wor- cnumwr.
hy t)f his displeasure. Cranmer was chiefly aimed

•Ml THE HI8TOBT OF

ioos fltbjrldkn: and therafefc flH tluit pn^ wikte iA ii^
™* ftiMTig it into the king's niind» that it ww gmt »

^*^' justice to prosecute poor men with n miidi sereritj,
and let the chief siqiporter of hereaj stand in so €B»-
nent a d^ree» and in such fovour about faim. At
length the king, to discover the bottom of their de-
signs, seemed to give ear to their aocuastioiis, ssd
derired to hear what pardculars ooold be objected
against him. This gave tliem great enoodfi^Bient;
for till that tune the king would kt nothing be aid
against Cranmer. So they concluded he would be
quidUy ruined^ since the kii^ had'cqpened his ear to
their informations. Thfttfore many partkiiilaw were
^iiUy laid together, and pulinto the king^s handi;
who, a little after that, going to divert hunsdf oa

ntiq. Brit the river, ordered'his bargeman to low'towards Lam-
beth ; which being perceived by some of the ardiia-
shop's servants, they acquainted him with it, wiio
hasted down to his stairs to do his duty to the king.
When the king saw him, he called him into the
barge ; and they being alone, the king lamented the
growth of heresy, and the dissensions and con^sions
that were like to follow upon it ; and said, 1^ in-
tended to find out the chief encourager and fovoqrer
of these heresies, and make him an example to the
rest. And he asked the archbishop's opinion about
it : who answered him, that it was a good rescdution ;
but entreated the king to consider well what heresj
was, and not to condemn those as heretics, who stood
for the word of God against human inventions. But,
after some discourse, the king told him he was the
man, who, as he was informed, was the chief encou-
rager of heresy; and then gave him the articles that
were brought i^ainst him and his chaplains, both hf

THE REFORMATION. 657

le prebendaries of Canterbury, and the justices of book
jce in Kent. When he read them, he kneeled

ni, and desired the king would put the matter to ^^^^'
rial. He acknowledged he was still of the same
id he was of, when he opposed the six articles ;
: that he had done nothing against them. Then
king asked him about his wife : he frankly con-
;ed he had a wife ; but said, that he had sent her
jlermany, upon the passing the act against priests
ing wives. His candour and simplicity wrought
cm the king, that he discovered to him the whole
t that was laid against him ; and said, that, in-
Sid of bringing him to any trial about it, he would
re him try it out, and proceed against those his
users. But he excused hiinself, and said, it would
; be decent for him to sit judge in his own cause,
t the king said to him, he was resolved none other
»uld judge it, but those he should name. So he
ned his chancellor and his register, to whom the
ig added another : and a commission being given
m, they went into Kent, and sat three weeks, to
1 out the first contrivers of this accusation. And
w every one disowned it, since they saw he was
1 firmly rooted in the king's esteem and favour,
t it being observed that the commissioners pro-
ded faintly, Cranmer's friends moved, that some
n of courage and authority might be sent thither
canvass this accusation more carefully. So doctor
e, dean of York, was brought up about AUhallow-
e, and sent into Kent : and he, who had been well
[uainted with the arts of discovering secrets when
was one of the visitors of the abbeys, managed it
»re vigorously. He ordered a search to be niade
all suspected persons ; among whose papers letters

VOL. 1. u u

ess THE HISTORY OF

BOOK were founds both from the bishop of Windiester,
J!!!l_aiid doctor London, and some of those whom Cm-
1^^* mer had treated with the greatest freedom and kind-
nessj in which the whole plot against him was db-
covered. But it was now near the session of psriisp
ment ; and the king was satisfied with the diseoreiji
but thought it not fit to make much noise (rf it
And he received no addresses from the archbishqp to
abchii^ prosecute it further; who was so noted for his de-
|f^2^ mency, and following our Saviour^s rule, of doing
good for evil^ that it was commonly said, the way
to get his favour, was to do him an injury. These
were the only instances in which he expiessed bii
resentments. Two of the conspirators against him
had been persons signally obliged by him : the one
was the bishop suffragan of Dover; the other was
a civilian^ whom he had emptoyed much in his busi-
ness. But all the notice he took of it was, to show
them their letters, and to admonish them to be more
faithful and honest for the future. Upon which he
freely forgave them ; and carried it so to them after-
wards, as if he had absolutely forgotten what they had
contrived against him. And a person of quality
coming to him about that time, to obtain his favour
and assistance in a suit, in which he was to mo?e
the king, he went about it, and had almost procured
it : but the king, calling to mind that he had been
one of his secret accusers, asked him. Whether he
took him for his friend ? He answered, that he did
so. Then the king said, the other was a knave, and
was his mortal enemy ; and bid him, when he should
see him next, call him a knave to his face. Cran-
mer answered, that such language did not become a
bishop. But the king sullenly consmanded him to

THE REFORMATION. 659

yet his modesty was such, that he could not book

so harsh a command; and so he passed the —

r over. When these things came to be known, ^^^^*
rsons, that were not unjustly prejudiced against
kcknowledged that his behaviour was suitable to
cample and doctrine of the meek and lowly
jr of the world ; and very well became so great
op, and such a reformer of the Christian reK-

who, in those sublime and extraordinary in-
», practised that which he taught others to do.
rear in which this fell out is not expressed by
who have recorded it ; but, by the concurring
Qstances, I judge it likeliest to have been done
ear.

in after this, the parliament met, that was 1544.
oned to meet the fourteenth of January, in,^*n^'
lirty-fifth year of the king's reign ; in which
ct of the succession of the crowii passed.
h contains, ** That the king, being now to pass Act about
seas, to make war upon his ancient enemy, thelli:^'^
nch king, and being desirous to settle the sue-
ion to the crown ; it is enacted, that, in de-
t of heirs of prince Edward's body, or of heirs
the king's present marriage, the crown shall go

9

he lady Mary, the king's eldest daughter : and
iefault of heirs of her body, or if she do not
3rve such limitations or conditions as shall be
lared by the king's letters patents under his
it seal, or by his last will under fiis hand, it
1 next fall to the lady Elizabeth and her heirs ^
f she have none, or shall not keep the condi-
IS declared by the king, it shall fall to any
er that shall be declared by the king's letters
ents, or his last will signed with his hand. There

u u 2

660 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK << was aiflo an oath devised, inttead of those fif-
"'* <^ merly sworn, both against the pope's supremmy,

i

1544. « g^^ fQ|. maintaining the succession in all pointo
<< according to this act : which whosoever refused
<* to take, was to be adjudged a traitor ; and who-
<< soever should, either in words or by writing, say
<< any thing contrary to this act, or to the peril and
^ slmder of the king^s heirs, limited in the act, was
^ to be adjudged a traitor." Thia was done, no
doubt, upon a secret article of the treaty with the
emperor; and did put new life into the popsh party,
all whose hopes depended on the lady Mary. But
how much this lessened the prerogative, and the
right of succession, will be easily discerned; the
king in this affecting an unusual extent of hb own
power, though with the diminution of the rights d
his successors.

There was another bill about the qualifying of
the act of the six articles, that was sent divers times
from the one house to the other. It was brought
to the lords the first of March, and read the first
time ; and stuck till the fourth, when it was read
the second time : on the fifth it was read the third
time, and passed, and was sent down to the com-
mons, with wordk to be put in, or put out of it.
On the sixth, the commons sent it up with some al-
terations : and on the eighth, the lords sent it down
again to the commons ; where it lay till the seven-
teenth, and then it was sent up with their agree-
ment. And the king's assent was given^ by hb
letters patents, on the twenty-ninth of March. The
Act against preamble was, ** That whereas untrue accusations
TaciJSr *^ and presentments might be maliciously contrived
" against the king's subjects, and kept secret till a
i

THE REFORMATION, 661

^ time were espied to have them by malice con- book
^ victed : therefore it was enacted, that none should

" be indicted, but upon a presentment by the oaths of ^^^^'
'^ twelve men, to at least three of the commissioners
appointed by the king : and that none shduld be
imprisoned, but upon an indictment, except by a
special warrant from the king ; and that all pre^
^ sentments should be made within one year after
" the offences were committed i and if words were
** uttered in a sermon contrary to the statute, they
^^ must be complained of within forty days, unless a
^ just cause were given why it could not be so soon :
'* admitting also the parties indicted to all such
^^ challenges as they might have in any other case of
^ felony.'' This act has clearly a relation to the
conspiracies mentioned the former year, both against
the archbishop, and some of the king's servants.

Another act passed, continuing some former acts
for revising the canon-law, and for drawing up such
a body of ecclesiastical laws, as should have author*
ity in England. This Cranmer pressed often with
great vehemence; and, to show the necessity of
it, drew out a short extract of some passages in
the canon-law, (which the reader will 'find in the
Collection,) to show how indecent a thing it was, to coUect.
let a volume, in which such laws were, be studied ^"™*'* *^*
or considered any longer in England. Therefore he
was earnest to have such a collection of ecclesias-
tical laws made, as might regulate the spiritual
courts. But it was found more for the greatness of
the prerogative, and the authority of the civil courts,
to keep that undetermined ; so he could never ob-
tain h» desire during this king's reign.

Another act passed in this parliament, for the re-

u u 3

668 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK misdoB of a loan of money, which the king had
raised. This is almost copied out of an act to the

1^^^* same effect that passed in the twenty-first year of
the king's reign; with this addition, that by this
act those who had got payment, either in whole or
in part, of the sums so lent the king, were to regaj
it back to the exchequer. All business being finish-
ed, and a general pardon passed, with the ordinaiy
exceptions of some crimes, among which heresy is
one, the parliament was prorogued, on the twen^-
ninth of March, to the fourth of November.

The king had 'now a war both with France and
Scotland upon him. And therefore, to prepare finr
it, he both enhanced the value of money, and em-
based it t for which, he that writes his vindication
gives this for the reason ; That the coin being gene-
rally embased all over Europe^ he was forced to do
it, lest otherwise all the money should have gone
The wars out of the kiDgdom. He resolved to begin the war
s^tinnd ^th Scotland, and sent an army by sea thither,
tuccessfui. ^nder the command of the earl of Hartford, (after-
wards duke of Somerset,) who landing at Grantham,
a little above Leith, burnt and spoiled Leith and
Edinburgh ; in which they found more riches than
they thought could possibly have been there : and
they went through the country, burning and spoil-
ing it every where, till they came to Berwick. But
they did too much, if they intended to gain the
hearts of that people ; and too little, if they intended
to subdue them. For as they besieged not the
castle of Edinburgh, which would have cost them
more time and trouble; so they did not fortify
Leith, nor leave a garrison in it, which was such an
inexcusable omission, that it seems their counsels

1544.

THE REFORMATION. 668

3re very weak and ill laid. For Leith being for- book
ied, and a fleet kept going between it and Berwick -
Tinmouth, the trade of the kingdom must have
en quite stopped^ Edinbuigh ruined, the inter-
urse between France and them cut off, and the
[lole kingdom forced to submit to the king. But
e spoils this army made had no other effect but to
rage the kingdom, and unite them so entirely to
e French interests, that, when the earl of Lenox
IS sent down by the king to the western parts

Scotland, where his power lay, he could get
me to follow him. And the governor of Dun-
itton Castle, though his own lieutenant, would not
iliver that castle to him, when he understood he
as to put it in the king of England's hands ; but
ove him out : others say, he fled away of himself,
se he had been taken prisoner.
The king was now to cross the seas ; but, before
i went, he studied to settle the matters of religion,

that both parties might have some content. Aud-
y the chancellor dying, he made the lord Wrio-
lesly, that had been secretary, and was of the
>pish party, lord chancellor ; but made sir William
etre, that was Cranmer's great friend, secretary of
ate. He also committed the government of the
ingdom in his absence to the queen, to whom he
ined the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chan-
^llor, the earl of Hartford, and secretary Petre.
nd if there was need of any force to be raised, he
^pointed the earl of Hartford his lieutenant ; under
hose government the reformers needed not fear
ly thing. But he did another act that did won-
srfiiUy please that whole party; which was, the
anslating of the prayers for the processions and

u u 4

eM THE HISTORY OF

BOOK litanies into the English tongue. This was sent to
"'' the archUshop of Canterbuiy on the deventh of

1644- Junet with an order that it Aouldbe used over all

his province ; as the reader will find in the CoUec-

>UMt. tion. This was not only very accqytahle to that

^ ' ' party, because of the thing itself; but it gave them

hope, that the king was again opening his ears to

motions for reformation, to which they had been

shut pow about six years : and therefiore they looked

that more things of that nature would quickly &1*

low. And as these prayers were now set out in

English, so they doubted not but there being the

same reason to put all the other oflkes in the Tulgar

tongue, they would prevail for that too.

Things being thus settled at home, the king^ hav-
ing sent his forces over before him, crossed the seas
with much pomp, the sails of his ship being of doth
of gold. He landed at Calais the fourteenth of July.
The emperor pressed his marching straight to Paris:
but he thought it of more importance to take Bul-
Baiioign loign ; and after two months siege it was surrendered
to him ; into which he made his entry with great
triumph on the eighteenth of September. But the
emperor, having thus engaged those two crowns in
a war, and designing, while they should fight it out,
to make himself master of Germany, concluded a
treaty with the French king the very next day,
being the nineteenth of September; which is set
down at large by the lord Herbert. On the thirtieth
of September the king returned into England: in
October following Bulloign was very near lost by a
surprise ; but the garrison put themselves in order,
and beat back the French. Several inroads were
made into Scotland, but not with the same success

THE REFORMATION. 665

that the fomier expedition had: for the Soots, ani- book
mated with supplies sent from France, and inflamed

with a clesire of revenge, resumed their wonted cou- ^^^'
rage, and beat back the English with considerable
loss.

Next year, the French king, resolving to recover 1545.
Bulloign, and to take Calais, that so he might drive
the English out of France, intended first to make
himself master of the sea. And he set out a great
fleet of an hundred and fifty greater ships, and sixty
lesser ones, besides many galleys, brought from the
Straits. The king set out about an hundred ships.
On both sides, these were only merchant-ships that
were hired for this war. But after the French fleet
had looked on England, and attempted to land with
ill success, both in the Isle of Wight, and in Sussex,
and had engaged in a sea-fight for some hours, they
returned back without any considerable action : nor
did they any thing at land. But the king's fleet
went to Normandy, where they made a descent, and
burpt the country. So that this year was likewise
glorious to the king. The emperor had now done
what he long designed ; and therefi)re, being courted ^
by both crowns, he undertook a mediation, that,
under the colour of mediating a peace, he might
the more effectually keep up the war.

The princes of Germany saw what mischief was ine oer-
designed against them. The council of Trent was ^oet
now opened, and was condemning their doctrine. ^^*
A league was also concluded between the pope and
the emperor, for procuring obedience to their canons
and decrees ; and an army was raised. The empe-
ror was also setting on foot old quarrels with some
of the princes. A firm peace was concluded with

666 V THE HISTORY OF

ooK the Turk. So that if the crowns of Englaiid and'
^"' France were not brought to an agreement, th^ weie
154^* undone. Thej sent ambassadors to both courts to
mediate a peace. With them Cranmer jmned his
endeavours, but he had not a Cromwell in the cooit
to manage the king^s temper, who was so proYoked
with the ill treatment he had received from France,
that he would not come to an agreement ; nor would
he restore Bulloign, without which the French would
hear of no peace. Cranmer had at this time almost
prevailed with the king to make some further steps
in a reformation : but Gardiner, who was then am-
bassador in the emperor^s court, being advertised of
it, wrote to the king, that the emperor would cer-
tainly join with France against him, if he made anj
further innovation in rdigion. This diverted the
king from it; and in August this year, the only
great friend that Cranmer had in the court died,
Charles duke of Suffolk, who had long continued in
dhie height of favour, which was always kept up, not
only by an agreement of humours between the king
and him, but by the constant success which followed
him in all his exploits. He was a favourer of the
reformation, as far as could consist with his interest
at court, which he never endangered upon any ac-
count,
burch Now Cranmer was left alone, without friend or

eats support. Yct he had gained one great preferment
ionatn. ^^ t^^ chuFch to a man of his own mind. The arch-
bishopric of York falling void by Lee's death, Robert
Holgate, that was bishop of Landaff, was promoted
to that see in January; Kitchin being made bishop
of Landaff, who turned with every change that was
made under the three succeeding princes. The arch-

THE REFORMATION. 667

bishop of Yolrk set about the reforming of things in book
his province, which had lain in great confusion aU '''

his predecessor's time : so on the third of March he ^^^^*
took out a license from, the king for making a me-
tropolitical visitation. Bell, that was bishop of Wor-
cester, had resigned his bishopric the former year,
(the reason of which is not set down.) The bishop
of Rochester, Heath, was translated to that see;
and Henry Holbeach, that fisivoured the reformation,
was made bishop of Rochester. And upon the trans-
lation of Sampson from Chichester to Coventry and
Litchfield, Day, that was a moderate man, and in-
dinaUe to reformation, was made bishop of that see.
So that now Cranmer had a greater party among
the bishops than at any time before.

But though there were no great transactions about
religion in England this year, there were very re-
markable things done in Scotland, though of a dif-
ferent nature ; which were, the burning of Wishart,
and, some months after that, the killing of cardinal
Beaton : the account of both which will not, I hope,
be ingrateful to the reader.

Mr. George Wishart was descended of a noble fa-wuharc't
mily ; he went to finish his studies in the university in s^t^
of Cambridge, where he was so well instructed in ^^'
the principles of true religion, that, returning to
Scotland, anno 1544, he preached over the country
against the corruptions which did then so gene-
rally prevail. He stayed most at Dundee, which
was the chief town in these parts. But the car^
dinal, offended at this, sent a threatening message
to the magistrates; upon which one of them, ais
Wishart ended one of his sermons, was so obse- ^
quious as to forbid him to preach any more among

eOB THE HISTORY OF

looK theiDf or give them anj fiirther Uouble : to whom

2^ he answered^ ^ that God knew he had no dengn

l^;^ ''to trouble them; bat for them to v^ect the
** messengers of God, was not the way to escape
*' trouble : when he was gone, God would send mes-
'' sengers of another sort among them. He had, to
** the hazard of his life, preached the word of salfa-
^ tion to them, and they had now rejected him ; but
'^ if it was long well with them, he was not led bjr
^ the Spirit of truth ; and if unlodLed-ior trouble M
^ on them, he bade them remember this was the
^ cause of it, and torn to God by repentance * From
thence he went to the western parts, where he was
also much followed. But the archbishop of GQasgow
giving order that he should not be admitted to preach
in churches, he preached often in the fields; and
when in some places his foUowers would have forced
the churches, he checked them, and said. It was the
word of peace that he preached, and therefore no
blood should be shed about it. But after he bad
stayed a month there, he heard that there was a great
plague in Dundee, which broke out the fourth day
after he had left it: upon which he presently re-
turned thither, and preached oft to them, stending
over one of the gates, having taken care that the in-
fected persons should stand without, and those that
were clean within the gate. He continued among
them, and took care to supply the poor, and to visit
the sick, and do all the offices of a faithful pastor in
that extremity. Once, as he ended his sermon, a
priest coming to have killed him, was taken with
the weapon in his hand ; but when the people were
rushing furiously on him, Wishart got him in his
arms, and saved him from their rage ; for he said,

THE REFORMATION. (169

he had done no hann, onljr they saw what they book

might look for. He became a little, after this more '- —

than ordinary serious, and apprehensive of his end: ^^^*
he was seen sometimes to rise in the night, and
spend the greatest part of it in prayer ; and he often
warned his hearers, that his sufferings were at hand,
but that few should suffer aft;er him, and that the
light of true religion should be spread over the
whole land. He went to a great numy places, where
his sermons were well received; and came last to
Lothian, where he found a greater neglect of the
gospel than in other parts, for which he threatened
them, that sfy^angers should chase themjram their
dwelUnge, andposeese them. He was lodged in a
gentleman of quality's house, Cockbum of Ormeston,
when, in the night, the house was beset by some
horsemen, who were sent by the cardinal's means to
take him. The earl of Bothwel, that had the chief
jurisdiction in the county, was with them, who pro-
mising that no hurt should be done him, he caused
the gate to be opened, saying. The blessed wiU qf
God be done. When he presented himself to the
earl of Bothwel, he desired to be proceeded with ac^
cording to law; for he said, he feared less to die
openly, than to be murdered in secret. The earl
prcHnised, upon his honour, that no harm should be
done him, and, for some time, seemed resolved to
have made his words good ; but the queen-mother
and cardinal in the end prevailed with him to put
Wishart in their hands : and they sent him to St.
Andrew's, where it was agreed to make a sacrifice
of him. Upon this the cardinal called a meeting of
the bishops to St. Andrew's, against the twenty-se*
venth of February, to destroy him with the more

670 •• THE HISTORY OF

BOOK ceremony ; but the ardiUshop of Glasgow moved,
'^ that there should be a warrant procured from the

'^^^* lord goyemor for their proceedings. To this the
cardinal consented, thinkmg the governor was then
so linked to their interests, that he would deny them
nothing; but the governor, bearing in his heart a
secret love to religion, and being plainlj dealt with
by a noUe gentleman of his name, Hamilton of
Preston, who laid before him the just and terrible
judgments of God he might look for, if he suff^ed
poor innocents to be sq murdered at the appetite of
the clergy, sent the cardinal word not to proceed till
he himself came, and that he would not consent to
his death till the cause was well examined; snd
that, if the cardinal proceeded against him, his blood
should be required at his hands. But the cardinal
resolved to go on at his peril, for he apprehended, if
he delayed it, there might be either a l^al or a vio-
lent rescue made ; so he ordered a mock-citation of
Wishart to appear ; who being brought the next day
to the abbey-church, the process was opened with a
sermon, in which the preacher delivered a great deal
of good doctrine, concerning the scriptures being the
only touchstone by which heresy was to be tried.
After sermon, the prisoner was brought to the bar:
he first fell down on his knees, and, after a short
prayer, he stood up and gave a long account of his
sermons; that he had preached nothing but what
was contained in the Ten Commandments, the Apo-
stles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer ; but was inter-
rupted with reproachful words, and required to an-
swer plainly to the articles objected to him. . Upon
which he appealed to an indifferent judge : he de-
sired to be tried by the word of God, and before my

THE REFORMATION. 671

lord governor, whose prisoner he was: but the in- book
dictment being read, he, confessing and offering to

justify most of the articles objected against him, was *^^^'
judged an obstinate heretic, and condemned to be
burnt. All the next night he spent in prayer: in
the morning, two friars came to confess him; but
he said, he would have nothing to do with them ;
yet, if he could, he would gladly speak with the
learned man that preached the day before. So he
being sent to him, after much conference, he asked
him if he would receive the sacrament ? Wishart
answered, he would most gladly do it, if he might
have it as Christ had instituted it, under both kinds ;
but the cardiaol would not suffer the sacrament to
be given him. And so, breakfast being brought, he
discoursed to those that were present of the death
of Christ, and the ends of the sacrament, and then,
having blessed and consecrated the elements, he took
the sacrament himself, and gave it to those that were
with him. That being done, he would taste no
other thing, but retire^ to his devotion. Two hours
after, the executioners came, and put on him a coat
of black linen, full of bags of powder, and carried
him out to the place of execution, which was before
the cardinal's castle. He spake a little to the people,
desiring them not to be offended at the good word of
God, for the sufferings that followed it; it was the true
gospel of Christ that he had preached, and for which,
with a most glad heart and mind, he now offered up
his life. The cardinal was set in state in a great
window of his castle, looking on this sad spectacle.
When Wishart was tied to the stake, he cried aloud,
O Saviour of the world, have mercy upon me!
Father of heaven, I recommend my spirit into

eTS THE HISTORT OF

BOOK ikg hafy kamds. So the ezecatfonen kindled the
fire; lint one perceiving, after some time, that he

1545. y^^^ j^ alive, encouraged him to call still on God: to
whom he answered, ^ The flame hath scorched my
^^ bodj, yet hath it not daunted my spirit ; but he,
^ who from yonder high place (looking up to the
'< cardinal) beholdeth us with such pride, shall with-
^ in few days lie in the same^ as ignominious^ as
^ now he is seen proudly to rest himself.* The ex-
ecutioner drawing the cord that was about his neA
straiter, stopped his breath so, that he could speak
no more ; and his body was soon consumed by the
fire. Thus died this eminent servant and witness of
Christ, on whose sufferings I have enlarged the more^
because they proved so fiital to the interests of the
popish clergy ; for not any one thing hastened for-
ward the refbrmation more than this did ; and sioce
he had both his education and ordination in Eng-
land, a full account of him seems no impertinent &-
gression.

The clergy rejoiced much at his death, and
thought (according to the constant maxim of all per-
secutors) that they should live more at ease, now
when Wishart was out of the way. They magnified
the cardinal for proceeding so vigorously, without,
or rather against, the governor's orders: but the
people did universally look on him as a martyr, and
believed an extraordinary measure of God's Spirit
had rested on him, since, besides great innocency
and purity of life, his predictions came so oft to pass,
that he was believed a prophet as well as a saint;
and the reformation was now so much opened by his
preaching, and that was so confirmed by his death,
that the nation was generally possessed with the love

THE REFORMATION. 678

of it. The nobiUty were mightily offended with the book

cardinal^ and said, Wishart's death was no less than L-

inurder, since the dergy, without a warrant from ^^'*^*
the secular power, could dispose of no man's life.
So it came universally to be said, that he now de-
served to die by the law : yet since he was too great
for a legal trial, the kingdom being under the feeble
government of a regency, it was fit private persons
should undertake it ; and it was given out, that the
killing an usurper was always esteemed a commend-
able action; and so, in that state of things, they
thought secret practices might be justified. This
agreeing so much with the temper of some in that na^
tion, who had too much of the heat and forwardness
of their country, a few gentlemen of quality, who
bad been iU used by the cardinal, conspired his death.
He was become generally hateful to the whole na-
tion ; and the marriage of his bastard-daughter to
the earl of Crawford's eldest son enraged the nobility
the more against him ; and his carriage towards them
all was insolent and provoking. These offended gen-
tlemen came to St. Andrew's the twenty-ninth of
May ; and the next morning they and their attendants,
being but twelve in all, first attempted the gate of
his castle, which they found open, and made it sure :
and though there were no fewer than an hundred
reckoned to be within the castle, yet they, knowing
the passages of the house, went with very little noise
to the 'servants' chambers, and turned them almost
all out of doors ; and having thus made the castle
sure, they went to the cardinal's door : he, who till
then was fast asleep, suspecting nothing, perceived
at last, by their rudeness, that they were not his
friends, and made his door fast against them. So

VOL. I. XX

674 THE HISTORY OF ■'

BOOK they sent for fire to set to it ; upon which lie treated
^ ' with them, and, upon assurance of life,' he opened

1645. ^1^ ^QQf • tmt they, rushing in, did most cruetty and
treacherously murder him. A tumult was raised in
the town, and many of his friends came to rescue
him; but the conspirators carried the dead hoijs
and exposed it to their view, in the same window
out of which he had not long before looked on when
Wishart was burnt, which had been umveraally cen^
^ sured as a most indecent thing in a chorchnuui, to
delight in such a spectacle. But those who ooa-
demned this action, yet acknowledged Ood's justkat
in so exemplary a punishment ; and, reflecting oi
Wishart's last words, were the more confirmed in
the opinion they had of his sanctity. This fiurt was
differently censured ; some justified it, and said, it
was only the killing of a mighty robber; othqn, that
were glad he was out of the way, yet condemned Hbt
manner of it as treacherous and inhuman. And
though some of the preachers did afterwards fly to
that castle as a sanctuary, yet none of them were
either actors or consenters to it : it is true they did
generally extenuate it, yet I do not find that any of
them justified it. The exemplary and signal ends of
almost all the conspirators, scarce any of them dying
a natural death, made all people the more inclined
to condemn it. The day after the cardinal was kill-
ed, about one hundred and forty came into the cas-
tle, and prepared for a siege. The house was wdl
ftimished in all things necessary ; and, it lying so
near the sea, they expected help from king Heoij*
to whom they sent a messenger for his assistance^
and declared for him. So a siege following, thej
were so well supplied from England, that, after I ^

e
k

THE REFORMATION. ► 675

five months, the governor was glad to treat with book
them, apprehending much the footing the English '"'
might have, if those within, being driven to extremi- l^^^-
ties, should receive a garrison from king Henry.
They had the governor also more at their mercy ;
for as the cardinal had taken his eldest son into his
house under the pretence of educating him, but
really -as his father's hostage, designing likewise to
infuse in him a violent hatred of the new preachers ;
BO the conspirators, finding him in the castle, kept
him still to help them to better terms. A treaty
being agreed on, they demanded their pardon for
what they had done, together with an absolution, to
be procured from Rome, for the killing of the cardi*
nal; and that the castle, and the governor's son,
should remain in their hands till the absolution was
brought over. Some of the preachers, apprehending
the clergy might revenge the cardinal's death on
them, were forced to fly into the castle ; but one of
them, John Rough, (who was afterwards burnt in
JBngland, in queen Mary's time,) being so offended
at the licentiousness of the soldiers that were in the
castle, who were a reproach to that which they pre-
tended to favour, left them, and went away in one
of the ships that brought provisions out of England.
When the absolution came from Rome, they ex-
cepted to it, for some words in it that called the kill-
ing of the cardinal crimen irrenUssibile, an unpar-
donaUe crime ; by which, they said, the absolution
gave them no security, since it was null, if the fact
could not be pardoned. The truth was, they were
encouraged from England ; so they refused to stand
to the capitulation, and rejected the absolution. But
Bome ships and soldiers being sent from France, the

X X 2

CTd THE HISTORY OF

BOOK castle war besieged at land, and shut up also by sea;
"'• and, which was worst of all, a plague broke out

1545. within itt of which manj died. Upon this, no hdp
coming suddenly from England, they were forced to
deliver up the place on no better termst than that
their lives should be spared; but they were to be bs-
nished Scotland, and never to return to it. The
castle was demolished, according to the canon4aw,
that appoints all [daces, where any cardinal is killed,
to be rased. This was not completed this year, and
not till two years after; only I thought it best to
Join the whole matter together, and set it down all
at once.
ApMiiM In November following a new parliament was

Mcnt lite. «» •

held ; where, toward the expense of the king^s wars^
the convocation of the jHrovince of Canterbuiy
granted a continuation of the former subsidy of six
shillings in the pound, to be paid in two years. But
for the temporalty, a subsidy was demanded from
cbapten them of another kind ; there were in the kiDcrdom
tries giren Several collies, chapels, chantnes, hospitals, and
^'fraternities, consisting of secular priests, who enjoyed
pensions for saying mass for the souls of those who
had endowed them. Now the belief of purgatory
being left indifferent by the doctrine set out by the
bishops, and the trade of redeeming souls being con-
demned; it was thought needless to keep up so
many endowments to no purpose. Those priests
were also generally ill affected to the king's proceed-
ingSy since their trade was so much lessened by them.
Therefore many of them had been dealt with to
make resignation : and four and twenty of them had
surrendered to the king. It was found also, that
many of the founders of these houses had takes

THE REFORMATION. 677

them into their own hands, and that the master, book
wardens, and governors of them, had made agree-

ments for them, and given leases of them : therefore ^^^^'
now, a subsidy being demanded, all these were given
to the king by act of parliament ; which also con-
firmed the deeds that any had made to the king:
empowering him, in any time of his life, to issue out
commissions for seizing on these foundations, and
taking them into his own possession : which, being
so seized on, should belong to the king and his suc-
cessors for ever. They also granted another subsidy
for the wan When all their business was done, the
king came to the house, and made a long speech, of
which I cannot sufficiently wonder that no entry is
made in the Journals of the house of lords ; yet it is
not to be doubted but he made it, for it was pub-
lished by Hall soon after.

When the speaker of the house of commons had The kiog't
presented the bills, with a speech full of respect and thrhouset.
compliment, as is usual upon these occasions; the
king answered, ^ thanking them for the subsidy, and
^^ the bill about the colleges and chantries ; and as-
sured them, that he should take care both for sup-
plying the ministers, for encouraging learning, and
relieving the poor ; and they should quickly per-
ceive that in these things their expectations should
^' be answered, beyond what they either wished or
*^ desired. And after he had expressed his affection
*^ to them, and the assurance he had of their duty
and fidelity to him, he advised them to amend one
thing ; which was, that, instead of charity and con-
^* cord, discord and division ruled every where. He
*^ cited St. Paul's words. That charily was gentie^
*' and not enoiousj nor proud. But when one called

XX S

678 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK <' another heretic, and the other calkd him papst
^^^' <* and pharisee, were these the signs of charity? The

1545. M feuit of this he diaiged ^

^ and teachers of the spiritualty, who preached one
^ against another without charity or diacretioD ;
^ some being too stiff in their old mmmpmmu^
^ others too busy and curious in their new smmpn-
^ mus; and few preached the word of God tnilj
^ and sincerely. And how could the poor people live
^ in concord, when they sowed debate amoi^ them ?
** Therefore he exhorted them to set forth God's
^ word by true preaching, and giving a good ex-
*' amjde; or else he, as God's vicar and high minis-
^ ter, would see these enormities corrected ; which
^ if he did not do, he was an unprofitable servant,
^ and an untrue officer. He next reproved them of
'' the temporalty, who railed at their bishops and
" priests ; whereas, if they had any thing to laj to
" their charge, they ought to declare it to the king
^ or his council, and not take upon them to judge
" such high points. For though they had the scrip-
tures given them in their mother-tongue, yet that
was only to inform their own consciences, and in-
** struct their children and families ; but not to dis-
^ pute, nor from thence to rail against priests and
" preachers, as some vain persons did. He was sorry
•* that such a jewel as the word of Grod was so ill
** used ; that rhymes and songs were taken out of it;
•* but much more sorry that men followed it so lit-
** tie ; for charity was never fainter, a godly life
" never less appeared, and God was never less reve-
" renced and worshipped. Therefore he exhorted
" them to live as brethren in charity together, to
" love, dread, and serve God ; and then the love and

4(

€€

THE REFORMATION. 679

^^ union between him and them should never be dis- book

" sdlved." And so, exhorting them to look to the 1—

execution of the laws which themselves had desired^ ^^^^*
he gave his royal assent to the bills, and dismissed
the parliament.

The king gave at this time a commission to the
bishops of Westminster, Worcester, and Chichester,
and the chancellor of the court of augmentation, sir
JBdward North, containing, *^ That whereas the king
^ had founded many cathedrals, in which he had
given large allowances, both to be distributed to
the poor, and to be laid out for the mending of
highways : to Canterbury 100/. for the poor, and
40/. for the highways : to Rochester 20/. for the
poor, and 20/. for the highways : to Westminster
^ 100/. for the poor, and 40/. for the highways : to
^ Winchester one hundred marks for the poor, and
fifty for the highways : to Bristol, Glocester, Ches-
ter, Burton upon Trent, Thornton, Peterborough,
^ and Ely, 20/. apiece for the poor, and as much for
*^ the highways : to Worcester 40/. for the poor, and
^ 40/. for the highways : to Duresm one hundred
^ marks for the poor, and 40/. for the highways :
^' and to Carlisle 15/. for the poor, and as much for
^ the highways. In all about 550/. a year to the
^' poor, and alxmt 400/. a year for the highways.
^' Tliey were to inquire how this money was dis-
'< tributed ; and, if they saw cause, they might or-
^ der it to be applied to any other use which they
^ should ju^;e more charitable and convenient.''
But what followed upon this does not appear by the
records.

After the parliament was dissolved, the universU
ties made their applications to the king^ that they

X X 4

680 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK might not be included within the general words in
^^'' the act of dissolution of collies and firatemities.

secretaiy

1545.
rbeking

oonfirns Paget, *^ to represent to the king the great wimt of
of tbm uqu << schools, prcachors, and houses for orphans ; that

vcnitics.

beggary would drive the dergj to flatterjj
'* stition, and the old idolatry : there were raveDOiis
'* wolves about the king, that would devour univer-
*' sities, cathedrals, and chantries, and a ^thousand
*< times as much. Posterity would wonder at sudi
^' things : therefore he desired the universities mi^^t
'* be secured from their spoils." But the king did
quickly free them from these fears.
1546. ^0^ I enter into the last year of this king^s re^.
The war in France was managed with doubtful suc-
cess; yet the losses were greater on the English
side. And the forces being commanded by the eaii
of Surrey, who was brave, but unsuccessful, he was
not only blamed, but recalled ; and the earl of Hert-
' ford sent to command in his room. But he, being a
man of an high spirit, and disdaining the earl of
Hertford, who was now preferred before him, let
fall some words of high resentment and bitter con-
tempt, which not long after wrought his ruin. The
king was now alone in the war, which was very
chargeable to him ; and observing the progress that
the council of Trent was making, where, cardinal
Pool being one of the legates, he had reason to look
for some severe decree to be made against himself,
since none of the heretics of Germany were so much
hated by the court of Rome as he was : therefore he
listened to the counsels of peace. And though he
was not old, yet he felt such decajrs in his strength,
that, being extremely corpulent, he had no reason

T

THE REFORMATION. 681

to think he could live very long : therefore, that he book
might not leave his young son involved in a war of

such consequence, peace was concluded in Ju^® J p J^^'^^Jh
which was much to the king's honour, though the Fmooe.
taking and keeping of fiulloign (which, by this
peace, the king was to keep for eight years) cost
him above 1,300,000/.

Upon the peace, the French admiral Annebault, a new de-
came over to England. And now again a resolution fomutioo.
of going on with a reformation was set on foot ; for
it was agreed between the king and the admiral that
in both kingdoms the mass should be changed into
a communion ; and Cranmer was ordered to draw a
form of it. They also resolved to press the emperor
to do the like in his dominions, otherwise to make
War upon him: but how this project failed, does
Dot appear. The animosities, which the former
war had raised between the two kings, were con-
verted into a firm friendship ; which grew so strong
on Francis's part> that he never was seen glad at
any thing, after he had the news of the king^s
death.

But now one of the king^s angry fits took him at shuton't
the reformars, so that there was a new prosecution*^ ^'
of them Nicholas Shaxton, that was bishop of
Salisbury^ had been long a prisoner ; but this year,
he had said in his imprisonment, in the Counter in
Bread-street, thiU Chris f 9 natural body was not in
the sacrament, but that it was a sign andmemorial
of his body that was crucified for us. Upon this
he was iildicted^ and condemned to be burnt. But
the king sent the bishops of London and Worces-
ter to deal with him to recant ; which, on the ninth
of July^ he did, acknowledging, *< that that yeiur he

ess THE HISTOBY OF

BOOK << had fallen, in his old age, in the heptsfy oi the
: — *< Sacramentaries : but that he was now conyinoed

1546. « ^ ^g^ errw, bj^ttieir endeairoura whom the king
^ had sent to him. And iherefoie he thanked the
^ king for delivering him, both firom temporal and
^ eternal fire ;" and subscribed a paper of artidesi

Collect which will be found in the Collectimi. Upon this, he
had his pardon and dischai^ sent him the thirteeDth
of July, and soon after preached the sermon at the
burning of Anne Askew ; and wrote a book in de-
fence of the articles he had subscribed. What be-
came of him an Edward the Sixth's time, I cannot
tell : but I find he was a cruel prosecutor and burner
of protestants in queen Mary's days. Yet it seemi
those to whom he went over did not consider him
much, for they never raised him higher than to be
suflngan to the bishop of Ely. Others were also
indicted upon the same statute, who got off by re-
cantation, and were pardoned. But Anne Askew's
trial had a more bloody conclusion.

Fbetroa. She was noUy descended, and educated beyond

AMe^^Aj. what was ordinary in that age to those of her sex.

^^* But she was unfortunately married to one Kyme,
who, being a violent papist, drove her out of his
house, when he found she favoured the reformation.
So she came to London, where information being
given of some words that she had spoken against
the corporal presence in the sacrament, she was put
in prison ; upon which great applications were made
by many of her friends, to have her let out upon
bail. The bishop of London examined her, and,
after much pains, she was brought to set her hand
to a recantation, by which she acknowledged, that
^ the natural body of Christ was present in the sa-

u

€€

THE REFORMATION. 683

^ crament, after the consecration, whether the book

III
priest- were a good or an ill man ; and that, whether !—

it was presently consumed or reserved in the pix, ^^^^'
it was the true body of Christ." Yet she added
to her subscription, that she believed all things ac-
cording to the catholic faith, and not otherwise.
With this the bishop was not satisfied ; but, after
much ado, and many importunate addresses, she
was bailed in the end of March this year. But,
not long after that, she was again apprehended, and
examined before the king's council, then at Green-
wich, where she seemed very indifferent what they
did with her. She answered them in general words,
upon which they could fix nothing, and made some
sharp rq)artee6 upon the bishop of Winchester.
Some liked the wit and freedom of her discourse,
but others thought she was too forward. From
thence she was sent to Newgate, where she wrote
some devotions and letters, that show her to have
been a woman of most extraordinary parts. She
wrote to the king, ^' that, as to the Lwd's Supper,
*' she believed as much as Christ had said in it, and
^ as much as the catholic church from him did
^ teach." Upon Shaxton's recantation, they sent
him to her to prevail with her. But she, instead of
yielding to him, charged his inconstancy home upon
him. She had been oft at court, and was much fa-
voured by many great ladies there ; and it was be-
lieved the queen had showed kindness to her. So
the lord chancellor examined ha* of what favour or
encouragement she had from any in the oourt, par-
ticularly from the ^luchess of^ Suffolk, the countess
<^ Hertford, and some other ladies. But he could
-draw nothing from her, save that one in livery had

6M THE HISTOBY OP

BOOK bMught her some tnonej, which, he said, came firom
'"' two ladies in the court But they resolved to er-
1546. ^f(. fujrther confessions firom her. And therefore
carrying her to the Tower, they caused her to be
laid on the rack, and gave her a taste of it. Yet
she confessed nothing. That she was racked is
very certain ; for I find it in an original journal of
the transactions in the Tower, written by Anthony
Anthony. But Fox adds a passage that seems
scarce credible ; the thing is so' extraordinaiy, and
so unlike the character of the lord chancellor, wIkh
though he was fiercely zealous for the old suparsti-
tion, yet was otherwise a great person : it is, that

hm to- he commanded the lieutenant of the Tower to stretch

S^j^ her more ; but he refused to do it ; and, being fiir-
ther pressed, told him plainly he would not do it
The other threatened him, but to no purpose; so
the lord chancellor, throwing off his gown, drew the
rack so severely, that he almost tore her body asun-
der ; yet could draw nothing firom her, for she en-
dured it with unusual patience and courage. When
the king heard this, he blamed the lord chancellor
for his cruelty, and excused the lieutenant of the
Tower. Fox does not vouch any warrant for this,
so that though I have set it down, yet I give no en-
tire credit to it. If it was true, it shows the strange
influence of that religion, and that it corrupts the
noblest natures. Yet the poor gentlewoman's being
racked wrought no pity in the king towards her,
for he left her to be proceeded against according to
the sentence : she was carried to the stake in Smith-
field a little after that in a chair, not being able to

\n^\M stand through the torments of the rack. There

»urot, with * t • % % 1 • •

Ame were brought with her, at the same time, one Nioo-

THE REFORMATION. 685

las Belenian, a priest;. John Adams, a tailor; and book
John Lassels, one of the king's servants ; (it is likely

he was the same person that had discovered queen ^^^^'
Katharine Howard's incontinence, for which all the
popish party, to be sure, bore him no good-will.)
They were all convicted, upon the statute of the six
articles, for denying the corporal presence of Christ
in the sacrament. When they were brought thither,
Shaxton, to complete his apostasy, made a sermon of
the sacrament, and inveighed against their errors*
That being ended, they were tied to the stake ; and
then the lord chancellor sent and offered them their
pardon, which was ready passed under the seal, if
they would recant. But they loved not their lives
80 well as to redeem them by the loss of a good con<-
dcience; and therefore, encouraging one another to
suffer patiently for the testimony of the truth, so
they endured to the last, and were made sacrifices
by fire unto God. There were also two in Suffolk,
and one in Norfolk, burnt, on the same account, a
little. before this.

But that party at court, having incensed the a new de-
king much against those heretics, resolved to drive cSl^."*
it further, and to work the ruin both of the arch-
bishop of Canterbury, and of the queen : conclud-
ing, that, if these attempts were successful, they
should carry every thing else. They therefore re-
newed their complaints of the archbishop of Canter-
bury ; and told the king, that, though there were
evident proofs ready to be brought against him, yet,
because of his greatness, and the king's carriage
upon the former complaints, none durst appear
against him. But if he were once put in the Tower,
that men might hope to be heard, they undertook

686 THE HISTORY QF

BOOK to bring fuU and dear eTideaces cf his bdag a he-
"^ retic So the king conaentedt that he should be the

'^^* next day called befiore the council, and sent to the
Tower, if they saw cause for it. And now thejr
concluded him ruined. But in the night the king
sent sir Anthony Denny to Lambeth^ to bring the
archbishop to speak with him. And when he cam^
the king told him what infimnations had been
brought against him, and how fiur he had yielded to
them, that he should be sent to the Tower next day:
and therefivre desured to hear firom himself what he
had to say upon it. Cranmer thanked him, that he
had not left him in the dark, to be surprised in a
matter that concerned him so neariy. He acknow-
ledged the equity of the king^s proceedings ; and all
that he desired was, that he might be brought to
make his answer: and that, since he was to be
questioned for some of his opinions, judges might be
assigned who understood those matters. The king
heard this with astonishment, wondering to see a
man so little concerned in his own preservation:
The UDg*t '* but pleasantly told him, he was a fool that looked
ofwL?" " to bis own safety so little. For did he think,
'^ that, if he were once put in prison, abundance of
** false witnesses would not be suborned to ruin him?
'* Therefore, since he did not take care of himself,
** he would look to it." And so he ordered him
to appear next day before the council, upon their
summons ; and, when things were objected to him,
to say, that since he was a privy counsellor, he
desired they would use him as they would look to
be used in the like case: and therefore to move,
that his accusers might be brought face to face,
and things be a little better considered before he

THE REFORMATION. 687

was sent to the Tower. And if they refiiaed to book

III
grant that, then he was to appeal personally to the l—

king, (who intended to be absent that day,) and, ^^^^'
in token of it, should show them the king's seal-
ring, which he wore on his finger, and was well
known to them alL So the king, giving him his
ring, sent him privately home again. Next morn-
ing a messenger of the council came early, and sum-
moned him to appear that day before the coun-
cil. So he went over, but was long kept watting in
the lobby, before he was called in. At this unusual
sight many were astonished. But doctcnr Buts, the
king's physician, that loved Cranmer, and presumed
more on a diseased king than others durst do, went
and told the king what a strange thing he had seen :
the primate of all England waiting at the council-
door, among the fboUnen and servants." So the
king sent them word, that he should be presently
brought in ; which being done, they said, that there
were many informations against him, that all the
heresies that were in England came from him and
his chajdains. To which he answered as the king
had directed him. But they insisting on what was
before projected, he said. He was sorry to be thus
used by those with whom he had sat so long at
liiat board, so that he must aj^al from them to the
king : and with that took out the king's ring, and
showed it. This put them in a wonderful confusion ;
but they all rose up and went to the king, who
checked them *^ severely for using the archbishop so
*' unhandsomely. He said, he thought he had a
^ wiser council, than now 1» found they were. He
*^ p-otested, by the faith he owed to God, laying his
^^ hand on his breast, that if a prince could be obliged

«B8 THE mSTORT IE» t

«ooE f^^]fhi»n^etA,hBimibfAemKiAMtopimdtba^

.^J^ — "hetoQkbimtpbedvsBbrtftithftaaHl^ectbehadi

IMS. « and the person to mbam he «•■ iwMt keboUbg.'

The duke of Novfblk ewde » triffing excoe^ nd

arid, they meant w» hnrni to the mchtiafcop, M

only to rindiote 1^ iBaboea(7 117 each • triid, vrbiA

would hare freed l^nt Ai^ the eiperriMe that wen

cait OB hiau But the 1^ aimreved, he would itot

anffiBT moi, that wet»aadatar to Mm* to be hanAad

in that SaO^oa. . He hMlrthe ftotioM that mn

^'■"'■y thraSj and the malice that some of them bore

; toiitfaen^ irtndi he would either extinguish or pu-

hilh veej apcedily. So he commanded them all to

be ictnnciled to Cranmer ; which was done with the

:,, «atwaid ceremony of taking him by the hand ; and

AiiH.Bdi.VBS moit zeal tm his part, though the other part?

Oi^MT. did not so eerily lay down the hatred they bore him.
This I place at this time, though Parker, who ra>
lated it> names no year nor time in which it wsi
done ; but he leads us very near it, by saying, it wai
after the duke of Suffolk's death ; and this being
the only time after that in which the king was in
an ill humour against the reformers, I conclude it
fell out at this time.

^^^^ That party, finding it was in vain to push at

puiut Uie Cranmer any more, did never again endeavour it
Yet one design failing, they set on another against
the queen. She was a great favourer of the reform-
ers, and had frequently sermons in her privy-cham-
ber by some of those preachers ; which were not se-
cretly carried, but became generally known. ^Vhen
it came to the king's ears, he took no notice of it
And the queen carried herself, in alt other things.
not only with an exact conductj hut with that won-

THE REFORMATION. 689

derfbl CBre about the king^s person, which became a book

wife that was raised by him to so great an honour, —

that he was much taken with her: so that none ^^^^'
durst adventure on making any complaints against
her. Yet the king's distempo^ increasing, and his
peevishness growing with them, he became more
uneasy; and whereas she had frequently used to
talk to him of religion, and defended the opinion of
the reformers, in which he would sometimes plea-
santly maintain the argument ; now, becoming more
impatient, he took it ill at her hands. And she had
sometimes, in the heat of discourse, gone very far.
So one night, after she had left him, the king, being
displeased, vented it to the bishop of Winchester,
that stood by : and he craftily and maliciously struck
in with the king^s anger, and said all that he could
devise against the queen, to drive his resentments
higher ; and took in the lord chancellor into the de-
sign to assist him. They filled the king's head with
many stories of his queen, and some of her ladies ;
and said, they had favoured Anne Askew, and had
heretical books amongst them; and he persuaded
the king that they were traitors as well as heretics.
The matter went so far, that articles were drawn
against her, which the king signed ; for without that
it was not safe for any to impeach the queen. But
the lord chancellor putting up that paper carelessly,
it dropped from him ; and being taken up by one of
the queen's party, was carried to her. Whether the
king had really designed her ruin or not, is differ-
ently represented by the writers who lived near that
time : but she, seeing his hand to such a paper, had
reason to conclude herself lost. Yet, by advice of one
of her friends, she went to see the king, who received
VOL. I. Y y

690 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK her kindly, and set on a discourse about reli^on.
' ' But she answered, that women, by their first cre-
'^■'^' ation, were made subject to men; and they, being
made after the image of God, as the women were
after their image, ought to instruct their wives, who
were to learn of them ; and she much more was to
be taught by his majesty, who was a prince of such
excellent learning and wisdom. jVo/ so by .Si. Mary,
said the king, you are become a doctor able to in-
struct us, and not to be instructed by us. To which
she answered, that it seemed he had much mistaken
the freedom she had taken to argue with him, since
she did it partly to engage him in discourse, and so
put over the time, and make him forget his pain;
and partly to receive instructions from him, by which
she had profited much. And is it even so P said
the king; then we arejriend^ again. So he em-
braced her with great affection, and sent her away
with very tender assurances of his constant love ta
her. But the next day had been appointed for ca^
lyiog her, and some of her ladies, to the Tower.
The day being fair, the Idng went to take a little
air in tbe garden, and.aent for her to bear him com*
pany. As they were together, the lord chancdlor
came in, having about forty of the guard with hiffii
to have arrested the queen. But the king stepped
aside to him, and, after a little discourse, he wu
heard to call him kHavg,Jbol, and betut, and be
bade him get him out of his sight. The innocent
queen, who understood not that her danger was M
near, studied to mitigate the king's di8[deasure, and
interceded for the lord chancellor. But the king toll)
her, she had no reason to plead for him.

So this design miscarried ; which, as it absolutdf

I

THE REFORMATION. 691

disheartened the papists, so it did totally alienate book
the king from them; and in particular from the

bishop of Winchester, whose sight he could never ^^ "*
after this endure. But he made an humble sub-
mission to the king, which, though it preserved
him from further punishment, yet could not re-
store him to the king's favour. But the duke of tii* cause
Norfolk, and his son the earl of Surrey, fell under of Norfolk's
a deeper misfortune. The duke of Norfolk had *'"*^'***'
been long lord treasurer of England: he had done
great services to the crown on many signal occa-
sions, and success had always accompanied him.
His son, the earl of Surrey, was also a brave and
noble person, witty and learned to an high de-
gree, but did not command armies with such suc-
cess. He was much provoked at the earl of Hert-
ford's being sent over to France in his room, and
upon that had said, that within a little while they
should smart for it; with some other expressions
that savoured of revenge, and a dislike of the king,
and a hatred of the counsellors. The duke of
Norfolk had endeavoured to ally himself to the earl
of Hertford, and to his brother sir Thomas Seimour,
perceiving how much they were in the king's favour,
and how great an interest they were like to have
under the succeeding prince: and therefore would
have engaged his son, being then a widower, to
marry that earl's daughter ; and pressed his daugh-
ter, the duchess of Richmond, widow to the king's
natural son, to marry sir Thomas Seimour. But
though the earl of Surrey advised his sister to the
marriage projected for her, yet he would not consent
to that designed for himself; nor did the proposition
about his sister take efifect. The Seimours could

Y y 2

ea» THE HISTOBT OF

BOOK not but see the enmity the earl of Sun^ bore tiiem;
^"' and they might well be jealoiis of the greatness of that

1546. fiuniiy, which was not only too big lor a subject of
itsdf, but was raised so hig^ by the dependance of
the whole popish party» both at home and abraadly
that they were like to be very daii^geroos competi-
tors for the chief government of affaiA» if the - king
were once out of the way; whose disease was noir
growing so fast upon him, that he could not live
many weeks. Nor is it mdikdy that they persuaded
the king, that, if the earl of Surrey duNild many
the lady Mary, it might embroil his son's govenh
ment, and perhaps ruin him. And it was suggesfeedi
tiiat he had some such high project in his thou^iti^
both by his continuing unmarried, and hy his uaog
the arms of Edward the Confinsor, whidi of late he
had given in his coat without a duninutiqii. But, lo
complete the duke of Norfidk's ruin, his dudiess,
who had complained of his using hier ill, and hsd
been separated from him about four years, turned
informer against him. His son and daughter were
also in ill terms together : so the sister informed all
that she could against her brother. And one Mrs.
Holland, for whom the duke was believed to have
an unlawful affection, discovered all she knew : but
all amounted to no more than some passionate ex-
pressions of the son, and some complaints of the
father, who thought he was not beloved by the king
and his counsellors, and that he was ill used, in not
being trusted with the secret of affairs. And aB
persons being encouraged to bring informatioDS
against them, sir Richard Southwell charged the
earl of Surrey in some points that were of a higher
nature : which the earl denied, and desired to be

THE REFORMATION. 698

admitted, according to the martial law, to fight in book

his shirt with Southwell. But that not being granted, '.

he and his father were committed to the Tower. '^^^'
That which was most insisted on was, their giving
the arms of Edward the Confessor, which were only
to be given by the kings of England. This the earl
of Surrey justified ; and said, they gave their arms
according to the opinion of the king's heralds. But
all excuses availed nothing; for his father and he
were designed to be destroyed upon reasons of state,
for which some colours were to "be found out.

The earl of Surrey, being but a commoner, was 1547.
brought to his trial at Guildhall; and put upon an^^^^"^^
inquest of commoners, consisting of nine knights <^^^-
and three esquires, by whom he was found guilty of
treason, and bad sentence of death passed upon him,
which was executed on the nineteenth of January
at Tower-hill. It was generally condemned as an
act of high injustice and severity, which loaded the
Seimours with a popular odium, that they could
never overcome. He was much pitied, being a man
of great parts and high courage, with many other
noble qualities.

But the king, who never hated nor ruined any The duke'g
liody by halves, resolved to complete the misfortunes to the
of that family by the attainder of the father. And *"°^'
as all his eminent services were now forgotten, so
the submissions he made could not allay a displea-
sure, that was only to be satisfied with his life and
fortune. He Wrote to the king, protesting his inno-
cency : ** that he had never a thought to his preju-
^ dice, and could not imagine what could be laid to
" his charge. He had spent his whole life in his

Yy 3

" service, and did not know that ever he had of-
- " fended any person ; or that any were displeased
" with him, except for prosecuting the breakers of
" the act about the sacrament of the altar. But in
" that, and in ever>' thing else, as he had been al-
" ways obedient to the king's laws, so he was re-
" solved still to obey any laws he should make. He
" desired he might be examined with his accusers
*' face to face, Iwfore the king, or at least before his
'* council ; and if it did not appear that he was
" wrongfully accused, let him be punished as he de-
*• served. In conclusion, he be^ed the king would
" have pity on him, and restore him to his favour;
** taking all his lands or goods from him, or as much
*' of them as he pleased." Yet all this had no effect
on the king. So he was desired to make a more formal
submission ; which he did on the tweltlh of Januarr
undor his hand, ten priTj counsdlon bang witaesaei.
In it he confessed, " First, his discovering the secrets
" of the king's council. Secondly, his concealing
** his son's treason, in using to give the arms of St
" Edward the Confessor, which did only belong to
" the king, and to which his son had no right
" Thirdly, that he had, ever since his father's death,
" borne, in the first quarter of his arms, the arms of
" England ; with the difference of the labels of siivo',
" that are the proper arms of the prin<:e ; which wis
*■ done in prejudice of the Idng and the prince, and
" gave occasion for disturbing or intemiptii^ the
" succession to the crown of the realm. This he
*' acknowledged was high treason ; he confessed be
" deserved to be attainted of high treason, and
" humbly beg^ped the king's mercy and compassioD."

THE REFORMATIOxV. 696

He yielded to all this, hoping, by such a submission book
and compliance, to have overcome the king's dis-

pleasure. But his expectations failed him. ^^"^^^

, A parliament was called, the reason whereof was '^^^ par-
liament

pretended to be, the coronation of the prince of meeu.
Wales. But it was thought the true cause of call-
ing it was, to attaint the duke of Norfolk ; for which
they had not colour enough to do it in a trial by his
peers ; therefore an attainder by act of parliament
was thought the better way. So it was moved, that
the king, intending to crown his son, prince of
Wales, desired they would go on with all possible
haste in the attainder of the duke of Norfolk ; that
so these places, which he held . by patent, might be
disposed of by the king to such as he thought fit,
who should assist at the coronation. And upon this
slight pretence, since a better could not be found,
the bill of attainder was read the first time on the
eighteenth of January : and on the nineteenth and
twentieth it was read the second and third time;
and so passed in the house of lords, and was sent The dake
down to the commons, who, on the twenty-fourth, ^[tiaated!.^
sent it up also passed. On the twenty-seventh the
lords were ordered to be in their robes, that the
royal assent might be given to it ; which the lord
chancellor, with some others, joined in commission,
did give by virtue of the king's letters patents. And
it had been executed the next morning, if the king^s
death had not prevented it. Upon what grounds
this attainder was founded, I can only give this ac-
count from the thirty-fourth act of the first parlia^
ment of queen Mary ; in which this act is declared
null and void by the common law of the land : for I
cannot find the act itself upon record. In the act of

Y y 4

1

tooK »qpeait:kiMdy«*.TM|tlipB»wiiitn»-ipgiiriti
jHl^«*iti t^act of atfafadwplwt^dp^iiBBiiiiri wmM rf

,^ii*-^«ilt*

««quPB of the yin»ew1fai»'«Cfte4M|f—*di^pite,
>» ibef iMpaed if. iBifc utte JWft i«f rsipcttl fei^K dM|
«««lial the oidy tku^i»i^>fAich/k(i mii chiigai
it w«% ftr bearinf (tf ani«^ iriikkhBliand |di «lo»
f^ ton hMl hamB, htM^mi^mfAittriAmikiimidmgt
fAam; bqtb in Aa,Mwiifmpemimot, aaftinihc; ai^
•r «i faU prageutOB, irhic^thif3a^|^rfJ«il#ri^.-hB»
*^4>iidgiTO»a»lyeooA«idari«tpiiliri^>Mrtiifr:rfw
<! ooid It did appear i% ikltim adM^^hiiiiw fti<
9 died «fterthe^drfe.oi!ttAnui»wiiliiiiit!thiit tha
*ydiiS 4»ly eo^paRMd tiMal Hf^^mMmiirtmti hitt
. f« did not give it himadf p laiditlutit #^aaiafpai
«iby any wedrd that thqr gi>ia fL'^:i^hrifc 4ha Idif
*< did not 8ig» tt» conuaUnOn-ivtth idriMni hand^
** his stamp being onty set to it, aadikhat not to die
upper, but tbe nether part of it, oontraiy to the
king's custom." All these particulars, thoo{^
cleared afterwards^ I mention now, because thej
give light to this matter.
[is death As soou as the act was passed, a warrant was sent
^^tt to the lieutenant of the Tower to cut off his head
'^^'*' the next morning ; but the king djdng in the night,
the lieutenant could do nothing on that warrant
And it seems it was not thought advisable to b€|;iii
the new king's reign with such an odious execution.
And thus the duke of Norfolk escaped very nar«
rowly. Both parties descanted on this differently.
The conscientious papists said, it was God's just
judgment on him, who had in all things followed the
king's: pleasure, oftentimes against his own con-
science ; that he should smart under that power,^

THE REFORMATION. 697

which himsdf had helped so considerably to make it book
be raised so high. The protestants could not but

obaenre an hand of God in measuring out such a ^^'^^*
bard measure to him, that was so heavy on all those
poor people that were questioned for heresy. But foz.
Cranmer's carriage in this matter was suitable to the
other parts of his life ; for he withdrew to Croyden^
and would not so much as be present in parliament
when so unjust an act was passed ; and his abaence
at this time was the more considerable, since the
king was so dangerously ill, that it must be-con*
duded it could be no slight cause that made him
withdraw at such a time. But the duke of Norfolk
had been his constant enemy ; therefore he would
not so much as be near the public councils when so
strange an act was passing. But, at the same time,
the bishop of Winchester was officiously hanging on
in the court ; and though he was forbid to come to
council, yet always, when the counsellors went into
the king's bed-chamber, he went with them to the
door, to make the world believe he was still one of
the number, and, staying at the door till the rest
came out, he returned with them. But he was ab-
solutely lost in the king's opinion.

There is but one other step of foreign busikiess in The eni-
this reign ; which was, an embassy sent over by the ^^l L ^'
duke of SiEucony, to let the king know of the league ^^^t!!^^^
between the pope and the emperor, for the extirpa-
tion of heresy ; and that the emperor was making
war on him, and the other princes, in pursuance of
that league. Therefore he desired the king's assist-
ance. But at the same time the emperor did by his
agents every where disown that the war was made
upon a religious account ; and said, it was only to

egB THE HISTORY OF

BOOK maintain the rights of the empire, which those
'"' princes had afironted. So the king answered, that,

1M7. gg go^iQ ng it |]id appear to him that religion was the
cause of the war, he would assist them. But that
which made this so involved was, that though at
Rome the pope dedared it was a hoij war, and or<*
dered prayers and processions to be made tor suc-
cess ; yet the emperor in all his declarations took no
notice of religion : he had also divided the protest-
ant party, so that some of them joined with him,
and others were neutrals. And when in Germany
itself this matter was so little understood, it was
easy to abuse strangers by giving them a wrong ac-
count of it.

Tbc king's The king was overgrown with corpulency and
&tnes8, so that he became more and more unwieldy.
He could not go up or down stairs, but as he was
raised up, or let down, by an engine. And an old
sore in his leg became very uneasy to him : so that
all the humours in his body sinking down into his
leg, he was much pained, and became exceeding fro-
ward and intractable, to which his inexcusable seve-
rity to the duke of Norfolk and his son may be in a
great measure imputed. His servants durst scarce
speak to him, to put him in mind of his approach-
ing end. And an act of parliament, which was
made for the security of the king's life, had some
words in it against the foretelling of his death,
which made every one afraid to speak to him of it ;
lest he in his angry and imperious humours should
have ordered them to be indicted upon that statute.
But he felt nature declining apace, and so made the
will that he had left behind him at his last going into
France be written over again, with this only differ-

THE REFORMATION. 699

ence, that Grardiner bishop of Winchester, whom he book
had appointed one of the executors of his will, and

of the counsellors to his son till he'came of age, was ^^^^'
now left out : of which when sir Anthony Brown
put the king in mind, apprehending it was only an
omission, he answered, that he knew Gardiner's
temper well enough, and though he could govern
him, yet none of them would be able to do it ; and
that he would give them much trouble. And when
Brown, at another time, repeated the motion to the
king, he told him, if he spake more of that, he would
strike him out of his will too. The will was said to
be signed the thirtieth of December It is printed
at large by Fuller, and the most material parts of it
by Heylin. So I need say little of it ; only the most
signal clause in it was, that he excluded the line of
Scotland out of the succession, and preferred the two
daughters of the French queen by Charles Brandon
to them. And this leads me to discover several
things concerning this wiU, which have been hither-
to unknown. I draw them from a letter written to
sir William Cecil, then secretary of state to queen
Elizabeth, (afterwards lord Burleigh,) by William
Maitland, of Lethingtoun, secretary of state to the
queen of Scotland. This Maitland was accounted a
man of the greatest parts of any in his nation at
that time ; though his treachery in turning over to
the party that was against the queen very much -
blemished his other qualities; but he expiated his
fault by a real repentance, which appeared in his re-
turning to his duty, and losing all. afterwards in her
quarrel. His letter will be found in the Collection. S**"'J*-

* , , . - Numb. 30.

The substance and design of it is, to clear the right His latter
his mistress had to the crown of England, in case J^^' **''

TOO

THE HISTORY

BOOK the queen should die without i
'"• ThPfPin, after he had answera

1547- he come* to this of the will. T€
" according to the act of parlian:
" was to be signed with his own
" was only signed by the stamg
" never ordered the stamp to be
" been oft desired to sign it, but
" off; but whdn they saw his <
" one William Clark, servant to
" put the stamp to it, and some g
" waiting without were called ii
** neases. For this he appealed i
" the lord Paget, and desired th
** Chester and Northampton, the
** sir William Feb«, ur Henry
" Berkeley,sir Anthony I>enny,do
" others might be examined ; ai
" sitions might be entered into
" also appealed to the original
" would appear, that it was nc
" stamped ; and that not being c
" of parliament, which in such e
" must be strictly taken, the wi)
Thus it appears what vulgar en
world : and though, for seventy-f
tish race has enjoyed the crow
after so long a possession it is ^
clear a title which is universally ;
the reader will not be ill pleai
grounded that pretence was, wh
very seditiously during the reign i
for excluding that line.

But if this will was not signed

THE REFORMATION. TOl

grants were certainly made by him on his death* book
bed ; one was to the city of London, of five hun-

dred marks a year for endowing an hospital, which ^^'*'-
was called Christ's Hospital; and he ordered the
church of the Franciscans, a little within Newgate,
to be opened, which he gave to the hospital: this
was done the third of January. Another was of Trin-
ity college in Cambridge, one of the noblest founda-
tions in Christendom. He continued in a decay till
the twenty-seventh of the month ; and then, many
signs of his approaching end appearing, few would
awenture on so unwelcome a thing as to put him
in mind of hia change, then imminent ; but sir An-
thony Denny had the honesty^ and courage to do it,
and desired him to prepare for death, and remember
his former life, and to call on God for mercy through
Jesus Christ. Upon which the king expressed his
grief for the sins of his past life ; yet he said he
trusted in the mercies of Christ, which were greater
than they were. Then Denny asked him, if any
churchman should be sent for ; and he said, if any,
it should be archbishop Cranmer ; and after he had
rested a little, finding his spirits decay apace, he or-
dered him to be sent for to Croyden, where he was
then: but before he could come, the king was
speechless. So Cranmer desired him to give some
sign of his dying in the faith of Christ, upon which
he squeezed his hand, and soon after died, after he
had reigned thirty-seven years and nine months, in
the six and fiftieth year of his age. His death was
kept up three days ; for the Journals of the house of
Icmis show, that they continued reading bills, and
going on in business, till the thirty-first ; and no
sooner did the lord chancellor signify to them that

tht pojil

p«ty.

TOa THE HISTORY

the king was dead, and that t
.thereto dissolved. It is certain
no being after the king's breath
sitting till the thirty-first shon
death was not generally known s
The reasons of concealing it so lo
that they were considering whi
duke of Norfolk ; or that the Se
their matters, so as to be secure
before they published the king's
adventure on adding any furthe
to that which is done with so n
ment by the lord Herbert, but si
wholly to him ; only adding an ai
est part of it, the attainders tl
thirteen years of his life ; which
within this book, of which 1 hai
lation to the conclusion of it.
In the latter part of his reig
, things that seem great severitiei
are represented by the writers o
'■ whose relations are not a little i
faint excuses and the mistaken
of the protestant historians hav
was naturally impetuous, and co
cation ; the times were very tii
were generally addicted to th
especially in the northern parts ; '
were both numerpus and weal
his implacable enemy ; the emf
able prince, and, lieing then xm
thcrlands, had many advantages
signed against England. Cardi
man, was going over all the cou

THE REFORMATION. 709

to persuade a league against England, as being a booic
thing of greater necessity and merit than a war___!_
against the Turk. This being, without the least ag- ^^'^'^'
gravation, the state of affairs at that time, it must
be confessed he was sore put to it. A superstition
that was so blind and headstrong, and enemies that
were both so powerful, so spiteful, and so industri-
ous, made rigour necessary; nor is any general of
an army more concerned to deal severely with spies
and intelligencers, than he was to proceed against
all the pope's adherents, or such as kept a correspond-
ence with Fool. He had observed in history, that, upon
much less provocation than himself had given, not
only several emperors and foreign princes had been
dispossessed of their dominions ; but two of his own
ancestors, Henry the Second, and king John, had
been driven to great extremities, and forced to un-
usual and most indecent submissions, by the means
o£ the popes and their clergy.

The pope's power over the clergy was so absolute,
and their dependance and obedience to him was so
implicit ; and the popish clergy had so great an in-
terest in the superstitious multitude, whose con-
sciences they governed ; that nothing but a stronger
passion could either tame the clergy, or quiet the
peojde. If there had been the least hope of impunity,
the last part of his reign would have been one con-
tinued rebellion ; therefore, to prevent a more pro-
fuse effusion of blood, it seemed necessary to execute
laws severely in some particular instances.

There is one calumny that runs in a thread
through all the historians of the popish side, which
not a few of our own have ignorantly taken up, that
many were put to death for not swearing the king's^

704 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK guptremacy. It is an impadent fSedsehood; for not
so much as one person suffered on that aocoant:

^^^^' nor was there any law for any such oath, before the
parliament in the twenty-eighth year of the king's
reign, when the unsufferable bull of pc^ Paul the
Third engaged him to lock a little woore to his own
safety. Then indeed, in the oath for maintaining
the succession of the crown, the subjects were re-
quired, under the pains of treason, to swear that the
king was supreme head of the church of England ;
but that was not mentioned in the former oath, that
was made in the twenty-fifth, and ^lacted in the
twenty-sixth year of his reign. It cannot but be
confessed, that, to enact under pain of death that
none should deny the king^s titles, and to proceed
upon that against offenders, is a very different thing
from forcing them to swear the king to be the su-
preme head of the church.
1535. The first instance of these capital proceedings was
uiu^^n" i^ Easter-term, in the beginning of the twenty-se-
foVdc^ing venth year of his reign. Three priors and a monk
the king's of the Carthusian order were then indicted of trea-
son, for saying, Tnat the king was not supreme
head under Christ of the church of JEng/^ind,
These were, John Houghton, prior of the Charter-
house near London; Augustin Webster, prior of
Axholme; Robert Laurence, prior of Bevoll; and
Richard Re3molds, a monk of Sion : this last was
esteemed a learned man for that time and that order.
They were tried in Westminster-hall by a commis-
sion of oyer and terminer : they pleaded A^ot gtiUtyi
but the jury found them guilty, and judgment was
given that they should suffer as traitors. The re-
cord mentions no other particulars ; but the writers

THE REFORMATION. 705

of the popish side make a splendid recital of the book
courage and constancy they expressed both in their

trial and at their death. It was no difficult thing ^^^^'
for men so used to the l^end, and the making of
fine stories for saints and martjrrs of their orders, to
dress up their narratives with much pomp. But as
their pleading Not guilty to the indictment shows no
extraordinary resolution; so the account that is
given by them of one Hall^ a secular priest, that
died with them^ is so false, that there is good rea-
son to suspect alL He is said to have suffered on
the same account ; but the record of his attainder
gives a very different relation of it.

He and Robert Feron were indicted at the same And Haii,
time^ for having said many spiteful and treason- ^^piruig'
able things; as, "That the king was a tyrant, anjfj'*^*
^ heretic, a robber, and an adulterer ; that they
^^ hoped he should die such a death as king John
'* and Richard the Third died ; that they looked
^ when those Jn Ireland and Wales should invade
^* England ; and they were assured that three parts
of four in England would be agamst the king:
they also said, that they should never live merrily
till the king and the rulers were plucked by the
pates, and brought to the pot ; and that it would
<« never be well with the church till that was done.**
Hall had not only said this, but had also written it
to Feron the tenth of March that year. When
they were brought to the bar, they at first pleaded
JVat guilty ; but full proof being brought, they
:tbem8elves confessed the indictment before the jury
went aside, and put themselves on the king^s mercy :
upon which, this being an imagining and contriving
botfi war against the king, and the king's death,
VOL. I. z z

€€
€4

BOOK judgment Wu £^V« w in emmf of teesMB s ^ but m
™' ^iMMiaD bong ««lrti fie^^

^P^/^ o : TIm^ prboeected mi irafJka- inr JbttleiMenii : Iml
it lUnity^tMm tiieie iMi j«d
i^g^r aild temuiier^ kf mVbi^ Hmip^i^ ifidfle^
MoB^ WilUam EotteiPi imd Srib«kiipnif&riq^
Hme mo^ks cTtlieClmv^^^lioittia Hear lUttidiiii, ime
iiidficted nf trwsoii, te has^aig msM, mM^WmtmeUt^
iftlt iof May,/' ihfit Ifliqr^ mitt^ waM

^ytmamt to be obedfaBt^to ihe^loaq^s ii^jtmm
** 88 true, lawfiiU veAtib&SkMi mtbgeMi ^^of^tAeMm
f to be flupreme headitm eartb oi^ tiii ihit rh cf
!lfi»(^d^ Thej all tfkadedl ^yiifc #iii%; but
vene inind gqflly tby^tiie^aq^iaiil jii;^^ mm
l^vfim.t Wben tftej wofe tendefliiiMii th^idened
tJiat they might receive the body of Christ hdkat
their death. But (as judge Spdman writ) the coDTt
would not grant it, since that was never done in
such cases but by order from the king. Two days
after that, they were executed. Two oth^r monks
of that same order, John Rochester and James
Wolver, suffered on the same account at York in
May this year. Ten otber Carthusian monks were
shut up within their cells, where nine of them died;
the tenth was hanged in the beginning of Augast
Concerning those persons, I find this said in som^
original letters, that they had bAught over into
England, and vented in it, some' books that were
written beyond sea against the king's marriage, sod
his other proceedings ; which being found in their
house, they were pressed to peruse the books thit
were written iw the king,^t obstinafedy refiisidlc^

THE REFORMATION. 707

do it; they had also been involved in the business book

III
of the Maid of Kent, for which, though all the com-

plices in it, except those who suffered for it, were *^^'^'
pardoned by act of parliament, yet such as had been
concerned in it were still under jealousy : and it is
no wonder that, upon new provocations, they met
with the uttermost rigour of the law.

These trials made way for two others that wereFUber't
more signal; of the bishop of Rochester and sir^eiih*"**
Thomas More. The first of these had been a pri-
soner above a year, and was very severely used : he
complained, in his letters to Cromwell, that he had
neither clothes nor fire ; being then about fourscore.
This was understood at Rome ; and upon it, pope
Qement, by an officious kindness to him, or rather
in spite to king Henry, declared him a cardinal, and
sent him a red hat. When the king knew this, he
sent to examine him about it ; but he protested he
had used no endeavours to procure it, and valued it
so little, that if the hat were lying at his feet, he
would not take it up. It never came nearer him
than Picardy ; yet this did precipitate his ruin. But
if be had kept his opinion of the king^s supremacy
to himself, they could not have proceeded further.
He would not do that, but did upon several occa-
sions speak against it ; so he was brought to his
trial on the seventeenth of June. The lord chancel-
lor, the duke of Suffolk, and some other lords, toge-
ther with the judges, sat upon him by a comndssion
of oyer and terminer. He pleaded Not guilty ;
but, being found guilty, judgment was passed on
him to die as a traitor ; but he was, by a warrant
from the king, beheaded. Upon the twenty-second
of June, being the day of his execution, he dressed

zz 2

T08 THE HISTOBY OF

BOOK himself with more than ordinary care ; and what
^"' iiin man took notice of it» he toM him he was to be

1^^* that day a bridegroom. As he was led to the {dace

of execution, being stopped in the way by the crowd,

he opened his New Testament^ and prayed to thb

purpose ; that as that book had been his GompanUn

and chief comfort in his imprisonment, so then some

place might turn up to him, that might comfinrt Uin

in his last passage. This being said, he opened the

book at a venture, in which these words of St. JofaD'i

Gospel turned up; 7%tt is Iffe eternal^ to bum

^ Aee the only true God, and Jesus Okrist wiem

thou hast sent. So be shut the book with muiA as-

tisfiEu^tion, and all the way was repeating and medi-

: tatiug on them. When he came to the scaffold, he

\ pronounced the Te Deum ; and, after some otkr

devotions, his head was cut off.
m>di». iphus died John Fisher, fabhop of Rochester, is
the eightieth year of his age. He was a learned
and devout man, but much addicted to the supersti-
tions in which he had been bred up : and that led
him to great severities against all that opposed them.
He had been for many years confessor to the king^s
grandmother, the countess of Richmond ; and it was
believed that he persuaded her to those noble designs
for the advancement of learning, of founding two
colleges in Cambridge, St. John's and Christ's college,
and divinity professors in both universities. And, in
acknowledgment of this, he was chosen chancellor
of the university of Cambridge. Henry the Seventh
gave him the bishopric of Rochester ; which he, fol-
lowing the rule of the primitive church, would never
change for a better : he used to say, his church w»
his wife, and he would never part with her, because

\

THE REFORMATION. 709

she was poor. He continued in great favour with book
the king till the business of the divorce was set on

foot ; and then he adhered so firmly to the queen's
cause, and the pope's supremacy, that he was carried.
by that headlong into great errors, as appears by
the business of the Maid of Kent. Many thought
the king ought to have proceeded against him rather
upon that, which was a point of state, than upon the
supremacy, which was matter of conscience. But
the king was resolved to let all his subjects see there
was no mercy to be expected by any that denied
his being supreme head of the church ; and there-
fore made him and More two examples for terri-
Qnmg the rest. This being much censured beyond
sea, Gardiner, that was never wanting in the
most servile compliances, wrote a vindication of the
king's proceedings. The lord Herbert had it in
his hands, and tells us, it was written in elegant
Latin, but that he thought it too long, and others
judged it was too vehement, to be inserted in his
History.

On the first of July, sir Thomas More was brought More'i trial
to his trial. The special matter in his indictment is, ^° ^
that, on the seventh of May preceding, before Crom-
weU, Bedyl, and some others, that were pressing
him concerning the king's supremacy, he said he
would not meddle with any such matter ; and was
fully resolved to serve God, and think upon his pas-
sion, and his own passage out of this world. He
had also sent divers messages by one Greorge Gold
to Fisher, to encourage him in his obstinacy : and
said, ** the act of parliament is like a sword with two
*• edges ; for if a man answer one way, it will con-
*' found his soul; and if he answer awotYvex ^^l^/\\*

z z3

ihiif 11,1- i-.uptffnuty : and a
I iiiilii tiof Ih- nii|.tf.n„. /.tad of

THE REFORMATION. 711

was brought to the bar^he pleaded Nat guilty ;^ but, book
being found guUty, judgment was given against him

a traitor. He received it with that equal temper '^^^'
^ qf mind, which he had showed in both conditions
qf life, and then set himself wholly to prepare for
'^ death : he expressed great contempt of the world,
^ i|Od that he was weary of life, and longed for death ;
^ ifhich was so little terrible to him, that his ordinary
4l(Cetiousness remained with him even on the scaffold.
^ X% was censured by many, as light and indecent ;
* Imt others said, that way having been so natural to
' iliin on all other occasions, it was not at all affected ;
' . but showed that death did no way discompose him,
^ Vnd could not so much as put him out of his or-
^ 4wia]7 humour: yet his rallying every thing on
tbc scaffold was thought to have more of the stoic
^ than the Christian in it. After some time spent in
> secret devotions, he was beheaded on the sixth of

July.
^ Thus did sir Thomas More end his days, in the his charac-
r fifty-third year of his age. He was a man of rare
irirtues and excellent parts: in his youth he had
£reer thoughts of things, as appears by his Utopia,
nod his Letters to Erasmus ; but afterwards he be-
came superstitiously devoted to the interests and
passions of the popish clergy : and, as he served
« them when he was in authority, even to assist them
in all their cruelties ; so he employed his pen in the
pame cause, both in writing against all the new opin-
ions in general, and in particular against Tindal,
Frith, and Barnes ; as also an unknown writer, who
seemed of neither party, but reproved the comip.
tions of the dei^y, and condemned their cruel pro-
ceedings. More was no divine at all ; and it is plaiu

z z 4

712 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK to any, that reads his writings, that he knew nothing

If I

of antiquity, beyond the quotations he found in the

1535. canon law, and in the master of the sentences ; (only
he had read some of St. Austin's treatises ;) for upon
all points of controversy, he quotes only what he
found in these collections : nor was he at all conver-
sant in the critical learning upon the scriptures;
but his peculiar excellency in writing was, that be
had a natural easy expression, and presented all the
opinions of popery with their fair side to the reader,
disguising or concealing the black side of them with
great art ; and was no less dexterous in exposing all
the ill consequences that could follow on the doctrine
of the reformers ; and .had upon all occasions great
store of pleasant tales, which he applied wittily to
his purpose. And in this consists the great strength
of his writings, which were designed rather for the
rabble, than for learned men. But for justice, con-
tempt of money, humility^ and a true generosity of
mind, he was an example to the age in which he
lived.

But there is one thing unjustly added to the praise
of these two great men, or rather feigned, on design
to lessen the king's honour; that Fisher and he
penned the book which the king wrote against Lu-
ther. This Sanders first published^ and Bellarmin
and others since have taken it up upon his author-
ity. Strangers may be pardoned such errors, but
they are inexcusable in an Englishman : for in
More's printed works there is a letter written by
him out of the Tower to Cromwell, in which he
gives an account of his behaviour concerning the
king's divorce and supremacy ; among other particu-
lars, one is, " That, when the king showed him his

THE REFORMATION. 718

: against Luther, in which he had asserted the book
I's primacy to be of divine right, More desired

1535.

to leave it out ; since, as there had been many
ests between popes and other princes, so there
it fall in some between the pope and the king :
efore he thought it was not fit for the king to
ish any thing, which might be afterwards
e use of against himself; and advised him, ei-

to leave out that point, or to touch it very
ierly." But the king would not follow his
il, being perhaps so fond of what he had writ,
e would rather run himself upon a great incon-
ice, than leave out any thing that he fancied so
nitten. This shows that More knew that book
Titten by the king^s own pen ; and either San-
lever read this, or maliciously concealed it, lest
uld discover his foul dealing,
ese executions so terrified all people, that there
no further provocations given ; and all persons

took the oaths, or did so dexterously conceal
opinions, that, till the rebellions of Lincolnshire
he north broke out, none suffered after this
a public account. But when these were quiet-
len the king resolved to make the chief authors
saders of those commotions public examples to
est. The duke of Norfolk proceeded against

of them by martial law ; there were also trials
mmon law of a great many more that were
I prisoners, and sent up to London. The lords Atuindm
Y and Hussie were tried by their peers, thebeuion
uis of Exeter sitting steward. And a commis- ^^
of oyer and terminer being issued out for the
of the rest, sir Robert Constable, sir John Bul-
and his lady, sir Francis Pigot, sir St^^ViijCGL

714 THE HISTORY OF

BOOK Haniilton» and sir Thomas Piercr, and Aflk» that

III "

^ had been their captain; with the abbots of Walkj,

1^^* Jerveux^ Bridlington, Lent«in» WobuTn» and KiDg-
steodt and Mackrall the monk, that first raised the
Lincblnshire rebellion, with sixteen more, were in-
dicted of high treason for the late rebellions. And,
after all the steps of the rebellion were reckoned up^
k is added in the indictment, that they had met to-
1537. gether on the seventeenth of January, and oonsoUid
how to renew it, and prosecute it further^ being a-
touraged by the new risings that were then in the
north, by which they had fi>rfisited all the favour, to
^j which they could have preteinded, by virtue of the

indemnity that was granted in the end of Decem-
ber, and of the pardons whidi they had taken out
They were aU found guilty, and had judgment as is
cases of treason : divers of them were carried down
into Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and executed in
the places where their treasons were committed;
but most of them suffered at London, and, among

Hau. others, the lady Bulmer (whom others call sir
John Bulmer's harlot) was burnt for it in Smith-
field.

Centum The only censure that passed on this was, that

puted up-

on it advantages were taken on too slight grounds to break
the king's indemnity and pardon ; since it does not
appear, that, after their pardon, they did any thing
more than meet and consult. But the kingdom wai
so shaken with that rebellion, that, if it had not been
for the great conduct of the duke of Norfolk, the
king had by all appearance lost his crown. And it
will not seem strange, that a king (especiaUy so tem-
pered as this was) had a mind to strike terror into
the rest of his subjects, by some signal examples, and

THE REFORMATION. 716

to put out of the way the chief leaden of that de- book

III

sign : nor was it to be wondered at^ that the abbots.

and other clergymen, who had been so active in that ^^^^*
commotion, were severely handled. It was by their
means that the discontents were chiefly fomented ;
they bad taken all the oaths that were enjoined
them, and yet continued to be still practising against
tte state ; which, as it was highly contrary to the
peaceable doctrines of the Christian religion, so it
was in a special manner contrary to the rules which
they professed, that obliged them to forsake the
world, and to follow a religious and spiritual course
of life.

The next example of justice was, a year after 1538.
this, of one Forrest, an Observant fiiar; he hadf°^r^'[.
been, as Sanders said, confessor to queen Katherine, H^" '"'^
but it seems departed from her interests ; for he in-
sinuated himself so into the king, that he recovered
bis good opinion. Being an ignorant and lewd man,
be was accounted by the better sort of that house,
to which he belonged in Greenwich, a reproach to
their order; (concerning this, I have seen a large
account in an original letter written by a brother of
the same house.) Having regained the king's good
opinion, he put all those who had favoured the di-»
vorce under great fears, for he proceeded cruelly
against them. And one Rainscroft, being suspected
to have given secret intelligence of what was done
among them, was shut up, and so hardly used, that
be died in their hands ; which was (as that letter re-
lates) done by friar Forrest's means. This friar was
found to have denied the king's supremacy; lor
though he himself had sworn it, yet he had infiised
it into many in confession, that the king was not tke

716 THE HISTORY

BOOK supreme head of the church. B
-these practices, which were so c

'^^- that he had taken, he answered,
" oath with his outward man, h
** had never consented to it." I
trial, and accused of several her
he held, he submitted himself to
this he had more ireedom allowe
but some coming to bim, diverte
mission he had offered; so that
abjuration was brought him, hf
hand to it : upon which he was
heretic. The records of these p
but the boob of that time say,
gospel : it is like it was upon
without the determination of tl
authority ; upon which several v
communion have said indecent a
of the holy scriptures. He was
field, where were present the loi
offer him his pardon, if he wou
made a sermon against his err
persuade him to recant : but he
mer opinions ; so he was put to
vere manner. He was hanged
middle, and the great image tha
Wales was broken to pieces, an
bum him. He showed great u
and ended his life in an ungo
says ; who adds this character c
" little knowledge of God and h
" less trust in him at his ending
In winter that year, a corrt
covered with cardinal Pool, wl

THE REFORMATION. 717

his treasonable designs against the king. His brother book
sir Geofrey Pool discovered the whole plot : for which

the marquis of Exeter, (that was the king's cousin- J^^^^
german by his mother, who was Edward the Fourth's ceeding.
daughter,) the lord Montacute, the cardinal's bro- dioai Pool's
ther, sir Geofrey Pool, and sir Edward Nevill, were "***
sent to the Tower in the beginning of November*
They were accused for having maintained a corre-^
spondence with the cardinal, and for expressing an
hatred of the king, with a dislike of his proceedings,
and a readiness to rise upon any good opportunity
that might offer itself.

The special matter brought against the lord Mon-
tacute and the marquis of Exeter, who were tried by
their peers on the second and third of December, in
the thirtieth year of this reign, is, ^* That whereas
'* cardinal Pool, and others, had cast off their allegi-
'' ance to the king, and gone and submitted them-
'* selves to the pope, the king's mortal enemy ; the
** lord Montacute did, on the twenty-fourth of July,
'^ in the twenty-eighth year of the king's reign, a few
'* months before the rebellion broke out, say, that he
*^ liked well the proceedings of his brother the car-
«< dinal, but did not like the proceedings of the realm;
«< and said, I trust to see a change of this world ; I
'* trust to have a fair day upon those knaves that
^' rule about the king ; and I trust to see a merry
** world one day." Words to the same purpose w6re
also charged on the marquis: the lord Montacute
further said, " I would I were over the sea with my
** brother, for this world will one day come to stripes;
^* it must needs so come to pass, and I fear we shall
/' lack nothing so much as honest men. He also
^< said, he had dreamed that the king was dead ; and.

THE HISTORY OP

" though he was not jet dead, he would die nid' '
. " denly; one day his leg will kill him, and then we
" shall have joily stirring ; saying also, that he had
" never loved him from his childhood, and that car-
" dinal Wolsey would have heen an honest man, if
" he had had an honest master. And the king bav. .
" ing said to the lords, he would leave them one day,
" having some apprehensions he might shortly die;
" that lord said, if he will serve us so, we shall be '
" happily rid ; a time will come, I fear we shall not
" tarry the time, we shall do well enough. He had
" also said, he was sorry the lord Abergavenny wal
" dead, for he could have made ten thousand men :
•* and, for his part, he would go and live in the west,
" where the marquis of Exeter was strong : and had
" also said, upon the breaking of the northern rebel-
*' lion, that the lord Darcy played the fool, for he
" went to pluck away the council, but he should |
"have begun with the head first; but I beshreff
*' him for leaving off so soon." Tliese were the
words charged on those lords, as clear discoveries of
their treasonable designs ; and that they knew of the
rebellion that brake out, and only intended to have
kept it off to a fitter opportunity : they were also
accused of correspondence with cardinal Pool, that
was the king's declared enemy. Upon these points
the lords pleaded Not guiky, but were found guilty
by their peers, and so judgment was given.

On the fourth of December were indicted, sir Geo-
frey Pool, for holding correspondence with his bro-
ther the cardinal, and saying, that he approved cf
his proceedings, but not of the king's; sir Edward
Nevill, brother to the lord Abergavenny, for saying
the king was a beast, and worse than a beast;

THE REFORMATION. 719

:!roft8, chanceUor of the cathedral of Chi- book
or^ying^the king v>a. not, hut the p<^ "''

erne head of the church ; andJohn (Collins ^^^^
It the king would hang in hell one dayjnr
ing down qf abbeys : all those, sir Edward
1I7 excepted, pleaded Guilty, and so they
idemned; but sir Geofrey Pool was the
on of the number that was not executed,
ad discovered the matter. At the same
3, cardinal Pool; Michael Throgmorton,
n; John Hilliard and Thomas Goldwell,
nd William Peyto, a Franciscan of the Ob-
; were attainted in absence, because they
off their duty to the king, and had subjected
es to the bishop of Rome, Pool being made
by him ; and for writing treasonable letters,
ing them into England. On the fourth of
r following, sir Nicholas Carew, that was
Iter of the horse, and knight of the garter,
igned for being an adherent to the marquis
r ; aiid, having spoke of his attainder as un«
cruel, he was also attainted and executed
third of March. When he was brought to
)ld, he openly acknowledged the errors and
ions in which he had formerly livedo and
}od for his imprisonment ; ** for he then be*
relish the life and sweetness of God's holy
which was brought him by his keeper, one
s, who followed the reformation, and had
ly suffered for it."

these executions, followed the parliament in 1539.
1589 ; in which, not only these attainders, ^^^^^
e already pfissed, were confirmed, but new J'^^ri®^*^!^
a strange and unheard-of nature w«r^ en- ptf^>«^

780 THE HISTORY OP

BOOK acted. It is a blemish never to be washed off, and
nrKinVi cannot be enough condemned, and was a
^^^^* breach of the most sacred and unalterable rul^ of
justice, which is capable of no excuse ; it was, the
attainting of some persons^ whom Jthej held in cus-
tody, without bringing them to a trial : concerning
which, I shall add what the great lord chief justice
4initit37,Cook writcs : •" Although I question not the power
** of the parliament, for without question the at-'
** tainder stands of force in law, yet this I say of the
manner of. proceeding; Auferat obUvio^ npatut^
si non utrumque sUentium tegat. For the more
high and absolute the jurisdiction of the court is»
the more just and honourable it ought to be in the
proceedings, and to give example of justice to in-
" ferior courts.** The chief of these were, the mar-
chioness of Exeter, and the countess of Sarum. The
special matter charged on the former is, her con-
federating herself to sir Nicholas Carew in his trea-
sons : to which is added, '^ that she had committed
" divers other abominable treasons. The latter is
" said to have confederated herself with her son the
" cardinal, with other aggravating words." It does
not appear by the Journal that any witnesses were
examined; only that day, that the bills were read
the third time in the house of lords, CromweD
showed them a coat of white silk, which the lord
admiral had found among the countess of Sarum's
clothes, in which the arms of England were wrought
on the one side, and the standard, that was carried
before the rebels, was on the other side. This was
brought as an evidence that she approved of the re-
bellion. Three Irish priests w^re also attainted for
carrying letters out of Ireland to the pope, and car-

THE REFORMATION. 781

dinal Pool; as also sir Adrian Fortescue^ for endea- book
vouriiig to raise rebellion ; Thomas Dingley, a knight

of St. John of Jerusalem, and Robert Granceter, *^^^*
merchant, for going to several foreign princes, and
persuading them to make war upon the king, and
assist the. lords Darcy and Hussie in the rebellion
they had raised. Two gentlemen, a Dominican friar
and a yeoman, were by the same act attainted for
saying, that that venomous serpent^ the bishop of
Mame, was supreme head of the church qf Eng-
land. Another gentleman, two priests, and a yeo-
man, were attainted for treason in general, no parti-
cular crime being specified. Thus sixteen persons
were in this manner attainted ; and if there was any
examination of witnesses for convicting them, it was
either in the star-chamber, or before the privy-coun-
cil ; for there is no mention of any evidence that
was brought in the Journals. There was also much
haste made in the passing this bill ; it being brought
in the tenth of May, was read that day for the first
and second time, and the eleventh of May for the
third time. The commons kept it five days before
they sent it back, and added some more to those
that were in the bill at first ; but how many were
named in the bill originally, and how many were
afterwards added, cannot be known. Fortescue and
Dingley suffered the tenth of July. As for the
crountess of Sarum, the lord Herbert saw in a record,
that bulls firom the pope' were found in her house ;
*^ that she kept correspondence with her son, and
" that she forbade her tenants to have the New
** Testament in English, or any other of the books
«« that had been published by the king's authority.**
VOL. I. 3 a

Tn - THE HISTOB\

BOOK She was then about aeveaij
-showed, by the answers she ma

1539. yigoTDUS and masculine mind,
years prisoner in the Tower aftei
the king» by that reprieve, dea]
son to a better behariour: but. i
cation, by a new rebellion in the
headed; and in her the name
genet determined. The marduc
a natural death. In NoTemher
abbots of Beadiof^ GlasBenbuEy,
tainted of treason ; of which
fiMmeriy.
iftiO. In ttie parliament that sat in
went on to follow that Strang
they had made the former year,
act, Giles Heron was attainted ol
matter being mentioned.

By the fifty-scTenth act, Ri
Thomas Abell, and Edward ]
William Horn, a yeoman ; were
ing the king's supremacy, and ac
of Rome. By the same act, the
esq. was attainted for refusiaj
giance, and denying prince Ed
and hdr of the crown : and one
Doncaster, was also attainted
* king's death.

By the fifty-eighth act, Gregi
Damplip, and Edward Brinde
Clement Philpot, gentleman ; wi
hering to the bishop of Rome
with cardinal Pool, and endeai

THE REFORMATION. TB

the town' of Calais. By the same act, Barnes, Gter- book

III.
rard, and Jerome were attainted ; of whose suffer-

4€

ings an account has been ah^ady given. ^^^^'

By the fifty-ninth act, William Bird, a priest, and
chaplain to the lord Hungerford, was attainted for
having said to one that was going to assist the king
against the rebels in the north, ** I am sorry thou
goest ; seest thou not how the king plucketh down
images and abbeys every day ? And if the king go
** thither himself, he will never come home again,
'^ nor any of them all which go with him ; and in
** truth it were pity he should ever come home again."
And at another time, upon one's saying, ** O good
*^ Lord, I ween all the world will be heretics in a
^ little time ;" Bird said, *<Doest thou marvel at that?
** I tell thee, it is no marvel, for the great master of
*' all is an heretic ; and such a one as there is not
** his like in the world."

By the same act the lord Hungerford was like-
wise attainted. ** The crimes specified are, that he,
^ knowing Bird to be a traitor, did entertain him in
** his house as his chaplain ; that he ordered another
^ of his chaplains, sir Hugh Wood, and one Dr.
** Maudlin, to use conjuring, that they might know
** how long the king should live, and whether he
** should be victorious over his enemies or not ; and
^ that these three years last past he had frequently
^^ committed the detestable sin of sodomy with
*' several of his servants :" all these were attainted by
that parliament. The lord Hungerford was executed
the same day with Cromwell : he died in such dis-
order, that some thought he was frenetic, for he
called often to the executioner to despateh him ; and

3 A 2

7M THE HISTORY OF

BOOK said^ he was weary of life, and longed to be dead;

III.

.which seemed strange in a man that had so litde
1640. cause to hope in his death. For Powel, Fetherstoun,
and Abell, they suffered the same day with Baroes
and his friends, as hath been already shown.

This year Sampson, bishop of Chichester, and one
doctor Wilson, were put in the Tower, upon suspi-
cion of correspondence with the pope : but upon their
submission they had their pardon and liberty. In
the year 1541, five priests, and ten secular persons,
\ some of them being gentlemen of quality, were nas-

; ing a new rebeUion in Yorkshire ; which was sup-

|j pressed in time, and the promoters of it being appre-

^ hended, were attainted and executed ; and this occa-

sioned the death of the countess of Sarum, after the
execution of the sentence had been delayed almost
H two years.

1543. The last instance of the king's severity was in
the year 1543, in which one Gardiner, that was the
bishop of Winchester's kinsman and secretary, and
three other priests, were tried for denying the king s
supremacy, and soon after executed. But what
special matter was laid to their charge, cannot be
known ; for the record of their attainder is lost.
The con- Thcsc wcrc the proceedings of this king against
those that adhered to the interests of Rome: in
which, though there is great ground for just censure,
for as the laws were rigorous, so the execution of
them was raised to the highest that the law could
admit ; yet there is nothing in them to justify all
the clamours which that party have raised against
king Henry, and by which they pursue his memory
to this day ; and are far short, both in number and

THE REFORMATION.

726

d^^rees, of the cruelties of queen Mary's reign, which book
yet they endeavour, all that is possible, to extenuate

or deny.

To conclude; we have now gone through the
reign of king Henry the Eighth, who is rather to be
reckoned among the great than the goad princes.
He exercised so much severity on men of both per-
suasions, that the writers of both sides have laid
open his faults, and taxed his cruelty. But as nei-
ther of them were much obliged to him, so none
have taken so much care to set forth his good qua-
lities, as his enemies have done to enlarge on his
vices: I do not deny that he is to be numbered
among the til princes, yet J cannot rank him with
the VDcrat.

1543.

WD OF TUB THIBD BOOK AND FIBST PART.

3 A3

ADDENDA.

^ter some of the sheets of this History were
wrought off, I met with manuscripts of great
authority, out of which I have collected several
particulars, that give a clear light to the pro^
ceedings in those times ; which, since they came
too late to my knowledge to he put in their
proper places, IshaU here add them, with refer^
ences to the places to which they belong.

Adpag. 406. Un. IS.

There U is said, that the earl of Wiltshire, father
to queen Anne Boleyn, was one of the peers that
judged her.

In this I too implicitly followed doctor Heylin ;
he seeming to write with more than ordinary care
for the vindication of that queen ; and with such as-
surance, as if he had seen the records concerning
her ; so that I took this upon trust from him. The
reason of it was, that, in the search I made of at-
tainders, I did not find the record of her trial ; so I
concluded, that either it was destroyed by order
during her daughter's reign, or was accidentally lost
since that time : and thus, having no record to di-
rect me, I too easily fdlowed the printed books in
that particular. Bat, after that part of this History
was wrought off, I by chance met with it in another
plao% where it was midaid ; and there I discorered

3 A 4

7»

TH£ HISTORY

the error I had committed. 1%
was not one of her judges ; those
tried were, the duke of SuffUk,
et^, the earls of ArundeU Oxfon
WestDuncehind, Derby, Worceste
and Huntjngton, and the lords
Mountague, Morlj, Dacres, Cc
Powia, Mounteagle, CBnton, San
vorthi Burf^, and Mordant : in
not twent j-eightt as I rec^ooed 1
error. The record mentiens one
ing the earl of Northumheriand ;
wtA a sudden fit of sickneiB, and
the court befhre the lord Bochfoi
might have been odiy casual ; bu
in love with the queen> and bad
her, (see page 88,) it is no wondc
in her condition did raise an i
him.

When I had discovered the m
as I resolved to publish this free
I set myself, not without some i
mine upon what authority doct
me into it. I could find no autli
him in it but Sanders; the chi'
writing was, to defame queen
blast her title to the crown. '
no ill piece of his skill to persuai
mother's lewdness ; to say, that 1
convinced of it, and condemne<
doctor Heylin took this, as he hi
things, too easily upon Sanders's

THE REFORMATION. 9«

Adfog. 436. Un. S5.
The Articles of Religion, of which an abstract fa
^re set down, are indeed puUished by Fuller ; but
saw not the original, with all the subscriptions to
which I have had in mj hands ; and therefore I
ve put it in the C!ollection, with three other I»-^2^
rs, which were soon after offered to the king byNamb.i.
anmer.

The one is in the form of fifteen queries, concern- coiiect.
I some abuses by which the people had been de* Numb, a!
ived ; as namely, by these doctrines : that without
Qtrition sinners may be reconciled to Grod ; that it
in the power of the priest to pardon or not pardon
\ at his pleasure ; and that God's pardon cannot
attained without priestly absolution. Also he
Bi]dained, that the people trusted to outward ce-
ncNiies; and their curates, for their own gain,
couraged them in it. It was observed, that the
inion of dei^men's being exempted from the se-
lar ju^e was ill-grounded ; that bishops did or-
in without due care and trial ; that the dignified
!rgy misapplied their revenues, did not follow
sir first institution, and did not reside upon their
nefices.

And, in fine, he moves, that the four sacraments,
dch had been left undetermined by the former
deles, might be examined : the outward signs and
bions, the promises made upon them, and the effi-
gy that was in them, being well considered.
The second paper consists of two resolutions made coiiect.
Deeming confirmation by the archbishop of Cffia-^^b.^^.
rbury, and Stokesly bishop of London ; (by which
perceive^ the way of examining matters, by giving
t of quertions to bishops and divines, was sooner

780 THE HISTORY OF

practised thaQ when I first took notice of it, page
578.) There are several other papers conceming
confirmation, but these are only subscribed ; and the
rest do generally follow these two prelates, who were
then the heads of two dififerent parties. The arch-
bishop went on this ground ; that all things were to
be tried by the scripture : but Stokesly, and almost
the whole clergy, were for receiving the tradition
of the church, as not much inferior to the scrip-
tures ; which he asserts in his subscription.
Collect. The third paper was offered to the king by Crao-
Namb. 4. mer, to persuade him to proceed to a further refor-
mation ; that things might be long and well consi-
dered before they were determined; that nothing
might be declared a part of Grod's faith without
good proofs from scripture, the departing from whidi
rule had been the occasion of all the errors that had
been in the church ; that now men would not be led
as they had been, but would examine matters ; that
many things were now acknowledged to be truths,
such as the unlawfulness of the pope's usurped
power, for which many had formerly suflfered death.
Whereupon he desires, that some points might be
examined by scripture : as, whether there is a pur-
gatory; whether departed souls ought to be invo-
cated ; whether tradition ought to be believed ; whe-
ther there be any satisfaction besides the satisfaction
of Christ; whether freewill may dispose itself to
grace ; and whether images ought to be kissed, or
used to any other end but as representations of a
piece of history? In all these he desired the king
would suspend his judgment; and, in particular,
that he would not determine against the lawfulness
of the marriage of the clergy, but would for some

THE REFORMATION. 781

tiine silence both parties. . He also proposed^ that
this point might, by order from the king, be ex*
amined in the universities before indifferent judges :
that all the arguments against it might be given to
the defendants twelve days before the public dispu-
tation ; and he offered, that, if those who should
defend the lawMness of priests' marriage were in
the opinion of indifferent judges overcome, they
should willingly suffer death for it; but if other-
wise, all they desired was, that in that point the
king might leave them in the liberty to which the
word of Grod left them.

Adpag. 499. Un. 22.
I have seen a much fuUer paper concerning orders
and ecclesiastical functions, (which the reader wiU
find in the Collection,) signed by Cromwell, the two coiiect.
archbishops, and eleven bishops, and twenty divines Numb. 5!
and canonists, declaring, that the power of the keys,
and other church functions, is formally distinct from
the power of the sword : that this power is not ah*
solute, but to be limited by the rules that are in the
scripture, and is ordained only for the edification and
good of the church : that this power ought to be still
preserved, since it was given by Christ as the mean
of reconciling sinners to Grod. Orders were also
declared a sacrament, since they consisted of an
outward action instituted by Christ, and an inward
grace conferred with them: but that all inferior
orders, janitors, lectors, &c. were brought into the
church to beautify and adorn it, and were taken
from the temple of the Jews : and that in the New
Testament there is no mention made but of deacons
or ministers, and priests or bishops : nor is there be-

T»

THEHISTORI

loDgii^ to orden any other oa
the scriptore but prajer and i
This WHS ngned dther in the
noce it is subscribed bath hj
of Rochester, and Edward Fox,
fiir the one was conseciated in
died in iiaj 1588.

On this paper I will add two
that after this I do never find
under a deacon mentioned in
seems at this time they were lai
first set up in the church aboi
cond, or the banning of the i
middle of which we find both
Borne, and 8t. Cyprian, mentioi
that were then established ; an(
designed as previous steps to i
that none might be ordained t
had been long before separated
of life, and had given good pn
these lower d^ees. But it t
of Rome to be only a matter
took the first tonsure, that the]
from the secular power, and 1
mendams, and some other w(
which these lower orders wen
rules which the canonists had b

Another thing is, that, both
in the Necessary Erudition of
shops and priests are spoken of
office. In the ancient church the
subtilties which were found ou
It was then thought enough thi
dedicated to his function by i

IfeflftVktf^^ * ^^^^tffl A^^^l^ SBMVI^M tfl^^^tf^0iS tfVH^fl^l ^^A^ l^ffk

Ebrmed widMi^ liriioiK ; sych as cnfiH^
matkNi, &c bat tlicj did nolicfiBe mtkese
lo modi as to inqiiiie, wfaether faidMips aadpriesis
differed in ovder and office, or oely in degree. Bat
after the sdioolmnn fidl to examine mattCR of dirin-^
itj with logical and miintdl^ible niceties, aend the
canonists began to comment npon the mles of the
ancient dnndi, thej studied to make faidMips aend
priests seem werj near one another, so that the di^
ferenoe was but smalL They did it with diflerent
designs. Tlie schoolmen, haraig set up tiie grand
mystery of transnfastantiation, were to exalt tiie
priesti^ office as mndi as was possible: for Uie
turning the host into God was so great an action*
that thej redumed there could be no office h^her
than that uriudi qualified a man to so migfatjr a per-
formance : therefwe, as they changed the form of
ordination fimn what it was anciently belieTed to
consist in, to a ddivering of the sacred vesseb ; and
held, that a priest had his orders by that rite> and
not by the imposition of hands ; so they raised thdbr
order or office so high, as to make it equal with Uie
order of a bishop : but, as they designed to extol the
order of priesthood, so the canonists had as great a
mind to depress the episcopal order. They gene*
rally wrote for preferment ; and the way to it was,
to exalt the papacy. Nothing could do that so
effectually as to bring down the power of bishops.
This only could justify the exemptions of the monks
and friars, the popes setting up legantine courts, and
receiving at first appeals^ and then original causes
before them; together with many other encroach-
ments on their jurisdiction ; all which were unlaw-

784f THE HISTORY OF

ful, if the bishops had by divine right jurisdiction
in their dioceses : therefore it was necessary to laj
them as low as could be, and to make them think
that the power they held was rather as delegates of
the apostolic see, than by a commission from Christ
or his apostles : so that they looked on the declaring
episcopal authority to be of divine right as a blow
that would be fatal to the court of Rome ; and there-
fore they did after this at Trent use all possible en-
deavours to hinder any such decision. It havii^
been then the common style of that age to reckon
bishops and priests as the same office, it is no
wonder if at this time the clergy of this church,
the greatest part of them being still leavened^with
the old superstition, and the rest of them not havii^
enough of spare time to examine lesser matters, re-
tained still the former phrases in this particular.

On this I have insisted the more, that it may ap-
pear how little they have considered things, who are
so far carried with their zeal against the established
government of this church, as to make much use of
some passages of the schoolmen and canonists, that
deny them to be distinct offices : for these are the
very dregs of popery; the one raising the priests
higher for the sake of transubstantiation, the other
pulling the bishops lower for the sake of the pope's
supremacy, and by such means bringing them almost
to an equality. So partial are some men to their
particular conceits, that they make use of the most
mischievous topics when they can serve their turn,
not considering how much further these arguments
will run, if they ever admit them.

THE REFORMATION. 786

Adpag. 511. Un. S9.
The princes of Germany did always press the
ung to enter into a religious league with them:
he first league that was made, in the year 1586,
vas conceived in general terms against the pope,
is the common enemy, and for setting up true reli-
gion according to the gospel : but they did afterwards
;end over ambassadors to treat about particulars;
md they having presented a memorial of these,
here were conferences appointed between them and
ome bishops and divines of this church. I find no
livines were sent over hither but Frederick Mico-
lius, minister of Gotha, by whom Melanthon, who
:ould not be spared out of Germany, sent several
etters to the king ; the fullest and longest of them
vill be found in the Collection. It is all to thiscoiiect.
mrpose ; to persuade the king to go on vigorously Numb. 6.
n the reforming of abuses, according to the word of
jrod. The king sent over the particulars which they
>roposed, in order to a perfect agreement, to Gardi*-
ler, who was then at Paris : upon which he sent
lack his opinion touching them all; the original
if which, under his own hand, I have seen, but it
elates so much to the other paper that was sent
lim, which I never saw, that without it his meaning
»n hardly be understood ; and therefore I have not
mt it in the Collection. The main thing in it^ at
vhich it chiefly drives, is, to press the king to finish
irst a civil league with them, and to leave those
mrticulars concerning religion to be afterwards
reated of. The king followed his advice so far
is to write to the German princes to that effect:
mt when the Idng declared his resolution to have
he six articles established, all that favoured the re-

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THE REFOUMATION. 737

faith, should proceed with the severity expressed
that act against those that agreed with them in
•*^ctrine ; and pressed the king eamestlj to put a
to the execution of it. The king promised he
uld see to it ; and that, though he jttdged the act
to restrain the insolence of some of his
ts, yet it should not be executed but upon
t provocation : he also proposed the renewing a
Til league with them^ without mentioning matters
religion. To this the princes made answer, that
e league, as it was at first projected, was chiefly
^=!9atpon a design of religion ; and therefore, without a
'^ «ommoB consent of all that were in their league,
p ~ -tiiey could not alter it. They lamented this passing
* -of the late act; but iwrit their thanks to the king
" jfor stopping the execution of it : and warned him,
w 4kat some of his bishops, who set him on to these
itourses, were in their hearts still for all the dd abuses,
and for the pope's supremacy, and were pressing on
the king to be severe against his best subjects, Hmt
they might thereby bring on a design which they
could not hope to effect any other way. They ad-
Tised the king to beware of such counsels. They
idso prq)osed, that there might be a conference
.agreed on between such divineg as the king would
name, and such as they should depute, to oieet
either in Gueldres, Hanbuigh, Bremen, or any other
place that should be appointed by the king, to ex-
amine the lawfulness of private masses, of denying
the chalice, and the prohiinting the marriage of the
clei^. On these things they ccmtinued treating till
the divorce of Anne of Clevis, and Cromwell's fiidl ;
after which I find little correspondence between the
king and them.

VOL. I. 3 b

788 THE HISTORY OF

^ Ad pag. 512. Un. 31.
Collect. When I mentioned the king's letters, directing

Numb. 9. the bishops how to proceed in a refomiatioD, I had
not seen them ; but I have since seen an original of
them subsciibed by the king's hand. In these he
challenged the clergy as guilty of great indiscretions:
that the late rebellion had been occasioned by them;
therefore he required the bishops to take care that
the articles formerly published should be exactly
obeyed ; and to go over their dioceses in person, and
preach obedience to the laws, and the good ends of
those ceremonies that were then retained, that the
people might neither despise them, nor put too mudi
trust in them : and to silence all disputes and con-
tentions concerning things indifferent; and to sig-
nify to the king's council if there were any priests in
their dioceses that were married, and yet did dis-
charge any part of the priestly office. All which wiD
be better understood by the letter itself, that I have
put into the Collection.

Ad pag. 517. lin. 1.
I do there acknowledge, that I knew not what
arguments were used against the necessity of auri-
cular confession : but I have made, since that time,
a considerable discovery in this particular, from an
original letter written all with the king's own hand
to Tonstall; by which it appears, there had been
conferences in the house, and that the archbishop of
York, the bishop of Winchester and Duresm, had
pleaded much for it, as necessary by a divine insti-
tution ; and that both the king and the archbishop
of Canterbury had maintained, that, though it was
good and profitable, yet it was not necessary by

THE REFORMATION. 789

any precept of the gospel: and that, though the
bishops brought several texts out of scripture and
ancient doctors, yet these were so clearly answered
by the king and the archbishop, that the whole
house was satisfied with it: yet Tonstall drew up
in a writing all the reasons he had made use of
in that debate, and brought them to the king, which
will be found in the Collection, with the annotations coiiect.
and reflections which the king wrote on the mar- NS^bl^i o.
gin with his own hand, taken from the original ; ^o"^*
together with the king's letter written in answer Numb. /i.
to them : by this it will appear, that the king did
set himself much to study points of divinity, and
examined matters with a scrupulous exactness. The
issue of the debate was, that, though the popish
party endeavoured to have got auricula confession
declared to be commanded by Christ, as a part of
the sacrament of penance, yet the king overruled
that; so it was enacted, that auricular confession
was necessary and expedient to he retained in the
church of God. These debates were in the house
of lords, which appears not only by the king's let-
ter that speaks of the house, but by the act of par-
liament, in the preamble of which it is said, that the
king had come himself to the parliament, and had
opened several points of high learning to them,

Adpag. 525. Un. 20.

There I mention the king's diligence in drawing
an act of parliament with his own hand ; but, since
that was printed, I have seen many other acts and
papers, if not originally penned by the king, yet so
much altered by his corrections, that in some sort
they may be esteemed his draughts. There are two

740 HISTORY OF THE REFQBJfATIOy.

dni^its of the act of Ibe sz artidks, balk concdei
in maoj pboes hj the ki^; aid n «■■£ of tkoe
the oorrectkiD b tlnree linei ki^
act oonoemiBi^ preoootiacts <if
corrected rarj mudi bjr his pea. Manj drao^bu
of prockmadaDS, particnhrij those aboat the use d
the BiUe in Englidi, are yet extant, interimed aid
altered with his pea. There is a large paper aril-
ten by TonstalU of aigaiaeats fiar pmgatorTt wilh
copious animadTersions on it, likewise written bf
the king ; which show that then he did not hdiete
there was a purgatorj. I hare abo seen the drai^[iit
of that part of the Necessarj Erudition for a Chris-
tian Srian, which explains the Creed, lidl of correc-
tions with the king's own pen ; as also the queries
concerning the sacraments, mentioned in page 578.
with large annotations written with his hand on the
Collect, margin; likewise an extract, all written with his
Numb. 12. own handy of passages out of the fathers against the
marriage of the clergy : and, to conclude, there is a
paper, with which the Collection ends, containing
the true notion of the catholic church, which has
large emendations added with the king's hand;
those I have set by themselves on the margin of
the paper.

n

1

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

REFERENCE DEPARTMENT

Thit book is under no circumttances to b<
taken from the Building

wuu r ^ m

f. . .. *•"