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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3)</p> +<p>Author: James Anthony Froude</p> +<p>Release Date: April 4, 2005 [eBook #15537]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REIGN OF HENRY THE EIGHTH, VOLUME 1 (OF 3)***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4>E-text prepared by Charles Aldarondo, Deirdre Menchaca, Keith Edkins,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h4> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<a href="#pagexxi">CONTENTS</a> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + + <h3>Froude's<br /> + History Of England</h3> + + <h1>THE REIGN OF HENRY THE EIGHTH</h1> + <h2>Volume I</h2> + <h4>by</h4> + <h2>JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE</h2> + <p> </p> + <p> </p> + + <h2>Introduction by<br /> + W. LLEWELYN WILLIAMS M.P. B.C.L.</h2> + + <p> </p> + <p> </p> + <h4>FIRST PUBLISHED 1909</h4> + <p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h6>London & Toronto J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.<br /> +New York E.P. Dutton & Co</h6> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<hr /> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:50%;"> + <a href="images/003.png"><img width="100%" src="images/003.png" + alt="" /></a> + </div> + +<hr /> + + <div class="figcenter" style="width:50%;"> + <a href="images/004.png"><img width="100%" src="images/004.png" + alt="" /></a> + </div> + +<hr /> + +<!-- Page vii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevii"></a>[vii]</span> + +<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> + + <p>James Anthony Froude was born at Dartington Rectory, the youngest son + of the Archdeacon of Totnes, on April 23, 1818. His father was a + clergyman of the old school, as much squire as parson. In the concluding + chapter to his <i>History of England</i>, Froude wrote that "for a + hundred and forty years after the Revolution of 1688, the Church of + England was able to fulfil with moderate success the wholesome functions + of a religious establishment. Theological doctrinalism passed out of + fashion; and the clergy, merged as they were in the body of the nation, + and no longer endeavouring to elevate themselves into a separate order, + were occupied healthily in impressing on their congregations the meaning + of duty and moral responsibility to God." Of this sane and orthodox, but + not over-spiritual, clergy, Archdeacon Froude was an excellent and + altogether wholesome type. He was a stiff Tory; his hatred of Dissent was + so uncompromising that he would not have a copy of the <i>Pilgrim's + Progress</i> in the rectory. A stern, self-contained, reticent man, he + never, in word of deed, confessed his affection for his youngest son. He + was a good horseman, and was passionately fond of open-air exercises and + especially of hunting. His one accomplishment was drawing, and his + sketches in after years earned the praise of Ruskin.</p> + + <p>Cast in the same mould, but fashioned by different circumstances, the + archdeacon's eldest son, Richard Hurrell Froude, was a man of greater + intellectual brilliance and even more masterful character. He was one of + the pioneers of the Oxford Movement, and it was only his early death that + deposed him from his place of equality with Newman and Keble and Pusey. + Anthony was a sickly child, and from his earliest years lacked the loving + care of a mother. He was brought up with Spartan severity by his father + and his aunt. The most venial self-indulgence was regarded as criminal. + From the age of three he was inured to hardship by being ducked every + morning in a trough of ice-cold water. Hurrell Froude felt no tenderness + for the ailing lad. Once, in order to rouse a manly spirit in his little + brother, he took him by the heels, plunged him like another Achilles into + a stream, and <!-- Page viii --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="pageviii"></a>[viii]</span> stirred with his head the mud at the + bottom. Froude has been accused, and not without justice, of not feeling + a proper aversion to acts of cruelty. The horrible Boiling Act of Henry + VIII. excites neither disgust nor hatred in him; and he makes smooth + excuses for the illegal tortures of the rack and the screw which were + inflicted on prisoners by Elizabeth and her ministers. He had himself + been reared in a hardy school; he had been trained to be indifferent to + pain. It may well be that his callousness in speaking of Tudor cruelties + is to be traced to the influences that surrounded his loveless childhood + and youth.</p> + + <p>Hurrell Froude was the idol of his younger brothers. He was a man of + brilliant parts, and a born leader of men. His hatred of Radicals and + Dissenters transcended even his father's dislike of them. His conception + of the Church differed widely from that in which the archdeacon had been + reared. To him a clergyman was a priest who belonged to a sacerdotal + caste, and who ought not "to merge himself in the body of the nation." To + him the Reformation was an infamous crime, and Henry VIII. was worse than + the Bluebeard of the nursery. His hero was Thomas à Becket. He wrote a + sketch of his life and career, which he did not live to finish. His + friends ill-advisedly published it after his death. His ideal + ecclesiastical statesman of modern times was Archbishop Laud. Charles I. + was a martyr, and the Revolution of 1688 an inglorious blunder. To the + day of his death—in spite of the harsh discipline which he received + at his hands in boyhood, in spite of wide divergence of opinion in later + years in all matters secular and religious—Froude never ceased to + worship at his brother's shrine. Out of regard for his memory, more than + from any passionate personal conviction, he associated himself while at + Oxford with the Anglican movement. His affectionate admiration for + Newman, neither time nor change served to impair. If Carlyle was his + prophet in later years, his influence happily did not affect his style. + That was based on the chaste model of Newman. He owed his early + friendship with Newman to that great man's association with Hurrell + Froude. Many years after, when Freeman had venomously accused him of + "dealing stabs in the dark at a brother's almost forgotten + fame"—poor Froude's offence was that he dared to write an essay on + Thomas à Becket—he defended himself with rare emotion against the + charge. "I look back upon my brother," he said, "as on the whole <!-- + Page ix --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pageix"></a>[ix]</span> the + most remarkable man I have ever met in my life. I have never seen any + person—not one—in whom, as I now think him, the excellences + of intellect and character were combined in fuller measure."</p> + + <p>As Froude's powers developed and matured, and as his experience of the + world broadened, he cast away his brother's yoke, and reverted more to + his father's school of thought. As his father was to him the ideal + clergyman of the Church of England, so the Church before 1828 remained to + him the model of what an established religion should be. He was a + thorough Erastian, who believed in the subordination of the Church to the + state. He detested theological doctrinalism of all kinds; he revolted + against the idea that the clergy should form a separate order. The + pretensions of Whitgift and Laud, the High Anglican school of Keble and + Pusey, the whole conception of the Church and the priesthood which + underlay the Oxford Movement, were things obnoxious to him. In a + characteristic passage in the chapter on the Massacre of St. Bartholomew + he reveals his hatred and distrust of dogmatism. "Whenever the doctrinal + aspect of Christianity has been prominent above the practical," he wrote, + "whenever the first duty of the believer has been held to consist in + holding particular opinions on the functions and nature of his Master, + and only the second in obeying his Master's commands, then always, with a + uniformity more remarkable than is obtained in any other historical + phenomena, there have followed dissension, animosity, and in later ages + bloodshed. Christianity, as a principle of life, has been the most + powerful check upon the passions of mankind. Christianity as a + speculative system of opinion has converted them into monsters of + cruelty."</p> + + <p>Holding such decided views on doctrinalism, it might have been thought + that Froude would have visited all the warring sects of the sixteenth + century with equal judgment. No Church was more doctrinal than that of + Geneva; no Calvinist ever was more dogmatic than John Knox. But the men + who fought the battle of the Reformation in England and Scotland were, in + the main, the Calvinists; and to Froude the Reformation was the beginning + of a new and better era, when the yoke of the priest had been finally + cast away. "Calvinism," he said in one of his addresses at St. Andrews, + "was the spirit which rises in revolt against untruth." John Knox was too + heroic a figure not to rouse the artistic sense in <!-- Page x --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="pagex"></a>[x]</span> Froude. "There lies one," + said the Regent Morton over his coffin, "who never feared the face of + mortal man." Froude has made this epitaph the text of the noblest eulogy + ever delivered on Knox. "No grander figure can be found, in the entire + history of the Reformation in this island, than that of Knox." He + surpassed Cromwell and Burghley in integrity of purpose and in purity of + methods. He towered above the Regent Murray in intellect, and he worked + on a larger scale than Latimer. "His was the voice that taught the + peasant of the Lothians that he was a free man, the equal in the sight of + God with the proudest peer or prelate that had trampled on his + forefathers. He was the one antagonist whom Mary Stuart could not soften + nor Maitland deceive. He it was who had raised the poor commons of his + country into a stern and rugged people, who might be hard, narrow, + superstitious, and fanatical, but who nevertheless were men whom neither + king, noble, nor priest could force again to submit to tyranny." Yet even + here, Froude could not refrain from quoting the sardonic comment of the + English ambassador at Edinburgh: Knox behaved, said Randolph, "as though + he were of God's privy council."</p> + + <p>It is certain, at least, that other reformers, who were not greatly + inferior to Knox in capacity, and not at all in piety and honesty, have + not met the same generous treatment at his hands. He sneers at Hooper + because he had scruples about wearing episcopal robes at his consecration + as Bishop of Worcester, though he himself in a famous passage asserts the + anomalous position of bishops in the Church of England. Hooper, as a + Calvinist, was in the right in objecting, and though the point upon which + he took his stand was nominally one of form, there lay behind it a + protest against the Anglican conception of a bishop. He speaks + slightingly of Ridley and Ferrars, though he makes ample amends to them + and to Hooper, when he comes to describe the manner of their death. To + the reformers who fled from the Marian persecution, including men like + Jewel and Grindal, he refers with scornful contempt, though he has no + word of criticism to apply to Knox for retiring to England and to the + continent when the flame of persecution was certainly not more fierce. + Latimer is one of his favourites,—a plain, practical man, not given + to abstract speculation or theological subtleties, but one who was + content to do his duty day by day without the fear of man before his + eyes. Latimer, though he was looked upon <!-- Page xi --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="pagexi"></a>[xi]</span> as a Protestant in the + earliest years of the English Reformation, believed in the Real Presence + up to a short time before his death. But of all English ecclesiastics + Thomas Cranmer was perhaps most to Froude's liking. Cranmer was, like + Froude himself, an artist in words. The English liturgy owes its charm + and beauty to his sense of style, his grace of expression, and his + cultured piety. That he was a great man few will be found in these days + to maintain; fewer still will believe that he deserved the scathing + invective of Macaulay. But no one can read the account given by Froude of + his last years without feeling that the first Protestant Archbishop of + Canterbury was neither saint nor martyr. If ever there was one, he was a + timeserver. He pronounced the divorce of Catherine of Arragon, though he + had sworn fealty to the Pope. He never raised a protest against any of + the political murders of Henry VIII.—with the notable exception of + his courageous attempt to save his friend, Thomas Cromwell. Even in that + case, however, he lies under the suspicion of having interfered through + fear that his own fate was involved in that of the <i>malleus + monachorum</i>. In the days of Edward VI. he aimed at the liberty, if not + at the life, of Bonner and Gardiner, without semblance of legal right: He + recanted in the reign of Mary when he thought he could purchase his + miserable life. It was only when all hope of pardon was past that he + re-affirmed his belief in the reformed faith. Indeed, he waited until the + day of his execution before withdrawing his recantation, and confounded + his enemies on the way to the stake. To a master of dramatic narrative + the last scene of Cranmer's life came as a relief and an inspiration. "So + perished Cranmer," wrote Froude, in a memorable passage: "he was brought + out, with the eyes of his soul blinded, to make sport for his enemies, + and in his death he brought upon them a wider destruction than he had + effected by his teaching while alive. Pole was appointed the next day to + the See of Canterbury; but in other respects the court had over-reached + themselves by their cruelty. Had they been contented to accept the + recantation, they would have left the archbishop to die broken-hearted, + pointed at by the finger of pitying scorn; and the Reformation would have + been disgraced in its champion. They were tempted, by an evil spirit of + revenge, into an act unsanctioned even by their own bloody laws; and they + gave him an opportunity of writing his name in the roll of martyrs. The + worth of a man must be <!-- Page xii --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="pagexii"></a>[xii]</span> measured by his life, not by his failure + under a single and peculiar peril. The Apostle, though forewarned, denied + his Master on the first alarm of danger; yet that Master, who knew his + nature in its strength and its infirmity, chose him for the rock on which + he would build his Church."</p> + + <p>With this conscious and avowed bias in favour of undogmatic + Christianity, Froude came to write the story of the transition of England + from a Catholic to a Protestant country. He was not without sympathy with + the old order of things. We cannot but feel a thrill as we read his + incomparable description of the change which was effected in men's + thoughts and ideas by the translation of the mediĉval into the modern + world? "For, indeed, a change was coming upon the world, the meaning and + direction of which even still is hidden from us, a change from era to + era. The paths trodden by the footsteps of ages were broken up; old + things were passing away, and the faith and the life of ten centuries + were dissolving like a dream. Chivalry was dying; the abbey and the + castle were soon together to crumble into ruins; and all the forms, + desires, beliefs, convictions, of the old world were passing away, never + to return. A new continent had risen up beyond the western sea. The floor + of heaven, inlaid with stars, had sunk back into an infinite abyss of + immeasurable space; and the firm earth itself, unfixed from its + foundations, was seen to be but a small atom in the awful vastness of the + universe. In the fabric of habit which they had so laboriously built for + themselves, mankind were to remain no longer. And now it is all + gone—like an unsubstantial pageant faded; and between us and the + old English there lies a gulf of mystery which the prose of the historian + will never adequately bridge. They cannot come to us, and our imagination + can but feebly penetrate to them. Only among the aisles of the cathedral, + only as we gaze upon their silent figures sleeping on their tombs, some + faint conceptions float before us of what these men were when they were + alive; and perhaps in the sound of church bells, that peculiar creation + of mediĉval age, which falls upon the ear like the echo of a vanished + world." Froude was once asked what was the greatest and most essential + quality of an historian. He replied that it was imagination. It was a + true and a just saying, and Froude himself possessed the faculty in + abundance.</p> + + <p>It was not only with the old order that Froude showed his sympathy. He + is seldom ungenerous in his references to <!-- Page xiii --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="pagexiii"></a>[xiii]</span> individual + Catholics, however mistaken in his sight their opinions may have been. + With Wolsey and Warham, Fisher and More, even with Gardiner and Bonner he + deals fairly and with some amount of real sympathy. The heroic death of + Campian moves him to pity just as much as the death of Latimer; the + strenuous labours of Father Parsons to overthrow Elizabeth and + Protestantism failed to remove him beyond the pale of Froude's charitable + judgment. One English Catholic alone was reserved for the historian's + harsh and sometimes petulant criticism. For Cardinal Pole Froude felt the + angriest contempt. He was descended from the blood royal, both of England + and of Wales. On his father's side he was descended in direct line from + the ancient princes of Powis; on his mother's from the Plantagenets and + the Nevilles. He was the most learned and illustrious Englishman of his + age. He had stood high in King Henry's favour; he was destined for the + greatest offices in the state. He was not without natural ambition. Yet + he forfeited all that he had—the favour of his prince, the society + of his mother whom he loved, and the kindred who were proud of him, the + hope of promotion and of power, his friends, his home, and his country, + for conscience' sake. He remained true to the ancient faith in which he + was reared. With unerring instinct he foresaw that, once England was + severed from the Papacy, it would be impossible for king or parliament to + stem the flood of the Reformation. For twenty years he remained an exile + on the continent. He returned an old and broken man, to witness the + overthrow of his cherished plans. He was repudiated by the Pope whose + authority he had sacrificed everything to maintain, and in his old age he + suffered the humiliation of being accused of heresy in the court of Rome. + He died the same day as Mary died, with the knowledge that all his life's + labours and sacrifices were come to naught, and that the dominion of the + Roman Church in England was gone for ever. Froude saw none of the pathos + or tragedy of Pole's life. To him the cardinal was a renegade, a traitor + to his country, a mercenary of the Pope, a foreign potentate, a + "hysterical dreamer," who vainly imagined that he was "the champion of + heaven, and the destroyer of heresy."</p> + + <p>Froude was, above all, an Englishman. His strongest sympathies went + out to the "God's Englishmen" of Elizabeth's reign, who broke the power + of Rome and Spain, and <!-- Page xiv --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="pagexiv"></a>[xiv]</span> who made England supreme in Europe. In + his first chapter he describes the qualities of Englishmen with a zest + and gusto that drew the comment from Carlyle that "this seems to me + exaggerated: what we call John Bullish." He described them as "a sturdy, + high-hearted race, sound in body and fierce in spirit which, under the + stimulus of those great shins of beef, their common diet, were the wonder + of the age." Carlyle's advice when he read this passage in proof was + characteristic:—"Modify a little: Frederick the Great was brought + up on beer-sops; Robert Burns on oatmeal porridge; and Mahomet and the + Caliphs conquered the world on barley meal." But the passage stood + unmodified, in spite of Froude's regard for his master.</p> + + <p>How this fierce and turbulent people fought their way to world-wide + empire was a problem which Froude thought he was able to solve. It was, + in the main, because they broke down the power of the priests, and + insisted on the supremacy of state over Church. Therefore all his filial + affection, his patriotism, and his ecclesiastical prejudices were arrayed + on the same side. If history be an exact science, then Froude can lay no + claim to the title of historian. He was a brilliant advocate, a man of + letters endowed with a matchless style, writing of matters which + interested him deeply, and in the investigation of which he spent twenty + years of his life. Froude himself would have been the first to repudiate + the idea that history is philosophy teaching by examples, or that an + historian has necessarily a greater insight into the problems of the + present than any other observant student of affairs. "Gibbon," he once + wrote, "believed that the era of conquerors was at an end. Had he lived + out the full life of man, he would have seen Europe at the feet of + Napoleon. But a few years ago we believed the world had grown too + civilised for war, and the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park was to be the + inauguration of a new era. Battles, bloody as Napoleon's, are now the + familiar tale of every day; and the arts which have made the greatest + progress are the arts of destruction."</p> + + <p>It is absurd to attack Froude on the ground that he was biassed. No + man has ever yet written a living history without being biassed. + Thucydides detested the radicalism of Cleon as heartily as Gibbon hated + the Christianity of Rome. It was once the fashion of the Oxford school to + decry Froude as being unworthy of the name of historian. Stubbs, indeed, + <!-- Page xv --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexv"></a>[xv]</span> + did pay public tribute to Froude's "great work," but he stood almost + alone of his school. Freeman for many years pursued and persecuted Froude + with a persistent malevolence which happily has no parallel in the story + of English scholarship. It is not necessary in this place to do more than + refer to that unpleasant episode. Since the publication of the brilliant + vindication of Froude in Mr. Herbert Paul's <i>Life</i>, it would be + superfluous to go into the details of that unhappy controversy. The only + difference between Froude and other historians is that Froude's + partisanship is always obvious. He was not more favourable to Henry VIII. + than Stubbs was to Thomas à Becket. But Froude openly avowed his + preferences and his dislikes. Catholicism was to him "a dying + superstition," Protestantism "a living truth." Freeman went further, and + charged Froude with having written a history which was not "<i>un livre + de bonne joy.</i>" It is only necessary to recall the circumstances under + which the <i>History</i> was written to dispose of that odious charge. In + order to obtain material for his <i>History</i>, Froude spent years of + his life in the little Spanish village of Simancas. "I have worked in + all," he said in his Apologia, "through nine hundred volumes of letters, + notes, and other papers, private and official, in five languages and in + different handwritings. I am not rash enough to say that I have never + misread a word, or overlooked a passage of importance. I profess only to + have dealt with my materials honestly to the best of my ability." Few, + indeed, have had to encounter such difficulties as met Froude in his + exploration of the archives at Simancas. "Often at the end of a page," he + wrote many years after, "I have felt as after descending a precipice, and + have wondered how I got down. I had to cut my way through a jungle, for + no one had opened the road for me. I have been turned into rooms piled to + the window-sill with bundles of dust-coloured despatches, and told to + make the best of it. Often have I found the sand glistening on the ink + where it had been sprinkled when a page was turned. There the letter had + lain, never looked at again since it was read and put away." Of these + difficulties not a trace is discoverable in Froude's easy and effortless + narrative. When he was approaching the completion of his <i>History</i>, + he vowed that his account of the Armada should be as interesting as a + novel. He succeeded not only with that portion of his task, but with all + the stirring story that he set out to narrate. But the ease <!-- Page xvi + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexvi"></a>[xvi]</span> of his style + only concealed the real pains which he had taken. Of Freeman's charge + Froude has long been honourably acquitted. The Simancas MSS. have since + been published in the Rolls Series, and Mr. Martin Hume, in his + Introduction, has paid his tribute to the care, accuracy, and good faith + of their first transcriber. Long before this testimony could be given, + Scottish historians who disagreed with Froude's conclusions on many + points,—men such as Skelton and Burton—had been profoundly + impressed with the care, skill, and conscientiousness with which Froude + handled the mass of tangled materials relating to the history of + Scotland.</p> + + <p>This does not mean that Froude is free from minor inaccuracies, or + that he is innocent of graver faults which flowed from his abundant + quality of imagination. He constantly quotes a sentence inaccurately in + his text, while it is accurately transcribed in a footnote. He is + careless in matters which are important to students of Debrett, as for + instance, he indiscriminately describes Lord Howard as Lord William + Howard and Lord Howard. But Froude was sometimes guilty of something + worse than these trivial "howlers." Lecky exposed, with calm + ruthlessness, some of Froude's exaggerations—to call them by no + worse name—in his <i>Story of the English in Ireland</i>. When his + <i>Erasmus</i> was translated into Dutch, the countrymen of Erasmus + accused him of constant, if not deliberate, inaccuracy. Lord Carnarvon + once sent Froude to South Africa as an informal special commissioner. + When he returned to this country he wrote an article on the South African + problem in the <i>Quarterly Review</i>. Sir Bartle Frere, who knew South + Africa as few men did, said of it that it was an "essay in which for + whole pages a truth expressed in brilliant epigrams alternates with + mistakes or misstatements which would scarcely be pardoned in a special + war correspondent hurriedly writing against time." So dangerous is the + quality of imagination in a writer!</p> + + <p>Truth to tell, Froude was a literary man with a fondness for + historical investigation, and an artist's passion for the dramatic in + life and story. He wrote with a purpose—that purpose being to + defend the English Reformation against the attacks of the + neo-Catholic-Anglicans, under whose influence he had himself been for a + time in his youth. To him, therefore, Henry VIII. was "the majestic lord + who broke the bonds of Rome." This is not the occasion, nor is the + present writer the man, to analyse that complex and masterful <!-- Page + xvii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexvii"></a>[xvii]</span> + personality. Froude started to defend the English Reformation against the + vile charge that it was the outcome of kingly lust. That charge he has + finally dispelled. Henry VIII. was not the monster that Lingard painted. + He beheaded two queens, but few will be found to assert to-day that + either Anne Boleyn or Catherine Howard were innocent martyrs. People must + agree to differ to the crack of doom as to the justice of Catherine's + divorce. It is one of those questions which different men will continue + to answer in different ways. But one thing is abundantly clear. If Henry + was actuated merely by passion for Anne Boleyn, he would scarcely have + waited for years before putting Queen Catherine away. Henry divorced Anne + of Cleves, but Anne, who survived the dissolution of her marriage and + remained in England for twenty years, made no complaint of her treatment, + and she has had no champions either among Catholic or Protestant writers. + Her divorce is only remembered as the occasion of the downfall of the + greatest statesman of his age, Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex. But in his + eagerness to proclaim the truth, Froude went on to defend a paradox. Once + free from the charge of lust,—and compared with Francis of France + or Charles V., Henry was a continent man—Henry became to Froude the + ideal monarch.</p> + + <p>Some one has said that Henry VIII. was the greatest king that ever + lived, because he always got his own way. If that be the test, then Henry + was indeed "every inch a king." He broke with Rome; he deposed the Pope + from his supremacy over England; he dissolved the monasteries; he sent + the noblest and wisest in England to the scaffold; he reduced Wales to + law and order and gave her a constitution; he married and unmarried as he + liked; he disposed of the succession to the throne of England by his + will; and his people never murmured. Only once, when the Pilgrimage of + Grace broke out, was his throne in any danger, and that insurrection he + easily suppressed. He made war with France; he invaded Scotland more than + once, and every time with striking success. He played his vigorous part + in European politics, and at his death he left his realm inviolate. It is + an amazing record, which might well dazzle a writer of Froude's + temperament and training. But there are dark shades in the picture, which + Froude was content to make little of, if not to ignore. He is fond of + contrasting Henry's way with conspirators with that of his <!-- Page + xviii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexviii"></a>[xviii]</span> + daughter Elizabeth. He sneers at her "tenderness" towards high-born + traitors, and never ceases to reproach her with her one act of repression + after the Yorkshire rising. But he had not a word to say against the + tyrannical murders of Henry VIII. Elizabeth truly boasted that she never + punished opinion: Henry sent to the scaffold better men than himself for + holding academical opinions contrary to his own. Cardinal Fisher may have + been—after the publication of Chappuys's letters it is not possible to + deny that he was—technically guilty of treason. But he was a saint + and an old man past eighty, and "the earth on the edge of the grave was + already crumbling under his feet." The king spared neither age nor worth + nor innocence. He had been the familiar friend of More; he had walked + through his gardens at Chelsea leaning on his arm; More had been his + chancellor; he was still the greatest of his subjects; while frankly + admitting that he differed in opinion from the king on the question of + the royal supremacy, he promised that he would not try to influence + others. Henry was inexorable. He not only condemned him to die a + traitor's death,—he added a callous message, which still rouses the + indignation of every generous soul, that he should "not use many words on + the scaffold." Thomas Cromwell had served him as few ministers have + served a king; to him was due—or, at least, he was the capable + instrument of—the policy which has given distinction to Henry's + reign; but he was delivered over to his enemies when the king's caprice + had shifted to another quarter. Even Froude finds it difficult to excuse + the execution of More and Cromwell. But, having once made up his mind to + make a hero of Henry, he goes on with it bravely to the end. He hides + nothing, he excuses nothing, he extenuates nothing. Neither the death of + the aged Countess of Salisbury or of the gallant Earl of Surrey, nor the + illegal imprisonment of the aged Norfolk, the hero of Flodden, shakes his + faith in his hero-king. He even relates, with minute detail, how a few + days before the king's death, four poor persons, one of whom was a + tailor, were burnt at the stake for denying the Real Presence. But his + final comment on it all was: "His personal faults were great, and he + shared, besides them, in the errors of his age; but far deeper blemishes + would be but scars upon the features of a sovereign who in trying times + sustained nobly the honour of the English name, and carried the + commonwealth securely through the hardest crisis in its history."</p> + +<!-- Page xix --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexix"></a>[xix]</span> + + <p>When a young man Froude had been elected Fellow of Exeter College, + Oxford. This entailed his taking holy orders, though he does not seem to + have regularly performed the duties of a clergyman. In 1849 he published + his first book, <i>The Nemesis of Faith</i>, now happily forgotten. It + raised an immediate commotion. It was denounced as heretical, and the + senior tutor of Exeter burnt it during a lecture in the College Hall. + Froude resigned his Fellowship, and his connection with the university + was severed for thirty-three years. He was one of the first to take + advantage of the alteration of the law which enabled a clergyman to + resign his orders. In 1892 he went back to Oxford as Regius Professor of + Modern History. "The temptation of going back to Oxford in a respectable + way," he said, "was too much for me." He died on October 20, 1894, and on + his tombstone he is simply described, by his own wish, as Professor of + Modern History in the University of Oxford.</p> + + <p>The writer is indebted for information with regard to Froude's life to + Mr. Pollard's article in the <i>Dictionary of National Biography</i>, and + to Mr. Herbert Paul's admirable <i>Life of Froude</i> (Pitman).</p> + + <p>W. LLEWELYN WILLIAMS.</p> + + <p><i>November</i> 16, 1908.</p> + + <p>The following is a list of the published works of J.A. Froude:</p> + + <blockquote>Life of St. Neot (Lives of the English Saints, edited by J.H. + Newman), 1844; Shadows of the Clouds (Tales), by Zeta (<i>pseud.</i>), + 1847; A Sermon (on 2 Cor. vii. 10) preached at St. Mary's Church on the + Death of the Rev. George May Coleridge, 1847; Article on Spinoza + (<i>Oxford and Cambridge Review</i>), 1847; The Nemesis of Faith (Tale), + 1849; England's Forgotten Worthies (<i>Westminster Review</i>), 1852; + Book of Job (<i>Westminster Review)</i>, 1853; Poems of Matthew Arnold + (<i>Westminster Review</i>), 1854; Suggestions on the Best Means of + Teaching English History (Oxford Essays, etc.), 1855; History of England, + 12 vols., 1856-70; The Influence of the Reformation on the Scottish + Character, 1865; Inaugural Address delivered to the University of St. + Andrews, March 19, 1869, 1869; Short Studies on Great Subjects, 1867, 2 + vols., series 2-4, 1871-83 (articles from <i>Fraser's Magazine, + Westminster Review</i>, etc.); The Cat's Pilgrimage, 1870; Calvinism: + Address at St. Andrews, 1871; The English in Ireland, 3 vols., 1872-74; + Bunyan (English Men of Letters), 1878; Cĉsar: a Sketch, 1879; Two + Lectures on South Africa, 1880; Thomas Carlyle (a history of the first + forty years of his life, etc.), 2 vols., 1882; Luther: a Short Biography, + 1883; Thomas Carlyle (a history of his life in London, 1834-81), 2 vols., + 1884; Oceana, 1886; The English in the West Indies, 1888; Liberty and + Property: an Address [1888]; The Two Chiefs of Dunboy, 1889; Lord + Beaconsfield (a Biography), 1890; The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon, + 1891; The Spanish Story of the Armada, 1892; Life and Letters of Erasmus, + 1894; English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century, 1895; Lectures on the + Council of Trent, 1896; My Relations with Carlyle, 1903.</blockquote> + + <blockquote>EDITED:—Carlyle's Reminiscences, 1881; Mrs. Carlyle's + Letters, 1883.</blockquote> + +<hr /> + +<!-- Page xx blank --> + +<!-- Page xxi --><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexxi"></a>[xxi]</span> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<center> +<table cellpadding="5"> +<tr><td class="r"> +CHAP. +</td><td class="l"> + +</td><td class="r"> +PAGE. +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +I. +</td><td class="l"> +SOCIAL CONDITION OF ENGLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page1">1</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +II. +</td><td class="l"> +THE LAST YEARS OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF WOLSEY. +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page57">57</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +III. +</td><td class="l"> +THE PARLIAMENT OF 1529. +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page116">116</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +IV. +</td><td class="l"> +CHURCH AND STATE. +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page176">176</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +V. +</td><td class="l"> +MARRIAGE OF HENRY AND ANNE BOLEYN. +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page224">224</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +VI. +</td><td class="l"> +THE PROTESTANTS. +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page296">296</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +VII. +</td><td class="l"> +THE LAST EFFORTS OF DIPLOMACY. +</td><td class="r"> +<a href="#page369">369</a> +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="r"> +</td><td class="l"> +<a href="#Footnotes">NOTES.</a> +</td><td class="r"> +</td></tr> +</table> +</center> + +<hr /> + +<!-- Page xxii blank --> + +<!-- Page 1 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1"></a>[pg 1]</span> + +<h1>HENRY VIII</h1> + +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>SOCIAL CONDITION OF ENGLAND IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY</h3> + + <p>In periods like the present, when knowledge is every day extending, + and the habits and thoughts of mankind are perpetually changing under the + influence of new discoveries, it is no easy matter to throw ourselves + back into a time in which for centuries the European world grew upon a + single type, in which the forms of the father's thoughts were the forms + of the son's, and the late descendant was occupied in treading into paths + the footprints of his distant ancestors. So absolutely has change become + the law of our present condition, that it is identified with energy and + moral health; to cease to change is to lose place in the great race; and + to pass away from off the earth with the same convictions which we found + when we entered it, is to have missed the best object for which we now + seem to exist.</p> + + <p>It has been, however, with the race of men as it has been with the + planet which they inhabit. As we look back over history, we see times of + change and progress alternating with other times when life and thought + have settled into permanent forms; when mankind, as if by common consent, + have ceased to seek for increase of knowledge, and, contented with what + they possess, have endeavoured to make use of it for purposes of moral + cultivation. Such was the condition of the Greeks through many ages + before the Persian war; such was that of the Romans till the world + revenged itself upon its conquerors by the introduction among them of the + habits of the conquered; and such again became the condition of Europe + when the Northern nations grafted the religion and the laws of the + Western empire on their own hardy natures, and shaped out that wonderful + spiritual and political organisation which remained unshaken for a + thousand years.</p> + + <p>The aspirant after sanctity in the fifteenth century of the <!-- Page + 2 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page2"></a>[pg 2]</span> Christian + era found a model which he could imitate in detail in the saint of the + fifth. The gentleman at the court of Edward IV. or Charles of Burgundy + could imagine no nobler type of heroism than he found in the stories of + King Arthur's knights. The forms of life had become more + elaborate—the surface of it more polished—but the life itself + remained essentially the same; it was the development of the same + conception of human excellence; just as the last orders of Gothic + architecture were the development of the first, from which the idea had + worked its way till the force of it was exhausted.</p> + + <p>A condition of things differing alike both outwardly and inwardly from + that into which a happier fortune has introduced ourselves, is + necessarily obscure to us. In the alteration of our own character, we + have lost the key which would interpret the characters of our fathers, + and the great men even of our own English history before the Reformation + seem to us almost like the fossil skeletons of another order of beings. + Some broad conclusions as to what they were are at least possible to us, + however; and we are able to determine, with tolerable certainty, the + social condition of the people of this country, such as it was before the + movements of the sixteenth century, and during the process of those + movements.</p> + + <p>The extent of the population can only be rudely conjectured. A rough + census was taken at the time of the Armada, when it was found to be + something under five millions; but anterior to this I can find no + authority on which I can rely with any sort of confidence. It is my + impression, however, from a number of reasons—each in itself + insignificant, but which taken together leave little doubt upon my + mind—that it had attained that number by a growth so slow as to be + scarcely perceptible, and had nearly approached to it many generations + before. Simon Fish, in <i>The Supplication of Beggars</i>,<a + name="NtA_1"></a><a href="#Nt_1"><sup>1</sup></a> says that the number of + households in England in 1531 was 520,000. His calculation is of the most + random kind; for he rates the number of parishes at 52,000, with ten + households on an average in each parish. A mistake so preposterous + respecting the number of parishes shows the great ignorance of educated + men upon the subject. The ten households in each parish may, probably (in + some parts of the country), have been a correct computation; but this + tells us little with respect to the aggregate numbers, for the households + were very large—the farmers, and the gentlemen also, usually having + all the persons whom <!-- Page 3 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page3"></a>[pg 3]</span> they employed residing under their own + roof. Neither from this, therefore, nor from any other positive statement + which I have seen, can I gather any conclusion that may be depended upon. + But when we remember the exceeding slowness with which the population + multiplied in a time in which we can accurately measure it—that is + to say, from 1588 to the opening of the last century—under + circumstances in every way more favourable to an increase, I think we may + assume that the increase was not so great between 1500 and 1588, and + that, previous to 1500, it did not more than keep pace with the waste + from civil and foreign war. The causes, indeed, were wholly wanting which + lead to a rapid growth of numbers. Numbers now increase with the increase + of employment and with the facilities which are provided by the modern + system of labour for the establishment of independent households. At + present, any able-bodied unskilled labourer earns, as soon as he has + arrived at man's estate, as large an amount of wages as he will earn at + any subsequent time; and having no connection with his employer beyond + the receiving the due amount of weekly money from him, and thinking + himself as well able to marry as he is likely to be, he takes a wife, and + is usually the father of a family before he is thirty. Before the + Reformation, not only were early marriages determinately discouraged, but + the opportunity for them did not exist. A labourer living in a cottage by + himself was a rare exception to the rule; and the work of the field was + performed generally, as it now is in the large farms in America and + Australia, by servants who lived in the families of the squire or the + farmer, and who, while in that position, commonly remained single, and + married only when by prudence they had saved a sufficient sum to enable + them to enter some other position.</p> + + <p>Checked by circumstances of this kind, population would necessarily + remain almost stationary, and a tendency to an increase was not of itself + regarded by the statesmen of the day as any matter for congratulation or + as any evidence of national prosperity. Not an increase of population, + which would facilitate production and beat down wages by competition, but + the increase of the commonwealth, the sound and healthy maintenance of + the population already existing, were the chief objects which the + government proposed to itself; and although Henry VIII. carefully nursed + his manufactures, there is sufficient proof in the grounds alleged for + the measures to which he resorted, that there was little redundancy of + occupation.</p> + +<!-- Page 4 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page4"></a>[pg 4]</span> + + <p>In a statute, for instance, for the encouragement of the linen + manufactures, it is said<a name="NtA_2"></a><a + href="#Nt_2"><sup>2</sup></a> that—"The King's Highness, calling to + his most blessed remembrance the great number of idle people daily + increasing throughout this his Realm, supposeth that one great cause + thereof is by the continued bringing into the same the great number of + wares and merchandise made, and brought out and from, the parts beyond + the sea into this his Realm, ready wrought by manual occupation; amongst + the which wares one kind of merchandise in great quantity, which is linen + cloth of divers sorts made in divers countries beyond the sea, is daily + conveyed into this Realm; which great quantity of linen cloth so brought + is consumed and spent within the same; by reason whereof not only the + said strange countries where the said linen cloth is made, by the policy + and industry of making and vending the same are greatly enriched; and a + marvellous great number of their people, men, women, and children, are + set on work and occupation, and kept from idleness, to the great + furtherance and advancement of their commonwealth; but also contrariwise + the inhabitants and subjects of this Realm, for lack of like policy and + industry, are compelled to buy all or most part of the linen cloth + consumed in the same, amounting to inestimable sums of money. And also + the people of this Realm, as well men as women, which should and might be + set on work, by exercise of like policy and craft of spinning, weaving, + and making of cloth, lies now in idleness and otiosity, to the high + displeasure of Almighty God, great diminution of the King's people, and + extreme ruin, decay, and impoverishment of this Realm. Therefore, for + reformation of these things, the King's most Royal Majesty intending, + like a most virtuous Prince, to provide remedy in the premises; nothing + so much coveting as the increase of the Commonwealth of this his Realm, + with also the virtuous exercise of his most loving subjects and people, + and to avoid that most abominable sin of idleness out of the Realm, hath, + by the advice and consent of his Lords and Commons in Parliament + assembled, ordained and enacted that every person occupying land for + tillage, shall for every sixty acres which he hath under the plough, sow + one quarter of an acre in flax or hemp."</p> + + <p>This Act was designed immediately to keep the wives and children of + the poor in work in their own houses;<a name="NtA_3"></a><a + href="#Nt_3"><sup>3</sup></a> but it leaves <!-- Page 5 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> no doubt that + manufactures in England had not of themselves that tendency to + self-development which would encourage an enlarging population. The + woollen manufactures similarly appear, from the many statutes upon them, + to have been vigorous at a fixed level, but to have shown no tendency to + rise beyond that level. With a fixed market and a fixed demand, + production continued uniform.</p> + + <p>A few years subsequent, indeed, to the passing of the Act which I have + quoted, a very curious complaint is entered in the statute book, from the + surface of which we should gather, that so far from increasing, + manufactures had alarmingly declined. The fact mentioned may bear another + meaning, and a meaning far more favourable to the state of the country; + although, if such a phenomenon were to occur at the present time, it + could admit of but one interpretation. In the 18th and 19th of the 32nd + of Henry VIII., all the important towns in England, from the Tweed to the + Land's End, are stated, one by one, to have fallen into serious decay. + Usually when we meet with language of this kind, we suppose it to mean + nothing more than an awakening to the consciousness of evils which had + long existed, and which had escaped notice only because no one was alive + to them. In the present instance, however, the language was too strong + and too detailed to allow of this explanation; and the great body of the + English towns undoubtedly were declining in wealth and in the number of + their inhabitants. "Divers and many beautiful houses of habitation," + these statutes say, "built in tyme past within their walls and liberties, + now are fallen down and decayed, and at this day remain unre-edified, and + do lie as desolate and vacant grounds, many of them nigh adjoining to the + High-streets, replenished with much uncleanness and filth, with pits, + sellers, and vaults lying open and uncovered, to the great perill and + danger of the inhabitants and other the King's subjects passing by the + same; and some houses be very weak and feeble, ready to fall down, and + therefore dangerous to pass by, to the great decay and hinderance of the + said boroughs and towns."<a name="NtA_4"></a><a + href="#Nt_4"><sup>4</sup></a></p> + + <p>At present, the decay of a town implies the decay of the trade <!-- + Page 6 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> of the + town; and the decay of all towns simultaneously would imply a general + collapse of the trade of the whole country. Walled towns, however, before + the Reformation, existed for other purposes than as the centre points of + industry: they existed for the protection of property and life: and + although it is not unlikely that the agitation of the Reformation itself + did to some degree interrupt the occupation of the people, yet I believe + that the true account of the phenomenon which then so much disturbed the + parliament, is, that one of their purposes was no longer required; the + towns flagged for a time because the country had become secure. The + woollen manufacture in Worcestershire was spreading into the open + country,<a name="NtA_5"></a><a href="#Nt_5"><sup>5</sup></a> and, + doubtless, in other counties as well; and the "beautiful houses" which + had fallen into decay, were those which, in the old times of insecurity, + had been occupied by wealthy merchants and tradesmen, who were now + enabled, by a strong and settled government, to dispense with the shelter + of locked gates and fortified walls, and remove their residences to more + convenient situations. It was, in fact, the first symptom of the + impending social revolution. Two years before the passing of this Act, + the magnificent Hengrave Hall, in Suffolk, had been completed by Sir + Thomas Kitson, "mercer of London,"<a name="NtA_6"></a><a + href="#Nt_6"><sup>6</sup></a> and Sir Thomas Kitson was but one of many + of the rising merchants who were now able to root themselves on the land + by the side of the Norman nobility, first to rival, and then slowly to + displace them.</p> + + <p>This mighty change, however, was long in silent progress before it + began to tell on the institutions of the country. When city burghers + bought estates, the law insisted jealously on their accepting with them + all the feudal obligations. Attempts to use the land as "a commodity" + were, as we shall presently see, angrily repressed; while, again, in the + majority of instances, such persons endeavoured, as they do at present, + to cover the recent origin of their families by adopting the manners of + the nobles, instead of transferring the habits of the towns to the parks + and chases of the English counties. The old English organisation + maintained its full activity; and the duties of property continued to be + for another century more considered than its rights.</p> + + <p>Turning, then, to the tenure of land—for if we would understand + the condition of the people, it is to this point that our first attention + must be directed—we find that through the many <!-- Page 7 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page7"></a>[pg 7]</span> complicated varieties + of it there was one broad principle which bore equally upon every class, + that the land of England must provide for the defence of England. The + feudal system, though practically modified, was still the organising + principle of the nation, and the owner of land was bound to military + service for his country whenever occasion required. Further, the land was + to be so administered, that the accustomed number of families supported + by it should not be diminished, and that the State should suffer no + injury from the carelessness or selfishness of the owners.<a + name="NtA_7"></a><a href="#Nt_7"><sup>7</sup></a> Land never was private + property in that personal sense of property in which we speak of a thing + as our own, with which we may do as we please; and in the administration + of estates, as indeed in the administration of all property whatsoever, + duty to the State was at all times supposed to override private interest + or inclination. Even tradesmen, who took advantage of the fluctuations of + the market, were rebuked by parliament for "their greedy and covetous + minds," "as more regarding their own singular lucre and profit than the + commonweal of the Realm;"<a name="NtA_8"></a><a + href="#Nt_8"><sup>8</sup></a> and although in an altered world, neither + industry nor enterprise will thrive except under the stimulus of + self-interest, we may admire the confidence which in another age expected + every man to prefer the advantage of the community to his own. All land + was held upon a strictly military principle. It was the representative of + authority, and the holder or the owner took rank in the army of the State + according to the nature of his connection with it. It was first broadly + divided among the great nobility holding immediately under the crown, + who, above and beyond the ownership of their private estates, were the + Lords of the Fee throughout their presidency, and possessed in right of + it the services of knights and gentlemen who held their manors under + them, and who followed their standard in war. Under the lords of manors, + again, small freeholds and copyholds were held of various extent, often + forty shilling and twenty shilling value, tenanted by peasant occupiers, + who thus, on their own land, lived as free Englishmen, maintaining by + their own free labour themselves and their families. There was thus a + descending scale of owners, each of whom possessed his separate right, + which the law guarded and none might violate; yet no one of whom, again, + was independent of an authority higher than himself; and the entire body + of the English free possessors of the soil was interpenetrated by a + coherent organisation which <!-- Page 8 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page8"></a>[pg 8]</span> converted them into a perpetually + subsisting army of soldiers. The extent of land which was held by the + petty freeholders was very large, and the possession of it was jealously + treasured; the private estates of the nobles and gentlemen were either + cultivated by their own servants, or let out, as at present, to free + tenants; or (in earlier times) were occupied by villains, a class who, + without being bondmen, were expected to furnish further services than + those of the field, services which were limited by the law, and + recognised by an outward ceremony, a solemn oath and promise from the + villain to his lord. Villanage, in the reign of Henry VIII., had + practically ceased. The name of it last appears upon the statute book in + the early years of the reign of Richard II., when the disputes between + villains and their liege lords on their relative rights had furnished + matter for cumbrous lawsuits, and by general consent the relation had + merged of itself into a more liberal form. Thus serfdom had merged or was + rapidly merging into free servitude; but it did not so merge that + labouring men, if they pleased, were allowed to live in idleness. Every + man was regimented somewhere; and although the peasantry, when at full + age, were allowed, under restrictions, their own choice of masters, yet + the restrictions both on masters and servants were so severe as to + prevent either from taking advantage of the necessities of the other, or + from terminating through caprice or levity, or for any insufficient + reason, a connection presumed to be permanent.<a name="NtA_9"></a><a + href="#Nt_9"><sup>9</sup></a></p> + + <p>Through all these arrangements a single aim is visible, that every man + in England should have his definite place and definite duty assigned to + him, and that no human being should be at liberty to lead at his own + pleasure an unaccountable existence. The discipline of an army was + transferred to the details of social life, and it issued in a chivalrous + perception of the meaning of the word duty, and in the old characteristic + spirit of English loyalty.</p> + + <p>From the regulations with respect to land, a coarser advantage was + also derived, of a kind which at the present time will be effectively + appreciated. It is a common matter of dispute whether landed estates + should be large or small; whether it is better that the land should be + divided among small proprietors, cultivating their own ground, or that it + should follow its present tendency, and be shared by a limited and + constantly diminishing number of wealthy landlords. The advocates for a + peasant proprietary tell us truly, that a landed monopoly is dangerous; + <!-- Page 9 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> + that the possession of a spot of ground, though it be but a few acres, is + the best security for loyalty, giving the state a pledge for its owner, + and creating in the body of the nation a free, vigorous, and manly + spirit. The advocates for the large estates tell us, that the masses are + too ill-educated to be trusted with independence; that without authority + over them, these small proprietors become wasteful, careless, + improvident; that the free spirit becomes a democratic and dangerous + spirit; and finally, that the resources of the land cannot properly be + brought out by men without capital to cultivate it. Either theory is + plausible. The advocates of both can support their arguments with an + appeal to experience; and the verdict of fact has not as yet been + pronounced emphatically.</p> + + <p>The problem will be resolved in the future history of this country. It + was also nobly and skilfully resolved in the past. The knights and nobles + retained the authority and power which was attached to the lordships of + the fees. They retained extensive estates in their own hands or in the + occupation of their immediate tenants; but the large proportion of the + lands was granted out by them to smaller owners, and the expenditure of + their own incomes in the wages and maintenance of their vast retinues + left but a small margin for indulgence in luxuries. The necessities of + their position obliged them to regard their property rather as a revenue + to be administered in trust, than as "a fortune" to be expended in + indulgence. Before the Reformation, while the differences of social + degree were enormous, the differences in habits of life were + comparatively slight, and the practice of men in these things was + curiously the reverse of our own. Dress, which now scarcely suffices to + distinguish the master from his servant, was then the symbol of rank, + prescribed by statute to the various orders of society as strictly as the + regimental uniform to officers and privates; diet also was prescribed, + and with equal strictness; but the diet of the nobleman was ordered down + to a level which was then within the reach of the poorest labourer. In + 1336, the following law was enacted by the Parliament of Edward III.:<a + name="NtA_10"></a><a href="#Nt_10"><sup>10</sup></a> "Whereas, heretofore + through the excessive and over-many sorts of costly meats which the + people of this Realm have used more than elsewhere, many mischiefs have + happened to the people of this Realm—for the great men by these + excesses have been sore grieved; and the lesser people, who only + endeavour to imitate the great ones in such sort of meats, are much + impoverished, <!-- Page 10 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> whereby they are not able to aid + themselves, nor their liege lord, in time of need, as they ought; and + many other evils have happened, as well to their souls as their + bodies—our Lord the King, desiring the common profit as well of the + great men as the common people of his Realm, and considering the evils, + grievances, and mischiefs aforesaid, by the common assent of the + prelates, earls, barons, and other nobles of his said Realm, and of the + commons of the same Realm, hath ordained and established that no man, of + what estate or condition soever he be, shall cause himself to be served, + in his house or elsewhere, at dinner, meal, or supper, or at any other + time, with more than two courses, and each mess of two sorts of victuals + at the utmost, be it of flesh or fish, with the common sorts of pottage, + without sauce or any other sorts of victuals. And if any man choose to + have sauce for his mess, he may, provided it be not made at great cost; + and if fish or flesh be to be mixed therein, it shall be of two sorts + only at the utmost, either fish or flesh, and shall stand instead of a + mess, except only on the principal feasts of the year, on which days + every man may be served with three courses at the utmost, after the + manner aforesaid."</p> + + <p>Sumptuary laws are among the exploded fallacies which we have + outgrown, and we smile at the unwisdom which could expect to regulate + private habits and manners by statute. Yet some statutes may be of moral + authority when they cannot be actually enforced, and may have been + regarded, even at the time at which they were issued, rather as an + authoritative declaration of what wise and good men considered to be + right, than as laws to which obedience could be compelled. This act, at + any rate, witnesses to what was then thought to be right by "the great + persons" of the English realm; and when great persons will submit + themselves of their free will to regulations which restrict their private + indulgence, they are in little danger of disloyalty from those whom + fortune has placed below them.</p> + + <p>Such is one aspect of these old arrangements; it is unnecessary to say + that with these, as with all other institutions created and worked by + human beings, the picture admits of being reversed. When by the accident + of birth men are placed in a position of authority, no care in their + training will prevent it from falling often to singularly unfit persons. + The command of a permanent military force was a temptation to ambition, + to avarice, or hatred, to the indulgence of private piques and + jealousies, to political discontent on private and personal grounds. A + combination of three or four of the leading nobles <!-- Page 11 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> was sufficient, when + an incapable prince sate on the throne, to effect a revolution; and the + rival claims of the houses of York and Lancaster to the crown, took the + form of a war unequalled in history for its fierce and determined + malignancy, the whole nation tearing itself in pieces in a quarrel in + which no principle was at stake, and no national object was to be gained. + A more terrible misfortune never befel either this or any other country, + and it was made possible only in virtue of that loyalty with which the + people followed the standard, through good and evil, of their feudal + superiors. It is still a question, however, whether the good or the evil + of the system predominated; and the answer to such question is the more + difficult because we have no criterion by which, in these matters, + degrees of good and evil admit of being measured. Arising out of the + character of the nation, it reflected this character in all its + peculiarities; and there is something truly noble in the coherence of + society upon principles of fidelity. Fidelity of man to man is among the + rarest excellences of humanity, and we can tolerate large evils which + arise out of such a cause. Under the feudal system men were held together + by oaths, free acknowledgments, and reciprocal obligations, entered into + by all ranks, high and low, binding servants to their masters, as well as + nobles to their kings; and in the frequent forms of the language in which + the oaths were sworn we cannot choose but see that we have lost something + in exchanging these ties for the harsher connecting links of mutual + self-interest.</p> + + <p>"When a freeman shall do fealty to his lord," the statute says, "he + shall hold his right hand upon the book, and shall say thus:—Hear + you, my lord, that I shall be to you both faithful and true, and shall + owe my faith to you for the land that I hold, and lawfully shall do such + customs and services as my duty is to you, at the times assigned, so help + me God and all his saints."</p> + + <p>"The villain," also, "when he shall do fealty to his lord, shall hold + his right hand over the book, and shall say:—Hear you, my lord, + that I from this day forth unto you shall be true and faithful, and shall + owe you fealty for the land which I hold of you in villanage; and that no + evil or damage will I see concerning you, but I will defend and warn you + to my power. So help me God and all his saints."<a name="NtA_11"></a><a + href="#Nt_11"><sup>11</sup></a></p> + + <p>Again, in the distribution of the produce of land, men dealt fairly + and justly with each other; and in the material condition of the bulk of + the people there is a fair evidence that the system <!-- Page 12 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> worked efficiently + and well. It worked well for the support of a sturdy high-hearted race, + sound in body and fierce in spirit, and furnished with thews and sinews + which, under the stimulus of those "great shins of beef,"<a + name="NtA_12"></a><a href="#Nt_12"><sup>12</sup></a> their common diet, + were the wonder of the age. "What comyn folke in all this world," says a + state paper in 1515<a name="NtA_13"></a><a + href="#Nt_13"><sup>13</sup></a> "may compare with the comyns of England + in riches, freedom, liberty, welfare, and all prosperity? What comyn + folke is so mighty, so strong in the felde, as the comyns of England?" + The relative numbers of the French and English armies which fought at + Cressy and Agincourt may have been exaggerated, but no allowance for + exaggeration will effect the greatness of those exploits; and in stories + of authentic actions under Henry VIII., where the accuracy of the account + is undeniable, no disparity of force made Englishmen shrink from enemies + wherever they could meet them. Again and again a few thousands of them + carried dismay into the heart of France. Four hundred adventurers, + vagabond apprentices, from London,<a name="NtA_14"></a><a + href="#Nt_14"><sup>14</sup></a> who formed a volunteer corps in the + Calais garrison, were for years the terror of Normandy. In the very + frolic of conscious power they fought and plundered, without pay, without + reward, except what they could win for themselves; and when they fell at + last they fell only when surrounded by six times their number, and were + cut to pieces in careless desperation. Invariably, by friend and enemy + alike, the English are described as the fiercest people in all Europe + (the English wild beasts, Benvenuto Cellini calls them); and this great + physical power they owed to the profuse abundance in which they lived, + and to the soldier's training in which every man of them was bred from + childhood. The state of the working classes can, however, be more + certainly determined by a comparison of their wages with the prices of + food. Both were regulated, so far as regulation was <!-- Page 13 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> possible, by act of + parliament, and we have therefore data of the clearest kind by which to + judge. The majority of agricultural labourers lived, as I have said, in + the houses of their employers; this, however, was not the case with all, + and if we can satisfy ourselves as to the rate at which those among the + poor were able to live who had cottages of their own, we may be assured + that the rest did not live worse at their masters' tables.</p> + + <p>Wheat, the price of which necessarily varied, averaged in the middle + of the fourteenth century tenpence the bushel;<a name="NtA_15"></a><a + href="#Nt_15"><sup>15</sup></a> barley averaging at the same time three + shillings the quarter. With wheat the fluctuation was excessive; a table + of its possible variations describes it as ranging from eighteenpence the + quarter to twenty shillings; the average, however, being six and + eightpence.<a name="NtA_16"></a><a href="#Nt_16"><sup>16</sup></a> When + the price was above this sum, the merchants might import to bring it + down;<a name="NtA_17"></a><a href="#Nt_17"><sup>17</sup></a> when it was + below this price the farmers were allowed to export to the foreign + markets.<a name="NtA_18"></a><a href="#Nt_18"><sup>18</sup></a> The same + scale, with a scarcely appreciable tendency to rise, continued to hold + until the disturbance in the value of the currency. In the twelve years + from 1551 to 1562, although once before harvest wheat rose to the + extraordinary price of forty-five shillings a quarter, it fell + immediately after to five shillings and four.<a name="NtA_19"></a><a + href="#Nt_19"><sup>19</sup></a> Six and eightpence continued to be + considered in parliament as the average; <a name="NtA_20"></a><a + href="#Nt_20"><sup>20</sup></a> and on the whole it seems to have been + maintained for that time with little variation.<a name="NtA_21"></a><a + href="#Nt_21"><sup>21</sup></a></p> + + <p>Beef and pork were a halfpenny a pound—mutton was three + farthings. They were fixed at these prices by the 3rd of the 24th of Hen. + VIII. But the act was unpopular both with buyers and with sellers. The + old practice had been to sell in the gross, and under that arrangement + the rates had been generally <!-- Page 14 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> lower. Stow says,<a name="NtA_22"></a><a + href="#Nt_22"><sup>22</sup></a> "It was this year enacted that butchers + should sell their beef and mutton by weight—beef for a halfpenny + the pound, and mutton for three farthings; which being devised for the + great commodity of the realm (as it was thought), hath proved far + otherwise: for at that time fat oxen were sold for six and twenty + shillings and eightpence the piece; fat wethers for three shillings and + fourpence the piece; fat calves at a like price; and fat lambs for + twelvepence. The butchers of London sold penny pieces of beef for the + relief of the poor—every piece two pound and a half, sometimes + three pound for a penny; and thirteen and sometimes fourteen of these + pieces for twelvepence; mutton eightpence the quarter, and an hundred + weight of beef for four shillings and eightpence." The act was repealed + in consequence of the complaints against it,<a name="NtA_23"></a><a + href="#Nt_23"><sup>23</sup></a> but the prices never fell again to what + they had been, although beef sold in the gross could still be had for a + halfpenny a pound in 1570.<a name="NtA_24"></a><a + href="#Nt_24"><sup>24</sup></a> Other articles of food were in the same + proportion. The best pig or goose in a country market could be bought for + fourpence; a good capon for threepence or fourpence; a chicken for a + penny; a hen for twopence.<a name="NtA_25"></a><a + href="#Nt_25"><sup>25</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 15 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> + + <p>Strong beer, such as we now buy for eighteenpence a gallon, was then a + penny a gallon;<a name="NtA_26"></a><a href="#Nt_26"><sup>26</sup></a> + and table-beer less than a halfpenny. French and German wines were + eightpence the gallon. Spanish and Portuguese wines a shilling. This was + the highest price at which the best wines might be sold; and if there was + any fault in quality or quantity, the dealers forfeited four times the + amount.<a name="NtA_27"></a><a href="#Nt_27"><sup>27</sup></a> Rent, + another important consideration, cannot be <!-- Page 16 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> fixed so accurately, + for parliament did not interfere with it. Here, however, we are not + without very tolerable information. "My father," says Latimer,<a + name="NtA_28"></a><a href="#Nt_28"><sup>28</sup></a> "was a yeoman, and + had no lands of his own; only he had a <i>farm of three or four pounds by + the year</i> at the uttermost, and hereupon he tilled so much as kept + half-a-dozen men. He had walk for a hundred sheep, and my mother milked + thirty kine. He was able, and did find the king a harness with himself + and his horse. I remember that I buckled on his harness when he went to + Blackheath field. He kept me to school, or else I had not been able to + have preached before the King's Majesty now. He married my sisters with + five pounds, or twenty nobles, each, having brought them up in godliness + and fear of God. He kept hospitality for his poor neighbours, and some + alms he gave to the poor; and all this he did of the said farm." If + "three or four pounds at the uttermost" was the rent of a farm yielding + such results, the rent of labourers' cottages is not likely to have been + considerable.<a name="NtA_29"></a><a href="#Nt_29"><sup>29</sup></a></p> + + <p>Some uncertainty is unavoidable in all calculations of the present + nature; yet, after making the utmost allowances for errors, we may + conclude from such a table of prices that a penny, in terms of the + labourer's necessities, must have been nearly equal in the reign of Henry + VIII. to the present shilling. For a penny, at the time of which I write, + the labourer could buy as much bread, beef, beer, and wine—he could + do as much towards finding lodging for himself and his family—as + the labourer of the nineteenth century can for a shilling. I do not see + that this admits of question. Turning, then, to the table of wages, it + will be easy to ascertain his position. By the 3rd of the 6th of Henry + VIII. it was enacted that master carpenters, masons, bricklayers, tylers, + plumbers, glaziers, joiners, and other employers of such skilled workmen, + should give to each of their journeymen, if no meat or drink was allowed, + sixpence a day <!-- Page 17 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> for the half year, fivepence a day for + the other half; or fivepence-halfpenny for the yearly average. The common + labourers were to receive fourpence a day for half the year, for the + remaining half, threepence.<a name="NtA_30"></a><a + href="#Nt_30"><sup>30</sup></a> In the harvest months they were allowed + to work by the piece, and might earn considerably more;<a + name="NtA_31"></a><a href="#Nt_31"><sup>31</sup></a> so that, in fact + (and this was the rate at which their wages were usually estimated), the + day labourer, if in full employment, received on an average fourpence a + day for the whole year. Allowing a deduction of one day in a fortnight + for a saint's day or a holiday, he received, therefore, steadily and + regularly, if well conducted, an equivalent of something near to twenty + shillings a week, the wages at present paid in English colonies: and this + is far from being a full account of his advantages. Except in rare + instances, the agricultural labourer held land in connection with his + house, while in most parishes, if not in all, there were large ranges of + common and unenclosed forest land, which furnished his fuel to him + gratis, where pigs might range, and ducks and geese; where, if he could + afford a cow, he was in no danger of being unable to feed it; and so + important was this privilege considered, that when the commons began to + be largely enclosed, parliament insisted that the working man should not + be without <!-- Page 18 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page18"></a>[pg + 18]</span> some piece of ground on which he could employ his own and his + family's industry.<a name="NtA_32"></a><a href="#Nt_32"><sup>32</sup></a> + By the 7th of the 31st of Elizabeth, it was ordered that no cottage + should be built for residence without four acres of land at lowest being + attached to it for the sole use of the occupants of such cottage.</p> + + <p>It will, perhaps, be supposed that such comparative prosperity of + labour was the result of the condition of the market in which it was + sold, that the demand for labour was large and the supply limited, and + that the state of England in the sixteenth century was analogous to that + of Australia or Canada at the present time. And so long as we confine our + view to the question of wages alone, it is undoubted that legislation was + in favour of the employer. The Wages Act of Henry VIII. was unpopular + with the labourers, and was held to deprive them of an opportunity of + making better terms for themselves.<a name="NtA_33"></a><a + href="#Nt_33"><sup>33</sup></a> But we shall fall into extreme error if + we translate into the language of modern political economy the social + features of a state of things <!-- Page 19 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> which in no way correspond to our own. + There was this essential difference, that labour was not looked upon as a + market commodity; the government (whether wisely or not, I do not presume + to determine) attempting to portion out the rights of the various classes + of society by the rule, not of economy, but of equity. Statesmen did not + care for the accumulation of capital; they desired to see the physical + well-being of all classes of the commonwealth maintained at the highest + degree which the producing power of the country admitted; and population + and production remaining stationary, they were able to do it. This was + their object, and they were supported in it by a powerful and efficient + majority of the nation. On the one side parliament interfered to protect + employers against their labourers; but it was equally determined that + employers should not be allowed to abuse their opportunities; and this + directly appears from the 4th of the 5th of Elizabeth, by which, on the + most trifling appearance of a depreciation in the currency, it was + declared that the labouring man could no longer live on the wages + assigned to him by the act of Henry; and a sliding scale was instituted + by which, for the future, wages should be adjusted to the price of + food.<a name="NtA_34"></a><a href="#Nt_34"><sup>34</sup></a></p> + + <p>The same conclusion may be gathered also, indirectly, from other acts, + interfering imperiously with the rights of property where a disposition + showed itself to exercise them selfishly. The city merchants, as I have + said, were becoming landowners; and some of them attempted to apply the + rules of trade to the management of landed estates. While wages were + ruled so high, it answered better as a speculation to convert arable land + into pasture; but the law immediately stepped in to prevent a proceeding + which it regarded as petty treason to the commonwealth. Self-protection + is the first law of life; and the country relying for its defence on an + able-bodied population, evenly distributed, ready at any moment to be + called into action, either against foreign invasion or civil disturbance, + it could not permit the owners of land to pursue for their own benefit a + course of action which threatened to weaken its garrisons. It is not + often that we are able to test the wisdom of legislation by specific + results so clearly as in the present instance. The first attempts of the + kind which I have described were made in the Isle of Wight, early in the + reign of Henry VII. Lying so <!-- Page 20 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> directly exposed to attacks from France, + the Isle of Wight was a place which it was peculiarly important to keep + in a state of defence, and the following act was therefore the + consequence:—</p> + + <p>"Forasmuch as it is to the surety of the Realm of England that the + Isle of Wight, in the county of Southampton, be well inhabited with + English people, for the defence as well of our antient enemies of the + Realm of France as of other parties; the which Isle is late decayed of + people by reason that many towns and villages have been let down, and the + fields dyked and made pasture for beasts and cattle, and also many + dwelling-places, farms, and farmholds have of late time been used to be + taken into one man's hold and hands, that of old time were wont to be in + many several persons' holds and hands, and many several households kept + in them; and thereby much people multiplied, and the same Isle thereby + well inhabited, which now, by the occasion aforesaid, is desolate and not + inhabited, but occupied with beasts and cattle, so that if hasty remedy + be not provided, that Isle cannot long be kept and defended, but open and + ready to the hands of the king's enemies, which God forbid. For remedy + hereof, it is ordained and enacted that no manner of person, of what + estate, degree, or condition soever, shall take any several farms more + than one, whereof the yearly value shall not exceed the sum of ten marks; + and if any several leases afore this time have been made to any person or + persons of divers and sundry farmholds, whereof the yearly value shall + exceed that sum, then the said person or persons shall choose one + farmhold at his pleasure, and the remnant of his leases shall be utterly + void."<a name="NtA_35"></a><a href="#Nt_35"><sup>35</sup></a></p> + + <p>An act, tyrannical in form, was singularly justified by its + consequences. The farms were rebuilt, the lands reploughed, the island + repeopled; and in 1546, when a French army of sixty thousand men + attempted to effect a landing at St. Helen's, they were defeated and + driven off by the militia of the island and a few levies transported from + Hampshire and the adjoining counties.<a name="NtA_36"></a><a + href="#Nt_36"><sup>36</sup></a> The money-making spirit, however, lay too + deep to be checked so readily. The trading classes were growing rich + under the strong rule of the Tudors. Increasing numbers of them were + buying or renting land; and the symptoms complained of broke out in the + following reign in many parts of <!-- Page 21 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page21"></a>[pg 21]</span> England. They could not choose but break + out indeed; for they were the outward marks of a vital change, which was + undermining the feudal constitution, and would by and bye revolutionise + and destroy it. Such symptoms it was impossible to extinguish; but the + government wrestled long and powerfully to hold down the new spirit; and + they fought against it successfully, till the old order of things had + finished its work, and the time was come for it to depart. By the 1st of + the 7th of Henry VIII., the laws of feudal tenure were put in force + against the landed traders. Wherever lands were converted from tillage to + pasture, the lords of the fee had authority to seize half of all profits + until the farm-buildings were reconstructed. If the immediate lord did + not do his duty, the lord next above him was to do it; and the evil still + increasing, the act, twenty years later, was extended further, and the + king had power to seize.<a name="NtA_37"></a><a + href="#Nt_37"><sup>37</sup></a> Nor was this all. Sheep-farming had + become an integral branch of business; and falling into the hands of men + who understood each other, it had been made a monopoly, affecting + seriously the prices of wool and mutton.<a name="NtA_38"></a><a + href="#Nt_38"><sup>38</sup></a> Stronger measures were therefore now + taken, and the class to which the offenders belonged was especially + pointed out by parliament.</p> + + <p>"Whereas," says the 13th of the 25th of Henry VIII., "divers and + sundry persons of the king's subjects of this Realm, to whom God of his + goodness hath disposed great plenty and abundance of moveable substance, + now of late, within few years, have daily studied, practised, and + invented ways and means how they might accumulate and gather together + into few hands, as well great multitude of farms as great plenty of + cattle, and in especial, sheep, putting such lands as they can get to + pasture and not to tillage; whereby they have not only pulled <!-- Page + 22 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> down + churches and towns and enhanced the old rates of the rents of the + possessions of this Realm, or else brought it to such excessive fines + that no poor man is able to meddle with it, but also have raised and + enhanced the prices of all manner of corn, cattle, wool, pigs, geese, + hens, chickens, eggs, and such other commodities, almost double above the + prices which hath been accustomed, by reason whereof a marvellous + multitude of the poor people of this realm be not able to provide meat, + drink, and clothes necessary for themselves, their wives, and children, + but be so discouraged with misery and poverty, that they fall daily to + theft, robbery, and other inconveniences, or pitifully die for hunger and + cold; and it is thought by the king's humble and loving subjects, that + one of the greatest occasions that moveth those greedy and covetous + people so to accumulate and keep in their hands such great portions and + parts of the lands of this Realm from the occupying of the poor + husbandmen, and so to use it in pasture and not in tillage, is the great + profit that cometh of sheep which be now come into a few persons' hands, + in respect of the whole number of the king's subjects; it is hereby + enacted, that no person shall have or keep on lands not their own + inheritance more than 2000 sheep; that no person shall occupy more than + two farms; and that the 19th of the 4th of Henry VII., and those other + acts obliging the lords of the fees to do their duty, shall be re-enacted + and enforced." <a name="NtA_39"></a><a + href="#Nt_39"><sup>39</sup></a></p> + + <p>By these measures the money-making spirit was for a time driven back, + and the country resumed its natural course. I am not concerned to defend + the economic wisdom of such proceedings; but they prove, I think, + conclusively, that the labouring classes owed their advantages not to the + condition of the labour market, but to the care of the state; and that + when the state relaxed its supervision, or failed to enforce its + regulations, the labourers being left to the market chances, sank + instantly in the unequal struggle with capital.</p> + + <p>The government, however, remained strong enough to hold its ground + (except during the discreditable interlude of the <!-- Page 23 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> reign of Edward VI.) + for the first three quarters of the century; and until that time the + working classes of this country remained in a condition more than + prosperous. They enjoyed an abundance far beyond what in general falls to + the lot of that order in long-settled countries; incomparably beyond what + the same class were enjoying at that very time in Germany or France. The + laws secured them; and that the laws were put in force we have the direct + evidence of successive acts of the legislature justifying the general + policy by its success: and we have also the indirect evidence of the + contented loyalty of the great body of the people at a time when, if they + had been discontented, they held in their own hands the means of + asserting what the law acknowledged to be their right. The government had + no power to compel submission to injustice, as was proved by the fate of + an attempt to levy a "benevolence" by force, in 1525. The people resisted + with a determination against which the crown commissioners were unable to + contend, and the scheme ended with an acknowledgment of fault by Henry, + who retired with a good grace from an impossible position. If the + peasantry had been suffering under any real grievances we should not have + failed to have heard of them when the religious rebellions furnished so + fair an opportunity to press those grievances forward. Complaint was loud + enough when complaint was just, under the Somerset protectorate. <a + name="NtA_40"></a><a href="#Nt_40"><sup>40</sup></a></p> + + <p>The incomes of the great nobles cannot be determined, for they varied + probably as much as they vary now. Under Henry IV. the average income of + an earl was estimated at £2000 a year.<a name="NtA_41"></a><a + href="#Nt_41"><sup>41</sup></a> Under Henry VIII. the great Duke of + Buckingham, the wealthiest English peer, had £6000.<a + name="NtA_42"></a><a href="#Nt_42"><sup>42</sup></a> And the income of + the <!-- Page 24 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page24"></a>[pg + 24]</span> Archbishop of Canterbury was rated at the same amount.<a + name="NtA_43"></a><a href="#Nt_43"><sup>43</sup></a> But the + establishments of such men were enormous; their ordinary retinues in time + of peace consisting of many hundred persons; and in war, when the duties + of a nobleman called him to the field, although in theory his followers + were paid by the crown, yet the grants of parliament were on so small a + scale that the theory was seldom converted into fact, and a large share + of the expenses was paid often out of private purses. The Duke of + Norfolk, in the Scotch war of 1523, declared (not complaining of it, but + merely as a reason why he should receive support) that he had spent all + his private means upon the army; and in the sequel of this history we + shall find repeated instances of knights and gentlemen voluntarily + ruining themselves in the service of their country. The people, not + universally, but generally, were animated by a true spirit of sacrifice; + by a true conviction that they were bound to think first of England, and + only next of themselves; and unless we can bring ourselves to understand + this, we shall never understand what England was under the reigns of the + Plantagenets and Tudors. The expenses of the court under Henry VII. were + a little over £14,000 a year, out of which were defrayed the whole cost + of the king's establishment, the expenses of entertaining foreign + ambassadors, the wages and maintenance of the yeomen of the guard, the + retinues of servants, and all necessary outlay not incurred for public + business. Under Henry VIII., of whose extravagance we have heard so much, + and whose court was the most magnificent in the world, these expenses + were £19,894 16<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>,<a name="NtA_44"></a><a + href="#Nt_44"><sup>44</sup></a> a small sum when compared with the + present cost of the royal establishment, even if we adopt the relative + estimate of twelve to one, and suppose it equal to £240,000 a year of our + money. But indeed it was not equal to £240,000; for, although the + proportion held in articles of common consumption, articles of luxury + were very dear indeed.<a name="NtA_45"></a><a + href="#Nt_45"><sup>45</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 25 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> + + <p>Passing down from the king and his nobles, to the body of the people, + we find that the income qualifying a country gentleman to be justice of + the peace was £20 a year, <a name="NtA_46"></a><a + href="#Nt_46"><sup>46</sup></a> and if he did his duty, his office was no + sinecure. We remember Justice Shallow and his clerk Davy, with his novel + theory of magisterial law; and Shallow's broad features have so English a + cast about them, that we may believe there were many such, and that the + duty was not always very excellently done. But the Justice Shallows were + not allowed to repose upon their dignity. The justice of the peace was + required not only to take cognisance of open offences, but to keep + surveillance over all persons within his district, and over himself in + his own turn there was a surveillance no less sharp, and penalties for + neglect prompt and peremptory.<a name="NtA_47"></a><a + href="#Nt_47"><sup>47</sup></a> Four times a year he was to make + proclamation of his duty, and exhort all persons to complain against him + who had occasion.</p> + + <p>Twenty pounds a year, and heavy duties to do for it, represented the + condition of the squire of the parish.<a name="NtA_48"></a><a + href="#Nt_48"><sup>48</sup></a> By the 2nd of the 2nd of Henry V., "the + wages" of a parish priest were limited to £5 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, + except in cases where there was special licence from the bishop, when + they might be raised as high as £6. Priests were probably something + better off under Henry VIII., but the statute remained in force, and + marks an approach at least to their ordinary salary.<a + name="NtA_49"></a><a href="#Nt_49"><sup>49</sup></a> The priest had + enough, being <!-- Page 26 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span> unmarried, to supply him in comfort with + the necessaries of life. The squire had enough to provide moderate + abundance for himself and his family. Neither priest nor squire was able + to establish any steep difference in outward advantages between himself + and the commons among whom he lived.</p> + +<!-- Page 27 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> + + <p>The habits of all classes were open, free, and liberal. There are two + expressions corresponding one to the other, which we frequently meet with + in old writings, and which are used as a kind of index, marking whether + the condition of things was or <!-- Page 28 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page28"></a>[pg 28]</span> was not what it ought to be. We read of + "merry England;"—when England was not merry, things were not going + well with it. We hear of "the glory of hospitality," England's + pre-eminent <!-- Page 29 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> boast,-by the rules of which all tables, + from the table of the twenty-shilling freeholder to the table in the + baron's hall and abbey refectory, were open at the dinner hour to all + comers, without stint or reserve, or question asked:<a + name="NtA_50"></a><a href="#Nt_50"><sup>50</sup></a> to every man, + according to his degree, who chose to ask for it there was free fee and + free lodging; bread, beef, and beer for his dinner; for his lodging, + perhaps, only a mat of rushes in a spare corner of the hall, with a + billet of wood for a pillow,<a name="NtA_51"></a><a + href="#Nt_51"><sup>51</sup></a> but freely offered and freely taken, the + guest probably faring much as his host fared, neither worse nor better. + There was little fear of an abuse of such licence, for suspicious + characters had no leave to wander at pleasure; and for any man found at + large and unable to give a sufficient account of himself, there were the + ever-ready parish stocks or town gaol. The "glory of hospitality" lasted + far down into Elizabeth's time; and then, as Camden says, "came in great + bravery of building, to the marvellous beautifying of the realm, but to + the decay" of what he valued more.</p> + + <p>In such frank style the people lived, hating three things with all + their hearts: idleness, want, and cowardice; and for the rest carrying + their hearts high, and having their hands full. The<a + name="NtA_52"></a><a href="#Nt_52"><sup>52</sup></a> hour of rising, + winter and summer, was four o'clock, with breakfast at five, after which + the labourers went to work and the gentlemen to business, of which they + had no little. In the country every unknown face was challenged and + examined—if the account given was insufficient, he was brought + before the justice; if the village shopkeeper sold bad wares, if the + village cobbler made "unhonest" shoes, if servants and masters + quarrelled, all was to be looked to by the justice; there was no fear + lest time should hang heavy with him. At twelve he dined; after dinner he + went hunting, or to his farm or to what he pleased.<a + name="NtA_53"></a><a href="#Nt_53"><sup>53</sup></a> It was a life + unrefined, perhaps, but coloured with a broad, rosy, English health.</p> + +<!-- Page 30 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span> + + <p>Of the education of noblemen and gentlemen we have contradictory + accounts, as might be expected. The universities were well filled, by the + sons of yeomen chiefly. The cost of supporting them at the colleges was + little, and wealthy men took a pride in helping forward any boys of + promise.<a name="NtA_54"></a><a href="#Nt_54"><sup>54</sup></a> It seems + clear also, as the Reformation drew nearer, while the clergy were sinking + lower and lower, a marked change for the better became perceptible in a + portion at least of the laity. The more old-fashioned of the higher ranks + were slow in moving; for as late as the reign of Edward VI.<a + name="NtA_55"></a><a href="#Nt_55"><sup>55</sup></a> there were peers of + parliament unable to read; but on the whole, the invention of printing, + and the general ferment which was commencing all over the world, had + produced marked effects in all classes. Henry VIII. himself spoke four + languages, and was well read in theology and history; and the high + accomplishments of More and Sir T. Elliott, of Wyatt and Cromwell, were + but the extreme expression of a temper which was rapidly spreading, and + which gave occasion, among other things to the following reflection in + Erasmus. "Oh, strange vicissitudes of human things," exclaims he. + "Heretofore the heart of learning was among such as professed religion. + Now, while they for the most part give themselves up, <!-- Page 31 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> <i>ventri + luxui pecuniĉque</i>, the love of learning is gone from them to secular + princes, the court and the nobility. May we not justly be ashamed of + ourselves? The feasts of priests and divines are drowned in wine, are + filled with scurrilous jests, sound with intemperate noise and tumult, + flow with spiteful slanders and defamation of others; while at princes' + tables modest disputations are held concerning things which make for + learning and piety."</p> + + <p>A letter to Thomas Cromwell from his son's tutor will not be without + interest on this subject; Cromwell was likely to have been unusually + careful in his children's training, and we need not suppose that all boys + were brought up as prudently. Sir Peter Carew, for instance, being a boy + at about the same time, and giving trouble at the High School at Exeter, + was led home to his father's house at Ottery, coupled between two + foxhounds.<a name="NtA_56"></a><a href="#Nt_56"><sup>56</sup></a> Yet the + education of Gregory Cromwell is probably not far above what many young + men of the middle and higher ranks were beginning to receive. Henry Dowes + was the tutor's name, beyond which fact I know nothing of him. His letter + is as follows:—</p> + + <p>"After that it pleased your mastership to give me in charge, not only + to give diligent attendance upon Master Gregory, but also to instruct him + with good letters, honest manners, pastyme of instruments, and such other + qualities as should be for him meet and convenient, pleaseth it you to + understand that for the accomplishment thereof I have endeavoured myself + by all ways possible to excogitate how I might most profit him. In which + behalf, through his diligence, the success is such as I trust shall be to + your good contentation and pleasure, and to his no small profit. But for + cause the summer was spent in the service of the wild gods, [and] it is + so much to be regarded after what fashion youth is brought up, in which + time that that is learned for the most part will not be wholly forgotten + in the older years, I think it my duty to acertain your mastership how he + spendeth his time. And first after he hath heard mass he taketh a lecture + of a dialogue of Erasmus' <i>Colloquies</i>, called <i>Pietas + Puerilis</i>, wherein is described a very picture of one that should be + virtuously brought up; and for cause it is so necessary for him, I do not + only cause him to read it over, but also to practise the precepts of the + same. After this he exerciseth his hand in writing one or two hours, and + readeth upon Fabyan's <i>Chronicle</i> as long. The residue of the day he + doth spend upon the lute <!-- Page 32 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> and virginals. When he rideth, as he + doth very oft, I tell him by the way some history of the Romans or the + Greeks, which I cause him to rehearse again in a tale. For his recreation + he useth to hawk and hunt and shoot in his long bow, which frameth and + succeedeth so well with him that he seemeth to be thereunto given by + nature."<a name="NtA_57"></a><a href="#Nt_57"><sup>57</sup></a></p> + + <p>I have spoken of the organisation of the country population, I have + now to speak of that of the towns, of the trading classes and + manufacturing classes, the regulations respecting which are no less + remarkable and no less illustrative of the national character. If the + tendency of trade to assume at last a form of mere self-interest be + irresistible, if political economy represent the laws to which in the end + it is forced to submit itself, the nation spared no efforts, either of + art or policy, to defer to the last moment the unwelcome conclusion.</p> + + <p>The names and shadows linger about London of certain ancient + societies, the members of which may still occasionally be seen in quaint + gilt barges pursuing their own difficult way among the swarming steamers; + when on certain days, the traditions concerning which are fast dying out + of memory, the Fishmongers' Company, the Goldsmiths' Company, the + Mercers' Company, make procession down the river for civic feastings at + Greenwich or Blackwall. The stately tokens of ancient honour still belong + to them, and the remnants of ancient wealth and patronage and power. + Their charters may be read by curious antiquaries, and the bills of fare + of their ancient entertainments. But for what purpose they were called + into being, what there was in these associations of common trades to + surround with gilded insignia, and how they came to be possessed of broad + lands and church preferments, few people now care to think or to inquire. + Trade and traders have no dignity any more in the eyes of any one, except + what money lends to them; and these outward symbols scarcely rouse even a + passing feeling of curiosity. And yet these companies were once something + more than names. They are all which now remain of a vast organisation + which once penetrated the entire trading life of England—an + organisation set on foot to realise that most necessary, if most + difficult, condition of commercial excellence under which man should deal + faithfully with his brother, and all wares offered for sale, of whatever + kind, should honestly be what they <!-- Page 33 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> pretend to be.<a + name="NtA_58"></a><a href="#Nt_58"><sup>58</sup></a> I spoke of the + military principle which directed the distribution and the arrangements + of land. The analogy will best explain a state of things in which every + occupation was treated as the division of an army; regiments being + quartered in every town, each with its own self-elected officers, whose + duty was to exercise authority over all persons professing the business + to which they belonged; who were to see that no person undertook to + supply articles which he had not been educated to manufacture; who were + to determine the prices at which such articles ought justly to be sold; + above all, who were to take care that the common people really bought at + shops and stalls what they supposed themselves to be buying; that cloth + put up for sale was true cloth, of true texture and full weight: that + leather was sound and well tanned; wine pure, measures honest; flour + unmixed with devil's dust;—who were generally to look to it that in + all contracts between man and man for the supply of man's necessities, + what we call honesty of dealing should be truly and faithfully + observed.<a name="NtA_59"></a><a href="#Nt_59"><sup>59</sup></a> An + organisation for this purpose did once really exist in England,<a + name="NtA_60"></a><a href="#Nt_60"><sup>60</sup></a> really trying to do + the work which it was intended to do, as half the pages of our early + statutes witness. <!-- Page 34 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> In London, as the metropolis, a central + council sate for every branch of trade, and this council was in + communication with the Chancellor and the Crown. It was composed of the + highest and most respectable members of the profession, and its office + was to determine prices, fix wages, arrange the rules of apprenticeship, + and discuss all details connected with the business on which legislation + might be required. Further, this council received the reports of the + searchers—high officers taken from their own body, whose business + was to inspect, in company with the lord mayor or some other city + dignitary, the shops of the respective traders; to receive complaints, + and to examine into them. In each provincial town local councils sate in + connection with the municipal authorities, who fulfilled in these places + the same duties; and their reports being forwarded to the central body, + and considered by them, representations on all necessary matters were + then made to the privy council; and by the privy council, if requisite, + were submitted to parliament. If these representations were judged to + require legislative interference, the statutes which were passed in + consequence were returned through the Chancellor to the mayors of the + various towns and cities, by whom they were proclaimed as law. No person + was allowed to open a trade or to commence a manufacture, either in + London or the provinces, unless he had first served his apprenticeship; + unless he could prove to the satisfaction of the authorities that he was + competent in his craft; and unless he submitted as a matter of course to + their supervision. The legislature had undertaken not to let that + indispensable task go wholly unattempted, of distributing the various + functions of society by the rule of capacity; of compelling every man to + do his duty in an honest following of his proper calling, securing to him + that he in his turn should not be injured by his neighbour's + misdoings.</p> + + <p>The state further promising for itself that all able-bodied men should + be found in work,<a name="NtA_61"></a><a href="#Nt_61"><sup>61</sup></a> + and not allowing any man to work at a business for which he was unfit, + insisted as its natural right that children should not be allowed to grow + up in idleness, to be returned at mature age upon its hands. Every child, + so far as possible, was to be trained up in some business or calling,<a + name="NtA_62"></a><a href="#Nt_62"><sup>62</sup></a> idleness "being the + mother of all sin," and the essential duty of every man being to provide + honestly for himself and his family. The educative theory, for such it + was, was simple but effective: it was based on the single principle that, + next to the knowledge of a man's duty to God, and as a means towards <!-- + Page 35 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> + doing that duty, the first condition of a worthy life was the ability to + maintain it in independence. Varieties of inapplicable knowledge might be + good, but they were not essential; such knowledge might be left to the + leisure of after years, or it might be dispensed with without vital + injury. Ability to labour could not be dispensed with, and this, + therefore, the state felt it to be its own duty to see provided; so + reaching, I cannot but think, the heart of the whole matter. The children + of those who could afford the small entrance fees were apprenticed to + trades, the rest were apprenticed to agriculture; and if children were + found growing up idle, and their fathers or their friends failed to prove + that they were able to secure them an ultimate maintenance, the mayors in + towns and the magistrates in the country had authority to take possession + of such children, and apprentice them as they saw fit, that when they + grew up "they might not be driven" by want or incapacity "to dishonest + courses."<a name="NtA_63"></a><a href="#Nt_63"><sup>63</sup></a></p> + + <p>Such is an outline of the organisation of English society under the + Plantagenets and Tudors. A detail of the working of the trade laws would + be beyond my present purpose. It is obvious that such laws could be + enforced only under circumstances when production and population remained + (as I said before) nearly stationary; and it would be madness to attempt + to apply them to the changed condition of the present. It would be well + if some competent person would make these laws the subject of a special + treatise. I will run the risk, however, of wearying the reader with two + or three illustrative statutes, which I have chosen, not as being more + significant than many others, but as specimens merely of the discipline + under which, for centuries, the trade and manufactures of England + contrived to move; showing on one side the good which the system + effected, on the other the inevitable evils under which it finally + sank.</p> + + <p>The first which I shall quote concerns simply the sale of specific + goods and the means by which tradesmen were prevented from enhancing + prices. The Act is the 6th of the 24th of Henry VIII., and concerns the + sale of wines, the statute prices of which I have already mentioned.</p> + + <p>"Because," says this Act, "that divers merchants inhabiting within the + city of London have of late not only presumed to bargain and sell in + gross to divers of the king's subjects great quantities of wines of + Gascony, Guienne, and French wines, some for five pounds per tonne, some + for more and some for less, and so after the rate of excessive prices + contrary to the effect <!-- Page 36 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> of a good and laudable statute lately + made in this present parliament; that is to say, contrary to and above + the prices thereof set by the Right Honourable Lord Chancellor, Lord + Treasurer, Lord President of the King's most honourable Council, Lord + Privy Seal, and the two Chief Justices of either bench, whereby they be + fallen into the penalties limited by the said statute; as by due proof + made by examination taken is well known—but also having in their + hands great abundance of wine, by them acquired and bought to be sold, + obstinately and maliciously, since their said attemptate and defaults + proved, have refused to bargain and sell to many of the king's subjects + any of their said wines remaining and being in their hands; purposing and + intending thereby their own singular and unreasonable lucres and profits, + to have larger and higher prices of their said wines, to be set according + to their insatiable appetites and minds; it is therefore ordained and + enacted, by authority of this present parliament, that every merchant now + having, or which shall hereafter have, wines to be sold, and refusing to + sell or deliver, or not selling and delivering any of the said wines for + ready money therefore to be paid, according to the price or prices + thereof being set, shall forfeit and lose the value of the wine so + required to be bought.... For due execution of which provision, and for + the relief of the king's subjects, it shall be lawful to all and singular + justices of the peace, mayors, bailiffs, and other head officers in + shires, cities, boroughs, towns, etc., at the request of any person to + whom the said merchant or merchants have refused to sell, to enter into + the cellars and other places where such wines shall lie or be, and to + sell and deliver the same wine or wines desired to be bought to the + person or persons requiring to buy the same; taking of the buyer of the + wine so sold to the use and satisfaction of the proprietor aforesaid, + according to the prices determined by the law."</p> + + <p>The next which I select is the eleventh of the second and third of + Philip and Mary; and falling in the midst of the smoke of the Smithfield + fires, and the cruelties of that melancholy time, it shines like a fair + gleam of humanity, which will not lose anything of its lustre because the + evils against which it contends have in our times, also, furnished matter + for sorrow and calamity—calamity which we unhappily have been + unable even to attempt to remedy. It is termed "An Act touching Weavers," + and runs:</p> + + <p>"Forasmuch as the weavers of this realm have, as well at <!-- Page 37 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> this present + parliament as at divers other times, complained that the rich and wealthy + clothiers do in many ways oppress them—some by setting up and + keeping in their houses divers looms, and keeping and maintaining them by + journeymen and persons unskilful, to the decay of a great number of + artificers which were brought up in the said science of weaving, with + their families and their households—some by engrossing of looms + into their hands and possession, and letting them out at such + unreasonable rents, as the poor artificers are not able to maintain + themselves, much less maintain their wives, families, and + children—some also by giving much less wages and hire for weaving + and workmanship than in times past they did, whereby they are enforced + utterly to forsake their art and occupation wherein they have been + brought up; It is, therefore, for remedy of the premises, and for the + avoiding of a great number of inconveniences which may grow if in time it + be not foreseen, ordained and enacted by authority of this present + parliament, that no person using the feat or mystery of cloth-making, and + dwelling out of a city, borough, market-town, or corporate town, shall + keep, or retain, or have in his or their houses or possession, any more + than one woollen loom at a time; nor shall by any means, directly or + indirectly, receive or take any manner of profit, gain, or commodity, by + letting or setting any loom, or any house wherein any loom is or shall be + used or occupied, which shall be together by him set or let, upon pain of + forfeiture for every week that any person shall do the contrary to the + tenor and true meaning hereof, twenty shillings."</p> + + <p>A provision then follows, limiting weavers living in towns to two + looms—the plain intention being to prevent the cloth manufacture + from falling into the power of large capitalists employing "hands;" and + to enable as many persons as possible to earn all in their own homes + their own separate independent living. I suppose that the parliament was + aware that by pursuing this policy the cost of production was something + increased; that cloth was thus made dearer than it would have been if + trade had been left to follow its own course. It considered, however, + that the loss was compensated to the nation by retaining its people in + the condition not of "hands," but of men; by rendering them independent + of masters, who only sought to make their own advantage at the expense of + labour; and enabling them to continue to maintain themselves in manly + freedom. The weak point of all such provisions did not lie, I think, in + the economic aspect of them, but in a far deeper difficulty. The details + of <!-- Page 38 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38"></a>[pg + 38]</span> trade legislation, it is obvious, could only be determined by + persons professionally conversant with those details; and the + indispensable condition of success with such legislation is, that it be + conducted under the highest sense of the obligations of honesty. No laws + are of any service which are above the working level of public morality; + and the deeper they are carried down into life, the larger become the + opportunities of evasion. That the system succeeded for centuries is + evident from the organisation of the companies remaining so long in its + vitality; but the efficiency of this organisation for the maintenance of + fair dealing could exist only so long as the companies + themselves—their wardens and their other officials, who alone, + <i>quisque in suâ arte</i>, were competent to judge what was right and + what was wrong—could be trusted, at the same time being interested + parties, to give a disinterested judgment. The largeness of the power + inevitably committed to the councils was at once a temptation and an + opportunity to abuse those powers; and slowly through the statute book we + find the traces of the poison as it crept in and in. Already in the 24th + of Henry VIII., we meet with complaints in the leather trade of the + fraudulent conduct of the searchers, whose duty was to affix their seal + upon leather ascertained to be sound, before it was exposed for sale, + "which mark or print, for corruption and lucre, is commonly set and put + by such as take upon them the search and sealing, as well upon leather + insufficiently tanned, as upon leather well tanned, to the great deceit + of the buyers thereof." About the same time, the "craft wardens" of the + various fellowships, "out of sinister mind and purpose," were levying + excessive fees on the admission of apprentices; and when parliament + interfered to bring them to order, they "compassed and practised by + cautill and subtle means to delude the good and wholesome statutes passed + for remedy."<a name="NtA_64"></a><a href="#Nt_64"><sup>64</sup></a> The + old proverb, <i>Quis custodiat custodes</i>, had begun to verify itself, + and the symptom was a fatal one. These evils, for the first half of the + century, remained within compass; but as we pass on we find them + increasing steadily. In the 7th and the 8th of Elizabeth, there are + indications of the truck system; and towards her later years, the + multiplying statutes and growing complaints and difficulties show plainly + that the companies had lost their healthy vitality, and, with other + relics of feudalism, were fast taking themselves away. There were no + longer tradesmen to be found in sufficient numbers who were possessed of + the necessary <!-- Page 39 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> probity; and it is impossible not to + connect such a phenomenon with the deep melancholy which in those years + settled down on Elizabeth herself.</p> + + <p>For, indeed, a change was coming upon the world, the meaning and + direction of which even still is hidden from us, a change from era to + era. The paths trodden by the footsteps of ages were broken up; old + things were passing away, and the faith and the life of ten centuries + were dissolving like a dream. Chivalry was dying; the abbey and the + castle were soon together to crumble into ruins; and all the forms, + desires, beliefs, convictions of the old world were passing away, never + to return. A new continent had risen up beyond the western sea. The floor + of heaven, inlaid with stars, had sunk back into an infinite abyss of + immeasurable space; and the firm earth itself, unfixed from its + foundations, was seen to be but a small atom in the awful vastness of the + universe. In the fabric of habit in which they had so laboriously built + for themselves, mankind were to remain no longer.</p> + + <p>And now it is all gone—like an unsubstantial pageant faded; and + between us and the old English there lies a gulf of mystery which the + prose of the historian will never adequately bridge. They cannot come to + us, and our imagination can but feebly penetrate to them. Only among the + aisles of the cathedral, only as we gaze upon their silent figures + sleeping on their tombs, some faint conceptions float before us of what + these men were when they were alive; and perhaps in the sound of church + bells, that peculiar creation of mediĉval age, which falls upon the ear + like the echo of a vanished world.</p> + + <p>The transition out of this old state is what in this book I have + undertaken to relate. As yet there were uneasy workings below the + surface; but the crust was unbroken, and the nation remained outwardly + unchanged as it had been for centuries. I have still some few features to + add to my description.</p> + + <p>Nothing, I think, proves more surely the mutual confidence which held + together the government and the people, than the fact that all classes + were armed. Every man, as I have already said, was a soldier; and every + man was ready equipped at all times with the arms which corresponded to + his rank. By the great statute of Winchester,<a name="NtA_65"></a><a + href="#Nt_65"><sup>65</sup></a> which was repeated and expanded on many + occasions in the after reigns, it was enacted, "That every man have + harness in his house to keep the peace after the antient + assise—that is to say, every man between <!-- Page 40 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> fifteen years of age + and sixty years shall be assessed and sworn to armour according to the + quantity of his lands and goods—that is, to wit, for fifteen pounds + lands and forty marks goods, a hauberke, a helmet of iron, a sword, a + dagger, and a horse. For ten pounds of lands and twenty marks goods, a + hauberke, a helmet, a sword, and a dagger. For five pounds lands, a + doublet, a helmet of iron, a sword, and a dagger. For forty shillings + lands, a sword, a bow and arrows, and a dagger. And all others that may + shall have bows and arrows. Review of armour shall be made every year two + times, by two constables for every hundred and franchise thereunto + appointed; and the constables shall present, to justices assigned for + that purpose, such defaults as they do find."</p> + + <p>As the archery was more developed, and the bow became the peculiar + weapon of the English, regular practice was ordered, and shooting became + at once the drill and the amusement of the people. Every hamlet had its + pair of butts; and on Sundays and holidays<a name="NtA_66"></a><a + href="#Nt_66"><sup>66</sup></a> all able-bodied men were required to + appear in the field, to employ their leisure hours "as valyant Englishmen + ought to do," "utterly leaving the play at the bowls, quoits, dice, + kails, and other unthrifty games;" magistrates, mayors, and bailiffs + being responsible for their obedience, under penalty, if these officers + neglected their duty, of a fine of twenty shillings for each offence. On + the same days, the tilt-yard at the Hall or Castle was thrown open, and + the young men of rank amused themselves with similar exercises. Fighting, + or mock fighting—and the imitation was not unlike the + reality—was at once the highest enjoyment and the noblest + accomplishment of all ranks in the state; and over that most terrible of + human occupations they had flung the enchanted halo of chivalry, + decorating it with all the fairest graces, and consecrating it with the + most heroic aspirations.</p> + + <p>The chivalry, with much else, was often perhaps something ideal. In + the wars of the Roses it had turned into mere savage ferocity; and in + forty years of carnage the fighting propensities had glutted themselves. + A reaction followed, and in the early years of Henry VIII. the statutes + were growing obsolete, and the "unlawful games" rising again into favour. + The younger nobles, or some among them, were shrinking from the + tilt-yard, and were backward on occasions even when required for war. + Lord Surrey, when waiting on the Border, expecting the Duke of Albany to + invade the northern counties, in 1523, complained <!-- Page 41 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> of the growing + "slowness" of the young lords "to be at such journeys,"<a + name="NtA_67"></a><a href="#Nt_67"><sup>67</sup></a> and of their + "inclination to dancing, carding, and dicing." The people had followed + the example, and were falling out of archery practice, exchanging it for + similar amusements. Henry VIII., in his earlier days an Englishman after + the old type, set himself resolutely to oppose these downward tendencies, + and to brace again the slackened sinews of the nation. In his own person + he was the best rider, the best lance, and the best archer in England; + and while a boy he was dreaming of fresh Agincourts, and even of fresh + crusades. In 1511, when he had been king only three years, parliament + re-enacted the Winchester statute, with new and remarkable provisions; + and twice subsequently in the course of his reign he returned back upon + the subject, insisting upon it with increasing stringency. The language + of the Act of 1511 is not a little striking. "The King's Highness," so + the words run, "calling to his gracious remembrance that by the feats and + exercise of the subjects of his realm in shooting in long bows, there had + continually grown and been within the same great numbers and multitudes + of good archers, which hath not only defended the realm and the subjects + thereof against the cruel malice and dangers of their enemies in times + heretofore past, but also, with little numbers and puissance in regard of + their opposites, have done many notable acts and discomfitures of war + against the infidels and others; and furthermore reduced divers regions + and countries to their due obeysance, to the great honour, fame, and + surety of this realm and subjects, and to the terrible dread and fear of + all strange nations, anything to attempt or do to the hurt or damage of + them: Yet nevertheless that archery and shooting in long bows is but + little used, but daily does minish and decay, and abate more and more; + for that much part of the commonalty and poor people of this realm, + whereby of old time the great number and substance of archers had grown + and multiplied, be not of power nor ability to buy them long bows of yew + to exercise shooting in the same, and to sustain the continual charge + thereof; and also because, by means and occasions of customable usage of + tennis play, bowles, claish and other unlawful games, prohibited by many + good and beneficent statutes, much impoverishment hath ensued: Wherefore, + the King's Highness, of his great wisdom and providence, and also for + zeal to the public weal, surety, and defence of this his realm, and the + antient fame in this behalf to be revived, by <!-- Page 42 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> the assent of his + Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and his Commons in this present parliament + assembled, hath enacted and established that the statute of Winchester + for archers be put in due execution; and over that, that every man being + the king's subject, not lame, decrepit, or maimed, being within the age + of sixty years, except spiritual men, justices of the one bench and of + the other, justices of the assize, and barons of the exchequer, do use + and exercise shooting in long bows, and also do have a bow and arrows + ready continually in his house, to use himself in shooting. And that + every man having a man child or men children in his house, shall provide + for all such, being of the age of seven years and above, and till they + shall come to the age of seventeen years, a bow and two shafts, to learn + them and bring them up in shooting; and after such young men shall come + to the age of seventeen years, every of them shall provide and have a bow + and four arrows continually for himself, at his proper costs and charges, + or else of the gift and provision of his friends, and shall use the same + as afore is rehearsed." Other provisions are added, designed to suppress + the games complained of, and to place the bows more within the reach of + the poor, by cheapening the prices of them.</p> + + <p>The same statute<a name="NtA_68"></a><a + href="#Nt_68"><sup>68</sup></a> (and if this be a proof that it had + imperfectly succeeded, it is a proof also of Henry's confidence in the + general attachment of his subjects) was re-enacted thirty years later, at + the crisis of the Reformation, when the northern counties were fermenting + in a half-suppressed rebellion, and the catholics at home and abroad were + intriguing to bring about a revolution. In this subsequent edition of + it<a name="NtA_69"></a><a href="#Nt_69"><sup>69</sup></a> some + particulars are added which demand notice. In the directions to the + villages for the maintaining each "a pair of buttes," it is ordered that + no person above the age of twenty-four shall shoot with the light flight + arrow at a distance under two hundred and twenty yards. Up to two hundred + and twenty yards, therefore, the heavy war arrow was used, and this is to + be taken as the effective range for fighting purposes of the old + archery.<a name="NtA_70"></a><a href="#Nt_70"><sup>70</sup></a> <!-- Page + 43 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> No + measures could have been invented more effective than this vigorous + arming to repress the self-seeking tendencies in the mercantile classes + which I have mentioned as beginning to show themselves. Capital supported + by force may make its own terms with labour; but capital lying between a + king on one side resolved to prevent oppression, and a people on the + other side in full condition to resist, felt even prudence dictate + moderation, and reserved itself for a more convenient season.</p> + + <p>Looking, therefore, at the state of England as a whole, I cannot doubt + that under Henry the body of the people were prosperous, well-fed, loyal, + and contented. In all points of material comfort they were as well off as + they had ever been before; better off than they have ever been in later + times.</p> + + <p>Their amusements, as prescribed by statute, consisted in training + themselves as soldiers. In the prohibitions of the statutes we see also + what their amusements were inclined to be. But besides "the bowles and + the claish," field sports, fishing, shooting, hunting, were the delight + of every one, and although the forest laws were terrible, they served + only to enhance the excitement by danger. Then, as now, no English + peasant could be convinced that there was any moral crime in + appropriating the wild game. It was an offence against statute law, but + no offence against natural law; and it was rather a trial of skill + between the noble who sought to monopolise a right which seemed to be + common to all, and those who would succeed, if they could, in securing + their own share of it. The Robin Hood ballads reflect the popular feeling + and breathe the warm genial spirit of the old greenwood adventurers. If + deer-stealing was a sin, it was more than compensated by the risk of the + penalty to which those who failed submitted, when no other choice was + left. They did not always submit, as the old northern poem shows of + <i>Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and William of Cloudislee</i>, with its + most immoral moral; yet I suppose there was never pedant who could resist + the spell <!-- Page 44 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page44"></a>[pg + 44]</span> of those ringing lines, or refuse with all his heart to wish + the rogues success, and confusion to the honest men.</p> + + <p>But the English peasantry had pleasures of less ambiguous propriety, + and less likely to mislead our sympathies. The chroniclers have given us + many accounts of the masques and plays which were acted in the court, or + in the castles of the noblemen. Such pageants were but the most splendid + expression of a taste which was national and universal. As in ancient + Greece, generations before the rise of the great dramas of Athens, + itinerant companies wandered from village to village, carrying their + stage furniture in their little carts, and acted in their booths and + tents the grand stories of the mythology; so in England the mystery + players haunted the wakes and fairs, and in barns or taverns, taprooms, + or in the farmhouse kitchen, played at saints and angels, and transacted + on their petty stage the drama of the Christian faith. To us, who can + measure the effect of such scenes only by the impression which they would + now produce upon ourselves, these exhibitions can seem but unspeakably + profane; they were not profane when tendered in simplicity, and received + as they were given. They were no more profane than those quaint monastic + illuminations which formed the germ of Italian art; and as out of the + illuminations arose those paintings which remain unapproached and + unapproachable in their excellence, so out of the mystery plays arose the + English drama, represented in its final completeness by the creations of + a poet who, it now begins to be supposed, stands alone among mankind. We + allow ourselves to think of Shakspeare or of Raphael or of Phidias, as + having accomplished their work by the power of their own individual + genius; but greatness like theirs is never more than the highest degree + of an excellence which prevails widely round it, and forms the + environment in which it grows. No single mind in single contact with the + facts of nature could have created out of itself a Pallas, a Madonna, or + a Lear; such vast conceptions are the growth of ages, the creations of a + nation's spirit; and artist and poet, filled full with the power of that + spirit, have but given them form, and nothing more than form. Nor would + the form itself have been attainable by any isolated talent. No genius + can dispense with experience; the aberrations of power, unguided or + ill-guided, are ever in proportion to its intensity, and life is not long + enough to recover from inevitable mistakes. Noble conceptions already + existing, and a noble school of execution which will launch mind and hand + at once upon their true courses, are indispensable <!-- Page 45 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> to transcendent + excellence; and Shakspeare's plays were as much the offspring of the long + generations who had pioneered his road for him, as the discoveries of + Newton were the offspring of those of Copernicus.</p> + + <p>No great general ever arose out of a nation of cowards; no great + statesman or philosopher out of a nation of fools; no great artist out of + a nation of materialists; no great dramatist except when the drama was + the passion of the people. Acting was the especial amusement of the + English, from the palace to the village green. It was the result and + expression of their power over themselves, and power over circumstances. + They were troubled with no subjective speculations; no social problems + vexed them with which they were unable to deal; and in the exuberance of + vigour and spirits they were able, in the strict and literal sense of the + word, to play with the materials of life. The mystery plays came first; + next the popular legends; and then the great figures of English history + came out upon the stage, or stories from Greek and Roman writers; or + sometimes it was an extemporised allegory. Shakspeare himself has left us + many pictures of the village drama. Doubtless he had seen many a Bottom + in the old Warwickshire hamlets; many a Sir Nathaniel playing + "Alissander," and finding himself "a little o'erparted." He had been with + Snug the joiner, Quince the carpenter, and Flute the bellows-mender, when + a boy we will not question, and acted with them, and written their parts + for them; had gone up with them in the winter's evenings to the Lucy's + Hall before the sad trouble with the deer-stealing; and afterwards, when + he came to London and found his way into great society, he had not failed + to see Polonius burlesquing Cĉsar on the stage, as in his proper person + Polonius burlesqued Sir William Cecil. The strolling players in + <i>Hamlet</i> might be met at every country wake or festival; it was the + direction in which the especial genius of the people delighted to revel. + As I desire in this chapter not only to relate what were the habits of + the people, but to illustrate them also, within such compass as I can + allow myself, I shall transcribe out of Hall<a name="NtA_71"></a><a + href="#Nt_71"><sup>71</sup></a> a description of a play which was acted + by the boys of St. Paul's School, in 1527, at Greenwich, adding some + particulars, not mentioned by Hall, from another source.<a + name="NtA_72"></a><a href="#Nt_72"><sup>72</sup></a> It is a good + instance of the fantastic splendour with which exhibitions of this kind + were <!-- Page 46 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page46"></a>[pg + 46]</span> got up, and it possesses also a melancholy interest of another + kind, as showing how little the wisest among us can foresee our own + actions, or assure ourselves that the convictions of to-day will alike be + the convictions of to-morrow. The occasion was the despatch of a French + embassy to England, when Europe was outraged by the Duke of Bourbon's + capture of Rome, when the children of Francis I. were prisoners in Spain, + and Henry, with the full energy of his fiery nature, was flinging himself + into a quarrel with Charles V. as the champion of the Holy See.</p> + + <p>At the conclusion of a magnificent supper "the king led the + ambassadors into the great chamber of disguisings; and in the end of the + same chamber was a fountain, and on one side was a hawthorne tree, all of + silk, with white flowers, and on the other side was a mulberry tree full + of fair berries, all of silk. On the top of the hawthorne were the arms + of England, compassed with the collar of the order<a name="NtA_73"></a><a + href="#Nt_73"><sup>73</sup></a> of St. Michael, and in the top of the + mulberry tree stood the arms of France within a garter. The fountain was + all of white marble, graven and chased; the bases of the same were balls + of gold, supported by ramping beasts wound in leaves of gold. In the + first work were gargoylles of gold, fiercely faced with spouts running. + The second receit of this fountain was environed with winged serpents, + all of gold, which griped it; and on the summit of the same was a fair + lady, out of whose breasts ran abundantly water of marvellous delicious + savour. About this fountain were benches of rosemary, fretted in braydes + laid on gold, all the sides set with roses, on branches as they were + growing about this fountain. On the benches sate eight fair ladies in + strange attire, and so richly apparelled in cloth of gold, embroidered + and cut over silver, that I cannot express the cunning workmanship + thereof. Then when the king and queen were set, there was played before + them, by children, in the Latin tongue, a manner of tragedy, the effect + whereof was that the pope was in captivity and the church brought under + foot. Whereupon St. Peter appeared and put the cardinal (Wolsey) in + authority to bring the pope to his liberty, and to set up the church + again. And so the cardinal made intercession with the kings of England + and France that they took part together, and by their means the pope was + delivered. Then in came the French king's children, and complained to the + cardinal how the emperour kept them as hostages, and would not come to + reasonable point with their <!-- Page 47 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> father, whereupon they desired the + cardinal to help for their deliverance; which wrought so with the king + his master and the French king that he brought the emperour to a peace, + and caused the two young princes to be delivered." So far Hall relates + the scene, but there was more in the play than he remembered or cared to + notice, and I am able to complete this curious picture of a pageant once + really and truly a living spectacle in the old palace at Greenwich, by an + inventory of the dresses worn by the boys and a list of the <i>dramatis + personĉ</i>.</p> + + <p>The school-boys of St. Paul's were taken down the river with the + master in six boats, at the cost of a shilling a boat—the cost of + the dresses and the other expenses amounting in all to sixty-one + shillings.</p> + + <p>The characters were—</p> + + <p>An orator in apparel of cloth of gold.</p> + + <p>Religio, Ecclesia, Veritas, like three widows, in garments of silk, + and suits of lawn and Cyprus.</p> + + <p>Heresy and False Interpretation, like sisters of Bohemia, apparelled + in silk of divers colours.</p> + + <p>The heretic Luther, like a party friar, in russet damask and black + taffety.</p> + + <p>Luther's wife, like a frow of Spiers in Almayn, in red silk.</p> + + <p>Peter, Paul, and James, in habits of white sarsnet, and three red + mantles, and lace of silver and damask, and pelisses of scarlet.</p> + + <p>A Cardinal in his apparel.</p> + + <p>Two Sergeants in rich apparel.</p> + + <p>The Dolphin and his brother in coats of velvet embroidered with gold, + and capes of satin bound with velvet.</p> + + <p>A Messenger in tinsel satin.</p> + + <p>Six men in gowns of grey sarsnet.</p> + + <p>Six women in gowns of crimson velvet.</p> + + <p>War, in rich cloth of gold and feathers, armed.</p> + + <p>Three Almeyns, in apparel all cut and holed in silk.</p> + + <p>Lady Peace in lady's apparel white and rich.</p> + + <p>Lady Quietness and Dame Tranquillity richly beseen in lady's + apparel.</p> + + <p>It is a strange world. This was in November, 1527. In November, 1530, + but three brief years after, Wolsey lay dying in misery, a disgraced man, + at Leicester Abbey; "the Pope's Holiness" was fast becoming in English + eyes plain Bishop of Rome, held guilty towards this realm of unnumbered + enormities, <!-- Page 48 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> and all England was sweeping with + immeasurable velocity towards the heretic Luther. So history repeats the + lesson to us, not to boast ourselves of the morrow, for we know not what + a day may bring forth.</p> + + <p>Before I conclude this survey, it remains for me to say something of + the position of the poor, and of the measures which were taken for the + solution of that most difficult of all problems, the distinguishing the + truly deserving from the worthless and the vagabond. The subject is one + to which in the progress of this work I shall have more than one occasion + to return; but inasmuch as a sentimental opinion prevails that an + increase of poverty and the consequent enactment of poor-laws was the + result of the suppression of the religious houses, and that adequate + relief had been previously furnished by these establishments, it is + necessary to say a few words for the removal of an impression which is as + near as possible the reverse of the truth. I do not doubt that for many + centuries these houses fulfilled honestly the intentions with which they + were established; but as early as the reign of Richard II. it was found + necessary to provide some other means for the support of the aged and + impotent; the monasteries not only having then begun to neglect their + duty; but by the appropriation of benefices having actually deprived the + parishes of their local and independent means of charity.<a + name="NtA_74"></a><a href="#Nt_74"><sup>74</sup></a> Licences to beg were + at that time granted to deserving persons; and it is noticeable that this + measure was in a few years followed by the petition to Henry IV. for the + secularisation of ecclesiastical property.<a name="NtA_75"></a><a + href="#Nt_75"><sup>75</sup></a> Thus early in our history had the regular + clergy forgotten the nature of their mission, and the object for which + the administration of the nation's charities had been committed to them. + Thus early, while their houses were the nurseries of dishonest + mendicancy,<a name="NtA_76"></a><a href="#Nt_76"><sup>76</sup></a> they + had surrendered to lay compassion, those who ought to have been their + especial care. I shall unhappily have occasion hereafter to illustrate + these matters in detail. I mention them in this place only in order to + dissipate at once a foolish dream. At the opening of the sixteenth + century, before the suppression of the monasteries had suggested itself + in a practical form, pauperism was a state question of great difficulty, + and as such I have at present to consider it.</p> + + <p>For the able-bodied vagrant, it is well known that the old <!-- Page + 49 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> English + laws had no mercy. When wages are low, and population has outgrown the + work which can be provided for it, idleness may be involuntary and + innocent; at a time when all industrious men could maintain themselves in + comfort and prosperity, "when a fair day's wages for a fair day's work" + was really and truly the law of the land, it was presumed that if strong + capable men preferred to wander about the country, and live upon the + labour of others, mendicancy was not the only crime of which they were + likely to be guilty; while idleness itself was justly looked upon as a + high offence, and misdemeanour. The penalty of God's laws against + idleness, as expressed in the system of nature, was starvation; and it + was held intolerable that any man should be allowed to escape a divine + judgment by begging under false pretences, and robbing others of their + honest earnings.</p> + + <p>In a country also the boast of which was its open-handed hospitality, + it was necessary to take care that hospitality was not brought to + discredit by abuse; and when every door was freely opened to a request + for a meal or a night's lodging, there was an imperative duty to keep a + strict eye on whatever persons were on the move. We shall therefore be + prepared to find "sturdy and valiant beggars" treated with summary + justice as criminals of a high order; the right of a government so to + treat them being proportioned to the facilities with which the honestly + disposed can maintain themselves.</p> + + <p>It might have been expected, on the other hand, that when wages were + so high, and work so constant, labourers would have been left to + themselves to make provision against sickness and old age. To modern ways + of thinking on these subjects, there would have seemed no hardship in so + leaving them; and their sufferings, if they had suffered, would have + appeared but as a deserved retribution. This, however, was not the temper + of earlier times. Charity has ever been the especial virtue of Catholic + States, and the aged and the impotent were always held to be the + legitimate objects of it. Men who had worked hard while they were able to + work were treated like decayed soldiers, as the discharged pensionaries + of society; they were held entitled to wear out their age (under + restrictions) at the expense of others; and so readily did society + acquiesce in this aspect of its obligations, that on the failure of the + monasteries to do their duty, it was still sufficient to leave such + persons to voluntary liberality, and legislation had to interfere only to + direct such liberality into its legitimate channels. In the <!-- Page 50 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page50"></a>[pg 50]</span> 23rd of Edw. + III. cap. 7, a prohibition was issued against giving alms to "valiant + beggars," and this proving inadequate, and charity being still given + indiscriminately, in the twelfth year of Richard II. the system of + licences was introduced, and a pair of stocks was erected by order in + every town or village, to "justify" persons begging unpermitted. The + monasteries growing more and more careless, the number of paupers + continued to multiply, and this method received successive expansions, + till at length, when the Reformation was concluded, it terminated, after + many changes of form, in the famous Act of Elizabeth. We can thus trace + our poor law in the whole course of its growth, and into two stages + through which it passed I must enter with some minuteness. The 12th of + the 22nd of Henry VIII., and the 25th of the 27th, are so remarkable in + their tone, and so rich in their detail, as to furnish a complete + exposition of English thought at that time upon the subject; while the + second of these two acts, and probably the first also, has a further + interest for us, as being the composition of Henry himself, and the most + finished which he has left to us.<a name="NtA_77"></a><a + href="#Nt_77"><sup>77</sup></a></p> + + <p>"Whereas," says the former of these two Acts, "in all places + throughout this realm of England, vagabonds and beggars have of long time + increased, and daily do increase in great and excessive numbers, by the + occasion of idleness, mother and root of all vices; whereby hath insurged + and sprung, and daily insurgeth and springeth, continual thefts, murders, + and other heinous offences and great enormities, to the high displeasure + of God, the inquietation and damage of the king's people, and to the + marvellous disturbance of the common weal of this realm; and whereas, + strait statutes and ordinances have been before this time devised and + made, as well by the king our sovereign lord, as also by divers his most + noble progenitors, kings of England, for the most necessary and due + reformation of the premises; yet that notwithstanding, the said number of + vagabonds and beggars be not seen in any part to be diminished, but + rather daily augmented and increased into great routs or companies, as + evidently and manifestly it doth and may appear: Be it therefore enacted + by the king our sovereign lord, and by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, + and the Commons, in this present parliament assembled, that the justices + of the peace of all and singular the shires of England within the limits + of their commission, and all other justices of the peace, mayors, + sheriffs, <!-- Page 51 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page51"></a>[pg + 51]</span> bailiffs, and other officers of every city, borough, or + franchise, shall from time to time, as often as need shall require, make + diligent search and inquiry of all aged, poor, and impotent persons, + which live, or of necessity be compelled to live by alms of the charity + of the people; and such search made, the said officers, every of them + within the limits of their authorities, shall have power, at their + discretions, to enable to beg within such limits as they shall appoint, + such of the said impotent persons as they shall think convenient; and to + give in commandment to every such impotent beggar (by them enabled) that + none of them shall beg without the limits so appointed to them. And + further, they shall deliver to every such person so enabled a letter + containing the name of that person, witnessing that he is authorised to + beg, and the limits within which he is appointed to beg, the same letter + to be sealed with the seal of the hundred, rape, wapentake, city, or + borough, and subscribed with the name of one of the said justices or + officers aforesaid. And if any such impotent person do beg in any other + place than within such limits, then the justices of the peace, and all + other the king's officers and ministers, shall by their discretions + punish all such persons by imprisonment in the stocks, by the space of + two days and two nights, giving them only bread and water."</p> + + <p>Further, "If any such impotent person be found begging without a + licence, at the discretion of the justices of the peace, he shall be + stripped naked from the middle upwards, and whipped within the town in + which he be found, or within some other town, as it shall seem good. Or + if it be not convenient so to punish him, he shall be set in the stocks + by the space of three days and three nights."</p> + + <p>Such were the restrictions under which impotency was allowed support. + Though not in itself treated as an offence, and though its right to + maintenance by society was not denied, it was not indulged, as we may + see, with unnecessary encouragement. The Act then proceeds to deal with + the genuine vagrant.</p> + + <p>"And be it further enacted, that if any person or persons, being whole + and mighty in body and able to labour, be taken in begging in any part of + this realm; and if any man or woman, being whole and mighty in body, + having no land, nor master, nor using any lawful merchandry, craft, or + mystery whereby he might get his living, be vagrant, and can give none + account how he doth lawfully get his living, then it shall, be lawful to + the constables and all other king's officers, ministers, and <!-- Page 52 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span> subjects of + every town, parish, and hamlet, to arrest the said vagabonds and idle + persons, and bring them to any justice of the peace of the same shire or + liberty, or else to the high constable of the hundred; and the justice of + the peace, high constable, or other officer, shall cause such idle person + so to him brought, to be had to the next market town or other place, and + there to be tied to the end of a cart, naked, and be beaten with whips + throughout the same town till his body be bloody by reason of such + whipping; and after such punishment of whipping had, the person so + punished shall be enjoined upon his oath to return forthwith without + delay, in the next and straight way, to the place where he was born, or + where he last dwelled before the same punishment, by the space of three + years; and then put himself to labour like a true man ought to do; and + after that done, every such person so punished and ordered shall have a + letter, sealed with the seal of the hundred, rape, or wapentake, + witnessing that he hath been punished according to this estatute, and + containing the day and place of his punishment, and the place where unto + he is limited to go, and by what time he is limited to come thither: for + that within that time, showing the said letter, he may lawfully beg by + the way, and otherwise not; and if he do not accomplish the order to him + appointed by the said letter, then to be eftsoons taken and whipped; and + so often as there be fault found in him, to be whipped till he has his + body put to labour for his living, or otherwise truly get his living, so + long as he is able to do so."</p> + + <p>Then follow the penalties against the justices of the peace, + constables, and all officers who neglect to arrest such persons; and a + singularly curious catalogue is added of certain forms of "sturdy + mendicancy," which, if unspecified, might have been passed over as + exempt, but to which Henry had no intention of conceding further licence. + It seems as if, in framing the Act, he had Simon Fish's petition before + him, and was commencing at last the rough remedy of the cart's-tail, + which Fish had dared to recommend for a very obdurate evil.<a + name="NtA_78"></a><a href="#Nt_78"><sup>78</sup></a> The friars of the + mendicant orders were tolerated for a few years longer; but <!-- Page 53 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> many other + spiritual persons may have suffered seriously under the provisions of the + present statute.</p> + + <p>"Be it further enacted," the Act continues, "that scholars of the + Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, that go about begging, not being + authorised under the seal of the said universities, by the commissary, + chancellor, or vice-chancellor of the same; and that all and singular + shipmen pretending losses of their ships and goods, going about the + country begging without sufficient authority, shall be punished and + ordered in manner and form as is above rehearsed of strong beggars; and + that all proctors and pardoners, and all other idle persons going about + in counties or abiding in any town, city, or borough, some of them using + divers subtle, crafty, and unlawful games and plays, and some of them + feigning themselves to have knowledge in physick, physnamye, and + palmistry, or other crafty science, whereby they bear the people in hand + that they can tell their destinies, dreams, and fortunes, and such other + like fantastical imaginations, to the great deceit of the king's + subjects, shall, upon examination had before two justices of the peace, + if by provable witness they be found guilty of such deceits, be punished + by whipping at two days together, after the manner before rehearsed. And + if they eftsoons offend in the same or any like offence, to be scourged + two days, and the third day to be put upon the pillory, from nine o'clock + till eleven the forenoon of the same day, and to have the right ear cut + off; and if they offend the third time, to have like punishment with + whipping and the pillory, and to have the other ear cut off."</p> + + <p>It would scarcely have been expected that this Act would have failed + for want of severity in its penalties; yet five years later, for this and + for some other reasons, it was thought desirable to expand the provisions + of it, enhancing the penalties at the same time to a degree which has + given a bloody name in the history of English law to the statutes of + Henry VIII. Of this expanded statute<a name="NtA_79"></a><a + href="#Nt_79"><sup>79</sup></a> we have positive evidence, as I said, + that Henry was himself the author. The merit of it, or the guilt of + it—if guilt there be—originated with him alone. The early + clauses contain practical amendments of an undoubtedly salutary kind. The + Act of 1531 had been defective in that no specified means had been + assigned for finding vagrants in labour, which, with men of broken + character, was not immediately easy. The smaller monasteries having been + suppressed in the interval, and sufficient funds being thus placed <!-- + Page 54 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> at + the disposal of the government, public works<a name="NtA_80"></a><a + href="#Nt_80"><sup>80</sup></a> were set on foot throughout the kingdom, + and this difficulty was obviated.</p> + + <p>Another important alteration was a restriction upon private charity. + Private persons were forbidden, under heavy penalties, to give money to + beggars, whether deserving or undeserving. The poor of each parish might + call at houses within the boundaries for broken meats; but this was the + limit of personal almsgiving; and the money which men might be disposed + to offer was to be collected by the churchwardens on Sundays and holidays + in the churches. The parish priest was to keep an account of receipts and + of expenditure, and relief was administered with some approach to modern + formalities. A further excellent but severe enactment empowered the + parish officers to take up all idle children above the age of five years, + "and appoint them to masters of husbandry or other craft or labour to be + taught;" and if any child should refuse the service to which he was + appointed, or run away "without cause reasonable being shown for it," he + might be publicly whipped with rods, at the discretion of the justice of + the peace before whom he was brought.</p> + + <p>So far, no complaint can be urged against these provisions: they + display only that severe but true humanity, which, in offering fair and + liberal maintenance for all who will consent to be honest, insists, not + unjustly, that its offer shall be accepted, and that the resources of + charity shall not be trifled away. On the clause, however, which gave to + the Act its especial and distinguishing character, there will be large + difference of opinion. "The sturdy vagabond," who by the earlier statute + was condemned on his second offence to lose the whole or a part of his + right ear, was condemned by the amended Act, if found a third time + offending, with the mark upon him of his mutilation, "to suffer pains and + execution of death, as a felon and as an enemy of the commonwealth." So + the letter stands. For an able-bodied man to be caught a third time + begging was held a crime deserving death, and the sentence was intended, + on fit occasions, to be executed. The poor man's advantages, which I have + estimated at so high a rate, were not purchased without drawbacks. He + might not change his master at his will, or wander from place to place. + He might not keep his children <!-- Page 55 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> at his home unless he could answer for + their time. If out of employment, preferring to be idle, he might be + demanded for work by any master of the "craft" to which he belonged, and + compelled to work whether he would or no. If caught begging once, being + neither aged nor infirm, he was whipped at the cart's tail. If caught a + second time, his ear was slit, or bored through with a hot iron. If + caught a third time, being thereby proved to be of no use upon this + earth, but to live upon it only to his own hurt and to that of others, he + suffered death as a felon. So the law of England remained for sixty + years. First drawn by Henry, it continued unrepealed through the reigns + of Edward and of Mary, subsisting, therefore, with the deliberate + approval of both the great parties between whom the country was divided. + Reconsidered under Elizabeth, the same law was again formally passed; and + it was, therefore, the expressed conviction of the English nation, that + it was better for a man not to live at all than to live a profitless and + worthless life. The vagabond was a sore spot upon the commonwealth, to be + healed by wholesome discipline if the gangrene was not incurable; to be + cut away with the knife if the milder treatment of the cart-whip failed + to be of profit.<a name="NtA_81"></a><a + href="#Nt_81"><sup>81</sup></a></p> + + <p>A measure so extreme in its severity was partly dictated by policy. + The state of the country was critical; and the danger from questionable + persons traversing it unexamined and uncontrolled was greater than at + ordinary times. But in point of justice, as well as of prudence, it + harmonised with the iron temper of the age, and it answered well for the + government of a fierce and powerful people, in whose hearts lay an + intense hatred of rascality, and among whom no one need have lapsed into + evil courses except by deliberate preference for them. The moral + substance of the English must have been strong indeed when it admitted of + such hardy treatment; but on the whole, the people were ruled as they + preferred to be ruled; and if wisdom may be tested by success, the manner + in which they passed the great crisis of the Reformation is the best + justification of their princes.</p> + + <p>The era was great throughout Europe. The Italians of the age of + Michael Angelo; the Spaniards who were the contemporaries <!-- Page 56 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> of Cortez; + the Germans who shook off the pope at the call of Luther; and the + splendid chivalry of Francis I. of France, were no common men. But they + were all brought face to face with the same trials, and none met them as + the English met them. The English alone never lost their self-possession; + and if they owed something to fortune in their escape from anarchy, they + owed more to the strong hand and steady purpose of their rulers.</p> + + <p>To conclude this chapter then.</p> + + <p>In the brief review of the system under which England was governed, we + have seen a state of things in which the principles of political economy + were, consciously or unconsciously, contradicted; where an attempt, more + or less successful, was made to bring the production and distribution of + wealth under the moral rule of right and wrong; and where those laws of + supply and demand, which we are now taught to regard as immutable + ordinances of nature, were absorbed or superseded by a higher code. It is + necessary for me to repeat that I am not holding up the sixteenth century + as a model which the nineteenth might safely follow. The population has + become too large, employment has become too complicated and fluctuating, + to admit of external control; while, in default of control, the relapse + upon self-interest as the one motive principle is certain to ensue, and + when it ensues is absolute in its operations. But as, even with us, these + so-called ordinances of nature in time of war consent to be suspended, + and duty to his country becomes with every good citizen a higher motive + of action than the advantages which he may gain in an enemy's market; so + it is not uncheering to look back upon a time when the nation was in a + normal condition of militancy against social injustice; when the + government was enabled by happy circumstances to pursue into detail a + single and serious aim at the well-being—well-being in its widest + sense—of all members of the commonwealth. The world, indeed, was + not made particularly pleasant. Of liberty, in the modern sense of the + word, of the supposed right of every man "to do what he will with his + own" or with himself, there was no idea. To the question, if ever it was + asked, May I not do what I will with my own? there was the brief answer, + No man may do what is wrong, either with that which is his own or with + that which is another's. Workmen were not allowed to take advantage of + the scantiness of the labour market to exact extravagant wages. + Capitalists were not allowed to drive the labourers from their holdings, + and destroy their healthy independence. <!-- Page 57 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> The antagonism of + interests was absorbed into a relation of which equity was something more + than the theoretic principle, and employers and employed were alike + amenable to a law which both were compelled to obey. The working man of + modern times has bought the extension of his liberty at the price of his + material comfort. The higher classes have gained in luxury what they have + lost in power. It is not for the historian to balance advantages. His + duty is with the facts.</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST YEARS OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF WOLSEY</h3> + + <p>Times were changed in England since the second Henry walked barefoot + through the streets of Canterbury, and knelt while the monks flogged him + on the pavement in the Chapter-house, doing penance for Becket's murder. + The clergy had won the battle in the twelfth century because they + deserved to win it. They were not free from fault and weakness, but they + felt the meaning of their profession. Their hearts were in their vows, + their authority was exercised more justly, more nobly, than the authority + of the crown; and therefore, with inevitable justice, the crown was + compelled to stoop before them. The victory was great; but, like many + victories, it was fatal to the conquerors. It filled them full with the + vanity of power; they forgot their duties in their privileges; and when, + a century later, the conflict recommenced, the altering issue proved the + altering nature of the conditions under which it was fought. The laity + were sustained in vigour by the practical obligations of life; the clergy + sunk under the influence of a waning religion, the administration of the + forms of which had become their sole occupation; and as character forsook + them, the Mortmain Act,<a name="NtA_82"></a><a + href="#Nt_82"><sup>82</sup></a> the Acts of Premunire, and the repeatedly + recurring Statutes of Provisors mark the successive defeats that drove + them back from the high post of command which character alone had earned + for them. If the Black Prince had lived, or if Richard II. had inherited + the temper of the Plantagenets, the ecclesiastical system would have been + spared the misfortune of a longer reprieve. Its worst abuses would have + then terminated, and the reformation of <!-- Page 58 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> <i>doctrine</i> in + the sixteenth century would have been left to fight its independent way + unsupported by the moral corruption of the church from which it received + its most powerful impetus. The nation was ready for sweeping remedies. + The people felt little loyalty to the pope, as the language of the + Statutes of Provisors<a name="NtA_83"></a><a + href="#Nt_83"><sup>83</sup></a> conclusively proves, and they were + prepared to risk the sacrilege of confiscating the estates of the + religious houses—a complete measure of secularisation being then, + as I have already said,<a name="NtA_84"></a><a + href="#Nt_84"><sup>84</sup></a> the expressed desire of the House of + Commons.<a name="NtA_85"></a><a href="#Nt_85"><sup>85</sup></a> With an + Edward III. on the throne such a measure would very likely have been + executed, and the course of English history would have been changed. It + was ordered otherwise, and doubtless wisely. The church was allowed a + hundred and fifty more years to fill full the measure of her offences, + that she might fall only when time had laid bare the root of her + degeneracy, and that faith and manners might be changed together.</p> + + <p>The history of the time is too imperfect to justify a positive + conclusion. It is possible, however, that the success of the revolution + effected by Henry IV. was due in part to a reaction in the church's + favour; and it is certain that this prince, if he did not owe his crown + to the support of the church, determined to conciliate it. He confirmed + the Statutes of Provisors,<a name="NtA_86"></a><a + href="#Nt_86"><sup>86</sup></a> but he allowed them to sink into disuse. + He forbade the further mooting of the confiscation project; and to him is + due the first permission of the bishops to send heretics to the stake.<a + name="NtA_87"></a><a href="#Nt_87"><sup>87</sup></a> If English tradition + is to be trusted, the clergy still felt insecure; and the French wars of + Henry V. are said to have been undertaken, as we all know from + Shakspeare, at the persuasion of Archbishop Chichele, who desired to + distract his attention from reverting to dangerous subjects. Whether this + be true or not, no prince of the house of Lancaster betrayed a wish to + renew the quarrel with the church. The battle of Agincourt, the conquest + and re-conquest of France, called off the attention of the people; while + the rise of the Lollards, and the intrusion of speculative questions, the + agitation of which has ever been the chief aversion of English statesmen, + contributed to change the current; and the reforming spirit must have + lulled before the outbreak of the wars of the Roses, or one of the two + parties in so desperate <!-- Page 59 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> a struggle would have scarcely failed to + have availed themselves of it. Edward IV. is said to have been lenient + towards heresy; but his toleration, if it was more than imaginary, was + tacit only; he never ventured to avow it. It is more likely that in the + inveterate frenzy of those years men had no leisure to remember that + heresy existed.</p> + + <p>The clergy were thus left undisturbed to go their own course to its + natural end. The storm had passed over them without breaking; and they + did not dream that it would again gather. The immunity which they enjoyed + from the general sufferings of the civil war contributed to deceive them; + and without anxiety for the consequences, and forgetting the significant + warning which they had received, they sank steadily into that condition + which is inevitable from the constitution of human nature, among men + without faith, wealthy, powerful, and luxuriously fed, yet condemned to + celibacy, and cut off from the common duties and common pleasures of + ordinary life. On the return of a settled government, they were startled + for a moment in their security; the conduct of some among them had become + so unbearable, that even Henry VII., who inherited the Lancastrian + sympathies, was compelled to notice it; and the following brief act was + passed by his first parliament, proving by the very terms in which it is + couched the existing nature of church discipline. "For the more sure and + likely reformation," it runs, "of priests, clerks, and religious men, + culpable, or by their demerits openly noised of incontinent living in + their bodies, contrary to their order, be it enacted, ordained, and + established, that it be lawful to all archbishops and bishops, and other + ordinaries having episcopal jurisdiction, to punish and chastise such + religious men, being within the bounds of their jurisdiction, as shall be + convict before them, by lawful proof, of adultery, fornication, incest, + or other fleshly incontinency, by committing them to ward and prison, + there to remain for such time as shall be thought convenient for the + quality of their trespasses."<a name="NtA_88"></a><a + href="#Nt_88"><sup>88</sup></a></p> + + <p>Previous to the passing of this act, therefore, the bishops, who had + power to arrest laymen on suspicion of heresy, and detain them in prison + untried,<a name="NtA_89"></a><a href="#Nt_89"><sup>89</sup></a> had no + power to imprison priests, even though convicted of adultery or incest. + The legislature were <!-- Page 60 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span> supported by the Archbishop of + Canterbury. Cardinal Morton procured authority from the pope to visit the + religious houses, the abominations of which had become notorious;<a + name="NtA_90"></a><a href="#Nt_90"><sup>90</sup></a> and in a provincial + synod held on the 24th of February, 1486, he laid the condition of the + secular clergy before the assembled prelates. Many priests, it was + stated, spent their time in hawking or hunting, in lounging at taverns, + in the dissolute enjoyment of the world. They wore their hair long like + laymen; they were to be seen lounging in the streets with cloak and + doublet, sword and dagger. By the scandal of their lives they imperilled + the stability of their order.<a name="NtA_91"></a><a + href="#Nt_91"><sup>91</sup></a> A number of the worst offenders, in + London especially, were summoned before the synod and admonished;<a + name="NtA_92"></a><a href="#Nt_92"><sup>92</sup></a> certain of the more + zealous among the learned (<i>complures docti</i>) who had preached + against clerical abuses were advised to be more cautious, for the + avoiding of scandal;<a name="NtA_93"></a><a + href="#Nt_93"><sup>93</sup></a> but the archbishop, taking the duty upon + himself, sent round a circular among the clergy of his province, + exhorting them to general amendment.<a name="NtA_94"></a><a + href="#Nt_94"><sup>94</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 61 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> + + <p>Yet this little cloud again disappeared. Henry VII. sat too insecurely + on his throne to venture on a resolute reform, even if his feelings had + inclined him towards it, which they did not. Morton durst not resolutely + grapple with the evil. He rebuked and remonstrated; but punishment would + have caused a public scandal. He would not invite the inspection of the + laity into a disease which, without their assistance, he had not the + strength to encounter; and his incipient reformation died away + ineffectually in words. The church, to outward appearance, stood more + securely than ever. The obnoxious statutes of the Plantagenets were in + abeyance, their very existence, as it seemed, was forgotten; and Thomas à + Becket never desired more absolute independence for the ecclesiastical + order than Archbishop Warham found established when he succeeded to the + primacy. He, too, ventured to repeat the experiment of his predecessor. + In 1511 he attempted a second visitation of the monasteries, and again + exhorted a reform; but his efforts were even slighter than Morton's, and + in their results equally without fruit. The maintenance of his order in + its political supremacy was of greater moment to him than its moral + purity: a decent veil was cast over the clerical infirmities, and their + vices were forgotten as soon as they ceased to be proclaimed.<a + name="NtA_95"></a><a href="#Nt_95"><sup>95</sup></a> Henry VIII., a mere + boy on his accession, was borne away with the prevailing stream; and + trained from his childhood by theologians, he entered upon his reign + saturated with theological prepossessions. The intensity of his nature + recognising no half measures, he was prepared to make them the law of his + life; and so zealous was he, that it seemed as if the church had found in + him a new Alfred or a Charlemagne. Unfortunately for the church, + institutions may be restored in theory; but theory, be it never so + perfect, will not give them back their life; and Henry discovered, at + length, that the church of the sixteenth century as little resembled the + church of the eleventh, as Leo X. resembled Hildebrand, or Warham + resembled St. Anselm.</p> + + <p>If, however, there were no longer saints among the clergy, there could + still arise among them a remarkable man; and in Cardinal Wolsey the king + found an adviser who was able to retain him longer than would otherwise + have been possible in the course which he had entered upon; who, holding + a middle place between an English statesman and a catholic of the old + order, was essentially a transition minister; and who was qualified, + above all men then living, by a combination of talent, <!-- Page 62 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> honesty, and + arrogance, to open questions which could not again be closed when they + had escaped the grasp of their originator. Under Wolsey's influence Henry + made war with Louis of France, in the pope's quarrel, entered the polemic + lists with Luther, and persecuted the English protestants. But Wolsey + could not blind himself to the true condition of the church. He was too + wise to be deceived with outward prosperity; he knew well that there lay + before it, in Europe and at home, the alternative of ruin or amendment; + and therefore he familiarised Henry with the sense that a reformation was + inevitable, and dreaming that it could be effected from within, by the + church itself inspired with a wiser spirit, he himself fell first victim + of a convulsion which he had assisted to create, and which he attempted + too late to stay.</p> + + <p>His intended measures were approaching maturity, when all Europe was + startled by the news that Rome had been stormed by the Imperial army, + that the pope was imprisoned, the churches pillaged, the cardinals + insulted, and all holiest things polluted and profaned. A spectator, + judging only by outward symptoms, would have seen at that strange crisis + in Charles V. the worst patron of heresy, and the most dangerous enemy of + the Holy See; while the indignation with which the news of these outrages + was received at the English court, would have taught him to look on Henry + as the one sovereign in Europe on whom that See might calculate most + surely for support in its hour of danger. If he could have pierced below + the surface, he would have found that the pope's best friend was the + prince who held him prisoner; that Henry was but doubtfully acquiescing + in the policy of an unpopular minister; and that the English nation would + have looked on with stoical resignation if pope and papacy had been + wrecked together. They were not inclined to heresy; but the + ecclesiastical system was not the catholic faith; and this system, ruined + by prosperity, was fast pressing its excesses to the extreme limit, + beyond which it could not be endured. Wolsey talked of reformation, but + delayed its coming; and in the mean time, the persons to be reformed + showed no fear that it would come at all. The monasteries grew worse and + worse. The people were taught only what they could teach themselves. The + consistory courts became more oppressive. Pluralities multiplied, and + non-residence and profligacy. Favoured parish clergy held as many as + eight benefices.<a name="NtA_96"></a><a href="#Nt_96"><sup>96</sup></a> + Bishops accumulated sees, and, unable to <!-- Page 63 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> attend to all, + attended to none. Wolsey himself, the church reformer (so little did he + really know what a reformation meant), was at once Archbishop of York, + Bishop of Winchester, of Bath, and of Durham, and Abbot of St. Alban's. + In Latimer's opinion, even twenty years later, and after no little reform + in such matters, there was but one bishop in all England who was ever at + his work and ever in his diocese. "I would ask a strange question," he + said, in an audacious sermon at Paul's Cross, "Who is the most diligent + bishop and prelate in all England, that passeth all the rest in doing of + his office?<a name="NtA_97"></a><a href="#Nt_97"><sup>97</sup></a> I can + tell, for I know him who it is; I know him well. But now I think I see + you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that + passeth all the others, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in + all England. And will ye know who it is? I will tell you. It is the + devil. Among all the pack of them that have cure, the devil shall go for + my money, for he applieth his business. Therefore, ye unpreaching + prelates, learn of the devil to be diligent in your office. If ye will + not learn of God, for shame learn of the devil."<a name="NtA_98"></a><a + href="#Nt_98"><sup>98</sup></a></p> + + <p>Under such circumstances, we need not be surprised to find the clergy + sunk low in the respect of the English people. Sternly intolerant of each + other's faults, the laity were not likely to be <!-- Page 64 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> indulgent to the + vices of men who ought to have set an example of purity; and from time to + time, during the first quarter of the century, there were explosions of + temper which might have served as a warning if any sense or judgment had + been left to profit by it.</p> + + <p>In 1514 a London merchant was committed to the Lollards' Tower for + refusing to submit to an unjust exaction of mortuary;<a + name="NtA_99"></a><a href="#Nt_99"><sup>99</sup></a> and a few days after + was found dead in his cell. An inquest was held upon the body, when a + verdict of wilful murder was returned against the chancellor of the + Bishop of London; and so intense was the feeling of the city, that the + bishop applied to Wolsey for a special jury to be chosen on the trial. + "For assured I am," he said, "that if my chancellor be tried by any + twelve men in London, they be so maliciously set <i>in favorem hĉreticĉ + pravitatis</i>, that they will cast and condemn any clerk, though he were + as innocent as Abel."<a name="NtA_100"></a><a + href="#Nt_100"><sup>100</sup></a> Fish's famous pamphlet also shows the + spirit which was seething; and though we may make some allowance for + angry rhetoric, his words have the clear ring of honesty in them; and he + spoke of what he had seen and knew. The monks, he tells the king, "be + they that have made a hundred thousand idle dissolute women in your + realm, who would have gotten their living honestly in the sweat of their + faces had not their superfluous riches allured them to lust and idleness. + These be they that when they have drawn men's wives to such incontinency, + spend away their husbands' goods, make the women to run away from their + husbands, bringing both man, wife, and children to idleness, theft, and + beggary. Yea, who is able to number the great broad bottomless ocean sea + full of evils that this mischievous generation may bring upon us if + unpunished?"<a name="NtA_101"></a><a + href="#Nt_101"><sup>101</sup></a></p> + + <p>Copies of this book were strewed about the London streets; Wolsey + issued a prohibition against it, with the effect which such prohibitions + usually have. Means were found to bring it under the eyes of Henry + himself; and the manner in which it was received by him is full of + significance, and betrays that the facts of the age were already telling + on his understanding. He was always easy of access and easy of manner; + and the story, <!-- Page 65 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> although it rests on Foxe's authority, + has internal marks of authenticity.</p> + + <p>"One Master Edmund Moddis, being with the king in talk of religion, + and of the new books that were come from beyond the seas, said that if it + might please his Highness to pardon him, and such as he would bring to + his Grace, he should see such a book as it was a marvel to hear of. The + king demanded who they were? He said 'Two of your merchants—George + Elliot and George Robinson.' The king appointed a time to speak with + them. When they came before his presence in a privy closet, he demanded + what they had to say or to shew him. One of them said that there was a + book come to their hands which they had there to shew his Grace. When he + saw it he demanded if any of them could read it. 'Yea,' said George + Elliot, 'if it please your Grace to hear it.' 'I thought so,' said the + king; 'if need were, thou couldst say it without book.'</p> + + <p>"The whole book being read out, the king made a long pause, and then + said, 'If a man should pull down an old stone wall, and should begin at + the lower part, the upper part thereof might chance to fall upon his + head.' Then he took the book, and put it in his desk, and commanded them, + on their allegiance, that they should not tell any man that he had seen + it."<a name="NtA_102"></a><a href="#Nt_102"><sup>102</sup></a></p> + + <p>Symptoms such as these boded ill for a self-reform of the church, and + it was further imperilled by the difficulty which it is not easy to + believe that Wolsey had forgotten. No measures would be of efficacy which + spared the religious houses, and they would be equally useless unless the + bishops, as well as the inferior clergy, were comprehended in the scheme + of amendment. But neither with monks nor bishops could Wolsey interfere + except by a commission from the pope, and the laws were unrepealed which + forbade English subjects, under the severest penalties, to accept or + exercise within the realm an authority which they had received from the + Holy See. Morton had gone beyond the limits of the statute of provisors + in receiving powers from Pope Innocent to visit the monasteries. But + Morton had stopped short with inquiry and admonition. Wolsey, who was in + earnest with the work, had desired and obtained a full commission as + legate, but he could only make use of it at his peril. The statute + slumbered, but it still existed.<a name="NtA_103"></a><a + href="#Nt_103"><sup>103</sup></a> <!-- Page 66 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> He was exposing not + himself only, but all persons, lay and clerical, who might recognise his + legacy to a Premunire; and he knew well that Henry's connivance, or even + expressed permission, could not avail him if his conduct was challenged. + He could not venture to appeal to parliament. Parliament was the last + authority whose jurisdiction a churchman would acknowledge in the + concerns of the clergy; and his project must sooner or later have sunk, + like those of his two predecessors, under its own internal difficulties, + even if the accident had not arisen which brought the dispute to a + special issue in its most vital point, and which, fostered by Wolsey for + his own purposes, precipitated his ruin.</p> + + <p>It is never more difficult to judge equitably the actions of public + men than when private as well as general motives have been allowed to + influence them, or when their actions may admit of being represented as + resulting from personal inclination, as well as from national policy. In + life, as we actually experience it, motives slide one into the other, and + the most careful analysis will fail adequately to sift them. In history, + from the effort to make our conceptions distinct, we pronounce upon these + intricate matters with unhesitating certainty, and we lose sight of truth + in the desire to make it truer than itself. The difficulty is further + complicated by the different points of view which are chosen by + contemporaries and by posterity. Where motives are mixed, men all + naturally dwell most on those which approach nearest to themselves: + contemporaries whose interests are at stake overlook what is personal in + consideration of what is to them of broader moment; posterity, unable to + realise political embarrassments which have ceased to concern them, + concentrate their attention on such features of the story as touch their + own sympathies, and attend exclusively to the private and personal + passions of the men and women whose character they are considering.</p> + + <p>These natural, and to some extent inevitable tendencies, explain the + difference with which the divorce between Henry VIII. and Catherine of + Arragon has been regarded by the English nation in the sixteenth and in + the nineteenth centuries. In the former, not only did the parliament + profess to desire it, urge it, and further it, but we are told by a + contemporary<a name="NtA_104"></a><a href="#Nt_104"><sup>104</sup></a> + that "all indifferent and discreet persons" judged that it was right <!-- + Page 67 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> and + necessary. In the latter, perhaps, there is not one of ourselves who has + not been taught to look upon it as an act of enormous wickedness. In the + sixteenth century, Queen Catherine was an obstacle to the establishment + of the kingdom, an incentive to treasonable hopes. In the nineteenth, she + is an outraged and injured wife, the victim of a false husband's fickle + appetite. The story is a long and painful one, and on its personal side + need not concern us here further than as it illustrates the private + character of Henry. Into the public bearing of it I must enter at some + length, in order to explain the interest with which the nation threw + itself into the question, and to remove the scandal with which, had + nothing been at stake beyond the inclinations of a profligate monarch, + weary of his queen, the complaisance on such a subject of the lords and + commons of England would have coloured the entire complexion of the + Reformation.</p> + + <p>The succession to the throne, although determined in theory by the + ordinary law of primogeniture, was nevertheless, subject to repeated + arbitrary changes. The uncertainty of the rule was acknowledged and + deplored by the parliament,<a name="NtA_105"></a><a + href="#Nt_105"><sup>105</sup></a> and there was no order of which the + nation, with any unity of sentiment, compelled the observance. An opinion + prevailed—not, I believe, traceable to statute, but admitted by + custom, and having the force of statute in the prejudices of the + nation—that no stranger born out of the realm could inherit.<a + name="NtA_106"></a><a href="#Nt_106"><sup>106</sup></a> Although the + descent in the female line was not formally denied, no female sovereign + had ever, in fact, sat upon the throne.<a name="NtA_107"></a><a + href="#Nt_107"><sup>107</sup></a> Even Henry VII. refused to strengthen + his title by advancing the claims of his wife: and the uncertainty of the + laws of marriage, and the innumerable refinements of the Romish canon + law, which affected the legitimacy of children,<a name="NtA_108"></a><a + href="#Nt_108"><sup>108</sup></a> furnished, in connection <!-- Page 68 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> with the + further ambiguities of clerical dispensations, perpetual pretexts, + whenever pretexts were needed, for a breach of allegiance. So long, + indeed, as the character of the nation remained essentially military, it + could as little tolerate an incapable king as an army in a dangerous + campaign can bear with an inefficient commander; and whatever might be + the theory of the title, when the sceptre was held by the infirm hand of + an Edward II., a Richard II., or a Henry VI., the difficulty resolved + itself by force, and it was wrenched by a stronger arm from a grasp too + feeble to retain it. The consent of the nation was avowed, even in the + authoritative language of a statute,<a name="NtA_109"></a><a + href="#Nt_109"><sup>109</sup></a> as essential to the legitimacy of a + sovereign's title; and Sir Thomas More, on examination by the + Solicitor-General, declared as his opinion that parliament had power to + depose kings if it so pleased.<a name="NtA_110"></a><a + href="#Nt_110"><sup>110</sup></a> So many uncertainties on a point so + vital had occasioned fearful episodes in English history; the most + fearful of them, which had traced its character in blood in the private + records of every English family, having been the long struggle of the + preceding century, from which the nation was still suffering, and had but + recovered sufficiently to be conscious of what it had endured. It had + decimated itself for a question which involved no principle and led to no + result, and perhaps the history of the world may be searched in vain for + any parallel to a quarrel at once so desperate and so unmeaning.</p> + + <p>This very unmeaning character of the dispute increased the difficulty + of ending it. In wars of conquest or of principle, when something + definite is at stake, the victory is either won, or it is lost; the + conduct of individual men, at all events, is overruled by considerations + external to themselves which admit of being weighed and calculated. In a + war of succession, where the great families were divided in their + allegiance, and supported the rival claimants in evenly balanced numbers, + the inveteracy of the conflict increased with its duration, and + propagated itself from generation to generation. Every family <!-- Page + 69 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> was in + blood feud with its neighbour; and children, as they grew to manhood, + inherited the duty of revenging their fathers' deaths.</p> + + <p>No effort of imagination can reproduce to us the state of this country + in the fatal years which intervened between the first rising of the Duke + of York and the battle of Bosworth; and experience too truly convinced + Henry VII. that the war had ceased only from general exhaustion, and not + because there was no will to continue it. The first Tudor breathed an + atmosphere of suspended insurrection, and only when we remember the + probable effect upon his mind of the constant dread of an explosion, can + we excuse or understand, in a prince not generally cruel, the execution + of the Earl of Warwick. The danger of a bloody revolution may present an + act of arbitrary or cowardly tyranny in the light of a public duty.</p> + + <p>Fifty years of settled government, however, had not been without their + effects. The country had collected itself; the feuds of the families had + been chastened, if they had not been subdued; while the increase of + wealth and material prosperity had brought out into obvious prominence + those advantages of peace which a hot-spirited people, antecedent to + experience, had not anticipated, and had not been able to appreciate. + They were better fed, better cared for, more justly governed than they + had ever been before; and though abundance of unruly tempers remained, + yet the wiser portion of the nation, looking back from their new + vantage-ground, were able to recognise the past in its true hatefulness. + Thenceforward a war of succession was the predominating terror with + English statesmen, and the safe establishment of the reigning family bore + a degree of importance which it is possible that their fears exaggerated, + yet which in fact was the determining principle of their action.</p> + + <p>It was therefore with no little anxiety that the council of Henry + VIII. perceived his male children, on whom their hopes were centred, + either born dead, or dying one after another within a few days of their + birth, as if his family were under a blight. When the queen had advanced + to an age which precluded hope of further offspring, and the heir + presumptive was an infirm girl, the unpromising prospect became yet more + alarming. The life of the Princess Mary was precarious, for her health + was weak from her childhood. If she lived, her accession would be a + temptation to insurrection; if she did not live, and the king had no + other children, a civil war was inevitable. At present such a difficulty + would be disposed of by an immediate <!-- Page 70 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> and simple reference + to the collateral branches of the royal family; the crown would descend + with even more facility than the property of an intestate to the next of + kin. At that time, if the rule had been recognised, it would only have + increased the difficulty, for the next heir in blood was James of + Scotland; and, gravely as statesmen desired the union of the two + countries, in the existing mood of the people, the very stones in London + streets, it was said,<a name="NtA_111"></a><a + href="#Nt_111"><sup>111</sup></a> would rise up against a king of + Scotland who claimed to enter England as sovereign. Even the parliament + itself declared in formal language that they would resist any attempt on + the part of the Scottish king "to the uttermost of their power."<a + name="NtA_112"></a><a href="#Nt_112"><sup>112</sup></a></p> + + <p>As little, however, as the English would have admitted James's claims, + would James himself have acknowledged their right to reject them. He + would have pleaded the sacred right of inheritance, refusing utterly the + imaginary law which disentitled him: he would have pressed his title with + all Scotland to back him, and probably with the open support of France. + Centuries of humiliation remained unrevenged, which both France and + Scotland had endured at English hands. It was not likely that they would + waste an opportunity thrust upon them by Providence. The country might, + it is true, have encountered this danger, serious as it would have been, + if there had been hope that it would itself have agreed to any other + choice. England had many times fought successfully against the same odds, + and would have cared little for a renewal of the struggle, if united in + itself: but the prospect on this side, also, was fatally discouraging. + The elements of the old factions were dormant, but still smouldering. + Throughout Henry's reign a White Rose agitation had been secretly + fermenting; without open success, and without chance of success so long + as Henry lived, but formidable in a high degree if opportunity to strike + should offer itself. Richard de la Pole, the representative of this + party, had been killed at Pavia, but his loss had rather strengthened + their cause than weakened it, for by his long exile he was unknown in + England; his personal character was without energy; while he made place + for the leadership of a far more powerful spirit in the sister of the + murdered Earl of Warwick, the Countess of Salisbury, mother of Reginald + Pole. This lady had inherited, in no common degree, the fierce nature of + the Plantagenets; born to command, she had rallied round her the + Courtenays, the Nevilles, and all the powerful kindred of Richard the + King <!-- Page 71 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page71"></a>[pg + 71]</span> Maker, her grandfather. Her Plantagenet descent was purer than + the king's; and if Mary died and Henry left no other issue, half England + was likely to declare either for one of her sons, or for the Marquis of + Exeter, the grandson of Edward IV.</p> + + <p>In 1515, when Giustiniani,<a name="NtA_113"></a><a + href="#Nt_113"><sup>113</sup></a> the Venetian ambassador, was at the + court, the Dukes of Buckingham, of Suffolk, and of Norfolk, were also + mentioned to him as having each of them hopes of the crown. Buckingham, + meddling prematurely in the dangerous game, had lost his life for it; but + in his death he had strengthened the chance of Norfolk, who had married + his daughter. Suffolk was Henry's brother-in-law;<a name="NtA_114"></a><a + href="#Nt_114"><sup>114</sup></a> chivalrous, popular, and the ablest + soldier of his day; and Lady Margaret Lennox, also, daughter of the Queen + of Scotland by her second marriage, would not have wanted supporters, and + early became an object of intrigue. Indeed, as she had been born in + England, it was held in parliament that she stood next in order to the + Princess Mary.<a name="NtA_115"></a><a + href="#Nt_115"><sup>115</sup></a></p> + + <p>Many of these claims were likely to be advanced if Henry died leaving + a daughter to succeed him. They would all inevitably be advanced if he + died childless; and no great political sagacity was required to foresee + the probable fate of the country if such a moment was chosen for a French + and Scottish invasion. The very worst disasters might be too surely + looked for, and the hope of escape, precarious at the best, hung upon the + frail thread of a single life. We may therefore imagine the dismay with + which the nation saw this last hope failing them—and failing them + even in a manner more dangerous than if it had failed by death; for it + did but add another doubt, when already there were too many. In order to + detach France from Scotland, and secure, if possible, its support for the + claims of the princess, it had been proposed to marry the Princess Mary + to a son of the French king. The negotiations were conducted through the + Bishop of Tarbês,<a name="NtA_116"></a><a + href="#Nt_116"><sup>116</sup></a> and at the first conference the Bishop + raised a question in the name of his government, on the validity of the + papal dispensation granted by Julius the Second, to legalise the marriage + from which she was sprung. The abortive marriage Scheme perished <!-- + Page 72 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span> in + its birth, but the doubt which had been raised could not perish with it. + Doubt on such a subject once mooted might not be left unresolved, even if + the raising it thus publicly had not itself destroyed the frail chance of + an undisputed succession. If the relations of Henry with Queen Catherine + had been of a cordial kind, it is possible that he would have been + contented with resentment; that he would have refused to reconsider a + question which touched his honour and his conscience; and, united with + parliament, would have endeavoured to bear down all difficulties with a + high hand. This at least he might have himself attempted. Whether the + parliament, with so precarious a future before them, would have + consented, is less easy to say. Fortunately or unfortunately, the + interests of the nation pointed out another road, which Henry had no + unwillingness to enter.</p> + + <p>On the death of Prince Arthur, five months after his marriage, Henry + VII. and the father of the Princess alike desired that the bond between + their families thus broken should be re-united; and, as soon as it became + clear that Catherine had not been left pregnant (a point which, tacitly + at least, she allowed to be considered uncertain at the time of her + husband's decease), it was proposed that she should be transferred, with + the inheritance of the crown, to the new heir. A dispensation was + reluctantly granted by the pope,<a name="NtA_117"></a><a + href="#Nt_117"><sup>117</sup></a> and reluctantly accepted by the English + ministry. The Prince of Wales, who was no more than twelve years old at + the time, was under the age at which he could legally sue for such an + object; and a portion of the English council, the Archbishop of + Canterbury among them, were unsatisfied,<a name="NtA_118"></a><a + href="#Nt_118"><sup>118</sup></a> both with the marriage itself, and with + the adequacy of the forms observed in a matter of so dubious an import. + The betrothal took place at the urgency of Ferdinand. In the year + following Henry VII. became suddenly ill; Queen Elizabeth died; and + superstition working on the previous hesitation, misfortune was construed + into an indication of the displeasure of Heaven. The intention was + renounced, and the prince, as soon as he had completed his fourteenth + year, was invited and required to disown, by a formal act, the + obligations contracted in <!-- Page 73 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> his name.<a name="NtA_119"></a><a + href="#Nt_119"><sup>119</sup></a> Again there was a change. The king + lived on, the alarm yielded to the temptations of covetousness. Had he + restored Catherine to her father he must have restored with her the + portion of her dowry which had been already received; he must have + relinquished the prospect of the moiety which had yet to be received. The + negotiation was renewed. Henry VII. lived to sign the receipts for the + first instalment of the second payment;<a name="NtA_120"></a><a + href="#Nt_120"><sup>120</sup></a> and on his death, notwithstanding much + general murmuring,<a name="NtA_121"></a><a + href="#Nt_121"><sup>121</sup></a> the young Henry, then a boy of + eighteen, proceeded to carry out his father's ultimate intentions. The + princess-dowager, notwithstanding what had passed, was still on her side + willing;—and the difference of age (she was six years older than + Henry) seeming of little moment when both were comparatively young, they + were married. For many years all went well; opposition was silenced by + the success which seemed to have followed, and the original scruples were + forgotten. Though the marriage was dictated by political convenience, + Henry was faithful, with but one exception, to his wife's bed—no + slight honour to him, if he is measured by the average royal standard in + such matters; and, if his sons had lived to grow up around his throne, + there is no reason to believe that the peace of his married life would + have been interrupted, or that, whatever might have been his private + feelings, he would have appeared in the world's eye other than + acquiescent in his condition.</p> + +<!-- Page 74 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> + + <p>But his sons had not lived; years passed on, bringing with them + premature births, children born dead, or dying after a few days or + hours,<a name="NtA_122"></a><a href="#Nt_122"><sup>122</sup></a> and the + disappointment was intense in proportion to the interests which were at + issue. The especial penalty denounced against the marriage with a + brother's wife<a name="NtA_123"></a><a href="#Nt_123"><sup>123</sup></a> + had been all but literally enforced; and the king found himself growing + to middle life and his queen passing beyond it with his prayers unheard, + and no hope any longer that they might be heard. The disparity of age + also was more perceptible as time went by, while Catherine's constitution + was affected by her misfortunes, and differences arose on which there is + no occasion to dwell in these pages—differences which in themselves + reflected no discredit either on the husband or the wife, but which were + sufficient to extinguish between two infirm human beings an affection + that had rested only upon mutual esteem, but had not assumed the + character of love.</p> + + <p>The circumstances in which Catherine was placed were of a kind which + no sensitive woman could have endured without impatience and + mortification; but her conduct, however natural, only widened the breach + which personal repugnance and radical opposition of character had already + made too wide. So far Henry and she were alike that both had imperious + tempers, and both were indomitably obstinate; but Henry was hot and <!-- + Page 75 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> + impetuous, Catherine was cold and self-contained—Henry saw his duty + through his wishes; Catherine, in her strong Castilian austerity, + measured her steps by the letter of the law; the more her husband + withdrew from her, the more she insisted upon her relation to him as his + wife; and continued with fixed purpose and immovable countenance<a + name="NtA_124"></a><a href="#Nt_124"><sup>124</sup></a> to share his + table and his bed long after she was aware of his dislike for her.</p> + + <p>If the validity of so unfortunate a connection had never been + questioned, or if no national interests had been dependent on the + continuance or the abolition of it, these discomforts were not too great + to have been endured in silence. They were not originally occasioned by + any latent inclination on the part of the king for another woman. They + had arisen to their worst dimensions before he had ever seen Anne Boleyn, + and were produced by causes of a wholly independent kind; and even if it + had not been so, when we remember the tenor of his early life we need not + think that he would have been unequal to the restraint which ordinary + persons in similar circumstances are able to impose on their caprices. + The legates spoke no more than the truth when they wrote to the pope, + saying that "it was mere madness to suppose that the king would act as he + was doing merely out of dislike of the queen, or out of inclination, for + another person; he was not a man whom harsh manners and an unpleasant + disposition (<i>duri mores et injucunda consuetudo</i>) could so far + provoke; nor could any sane man believe him to be so infirm of character + that sensual allurements would have led him to dissolve a connexion in + which he had passed the flower of youth without stain or blemish, and in + which he had borne himself in his trial so reverently and honourably."<a + name="NtA_125"></a><a href="#Nt_125"><sup>125</sup></a> I consider this + entirely true in a sense which no great knowledge of human nature is + required to understand. The king's personal dissatisfaction was great: if + this had been all, however, it would have been extinguished or endured; + but the interests of the nation, imperilled as they were by the + maintenance of the marriage, entitled him to regard his position under + another aspect. Even if the marriage in itself had never been questioned, + he might justly have desired the dissolution of it; and when he recalled + the circumstances under which it was contracted, the hesitation of the + council, the reluctance of the pope, the alarms and vacillation of his + father, we may readily perceive how scruples of conscience must have + arisen in a soil well prepared to receive <!-- Page 76 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> them—how the + loss of his children must have appeared as a judicial sentence on a + violation of the Divine law. The divorce presented itself to him as a + moral obligation, when national advantage combined with superstition to + encourage what he secretly desired; and if he persuaded himself that + those public reasons, without which, in truth and fact, he would not have + stirred, were those that alone were influencing him, the self-deceit was + of a kind with which the experience of most men will probably have made + them too familiar. In those rare cases where inclination coincides with + right, we cannot be surprised if mankind should mislead themselves with + the belief that the disinterested motives weigh more with them than the + personal.</p> + + <p>A remarkable and very candid account of Henry's feelings is furnished + by himself in one of the many papers of instructions<a + name="NtA_126"></a><a href="#Nt_126"><sup>126</sup></a> which he + forwarded to his secretary at Rome. Hypocrisy was not among his faults, + and in detailing the arguments which were to be laid before the pope he + has exhibited a more complete revelation of what was passing in + himself—and indirectly of his own nature in its strength and + weakness—than he perhaps imagined while he wrote. The despatch is + long and perplexed; the style that of a man who saw his end clearly, and + was vexed with the intricate and dishonest trifling with which his way + was impeded, and which nevertheless he was struggling to tolerate. The + secretary was to say, "that the King's Highness having above all other + things his intent and mind ever founded upon such respect unto Almighty + God as to a Christian and catholic prince doth appertain, knowing the + fragility and uncertainty of all earthly things, and how displeasant unto + God, how much dangerous to the soul, how dishonourable and damageable to + the world it were to prefer vain and transitory things unto those that be + perfect and certain, hath in this cause, doubt, and matter of matrimony, + whereupon depend so high and manifold consequences of greatest + importance, always cast from his conceit the darkness and blundering + confusion of falsity, and specially hath had and put before his eyes the + light and shining brightness of truth; upon which foundation as a most + sure base for perpetual tranquillity of his conscience his Highness hath + expressly resolved and determined with himself to build and establish all + his acts, deeds, and cogitations touching this matter; without God did + build the house, in vain they laboured that went about to build it; and + all actions grounded upon that immovable fundament of truth, must needs + therein be firm, <!-- Page 77 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> sound, whole, perfect, and worthy of a + Christian man; which if truth were put apart, they could not for the same + reason be but evil, vain, slipper, uncertain, and in nowise permanent or + endurable." He then laboured to urge on the pope the duty of + straightforward dealing; and dwelt in words which have a sad interest for + us (when we consider the manner in which the subject of them has been + dealt with) on the judgment bar, not of God only, but of human posterity, + at which his conduct would be ultimately tried.</p> + + <p>"The causes of private persons dark and doubtful be sometimes," the + king said, "pretermitted and passed over as things more meet at some + seasons to be dissimuled than by continual strife and plea to nourish + controversies. Yet since all people have their eyes conject upon princes, + whose acts and doings not only be observed in the mouths of them that now + do live, but also remain in such perpetual memory to our posterity [so + that] the evil, if any there be, cannot but appear and come to light, + there is no reason for toleration, no place for dissimulation; but [there + is reason] more deeply, highly, and profoundly to penetrate and search + for the truth, so that the same may vanquish and overcome, and all guilt, + craft, and falsehood clearly be extirpate and reject."</p> + + <p>I am anticipating the progress of the story in making these + quotations; for the main burden of the despatch concerns a forged + document which had been introduced by the Roman lawyers to embarrass the + process, and of which I shall by-and-bye have to speak directly; but I + have desired to illustrate the spirit in which Henry entered upon the + general question—assuredly a more calm and rational one than + historians have usually represented it to be. In dealing with the + obstacle which had been raised, he displayed a most efficient mastery + over himself, although he did not conclude without touching the pith of + the matter with telling clearness. The secretary was to take some + opportunity of speaking to the pope privately; and of warning him, "as of + himself," that there was no hope that the king would give way: he was to + "say plainly to his Holiness that the king's desire and intent + <i>convolare ad secundas nuptias non patitur negativum</i>; and + whatsoever should be found of bull, brief, or otherwise, his Highness + found his conscience so inquieted, his succession in such danger, and his + most royal person in such perplexity for things unknown and not to be + spoken, that other remedy there was not but his Grace to come by one way + or other, and specially at his hands, if it might be, to the desired <!-- + Page 78 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> end; + and that all concertation to the contrary should be vain and + frustrate."</p> + + <p>So peremptory a conviction and so determined a purpose were of no + sudden growth, and had been probably maturing in his mind for years, when + the gangrene was torn open by the Bishop of Tarbês, and accident + precipitated his resolution. The momentous consequences involved, and the + reluctance to encounter a probable quarrel with the emperor, might have + long kept him silent, except for some extraneous casualty; but the tree + being thus rudely shaken, the ripe fruit fell. The capture of Rome + occurring almost at the same moment, Wolsey caught the opportunity to + break the Spanish alliance; and the prospect of a divorce was grasped at + by him as a lever by which to throw the weight of English power and + influence into the papal scale, to commit Henry definitely to the + catholic cause. Like his acceptance of legatine authority, the expedient + was a desperate one, and if it failed it was ruinous. The nation at that + time was sincerely attached to Spain. The alliance with the house of + Burgundy was of old date; the commercial intercourse with Flanders was + enormous, Flanders, in fact, absorbing all the English exports; and as + many as 15,000 Flemings were settled in London. Charles himself was + personally popular; he had been the ally of England in the late French + war; and when in his supposed character of leader of the anti-papal party + in Europe he allowed a Lutheran army to desecrate Rome, he had won the + sympathy of all the latent discontent which was fermenting in the + population. France, on the other hand, was as cordially hated as Spain + was beloved. A state of war with France was the normal condition of + England; and the reconquest of it the universal dream from the cottage to + the castle. Henry himself, early in his reign, had shared in this + delusive ambition; and but three years before the sack of Rome, when the + Duke of Suffolk led an army into Normandy, Wolsey's purposed tardiness in + sending reinforcements had alone saved Paris.<a name="NtA_127"></a><a + href="#Nt_127"><sup>127</sup></a></p> + + <p>There could be no doubt, therefore, that a breach with the emperor + would in a high degree be unwelcome to the country. The king, and + probably such members of the council as were aware of his feelings, + shrank from offering an open affront to the Spanish people., and anxious + as they were for a settlement of the succession, perhaps trusted that + advantage might be taken of some political contingency for a private + arrangement; that <!-- Page 79 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> Catherine might be induced by Charles + himself to retire privately, and sacrifice herself, of her free will, to + the interests of the two countries. This, however, is no more than + conjecture; I think it probable, because so many English statesmen were + in favour at once of the divorce and of the Spanish alliance—two + objects which, only on some such hypothesis, were compatible. The fact + cannot be ascertained, however, because the divorce itself was not + discussed at the council table until Wolsey had induced the king to + change his policy by the hope of immediate relief.</p> + + <p>Wolsey has revealed to us fully his own objects in a letter to Sir + Gregory Cassalis, his agent at Rome. He shared with half Europe in an + impression that the emperor's Italian campaigns were designed to further + the Reformation; and of this central delusion he formed the keystone of + his conduct. "First condoling with his Holiness," he wrote, "on the + unhappy position in which, with the college of the most reverend + cardinals, he is placed,<a name="NtA_128"></a><a + href="#Nt_128"><sup>128</sup></a> you shall tell him how, day and night, + I am revolving by what means or contrivance I may bring comfort to the + church of Christ, and raise the fallen state of our most Holy Lord. I + care not whit it may cost me, whether of expense or trouble; nay, though + I have to shed my blood, or give my life for it, assuredly so long as + life remains to me for this I will labour. And how let me mention the + great and marvellous effects which have been wrought by my + instrumentality on the mind of my most excellent master the king, whom I + have persuaded to unite himself with his Holiness in heart and soul. I + urged innumerable reasons to induce him to part him from the emperor, to + whom he clung with much tenacity. The most effective of them all was the + constancy with which I assured him of the good-will and affection which + were felt for him by his Holiness, and the certainty that his Holiness + would furnish proof of his friendship in conceding his said Majesty's + requests, in such form as the church's treasure and the authority of the + Vicar of Christ shall permit, or so far as that authority extends or may + extend. I have undertaken, moreover, for all these things in their utmost + latitude, pledging my salvation, my faith, my honour and soul upon them. + I have said that his demands shall be granted amply and fully, without + scruple, without room or occasion being left for after-retractation; and + the King's Majesty, in consequence, believing on these my solemn + asseverations that the Pope's Holiness is really and indeed well inclined + towards him, accepting what is spoken by me as spoken by the <!-- Page 80 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> legate of + the Apostolic See, and therefore, as in the name of his Holiness, has + determined to run the risk which I have pressed upon him; he will spare + no labour or expense, he will disregard the wishes of his subjects, and + the private interest of his Realm, to attach himself cordially and + constantly to the Holy See."<a name="NtA_129"></a><a + href="#Nt_129"><sup>129</sup></a></p> + + <p>These were the words of a man who loved England well, but who loved + Rome better; and Wolsey has received but scanty justice from catholic + writers, since he sacrificed himself for the catholic cause. His scheme + was bold and well laid, being weak only in that it was confessedly in + contradiction to the instincts and genius of the nation, by which, and by + which alone, in the long run, either this or any other country has been + successfully governed. And yet he might well be forgiven if he ventured + on an unpopular course in the belief that the event would justify him; + and that, in uniting with France to support the pope, he was not only + consulting the true interest of England, but was doing what England + actually desired, although blindly aiming at her object by other means. + The French wars, however traditionally popular, were fertile only in + glory. The rivalry of the two countries was a splendid folly, wasting the + best blood of both countries for an impracticable chimera; and though + there was impatience of ecclesiastical misrule, though there was jealousy + of foreign interference, and general irritation with the state of the + church, yet the mass of the people hated protestantism even worse than + they hated the pope, the clergy, and the consistory courts. They + believed—and Wolsey was, perhaps, the only leading member of the + privy council, except Archbishop Warham, who was not under the same + delusion—that it was possible for a national church to separate + itself from the unity of Christendom, and at the same time to crush or + prevent innovation of doctrine; that faith in the sacramental system + could still be maintained, though the priesthood by whom those mysteries + were dispensed should minister in gilded chains. This was the English + historical theory handed down from William Rufus, the second Henry, and + the Edwards; yet it was and is a mere phantasm, a thing of words and + paper fictions, as Wolsey saw it to be. Wolsey knew well that an + ecclesiastical revolt implied, as a certainty, innovation of doctrine; + that plain men could not and would not continue to reverence the office + of the priesthood, when the priests were treated as the paid officials of + an earthly authority higher than their own. <!-- Page 81 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page81"></a>[pg 81]</span> He was not to be + blamed if he took the people at their word; if he believed that, in their + doctrinal conservatism, they knew and meant what they were saying: and + the reaction which took place under Queen Mary, when the Anglican system + had been tried and failed, and the alternative was seen to be absolute + between a union with Rome or a forfeiture of catholic orthodoxy, prove + after all that he was wiser than in the immediate event he seemed to be; + that if his policy had succeeded, and if, strengthened by success, he had + introduced into the church those reforms which he had promised and + desired,<a name="NtA_130"></a><a href="#Nt_130"><sup>130</sup></a> he + would have satisfied the substantial wishes of the majority of the + nation.</p> + + <p>Like other men of genius, Wolsey also combined practical sagacity with + an unmeasured power of hoping. As difficulties gathered round him, he + encountered them with the increasing magnificence of his schemes; and + after thirty years' experience of public life, he was as sanguine as a + boy. Armed with this little lever of the divorce, he saw himself, in + imagination, the rebuilder of the catholic faith and the deliverer of + Europe. The king being remarried, and the succession settled, he would + purge the Church of England, and convert the monasteries into + intellectual garrisons of pious and learned men, occupying the land from + end to end. The feuds with France should cease for ever, and, united in a + holy cause, the two countries should restore the papacy, put down the + German heresies, depose the emperor, and establish in his place some + faithful servant of the church. Then Europe once more at peace, the + hordes of the Crescent, which were threatening to settle the quarrels of + Christians in the West as they had settled them in the East—by the + extinction of Christianity itself,—were to be hurled back into + their proper barbarism.<a name="NtA_131"></a><a + href="#Nt_131"><sup>131</sup></a> These magnificent visions fell from him + in conversations <!-- Page 82 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page82"></a>[pg 82]</span> with the Bishop of Bayonne, and may be + gathered from hints and fragments of his correspondence. Extravagant as + they seem, the prospect of realising them was, humanly speaking, neither + chimerical nor even improbable. He had but made the common mistake of men + of the world who are the representatives of an old order of things at the + time when that order is doomed and dying. He could not read the signs of + the times; and confounded the barrenness of death with the barrenness of + a winter which might be followed by a new spring and summer; he believed + that the old life-tree of Catholicism, which in fact was but cumbering + the ground, might bloom again in its old beauty. The thing which he + called heresy was the fire of Almighty God, which no politic congregation + of princes, no state machinery, though it were never so active, could + trample out; and as in the early years of Christianity the meanest slave + who was thrown to the wild beasts for his presence at the forbidden + mysteries of the gospel, saw deeper, in the divine power of his faith, + into the future even of this earthly world than the sagest of his + imperial persecutors, so a truer political prophet than Wolsey would have + been found in the most ignorant of those poor men, for whom his myrmidons + were searching in the purlieus of London, who were risking death and + torture in disseminating the pernicious volumes of the English + Testament.</p> + + <p>If we look at the matter, however, from a more earthly point of view, + the causes which immediately defeated Wolsey's policy were not such as + human foresight could have anticipated. We ourselves, surveying the + various parties in Europe with the light of our knowledge of the actual + sequel, are perhaps able to understand their real relations; but if in + 1527 a political astrologer had foretold that within two years of that + time the pope and the emperor who had imprisoned him would be cordial + allies, that the positions of England and Spain toward the papacy would + be diametrically reversed, and that the two countries were on the point + of taking their posts, which they would ever afterwards maintain, as the + champions respectively of the opposite principles to those which at that + time they seemed to represent, the prophecy would have been held scarcely + less insane than a prophecy six or even three years before the event, + that in the year 1854 England would be united with an Emperor Napoleon + for the preservation of European order.</p> + + <p>Henry, then, in the spring of the year 1527, definitively breaking the + Spanish alliance, formed a league with Francis I., the avowed object of + which was the expulsion of the Imperialists <!-- Page 83 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> from Italy; with a + further intention—if it could be carried into effect—of + avenging the outrage offered to Europe in the pope's imprisonment, by + declaring vacant the imperial throne. Simultaneously with the congress at + Amiens where the terms of the alliance were arranged, confidential + persons were despatched into Italy to obtain an interview—if + possible—with the pope, and formally laying before him the + circumstances of the king's position, to request him to make use of his + powers to provide a remedy. It is noticeable that at the outset of the + negotiation the king did not fully trust Wolsey. The latter had + suggested, as the simplest method of proceeding, that the pope should + extend his authority as legate, granting him plenary power to act as + English vicegerent so long as Rome was occupied by the Emperor's troops. + Henry, not wholly satisfied that he was acquainted with his minister's + full intentions in desiring so large a capacity, sent his own secretary, + unknown to Wolsey, with his own private propositions—requesting + simply a dispensation to take a second wife, his former marriage being + allowed to stand with no definite sentence passed upon it; or, if that + were impossible, leaving the pope to choose his own method, and settle + the question in the manner least difficult and least offensive.<a + name="NtA_132"></a><a href="#Nt_132"><sup>132</sup></a></p> + + <p>Wolsey, however, soon satisfied the king that he had no sinister + intentions. By the middle of the winter we find the private messenger + associated openly with Sir Gregory Cassalis, the agent of the minister's + communications;<a name="NtA_133"></a><a href="#Nt_133"><sup>133</sup></a> + and a series of formal demands were presented jointly by these two + persons in the names of Henry and the legate; which, though taking many + forms, resolved themselves substantially into one. The pope was required + to make use of his dispensing power to enable the King of England to + marry a wife who could bear him children, and thus provide some better + security than already existed for the succession to the throne. This + demand could not be considered as in itself unreasonable; and if personal + feeling was combined with other motives to induce Henry to press it, + personal feeling did not affect the general bearing of the question. The + king's desire was publicly urged on public grounds, and thus, and thus + only, the pope was at liberty to consider it. The marriages of princes + have ever been affected by other considerations than those which + influence such relations between private persons. Princes may not, as + "unvalued <!-- Page 84 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page84"></a>[pg + 84]</span> persons" may, "carve for themselves;" they pay the penalty of + their high place, in submitting their affections to the welfare of the + state; and the same causes which regulate the formation of these ties + must be allowed to influence the continuance of them. The case which was + submitted to the pope was one of those for which his very power of + dispensing had been vested in him; and being, as he called himself, the + Father of Christendom, the nation thought themselves entitled to call + upon him to make use of that power. A resource of the kind must exist + somewhere—the relation between princes and subjects indispensably + requiring it. It had been vested in the Bishop of Rome, because it had + been presumed that the sanctity of his office would secure an impartial + exercise of his authority. And unless he could have shown (which he never + attempted to show) that the circumstances of the succession were not so + precarious as to call for his interference, it would seem that the + express contingency had arisen which was contemplated in the constitution + of the canon law;<a name="NtA_134"></a><a + href="#Nt_134"><sup>134</sup></a> and that where a provision had been + made by the church of which he was the earthly head, for difficulties of + this precise description, the pope was under an obligation either to make + the required concessions in virtue of his faculty, or, if he found + himself unable to make those concessions, to offer some distinct + explanation of his refusal. I speak of the question as nakedly political. + I am not considering the private injuries of which Catherine had so deep + a right to complain, nor the complications subsequently raised on the + original validity of the first marriage. A political difficulty, on which + alone he was bound to give sentence, was laid before the pope in his + judicial capacity, in the name of the nation; and the painful features + which the process afterwards assumed are due wholly to his original + weakness and vacillation.</p> + + <p>Deeply, however, as we must all deplore the scandal and suffering + which were occasioned by the dispute, it was in a high degree fortunate, + that at the crisis of public dissatisfaction in England with the + condition of the church, especially in the conduct of its courts of + justice, a cause should have arisen which tested the whole question of + church authority in its highest <!-- Page 85 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> form; where the dispute between the + laity and the ecclesiastics was represented in a process in which the + pope sat as judge; in which the king was the appellant, and the most + vital interests of the nation were at stake upon the issue. It was no + accident which connected a suit for divorce with the reformation of + religion. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction was upon its trial, and the + future relations of church and state depended upon the pope's conduct in + a matter which no technical skill was required to decide, but only the + moral virtues of probity and courage. The time had been when the clergy + feared only to be unjust, and when the functions of judges might safely + be entrusted to them. The small iniquities of the consistory courts had + shaken the popular faith in the continued operation of such a fear; and + the experience of an Alexander VI., a Julius II., and a Leo X. had + induced a suspicion that even in the highest quarters justice had ceased + to be much considered. It remained for Clement VII. to disabuse men of + their alarms, or by confirming them to forfeit for ever the supremacy of + his order in England. Nor can it be said for him that the case was one in + which it was unusually difficult to be virtuous. Justice, wounded + dignity, and the interests of the See pointed alike to the same course. + Queen Catherine's relationship to the emperor could not have recommended + her to the tenderness of the pope, and the policy of assenting to an act + which would infallibly alienate Henry from Charles, and therefore attach + him to the Roman interests, did not require the eloquence of Wolsey to + make it intelligible. If, because he was in the emperor's power, he + therefore feared the personal consequences to himself, his cowardice of + itself disqualified him to sit as a judge.</p> + + <p>It does not fall within my present purpose to detail the first stages + of the proceedings which followed. In substance they are well known to + all readers of English history, and may be understood without difficulty + as soon as we possess the clue to the conduct of Wolsey. I shall, + however, in a few pages briefly epitomise what passed.</p> + + <p>At the outset of the negotiation, the pope, although he would take no + positive steps, was all, in words, which he was expected to be. Neither + he nor the cardinals refused to acknowledge the dangers which threatened + the country. He discussed freely the position of the different parties, + the probabilities of a disputed succession, and the various claimants who + would present themselves, if the king died without an heir of undisputed + legitimacy.<a name="NtA_135"></a><a href="#Nt_135"><sup>135</sup></a> + <!-- Page 86 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> + Gardiner writes to Wolsey,<a name="NtA_136"></a><a + href="#Nt_136"><sup>136</sup></a> "We did even more inculcate what speed + and celerity the thing required, and what danger it was to the realm to + have this matter hang in suspense. His Holiness confessed the same, and + thereupon began to reckon what divers titles might be pretended by the + King of Scots and others, and granted that, without an heir male, with + provision to be made by consent of the state for his succession, and + unless that what shall be done herein be established in such fashion as + nothing may hereafter be objected thereto, the realm was like to come to + dissolution."</p> + + <p>In stronger language the Cardinal-Governor of Bologna declared that + "he knew the gyze of England as well as few men did, and if the king + should die without heirs male, he was sure it would cost two hundred + thousand men's lives. Wherefore he thought, supposing his Grace should + have no more children by the queen, and that by taking of another wife he + might have heirs male, the bringing to pass that matter, and by that to + avoid the mischiefs afore written, he thought would deserve Heaven."<a + name="NtA_137"></a><a href="#Nt_137"><sup>137</sup></a> Whatever doubt + their might be, therefore, whether the original marriage with Catherine + was legal, it was universally admitted that there was none about the + national desirableness of the dissolution of it; and if the pope had been + free to judge only by the merits of the case, it is impossible to doubt + that he would have cut the knot, either by granting a dispensation to + Henry to marry a second wife—his first being formally, though not + judicially, separated from him—or in some other way.<a + name="NtA_138"></a><a href="#Nt_138"><sup>138</sup></a> But the emperor + was "a lion in his path;" the question of strength between the French and + the Spaniards remained undecided, and Clement would come to no decision + until he was assured of the power of the allies to protect him from the + consequences. Accordingly he said and unsaid, sighed, sobbed, beat his + breast, shuffled, implored, threatened;<a name="NtA_139"></a><a + href="#Nt_139"><sup>139</sup></a> in all ways he endeavoured to escape + from his dilemma, to say yes and to say no, to do nothing, to offend no + one, and above all to gain time, with the weak man's hope that "something + might happen" to extricate him. Embassy followed embassy from England, + each using language more threatening than its predecessor. The thing, it + was said, must be done, and should be done. If it was not done by the + pope it would be done at home in some <!-- Page 87 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> other way, and the + pope must take the consequences.<a name="NtA_140"></a><a + href="#Nt_140"><sup>140</sup></a> Wolsey warned him passionately of the + rising storm,<a name="NtA_141"></a><a href="#Nt_141"><sup>141</sup></a> a + storm which would be so terrible when it burst "that it would be better + to die than to live." The pope was strangely unable to believe that the + danger could be real, being misled perhaps by other information from the + friends of Queen Catherine, and by an over-confidence in the attachment + of the people to the emperor. He acted throughout in a manner natural to + a timid amiable man, who found himself in circumstances to which he was + unequal; and as long as we look at him merely as a man we can pity his + embarrassment. He forgot, however, that only because he was supposed to + be more than a man had kings and emperors consented to plead at his + judgment seat—a fact of which Stephen Gardiner, then Wolsey's + secretary, thought it well to remind him in the following striking + language:—</p> + + <p>"Unless," said the future Bishop of Winchester in the council, at the + close of a weary day of unprofitable debating, "unless some other + resolution be taken than I perceive you intend to make, hereupon shall be + gathered a marvellous opinion of your Holiness, of the college of + cardinals, and of the authority of this See. The King's Highness, and the + nobles of the realm who shall be made privy to this, shall needs think + that your Holiness and these most reverend and learned councillors either + will not answer in this cause, or cannot answer. If you will not, if you + do not choose to point out the way to an erring man, the care of whom is + by God committed to you, they will say, 'Oh race of men most ungrateful, + and of your proper office most oblivious! You who should be simple as + doves are full of all deceit, and craft, and dissembling. If the king's + cause be good, we require that you pronounce it good. If it be bad, why + will you not say that it is bad, so to hinder a prince to whom you are so + much bounden <!-- Page 88 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> from longer continuing with it? We ask + nothing of you but justice, which the king so loves and values, that + whatever sinister things others may say or think of him, he will follow + that with all his heart; that, and nothing else, whether it be for the + marriage or against the marriage.'</p> + + <p>"But if the King's Majesty," continued Gardiner, hitting the very + point of the difficulty, "if the King's Majesty and the nobility of + England, being persuaded of your good will to answer if you can do so, + shall be brought to doubt of your ability, they will be forced to a + harder conclusion respecting this See—namely, that God has taken + from it the key of knowledge; and they will begin to give better ear to + that opinion of some persons to which they have as yet refused to listen, + that those papal laws which neither the pope himself nor his council can + interpret, deserve only to be committed to the flames." "I desired his + Holiness," he adds, "to ponder well this matter."<a name="NtA_142"></a><a + href="#Nt_142"><sup>142</sup></a></p> + + <p>Clement was no hero, but in his worst embarrassments his wit never + failed him. He answered that he was not learned, and "to speak truth, + albeit there was a saying in the canon law, that <i>Pontifex habet omnia + jura in scrinio pectoris</i> (the pope has all laws locked within his + breast), yet God had never given him the key to open that lock." He was + but "seeking pretexts" for delay, as Gardiner saw, till the issue of the + Italian campaign of the French in the summer of 1528 was decided. He had + been liberated, or had been allowed to escape from Rome, in the fear that + if detained longer he might nominate a vicegerent; and was residing at an + old ruined castle at Orvieto, waiting upon events, leaving the Holy City + still occupied by the Prince of Orange. In the preceding autumn, + immediately after the congress at Amiens, M. de Lautrec, accompanied by + several English noblemen, had led an army across the Alps. He had + defeated the Imperialists in the north of Italy in several minor + engagements; and in January his success appeared so probable, that the + pope took better heart, and told Sir Gregory Cassalis, that if the French + would only approach near enough to enable him to plead compulsion, he + would grant a commission to Wolsey, with plenary power to conclude the + cause.<a name="NtA_143"></a><a href="#Nt_143"><sup>143</sup></a> De + Lautrec, however, <!-- Page 89 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> foiled in his desire to bring the + Imperialists to a decisive engagement, wasted his time and strength in + ineffectual petty sieges; and finally, in the summer, on the unhealthy + plains of Naples, a disaster more fatal in its consequences than the + battle of Pavia, closed the prospects of the French to the south of the + Alps; and with them all Wolsey's hopes of realising his dream. Struck + down, not by a visible enemy, but by the silent hand of fever, the French + general himself, his English friends, and all his army melted away from + off the earth. The pope had been wise in time. He had committed himself + in words and intentions; but he had done nothing which he could not + recall. He obtained his pardon from the emperor by promising to offend no + more; and from that moment never again entertained any real thought of + concession. Acting under explicit directions, he made it his object + thenceforward to delay and to procrastinate. Charles had no desire to + press matters to extremities. War had not yet been declared<a + name="NtA_144"></a><a href="#Nt_144"><sup>144</sup></a> against him by + Henry; nor was he anxious <!-- Page 90 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> himself to precipitate a quarrel from + which, if possible, he would gladly escape. He had a powerful party in + England, which it was unwise to alienate by hasty, injudicious measures; + and he could gain all which he himself desired by a simple policy of + obstruction. His object was merely to protract the negotiation and + prevent a decision, in the hope either that Henry would be wearied into + acquiescence, or that Catherine herself would retire of her own accord, + or, finally, that some happy accident might occur to terminate the + difficulty. It is, indeed, much to the honour of Charles V. that he + resolved to support the queen. She had thrown herself on his protection; + but princes in such matters consider prudence more than feeling, and he + could gain nothing by defending her: while, both for himself and for the + church he risked the loss of much. He over-rated the strength of his + English connection, and mistook the English character; but he was not + blind to the hazard which he was incurring, and would have welcomed an + escape from the dilemma perhaps as warmly as Henry would have welcomed it + himself. The pope, who well knew his feelings, told Gardiner, "It would + be for the wealth of Christendom if the queen were in her grave; and he + thought the emperor would be thereof most glad of all;" saying, also, + "that he thought like as the emperor had destroyed the temporalities of + the church, so should she be the destruction of the spiritualities."<a + name="NtA_145"></a><a href="#Nt_145"><sup>145</sup></a></p> + + <p>In the summer of 1528, before the disaster at Naples, Cardinal + Campeggio had left Rome on his way to England, where he was to hear the + cause in conjunction with Wolsey. An initial measure of this obvious kind + it had been impossible to refuse; and the pretexts under which it was for + many months delayed, were exhausted before the pope's ultimate course had + been made clear to him. But Campeggio was instructed to protract his + journey to its utmost length, giving time for the campaign to decide + itself. He loitered into the autumn, under the excuse of gout and other + convenient accidents, until the news reached him of De Lautrec's death, + which took place on the 21st of August; and then at length proceeding, he + betrayed to Francis I., on passing through Paris, that he had no + intention of allowing judgment to be passed upon the cause.<a + name="NtA_146"></a><a href="#Nt_146"><sup>146</sup></a> Even Wolsey was + beginning to tremble at what he had attempted, and was doubtful <!-- Page + 91 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> of + success.<a name="NtA_147"></a><a href="#Nt_147"><sup>147</sup></a> The + seeming relief came in time, for Henry's patience was fast running out. + He had been over-persuaded into a course which he had never cordially + approved. The majority of the council, especially the Duke of Norfolk and + the Duke of Suffolk, were traditionally imperial, and he himself might + well doubt whether he might not have found a nearer road out of his + difficulties by adhering to Charles. Charles, after all, was not ruining + the papacy, and had no intention of ruining it; and his lightest word + weighed more at the court of Rome than the dubious threats and prayers of + France. The Bishop of Bayonne, resident French ambassador in London, + whose remarkable letters transport us back into the very midst of that + unquiet and stormy scene, tells us plainly that the French alliance was + hated by the country, that the nobility were all for the emperor, and + that among the commons the loudest discontent was openly expressed + against Wolsey from the danger of the interruption of the trade with + Flanders. Flemish ships had been detained in London, and English ships in + retaliation had been arrested in the Zealand ports; corn was unusually + dear, and the expected supplies from Spain and Germany were cut off;<a + name="NtA_148"></a><a href="#Nt_148"><sup>148</sup></a> while the + derangement of the woollen trade, from the reluctance of the merchants to + venture purchases, was causing distress all over the country, and Wolsey + had been driven to the most arbitrary measures to prevent open + disturbance.<a name="NtA_149"></a><a href="#Nt_149"><sup>149</sup></a> He + had set his hopes upon the chance of a single cast which he would not + believe could fail him, but on each fresh delay he was compelled to feel + his declining credit, and the Bishop of Bayonne wrote, on the 20th of + August, 1528, that the cardinal was in bad spirits, and had told him in + confidence, that "if he could only see the <!-- Page 92 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> divorce arranged, the + king remarried, the succession settled, and the laws and the manners and + customs of the country reformed, he would retire from the world and would + serve God the remainder of his days."<a name="NtA_150"></a><a + href="#Nt_150"><sup>150</sup></a> To these few trifles he would be + contented to confine himself—only to these; he was past sixty, he + was weary of the world, and his health was breaking, and he would limit + his hopes to the execution of a work for which centuries imperfectly + sufficed. It seemed as if he measured his stature by the lengthening + shadow, as his sun made haste to its setting. Symptoms of misgiving may + be observed in the many anxious letters which he wrote while Campeggio + was so long upon his road; and the Bishop of Bayonne, whose less + interested eyes could see more deeply into the game, warned him + throughout that the pope was playing him false.<a name="NtA_151"></a><a + href="#Nt_151"><sup>151</sup></a> Only in a revulsion from violent + despondency could such a man as Wolsey have allowed himself, on the mere + arrival of the legate, and after a few soft words from him, to write in + the following strain to Sir Gregory Cassalis:—</p> + + <p>"You cannot believe the exultation with which at length I find myself + successful in the object for which these many years, with all my + industry, I have laboured. At length I have found means to bind my most + excellent sovereign and this glorious realm to the holy Roman see in + faith and obedience for ever. Henceforth will this people become the most + sure pillar of support to bear up the sacred fabric of the church. + Henceforth, in recompense for that enduring felicity which he has secured + to it, our most Holy Lord has all England at his devotion. In brief time + will this noble land make its grateful acknowledgments to his clemency at + once for the preservation of the most just, most wise, most excellent of + princes, and for the secure establishment of the realm and the protection + of the royal succession."<a name="NtA_152"></a><a + href="#Nt_152"><sup>152</sup></a></p> + + <p>This letter was dated on the fourth of October, and was written in the + hope that the pope had collected his courage, and that the legate had + brought powers to proceed to judgment. In a few days the prospect was + again clouded, and Wolsey was once more in despair.<a + name="NtA_153"></a><a href="#Nt_153"><sup>153</sup></a> Campeggio had + brought with him instructions if possible to arrange a + compromise,—if a compromise <!-- Page 93 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> was impossible, to + make the best use of his ingenuity, and do nothing and allow nothing to + be done. In one of two ways, however, it was hoped that he might effect a + peaceful solution. He urged the king to give way and to proceed no + further; and this failing, as he was prepared to find, he urged the same + thing upon the queen.<a name="NtA_154"></a><a + href="#Nt_154"><sup>154</sup></a> He invited Catherine, or he was + directed to invite her, in the pope's name,<a name="NtA_155"></a><a + href="#Nt_155"><sup>155</sup></a> for the sake of the general interests + of Christendom, to take the vows and enter what was called <i>religio + laxa</i>, a state in which she might live unincumbered by obligations + except the easy one of chastity, and free from all other restrictions + either of habit, diet, or order. The proposal was Wolsey's, and was + formed when he found the limited nature of Campeggio's instructions;<a + name="NtA_156"></a><a href="#Nt_156"><sup>156</sup></a> but it was + adopted by the latter; and I cannot but think (though I have no proof of + it) that it was not adopted without the knowledge of the emperor. + Whatever were his own interests, Charles V. gave Catherine his unwavering + support: he made it his duty to maintain her in the ignominious position + in which she was placed, and submitted his own conduct to be guided by + her wishes. It cannot be doubted, however, from the pope's words, and + also from the circumstances of the case, that if she could have prevailed + upon herself to yield, it would have relieved him from a painful + embarrassment. As a prince, he must have felt the substantial justice of + Henry's demand, and in refusing to allow the pope to pass a judicial + sentence of divorce, he could not but have known that he was compromising + the position of the Holy See: while Catherine herself, on the other hand, + if she had yielded, would have retired without a stain; no opinion would + have been pronounced upon her marriage; the legitimacy of the Princess + Mary would have been left without impeachment; and her right to the + succession, in the event of no male heir following from any new + connection which the king might form, would have been readily secured to + her by act of parliament. It may be asked why she did not yield, and it + is difficult to answer the question. She was not a person who would have + been disturbed by the loss of a few court vanities. Her situation as + Henry's wife could not have had many charms for her, nor can it be + thought that she retained a personal affection for him. If she had loved + him, she would have suffered too deeply in the struggle to have continued + to resist, and the cloister would have seemed a paradise. Or if the + cloister had appeared too sad a shelter for her, she might have gone back + to the gardens of the <!-- Page 94 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> Alhambra, where she had played as a + child, carrying with her the affectionate remembrance of every English + heart, and welcomed by her own people as an injured saint. Nor again can + we suppose that the possible injury of her daughter's prospects from the + birth of a prince by another marriage could have seemed of so vast moment + to her. Those prospects were already more than endangered, and would have + been rather improved than brought into further peril.</p> + + <p>It is not for us to dictate the conduct which a woman smarting under + injuries so cruel ought to have pursued. She had a right to choose the + course which seemed the best to herself, and England especially could not + claim of a stranger that readiness to sacrifice herself which it might + have demanded and exacted of one of its own children. We may regret, + however, what we are unable to censure; and the most refined ingenuity + could scarcely have invented a more unfortunate answer than that which + the Queen returned to the legate's request. She seems to have said that + she was ready to take vows of chastity if the king would do the same. It + does not appear whether the request was <i>formally</i> made, or whether + it was merely suggested to her in private conversation. That she told the + legates, however, what her answer would be, appears certain from the + following passage, sadly indicating the "devices of policy" to which in + this unhappy business honourable men allowed themselves to be + driven:—</p> + + <p>"Forasmuch as it is like that the queen shall make marvellous + difficulty, and in nowise be conformable to enter religion<a + name="NtA_157"></a><a href="#Nt_157"><sup>157</sup></a> or take vows of + chastity, but that to induce her thereunto, there must be ways and means + of high policy used, and all things possible devised to encourage her to + the same; wherein percase she shall resolve that she in no wise will + condescend so to do, unless that the King's Highness also do the + semblable for his part; the king's said orators shall therefore in like + wise ripe and instruct themselves by their secret learned council in the + court of Rome, if, for so great a benefit to ensue unto the king's + succession, realm, and subjects, with the quiet of his conscience, his + Grace should promise so to enter religion on vows of chastity for his + part, only thereby to conduce the queen thereunto, whether in that case + the Pope's Holiness may dispense with the King's Highness for the same + promise, oath, or vow, discharging his Grace clearly of the same."<a + name="NtA_158"></a><a href="#Nt_158"><sup>158</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 95 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page95"></a>[pg 95]</span> + + <p>The explanation of the queen's conduct lies probably in regions into + which it is neither easy nor well to penetrate; in regions of outraged + delicacy and wounded pride, in a vast drama of passion which had been + enacted behind the scenes. From the significant hints which are let fall + of the original cause of the estrangement, it was of a kind more + difficult to endure than the ordinary trial of married women, the + transfer of a husband's affection to some fairer face; and a wife whom so + painful a misfortune had failed to crush would be likely to have been + moved by it to a deeper and more bitter indignation even, because while + she could not blame herself, she knew not whom she might rightly allow + herself to blame. And if this were so, the king is not likely to have + allayed the storm when at length, putting faith in Wolsey's promises, he + allowed himself openly to regard another person as his future wife, + establishing her in the palace at Greenwich under the same roof with the + queen, with reception rooms, and royal state, and a position openly + acknowledged,<a name="NtA_159"></a><a href="#Nt_159"><sup>159</sup></a> + the gay court and courtiers forsaking the gloomy dignity of the actual + wife for the gaudy splendour of her brilliant rival. Tamer blood than + that which flowed in the veins of a princess of Castile would have boiled + under these indignities; and we have little reason to be surprised if + policy and prudence were alike forgotten by Catherine in the bitterness + of the draught which was forced upon her, and if her own personal wrongs + outweighed the interests of the world. Henry had proceeded to the last + unjustifiable extremity as soon as the character of Campeggio's mission + had been made clear to him, as if to demonstrate to all the world that he + was determined to persevere at all costs and hazards.<a + name="NtA_160"></a><a href="#Nt_160"><sup>160</sup></a> Taking the + management of the negotiation into his own keeping, he sent Sir Francis + Bryan, the cousin of Anne Boleyn, to the pope, to announce that what he + required must be done, and to declare peremptorily, no more with covert + hints, but with open menace, that in default of help from Rome, he would + lay the matter before parliament, to be settled at home by the laws of + his own country.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, the emperor, who had hitherto conducted himself with the + greatest address, had fallen into his first error. He had retreated + skilfully out of the embarrassment in which the pope's imprisonment + involved him, and mingling authority and dictation with kindness and + deference, he had won over the Holy See to his devotion, and neutralised + the danger to which the alliance <!-- Page 96 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> of France and England threatened to + expose him. His correspondence with the latter country assured him of the + unpopularity of the course which had been pursued by the cardinal; he was + aware of the obstruction of trade which it had caused, and of the general + displeasure felt by the people at the breach of an old friendship; while + the league with France in behalf of the Roman church had been barren of + results, and was made ridiculous by the obvious preference of the pope + for the enemy from whom it was formed to deliver him. If Charles had + understood the English temper, therefore, and had known how to avail + himself of the opportunity, events might have run in a very different + channel. But he was not aware of the earnestness with which the people + were bent upon securing the succession, nor of their loyal attachment to + Henry. He supposed that disapproval of the course followed by Wolsey to + obtain the divorce implied an aversion to it altogether; and trusting to + his interest in the privy council, and to his commercial connection with + the city, he had attempted to meet menace with menace; he had replied to + the language addressed by Henry to the pope with an attempt to feel the + pulse of English disaffection, and he opened a correspondence with the + Earl of Desmond for an Irish revolt.<a name="NtA_161"></a><a + href="#Nt_161"><sup>161</sup></a></p> + + <p>The opportunity for a movement of this kind had not yet arrived. There + was, in England at least, as yet no wide disaffection; but there was a + chance of serious outbreaks; and Henry instantly threw himself upon the + nation. He summoned the peers by circular to London, and calling a + general meeting, composed of the nobility, the privy council, the lord + mayor, and the great merchants of the city, he laid before them a + specific detail of his objects in desiring the divorce;<a + name="NtA_162"></a><a href="#Nt_162"><sup>162</sup></a> and informed them + <!-- Page 97 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> + of the nature of the measures which had been taken.<a + name="NtA_163"></a><a href="#Nt_163"><sup>163</sup></a> This, the French + ambassador informs us, gave wide satisfaction and <!-- Page 98 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> served much to allay + the disquiet; but so great was the indignation against Wolsey, that + disturbances in London were every day anticipated; and at one time the + danger appeared so threatening, that an order of council was issued, + commanding all strangers to leave the city, and a general search was + instituted for arms.<a name="NtA_164"></a><a + href="#Nt_164"><sup>164</sup></a> The strangers aimed at were the + Flemings, whose numbers made them formidable, and who were, perhaps, + supposed to be ready to act under instruction from abroad. The cloud, + however, cleared away; the order was not enforced; and the propitious + moment for treason had not yet arrived. The emperor had felt so confident + that, in the autumn of 1528, he had boasted that, "before the winter was + over, he would fling Henry from his throne by the hands of his own + Subjects." The words had been repeated to Wolsey, who mentioned them + openly at his table before more than a hundred gentlemen. A person + present exclaimed, "That speech has lost the emperor more than a hundred + thousand hearts among us;"<a name="NtA_165"></a><a + href="#Nt_165"><sup>165</sup></a> an expression which reveals at once the + strength and the weakness of the imperial party. England might have its + own opinions of the policy of the government, but it was in no humour to + tolerate treason, and the first hint of revolt was followed by an instant + recoil. The discovery of more successful intrigues in Scotland and + Ireland completed the destruction of Charles's influence;<a + name="NtA_166"></a><a href="#Nt_166"><sup>166</sup></a> and the result of + these ill-judged and premature efforts was merely to unite the nation in + their determination to prosecute the divorce.</p> + + <p>Thus were the various parties in the vast struggle which was about to + commence gravitating into their places; and mistake combined with policy + to place them in their true positions. Wolsey, in submitting "the king's + matter" to the pope, had brought to issue the question whether the papal + authority should be any longer recognised in England; and he had secured + the ruin of that authority by the steps through which he hoped to + establish it; while Charles, by his unwise endeavours to foment a + rebellion, severed with his own hand the links of a friendship which + would have been seriously embarrassing if it had continued. By him, also, + was dealt the concluding stroke in this first act of the drama; and + though we may grant him credit for the ingenuity of his contrivance, he + can claim it only at the expense of his probity. The pope, when the + commission was appointed for the trial of the cause in England, had given + a promise in writing that the commission <!-- Page 99 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> should not be + revoked. It seemed, therefore, that the legates would be compelled, in + spite of themselves, to pronounce sentence; and that the settlement of + the question, in one form or other, could not long be delayed. At the + pressure of the crisis in the winter of 1528-9, a document was produced + alleged to have been found in Spain, which furnished a pretext for a + recall of the engagement, and opening now questions, indefinite and + inexhaustible, rendered the passing of a sentence in England impossible. + Unhappily, the weight of the king's claim (however it had been rested on + its true merits in conversation and in letters) had, by the perverse + ingenuity of the lawyers, been laid on certain informalities and defects + in the original bull of dispensation, which had been granted by Julius + II. for the marriage of Henry and Catherine. At the moment when the + legates' court was about to be opened, a copy of a brief was brought + forward, bearing the same date as the bull, exactly meeting the + objection. The authenticity of this brief was open, on its own merits, to + grave doubt; and suspicion becomes certainty when we find it was dropped + out of the controversy so soon as the immediate object was gained for + which it was produced. But the legates' hands were instantly tied by it. + The "previous question" of authenticity had necessarily to be tried + before they could take another step; and the "original" of the brief + being in the hands of the emperor, who refused to send it into England, + but offered to send it to Rome, the cause was virtually transferred to + Rome, where Henry, as he knew, was unlikely to consent to plead, or where + he could himself rule the decision. He had made a stroke of political + finesse, which answered not only the purpose that he immediately + intended, but answered, also, the purpose that he did not intend—of + dealing the hardest blow which it had yet received to the supremacy of + the Holy See.</p> + + <p>The spring of 1529 was wasted in fruitless efforts to obtain the + brief. At length, in May, the proceedings were commenced; but they were + commenced only in form, and were never more than an illusion. Catherine + had been instructed in the course which she was to pursue. She appealed + from the judgment of the legates to that of the pope; and the pope, with + the plea of the new feature which had arisen in the case, declared that + he could not refuse to revoke his promise. Having consented to the + production of the brief, he had in fact no alternative; nor does it + appear what he could have urged in excuse of himself. He may have + suspected the forgery; nay, it is certain that in <!-- Page 100 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> England he was + believed to be privy to it; but he could not ignore an important feature + of necessary evidence, especially when pressed upon him by the emperor; + and it was in fact no more than an absurdity to admit the authority of a + papal commission, and to refuse to permit an appeal from it to the pope + in person. We may thank Clement for dispelling a chimera by a simple act + of consistency. The power of the See of Rome in England was a + constitutional fiction, acknowledged only on condition that it would + consent to be inert. So long as a legate's court sat in London, men were + able to conceal from themselves the fact of a foreign jurisdiction, and + to feel that, substantially, their national independence was respected; + when the fiction aspired to become a reality, but one consequence was + possible. If Henry himself would have stooped to plead at a foreign + tribunal, the spirit of the nation would not have permitted him to + inflict so great a dishonour on the free majesty of England.</p> + + <p>So fell Wolsey's great scheme, and with it fell the last real chance + of maintaining the pope's authority in England under any form. The people + were smarting under the long humiliation of the delay, and ill-endured to + see the interests of England submitted, as they virtually were, to the + arbitration of a foreign prince. The emperor, not the pope, was the true + judge who sat to decide the quarrel; and their angry jealousy refused to + tolerate longer a national dishonour.</p> + + <p>"The great men of the realm," wrote the legates, "are storming in + bitter wrath at our procrastination. Lords and commons alike complain + that they are made to expect at the hands of strangers things of vital + moment to themselves and their fortunes. And many persons here who would + desire to see the pope's authority in this country diminished or + annulled, are speaking in language which we cannot repeat without + horror."<a name="NtA_167"></a><a href="#Nt_167"><sup>167</sup></a></p> + + <p>And when, being in such a mood, they were mocked, after two weary + years of negotiation, by the opening of a fresh vista of difficulties, + when they were informed that the further hearing of the cause was + transferred to Italy, even Wolsey, with certain ruin before him, rose in + protest before such a dream of shame. He was no more the Roman legate, + but the English minister.</p> + + <p>"If the advocation be passed," he wrote to Cassalis,<a + name="NtA_168"></a><a href="#Nt_168"><sup>168</sup></a> "or shall now at + any time hereafter pass, with citation of the king in person, or by + proctor, to the court of Rome, or with any <!-- Page 101 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> clause of + interdiction or excommunication, <i>vel cum invocatione brachii + sĉcularis</i>, whereby the king should be precluded from taking his + advantage otherwise, the dignity and prerogative royal of the king's + crown, whereunto all the nobles and subjects of this realm will adhere + and stick unto the death, may not tolerate nor suffer that the same be + obeyed. And to say the truth, in so doing the pope should not only show + himself the king's enemy, but also as much as in him is, provoke all + other princes and people to be the semblable. Nor shall it ever be seen + that the king's cause shall be ventilated or decided in any place out of + his own realm; <i>but that if his Grace should come at any time to the + Court of Rome, he would do the same with such a main and army royal as + should be formidable to the pope and all Italy</i>."<a + name="NtA_169"></a><a href="#Nt_169"><sup>169</sup></a></p> + + <p>Wolsey, however, failed in his protest; the advocation was passed, + Campeggio left England, and he was lost. A crisis had arrived, and a + revolution of policy was inevitable. From the accession of Henry VII., + the country had been governed by a succession of ecclesiastical + ministers, who being priests as well as statesmen, were essentially + conservative; and whose efforts in a position of constantly increasing + difficulty had been directed towards resisting the changing tendencies of + the age, and either evading a reformation of the church while they + admitted its necessity, or retaining the conduct of it in their own + hands, while <!-- Page 102 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> they were giving evidence of their + inability to accomplish the work. It was now over; the ablest + representative of this party, in a last desperate effort to retain power, + had decisively failed. Writs were issued for a parliament when the + legate's departure was determined, and the consequences were inevitable. + Wolsey had known too well the unpopularity of his foreign policy, to + venture on calling a parliament himself. He relied on success as an + ultimate justification; and inasmuch as success had not followed, he was + obliged to bear the necessary fate of a minister who, in a free country, + had thwarted the popular will and whom fortune deserted in the struggle. + The barriers which his single hand had upheld suddenly gave way, the + torrent had free course, and he himself was the first to be swept away. + In modern language, we should describe what took place as a change of + ministry, the government being transferred to an opposition, who had been + irritated by long depression under the hands of men whom they despised, + and who were borne into power by an irresistible force in a moment of + excitement and danger. The king, who had been persuaded against his + better judgment to accept Wolsey's schemes, admitted the rising spirit + without reluctance, contented to moderate its action, but no longer + obstructing or permitting it to be obstructed. Like all great English + statesmen, he was constitutionally conservative, but he had the tact to + perceive the conditions under which, in critical times, conservatism is + possible; and although he continued to endure for himself the trifling of + the papacy, he would not, for the sake of the pope's interest, delay + further the investigation of the complaints of the people against the + church; while in the future prosecution of his own cause, he resolved to + take no steps except with the consent of the legislature, and in a + question of national moment, to consult only the nation's wishes.</p> + + <p>The new ministry held a middle place between the moving party in the + commons and the expelled ecclesiastics, the principal members of it being + the chief representatives of the old aristocracy, who had been Wolsey's + fiercest opponents, but who were disinclined by constitution and sympathy + from sweeping measures. An attempt was made, indeed, to conciliate the + more old-fashioned of the churchmen, by an offer of the seals to Warham, + Archbishop of Canterbury, probably because he originally opposed the + marriage between the king and his sister-in-law, and because it was hoped + that his objections remained unaltered. Warham, however, as we shall see, + had changed his mind: he declined, on the plea of age, and the <!-- Page + 103 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> office + of chancellor was given to Sir Thomas More, perhaps the person least + disaffected to the clergy who could have been found among the leading + laymen. The substance of power was vested in the Dukes of Norfolk and + Suffolk, the great soldier-nobles of the age, and Sir William + Fitz-William, lord admiral; to all of whom the ecclesiastical domination + had been most intolerable, while they had each of them brilliantly + distinguished themselves in the wars with France and Scotland. According + to the French ambassador, we must add one more minister, supreme, if we + may trust him, above them all. "The Duke of Norfolk," he writes, "is made + president of the council, the Duke of Suffolk vice-president, and above + them both is Mistress Anne;"<a name="NtA_170"></a><a + href="#Nt_170"><sup>170</sup></a> this last addition to the council being + one which boded little good to the interests of the See that had so long + detained her in expectation. So confident were the destructive party of + the temper of the approaching parliament, and of the irresistible + pressure of the times, that the general burden of conversation of the + dinner-tables in the great houses in London was an exulting expectation + of a dissolution of the church establishment, and a confiscation of + ecclesiastical property; the king himself being the only obstacle which + was feared by them. "These noble lords imagine," continues the same + writer, "that the cardinal once dead of ruined, they will incontinently + plunder the church, and strip it of all its wealth," adding that there + was no occasion for him to write this in cipher, for it was everywhere + openly spoken of.<a name="NtA_171"></a><a + href="#Nt_171"><sup>171</sup></a></p> + + <p>Movements, nevertheless, which are pregnant with vital change, are + slow in assuming their essential direction, even after the stir has + commenced. Circumstances do not immediately open themselves; the point of + vision alters gradually; and fragments of old opinions, and + prepossessions, and prejudices remain interfused with the new, even in + the clearest minds, and cannot at a moment be shaken off. Only the unwise + change suddenly; and we can never too often remind ourselves, when we see + men stepping forward with uncertainty and hesitation over a road, where + to us, we know the actual future, all seems so plain, that the road + looked different to the actors themselves, who were beset with + imaginations of the past, and to whom the gloom of the future appeared + thronged with phantoms of possible contingencies. The hasty expectations + of the noble lords were checked by Henry's prudence; and though parties + were rapidly arranging themselves, there was <!-- Page 104 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> still confusion. + The city, though disinclined to the pope and the church, continued to + retain an inclination for the emperor; and the pope had friends among + Wolsey's enemies, who, by his overthrow, were pressed forward into + prominence, and divided the victory with the reformers. The presence of + Sir Thomas More in the council was a guarantee that no exaggerated + measures against the church would be permitted so long as he held the + seals; and Henry, perhaps, was anxious to leave room for conciliation, + which he hoped that the pope would desire as much as himself, so soon as + the meeting of parliament had convinced him that the mutinous disposition + of the nation had not been overstated by his own and Wolsey's + letters.</p> + + <p>The impression conceived two years before of the hostile relations + between the pope and Charles had not yet been wholly effaced; and even as + late as September, 1529, after the closing of the legates' court, in the + very heat of the public irritation, there were persons who believed that + when Clement met his imperial captor face to face, and the interview had + taken place which had been arranged for the ensuing January, his eyes + would be opened, and that he would fall back upon England.<a + name="NtA_172"></a><a href="#Nt_172"><sup>172</sup></a> At the same time, + the incongruities in the constitution of the council became so early + apparent, that their agreement was thought impossible, and Wolsey's + return to power was discussed openly as a probability<a + name="NtA_173"></a><a href="#Nt_173"><sup>173</sup></a>—a result + which Anne Boleyn, who, better than any other person, knew the king's + feelings, never ceased to fear, till, a year after his disgrace, the + welcome news were brought to her that he had sunk into his long rest, + where the sick load of office and of obloquy would gall his back no + more.</p> + + <p>There was a third party in the country, unconsidered as yet, who had a + part to play in the historical drama: a party which, indeed, if any one + had known it, was the most important of all; the only one which, in a + true, high sense, was of importance at all; and for the sake of which, + little as it then appeared to be so, the whole work was to be + done—composed at that time merely of poor men, poor cobblers, + weavers, carpenters, trade apprentices, and humble artisans, men of low + birth and low estate, who might be seen at night stealing along the lanes + and alleys of London, carrying with them some precious load of books + which it was death to possess; and giving their lives gladly, if it must + be so, for the brief tenure of so dear a treasure. These men, for the + present, were likely to fare ill from the new <!-- Page 105 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> ministry. They were + the disturbers of order, the anarchists, the men disfigured <i>pravitate + hereticâ</i>, by monstrous doctrines, and consequently by monstrous + lives—who railed at authorities, and dared to read New Testaments + with their own eyes—who, consequently, by their excesses and + extravagances, brought discredit upon liberal opinions, and whom moderate + liberals (as they always have done, and always will do while human nature + remains itself) held it necessary for their credit's sake to persecute, + that a censorious world might learn to make no confusion between true + wisdom and the folly which seemed to resemble it. The Protestants had not + loved Wolsey, and they had no reason to love him; but it was better to + bear a fagot of dry sticks in a procession when the punishment was + symbolic, than, lashed fast to a stake in Smithfield, amidst piles of the + same fagots kindled into actual flames, to sink into a heap of blackened + dust and ashes; and before a year had passed, they would gladly have + accepted again the hated cardinal, to escape from the philosophic mercies + of Sir Thomas More. The number of English Protestants at this time it is + difficult to conjecture. The importance of such men is not to be measured + by counting heads. In 1526, they were organised into a society, calling + themselves "the Christian brotherhood,"<a name="NtA_174"></a><a + href="#Nt_174"><sup>174</sup></a> with a central committee sitting in + London; with subscribed funds, regularly audited, for the purchase of + Testaments and tracts; and with paid agents, who travelled up and down + the country to distribute them. Some of the poorer clergy belonged to the + society;<a name="NtA_175"></a><a href="#Nt_175"><sup>175</sup></a> and + among the city merchants there were many well inclined to it, and who, + perhaps, attended its meetings "by night, secretly, for fear of the + Jews." But, as a rule, "property and influence" continued to hold aloof + in the usual haughty style, and the pioneers of the new opinions had yet + to win their way along a scorched and blackened path of suffering, before + the State would consent to acknowledge them. We think bitterly of these + things, and yet we are but quarrelling with what is inevitable from the + constitution of the world. New doctrines ever gain readiest hearing among + the common people; not only because the interests of the higher classes + are usually in some degree connected with the maintenance of existing + institutions; but because ignorance is itself a protection against the + many considerations which embarrass the judgment of the educated. <!-- + Page 106 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> + The value of a doctrine cannot be determined on its own apparent merits + by men whose habits of mind are settled in other forms; while men of + experience know well that out of the thousands of theories which rise in + the fertile soil below them, it is but one here and one there which grows + to maturity; and the precarious chances of possible vitality, where the + opposite probabilities are so enormous, oblige them to discourage and + repress opinions which threaten to disturb established order, or which, + by the rules of existing beliefs, imperil the souls of those who + entertain them. Persecution has ceased among ourselves, because we do not + any more believe that want of theoretic orthodoxy in matters of faith is + necessarily fraught with the tremendous consequences which once were + supposed to be attached to it. If, however, a school of Thugs were to + rise among us, making murder a religious service; if they gained + proselytes, and the proselytes put their teaching in execution, we should + speedily begin again to persecute opinion. What teachers of Thuggism + would appear to ourselves, the teachers of heresy actually appeared to + Sir Thomas More, only being as much more hateful as the eternal death of + the soul is more terrible than the single and momentary separation of it + from the body. There is, I think, no just ground on which to condemn + conscientious Catholics on the score of persecution, except only this: + that as we are now convinced of the injustice of the persecuting laws, so + among those who believed them to be just, there were some who were led by + an instinctive protest of human feeling to be lenient in the execution of + those laws; while others of harder nature and more narrow sympathies + enforced them without reluctance, and even with exultation. The heart, + when it is rightly constituted, corrects the folly of the head; and wise + good men, even though they entertain no conscious misgiving as to the + soundness of their theories, may be delivered from the worst consequences + of those theories, by trusting their more genial instincts. And thus, and + thus only, are we justified in censuring those whose names figure largely + in the persecuting lists. Their defence is impregnable to logic. We blame + them for the absence of that humanity which is deeper than logic, and + which should have taught them to refuse the conclusions of their + speculative creed.</p> + + <p>Such, then, was the state of parties in the autumn of 1529. The old + conservatives, the political ecclesiastics, had ceased to exist, and the + clergy as a body were paralysed by corruption. There remained—</p> + +<!-- Page 107 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> + + <p>The English party who had succeeded to power, and who were bent upon a + secular revolt.</p> + + <p>The papal party, composed of theoretic theologians, like Fisher, + Bishop of Rochester, and represented on the council by Sir Thomas + More.</p> + + <p>And both of these were united in their aversion to the third party, + that of the doctrinal Protestants, who were still called heretics.</p> + + <p>These three substantially divided what was sound in England; the first + composed of the mass of the people, representing the principles of + prudence, justice, good sense, and the working faculties of social life: + the two last sharing between them the higher qualities of nobleness, + enthusiasm, self-devotion; but in their faith being without discretion, + and in their piety without understanding. The problem of the Reformation + was to reunite virtues which could be separated only to their mutual + confusion; and to work out among them such inadequate reconciliation as + the wilfulness of human nature would allow.</p> + + <p>Before I close this chapter, which is intended as a general + introduction, I have to say something of two prominent persons whose + character antecedent to the actions in which we are to find them engaged + it is desirable that we should understand; I mean Henry VIII. himself, + and the lady whom he had selected to fill the place from which Catherine + of Arragon was to be deposed.</p> + + <p>If Henry VIII. had died previous to the first agitation of the + divorce, his loss would have been deplored as one of the heaviest + misfortunes which had ever befallen the country; and he would have left a + name which would have taken its place in history by the side of that of + the Black Prince or of the conqueror of Agincourt. Left at the most + trying age, with his character unformed, with the means at his disposal + of gratifying every inclination, and married by his ministers when a boy + to an unattractive woman far his senior, he had lived for thirty-six + years almost without blame, and bore through England the reputation of an + upright and virtuous king. Nature had been prodigal to him of her rarest + gifts. In person he is said to have resembled his grandfather, Edward + IV., who was the handsomest man in Europe. His form and bearing were + princely; and amidst the easy freedom of his address, his manner remained + majestic. No knight in England could match him in the tournament except + the Duke of Suffolk: he drew with ease as strong a bow as was borne by + any yeoman of his guard; and these <!-- Page 108 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> powers were + sustained in unfailing vigour by a temperate habit and by constant + exercise. Of his intellectual ability we are not left to judge from the + suspicious panegyrics of his contemporaries. His state papers and letters + may be placed by the side of those of Wolsey or of Cromwell, and they + lose nothing in the comparison. Though they are broadly different, the + perception is equally clear, the expression equally powerful, and they + breathe throughout an irresistible vigour of purpose. In addition to this + he had a fine musical taste, carefully cultivated; he spoke and wrote in + four languages; and his knowledge of a multitude of other subjects, with + which his versatile ability made him conversant, would have formed the + reputation of any ordinary man. He was among the best physicians of his + age; he was his own engineer, inventing improvements in artillery, and + new constructions in ship-building; and this not with the condescending + incapacity of a royal amateur, but with thorough workmanlike + understanding. His reading was vast, especially in theology, which has + been ridiculously ascribed by Lord Herbert to his father's intention of + educating him for the Archbishopric of Canterbury; as if the scientific + mastery of such a subject could have been acquired by a boy of twelve + years of age, for he was no more when he became Prince of Wales. He must + have studied theology with the full maturity of his intellect; and he had + a fixed and perhaps unfortunate interest in the subject itself.<a + name="NtA_176"></a><a href="#Nt_176"><sup>176</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 109 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> + + <p>In all directions of human activity Henry displayed natural powers of + the highest order, at the highest stretch of industrious culture. He was + "attentive," as it is called, "to his religious duties," being present at + the services in chapel two or three times a day with unfailing + regularity, and showing to outward appearance a real sense of religious + obligation in the energy and purity of his life. In private he was + good-humoured and good-natured. His letters to his secretaries, though + never undignified, are simple, easy, and unrestrained; and the letters + written by them to him are similarly plain and businesslike, as if the + writers knew that the person whom they were addressing disliked + compliments, and chose to be treated as a man. Again, from their + correspondence with one another, when they describe interviews with him, + we gather the same pleasant impression. He seems to have been always + kind, always considerate; inquiring into their private concerns with + genuine interest, and winning, as a consequence, their warm and + unaffected attachment.</p> + + <p>As a ruler he had been eminently popular. All his wars had been + successful. He had the splendid tastes in which the English people most + delighted, and he had substantially acted out his own theory of his duty + which was expressed in the following words:—</p> + + <p>"Scripture taketh princes to be, as it were, fathers and nurses to + their subjects, and by Scripture it appeareth that it appertaineth unto + the office of princes to see that right religion and true doctrine be + maintained and taught, and that their subjects may be well ruled and + governed by good and just laws; and to provide and care for them that all + things necessary for them may be plenteous; and that the people and + commonweal may increase; and to defend them from oppression and invasion, + as well within the realm as without; and to see that justice be + administered unto them indifferently; and to hear benignly all their + complaints; and to show towards them, although they offend, fatherly + pity. And, finally, so to <!-- Page 110 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> correct them that be evil, that they + had yet rather save them than lose them if it were not for respect of + justice, and maintenance of peace and good order in the commonweal."<a + name="NtA_177"></a><a href="#Nt_177"><sup>177</sup></a></p> + + <p>These principles do really appear to have determined Henry's conduct + in his earlier years. His social administration we have partially seen in + the previous chapter. He had more than once been tried with insurrection, + which he had soothed down without bloodshed, and extinguished in + forgiveness; and London long recollected the great scene which followed + "evil May-day," 1517, when the apprentices were brought down to + Westminster Hall to receive their pardons. There had been a dangerous + riot in the streets, which might have provoked a mild government to + severity; but the king contented himself with punishing the five + ringleaders, and four hundred other prisoners, after being paraded down + the streets in white shirts with halters round their necks, were + dismissed with an admonition, Wolsey weeping as he pronounced it.<a + name="NtA_178"></a><a href="#Nt_178"><sup>178</sup></a></p> + + <p>It is certain that if, as I said, he had died before the divorce was + mooted, Henry VIII., like that Roman Emperor said by Tacitus to have been + <i>consensu omnium dignus imperii nisi imperasset</i>, would have been + considered by posterity as formed by Providence for the conduct of the + Reformation, and his loss would have been deplored as a perpetual + calamity. We must allow him, therefore, the benefit of his past career, + and be careful to remember it, when interpreting his later actions. Not + many men would have borne themselves through the same trials with the + same integrity; but the circumstances of those trials had not tested the + true defects in his moral constitution. Like all princes of the + Plantagenet blood, he was a person of a most intense and imperious will. + His impulses, in general nobly directed, had never known contradiction; + and late in life, when his character was formed, he was forced into + collision with difficulties with which the experience of discipline had + not fitted him to contend. Education had done much for him, but his + nature required more correction than his position had permitted, whilst + unbroken prosperity and early independence of control had been his most + serious misfortune. He had capacity, if his training had been equal to + it, to be one of the greatest of men. With all his faults about him, he + was still <!-- Page 111 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> perhaps the greatest of his + contemporaries; and the man best able of all living Englishmen to govern + England, had been set to do it by the conditions of his birth.</p> + + <p>The other person whose previous history we have to ascertain is one, + the tragedy of whose fate has blotted the remembrance of her + sins—if her sins were, indeed, and in reality, more than imaginary. + Forgetting all else in shame and sorrow, posterity has made piteous + reparation for her death in the tenderness with which it has touched her + reputation; and with the general instincts of justice, we have refused to + qualify our indignation at the wrong which she experienced, by admitting + either stain or shadow on her fame. It has been with Anne Boleyn as it + has been with Catherine of Arragon—both are regarded as the victims + of a tyranny which catholics and protestants unite to remember with + horror; and each has taken the place of a martyred saint in the hagiology + of the respective creeds. Catholic writers have, indeed, ill repaid, in + their treatment of Anne, the admiration with which the mother of Queen + Mary has been remembered in the Church of England; but the invectives + which they have heaped upon her have defeated their object by their + extravagance. It has been believed that matter failed them to sustain a + just accusation, when they condescended to outrageous slander. Inasmuch, + however, as some natural explanation can usually be given of the actions + of human beings in this world without supposing them to have been + possessed by extraordinary wickedness, and if we are to hold Anne Boleyn + entirely free from fault, we place not the king only, but the privy + council, the judges, the Lords and Commons, and the two Houses of + Convocation, in a position fatal to their honour and degrading to + ordinary humanity; we cannot without inquiry acquiesce in so painful a + conclusion. The English nation also, as well as she, deserves justice at + our hands; and it must not be thought uncharitable if we look with some + scrutiny at the career of a person who, except for the catastrophe with + which it was closed, would not so readily have obtained forgiveness for + having admitted the addresses of the king, or for having received the + homage of the court as its future sovereign, while the king's wife, her + mistress, as yet resided under the same roof, with the title and the + position of queen, and while the question was still undecided of the + validity of the first marriage. If in that alone she was to blame, her + fault was, indeed, revenged a thousandfold,—and yet no lady of true + delicacy would have accepted such a position; and feeling for Queen + Catherine should have restrained <!-- Page 112 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> her, if she was + careless of respect for herself. It must, therefore, be permitted me, out + of such few hints and scattered notices as remain, to collect such + information as may be trusted respecting her early life before her + appearance upon the great stage. These hints are but slight, since I + shall not even mention the scandals of Sanders, any more than I shall + mention the panegyrics of Foxe; stories which, as far as I can learn, + have no support in evidence, and rest on no stronger foundation than the + credulity of passion.</p> + + <p>Anne Boleyn was the second daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, a gentleman + of noble family, though moderate fortune;<a name="NtA_179"></a><a + href="#Nt_179"><sup>179</sup></a> who, by a marriage with the daughter of + the Duke of Norfolk, was brought into connection with the highest blood + in the realm. The year of her birth has not been certainly ascertained, + but she is supposed to have been seven years old<a name="NtA_180"></a><a + href="#Nt_180"><sup>180</sup></a> in 1514, when she accompanied the + Princess Mary into France, on the marriage of that lady with Louis XII. + Louis dying a few months subsequently, the princess married Sir Charles + Brandon, afterwards created Duke of Suffolk, and returned to England. + Anne Boleyn did not return with her; she remained in Paris to become + accomplished with the graces and elegancies, if she was not contaminated + by the vices, of that court, which, even in those days of loyal + licentiousness, enjoyed an undesirable pre-eminence in profligacy. In the + French capital she could not have failed to see, to hear, and to become + familiar with occurrences with which no young girl can be brought in + contact with impunity, and this poisonous atmosphere she continued to + breathe for nine years. She came back to England in 1525, to be maid of + honour to Queen Catherine, and to be distinguished at the court, by + general consent, for her talents, her accomplishments, and her beauty. + Her portraits, though all professedly by Holbein, or copied from pictures + by him, are singularly unlike each other. The profile in the picture + which is best known is pretty, innocent, and piquant, though rather + insignificant: there are other pictures, however, in which we see a face + more powerful, though less prepossessing. In these the features are full + and languid. The eyes are large; but the expression, though remarkable, + is not pleasing, and indicates cunning more than thought, passion more + than feeling; while the heavy lips and massive chin wear a <!-- Page 113 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> look of + sensuality which is not to be mistaken. Possibly all are like the + original, but represented her under different circumstances, or at + different periods of her life. Previous to her engagement with the king, + she was the object of fleeting attentions from the young noblemen about + the court. Lord Percy, eldest son of Lord Northumberland, as we all know, + was said to have been engaged to her. He was in the household of Cardinal + Wolsey; and Cavendish, who was with him there, tells a long romantic + story of the affair, which, if his account be true, was ultimately + interrupted by Lord Northumberland himself. The story is not without its + difficulties, since Lord Percy had been contracted, several years + previously, to a daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury,<a + name="NtA_181"></a><a href="#Nt_181"><sup>181</sup></a> whom he + afterwards married, and by the law he could not have formed a second + engagement so long as the first was undissolved. And again, he himself, + when subsequently examined before the privy council, denied solemnly on + his oath that any contract of the kind had existed.<a + name="NtA_182"></a><a href="#Nt_182"><sup>182</sup></a> At the same time, + we cannot suppose Cavendish to have invented so circumstantial a + narrative, and Percy would not have been examined if there had been no + reason for suspicion. Something, therefore, probably had passed between + him and the young maid of honour, though we cannot now conjecture of what + nature; and we can infer only that it was not openly to her discredit, or + she would not have obtained the position which cost her so dear. She + herself confessed subsequently, before Archbishop Cranmer, to a + connection of some kind into which she had entered before her + acquaintance with Henry. No evidence survives which will explain to what + she referred, for the act of parliament which mentions the fact furnishes + no details.<a name="NtA_183"></a><a href="#Nt_183"><sup>183</sup></a> But + it was of a kind which made her marriage with the king illegal, and + illegitimatised the offspring of it; and it has been supposed, therefore, + that, in spite of Lord Percy's denial, he had really engaged himself to + her, and was afraid to acknowledge it.<a name="NtA_184"></a><a + href="#Nt_184"><sup>184</sup></a> This supposition, however, <!-- Page + 114 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> is not + easy to reconcile with the language of the act, which speaks of the + circumstance, whatever it was, as only "recently known;" nor could a + contract with Percy have invalidated her marriage with the king, when + Percy having been pre-contracted to another person, it would have been + itself invalid. A light is thrown upon the subject by a letter found + among Cromwell's papers, addressed by some unknown person to a Mr. + Melton, also unknown, but written obviously when "Mistress Anne" was a + young lady about the court, and before she had been the object of any + open attention from Henry.</p> + + <p>"MR. MELTON.—This shall be to advertise you that Mistress Anne + is changed from that she was at when we three were last together. + Wherefore I pray you that ye be no devil's sakke, but according to the + truth ever justify, as ye shall make answer before God; and do not suffer + her in my absence to be married to any other man. I must go to my master, + wheresoever he be, for the Lord Privy Seal desireth much to speak with + me, whom if I should speak with in my master's absence, it would cause me + to lose my head; and yet I know myself as true a man to my prince as + liveth, whom (as my friend informeth me) I have offended grievously in my + words. No more to you, but to have me commended unto Mistress Anne, and + bid her remember her promise, which none can loose, but God only, to whom + I shall daily during my life commend her."<a name="NtA_185"></a><a + href="#Nt_185"><sup>185</sup></a></p> + + <p>The letter must furnish its own interpretation; for it receives little + from any other quarter. Being in the possession of Cromwell, however, it + had perhaps been forwarded to him at the time of Queen Anne's trial, and + may have thus occasioned the investigation which led to the annulling of + her marriage.</p> + + <p>From the account which was written of her by the grandson of Sir + Thomas Wyatt the poet, we still gather the impression (in spite of the + admiring sympathy with which Wyatt writes) of a person with whom young + men took liberties,<a name="NtA_186"></a><a + href="#Nt_186"><sup>186</sup></a> however she might seem to forbid them. + In her diet she was an epicure, fond of dainty and delicate eating, and + not always contented if she did not obtain what she desired. When the + king's attentions <!-- Page 115 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> towards her became first marked, + Thomas Heneage, afterwards lord chamberlain, wrote to Wolsey, that he had + one night been "commanded down with a dish for Mistress Anne for supper"; + adding that she caused him "to sup with her, and she wished she had some + of Wolsey's good meat, as carps, shrimps, and others."<a + name="NtA_187"></a><a href="#Nt_187"><sup>187</sup></a> And this was not + said in jest, since Heneage related it as a hint to Wolsey, that he might + know what to do, if he wished to please her. In the same letter he + suggested to the cardinal that she was a little displeased at not having + received a token or present from him; she was afraid she was forgotten, + he said, and "the lady, her mother, desired him to send unto his Grace, + and desire his Grace to bestow a morsel of tunny upon her." Wolsey made + her presents also at times of a more valuable character, as we find her + acknowledging in language of exaggerated gratitude;<a + name="NtA_188"></a><a href="#Nt_188"><sup>188</sup></a> and, perhaps the + most painful feature in all her earlier history lies in the contrast + between the servility with which she addressed the cardinal so long as he + was in power, and the bitterness with which the Bishop of Bayonne (and, + in fact, all contemporary witnesses) tells us, that she pressed upon his + decline. Wolsey himself spoke of her under the title of "the + night-crow,"<a name="NtA_189"></a><a href="#Nt_189"><sup>189</sup></a> as + the person to whom he owed all which was most cruel in his treatment; as + "the enemy that never slept, but studied and continually imagined, both + sleeping and waking, his utter destruction."<a name="NtA_190"></a><a + href="#Nt_190"><sup>190</sup></a></p> + + <p>Taking these things together, and there is nothing to be placed beside + them of a definitely pleasing kind, except beauty and accomplishments, we + form, with the assistance of her pictures, a tolerable conception of this + lady; a conception of her as a woman not indeed questionable, but as one + whose antecedents might lead consistently to a future either of evil or + of good; and whose character removes the surprise which we might be + inclined to feel at the position with respect to Queen Catherine in which + she consented to be placed. A harsh critic would describe her, on this + evidence, as a self-indulgent coquette, indifferent to the <!-- Page 116 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> + obligations of gratitude, and something careless of the truth. From the + letter referring to her, preserved by Cromwell, it appears that she had + broken a definite promise at a time when such promises were legally + binding, and that she had really done so was confirmed by her subsequent + confession. The breach of such promises by a woman who could not be + expected to understand the grounds on which the law held them to be + sacred, implies no more than levity, and levity of this kind has been + found compatible with many high qualities. Levity, however, it does + undoubtedly imply, and the symptom, if a light one, must be allowed the + weight which is due to it.</p> + + <p>It is a miserable duty to be compelled to search for these indications + of human infirmities; above all when they are the infirmities of a lady + whose faults, let them have been what they would, were so fearfully and + terribly expiated; and, if there were nothing else at issue but poor + questions of petty scandal, it were better far that they perished in + forgetfulness, and passed away out of mind and memory for ever. The + fortunes of Anne Boleyn were unhappily linked with those of men to whom + the greatest work ever yet accomplished in this country was committed; + and the characters of a king of England, and of the three estates of the + realm, are compromised in the treatment which she received from them.</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>THE PARLIAMENT OF 1529</h3> + + <p>No Englishman can look back uninterested on the meeting of the + parliament of 1529. The era at which it assembled is the most memorable + in the history of this country, and the work which it accomplished before + its dissolution was of larger moment politically and spiritually than the + achievements of the Long Parliament itself. For nearly seven years it + continued surrounded by intrigue, confusion, and at length conspiracy, + presiding over a people from whom the forms and habits by which they had + moved for centuries were falling like the shell of a chrysalis. While + beset with enemies within the realm and without, it effected a revolution + which severed England from the papacy, yet it preserved peace unbroken + and prevented anarchy from <!-- Page 117 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> breaking bounds; and although its + hands are not pure from spot, and red stains rest on them which posterity + have bitterly and long remembered; yet if we consider the changes which + it carried through, and if we think of the price which was paid by other + nations for victory in the same struggle, we shall acknowledge that the + records of the world contain no instance of such a triumph, bought at a + cost so slight and tarnished by blemishes so trifling.</p> + + <p>The letters of the French Ambassador<a name="NtA_191"></a><a + href="#Nt_191"><sup>191</sup></a> describe to us the gathering of the + members into London, and the hum of expectation sounding louder and + louder as the day of the opening approached. In order that we may see + distinctly what London felt on this occasion, that we may understand in + detail the nature of those questions with which parliament was + immediately to deal, we will glance at some of the proceedings which had + taken place in the Bishops' Consistory Courts during the few preceding + years. The duties of the officials of these courts resembled in theory + the duties of the censors under the Roman Republic. In the middle ages, a + lofty effort had been made to overpass the common limitations of + government, to introduce punishment for sins as well as crimes, and to + visit with temporal penalties the breach of the moral law. The punishment + best adapted for such offences was some outward expression of the + disapproval with which good men regard acts of sin; some open disgrace; + some spiritual censure; some suspension of communion with the church, + accompanied by other consequences practically inconvenient, to be + continued until the offender had made reparation, or had openly repented, + or had given confirmed proof of amendment. The administration of such a + discipline fell, as a matter of course, to the clergy. The clergy were + the guardians of morality; their characters were a claim to confidence, + their duties gave them opportunities of observation which no other men + could possess; while their priestly office gave solemn weight to their + sentences. Thus arose throughout Europe a system of spiritual + surveillance over the habits and conduct of every man, extending from the + cottage to the castle, taking note of all wrong dealing, of all + oppression of man by man, of all licentiousness and profligacy, and + representing upon earth, in the principles by which it was guided, the + laws of the great tribunal of Almighty God.</p> + + <p>Such was the origin of the church courts, perhaps the greatest + institutions ever yet devised by man. But to aim at these high ideals is + as perilous as it is noble; and weapons which may be <!-- Page 118 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> safely + trusted in the hands of saints become fatal implements of mischief when + saints have ceased to wield them. For a time, we need not doubt, the + practice corresponded to the intention. Had it not been so, the + conception would have taken no root, and would have been extinguished at + its birth. But a system which has once established itself in the respect + of mankind will be tolerated long after it has forfeited its claim to + endurance, as the name of a great man remains honoured though borne by + worthless descendants; and the Consistory courts had continued into the + sixteenth century with unrestricted jurisdiction, although they had been + for generations merely perennially flowing fountains, feeding the + ecclesiastical exchequer. The moral conduct of every English man and + woman remained subject to them. Each private person was liable to be + called in question for every action of his life; and an elaborate network + of canon law perpetually growing, enveloped the whole surface of society. + But between the original design and the degenerate counterfeit there was + this vital difference,—that the censures were no longer spiritual. + They were commuted in various gradations for pecuniary fines, and each + offence against morality was rated at its specific money value in the + episcopal tables. Suspension and excommunication remained as ultimate + penalties; but they were resorted to only to compel unwilling culprits to + accept the alternative.</p> + + <p>The misdemeanours of which the courts took cognisance<a + name="NtA_192"></a><a href="#Nt_192"><sup>192</sup></a> were "offences + against chastity," "heresy," or "matter sounding thereunto," + "witchcraft," "drunkenness," "scandal," "defamation," "impatient words," + "broken promises," "untruth," "absence from church," "speaking evil of + saints," "non-payment of offerings," and other delinquencies incapable of + legal definition; matters, all of them, on which it was well, if + possible, to keep men from going wrong; but offering wide opportunities + for injustice; while all charges, whether well founded or ill, met with + ready acceptance in courts where innocence and guilt alike contributed to + the revenue.<a name="NtA_193"></a><a href="#Nt_193"><sup>193</sup></a> + "Mortuary claims" were another fertile matter for prosecution; and + probate duties and legacy duties; and a further lucrative occupation was + the punishment of persons who complained against the constitutions of the + courts themselves; to complain against the justice of the courts being to + complain against the church, and to complain <!-- Page 119 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> against the church + being heresy. To answer accusations on such subjects as these, men were + liable to be summoned, at the will of the officials, to the metropolitan + courts of the archbishops, hundreds of miles from their homes.<a + name="NtA_194"></a><a href="#Nt_194"><sup>194</sup></a> No expenses were + allowed; and if the charges were without foundation, it was rare that + costs could be recovered. Innocent or guilty, the accused parties were + equally bound to appear.<a name="NtA_195"></a><a + href="#Nt_195"><sup>195</sup></a> If they failed, they were suspended for + contempt. If after receiving notice of their suspension, they did not + appear, they were excommunicated; and no proof of the groundlessness of + the original charge availed to relieve them from their sentence, till + they had paid for their deliverance.</p> + + <p>Well did the church lawyers understand how to make their work + productive. Excommunication seems but a light thing when there are many + communions. It was no light thing when it was equivalent to outlawry; + when the person excommunicated might be seized and imprisoned at the will + of the ordinary; when he was cut off from all holy offices; when no one + might speak to him, trade with him, or show him the most trivial + courtesy; and when his friends, if they dared to assist him, were subject + to the same penalties. In the <i>Register</i> of the Bishop of London<a + name="NtA_196"></a><a href="#Nt_196"><sup>196</sup></a> there is more + than one instance to be found of suspension and excommunication for the + simple crime of offering shelter to an excommunicated neighbour; and thus + offence begot offence, guilt spread like a contagion through the + influence of natural humanity, and a single refusal of obedience to a + frivolous citation might involve entire families in misery and ruin.</p> + + <p>The people might have endured better to submit to so enormous a + tyranny, if the conduct of the clergy themselves had given them a title + to respect, or if equal justice had been distributed to lay and spiritual + offenders. "Benefit of clergy," unhappily, as at this time interpreted, + was little else than a privilege to commit sins with impunity. The + grossest moral profligacy in a priest was passed over with indifference; + and so far from exacting obedience in her ministers to a higher standard + than she required of ordinary persons, the church extended her limits + under fictitious pretexts as a sanctuary for lettered villany. Every + person who could read was claimed by prescriptive usage as a clerk, and + shielded under her protecting mantle; nor was <!-- Page 120 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> any clerk amenable + for the worst crimes to the secular jurisdiction, until he had been first + tried and degraded by the ecclesiastical judges. So far was this + preposterous exemption carried, that previous to the passing of the first + of the 23rd of Henry the Eighth,<a name="NtA_197"></a><a + href="#Nt_197"><sup>197</sup></a> those who were within the degrees might + commit murder with impunity, the forms which it was necessary to observe + in degrading a priest or deacon being so complicated as to amount to + absolute protection.<a name="NtA_198"></a><a + href="#Nt_198"><sup>198</sup></a></p> + + <p>Among the clergy, properly so called, however, the prevailing offence + was not crime, but licentiousness. A doubt has recently crept in among + our historians as to the credibility of the extreme language in which the + contemporary writers spoke upon this painful topic. It will scarcely be + supposed that the picture has been overdrawn in the act books of the + Consistory courts; and as we see it there it is almost too deplorable for + belief, as well in its own intrinsic hideousness as in the unconscious + connivance of the authorities. Brothels were kept in London for the + especial use of priests;<a name="NtA_199"></a><a + href="#Nt_199"><sup>199</sup></a> the "confessional" was abused in the + most open and abominable manner.<a name="NtA_200"></a><a + href="#Nt_200"><sup>200</sup></a> Cases occurred of <!-- Page 121 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> the same + frightful profanity in the service of the mass, which at Rome startled + Luther into Protestantism;<a name="NtA_201"></a><a + href="#Nt_201"><sup>201</sup></a> and acts of incest between nuns and + monks were too frequently exposed to allow us to regard the detected + instances as exceptions.<a name="NtA_202"></a><a + href="#Nt_202"><sup>202</sup></a> It may be said that the proceedings + upon these charges prove at least that efforts were made to repress them. + The bishops must have the benefit of the plea, and the two following + instances will show how far it will avail their cause. In the Records of + the London Court I find a certain Thomas Wyseman, priest, summoned for + fornication and incontinency. He was enjoined for penance, that on the + succeeding Sunday, while high mass was singing, he should offer at each + of the altars in the Church of St. Bartholomew a candle of wax, value one + penny, saying therewith five <i>Paternosters</i>, five <i>Ave Marys</i>, + and five <i>Credos</i>. On the following Friday he was to offer a candle + of the same price before the crucifix, standing barefooted, and one + before the image of cur Lady of Grace. This penance accomplished he + appeared again at the court and compounded for absolution, paying six + shillings and eightpence.<a name="NtA_203"></a><a + href="#Nt_203"><sup>203</sup></a></p> + + <p>An exposure too common to attract notice, and a fine of six and + eightpence was held sufficient penalty for a mortal sin.</p> + + <p>Even this, however, was a severe sentence compared with the sentence + passed upon another priest who confessed to <!-- Page 122 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> incest with the + prioress of Kilbourn. The offender was condemned to bear a cross in a + procession in his parish church, and was excused his remaining guilt for + three shillings and fourpence.<a name="NtA_204"></a><a + href="#Nt_204"><sup>204</sup></a></p> + + <p>I might multiply such instances indefinitely; but there is no occasion + for me to stain my pages with them.<a name="NtA_205"></a><a + href="#Nt_205"><sup>205</sup></a></p> + + <p>An inactive imagination may readily picture to itself the indignation + likely to have been felt by a high-minded people, when they were forced + to submit their lives, their habits, their most intimate conversations + and opinions to a censorship conducted by clergy of such a character; + when the offences of these clergy themselves were passed over with such + indifferent carelessness. Men began to ask themselves who and what these + persons were who retained the privileges of saints,<a + name="NtA_206"></a><a href="#Nt_206"><sup>206</sup></a> and were + incapable of <!-- Page 123 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> the most ordinary duties; and for many + years before the burst of the Reformation the coming storm was gathering. + Priests were hooted, or "knocked down into the kennel,"<a + name="NtA_207"></a><a href="#Nt_207"><sup>207</sup></a> as they walked + along the streets—women refused to receive the holy bread from + hands which they thought polluted,<a name="NtA_208"></a><a + href="#Nt_208"><sup>208</sup></a> and the appearance of an apparitor of + the courts to serve a process or a citation in a private house was a + signal for instant explosion. Violent words were the least which these + officials had to fear, and they were fortunate if they escaped so + lightly. A stranger had died in a house in St. Dunstan's belonging to a + certain John Fleming, and an apparitor had been sent "to seal his chamber + and his goods" that the church might not lose her dues. John Fleming + drove him out, saying loudly unto him, "Thou shalt seale no door here; go + thy way, thou stynkyng knave, ye are but knaves and brybours everych one + of you."<a name="NtA_209"></a><a href="#Nt_209"><sup>209</sup></a> Thomas + Banister, of St. Mary Wolechurch, when a process was served upon him, + "did threaten to slay the apparitor." "Thou horson knave," he said to + him, "without thou tell me who set <!-- Page 124 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> thee awork to + summon me to the court, by Goddis woundes, and by this gold, I shall + brake thy head."<a name="NtA_210"></a><a + href="#Nt_210"><sup>210</sup></a> A "waiter, at the sign of the Cock," + fell in trouble for saying that "the sight of a priest did make him + sick," also, "that he would go sixty miles to indict a priest," saying + also in the presence of many—"horsyn priests, they shall be + indicted as many as come to my handling."<a name="NtA_211"></a><a + href="#Nt_211"><sup>211</sup></a> Often the officers found threats + convert themselves into acts. The apparitor of the Bishop of London went + with a citation into the shop of a mercer of St. Bride's, Henry Clitheroe + by name. "Who does cite me?" asked the mercer. "Marry, that do I," + answered the apparitor, "if thou wilt anything with it;" whereupon, as + the apparitor deposeth, the said Henry Clitheroe did hurl at him from off + his finger that instrument of his art called the "thymmelle," and he, the + apparitor, drawing his sword, "the said Henry did snatch up his virga, + Anglice, his yard, and did pursue the apparitor into the public streets, + and after multiplying of many blows did break the head of the said + apparitor."<a name="NtA_212"></a><a href="#Nt_212"><sup>212</sup></a> + These are light matters, but they were straws upon the stream; and such a + scene as this which follows reveals the principles on which the courts + awarded their judgment. One Richard Hunt was summoned for certain + articles implying contempt, and for vilipending his lordship's + jurisdiction. Being examined, he confessed to the words following: "That + all false matters were bolstered and clokyd in this court of Paul's + Cheyne; moreover he called the apparitor, William Middleton, false knave + in the full court, and his father's dettes, said he, by means of his + mother-in-law and master commissary, were not payd; and this he would + abide by, that he had now in this place said no more but truth." Being + called on to answer further, he said he would not, and his lordship did + therefore excommunicate him.<a name="NtA_213"></a><a + href="#Nt_213"><sup>213</sup></a> From so brief an entry we cannot tell + on which side the justice lay; but at least we can measure the equity of + a tribunal which punished complaints against itself with excommunication, + and dismissed the confessed incest of a priest with a fine of a few + shillings.</p> + + <p>Such then were the English consistory courts. I have selected but a + few instances from the proceedings of a single one of them. If we are to + understand the weight with which the system pressed upon the people, we + must multiply the proceedings at St. Paul's by the number of the English + dioceses; the number of dioceses by the number of archdeaconries; we <!-- + Page 125 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> + must remember that in proportion to the distance from London the abuse + must have increased indefinitely from the absence of even partial + surveillance; we must remember that appeals were permitted only from one + ecclesiastical court to another; from the archdeacon's court to that of + the bishop of the diocese, from that of the bishop to the Court of + Arches; that any language of impatience or resistance furnished suspicion + of heresy, and that the only security therefore was submission. We can + then imagine what England must have been with an archdeacon's commissary + sitting constantly in every town; exercising an undefined jurisdiction + over general morality; and every court swarming with petty lawyers who + lived upon the fees which they could extract. Such a system for the + administration of justice was perhaps never tolerated before in any + country.</p> + + <p>But the time of reckoning at length was arrived; slowly the hand had + crawled along the dial plate; slowly as if the event would never come: + and wrong was heaped on wrong; and oppression cried, and it seemed as if + no ear had heard its voice; till the measure of the circle was at length + fulfilled, the finger touched the hour, and as the strokes of the great + hammer rang out above the nation, in an instant the mighty fabric of + iniquity was shivered into ruins. Wolsey had dreamed that it might still + stand, self-reformed as he hoped to see it; but in his dread lest any + hands but those of friends should touch the work, he had "prolonged its + sickly days," waiting for the convenient season which was not to be; he + had put off the meeting of parliament, knowing that if parliament were + once assembled, he would be unable to resist the pressure which would be + brought to bear upon him; and in the impatient minds of the people he had + identified himself with the evils which he alone for the few last years + had hindered from falling. At length he had fallen himself, and his + disgrace was celebrated in London with enthusiastic rejoicing as the + inauguration of the new era. On the eighteenth of October, 1529, Wolsey + delivered up the seals. He was ordered to retire to Esher; and, "at the + taking of his barge," Cavendish saw no less than a thousand boats full of + men and women of the city of London, "waffeting up and down in Thames," + to see him sent, as they expected, to the Tower.<a name="NtA_214"></a><a + href="#Nt_214"><sup>214</sup></a> A fortnight later the same crowd was + perhaps again assembled on a wiser occasion, and with truer reason for + exultation, to see the king coming up in his barge from Greenwich to open + parliament.</p> + +<!-- Page 126 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> + + <p>"According to the summons," says Hall, "the King of England began his + high court of parliament the third day of November, on which day he came + by water to his palace of Bridewell, and there he and his nobles put on + their robes of Parliament, and so came to the Black Friars Church, where + a mass of the Holy Ghost was solemnly sung by the king's chaplain; and + after the mass, the king, with all his Lords and Commons which were + summoned to appear on that day, came into the Parliament. The king sate + on his throne or seat royal, and Sir Thomas More, his chancellor, + standing on the right hand of the king, made an eloquent oration, setting + forth the causes why at that time the king so had summoned them."<a + name="NtA_215"></a><a href="#Nt_215"><sup>215</sup></a></p> + + <p>"Like as a good shepherd," More said, "which not only keepeth and + attendeth well his sheep, but also foreseeth and provideth for all things + which either may be hurtful or noysome to his flock; so the king, which + is the shepherd, ruler, and governor of his realm, vigilantly foreseeing + things to come, considers how that divers laws, before this time made, + are now, by long continuance of time and mutation of things, become very + insufficient and imperfect; and also, by the frail condition of man, + divers new enormities are sprung amongst the people, for the which no law + is yet made to reform the same. For this cause the king at this time has + summoned his high court of parliament; and I liken the king to a shepherd + or herdsman, because if a prince be compared to his riches, he is but a + rich man; if a prince be compared to his honour, he is but an honourable + man; but compare him to the multitude of his people, and the number of + his flock, then he is a ruler, a governor of might and puissance; so that + his people maketh him a prince, as of the multitude of sheep cometh the + name of a shepherd.</p> + + <p>"And as you see that amongst a great flock of sheep some be rotten and + faulty, which the good shepherd sendeth from the good sheep; so the great + wether which is of late fallen, as you all know, so craftily, so + scabedly, yea, so untruly juggled with the king, that all men must needs + guess that he thought in himself, either the king had no wit to perceive + his crafty doings, or else that he would not see nor know them.</p> + + <p>"But he was deceived, for his Grace's sight was so quick and + penetrable that he saw him; yea, and saw through him, both within and + without; and according to his desert he hath had a gentle correction, + which small punishment the king will not to be an example to other + offenders; but clearly declareth <!-- Page 127 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> that whosoever + hereafter shall make like attempt, or shall commit like offence, shall + not escape with like punishment.</p> + + <p>"And because you of the Commons House be a gross multitude, and cannot + all speak at one time, the king's pleasure is, that you resort to the + Nether House, and then amongst yourselves, according to the old and + antient custom, choose an able person to be your common mouth and + speaker."<a name="NtA_216"></a><a href="#Nt_216"><sup>216</sup></a></p> + + <p>The invective against "the great wether" was not perhaps the portion + of the speech to which the audience listened with least interest. In the + minds of contemporaries, principles are identified with persons, who + form, as it were, the focus on which the passions concentrate. At present + we may consent to forget Wolsey, and fix our attention on the more + permanently essential matter—the reform of the laws. The world was + changing; how swiftly, how completely, no living person knew;—but a + confusion no longer tolerable was a patent fact to all men; and with a + wise instinct it was resolved that the grievances of the nation, which + had accumulated through centuries, should be submitted to a complete + ventilation, without reserve, check, or secrecy.</p> + + <p>For this purpose it was essential that the Houses should not be + interfered with, that they should be allowed full liberty to express + their wishes and to act upon them. Accordingly, the practice then usual + with ministers, of undertaking the direction of the proceedings, was + clearly on this occasion foregone. In the House of Commons then, as much + as now, there was in theory unrestricted liberty of discussion, and free + right for any member to originate whatever motion he pleased. "The + discussions in the English Parliament," wrote Henry himself to the pope, + "are free and unrestricted; the crown has no power to limit their debates + or to controul the votes of the members. They determine everything for + themselves, as the interests of the commonwealth require."<a + name="NtA_217"></a><a href="#Nt_217"><sup>217</sup></a> But so long as + confidence existed between the crown and the people, these rights were in + great measure surrendered. The ministers prepared the business which was + to be transacted; and the temper of the Houses was usually so well + understood, that, except when there was a demand for money, it was rare + that a measure was proposed the acceptance of which was doubtful, or the + nature of which would provoke debate. So little jealousy, indeed, was in + quiet times entertained of the power of the crown, and so little was a + residence in London to the taste of the burgesses and the <!-- Page 128 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> country + gentlemen, that not only were their expenses defrayed by a considerable + salary, but it was found necessary to forbid them absenting themselves + from their duties by a positive enactment.<a name="NtA_218"></a><a + href="#Nt_218"><sup>218</sup></a></p> + + <p>In the composition of the House of Commons, however, which had now + assembled, no symptoms appeared of such indifference. The election had + taken place in the midst of great and general excitement; and the members + chosen, if we may judge from their acts and their petitions, were men of + that broad resolved temper, who only in times of popular effervescence + are called forward into prominence. It would have probably been unsafe + for the crown to attempt dictation or repression at such a time, if it + had desired to do so. Under the actual circumstances, its interest was to + encourage the fullest expression of public feeling.</p> + + <p>The proceedings were commenced with a formal "act of accusation" + against the clergy, which was submitted to the king in the name of the + Commons of England, and contained a summary of the wrongs of which the + people complained. This remarkable document must have been drawn up + before the opening of parliament, and must have been presented in the + first week of the session,—probably on the first day on which the + House met to transact business.<a name="NtA_219"></a><a + href="#Nt_219"><sup>219</sup></a> There is appearance of haste in the + composition, little order being observed in the catalogue of grievances; + but inasmuch as it contains the germ of all the acts which were framed in + the following years for the reform of the church, and is in fact the most + complete exhibition which we possess of the working of the church system + at the time when it ceased to be any more tolerable, I have thought it + well to insert it uncurtailed. Although the fact of the presentation of + this petition has been well known, it has not been accurately described + by any of our historians, none of them appearing to have seen more than + incorrect and imperfect epitomes of it.<a name="NtA_220"></a><a + href="#Nt_220"><sup>220</sup></a></p> + +<p class="center">"TO THE KING OUR SOVEREIGN LORD</p> + + <p>"In most humble wise show unto your Highness and your most prudent + wisdom your faithful, loving, and most <!-- Page 129 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> obedient servants + the Commons in this your present parliament assembled; that of late, as + well through new fantastical and erroneous opinions grown by occasion of + frantic seditious books compiled, imprinted, published, and made in the + English tongue, contrary and against the very true Catholic and Christian + faith; as also by the extreme and uncharitable behaviour and dealing of + divers ordinaries, their commissaries and sumners, which have heretofore + had, and yet have the examination in and upon the said errours and + heretical opinions; much discord, variance, and debate hath risen, and + more and more daily is like to increase and ensue amongst the universal + sort of your said subjects, as well spiritual as temporal, each against + the other—in most uncharitable manner, to the great inquietation, + vexation, and breach of your peace within this your most Catholic + Realm:</p> + + <p>"The special particular griefs whereof, which most principally concern + your Commons and lay subjects, and which are, as they undoubtedly + suppose, the very chief fountains, occasions, and causes that daily + breedeth and nourisheth the said seditious factions, deadly hatred, and + most uncharitable part taking, of either part of said subjects spiritual + and temporal against the other, followingly do ensue.—</p> + + <p>"I. First the prelates and spiritual ordinaries of this your most + excellent Realm of England, and the clergy of the same, have in their + convocations heretofore made or caused to be made, and also daily do make + many and divers fashions of laws, constitutions, and ordinances; without + your knowledge or most Royal assent, and without the assent and consent + of any of your lay subjects; unto the which laws your said lay subjects + have not only heretofore been and daily be constrained to obey, in their + bodies, goods, and possessions; but have also been compelled to incur + daily into the censures of the same, and been continually put to + importable charges and expenses, against all equity, right, and good + conscience. And yet your said humble subjects ne their predecessors could + ever be privy to the said laws; ne any of the said laws have been + declared unto them in the English tongue, or otherwise published, by + knowledge whereof they might have eschewed the penalties, dangers, or + censures of the same; which laws so made your said most humble and + obedient servants, under the supportation of your Majesty, suppose to be + not only to the diminution and derogation of your imperial jurisdiction + and prerogative royal, but also to the great prejudice, inquietation, and + damage of your said subjects.</p> + +<!-- Page 130 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> + + <p>"II. Also now of late there hath been devised by the Most Reverend + Father in God, William, Archbishop of Canterbury, that in the courts + which he calleth his Courts of the Arches and Audience, shall only be ten + proctors at his deputation, which be sworn to preserve and promote the + only jurisdiction of his said courts; by reason whereof, if any of your + lay subjects should have any lawful cause against the judges of the said + courts, or any doctors or proctors of the same, or any of their friends + and adherents, they can ne may in nowise have indifferent counsel: and + also all the causes depending in any of the said courts may by the + confederacy of the said few proctors be in such wise tracted and delayed, + as your subjects suing in the same shall be put to importable charges, + costs, and expense. And further, in case that any matter there being + preferred should touch your crown, your regal jurisdiction, and + prerogative Royal, yet the same shall not be disclosed by any of the said + proctors for fear of the loss of their offices. Your most obedient + subjects do therefore, under protection of your Majesty, suppose that + your Highness should have the nomination of some convenient number of + proctors to be always attendant upon the said Courts of Arches and + Audience, there to be sworn to the preferment of your jurisdiction and + prerogative, and to the expedition of the causes of your lay subjects + repairing and suing to the same.</p> + + <p>"III. And also many of your said most humble and obedient subjects, and + <i>specially those that be of the poorest sort</i>, within this your + Realm, be daily convented and called before the said spiritual + ordinaries, their commissaries and substitutes, <i>ex officio</i>; + sometimes, at the pleasure of the said ordinaries, for malice without any + cause; and sometimes at the only promotion and accusement of their + summoners and apparitors, being light and undiscreet persons; without any + lawful cause of accusation, or credible fame proved against them, and + without any presentment in the visitation: and your said poor subjects be + thus inquieted, disturbed, vexed, troubled, and put to excessive and + importable charges for them to bear—and many times be suspended and + excommunicate for small and light causes upon the only certificate of the + proctors of the adversaries, made under a feigned seal which every + proctor hath in his keeping; whereas the party suspended or excommunicate + many times never had any warning; and yet when he shall be absolved, if + it be out of court, he shall be compelled to pay <!-- Page 131 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> to his own proctor + twenty<a name="NtA_221"></a><a href="#Nt_221"><sup>221</sup></a> + <i>pence</i>; to the proctor which is against him other twenty pence, and + twenty pence to the scribe, besides a privy reward that the judge shall + have, to the great impoverishing of your said poor lay subjects.</p> + + <p>"IV. Also your said most humble and obedient servants find themselves + grieved with the great and excessive fees taken in the said spiritual + courts, and especially in the said Courts of the Arches and Audience; + where they take for every citation two shillings and sixpence; for every + inhibition six shillings and eightpence; for every proxy sixteen pence; + for every certificate sixteen pence; for every libel three shillings and + fourpence; for every answer for every libel three shillings and + fourpence; for every act, if it be but two words according to the + register, fourpence; for every personal citation or decree three + shillings and fourpence; for every sentence or judgment, to the judge + twenty-six shillings and eightpence; for every testament upon such + sentence or judgment twenty-six shillings and eightpence; for every + significavit twelve shillings; for every commission to examine witnesses + twelve shillings, which charges be thought importable to be borne by your + said subjects, and very necessary to be reformed.</p> + + <p>"V. And also the said prelates and ordinaries daily do permit and + suffer the parsons, vicars, curates, parish priests, and other spiritual + persons having cure of souls within this your Realm, to exact and take of + your humble servants divers sums of money for the sacraments and + sacramentals of Holy Church, sometimes denying the same without they be + first paid<a name="NtA_222"></a><a href="#Nt_222"><sup>222</sup></a> the + said sums of money, which sacraments and sacramentals your said most + humble and obedient subjects, under protection of your Highness, do + suppose and think ought to be in most reverend, charitable, and godly + wise freely ministered unto them at all times requisite, without denial, + or exaction of any manner sums of money to be demanded or asked for the + same.</p> + + <p>"VI. And also in the spiritual courts of the said prelates and + ordinaries there be limited and appointed so many judges, scribes, + apparitors, summoners, appraysers, and other ministers for the + approbation of Testaments, which covet so much their <!-- Page 132 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> own + private lucres, and the satisfaction and appetites of the said prelates + and ordinaries, that when any of your said loving subjects do repair to + any of the said courts for the probate of any Testaments, they do in such + wise make so long delays, or excessively do take of them so large fees + and rewards for the same as is importable for them to bear, directly + against all justice, law, equity, and good conscience. Therefore your + most humble and obedient subjects do, under your gracious correction and + supportation, suppose it were very necessary that the said ordinaries in + their deputation of judges should be bound to appoint and assign such + discreet, gracious, and honest persons, having sufficient learning, wit, + discretion, and understanding; and also being endowed with such spiritual + promotion, stipend, and salary; as they being judges in their said courts + might and may minister to every person repairing to the same, + justice—without taking any manner of fee or reward for any manner + of sentence or judgment to be given before them.</p> + + <p>"VII. And also divers spiritual persons being presented as well by your + Highness as others within this your Realm to divers benefices or other + spiritual promotions, the said ordinaries and their ministers do not only + take of them for their letters of institution and induction many large + sums of money and rewards; but also do pact and covenant with the same, + taking sure bonds for their indemnity to answer to the said ordinaries + for the firstfruits of their said benefices after their + institution—so as they, being once presented or promoted, as + aforesaid, are by the said ordinaries very uncharitably handled, to their + no little hindrance and impoverishment; which your said subjects suppose + not only to be against all laws, right, and good conscience, but also to + be simony, and contrary to the laws of God.</p> + + <p>"VIII. And also <i>the said spiritual ordinaries do daily confer and + give sundry benefices unto certain young folks, calling them their + nephews or kinsfolk</i>, being in their minority and within age, not apt + ne able to serve the cure of any such benefice: whereby the said + ordinaries do keep and detain the fruits and profits of the same + benefices in their own hands, and thereby accumulate to themselves right + great and large sums of money and yearly profits, to the most pernicious + example of your said lay subjects—and so the cures and promotions + given unto such infants be only employed to the enriching of the said + ordinaries; and the poor silly souls of your people, which should be + taught in the parishes given as aforesaid, for lack of good curates [be + left] to perish without doctrine or any good teaching.</p> + +<!-- Page 133 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span> + + <p>"IX. Also, a great number of holydays now at this present time, with + very small devotion, be solemnised and kept throughout this your Realm, + upon the which many great, abominable, and execrable vices, idle and + wanton sports, be used and exercised, which holydays, if it may stand + with your Grace's pleasure, and specially such as fall in the harvest, + might, by your Majesty, with the advice of your most honourable council, + prelates, and ordinaries, be made fewer in number; and those that shall + be hereafter ordained to stand and continue, might and may be the more + devoutly, religiously, and reverendly observed, to the laud of Almighty + God, and to the increase of your high honour and favour.</p> + + <p>"X. And furthermore the said spiritual ordinaries, their commissaries + and substitutes, sometimes for their own pleasure, sometimes by the + sinister procurement of other spiritual persons, use to make out process + against divers of your said subjects, and thereby compel them to appear + before themselves, to answer at a certain day and place to such articles + as by them shall be, <i>ex officio</i>, then proposed; and that secretly + and not in open places;<a name="NtA_223"></a><a + href="#Nt_223"><sup>223</sup></a> and forthwith upon their appearance, + without any declaration made or showed, commit and send them to ward, + sometimes for [half] a year, sometimes for a whole year or more, before + they may in anywise know either the cause of their imprisonment or the + name of their accuser;<a name="NtA_224"></a><a + href="#Nt_224"><sup>224</sup></a> and finally after their great costs and + charges therein, when all is examined and nothing can be proved against + them, but they clearly innocent for any fault or crime that can be laid + unto them, they be again set at large without any recompence or amends in + that behalf to be towards them adjudged.</p> + + <p>"XI. And also if percase upon the said process and appearance any party + be upon the said matter, cause, or examination, brought forth and named, + either as party or witness, and then upon the proof and trial thereof be + not able to prove and verify the said accusation and testimony against + the party accused, then the person so accused is for the more part + without any remedy for his charges and wrongful vexation to be towards + him adjudged and recovered.</p> + +<!-- Page 134 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> + + <p>"XII. Also upon the examination of the said accusation, if heresy be + ordinarily laid unto the charge of the parties so accused, then the said + ordinaries or their ministers use to put to them such subtle + interrogatories concerning the high mysteries of our faith, as are able + quickly to trap a simple unlearned, or yet a well-witted layman without + learning, and bring them by such sinister introductions soon to their own + confusion. And further, if there chance any heresy to be by such subtle + policy, by any person confessed in words, and yet never committed neither + in thought nor deed, then put they, without further favour, the said + person either to make his purgation, and so thereby to lose his honesty + and credence for ever; or else as some simple silly soul [may do], the + said person may stand precisely to the testimony of his own well-known + conscience, rather than confess his innocent truth in that behalf [to be + other than he knows it to be], and so be utterly destroyed. And if it + fortune the said party so accused to deny the said accusation, and to put + his adversaries to prove the same as being untrue, forged and imagined + against him, then for the most part such witnesses as are brought forth + for the same, be they but two in number, never so sore diffamed, of + little truth or credence, they shall be allowed and enabled, only by + discretion of the said ordinaries, their commissaries or substitutes; and + thereupon sufficient cause be found to proceed to judgment, to deliver + the party so accused either to secular hands, after abjuration,<a + name="NtA_225"></a><a href="#Nt_225"><sup>225</sup></a> without remedy; + or afore if he submit himself, as best happeneth, he shall have to make + his purgation and bear a faggot, to his extreme shame and undoing.</p> + + <p>"In consideration of all these things, most gracious Sovereign Lord, + and forasmuch as there is at this present time, and by a few years past + hath been outrageous violence on the one part and much default and lack + of patient sufferance, charity, and good will on the other part; and + consequently a marvellous disorder [hath ensued] of the godly quiet, + peace, and tranquillity in which this your Realm heretofore, ever + hitherto, has been through your politic wisdom, most honourable fame, and + catholic faith inviolably preserved; it may therefore, most benign + Sovereign Lord, like your excellent goodness for the tender and + universally indifferent zeal, benign love and favour which your Highness + beareth towards both the said parties, that the said articles (if they + shall be by your most clear and perfect judgment, <!-- Page 135 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> thought any + instrument of the said disorders and factions), being deeply and + weightily, after your accustomed ways and manner, searched and + considered; graciously to provide (all violence on both sides utterly and + clearly set apart) some such necessary and behoveful remedies as may + effectually reconcile and bring in perpetual unity, your said subjects, + spiritual and temporal; and for the establishment thereof, to make and + ordain on both sides such strait laws against transgressors and offenders + as shall be too heavy, dangerous, and weighty for them, or any of them, + to bear, suffer, and sustain.</p> + + <p>"Whereunto your said Commons most humbly and entirely beseech your + Grace, as the only Head, Sovereign Lord and Protector of both the said + parties, in whom and by whom the only and sole redress, reformation, and + remedy herein absolutely resteth [of your goodness to consent]. By + occasion whereof all your Commons in their conscience surely account + that, beside the marvellous fervent love that your Highness shall thereby + engender in their hearts towards your Grace, ye shall do the most + princely feat, and show the most honourable and charitable precedent and + mirrour that ever did sovereign lord upon his subjects; and therewithal + merit and deserve of our merciful God eternal bliss—whose goodness + grant your Grace in goodly, princely, and honourable estate long to + reign, prosper, and continue as the Sovereign Lord over all your said + most humble and obedient servants."<a name="NtA_226"></a><a + href="#Nt_226"><sup>226</sup></a></p> + + <p>But little comment need be added in explanation of this petition, + which, though drawn with evident haste, is no less remarkable for temper + and good feeling, than for the masterly clearness with which the evils + complained of are laid bare. Historians will be careful for the future + how they swell the charges against Wolsey with quoting the lamentations + of Archbishop Warham, when his Court of Arches was for a while superseded + by the Legate's Court, and causes lingering before his commissaries were + summarily dispatched at a higher tribunal.<a name="NtA_227"></a><a + href="#Nt_227"><sup>227</sup></a> The archbishop professed, indeed, that + he derived no personal advantage from his courts,<a name="NtA_228"></a><a + href="#Nt_228"><sup>228</sup></a> and as we have only the popular + impression to the contrary to set against his word, we must believe him; + yet it was of small moment to the laity who were pillaged, whether the + spoils taken from them filled the coffers of the master, or those of his + followers and friends.</p> + +<!-- Page 136 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> + + <p>When we consider, also, the significant allusion<a + name="NtA_229"></a><a href="#Nt_229"><sup>229</sup></a> to the young + folks whom the bishops called their nephews, we cease to wonder at their + lenient dealing with the poor priests who had sunk under the temptations + of frail humanity; and still less can we wonder at the rough handling + which was soon found necessary to bring back these high dignitaries to a + better mind.</p> + + <p>The House of Commons, in casting their grievances into the form of a + petition, showed that they had no desire to thrust forward of themselves + violent measures of reform; they sought rather to explain firmly and + decisively what the country required. The king, selecting out of the many + points noticed those which seemed most immediately pressing, referred + them back to the parliament, with a direction to draw up such enactments + as in their own judgment would furnish effective relief. In the meantime + he submitted the petition itself to the consideration of the bishops, + requiring their immediate answer to the charges against them, and + accompanied this request with a further important requisition. The + legislative authority of convocation lay at the root of the evils which + were most complained of. The bishops and clergy held themselves + independent of either crown or parliament, passing canons by their own + irresponsible and unchecked will, irrespective of the laws of the land, + and sometimes in direct violation of them; and to these canons the laity + were amenable without being made acquainted with their provisions, + learning them only in the infliction of penalties for their unintended + breach. The king required that thenceforward the convocation should + consent to place itself in the position of parliament, and that his own + consent should be required and received before any law passed by + convocation should have the force of statute.<a name="NtA_230"></a><a + href="#Nt_230"><sup>230</sup></a></p> + + <p>Little notion, indeed, could the bishops have possessed of the + position in which they were standing. It seemed as if they literally + believed that the promise of perpetuity which Christ had made to his + church was a charm which would hold them free in the quiet course of + their injustice; or else, under the blinding influence of custom, they + did not really know that any injustice adhered to them. They could see in + themselves only the ideal virtues of their saintly office, and not the + vices <!-- Page 137 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page137"></a>[pg + 137]</span> of their fragile humanity; they believed that they were still + holy, still spotless, still immaculate, and therefore that no danger + might come near them. It cannot have been but that, before the minds of + such men as Warham and Fisher, some visions of a future must at times + have floated, which hung so plainly before the eyes of Wolsey and of Sir + Thomas More.<a name="NtA_231"></a><a href="#Nt_231"><sup>231</sup></a> + They could not have been wholly deaf to the storm in Germany; and they + must have heard something of the growls of smothered anger which for + years had been audible at home, to all who had ears to hear.<a + name="NtA_232"></a><a href="#Nt_232"><sup>232</sup></a> Yet if any such + thoughts at times did cross their imagination, they were thrust aside as + an uneasy dream, to be shaken off like a nightmare, or with the coward's + consolation, "It will last my time." If the bishops ever felt an uneasy + moment, there is no trace of uneasiness in the answer which they sent in + to the king, and which now, when we read it with the light which is + thrown back out of the succeeding years, seems like the composition of + mere lunacy. Perhaps they had confidence in the support of Henry. In + their courts they were in the habit of identifying an attack upon + themselves with an attack upon the doctrines of the Church; and reading + the king's feelings in their own, they may have considered themselves + safe under the protection of a sovereign who had broken a lance with + Luther, and had called himself the Pope's champion. Perhaps they thought + that they had bound him to themselves by a declaration which they had all + signed in the preceding summer in favour of the divorce.<a + name="NtA_233"></a><a href="#Nt_233"><sup>233</sup></a> Perhaps they were + but steeped in the dulness of official lethargy. The defence is long, + wearying the patience to read it; wearying the imagination to invent + excuses for the falsehoods which it contains. Yet it is well to see all + men in the light in which they see themselves; and justice requires that + we allow the bishops the benefit of their own reply. It was couched in + the following words:—<a name="NtA_234"></a><a + href="#Nt_234"><sup>234</sup></a></p> + + <p>"After our most humble wise, with our most bounden duty of honour and + reverence to your excellent Majesty, endued from God with incomparable + wisdom and goodness. Please it the same to understand that we, your + orators and daily bounden bedemen, have read and perused a certain + supplication which <!-- Page 138 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span> the Commons of your Grace's honourable + parliament now assembled have offered unto your Highness, and by your + Grace's commandment delivered unto us, that we should make answer + thereunto. We have, as the time hath served, made this answer following, + beseeching your Grace's indifferent benignity graciously to hear the + same.</p> + + <p>"And first for that discord, variance, and debate which, in the + preface of the said supplication they do allege to have risen among your + Grace's subjects, spiritual and temporal, occasioned, as they say, by the + uncharitable behaviour and demeanour of divers ordinaries: to this we, + the ordinaries, answer, assuring your Majesty that in our hearts there is + no such discord or variance ort our part against our brethren in God and + ghostly children your subjects, as is induced in this preface; but our + daily prayer is and shall be that all peace and concord may increase + among your Grace's true subjects our said children, whom God be our + witness we love, have loved, and shall love ever with hearty affection; + never intending any hurt ne harm towards any of them in soul or body; ne + have we ever enterprised anything against them of trouble, vexation, or + displeasure; but only have, with all charity, exercised the spiritual + jurisdiction of the Church, as we are bound of duty, upon certain + evil-disposed persons infected with the pestilent poison of heresy. And + to have peace with such had been against the Gospel of our Saviour + Christ, wherein he saith, <i>Non veni mittere pacem sed gladium</i>. + Wherefore, forasmuch as we know well that there be as well-disposed and + well-conscienced men of your Grace's Commons in no small number + assembled, as ever we knew at any time in parliament; and with that + consider how on our part there is given no such occasion why the whole + number of the spirituality and clergy should be thus noted unto your + Highness; we humbling our hearts to God and remitting the judgment of + this our inquietation to Him, and trusting, as his Scripture teacheth, + that if we love him above all, omnia cooperabuntur in bonum, shall + endeavour to declare to your Highness the innocency of us, your poor + orators.</p> + + <p>"And where, after the general preface of the same supplication, your + Grace's Commons descend to special particular griefs, and first to those + divers fashions of laws concerning temporal things, whereon, as they say, + the clergy in their convocation have made and daily do make divers laws, + to their great trouble and inquietation, which said laws be sometimes + repugnant to the statutes of your Realm, with many other complaints + thereupon:<a name="NtA_235"></a><a href="#Nt_235"><sup>235</sup></a> <!-- + Page 139 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> + To this we say, that forasmuch as we repute and take our authority of + making of laws to be grounded upon the Scriptures of God and the + determination of Holy Church, which must be the rule and square to try + the justice and righteousness of all laws, as well spiritual as temporal, + we verily trust that in such laws as have been made by us, or by our + predecessors, the same being sincerely interpreted, and after the meaning + of the makers, there shall be found nothing contained in them but such as + may be well justified by the said rule and square. And if it shall + otherwise appear, as it is our duty whereunto we shall always most + diligently apply ourselves to reform our ordinances to God's commission, + and to conform our statutes to the determination of Scripture and Holy + Church; <i>so we hope in God, and shall daily pray for the same, that + your Highness will, if there appear cause why, with the assent of your + people, temper your Grace's laws accordingly; whereby shall ensue a most + sure and hearty conjunction and agreement; God being lapis + angularis</i>.</p> + + <p>"And as concerning the requiring of your Highness's royal assent to + the authorising of such laws as have been made by our predecessors, or + shall be made by us, in such points and articles, as we have authority to + rule and order; we knowing your Highness's wisdom, virtue, and learning, + nothing doubt but that the same perceiveth how the granting thereunto + dependeth not upon our will and liberty, <i>and that we may not submit + the execution of our charges and duty certainly prescribed to us by God + to your Highness's assent</i>; although, indeed, the same is most worthy + for your most princely and excellent virtues, not only to give your royal + assent, but also to devise and command what we should for good order or + manners by statutes and laws provide in the church. Nevertheless, we + considering we may not so nor in such sort restrain the doing of our + office in the feeding and ruling of Christ's people, we most humbly + desire your Grace (as the same hath done heretofore) to show your Grace's + mind and opinion unto us, which we shall most gladly hear and follow if + it shall please God to inspire us so to do; and with all humility we + therefore beseech your Grace, following the steps of your most noble + progenitors, to maintain and defend such laws and ordinances as we, + according to our calling and by the authority of God, shall for his + honour make to the edification of virtue and the maintaining of Christ's + faith, whereof your Highness is defender in name, and hath been hitherto + indeed a special protector.</p> + +<!-- Page 140 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> + + <p>"Furthermore, where there be found in the said supplication, with + mention of your Grace's person, other griefs that some of the said laws + extend to the goods and possessions of your said lay subjects, declaring + the transgressors not only to fall under the terrible censure of + excommunication, but also under the detestable crime of heresy:</p> + + <p>"To this we answer that we remember no such, and yet if there be any + such, it is but according to the common law of the Church, and also to + your Grace's law, which determine and decree that every person spiritual + or temporal condemned of heresy shall forfeit his moveables or + immoveables to your Highness, or to the lord spiritual or temporal that + by law hath right to them.<a name="NtA_236"></a><a + href="#Nt_236"><sup>236</sup></a> Other statutes we remember none that + toucheth lands or goods. If there be, it were good that they were brought + forth to be weighed and pondered accordingly.</p> + + <p>"Item as touching the second principal article of the said + supplication, where they say that divers and many of your Grace's + obedient subjects, and especially they that be of the poorest sort, be + daily called before us or before our substitutes ex officio; sometimes at + the pleasure of us, the ordinaries, without any probable cause, and + sometimes at the only promotion of our summoner, without any credible + fame first proved against them, and without presentment in the visitation + or lawful accusation:</p> + + <p>"On this we desire your high wisdom and learning to consider that + albeit in the ordering of Christ's people, your Grace's subjects, God of + His spiritual goodness assisteth his church, and inspireth by the Holy + Ghost as we verily trust such rules and laws as tend to the wealth of his + elect folk; yet upon considerations to man unknown, his infinite wisdom + leaveth or permitteth men to walk in their infirmity and frailty; so that + we cannot ne will arrogantly presume of ourselves, as though being in + name spiritual men, we were also in all our acts and doings clean and + void from all temporal affections and carnality of this world, or that + the laws of the church made for spiritual and ghostly purpose be not + sometime applied to worldly intent. This we ought and do lament, as + becometh us, very sore. Nevertheless, as the evil deeds of men be the + mere defaults of those particular men, and not of the whole order of the + clergy, nor of the law wholesomely by them made; our request and petition + shall be with all humility and reverence; that laws well made be not + therefore called evil because by all men and at all times they be not + well <!-- Page 141 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page141"></a>[pg + 141]</span> executed; and that in such defaults as shall appear such + distribution may be used <i>ut unusquisque onus suum portet</i>, and + remedy be found to reform the offenders; unto the which your Highness + shall perceive as great towardness in your said orators as can be + required upon declaration of particulars. And other answer than this + cannot be made in the name of your whole clergy, for though <i>in multis + offendimus omnes</i>, as St. James saith, yet not 'in omnibus offendimus + omnes;' and the whole number can neither justify ne condemn particular + acts to them unknown but thus. He that calleth a man ex officio for + correction of sin, doeth well. He that calleth men for pleasure or + vexation, doeth evil. Summoners should be honest men. If they offend in + their office, they should be punished. To prove first [their faults] + before men be called, is not necessary. He that is called according to + the laws ex officio or otherwise, cannot complain. He that is otherwise + ordered should have by reason convenient recompence and so forth; that is + well to be allowed, and misdemeanour when it appeareth to be + reproved.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say in the same article that upon their appearance ex + officio at the only pleasure of the ordinaries, they be committed to + prison without bail or mainprize; and there they lie some half a year or + more before they come to their deliverance; to this we answer,—</p> + + <p>"That we use no prison before conviction but for sure custody, and + only of such as be suspected of heresy, in which crime, thanked be God, + there hath fallen no such notable person in our time, or of such + qualities as hath given occasion of any sinister suspicion to be + conceived of malice or hatred to his person other than the heinousness of + their crime deserveth. <i>Truth it is that certain apostates, friars, + monks, lewd priests, bankrupt merchants, vagabonds, and lewd idle fellows + of corrupt intent, have embraced the abominable and erroneous opinions + lately sprung in Germany</i>; and by them some have been seduced in + simplicity and ignorance. Against these, if judgment has been exercised + according to the laws of the church, and conformably to the laws of this + realm, we be without blame. If we have been too remiss and slack, we + shall gladly do our duty from henceforth. If any man hath been, under + pretence of this [crime], particularly offended, it were pity to suffer + any man to be wronged; and thus it ought to be, and otherwise we cannot + answer, no man's special case being declared in the said petition.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say further that they so appearing ex officio, be + condemned to answer to many subtle questions by the <!-- Page 142 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span> which a + simple, unlearned, or else a well-witted layman without learning + sometimes is, and commonly may be trapped and induced into peril of open + penance to their shame, or else [forced] to redeem their penance for + money, as is commonly used; to this we answer that we should not use + subtlety, for we should do all things plainly and openly; and if we do + otherwise, we do amiss. We ought not to ask questions, but after the + capacities of the man. Christ hath defended his true doctrine and faith + in his Catholic church from all subtlety, and so preserved good men in + the same, as they have not (blessed be God) been vexed, inquieted, or + troubled in Christ's church. Thereupon evil men fall in danger by their + own subtlety; we protest afore God we have neither known, read, nor heard + of any one man damaged or prejudiced by spiritual jurisdiction in this + behalf, neither in this realm nor any other, but only by his own deserts. + Such is the goodness of God in maintaining the cause of his Catholic + faith.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say they be compelled to do open penance, or else + redeem the same for money; as for penance, we answer it consisteth in the + arbitre of a judge who ought to enjoin such penance as might profit for + correction of the fault. Whereupon we disallow that judge's doing who + taketh money for penance for lucre or advantage, not regarding the + reformation of sin as he ought to do. But when open penance may sometimes + work in certain persons more hurt than good, it is commendable and + allowable in that case to punish by the purse, and preserve the fame of + the party; foreseeing always the money be converted <i>in usus pios et + eleemosynam</i>, and thus we think of the thing, and that the offenders + should be punished.</p> + + <p>"Item where they complain that two witnesses be admitted, be they + never so defamed, of little truth or credence, adversaries or enemies to + the parties; yet in many cases they be allowed by the discretion of the + ordinaries to put the party defamed, ex officio, to open penance, and + then to redemption for money; so that every of your subjects, upon the + only will of the ordinaries or their substitutes, without any accuser, + proved fame, or presentment, is or may be infamed, vexed, and troubled, + to the peril of their lives, their shames, costs, and expenses:</p> + + <p>"To this we reply, <i>the Gospel of Christ teacheth us to believe two + witnesses; and as the cause is, so the judge must esteem the quality of + the witness; and in heresy no exception is necessary to be considered if + their tale be likely; which hath been highly provided lest heretics + without jeopardy might else plant their</i> <!-- Page 143 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> <i>heresies in lewd + and light persons, and taking exception to the witnesses, take boldness + to continue their folly. This is the universal law of Christendom, and + hath universally done good. Of any injury done to any man thereby we know + not</i>.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say it is not intended by them to take away from us + our authority to correct and punish sins, and especially the detestable + crime of heresy:</p> + + <p>"To this we answer, in the prosecuting heretics we regard our duty and + office whereunto we be called, and if God will discharge us thereof, or + cease that plague universal, as, by directing the hearts of princes, and + specially the heart of your Highness (laud and thanks be unto Him), His + goodness doth commence and begin to do, we should and shall have great + cause to rejoice; as being our authority therein costly, dangerous, full + of trouble and business, without any fruit, pleasure, or commodity + worldly, but a continued conflict and vexation with pertinacity, + wilfulness, folly, and ignorance, whereupon followeth their bodily and + ghostly destruction, to our great sorrow.</p> + + <p>"Item where they desire that by assent of your Highness (if the laws + heretofore made be not sufficient for the repression of heresy) more + dreadful and terrible laws may be made; this We think is undoubtedly a + more charitable request than as we trust necessary, considering that by + the aid of your Highness, and the pains of your Grace's statutes freely + executed, your realm may be in short time clean purged from the few small + dregs that do remain, if any do remain.</p> + + <p>"Item where they desire some reasonable declaration may be made to + your people, how they may, if they will, avoid the peril of heresy. No + better declaration, we say, can be made than is already by our Saviour + Christ, the Apostles, and the determination of the church, which if they + keep, they shall not fail to eschew heresy.</p> + + <p>"Item where they desire that some charitable fashion may be devised by + your wisdom for the calling of any of your subjects before us, that it + shall not stand in the only will and pleasure of the ordinaries at their + own imagination, without lawful accusation by honest witness, according + to your law; to this we say that a better provision cannot be devised + than is already devised by the clergy in our opinion; and if any default + appear in the execution, it shall be amended on declaration of the + particulars, and the same proved.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say that your subjects be cited out of the diocese + which they dwell in, and many times be suspended <!-- Page 144 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> and excommunicate + for light causes upon the only certificate devised by the proctors, and + that all your subjects find themselves grieved with the excessive fees + taken in the spiritual courts:</p> + + <p>"To this article, for because it concerneth specially the spiritual + courts of me the Archbishop of Canterbury, please it your Grace to + understand that about twelve months past I reformed certain things + objected here; and now within these ten weeks I reformed many other + things in my said courts, as I suppose is not unknown unto your Grace's + Commons; and some of the fees of the officers of my courts I have brought + down to halves, some to the third part, and some wholly taken away and + extincted; and yet it is objected to me as though I had taken no manner + of reformation therein. Nevertheless I shall not cease yet; but in such + things as I shall see your Commons most offended I will set redress + accordingly, so as, I trust, they will be contented in that behalf. And + I, the said archbishop, beseech your Grace to consider what service the + doctors in civil law, which have had their practice in my courts, have + done your Grace concerning treaties, truces, confederations, and leagues + devised and concluded with outward princes; and that without such learned + men in civil law your Grace could not have been so conveniently served as + at all times you have been, which thing, perhaps, when such learned men + shall fail, will appear more evident than it doth now. The decay whereof + grieveth me to foresee, not so greatly for any cause concerning the + pleasure or profit of myself, being a man spent, and at the point to + depart this world, and having no penny of any advantage by my said + courts, but principally for the good love which I bear to the honour of + your Grace and of your realm. And albeit there is, by the assent of the + Lords Temporal and the Commons of your Parliament, an act passed + thereupon already, the matter depending before your Majesty by way of + supplication offered to your Highness by your said Commons;<a + name="NtA_237"></a><a href="#Nt_237"><sup>237</sup></a> yet, forasmuch as + we your Grace's humble chaplains, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, + be bounden by oath to be intercessors for the rights of our churches; and + forasmuch as the spiritual prelates of the clergy, being of your Grace's + parliament, consented to the said act for divers great causes moving + their conscience, we your Grace's said chaplains show unto your <!-- Page + 145 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span> + Highness that it hath appertained to the Archbishops of Canterbury and + York for the space of four hundred years or thereabouts to have spiritual + jurisdiction over all your Grace's subjects dwelling within the + provinces; and to have authority to call before them, not only in + spiritual causes devolved to them by way of appeal, but also by way of + querimony and complaint; which right and privilege pertaineth not only to + the persons of the said archbishops, but also to the pre-eminences of + their churches. Insomuch that when the archbishop of either of the sees + dieth, the said privileges do not only remain to his successor (by which + he is named Legatus natus), but also in the meantime of vacation the same + privilege resteth in the churches of Canterbury and York; and is executed + by the prior, dean and chapter of the said churches; and so the said act + is directly against the liberty and privileges of the churches of + Canterbury and York; and what dangers be to them which study and labour + to take away the liberties and privileges of the church, whoso will read + the general councils of Christendom and the canons of the fathers of the + Catholic church ordained in that behalf, shall soon perceive. And + further, we think verily that our churches, to which the said privileges + were granted, can give no cause why the pope himself (whose predecessors + granted that privilege) or any other (the honour of your Grace ever + except) may justly take away the same privileges so lawfully prescribed + from our churches, though we [ourselves] had greatly offended, abusing + the said privileges. But when in our persons we trust we have given no + cause why to lose that privilege, we beseech your Grace of your goodness + and absolute power to set such orders in this behalf as we may enjoy our + privileges lawfully admitted so long.</p> + + <p>"Item where they complain that there is exacted and demanded in divers + parishes of this your realm, other manner of tythes than hath been + accustomed to be paid this hundred years past; and in some parts of this + your realm there is exacted double tythes, that is to say, threepence, or + twopence-halfpenny, for one acre, over and beside the tythe for the + increase of cattle that pastureth the same:</p> + + <p>"To this we say, that tythes being due by God's law, be so duly paid + (thanked be God), by all good men, as there needeth not exaction in the + most parts of this your Grace's realm. As for double tythes, they cannot + be maintained due for one increase; whether in any place they be unduly + exacted in fact we know not. This we know in learning, that neither a + hundred <!-- Page 146 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page146"></a>[pg + 146]</span> years, nor seven hundred of non-payment, may debar the right + of God's law. The manner of payment, and person unto whom to pay, may be + in time altered, but the duty cannot by any means be taken away.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say that when a mortuary is due, curates sometimes, + before they will demand it, will bring citation for it; and then will not + receive the mortuaries till they may have such costs as they say they + have laid out for the suit of the same; when, indeed, if they would first + have charitably demanded it, they needed not to have sued for the same, + for it should have been paid with good will:</p> + + <p>"We answer that curates thus offending, if they were known, ought to + be punished, but who thus doeth we know not.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say that divers spiritual persons being presented to + benefices within this your realm, we and our ministers do take of them + great sums of money and reward; we reply that this is a particular abuse, + and he that taketh reward doeth not well; and if any penny be exacted + above the accustomed rate and after convenient proportion, it is not well + done. But in taking the usual fee for the sealing, writing, and + registering the letters, which is very moderate, we cannot think it to be + reputed as any offence; neither have we heard any priests in our days + complain of any excess therein.</p> + + <p>"And where they say in the same article that such as be presented be + delayed without reasonable cause, to the intent that we the ordinaries + may have the profit of the benefice during the vacation, unless they will + pact and convent with us by temporal bonds, whereof some bonds contain + that we should have part of the profit of the said benefice, which your + said subjects suppose to be not only against right and conscience, but + also seemeth to be simony, and contrary to the laws of God:</p> + + <p>"To this we do say that a delay without reasonable cause, and for a + lucrative intent, is detestable in spiritual men, and the doers cannot + eschew punishment: but otherwise a delay is sometimes expedient to + examine the clerk, and sometimes necessary when the title is in variance. + All other bargains and covenants being contrary to the law ought to be + punished, as the quality is of the offence more or less, as simony or + inordinate covetousness.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say that we give benefices to our nephews and + kinsfolk, being in young age or infants, whereby the cure is not + substantially looked into, nor the parishioners taught as they should be; + we reply to this that the thing which is not lawful in <!-- Page 147 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> others is + in spiritual men more detestable. Benefices should be disposed of not + <i>secundum carnem et sanguinem, sed secundum merita</i>. And when there + is a default it is not authorised by the clergy as good, but reproved; + whereupon in this the clergy is not to be blamed, but the default as it + may appear must be laid to particular men.</p> + + <p>"And where they say that we take the profit of such benefices for the + time of the minority of our said kinsfolk, if it be done to our own use + and profit it is not well; <i>if it be bestowed to the bringing up and + use of the same parties</i>, or applied to the maintenance of the church + and God's service, or distributed among the poor, we do not see but that + it may be allowed.</p> + + <p>"Item where they say that divers and many spiritual persons, not + contented with the convenient livings and promotions of the church, daily + intromit and exercise themselves in secular offices and rooms, as + stewards, receivers, auditors, bailiffs, and other temporal occupations, + withdrawing themselves from the good contemplative lives that they have + professed, not only to the damage but also to the perilous example of + your loving and obedient subjects; to this we your bedesmen answer that + beneficed men may lawfully be stewards and receivers to their own + bishops, as it evidently appeareth in the laws of the church; and we by + the same laws ought to have no other. And as for priests to be auditors + and bailiffs, we know none such.</p> + + <p>"And where, finally, they, in the conclusion of their supplication, do + repeat and say that forasmuch as there is at this present time, and by a + few years past hath been much misdemeanour and violence upon the one + part, and much default and lack of patience, charity, and good will on + the other part; and marvellous discord in consequence of the quiet, + peace, and tranquillity in which this your realm hath been ever hitherto + preserved through your politic wisdom:</p> + + <p>"To the first part as touching such discord as is reported, and also + the misdemeanour which is imputed to us and our doings, we trust we have + sufficiently answered the same, humbly beseeching your Grace so to esteem + and weigh such answer with their supplication as shall be thought good + and expedient by your high wisdom. Furthermore we ascertain your Grace as + touching the violence which they seem to lay to our charge, albeit divers + of the clergy of this your realm have sundry times been <i>rigorously + handled, and with much violence entreated by certain ill-disposed and + seditious persons of the lay fee, have been injured in their bodies, + thrown down in the kennel in the open</i> <!-- Page 148 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> <i>streets at + mid-day</i>, even here within your city and elsewhere, to the great + rebuke and disquietness of the clergy of your realm, the great danger of + the souls of the said misdoers, and perilous example of your subjects. + Yet we think verily, and do affirm the same, that no violence hath been + so used on our behalf towards your said lay subjects in any case; unless + they esteem this to be violence that we do use as well for the health of + their souls as for the discharge of our duties in taking, examining, and + punishing heretics according to the law: wherein we doubt not but that + your Grace, and divers of your Grace's subjects, do understand well what + charitable entreaty we have used with such as have been before us for the + same cause of heresy; and what means we have devised and studied for + safeguard specially of their souls; and that charitably, as God be our + judge, and without violence as [far as] we could possibly devise. In + execution thereof, and also of the laws of the church for repression of + sin, and also for reformation of mislivers, it hath been to our great + comfort that your Grace hath herein of your goodness, assisted and aided + us in this behalf for the zeal and love which your Grace beareth to God's + church and to His ministers; especially in defence of His faith whereof + your Grace only and most worthily amongst all Christian princes beareth + the title and name. And for that marvellous discord and grudge among your + subjects as is reported in the supplication of your Commons, we beseech + your Majesty, all the premises considered, to repress those that be + misdoers; protesting in our behalf that we ourselves have no grudge nor + displeasure towards your lay subjects our ghostly children. We intreat + your Grace of your accustomed goodness to us your bedemen to continue our + chief protector, defender, and aider in and for the execution of our + office and duty; specially touching repression of heresy, reformation of + sin, and due behaviour and order of all your Grace's subjects, spiritual + and temporal; which (no doubt thereof) shall be much to the pleasure of + God, great comfort to men's souls, quietness and unity of all your realm; + and, as we think, most principally to the great comfort of your Grace's + Majesty. Which we beseech lowly upon our knees, so entirely as we can, to + be the author of unity, charity, and concord as above, for whose + preservation we do and shall continually pray to Almighty God long to + reign and prosper in most honourable estate to his pleasure."</p> + + <p>This was the bishops' defence; the best which, under the + circumstances, they considered themselves capable of making. <!-- Page + 149 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span> The + House of Commons had stated their complaints in the form of special + notorious facts; the bishops replied with urging the theory of their + position, and supposed that they could relieve the ecclesiastical system + from the faults of its ministers, by laying the sole blame on the + unworthiness of individual persons. The degenerate representatives of a + once noble institution could not perhaps be expected to admit their + degeneracy, and confess themselves, as they really were, collectively + incompetent; yet the defence which they brought forward would have been + valid only so long as the blemishes were the rare exceptions in the + working of an institution which was still generally beneficent. It was no + defence at all when the faults had become the rule, and when there was no + security in the system itself for the selection of worth and capacity to + exercise its functions. The clergy, as I have already said, claimed the + privileges of saints, while their conduct fell below the standard of that + of ordinary men; and the position taken in this answer was tenable only + on the hypothesis which it, in fact, deliberately asserted, that the + judicial authority of the church had been committed to it by God Himself; + and that no misconduct of its ministers in detail could forfeit their + claims or justify resistance to them.</p> + + <p>There is something touching in the bishops' evidently sincere + unconsciousness that there could be real room for blame. Warham, who had + been Archbishop of Canterbury thirty years, took credit to himself for + the reforms which, under the pressure of public opinion, he had + introduced, in the last few weeks or months; and did not know that in + doing so he had passed sentence on a life of neglect. In the opinion of + the entire bench no infamy, however notorious, could shake the testimony + of a witness in a case of heresy; no cruelty was unjust when there was + suspicion of so horrible a crime; while the appointment of minors to + church benefices (not to press more closely the edge of the accusation) + they admitted while they affected to deny it; since they were not ashamed + to defend the appropriation of the proceeds of benefices occupied by such + persons, if laid out on the education and maintenance of the minors + themselves.</p> + + <p>Yet these things were as nothing in comparison with the powers claimed + for convocation; and the prelates of the later years of Henry's reign + must have looked back with strange sensations at the language which their + predecessors had so simply addressed to him. If the canons which + convocation might think good to enact were not consistent with the laws + of the Realm, "His Majesty" was desired to produce the wished-for <!-- + Page 150 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> + uniformity by altering the laws of the Realm; and although the bishops + might not submit their laws to His Majesty's approval, they would be + happy, they told him, to consider such suggestions as he might think + proper to make. The spirit of the Plantagenets must have slumbered long + before such words as these could have been addressed to an English + sovereign, and little did the bishops dream that these light words were + the spell which would burst the charm, and bid that spirit wake again in + all its power and terror.</p> + + <p>The House of Commons in the mean time had not been idle. To them the + questions at issue were unincumbered with theoretic difficulties. + Enormous abuses had been long ripe for dissolution, and there was no + occasion to waste time in unnecessary debates. At such a time, with a + House practically unanimous, business could be rapidly transacted, the + more rapidly indeed in proportion to its importance. In six weeks, for so + long only the session lasted, the astonished church authorities saw bill + after bill hurried up before the Lords, by which successively the + pleasant fountains of their incomes would be dried up to flow no longer; + or would flow only in shallow rivulets along the beds of the once + abundant torrents, The jurisdiction of the spiritual courts was not + immediately curtailed, and the authority which was in future to be + permitted to convocation lay over for further consideration, to be dealt + with in another manner. But probate duties and legacy duties, hitherto + assessed at discretion, were dwarfed into fixed proportions,<a + name="NtA_238"></a><a href="#Nt_238"><sup>238</sup></a> not to touch the + poorer laity any more, and bearing even upon wealth with a reserved and + gentle hand. Mortuaries were shorn of their luxuriance; when effects were + small, no mortuary should be required; when large, the clergy should + content themselves with a modest share. No velvet cloaks should be + stripped any more from strangers' bodies to save them from a rector's + grasp;<a name="NtA_239"></a><a href="#Nt_239"><sup>239</sup></a> no + shameful battles with apparitors should disturb any more the recent rest + of the dead.<a name="NtA_240"></a><a href="#Nt_240"><sup>240</sup></a> + Such sums as the law would permit should be paid thenceforward in the + form of decent funeral fees for householders dying in their own parishes, + and there the exactions should terminate.<a name="NtA_241"></a><a + href="#Nt_241"><sup>241</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 151 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> + + <p>The carelessness of the bishops in the discharge of their most + immediate duties obliged the legislature to trespass also in the + provinces purely spiritual, and undertake the discipline of the clergy. + The Commons had complained in their petition that the clergy, instead of + attending to their duties, were acting as auditors, bailiffs, stewards, + or in other capacities, as laymen; they were engaged in trade also, in + farming, in tanning, in brewing, in doing anything but the duties which + they were paid for doing; while they purchased dispensations for + non-residence on their benefices; and of these benefices, in favoured + cases, single priests held as many as eight or nine. It was thought + unnecessary to wait for the bishops' pleasure to apply a remedy here. If + the clergy were unjustly accused of these offences, a law of general + prohibition would not touch them. If the belief of the House of Commons + was well founded, there was no occasion for longer delay. It was + therefore enacted<a name="NtA_242"></a><a + href="#Nt_242"><sup>242</sup></a>—"for the more quiet and virtuous + increase and maintenance of divine service, the preaching and teaching + the Word of God with godly and good example, for the better discharge of + cures, the maintenance of hospitality, the relief of poor people, the + increase of devotion and good opinion of the lay fee towards spiritual + persons"—that no such persons thenceforward should take any land to + farm beyond what was necessary, <i>bonâ fide</i>, for the support of + their own households; that they should not buy merchandise to sell again; + that they should keep no tanneries or brewhouses, or otherwise directly + or indirectly trade for gain. Pluralities were not to be permitted with + benefices above the yearly value of eight pounds, and residence was made + obligatory under penalty in cases of absence without special reason, of + ten pounds for each month of such absence. The law against pluralities + was limited as against existing holders, each of whom, for their natural + lives, might continue to hold as many as four benefices. But + dispensations, either <!-- Page 152 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> for non-residence or for the violation + of any other provision of the act, were made penal in a high degree, + whether obtained from the bishops or from the court of Rome.</p> + + <p>These bills struck hard and struck home. Yet even persons who most + disapprove of the Reformation will not at the present time either wonder + at their enactment or complain of their severity. They will be desirous + rather to disentangle their doctrine from suspicious connection, and will + not be anxious to compromise their theology by the defence of unworthy + professors of it.</p> + + <p>The bishops, however, could ill tolerate an interference with the + privileges of the ecclesiastical order. The Commons, it was exclaimed, + were heretics and schismatics;<a name="NtA_243"></a><a + href="#Nt_243"><sup>243</sup></a> the cry was heard everywhere, of Lack + of faith, Lack of faith; and the lay peers being constitutionally + conservative, and perhaps instinctively apprehensive of the infectious + tendencies of innovation, it seemed likely for a time that an effective + opposition might be raised in the Upper House. The clergy commanded an + actual majority in that House from their own body, which they might + employ if they dared; and although they were not likely to venture alone + on so bold a measure, yet a partial support from the other members was a + sufficient encouragement. The aged Bishop of Rochester was made the + spokesman of the ecclesiastics on this occasion. "My Lords," he said, + "you see daily what bills come hither from the Commons House, and all is + to the destruction of the church. For God's sake see what a realm the + kingdom of Bohemia was; and when the church went down, then fell the + glory of that kingdom. Now with the Commons is nothing but Down with the + church, and all this meseemeth is for lack of faith only."<a + name="NtA_244"></a><a href="#Nt_244"><sup>244</sup></a> "In result," says + Hall, "the acts were sore debated; the Lords Spiritual would in no wise + consent, and committees of the two Houses sate continually for + discussion." The spiritualty defended themselves by prescription and + usage, to which a Gray's Inn lawyer something insolently answered, on one + occasion, "the usage hath ever been of thieves to rob on Shooter's Hill, + <i>ergo</i>, it is lawful." "With this answer," continues Hall, "the + spiritual men were sore offended because their doings were called + robberies, but the temporal men stood by their sayings, insomuch that the + said gentlemen declared to the Archbishop of Canterbury, that both the + exaction of probates of testaments and the taking of mortuaries were open + robbery and thefts."</p> + +<!-- Page 153 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> + + <p>At length, people out of doors growing impatient, and dangerous + symptoms threatening to show themselves, the king summoned a meeting in + the Star-chamber between eight members of both Houses. The lay peers, + after some discussion, conclusively gave way; and the bishops, left + without support, were obliged to yield. They signified their unwilling + consent, and the bills, "somewhat qualified," were the next day agreed + to—"to the great rejoicing of the lay people, and the great + displeasure of the spiritual persons."<a name="NtA_245"></a><a + href="#Nt_245"><sup>245</sup></a></p> + + <p>Nor were the House of Commons contented with the substance of victory. + The reply to their petition had perhaps by that time been made known to + them, and at any rate they had been accused of sympathy with heresy, and + they would not submit to the hateful charge without exacting revenge. The + more clamorous of the clergy out of doors were punished probably by the + stocks; from among their opponents in the Upper House, Fisher was + selected for special and signal humiliation. The words of which he had + made use were truer than the Commons knew; perhaps the latent truth of + them was the secret cause of the pain which they inflicted; but the + special anxiety of the English reformers was to disconnect themselves, + with marked emphasis, from the movement in Germany, and they determined + to compel the offending bishop to withdraw his words.</p> + + <p>They sent the speaker, Sir Thomas Audeley, to the king, who "very + eloquently declared what dishonour it was to his Majesty and the realm, + that they which were elected for the wisest men in the shires, cities, + and boroughs within the realm of England, should be declared in so noble + a presence to lack faith." It was equivalent to saying "that they were + infidels, and no Christians—as ill as Turks and Saracens." + Wherefore he "most humbly besought the King's Highness to call the said + bishop before him, and to cause him to speak more discreetly of such a + number as was in the Commons House."<a name="NtA_246"></a><a + href="#Nt_246"><sup>246</sup></a> Henry consented to their request, it is + likely with no great difficulty, and availed himself of the opportunity + to read a lesson much needed to the remainder of the bench. He sent for + Fisher, and with him for the Archbishop of Canterbury, and for six other + bishops. The speaker's message was laid before them, and they were asked + what they had to say. It would have been well for the weak trembling old + men if they could have repeated what they believed and had maintained + their right to believe it. Bold conduct is ever the most safe; it is + fatal only when there is <!-- Page 154 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> courage but for the first step, and + fails when a second is required to support it. But they were forsaken in + their hour of calamity, not by courage only, but by prudence, by + judgment, by conscience itself. The Bishop of Rochester stooped to an + equivocation too transparent to deceive any one; he said that "he meant + only the doings of the Bohemians were for lack of faith, and not the + doings of the Commons House"—"which saying was confirmed by the + bishops present." The king allowed the excuse, and the bishops were + dismissed; but they were dismissed into ignominy, and thenceforward, in + all Henry's dealings with them, they were treated with contemptuous + disrespect. For Fisher himself we must feel only sorrow. After + seventy-six years of a useful and honourable life, which he might have + hoped to close in a quiet haven, he was launched suddenly upon stormy + waters, to which he was too brave to yield, which he was too timid to + contend against; and the frail vessel drifting where the waves drove it, + was soon piteously to perish.</p> + + <p>Thus triumphant on every side, the parliament, in the middle of + December, closed its session, and lay England celebrated its exploits as + a national victory. "The king removed to Greenwich, and there kept his + Christmas with the queen with great triumph, with great plenty of viands, + and disguisings, and interludes, to the great rejoicing of his people;"<a + name="NtA_247"></a><a href="#Nt_247"><sup>247</sup></a> the members of + the House of Commons, we may well believe, following the royal example in + town and country, and being the little heroes of the day. Only the + bishops carried home sad hearts within them, to mourn over the perils of + the church and the impending end of all things; Fisher, unhappily for + himself, to listen to the wailings of the Nun of Kent, and to totter + slowly into treason.</p> + + <p>Here, for the present leaving the clergy to meditate on their future, + and reconsider the wisdom of their answer to the king respecting the + ecclesiastical jurisdiction (a point on which they were not the less + certain to be pressed, because the process upon it was temporarily + suspended), we must turn to the more painful matter which, for a time + longer, ran parallel with the domestic reformation, and as yet was unable + to unite with it. After the departure of Campeggio, the further hearing + of the divorce cause had been advoked to Rome, where it was impossible + for Henry to consent to plead; while the appearance of the supposed brief + had opened avenues of new difficulty which left no hope of a decision + within the limits of an ordinary lifetime. Henry <!-- Page 155 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> was still, however, + extremely reluctant<a name="NtA_248"></a><a + href="#Nt_248"><sup>248</sup></a> to proceed to extremities, and appeal + to the parliament. He had threatened that he would tolerate no delay, and + Wolsey had evidently expected that he would not. Queen Catherine's alarm + had gone so far, that in the autumn she had procured an injunction from + the pope, which had been posted in the churches of Flanders, menacing the + king with spiritual censures if he took any further steps.<a + name="NtA_249"></a><a href="#Nt_249"><sup>249</sup></a> Even this she + feared that he would disregard, and in March, 1529-30, a second + inhibition was issued at her request, couched in still stronger + language.<a name="NtA_250"></a><a href="#Nt_250"><sup>250</sup></a> But + these measures were needless, or at least premature. Henry expected that + the display of temper in the country in the late session would produce an + effect both on the pope and on the emperor; and proposing to send an + embassy to remonstrate jointly with them on the occasion of the emperor's + coronation, which was to take place in the spring at Bologna, he had + recourse in the mean time to an expedient which, though blemished in the + execution, was itself reasonable and prudent.</p> + + <p>Among the many <i>technical</i> questions which had been raised upon + the divorce, the most serious was on the validity of the original + dispensation; a question not only on the sufficiency of the form the + defects of which the brief had been invented to remedy; but on the more + comprehensive uncertainty whether Pope Julius had not exceeded his powers + altogether in granting a dispensation where there was so close affinity. + No one supposed that the pope could permit a brother to marry a sister; a + dispensation granted in such a case would be <i>ipso facto</i> + void.—Was <!-- Page 156 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> not the dispensation similarly void + which permitted the marriage of a brother's widow? The advantage which + Henry expected from raising this difficulty was the transfer of judgment + from the partial tribunal of Clement to a broader court. The pope could + not, of course, adjudicate on the extent of his own powers; especially as + he always declared himself to be ignorant of the law; and the decision of + so general a question rested either with a general council, or must be + determined by the consent of Christendom, obtained in some other manner. + If such general consent declared against the pope, the cause was + virtually terminated. If there was some approach to a consent against + him, or even if there was general uncertainty, Henry had a legal pretext + for declining his jurisdiction, and appealing to a council.</p> + + <p>Thomas Cranmer, then a doctor of divinity at Cambridge,<a + name="NtA_251"></a><a href="#Nt_251"><sup>251</sup></a> is said to have + been the person who suggested this ingenious expedient, and to have + advised the king, as the simplest means of carrying it out, to consult in + detail the universities and learned men throughout Europe. His notorious + activity in collecting the opinions may have easily connected him with + the origination of the plan, which probably occurred to many other + persons as well as to him; but whoever was the first adviser, it was + immediately acted upon, and English agents were despatched into Germany, + Italy, and France, carrying with them all means of persuasion, + intellectual, moral, and material, which promised to be of most cogent + potency with lawyers' convictions.</p> + + <p>This matter was in full activity when the Earl of Wiltshire, Anne + Boleyn's father, with Cranmer, the Bishop of London, and Edward Lee, + afterwards Archbishop of York, was despatched to Bologna to lay Henry's + remonstrances before the emperor, who was come at last in person to enjoy + his miserable triumph, and receive from the pope the imperial crown. Sir + Nicholas Carew, who had been sent forward a few weeks previously, + described in piteous language the state to which Italy had been reduced + by him. Passing through Pavia, the English emissary saw the children + crying about the streets for bread, and dying of hunger; the grapes in + midwinter rotting on the vines, because there was no one to gather them; + and for fifty miles scarcely a single creature, man or woman, in the + fields. "They say," added Carew, "and the pope also showed us the same, + that the whole people of that country, with divers other places in + Italia, <!-- Page 157 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page157"></a>[pg + 157]</span> with war, famine, and pestilence, are utterly dead and + gone."<a name="NtA_252"></a><a href="#Nt_252"><sup>252</sup></a> Such had + been the combined work of the vanity of Francis and the cold selfishness + of Charles; and now the latter had arrived amidst the ruins which he had + made, to receive his crown from the hands of a pope who was true to + Italy, if false to all the world besides, and whom, but two years before, + he had imprisoned and disgraced. We think of Clement as the creature of + the emperor, and such substantially he allowed himself to be; but his + obedience was the obedience of fear to a master whom he hated, and the + bishop of Tarbès, who was present at the coronation, and stood at his + side through the ceremony, saw him trembling under his robes with + emotion, and heard him sigh bitterly.<a name="NtA_253"></a><a + href="#Nt_253"><sup>253</sup></a> Very unwillingly, we may be assured, he + was compelled to act his vacillating part to England, and England, at + this distance of time, may forgive him for faults to which she owes her + freedom, and need not refuse him some tribute of sympathy in his + sorrows.</p> + + <p>Fallen on evil times, which greater wisdom and greater courage than + had for many a century been found in the successors of St. Peter would + have failed to encounter successfully, Clement VII. remained, with all + his cowardice, a true Italian; his errors were the errors of his age and + nation, and were softened by the presence, in more than usual measure, of + Italian genius and grace. Benvenuto Cellini, who describes his character + with much minuteness, has left us a picture of a hot-tempered, but + genuine and kind-hearted man, whose taste was elegant, and whose wit, + from the playful spirit with which it was pervaded, and from a certain + tendency to innocent levity, approached to humour. He was liable to + violent bursts of feeling; and his inability to control himself, his + gesticulations, his exclamations, and his tears, all represent to us a + person who was an indifferent master of the tricks of dissimulation to + which he was reduced, and whose weakness entitles him to pity, if not to + respect. The papacy had fallen to him at the crisis of its deepest + degradation. It existed as a politically organised institution, which it + was convenient to maintain, but from which the private hearts of all men + had fallen away; and it depended for its very life upon the support which + the courts of <!-- Page 158 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span> Europe would condescend to extend to + it. Among these governments, therefore, distracted as they were by mutual + hostility, the pope was compelled to make his choice; and the fatality of + his position condemned him to quarrel with the only prince on whom, at + the outset of these complications, he had a right to depend.</p> + + <p>In 1512, France had been on the point of declaring her religious + independence; and as late as 1525, Francis entertained thoughts of + offering the patriarchate to Wolsey.<a name="NtA_254"></a><a + href="#Nt_254"><sup>254</sup></a> Charles V., postponing his religious + devotion for the leisure of old age, had reserved the choice of his + party, to watch events and to wait upon opportunity; while, from his + singular position, he wielded in one hand the power of Catholic Spain, in + the other that of Protestant Germany, ready to strike with either, as + occasion or necessity recommended. If his Spaniards had annexed the New + World to the papacy, his German lanzknechts had stormed the Holy City, + murdered cardinals, and outraged the pope's person: while both Charles + and Francis, alike caring exclusively for their private interests, had + allowed the Turks to overrun Hungary, to conquer Rhodes, and to collect + an armament at Constantinople so formidable as to threaten Italy itself, + and the very Christian faith. Henry alone had shown hitherto a true + feeling for religion; Henry had made war with Louis XII. solely in the + pope's quarrel; Henry had broken an old alliance with the emperor to + revenge the capture of Rome, and had won Francis back to his allegiance. + To Henry, if to any one, the Roman bishop had a right to look with + confidence. But the power of England was far off, and could not reach to + Rome. Francis had been baffled and defeated, his armies destroyed, his + political influence in the Peninsula annihilated. The practical choice + which remained to Clement lay only, as it seemed, between the emperor and + martyrdom; and having, perhaps, a desire for the nobler alternative, yet + being without the power to choose it, his wishes and his conduct, his + words to private persons and his open actions before the world, were in + perpetual contradiction. He submitted while his heart revolted; and while + at Charles's dictation he was threatening Henry with excommunication if + he proceeded further with his divorce, he was able at that very time to + say, in confidence, to the Bishop of Tarbès, that he would be <!-- Page + 159 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> well + contented if the King of England would marry on his own responsibility, + availing himself of any means which he might possess among his own + people, so only that he himself was not committed to a consent or the + privileges of the papacy were not trenched upon.<a name="NtA_255"></a><a + href="#Nt_255"><sup>255</sup></a></p> + + <p>Two years later, when the course which the pope would really pursue + under such circumstances was of smaller importance, Henry gave him an + opportunity of proving the sincerity of this language; and the result was + such as he expected it to be. As yet, however, he had not relinquished + the hope of succeeding by a more open course.</p> + + <p>In March, 1529-30, the English ambassadors appeared at Bologna. Their + instructions were honest, manly, and straightforward. They were directed + to explain, <i>ab initio</i>, the grounds of the king's proceedings, and + to appeal to the emperor's understanding of the obligations of princes. + Full restitution was to be offered of Catherine's dowry, and the Earl of + Wiltshire was provided with letters of credit adequate to the amount.<a + name="NtA_256"></a><a href="#Nt_256"><sup>256</sup></a> If these + proposals were not accepted, they were to assume a more peremptory tone, + and threaten the alienation of England; and if menaces were equally + ineffectual, they were to declare that Henry, having done all which lay + within his power to effect his purpose with the goodwill of his friends, + since he could not do as he would, must now do as he could, and discharge + his conscience. If the emperor should pretend that he would "abide the + law, and would defer to the pope," they were to say, "that the sacking of + Rome by the Spaniards and Germans had so discouraged the pope and + cardinals, that they feared for body and goods," and had ceased to be + free agents; and concluding finally that the king would fear God rather + than man, and would rely on comfort from the Saviour against those who + abused their authority, they were then to withdraw.<a + name="NtA_257"></a><a href="#Nt_257"><sup>257</sup></a> The tone of the + directions was not sanguine, and the political complications of Europe, + on which the emperor's reply must more or less have depended, were too + involved to allow us to trace the influences which were likely to have + weighed with him. There seems no primâ facie reason, however, why the + attempt might not have been successful. <!-- Page 160 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span> The revolutionary + intrigues in England had decisively failed, and the natural sympathy of + princes, and a desire to detach Henry from Francis, must have combined to + recommend a return of the old cordiality which had so long existed + between the sovereigns of England and Flanders. But whatever was the + cause, the opening interview assured the Earl of Wiltshire that he had + nothing to look for. He was received with distant courtesy; but Charles + at once objected even to hearing his instructions, as an interested + party.<a name="NtA_258"></a><a href="#Nt_258"><sup>258</sup></a> The earl + replied that he stood there, not as the father of the queen's rival, but + as the representative of his sovereign; but the objection declared the + attitude which Charles was resolved to maintain, and which, in fact, he + maintained throughout. "The emperor," wrote Lord Wiltshire to Henry, "is + stiffly bent against your Grace's matter, and is most earnest in it; + while the pope is led by the emperor, and neither will nor dare displease + him."<a name="NtA_259"></a><a href="#Nt_259"><sup>259</sup></a> From that + quarter, so long as parties remained in their existing attitude, there + was no hope. It seems to have been hinted, indeed, that if war broke out + again between Charles and Francis, something might be done as the price + of Henry's surrendering the French alliance;<a name="NtA_260"></a><a + href="#Nt_260"><sup>260</sup></a> but the suggestion, if it was made, was + probably ironical; and as Charles was unquestionably acting against his + interest in rejecting the English overtures, it is fair to give him + credit for having acted on this one occasion of his life, upon generous + motives. A respectful compliment was paid to his conduct by Henry himself + in the reproaches which he addressed to the pope.<a name="NtA_261"></a><a + href="#Nt_261"><sup>261</sup></a></p> + + <p>So terminated the first and the last overture on this subject which + Henry attempted with Charles V. The ambassadors remained but a few days + at Bologna, and then discharged their commission and returned. The pope, + however, had played his part with remarkable skill, and by finessing + dexterously behind the scenes, had contrived to prevent the precipitation + of a rupture with himself. His simple and single wish was to gain time, + trusting to accident or Providence to deliver him from his dilemma. On + the one hand, he yielded to the emperor in refusing to consent to Henry's + demand; on the other, he availed <!-- Page 161 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> himself of all the + intricacies to parry Catherine's demand for a judgment in her favour. He + even seemed to part with the emperor on doubtful terms. "The latter," + said the Bishop of Tarbès,<a name="NtA_262"></a><a + href="#Nt_262"><sup>262</sup></a> "before leaving Bologna, desired his + Holiness to place two cardinals' hats at his disposal, to enable him to + reward certain services." His Holiness ventured to refuse. During his + imprisonment, he said he had been compelled to nominate several persons + for that office whose conduct had been a disgrace to their rank; and when + the emperor denied his orders, the pope declared that he had seen them. + The cardinals' hats, therefore, should be granted only when they were + deserved, "when the Lutherans in Germany had been reduced to obedience, + and Hungary had been recovered from the Turks." If this was acting, it + was skilfully managed, and it deceived the eyes of the French + ambassador.</p> + + <p>Still further to gratify Henry, the pope made a public declaration + with respect to the dispute which had arisen on the extent of his + authority, desiring, or professing to desire, that all persons whatever + throughout Italy should be free to express their opinions without fear of + incurring his displeasure. This declaration, had it been honestly meant, + would have been creditable to Clement's courage: unfortunately for his + reputation, his outward and his secret actions seldom corresponded, and + the emperor's agents were observed to use very dissimilar language in his + name. The double policy, nevertheless, was still followed to secure + delay. Delay was his sole aim,—either that Catherine's death, or + his own, or Henry's, or some relenting in one or other of the two princes + who held their minatory arms extended over him, might spare himself and + the church the calamity of a decision. For to the church any decision was + fatal. If he declared for Charles, England would fall from it; if for + Henry, Germany and Flanders were lost irrecoverably, and Spain itself + might follow. His one hope was to procrastinate; and in this policy of + hesitation for two more years he succeeded, till at length the patience + of Henry and of England was worn out, and all was ended. When the emperor + required sentence to be passed, he pretended to be about to yield; and at + the last moment, some technical difficulty ever interfered to make a + decision impossible. When Henry was cited to appear at Rome, a point of + law was raised upon the privilege of kings, threatening to open into + other points of law, and so to multiply to infinity. The pope, indeed, + finding his own ends so well <!-- Page 162 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> answered by evasion, imagined that it + would answer equally those of the English nation, and he declared to + Henry's secretary that "if the King of England would send a mandate ad + totam causam, then if his Highness would, there might be given so many + delays by reason of matters which his Highness might lay in, and the + remissorials that his Grace might ask, ad partes, that peradventure in + ten years or longer a sentence should not be given."<a + name="NtA_263"></a><a href="#Nt_263"><sup>263</sup></a> In point of + worldly prudence, his conduct was unexceptionably wise; but something + beyond worldly prudence was demanded of a tribunal which claimed to be + inspired by the Holy Ghost.</p> + + <p>The dreary details of the negotiations I have no intention of + pursuing. They are of no interest to any one,—a miserable tissue of + insincerity on one side, and hesitating uncertainty on the other. There + is no occasion for us to weary ourselves with the ineffectual efforts to + postpone an issue which was sooner or later inevitable.</p> + + <p>I may not pass over in similar silence another unpleasant episode in + this business,—the execution of Cranmer's project for collecting + the sentiments of Europe on the pope's dispensing power. The details of + this transaction are not wearying only, but scandalous; and while the + substantial justice of Henry's cause is a reason for deploring the means + to which he allowed himself to be driven in pursuing it, we may not + permit ourselves either to palliate those means or to conceal them. The + project seemed a simple one, and likely to be effective and useful. + Unhappily, the appeal was still to ecclesiastics, to a body of men who + were characterised throughout Europe by a universal absence of integrity, + who were incapable of pronouncing an honest judgment, and who courted + intimidation and bribery by the readiness with which they submitted to be + influenced by them. Corruption was resorted to on all sides with the most + lavish unscrupulousness, and the result arrived at was general discredit + to all parties, and a conclusion which added but one more circle to the + labyrinth of perplexities. Croke,<a name="NtA_264"></a><a + href="#Nt_264"><sup>264</sup></a> a Doctors' Commons lawyer, who was + employed in Italy, described the state of feeling in the peninsula as + generally in Henry's favour; and he said that he could have secured an + all but universal consent, except for the secret intrigues of the Spanish + agents, and their open direct menaces, when intrigue was insufficient. He + complained bitterly of the treachery of the Italians who were in <!-- + Page 163 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> + the English pay; the two Cassalis, Pallavicino, and Ghinucci, the Bishop + of Worcester. These men, he said, were betraying Henry when they were + pretending to serve him, and were playing secretly into the hands of the + emperor.<a name="NtA_265"></a><a href="#Nt_265"><sup>265</sup></a> His + private despatches were intercepted, or the contents of them by some + means were discovered; for the persons whom he named as inclining against + the papal claims, became marked at once for persecution. One of them, a + Carmelite friar, was summoned before the Cardinal Governor of Bologna, + and threatened with death;<a name="NtA_266"></a><a + href="#Nt_266"><sup>266</sup></a> and a certain Father Omnibow, a + Venetian who had been in active co-operation with Dr. Croke, wrote + himself to Henry, informing him in a very graphic manner of the treatment + to which, by some treachery, he had been exposed. Croke and Omnibow were + sitting one morning in the latter's cell, "when there entered upon them + the emperor's great ambassador, accompanied with many gentlemen of Spain, + and demanded of the Father how he durst be so bold to take upon him to + intermeddle in so great and weighty a matter, the which did not only + lessen and enervate the pope's authority, but was noyful and odious to + all Realms Christened."<a name="NtA_267"></a><a + href="#Nt_267"><sup>267</sup></a> Omnibow being a man of some influence + in Venice, the ambassador warned him on peril of his life to deal no + further with such things: there was not the slightest chance that the + King of England could obtain a decision in his favour, because the + question had been placed in the hands of six cardinals who were all + devoted to the emperor: the pope, it was sternly added, had been made + aware of his conduct, and was exceedingly displeased, and the general<a + name="NtA_268"></a><a href="#Nt_268"><sup>268</sup></a> of his order had + at the same time issued an injunction, warning all members to desist at + their peril from intercourse with the English agents. The Spanish party + held themselves justified in resorting to intimidation to defend + themselves against English money; the English may have excused their use + of money as a defence against Spanish intimidation; and each probably had + recourse to their several methods prior to experience of the proceedings + of their adversaries, from a certain expectation of what those + proceedings would be. Substantially, the opposite manœuvres + neutralised each other, and in Catholic countries, opinions on the real + point <!-- Page 164 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page164"></a>[pg + 164]</span> at issue seem to have been equally balanced. The Lutheran + divines, from their old suspicion of Henry, were more decided in their + opposition to him. "The Italian Protestants," wrote Croke to the king, + "be utterly against your Highness in this cause, and have letted as much + as with their power and malice they could or might."<a + name="NtA_269"></a><a href="#Nt_269"><sup>269</sup></a> In Germany Dr. + Bames and Cranmer found the same experience. Luther himself had not + forgotten his early passage at arms with the English Defender of the + Faith, and was coldly hostile; the German theologians, although they + expressed themselves with reserve and caution, saw no reason to court the + anger of Charles by meddling in a quarrel in which they had no interest; + they revenged the studied slight which had been passed by Henry on + themselves, with a pardonable indifference to the English ecclesiastical + revolt.</p> + + <p>If, however, in Germany and Italy the balance of unjust interference + lay on the imperial side, it was more than adequately compensated by the + answering pressure which was brought to bear in England and in France on + the opposite side. Under the allied sovereigns, the royal authority was + openly exercised to compel such expressions of sentiment as the courts of + London and Paris desired; and the measures which were taken oblige us + more than ever to regret the inventive efforts of Cranmer's genius. For, + in fact, these manœuvres, even if honestly executed, were all + unrealities. The question at issue was one of domestic English politics, + and the metamorphosis of it into a question of ecclesiastical law was a + mere delusion. The discussion was transferred to a false ground, and + however the king may have chosen to deceive himself, was not being tried + upon its real merits. A complicated difficulty vitally affecting the + interests of a great nation, was laid for solution before a body of + persons incompetent to understand or decide it, and the laity, with the + alternative before them of civil war, and the returning miseries of the + preceding century, could brook no judgment which did not answer to their + wishes.</p> + + <p>The French king, contemptuously indifferent to justice, submitted to + be guided by his interest; feeling it necessary for his safety to fan the + quarrel between Henry and the emperor, he resolved to encourage whatever + measures would make the <!-- Page 165 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> breach between them irreparable. The + reconciliation of Herod and Pontius Pilate<a name="NtA_270"></a><a + href="#Nt_270"><sup>270</sup></a> was the subject of his worst alarm; and + a slight exercise of ecclesiastical tyranny was but a moderate price by + which to ensure himself against so dangerous a possibility.</p> + + <p>Accordingly, at the beginning of June, the University of Paris was + instructed by royal letters to pronounce an opinion on the extent to + which the pope might grant dispensations for marriage within the + forbidden degrees. The letters were presented by the grand master, and + the latter in his address to the faculty, maintained at the outset an + appearance of impartiality. The doctors were required to decide according + to their conscience, having the fear of God before their eyes; and no + open effort was ventured to dictate the judgment which was to be + delivered.</p> + + <p>The majority of the doctors understood their duty and their position, + and a speedy resolution was anticipated, when a certain Dr. Beda, an + energetic Ultramontane, commenced an opposition. He said that, on a + question which touched the power of the pope, they were not at liberty to + pronounce an opinion without the permission of his Holiness himself; and + that the deliberation ought not to go forward till they had applied for + that permission and had received it. This view was supported by the + Spanish and Italian party in the university. The debate grew warm, and at + length the meeting broke up in confusion without coming to a resolution. + Beda, when remonstrated with on the course which he was pursuing, did not + hesitate to say that he had the secret approbation of his prince; that, + however Francis might disguise from the world his real opinions, in his + heart he only desired to see the pope victorious. An assertion so + confident was readily believed, nor is it likely that Beda ventured to + make it without some foundation. But being spoken of openly it became a + matter of general conversation, and reaching the ears of the English + ambassador, it was met with instant and angry remonstrance. "The + ambassador," wrote the grand master to Francis, "has been to me in great + displeasure, and has told me roundly that his master is trifled with by + us. We give him words in plenty to keep his beak in the water; but it is + very plain that we are playing false, and that no honesty is intended. + Nor are his <!-- Page 166 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page166"></a>[pg 166]</span> words altogether without reason; for + many persons declare openly that nothing will be done. If the alliance of + England, therefore, appear of importance to your Highness, it would be + well for you to write to the Dean of the Faculty, directing him to close + an impertinent discussion, and require an answer to the question asked as + quickly as possible."<a name="NtA_271"></a><a + href="#Nt_271"><sup>271</sup></a> The tone of this letter proves, with + sufficient clearness, the true feelings of the French government; but at + the moment the alternative suggested by the grand master might not be + ventured. Francis could not afford to quarrel with England, or to be on + less than cordial terms with it, and for a time at least his brother + sovereigns must continue to be at enmity. The negotiations for the + recovery of the French princes out of their Spanish prison, were on the + point of conclusion; and, as Francis was insolvent, Henry had consented + to become security for the money demanded for their deliverance. Beda + had, moreover, injured his cause by attacking the Gallican liberties; and + as this was a point on which the government was naturally sensitive, some + tolerable excuse was furnished for the lesson which it was thought proper + to adminster to the offending doctor.</p> + + <p>On the seventeenth of June, 1530, therefore, Francis wrote as follows + to the President of the Parliament of Paris:—</p> + + <p>"We have learnt, to our great displeasure, that one Beda, an + imperialist, has dared to raise an agitation among the theologians, + dissuading them from giving their voices on the cause of the King of + England.—On receipt of this letter, therefore, you shall cause the + said Beda to appear before you, and you shall show him the grievous anger + which he has given us cause to entertain towards him. And further you + shall declare to him, laying these our present writings before his eyes + that he may not doubt the truth of what you say, that if he does not + instantly repair the fault which he has committed, he shall be punished + in such sort as that he shall remember henceforth what it is for a person + of his quality to meddle in the affairs of princes. If he venture to + remonstrate; if he allege that it is matter of conscience, and that + before proceeding to pronounce an opinion it is necessary to communicate + with the pope; in our name you shall forbid him to hold any such + communication: and he and all who abet him, and all persons whatsoever, + not only who shall themselves dare to consult the pope on this matter, + but who shall so much as entertain the proposal of consulting him, shall + be dealt with in such a manner as shall be an <!-- Page 167 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> example to all the + world. The liberties of the Gallican Church are touched, and the + independence of our theological council, and there is no privilege + belonging to this realm on which we are more peremptorily determined to + insist."<a name="NtA_272"></a><a href="#Nt_272"><sup>272</sup></a></p> + + <p>The haughty missive, a copy of which was sent to England,<a + name="NtA_273"></a><a href="#Nt_273"><sup>273</sup></a> produced the + desired effect. The doctors became obedient and convinced, and the + required declaration of opinion in Henry's favour, was drawn up in the + most ample manner. They made a last desperate effort to escape from the + position in which they were placed when the seal of the university was to + be affixed to the decision; but the resistance was hopeless, the + authorities were inexorable, and they submitted. It is not a little + singular that the English political agent employed on this occasion, and + to whose lot it fell to communicate the result to the king, was Reginald + Pole. He it was, who behind the scenes, and assisting to work the + machinery of the intrigue, first there, perhaps, contracted his disgust + with the cause on which he was embarked. There learning to hate the ill + with which he was forced immediately into contact, he lost sight of the + greater ill to which it was opposed; and in the recoil commenced the + first steps of a career, which brought his mother to the scaffold, which + overspread all England with an atmosphere of treason and suspicion, and + which terminated at last after years of exile, rebellion, and falsehood, + in a brief victory of blood and shame. So ever does wrong action beget + its own retribution, punishing itself by itself, and wrecking the + instruments by which it works. The letter which Pole wrote from Paris to + Henry will not be uninteresting. It revealed his distaste for his + occupation, though prudence held him silent as to his deeper + feelings.</p> + + <p>"Please it your Highness to be advertised, that the determination and + conclusion of the divines in this university was achieved and finished + according to your desired purpose, upon Saturday last past. The sealing + of the same has been put off unto this day, nor never could be obtained + before for any soliciting on our parts which were your agents here, which + never ceased to labour, all that lay in us, for the expedition of it, + both with the privy president and with all such as we thought might in + any part aid us therein. But what difficulties and stops hath been, to + let the obtaining of the seal of the university, notwithstanding the + conclusion passed and agreed unto by the more part of the <!-- Page 168 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> faculty, + by reason of such oppositions as the adversary part hath made to embezzle + the determination that it should not take effect nor go forth in that + same form as it was concluded, it may please your Grace, to be advertised + by this bearer, Master Fox; who, with his prudence, diligence, and great + exercise in the cause, hath most holp to resist all these crafts, and to + bring the matter to that point as your most desired purpose hath been to + have it. He hath indeed acted according to that hope which I had of him + at the beginning and first breaking of the matter amongst the faculty + here, when I, somewhat fearing and foreseeing such contentions, + altercations, and empeschements as by most likelihood might ensue, did + give your Grace advertisement, how necessary I thought it was to have + Master Fox's presence. And whereas I was informed by Master Fox how it + standeth with your Grace's pleasure, considering my fervent desire + thereon, that, your motion once achieved and brought to a final + conclusion in this university, I should repair to your presence, your + Grace could not grant me at this time a petition more comfortable unto + me. And so, making what convenient speed I may, my trust is shortly to + wait upon your Highness. Thus Jesu preserve your most noble Grace to his + pleasure, and your most comfort and honour. Written at Paris, the seventh + day of July, by your Grace's most humble and faithful servant, REGINALD + POLE."<a name="NtA_274"></a><a href="#Nt_274"><sup>274</sup></a></p> + + <p>We must speak of this transaction as it deserves, and call it wholly + bad, unjust, and inexcusable. Yet we need not deceive ourselves into + supposing that the opposition which was crushed so roughly was based on + any principal of real honesty. In Italy, intrigue was used against + intimidation. In France intimidation was used against intrigue; and the + absence of rectitude in the parties whom it was necessary to influence, + provoked and justified the contempt with which they were treated.</p> + + <p>The conduct of the English universities on the same occasion was + precisely what their later characters would have led us respectively to + expect from them. At Oxford the heads of houses and the senior doctors + and masters submitted their consciences to state dictation, without + opposition, and, as it seemed, without reluctance. Henry was wholly + satisfied that the right was on his own side; he was so convinced of it, + that an opposition to his wishes among his own subjects, he could + attribute only to disloyalty or to some other unworthy feeling; <!-- Page + 169 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> and + therefore, while he directed the convocation, "giving no credence to + sinister persuasions, to show and declare their just and true learning in + his cause," he was able to dwell upon the answer which he expected from + them, as a plain matter of duty; and obviously as not admitting of any + uncertainty whatever.</p> + + <p>"We will and command you," he said, "that ye, not leaning to wilful + and sinister opinions of your own several minds, considering that we be + your sovereign liege lord [and] totally giving your time, mind, and + affections to the true overtures of divine learning in this behalf, do + show and declare your true and just learning in the said cause, like as + ye will abide by: wherein ye shall not only please Almighty God, but also + us your liege lord. And we, for your so doing, shall be to you and to our + university there so good and gracious a lord for the same, as ye shall + perceive it well done in your well fortune to come. And in case you do + not uprightly, according to divine learning, handle yourselves herein, ye + may be assured that we, not without great cause, shall so quickly and + sharply look to your unnatural misdemeanour herein, that it shall not be + to your quietness and ease hereafter."<a name="NtA_275"></a><a + href="#Nt_275"><sup>275</sup></a> The admonitory clauses were + sufficiently clear; they were scarcely needed, however, by the older + members of the university. An enlarged experience of the world which + years, at Oxford as well as elsewhere, had not failed to bring with them, + a just apprehension of the condition of the kingdom, and a sense of the + obligations of subjects in times of political difficulty, sufficed to + reconcile the heads of the colleges to obedience; and threats were not + required where it is unlikely that a thought of hesitation was + entertained. But there was a class of residents which appears to be + perennial in that university, composed out of the younger masters; a + class of men who, defective alike in age, in wisdom, or in knowledge, + were distinguished by a species of theoretic High Church fanaticism; who, + until they received their natural correction from advancing years, + required from time to time to be protected against their own extravagance + by some form of external pressure. These were the persons whom the king + was addressing in his more severe language, and it was not without reason + that he had recourse to it.</p> + + <p>In order to avoid difficulty, and to secure a swift and convenient + resolution, it was proposed that both at Oxford and Cambridge the + universities should be represented by a committee composed of the heads + of houses, the proctors, and the <!-- Page 170 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> graduates in + divinity and law: that this committee should agree upon a form of a + reply; and that the university seal should then be affixed without + further discussion. This proposition was plausible as well as prudent, + for it might be supposed reasonably that young half-educated students + were incapable of forming a judgment on an intricate point of law; and to + admit their votes was equivalent to allowing judgment to be given by + party feeling. The masters who were to be thus excluded refused however + to entertain this view of their incapacity. The question whether the + committee should be appointed was referred to convocation, where, having + the advantage of numbers, they coerced the entire proceedings; and some + of them "expressing themselves in a very forward manner" to the royal + commissioners,<a name="NtA_276"></a><a href="#Nt_276"><sup>276</sup></a> + and the heads of houses being embarrassed, and not well knowing what to + do, the king found it necessary again to interpose. He was unwilling, as + he said, to violate the constitution of the university by open + interference, "considering it to exist under grant and charter from the + crown as a body politic, in the ruling whereof in things to be done in + the name of the whole, the number of private suffrages doth prevail." "He + was loth, too," he added, "to show his displeasure, whereof he had so + great cause ministered unto him, unto the whole in general, whereas the + fault perchance consisted and remained in light and wilful heads," and he + trusted that it might suffice if the masters of the colleges used their + private influence and authority<a name="NtA_277"></a><a + href="#Nt_277"><sup>277</sup></a> in overcoming the opposition. For the + effecting of this purpose, however, and in order to lend weight to their + persuasion, he assisted the convocation towards a conclusion with the + following characteristic missive:—</p> + + <p>"To our trusty and well-beloved the heads of houses, doctors, and + proctors of our University of Oxford:</p> + + <p>"Trusty and well-beloved, we greet you well; and of late being + informed, to our no little marvel and discontentation, that a great part + of the youth of that our university, with contentious and factious manner + daily combining together, neither regarding their duty to us their + sovereign lord, nor yet conforming themselves to the opinions and orders + of the virtuous, wise, sage, and profound learned men of that university, + wilfully do stick upon the opinion to have a great number of regents and + non-regents to be associate unto the doctors, proctors, and bachelors of + divinity for the determination of our question; which we <!-- Page 171 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> believe + hath not been often seen, that such a number of right small learning in + regard to the other should be joined with so famous a sort, or in a + manner stay their seniors in so weighty a cause. And forasmuch as this, + we think, should be no small dishonour to our university there, but most + especially to you the seniors and rulers of the same; and as also, we + assure you, this their unnatural and unkind demeanour is not only right + much to our displeasure, but much to be marvelled of, upon what ground + and occasion, they being our mere subjects, should show themselves more + unkind and wilful in this matter than all other universities, both in + this and all other regions do: we, trusting in the dexterity and wisdom + of you and other the said discreet and substantial learned men of that + university, be in perfect hope that ye will conduce and frame the said + young persons unto order and conformity as it becometh you to do. Whereof + we be desirous to hear with incontinent diligence; and doubt you not we + shall regard the demeanour of every one of the university according to + their merits and deserts. And if the youth of the university will play + masteries as they begin to do, we doubt not but they shall well perceive + that non est bonum irritare crabrones.<a name="NtA_278"></a><a + href="#Nt_278"><sup>278</sup></a></p> + + <p>"Given under our hand and seal, at our Castle of Windsor,</p> + + <p>"HENRY R."<a name="NtA_279"></a><a + href="#Nt_279"><sup>279</sup></a></p> + + <p>It is scarcely necessary to say, that, armed with this letter, the + heads of houses subdued the recalcitrance of the overhasty "youth;" and + Oxford duly answered as she was required to answer.</p> + + <p>The proceedings at Cambridge were not very dissimilar; but Cambridge + being distinguished by greater openness and largeness of mind on this as + on the other momentous subjects of the day than the sister university, + was able to preserve a more manly bearing, and escape direct humiliation. + Cranmer had written a book upon the divorce in the preceding year, which, + as coming from a well-known Cambridge man, had occasioned a careful + ventilation of the question there; the resident masters had been divided + by it into factions nearly equal in number, though unharmoniously + composed. The heads of houses, as at Oxford, were inclined to the king, + but they were embarrassed and divided by the presence on the same side of + the suspected liberals, the party of Shaxton, Latimer, and Cranmer + himself. <!-- Page 172 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page172"></a>[pg + 172]</span> The agitation of many months had rendered all members of the + university, young and old, so well acquainted (as they supposed) with the + bearings of the difficulty, that they naturally resisted, as at the other + university, the demand that their power should be delegated to a + committee; and the Cambridge convocation, as well as that of Oxford, + threw out this resolution when it was first proposed to them. A king's + letter having made them more amenable, a list of the intended committee + was drawn out, which, containing Latimer's name, occasioned a fresh + storm. But the number in the senate house being nearly divided, "the + labour of certain friends" turned the scale; the vote passed, and the + committee was allowed, on condition that the question should be argued + publicly in the presence of the whole university. Finally, judgment was + obtained on the king's side, though in a less absolute form than he had + required, and the commissioners did not think it prudent to press for a + more extreme conclusion. They had been desired to pronounce that the pope + had no power to permit a man to marry his brother's widow. They consented + only to say that a marriage within those degrees was contrary to the + divine law; but the question of the pope's power was left unapproached.<a + name="NtA_280"></a><a href="#Nt_280"><sup>280</sup></a></p> + + <p>It will not be uninteresting to follow this judgment a further step, + to the delivery of it into the hands of the king, where it will introduce + us to a Sunday at Windsor Castle three centuries ago. We shall find + present there, as a significant symptom of the time, Hugh Latimer, + appointed freshly select preacher in the royal chapel, but already + obnoxious to English orthodoxy, on account of his Cambridge sermons. + These sermons, it had been said, contained many things good and + profitable, "on sin, and godliness, and virtue," but much also which was + disrespectful to established beliefs, the preacher being clearly opposed + to "candles and pilgrimages," and "calling men unto the works that God + commanded in his Holy Scripture, all dreams and unprofitable glosses set + aside and utterly despised." The preacher had, therefore, been cited + before consistory courts and interdicted by bishops, "swarms of friars + and doctors flocking against Master Latimer on every side."<a + name="NtA_281"></a><a href="#Nt_281"><sup>281</sup></a> This also was to + be noted about him, that he was one of the most fearless men who ever + lived. Like John Knox, whom he much resembled, in whatever presence he + might be, whether of poor or rich, of laymen or priests, of bishops or + kings, he ever spoke out boldly <!-- Page 173 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> from his pulpit what he thought, + directly if necessary to particular persons whom he saw before him + respecting their own actions. Even Henry himself he did not spare where + he saw occasion for blame; and Henry, of whom it was said that he never + was mistaken in a <i>man</i>—loving a <i>man</i><a + name="NtA_282"></a><a href="#Nt_282"><sup>282</sup></a> where he could + find him with all his heart—had, notwithstanding, chosen this + Latimer as one of his own chaplains.</p> + + <p>The unwilling bearer of the Cambridge judgment was Dr. Buckmaster, the + vice-chancellor, who, in a letter to a friend, describes his reception at + the royal castle.</p> + + <p>"To the right worshipful Dr. Edmonds, vicar of Alborne, in Wiltshire, + my duty remembered,—</p> + + <p>"I heartily commend me unto you, and I let you understand that + yesterday week, being Sunday at afternoon, I came to Windsor, and also to + part of Mr. Latimer's sermon; and after the end of the same I spake with + Mr. Secretary [Cromwell], and also with Mr. Provost; and so after + evensong I delivered our letters in the Chamber of Presence, all the + court beholding. The king, with Mr. Secretary, did there read them; and + did then give me thanks and talked with me a good while. He much lauded + our wisdom and good conveyance in the matter, with the great quietness in + the same. He showed me also what he had in his hands for our university, + according to that which Mr. Secretary did express unto us, and so he + departed from me. But by and bye he greatly praised Mr. Latimer's sermon; + and in so praising said on this wise: 'This displeaseth greatly Mr. + Vice-Chancellor yonder; yon same,' said he to the Duke of Norfolk, 'is + Mr. Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge,' and so pointed unto me. Then he spake + secretly unto the said duke, which, after the king's departure, came unto + me and welcomed me, saying, among other things, the king would speak with + me on the next day. And here is the first act. On the next day I waited + until it was dinner time; and so at the last Dr. Butts, [king's + physician,] came unto me, and brought a reward, twenty nobles for me, and + five marks for the junior proctor which was with me, saying that I should + take that for a resolute answer, and that I might depart from the court + when I would. Then came Mr. Provost, and when I had shewed him of the + answer, he said I should speak with the king after dinner for all that, + and so he brought me into a privy place where after dinner he <!-- Page + 174 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> would + have me wait. I came thither and he both; and by one of the clock the + king entered in. It was in a gallery. There were Mr. Secretary, Mr. + Provost, Mr. Latimer, Mr. Proctor, and I, and no more. The king then + talked with us until six of the clock. I assure you he was scarce + contented with Mr. Secretary and Mr. Provost, that this was not also + determined, <i>an Papa possit dispensare</i>. I made the best, and + confirmed the same that they had shewed his Grace before; and how it + would never have been so obtained. He opened his mind, saying he would + have it determined after Easter, and of the same was counselled + awhile.</p> + + <p>"Much other communication we had, which were too long here to recite. + Then his Highness departed, casting a little holy water of the court; and + I shortly after took my leave of Mr. Secretary and Mr. Provost, with whom + I did not drink, nor yet was bidden, and on the morrow departed from + thence, thinking more than I did say, and being glad that I was out of + the court, where many men, as I did both hear and perceive, did wonder at + me. And here shall be an end for this time of this fable.</p> + + <p>"All the world almost crieth out of Cambridge for this act, and + specially on me; but I must bear it as well as I may. I have lost a + benefice by it, which I should have had within these ten days; for there + hath one fallen in Mr. Throgmorton's<a name="NtA_283"></a><a + href="#Nt_283"><sup>283</sup></a> gift which he hath faithfully promised + unto me many a time, but now his mind is turned and alienate from me. If + ye go to court after Easter I pray you have me in remembrance. Mr. + Latimer preacheth still,—quod ĉmuli ejus graviter ferunt.</p> + + <p>"Thus fare you well. Your own to his power,<br /> + WILLIAM BUCKMASTER.<a name="NtA_284"></a><a + href="#Nt_284"><sup>284</sup></a><br /> + Cambridge, Monday after Easter, 1530."</p> + + <p>It does not appear that Cambridge was pressed further, and we may, + therefore, allow it to have acquitted itself creditably, If we sum up the + results of Cranmer's measure as a whole, it may be said that opinions had + been given by about half Europe directly or indirectly unfavourable to + the papal claims; and that, therefore, the king had furnished himself + with a legal pretext for declining the jurisdiction of the court of Rome, + and appealing to a general council. Objections to the manner in <!-- Page + 175 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page175"></a>[pg 175]</span> which + the opinions had been gained could be answered by recriminations equally + just; and in the technical aspect of the question a step had certainly + been gained. It will be thought, nevertheless, on wider grounds, that the + measure was a mistake; that it would have been far better if the legal + labyrinth had never been entered, and if the divorce had been claimed + only upon those considerations of policy for which it had been first + demanded, and which formed the true justification of it. Not only might a + shameful chapter of scandal have been spared out of the world's history, + but the point on which the battle was being fought lay beside the real + issue. Europe was shaken with intrigue, hundreds of books were written, + and tens of thousands of tongues were busy for twelve months weaving + logical subtleties, and all for nothing. The truth was left unspoken + because it was not convenient to speak it, and all parties agreed to + persuade themselves and accept one another's persuasions, that they meant + something which they did not mean. Beyond doubt the theological + difficulty really affected the king. We cannot read his own book<a + name="NtA_285"></a><a href="#Nt_285"><sup>285</sup></a> upon it without a + conviction that his arguments were honestly urged, that his misgivings + were real, and that he meant every word which he said. Yet it is clear at + the same time that these misgivings would not have been satisfied, if all + the wisdom of the world—pope, cardinals, councils, and all the + learned faculties together—had declared against him, the true + secret of the matter lying deeper, understood and appreciated by all the + chief parties concerned, and by the English laity, whose interests were + at stake; but in all these barren disputings ignored as if it had no + existence.</p> + + <p>It was perhaps less easy than it seems to have followed the main road. + The bye ways often promise best at first entrance into them, and Henry's + peculiar temper never allowed him to believe beforehand that a track + which he had chosen could lead to any conclusion except that to which he + had arranged that it should lead. With an intellect endlessly fertile in + finding reasons to justify what he desired, he could see no justice on + any side but his own, or understand that it was possible to disagree with + him except from folly of ill-feeling. Starting always with a foregone + conclusion, he arrived of course where he wished to arrive. His "Glasse + of Truth" is a very picture of his mind. "If the marshall of the host + bids us do anything," he said, "shall we do it if it be against the great + captain? Again, if the great captain bid us do anything, and the king or + the emperor commandeth <!-- Page 176 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page176"></a>[pg 176]</span> us to do another, dost thou doubt that + we must obey the commandment of the king or emperor, and contemn the + commandment of the great captain? Therefore if the king or the emperor + bid one thing, and God another, we must obey God, and contemn and not + regard neither king nor emperor." And, therefore, he argued, "we are not + to obey the pope, when the pope commands what is unlawful."<a + name="NtA_286"></a><a href="#Nt_286"><sup>286</sup></a> These were but + many words to prove what the pope would not have questioned; and either + they concluded nothing or the conclusion was assumed.</p> + + <p>We cannot but think that among the many misfortunes of Henry's life + his theological training was the greatest; and that directly or + indirectly it was the parent of all the rest. If in this unhappy business + he had trusted only to his instincts as an English statesman; if he had + been contented himself with the truth, and had pressed no arguments + except those which in the secrets of his heart had weight with him, he + would have spared his own memory a mountain of undeserved reproach, and + have spared historians their weary labour through these barren deserts of + unreality.</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>CHURCH AND STATE</h3> + + <p>The authorities of the church, after the lesson which they had + received from the parliament in its first session, were now allowed a + respite of two years, during which they might reconsider the complaints + of the people, and consult among themselves upon the conduct which they + would pursue with respect to those complaints. They availed themselves of + their interval of repose in a manner little calculated to recover the + esteem which they had forfeited, or to induce the legislature further to + stay their hand. Instead of reforming their own faults, they spent the + time in making use of their yet uncurtailed powers of persecution; and + they wreaked the bitterness of their resentment upon the unfortunate + heretics, who paid with their blood at the stake for the diminished + revenues and blighted dignities of their spiritual lords and superiors. + During the later years of Wolsey's administration, the Protestants, + though threatened <!-- Page 177 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span> and imprisoned, had escaped the most + cruel consequences of their faith. Wolsey had been a warm-hearted and + genuine man, and although he had believed as earnestly as his brother + bishops, that Protestantism was a pernicious thing, destructive alike to + the institutions of the country and to the souls of mankind, his memory + can be reproached with nothing worse than assiduous but humane efforts + for the repression of it. In the three years which followed his + dismissal, a far more bloody page was written in the history of the + reformers; and under the combined auspices of Sir Thomas More's + fanaticism, and the spleen of the angry clergy, the stake re-commenced + its hateful activity. This portion of my subject requires a full and + detailed treatment; I reserve the account of it, therefore, for a + separate chapter, and proceed for the present with the progress of the + secular changes.</p> + + <p>Although, as I said, no further legislative measures were immediately + contemplated against the clergy, yet they were not permitted to forget + the alteration in their position which had followed upon Wolsey's fall; + and as they had shown in the unfortunate document which they had + submitted to the king, so great a difficulty in comprehending the nature + of that alteration, it was necessary clearly and distinctly to enforce it + upon them. Until that moment they had virtually held the supreme power in + the state. The nobility, crippled by the wars of the Roses, had sunk into + the second place; the Commons were disorganised, or incapable of a + definite policy; and the chief offices of the government had fallen as a + matter of course to the only persons who for the moment were competent to + hold them. The jealousy of ecclesiastical encroachments, which had shown + itself so bitterly under the Plantagenets, had been superseded from the + accession of Henry VII. by a policy of studied conciliation, and the + position of Wolsey had but symbolised the position of his order. But + Wolsey was now gone, and the ecclesiastics who had shared his greatness + while they envied it, were compelled to participate also in his change of + fortune.</p> + + <p>This great minister, after the failure of a discreditable effort to + fasten upon him a charge of high treason,—a charge which, + vindictively pressed through the House of Lords, was wisely rejected by + the Commons,—had been prosecuted with greater justice for a breach + of the law, in having exercised the authority of papal legate within the + realm of England. His policy had broken down: he had united against him + in a common exasperation all orders in the state, secular and spiritual; + and the possible consequences of his adventurous transgression had fallen + <!-- Page 178 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page178"></a>[pg + 178]</span> upon him. The parliaments of Edward I., Edward III., Richard + II., and Henry IV. had by a series of statutes pronounced illegal all + presentations by the pope to any office or dignity in the Anglican + church, under penalty of a premunire; the provisions of these acts + extending not only to the persons themselves who accepted office under + such conditions, but comprehending equally whoever acknowledged their + authority, "their executors, procurators, fautors, maintainers, and + receivers."<a name="NtA_287"></a><a href="#Nt_287"><sup>287</sup></a> The + importance attached to these laws was to be seen readily in the frequent + re-enactment of them, with language of increasing vehemence; and although + the primary object was to neutralise the supposed right of the pope to + present to English benefices, and although the office of papal legate is + not especially named in any one of the prohibitory clauses, yet so acute + a canonist as Wolsey could not have been ignorant that it was + comprehended under the general denunciation. The 5th of the 16th of + Richard II. was in fact explicitly universal in its language, and dwelt + especially on the importance of prohibiting the exercise of any species + of jurisdiction which could encroach on the royal authority. He had + therefore consciously violated a law on his own responsibility, which he + knew to exist, but which he perhaps trusted had fallen into desuetude, + and would not again be revived. It cannot be denied that in doing so, + being at the time the highest law officer of the crown, he had committed + a grave offence, and was justly liable to the full penalties of the + broken statute. He had received the royal permission, but it was a plea + which could not have availed him, and he did not attempt to urge it.<a + name="NtA_288"></a><a href="#Nt_288"><sup>288</sup></a> The contingency + of a possible violation of <!-- Page 179 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> the law by the king himself had been + expressly foreseen and provided against in the act under which he was + prosecuted,<a name="NtA_289"></a><a href="#Nt_289"><sup>289</sup></a> and + being himself the king's legal adviser, it was his duty to have kept his + sovereign<a name="NtA_290"></a><a href="#Nt_290"><sup>290</sup></a> + informed of the true nature of the statute. He had neglected this, his + immediate obligation, in pursuit of the interests of the church, and when + Henry's eyes were opened, he did not consider himself called upon to + interfere to shield his minister from the penalties which he had + incurred, nor is it likely that in the face of the irritation of the + country he could have done so if he had desired. It was felt, indeed, + that the long services of Wolsey, and his generally admirable + administration, might fairly save him (especially under the circumstances + of the case) from extremity of punishment; and if he had been allowed to + remain unmolested in the affluent retirement which was at first conceded + to him, his treatment would not have <!-- Page 180 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> caused the stain + which we have now to lament on the conduct of the administration which + succeeded his fall. He indeed himself believed that the final attack upon + him was due to no influence of rival statesmen, but to the hatred of Anne + Boleyn; and perhaps he was not mistaken. This, however, is a matter which + does not concern us here, and I need not pursue it. It is enough that he + had violated the law of England, openly and knowingly, and on the revival + of the national policy by which that law had been enacted, he reaped the + consequences in his own person.</p> + + <p>It will be a question whether we can equally approve of the enlarged + application of the statute which immediately followed. The guilt of + Wolsey did not rest with himself; it extended to all who had recognised + him in his capacity of legate; to the archbishops and bishops, to the two + Houses of Convocation, to the Privy Council, to the Lords and Commons, + and indirectly to the nation itself. It was obvious that such a state of + things was not contemplated by the act under which he was tried, and + where in point of law all persons were equally guilty, in equity they + were equally innocent; the circumstances of the case, therefore, rendered + necessary a general pardon, which was immediately drawn out. The + government, however, while granting absolution to the nation, determined + to make some exceptions in their lenity; and harsh as their resolution + appeared, it is not difficult to conjecture the reasons which induced + them to form it. The higher clergy had been encouraged by Wolsey's + position to commit those excessive acts of despotism which had created so + deep animosity among the people. The overthrow of the last ecclesiastical + minister was an opportunity to teach them that the privileges which they + had abused were at an end; and as the lesson was so difficult for them to + learn, the letter of the law which they had broken was put in force to + quicken their perceptions. They were to be punished indirectly for their + other evil doings, and forced to surrender some portion of the unnumbered + exactions which they had extorted from the helplessness of their + flocks.</p> + + <p>In pursuance of this resolution, therefore, official notice was issued + in December, 1530, that the clergy lay all under a premunire, and that + the crown intended to prosecute. Convocation was to meet in the middle of + January, and this comforting fact was communicated to the bishops in + order to divert their attention to subjects which might profitably occupy + their deliberations. The church legislature had sate in the preceding + years contemporaneously with the sitting of parliament, at the <!-- Page + 181 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> time + when their privileges were being discussed, and when their conduct had + been so angrily challenged: but these matters had not disturbed their + placid equanimity: and while the bishops were composing their answer to + the House of Commons, Convocation had been engaged in debating the most + promising means of persecuting heretics and preventing the circulation of + the Bible.<a name="NtA_291"></a><a href="#Nt_291"><sup>291</sup></a> The + session had continued into the spring of 1529-30, when the king had been + prevailed upon to grant an order in council prohibiting Tyndale's + Testament, in the preface of which the clergy were spoken of + disrespectfully.<a name="NtA_292"></a><a + href="#Nt_292"><sup>292</sup></a> His consent had been obtained with + great difficulty, on the representation of the bishops that the + translation was faulty, and on their undertaking themselves to supply the + place of it with a corrected version. But in obtaining the order, they + supposed themselves to have gained a victory; and their triumph was + celebrated in St. Paul's churchyard with an auto da fé, over which the + Bishop of London consented to preside; when such New Testaments as the + diligence of the apparitors could discover, were solemnly burned.</p> + + <p>From occupation such as this a not unwholesome distraction was + furnished by the intimation of the premunire; and that it might produce + its due effect, it was accompanied with the further information that the + clergy of the province of Canterbury would receive their pardon only upon + payment of a hundred thousand pounds—a very considerable fine, + amounting to more than a million of our money. Eighteen thousand pounds + was required simultaneously from the province of York; and the whole sum + was to be paid in instalments spread over a period of five years.<a + name="NtA_293"></a><a href="#Nt_293"><sup>293</sup></a> The demand was + serious, but the clergy had no alternative but to submit or to risk the + chances of the law; and <!-- Page 182 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> feeling that, with the people so + unfavourably disposed towards them, they had no chance of a more + equitable construction of their position, they consented with a tolerable + grace, the Upper House of Convocation first, the Lower following. Their + debates upon the subject have not been preserved. It was probably + difficult to persuade them that they were treated with anything but the + most exquisite injustice; since Wolsey's legatine faculties had been the + object of their general dread; and if he had remained in power, the + religious orders would have been exposed to a searching visitation in + virtue of these faculties, from which they could have promised themselves + but little advantage. But their punishment, if tyrannical in form, was + equitable in substance, and we can reconcile ourselves without difficulty + to an act of judicial confiscation.</p> + + <p>The money, however, was not the only concession which the threat of + the premunire gave opportunity to extort; and it is creditable to the + clergy that the demand which they showed most desire to resist was not + that which most touched their personal interests. In the preamble of the + subsidy bill, under which they were to levy their ransom, they were + required by the council to designate the king by the famous title which + gave occasion for such momentous consequences, of "Protector and only + Supreme Head of the Church and Clergy of England."<a + name="NtA_294"></a><a href="#Nt_294"><sup>294</sup></a> It is not very + easy to see what Henry proposed to himself by requiring this designation, + at so early a stage in the movement. The breach with the pope was still + distant, and he was prepared to make many sacrifices before he would even + seriously contemplate a step which he so little desired. It may have been + designed as a reply to the papal censures: it may have been to give + effect to his own menaces, which Clement to the last believed to be no + more than words;<a name="NtA_295"></a><a + href="#Nt_295"><sup>295</sup></a> or perhaps (and this is the most + likely) he desired by some emphatic act, to make his clergy understand + the relation in which thenceforward they were to be placed towards the + temporal authority. It is certain only that this title was not intended + to imply what it implied when, four years later, it was conferred by act + Of parliament, and when virtually England was severed by it from the + Roman communion.</p> + + <p>But whatever may have been the king's motive, he was serious in + requiring that the title should be granted to him. Only by acknowledging + Henry as Head of the Church should the clergy receive their pardon, and + the longer they hesitated, the more peremptorily he insisted on their + obedience. The clergy had <!-- Page 183 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> defied the lion, and the lion held + them in his grasp; and they could but struggle helplessly, supplicate and + submit. Archbishop Warham, just drawing his life to a close, presided for + the last time in the miserable scene, imagining that the clouds were + gathering for the storms of the latter day, and that Antichrist was + coming in his power.</p> + + <p>There had been a debate of three days, whether they should or should + not consent, when, on the 9th of February, a deputation of the judges + appeared in Convocation, to ask whether the Houses were agreed, and to + inform them finally that the king had determined to allow no + qualifications. The clergy begged for one more day, and the following + morning the bishops held a private meeting among themselves, to discuss + some plan to turn aside the blow. They desired to see Cromwell, to learn, + perhaps, if there was a chance of melting the hard heart of Henry; and + after an interview with the minister which could not have been + encouraging, they sent two of their number, the Bishops of Exeter and + Lincoln, to attempt the unpromising task. It was in vain; the miserable + old men were obliged to return with the answer that the king would not + see them—they had seen only the judges, who had assured them, in + simple language, that the pardon was not to be settled until the + supremacy was admitted. The answer was communicated to the House, and + again "debated." Submission was against the consciences of the unhappy + clergy; to obey their consciences involved forfeiture of property; and + naturally in such a dilemma they found resolution difficult. They + attempted another appeal, suggesting that eight of their number should + hold a conference with the privy council, and "discover, if they might, + some possible expedient." But Henry replied, as before, that he would + have a clear answer, "<i>yes</i>, or <i>no</i>." They might say "yes," + and their pardon was ready. They might say "no"—and accept the + premunire and its penalties. And now, what should the clergy have done? + No very great courage was required to answer, "This thing is wrong; it is + against God's will, and therefore it must not be, whether premunire come + or do not come." They might have said it, and if they could have dared + this little act of courage, victory was in their hands. With the cause + against them so doubtful, their very attitude would have commanded back + the sympathies of half the nation, and the king's threats would have + exploded as an empty sound. But Henry knew the persons with whom he had + to deal—forlorn shadows, decked in the trappings of <!-- Page 184 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> + dignity—who only by some such rough method could be brought to a + knowledge of themselves. "Shrink to the clergy"—I find in a state + paper of the time—"Shrink to the clergy, and they be lions; lay + their faults roundly and charitably to them, and they be as sheep, and + will lightly be reformed, for their consciences will not suffer them to + resist."<a name="NtA_296"></a><a href="#Nt_296"><sup>296</sup></a></p> + + <p>They hesitated for another night. The day following, the archbishop + submitted the clause containing the title to the Upper House, with a + saving paragraph, which, as Burnet sententiously observes, the nature of + things did require to be supposed.<a name="NtA_297"></a><a + href="#Nt_297"><sup>297</sup></a> "Ecclesiĉ et cleri Anglicani," so it + ran, "singularem protectorem, et unicum et supremum Dominum, et quantum + per legem Christi licet, etiam supremum caput ipsius Majestatem + agnoscimus—We recognise the King's Majesty to be our only sovereign + lord, the singular protector of the church and clergy of England, and as + far as is allowed by the law of Christ, also as our Supreme Head." The + words were read aloud by the archbishop, and were received in silence. + "Do you assent?" he asked. The House remained speechless. "Whoever is + silent seems to consent," the archbishop said. A voice answered out of + the crowd, "Then are we all silent." They separated for a few hours to + collect themselves. In the afternoon sitting they discussed the + sufficiency of the subterfuge; and at length agreeing that it saved their + consciences, the clause was finally passed, the Bishop of Rochester, + among the rest, giving his unwilling acquiescence.</p> + + <p>So for the present terminated this grave matter. The pardon was + immediately submitted to parliament, where it was embodied in a + statute;<a name="NtA_298"></a><a href="#Nt_298"><sup>298</sup></a> and + this act of dubious justice accomplished, the Convocation was allowed to + return to its usual occupations, and continue the prosecutions of the + heretics.</p> + + <p>The House of Commons, during their second session, had <!-- Page 185 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> confined + themselves meanwhile to secular business. They had been concerned chiefly + with regulations affecting trade and labour; and the proceedings on the + premunire being thought for the time to press sufficiently on the clergy, + they deferred the further prosecution of their own complaints till the + following year. Two measures, however, highly characteristic of the age, + must not be passed over, one of which concerned a matter that must have + added heavily to the troubles of the Bishop of Rochester at a time when + he was in no need of any addition to his burdens.</p> + + <p>Fisher was the only one among the prelates for whom it is possible to + feel respect. He was weak, superstitious, pedantical; towards the + Protestants he was even cruel; but he was a singlehearted man, who lived + in honest fear of evil, so far as he understood what evil was; and he + alone could rise above the menaces of worldly suffering, under which his + brethren on the bench sank so rapidly into meekness and submission. We + can therefore afford to compassionate him in the unexpected calamity by + which he was overtaken, and which must have tried his failing spirit in + no common manner.</p> + + <p>He lived, while his duties required his presence in London, at a house + in Lambeth, and being a hospitable person, he opened his doors at the + dinner hour for the poor of the neighbourhood. Shortly after the matter + which I have just related, many of these people who were dependent on his + bounty were reported to have become alarmingly ill, and several gentlemen + of the household sickened also in the same sudden and startling manner. + One of these gentlemen died, and a poor woman also died; and it was + discovered on inquiry that the yeast which had been used in various + dishes had been poisoned. The guilty person was the cook, a certain + Richard Rouse; and inasmuch as all crimes might be presumed to have had + motives, and the motive in the present instance was undiscoverable, it + was conjectured by Queen Catherine's friends that he had been bribed by + Anne Boleyn, or by some one of her party, to remove out of the way the + most influential of the English opponents of the divorce.<a + name="NtA_299"></a><a href="#Nt_299"><sup>299</sup></a> The story was + possibly without foundation, although it is not unlikely that Fisher + himself believed it. The shock of such an occurrence may well have + unsettled his powers of reasoning, and at all times he was a person whose + better judgment was easily harassed into incapacity. The origin of the + crime, however, is of less importance than the effect of the discovery + <!-- Page 186 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page186"></a>[pg + 186]</span> upon the nation, in whom horror of the action itself absorbed + every other feeling. Murder of this kind was new in England. Ready as the + people ever were with sword or lance—incurably given as they were + to fighting in the best ordered times—an Englishman was accustomed + to face his enemy, man to man, in the open day; and the Italian crime (as + it was called) of poisoning had not till recent years been heard of.<a + name="NtA_300"></a><a href="#Nt_300"><sup>300</sup></a> Even revenge and + passion recognised their own laws of honour and fair play; and the + cowardly ferocity which would work its vengeance in the dark, and + practise destruction by wholesale to implicate one hated person in the + catastrophe, was a new feature of criminality. Occurring in a time so + excited, when all minds were on the stretch, and imaginations were + feverish with fancies, it appeared like a frightful portent, some prodigy + of nature, or enormous new birth of wickedness, not to be received or + passed by as a common incident, and not to be dealt with by the process + of ordinary law. Parliament undertook the investigation, making it the + occasion, when the evidence was completed, of a special statute, so + remarkable that I quote it in its detail and wording. The English were a + stern people—a people knowing little of compassion where no lawful + ground existed for it; but they were possessed of an awful and solemn + horror of evil things,—a feeling which, in proportion as it exists, + inevitably and necessarily issues in tempers of iron. The stern man is + ever the most tender when good remains amidst evil, and is still + contending with it; but we purchase compassion for utter wickedness only + by doubting in our hearts whether wickedness is more than misfortune.</p> + + <p>"The King's royal Majesty," says the 9th of the 22nd of Henry VIII., + "calling to his most blessed remembrance that the making of good and + wholesome laws, and due execution of the same against the offenders + thereof, is the only cause that good obedience and order hath been + preserved in this realm; and his Highness having most tender zeal for the + same, considering that man's life above all things is chiefly to be + favoured, and voluntary murders most highly to be detested and abhorred; + and specially all kinds of murders by poisoning, which in this realm + hitherto, our Lord be thanked, hath been most rare and seldom committed + or practised: and now, in the time of this present parliament, that is to + say, on the eighteenth day of February, in <!-- Page 187 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> the twenty-second + year of his most victorious reign, one Richard Rouse, late of Rochester, + in the county of Kent, cook, otherwise called Richard Cook, of his most + wicked and damnable disposition, did cast a certain venom or poison into + a vessel replenished with yeast or barm, standing in the kitchen of the + reverend father in God, John Bishop of Rochester, at his place in Lambeth + Marsh; with which yeast or barm, and other things convenient, porridge or + gruel was forthwith made for his family there being; whereby not only the + number of seventeen persons of his said family, which did eat of that + porridge, were mortally infected or poisoned, and one of them, that is to + say, Bennet Curwan, gentleman, is thereof deceased; but also certain poor + people which resorted to the said bishop's place, and were there + charitably fed with the remains of the said porridge and other victuals; + were in like wise infected; and one poor woman of them, that is to say, + Alice Tryppitt, widow, is also thereof now deceased: Our said sovereign + lord the king, of his blessed disposition inwardly abhorring all such + abominable offences, because that in manner no person can live in surety + out of danger of death by that means, if practices thereof should not be + eschewed, hath ordained and enacted by authority of this present + parliament, that the said poisoning be adjudged and deemed as high + treason; and that the said Richard, for the said murder and poisoning of + the said two persons, shall stand and be attainted of high treason.</p> + + <p>"And because that detestable offence, now newly practised and + committed, requireth condign punishment for the same, it is ordained and + enacted by authority of this present parliament that the said Richard + Rouse shall be therefore boiled to death, without having any advantage of + his clergy; and that from henceforth every wilful murder of any person or + persons hereafter to be committed or done by means or way of poisoning, + shall be reputed, deemed, and judged in the law to be high treason; and + that all and every person or persons which shall hereafter be indicted + and condemned by order of the law of such treason, shall not be admitted + to the benefit of his or their clergy, but shall be immediately after + such attainder or condemnation, committed to execution of death by + boiling for the same."</p> + + <p>The sentence was carried into effect<a name="NtA_301"></a><a + href="#Nt_301"><sup>301</sup></a> in Smithfield, "on the tenebra + Wednesday following, to the terrible example of all others." The + spectacle of a living human being boiled to death, was really witnessed + three hundred years ago by the London <!-- Page 188 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> citizens, within + the walls of that old cattle-market; an example terrible indeed, the + significance of which is not easily to be exhausted. For the poisoners of + the soul there was the stake,<a name="NtA_302"></a><a + href="#Nt_302"><sup>302</sup></a> for the poisoners of the body, the + boiling cauldron,—the two most fearful punishments for the most + fearful of crimes. The stake at which the heretic suffered was an + inherited institution descending through the usage of centuries; the + poisoner's cauldron was the fresh expression of the judgment of the + English nation on a novel enormity; and I have called attention to it + because the temper which this act exhibits is the key to all which has + seemed most dark and cruel in the rough years which followed; a temper + which would keep no terms with evil, or with anything which, rightly or + wrongly, was believed to be evil, but dreadfully and inexorably hurried + out the penalties of it.</p> + + <p>Following the statute against poisoning, there stands "an act for the + banishment out of the country of divers outlandish and vagabond people + called Egyptians;"<a name="NtA_303"></a><a + href="#Nt_303"><sup>303</sup></a> and attached to it another of analogous + import, "for the repression of beggars and vagabonds," the number of + whom, it was alleged, was increasing greatly throughout the country, and + much crime and other inconveniences were said to have been occasioned by + them. We may regard these two measures, if we please, as a result of the + energetic and reforming spirit in the parliament, which was dragging into + prominence all forms of existing disorders, and devising remedies for + those disorders. But they indicate something more than this: they point + to the growth of a disturbed and restless disposition, the interruption + of industry, and other symptoms of approaching social confusion; and at + the same time they show us the government conscious of the momentous + nature of the struggle into which it was launched; and with timely energy + bracing up the sinews of the nation for its approaching trial. The act + against the gipsies especially, illustrates one of the most remarkable + features of the times. The air was impregnated with superstition; in a + half consciousness of the impending changes, all men were listening with + wide ears to rumours and prophecies and fantastic fore-shadowings of the + future; and fanaticism, half deceiving and half itself deceived, <!-- + Page 189 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> + was grasping the lever of the popular excitement to work out its own + ends.<a name="NtA_304"></a><a href="#Nt_304"><sup>304</sup></a> The power + which had ruled the hearts of mankind for ten centuries was shaking + suddenly to its foundation. The Infallible guidance of the Church was + failing; its light gone out, or pronounced to be but a mere deceitful + ignis fatuus; and men found themselves wandering in darkness, unknowing + where to turn or what to think or believe. It was easy to clamour against + the spiritual courts. From men smarting under the barefaced oppression of + that iniquitous jurisdiction, the immediate outcry rose without ulterior + thought; but unexpectedly the frail edifice of the church itself + threatened under the attack to crumble into ruins; and many gentle hearts + began to tremble and recoil when they saw what was likely to follow on + their light beginnings. It was true that the measures as yet taken by the + parliament and the crown professed to be directed, not to the overthrow + of the church, but to the re-establishment of its strength. But the + exulting triumph of the Protestants, the promotion of Latimer to a royal + chaplaincy, the quarrel with the papacy, and a dim but sure perception of + the direction in which the stream was flowing, foretold to earnest + Catholics a widely different issue; and the simplest of them knew better + than the court knew, that they were drifting from the sure moorings of + the faith into the broad ocean of uncertainty. There seems, indeed, to be + in religious men, whatever be their creed, and however limited their + intellectual power, a prophetic faculty of insight into the true bearings + of outward things,—an insight which puts to shame the sagacity of + statesmen, and claims for the sons of God, and only for them, the wisdom + even of the world. Those only read the world's future truly who have + faith in principle, as opposed to faith in human dexterity; who feel that + in human things there lies really and truly a spiritual nature, a + spiritual connection, a spiritual tendency, which the wisdom of the + serpent cannot alter, and scarcely can affect.</p> + + <p>Excitement, nevertheless, is no guarantee for the understanding; and + these instincts, powerful as they are, may be found often in minds wild + and chaotic, which, although they vaguely foresee the future, yet have no + power of sound judgment, and know not what they foresee, or how wisely to + estimate it. Their wisdom, if we may so use the word, combines crudely + with <!-- Page 190 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page190"></a>[pg + 190]</span> any form of superstition or fanaticism. Thus in England, at + the time of which we are speaking, Catholics and Protestants had alike + their horoscope of the impending changes, each nearer to the truth than + the methodical calculations of the statesmen; yet their foresight did not + affect their convictions, or alter the temper of their hearts. They + foresaw the same catastrophe, yet their faith still coloured the + character of it. To the one it was the advent of Antichrist, to the other + the inauguration of the millennium. The truest hearted men on all sides + were deserted by their understandings at the moment when their + understandings were the most deeply needed: and they saw the realities + which were round them transfigured into phantoms through the mists of + their hopes and fears. The present was significant only as it seemed in + labour with some gigantic issue, and the events of the outer world flew + from lip to lip, taking as they passed every shape most wild and + fantastical. Until "the king's matter" was decided, there was no + censorship upon speech, and all tongues ran freely on the great subjects + of the day. Every parish pulpit rang with the divorce, or with the perils + of the Catholic faith; at every village ale-house, the talk was of St. + Peter's keys, the sacrament, or of the pope's supremacy, or of the points + in which a priest differed from a layman. Ostlers quarrelled over such + questions as they groomed their masters' horses; old women mourned across + the village shopboards of the evil days which were come or coming; while + every kind of strangest superstition, fairy stories and witch stories, + stories of saints and stories of devils, were woven in and out and to and + fro, like quaint, bewildering arabesques, in the tissue of the general + imagination.<a name="NtA_305"></a><a + href="#Nt_305"><sup>305</sup></a></p> + + <p>These were the forces which were working on the surface of the English + mind; while underneath, availing themselves skilfully of the excitement, + the agents of the disaffected among the clergy, or the friars mendicant, + who to a man were devoted to the pope and to Queen Catherine, passed up + and down the country, denouncing the divorce, foretelling ruin, disaster, + and the wrath of God; and mingling with their prophecies more than + dubious language on the near destruction or deposition of a prince who + was opposing God and Heaven. The soil was manured by treason, and the + sowers made haste to use their opportunity. Thus especially was there + danger in those wandering encampments of "outlandish people," whose + habits rendered <!-- Page 191 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span> them the ready-made missionaries of + sedition; whose swarthy features might hide a Spanish heart, and who in + telling fortunes might readily dictate policy.<a name="NtA_306"></a><a + href="#Nt_306"><sup>306</sup></a> Under the disguise of gipsies, the + emissaries of the emperor or the pope might pass unsuspected from the + Land's End to Berwick-upon-Tweed, penetrating the secrets of families, + tying the links of the Catholic organisation: and in the later years of + the struggle, as the intrigues became more determined and a closer + connection was established between the Continental powers and the + disaffected English, it became necessary to increase the penalty against + these irregular wanderers from banishment to death. As yet, however, the + milder punishment was held sufficient, and even this was imperfectly + enforced.<a name="NtA_307"></a><a href="#Nt_307"><sup>307</sup></a> The + tendencies to treason were still incipient—they were tendencies + only, which had as yet shown themselves in no decisive acts; the future + was uncertain, the action of the government doubtful. The aim was rather + to calm down the excitement of the people, and to extinguish with as + little violence as possible the means by which it was fed.</p> + + <p>Ominous symptoms of eccentric agitation, however, began to take shape + in the confusion, A preacher, calling himself the favourite of the Virgin + Mary, had started up at Edinburgh, professing miraculous powers of + abstinence from food. This man was sent by James V. to Rome, where, after + having been examined by Clement, and having sufficiently proved his + mission, he was furnished with a priest's habit and a certificate under + leaden seal.<a name="NtA_308"></a><a href="#Nt_308"><sup>308</sup></a> + Thus equipped, he went a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and loaded himself with + palm-leaves and with stones from the pillar at which Christ was scourged; + and from thence making his way to England, he appeared at Paul's Cross an + evident saint and apostle, cursing the king and his divorce, denouncing + his apostacy, and threatening the anger of Heaven. He was arrested and + thrown into prison, where he remained, as it was believed, fifty days + without food, or fed in secret by the Virgin, At the close of the time + the government thought it <!-- Page 192 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span> prudent to send him back to Scotland, + without further punishment.<a name="NtA_309"></a><a + href="#Nt_309"><sup>309</sup></a></p> + + <p>Another more famous prophetess was then in the zenith of her + reputation—the celebrated Nun of Kent—whose cell at + Canterbury, for some three years, was the Delphic shrine of the Catholic + oracle, from which the orders of Heaven were communicated even to the + pope himself. This singular woman seems for a time to have held in her + hand the balance of the fortunes of England. By the papal party she was + universally believed to be inspired. Wolsey believed it, Warham believed + it, the bishops believed it, Queen Catherine believed it, Sir Thomas + More's philosophy was no protection to him against the same delusion; and + finally, she herself believed the world, when she found the world + believed in her. Her story is a psychological curiosity; and, interwoven + as it was with the underplots of the time, we cannot observe it too + accurately.</p> + + <p>In the year 1525, there lived in the parish of Aldington, in Kent, a + certain Thomas Cobb, bailiff or steward to the Archbishop of Canterbury, + who possessed an estate there. Among the servants of this Thomas Cobb was + a country girl called Elizabeth Barton—a decent person, so far as + we can learn, but of mere ordinary character, and until that year having + shown nothing unusual in her temperament. She was then attacked, however, + by some internal disease; and after many months of suffering, she was + reduced into that abnormal and singular condition, in which she exhibited + the phenomena known to modern wonder-seekers as those of somnambulism or + clairvoyance. The scientific value of such phenomena is still + undetermined, but that they are not purely imaginary is generally agreed. + In the histories of all countries and of all times, we are familiar with + accounts of young women of bad health and irritable nerves, who have + exhibited at recurring periods certain unusual powers; and these + exhibitions have had especial attraction for superstitious persons, + whether they have believed in God, or in the devil, or in neither. A + further feature also uniform in such cases, has been that a small element + of truth may furnish a substructure for a considerable edifice of + falsehood; human credulity being always an insatiable faculty, and its + powers being unlimited when once the path of ordinary experience has been + transcended. We have seen in our own time to what excesses occurrences of + this kind may tempt the belief, even when defended with the armour of + science. In the sixteenth century, when demoniacal <!-- Page 193 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> possession was the + explanation usually received even of ordinary insanity, we can well + believe that the temptation must have been great to recognise + supernatural agency in a manifestation far more uncommon; and that the + difficulty of retaining the judgment in a position of equipoise must have + been very great not only to the spectators but still more to the subject + of the phenomenon herself. To sustain ourselves continuously under the + influence of reason, even when our faculties are preserved in their + natural balance, is a task too hard for most of us. We cannot easily make + too great allowance for the moral derangement likely to follow, when a + weak girl suddenly found herself possessed of powers which she was unable + to understand. Bearing this in mind, for it is only just that we should + do so, we continue the story.</p> + + <p>This Elizabeth Barton, then, "in the trances, of which she had divers + and many,<a name="NtA_310"></a><a href="#Nt_310"><sup>310</sup></a> + consequent upon her illness, told wondrously things done and said in + other places whereat she was neither herself present, nor yet had heard + no report thereof." To simple-minded people who believed in Romanism and + the legends of the saints, the natural explanation of such a marvel was, + that she must be possessed either by the Holy Ghost or by the devil. The + archbishop's bailiff, not feeling himself able to decide in a case of so + much gravity, called in the advice of the parish priest, one Richard + Masters; and together they observed carefully all that fell from her. The + girl had been well disposed, as the priest probably knew. She had been + brought up religiously; and her mind running upon what was most familiar + to it, "she spake words of marvellous holyness in rebuke of sin and + vice;"<a name="NtA_311"></a><a href="#Nt_311"><sup>311</sup></a> or, as + another account says, "she spake very godly certain things concerning the + seven deadly sins and the Ten Commandments."<a name="NtA_312"></a><a + href="#Nt_312"><sup>312</sup></a> This seemed satisfactory as to the + source of the inspiration. It was clearly not a devil that spoke words + against sin, and therefore, as there was no other alternative, it was + plain that God had visited her. Her powers were assuredly from heaven; + and it was plain, also, by a natural sequence of reasoning, that she held + some divine commission, of which her clairvoyance was the miracle in + attestation.</p> + + <p>An occurrence of such moment was not to be kept concealed in the + parish of Aldington. The priest mounted his horse, and <!-- Page 194 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> rode to + Lambeth with the news to the Archbishop of Canterbury; and the story + having lost nothing of its marvel by the way,<a name="NtA_313"></a><a + href="#Nt_313"><sup>313</sup></a> the archbishop, who was fast sinking + into dotage, instead of ordering a careful inquiry, and appointing some + competent person to conduct it, listened with greedy interest; he assured + Father Richard that "the speeches which she had spoken came of God; and + bidding him keep him diligent account of all her utterances, directed him + to inform her in his name that she was not to refuse or hide the goodness + and works of God." Cobb, the bailiff, being encouraged by such high + authority, would not keep any longer in his kitchen a prophetess with the + archbishop's imprimatur upon her; and as soon as the girl was + sufficiently recovered from her illness to leave her bed, he caused her + to sit at his own mess with his mistress and the parson.<a + name="NtA_314"></a><a href="#Nt_314"><sup>314</sup></a> The story spread + rapidly through the country; inquisitive foolish people came about her to + try her skill with questions; and her illness, as she subsequently + confessed, having then left her, and as only her reputation was + remaining, she bethought herself whether it might not be possible to + preserve it a little longer. "Perceiving herself to be much made of, to + be magnified and much set by, by reason of trifling words spoken + unadvisedly by idleness of her brain, she conceived in her mind that + having so good success, and furthermore from so small an occasion and + nothing to be esteemed, she might adventure further to enterprise and + essay what she could do, being in good advisement and remembrance."<a + name="NtA_315"></a><a href="#Nt_315"><sup>315</sup></a> Her fits no + longer recurred naturally, but she was able to reproduce either the + reality or the appearance of them; and she continued to improvise her + oracles with such ability as she could command, and with tolerable + success.</p> + + <p>In this undertaking she was speedily provided with an efficient + coadjutor. The Catholic church had for some time been unproductive of + miracles, and as heresy was raising its head and attracting converts, so + opportune an occurrence was not to be allowed to sleep. The archbishop + sent his comptroller to the Prior of Christ Church at Canterbury, with + directions that two monks whom he especially named, Doctor Bocking, the + cellarer, and Dan William Hadley, should go to Aldington to observe.<a + name="NtA_316"></a><a href="#Nt_316"><sup>316</sup></a> At first, not + knowing what was before them, both prior and monks were unwilling to + meddle with the matter.<a name="NtA_317"></a><a + href="#Nt_317"><sup>317</sup></a> They submitted, however, "from the + obedience which they <!-- Page 195 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> owed unto their lord;" and they had + soon reason to approve the correctness of the archbishop's judgment. + Bocking, selected no doubt from previous knowledge of his qualities, was + a man devoted to his order, and not over-scrupulous as to the means by + which he furthered the interests of it. With instinctive perception he + discovered material in Elizabeth Barton too rich to be allowed to waste + itself in a country village. Perhaps he partially himself believed in + her, but he was more anxious to ensure the belief of others, and he + therefore set himself to assist her inspiration towards more effective + utterance. Conversing with her in her intervals of quiet, he discovered + that she was wholly ignorant, and unprovided with any stock of mental or + imaginative furniture; and that consequently her prophecies were without + body, and too indefinite to be theologically available. This defect he + remedied by instructing her in the Catholic legends, and by acquainting + her with the revelations of St. Brigitt and St. Catherine of Sienna.<a + name="NtA_318"></a><a href="#Nt_318"><sup>318</sup></a> In these women + she found an enlarged reflection of herself; the details of their visions + enriched her imagery; and being provided with these fair examples, she + was able to shape herself into fuller resemblance with the traditionary + model of the saints.</p> + + <p>As she became more proficient, Father Bocking extended his lessons to + the Protestant controversy, initiating his pupil into the mysteries of + justification, sacramental grace, and the power of the keys. The ready + damsel redelivered his instructions to the world in her moments of + possession; and the world discovered a fresh miracle in the inspired + wisdom of the untaught peasant. Lists of these pregnant sayings were + forwarded<a name="NtA_319"></a><a href="#Nt_319"><sup>319</sup></a> + regularly to the archbishop, which still possibly lie mouldering in the + Lambeth library, to be discovered by curious antiquaries. It is idle to + inquire how far she was yet conscious of her falsehood. Conscious wilful + deception lies far down the road in a course of this kind; and supported + by the assurance of an archbishop, she was in all likelihood deep in + lying before she actually knew it. Fanaticism and deceit are strangely + near relations to each other, and the deceiver is often the person first + deceived, and the last who is aware of the imposture.</p> + + <p>The instructions of the Father had made her acquainted with many + stories of miraculous cures. The Catholic saints followed the type of the + apostles, and to heal diseases by supernatural means was a more orthodox + form of credential than <!-- Page 196 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page196"></a>[pg 196]</span> clairvoyance or second sight. Being + now cured of her real disorder, yet able to counterfeit the appearance of + it, she could find no difficulty in arranging in her own case a miracle + of the established kind, and so striking an incident would answer a + further end. In the parish was a chapel of the Virgin, which was a place + of pilgrimage; the pilgrims added something to the income of the priest; + and if, by a fresh demonstration of the Virgin's presence at the favoured + spot, the number of these pilgrims could be increased, they would add + more. For both reasons, therefore, the miracle was desired; and the + priest and the monk were agreed that any means were justifiable which + would encourage the devotion of the people.<a name="NtA_320"></a><a + href="#Nt_320"><sup>320</sup></a> Accordingly, the girl announced, in one + of her trances, that "she would never take health of her body till such + time as she had visited the image of our Lady" in that chapel. The Virgin + had herself appeared to her, she said, and had fixed a day for her + appearance there, and had promised that on her obedience she would + present herself in person and take away her disorder.<a + name="NtA_321"></a><a href="#Nt_321"><sup>321</sup></a> The day came; and + as (under the circumstances) there was no danger of failure, the holy + fathers had collected a vast concourse of people to witness the marvel. + The girl was conducted to the chapel by a procession of more than two + thousand persons, headed by the monk, the clergyman, and many other + religious persons, the whole multitude "singing the Litany and saying + divers psalms and orations by the way."</p> + + <p>"And when she was brought thither<a name="NtA_322"></a><a + href="#Nt_322"><sup>322</sup></a> and laid before the image of our Lady, + her face was wonderfully disfigured, her tongue hanging out, and her eyes + being in a manner plucked out and laid upon her cheeks, and so greatly + deformed. There was then heard a voice speaking within her belly, as it + had been in a tonne, her lips not greatly moving: she all that while + continuing by the space of three hours or more in a trance. The which + voice, when it told of anything of the joys of heaven, spake so sweetly + and so heavenly, that every man was ravished with the hearing thereof; + and contrarywise, when it told anything of hell, it spake so horribly and + terribly, that it put the hearers in a great fear. It spake also many + things for the confirmation of pilgrimages and trentals, hearing of + masses and confession, and many other such things. And after she had lyen + there a long time, she came to herself again, and was perfectly whole. So + this miracle was finished and solemnly <!-- Page 197 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span> sung; and a book + was written of all the whole story thereof, and put into print; which + ever since that time was commonly sold, and went abroad among the + people."</p> + + <p>The miracle successfully accomplished, the residence at Aldington was + no longer adapted for an acknowledged and favoured saint. The Virgin + informed her that she was to leave the bailiff and devote herself to her + exclusive service. She was to be Sister Elizabeth, and her especial + favourite; and Father Bocking was to be her spiritual father. The priory + of St. Sepulchre's, Canterbury, was chosen for the place of her + profession; and as soon as she was established in her cell, she became a + recognised priestess or prophetess, alternately communicating + revelations, or indulging the curiosity of foolish persons, and for both + services consenting to be paid. The church had by this time spread her + reputation through England. The book of her oracles, which extended soon + to a considerable volume, was shown by Archbishop Warham to the king, who + sent it to Sir Thomas More, desiring him to look at it. More's good sense + had not yet forsaken him; he pronounced it "a right poor production, such + as any simple woman might speak of her own wit;"<a name="NtA_323"></a><a + href="#Nt_323"><sup>323</sup></a> and Henry himself "esteemed the matter + as light as it afterwards proved lewd." But the world were less critical + censors: the saintly halo was round her head, and her most trivial words + caught the reflection of the glory, and seemed divine. "Divers and many, + as well great men of the realm as mean men, and many learned men, but + specially many religious men, had great confidence in her, and often + resorted to her."<a name="NtA_324"></a><a + href="#Nt_324"><sup>324</sup></a> They "consulted her much as to the will + of God touching the heresies and schisms in the realm;" and when the + dispute arose between the bishops and the House of Commons, they asked + her what judgment there was in heaven "on the taking away the liberties + of the church;" to which questions her answers, being dictated by her + confessor, were all which the most eager churchman could desire. Her + position becoming more and more determined, the eccentric periods of her + earlier visions subsided into regularity. Once a fortnight she was taken + up into heaven into the presence of God and the saints, with heavenly + lights, heavenly voices, heavenly melodies and joys. The place of ascent + was usually the priory chapel, to which it was essential, therefore, that + she should have continual access: and she was allowed, in consequence, to + pass <!-- Page 198 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page198"></a>[pg + 198]</span> the dormitory door when she pleased—a privilege of + which the Statute uncharitably hints that she availed herself for a less + respectable purpose. But whatever was her secret conduct, her outward + behaviour was in full keeping with her language and profession. She + related many startling stories, not always of the most decent kind, of + the attempts which the devil made to lead her astray. The devil and the + angels were in fact alternate visitors to her cell, and the former, on + one occasion, burnt a mark upon her hand, which she exhibited publicly, + and to which the monks were in the habit of appealing, when there were + any signs of scepticism in the visitors to the priory. On the occasion of + these infernal visits, "great stinking smokes" were seen to issue from + her chamber, "savouring grievously through all the dorture;" with which, + however, it was suspected subsequently that a paper of brimstone and + assafœtida, found among her property after her arrest, had been in + some way connected. We smile at these stories, looking back at them with + eyes enlightened by scientific scepticism; but they furnished matter for + something else than smiles when the accounts of them could be exhibited + by the clergy as a living proof of the credibility of the Aurea + Legenda,—when the subject of them could be held up as a witness, + accredited by miracles, to the truth of the old faith, a living evidence + to shame the incredulity of the Protestant sectaries. She became a figure + of great and singular significance; a "wise woman," to whom persons of + the highest rank were not ashamed to have recourse to inquire of her the + will of God, and to ask the benefit of her intercessory prayers, for + which also they did not fail to pay at a rate commensurate with their + credulity.<a name="NtA_325"></a><a href="#Nt_325"><sup>325</sup></a></p> + + <p>This position the Nun of Kent, as she was now called, had achieved for + herself, when the divorce question was first agitated. The monks at the + Canterbury priory, of course, eagerly espoused the side of the queen, and + the Nun's services were at once in active requisition. Absurd as the + stories of her revelations may seem to us, she had already given evidence + that she was no vulgar impostor, and in the dangerous career on which she + now entered, she conducted herself with the utmost skill and <!-- Page + 199 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page199"></a>[pg 199]</span> + audacity. Far from imitating the hesitation of the pope and the bishops, + she issued boldly, "in the name and by the authority of God," a solemn + prohibition against the king; threatening that, if he divorced his wife, + he should not "reign a month, but should die a villain's death."<a + name="NtA_326"></a><a href="#Nt_326"><sup>326</sup></a> Burdened with + this message, she forced herself into the presence of Henry himself;<a + name="NtA_327"></a><a href="#Nt_327"><sup>327</sup></a> and when she + failed to produce an effect upon Henry's obdurate scepticism, she turned + to the hesitating ecclesiastics, and roused their flagging spirits. The + archbishop bent under her denunciations, and at her earnest request + introduced her to Wolsey, then tottering on the edge of ruin.<a + name="NtA_328"></a><a href="#Nt_328"><sup>328</sup></a> He, too, in his + confusion and perplexity, was frightened, and doubted. She made herself + known to the papal ambassadors, and through them she took upon herself to + threaten Clement,<a name="NtA_329"></a><a + href="#Nt_329"><sup>329</sup></a> assuming, in virtue of her <!-- Page + 200 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page200"></a>[pg 200]</span> divine + commission, an authority above all principalities and powers. If it were + likely that she could have heard the story of the Maid of Orleans, it + might be supposed that her imagination tempted her to play again a + similar career on an English stage, and that she fancied herself the + destined saviour of the Church of Christ, as the Maid had been the + saviour of France.</p> + + <p>It would indeed be a libel on the fair fame of Joan of Arc, if she + were to be compared to a confessed impostor; but Joan of Arc might have + been the reality which the Nun attempted to counterfeit; and the history + of the true heroine might have suggested easily to the imitator the + outline of her part. A revolution had been effected in Europe by a + somnambulist peasant girl; another peasant girl, a somnambulist also, + might have seen in the achievement which had been already accomplished, + an earnest of what might be done by herself. While we call the Nun, too, + an impostor, we are bound to believe that she first imposed upon herself, + and that her wildest adventures into falsehood were compatible with a + belief that she was really and truly inspired. Nothing short of such a + conviction would have enabled her to play a part among kings and queens, + and so many of the ablest statesmen of that most able age. Nothing else + could have tempted her, on the failure of her prophecies, into the + desperate career of treason into which we are soon to see her + launched.</p> + + <p>Her proceedings were known partially, but partially only, to the king; + and the king seems to have been the only person whose understanding was + proof against her influence. To him she appeared nothing worse than an + excited fanatic, and he allowed her to go her own way, as the best + escapement of a frenzy. Until parliament had declared it illegal to + discuss the marriage question further, he interfered with no one, and + therefore not with her. If her own word was to be taken, he even showed + her much personal kindness, having offered to make her an abbess, which + is difficult to believe, especially as she said that she had refused his + offer. She stated also that at the time of Lord Wiltshire's mission to + the emperor, the Countess of Wiltshire endeavoured to persuade her to + accept a place at the court, as a companion to Anne; which again is + unsupported by other evidence, and sounds improbable.<a + name="NtA_330"></a><a href="#Nt_330"><sup>330</sup></a> But it is plain, + that until she was found to be meditating treason, she experienced no + treatment from the government of which she had cause to complain; and + thus for the present we may leave <!-- Page 201 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> her pursuing her + machinations with the Canterbury friars, and return to the + parliament.</p> + + <p>The second session had been longer than the first; it had commenced on + the 16th of January, and continued for ten weeks. On the 30th of March, + which was to be its last day, Sir Thomas More came down to the House of + Commons, and there read aloud to the members the decision of the various + universities on the papal power, and the judgment of European learning on + the general question of the king's divorce. The country, he said, was + much disturbed, and the king desired them each to report what they had + heard in their several counties and towns, "in order that all men might + perceive that he had not attempted this matter of his own will or + pleasure, as some strangers reported, but only for the discharge of his + conscience and surety of the succession of his realm."<a + name="NtA_331"></a><a href="#Nt_331"><sup>331</sup></a> This appears to + have been the first time that the subject was mentioned before + parliament, and the occasion was reasonably and sensibly chosen. The + clergy having possession of the pulpits, had used their opportunity to + spread a false impression where the ignorance of the people would allow + them to venture the experiment; the king having resolved to fall back + upon the support of his subjects, naturally desired the assistance of the + country gentlemen and the nobles to counteract the efforts of + disaffection, and provided them with accurate information in the simplest + manner which he could have chosen.</p> + + <p>But the desire expressed by Henry was no more than an unnecessary + form, for as a body, the educated laity were as earnestly bent upon the + divorce as the king himself could be, and might have been trusted to use + all means by which to further it. The parliament was prorogued, but the + Lords, shortly after the separation, united with such of the Commons as + remained in London, to give a proof of their feeling by a voluntary + address to the pope. The meaning of this movement was not to be mistaken. + On one side, the Nun of Kent was threatening Clement, speaking, perhaps, + the feelings of the clergy and of all the women in England; on the other + side, the parliament thought well to threaten him, speaking for the great + body of English <i>men</i>, for all persons of substance and property, + who desired above all things peace and order and a secured + succession.</p> + + <p>The language of this remarkable document<a name="NtA_332"></a><a + href="#Nt_332"><sup>332</sup></a> was as follows:—</p> + +<!-- Page 202 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> + + <p>"To the Most Holy Lord our Lord and Father in Christ, Clement, by + Divine Providence the seventh of that name, we desire perpetual happiness + in our Lord Jesus Christ.</p> + + <p>"Most blessed Father, albeit the cause concerning the marriage of the + most invincible prince, our sovereign lord, the King of England and of + France, Defender of the Faith, and Lord of Ireland, does for sundry great + and weighty reasons require and demand the aid of your Holiness, that it + may be brought to that brief end and determination which we with so great + and earnest desire have expected, and which we have been contented + hitherto to expect, though so far vainly, at your Holiness's hands; we + have been unable, nevertheless, to keep longer silence herein, seeing + that this kingdom and the affairs of it are brought into so high peril + through the unseasonable delay of sentence. His Majesty, who is our head, + and by consequence the life of us all, and we through him as subject + members by a just union annexed to the head, have with great earnestness + entreated your Holiness for judgment; we have however entreated in vain: + we are by the greatness of our grief therefore forced separately and + distinctly by these our letters most humbly to demand a speedy + determination. There ought, indeed, to have been no need of this request + on our part. The justice of the cause itself, approved to be just by the + sentence of so many learned men, by the suffrage of the most famous + universities in England, France, and Italy, should have sufficed alone to + have induced your Holiness to confirm the sentence given by others; + especially when the interests of a king and kingdom are at stake, which + in so many ways have deserved well of the apostolic see. This we say + ought to have been motive sufficient with you, without need of petition + on our part; and if we had added our entreaties, it should have been but + as men yielding to a causeless anxiety, and wasting <!-- Page 203 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> words for + which there was no occasion. Since, however, neither the merit of the + cause nor the recollection of the benefits which you have received, nor + the assiduous and diligent supplications of our prince have availed + anything with your Holiness; since we cannot obtain from you what it is + your duty as a father to grant; the load of our grief, increased as it is + beyond measure by the remembrance of the past miseries and calamities + which have befallen this nation, makes vocal every member of our + commonwealth, and compels us by word and letter to utter our + complaints.</p> + + <p>"For what a misfortune is this,—that a sentence which our own + two universities, which the University of Paris, and many other + universities in France, which men of the highest learning and probity + everywhere, at home and abroad, are ready to defend with word and pen, + that such sentence, we say, cannot be obtained from the apostolic see by + a prince to whom that see owes its present existence. Amidst the attacks + of so many and so powerful enemies, the King of England ever has stood by + that see with sword and pen, with voice and with authority. Yet he alone + is to reap no benefit from his labours. He has saved the papacy from + ruin, that others might enjoy the fruits of the life which he has + preserved for it. We see not what answer can be made to this; and + meanwhile we perceive a flood of miseries impending over the + commonwealth, threatening to bring back upon us the ancient controversy + on the succession, which had been extinguished only with so much blood + and slaughter. We have now a king most eminent for his virtues, and + reigning by unchallenged title, who will secure assured tranquillity to + the realm if he leave a son born of his body to succeed him. The sole + hope that such a son may be born to him lies in the being found for him + some lawful marriage into which he may enter; and to such marriage the + only obstacle lies with your Holiness. It cannot be until you shall + confirm the sentence of so many learned men on the character of his + former connection. This if you will not do, if you who ought to be our + father have determined to leave us as orphans, and to treat us as + castaways, we shall interpret such conduct to mean only that we are left + to care for ourselves, and to seek our remedy elsewhere. We do not desire + to be driven to this extremity, and therefore we beseech your Holiness + without further delay to assist his Majesty's just and reasonable + desires. We entreat you to confirm the judgment of these learned men; and + for the sake of that love and fatherly affection which your office <!-- + Page 204 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> + requires you to show towards us, not to close your bowels of compassion + against us, your most dutiful, most loving, most obedient children. The + cause of his Majesty is the cause of each of ourselves; the head cannot + suffer, but the members must bear a part. We have all our common share in + the pain and in the injury; and as the remedy is wholly in the power of + your Holiness, so does the duty of your fatherly office require you to + administer it. If, however, your Holiness will not do this, or if you + choose longer to delay to do it, our condition hitherto will have been so + much the more wretched, that we have so long laboured fruitlessly and in + vain. But it will not be wholly irremediable; extreme remedies are ever + harsh of application; but he that is sick will by any means be rid of his + distemper; and there is hope in the exchange of miseries, when, if we + cannot obtain what is good, we may obtain a lesser evil, and trust that + time may enable us to endure it.</p> + + <p>"These things we beseech your Holiness, in the name of our Lord Jesus + Christ, to consider with yourself. You profess that on earth you are His + vicar. Endeavour, then, to show yourself so to be, by pronouncing your + sentence to the glory and praise of God, and giving your sanction to that + truth which has been examined, approved, and after much deliberation + confirmed by the most learned men of all nations. We meanwhile will pray + the all-good God, whom we know by most sure testimony to be truth itself, + that He will deign so to inform and direct the counsels of your Holiness, + that we obtaining by your authority what is holy, just, and true, may be + spared from seeking it by other more painful methods."</p> + + <p>Thus was the great crisis steadily maturing itself, and the cause by + this petition was made to rest upon its proper merits. The justification + of the demand for the divorce was the danger of civil war; and into civil + war the nation had no intention of permitting themselves to be drifted by + papal imbecility. Whatever was the origin of Henry's resolution, it was + acted out with calmness, and justified by sober reason; and backed by the + good sense of his lay subjects, he proceeded bravely, in spite of + excommunication, interdict, and the Nun of Kent, towards the object which + his country's interests, as well as his own, required.</p> + + <p>It would have been well if his private behaviour as a man had been as + unobjectionable as his conduct as a sovereign. Hitherto he had remained + under the same roof with Queen Catherine, but with that indelicacy which + was the singular blemish on his character, he had maintained her rival in + the same household <!-- Page 205 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> with the state of a princess,<a + name="NtA_333"></a><a href="#Nt_333"><sup>333</sup></a> and needlessly + wounded feelings which he was bound to have spared to the utmost which + his duty permitted. The circumstances of the case, if they were known to + us, though they could never excuse such a proceeding, might perhaps + partially palliate it. Catherine was harsh and offensive, and it was by + her own determination, and not by Henry's desire, that she was unprovided + with an establishment elsewhere. There lay, moreover, as I have said, + behind the scenes a whole drama of contention and bitterness, which now + is happily concealed from us; but which being concealed, leaves us + without the clue to these painful doings. Indelicate, however, the + position given to Anne Boleyn could not but be; and, if it was indelicate + in Henry to grant such a position, what shall we say of the lady who + consented, in the presence of her sovereign and mistress, to wear such + ignominious splendour?</p> + + <p>But in these most offensive relations there was henceforth to be a + change. In June, 1531, two months after the prorogation of parliament, a + deputation of the privy council went to the apartments of Catherine at + Greenwich, and laying before her the papers which had been read by Sir + Thomas More to the two Houses, demanded formally, whether, for the sake + of the country, and for the quiet of the king's conscience, she would + withdraw her appeal to Rome, and submit to an arbitration in the kingdom. + It was, probably, but an official request, proposed without expectation + that she would yield. After rejecting a similar entreaty from the pope + himself, she was not likely, inflexible as she had ever been, to yield + when the pope had admitted her appeal, and the emperor, victorious + through Europe, had promised her support. She refused, of course, like + herself, proudly, resolutely, gallantly, and not without the scorn which + she was entitled to feel. The nation had no claims upon her, and "for the + king's conscience," she answered, "I pray God send his Grace good quiet + therein, and tell him I say I am his lawful wife, and to him lawfully + married; and in that point I will abide till the court of Rome, which was + privy to the beginning, <!-- Page 206 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span> hath made thereof a determination and + a final ending."<a name="NtA_334"></a><a + href="#Nt_334"><sup>334</sup></a> The learned councillors retired with + their answer. A more passive resistance would have been more dignified; + but Catherine was a queen, and a queen she chose to be; and in defence of + her own high honour, and of her daughter's, by no act of hers would she + abate one tittle of her dignity, or cease to assert her claim to it. Her + reply, however, appears to have been anticipated, and the request was + only preparatory to ulterior measures. For the sake of public decency, + and certainly in no unkind spirit towards herself, a retirement from the + court was now to be forced upon her. At Midsummer she accompanied the + king to Windsor; in the middle of July he left her there, and never saw + her again. She was removed to the More, a house in Hertfordshire, which + had been originally built by George Neville, Archbishop of York, and had + belonged to Wolsey, who had maintained it with his usual splendour.<a + name="NtA_335"></a><a href="#Nt_335"><sup>335</sup></a> Once more an + attempt was made to persuade her to submit; but with no better result, + and a formal establishment was then provided for her at Ampthill, a large + place belonging to Henry not far from Dunstable. There at least she was + her own mistress, surrounded by her own friends, who were true to her as + queen, and she attracted to her side from all parts of England those whom + sympathy or policy attached to her cause. The court, though keeping a + partial surveillance over her, did not dare to restrict her liberty; and + as the measures against the church became more stringent, and a + separation from the papacy more nearly imminent, she became the nucleus + of a powerful political party. Her injuries had deprived the king and the + nation of a right to complain of her conduct. She owed nothing to + England. Her allegiance, politically, was to Spain; spiritually she was + the subject of the pope; and this dubious position gave her an advantage + which she was not slow to perceive. Rapidly every one rallied to her who + adhered to the old faith, and to whom the measures of the government + appeared a sacrilege. Through herself, or through her secretaries and + confessors, a correspondence was conducted which brought the courts of + the continent into connection with the various disaffected parties in + England, with the Nun of Kent and her friars, with the Poles, the + Nevilles, the Courtenays, and all the <!-- Page 207 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> remaining faction + of the White Rose. And so first the great party of sedition began to + shape itself, which for sixty years, except in the shortlived interlude + of its triumph under Catherine's daughter, held the nation on the edge of + civil war. We shall see this faction slowly and steadily organising + itself, starting from scattered and small beginnings, till at length it + overspread all England and Ireland and Scotland, exploding from time to + time in abortive insurrections, yet ever held in check by the tact and + firmness of the government, and by the inherent loyalty of the English to + the land of their birth. There was a proverb then current that "the + treasons of England should never cease."<a name="NtA_336"></a><a + href="#Nt_336"><sup>336</sup></a> It was perhaps fortunate that the papal + cause was the cause of a foreign power, and could only be defended by a + betrayal of the independence of the country. In Scotland and Ireland the + insurrectionists were more successful, being supported in either instance + by the national feeling. But the strength of Scotland had been broken at + Flodden; and Ireland, though hating "the Saxons" with her whole heart, + was far off and divided. The true danger was at home; and when the extent + and nature of it is fairly known and weighed, we shall understand better + what is called the "tyranny" of Henry VIII. and of Elizabeth; and rather + admire the judgment than condemn the resolution which steered the country + safe among those dangerous shoals. Elizabeth's position is more familiar + to us, and is more reasonably appreciated because the danger was more + palpable. Henry has been hardly judged because he trampled down the + smouldering fire, and never allowed it to assume the form which would + have justified him with the foolish and the unthinking. Once and once + only the flame blazed out; but it was checked on the instant, and + therefore it has been slighted and forgotten. But with despatches before + his eyes, in which Charles V. was offering James of Scotland the hand of + the Princess Mary, with the title for himself of Prince of England and + Duke of York<a name="NtA_337"></a><a + href="#Nt_337"><sup>337</sup></a>—with Ireland, as we shall + speedily see it, in flame from end to end, and Dublin castle the one spot + left <!-- Page 208 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page208"></a>[pg + 208]</span> within the island on which the banner of St. George still + floated—with a corps of friars in hair shirts and chains, who are + also soon to be introduced to us, and an inspired prophetess at their + head preaching rebellion in the name of God—with his daughter, and + his daughter's mother in league against him, some forty thousand clergy + to be coerced into honest dealing, and the succession to the crown + floating in uncertainty—finally, with excommunication hanging over + himself, and at length falling, and his deposition pronounced, Henry, we + may be sure, had no easy time of it, and no common work to accomplish; + and all these things ought to be present before our minds, as they were + present before his mind, if we would see him as he was, and judge him as + we would be judged ourselves.</p> + + <p>Leaving disaffection to mature itself, we return to the struggle + between the House of Commons and the bishops, which recommenced in the + following winter; first pausing to notice a clerical interlude of some + illustrative importance which took place in the close of the summer. The + clergy, as we saw, were relieved of their premunire on engaging to pay + 118,000 pounds within five years. They were punished for their general + offences; the formal offence for which they were condemned being one + which could not fairly be considered an offence at all. When they came to + discuss therefore the manner in which the money was to be levied, they + naturally quarrelled among themselves as to where the burden of the fine + should fairly rest, and a little scene has been preserved to us by Hall, + through which, with momentary distinctness, we can look in upon those + poor men in their perplexity. The bishops had settled among themselves + that each diocese should make its own arrangements; and some of these + great persons intended to spare their own shoulders to the utmost decent + extremity. With this object, Stokesley, Bishop of London, who was just + then very busy burning heretics, and therefore in bad odour with the + people, resolved to call a meeting of five or six of his clergy, on whom + he could depend; and passing quietly with their assistance such + resolutions as seemed convenient, to avoid in this way the more doubtful + expedient of a large assembly.</p> + + <p>The necessary intimations were given, and the meeting was to be held + on the 1st of September, in the Chapter-house of St. Paul's. The bishop + arrived at the time appointed, but unhappily <!-- Page 209 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span> for his hopes, not + only the chosen six, but with them six hundred of the clergy of + Middlesex, accompanied by a mob of the London citizens, all gathered in a + crowd at the Chapter-house door, and clamouring to be admitted.</p> + + <p>The bishop, trusting in the strength of the chains and bolts, and + still hoping to manage the affair officially, sent out a list of persons + who might be allowed to take part in the proceedings, and these with + difficulty made their way to the entrance. A rush was made by the others + as they were going in, and there was a scuffle, which ended for the + moment in the victory of the officials: but the triumph was of brief + duration; the excluded clergy were now encouraged by the people; they + returned vigorously to the attack, broke down the doors, "struck the + bishop's officers over the face," and the whole crowd, priests and laity, + rushed together, storming and shouting, into the Chapter-house. The scene + may be easily imagined; dust flying, gowns torn, heads broken, well-fed + faces in the hot September weather steaming with anger and exertion, and + every voice in loudest outcry. At length the clamour was partially + subdued, and the bishop, beautifully equal to the emergency, arose bland + and persuasive.</p> + + <p>"My brethren," he said, "I marvel not a little why ye be so heady. Ye + know not what shall be said to you, therefore I pray you keep silence, + and hear me patiently. My friends, ye all know that we be men, frail of + condition and no angels; and by frailty and lack of wisdom we have + misdemeaned ourselves towards the king our sovereign lord and his laws; + so that all we of the clergy were in premunire, by reason whereof all our + promotions, lands, goods, and chattels were to him forfeit, and our + bodies ready to be imprisoned. Yet his Grace, moved with pity and + compassion, demanded of us what we could say why he should not extend his + laws upon us.</p> + + <p>"Then the fathers of the clergy humbly besought his Grace for mercy, + to whom he answered he was ever inclined to mercy. Then for all our great + offences we had but little penance; for when he might, by the rigour of + his laws, have taken all our livelihoods, he was contented with one + hundred thousand pounds, to be paid in five years. And though this sum + may be more than we may easily bear, yet, by the rigour of his law, we + should have borne the whole burden; whereupon, my brethren, I charitably + exhort you to bear your parts of your livelihood and salary towards + payment of this sum granted."<a name="NtA_338"></a><a + href="#Nt_338"><sup>338</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 210 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> + + <p>The ingenuity of this address deserved all praise; but the beauty of + the form was insufficient to disguise the inconclusiveness of the + reasoning. It confessed an offence which the hearers knew to be none; the + true provocation which had led to the penalty—the unjust extortion + of the high church officials—was ignored. The crowd laughed and + hooted. The clergy fiercely tightened their purse-strings, and the bishop + was heard out with hardly restrained indignation. "My lord," it was + shortly answered by one of them, "twenty nobles a year is but a bare + living for a priest. Victual and all else is now so dear that poverty + enforceth us to say nay. Besides that, my lord, we never meddled with the + cardinal's faculties. Let the bishops and abbots which have offended + pay." Loud clamour followed and shouts of applause. The bishop's officers + gave the priests high words. The priests threw back the taunts as they + came; and the London citizens, delighting in the scandalous quarrel, + hounded on the opposition. From words they passed to blows; the bedell + and vergers tried to keep order, but "were buffeted and stricken,"<a + name="NtA_339"></a><a href="#Nt_339"><sup>339</sup></a> and the meeting + broke up in wild uproar and confusion. For this matter five of the lay + crowd and fifteen London curates were sent to the Tower by Sir Thomas + More; but the undignified manœuvre had failed, and the fruit of it + was but fresh disgrace. United, the clergy might have defied the king and + the parliament; but in the race of selfishness the bishops and high + dignitaries had cared only for their own advantage. They had left the + poorer members of their order with no interest in common with that of + their superiors, beyond the shield which the courts consented to extend + over moral delinquency; and in the hour of danger they found themselves + left naked and alone to bear the storm as they were able.</p> + + <p>This incident, and it was perhaps but one of many, is not likely to + have softened the disposition of the Commons, or induced them to + entertain more respectfully the bishops' own estimate of their + privileges. The convocation and the parliament met simultaneously, on the + 15th of January, and the conflict, which had been for two years in + abeyance, recommenced. The initial measure was taken by convocation, and + this body showed a spirit still unsubdued, and a resolution to fight in + their own feebly tyrannical manner to the last. A gentleman in + Gloucestershire had lately died, by name Tracy. In his last testament he + had bequeathed his soul to God through the <!-- Page 211 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page211"></a>[pg 211]</span> mercies of Christ, + declining the mediatorial offices of the saints; and leaving no money to + be expended in masses.<a name="NtA_340"></a><a + href="#Nt_340"><sup>340</sup></a> Such notorious heresy could not be + passed over with impunity, and the first step of the assembled clergy<a + name="NtA_341"></a><a href="#Nt_341"><sup>341</sup></a> was to issue a + commission to raise the body and burn it. Their audacity displayed at + once the power which they possessed, and the temper in which they were + disposed to use it. The Archbishop of Canterbury seems to have been + responsible for this monstrous order, which unfortunately was carried + into execution before Henry had time to interfere.<a + name="NtA_342"></a><a href="#Nt_342"><sup>342</sup></a> It was the last + act of the kind, however, in which he was permitted to indulge, and the + legislature made haste to take away such authority from hands so + incompetent to use it. From their debates upon burning the dead Tracy, + convocation were proceeding to discuss the possibility of burning the + living Latimer,<a name="NtA_343"></a><a href="#Nt_343"><sup>343</sup></a> + when they were recalled to their senses by a summons to prepare some more + reasonable answer than that which the bishops had made for them on their + privilege of making laws. Twenty more years of work were to be lived by + Latimer before they were to burn him, and their own delinquencies were + for the present of a more pressing nature. The House of Commons at the + same time proceeded to frame necessary bills on the other points of their + complaint.</p> + + <p>The first act upon the roll recalls the Constitutions of Clarendon and + the famous quarrel between Becket and the Crown. When Catholicism was a + living belief, when ordained priests were held really and truly to + possess those awful powers which the mystery of transubstantiation + assigns to them, they were acknowledged by common consent to be an order + apart from the rest of mankind, and being spiritual men, to be amenable + only to spiritual jurisdiction. It was not intended that, if they + committed crimes, they should escape the retributive consequences of + those crimes: offenders against the law might (originally at least) be + degraded, if the bishops thought good, and stripped of their commission + be delivered thus to the secular arm. But the more appropriate punishment + for such persons was of a more awful kind, proportioned to the magnitude + of the fault; and was conveyed or held to be conveyed in the infliction + of the spiritual death of excommunication. Excommunication <!-- Page 212 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page212"></a>[pg 212]</span> was, in + real earnest, the death of the soul, at a time when communion with the + church was the only means by which the soul could be made partaker of the + divine life; and it was a noble thing to believe that there was something + worse for a man than legal penalties on his person or on his mortal body; + it was beautiful to recognise in an active living form, that the heaviest + ill which could befall a man was to be cut off from God. But it is only + for periods that humanity can endure the atmosphere of these high + altitudes of morality. The early Christians attempted a community of + goods, but they were unequal to it for more than a generation. The + discipline of Catholicism was assisted by superstition,—it remained + vigorous for many hundreds of years, but it languished at last; and + although there was so great virtue in a living idea, that its forms + preserved the reverence of mankind unabated, even when in their effect + and working they had become as evil as they once were noble; yet + reverence and endurance were at length exhausted, and these forms were to + submit to alteration in conformity with the altered nature of the persons + whom they affected.</p> + + <p>I have already alluded to the abuse of "benefit of clergy;"<a + name="NtA_344"></a><a href="#Nt_344"><sup>344</sup></a> we have arrived + at the first of those many steps by which at length it was finally put + away,—a step which did not, however, as yet approach the heart of + the evil, but touched only its extreme outworks. The clergy had + monopolised the learning of the middle ages, and few persons external to + their body being able to read or write, their privileges became + co-extensive, as I above stated, with these acquirements. The exemption + from secular jurisdiction, which they obtained in virtue of their sacred + character, had been used as a protection in villainy for every scoundrel + who could write his name. Under this plea, felons of the worst kind might + claim, till this time, to be taken out of the hands of the law judges, + and to be tried at the bishops' tribunals; and at these tribunals, such a + monstrous solecism had Catholicism become, the payment of money was ever + welcomed as the ready expiation of crime. To prevent the escape of the + Bishop of Rochester's cook, who was a "clerk," parliament had specially + interfered, and sentenced him without trial, by attainder. They now + passed a general act, remarkable alike in what it provided as in what, + for the present, it omitted to provide.<a name="NtA_345"></a><a + href="#Nt_345"><sup>345</sup></a> The preamble related the nature of the + evil which was to be remedied, and the historical position of it. It + dwelt <!-- Page 213 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page213"></a>[pg + 213]</span> upon the assurances which had been given again and again by + the ordinaries that their privileges should not be abused; but these + promises had been broken as often as they had been made; so that + "continually manifest thieves and murderers, indicted and found guilty of + their misdeeds by good and substantial inquests, and afterwards, by the + usages of the common lawes of the land, delivered to the ordinaries as + clerks convict, were speedily and hastily delivered and set at large by + the ministers of the said ordinaries for corruption and lucre; or else + because the ordinaries enclaiming such offenders by the liberties of the + church would in no wise take the charges in safe keeping of them, but did + suffer them to make their purgation by such as nothing knew of their + misdeeds, and by such fraud did annull and make void the good and + provable trial which was used against such offenders by the king's law; + to the pernicious example, increase, and courage of such offenders, if + the King's Highness by his authority royal put not speedy remedy + thereto."</p> + + <p>To provide such necessary remedy, it was enacted that thenceforward no + person under the degree of subdeacon, if guilty of felony, should be + allowed to plead "his clergy" any more, but should be proceeded against + by the ordinary law. So far it was possible to go—an enormous step + if we think of what the evil had been; and in such matters to make a + beginning was the true difficulty—it was the logical premise from + which the conclusion could not choose but follow. Yet such was the + mystical sacredness which clung about the ordained clergy, that their + patent profligacy had not yet destroyed it—a priest might still + commit a murder, and the profane hand of the law might not reach to + him.</p> + + <p>The measure, however, if imperfect, was excellent in its degree; and + when this had been accomplished, the House proceeded next to deal with + the Arches Court—the one enormous grievance of the time. The + petition of the Commons has already exhibited the condition of this + institution; but the act by which the power of it was limited added more + than one particular to what had been previously stated, and the first + twenty lines of the statute which was now passed<a name="NtA_346"></a><a + href="#Nt_346"><sup>346</sup></a> may be recommended to the consideration + of the modern censors of the Reformation. The framer of the resolution + was no bad friend to the bishops, if they had possessed the faculty of + knowing who their true friends were, for the statement of complaint was + limited, mild, and moderate. Again, as with the "benefit of <!-- Page 214 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page214"></a>[pg 214]</span> clergy," + the real ground for surprise is that any fraction of a system so + indefensible should have been permitted to continue. The courts were + nothing else but the vicious sources of unjust revenue; and with the + opportunity so fairly offered, it is strange indeed that they were not + swept utterly away. But sweeping measures have never found favour in + England. There has ever been in English legislation, even when most + reforming, that temperate spirit of equity which has refused to visit the + sins of centuries upon a single generation. The statute limited its + accusations to the points which it was designed to correct, and touched + these with a hand firmly gentle.</p> + + <p>"Whereas great numbers of the king's subjects," says the preamble, "as + well men, wives, servants, or others dwelling in divers dioceses of the + realm of England and Wales, heretofore have been at many times called by + citations and other processes compulsory to appear in the Arches, + Audience, and other high Courts of the archbishops of this realm, far + from and out of the dioceses where such persons are inhabitant and + dwelling; and many times to answer to surmised and feigned causes and + matters, which have been sued more for vexation and malice than from any + just cause of suit; and when certificate hath been made by the sumners, + apparitors, or any such light litterate persons, that the party against + whom such citations have been awarded hath been cited or summoned; and + thereupon the same party so certified to be cited or summoned hath not + appeared according to the certificate, the same party therefore hath been + excommunicated, or, at the least, suspended from all divine service; and + thereupon, before that he or she could be absolved, hath been compelled, + not only to pay the fees of the court whereunto he or she was so called, + amounting to the sum of two shillings, or twenty pence at the least; but + also to pay to the sumner, for every mile distant from the place where he + or she then dwelled unto the same court whereunto he or she was summoned + to appear, twopence; to the great charge and impoverishment of the king's + subjects, and to the great occasion of misbehaviour of wives, women, and + servants, and to the great impairment and diminution of their good names + and honesties—be it enacted——" We ask + what?—looking with impatience for some large measure to follow + these solemn accusations; and we find parliament contenting itself with + forbidding the bishops, under heavy penalties, to cite any man out of his + own diocese, except for specified causes (heresy being one of them), and + with limiting the fees which were to be taken by <!-- Page 215 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page215"></a>[pg 215]</span> the officers of the + courts.<a name="NtA_347"></a><a href="#Nt_347"><sup>347</sup></a> It + could hardly be said that in this parliament there was any bitter spirit + against the church. This act showed only mild forbearance and complacent + endurance of all tolerable evil.</p> + + <p>Another serious matter was dealt with in the same moderate temper. The + Mortmain Act had prohibited the church corporations from further + absorbing the lands; but the Mortmain Act was evaded in detail, the + clergy using their influence to induce persons on their deathbeds to + leave estates to provide a priest for ever "to sing for their souls." The + arrangement was convenient possibly for both parties, or if not for both, + certainly for one; but to tie up lands for ever for a special service was + not to the advantage of the country; and it was held unjust to allow a + man a perpetual power over the disposition of property to atone for the + iniquities of his life. But the privilege was not abolished altogether; + it was submitted only to reasonable limitation. Men might still burden + their lands to find a priest for twenty years. After twenty years the + lands were to relapse for the service of the living, and sinners were + expected in equity to bear the consequence in their own persons of such + offences as remained after that time unexpiated.<a name="NtA_348"></a><a + href="#Nt_348"><sup>348</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus, in two sessions, the most flagrant of the abuses first + complained of were in a fair way of being remedied. The exorbitant + charges for mortuaries, probate duties, legacy duties, the illegal + exactions for the sacraments, the worst injustices of the ecclesiastical + courts, the non-residence, pluralities, neglect of cures, the secular + occupations and extravagant privileges of the clergy, were either + terminated or brought within bounds. There remained yet to be disposed of + the legislative power of the convocation and the tyrannical prosecutions + for heresy. The last of these was not yet ripe for settlement; the former + was under reconsideration by the convocation itself, which at length was + arriving at a truer conception of its position; and this question was not + therefore to be dealt with by the legislature.</p> + + <p>One more important measure, however, was passed by parliament <!-- + Page 216 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page216"></a>[pg 216]</span> + before it separated, and it is noticeable as the first step which was + taken in the momentous direction of a breach with the See of Rome. A + practice had existed for some hundreds of years in all the churches of + Europe, that bishops and archbishops, on presentation to their sees, + should transmit to the pope, on receiving their bulls of investment, one + year's income from their new preferments. It was called the payment of + annates, or firstfruits, and had originated in the time of the crusades, + as a means of providing a fund for the holy wars. Once established, it + had settled into custom,<a name="NtA_349"></a><a + href="#Nt_349"><sup>349</sup></a> and was one of the chief resources of + the papal revenue. From England alone, as much as 160,000 pounds had been + paid out of the country in fifty years;<a name="NtA_350"></a><a + href="#Nt_350"><sup>350</sup></a> and the impost was alike oppressive to + individuals and injurious to the state. Men were appointed to bishopricks + frequently at an advanced age, and dying, as they often did, within two + or three years of their nomination, their elevation had sometimes + involved their families and friends in debt and embarrassment;<a + name="NtA_351"></a><a href="#Nt_351"><sup>351</sup></a> while the annual + export of so much bullion was a serious evil at a time when the precious + metals formed the only currency, and were so difficult to obtain. Before + a quarrel with the court of Rome had been thought of as a possible + contingency, the king had laboured with the pope to terminate the system + by some equitable composition; and subsequently cessation of payment had + been mentioned more than once in connection with the threats of a + separation. The pope had made light of these threats, believing them to + be no more than words; there was an opportunity, therefore, of proving + that the English government was really in earnest, in a manner which + would touch him in a point where he was naturally sensitive, and would + show him at the same time that he could not wholly count on the + attachment even of the clergy themselves. For, in fact, the church itself + was fast disintegrating, and the allegiance even of the bishops and the + secular clergy to Rome had begun to waver: they had a stronger faith in + their own privileges than in the union of Christendom; and if they could + purchase the continuance of the former at the price of a quarrel with the + <!-- Page 217 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page217"></a>[pg + 217]</span> pope, some among them were not disinclined to venture the + alternative. The Bishop of Rochester held aloof from such tendencies, and + Warham, though he signed the address of the House of Lords to the pope, + regretted the weakness to which he had yielded: but in the other prelates + there was little seriousness of conviction; and the constitution of the + bench had been affected also by the preferment of Gardiner and Edward Lee + to two of the sees made vacant by the death of Wolsey. Both these men had + been active agents in the prosecution of the divorce; and Gardiner, + followed at a distance by the other, had shaped out, as the pope grew + more intractable, the famous notion that the English church could and + should subsist as a separate communion, independent of foreign control, + self governed, self organised, and at the same time adhering without + variation to Catholic doctrine. This principle (if we may so abuse the + word) shot rapidly into popularity: a party formed about it strong in + parliament, strong in convocation, strong out of doors among the country + gentlemen and the higher clergy—a respectable, wealthy, powerful + body, trading upon a solecism, but not the less, therefore, devoted to + its maintenance, and in their artificial horror of being identified with + heresy, the most relentless persecutors of the Protestants. This party, + unreal as they were, and influential perhaps in virtue of their + unreality, became for the moment the arbiters of the Church of England; + and the bishops belonging to it, and each rising ecclesiastic who hoped + to be a bishop, welcomed the resistance of the annates as an opportunity + for a demonstration of their strength. On this question, with a fair show + of justice, they could at once relieve themselves of a burden which + pressed upon their purses, and as they supposed, gratify the king. The + conservatives were still numerically the strongest, and for a time + remained in their allegiance to the Papacy,<a name="NtA_352"></a><a + href="#Nt_352"><sup>352</sup></a> but their convictions were too feeble + <!-- Page 218 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page218"></a>[pg + 218]</span> to resist the influence brought to bear upon them, and when + Parliament re-assembled after the Easter recess, the two Houses of + Convocation presented an address to the crown for the abolition of the + impost, and with it of all other exactions, direct and + indirect,—the indulgences, dispensations, delegacies, and the + thousand similar forms and processes by which the privileges of the + Church of England were abridged for the benefit of the Church of Rome, + and weighty injury of purse inflicted both on the clergy and the laity.<a + name="NtA_353"></a><a href="#Nt_353"><sup>353</sup></a></p> + + <p>That they contemplated a conclusive revolt from Rome as a consequence + of the refusal to pay annates, appears positively in the close of their + address: "May it please your Grace," they concluded, after detailing + their occasions for complaint,—"may it please your Grace to cause + the said unjust exactions to cease, and to be foredone for ever by act of + your high Court of Parliament; and in case the pope will make process + against this realm for the attaining those annates, or else will retain + bishops' bulls till the annates be paid; forasmuch as the exaction of the + said annates is against the law of God and the pope's own laws, + forbidding the buying or selling of spiritual gifts or promotions; and + forasmuch as all good Christian men be more bound to obey God than any + man; and forasmuch as St. Paul willeth us to withdraw from all such as + walk inordinately; may it please your Highness to ordain in this present + parliament that the obedience of your Highness and of the people be + withdrawn from the See of Rome."<a name="NtA_354"></a><a + href="#Nt_354"><sup>354</sup></a></p> + + <p>It was perhaps cruel to compel the clergy to be the first to mention + separation—or the language may have been furnished by the Erastian + party in the Church, who hoped to gratify the King by it, and save the + annates for themselves; but there was no intention, if the battle was + really to be fought, of decorating the clergy with the spoils. The bill + was passed, but passed conditionally, leaving power to the Crown if the + pope would consent to a compromise of settling the question by a + composition. There was a Papal party in the House of Commons whose + opposition had perhaps to be considered,<a name="NtA_355"></a><a + href="#Nt_355"><sup>355</sup></a> and the annates were left suspended + before Clement at once as a menace and a bribe.</p> + +<!-- Page 219 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page219"></a>[pg 219]</span> + + <p>"Forasmuch," concluded the statute, "as the King's Highness and this + his high Court of Parliament neither have nor do intend in this or any + other like cause any manner of extremity or violence, before gentle + courtesy and friendly ways and means be first approved and attempted, and + without a very great urgent cause and occasion given to the contrary; but + principally coveting to disburden this Realm of the said great exactions + and intolerable charges of annates and firstfruits: [the said Court of + Parliament] have therefore thought convenient to commit the final order + and determination of the premises unto the King's Highness, so that if it + may seem to his high wisdom and most prudent discretion meet to move the + Pope's Holiness and the Court of Rome, amicably, charitably, and + reasonably, to compound either to extinct the said annates, or by some + friendly, loving, and tolerable composition to moderate the same in such + way as may be by this his Realm easily borne and sustained, then those + ways of composition once taken shall stand in the strength, force, and + effect of a law."<a name="NtA_356"></a><a + href="#Nt_356"><sup>356</sup></a></p> + + <p>The business of the session was closing. It remained to receive the + reply of convocation on the limitation of its powers. The convocation, + presuming, perhaps, upon its concessions on the annates question, and + untamed by the premunire, had framed their answer in the same spirit + which had been previously exhibited by the bishops. They had re-asserted + their claims as resting on divine authority, and had declined to + acknowledge the right of any secular power to restrain or meddle with + them.<a name="NtA_357"></a><a href="#Nt_357"><sup>357</sup></a> The + second answer, as may be supposed, fared no better than the first. It was + returned with a peremptory demand for submission; and taught by + experience the uselessness of further opposition, the clergy with a bad + grace complied. The form was again drawn by the bishops, and it is + amusing to trace the workings of their humbled spirit in their reluctant + descent from their high estate. They still laboured to protect their + dignity in the terms of their concession:—</p> + +<!-- Page 220 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page220"></a>[pg 220]</span> + + <p>"As concerning such constitutions and ordinances provincial," they + wrote, "as shall be made hereafter by your most humble subjects, we + having our special trust and confidence in your most excellent wisdom, + your princely goodness, and fervent zeal for the promotion of God's + honour and Christian religion, and specially in your incomparable + learning far exceeding in our judgment the learning of all other kings + and princes that we have read of; and not doubting but that the same + should still continue and daily increase in your Majesty; do offer and + promise here unto the same, that from henceforth we shall forbear to + enact, promulge, or put in execution any such constitutions and + ordinances so by us to be made in time coming, unless your Highness by + your Royal assent shall license us to make, promulge, and execute such + constitutions, and the same so made be approved by your Highness's + authority.</p> + + <p>"And whereas your Highness's most honourable Commons do pretend that + divers of the constitutions provincial, which have been heretofore + enacted, be not only much prejudicial to your Highness's prerogative + royal, but be also overmuch onerous to your said Commons, we, your most + humble servants for the consideration before said, be contented to refer + all the said constitutions to the judgment of your Grace only. And + whatsoever of the same shall finally be found prejudicial and overmuch + onerous as is pretended, we offer and promise your Highness to moderate + or utterly to abrogate and annul the same, according to the judgment of + your Grace. Saving to us always such liberties and immunities of this + Church of England as hath been granted unto the same by the goodness and + benignity of your Highness and of others your most noble progenitors; + with such constitutions provincial as do stand with the laws of Almighty + God and of your Realm heretofore made, which we most humbly beseech your + Grace to ratify and approve by your most Royal assent for the better + execution of the same in times to come."<a name="NtA_358"></a><a + href="#Nt_358"><sup>358</sup></a></p> + + <p>The acknowledgment appeared to be complete, and might perhaps have + been accepted without minute examination, except for the imprudent + acuteness of the Lower House of Convocation. As it passed through their + hands, they discovered—what had no doubt been intended as a + loophole for future evasion—that the grounds which were alleged to + excuse the submission were the virtues of the reigning king: and + therefore, as they sagaciously argued, the submission must only remain in + force for his life. They introduced a limitation to that effect. Some + further <!-- Page 221 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page221"></a>[pg + 221]</span> paltry dabbling was also attempted with the phraseology: and + at length, impatient with such dishonest trifling, and weary of a + discussion in which they had resolved to allow but one conclusion, the + king and the legislature thought it well to interfere with a high hand, + and cut short such unprofitable folly. The language of the bishops was + converted into an act of parliament; a mixed commission was appointed to + revise the canon law, and the clergy with a few brief strokes were + reduced for ever into their fit position of subjects.<a + name="NtA_359"></a><a href="#Nt_359"><sup>359</sup></a> Thus with a + moderate hand this great revolution was effected, and, to outward + appearance, with offence to none except the sufferers, whose misuse of + power when they possessed it deprived them of all sympathy in their + fall.</p> + + <p>But no change of so vast a kind can be other than a stone of stumbling + to those many persons for whom the beaten ways of life alone are + tolerable, and who, when these ways are broken, are bewildered and lost. + Religion, when men are under its influence at all, so absorbs their + senses, and so pervades all their associations, that no faults in the + ministers of it can divest their persons of reverence; and just and + necessary as all these alterations were, many a pious and noble heart was + wounded, many a man was asking himself in his perplexity where things + would end, and still more sadly, where, if these quarrels deepened, would + lie his own duty. Now the Nun of Kent grew louder in her Cassandra + wailings. Now the mendicant friars mounted the pulpits exclaiming + sacrilege; bold men, who feared nothing that men could do to them, and + who dared in the king's own presence, and in his own chapel, to denounce + him by name.<a name="NtA_360"></a><a href="#Nt_360"><sup>360</sup></a> + The sacred associations of twelve centuries were tumbling into ruin; and + hot and angry as men had been before the work began, the hearts of + numbers sank in them when they "saw what was done;" and they fell away + slowly to doubt, disaffection, distrust, and at last treason.</p> + + <p>The first outward symptom of importance pointing in this direction, + was the resignation of the seals by Sir Thomas More.<a + name="NtA_361"></a><a href="#Nt_361"><sup>361</sup></a> <!-- Page 222 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page222"></a>[pg 222]</span> More had + not been an illiberal man; when he wrote the <i>Utopia</i>, he seemed + even to be in advance of his time. None could see the rogue's face under + the cowl clearer than he, or the proud bad heart under the scarlet hat; + and few men had ventured to speak their thoughts more boldly. But there + was in More a want of confidence in human nature, a scorn of the follies + of his fellow creatures which, as he became more earnestly religious, + narrowed and hardened his convictions, and transformed the genial + philosopher into the merciless bigot. "Heresy" was naturally hateful to + him; his mind was too clear and genuine to allow him to deceive himself + with the delusions of Anglicanism; and as he saw the inevitable tendency + of the Reformation to lead ultimately to a change of doctrine, he + attached himself with increasing determination to the cause of the pope + and of the old faith. As if with an instinctive prescience of what would + follow from it, he had from the first been opposed to the divorce; and he + had not concealed his feeling from the king at the time when the latter + had pressed the seals on his unwilling acceptance. In consenting to + become chancellor, he had yielded only to Henry's entreaties; he had held + his office for two years and a half—and it would have been well for + his memory if he had been constant in his refusal—for in his + ineffectual struggles against the stream, he had attempted to + counterpoise the attack upon the church by destroying the unhappy + Protestants. At the close of the session, however, the acts of which we + have just described, he felt that he must no longer countenance, by + remaining in an office so near to the crown, measures which he so + intensely disapproved and deplored; it was time for him to retire from a + world not moving to his mind; and in the fair tranquillity of his family + prepare himself for the evil days which he foresaw. In May, 1532, he + petitioned for permission to resign, resting his request unobtrusively on + failing health; and Henry sadly consented to lose his services.</p> + + <p>Parallel to More's retirement, and though less important, yet still + noticeable, is a proceeding of old Archbishop Warham under the same + trying circumstances. In the days of his prosperity, Warham had never + reached to greatness as a man. He had <!-- Page 223 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page223"></a>[pg 223]</span> been a great + ecclesiastic, successful, dignified, important, but without those highest + qualities which command respect or interest. The iniquities of Warham's + spiritual courts were greater than those of any other in England. He had + not made them what they were. They grew by their own proper corruption; + and he was no more responsible for them than every man is responsible for + the continuance of an evil by which he profits, and which he has power to + remedy. We must look upon him as the leader of the bishops in their + opposition to the reform; and he was the probable author of the famous + answer to the Commons' petition, which led to such momentous + consequences.<a name="NtA_362"></a><a href="#Nt_362"><sup>362</sup></a> + These consequences he had lived partially to see. Powerless to struggle + against the stream, he had seen swept away one by one those gigantic + privileges to which he had asserted for his order a claim divinely + sanctioned; and he withdrew himself heartbroken, into his palace at + Lambeth, and there entered his solemn protest against all which had been + done. Too ill to write, and trembling on the edge of the grave, he + dictated to his notaries from his bed these not unaffecting + words:—</p> + + <p>"In the name of God, Amen. We, William, by Divine Providence + Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, Legate of the Apostolic + See, hereby publicly and expressly do protest for ourselves and for our + Holy Metropolitan Church of Canterbury, that to any statute passed or + hereafter to be passed in this present Parliament, began the third of + November, 1529, and continued until this present time; in so far as such + statute or statutes be in derogation of the Pope of Rome or the Apostolic + See, or be to the hurt, prejudice, or limitation of the powers of the + Church, or shall tend to the subverting, enervating, derogating from, or + diminishing the laws, customs, privileges, prerogatives, pre-eminence of + liberties of our Metropolitan Church of Canterbury; we neither will, nor + intend, nor with clear conscience are able to consent to the same, but by + these writings we do dissent from, refuse, and contradict them."<a + name="NtA_363"></a><a href="#Nt_363"><sup>363</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus formally having delivered his soul, he laid himself down and + died.</p> + +<!-- Page 224 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page224"></a>[pg 224]</span> + +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>MARRIAGE OF HENRY AND ANNE BOLEYN</h3> + + <p>Although in the question of the divorce the king had interfered + despotically to control the judgment of the universities, he had made no + attempt, as we have seen, to check the tongues of the clergy. Nor if he + had desired to check them, is it likely that at the present stage of + proceedings he could have succeeded. No law had as yet been passed which + made a crime of a difference of opinion on the pope's dispensing powers; + and so long as no definitive sentence had been pronounced, every one had + free liberty to think and speak as he pleased. So great, indeed, was the + anxiety to disprove Catherine's assertion that England was a <i>locus + suspectus</i>, and therefore that the cause could not be equitably tried + there, that even in the distribution of patronage there was an + ostentatious display of impartiality. Not only had Sir Thomas More been + made chancellor, although emphatically on Catherine's side; but Cuthbert + Tunstal, who had been her counsel, was promoted to the see of Durham. The + Nun of Kent, if her word was to be believed, had been offered an abbey,<a + name="NtA_364"></a><a href="#Nt_364"><sup>364</sup></a> and that Henry + permitted language to pass unnoticed of the most uncontrolled violence, + appears from a multitude of informations which were forwarded to the + government from all parts of the country. But while imposing no restraint + on the expression of opinion, the council were careful to keep themselves + well informed of the opinions which were expressed, and an instrument was + ready made to their hands, which placed them in easy possession of what + they desired. Among the many abominable practices which had been + introduced by the ecclesiastical courts, not the least hateful was the + system of espionage with which they had saturated English society; + encouraging servants to be spies on their masters, children on their + parents, neighbours on their neighbours, inviting every one who heard + language spoken anywhere of doubtful allegiance to the church, to report + the words to the nearest official, as an occasion of instant process. It + is not without a feeling of satisfaction, that we find this detestable + invention recoiling upon the heads of its authors. Those who had so long + suffered under it, found an opportunity in the turning tide, of revenging + themselves <!-- Page 225 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> on their oppressors; and the country + was covered with a ready-made army of spies, who, with ears ever open, + were on the watch for impatient or disaffected language in their clerical + superiors, and furnished steady reports of such language to Cromwell.<a + name="NtA_365"></a><a href="#Nt_365"><sup>365</sup></a></p> + + <p>Specimens of these informations will throw curious light on the + feelings of a portion at least of the people. The English licence of + speech, if not recognised to the same extent as it is at <!-- Page 226 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> present, + was certainly as fully practised. On the return of the Abbot of Whitby + from the convocation at York in the summer of 1532, when the premunire + money was voted, the following conversation was reported as having been + overheard in the abbey.</p> + + <p>The prior of the convent asked the abbot what the news were. "What + news," said the abbot, "evil news. The king is ruled by a common + —— Anne Boleyn, who has made all the spiritualty to be + beggared, and the temporalty also. Further he told the prior of a sermon + that he had heard in York, in which it was said, when a great wind rose + in the west we should hear news. And he asked what that was; and he said + a great man told him at York, and if he knew as much as three in England + he would tell what the news were. And he said who were they? and he said + the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Wiltshire, and the common —— + Anne Boleyn."<a name="NtA_366"></a><a + href="#Nt_366"><sup>366</sup></a></p> + + <p>The dates of these papers cannot always be determined; this which + follows, probably, is something later, but it shows the general temper in + which the clergy were disposed to meet the measures of the + government.</p> + + <p>"Robert Legate, friar of Furness, deposeth that the monks had a + prophecy among them, that 'in England shall be slain the decorate rose in + his mother's belly,' and this they interpret of his Majesty, saying that + his Majesty shall die by the hands of priests; for the church is the + mother, and the church shall slay his Grace. The said Robert maintaineth + that he hath heard the monks often say this. Also, it is said among them + that the King's Grace was not the right heir to the crown; for that his + Grace's father came in by no line, but by the sword. Also, that no + secular knave should be head of the church; also that the abbot did know + of these treasons, and had made no report thereof."<a + name="NtA_367"></a><a href="#Nt_367"><sup>367</sup></a></p> + + <p>Nor was it only in the remote abbeys of the North that such dangerous + language was ventured. The pulpit of St. Paul's rang Sunday after Sunday + with the polemics of the divorce; and if "the holy water of the court" + made the higher clergy cringing and cowardly, the rank and file, even in + London itself, showed a bold English front, and spoke out their thoughts + with entire recklessness. Among the preachers on Catherine's side, <!-- + Page 227 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span> + Father Forest, famous afterward in Catholic martyrologies, began to + distinguish himself. Forest was warden of a convent of Observants at + Greenwich attached to the royal chapel, and having been Catherine's + confessor, remained, with the majority of the friars, faithful to her + interests, and fearless in the assertion of them. From their connection + with the palace, the intercourse of these monks with the royal household + was considerable; their position gave them influence, and Anne Boleyn + tried the power of her charms, if possible, to gain them over. She had + succeeded with a few of the weaker brothers, but she was unable (and her + inability speaks remarkably for Henry's endurance of opposition through + the early stages of the controversy) to protect those whose services she + had won from the anger of their superiors. One monk in whom she was + interested the warden imprisoned,<a name="NtA_368"></a><a + href="#Nt_368"><sup>368</sup></a> another there was an effort to expel,<a + name="NtA_369"></a><a href="#Nt_369"><sup>369</sup></a> because he was + ready to preach on her side; and Forest himself preached a violent sermon + at Paul's Cross, attacking Cromwell and indirectly the king.<a + name="NtA_370"></a><a href="#Nt_370"><sup>370</sup></a> He was sent for + to the court, and the persecuted brothers expected their triumph; but he + returned, as one of them wrote bitterly to Cromwell, having been received + with respect and favour, as if, after all, the enmity of a brave man + found more honour at the court than the complacency of cowardice. Father + Forest, says this letter, has been with the king. "He says he spake with + the king for half an hour and more, and was well retained by his Grace; + and the King's Grace did send him a great piece of beef from his own + table; and also he met with my Lord of Norfolk, and he says he took him + in his arms and bade him welcome."<a name="NtA_371"></a><a + href="#Nt_371"><sup>371</sup></a></p> + + <p>Forest, unfortunately for himself, misconstrued forbearance into fear, + and went his way at last, through treason and perjury, to the stake. In + the meantime the Observants were left in possession of the royal chapel, + the weak brother died in prison, and the king, when at Greenwich, + continued to attend service, submitting to listen, as long as submission + was possible, to the admonitions which the friars used the opportunity to + deliver to him.</p> + + <p>In these more courteous days we can form little conception <!-- Page + 228 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> of the + licence which preachers in the sixteenth century allowed themselves, or + the language which persons in high authority were often obliged to bear. + Latimer spoke as freely to Henry VIII. of neglected duties, as to the + peasants in his Wiltshire parish. St. Ambrose did not rebuke the Emperor + Theodosius more haughtily than John Knox lectured Queen Mary and her + ministers on the vanities of Holyrood; and Catholic priests, it seems, + were not afraid to display even louder disrespect.</p> + + <p>On Sunday, the first of May, 1532, the pulpit at Greenwich was + occupied by Father Peto, afterwards Cardinal Peto, famous through Europe + as a Catholic incendiary; but at this time an undistinguished brother of + the Observants convent. His sermon had been upon the story of Ahab and + Naboth, and his text had been, "Where the dogs licked the blood of + Naboth, even there shall they lick thy blood, O king." Henry, the court, + and most likely Anne Boleyn herself, were present; the first of May being + the great holy-day of the English year, and always observed at Greenwich + with peculiar splendour. The preacher had dilated at length upon the + crimes and the fall of Ahab, and had drawn the portrait in all its + magnificent wickedness. He had described the scene in the court of + heaven, and spoken of the lying prophets who had mocked the monarch's + hopes before the fatal battle. At the end, he turned directly to Henry, + and assuming to himself the mission of Micaiah, he closed his address in + the following audacious words:—"And now, O king," he said, "hear + what I say to thee. I am that Micaiah whom thou wilt hate, because I + must tell thee truly that this marriage is unlawful, and I know that I + shall eat the bread of affliction and drink the waters of sorrow, yet + because the Lord hath put it in my mouth I must speak it. There are + other preachers, yea too many, which preach and persuade thee otherwise, + feeding they folly and frail affections upon hopes of their own worldly + promotion; and by that means they betray thy soul, thy honour, and thy + posterity; to obtain fat benefices, to become rich abbots and bishops, + and I know not what. These I say are the four hundred prophets who, in + the spirit of lying, seek to deceive thee. Take heed lest thou, being + seduced, find Ahab's punishment, who had his blood licked up by the + dogs."</p> + + <p>Henry must have been compelled to listen to many such invectives. He + left the chapel without noticing what had passed; and in the course of + the week Peto went down from Greenwich to attend a provincial council at + Canterbury, and perhaps to <!-- Page 229 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> communicate with the Nun of Kent. + Meantime a certain Dr. Kirwan was commissioned to preach on the other + side of the question the following Sunday.</p> + + <p>Kirwan was one of those men of whom the preacher spoke prophetically, + since by the present and similar services he made his way to the + archbishopric of Dublin and the bishopric of Oxford, and accepting the + Erastian theory of a Christian's duty, followed Edward VI. into heresy, + and Mary into popery and persecution. He regarded himself as an official + of the state religion; and his highest conception of evil in a Christian + was disobedience to the reigning authority. We may therefore conceive + easily the burden of his sermon in the royal chapel. "He most sharply + reprehended Peto," calling him foul names, "dog, slanderer, base beggarly + friar, rebel, and traitor," saying "that no subject should speak so + audaciously to his prince:" he "commended" Henry's intended marriage, + "thereby to establish his seed in his seat for ever;" and having won, as + he supposed, his facile victory, he proceeded with his peroration, + addressing his absent antagonist. "I speak to thee, Peto," he exclaimed, + "to thee, Peto, which makest thyself Micaiah, that thou mayest speak evil + of kings; but now art not to be found, being fled for fear and shame, as + unable to answer my argument." In the royal chapel at Greenwich there was + more reality than decorum. A voice out of the rood-loft cut short the + eloquent declamation. "Good sir," it said, "you know Father Peto is gone + to Canterbury to a provincial council, and not fled for fear of you; for + to-morrow he will return again. In the meantime I am here as another + Micaiah, and will lay down my life to prove those things true which he + hath taught. And to this combat I challenge thee; thee Kirwan, I say, who + art one of the four hundred into whom the spirit of lying is entered, and + thou seekest by adultery to establish the succession, betraying thy king + for thy own vain glory into endless perdition."</p> + + <p>A scene of confusion followed, which was allayed at last by the king + himself, who rose from his seat and commanded silence. It was thought + that the limit of permissible licence had been transcended, and the + following day Peto and Elstowe, the other speaker, were summoned before + the council to receive a reprimand. Lord Essex told them they deserved to + be sewn into a sack and thrown into the Thames. "Threaten such things to + rich and dainty folk, which have their hope in this world," answered + Elstowe, gallantly, "we fear them not; with thanks to God we know the way + to heaven to be as ready by water as <!-- Page 230 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> by land."<a + name="NtA_372"></a><a href="#Nt_372"><sup>372</sup></a> Men of such metal + might be broken, but they could not be bent. The two offenders were + hopelessly unrepentant and impracticable, and it was found necessary to + banish them. They retired to Antwerp, where we find them the following + year busy procuring copies of the Bishop of Rochester's book against the + king, which was broadly disseminated on the continent, and secretly + transmitting them into England; in close correspondence also with Fisher + himself, with Sir Thomas More, and for the ill fortune of their friends, + with the court at Brussels, between which and the English Catholics the + intercourse was dangerously growing.<a name="NtA_373"></a><a + href="#Nt_373"><sup>373</sup></a></p> + + <p>The Greenwich friars, with their warden, went also a bad way. The + death of the persecuted brother was attended with circumstances in a high + degree suspicious.<a name="NtA_374"></a><a + href="#Nt_374"><sup>374</sup></a> Henry ordered an enquiry, which did not + terminate in any actual exposure; but a cloud hung over the convent, + which refused to be dispelled; the warden was deposed, and soon after it + was found necessary to dissolve the order.</p> + + <p>If the English monks had shared as a body the character of the + Greenwich Observants, of the Carthusians of London and Richmond, and of + some other establishments,—which may easily be numbered,—the + resistance which they might have offered to the government, with the + sympathy which it would have commanded, would have formed an obstacle to + the Reformation <!-- Page 231 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> that no power could have overcome. It + was time, however, for the dissolution of the monasteries, when the few + among them, which on other grounds might have claimed a right to survive, + were driven by their very virtues into treason. The majority perished of + their proper worthlessness; the few remaining contrived to make their + existence incompatible with the safety of the state.</p> + + <p>Leaving for the present these disorders to mature themselves, I must + now return to the weary chapter of European diplomacy, to trace the + tortuous course of popes and princes, duping one another with false + hopes; saying what they did not mean, and meaning what they did not say. + It is a very Slough of Despond, through which we must plunge desperately + as we may; and we can cheer ourselves in this dismal region only by the + knowledge that, although we are now approaching the spot where the mire + is deepest, the hard ground is immediately beyond.</p> + + <p>We shall, perhaps, be able most readily to comprehend the position of + the various parties in Europe, by placing them before us as they stood + severally in the summer of 1532, and defining briefly the object which + each was pursuing.</p> + + <p>Henry only, among the great powers, laid his conduct open to the + world, declaring truly what he desired, and seeking it by open means. He + was determined to proceed with the divorce, and he was determined also to + continue the Reformation of the English Church. If consistently with + these two objects he could avoid a rupture with the pope, he was + sincerely anxious to avoid it. He was ready to make great efforts, to + risk great sacrifices, to do anything short of surrendering what he + considered of vital moment, to remain upon good terms with the See of + Rome. If his efforts failed, and a quarrel was inevitable, he desired to + secure himself by a close maintenance of the French alliance; and having + induced Francis to urge compliance upon the pope by a threat of + separation if he refused, to prevail on him, in the event of the pope's + continued obstinacy, to put his threat in execution, and unite with + England in a common schism. All this is plain and + straightforward—Henry concealed nothing, and, in fact, had nothing + to conceal. In his threats, his promises, and his entreaties, we feel + entire certainty that he was speaking his real thoughts.</p> + + <p>The emperor's position, also, though not equally simple, is + intelligible, and commands our respect. Although if he had consented to + sacrifice his aunt, he might have spared himself serious embarrassment; + although both by the pope and by the <!-- Page 232 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> consistory such a + resolution would probably have been welcomed with passionate + thankfulness; yet at all hazards Charles was determined to make her his + first object, even with the risk of convulsing Europe. At the same time + his position was encumbered with difficulty. The Turks were pressing upon + him in Hungary and in the Mediterranean; his relations with + Francis—fortunately for the prospects of the Reformation—were + those of inveterate hostility; while in Germany he had been driven to + make terms with the Protestant princes; he had offended the pope by + promising them a general council, in which the Lutheran divines should be + represented; and the pope, taught by recent experience, was made to fear + that these symptoms of favour towards heresy, might convert themselves + into open support.</p> + + <p>With Francis the prevailing feeling was rivalry with the emperor, + combined with an eager desire to recover his influence in Italy, and to + restore France to the position in Europe which had been lost by the + defeat of Pavia, and the failure of Lautrec at Naples. This was his first + object, to which every other was subsidiary. He was disinclined to a + rupture with the pope; but the possibility of such a rupture had been + long contemplated by French statesmen. It was a contingency which the + pope feared:—which the hopes of Henry pictured as more likely than + it was—and Francis, like his rivals in the European system, held + the menace of it extended over the chair of St. Peter, to coerce its + unhappy occupant into compliance with his wishes. With respect to Henry's + divorce, his conduct to the University of Paris, and his assurances + repeated voluntarily on many occasions, show that he was sincerely + desirous to forward it. He did not care for Henry, or for England, or for + the cause itself; he desired only to make the breach between Henry and + Charles irreparable; to make it impossible for ever that "his two great + rivals" should become friends together; and by inducing the pope to + consent to the English demand, to detach the court of Rome conclusively + from the imperial interests.</p> + + <p>The two princes who disputed the supremacy of Europe, were intriguing + one against the other, each desiring to constitute himself the champion + of the church; and to compel the church to accept his services, by the + threat of passing over to her enemies. By a dexterous use of the cards + which were in his hands, the King of France proposed to secure one of two + alternatives. Either he would form a league between himself, Henry, and + the pope, against the emperor, of which the divorce, and the consent to + it, which he would extort from Clement, should be the cement; <!-- Page + 233 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> or, if + this failed him, he would avail himself of the vantage ground which was + given to him by the English alliance to obtain such concessions for + himself at the emperor's expense as the pope could be induced to make, + and the emperor to tolerate.</p> + + <p>Such, in so far as I can unravel the web of the diplomatic + correspondence, appear to have been the open positions and the secret + purposes of the great European powers.</p> + + <p>There remains the fourth figure upon the board, the pope himself, + labouring with such means as were at his disposal to watch over the + interests of the church, and to neutralise the destructive ambition of + the princes, by playing upon their respective selfishnesses. On the + central question, that of the divorce, his position was briefly this. + Both the emperor and Henry pressed for a decision. If he decided for + Henry, he lost Germany; if he decided for Catherine, while Henry was + supported by Francis, France and England threatened both to fall from + him. It was therefore necessary for him to induce the emperor to consent + to delay, while he worked upon the King of France; and, if France and + England could once be separated, he trusted that Henry would yield in + despair. This most subtle and difficult policy reveals itself in the + transactions open and secret of the ensuing years. It was followed with a + dexterity as extraordinary as its unscrupulousness, and with all but + perfect success. That it failed at all, in the ordinary sense of failure, + was due to the accidental delay of a courier; and Clement, while he + succeeded in preserving the allegiance of France to the Roman see, + succeeded also—and this is no small thing to have + accomplished—in weaving the most curious tissue of falsehood which + will be met with even in the fertile pages of Italian subtlety.</p> + + <p>With this general understanding of the relation between the great + parties in the drama, let us look to their exact position in the summer + of 1532.</p> + + <p>Charles was engaged in repelling an invasion of the Turks, with an + anarchical Germany in his rear, seething with fanatical anabaptists, and + clamouring for a general council.</p> + + <p>Henry and Francis had been called upon to furnish a contingent against + Solyman, and had declined to act with the emperor. They had undertaken to + concert their own measures between themselves, if it proved necessary for + them to move; and in the meantime Cardinal Grammont and Cardinal Tournon + were sent by Francis to Rome, to inform Clement that unless he gave a + verdict in Henry's favour, the Kings of France and England, <!-- Page 234 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> being + <i>une mesme chose</i>, would pursue some policy with respect to him,<a + name="NtA_375"></a><a href="#Nt_375"><sup>375</sup></a> to which he would + regret that he had compelled them to <!-- Page 235 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> have recourse. So + far their instructions were avowed and open. A private message revealed + the secret means by which the pope might escape from his dilemma; the + cardinals were to negotiate a marriage between the Duke of Orleans and + the pope's niece (afterwards so infamously famous), Catherine de Medicis. + The marriage, as Francis represented it to Henry, was beneath the dignity + of a prince of France, he had consented to it, as he professed, only for + Henry's sake;<a name="NtA_376"></a><a href="#Nt_376"><sup>376</sup></a> + but the pope had made it palatable by a secret article in the engagement, + for the grant of the duchy of Milan as the lady's dowry.</p> + + <p>Henry, threatened as we have seen with domestic disturbance, and with + further danger on the side of Scotland, which Charles had succeeded in + agitating, concluded, on the 23rd of June, a league, offensive and + defensive, with Francis, the latter engaging to send a fleet into the + Channel, and to land 15,000 troops in England if the emperor should + attempt an invasion from the sea.<a name="NtA_378"></a><a + href="#Nt_378"><sup>378</sup></a> For the better consolidation of this + league, and to consult upon the measures which they would pursue on the + great questions at issue in Christendom, and lastly to come to a final + understanding on the divorce, it was agreed further that in the autumn + the two kings should meet at Calais. The conditions of the interview were + still unarranged on the 22nd of July, when the Bishop of Paris, who + remained ambassador at the English court, wrote to Montmorency to suggest + that Anne Boleyn should be invited to accompany the King of England on + this occasion, and that she should be received in state. The letter was + dated from Ampthill, to which Henry had escaped for a while from his + Greenwich friars and other troubles, and where the king was staying a few + weeks before the house was given up to Queen Catherine. Anne Boleyn was + with him; she now, as a matter of course, attended him everywhere. + Intending her, as he did, to be the mother of the future heir to his + crown, he <!-- Page 236 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> preserved what is technically called + her honour unimpeached and unimpaired. In all other respects she occupied + the position and received the homage due to the actual wife of the + English sovereign; and in this capacity it was the desire of Henry that + she should be acknowledged by a foreign prince.</p> + + <p>The bishop's letter on this occasion is singularly interesting and + descriptive. The court were out hunting, he said, every day; and while + the king was pursuing the heat of the chase, he and Mademoiselle Anne + were posted together, each with a crossbow, at the point to which the + deer was to be driven. The young lady, in order that the appearance of + her reverend cavalier might correspond with his occupation, had made him + a present of a hunting cap and frock, a horn and a greyhound. Her + invitation to Calais he pressed with great earnestness, and suggested + that Marguerite de Valois, the Queen of Navarre, should be brought down + to entertain her. The Queen of France being a Spaniard, would not, he + thought, be welcome: "the sight of a Spanish dress being as hateful in + the King of England's eyes as the devil himself." In other respects the + reception should be as magnificent as possible, "and I beseech you," he + concluded, "keep out of the court, <i>deux sortes de gens</i>, the + imperialists, and the wits and mockers; the English can endure neither of + them."<a name="NtA_379"></a><a href="#Nt_379"><sup>379</sup></a></p> + + <p>Through the tone of this language the contempt is easily <!-- Page 237 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span> visible + with which the affair was regarded in the French court. But for Francis + to receive in public the rival of Queen Catherine, to admit her into his + family, and to bring his sister from Paris to entertain her, was to + declare in the face of Europe, in a manner which would leave no doubt of + his sincerity, that he intended to countenance Henry. With this view only + was the reception of Anne desired by the King of England; with this view + it was recommended by the bishop, and assented to by the French court. + Nor was this the only proof which Francis was prepared to give, that he + was in earnest. He had promised to distribute forty thousand crowns at + Rome, in bribing cardinals to give their voices for Henry in the + consistory, with other possible benefactions.<a name="NtA_380"></a><a + href="#Nt_380"><sup>380</sup></a></p> + + <p>He had further volunteered his good offices with the court of + Scotland, where matters were growing serious, and where his influence + could be used to great advantage. The ability of James the Fifth to + injure Henry happily fell short of his inclination, but encouraged by + secret promises from Clement and from the emperor, he was waiting his + opportunity to cross the Border with an army; and in the meantime he was + feeding with efficient support a rebellion in Ireland. Of what was + occurring at this time in that perennially miserable country I shall + speak in a separate chapter. It is here sufficient to mention, that on + the 23rd of August, Henry received information that McConnell of the + Isles, after receiving knighthood from James, had been despatched into + Ulster with four thousand men,<a name="NtA_381"></a><a + href="#Nt_381"><sup>381</sup></a> and was followed by Mackane with seven + thousand more on the 3rd of September.<a name="NtA_382"></a><a + href="#Nt_382"><sup>382</sup></a> Peace with England nominally continued; + but <!-- Page 238 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page238"></a>[pg + 238]</span> the Kers, the Humes, the Scotts of Buccleugh, the advanced + guard of the Marches, were nightly making forays across the Border, and + open hostilities appeared to be on the point of explosion.<a + name="NtA_383"></a><a href="#Nt_383"><sup>383</sup></a> If war was to + follow, Henry was prepared for it. He had a powerful force at Berwick, + and in Scotland itself a large party were secretly attached to the + English interests. The clan of Douglas, with their adherents, were even + prepared for open revolt, and open transfer of allegiance.<a + name="NtA_384"></a><a href="#Nt_384"><sup>384</sup></a> But, although + Scottish nobles might be gained over, and Scottish armies might be + defeated in the field, Scotland itself, as the experience of centuries + had proved, could never be conquered. The policy of the Tudors had been + to abstain from aggression, till time should have soothed down the + inherited animosity between the two countries; and Henry was unwilling to + be forced into extremities which might revive the bitter memories of + Flodden. The Northern counties also, in spite of their Border prejudices, + were the stronghold of the papal party, and it was doubtful how far their + allegiance could be counted upon in the event of an invasion sanctioned + by the pope. The hands of the English government were already full + without superadded embarrassment, and the offered mediation of Francis + was gratefully welcomed.</p> + + <p>These were the circumstances under which the second great interview + was to take place between Francis the First and Henry of England.<a + name="NtA_385"></a><a href="#Nt_385"><sup>385</sup></a> Twelve years had + passed since their last meeting, <!-- Page 239 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> and the experience + which those years had brought to both of them, had probably subdued their + inclination for splendid pageantry. Nevertheless, in honour of the + occasion, some faint revival was attempted of the magnificence of the + Field of the Cloth of Gold. Anne Boleyn was invited duly; and the Queen + of Navarre, as the Bishop of Paris recommended, came down to Boulogne to + receive her. The French princes came also to thank Henry in person for + their deliverance out of their Spanish prison; and he too, on his side, + brought with him his young Marcellus, the Duke of Richmond, his only + son—illegitimate unfortunately—but whose beauty and noble + promise were at once his father's misery and pride; giving point to his + bitterness at the loss of his sons by Catherine; quickening his hopes of + what might be, and deepening his discontent with <!-- Page 240 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> that which was. If + this boy had lived, he would have been named to follow Edward the Sixth + in the succession, and would have been King of England;<a + name="NtA_386"></a><a href="#Nt_386"><sup>386</sup></a> but he too passed + away in the flower of his loveliness, one more evidence of the blight + which rested upon the stem of the Tudors.</p> + + <p>The English court was entertained by Francis at Boulogne. The French + court was received in return at Calais by the English. The outward + description of the scene, the magnificent train of <!-- Page 241 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page241"></a>[pg 241]</span> the princes, the + tournaments, the feasts, the dances, will be found minutely given in the + pages of Hall, and need not be repeated here. To Hall indeed, the outward + life of men, their exploits in war, and their pageantries in peace, alone + had meaning or interest; and the backstairs secrets of Vatican diplomacy, + the questionings of opinion, and all the brood of mental sicknesses then + beginning to distract the world, were but impertinent interferences with + the true business of existence. But the healthy objectiveness of an old + English chronicler is no longer possible for us; we may envy where we + cannot imitate; and our business is with such features of the story as + are of moment to ourselves.</p> + + <p>The political questions which were to be debated at the conference, + were three; the Turkish Invasion, the General Council, and King Henry's + divorce.</p> + + <p>On the first, it was decided that there was no immediate occasion for + France and England to move. Solyman's retreat from Vienna had relieved + Europe from present peril; and the enormous losses which he had suffered, + might prevent him from repeating the experiment. If the danger became + again imminent, however, the two kings agreed to take the field in person + the following year at the head of eighty thousand men.</p> + + <p>On the second point they came to no conclusion, but resolved only to + act in common.</p> + + <p>On the third and most important, they parted with a belief that they + understood each other; but their memories, or the memory of one of them, + proved subsequently treacherous; and we can only extract what passed + between them out of their mutual recriminations.</p> + + <p>It was determined certainly that at the earliest convenient moment, a + meeting should take place between the pope and Francis; and that at this + meeting Francis should urge in person concession to Henry's demands. If + the pope professed himself unable to risk the displeasure of the emperor, + it should be suggested that he might return to Avignon, where he would be + secure under the protection of France and England. If he was still + reluctant, and persisted in asserting his right to compel Henry to plead + before him at Rome, or if he followed up his citations by inhibitions, + suspensions, excommunications, or other form of censure, Francis declared + that he would support Henry to the last, whether against the pope himself + or against any prince or potentate who might attempt to enforce the + sentence. On this point the promises of the King of France <!-- Page 242 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> were most + profuse and decided; and although it was not expressly stated in words, + Henry seems to have persuaded himself that, if the pope pressed matters + to extremities, Francis had engaged further that the two countries should + pursue a common course, and unite in a common schism. The two princes did + in fact agree, that if the general council which they desired was + refused, they would summon provincial councils on their own authority. + Each of them perhaps interpreted their engagements by their own wishes or + interests.<a name="NtA_387"></a><a href="#Nt_387"><sup>387</sup></a></p> + + <p>We may further believe, since it was affirmed by Henry, and not denied + by Francis, that the latter advised Henry to bring the dispute to a + close, by a measure from which he could not recede; that he recommended + him to act on the general opinion of Europe that his marriage with Queen + Catherine was null, and at once upon his return to England to make Anne + Boleyn his wife.<a name="NtA_388"></a><a + href="#Nt_388"><sup>388</sup></a></p> + + <p>So far the account is clear. This advice was certainly given, and as + certainly Francis undertook to support Henry through all the consequences + in which the marriage might involve him. But a league for mutual defence + fell short of what Henry desired, and fell short also of what Francis, by + the warmth of his manner, had induced Henry for the moment to believe + that he meant. It is probable that the latter pressed upon him + engagements which he avoided by taking refuge in general professions; and + no sooner had Henry returned to England, <!-- Page 243 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> than either + misgivings occurred to him as to the substantial results of the + interview, or he was anxious to make the French king commit himself more + definitely. He sent to him to beg that he would either write out, or + dictate and sign, the expressions which he had used; professing to wish + it only for the comfort which he would derive from the continual presence + of such refreshing words—but surely for some deeper reason.<a + name="NtA_389"></a><a href="#Nt_389"><sup>389</sup></a></p> + + <p>Francis had perhaps said more than he meant; Henry supposed him to + have meant more than he said. Yet some promise was made, which was not + afterwards observed; and Francis acknowledged some engagement in an + apology which he offered for the breach of it. He asserted, in defence of + himself, that he had added a stipulation which Henry passed over in + silence,—that no steps should be taken towards annulling the + marriage with Catherine in the English law courts until the effect had + been seen of his interview with the pope, provided the pope on his side + remained similarly inactive.<a name="NtA_390"></a><a + href="#Nt_390"><sup>390</sup></a> Whatever it was which he had bound + himself to do, this condition, if made at all, could be reconciled only + with his advice that Henry should marry Anne Boleyn without further + delay, on the supposition that the interview in question was to take + place immediately; for the natural consequences of the second marriage + would involve, as a matter of course, some speedy legal declaration with + respect to the first. And when on various pretexts the pope postponed the + meeting, and on the other part of his suggestion Henry had acted within a + few months of his return from Calais, it became impossible that such a + condition could be observed. It availed for a formal excuse; but Francis + vainly endeavoured to disguise his own infirmity of purpose behind the + language of a negotiation which conveyed, when it was used, a meaning + widely different.</p> + +<!-- Page 244 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> + + <p>The conference was concluded on the 1st of November, but the court was + detained at Calais for a further fortnight by violent gales in the + Channel. In the excited state of public feeling, events in themselves + ordinary assumed a preternatural significance. The friends of Queen + Catherine, to whom the meeting between the kings was of so disastrous + augury, and the nation generally, which an accident to Henry at such a + time would have plunged into a chaos of confusion, alike watched the + storm with anxious agitation; on the king's return to London, Te Deums + were offered in the churches, as if for his deliverance from some extreme + and imminent peril. The Nun of Kent on this great occasion was admitted + to conferences with angels. She denounced the meeting, under celestial + instruction, as a conspiracy against Heaven. The king, she said, but for + her interposition, would have proceeded, while at Calais, to his impious + marriage;<a name="NtA_391"></a><a href="#Nt_391"><sup>391</sup></a> and + God was so angry with him, that he was not permitted to profane with his + unholy eyes the blessed Sacrament. "It was written in her revelations," + says the statute of her attainder, "that when the King's Grace was at + Calais, and his Majesty and the French king were hearing mass in the + Church of Our Lady, that God was so displeased with the King's Highness, + that his Grace saw not at that time the blessed sacrament in the form of + bread, for it was taken away from the priest, being at mass, by an angel, + and was ministered to the said Elizabeth, there being present and + invisible, <!-- Page 245 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> and suddenly conveyed and rapt thence + again into the nunnery where she was professed."<a name="NtA_392"></a><a + href="#Nt_392"><sup>392</sup></a></p> + + <p>She had an interview with Henry on his return through Canterbury, to + try the effect of her Cassandra presence on his fears;<a + name="NtA_393"></a><a href="#Nt_393"><sup>393</sup></a> but if he still + delayed his marriage, it was probably neither because he was frightened + by her denunciations, nor from alarm at the usual occurrence of an + equinoctial storm. Many motives combined to dissuade him from further + hesitation. Six years of trifling must have convinced him that by + decisive action alone he could force the pope to a conclusion. He was + growing old, and the exigencies of the succession, rendered doubly + pressing by the long agitation, required immediate resolution. He was + himself satisfied that he was at liberty to marry whom he pleased and + when he pleased, his relationship to Catherine, according to his recent + convictions, being such as had rendered his connection with her from the + beginning invalid and void. His own inclinations and the interests of the + nation pointed to the same course. The King of France had advised it. + Even the pope himself, at the outset of the discussion, had advised it + also. "Marry freely," the pope had said; "fear nothing, and all shall be + arranged as you desire." He had forborne to take the pope at his word; he + had hoped that the justice of his demands might open a less violent way + to him; and he had shrunk from a step which might throw even a causeless + shadow over the legitimacy of the offspring for which he longed. The case + was now changed; no other alternative seemed to be open to his choice, + and it was necessary to bring the matter to a close once and for all.</p> + + <p>But Henry, as he said himself, was past the age when passion or + appetite would be likely to move him, and having waited so many years, he + could afford to wait a little longer, till the effects of the Calais + conferences upon the pope should have had time to show themselves. In + December, Clement was to meet the emperor at Bologna. In the month + following, it might be hoped that he would meet Francis at Marseilles or + Avignon, and from their interview would be seen conclusively the future + attitude of the papal and imperial courts. Experience of the past forbade + anything like sanguine expectation; yet it was not impossible that the + pope might be compelled at last to yield the required concessions. The + terms of Henry's understanding with Francis were not perhaps made public, + but he <!-- Page 246 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page246"></a>[pg + 246]</span> was allowed to dictate the language which the French + cardinals were to make use of in the consistory;<a name="NtA_394"></a><a + href="#Nt_394"><sup>394</sup></a> and the reception of Anne Boleyn by the + French king was equivalent to the most emphatic declaration that if the + censures of the church were attempted in defence of Catherine, the + enforcement of them would be resisted by the combined arms of France and + England.</p> + + <p>And the pope did in fact feel himself in a dilemma from which all his + address was required to extricate him. He had no support from his + conscience, for he knew that he was acting unjustly in refusing the + divorce; while to risk the emperor's anger, which was the only honest + course before him, was perhaps for that very reason impossible. He fell + back upon his Italian cunning, and it did not fail him in his need. But + his conduct, though creditable to his ingenuity, reflects less pleasantly + on his character; and when it is traced through all its windings, few + reasonable persons will think that they have need to blush at the causes + which led to the last breach between England and the papacy.</p> + + <p>From the time of Catherine's appeal and the retirement of Campeggio, + Clement, with rare exceptions, had maintained an attitude of impassive + reserve. He had allowed judgment to be delayed on various pretexts, + because until that time delay had answered his purposes sufficiently. But + to the English agents he had been studiously cold, not condescending even + to hold out hopes to them that concession might be possible. Some little + time before the meeting at Calais, however, a change was observed in the + language both of the pope himself and of the consistory. The cardinals + were visibly afraid of the position which had been taken by the French + king; questions supposed to be closed were once more admitted to debate + in a manner which seemed to show that their resolution was wavering; and + one day, at the close of a long argument, the following curious + conversation took place between some person (Sir Gregory Cassalis, + apparently), who reported it to Henry, and Clement himself. "I had + desired a private interview with his Holiness," says the writer, + "intending to use all my endeavours to persuade him to satisfy your + Majesty. But although I did my best, I could obtain nothing from him; he + had an answer for everything which I advanced, and it was in vain that I + laboured to remove his difficulties. At length, however, in reply to + something which I had proposed, he said shortly,—Multo minus <!-- + Page 247 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> + scandalosum fuisset dispensare cum majestate vestrâ super duabus + uxoribus, quam ea cedere quĉ ego petebam, <i>it would have created less + scandal to have granted your Majesty a dispensation to have two wives + than to concede what I was then demanding</i>. As I did not know how far + this alternative would be pleasing to your Majesty, I endeavoured to + divert him from it, and to lead him back to what I had been previously + saying. He was silent for a while, and then, paying no regard to my + interruption, he continued to speak of the 'two wives,' admitting however + that there were difficulties in the way of such an arrangement, + principally it seemed because the emperor would refuse his consent from + the possible injury which it might create to his cousin's prospects of + the succession. I replied, that as to the succession, I could not see + what right the emperor had to a voice upon the matter. If some lawful + means could be discovered by which your Majesty could furnish yourself + with male offspring, the emperor could no more justly complain than if + the queen were to die and the prospects of the princess were interfered + with by a second marriage of an ordinary kind. To this the pope made no + answer. I cannot tell what your Majesty will think, nor how far this + suggestion of the pope would be pleasing to your Majesty. Nor indeed can + I feel sure, in consequence of what he said about the emperor, that he + actually would grant the dispensation of which he spoke. I have thought + it right, however, to inform you of what passed."<a name="NtA_395"></a><a + href="#Nt_395"><sup>395</sup></a></p> + + <p>This letter is undated, but it was written, as appears from internal + evidence, some time in the year 1532.<a name="NtA_396"></a><a + href="#Nt_396"><sup>396</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 248 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> + + <p>The pope's language was ambiguous, and the writer did not allow + himself to derive from it any favourable augury; but the tone in which + the suggestions had been made was by many degrees more favourable than + had been heard for a very long time in the quarter from which they came, + and the symptoms which it promised of a change of feeling were more than + confirmed in the following winter.</p> + + <p>Charles was to be at Bologna in the middle of December, where he was + to discuss with Clement the situation of Europe, and in particular of + Germany, with the desirableness of fulfilling the engagements into which + he had entered for a general council.</p> + + <p>This was the avowed object of the meeting. But, however important the + question of holding a council was becoming, it was not immediately + pressing; and we cannot doubt that the disquiet occasioned by the + alliance of England and France was the cause that the conference was held + at so inconvenient a season. The pope left Rome on the 18th of November, + having in his train a person who afterwards earned for himself a dark + name in English history, Dr. Bonner, then a famous canon lawyer attached + to the embassy. The journey in the wild weather was extremely miserable; + and Bonner, whose style was as graphic as it was coarse, sent home a + humorous account of it to Cromwell.<a name="NtA_397"></a><a + href="#Nt_397"><sup>397</sup></a> Three wretched weeks the party were + upon the road, plunging through mire and water. They reached Bologna on + the 8th of December, where, four days after them, arrived Charles V. It + is important, as we shall presently see, to observe the dates of these + movements. I shall have to compare with them the successive issues of + several curious documents. On the 12th of December the pope and the + emperor met at Bologna; on the 24th Dr. Bennet, Henry's able secretary, + who had been despatched from England to be present at the conference, + wrote to report the result of his observations. He had been admitted to + repeated interviews with the pope, as well before as after the emperor's + arrival; and the language which the former made use of could only be + understood, and was of course intended to be <!-- Page 249 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> understood, as + expressing the attitude in which he was placing himself towards the + imperial faction. Bennet's letter was as follows:—</p> + + <p>"I have been sundry and many times with the pope, as well afore the + coming of the emperour as sythen, yet I have not at any time found his + Holiness more tractable or propense to show gratuity unto your Highness + than now of late,—insomuch that he hath more freely opened his mind + than he was accustomed, and said also that he would speak with me frankly + without any observance or respect at all. At which time, I greatly + lamented (your Highness's cause being so just) no means could be found + and taken to satisfy your Highness therein; and I said also that I + doubted not but that (if his Holiness would) ways might be found by his + wisdom, now at the emperour's being with him, to satisfy your Highness; + and that done, his Holiness should not only have your Highness in as much + or more friendship than he hath had heretofore, but also procure thereby + that thing which his Holiness hath chiefly desired, which is, as he hath + said, a universal concord among the princes of Christendom. His Holiness + answered, that he would it had cost him a joint of his hand that such a + way might be excogitate; and he said also, that the best thing which he + could see to be done therein at this present, for a preparation to that + purpose, was the thing which is contained in the first part of the + cipher.<a name="NtA_398"></a><a href="#Nt_398"><sup>398</sup></a> + Speaking of the justness of your cause, he called to his remembrance the + thing <!-- Page 250 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page250"></a>[pg + 250]</span> which he told me two years past; which was, that the opinion + of the lawyers was more certain, favourable, and helping to your cause + than the opinion of the divines; for he said that as far as he could + perceive, the lawyers, though they held quod Papa possit dispensare in + this case, yet they commonly do agree quod hoc fieri debeat ex maximâ + causâ, adhibitâ causĉ cognitione, which in this case doth not appear; and + he said, that to come to the truth herein he had used all diligence + possible, and enquired the opinion of learned men, being of fame and + indifferency both in the court here and in other places. And his Holiness + promised me that he would herein use all good policy and dexterity to + imprint the same in the emperour's head; which done, he reckoneth many + things to be invented that may be pleasant and profitable to your + Highness; adding yet that this is not to be done with a fury, but with + leisure and as occasion shall serve, lest if he should otherwise do, he + should let and hinder that good effect which peradventure might ensue + thereby."<a name="NtA_399"></a><a href="#Nt_399"><sup>399</sup></a></p> + + <p>This letter has all the character of truth about it. The secretary had + no interest in deceiving Henry, and it is quite certain that, whether + honestly or not, the pope had led him to believe that his sympathies were + again on the English side, and that he was using his best endeavours to + subdue the emperor's opposition.</p> + + <p>On the 26th of December, two days later, Sir Gregory Cassalis, who had + also followed the papal court to Bologna, wrote to the same effect. He, + too, had been with the pope, who had been very open and confidential with + him. The emperor, the pope said, had complained of the delay in the + process, but he had assured him that it was impossible for the consistory + to do more than it had done. The opinion of the theologians was on the + whole against the papal power of dispensation in cases of so close + relationship; of the canon lawyers part agreed with the theologians, and + those who differed from them were satisfied that such a power might not + be exercised unless there were most urgent cause, unless, that is, the + safety of a kingdom were dependent upon it. Such occasion he had declared + that he could not find to have existed for the dispensation granted by + his predecessor. The emperor had replied that there had been such + occasion: the dispensation had been granted to prevent war between Spain + and England; and that otherwise great calamities would have befallen both + countries. But this was manifestly untrue; and his Holiness said that he + had answered, It was a <!-- Page 251 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> pity, then, that these causes had not + been submitted at the time, as the reason for the demand, which it was + clear that they had not been: as the case stood, it was impossible for + him to proceed further. Upon which he added, "Se vidisse Cĉsarem + obstupefactum." "I write the words," continued Sir Gregory, "exactly as + the pope related them to me. Whether he really spoke in this way, I + cannot tell; of this, however, I am sure, that on the day of our + conversation he had taken the blessed sacrament. He assured me further, + that he had laboured to induce the emperor to permit him to satisfy your + Majesty. I recommended him that when next the emperor spoke with him upon + the subject, he should enter at greater length on the question of + <i>justice</i>, and that some other person should be present at the + conference, that there might be no room left for suspicion."<a + name="NtA_400"></a><a href="#Nt_400"><sup>400</sup></a></p> + + <p>The manner of Clement was so unlike what Cassalis had been in the + habit of witnessing in him, that he was unable, as we see, wholly to + persuade himself that the change was sincere: the letter, however, was + despatched to England, and was followed in a few days by Bonner, who + brought with him the result of the pope's good will in the form of + definite propositions—instructions of similar purport having been + forwarded at the same time to the papal nuncio in England. The pope, so + Henry was informed, was now really well disposed to do what was required; + he had urged upon the emperor the necessity of concessions, and the cause + might be settled in one of two ways, to either of which he was himself + ready to consent. Catherine had appealed against judgment being passed in + England, as a place which was not indifferent. Henry had refused to allow + his cause to be heard anywhere but in his own realm; pleading first his + privilege as a sovereign prince; and secondly, his exemption as an + Englishman.<a name="NtA_401"></a><a href="#Nt_401"><sup>401</sup></a> The + pope, with appearance of openness, now suggested that Henry should either + "send a mandate requiring the remission of his cause to an indifferent + place, in which case he would himself surrender his claim to have it + tried in the courts at Rome, and would appoint a legate and two auditors + to hear the trial elsewhere;" or else, a truce of three or four years + being concluded between England, France, and Spain, the pope would "with + all celerity indict a general council, to which he <!-- Page 252 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span> would absolutely + and wholly remit the consideration of the question."<a + name="NtA_402"></a><a href="#Nt_402"><sup>402</sup></a></p> + + <p>Both proposals carried on their front a show of fair dealing, and if + honestly proffered, were an evidence that something more might at length + be hoped than words. But the true obstacle to a settlement lay, as had + been long evident, rather in the want of an honest will, than in legal + difficulties or uncertainty as to the justice of the cause; and while + neither of the alternatives as they stood were admissible or immediately + desirable, there were many other roads, if the point of honesty were once + made good, which would lead more readily to the desired end. Once for all + Henry could not consent to plead out of England; while an appeal to a + council would occupy more time than the condition of the country could + conveniently allow. But the offer had been courteously made; it had been + accompanied with language which might be sincere; and the king replied + with grace, and almost with cordiality; not wholly giving Clement his + confidence, but expressing a hope that he might soon be no longer + justified in withholding it. He was unable, he said, to accept the first + condition, because it was contrary to his coronation oath; "it so highly + touched the prerogative royal of the realm, that though he were minded to + do it, yet must he abstain without the assent of the court of parliament, + which he thought verily would never condescend to it."<a + name="NtA_403"></a><a href="#Nt_403"><sup>403</sup></a> The other + suggestion he did not absolutely reject, but the gathering of a council + was too serious a matter to be precipitated, and the situation of + Christendom presented many obstacles to a measure which would be useless + unless it were carried through by all the great powers in a spirit of + cordial unanimity. He trusted therefore that if the pope's intentions + were really such as he pretended to entertain, he would find some method + more convenient of proving his sincerity.</p> + + <p>It was happy for Henry that experience had taught him to be + distrustful. Events proved too clearly that Clement's assumed alteration + of tone was no more than a manœuvre designed to entice him to + withdraw from the position in which he had entrenched himself, and to + induce him to acknowledge that he was amenable to an earthly authority + exterior to his own realm.<a name="NtA_404"></a><a + href="#Nt_404"><sup>404</sup></a> In his offer to refer the cause to a + general council, <!-- Page 253 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span> he proved that he was insincere, when + in the following year he refused to allow a council to be a valid + tribunal for the trial of it. The course which he would have followed if + the second alternative had been accepted, may be conjectured from the + measures which, as I shall presently show, he was at this very moment + secretly pursuing. Henry, however, had happily resolved that he would be + trifled with no further; he felt instinctively that only action would cut + the net in which he was entangled; and he would not hesitate any longer + to take a step which, in one way or another, must bring the weary + question to a close. If the pope meant well, he would welcome a + resolution which made further procrastination impossible; if he did not + mean well, he could not be permitted to dally further with the interests + of the English nation. Within a few days, therefore, of Bonner's return + from Bologna, he took the final step from which there was no retreat, and + "somewhere about St. Paul's day,"<a name="NtA_405"></a><a + href="#Nt_405"><sup>405</sup></a> Anne Boleyn received the prize for + which she had thirsted seven long years, in the hand of the King of + England. The ceremony was private. No authentic details are known either + of the scene of it or the circumstances under which it took place; but it + is said to have been performed by the able Rowland Lee, Bishop of + Lichfield, summoned up for the purpose from the Welsh Marches, of which + he was warden. It was done, however—in one way or other finally + done—the cast was thrown, and a match was laid to the train which + now at length could explode the spell of intrigue, and set Henry and + England free.</p> + + <p>We have arrived at a point from which the issue of the labyrinth is + clearly visible. The course of it has been very dreary; and brought in + contact as we have been with so much which is painful, so much which is + discreditable to all parties concerned, we may perhaps have lost our + sense of the broad bearings of the question in indiscriminate disgust. It + will be well, therefore, to pause for a moment to recapitulate those + features of the story which are the main indications of its character, + and may serve to guide our judgment in the censure which we shall + pass.</p> + + <p>It may be admitted, or it ought to be admitted, that if Henry VIII. + had been contented to rest his demand for a divorce merely on the + interests of the kingdom, if he had forborne, while his <!-- Page 254 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> request + was pending, to affront the princess who had for many years been his + companion and his queen; if he had shown her that respect which her high + character gave her a right to demand, and which her situation as a + stranger ought to have made it impossible to him to refuse; his conduct + would have been liable to no imputation, and our sympathies would without + reserve have been on his side. He could not have been expected to love a + person to whom he had been married as a boy for political convenience, + merely because she was his wife; especially when she was many years his + senior in age, disagreeable in her person, and by the consciousness of it + embittered in her temper. His kingdom demanded the security of a stable + succession; his conscience, it may not be doubted, was seriously agitated + by the loss of his children; and looking upon it as the sentence of + Heaven upon a connection, the legality of which had from the first been + violently disputed, he believed that he had been living in incest, and + that his misfortunes were the consequence of it. Under these + circumstances he had a full right to apply for a divorce.<a + name="NtA_406"></a><a href="#Nt_406"><sup>406</sup></a></p> + + <p>The causa urgentissima of the canon law for which, by the pope's own + showing, the dispensing powers had been granted to him, had arisen in an + extreme form; and when the vital interests of England were sacrificed to + the will of a foreign prince, sufficient reason had arisen for the nation + to decline submission to so emphatic injustice, and to seek within itself + its own remedies for its own necessities. These considerations must be + allowed all their weight; and except for them, it is not to be supposed + that Henry would have permitted private distaste or inclination to induce + him to create a scandal in Europe. In his conduct, however, as in that of + most men, good was chequered with evil, and sincerity with + self-deception. Personal feeling can be traced from the first, holding a + subsidiary, indeed, but still an influential place, among his motives; + and exactly so far as he was influenced by it, his course was wrong, as + the consequence miserably proved. The position which, in his wife's + presence, he assigned to another woman, however he may have persuaded + <!-- Page 255 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page255"></a>[pg + 255]</span> himself that Catherine had no claim to be considered his + wife, admits neither of excuse nor of palliation; and he ought never to + have shared his throne with a person who consented to occupy that + position. He was blind to the coarseness of Anne Boleyn, because, in + spite of his chivalry, his genius, his accomplishments, in his relations + with women he was without delicacy himself. He directed, or attempted to + direct, his conduct by the broad rules of what he thought to be just; and + in the wide margin of uncertain ground where rules of action cannot be + prescribed, and where men must guide themselves by consideration for the + feelings of others, he—so far as women were concerned—was + altogether or almost a stranger. Such consideration is a virtue which can + be learned only in the society of equals, where necessity obliges men to + practise it. Henry had been a king from his boyhood; he had been + surrounded by courtiers who had anticipated all his desires; and exposed + as he was to an ordeal from which no human being could have escaped + uninjured, we have more cause, after all, to admire him for those + excellences which he conquered for himself, than to blame the defects + which he retained.</p> + + <p>But if in his private relations the king was hasty and careless, + towards the pope to whom we must now return, he exhausted all resources + of forbearance: and although, when separation from Rome was at length + forced upon him, he then permitted no half measures, and swept into his + new career with the strength of irresistible will, it was not till he had + shown resolution no less great in the endurance of indignity; and of the + three great powers in Europe, the prince who was compelled to break the + unity of the Catholic church, was evidently the only one who was capable + of real sacrifices to preserve it unbroken. Clement comprehended his + reluctance, but presumed too far upon it; and if there was sin in the + "great schism" of the Reformation, the guilt must rest where it is due. + We have now to show the reverse side of the transactions at Bologna, and + explain what a person wearing the title of his Holiness, in virtue of his + supposed sanctity, had been secretly doing.</p> + + <p>In January, 1532, some little time before his conversation with Sir + Gregory Cassalis on the subject of the two wives, the pope had composed a + pastoral letter to Henry, which had never been issued. From its contents + it would seem to have been written on the receipt of an indignant + remonstrance of Queen Catherine, in which she had complained of her + desertion by her husband, and of the public position which had been given + to her <!-- Page 256 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page256"></a>[pg + 256]</span> rival. She had supposed (and it was the natural mistake of an + embittered and injured woman) that Anne Boleyn had been placed in + possession of the rights of an actual, and not only of an intended wife; + and the pope, accepting her account of the situation, had written to + implore the king to abstain, so long as the cause remained undetermined, + from creating so great a scandal in Christendom, and to restore his late + queen to her place at his side. This letter, as it was originally + written, was one of Clement's happiest compositions.<a + name="NtA_407"></a><a href="#Nt_407"><sup>407</sup></a> He abstained in + it from using any expression which could be construed into a threat: he + appealed to Henry's honourable character, which no blot had hitherto + stained; and dwelling upon the general confusion of the Christian world, + he urged with temperate earnestness the ill effects which would be + produced by so open a defiance of the injunctions of the Holy See in a + person of so high a position. So far all was well. Henry had deserved + that such a letter should be written to him; and the pope was more than + justified in writing it. The letter, however, if it was sent, produced no + effect, and on the 15th of November, three days before Clement's + departure to Bologna, where he pretended (we must not forget) that he + considered Henry substantially right; he added a postscript, in a tone + not contrasting only with his words to the ambassadors, but with the + language of the brief itself.</p> + + <p>Again urging Henry's delinquencies, his separation from his wife, and + the scandal of his connection with another person, he commanded him, + under penalty of excommunication, within one month of the receipt of + those injunctions, to restore the queen to her place, and to abstain + thenceforward from all intercourse with Anne Boleyn pending the issue of + the trial. "Otherwise," the pope continued, "when the said term shall + have elapsed, we pronounce thee, Henry King of England, and the said + Anne, to be <i>ipso facto</i> excommunicate, and command all men to shun + and avoid your presence; and although our mind shrinks from allowing such + a thought of your Serenity, although by ourselves and by our auditory of + the Rota an inhibition has been already issued against you; although the + act of which you are suspected be in itself forbidden by all laws human + and divine, yet the reports which are brought to us do so move us, that + once more we do inhibit you from dissolving your marriage with the + aforesaid Catherine, or from continuing process, in your own courts, of + divorce from her. And we do also hereby warn you, <!-- Page 257 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page257"></a>[pg 257]</span> that you presume + not to contract any new marriage with the said or with any other woman; + we declare such marriage, if you still attempt it, to be vain and of none + effect, and so to be regarded by all persons in obedience to the + Apostolic see."<a name="NtA_408"></a><a + href="#Nt_408"><sup>408</sup></a></p> + + <p>An inhibitory mandate, was a natural consequence of the conference of + Calais, provided that the pope intended to proceed openly and uprightly; + and if it had been sent upon the spot, Henry could have complained of + nothing worse than of an honourable opposition to his wishes. But the + mystery was not yet exhausted. The postscript was not issued, it was not + spoken of; it was carried secretly to Bologna, and it bears at its foot a + further date of the 23rd of December, the very time, that is to say, at + which the pope was representing himself to Bennet as occupied only in + devising the best means of satisfying Henry, and to Sir Gregory Cassalis, + as so convinced of the justice of the English demands, that he had + ventured in defence of them to the edge of rupture with the emperor.</p> + + <p>It might be urged that he was sincere both in his brief and in his + conversation; that he believed that a verdict ought to be given, and + would at last be given, against the original marriage, and that therefore + he was the more anxious to prevent unnecessary scandal. Yet a menace of + excommunication couched in so haughty a tone, could have been honestly + reconciled with his other conduct, only by his following a course with + respect to it which he did not follow—by informing the ambassadors + openly of what he had done, and transmitting his letter through their + hands to Henry himself. This he might have done; and though the issue of + such a document at such a time would have been open to question, it might + nevertheless have been defended. His Holiness, however, did nothing of + the kind. No hint was let fall of the existence of any minatory brief; he + sustained his pretence of good will, till there was no longer any + occasion for him to counterfeit; and two months later it suddenly + appeared on the doors of the churches in Flanders.</p> + + <p>Henry at first believed it to be forgery, One forged brief had already + been produced by the imperialists in the course of their transactions, + and he imagined that this was another; even his past experience of + Clement had not prepared him for this last venture of effrontery; he + wrote to Bennet, enclosing a copy, and requiring him to ascertain if it + were really genuine.<a name="NtA_409"></a><a + href="#Nt_409"><sup>409</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 258 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page258"></a>[pg 258]</span> + + <p>The pope could not deny his hand, though the exposure, and the strange + irregular character of the brief itself troubled him, and Bonner, who was + again at the papal court, said that "he was in manner ashamed, and in + great perplexity what he might do therein."<a name="NtA_410"></a><a + href="#Nt_410"><sup>410</sup></a></p> + + <p>His conduct will be variously interpreted, and to attempt to analyse + the motives of a double-minded man is always a hazardous experiment; but + a comparison of date, the character of Clement himself, the circumstances + in which he was placed, and the retrospective evidence from after events, + points almost necessarily to but one interpretation. It is scarcely + disputable that, frightened at the reception of Anne Boleyn in France, + the pope found it necessary to pretend for a time an altered disposition + towards Henry; and that the emperor, unable to feel wholly confident that + a person who was false to others was true to himself, had exacted the + brief from him as a guarantee for his good faith; Charles, on his side, + reserving the publication until Francis had been gained over, and until + Clement was screened against the danger which he so justly feared, from + the consequences of the interview at Calais.</p> + + <p>There was duplicity of a kind; this cannot be denied; and if not + designed to effect this object, this object in fact it answered. While + Clement was talking smoothly to Bennet and Cassalis, secret overtures + were advanced at Paris for a meeting at Nice between the pope, the + emperor, and the King of France, from which Henry was to be excluded.<a + name="NtA_411"></a><a href="#Nt_411"><sup>411</sup></a> The emperor made + haste with concessions to Francis, which but a few months before would + have seemed impossible. He withdrew his army out of Lombardy, and left + Italy free; he consented to the marriage which he had so earnestly + opposed between Catherine de Medici and the Duke of Orleans, agreeing + also, it is probable, to the contingency of the Duchy of Milan becoming + ultimately her dowry. And Francis having coquetted with the proposal for + <!-- Page 259 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page259"></a>[pg + 259]</span> the Nice meeting,<a name="NtA_412"></a><a + href="#Nt_412"><sup>412</sup></a> not indeed accepting, but not + absolutely rejecting it, Charles consented also to waive his objections + to the interview between Francis and the pope, on which he had looked + hitherto with so much suspicion; provided that the pope would bear in + mind some mysterious and unknown communication which had passed at + Bologna.<a name="NtA_413"></a><a href="#Nt_413"><sup>413</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus was Francis won. He cared only, as the pope had seen, for his own + interests; and from this time he drew away, by imperceptible degrees, + from his engagements to England. He did not stoop to dishonour or + treacherous betrayal of confidence, for with all his faults he was, in + the technical acceptation of that misused term, a gentleman. He declined + only to maintain the attitude which, if he had continued in it, would + have compelled the pope to yield; and although he continued honestly to + urge him to make concessions, he no longer affected to make them the + price of preserving France in allegiance to the Holy See. Nor need we + regret that Francis shrank from a resolution which Henry had no right to + require of him. To have united with France in a common schism at the + crisis of the Reformation would have only embarrassed the free motions of + England; and two nations whose interests and whose tendencies were + essentially opposite, might not submit to be linked together by the + artificial interests of their princes. The populace of England were + unconsciously on the rapid road to Protestantism. The populace of <!-- + Page 260 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page260"></a>[pg 260]</span> + France were fanatically Catholic. England was to go her way through a + golden era of Elizabeth to Cromwell, the Puritans, and a Protestant + republic; a republic to be perpetuated, if not in England herself, yet + among her great children beyond the sea. France was to go her way through + Bartholomew massacres and the dragonnades to a polished Louis the + Magnificent, and thence to the bloody Medea's cauldron of Revolution, out + of which she was to rise as now we know her. No common road could have + been found for such destinies as these; and the French prince followed + the direction of his wiser instincts when he preferred a quiet + arrangement with the pope, in virtue of which his church should be + secured by treaty the liberties which she desired, to a doubtful struggle + for a freedom which his people neither wished nor approved. The interests + of the nation were in fact his own. He could ill afford to forsake a + religion which allowed him so pleasantly to compound for his amatory + indulgences by the estrapade<a name="NtA_414"></a><a + href="#Nt_414"><sup>414</sup></a> and a zeal for orthodoxy.</p> + + <p>It became evident to Henry early in the spring that he was left + substantially alone. His marriage had been kept secret with the intention + that it should be divulged by the King of France to the pope when he met + him at Marseilles; and as the pope had pretended an anxiety that either + the King of England should be present in person at that interview, or + should be represented by an ambassador of adequate rank, a train had been + equipped for the occasion, the most magnificent which England could + furnish. Time, meanwhile, passed on; the meeting, which was to have taken + place first in January, and then in April, was delayed till October, and + in the interval the papal brief had appeared in Flanders; the queen's + pregnancy could not admit of concealment; and the evident proof which + appeared that France was no longer to be depended upon, convinced the + English government that they had nothing to hope for from abroad, and + that Henry's best resources were to be found, where in fact they had + always been, in the strength and affection of his own people.</p> + + <p>From this choking atmosphere, therefore, we now turn back to England + and the English parliament; and the change is from darkness to light, + from death to life. Here was no wavering, <!-- Page 261 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page261"></a>[pg 261]</span> no uncertainty, no + smiling faces with false hearts behind them; but the steady purpose of + resolute men, who slowly, and with ever opening vision, bore the nation + forward to the fair future which was already dawning.</p> + + <p>Parliament met at the beginning of February, a few days after the + king's marriage, which, however, still remained a secret. It is, I think, + no slight evidence of the calmness with which the statesmen of the day + proceeded with their work, that in a session so momentous, in a session + in which the decisive blow was to be struck of the most serious + revolution through which the country as yet had passed, they should have + first settled themselves calmly down to transact what was then the + ordinary business of legislation, the struggle with the vital evils of + society. The first nine statutes which were passed in this session were + economic acts to protect the public against the frauds of money-making + tradesmen; to provide that shoes and boots should be made of honest + leather; that food should be sold at fair prices, that merchants should + part with their goods at fair profits; to compel, or as far as the + legislature was able to do it, to compel all classes of persons to be + true men; to deal honestly with each other, in that high Quixotic sense + of honesty which requires good subjects at all times and under all + circumstances to consider the interests of the commonwealth as more + important than their own. I have already spoken of this economic + legislation, and I need not dwell now upon details of it; although under + some aspects it may be thought that more which is truly valuable in + English history lies in these unobtrusive statutes than in all our noisy + wars, reformations, and revolutions. The history of this as of all other + nations (or so much of it as there is occasion for any of us to know), is + the history of the battles which it has fought and won with evil; not + with political evil merely, or spiritual evil; but with all + manifestations whatsoever of the devil's power. And to have beaten back, + or even to have struggled against and stemmed in ever so small a degree + those besetting basenesses of human nature, now held so invincible that + the influences of them are assumed as the fundamental axioms of economic + science; this appears to me a greater victory than Agincourt, a grander + triumph of wisdom and faith and courage than even the English + constitution or the English liturgy. Such a history, however, lies beside + the purpose which I may here permit myself; and the two acts with which + the session closed, alone in this place require our attention.</p> + + <p>The first of these is one of the many "Acts of Apparel," <!-- Page 262 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page262"></a>[pg 262]</span> which are + to be found in the early volumes of the statute book. The meaning of + these laws becomes intelligible when we reflect upon the condition of the + people. The English were an organised nation of soldiers; they formed an + army perpetually ready for the field, where the degrees were determined + by social position; and the dresses prescribed to the various orders of + society were the graduated uniforms which indicated the rank of the + wearers. When every man was a soldier, and every gentleman was an + officer, the same causes existed for marking, by costume, the + distinctions of authority, which lead to the answering differences in the + modern regiments.</p> + + <p>The changing conditions of the country at the time of the Reformation, + the growth of a middle class, with no landed possessions, yet made + wealthy by trade or other industry, had tended necessarily to introduce + confusion; and the policy of this reign, which was never more markedly + operative than during the most critical periods of it, was to + reinvigorate the discipline of the feudal system; and pending the growth + of what might better suit the age, pending the great struggle in which + the nation was engaged, to hold every man at his post. The statute + specifies its object, and the motives with which it was passed.</p> + + <p>"Whereas," says the preamble, "divers laws, ordinances, and statutes + have been with great deliberation and advice provided and established for + the necessary repressing and avoiding the inordinate excess daily more + and more used in the sumptuous and costly array and apparel accustomably + worn in this realm, whereof hath ensued, and daily do chance such sundry + high and notable inconveniences as be to the great and notorious + detriment of the commonweal, the subversion of politic order in knowledge + and distinction of people according to their preeminence and degrees, to + the utter impoverishment and undoing of many light and inexpert persons + inclined to pride, the mother of all vices: Be it enacted,"<a + name="NtA_415"></a><a href="#Nt_415"><sup>415</sup></a>—but I need + not enter into the particulars of the uniforms worn by the nobles and + gentlemen of the court of Henry VIII.; the temper, not the detail, is of + importance; and of the wisdom or unwisdom of such enactments, we who live + in a changed age should be cautious of forming a hasty opinion. The ends + which the old legislation proposed to itself, have in latter ages been + resigned as impracticable. We are therefore no longer adequate judges how + far those ends may in other times have been attainable, and we can still + less judge of the means through which the attainment of them was + sought.</p> + +<!-- Page 263 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page263"></a>[pg 263]</span> + + <p>The second act of which I have to speak is open to no such ambiguity; + it remains among the few which are and will be of perpetual moment in our + national history. The conduct of the pope had forced upon the parliament + the reconsideration of the character of his supremacy; and when the + question had once been asked, in the existing state of feeling but one + answer to it was possible.</p> + + <p>The authority of the church over the state, the supreme kingship of + Christ, and consequently of him who was held to be Christ's vicar, above + all worldly sovereignties, was an established reality of mediĉval Europe. + The princes had with difficulty preserved their jurisdiction in matters + purely secular; while in matters spiritual, and in that vast section of + human affairs in which the spiritual and the secular glide one into the + other, they had been compelled—all such of them as lay within the + pale of the Latin communion—to acknowledge a power superior to + their own. To the popes was the ultimate appeal in all causes of which + the spiritual courts had cognisance. Their jurisdiction had been extended + by an unwavering pursuit of a single policy, and their constancy in the + twelfth century was rewarded by absolute victory. In England, however, + the field was no sooner won than it was again disputed, and the civil + government gave way at last only when the danger seemed to have ceased. + So long as the papacy was feared, so long as the successors of St. Peter + held a sword which could inflict sensible wounds, and enforce obedience + by penalties, the English kings had resisted both the theory and the + application. While the pope was dangerous he was dreaded and opposed. + When age had withered his arm, and the feeble lightnings flickered in + harmless insignificance, they consented to withdraw their watchfulness, + and his supremacy was silently allowed as an innocent superstition. It + existed as some other institutions exist at the present day, with a + merely nominal authority; with a tacit understanding, that the power + which it was permitted to retain should be exerted only in conformity + with the national will.</p> + + <p>Under these conditions the Tudor princes became loyal subjects to the + Holy See, and so they would have willingly remained, had not Clement, in + an evil hour for himself, forgotten the terms of the compact. He laid + upon a legal fiction a strain which his predecessors, in their palmiest + days, would have feared to attempt; and the nation, after grave + remonstrance, which was only received with insults, exorcised the chimĉra + <!-- Page 264 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page264"></a>[pg + 264]</span> with a few resolute words for ever. The parliament, in + asserting the freedom of England, carefully chose their language. They + did not pass a new law, but they passed an act declaratory merely of the + law which already existed, and which they were vindicating against + illegal encroachment. "Whereas," says the Statute of Appeals, "by divers + sundry old authentic histories and chronicles, it is manifestly declared + and expressed that this realm of England is an empire, and so hath been + accepted in the world; governed by one supreme head and king, having the + dignity and royal estate of the imperial crown of the same; unto whom a + body politic compact of all sorts and degrees of people, divided in terms + by names of spiritualty and temporalty, be bound and ought to bear, next + to God, a natural and humble obedience: he being also institute and + furnished by the goodness and sufferance of Almighty God with plenary, + whole, and entire power, pre-eminence and authority, prerogative and + jurisdiction, to render and yield justice and final determination to all + manner of folk resident or subject within this his realm, without + restraint or provocation to any foreign prince or potentate of the world: + the body spiritual whereof having power when any cause of the law divine + happened to come in question, or of spiritual learning, [such cause + being] declared, interpret, and shewed by that part of the body politic + called the spiritualty, now usually called the English church; (which + also hath been reported and also found of that sort, that both for + knowledge, integrity, and sufficiency of numbers, it hath been always + thought to be, and is also at this hour sufficient and meet of itself, + without the interfering of any exterior person or persons, to declare and + determine all such doubts, and to administer all such offices and duties + as to the administration of their rooms spiritual doth appertain): and + the laws temporal, for trial of property of lands and goods, and for the + conservation of the people of this realm in unity and peace, having been + and yet being administered, adjudged, and executed by sundry judges and + administers of the said body politic called the temporalty: and seeing + that both these authorities and jurisdictions do conjoin together for the + due administration of justice, the one to help the other: and whereas the + king's most noble progenitors, and the nobility and commons of this said + realm at divers and sundry parliaments, as well in the time of King + Edward I., Edward III., Richard II., Henry IV., and other noble kings of + this realm, made sundry ordinances, laws, and provisions for the + conservation of the prerogatives, liberties, <!-- Page 265 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page265"></a>[pg 265]</span> and pre-eminences + of the imperial crown of this realm, and of the jurisdiction spiritual + and temporal of the same, to keep it from the annoyance as well of the + see of Rome as from the authority of other foreign potentates attempting + the diminution or violation thereof, as often as from time to time any + such annoyance or attempt might be known or espied: and notwithstanding + the said good statutes and ordinances, and since the making thereof, + divers inconveniences and dangers not provided for plainly by the said + statutes, have risen and sprung by reason of appeals sued out of this + realm to the see of Rome, in causes testamentary, causes of matrimony and + divorce, right of tithes, oblations, and obventions, not only to the + great inquietation, vexation, trouble, costs, and charges of the King's + Highness, and many of his subjects and residents in this his realm; but + also to the delay and let of the speedy determination of the said causes, + for so much as parties appealing to the said court of Rome most commonly + do the same for the delay of justice; and forasmuch as the great distance + of way is so far out of this realm, so that the necessary proofs, nor the + true knowledge of the causes, can neither there be so well known, nor the + witnesses so well examined there as within this realm, so that the + parties grieved by means of the said appeals be most times without + remedy; in consideration hereof, all testamentary and matrimonial causes, + and all suits for tithes, oblations, and obventions shall henceforth be + adjudged in the spiritual and temporal courts within the realm, without + regard to any process of foreign jurisdiction, or any inhibition, + excommunication, or interdict. Persons procuring processes, inhibitions, + appeals, or citations from the court of Rome, as well as their fautors, + comforters, counsellors, aiders and abettors, all and every of them shall + incur the penalties of premunire; and in all such cases as have hitherto + admitted of appeal to Rome, the appeals shall be from the Archdeacon's + court to the Bishop's court, from the Bishop's court to that of the + Archbishop, and no further."<a name="NtA_416"></a><a + href="#Nt_416"><sup>416</sup></a></p> + + <p>The act was carried through Parliament in February, but again, as with + the Annates Bill, the king delayed his sanction till the post could reach + and return from the Vatican. The Bishop of Bayonne wrote that there was + hope that Clement might yet give way, and entreated that the king would + send an "excusator," a person formally empowered to protest for him that + he could not by the laws of England plead at a foreign <!-- Page 266 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page266"></a>[pg 266]</span> tribunal; + and that with this imperfect recognition of his authority the pope would + be satisfied.</p> + + <p>Chastillon, the French ambassador, had an interview with the king, to + communicate the bishop's message.</p> + + <p>"The morning after," Chastillon wrote, "his Majesty sent for me and + desired me to repeat my words before the council. I obeyed; but the + majority declared, that there was nothing in them to act upon, and that + the king must not put himself in subjection. His Majesty himself, too, I + found less warm than in his preceding conversation. I begged the council + to be patient. I said everything that I could think of likely to weigh + with the king, I promised him a sentence from our Holy Father declaring + his first marriage null, his present marriage good. I urged him on all + grounds, public and private, to avoid a rupture with the Holy See. Such a + sentence, I said, would be the best security for the queen, and the + safest guarantee for the unopposed succession of her offspring. If the + marriage was confirmed by the Holy Father's authority, the queen's + enemies would lose the only ground where they could make a stand. The + peace of the realm was now menaced. The emperor talked loudly and made + large preparations. Let the king be allied with France, and through + France with the Holy See, and the emperor could do him no harm. Thus I + said my proposals were for the benefit of the realm of his Majesty, and + of the children who might be born to him. The king would act more + prudently both for his own interest, and for the interest of his + children, in securing himself, than in running a risk of creating + universal confusion; and, besides, he owed something to the king his + brother, who had worked so long and so hard for him.</p> + + <p>"After some further conversation, his Majesty took me aside into a + garden, where he told me that for himself he agreed in what I had said; + but he begged me to keep his confidence secret. He fears, I think, to + appear to condescend too easily.</p> + + <p>"He will not, however, publish the acts of parliament till he sees + what is done at Rome. The vast sums of money which used to be sent out of + the country will go no longer; but in other respects he will be glad to + return to good terms. He will send the excusator when he hears again from + M. de Paris; and for myself, I think, that although the whole country is + in a blaze against the pope, yet with the good will and assistance of the + king, the Holy Father will be reinstated in the greater part of his + prerogatives."</p> + + <p>But the hope that the pope would yield proved again delusive. <!-- + Page 267 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page267"></a>[pg 267]</span> + Henry wrote to him himself in the spirit of his conversation with + Chastillon. His letter was presented by Cardinal Tournon, and Clement + said all that could be said in acknowledgment without making the one + vital concession. But whenever it was put before him that the cause must + be heard and decided in England and in no other place, he talked in the + old language of uncertainty and impossibilities;<a name="NtA_417"></a><a + href="#Nt_417"><sup>417</sup></a> and Henry learning at the same time + that a correspondence was going forward between Clement and Francis, with + the secrets of which he was not made acquainted, went forward upon his + own way. April brought with it the certainty that the expected + concessions were delusive. Anne Boleyn's pregnancy made further delay + impossible. D'Inteville, who had succeeded Chastillon as French + ambassador, once more attempted to interfere, but in vain. Henry told him + he could not help himself, the pope forced him to the course which he was + pursuing, by the answer which he had been pleased to issue; and he could + only encounter enmity with its own weapons. "The archbishop," d'Inteville + wrote to Francis, "will try the question, and will give judgment. I + entreated the king to wait till the conference at Nice, but he would not + consent. I prayed him to keep the sentence secret till the pope had seen + your Majesty; he replied it was impossible."<a name="NtA_418"></a><a + href="#Nt_418"><sup>418</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus the statute became law which transferred to the English courts of + law the power so long claimed and exercised by the Roman see. There are + two aspects under which it may be regarded, as there were two objects for + which it was passed. Considered as a national act, few persons will now + deny that it was as just in itself as it was politically desirable. If + the pope had no jurisdiction over English subjects, it was well that he + should be known to have none; if he had, it was equally well that such + jurisdiction should cease. The question was not of communion between the + English and Roman churches, which might or might not continue, but which + this act would not affect. The pope might still retain his rights of + episcopal precedency, whatever those might be, with all the privileges + attached to it. The parliament merely declared that he possessed no right + of interference in domestic disputes affecting persons and property.</p> + + <p>But the act had a special as well as a national bearing, and here it + is less easy to arrive at a just conclusion. It destroyed <!-- Page 268 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page268"></a>[pg 268]</span> the + validity of Queen Catherine's appeal; it placed a legal power in the + hands of the English judges to proceed to pass sentence upon the divorce; + and it is open to the censure which we ever feel entitled to pass upon a + measure enacted to meet the particular position of a particular person. + When embarrassments have arisen from unforeseen causes, we have a right + to legislate to prevent a repetition of those embarrassments. Our + instincts tell us that no legislation should be retrospective, and should + affect only positions which have been entered into with a full knowledge + at the time of the condition of the laws.</p> + + <p>The statute endeavours to avoid the difficulty by its declaratory + form; but again this is unsatisfactory; for that the pope possessed some + authority was substantially acknowledged in every application which was + made to him; and when Catherine had married under a papal dispensation, + it was a strange thing to turn upon her, and to say, not only that the + dispensation in the particular instance had been unlawfully granted, but + that the pope had no jurisdiction in the matter by the laws of the land + which she had entered.</p> + + <p>On the other hand, throughout the entire negotiations King Henry and + his ministers had insisted jealously on the English privileges. They had + declared from the first that they might, if they so pleased, fall back + upon their own laws. In desiring that the cause might be heard by a papal + legate in England, they had represented themselves rather as + condescending to a form than acknowledging a right; and they had, in + fact, in allowing the opening of Campeggio's court, fallen, all of them, + even Henry himself, under the penalties of the statutes of provisors. The + validity of Catherine's appeal they had always consistently denied. If + the papal jurisdiction was to be admitted at all, it could only be + through a minister sitting as judge within the realm of England; and the + maxim, "Ne Angli extra Angliam litigare cogantur," was insisted upon as + the absolute privilege of every English subject.</p> + + <p>Yet, if we allow full weight to these considerations, a feeling of + painful uncertainty continues to cling to us; and in ordinary cases to be + uncertain on such a point is to be in reality certain. The state of the + law could not have been clear, or the statute of appeals would not have + been required; and explain it as we may, it was in fact passed for a + special cause against a special person; and that person a woman.</p> + + <p>How far the parliament was justified by the extremity of the case is a + further question, which it is equally difficult to answer. <!-- Page 269 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page269"></a>[pg 269]</span> The + alternative, as I have repeatedly said, was an all but inevitable civil + war, on the death of the king; and practically, when statesmen are + entrusted with the fortunes of an empire, the responsibility is too heavy + to allow them to consider other interests. Salus populi suprema lex, ever + has been and ever will be the substantial canon of policy with public + men, and morality is bound to hesitate before it censures them. There are + some acts of injustice which no national interest can excuse, however + great in itself that interest may be, or however certain to be attained + by the means proposed. Yet government, in its easiest tax, trenches to a + certain extent on natural right and natural freedom; and trenches further + and further in proportion to the emergency with which it has to deal. How + far it may go in this direction, or whether Henry VIII. and his + parliament went too far, is a difficult problem; their best justification + is an exceptive clause introduced into the act, which was intended + obviously to give Queen Catherine the utmost advantage which was + consistent with the liberties of the realm. "In case," says the + concluding paragraph, "of any cause, or matter, or contention now + depending for the causes before rehearsed, or that hereafter shall come + into contention for any of the same causes in any of the foresaid courts, + which hath, doth, shall, or may touch the king, his heirs or successors, + kings of this realm; in all or every such case or cases the party grieved + as aforesaid shall or may appeal from any of the said courts of this + realm, to the spiritual prelates and other abbots and priors of the Upper + House, assembled and convocate by the king's writ in convocation."<a + name="NtA_419"></a><a href="#Nt_419"><sup>419</sup></a> If Catherine's + cause was as just as Catholics and English high churchmen are agreed to + consider it, the English church might have saved her. If Catherine + herself had thought first or chiefly of justice, she would not perhaps + have accepted the arbitration of the English convocation; but long years + before she would have been in a cloister.</p> + + <p>Thus it is that while we regret, we are unable to blame; and we cannot + wish undone an act, to have shrunk from which might have spared a single + heart, but <i>might</i> have wrecked the English nation. We increase our + pity for Catherine because she was a princess. We measure the magnitude + of the evils which human beings endure by their position in the scale of + society; and misfortunes which private persons would be expected to bear + without excessive complaining, furnish matter for the lamentation of ages + when they touch the sacred head which has been circled <!-- Page 270 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page270"></a>[pg 270]</span> with a + diadem. Let it be so. Let us compensate the queen's sorrows with + unstinted sympathy; but let us not trifle with history, by confusing a + political necessity with a moral crime.</p> + + <p>The English parliament, then, had taken up the gauntlet which the pope + had flung to it with trembling fingers: and there remained nothing but + for the Archbishop of Canterbury to make use of the power of which by law + he was now possessed. And the time was pressing, for the new queen was + enciente, and further concealment was not to be thought of. The delay of + the interview between the pope and Francis, and the change in the + demeanour of the latter, which had become palpably evident, discharged + Henry of all promises by which he might have bound himself; and to + hesitate before the menaces of the pope's brief would have been + fatal.</p> + + <p>The act of appeals being passed, convocation was the authority to + which the power of determining unsettled points of spiritual law seemed + to have lapsed. In the month of April, therefore, Cranmer, now Archbishop + of Canterbury,<a name="NtA_420"></a><a href="#Nt_420"><sup>420</sup></a> + submitted to it the two questions, on the resolution of which the + sentence which he was to pass was dependent.</p> + + <p>The first had been already answered separately by the bench of bishops + and by the universities, and had been agitated from end to end of + Europe—was it lawful to marry the widow of a brother dying without + issue, but having consummated his marriage; and was the Levitical + prohibition of such a marriage grounded on a divine law, with which the + pope could not dispense, or on a canon law of which a dispensation was + permissible?<a name="NtA_421"></a><a + href="#Nt_421"><sup>421</sup></a></p> + + <p>The pope had declared himself unable to answer; but he had allowed + that the general opinion was against the power of dispensing,<a + name="NtA_422"></a><a href="#Nt_422"><sup>422</sup></a> and there could + be little doubt, therefore, of the reply of the English convocation, or + at least of the upper house. <!-- Page 271 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page271"></a>[pg 271]</span> Fisher attempted an opposition; but + wholly without effect. The, question was one in which the interests of + the higher clergy were not concerned, and they were therefore left to the + dominion of their ordinary understandings. Out of two hundred and + sixty-three votes, nineteen only were in the pope's favour.<a + name="NtA_423"></a><a href="#Nt_423"><sup>423</sup></a></p> + + <p>The lower house was less unanimous, as might have been expected, and + as had been experienced before; the opposition spirit of the English + clergy being usually then, as much as now, in the ratio of their poverty. + But there too the nature of the case compelled an overwhelming + majority.<a name="NtA_424"></a><a href="#Nt_424"><sup>424</sup></a> It + was decided by both houses that Pope Julius, in granting a licence for + the marriage of Henry and Catherine, had exceeded his authority, and that + this marriage was therefore, <i>ab initio</i>, void.</p> + + <p>The other question to be decided was one of fact; whether the marriage + of Catherine with Prince Arthur had or had not been consummated, a matter + which the Catholic divines conceived to be of paramount importance, but + which to few persons at the present day will seem of any importance + whosoever. We cannot even read the evidence which was produced without a + sensation of disgust, although in those broader and less conscious ages + the indelicacy was less obviously perceptible. And we may console + ourselves with the hope that the discussion was not so wounding as might + have been expected to the feelings of Queen Catherine, since at all + official interviews, with all classes of persons, at all times and in all + places, she appeared herself to court the subject.<a + name="NtA_425"></a><a href="#Nt_425"><sup>425</sup></a> There is no + occasion in this place to follow her example. It is enough that + Ferdinand, at the time of her first marriage, satisfied himself, after + curious inquiry, that he might hope for a grandchild; and that the fact + of the consummation was asserted in the treaty between England and Spain, + which preceded the marriage with Henry, and in this supposed brief of + Pope Julius which permitted it.<a name="NtA_426"></a><a + href="#Nt_426"><sup>426</sup></a> We cannot in consequence be surprised + that the convocation accepted the conclusion which was sanctioned by so + high authority, and we rather wonder at the persistency of Catherine's + denials. With respect to this vote, therefore, we <!-- Page 272 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page272"></a>[pg 272]</span> need notice nothing + except that Dr. Clerk, Bishop of Bath and Wells<a name="NtA_427"></a><a + href="#Nt_427"><sup>427</sup></a> was one of an exceedingly small + minority, who were inclined to believe that the denial might be true, and + this bishop was one of the four who were associated with Cranmer when he + sate at Dunstable for the trial of the cause.</p> + + <p>The ground being thus opened, and all preparations being completed, + the archbishop composed a formal letter to the king, in which he dwelt + upon the uncertain prospects of the succession, and the danger of leaving + a question which closely affected it so long unsettled. He expatiated at + length on the general anxiety which was felt throughout the realm, and + requested permission to employ the powers attached to his office to bring + it to some conclusion. The recent alterations had rendered the archbishop + something doubtful of the nature of his position; he was diffident and + unwilling to offend; and not clearly knowing in the exercise of the new + authority which had been granted to him, whether the extension of his + power was accompanied with a parallel extension of liberty in making use + of it, he wrote two copies of this letter, with slight alterations of + language, that the king might select between them the one which he would + officially recognise. Both these copies are extant; both were written the + same day from the same place; both were folded, sealed, and sent. It + seems, therefore, that neither was Cranmer furnished beforehand with a + draught of what he was to write; nor was his first letter sent back to + him corrected. He must have acted by his own judgment; and a comparison + of the two letters is singular and instructive. In the first he spoke of + his office and duty in language, chastened indeed and modest, but still + language of independence; and while he declared his unwillingness to + "enterprise any part of that office" without his Grace's favour obtained, + and pleasure therein first known, he implied nevertheless that his + request was rather of courtesy than of obligation, and had arisen rather + from a sense of moral propriety than because he might not legally enter + on the exercise of his duty without the permission of the crown.<a + name="NtA_428"></a><a href="#Nt_428"><sup>428</sup></a></p> + + <p>The moderate gleam of freedom vanishes in the other copy under a few + pithy changes, as if Cranmer instinctively felt the revolution which had + taken place in the relations of church and state. Where in the first + letter he asked for his Grace's favour, in the second he asked for his + Grace's favour <i>and licence</i>—where <!-- Page 273 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page273"></a>[pg 273]</span> in the first he + requested to know his Grace's pleasure as to his proceeding, in the + second he desired his Most Excellent Majesty to <i>license</i> him to + proceed. The burden of both letters was the same, but the introduction of + the little word license changed all. It implied a hesitating belief that + the spiritual judges might perhaps thenceforward be on a footing with the + temporal judges and the magistrates; that under the new constitution they + were to understand that they held their offices not directly under God as + they had hitherto pretended, but under God through the crown.</p> + + <p>The answer of Henry indicated that he had perceived the archbishop's + uncertainty; and that he was desirous by the emphatic distinctness of his + own language to spare him a future recurrence of it. He accepted the + deferential version of the petition; but even Cranmer's anticipation of + what might be required of him had not reached the reality. In running + through the preamble, the king flung into the tone of it a character of + still deeper humility;<a name="NtA_429"></a><a + href="#Nt_429"><sup>429</sup></a> and he conceded the desired licence in + the following imperial style. "In consideration of these + things,"—<i>i.e.</i> of the grounds urged by the archbishop for the + petition—"albeit we being your King and Sovereign, do recognise no + superior on earth but only God, and not being subject to the laws of any + earthly creature; yet because ye be under us, by God's calling and ours, + the most principal minister of our spiritual jurisdiction within this our + Realm, who we think assuredly is so in the fear of God, and love towards + the observance of his laws, to the which laws, we as a Christian king + have always heretofore, and shall ever most obediently submit ourself, we + will not therefore refuse (our pre-eminence, power, and authority to us + and to our successors in this behalf nevertheless saved) your humble + request, offer, and towardness—that is, to mean to make an end + according to the will and pleasure of Almighty God in our said great + cause of matrimony, which hath so long depended undetermined, to our + great and grievous unquietness and burden of our conscience. Wherefore + we, inclining to your humble petition, by these our letters sealed with + our seal, and signed with our sign manual, do license you <!-- Page 274 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page274"></a>[pg 274]</span> to proceed + in the said cause, and the examination and final determination of the + same; not doubting but that ye will have God and the justice of the said + cause only before your eyes, and not to regard any earthly or worldly + affection therein; for assuredly the thing which we most covet in the + world, is so to proceed in all our acts and doings as may be the most + acceptable to the pleasure of Almighty God our Creator, to the wealth and + honour of us, our successors and posterity, and the surety of our Realm, + and subjects within the same."<a name="NtA_430"></a><a + href="#Nt_430"><sup>430</sup></a></p> + + <p>The vision of ecclesiastical independence, if Cranmer had indulged in + it, must have faded utterly before his eyes on receiving this letter. As + clergy who committed felony were no longer exempted from the penalties of + their crimes; so henceforward the courts of the clergy were to fell into + conformity with the secular tribunals. The temporal prerogatives of + ecclesiastics as a body whose authority over the laity was countervailed + with no reciprocal obligation, existed no longer. This is what the + language of the king implied. The difficulty which the persons whom he + was addressing experienced in realising the change in their position, + obliged him to be somewhat emphatic in his assertion of it; and it might + be imagined at first sight, that in insisting on his superiority to the + officers of the spiritual courts, he claimed a right to dictate their + sentences. But to venture such a supposition would be to mistake the + nature of English sovereignty and the spirit of the change. The supreme + authority in England was the law; and the king no more possessed, or + claimed a power of controlling the judgment of the bishops or their + ministers, than he could interfere with the jurisdiction of the judges of + the bench. All persons in authority, whether in church or state, held + their offices thenceforth by similar tenure; but the rule of the + proceedings in each remained alike the law of the land, which Henry had + no more thought of superseding by his own will than the most + constitutional of modern princes.</p> + + <p>The closing sentences of his reply to Cranmer are striking, and it is + difficult to believe that he did not mean what he was saying. From the + first step in the process to the last, he maintained consistently that + his only object was to do what was right. He was thoroughly persuaded + that the course which he was pursuing was sanctioned by justice—and + persons who are satisfied that he was entitled to feel such persuasion, + need not refuse him the merit of sincerity, because (to use the language + <!-- Page 275 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page275"></a>[pg + 275]</span> which Cromwell used at the fatal crisis of his life<a + name="NtA_431"></a><a href="#Nt_431"><sup>431</sup></a>) "It may be well + that they who medelle in many matters are not able to answer for them + all."</p> + + <p>Cranmer, then, being fortified with this permission, and taking with + him the Bishops of London, Winchester, Lincoln, and Bath and Wells (the + latter perhaps having been chosen in consequence of his late conduct in + the convocation, to give show of fairness to the proceeding), went down + to Dunstable and opened his court there. The queen was at Ampthill, six + miles distant, having entered on her sad tenancy, it would seem, as soon + as the place had been evacuated by the gaudy hunting party of the + preceding summer. The cause being undecided, and her title being + therefore uncertain, she was called by the safe name of "the Lady + Catherine," and under this designation she was served with a citation + from the archbishop to appear before him on Saturday, the 10th of May. + The bearers of the summons were Sir Francis Bryan (an unfortunate choice, + for he was cousin of the new queen, and insolent in his manner and + bearing), Sir Thomas Gage, and Lord Vaux. She received them like herself + with imperial sorrow. They delivered their message; she announced that + she refused utterly to acknowledge the competency of the tribunal before + which she was called; the court was a mockery; the archbishop was a + shadow.<a name="NtA_432"></a><a href="#Nt_432"><sup>432</sup></a> She + would neither appear before him in person, nor commission any one to + appear on her behalf.</p> + + <p>The court had but one course before it—she was pronounced + contumacious, and the trial went forward. None of her household were + tempted even by curiosity to be present. "There came not so much as a + servant of hers to Dunstable, save such as were brought in as witnesses;" + some of them having been required to give evidence in the re-examination + which was thought necessary, as to the nature of the relation of their + mistress with her first boy husband. As soon as this disgusting question + had been sufficiently investigated, nothing remained but to pronounce + judgment. The marriage with the king was declared to have been null and + void from the beginning, and on the 23rd of May, the archbishop sent to + London the welcome news that the long matter was at an end.<a + name="NtA_433"></a><a href="#Nt_433"><sup>433</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 276 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page276"></a>[pg 276]</span> + + <p>It was over;—over at last; yet so over, that the conclusion + could but appear to the losing party a fresh injustice. To those who were + concerned in bringing it to pass, to the king himself, to the nation, to + Europe, to every one who heard of it at the time, it must have appeared, + as it appears now to us who read the story of it, if a necessity, yet a + most unwelcome and unsatisfying one. That the king remained uneasy is + evident from the efforts which he continued to make, or which he allowed + to be made, notwithstanding the brief of the 23rd of December, to gain + the sanction of the pope. That the nation was uneasy, we should not + require the evidence of history to tell us. "There was much murmuring in + England," says Hall, "and it was thought by the unwise that the Bishop of + Rome would curse all Englishmen; that the emperor and he would destroy + all the people." And those who had no such fears, and whose judgment in + the main approved of what had been done, were scandalised <!-- Page 277 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page277"></a>[pg 277]</span> at the + presentation to them at the instant of the publication of the divorce, of + a new queen, four months advanced in pregnancy. This also was a + misfortune which had arisen out of the chain of duplicities, a fresh + accident swelling a complication which was already sufficiently + entangled. It had been occasioned by steps which at the moment at which + they were ventured, prudence seemed to justify; but we the more regret + it, because, in comparison with the interests which were at issue, the + few months of additional delay were infinitely unimportant.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless, we have reason to be thankful that the thing, well or + ill, was over; seven years of endurance were enough for the English + nation, and may be supposed to have gained even for Henry a character for + patience. In some way, too, it is needless to say, the thing must have + ended. The life of none of us is long enough to allow us to squander so + large a section of it struggling in the meshes of a law-suit; and + although there <!-- Page 278 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page278"></a>[pg 278]</span> may be a difference of opinion on the + wisdom of having first entered upon ground of such a kind, few thinking + persons can suggest any other method in which either the nation or the + king could have extricated themselves. Meanwhile, it was resolved that + such spots and blemishes as hung about the transaction should be + forgotten in the splendour of the coronation. If there was scandal in the + condition of the queen, yet under another aspect that condition was + matter of congratulation to a people so eager for an heir; and Henry may + have thought that the sight for the first time in public of so beautiful + a creature, surrounded by the most magnificent pageant which London had + witnessed since the unknown day on which the first stone of it was laid, + and bearing in her bosom the long-hoped-for inheritor of the English + crown, might induce a chivalrous nation to forget what it was the + interest of no loyal subject to remember longer, and to offer her an + English welcome to the throne.</p> + + <p>In anticipation of the timely close of the proceedings at Dunstable, + notice had been given in the city early in May, that preparations should + be made for the coronation on the first of the following month. Queen + Anne was at Greenwich, but, according to custom, the few preceding days + were to be spent at the Tower; and on the 19th of May, she was conducted + thither in state by the lord mayor and the city companies, with one of + those splendid exhibitions upon the water which in the days when the + silver Thames deserved its name, and the sun could shine down upon it out + of the blue summer sky, were spectacles scarcely rivalled in gorgeousness + by the world-famous wedding of the Adriatic. The river was crowded with + boats, the banks and the ships in the pool swarmed with people; and fifty + great barges formed the procession, all blazing with gold and banners. + The queen herself was in her own barge, close to that of the lord mayor; + and in keeping with the fantastic genius of the time, she was preceded up + the water by "a foyst or wafter full or ordnance, in which was a great + dragon continually moving and casting wildfire, and round about the foyst + stood terrible monsters and wild men, casting fire and making hideous + noise."<a name="NtA_434"></a><a href="#Nt_434"><sup>434</sup></a> So, + with trumpets blowing, cannon pealing, the Tower guns answering the guns + of the ships, in a blaze of fireworks and splendour, Anne Boleyn was + borne along to the great archway of the Tower, where the king was waiting + on the stairs to receive her.</p> + + <p>And now let us suppose eleven days to have elapsed, the <!-- Page 279 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page279"></a>[pg 279]</span> welcome + news to have arrived at length from Dunstable, and the fair summer + morning of life dawning in treacherous beauty after the long night of + expectation. No bridal ceremonial had been possible; the marriage had + been huddled over like a stolen love-match, and the marriage feast had + been eaten in vexation and disappointment. These past mortifications were + to be atoned for by a coronation pageant which the art and the wealth of + the richest city in Europe should be poured out in the most lavish + profusion to adorn.</p> + + <p>On the morning of the 31st of May, the families of the London citizens + were stirring early in all houses. From Temple Bar to the Tower, the + streets were fresh strewed with gravel, the footpaths were railed off + along the whole distance, and occupied on one side by the guilds, their + workmen, and apprentices, on the other by the city constables and + officials in their gaudy uniforms, "with their staves in hand for to + cause the people to keep good room and order."<a name="NtA_435"></a><a + href="#Nt_435"><sup>435</sup></a> Cornhill and Gracechurch Street had + dressed their fronts in scarlet and crimson, in arras and tapestry, and + the rich carpet-work from Persia and the East. Cheapside, to outshine her + rivals, was draped even more splendidly in cloth of gold, and tissue, and + velvet. The sheriffs were pacing up and down on their great Flemish + horses, hung with liveries, and all the windows were thronged with ladies + crowding to see the procession pass. At length the Tower guns opened, the + grim gates rolled back, and under the archway in the bright May sunshine, + the long column began slowly to defile. Two states only permitted their + representatives to grace the scene with their presence—Venice and + France. It was, perhaps, to make the most of this isolated countenance, + that the French ambassador's train formed the van of the cavalcade. + Twelve French knights came riding foremost in surcoats of blue velvet + with sleeves of yellow silk, their horses trapped in blue, with white + crosses powdered on their hangings. After them followed a troop of + English gentlemen, two and two, and then the Knights of the Bath, "in + gowns of violet, with hoods purfled with miniver like doctors." Next, + perhaps at a little interval, the abbots passed on, mitred in their + robes; the barons followed in crimson velvet, the bishops then, and then + the earls and marquises, the dresses of each order increasing in + elaborate gorgeousness. All these rode on in pairs. Then came alone + Audeley, lord-chancellor, and behind him the Venetian ambassador and the + Archbishop of York; the Archbishop <!-- Page 280 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page280"></a>[pg 280]</span> of Canterbury, and + Du Bellay, Bishop of Bayonne and of Paris, not now with bugle and + hunting-frock, but solemn with stole and crozier. Next, the lord mayor, + with the city mace in hand, the Garter in his coat of arms; and then Lord + William Howard—Belted Will Howard, of the Scottish Border, Marshal + of England. The officers of the queen's household succeeded the marshal + in scarlet and gold, and the van of the procession was closed by the Duke + of Suffolk, as high constable, with his silver wand. It is no easy matter + to picture to ourselves the blazing trail of splendour which in such a + pageant must have drawn along the London streets,—those streets + which now we know so black and smoke-grimed, themselves then radiant with + masses of colour, gold, and crimson, and violet. Yet there it was, and + there the sun could shine upon it, and tens of thousands of eyes were + gazing on the scene out of the crowded lattices.</p> + + <p>Glorious as the spectacle was, perhaps however, it passed unheeded. + Those eyes were watching all for another object, which now drew near. In + an open space behind the constable there was seen approaching "a white + chariot," drawn by two palfreys in white damask which swept the ground, a + golden canopy borne above it making music with silver bells: and in the + chariot sat the observed of all observers, the beautiful occasion of all + this glittering homage; fortune's plaything of the hour, the Queen of + England—queen at last—borne along upon the waves of this sea + of glory, breathing the perfumed incense of greatness which she had + risked her fair name, her delicacy, her honour, her self-respect, to win; + and she had won it.</p> + + <p>There she sate, dressed in white tissue robes, her fair hair flowing + loose over her shoulders, and her temples circled with a light coronet of + gold and diamonds—most beautiful—loveliest—most + favoured perhaps, as she seemed at that hour, of all England's daughters. + Alas! "within the hollow round" of that coronet—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>Kept death his court, and there the antick sate,</p> + <p>Scoffing her state and grinning at her pomp.</p> + <p>Allowing her a little breath, a little scene</p> + <p>To monarchise, be feared, and kill with looks,</p> + <p>Infusing her with self and vain conceit,</p> + <p>As if the flesh which walled about her life</p> + <p>Were brass impregnable; and humoured thus,</p> + <p>Bored through her castle walls; and farewell, Queen.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Fatal gift of greatness! so dangerous ever! so more than <!-- Page 281 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page281"></a>[pg 281]</span> dangerous + in those tremendous times when the fountains are broken loose of the + great deeps of thought; and nations are in the throes of + revolution;—when ancient order and law and tradition are splitting + in the social earthquake; and as the opposing forces wrestle to and fro, + those unhappy ones who stand out above the crowd become the symbols of + the struggle, and fall the victims of its alternating fortunes. And what + if into an unsteady heart and brain, intoxicated with splendour, the + outward chaos should find its way, converting the poor silly soul into an + image of the same confusion,—if conscience should be deposed from + her high place, and the Pandora box be broken loose of passions and + sensualities and follies; and at length there be nothing left of all + which man or woman ought to value, save hope of God's forgiveness.</p> + + <p>Three short years have yet to pass, and again, on a summer morning, + Queen Anne Boleyn will leave the Tower of London—not radiant then + with beauty on a gay errand of coronation, but a poor wandering ghost, on + a sad tragic errand, from which she will never more return, passing away + out of an earth where she may stay no longer, into a presence where, + nevertheless, we know that all is well—for all of us—and + therefore for her.</p> + + <p>But let us not cloud her shortlived sunshine with the shadow of the + future. She went on in her loveliness, the peeresses following in their + carriages, with the royal guard in their rear. In Fenchurch Street she + was met by the children of the city schools; and at the corner of + Gracechurch Street a masterpiece had been prepared of the pseudo-classic + art, then so fashionable, by the merchants of the Styll Yard. A Mount + Parnassus had been constructed, and a Helicon fountain upon it playing + into a basin with four jets of Rhenish wine. On the top of the mountain + sat Apollo with Calliope at his feet, and on either side the remaining + Muses, holding lutes or harps, and singing each of them some "posy" or + epigram in praise of the queen, which was presented, after it had been + sung, written in letters of gold.</p> + + <p>From Gracechurch Street, the procession passed to Leadenhall, where + there was a spectacle in better taste, of the old English Catholic kind, + quaint perhaps and forced, but truly and even beautifully emblematic. + There was again a "little mountain," which was hung with red and white + roses; a gold ring was placed on the summit, on which, as the queen + appeared, a white falcon was made to "descend as out of the + sky"—"and then incontinent came down an angel with great melody, + and set a <!-- Page 282 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page282"></a>[pg 282]</span> close crown of gold upon the falcon's + head; and in the same pageant sat Saint Anne with all her issue beneath + her; and Mary Cleophas with her four children, of the which children one + made a goodly oration to the queen, of the fruitfulness of St. Anne, + trusting that like fruit should come of her."<a name="NtA_436"></a><a + href="#Nt_436"><sup>436</sup></a></p> + + <p>With such "pretty conceits," at that time the honest tokens of an + English welcome, the new queen was received by the citizens of London. + These scenes must be multiplied by the number of the streets, where some + fresh fancy met her at every turn. To preserve the festivities from + flagging, every fountain and conduit within the walls ran all day with + wine; the bells of every steeple were ringing; children lay in wait with + song, and ladies with posies, in which all the resources of fantastic + extravagance were exhausted; and thus in an unbroken triumph—and to + outward appearance received with the warmest affection—she passed + under Temple Bar, down the Strand by Charing Cross to Westminster Hall. + The king was not with her throughout the day; nor did he intend to be + with her in any part of the ceremony. She was to reign without a rival, + the undisputed sovereign of the hour.</p> + + <p>Saturday being passed in showing herself to the people, she retired + for the night to "the king's manour house at Westminster," where she + slept. On the following morning, between eight and nine o'clock, she + returned to the hall, where the lord mayor, the city council, and the + peers were again assembled, and took her place on the high dais at the + top of the stairs under the cloth of state; while the bishops, the + abbots, and the monks of the abbey formed in the area. A railed way had + been laid with carpets across Palace Yard and the Sanctuary to the abbey + gates, and when all was ready, preceded by the peers in their robes of + parliament, the Knights of the Garter in the dress of the order, she + swept out under her canopy, the bishops and the monks "solemnly singing." + The train was borne by the old Duchess of Norfolk her aunt, the Bishops + of London and Winchester on either side "bearing up the lappets of her + robe." The Earl of Oxford carried the crown on its cushion immediately + before her. She was dressed in purple velvet furred with ermine, her hair + escaping loose, as she usually wore it, under a wreath of diamonds.</p> + +<!-- Page 283 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page283"></a>[pg 283]</span> + + <p>On entering the abbey, she was led to the coronation chair Where she + sat while the train fell into their places, and the preliminaries, of the + ceremonial were despatched. Then she was conducted up to the high altar, + and anointed Queen of England, and she received from the hands of + Cranmer, fresh come in haste from Dunstable, with the last words of his + sentence upon Catherine scarcely silent upon his lips, the golden + sceptre, and St. Edward's crown.</p> + + <p>Did any twinge of remorse, any pang of painful recollection, pierce at + that moment the incense of glory which she was inhaling? Did any vision + flit across her of a sad mourning figure which once had stood where she + was standing, now desolate, neglected, sinking into the darkening + twilight of a life cut short by sorrow? Who can tell? At such a time, + that figure would have weighed heavily upon a noble mind, and a wise + mind would have been taught by the thought of it, that although life be + fleeting as a dream, it is long enough to experience strange vicissitudes + of fortune. But Anne Boleyn was not noble and was not wise,—too + probably she felt nothing but the delicious, all-absorbing, + all-intoxicating present, and if that plain, suffering face presented + itself to her memory at all, we may fear that it was rather as a foil to + her own surpassing loveliness. Two years later, she was able to exult + over Catherine's death; she is not likely to have thought of her with + gentler feelings in the first glow and flush of triumph.</p> + + <p>We may now leave these scenes. They concluded in the usual English + style, with a banquet in the great hall, and with all outward signs of + enjoyment and pleasure. There must have been but few persons present + however who did not feel that the sunshine of such a day might not last + for ever, and that over so dubious a marriage no Englishman could exult + with more than half a heart. It is foolish to blame lightly actions which + arise in the midst of circumstances which are and can be but imperfectly + known; and there may have been political reasons which made so much pomp + desirable. Anne Boleyn had been the subject of public conversation for + seven years, and Henry, no doubt, desired to present his jewel to them in + the rarest and choicest setting. Yet to our eyes, seeing, perhaps, by the + light of what followed, a more modest introduction would have appeared + more suited to the doubtful nature of her position.</p> + + <p>At any rate we escape from this scene of splendour very gladly as from + something unseasonable. It would have been well for Henry VIII. if he had + lived in a world in which women could <!-- Page 284 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page284"></a>[pg 284]</span> have been dispensed + with; so ill, in all his relations with them, he succeeded. With men he + could speak the right word, he could do the right thing; with women he + seemed to be under a fatal necessity of mistake.</p> + + <p>It was now necessary, however, after this public step, to communicate + in form to the emperor the divorce and the new marriage. The king was + assured of the rectitude of the motives on which he had himself acted, + and he knew at the same time that he had challenged the hostility of the + papal world. Yet he did not desire a quarrel if there were means of + avoiding it; and more than once he had shown respect for the opposition + which he had met with from Charles, as dictated by honourable care for + the interests of his kinswoman. He therefore, in the truest language + which will be met with in the whole long series of the correspondence, + composed a despatch for his ambassador at Brussels, and expressed himself + in a tone of honest sorrow for the injury which he had been compelled to + commit. Neither the coercion which the emperor had exerted over the pope, + nor his intrigues with his subjects in Ireland and England, could deprive + the nephew of Catherine of his right to a courteous explanation; and + Henry directed Doctor Nicholas Hawkins in making his communication "to + use only gentle words;" to express a hope that Charles would not think + only of his own honour, but would remember public justice; and that a + friendship of long standing, which the interests of the subjects of both + countries were concerned so strongly in maintaining, might not be broken. + The instructions are too interesting to pass over with a general + description. After stating the grounds on which Henry had proceeded, and + which Charles thoroughly understood, Hawkins was directed to continue + thus:—</p> + + <p>"The King of England is not ignorant what respect is due unto the + world. How much he hath laboured and travailed therein he hath + sufficiently declared and showed in his acts and proceedings. If he had + contemned the order and process of the world, or the friendship and amity + of your Majesty, he needed not to have sent so often to the pope and to + you both, nor continued and spent his time in delays. He might have done + what he has done now, had it so liked him, with as little difficulty as + now, if without such respect he would have followed his pleasure."</p> + + <p>The minister was then to touch the pope's behaviour and Henry's + forbearance, and after that to say:—</p> + + <p>"Going forward in that way his Highness saw that he could come to no + conclusion; and he was therefore compelled to step <!-- Page 285 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page285"></a>[pg 285]</span> right forth out of + the maze, and so to quiet himself at last. And is it not time to have an + end in seven years? It is not to be asked nor questioned whether the + matter hath been determined after the common fashion, but whether it hath + in it common justice, truth, and equity. For observation of the common + order, his Grace hath done what lay in him. Enforced by necessity he hath + found the true order which he hath in substance followed with effect, and + hath done as becometh him. He doubteth not but your Majesty, remembering + his cause from the beginning hitherto, will of yourself consider and + think, that among mortal men nothing should be immortal; and suits must + once have an end, si possis recte, si non quocunque modo. If his Highness + cannot as he would, then must he do as he may; and he that hath a journey + to be perfected must, if he cannot go one way, essay another. For his + matter with the pope, he shall deal with him apart. Your Majesty he + taketh for his friend, and as to a friend he openeth these matters to + you, trusting to find your Majesty no less friendly than he hath done + heretofore."<a name="NtA_437"></a><a + href="#Nt_437"><sup>437</sup></a></p> + + <p>If courtesy obliged Henry to express a confidence in the stability of + the relations between himself and Charles, which it was impossible that + he could have felt, yet in other respects this letter has the most + pleasant merit of honesty. Hawkins was so much overcome by "the sweetness + of it," that "he nothing doubted if that the emperor read the same, by + God's grace he should be utterly persuaded;" and although in this + expectation he was a little over sanguine, as in calmer moments he would + have acknowledged, yet plain speech is never without its value; and + Charles himself after he had tried other expedients, and they had not + succeeded with him, found it more prudent to acquiesce in what could no + longer be altered, and to return to cordiality.</p> + + <p>For the present he remained under the impression that by the great + body of the English the divorce was looked upon with coldness and even + with displeasure, that the king was supported only by the complacency of + a few courtiers, and that the nation were prepared to compel him to undo + the wrong which had been inflicted upon Catherine and the princess. So he + was assured by the Spanish party in England; so all the disaffected + assured him, who were perhaps themselves deceived. He had secured + Ireland, and Scotland also in so far as James's promises could secure + it;<a name="NtA_438"></a><a href="#Nt_438"><sup>438</sup></a> and he was + not disposed to surrender for the present so promising a game till he had + tried his strength and proved his <!-- Page 286 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page286"></a>[pg 286]</span> weakness. He + replied coldly to Hawkins, "That for the King of England's amity he would + be glad thereof, so the said king would do works according. The matter + was none of his; but the lady, whose rights had been violated, was his + aunt and an orphan, and that he must see for her, and for her daughter + his cousin."<a name="NtA_439"></a><a + href="#Nt_439"><sup>439</sup></a></p> + + <p>The scarcely ambiguous answer was something softened the following + day; perhaps only, however, because it was too plain a betrayal of his + intentions. He communicated at once with Catherine, and Henry speedily + learnt the nature of the advice which he had given to her. After the + coronation had passed off so splendidly, when no disturbance had risen, + no voice had been raised for her or for her daughter, the poor queen's + spirit for the moment had sunk; she had thought of leaving the country, + and flying with the Princess Mary to Spain. The emperor sent to urge her + to remain a little longer, guaranteeing her, if she could command her + patience, an ample reparation for her injuries. Whatever might appear + upon the surface, the new queen, he was assured, was little loved by the + people, and "they were ready to join with any prince who would espouse + her quarrel."<a name="NtA_440"></a><a href="#Nt_440"><sup>440</sup></a> + All classes, he said, were agreed in one common feeling of displeasure. + They were afraid of a change of religion; they were afraid of the wreck + of their commerce; and the whole country was fast ripening towards + insurrection. The points on which he relied as the occasion of the + disaffection betrayed the sources of his information. He was in + correspondence with the regular clergy through Peto at Antwerp, and + through his Flemish subjects with merchants of London. Among both these + classes, as well as among the White Rose nobles, he had powerful + adherents; and it could not have been forgotten in the courts, either of + London or Brussels, that within the memory of living men, a small band of + exiles, equipped by a Duke of Burgundy, had landed at a Yorkshire + village, and in a month had revolutionised the kingdom.</p> + + <p>In the eyes of Charles there was no reason why an attempt which had + succeeded once might not succeed again under circumstances seemingly of + far fairer promise. The strength of a party of insurrection is a power + which official statesmen never justly comprehend. It depends upon moral + influences, which they are professionally incapable of appreciating. They + are able complacently to ignore the existence of substantial disaffection + <!-- Page 287 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page287"></a>[pg + 287]</span> though all society may be undermined; they can build their + hopes, When it suits their convenience, on the idle trifling of + superficial discontent. In the present instance there was some excuse for + the mistake. That in England there really existed an active and organised + opposition, prepared, when opportunity offered, to try the chances of + rebellion, was no delusion of persons who measured facts by their + desires; it was an ascertained peril of serious magnitude, which might be + seriously calculated upon; and if the experiment was tried, reasonable + men might fairly be divided in opinion on the result to be expected.</p> + + <p>In the meantime the government had been obliged to follow up the + coronation of the new queen by an act which the situation of the kingdom + explained and excused; but which, if Catherine had been no more than a + private person, would have been wanton cruelty. Among the people she + still bore her royal title; but the name of queen, so long as she was + permitted to retain it, was an allowed witness against the legality of + the sentence at Dunstable. There could not be "two queens" in England,<a + name="NtA_441"></a><a href="#Nt_441"><sup>441</sup></a> and one or other + must retire from the designation. A proclamation was therefore issued by + the council, declaring, that in consequence of the final proofs that the + Lady Catherine had never been lawfully married to the king, she was to + bear thenceforward the title which she had received after the death of + her first husband, and be called the Princess Dowager.</p> + + <p>Harsh as this measure was, she had left no alternative to the + government by which to escape the enforcement of it, by her refusal to + consent to any form of compromise. If she was queen, Anne Boleyn was not + queen. If she was queen, the Princess Mary remained the heir to the + crown, and the expected offspring of Anne would be illegitimate. If the + question had been merely of names, to have moved it would have been + unworthy and wicked; but where respect for private feeling was + incompatible with the steps which a nation felt necessary in order to + secure itself against civil convulsions, private feeling was compelled + not unjustly to submit to injury. Mary, though still a girl, had + inherited both her father's will and her mother's obstinacy. She was in + correspondence, as we have seen, with the Nun of Kent, and aware at + least, if she was not further implicated in it, of a conspiracy to place + her on the throne. Charles was engaged in the same designs; and it will + not be pretended that Catherine was left without information of what <!-- + Page 288 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page288"></a>[pg 288]</span> + was going forward, or that her own conduct was uninfluenced by policy. + These intrigues it was positively necessary to stifle, and it was + impossible to leave a pretext of which so powerful a use might be made in + the hands of a party whose object was not only to secure to the princess + her right to succeed her father, but to compel him by arms either to + acknowledge it, or submit to be deposed.<a name="NtA_442"></a><a + href="#Nt_442"><sup>442</sup></a></p> + + <p>Our sympathies are naturally on the side of the weak and the + unsuccessful. State considerations lose their force after the lapse of + centuries, when no interests of our own are any longer in jeopardy; and + we feel for the great sufferers of history only in their individual + capacity, without recalling or caring for the political exigencies to + which they were sacrificed. It is an error of disguised selfishness, the + counterpart of the carelessness with which in our own age, when we are + ourselves constituents of an interested public, we ignore what it is + inconvenient to remember.</p> + + <p>Thus, therefore, on one hot Midsummer Sunday in this year 1533, the + people gathering to church in every parish through the English counties, + read, nailed upon the doors, a paper signed Henry R., setting forth that + the Lady Catherine of Spain, heretofore called Queen of England, was not + to be called by that title any more, but was to be called Princess + Dowager, and so to be held and esteemed. The proclamation, we may + suppose, was read with varying comments; of the reception of it in the + northern counties, the following information was forwarded to the crown. + The Earl of Derby, lord-lieutenant of Yorkshire, wrote to inform the + council that he had arrested a certain "lewd and naughty priest," James + Harrison by name, on the charge of having spoken unfitting and slanderous + words of his Highness and the Queen's Grace. He had taken the + examinations of several witnesses, which he had sent with his letter, and + which were to the following effect:—</p> + + <p>Richard Clark deposeth that the said James Harrison reading the + proclamation, said that Queen Catherine was queen, Nan Bullen should not + be queen, nor the king should be no king but on his bearing.</p> + + <p>William Dalton deposeth, that in his hearing the above-named James + said, I will take none for queen but Queen Catherine—who the devil + made Nan Bullen, that hoore, queen? I will never take her for + queen—and he the said William answered, "Hold thy peace, thou + wot'st not what thou sayest—but that <!-- Page 289 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page289"></a>[pg 289]</span> thou art a priest I + should punish thee, that others should take example."</p> + + <p>Richard Sumner and John Clayton depose, that they came in company with + the said James from Perbalt to Eccleston, when the said James did say, + "This is a marvellous world—the king will put down the order of + priests and destroy the Sacrament, but he cannot reign long, for York + will be in London hastily."<a name="NtA_443"></a><a + href="#Nt_443"><sup>443</sup></a></p> + + <p>Here was the later growth of the spirit which we saw a few months + previously in the monks of Furness. The mutterings of discontent had + developed into plain open treason, confident of success, and scarcely + caring to conceal itself—and Yorkshire was preparing for rebellion + and "the Pilgrimage of Grace."</p> + + <p>There is another quarter also into which we must follow the + proclamation, and watch the effect of the royal order in a scene where it + is well that we should for a few moments rest. Catherine was still at + Ampthill, surrounded by her own attendants, who formed an inner circle, + shielding her retirement against impertinent curiosity. She rarely or + never allowed herself to be seen; Lord Mountjoy, with an official + retinue, was in attendance in the house; but the occupation was not a + pleasant one, and he was as willing to respect the queen's seclusion as + she to remain secluded. Injunctions arrived however from the court at the + end of June, which compelled him to request an interview; a deputation of + the privy council had come down to inform the ex-queen of the orders of + the government, and to desire that they might be put in force in her own + family. Aware probably of the nature of the communication which was to be + made to her, she refused repeatedly to admit them to her presence. At + length, however, she nerved herself for the effort, and on the 3rd of + July Mountjoy and the state commissioners were informed that she was + ready to receive them.</p> + + <p>As they entered her room she was lying on a sofa. She had a bad cough, + and she had hurt her foot with a pin, and was unable to stand or walk. + Her attendants were all present by her own desire; she was glad to see + around her some sympathising human faces, to enable her to endure the + cold hard eyes of the officials of the council.</p> + + <p>She inquired whether the message was to be delivered in writing or by + word of mouth.</p> + + <p>They replied that they had brought with them instructions <!-- Page + 290 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page290"></a>[pg 290]</span> which + they were to read, and that they were further charged with a message + which was to be delivered verbally. She desired that they would read + their written despatch. It was addressed to the Princess Dowager, and she + at once excepted to the name. She was not Princess Dowager, she said, but + queen, and the king's true wife. She came to the king a clear maid for + any bodily knowledge of Prince Arthur; she had borne him lawful issue and + no bastard, and therefore queen she was, and queen she would be while she + lived.</p> + + <p>The commissioners were prepared for the objection, and continued, + without replying, to read. The paper contained a statement of worn-out + unrealities; the old story of the judgment of the universities and the + learned men, the sentence of convocation, and of the houses of + parliament; and, finally, the fact of substantial importance, that the + king, acting as he believed according to the laws of God, had married the + Lady Anne Boleyn, who was now his lawful wife, and anointed Queen of + England.</p> + + <p>Oh yes, she answered when they had done, we know that, and "we know + the authority by which it has been done—more by power than + justice." The king's learned men were learned heretics; the honest + learning was for her. As for the seals of the universities there were + strange stories about the way in which they had been obtained. The + universities and the parliament had done what the king bade them; and + they had gone against their consciences in doing it; but it was of no + importance to her—she was in the hands of the pope, who was God's + vicar, and she acknowledged no other judge.</p> + + <p>The commissioners informed her of the decision of the council that she + was no longer to bear the title of queen. It stood, they said, neither + with the laws of God nor man, nor with the king's honour, to have two + queens named within the realm; and in fact, there was but one queen, the + king's lawful wife, to whom he was now married.</p> + + <p>She replied shortly that she was the king's lawful queen, and none + other.</p> + + <p>There was little hope in her manner that anything which could be said + would move her; but her visitors were ordered to try her to the + uttermost.</p> + + <p>The king, they continued, was surprised that she could be so + disobedient; and not only that she was disobedient herself, but that she + allowed and encouraged her servants in the same conduct.</p> + +<!-- Page 291 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page291"></a>[pg 291]</span> + + <p>She was ready to obey the king; she answered, when she could do so + without disobeying God; but she could not damn her soul even for him. Her + servants, she said, must do the best they could; they were standing round + her as she was speaking; and she turned to them with an apology, and a + hope that they would pardon her. She would hinder her cause, she said; + and put her soul in danger, if on their account she were to relinquish + her name, and she could not do it.</p> + + <p>The deputation next attempted her on her worldly side. If she would + obey, they informed her that she would be allowed not only her jointure + as Princess Dowager and her own private fortune, but all the settlements + which had been made upon her on her marriage with the king.</p> + + <p>She "passed not upon possessions, in regard of this matter," she + replied. It touched her conscience, and no worldly considerations were of + the slightest moment.</p> + + <p>In disobeying the king, they said; seeing that she was none other than + his subject, she might give cause for dissension and disturbance; and she + might lose the favour of the people.</p> + + <p>She "trusted not," she replied—she "never minded it, nor would + she"—she "desired only to save her right; and if she should lose + the favour of the people in defending that right, yet she trusted to go + to heaven cum famâ et infamiâ."</p> + + <p>Promises and persuasions being unavailing, they tried threats. She was + told that if she persisted in so obstinate a course, the king would be + obliged to make known to the world the offers which he had made to her, + and the ill reception which they had met with—and then he would + perhaps withdraw those offers, and conceive some evil opinions of high + displeasure towards her.</p> + + <p>She answered that there was no manner of offers neither of lands nor + goods that she had respect unto in comparison of her cause—and as + to the loss of the king's affection, she trusted to God, to whom she + would daily pray for him.</p> + + <p>The learned council might as well have reasoned with the winds; or + threatened the waves of the sea. But they were not yet weary, and their + next effort was as foolish as it was ungenerous. They suggested, "that if + she did reserve the name of queen, it was thought that she would do it of + a vain desire and appetite of glory; and further, she might be an + occasion that the king would withdraw his love from her most dear + daughter the Lady Princess, which should chiefly move her, if none other + cause did."</p> + +<!-- Page 292 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page292"></a>[pg 292]</span> + + <p>They must have known little of Catherine, if they thought she could be + influenced by childish vanity. It was for no vain glory that she cared, + she answered proudly; she was the king's true wife, and her conscience + forbade her to call herself otherwise; the princess was his true begotten + child; and as God hath given her to them, so for her part she would + render her again; neither for daughter, family, nor possessions, would + she yield in her cause; and she made a solemn protestation, calling on + every one present to bear witness to what she said, that the king's wife + she was, and such she would take herself to be, and that she would never + surrender the name of queen till the pope had decided that she must bear + it no longer.</p> + + <p>So ended the first interview. Catherine, before the commissioners left + her, desired to have a copy of the proposals which they had brought, that + she might translate and send them to Rome. They returned with them the + next day, when she requested to see the report which they intended to + send to the council of the preceding conversation. It was placed in her + hands; and as she read it and found there the name of Princess Dowager, + she took a pen and dashed out the words, the mark of which indignant + ink-stroke may now be seen in the letter from which this account is + taken.<a name="NtA_444"></a><a href="#Nt_444"><sup>444</sup></a> With the + accuracy of the rest she appeared to be satisfied—only when she + found again their poor suggestion that she was influenced by vanity, she + broke out with a burst of passionate indignation.</p> + + <p>"I would rather be a poor beggar's wife," she said, "and be sure of + heaven, than queen of all the world, and stand in doubt thereof by reason + of my own consent. I stick not so for vain glory, but because I know + myself the king's true wife—and while you call me the king's + subject, I was his subject while he took me for his wife. But if he take + me not for his wife, I came not into this Realm as merchandise, nor to be + married to any merchant; nor do I continue in the same but as his lawful + wife, and not as a subject to live under his dominion otherwise. I have + always demeaned myself well and truly towards the king—and if it + can be proved that either in writing to the pope or any other, I have + either stirred or procured anything against his Grace, or have been the + means to any person to make any motion which might be prejudicial to his + Grace or to his Realm, I am content to suffer for it. I have done England + little good, and I should be sorry to do it any harm. But if I should + agree to your motions and persuasions, I should slander myself, and <!-- + Page 293 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page293"></a>[pg 293]</span> + confess to have been the king's harlot for twenty-four years. The cause, + I cannot tell by what subtle means, has been determined here within the + king's Realm, before a man of his own making, the Bishop of Canterbury, + no person indifferent I think in that behalf; and for the indifference of + the place, I think the place had been more indifferent to have been + judged in hell; for no truth can be suffered here, whereas the devils + themselves I suppose do tremble to see the truth in this cause so sore + oppressed."<a name="NtA_445"></a><a href="#Nt_445"><sup>445</sup></a></p> + + <p>Most noble, spirited, and like a queen. Yet she would never have been + brought to this extremity, and she would have shown a truer nobleness, if + four years before she could have yielded at the pope's entreaty on the + first terms which were proposed to her. Those terms would have required + no humiliating confessions; they would have involved no sentence on her + marriage nor touched her daughter's legitimacy. She would have broken no + law of God, nor seemed to break it. She was required only to forget her + own interests; and she would not forget them, though all the world should + be wrecked by her refusal. She denied that she was concerned in "motions + prejudicial to the king or to the Realm," but she must have placed her + own interpretation on the words, and would have considered + excommunication and interdict a salutary discipline to the king and + parliament. She knew that this sentence was imminent, that in its minor + form it had already fallen; and she knew that her nephew and her friends + in England were plotting to give effect to the decree. But we may pass + over this. It is not for an English writer to dwell upon those faults of + Catherine of Arragon, which English remorse has honourably insisted on + forgetting. Her injuries, inevitable as they were, and forced upon her in + great measure by her own wilfulness, remain among the saddest spots in + the pages of our history.</p> + + <p>One other brief incident remains to be noticed here, to bring up + before the imagination the features of this momentous summer. It is + contained in the postscript of a letter of Cranmer to Hawkins the + ambassador in Germany; and the manner in which the story is told is no + less suggestive than the story itself.</p> + + <p>The immediate present, however awful its import, will ever seem common + and familiar to those who live and breathe in the midst of it. In the + days of the September massacre at Paris, the theatres were open as usual; + men ate, and drank, and laughed, and cried, and went about their common + work, unconscious <!-- Page 294 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page294"></a>[pg 294]</span> that those days which were passing by + them, so much like other days, would remain the <i>dies nefasti</i>, + accursed in the memory of mankind for ever. Nothing is terrible, nothing + is sublime in human things, so long as they are before our eyes. The + great man has so much in common with men in general, the routine of daily + life, in periods the most remarkable in history, contains so much that is + unvarying, that it is only when time has done its work; and all which was + unimportant has ceased to be remembered, that such men and such times + stand out in their true significance. It might have been thought that to + a person like Cranmer, the court at Dunstable, the coronation of the new + queen, the past out of which these things had risen, and the future which + they threatened to involve, would have seemed at least serious; and that + engaged as he had been as a chief actor, in a matter which, if it had + done nothing else, had broken the heart of a high-born lady whom once he + had honoured as his queen, he would have been either silent about his + exploits, or if he had spoken of them, would have spoken not without some + show of emotion. We look for a symptom of feeling, but we do not find it. + When the coronation festivities were concluded he wrote to his friend an + account of what had been done by himself and others in the light + gossiping tone of easiest content; as if he were describing the common + incidents of a common day. It is disappointing, and not wholly to be + approved of. Still less can we approve of the passage with which he + concludes his letter.</p> + + <p>"Other news we have none notable, but that one Frith, which was in the + Tower in prison,<a name="NtA_446"></a><a + href="#Nt_446"><sup>446</sup></a> was appointed by the King's Grace to be + examined before me, my Lord of London, my Lord of Winchester, my Lord of + Suffolk, my Lord Chancellor, and my Lord of Wiltshire; whose opinion was + so notably erroneous that we could not dispatch him, but were fain to + leave him to the determination of his ordinary, which is the Bishop of + London. His said opinion is of such nature, that he thought it not + necessary to be believed as an article of our faith that there is the + very corporeal presence of Christ within the host and sacrament of the + altar; and holdeth on this point much after the opinion of + Œcolampadius.</p> + +<!-- Page 295 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page295"></a>[pg 295]</span> + + <p>"And surely I myself sent for him three or four times to persuade him + to leave that imagination. But for all that we could do therein, he would + not apply to any counsel. Notwithstanding now he is at a final end with + all examinations; for my Lord of London hath given sentence, and + delivered him to the secular power when he looketh every day to go unto + the fire. And there is also condemned with him one Andrew a tailor for + the self-same opinion; and thus fare you well."<a name="NtA_447"></a><a + href="#Nt_447"><sup>447</sup></a></p> + + <p>These victims went as they were sentenced, dismissed to their martyr's + crowns at Smithfield, as Queen Anne Boleyn but a few days before had + received her golden crown at the altar of Westminster Abbey. Twenty years + later another fire was blazing under the walls of Oxford; and the hand + which was now writing these light lines was blackening in the flames of + it, paying there the penalty of the same "imagination" for which Frith + and the poor London tailor were with such cool indifference condemned. It + is affecting to know that Frith's writings were the instruments of + Cranmer's conversion; and the fathers of the Anglican church have left a + monument of their sorrow for the shedding of this innocent blood in the + Order of the Communion service, which closes with the very words on which + the primate, with his brother bishops, had sate in judgment.<a + name="NtA_448"></a><a href="#Nt_448"><sup>448</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 296 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page296"></a>[pg 296]</span> + +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>THE PROTESTANTS</h3> + + <p>Where changes are about to take place of great and enduring moment, a + kind of prologue, on a small scale, sometimes anticipates the true + opening of the drama; like the first drops which give notice of the + coming storm, or as if the shadows of the reality were projected forwards + into the future, and imitated in dumb show the movements of the real + actors in the story.</p> + + <p>Such a rehearsal of the English Reformation was witnessed at the close + of the fourteenth century, confused, imperfect, disproportioned, to + outward appearance barren of results; yet containing a representative of + each one of the mixed forces by which that great change was ultimately + effected, and foreshadowing even something of the course which it was to + run.</p> + + <p>There was a quarrel with the pope upon the extent of the papal + privileges; there were disputes between the laity and the + clergy,—accompanied, as if involuntarily, by attacks on the + sacramental system and the Catholic faith,—while innovation in + doctrine was accompanied also with the tendency which characterised the + extreme development of the later Protestants—towards political + republicanism, the fifth monarchy, and community of goods. Some account + of this movement must be given in this place, although it can be but a + sketch only. "Lollardry"<a name="NtA_449"></a><a + href="#Nt_449"><sup>449</sup></a> has a history of its own; but it forms + no proper part of the history of the Reformation. It was a separate + phenomenon, provoked by the same causes which produced their true fruit + at a later period; but it formed no portion of the stem on which those + fruits ultimately grew. It was a prelude which was played out, and sank + into silence, answering for the time no other end than to make the name + of heretic odious in the ears of the English nation. In their recoil from + their first failure, the people stamped their hatred of heterodoxy into + their language; and in the word <i>miscreant</i>, misbeliever, as the + synonym <!-- Page 297 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page297"></a>[pg + 297]</span> of the worst species of reprobate, they left an indelible + record of the popular estimate of the followers of John Wycliffe.</p> + + <p>The Lollard story opens with the disputes between the crown and the + see of Rome on the presentation to English benefices. For the hundred and + fifty years which succeeded the Conquest, the right of nominating the + archbishops, the bishops, and the mitred abbots, had been claimed and + exercised by the crown. On the passing of the great charter, the church + had recovered its liberties, and the privilege of free election had been + conceded by a special clause to the clergy. The practice which then + became established was in accordance with the general spirit of the + English constitution. On the vacancy of a see, the cathedral chapter + applied to the crown for a congé d'élire. The application was a form; the + consent was invariable. A bishop was then elected by a majority of + suffrages; his name was submitted to the metropolitan, and by him to the + pope. If the pope signified his approval, the election was complete; + consecration followed; and the bishop having been furnished with his + bulls of investiture, was presented to the king, and from him received + "the temporalities" of his see. The mode in which the great abbots were + chosen was precisely similar; the superiors of the orders to which the + abbeys belonged were the channels of communication with the pope, in the + place of the archbishops; but the elections in themselves were free, and + were conducted in the same manner. The smaller church benefices, the + small monasteries or parish churches, were in the hands of private + patrons, lay or ecclesiastical; but in the case of each institution a + reference was admitted, or was supposed to be admitted, to the court of + Rome.</p> + + <p>There was thus in the pope's hand an authority of an indefinite kind, + which it was presumed that his sacred office would forbid him to abuse, + but which, however, if he so unfortunately pleased, he might abuse at his + discretion. He had absolute power over every nomination to an English + benefice; he might refuse his consent till such adequate reasons, + material or spiritual, as he considered sufficient to induce him to + acquiesce, had been submitted to his consideration. In the case of + nominations to the religious houses, the superiors of the various orders + residing abroad had equal facilities for obstructiveness; and the + consequence of so large a confidence in the purity of the higher orders + of the Church became visible in an act of parliament which it was found + necessary to pass in 1306-7.<a name="NtA_450"></a><a + href="#Nt_450"><sup>450</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 298 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page298"></a>[pg 298]</span> + + <p>"Of late," says this act, "it has come to the knowledge of the king, + by the grievous complaint of the honourable persons, lords, and other + noblemen of his realm, that whereas monasteries, priories, and other + religious houses were founded to the honour and glory of God, and the + advancement of holy church, by the king and his progenitors, and by the + said noblemen and their ancestors; and a very great portion of lands and + tenements have been given by them to the said monasteries, priories, and + religious houses, and the religious men serving God in them; to the + intent that clerks and laymen might be admitted in such houses, and that + sick and feeble folk might be maintained, hospitality, almsgiving, and + other charitable deeds might be done, and prayers be said for the souls + of the founders and their heirs; the abbots, priors, and governors of the + said houses, <i>and certain aliens their superiors</i>, as the abbots and + priors of the Cistertians, the Premonstrants, the orders of Saint + Augustine and of Saint Benedict, and many more of other religions and + orders have at their own pleasure set divers heavy, unwonted heavy and + importable tallages, payments, and impositions upon every of the said + monasteries and houses subject unto them, in England, Ireland, Scotland, + and Wales, without the privity of the king and his nobility, contrary to + the laws and customs of the said realm; and thereby the number of + religious persons being oppressed by such tallages, payments, and + impositions, the service of God is diminished, alms are not given to the + poor, the sick, and the feeble; the healths of the living and the souls + of the dead be miserably defrauded; hospitality, alms-giving, and other + godly deeds do cease; and so that which in times past was charitably + given to godly uses and to the service of God, is now converted to an + evil end, by permission whereof there groweth great scandal to the + people." To provide against a continuance of these abuses, it was enacted + that no "religious" persons should, under any pretence or form, send out + of the kingdom any kind of tax, rent, or tallage; and that "priors + aliens" should not presume to assess any payment, charge, or other burden + whatever upon houses within the realm.<a name="NtA_451"></a><a + href="#Nt_451"><sup>451</sup></a></p> + + <p>The language of this act was studiously guarded. The pope was not + alluded to; the specific methods by which the extortion was practised + were not explained; the tax upon presentations to benefices, either + having not yet distinguished itself beyond other impositions, or the + government trusting that a measure of this general kind might answer the + desired end. Lucrative <!-- Page 299 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page299"></a>[pg 299]</span> encroachments, however, do not yield + so easily to treatment; nearly fifty years after it became necessary to + re-enact the same statute; and while recapitulating the provisions of it, + the parliament found it desirable to point out more specifically the + intention with which it was passed.</p> + + <p>The popes in the interval had absorbed in their turn from the heads of + the religious orders, the privileges which by them had been extorted from + the affiliated societies. Each English benefice had become the fountain + of a rivulet which flowed into the Roman exchequer, or a property to be + distributed as the private patronage of the Roman bishop: and the English + parliament for the first time found itself in collision with the Father + of Christendom.</p> + + <p>"The pope," says the fourth of the twenty-fifth of Edward III., + "accroaching to himself the signories of the benefices within the realm + of England, doth give and grant the same to aliens which did never dwell + in England, and to cardinals which could not dwell here, and to others as + well aliens as denizens, whereby manifold inconveniences have ensued." + "Not regarding" the statute of Edward I., he had also continued to + present to bishopricks, abbeys, priories, and other valuable preferments: + money in large quantities was carried out of the realm from the proceeds + of these offices, and it was necessary to insist emphatically that the + papal nominations should cease. They were made in violation of the law, + and were conducted with simony so flagrant that English benefices were + sold in the papal courts to any person who would pay for them, whether an + Englishman or a stranger. It was therefore decreed that the elections to + bishopricks should be free as in time past, that the rights of patrons + should be preserved, and penalties of imprisonment, forfeiture, or + outlawry, according to the complexion of the offence, should be attached + to all impetration of benefices from Rome by purchase or otherwise.<a + name="NtA_452"></a><a href="#Nt_452"><sup>452</sup></a></p> + + <p>If statute law could have touched the evil, these enactments would + have been sufficient for the purpose; but the influence of the popes in + England was of that subtle kind which was not so <!-- Page 300 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page300"></a>[pg 300]</span> readily defeated. + The law was still defied, or still evaded; and the struggle continued + till the close of the century, the legislature labouring patiently, but + ineffectually, to confine with fresh enactments their ingenious + adversary.<a name="NtA_453"></a><a href="#Nt_453"><sup>453</sup></a></p> + + <p>At length symptoms appeared of an intention on the part of the popes + to maintain their claims with spiritual censures, and the nation was + obliged to resolve upon the course which, in the event of their resorting + to that extremity, it would follow. The lay lords<a name="NtA_454"></a><a + href="#Nt_454"><sup>454</sup></a> and the House of Commons found no + difficulty in arriving at a conclusion. They passed a fresh penal statute + with prohibitions even more emphatically stringent, and decided that "if + any man brought into this realm any sentence, summons, or + excommunication, contrary to the effect of the statute, he should incur + pain of life and members, with forfeiture of goods; and if any prelate + made execution of such sentence, his temporalities should be taken from + him, and should abide in the king's hands till redress was made."<a + name="NtA_455"></a><a href="#Nt_455"><sup>455</sup></a></p> + + <p>So bold a measure threatened nothing less than open rupture. The act, + however, seems to have been passed in haste, without determined + consideration; and on second thoughts, it was held more prudent to + attempt a milder course. The strength of the opposition to the papacy lay + with the Commons.<a name="NtA_456"></a><a + href="#Nt_456"><sup>456</sup></a> When the session of parliament was + over, a great council was summoned to reconsider what should be done, and + an address was drawn up, and forwarded to Rome, with a request that the + then reigning pope would devise some manner by which the difficulty could + be arranged.<a name="NtA_457"></a><a href="#Nt_457"><sup>457</sup></a> + Boniface IX. replied with the same want of judgment which was shown + afterwards on an analogous occasion <!-- Page 301 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page301"></a>[pg 301]</span> by Clement VII. He + disbelieved the danger; and daring the government to persevere, he + granted a prebendal stall at Wells to an Italian cardinal, to which a + presentation had been made already by the king. Opposing suits were + instantly instituted between the claimants in the courts of the two + countries. A decision was given in England in favour of the nominee of + the king, and the bishops agreeing to support the crown were + excommunicated.<a name="NtA_458"></a><a href="#Nt_458"><sup>458</sup></a> + The court of Rome had resolved to try the issue by a struggle of force, + and the government had no alternative but to surrender at discretion, or + to persevere at all hazards, and resist the usurpation.</p> + + <p>The proceedings on this occasion seem to have been unusual, and + significant of the importance of the crisis. Parliament either was + sitting at the time when the excommunication was issued, or else it was + immediately assembled; and the House of Commons drew up, in the form of a + petition to the king, a declaration of the circumstances which had + occurred. After having stated generally the English law on the + presentation to benefices, "Now of late," they added, "divers processes + be made by his Holiness the Pope, and censures of excommunication upon + certain bishops, because they have made execution of the judgments [given + in the king's courts], to the open disherison of the crown; whereby, if + remedy be not provided, the crown of England, which hath been so free at + all times, that it has been in no earthly subjection, should be submitted + to the pope; and the laws and statutes of the realm by him be defeated + and avoided at his will, in perpetual destruction of the sovereignty of + the king our lord, his crown, his regality, and all his realm." The + Commons, therefore, on their part, declared, "That the things so + attempted were clearly against the king's crown and his regality, used + and approved of in the time of all his progenitors, and therefore they + and all the liege commons of the realm would stand with their said lord + the king, and his said crown, in the cases aforesaid, to live and die."<a + name="NtA_459"></a><a href="#Nt_459"><sup>459</sup></a> Whether they made + allusion to the act of 1389 does not appear—a measure passed under + protest from one of the estates of the realm was possibly held unequal to + meet the emergency—at all events they would not rely upon it. For + after this peremptory assertion of their own opinion, they desired the + king, "and required <!-- Page 302 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page302"></a>[pg 302]</span> him in the way of justice," to examine + severally the lords spiritual and temporal how they thought, and how they + would stand.<a name="NtA_460"></a><a href="#Nt_460"><sup>460</sup></a> + The examination was made, and the result was satisfactory. The lay lords + replied without reservation that they would support the crown. The + bishops (they were in a difficulty for which all allowance must be made) + gave a cautious, but also a manly answer. They would not affirm, they + said, that the pope had a right to excommunicate them in such cases, and + they would not say that he had not. It was clear, however, that legal or + illegal, such excommunication was against the privileges of the English + crown, and therefore that, on the whole, they would and ought to be with + the crown, <i>loialment</i>, like loyal subjects, as they were bound by + their allegiance.<a name="NtA_461"></a><a + href="#Nt_461"><sup>461</sup></a></p> + + <p>In this unusual and emphatic manner, the three estates agreed that the + pope should be resisted; and an act passed "that all persons suing at the + court of Rome, and obtaining thence any bulls, instruments, sentences of + excommunication which touched the king, or were against him, his + regality, or his realm, and they which brought the same within the realm, + or received the same, or made thereof notification, or any other + execution whatever, within the realm or without, they, their notaries, + procurators, maintainers and abettors, fautors and counsellors, should be + put out of the king's protection, and their lands and tenements, goods + and chattels, be forfeited."</p> + + <p>The resolute attitude of the country terminated the struggle. Boniface + prudently yielded, and for the moment; and indeed for ever under this + especial form, the wave of papal encroachment was rolled back. The temper + which had been roused in the contest, might perhaps have carried the + nation further. The liberties of the crown had been asserted + successfully. The analogous liberties of the church might have followed; + and other channels, too, might have been cut off, through which the papal + exchequer fed itself on English blood. But at this crisis the anti-Roman + policy was arrested in its course by another movement, which turned the + current of suspicion, and frightened back the nation to conservatism.</p> + + <p>While the crown and the parliament had been engaged with the pope, the + undulations of the dispute had penetrated down among the body of the + people, and an agitation had been commenced of an analogous kind against + the spiritual authorities at home. The parliament had lamented that the + duties of the religious houses were left unfulfilled, in consequence of + the extortions <!-- Page 303 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page303"></a>[pg 303]</span> of their superiors abroad. The people, + who were equally convinced of the neglect of duty, adopted an + interpretation of the phenomenon less favourable to the clergy, and + attributed it to the temptations of worldliness, and the self-indulgence + generated by enormous wealth.</p> + + <p>This form of discontent found its exponent in John Wycliffe, the great + forerunner of the Reformation, whose austere figure stands out above the + crowd of notables in English history, with an outline not unlike that of + another forerunner of a greater change.</p> + + <p>The early life of Wycliffe is obscure. Lewis, on the authority of + Leland,<a name="NtA_462"></a><a href="#Nt_462"><sup>462</sup></a> says + that he was born near Richmond, in Yorkshire. Fuller, though with some + hesitation, prefers Durham.<a name="NtA_463"></a><a + href="#Nt_463"><sup>463</sup></a> He emerges into distinct notice in + 1360, ten years subsequent to the passing of the first Statute of + Provisors, having then acquired a great Oxford reputation as a lecturer + in divinity, and having earned for himself powerful friends and powerful + enemies. He had made his name distinguished by attacks upon the clergy + for their indolence and profligacy: attacks both written and orally + delivered—those written, we observe, being written in English, not + in Latin.<a name="NtA_464"></a><a href="#Nt_464"><sup>464</sup></a> In + 1365, Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury, appointed him Warden of Canterbury + Hall; the appointment, however, was made with some irregularity, and the + following year, Archbishop Islip dying, his successor, Langham, deprived + Wycliffe, and the sentence was confirmed by the king. It seemed, + nevertheless, that no personal reflection was intended by this decision, + for Edward III. nominated the ex-warden one of his chaplains immediately + after, and employed him on an important mission to Bruges, where a + conference on the benefice question was to be held with a papal + commission.</p> + + <p>Other church preferment was subsequently given to Wycliffe; but Oxford + remained the chief scene of his work. He continued to hold his + professorship of divinity; and from this office the character of his + history took its complexion. At a time when books were rare and difficult + to be procured, lecturers who had truth to communicate fresh drawn from + the fountain, held an influence which in these days it is as difficult to + imagine as, however, it is impossible to overrate. Students from all + Europe <!-- Page 304 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page304"></a>[pg + 304]</span> flocked to the feet of a celebrated professor, who became the + leader of a party by the mere fact of his position.</p> + + <p>The burden of Wycliffe's teaching was the exposure of the indolent + fictions which passed under the name of religion in the established + theory of the church. He was a man of most simple life; austere in + appearance, with bare feet and russet mantle.<a name="NtA_465"></a><a + href="#Nt_465"><sup>465</sup></a> As a soldier of Christ, he saw in his + Great Master and his Apostles the patterns whom he was bound to imitate. + By the contagion of example he gathered about him other men who thought + as he did; and gradually, under his captaincy, these "poor priests," as + they were called—vowed to poverty because Christ was + poor—vowed to accept no benefice, lest they should misspend the + property of the poor, and because, as apostles, they were bound to go + where their Master called them,<a name="NtA_466"></a><a + href="#Nt_466"><sup>466</sup></a> spread out over the country as an army + of missionaries, to preach the faith which they found in the + Bible—to preach, not of relics and of indulgences, but of + repentance and of the grace of God. They carried with them copies of the + Bible which Wycliffe had translated, leaving here and there, as they + travelled, their costly treasures, as shining seed points of light; and + they refused to recognise the authority of the bishops, or their right to + silence them.</p> + + <p>If this had been all, and perhaps if Edward III. had been succeeded by + a prince less miserably incapable than his grandson Richard, Wycliffe + might have made good his ground; the movement of the parliament against + the pope might have united in a common stream with the spiritual move + against the church at home, and the Reformation have been antedated by a + century. He was summoned to answer for himself before the Archbishop of + Canterbury in 1377. He appeared in court supported by the presence of + John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the eldest of Edward's surviving sons, + and the authorities were unable to strike him behind so powerful a + shield.</p> + + <p>But the "poor priests" had other doctrines besides those which they + discovered in the Bible, relating to subjects with which, as apostles, + they would have done better if they had shrunk from meddling. The + inefficiency of the clergy was occasioned, as Wycliffe thought, by their + wealth and by their luxury. He desired to save them from a temptation too + heavy for them to bear, and he insisted that by neglect of duty their + wealth had been forfeited, and that it was the business of the laity to + take it from its unworthy possessors. The invectives with which the <!-- + Page 305 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page305"></a>[pg 305]</span> + argument was accompanied produced a widely-spread irritation. The reins + of the country fell simultaneously into the weak hands of Richard II., + and the consequence was a rapid spread of disorder. In the year which + followed Richard's accession, consistory judges were assaulted in their + courts, sanctuaries were violated, priests were attacked and ill-treated + in church, church-yard, and cathedral, and even while engaged in the + mass;<a name="NtA_467"></a><a href="#Nt_467"><sup>467</sup></a> the + contagion of the growing anarchy seems to have touched even Wycliffe + himself, and touched him in a point most deeply dangerous.</p> + + <p>His theory of property, and his study of the character of Christ, had + led him to the near confines of Anabaptism. Expanding his views upon the + estates of the church into an axiom, he taught that "charters of + perpetual inheritance were impossible;" "that God could not give men + civil possessions for ever;"<a name="NtA_468"></a><a + href="#Nt_468"><sup>468</sup></a> "that property was founded in grace, + and derived from God;" and "seeing that forfeiture was the punishment of + treason, and all sin was treason against God, the sinner must + consequently forfeit his right to what he held of God." These + propositions were nakedly true, as we shall most of us allow; but God has + his own methods of enforcing extreme principles; and human legislation + may only meddle with them at its peril. The theory as an abstraction + could be represented as applying equally to the laity as to the clergy, + and the new teaching received a practical comment in 1381, in the + invasion of London by Wat, the tyler of Dartford, and 100,000 men, who + were to level all ranks, put down the church, and establish universal + liberty.<a name="NtA_469"></a><a href="#Nt_469"><sup>469</sup></a> Two + priests accompanied the insurgents, not Wycliffe's followers, but the + licentious counterfeits of them, who trod inevitably in their footsteps, + and were as inevitably countenanced by their doctrines. The insurrection + was attended with the bloodshed, destruction, and ferocity natural to + such outbreaks. The Archbishop of Canterbury and many gentlemen were + murdered; and a great part of London sacked and burnt. It would be absurd + to attribute this disaster to Wycliffe, nor was there any desire to hold + him responsible for it; but it is equally certain that the doctrines + which he had taught were incompatible, at that particular time, with an + effective repression of the spirit which had caused the explosion. It is + equally certain that he had brought <!-- Page 306 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page306"></a>[pg 306]</span> discredit on his + nobler efforts by ambiguous language on a subject of the utmost + difficulty, and had taught the wiser and better portion of the people to + confound heterodoxy of opinion with sedition, anarchy, and disorder.</p> + + <p>So long as Wycliffe lived, his own lofty character was a guarantee for + the conduct of his immediate disciples; and although his favour had far + declined, a party in the state remained attached to him, with sufficient + influence to prevent the adoption of extreme measures against the "poor + priests." In the year following the insurrection, an act was passed for + their repression in the House of Lords, and was sent down by the king to + the Commons. They were spoken of as "evil persons," going from place to + place in defiance of the bishops, preaching in the open air to great + congregations at markets and fairs, "exciting the people," "engendering + discord between the estates of the realm." The ordinaries had no power to + silence them, and had therefore desired that commissions should be issued + to the sheriffs of the various counties, to arrest all such persons, and + confine them, until they would "justify themselves" in the ecclesiastical + courts.<a name="NtA_470"></a><a href="#Nt_470"><sup>470</sup></a> + Wycliffe petitioned against the bill, and it was rejected; not so much + perhaps out of tenderness for the reformer, as because the Lower House + was excited by the controversy with the pope; and being doubtfully + disposed towards the clergy, was reluctant to subject the people to a + more stringent spiritual control.</p> + + <p>But Wycliffe himself meanwhile had received a clear intimation of his + own declining position. His opposition to the church authorities, and his + efforts at re-invigorating the faith of the country, had led him into + doubtful statements on the nature of the eucharist; he had entangled + himself in dubious metaphysics on a subject on which no middle course is + really possible; and being summoned to answer for his language before a + synod in London, he had thrown himself again for protection on the Duke + of Lancaster. The duke (not unnaturally under the circumstances) declined + to encourage what he could neither approve nor understand;<a + name="NtA_471"></a><a href="#Nt_471"><sup>471</sup></a> and Wycliffe, by + his great patron's advice, submitted. He read a confession of faith + before the bishops, which was held satisfactory; he was forbidden, + however, to preach again in Oxford, and retired to his living of + Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, where two years later he died.</p> + + <p>With him departed all which was best and purest in the movement which + he had commenced. The zeal of his followers was <!-- Page 307 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page307"></a>[pg 307]</span> not extinguished, + but the wisdom was extinguished which had directed it; and perhaps the + being treated as the enemies of order had itself a tendency to make them + what they were believed to be. They were left unmolested for the next + twenty years, the feebleness of the government, the angry complexion + which had been assumed by the dispute with Rome, and the political + anarchy in the closing decade of the century, combining to give them + temporary shelter; but they availed themselves of their opportunity to + travel further on the dangerous road on which they had entered; and on + the settlement of the country under Henry IV. they fell under the general + ban which struck down all parties who had shared in the late + disturbances.</p> + + <p>They had been spared in 1382, only for more sharp denunciation, and a + more cruel fate; and Boniface having healed, on his side, the wounds + which had been opened, by well-timed concessions, there was no reason + left for leniency. The character of the Lollard teaching was thus + described (perhaps in somewhat exaggerated language) in the preamble of + the act of 1401.<a name="NtA_472"></a><a + href="#Nt_472"><sup>472</sup></a></p> + + <p>"Divers false and perverse people," so runs the act <i>De Heretico + comburendo</i>, "of a certain new sect, damnably thinking of the faith of + the sacraments of the church, and of the authority of the same, against + the law of God and of the church, usurping the office of preaching, do + perversely and maliciously, in divers places within the realm, preach and + teach divers new doctrines, and wicked erroneous opinions, contrary to + the faith and determination of Holy Church. And of such sect and wicked + doctrines they make unlawful conventicles, they hold and exercise + schools, they make and write books, they do wickedly instruct and inform + people, and excite and stir them to sedition and insurrection, and make + great strife and division among the people, and other enormities horrible + to be heard, daily do perpetrate and commit. The diocesans cannot by + their jurisdiction spiritual, without aid of the King's Majesty, + sufficiently correct these said false and perverse people, nor refrain + their malice, because they do go from diocess to diocess, and will not + appear before the said diocesans; but the jurisdiction spiritual, the + keys of the church, and the censures of the same, do utterly contemn and + despise; and so their wicked preachings and doctrines they do from day to + day continue and exercise, to the destruction of all order and rule, + right and reason."</p> + + <p>Something of these violent accusations is perhaps due to the horror + with which false doctrine in matters of faith was looked <!-- Page 308 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page308"></a>[pg 308]</span> upon in + the Catholic church, the grace by which alone an honest life was made + possible being held to be dependent upon orthodoxy. But the Lollards had + become political revolutionists as well as religious reformers; the + revolt against the spiritual authority had encouraged and countenanced a + revolt against the secular; and we cannot be surprised, therefore, that + these institutions should have sympathised with each other, and have + united to repress a danger which was formidable to both.</p> + + <p>The bishops, by this act, received arbitrary power to arrest and + imprison on suspicion, without check or restraint of law, at their will + and pleasure. Prisoners who refused to abjure their errors, who persisted + in heresy, or relapsed into it after abjuration, were sentenced to be + burnt at the stake—a dreadful punishment, on the wickedness of + which the world has long been happily agreed. Yet we must remember that + those who condemned teachers of heresy to the flames, considered that + heresy itself involved everlasting perdition; that they were but faintly + imitating the severity which orthodoxy still ascribes to Almighty God + Himself.</p> + + <p>The tide which was thus setting back in favour of the church did not + yet, however, flow freely, and without a check. The Commons consented to + sacrifice the heretics, but they still cast wistful looks on the lands of + the religious houses. On two several occasions, in 1406, and again 1410, + spoliation was debated in the Lower House, and representations were made + upon the subject to the king.<a name="NtA_473"></a><a + href="#Nt_473"><sup>473</sup></a> The country, too, continued to be + agitated with war and treason; and when Henry V. became king, in 1412, + the church was still uneasy, and the Lollards were as dangerous as ever. + Whether by prudent conduct they might have secured a repeal of the + persecuting act is uncertain; it is more likely, from their conduct, that + they had made their existence incompatible with the security of any + tolerable government.</p> + + <p>A rumour having gone abroad that the king intended to enforce the laws + against heresy, notices were found fixed against the doors of the London + churches, that if any such measure was attempted, a hundred thousand men + would be in arms to oppose it. These papers were traced to Sir John + Oldcastle, otherwise called Lord Cobham, a man whose true character is + more difficult to distinguish, in the conflict of the evidence which has + come down to us about him, than that of almost any noticeable person in + history. He was perhaps no worse than a fanatic. He was certainly + prepared, if we may trust the <!-- Page 309 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page309"></a>[pg 309]</span> words of a royal proclamation (and + Henry was personally intimate with Oldcastle, and otherwise was not + likely to have exaggerated the charges against him), he was prepared to + venture a rebellion, with the prospect of himself becoming the president + of some possible Lollard commonwealth.<a name="NtA_474"></a><a + href="#Nt_474"><sup>474</sup></a> The king, with swift decisiveness, + annihilated the incipient treason. Oldcastle was himself arrested. He + escaped out of the Tower into Scotland; and while Henry was absent in + France he seems to have attempted to organise some kind of Scotch + invasion; but he was soon after again taken on the Welsh Border, tried + and executed. An act which was passed in 1414 described his proceedings + as an "attempt to destroy the king, and all other manner of estates of + the realm, as well spiritual as temporal, and also all manner of policy, + and finally the laws of the land." The sedition was held to have + originated in heresy, and for the better repression of such mischiefs in + time to come, the lord chancellor, the judges, the justices of the peace, + the sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, and every other officer having government + of people, were sworn on entering their office to use their best power + and diligence to detect and prosecute all persons suspected of so heinous + a crime.<a name="NtA_475"></a><a href="#Nt_475"><sup>475</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus perished Wycliffe's labour,—not wholly, because his + translation of the Bible still remained a rare treasure; as seed of + future life, which would spring again under happier circumstances. But + the sect which he organised, the special doctrines which he set himself + to teach, after a brief blaze of success, sank into darkness; and no + trace remained of Lollardry except the black memory of contempt and + hatred with which the heretics of the fourteenth century were remembered + by the English people, long after the actual Reformation had become the + law of the land.<a name="NtA_476"></a><a + href="#Nt_476"><sup>476</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 310 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page310"></a>[pg 310]</span> + + <p>So poor a close to a movement of so fair promise was due partly to the + agitated temper of the times; partly, perhaps, to a want of judgment in + Wycliffe; but chiefly and essentially because it was an untimely birth. + Wycliffe saw the evil; he did not see the remedy; and neither in his mind + nor in the mind of the world about him, had the problem ripened itself + for solution. England would have gained little by the premature overthrow + of the church, when the house out of which the evil spirit was cast out + could have been but swept and garnished for the occupation of the seven + devils of anarchy.</p> + + <p>The fire of heresy continued to smoulder, exploding occasionally in + insurrection,<a name="NtA_477"></a><a href="#Nt_477"><sup>477</sup></a> + occasionally blazing up in nobler form, when some poor seeker for the + truth, groping for a vision of God in the darkness of the years which + followed, found his way into that high presence through the martyr's + fire. But substantially, the nation relapsed into obedience—the + church was reprieved for a century. Its fall was delayed till the spirit + in which it was attacked was winnowed clean of all doubtful + elements—until Protestantism had recommenced its enterprise in a + desire, not for a fairer adjustment of the world's good things, but in a + desire for some deeper, truer, nobler, holier insight into the will of + God. It recommenced not under the auspices of a Wycliffe, not with the + partial countenance of a government which was crossing swords with the + Father of Catholic Christendom, and menacing the severance of England + from the unity of the faith, but under a strong dynasty of undoubted + Catholic loyalty, with the entire administrative power, secular as well + as spiritual, in the hands of the episcopate. It sprung up spontaneously, + unguided, unexcited, by the vital necessity of its nature, among the + masses of the nation.</p> + + <p>Leaping over a century, I pass to the year 1525, at which time, or + about which time, a society was enrolled in London <!-- Page 311 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page311"></a>[pg 311]</span> calling itself "The + Association of Christian Brothers."<a name="NtA_478"></a><a + href="#Nt_478"><sup>478</sup></a> It was composed of poor men, chiefly + tradesmen, artisans, a few, a very few of the clergy; but it was + carefully organised, it was provided with moderate funds, which were + regularly audited; and its paid agents went up and down the country + carrying Testaments and tracts with them, and enrolling in the order all + persons who dared to risk their lives in such a cause. The harvest had + been long ripening. The records of the bishops' courts<a + name="NtA_479"></a><a href="#Nt_479"><sup>479</sup></a> are filled from + the beginning of the century with accounts of prosecutions for + heresy—with prosecutions, that is, of men and women to whom the + masses, the pilgrimages, the indulgences, the pardons, the effete + paraphernalia of the establishment, had become intolerable; who had risen + up in blind resistance, and had declared, with passionate anger, that + whatever was the truth, all this was falsehood. The bishops had not been + idle; they had plied their busy tasks with stake and prison, and victim + after victim had been executed with more than necessary cruelty. But it + was all in vain: punishment only multiplied offenders, and "the reek" of + the martyrs, as was said when Patrick Hamilton was burnt at St. Andrews, + "infected all that it did blow upon."<a name="NtA_480"></a><a + href="#Nt_480"><sup>480</sup></a></p> + + <p>There were no teachers, however, there were no books, no unity of + conviction, only a confused refusal to believe in lies. Copies of + Wycliffe's Bible remained, which parties here and there, under death + penalties if detected, met to read;<a name="NtA_481"></a><a + href="#Nt_481"><sup>481</sup></a> copies, also, of some of his tracts<a + name="NtA_482"></a><a href="#Nt_482"><sup>482</sup></a> were extant; but + they were unprinted transcripts, most rare and precious, which the + watchfulness of the police made it impossible to multiply through the + press, and which remained therefore necessarily in the possession of but + a few fortunate persons.</p> + + <p>The Protestants were thus isolated in single groups or <!-- Page 312 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page312"></a>[pg 312]</span> families, + without organisation, without knowledge of each other, with nothing to + give them coherency as a party; and so they might have long continued, + except for an impulse from some external circumstances. They were waiting + for direction, and men in such a temper are seldom left to wait in + vain.</p> + + <p>The state of England did but represent the state of all Northern + Europe. Wherever the Teutonic language was spoken, wherever the Teutonic + nature was in the people, there was the same weariness of unreality, the + same craving for a higher life. England rather lagged behind than was a + leader in the race of discontent. In Germany, all classes shared the + common feeling; in England it was almost confined to the lowest. But, + wherever it existed, it was a free, spontaneous growth in each separate + breast, not propagated by agitation, but springing self sown, the + expression of the honest anger of honest men at a system which had passed + the limits of toleration, and which could be endured no longer. At such + times the minds of men are like a train of gunpowder, the isolated grains + of which have no relation to each other, and no effect on each other, + while they remain unignited; but let a spark kindle but one of them, and + they shoot into instant union in a common explosion. Such a spark was + kindled in Germany, at Wittenberg, on the 31st of October, 1517. In the + middle of that day Luther's denunciation of Indulgences was fixed against + the gate of All Saints church, Wittenberg, and it became, like the brazen + serpent in the wilderness, the sign to which the sick spirits throughout + the western world looked hopefully and were healed. In all those millions + of hearts the words of Luther found an echo, and flew from lip to lip, + from ear to ear. The thing which all were longing for was done, and in + two years from that day there was scarcely perhaps a village from the + Irish Channel to the Danube in which the name of Luther was not familiar + as a word of hope and promise. Then rose a common cry for guidance. Books + were called for—above all things, the great book of all, the Bible. + Luther's inexhaustible fecundity flowed with a steady stream, and the + printing presses in Germany and in the Free Towns of the Netherlands, + multiplied Testaments and tracts in hundreds of thousands. Printers + published at their own expense as Luther wrote.<a name="NtA_483"></a><a + href="#Nt_483"><sup>483</sup></a> The continent was covered with + disfrocked monks who had become the pedlars of these precious wares;<a + name="NtA_484"></a><a href="#Nt_484"><sup>484</sup></a> and as the + contagion spread, noble young spirits from other countries, eager + themselves <!-- Page 313 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page313"></a>[pg 313]</span> to fight in God's battle, came to + Wittenberg to learn from the champion who had struck the first blow at + their great enemy how to use their weapons. "Students from all nations + came to Wittenberg," says one, "to hear Luther and Melancthon. As they + came in sight of the town they returned thanks to God with clasped hands; + for from Wittenberg, as heretofore from Jerusalem, proceeded the light of + evangelical truth, to spread thence to the utmost parts of the earth."<a + name="NtA_485"></a><a href="#Nt_485"><sup>485</sup></a> Thither came + young Patrick Hamilton from Edinburgh, whose "reek" was of so much + potency, a boy-enthusiast of nature as illustrious as his birth; and + thither came also from England, which is here our chief concern, William + Tyndal, a man whose history is lost in his work, and whose epitaph is the + Reformation. Beginning life as a restless Oxford student, he moved thence + to Cambridge, thence to Gloucestershire, to be tutor in a knight's + family, and there hearing of Luther's doings, and expressing himself with + too warm approval to suit his patron's conservatism,<a + name="NtA_486"></a><a href="#Nt_486"><sup>486</sup></a> he fell into + disgrace. From Gloucestershire he removed to London, where Cuthbert + Tunstall had lately been made bishop, and from whom he looked for + countenance in an intention to translate the New Testament. Tunstall + showed little encouragement to this enterprise; but a better friend rose + where he was least looked for; and a London alderman, Humfrey Monmouth by + name, hearing the young dreamer preach on some occasion at St. Dunstan's, + took him to his home for half a year, and kept him there: where "the said + Tyndal," as the alderman declared, "lived like a good priest, studying + both night and day; he would eat but sodden meat, by his good will, nor + drink but small single beer; nor was he ever seen to wear linen about him + all the time of his being there."<a name="NtA_487"></a><a + href="#Nt_487"><sup>487</sup></a> The half year being passed, Monmouth + gave him ten pounds, with which provision he went off to Wittenberg; and + the alderman, for assisting him in that business, went to the + Tower—escaping, however, we are glad to know, without worse + consequences than a short imprisonment. Tyndal saw Luther,<a + name="NtA_488"></a><a href="#Nt_488"><sup>488</sup></a> and under <!-- + Page 314 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page314"></a>[pg 314]</span> + his immediate direction translated the Gospels and Epistles while at + Wittenberg. Thence he returned to Antwerp, and settling there under the + privileges of the city, he was joined by Joy, who shared his great work + with him. Young Frith from Cambridge came to him also, and Barnes, and + Lambert, and many others of whom no written record remains, to concert a + common scheme of action.</p> + + <p>In Antwerp, under the care of these men, was established the printing + press, by which books were supplied, to accomplish for the teaching of + England what Luther and Melancthon were accomplishing for Germany. + Tyndal's Testament was first printed, then translations of the best + German books, reprints of Wycliffe's tracts or original commentaries. + Such volumes as the people most required were here multiplied as fast as + the press could produce them; and for the dissemination of these precious + writings, the brave London Protestants dared, at the hazard of their + lives, to form themselves into an organised association.</p> + + <p>It is well to pause and look for a moment at this small band of + heroes; for heroes they were, if ever men deserved the name. Unlike the + first reformers who had followed Wycliffe, they had no earthly object, + emphatically none; and equally unlike them, perhaps, because they had no + earthly object, they were all, as I have said, poor men—either + students, like Tyndal, or artisans and labourers who worked for their own + bread, and in tough contact with reality, had learnt better than the + great and the educated the difference between truth and lies. Wycliffe + had royal dukes and noblemen for his supporters—knights and divines + among his disciples—a king and a House of Commons looking upon him, + not without favour. The first Protestants of the sixteenth century had + for their king the champion of <!-- Page 315 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page315"></a>[pg 315]</span> Holy Church, who had broken a lance + with Luther; and spiritual rulers over them alike powerful and imbecile, + whose highest conception of Christian virtue was the destruction of those + who disobeyed their mandates. The masses of the people were indifferent + to a cause which promised them no material advantage; and the Commons of + Parliament, while contending with the abuses of the spiritual + authorities, were laboriously anxious to wash their hands of heterodoxy. + "In the crime of heresy, thanked be God," said the bishops in 1529, + "there hath no notable person fallen in our time;" no chief priest, chief + ruler, or learned Pharisee—not one. "Truth it is that certain + apostate friars and monks, lewd priests, bankrupt merchants, vagabonds + and lewd idle fellows of corrupt nature, have embraced the abominable and + erroneous opinions lately sprung in Germany, and by them have been some + seduced in simplicity and ignorance. Against these, if judgment have been + exercised according to the laws of the realm, we be without blame. If we + have been too remiss or slack, we shall gladly do our duty from + henceforth."<a name="NtA_489"></a><a href="#Nt_489"><sup>489</sup></a> + Such were the first Protestants in the eyes of their superiors. On one + side was wealth, rank, dignity, the weight of authority, the majority of + numbers, the prestige of centuries; here too were the phantom legions of + superstition and cowardice; and here were all the worthier influences so + pre-eminently English, which lead wise men to shrink from change, and to + cling to things established, so long as one stone of them remains upon + another, This was the army of conservatism. Opposed to it were a little + band of enthusiasts, armed only with truth and fearlessness; "weak things + of the world," about to do battle in God's name; and it was to be seen + whether God or the world was the stronger. They were armed, I say, with + the truth. It was that alone which could have given them victory in so + unequal a struggle. They had returned to the essential fountain of life; + they re-asserted the principle which has lain at the root of all + religions, whatever their name or outward form, which once burnt with + divine lustre in that Catholicism which was now to pass away; the + fundamental axiom of all real life, that the service which man owes to + God is not the service of words or magic forms, or ceremonies or + opinions; but the service of holiness, of purity, of obedience to the + everlasting laws of duty.</p> + + <p>When we look through the writings of Latimer, the apostle of the + English Reformation, when we read the depositions <!-- Page 316 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page316"></a>[pg 316]</span> against the + martyrs, and the lists of their crimes against the established faith, we + find no opposite schemes of doctrine, no "plans of salvation;" no + positive system of theology which it was held a duty to believe; these + things were of later growth, when it became again necessary to clothe the + living spirit in a perishable body. We find only an effort to express + again the old exhortation of the Wise Man—"Will you hear the + beginning and the end of the whole matter? Fear God and keep his + commandments; for that is the whole duty of man."</p> + + <p>Had it been possible for mankind to sustain themselves upon this + single principle without disguising its simplicity, their history would + have been painted in far other colours than those which have so long + chequered its surface. This, however, has not been given to us; and + perhaps it never will be given. As the soul is clothed in flesh, and only + thus is able to perform its functions in this earth, where it is sent to + live; as the thought must find a word before it can pass from mind to + mind; so every great truth seeks some body, some outward form in which to + exhibit its powers. It appears in the world, and men lay hold of it, and + represent it to themselves, in histories, in forms of words, in + sacramental symbols; and these things which in their proper nature are + but illustrations, stiffen into essential fact, and become part of the + reality. So arises in era after era an outward and mortal expression of + the inward immortal life; and at once the old struggle begins to repeat + itself between the flesh and the spirit, the form and the reality. For a + while the lower tendencies are held in check; the meaning of the + symbolism is remembered and fresh; it is a living language, pregnant and + suggestive. Bye and bye, as the mind passes into other phases, the + meaning is forgotten; the language becomes a dead language; and the + living robe of life becomes a winding-sheet of corruption. The form is + represented as everything, the spirit as nothing; obedience is dispensed + with; sin and religion arrange a compromise; and outward observances, or + technical inward emotions, are converted into jugglers' tricks, by which + men are enabled to enjoy their pleasures and escape the penalties of + wrong. Then such religion becomes no religion, but a falsehood; and + honourable men turn away from it, and fall back in haste upon the naked + elemental life.</p> + + <p>This, as I understand it, was the position of the early Protestants. + They found the service of God buried in a system where obedience was + dissipated into superstition; where sin <!-- Page 317 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page317"></a>[pg 317]</span> was expiated by the + vicarious virtues of other men; where, instead of leading a holy life, + men were taught that their souls might be saved through masses said for + them, at a money rate, by priests whose licentiousness disgraced the + nation which endured it; a system in which, amidst all the trickery of + the pardons, pilgrimages, indulgences,—double-faced as these + inventions are—wearing one meaning in the apologies of theologians, + and quite another to the multitude who live and suffer under their + influence—one plain fact at least is visible. The people + substantially learnt that all evils which could touch either their + spirits or their bodies, might be escaped by means which resolved + themselves, scarcely disguised, into the payment of moneys.</p> + + <p>The superstition had lingered long; the time had come when it was to + pass away. Those in whom some craving lingered for a Christian life + turned to the heart of the matter, to the book which told them who Christ + was, and what he was; and finding there that holy example for which they + longed, they flung aside in one noble burst of enthusiastic passion, the + disguise which had concealed it from them. They believed in Christ, not + in the bowing rood, or the pretended wood of the cross on which he + suffered; and when that saintly figure had once been seen—the + object of all love, the pattern of all imitation—thenceforward + neither form nor ceremony should stand between them and their God.</p> + + <p>Under much confusion of words and thoughts, confusion pardonable in + all men, and most of all in them, this seems to me to be transparently + visible in the aim of these "Christian Brothers;" a thirst for some fresh + and noble enunciation of the everlasting truth, the one essential thing + for all men to know and believe. And therefore they were strong; and + therefore they at last conquered. Yet if we think of it, no common daring + was required in those who would stand out at such a time in defence of + such a cause. The bishops might seize them on mere suspicion; and the + evidence of the most abandoned villains sufficed for their conviction.<a + name="NtA_490"></a><a href="#Nt_490"><sup>490</sup></a> By the act of + Henry V., every officer, from the lord chancellor to the parish + constable, was sworn to seek them out and destroy them; and both bishops + and officials had shown no reluctance to execute their duty. Hunted like + wild beasts from hiding-place to hiding-place, decimated by the stake, + with the certainty that however many years they might be reprieved, their + own lives would close at last <!-- Page 318 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page318"></a>[pg 318]</span> in the same fiery trial; beset by + informers, imprisoned, racked, and scourged; worst of all, haunted by + their own infirmities, the flesh shrinking before the dread of a death of + agony—thus it was that they struggled on; earning for + <i>themselves</i> martyrdom—for <i>us</i>, the free England in + which we live and breathe. Among the great, until Cromwell came to power, + they had but one friend, and he but a doubtful one, who long believed the + truest kindness was to kill them. Henry VIII. was always attracted + towards the persons of the reformers. Their open bearing commanded his + respect. Their worst crime in the bishops' eyes—the translating the + Bible—was in his eyes not a crime, but a merit; he had himself long + desired an authorised English version, and at length compelled the clergy + to undertake it; while in the most notorious of the men themselves, in + Tyndal and in Frith, he had more than once expressed an anxious + interest.<a name="NtA_491"></a><a href="#Nt_491"><sup>491</sup></a> But + the convictions of his early years were long in yielding. His feeling, + though genuine, extended no further than to pity, to a desire to recover + estimable heretics out of errors which he would endeavour to pardon. They + knew, and all the "brethren" knew, that if they persisted, they must look + for the worst from the king and from every earthly power; they knew it, + and they made their account with it. An informer deposed to the council, + that he had asked one of the society "how the King's Grace did take the + matter against the sacrament; which answered, the King's Highness was + extreme against their opinions, and would punish them grievously; also + that my Lords of Norfolk and Suffolk, my Lord Marquis of Exeter, with + divers other great lords, were very extreme against them. Then he (the + informer) asked him how he and his fellows would do seeing this, the + which answered they had two thousand books out against the Blessed + Sacrament, in the commons' hands; and if it were once in the commons' + heads, they would have no further care."<a name="NtA_492"></a><a + href="#Nt_492"><sup>492</sup></a></p> + + <p>Tyndal then being at work at Antwerp, and the society for the + dispersion of his books thus preparing itself in England, the authorities + were not slow in taking the alarm. The isolated discontent which had + prevailed hitherto had been left to the ordinary tribunals; the present + danger called for measures of more systematic coercion. This duty + naturally devolved on Wolsey, and the office of Grand Inquisitor, which + he now assumed, could not have fallen into more competent hands.</p> + + <p>Wolsey was not cruel. There is no instance, I believe, in <!-- Page + 319 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page319"></a>[pg 319]</span> which + he of his special motion sent a victim to the stake;—it would be + well if the same praise could be allowed to Cranmer. There was this + difference between the cardinal and other bishops, that while they seemed + to desire to punish, Wolsey was contented to silence; while they, in + their conduct of trials, made escape as difficult as possible, Wolsey + sought rather to make submission easy. He was too wise to suppose that he + could cauterise heresy, while the causes of it, in the corruption of the + clergy, remained unremoved; and the remedy to which he trusted, was the + infusing new vigour into the constitution of the church.<a + name="NtA_493"></a><a href="#Nt_493"><sup>493</sup></a> Nevertheless, he + was determined to repress, as far as outward measures could repress it, + the spread of the contagion; and he set himself to accomplish his task + with the full energy of his nature, backed by the whole power, spiritual + and secular, of the kingdom. The country was covered with his secret + police, arresting suspected persons and searching for books. In London + the scrutiny was so strict that at one time there was a general flight + and panic; suspected butchers, tailors, and carpenters, hiding themselves + in the holds of vessels in the river, and escaping across the Channel.<a + name="NtA_494"></a><a href="#Nt_494"><sup>494</sup></a> Even there they + were not safe. Heretics were outlawed by a common consent of the European + governments. Special offenders were hunted through France by the English + emissaries with the permission and countenance of the court,<a + name="NtA_495"></a><a href="#Nt_495"><sup>495</sup></a> and there was an + attempt to arrest Tyndal at Brussels, from which, for that time, he + happily escaped.<a name="NtA_496"></a><a + href="#Nt_496"><sup>496</sup></a></p> + + <p>Simultaneously the English universities fell under examination, in + consequence of the appearance of dangerous symptoms among the younger + students. Dr. Barnes, returning from the continent, had used violent + language in a pulpit at Cambridge; and Latimer, then a neophyte in + heresy, had grown suspect, and had alarmed the heads of houses. + Complaints against both of them were forwarded to Wolsey, and they were + summoned to London to answer for themselves.</p> + + <p>Latimer, for some cause, found favour with the cardinal, and was + dismissed, with a hope on the part of his judge that his accusers might + prove as honest as he appeared to be, and even <!-- Page 320 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page320"></a>[pg 320]</span> with a general + licence to preach.<a name="NtA_497"></a><a + href="#Nt_497"><sup>497</sup></a> Barnes was less fortunate; he was far + inferior to Latimer; a noisy, unwise man, without reticence or prudence. + In addition to his offences in matters of doctrine, he had attacked + Wolsey himself with somewhat vulgar personality; and it was thought well + to single him out for a public, though not a very terrible admonition. + His house had been searched for books, which he was suspected, and justly + suspected, of having brought with him from abroad. These, however, + through a timely warning of the danger, had been happily secreted,<a + name="NtA_498"></a><a href="#Nt_498"><sup>498</sup></a> or it might have + gone harder with him. As it was, he was committed to the Fleet on the + charge of having used heretical language. An abjuration was drawn up by + Wolsey, which he signed; and while he remained in prison preparations + were made for a ceremony, in which he was to bear a part, in St. Paul's + church, by which the Catholic authorities hoped to produce some salutary + effect on the disaffected spirits of London.</p> + + <p>Vast quantities of Tyndal's publications had been collected by the + police. The bishops, also, had subscribed among themselves<a + name="NtA_499"></a><a href="#Nt_499"><sup>499</sup></a> to buy up the + copies of the New Testament before they <!-- Page 321 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page321"></a>[pg 321]</span> left + Antwerp;—an unpromising method, like an attempt to extinguish fire + by pouring oil upon it; they had been successful, however, in obtaining a + large immediate harvest, and a pyramid of offending volumes was ready to + be consumed in a solemn <i>auto da fé</i>.</p> + + <p>In the morning of Shrove Sunday, then, 1527, we are to picture to + ourselves a procession moving along London streets from the Fleet prison + to St. Paul's Cathedral. The warden of the Fleet was there, and the + knight marshal, and the tipstaffs, and "all the company they could make," + "with bills and glaives;" and in the midst of these armed officials, six + men marching in penitential dresses, one carrying a lighted taper five + pounds' weight, the others with symbolic fagots, signifying to the + lookers-on the fate which their crimes had earned for them, but which + this time, in mercy, was remitted. One of these was Barnes; the other + five were "Stillyard men," undistinguishable by any other name, but + detected members of the brotherhood.</p> + + <p>It was eight o'clock when they arrived at St. Paul's. The people had + flocked in crowds before them. The public seats and benches were filled. + All London had hurried to the spectacle. A platform was erected in the + centre of the nave, on the top of which, enthroned in pomp of purple and + gold and splendour, sate the great cardinal, supported on each side with + eighteen bishops, mitred abbots, and priors—six-and-thirty in all; + his chaplains and "spiritual doctors" sitting also where they could find + place, "in gowns of damask and satin." Opposite the platform, over the + north door of the cathedral, was a great crucifix—a famous image, + in those days called the Rood of Northen; and at the foot of it, inside a + rail, a fire was burning, with the sinful books, the Tracts and + Testaments, ranged round it in baskets, waiting for the execution of + sentence.</p> + + <p>Such was the scene into the midst of which the six prisoners entered. + A second platform stood in a conspicuous place in front of the cardinal's + throne, where they could be seen and heard by the crowd; and there upon + their knees, with their fagots on their shoulders, they begged pardon of + God and the Holy Catholic Church for their high crimes and offences. When + the confession was finished Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, preached <!-- + Page 322 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page322"></a>[pg 322]</span> a + sermon: and the sermon over, Barnes turned to the people, declaring that + "he was more charitably handled than he deserved, his heresies were so + heinous and detestable."</p> + + <p>There was no other religious service: mass had perhaps been said + previous to the admission into the church of heretics lying under + censure; and the knight marshal led the prisoners down from the stage to + the fire underneath the crucifix. They were taken within the rails, and + three times led round the blazing pile, casting in their fagots as they + passed. The contents of the baskets were heaped upon the fagots, and the + holocaust was complete. This time, an unbloody sacrifice was deemed + sufficient. The church was satisfied with penance, and Fisher pronounced + the prisoners absolved, and received back into communion.<a + name="NtA_500"></a><a href="#Nt_500"><sup>500</sup></a></p> + + <p>So ended this strange exhibition, designed to work great results on + the consciences of the spectators. It may be supposed, however, that men + whom the tragedies of Smithfield failed to terrify, were not likely to be + affected deeply by melodrame and blazing paper.</p> + + <p>A story follows of far deeper human interest, a story in which the + persecution is mirrored with its true lights and shadows, unexaggerated + by rhetoric; and which, in its minute simplicity, brings us face to face + with that old world, where men like ourselves lived, and worked, and + suffered, three centuries ago.</p> + + <p>Two years before the time at which we have now arrived, Wolsey, in + pursuance of his scheme of converting the endowments of the religious + houses to purposes of education, had obtained permission from the pope to + suppress a number of the smaller monasteries. He had added largely to the + means thus placed at his disposal from his own resources, and had founded + the great college at Oxford, which is now called Christchurch.<a + name="NtA_501"></a><a href="#Nt_501"><sup>501</sup></a> Desiring his + magnificent institution to be as perfect as art could make it, he had + sought his professors in Rome, in the Italian universities, wherever + genius or ability could be found; and he had introduced into the + foundation several students from Cambridge, who had been reported to him + as being of unusual promise. Frith, of whom we have heard, was one of + these. Of the rest, John Clark, Sumner, and Taverner are the most <!-- + Page 323 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page323"></a>[pg 323]</span> + noticeable. At the time at which they were invited to Oxford, they were + tainted, or some of them were tainted, in the eyes of the Cambridge + authorities, with suspicion of heterodoxy;<a name="NtA_502"></a><a + href="#Nt_502"><sup>502</sup></a> and it is creditable to Wolsey's + liberality, that he set aside these unsubstantiated rumours, not allowing + them to weigh against ability, industry, and character. The church + authorities thought only of crushing what opposed them, especially of + crushing talent, because talent was dangerous. Wolsey's noble anxiety was + to court talent, and if possible to win it.</p> + + <p>The young Cambridge students, however, ill repaid his confidence (so, + at least, it must have appeared to him), and introduced into Oxford the + rising epidemic. Clark, as was at last discovered, was in the habit of + reading St. Paul's Epistles to young men in his rooms; and a gradually + increasing circle of undergraduates, of three or four years' standing,<a + name="NtA_503"></a><a href="#Nt_503"><sup>503</sup></a> from various + colleges, formed themselves into a spiritual freemasonry, some of them + passionately insisting on being admitted to the lectures, in spite of + warnings from Clark himself, whose wiser foresight knew the risk which + they were running, and shrank from allowing weak giddy spirits to thrust + themselves into so fearful peril.<a name="NtA_504"></a><a + href="#Nt_504"><sup>504</sup></a></p> + + <p>This little party had been in the habit of meeting for about six + months,<a name="NtA_505"></a><a href="#Nt_505"><sup>505</sup></a> when at + Easter, 1527, Thomas Garret, a fellow of Magdalen,<a + name="NtA_506"></a><a href="#Nt_506"><sup>506</sup></a> who had gone out + of residence, and was curate at All Hallows church, in London, + re-appeared in Oxford. Garret was a secret member of the London Society, + and had come down at Clark's instigation, to feel his way in the + university. So excellent a beginning had already been made, that he had + only to improve upon it. He sought out all such young men as were given + to Greek, Hebrew, and the polite Latin;<a name="NtA_507"></a><a + href="#Nt_507"><sup>507</sup></a> and in this visit met with so much + encouragement, that the Christmas following he returned again, this time + bringing with him treasures of <!-- Page 324 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page324"></a>[pg 324]</span> forbidden books, imported by "the + Christian Brothers;" New Testaments, tracts and volumes of German + divinity, which he sold privately among the initiated.</p> + + <p>He lay concealed, with his store, at "the house of one Radley,"<a + name="NtA_508"></a><a href="#Nt_508"><sup>508</sup></a> the position of + which cannot now be identified; and there he remained for several weeks, + unsuspected by the university authorities, till orders were sent by + Wolsey to the Dean of Christchurch, for his arrest. Precise information + was furnished at the same time respecting himself, his mission in Oxford, + and his place of concealment.<a name="NtA_509"></a><a + href="#Nt_509"><sup>509</sup></a></p> + + <p>The proctors were put upon the scent, and directed to take him; but + one of them, Arthur Cole, of Magdalen, by name, not from any sympathy + with Garret's objects, as the sequel proved, but probably from old + acquaintance, for they were fellows at the same college, gave him + information of his danger, and warned him to escape.</p> + + <p>His young friends, more alarmed for their companion than for + themselves, held a meeting instantly to decide what should be done; and + at this meeting was Anthony Dalaber, an undergraduate of Alban Hall, and + one of Clark's pupils, who will now tell the story of what followed.</p> + + <p>"The Christmas before that time, I, Anthony Dalaber, the scholar of + Alban Hall, who had books of Master Garret, had been in my country, at + Dorsetshire, at Stalbridge, where I had a brother, parson of this parish, + who was very desirous to have a curate out of Oxford, and willed me in + any wise to get him one there, if I could. This just occasion offered, it + was thought good among the brethren (for so we did not only call one + another, but were indeed one to another), that Master Garret, changing + his name, should be sent forth with my letters into Dorsetshire, to my + brother, to serve him there for a time, until he might secretly convey + himself from thence some whither over the sea. According hereunto I wrote + my letters in all haste possible unto my brother, for Master Garret to be + his curate; but not declaring what he was indeed, for my brother was a + rank papist, and afterwards was the most mortal enemy that ever I had, + for the Gospel's sake.</p> + + <p>"So on Wednesday (Feb. 18), in the morning before Shrovetide, Master + Garret departed out of Oxford towards Dorsetshire, with my letter, for + his new service."</p> + +<!-- Page 325 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page325"></a>[pg 325]</span> + + <p>The most important person being thus, as was supposed, safe from + immediate danger, Dalaber was at leisure to think a little about himself; + and supposing, naturally, that the matter would not end there, and that + some change of residence might be of advantage for his own security, he + moved off from Alban Hall (as undergraduates it seems were then at + liberty to do) to Gloucester College,<a name="NtA_510"></a><a + href="#Nt_510"><sup>510</sup></a> under pretence that he desired to study + civil law, for which no facilities existed at the hall. This little + matter was affected on the Thursday; and all Friday and Saturday morning + he "was so much busied in setting his poor stuff in order, his bed, his + books, and such things else as he had," that he had no leisure to go + forth anywhere those two days, Friday and Saturday.</p> + + <p>"Having set up my things handsomely," he continues, "the same day, + before noon, I determined to spend that whole afternoon, until evensong + time, at Frideswide College,<a name="NtA_511"></a><a + href="#Nt_511"><sup>511</sup></a> at my book in mine own study; and so + shut my chamber door unto me, and my study door also, and took into my + head to read Francis Lambert upon the Gospel of St. Luke, which book only + I had then within there. All my other books written on the Scriptures, of + which I had great numbers, I had left in my chamber at Alban's Hall, + where I had made a very secret place to keep them safe in, because it was + so dangerous to have any such books. And so, as I was diligently reading + in the same book of Lambert upon Luke, suddenly one knocked at my chamber + door very hard, which made me astonished, and yet I sat still and would + not speak; then he knocked again more hard, and yet I held my peace; and + straightway he knocked again yet more fiercely; and then I thought this: + peradventure it is somebody that hath need of me; and therefore I thought + myself bound to do as I would be done unto; and so, laying my book aside, + I came to the door and opened it, and there was Master Garret, as a man + amazed, whom I thought to have been with my brother, and one with + him."</p> + + <p>Garret had set out on his expedition into Dorsetshire, but had been + frightened, and had stolen back into Oxford on the Friday, to his old + hiding place, where, in the middle of the night, the proctors had taken + him. He had been carried to Lincoln, and shut up in a room in the + rector's house, where he had been <!-- Page 326 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page326"></a>[pg 326]</span> left all day. In + the afternoon the rector went to chapel, no one was stirring about the + college, and he had taken advantage of the opportunity to slip the bolt + of the door and escape. He had a friend at Gloucester College, "a monk + who had bought books of him;" and Gloucester lying on the outskirts of + the town, he had hurried down there as the readiest place of shelter. The + monk was out; and as no time was to be lost, Garret asked the servant on + the staircase to show him Dalaber's rooms.</p> + + <p>As soon as the door was opened, "he said he was undone, for he was + taken." "Thus he spake unadvisedly in the presence of the young man, who + at once slipped down the stairs," it was to be feared, on no good errand. + "Then I said to him," Dalaber goes on, "alas, Master Garret, by this your + uncircumspect coming here and speaking so before the young man, you have + disclosed yourself and utterly undone me. I asked him why he was not in + Dorsetshire. He said he had gone a day's journey and a half; but he was + so fearful, his heart would none other but that he must needs return + again unto Oxford. With deep sighs and plenty of tears, he prayed me to + help to convey him away; and so he cast off his hood and gown wherein he + came to me, and desired me to give him a coat with sleeves, if I had any; + and he told me that he would go into Wales, and thence convey himself, if + he might, into Germany. Then I put on him a sleeved coat of mine. He + would also have had another manner of cap of me, but I had none but + priestlike, such as his own was.</p> + + <p>"Then kneeled we both down together upon our knees, and lifting up our + hearts and hands to God our heavenly Father, desired him, with plenty of + tears, so to conduct and prosper him in his journey, that he might well + escape the danger of all his enemies, to the glory of His Holy Name, if + His good pleasure and will so were. And then we embraced and kissed the + one the other, the tears so abundantly flowing out from both our eyes, + that we all bewet both our faces, and scarcely for sorrow could we speak + one to another. And so he departed from me, apparelled in my coat, being + committed unto the tuition of our Almighty and merciful Father.</p> + + <p>"When he was gone down the stairs from my chamber, I straightways did + shut my chamber door, and went into my study; and taking the New + Testament in my hands, kneeled down on my knees, and with many a deep + sigh and salt tear, I did, with much deliberation, read over the tenth + chapter of <!-- Page 327 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page327"></a>[pg 327]</span> St. Matthew's Gospel,<a + name="NtA_512"></a><a href="#Nt_512"><sup>512</sup></a> praying that God + would endue his tender and lately-born little flock in Oxford with + heavenly strength by his Holy Spirit; that quietly to their own + salvation, with all godly patience, they might bear Christ's heavy cross, + which I now saw was presently to be laid on their young and weak backs, + unable to bear so huge a burden without the greater help of his Holy + Spirit.</p> + + <p>"This done, I laid aside my book safe, folded up Master Garret's gown + and hood, and so, having put on my short gown, and shut my doors, I went + towards Frideswide (Christchurch), to speak with that worthy martyr of + God, Master Clark. But of purpose I went by St. Mary's church, to go + first unto Corpus Christi College, to speak with Diet and Udal, my + faithful brethren and fellows in the Lord. By chance I met by the way a + brother of ours, one Master Eden, fellow of Magdalen, who, as soon as he + saw me, said, we were all undone, for Master Garret was returned, and was + in prison. I said it was not so; he said it was. I heard, quoth he, our + Proctor, Master Cole, say and declare the same this day. Then I told him + what was done; and so made haste to Frideswide, to find Master Clark, for + I thought that he and others would be in great sorrow.</p> + + <p>"Evensong was begun; the dean and the canons were there in their grey + amices; they were almost at Magnificat before I came thither. I stood in + the choir door and heard Master Taverner play, and others of the chapel + there sing, with and among whom I myself was wont to sing also; but now + my <!-- Page 328 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page328"></a>[pg + 328]</span> singing and music were turned into sighing and musing. As I + there stood, in cometh Dr. Cottisford,<a name="NtA_513"></a><a + href="#Nt_513"><sup>513</sup></a> the commissary, as fast as ever he + could go, bareheaded, as pale as ashes (I knew his grief well enough); + and to the dean he goeth into the choir, were he was sitting in his + stall, and talked with him, very sorrowfully: what, I know not; but + whereof I might and did truly guess. I went aside from the choir door to + see and hear more. The commissary and dean came out of the choir, + wonderfully troubled as it seemed. About the middle of the church, met + them Dr. London,<a name="NtA_514"></a><a + href="#Nt_514"><sup>514</sup></a> puffing, blustering, and blowing like a + hungry and greedy lion seeking his prey. They talked together awhile; but + the commissary was much blamed by them, insomuch that he wept for + sorrow.</p> + + <p>"The doctors departed, and sent abroad their servants and spies + everywhere. Master Clark, about the middle of the compline,<a + name="NtA_515"></a><a href="#Nt_515"><sup>515</sup></a> came forth of the + choir. I followed him to his chamber, and declared what had happened that + afternoon of Master Garret's escape. Then he sent for one Master Sumner + and Master Bets, fellows and canons there. In the meantime he gave me a + very godly exhortation, praying God to give us all the wisdom of the + serpent and the harmlessness of doves, for we should shortly have much + need thereof. When Master Sumner and Master Bets came, he caused me to + declare again the whole matter to them two. Then desiring them to tell + our other brethren in that college, I went to Corpus Christi College, to + comfort our brethren there, where I found in Diet's chamber, looking for + me, Fitzjames, Diet, and Udal. They all knew the matter before by Master + Eden, whom I had sent unto Fitzjames. So I tarried there and supped with + them, where they had provided meat and drink for us before my coming; and + when we had ended, Fitzjames would needs have me to lie that night with + him in my old lodging at Alban's Hall. But small rest and little sleep + took we both there that night."</p> + + <p>The next day, which was Sunday, Dalaber rose at five o'clock, and as + soon as he could leave the Hall, hastened off to his rooms at Gloucester. + The night had been wet and stormy, and his shoes and stockings were + covered with mud. The college gates, when he reached them, were still + closed, an unusual thing at that hour; and he walked up and down under + the walls in the bleak grey morning, till the clock struck seven, "much + disquieted, his head full of forecasting cares," but resolved, like a + brave man, that <!-- Page 329 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page329"></a>[pg 329]</span> come what would, he would accuse no + one, and declare nothing but what he saw was already known. The gates + were at last opened; he went to his rooms, and for some time his key + would not turn in the door, the lock having been meddled with. At length + he succeeded in entering, and found everything in confusion, his bed + tossed and tumbled, his study door open, and his clothes strewed about + the floor. A monk who occupied the opposite rooms, hearing him return, + came to him and said that the commissary and the two proctors had been + there looking for Garret. Bills and swords had been thrust through the + bed-straw, and every corner of the room searched for him. Finding + nothing, they had left orders that Dalaber, as soon as he returned, + should appear before the prior of the students.</p> + + <p>"This so troubled me," Dalaber says, "that I forgot to make clean my + hose and shoes, and to shift me into another gown; and all bedirted as I + was, I went to the said prior's chamber." The prior asked him where he + had slept that night. At Alban's Hall, he answered, with his old + bedfellow, Fitzjames. The prior said he did not believe him, and asked if + Garret had been at his rooms the day before. He replied that he had. + Whither had he gone, then? the prior inquired; and where was he at that + time? "I answered," says Dalaber, "that I knew not, unless he was gone to + Woodstock; he told me that he would go there, because one of the keepers + had promised him a piece of venison to make merry with at Shrovetide. + This tale I thought meetest, though it were nothing so."<a + name="NtA_516"></a><a href="#Nt_516"><sup>516</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 330 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page330"></a>[pg 330]</span> + + <p>At this moment the university beadle entered with two of the + commissary's servants, bringing a message to the prior that he should + repair at once to Lincoln, taking Dalaber with him. "I was brought into + the chapel," the latter continues, "and there I found Dr. Cottisford, + commissary; Dr. Higdon, Dean of Cardinal's College; and Dr. London, + Warden of New College; standing together at the altar. They called for + chairs and sate down, and then [ordered] me to come to them; they asked + me what my name was, how long I had been at the university, what I + studied," with various other inquiries: the clerk of the university, + meanwhile, bringing pens, ink, and paper, and arranging a table with a + few loose boards upon tressels. A mass book, he says, was then placed + before him, and he was commanded to lay his hand upon it, and swear that + he would answer truly such questions as should be asked him. At first he + refused; but afterwards, being persuaded, "partly by fair words, and + partly by great threats," he promised to do as they would have him; but + in his heart he "meant nothing so to do." "So I laid my hand on the + book," he goes on, "and one of them gave me my oath, and commanded me to + kiss the book. They made great courtesy between them who should examine + me; at last, the rankest Pharisee of them all took upon him to do it.</p> + + <p>"Then he asked me again, by my oath, where Master Garret was, and + whither I had conveyed him. I said I had not conveyed him, nor yet wist + where he was, nor whither he was gone, except he were gone to Woodstock, + as I had before said. Surely, they said, I brought him some whither this + morning, for they might well perceive by my foul shoes and dirty hosen + that I had travelled with him the most part of the night. I answered + plainly, that I lay at Alban's Hall with Sir Fitzjames, and that I had + good witness thereof. They asked me where I was at evensong. I told them + at Frideswide, and that I saw, first, Master Commissary, and then Master + Doctor London, come thither to Master Dean. Doctor London and the Dean + threatened me that if I would not tell the truth I should surely be sent + to the Tower of London, and there be racked, and put into Little-ease.<a + name="NtA_517"></a><a href="#Nt_517"><sup>517</sup></a></p> + + <p>"At last when they could get nothing out of me whereby to hurt or + accuse any man, or to know anything of that which they sought, they all + three together brought me up a long stairs, into a great chamber, over + Master Commissary's chamber, wherein stood a great pair of very high + stocks. Then Master Commissary <!-- Page 331 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page331"></a>[pg 331]</span> asked me for my purse and girdle, and + took away my money and my knives; and then they put my legs into the + stocks, and so locked me fast in them, in which I sate, my feet being + almost as high as my head; and so they departed, locking fast the door, + and leaving me alone.</p> + + <p>"When they were all gone, then came into my remembrance the worthy + forewarning and godly declaration of that most constant martyr of God, + Master John Clark, who, well nigh two years before that, when I did + earnestly desire him to grant me to be his scholar, said unto me after + this sort: 'Dalaber, you desire you wot not what, and that which you are, + I fear, unable to take upon you; for though now my preaching be sweet and + pleasant to you, because there is no persecution laid on you for it, yet + the time will come, and that, peradventure, shortly, if ye continue to + live godly therein, that God will lay on you the cross of persecution, to + try you whether you can as pure gold abide the fire. You shall be called + and judged a heretic; you shall be abhorred of the world; your own + friends and kinsfolk will forsake you, and also hate you; you shall be + cast into prison, and none shall dare to help you; you shall be accused + before bishops, to your reproach and shame, to the great sorrow of all + your friends and kinsfolk. Then will ye wish ye had never known this + doctrine; then will ye curse Clark, and wish that ye had never known him + because he hath brought you to all these troubles.'</p> + + <p>"At which words, I was so grieved that I fell down on my knees at his + feet, and with tears and sighs besought him that, for the tender mercy of + God, he would not refuse me; saying that I trusted, verily, that he which + had begun this in me would not forsake me, but would give me grace to + continue therein to the end. When he heard me say so, he came to me, took + me in his arms and kissed me, the tears trickling from his eyes; and said + unto me: 'The Lord God Almighty grant you so to do; and from henceforth + for ever, take me for your father, and I will take you for my son in + Christ.'"</p> + + <p>In these meditations the long Sunday morning wore away. A little + before noon the commissary came again to see if his prisoner was more + amenable; finding him, however, still obstinate, he offered him some + dinner—a promise which we will hope he fulfilled, for here + Dalaber's own narrative abruptly forsakes us,<a name="NtA_518"></a><a + href="#Nt_518"><sup>518</sup></a> leaving uncompleted, at this point, the + most vivid picture which remains to us of a fraction of English life in + the <!-- Page 332 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page332"></a>[pg + 332]</span> reign of Henry VIII. If the curtain fell finally on the + little group of students, this narrative alone would furnish us with rare + insight into the circumstances under which the Protestants fought their + way. The story, however, can be carried something further, and the + strangest incident connected with it remains to be told.</p> + + <p>Dalaber breaks off on Sunday at noon. The same day, or early the + following morning, he was submitted once more to examination: this time, + for the discovery of his own offences, and to induce him to give up his + confederates. With respect to the latter he proved "marvellous + obstinate." "All that was gotten of him was with much difficulty;" nor + would he confess to any names as connected with heresy or heretics except + that of Clark, which was already known. About himself he was more open. + He wrote his "book of heresy," that is, his confession of faith, "with + his own hand"—his evening's occupation, perhaps, in the stocks in + the rector of Lincoln's house; and the next day he was transferred to + prison.<a name="NtA_519"></a><a href="#Nt_519"><sup>519</sup></a></p> + + <p>This offender being thus disposed of, and strict secrecy being + observed to prevent the spread of alarm, a rapid search was set on foot + for books in all suspected quarters. The fear of the authorities was that + "the infect persons would flee," and "convey" their poison "away with + them."<a name="NtA_520"></a><a href="#Nt_520"><sup>520</sup></a> The + officials, once on the scent of heresy, were skilful in running down the + game. No time was lost, and by Monday evening many of "the brethren" had + been arrested, their rooms examined, and their forbidden treasures + discovered and rifled. Dalaber's store was found "hid with marvellous + secresy;" and in one student's desk a duplicate of Garret's + list—the titles of the volumes with which the first "Religious + Tract Society" set themselves to convert England.</p> + + <p>Information of all this was conveyed in haste by Dr. London to the + Bishop of Lincoln, as the ordinary of the university; and the warden told + his story with much self-congratulation. On one point, however, the news + which he had to communicate was less satisfactory. Garret himself was + gone—utterly gone. Dalaber was obstinate, and no clue to the track + of the fugitive could be discovered. The police were at fault; neither + bribes nor threats could elicit anything; and in these desperate + circumstances, as he told the bishop, the three heads of houses conceived + that they might strain a point of propriety for so good a purpose as to + prevent the escape of a heretic. Accordingly, <!-- Page 333 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page333"></a>[pg 333]</span> after a full report + of the points of their success, Doctor London went on to relate the + following remarkable proceeding:</p> + + <p>"After Master Garret escaped, <i>the commissary being in extreme + pensiveness, knew no other remedy but this extraordinary, and caused a + figure to be made by one expert in astronomy—and his judjment doth + continually persist upon this, that he fled in a tawny coat + south-eastward, and is in the middle of London, and will shortly to the + sea side</i>. He was curate unto the parson of Honey Lane.<a + name="NtA_521"></a><a href="#Nt_521"><sup>521</sup></a> It is likely he + is privily cloaked there. Wherefore, as soon as I knew the judgment of + this astronomer, I thought it expedient and my duty with all speed to + ascertain your good lordship of all the premises; that in time your + lordship may advertise my lord his Grace, and my lord of London. It will + be a gracious deed that he and all his pestiferous works, which he + carrieth about, might be taken, to the salvation of his soul, opening of + many privy heresies, and extinction of the same."<a name="NtA_522"></a><a + href="#Nt_522"><sup>522</sup></a></p> + + <p>We might much desire to know what the bishop's sensations were in + reading this letter—to know whether it occurred to him that in this + naïve acknowledgment, the Oxford heresy hunters were themselves + confessing to an act of heresy; and that by the law of the church, which + they were so eager to administer, they were liable to the same death + which they were so zealous to secure for the poor vendors of Testaments. + So indeed they really were. Consulting the stars had been ruled from + immemorial time to be dealing with the devil; the penalty of it was the + same as for witchcraft; yet here was a reverend warden of a college + considering it his duty to write eagerly of a discovery obtained by these + forbidden means, to his own diocesan, begging him to communicate with the + Cardinal of York and the Bishop of London, that three of the highest + church authorities in England might become <i>participes criminis</i>, by + acting on this diabolical information.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, the commissary, not wholly relying on the astrologer, but + resolving prudently to make use of the more earthly resources which were + at his disposal, had sent information of Garret's escape to the + corporations of Dover, Rye, Winchester, Southampton, and Bristol, with + descriptions of the person of the fugitive; and this step was taken with + so much expedition, that before the end of the week no vessel was allowed + to leave either of those harbours without being strictly searched.</p> + +<!-- Page 334 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page334"></a>[pg 334]</span> + + <p>The natural method proved more effectual than the supernatural, though + again with the assistance of a singular accident. Garret had not gone to + London; unfortunately for himself, he had not gone to Wales as he had + intended. He left Oxford, as we saw, the evening of Saturday, February + 21st. That night he reached a village called Corkthrop,<a + name="NtA_523"></a><a href="#Nt_523"><sup>523</sup></a> where he lay + concealed till Wednesday; and then, not in the astrologer's orange-tawny + dress, but in "a courtier's coat and buttoned cap," which he had by some + means contrived to procure, he set out again on his forlorn journey, + making for the nearest sea-port, Bristol, where the police were looking + out to receive him. His choice of Bristol was peculiarly unlucky. The + "chapman" of the town was the step-father of Cole, the Oxford proctor: to + this person, whose name was Master Wilkyns, the proctor had written a + special letter, in addition to the commissary's circular; and the family + connection acting as a spur to his natural activity, a coast guard had + been set before Garret's arrival, to watch for him down the Avon banks, + and along the Channel shore for fifteen miles. All the Friday night "the + mayor, with the aldermen, and twenty of the council, had kept privy + watch," and searched suspicious houses at Master Wilkyns's instance; the + whole population were on the alert, and when the next afternoon, a week + after his escape, the poor heretic, footsore and weary, dragged himself + into the town, he found that he had walked into the lion's mouth.<a + name="NtA_524"></a><a href="#Nt_524"><sup>524</sup></a> He quickly learnt + this danger to which he was exposed, and hurried off again with the best + speed which he could command; but it was too late. The chapman, alert and + indefatigable, had heard that a stranger had been seen in the street; the + police were set upon his track, and he was taken at Bedminster, a suburb + on the opposite bank of the Avon, and hurried before a magistrate, where + he at once acknowledged his identity.</p> + + <p>With such happy success were the good chapman's efforts rewarded. Yet + in this world there is no light without shadow; no pleasure without its + alloy. In imagination, Master Wilkyns had thought of himself conducting + the prisoner in triumph into the streets of Oxford, the hero of the hour. + The sour formality of the law condemned him to ill-merited + disappointment. Garret had been taken beyond the liberties of the city; + it was necessary, therefore, to commit him to the county gaol, and he + <!-- Page 335 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page335"></a>[pg + 335]</span> was sent to Ilchester. "Master Wilkyns offered himself to be + bound to the said justice in three hundred pounds to discharge him of the + said Garret, and to see him surely to Master Proctor's of Oxford; yet + could he not have him, for the justice said that the order of the law + would not so serve."<a name="NtA_525"></a><a + href="#Nt_525"><sup>525</sup></a> The fortunate captor had therefore to + content himself with the consciousness of his exploit, and the favourable + report of his conduct which was sent to the bishops; and Garret went + first to Ilchester, and thence was taken by special writ, and surrendered + to Wolsey.</p> + + <p>Thus unkind had fortune shown herself to the chief criminal, guilty of + the unpardonable offence of selling Testaments at Oxford, and therefore + hunted down as a mad dog, and a common enemy of mankind. He escaped for + the present the heaviest consequences, for Wolsey persuaded him to + abjure. A few years later we shall again meet him, when he had recovered + his better nature, and would not abjure, and died as a brave man should + die. In the meantime we return to the university, where the authorities + were busy trampling out the remains of the conflagration.</p> + + <p>Two days after his letter respecting the astrologer, the Warden of New + College wrote again to the Diocesan, with an account of his further + proceedings. He was an efficient inquisitor, and the secrets of the poor + undergraduates had been unravelled to the last thread. Some of "the + brethren" had confessed; all were in prison; and the doctor desired + instructions as to what should be done with them. It must be said for Dr. + London, that he was anxious that they should be treated leniently. + Dalaber described him as a roaring lion, and he was a bad man, and came + at last to a bad end. But it is pleasant to find that even he, a mere + blustering arrogant official, was not wholly without redeeming points of + character; and as little good will be said for him hereafter, the + following passage in his second letter may be placed to the credit side + of his account. The tone in which he wrote was at least humane, and must + pass for more than an expression of natural kindness, when it is + remembered that he was addressing a person with whom tenderness for + heresy was a crime.</p> + + <p>"These youths," he said, "have not been long conversant with Master + Garret, nor have greatly perused his mischievous books; and long before + Master Garret was taken, divers of them were weary of these works, and + delivered them to Dalaber. I am marvellous sorry for the young men. If + they be openly <!-- Page 336 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page336"></a>[pg 336]</span> called upon, although they appear not + greatly infect, yet they shall never avoid slander, because my Lord's + Grace did send for Master Garret to be taken. I suppose his Grace will + know of your good lordship everything. Nothing shall be hid, I assure + your good lordship, an every one of them were my brother; and I do only + make this moan for these youths, for surely they be of the most towardly + young men in Oxford; and as far as I do yet perceive, not greatly infect, + but much to blame for reading any part of these works."<a + name="NtA_526"></a><a href="#Nt_526"><sup>526</sup></a></p> + + <p>Doctor London's intercession, if timid, was generous; he obviously + wished to suggest that the matter should be hushed up, and that the + offending parties should be dismissed with a reprimand. If the decision + had rested with Wolsey, it is likely that this view would have been + readily acted upon. But the Bishop of Lincoln was a person in whom the + spirit of humanity had been long exorcised by the spirit of an + ecclesiastic. He was staggering along the last years of a life against + which his own register<a name="NtA_527"></a><a + href="#Nt_527"><sup>527</sup></a> bears dreadful witness, and he would + not burden his conscience with mercy to heretics. He would not mar the + completeness of his barbarous career. He singled out three of the + prisoners—Garret, Clark, and Ferrars<a name="NtA_528"></a><a + href="#Nt_528"><sup>528</sup></a>—and especially entreated that + they should be punished. "They be three perilous men," he wrote to + Wolsey, "and have been the occasion of the corruption of youth. They have + done much mischief, and for the love of God let them be handled + thereafter."<a name="NtA_529"></a><a + href="#Nt_529"><sup>529</sup></a></p> + + <p>Wolsey had Garret in his own keeping, and declined to surrender him. + Ferrars had been taken at the Black Friars, in London,<a + name="NtA_530"></a><a href="#Nt_530"><sup>530</sup></a> and making his + submission, was respited and escaped with abjuration. But Clark was at + Oxford, in the bishop's power, and the wicked old man was allowed to work + his will upon him. A bill of heresy was drawn, which the prisoner was + required to sign. He refused, and must have been sent to the stake, had + he not escaped by dying prematurely of the treatment which he had + received in prison.<a name="NtA_531"></a><a + href="#Nt_531"><sup>531</sup></a> <!-- Page 337 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page337"></a>[pg 337]</span> His last words only + are recorded. He was refused the communion, not perhaps as a special act + of cruelty, but because the laws of the church would not allow the holy + thing to be profaned by the touch of a heretic. When he was told that it + would not be suffered, he said "<i>crede et manducâsti</i>"—"faith + is the communion;" and so passed away; a very noble person, so far as the + surviving features of his character will let us judge; one who, if his + manhood had fulfilled the promise of his youth, would have taken no + common part in the Reformation.</p> + + <p>The remaining brethren were then dispersed. Some were sent home to + their friends—others, Anthony Dalaber among them, were placed on + their trial, and being terrified at their position, recanted, and were + sentenced to do penance. Ferrars was brought to Oxford for the occasion, + and we discern indistinctly (for the mere fact is all which survives) a + great fire at Carfax; a crowd of spectators, and a procession of students + marching up High Street with fagots on their shoulders, the solemn + beadles leading them with gowns and maces. The ceremony was repeated to + which Dr. Barnes had been submitted at St. Paul's. They were taken three + times round the fire, throwing in each first their fagot, and then some + one of the offending books, in token that they repented and renounced + their errors.</p> + + <p>Thus was Oxford purged of heresy. The state of innocence which Dr. + London pathetically lamented<a name="NtA_532"></a><a + href="#Nt_532"><sup>532</sup></a> was restored, and the heads of houses + had peace till their rest was broken by a ruder storm.</p> + + <p>In this single specimen we may see a complete image of Wolsey's + persecution, as with varying details it was carried out in every town and + village from the Tweed to the Land's End. I dwell on the stories of + individual suffering, not to colour the narrative, or to re-awaken + feelings of bitterness which may well rest now and sleep for ever; but + because, through the years in which it was struggling for recognition, + the history of Protestantism is the history of its martyrs. No rival + theology, as I have said, had as yet shaped itself into formulas. We have + not to trace any slow growing elaboration of opinion. Protestantism, + before it became an establishment, was a refusal to live any longer in a + lie. It was a falling back upon the undefined untheoretic rules of truth + and piety which lay upon the surface of the Bible, and a determination + rather to die than to mock with unreality any longer the Almighty Maker + of the <!-- Page 338 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page338"></a>[pg + 338]</span> world. We do not look in the dawning manifestations of such a + spirit for subtleties of intellect. Intellect, as it ever does, followed + in the wake of the higher virtues of manly honesty and truthfulness. And + the evidences which were to effect the world's conversion were so + cunningly arranged syllogistic demonstrations, but once more those + loftier evidences which lay in the calm endurance by heroic men of the + extremities of suffering, and which touched—not the mind with + conviction, but the heart with admiring reverence.</p> + + <p>In the concluding years of his administration Wolsey was embarrassed + with the divorce. Difficulties were gathering round him, from the failure + of his hopes abroad and the wreck of his popularity at home; and the + activity of the persecution was something relaxed, as the guiding mind of + the great minister ceased to have leisure to attend to it. The bishops, + however, continued, each in his own diocese, to act with such vigour as + they possessed. Their courts were unceasingly occupied with vexatious + suits, commenced without reason, and conducted without justice. They + summoned arbitrarily as suspected offenders whoever had the misfortune to + have provoked their dislike; either compelling them to criminate + themselves by questions on the intricacies of theology,<a + name="NtA_533"></a><a href="#Nt_533"><sup>533</sup></a> or allowing + sentence to be passed against them on the evidence of abandoned persons, + who would not have been admissible as witnesses before the secular + tribunals.<a name="NtA_534"></a><a href="#Nt_534"><sup>534</sup></a></p> + + <p>It might have been thought that the clear perception which was shown + by the House of Commons of the injustice with which the trials for heresy + were conducted, the disregard, shameless and flagrant, of the provisions + of the statutes under which the bishops were enabled to proceed, might + have led them to reconsider the equity of persecution in itself; or, at + least, to remove from the office of judges persons who had shown + themselves so signally unfit to exercise that office. It would have been + indecent, however, if not impossible, to transfer to a civil tribunal the + cognisance of opinion; and, on the other hand, there was as yet among the + upper classes of the laity no kind of disposition to be lenient towards + those who were really unorthodox. The desire so far was only to check the + reckless and random accusations of persons whose offence was to have <!-- + Page 339 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page339"></a>[pg 339]</span> + criticised, not the doctrine but the moral conduct, of the church + authorities. The Protestants, although from the date of the meeting of + the parliament and Wolsey's fall their ultimate triumph was certain, + gained nothing in its immediate consequences. They suffered rather from + the eagerness of the political reformers to clear themselves from + complicity with heterodoxy; and the bishops were even taunted with the + spiritual dissensions of the realm as an evidence of their indolence and + misconduct.<a name="NtA_535"></a><a href="#Nt_535"><sup>535</sup></a> + Language of this kind boded ill for the "Christian Brethren;" and the + choice of Wolsey's successor for the office of chancellor soon confirmed + their apprehensions; Wolsey had chastised them with whips; Sir Thomas + More would chastise them with scorpions; and the philosopher of the + <i>Utopia</i>, the friend of Erasmus, whose life was of blameless beauty, + whose genius was cultivated to the highest attainable perfection, was to + prove to the world that the spirit of persecution is no peculiar + attribute of the pedant, the bigot, of the fanatic, but may co-exist with + the fairest graces of the human character. The lives of remarkable men + usually illustrate some emphatic truth. Sir Thomas More may be said to + have lived to illustrate the necessary tendencies of Romanism in an + honest mind convinced of its truth; to show that the test of sincerity in + a man who professes to regard orthodoxy as an essential of salvation, is + not the readiness to endure persecution, but the courage which will + venture to inflict it.</p> + + <p>The seals were delivered to the new chancellor in November, 1529. By + his oath on entering office he was bound to exert himself to the utmost + for the suppression of heretics:<a name="NtA_536"></a><a + href="#Nt_536"><sup>536</sup></a> he was bound, however, equally to obey + the conditions under which the law allowed them to be suppressed. + Unfortunately for his reputation as a judge, he permitted the hatred of + "that kind of men," which he did not conceal that he felt,<a + name="NtA_537"></a><a href="#Nt_537"><sup>537</sup></a> to obscure his + conscience on this important feature of his duty, and tempt him to + imitate the worst iniquities of the bishops. I do not intend in this + place to relate the stories of his cruelties in his house at Chelsea,<a + name="NtA_538"></a><a href="#Nt_538"><sup>538</sup></a> which he himself + partially denied, and which at least we may hope were exaggerated. Being + obliged to confine <!-- Page 340 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page340"></a>[pg 340]</span> myself to specific instances, I choose + rather those on which the evidence is not open to question; and which + prove against More, not the zealous execution of a cruel law, for which + we may not fairly hold him responsible, but a disregard, in the highest + degree censurable, of his obligations as a judge.</p> + + <p>The acts under which heretics were liable to punishment, were the 15th + of the 2nd of Henry IV., and the 1st of the 2nd of Henry V.</p> + + <p>By the act of Henry IV., the bishops were bound to bring offenders to + trial in open court, within three months of their arrest, if there were + no lawful impediment. If conviction followed, they might imprison at + their discretion. Except under these conditions, they were not at liberty + to imprison.</p> + + <p>By the act of Henry V., a heretic, if he was first indicted before a + secular judge, was to be delivered within ten days (or if possible, a + shorter period) to the bishop, "to be acquit or convict" by a jury in the + spiritual court, and to be dealt with accordingly.<a + name="NtA_539"></a><a href="#Nt_539"><sup>539</sup></a></p> + + <p>The secular judge might detain a heretic for ten days before + delivering him to the bishop. The bishop might detain him for three + months before his trial. Neither the secular judge nor the bishop had + power to inflict indefinite imprisonment at will while the trial was + delayed; nor if on the trial the bishop failed in securing a conviction, + was he at liberty to detain the accused person any longer on the same + charge, because the result was not satisfactory to himself. These + provisions were not preposterously lenient. Sir Thomas More should have + found no difficulty in observing them himself, and in securing the + observance of them by the bishops, at least in cases where he was himself + responsible for the first committal. It is to be feared that he forgot + that he was a judge in his eagerness to be a partisan, and permitted no + punctilious legal scruples to interfere with the more important object of + ensuring punishment to heretics.</p> + + <p>The first case which I shall mention is one in which the Bishop of + London was principally guilty; not, however, without More's countenance, + and, if Foxe is to be believed, his efficient support.</p> + + <p>In December, 1529, the month succeeding his appointment as chancellor, + More, at the instance of the Bishop of London,<a name="NtA_540"></a><a + href="#Nt_540"><sup>540</sup></a> arrested a citizen of London, Thomas + Philips by name, on a charge of heresy.</p> + +<!-- Page 341 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page341"></a>[pg 341]</span> + + <p>The prisoner was surrendered in due form to his diocesan, and was + brought to trial on the 4th of February; a series of articles being + alleged against him by Foxford, the bishop's vicar-general. The articles + were of the usual kind. The prisoner was accused of having used + unorthodox expressions on transubstantiation, on purgatory, pilgrimages, + and confession. It does not appear whether any witnesses were produced. + The vicar-general brought his accusations on the ground of general + rumour, and failed to maintain them. Whether there were witnesses or not, + neither the particular offences, nor even the fact of the general rumour, + could be proved to the satisfaction of the jury. Philips himself + encountered each separate charge with a specific denial, declaring that + he neither was, nor ever had been, other than orthodox; and the result of + the trial was, that no conviction could be obtained. The prisoner "was + found so clear from all manner of infamous slanders and suspicions, that + all the people before the said bishop, shouting in judgment as with one + voice, openly witnessed his good name and fame, to the great reproof and + shame of the said bishop, if he had not been ashamed to be ashamed."<a + name="NtA_541"></a><a href="#Nt_541"><sup>541</sup></a> The case had + broken down; the proceedings were over, and by law the accused person was + free. But the law, except when it was on their own side, was of little + importance to the church authorities. As they had failed to prove Philips + guilty of heresy, they called upon him to confess his guilt by abjuring + it; "as if," he says, "there were no difference between a nocent and an + innocent, between a guilty and a not guilty."<a name="NtA_542"></a><a + href="#Nt_542"><sup>542</sup></a></p> + + <p>He refused resolutely, and was remanded to prison, in open violation + of the law. The bishop, in conjunction with Sir Thomas More,<a + name="NtA_543"></a><a href="#Nt_543"><sup>543</sup></a> sent for him from + time to time, submitting him to private examinations, which again were + illegal; and urged the required confession, in order, as Philips says, + "to save the bishop's credit."</p> + + <p>The further they advanced, the more difficult it was to recede; and + the bishop at length, irritated at his failure, concluded the process + with an arbitrary sentence of excommunication. From this sentence, + whether just or unjust, there was then no appeal, except to the pope. The + wretched man, in virtue of it, was no longer under the protection of the + law, and was committed to the Tower, where he languished for three years, + protesting, <!-- Page 342 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page342"></a>[pg 342]</span> but protesting fruitlessly, against + the tyranny which had crushed him, and clamouring for justice in the deaf + ears of pedants who knew not what justice meant.</p> + + <p>If this had occurred at the beginning of the century, the prisoner + would have been left to die, as countless multitudes had already died, + unheard, uncared for, unthought of; the victim not of deliberate cruelty, + but of that frightfullest portent, folly armed with power. Happily the + years of his imprisonment had been years of swift revolution. The House + of Commons had become a tribunal where oppression would not any longer + cry wholly unheard; Philips appealed to it for protection, and recovered + his liberty.<a name="NtA_544"></a><a + href="#Nt_544"><sup>544</sup></a></p> + + <p>The weight of guilt in this instance presses essentially on Stokesley; + yet a portion of the blame must be borne also by the chancellor, who + first placed Philips in Stokesley's hands; who took part in the illegal + private examinations, and who could not have been ignorant of the + prisoner's ultimate fate. If, however, it be thought unjust to charge a + good man's memory with an offence in which his part was only secondary, + the following iniquity was wholly and exclusively his own. I relate the + <!-- Page 343 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page343"></a>[pg + 343]</span> story without comment in the address of the injured person to + More's successor.<a name="NtA_545"></a><a + href="#Nt_545"><sup>545</sup></a></p> + + <p>"<i>To the Right Hon. the Lord Chancellor of England. (Sir T. Audeley) + and other of the King's Council.</i></p> + + <p>"In most humble wise showeth unto your goodness your poor bedeman John + Field, how that the next morrow upon twelfth day,<a name="NtA_546"></a><a + href="#Nt_546"><sup>546</sup></a> in the twenty-first year of our + sovereign lord the King's Highness, Sir Thomas More, Knight, then being + Lord Chancellor of England, did send certain of his servants, and caused + your said bedeman, with certain others, to be brought to his place at + Chelsea, and there kept him (after what manner and fashion it were now + long to tell), by the space of eighteen days;<a name="NtA_547"></a><a + href="#Nt_547"><sup>547</sup></a> and then set him at liberty, binding + him to appear before him again the eighth day following in the Star + Chamber, which was Candlemas eve; at which day your said bedeman + appeared, and was then sent to the Fleet, where he continued until Palm + Sunday two years after [in violation of both the statutes], kept so close + the first quarter that his keeper only might visit him; and always after + closed up with those that were handled most straitly; often searched, + sometimes even at midnight; besides snares and traps laid to take him in. + Betwixt Michaelmas and Allhalloween tide next after his coming to prison + there was taken from your bedeman a Greek vocabulary, price five + shillings; Saint Cyprian's works, with a book of the same Sir Thomas + More's making, named the <i>Supplication of Souls</i>. For what cause it + was done he committeth to the judgment of God, that seeth the souls of + all persons. The said Palm Sunday, which was also our Lady's day, towards + night there came two officers of the Fleet, named George Porter and John + Butler, and took your bedeman into a ward alone, and there, after long + searching, found his purse hanging at his girdle; which they took, and + shook out the money to the sum of ten shillings, which was sent him to + buy such necessaries as he lacked, and delivered him again his purse, + well and truly keeping the money to themselves, as they said for their + fees; and forthwith carried him from the Fleet (where he lost such poor + bedding as he then had, and could never since get it), and delivered him + to the Marshalsea, under our gracious sovereign's commandment and Sir + Thomas More's. When the Sunday before the Rogation <!-- Page 344 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page344"></a>[pg 344]</span> week following, + your bedeman fell sick; and the Whitsun Monday was carried out on four + men's backs, and delivered to his friends to be recovered if it so + pleased God. At which time the keeper took for your bedeman's fees other + ten shillings, when four shillings should have sufficed if he had been + delivered in good health.</p> + + <p>"Within three weeks it pleased God to set your bedeman on his feet, so + that he might walk abroad. Whereof when Sir Thomas More heard (who went + out of his chancellorship about the time your bedeman was carried out of + prison), although he had neither word nor deed which he could ever truly + lay to your bedeman's charge, yet made he such means by the Bishops of + Winchester and London, as your bedeman heard say, to the Hon. Lord Thomas + Duke of Norfolk, that he gave new commandment to the keeper of the + Marshalsea to attach again your said bedeman; which thing was speedily + done the Sunday three weeks after his deliverance. And so he continued in + prison again until Saint Lawrence tide following; at which time money was + given to the keeper, and some things he took which were not given, and + then was your bedeman re-delivered through the king's goodness, under + sureties bound in a certain sum, that he should appear the first day of + the next term following, and then day by day until his dismission. And so + hath your bedeman been at liberty now twelve months waiting daily from + term to term, and nothing laid to his charge as before.</p> + + <p>"Wherefore, the premises tenderly considered, and also your said + bedeman's great poverty, he most humbly beseecheth your goodness that he + may now be clearly discharged; and if books, money, or other things seem + to be taken or kept from him otherwise than justice would, eftsoons he + beseecheth you that ye will command it to be restored.</p> + + <p>"As for his long imprisonment, with other griefs thereto appertaining, + he looketh not to have recompense of man; but committeth his whole cause + to God, to whom your bedeman shall daily pray, according as he is bound, + that ye may so order and govern the realm that it may be to the honour of + God and your heavenly and everlasting reward."</p> + + <p>I do not find the result of this petition, but as it appeared that + Henry had interested himself in the story, it is likely to have been + successful. We can form but an imperfect judgment on the merits of the + case, for we have only the sufferer's <i>ex parte</i> complaint, and More + might probably have been able to make some counter-statement. But the + illegal imprisonment cannot <!-- Page 345 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page345"></a>[pg 345]</span> be explained away, and cannot be + palliated; and when a judge permits himself to commit an act of arbitrary + tyranny, we argue from the known to the unknown, and refuse reasonably to + give him credit for equity where he was so little careful of law.</p> + + <p>Yet a few years of misery in a prison was but an insignificant + misfortune when compared with the fate under which so many other poor men + were at this time overwhelmed. Under Wolsey's chancellorship the stake + had been comparatively idle; he possessed a remarkable power of making + recantation easy; and there is, I believe, no instance in which an + accused heretic was brought under his immediate cognisance, where he + failed to arrange some terms by which submission was made possible. With + Wolsey heresy was an error—with More it was a crime. Soon after the + seals changed hands the Smithfield fires recommenced; and, the chancellor + acting in concert with them, the bishops resolved to obliterate, in these + edifying spectacles, the recollection of their general infirmities. The + crime of the offenders varied—sometimes it was a denial of the + corporal presence, more often it was a reflection too loud to be endured + on the character and habits of the clergy; but whatever it was, the + alternative lay only between abjuration humiliating as ingenuity could + make it, or a dreadful death. The hearts of many failed them in the + trial, and of all the confessors those perhaps do not deserve the least + compassion whose weakness betrayed them, who sank and died + broken-hearted. Of these silent sufferers history knows nothing. A few, + unable to endure the misery of having, as they supposed, denied their + Saviour, returned to the danger from which they had fled, and washed out + their fall in martyrdom. Latimer has told us the story of his friend + Bilney—little Bilney, or Saint Bilney,<a name="NtA_548"></a><a + href="#Nt_548"><sup>548</sup></a> as he calls him, his companion at + Cambridge, to whom he owed his own conversion. Bilney, after escaping + through Wolsey's hands in 1527, was again cited in 1529 before the Bishop + of London. Three times he refused to recant. He was offered a fourth and + last chance. The temptation was too strong, and he fell. For two years he + was hopelessly miserable; at length his braver nature prevailed. There + was no pardon for a relapsed heretic, and if he was again in the bishop's + hands he knew well the fate which awaited him.</p> + + <p>He told his friends, in language touchingly significant, that "he + would go up to Jerusalem;" and began to preach in the <!-- Page 346 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page346"></a>[pg 346]</span> fields. + The journey which he had undertaken was not to be a long one. He was + heard to say In a sermon, that of his personal knowledge certain things + which had been offered in pilgrimage had been given to abandoned women. + The priests, he affirmed, "take away the offerings, and hang them about + their women's necks; and after that they take them off the women, if they + please them not, and hang them again upon the images."<a + name="NtA_549"></a><a href="#Nt_549"><sup>549</sup></a> This was Bilney's + heresy, or formed the ground of his arrest; he was orthodox on the mass, + and also on the power of the keys; but the secrets of the sacred order + were not to be betrayed with impunity. He was seized, and hurried before + the Bishop of Norwich; and being found heterodox on the papacy and the + mediation of the saints by the Bishop of Norwich he was sent to the + stake.</p> + + <p>Another instance of recovered courage, and of martyrdom consequent + upon it, is that of James Bainham, a barrister of the Middle Temple. This + story is noticeable from a very curious circumstance connected with + it.</p> + + <p>Bainham had challenged suspicion by marrying the widow of Simon Fish, + the author of the famous <i>Beggars' Petition</i>, who had died in 1528; + and, soon after his marriage, was challenged to give an account of his + faith. He was charged with denying transubstantiation, with questioning + the value of the confessional, and the power of the keys; and the absence + of authoritative Protestant dogma had left his mind free to expand to a + yet larger belief. He had ventured to assert, that "if a Turk, a Jew, or + a Saracen do trust in God and keep his law, he is a good Christian + man,"<a name="NtA_550"></a><a href="#Nt_550"><sup>550</sup></a>—a + conception of Christianity, a conception of Protestantism, which we but + feebly dare to whisper even at the present day. The proceedings against + him commenced with a demand that he should give up his books, and also + the names of other barristers with whom he was suspected to have held + intercourse. He refused; and in consequence his wife was imprisoned, and + he himself was racked in the Tower by order of Sir Thomas More. Enfeebled + by suffering, he was then brought before Stokesley, and terrified by the + cold merciless eyes of his judge, he gave way, not about his friends, but + about himself: he abjured, and was dismissed heartbroken. This was on the + seventeenth of February. He was only able to endure his wretchedness for + a month. At the end of it, he appeared at a secret meeting of the + Christian Brothers, in "a <!-- Page 347 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page347"></a>[pg 347]</span> warehouse in Bow Lane," where he asked + forgiveness of God and all the world for what he had done; and then went + out to take again upon his shoulders the heavy burden of the cross.</p> + + <p>The following Sunday, at the church of St. Augustine, he rose in his + seat with the fatal English Testament in his hand, and "declared openly, + before all the people, with weeping tears, that he had denied God," + praying them all to forgive him, and beware of his weakness; "for if I + should not return to the truth," he said, "this Word of God would damn + me, body and soul, at the day of judgment." And then he prayed "everybody + rather to die than to do as he did, for he would not feel such a hell + again as he did feel for all the world's good."<a name="NtA_551"></a><a + href="#Nt_551"><sup>551</sup></a></p> + + <p>Of course but one event was to be looked for; he knew it, and himself + wrote to the bishop, telling him what he had done. No mercy was possible: + he looked for none, and he found none.</p> + + <p>Yet perhaps he found what the wise authorities thought to be some act + of mercy. They could not grant him pardon in this world upon any terms; + but they would not kill him till they had made an effort for his soul. He + was taken to the Bishop of London's coal cellar at Fulham, the favourite + episcopal penance chamber, where he was ironed and put in the stocks; and + there was left for many days, in the chill March weather, to bethink + himself. This failing to work conviction, he was carried to Sir Thomas + More's house at Chelsea, where for two nights he was chained to a post + and whipped; thence, again, he was taken back to Fulham for another week + of torture; and finally to the Tower, for a further fortnight, again with + ineffectual whippings.</p> + + <p>The demands of charity were thus satisfied. The pious bishop and the + learned chancellor had exhausted their means of conversion; they had + discharged their consciences; and the law was allowed to take its course. + The prisoner was brought to trial on the 20th of April, as a relapsed + heretic. Sentence followed; and on the last of the month the drama closed + in the usual manner at Smithfield. Before the fire was lighted Bainham + made a farewell address to the people, laying his death expressly to + More, whom he called his accuser and his judge.<a name="NtA_552"></a><a + href="#Nt_552"><sup>552</sup></a></p> + + <p>It is unfortunately impossible to learn the feelings with which these + dreadful scenes were witnessed by the people. There are stories which + show that, in some instances, familiarity had produced the usual effect; + that the martyrdom of saints was at times of no more moment to an English + crowd than the execution <!-- Page 348 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page348"></a>[pg 348]</span> of ordinary felons—that it was a + mere spectacle to the idle, the hardened, and the curious. On the other + hand, it is certain that the behaviour of the sufferers was the argument + which at last converted the nation; and an effect which in the end was so + powerful with the multitude, must have been visible long before in the + braver and better natures. The increasing number of prosecutions in + London shows, also, that the leaven was spreading. There were five + executions in Smithfield between 1529 and 1533, besides those in the + provinces. The prisons were crowded with offenders who had abjured and + were undergoing sentence; and the list of those who were "troubled" in + various ways is so extensive, as to leave no doubt of the sympathy which, + in London at least, must have been felt by many, very many, of the + spectators of the martyrs' deaths. We are left, in this important point, + mainly to conjecture; and if we were better furnished with evidence, the + language of ordinary narrative would fail to convey any real notion of + perplexed and various emotions. We have glimpses, however, into the inner + world of men, here and there of strange interest; and we must regret that + they are so few.</p> + + <p>A poor boy at Cambridge, John Randall, of Christ's College, a relation + of Foxe the martyrologist, destroyed himself in these years in religious + desperation; he was found in his study hanging by his girdle, before an + open Bible, with his dead arm and finger stretched pitifully towards a + passage on predestination.<a name="NtA_553"></a><a + href="#Nt_553"><sup>553</sup></a></p> + + <p>A story even more remarkable is connected with Bainham's execution. + Among the lay officials present at the stake, was "one Pavier," town + clerk of London. This Pavier was a Catholic fanatic, and as the flames + were about to be kindled he burst out into violent and abusive language. + The fire blazed up, and the dying sufferer, as the red flickering tongues + licked the flesh from off his bones, turned to him and said, "May God + forgive thee, and shew more mercy than thou, angry reviler, shewest to + me." The scene was soon over; the town clerk went home. A week after, one + morning when his wife had gone to mass, he sent all his servants out of + his house on one pretext or another, a single girl only being left, and + he withdrew to a garret at the top of the house, which he used as an + oratory. A large crucifix was on the wall, and the girl having some + question to ask, went to the room, and found him standing before it + "bitterly weeping." He told her to take his sword, which was rusty, and + clean it. She went away, and left him; when <!-- Page 349 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page349"></a>[pg 349]</span> she returned, a + little time after, he was hanging from a beam, dead. He was a singular + person. Edward Hall, the historian, knew him, and had heard him say, that + "if the king put forth the New Testament in English, he would not live to + bear it."<a name="NtA_554"></a><a href="#Nt_554"><sup>554</sup></a> And + yet he could not bear to see a heretic die. What was it? Had the meaning + of that awful figure hanging on the torturing cross suddenly revealed + itself? Had some inner voice asked him whether, in the prayer for his + persecutors with which Christ had parted out of life, there might be some + affinity with words which had lately sounded in his own ears? God, into + whose hands he threw himself, self-condemned in his wretchedness, only + knows the agony of that hour. Let the secret rest where it lies, and let + us be thankful for ourselves that we live in a changed world.</p> + + <p>Thus, however, the struggle went forward; a forlorn hope of saints led + the way up the breach, and paved with their bodies a broad road into the + new era; and the nation the meanwhile was unconsciously waiting till the + works of the enemy were won, and they could walk safely in and take + possession. While men like Bilney and Bainham were teaching with words + and writings, there were stout English hearts labouring also on the + practical side of the same conflict, instilling the same lessons, and + meeting for themselves the same consequences. Speculative superstition + was to be met with speculative denial. Practical idolatry required a + rougher method of disenchantment.</p> + + <p>Every monastery, every parish church, had in those days its special + relics, its special images, its special something, to attract the + interest of the people. The reverence for the remains of noble and pious + men, the dresses which they had worn, or the bodies in which their + spirits had lived, was in itself a natural and pious emotion; but it had + been petrified into a dogma; and like every other imaginative feeling + which is submitted to that bad process, it had become a falsehood, a mere + superstition, a substitute for piety, not a stimulus to it, and a + perpetual occasion of fraud. The people brought offerings to the shrines + where it was supposed that the relics were of greatest potency. The + clergy, to secure the offerings, invented the relics, and invented the + stories of the wonders which had been worked by them. The greatest + exposure of these things took place at the visitation of the religious + houses. In the meantime, Bishop Shaxton's unsavoury inventory of what + passed under the name of relics in the diocese of Salisbury, will furnish + an adequate <!-- Page 350 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page350"></a>[pg 350]</span> notion of these objects of popular + veneration. There "be set forth and commended unto the ignorant people," + he said, "as I myself of certain which be already come to my hands, have + perfect knowledge, stinking boots, mucky combes, ragged rochettes, rotten + girdles, pyl'd purses, great bullocks' horns, locks of hair, and filthy + rags, gobbetts of wood, under the name of parcels of the holy cross, and + such pelfry beyond estimation."<a name="NtA_555"></a><a + href="#Nt_555"><sup>555</sup></a> Besides matters of this kind, there + were images of the Virgin or of the Saints; above all, roods or + crucifixes, of especial potency, the virtues of which had begun to grow + uncertain, however, to sceptical Protestants; and from doubt to denial, + and from denial to passionate hatred, there were but a few brief steps. + The most famous of the roods was that of Boxley in Kent, which used to + smile and bow, or frown and shake its head, as its worshippers were + generous or closehanded. The fortunes and misfortunes of this image I + shall by and bye have to relate. There was another, however, at + Dovercourt, in Suffolk, of scarcely inferior fame. This image was of such + power that the door of the church in which it stood was open at all hours + to all comers, and no human hand could close it. Dovercourt therefore + became a place of great and lucrative pilgrimage, much resorted to by the + neighbours on all occasions of difficulty.</p> + + <p>Now it happened that within the circuit of a few miles there lived + four young men, to whom the virtues of the rood had become greatly + questionable. If it could work miracles, it must be capable, so they + thought, of protecting its own substance; and they agreed to apply a + practical test which would determine the extent of its abilities. + Accordingly (about the time of Bainham's first imprisonment), Robert King + of Dedham, Robert Debenham of Eastbergholt, Nicholas Marsh of Dedham, and + Robert Gardiner of Dedham, "their consciences being burdened to see the + honour of Almighty God so blasphemed by such an idol," started off "on a + wondrous goodly night" in February, with hard frost and a clear full + moon, ten miles across the wolds, to the church.</p> + + <p>The door was open as the legend declared; but nothing daunted, they + entered bravely, and lifting down the "idol" from its shrine, with its + coat and shoes, and the store of tapers which were kept for the services, + they carried it on their shoulders for a quarter of a mile from the place + where it had stood, "without any resistance of the said idol." There + setting it on the <!-- Page 351 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page351"></a>[pg 351]</span> ground, they struck a light, fastened + the tapers to the body, and with the help of them, sacrilegiously burnt + the image down to a heap of ashes; the old dry wood "blazing so brimly," + that it lighted them a full mile on their way home.<a + name="NtA_556"></a><a href="#Nt_556"><sup>556</sup></a></p> + + <p>For this night's performance, which, if the devil is the father of + lies, was a stroke of honest work against him and his family, the world + rewarded these men after the usual fashion. One of them, Robert Gardiner, + escaped the search which was made, and disappeared till better times; the + remaining three were swinging in chains six months later on the scene of + their exploit. Their fate was perhaps inevitable. Men who dare to be the + first in great movements are ever self-immolated victims. But I suppose + that it was better for them to be bleaching on their gibbets, than + crawling at the feet of a wooden rood, and believing it to be God.</p> + +<hr /> + + <p>These were the first Paladins of the Reformation; the knights who slew + the dragons and the enchanters, and made the earth habitable for common + flesh and blood. They were rarely, as we have said, men of great ability, + still more rarely men of "wealth and station;" but men rather of clear + senses and honest hearts. Tyndal was a remarkable person, and so Clark + and Frith promised to become; but the two last were cut off before they + had found scope to show themselves; and Tyndal remaining abroad, lay + outside the battle which was being fought in England, doing noble work, + indeed, and ending as the rest ended, with earning a martyr's crown; but + taking no part in the actual struggle except with his pen. As yet but two + men of the highest order of power were on the side of + Protestantism—Latimer and Cromwell. Of them we have already said + something; but the time was now fast coming when they were to step + forward, pressed by circumstances which could no longer dispense with + them, into scenes of far wider activity; and the present seems a fitting + occasion to give some closer account of their history. When the breach + with the pope was made irreparable, and the papal party at home had + assumed an attitude of suspended insurrection, the fortunes of the + Protestants entered into a new phase. The persecution ceased; and those + who but lately were carrying fagots in the streets, or hiding for their + lives, passed at once by a sudden alternation into the sunshine of + political favour. The summer was but a brief one, followed soon by + returning winter; but Cromwell and <!-- Page 352 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page352"></a>[pg 352]</span> Latimer had + together caught the moment as it went by; and before it was over, a work + had been done in England which, when it was accomplished once, was + accomplished for ever. The conservative party recovered their power, and + abused it as before; but the chains of the nation were broken, and no + craft of kings or priests or statesmen could weld the magic links + again.</p> + + <p>It is a pity that of two persons to whom England owes so deep a debt, + we can piece together such scanty biographies. I must attempt, however, + to give some outline of the little which is known.</p> + + <p>The father of Latimer was a solid English yeoman, of Thurcaston, in + Leicestershire. "He had no lands of his own," but he rented a farm "of + four pounds by the year," on which "he tilled so much as kept half a + dozen men;" "he had walk for a hundred sheep, and meadow ground for + thirty cows."<a name="NtA_557"></a><a href="#Nt_557"><sup>557</sup></a> + The world prospered with him; he was able to save money for his son's + education and his daughters' portions; but he was freehanded and + hospitable; he kept open house for his poor neighbours; and he was a good + citizen, too, for "he did find the king a harness with himself and his + horse," ready to do battle for his country, if occasion called. His + family were brought up "in godliness and the fear of the Lord;" and in + all points the old Latimer seems to have been a worthy, sound, upright + man, of the true English mettle.</p> + + <p>There were several children.<a name="NtA_558"></a><a + href="#Nt_558"><sup>558</sup></a> The Reformer was born about 1490, some + five years after the usurper Richard had been killed at Bosworth. + Bosworth being no great distance from Thurcaston, Latimer the father is + likely to have been present in the battle, on one side or the + other—the right side in those times it was no easy matter to + choose—but he became a good servant of the new government—and + the little Hugh, when a boy of seven years old, helped to buckle<a + name="NtA_559"></a><a href="#Nt_559"><sup>559</sup></a> on his armour for + him, "when he went to Blackheath field."<a name="NtA_560"></a><a + href="#Nt_560"><sup>560</sup></a> Being a soldier himself, the old + gentleman was careful to give his sons, whatever else he gave them, a + sound soldier's training. "He was diligent," says Latimer, "to teach me + to shoot with the bow: he taught me how to draw, how to lay my body in + the bow—not to draw with strength of arm, as other nations do, but + with the strength <!-- Page 353 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page353"></a>[pg 353]</span> of the body. I had my bows bought me + according to my age and strength; as I increased in these, my bows were + made bigger and bigger."<a name="NtA_561"></a><a + href="#Nt_561"><sup>561</sup></a> Under this education, and in the + wholesome atmosphere of the farmhouse, the boy prospered well; and by and + bye, showing signs of promise, he was sent to school. When he was + fourteen, the promises so far having been fulfilled, his father + transferred him to Cambridge.<a name="NtA_562"></a><a + href="#Nt_562"><sup>562</sup></a></p> + + <p>He was soon known at the university as a sober, hard-working student. + At nineteen, he was elected fellow of Clare Hall; at twenty, he took his + degree, and became a student in divinity, when he accepted quietly, like + a sensible man, the doctrines which he had been brought up to believe. At + the time when Henry VIII. was writing against Luther, Latimer was + fleshing his maiden sword in an attack upon Melancthon;<a + name="NtA_563"></a><a href="#Nt_563"><sup>563</sup></a> and he remained, + he said, till he was thirty, "in darkness and the shadow of death." About + this time he became acquainted with Bilney, whom he calls "the instrument + whereby God called him to knowledge." In Bilney, doubtless, he found a + sound instructor; but a careful reader of his sermons will see traces of + a teaching for which he was indebted to no human master. His deepest + knowledge was that which stole upon him unconsciously through the + experience of life and the world. His words are like the clear impression + of a seal; the account and the result of observations, taken first hand, + on the condition of the English men and women of his time, in all ranks + and classes, from the palace to the prison. He shows large acquaintance + with books; with the Bible, most of all; with patristic divinity and + school divinity; and history, sacred and profane: but if this had been + all, he would not have been the Latimer of the <!-- Page 354 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page354"></a>[pg 354]</span> Reformation, and + the Church of England would not, perhaps, have been here to-day. Like the + physician, to whom a year of practical experience in a hospital teaches + more than a life of closest study, Latimer learnt the mental disorders of + his age in the age itself; and the secret of that art no other man, + however good, however wise, could have taught him. He was not an echo, + but a voice; and he drew his thoughts fresh from the fountain—from + the facts of the era in which God had placed him.</p> + + <p>He became early famous as a preacher at Cambridge, from the first, "a + seditious fellow," as a noble lord called him in later life, highly + troublesome to unjust persons in authority. "None, except the + stiff-necked and uncircumcised, ever went away from his preaching, it was + said, without being affected with high detestation of sin, and moved to + all godliness and virtue."<a name="NtA_564"></a><a + href="#Nt_564"><sup>564</sup></a> And, in his audacious simplicity, he + addressed himself always to his individual hearers, giving his words a + personal application, and often addressing men by name. This habit + brought him first into difficulty in 1525. He was preaching before the + university, when the Bishop of Ely came into the church, being curious to + hear him. He paused till the bishop was seated; and when he recommenced, + he changed his subject, and drew an ideal picture of a prelate as a + prelate ought to be; the features of which, though he did not say so, + were strikingly unlike those of his auditor. The bishop complained to + Wolsey, who sent for Latimer, and inquired what he had said. Latimer + repeated the substance of his sermon; and other conversation then + followed, which showed Wolsey very clearly the nature of the person with + whom he was speaking. No eye saw more rapidly than the cardinal's the + difference between a true man and an impostor; and he replied to the + Bishop of Ely's accusations by granting the offender a licence to preach + in any church in England. "If the Bishop of Ely cannot abide such + doctrine as you have here repeated," he said, "you shall preach it to his + beard, let him say what he will."<a name="NtA_565"></a><a + href="#Nt_565"><sup>565</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus fortified, Latimer pursued his way, careless of the university + authorities, and probably defiant of them. He was still orthodox in + points of theoretic belief. His mind was practical rather than + speculative, and he was slow in arriving at conclusions which had no + immediate bearing upon action. <!-- Page 355 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page355"></a>[pg 355]</span> No charge could be fastened upon him, + definitely criminal; and he was too strong to be crushed by that + compendious tyranny which treated as an act of heresy the exposure of + imposture or delinquency.</p> + + <p>On Wolsey's fall, however, he would have certainly been silenced: if + he had fallen into the hands of Sir Thomas More, he would have perhaps + been prematurely sacrificed. But, fortunately, he found a fresh protector + in the king. Henry heard of him, sent for him, and, with instinctive + recognition of his character, appointed him one of the royal chaplains. + He now left Cambridge and removed to Windsor, but only to treat his royal + patron as freely as he had treated the Cambridge doctors—not with + any absence of respect, for he was most respectful, but with that highest + respect which dares to speak unwelcome truth where the truth seems to be + forgotten. He was made chaplain in 1530—during the new persecution, + for which Henry was responsible by a more than tacit acquiescence. + Latimer, with no authority but his own conscience, and the strong + certainty that he was on God's side, threw himself between the spoilers + and their prey, and wrote to the king, protesting against the injustice + which was crushing the truest men in his dominions. The letter is too + long to insert; the close of it may show how a poor priest could dare to + address the imperious Henry VIII.:</p> + + <p>"I pray to God that your Grace may take heed of the worldly wisdom + which is foolishness before God; that you may do that [which] God + commandeth, and not that [which] seemeth good in your own sight, without + the word of God; that your Grace may be found acceptable in his sight, + and one of the members of his church; and according to the office that he + hath called your Grace unto, you may be found a faithful minister of his + gifts, and not a defender of his faith: for he will not have it defended + by man or man's power, but by his word only, by the which he hath + evermore defended it, and that by a way far above man's power or + reason.</p> + + <p>"Wherefore, gracious king, remember yourself; have pity upon your + soul; and think that the day is even at hand when you shall give account + for your office, and of the blood that hath been shed by your sword. In + which day, that your Grace may stand steadfastly, and not be ashamed, but + be clear and ready in your reckoning, and have (as they say), your + <i>quietus est</i> sealed with the blood of our Saviour Christ, which + only serveth at that day, is my daily prayer to Him that suffered death + for <!-- Page 356 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page356"></a>[pg + 356]</span> our sins, which also prayeth to his Father for grace for us + continually; to whom be all honour and praise for ever. Amen. The Spirit + of God preserve your Grace."<a name="NtA_566"></a><a + href="#Nt_566"><sup>566</sup></a></p> + + <p>These words, which conclude an address of almost unexampled grandeur, + are unfortunately of no interest to us, except as illustrating the + character of the priest who wrote them, and the king to whom they were + written. The hand of the persecutor was not stayed. The rack and the lash + and the stake continued to claim their victims. So far it was labour in + vain. But the letter remains, to speak for ever for the courage of + Latimer; and to speak something, too, for a prince that could respect the + nobleness of the poor yeoman's son, who dared in such a cause to write to + him as a man to a man. To have written at all in such a strain was as + brave a step as was ever deliberately ventured. Like most brave acts, it + did not go unrewarded; for Henry remained ever after, however widely + divided from him in opinion, his unshaken friend.</p> + + <p>In 1531, the king gave him the living of West Kingston, in Wiltshire, + where for a time he now retired. Yet it was but a partial rest. He had a + special licence as a preacher from Cambridge, which continued to him + (with the king's express sanction)<a name="NtA_567"></a><a + href="#Nt_567"><sup>567</sup></a> the powers which he had received from + Wolsey. He might preach in any diocese to which he was invited; and the + repose of a country parish could not be long allowed in such stormy times + to Latimer. He had bad health, being troubled with headache, pleurisy, + colic, stone; his bodily constitution meeting feebly the demands which he + was forced to make upon it.<a name="NtA_568"></a><a + href="#Nt_568"><sup>568</sup></a> But he struggled on, travelling up and + down to London, to Kent, to Bristol, wherever opportunity called him; + marked for destruction by the bishops, if he was betrayed into an + imprudent word, and himself living in constant expectation of death.<a + name="NtA_569"></a><a href="#Nt_569"><sup>569</sup></a></p> + + <p>At length the Bishop of London believed that Latimer was in his power. + He had preached at St. Abb's, in the city, "at the request of a company + of merchants,"<a name="NtA_570"></a><a href="#Nt_570"><sup>570</sup></a> + in the beginning of the winter of 1531; and soon after his return to his + living, he was informed that he was to be cited before Stokesley. His + friends in the neighbourhood wrote to him, evidently in great alarm, <!-- + Page 357 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page357"></a>[pg 357]</span> + and more anxious that he might clear himself, than expecting that he + would be able to do so;<a name="NtA_571"></a><a + href="#Nt_571"><sup>571</sup></a> he himself, indeed, had almost made up + his mind that the end was coming.<a name="NtA_572"></a><a + href="#Nt_572"><sup>572</sup></a></p> + + <p>The citation was delayed for a few weeks. It was issued at last, on + the 10th of January, 1531-2,<a name="NtA_573"></a><a + href="#Nt_573"><sup>573</sup></a> and was served by Sir Walter + Hungerford, of Farley.<a name="NtA_574"></a><a + href="#Nt_574"><sup>574</sup></a> The offences with which he was charged + were certain "excesses and irregularities" not specially defined; and the + practice of the bishops in such cases was not to confine the prosecution + to the acts committed; but to draw up a series of articles, on which it + was presumed that the orthodoxy of the accused person was open to + suspicion, and to question him separately upon each. Latimer was first + examined by Stokesley; subsequently at various times by the bishops + collectively; and finally, when certain formulas had been submitted to + him, which he refused to sign, his case was transferred to convocation. + The convocation, as we know, were then in difficulty with their + premunire; they had consoled themselves in their sorrow with burning the + body of Tracy; and they would gladly have taken further comfort by + burning Latimer.<a name="NtA_575"></a><a + href="#Nt_575"><sup>575</sup></a> He was submitted to the closest + cross-questionings, in the hope that he would commit himself. They felt + that he was the most dangerous person to them in the kingdom, and they + laboured with unusual patience to ensure his conviction.<a + name="NtA_576"></a><a href="#Nt_576"><sup>576</sup></a> <!-- Page 358 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page358"></a>[pg 358]</span> With a + common person they would have rapidly succeeded. But Latimer was in no + haste to be a martyr; he would be martyred patiently when the time was + come for martyrdom; but he felt that no one ought "to consent to die," as + long as he could honestly live;<a name="NtA_577"></a><a + href="#Nt_577"><sup>577</sup></a> and he baffled the episcopal + inquisitors with their own weapons. He has left a most curious account of + one of his interviews with them.</p> + + <p>"I was once in examination," he says,<a name="NtA_578"></a><a + href="#Nt_578"><sup>578</sup></a> "before five or six bishops, where I + had much turmoiling. Every week, thrice, I came to examination, and many + snares and traps were laid to get something. Now, God knoweth, I was + ignorant of the law; but that God gave me answer and wisdom what I should + speak. It was God indeed, for else I had never escaped them. At the last, + I was brought forth to be examined into a chamber hanged with arras, + where I was before wont to be examined, but now, at this time, the + chamber was somewhat altered: for whereas before there was wont ever to + be a fire in the chimney,<a name="NtA_579"></a><a + href="#Nt_579"><sup>579</sup></a> now the fire was taken away, and an + arras hanging hanged over the chimney; and the table stood near the + chimney's end, so that I stood between the table and the chimney's end. + There was among these bishops that examined me one with whom I had been + very familiar, and took him for my great friend, an aged man, and he sate + next the table end. Then, among all other questions, he put forth one, a + very subtle and crafty one, and such one indeed as I could not think so + great danger in. And when I would make answer, 'I pray you, Master + Latimer,' said he, 'speak out; I am very thick of hearing, and here be + many that sit far off.' I marvelled at this, that I was bidden to speak + out, and began to misdeem, and gave an ear to the chimney; and, sir, + there I heard a pen walking in the chimney, behind the cloth. They had + appointed one there to write all mine answers; for they made sure work + that I should not start from them: there was no starting from them: God + was my good Lord, and gave me answer; I could never else have escaped it. + The question was this: 'Master Latimer, do you not think, on your + conscience, that you have been suspected of heresy?'—a subtle + question—a very subtle question. There was no holding of peace + would serve. To hold my peace had been to grant myself faulty. To answer + was every way full of danger. But God, which hath always given rile + answer, helped me, or else I could never have escaped it. <i>Ostendite + mihi numisma</i> <!-- Page 359 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page359"></a>[pg 359]</span> <i>censûs</i>. Shew me, said he, a + penny of the tribute money. They laid snares to destroy him, but he + overturneth them in their own traps."<a name="NtA_580"></a><a + href="#Nt_580"><sup>580</sup></a></p> + + <p>The bishops, however, were not men who were nice in their adherence to + the laws; and it would have gone ill with Latimer, notwithstanding his + dialectic ability. He was excommunicated and imprisoned, and would soon + have fallen into worse extremities; but at the last moment he appealed to + the king, and the king, who knew his value, would not allow him to be + sacrificed. He had refused to subscribe the articles proposed to him.<a + name="NtA_581"></a><a href="#Nt_581"><sup>581</sup></a> Henry intimated + to the convocation that it was not his pleasure that the matter should be + pressed further; they were to content themselves with a general + submission, which should be made to the archbishop, without exacting more + special acknowledgments. This was the reward to Latimer for his noble + letter. He was absolved, and returned to his parish, though snatched as a + brand out of the fire.</p> + + <p>Soon after, the tide turned, and the Reformation entered into a new + phase.</p> + + <p>Such is a brief sketch of the life of Hugh Latimer, to the time when + it blended with the broad stream of English history. With respect to the + other very great man whom the exigencies of the state called to power + simultaneously with him, our information is far less satisfactory. Though + our knowledge of Latimer's early story comes to us in fragments only, yet + there are certain marks in it by which the outline can be determined with + certainty. A cloud rests over the youth and early manhood of Thomas + Cromwell, through which, only at intervals, we catch glimpses of + authentic facts; and these few fragments of reality seem rather to belong + to a romance than to the actual life of a man.</p> + + <p>Cromwell, the malleus monachorum, was of good English family, + belonging to the Cromwells of Lincolnshire. One of these, probably a + younger brother, moved up to London and conducted an ironfoundry, or + other business of that description, at Putney. He married a lady of + respectable connections, of whom we know only that she was sister of the + wife of a gentleman in Derbyshire, but whose name does not appear.<a + name="NtA_582"></a><a href="#Nt_582"><sup>582</sup></a> The old <!-- Page + 360 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page360"></a>[pg 360]</span> + Cromwell dying early, the widow was re-married to a cloth-merchant; and + the child of the first husband, who made himself so great a name in + English story, met with the reputed fortune of a stepson, and became a + vagabond in the wide world. The chart of his course wholly fails us. One + day in later life he shook by the hand an old bell-ringer at Sion House + before a crowd of courtiers, and told them that "this man's father had + given him many a dinner in his necessities." And a strange random account + is given by Foxe of his having joined a party in an expedition to Rome to + obtain a renewal from the pope of certain immunities and indulgences for + the town of Boston; a story which derives some kind of credibility from + its connection with Lincolnshire, but is full of incoherence and + unlikelihood. Following still the popular legend, we find him in the + autumn of 1515 a ragged stripling at the door of Frescobaldi's + banking-house in Florence, begging for help. Frescobaldi had an + establishment in London,<a name="NtA_583"></a><a + href="#Nt_583"><sup>583</sup></a> with a large connection there; and + seeing an English face, and seemingly an honest one, he asked the boy who + and what he was. "I am, sir," quoth he, "of England, and my name is + Thomas Cromwell; my father is a poor man, and by occupation a + cloth-shearer; I am strayed from my country, and am now come into Italy + with the camp of Frenchmen that were overthrown at Garigliano, where I + was page to a footman, carrying after him his pike and burganet." + Something in the boy's manner was said to have attracted the banker's + interest; he took him into his house, and after keeping him there as long + as he desired to stay, he gave him a horse and sixteen ducats to help him + home to England.<a name="NtA_584"></a><a + href="#Nt_584"><sup>584</sup></a> Foxe is the first English authority for + the story; and Foxe took it from Bandello, the novelist; but it is + confirmed by, or harmonises with, a sketch of Cromwell's early life in a + letter of Chappuys, the imperial ambassador, to Chancellor Granvelle. + "Master Cromwell," wrote Chappuys in 1535, "is the son of a poor + blacksmith, who lived in a small village four miles from London, and is + buried in a common grave in the parish churchyard. In his youth, for some + offence, he was imprisoned, and had to leave the country. He went to + Flanders, and thence to Rome and other places in Italy."<a + name="NtA_585"></a><a href="#Nt_585"><sup>585</sup></a></p> + + <p>Returning to England, he married the daughter of a woollen-dealer, + <!-- Page 361 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page361"></a>[pg + 361]</span> and became a partner in the business, where he amassed or + inherited a considerable fortune.<a name="NtA_586"></a><a + href="#Nt_586"><sup>586</sup></a> Circumstances afterwards brought him, + while still young, in contact with Wolsey, who discovered his merit, took + him into service, and in 1525, employed him in the most important work of + visiting and breaking up the small monasteries, which the pope had + granted for the foundation of the new colleges. He was engaged with this + business for two years, and was so efficient that he obtained an + unpleasant notoriety, and complaints of his conduct found their way to + the king. Nothing came of these complaints, however, and Cromwell + remained with the cardinal till his fall.<a name="NtA_587"></a><a + href="#Nt_587"><sup>587</sup></a></p> + + <p>It was then that the truly noble nature which was in him showed + itself. He accompanied his master through his dreary confinement at + Esher,<a name="NtA_588"></a><a href="#Nt_588"><sup>588</sup></a> doing + all that man could do to soften the outward wretchedness of it; and at + the meeting of parliament, in which he obtained a seat, he rendered him a + still more gallant service. The Lords had passed a bill of impeachment + against Wolsey, violent, vindictive, and malevolent. It was to be + submitted to the Commons, and Cromwell prepared to attempt an opposition. + Cavendish has left a most characteristic <!-- Page 362 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page362"></a>[pg 362]</span> description of his + leaving Esher at this trying time. A cheerless November evening was + closing in with rain and storm. Wolsey was broken down with sorrow and + sickness; and had been unusually tried by parting with his retinue, whom + he had sent home, as unwilling to keep them attached any longer to his + fallen fortunes. When they were all gone, "My lord," says Cavendish, + "returned to his chamber, lamenting the departure of his servants, making + his moan unto Master Cromwell, who comforted him the best he could, and + desired my lord to give him leave to go to London, where he would either + make or mar before he came again, which was always his common saying. + Then after long communication with my lord in secret, he departed, and + took his horse and rode to London; at whose departing I was by, whom he + bade farewell, and said, ye shall hear shortly of me, and if I speed well + I will not fail to be here again within these two days."<a + name="NtA_589"></a><a href="#Nt_589"><sup>589</sup></a> He did speed + well. "After two days he came again with a much pleasanter countenance, + and meeting with me before he came to my lord, said unto me, that he had + adventured to put in his foot where he trusted shortly to be better + regarded or all were done." He had stopped the progress of the + impeachment in the Lower House, and was answering the articles one by + one. In the evening he rode down to Esher for instructions. In the + morning he was again at his place in Parliament; and he conducted the + defence so skilfully, that finally he threw out the bill, saved Wolsey, + and himself "grew into such estimation in every man's opinion, for his + honest behaviour in his master's cause, that he was esteemed the most + faithfullest servant, [and] was of all men greatly commended."<a + name="NtA_590"></a><a href="#Nt_590"><sup>590</sup></a></p> + + <p>Henry admired his chivalry, and perhaps his talent. The loss of Wolsey + had left him without any very able man, unless we may consider Sir Thomas + More such, upon his council, and he could not calculate on More for + support in his anti-Roman policy; he was glad, therefore, to avail + himself of the service of a man who had given so rare a proof of + fidelity, and who had been trained by the ablest statesman of the age.<a + name="NtA_591"></a><a href="#Nt_591"><sup>591</sup></a></p> + + <p>To Wolsey Cromwell could render no more service except as a friend, + and his warm friend he remained to the last. He became the king's + secretary, representing the government in <!-- Page 363 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page363"></a>[pg 363]</span> the House of + Commons, and was at once on the high road to power. I cannot call him + ambitious; an ambitious man would scarcely have pursued so refined a + policy, or have calculated on the admiration which he gained by adhering + to a fallen minister. He did not seek greatness—greatness rather + sought him as the man in England most fit to bear it. His business was to + prepare the measures which were to be submitted to Parliament by the + government. His influence, therefore, grew necessarily with the rapidity + with which events were ripening; and when the conclusive step was taken, + and the king was married, the virtual conduct of the Reformation passed + into his hands. His Protestant tendencies were unknown as yet, perhaps, + even to his own conscience; nor to the last could he arrive at any + certain speculative convictions. He was drawn towards the Protestants as + he rose into power by the integrity of his nature, which compelled him to + trust only those who were honest like himself.</p> + +<!-- Page 364 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page364"></a>[pg 364]</span> + +<h2>APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>WILL OF THOMAS CROMWELL—1529.</h3> + + <p>In the name of God, Amen. The 12th day of July, in the year of our + Lord God MCCCCCXXIX., and in the 21st year of the reign of our Sovereign + Lord, King Henry VIII., I, Thomas Cromwell, of London, Gentleman, being + whole in body and in good and perfect memory, lauded be the Holy Trinity, + make, ordain, and declare this my present testament, containing my last + will, in manner as following:—First I bequeath my soul to the great + God of heaven, my Maker, Creator, and Redeemer, beseeching the most + glorious Virgin and blessed Lady Saint Mary the Virgin and Mother, with + all the holy company of heaven, to be mediators and intercessors for me + to the Holy Trinity, so that I may be able, when it shall please Almighty + God to call me out of this miserable world and transitory life, to + inherit the kingdom of heaven amongst the number of good Christian + people; and whensoever I shall depart this present life I bequeath my + body to be buried where it shall please God to ordain me to die, and to + be ordered after the discretion of mine executors undernamed. And for my + goods which our Lord hath lent me in this world, I will shall be ordered + and disposed in manner and form as hereafter shall ensue. First I give + and bequeath unto my son Gregory Cromwell six hundred threescore six + pounds, thirteen shillings, and fourpence, of lawful money of England, + with the which six hundred threescore six pounds, thirteen shillings, and + fourpence, I will mine executors undernamed immediately or as soon as + they conveniently may after my decease, shall purchase lands, tenements, + and hereditaments to the clear yearly value of £33 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> + by the year above all charges and reprises to the use of my said son + Gregory, for term of his life; and after the decease of the said Gregory + to the heirs male of his body lawfully to be begotten, and for lack of + heirs male of the body of the said Gregory, lawfully begotten, to the + heirs general of his body lawfully begotten. And for lack of such heirs + to the right heirs of me the said Thomas Cromwell, in fee. I will also + that immediately and as soon as the said lands, tenements, and + hereditaments shall be so purchased after my death as is aforesaid by + mine executors, that the yearly profits thereof shall be wholly spent and + employed in and about the education and finding honestly of my said son + Gregory, in virtue, good learning, and manners, until such time as he + shall come to the full age of 24 years. During which time I heartily + desire and require my said executors to be good unto my said you Gregory, + and to see he do lose no time, but to see him virtuously ordered and + brought up according to my trust.</p> + + <p>Item. I give and bequeath to my said son Gregory, (when he shall come + to his full age of 24 years), two hundred pounds of lawful English money + to order them as our Lord shall give him grace and discretion, which £200 + I will shall be put in surety to the intent the same may come to his + hands at his said age of 24 years. Item. I give and bequeath to my said + son Gregory of such household stuff as God hath lent me, three of my best + featherbeds with their bolsters; and, the best pair of blankets of + fustian, my best coverlet of tapestry, and my quilt of yellow Turkey + satin; one pair of my best sheets, four pillows of down, with four pair + of the best pillowberes, four of my best table-cloths, four of my best + towels, two <!-- Page 365 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page365"></a>[pg 365]</span> dozen of my finest napkins, and two + dozen of my other napkins, two garnish of my best vessel, three of my + best brass pots, three of my best brass pans, two of my best kettles, two + of my best spits, my best joined bed of Flanders work, with the best + —— and tester, and other the appurtenances thereto belonging; + my best press, carven of Flanders work, and my best cupboard, carven of + Flanders work, with also six joined stools of Flanders work, and six of + my best cushions. Item. I give and bequeath to my said son Gregory a + basin with an ewer parcel-gilt, my best salt gilt, my best cup gilt, + three of my best goblets; three other of my goblets parcel-gilt, twelve + of my best silver spoons, three of my best drinking ale-pots gilt; all + the which parcels of plate and household stuff I will shall be safely + kept to the use of my said you Gregory till he shall come to his said + full age of 24. And all the which plate, household stuff, napery, and all + other the premises, I will mine executors do put in safe keeping until my + said son come to the said years or age of 24. And if he die before the + age of 24, then I will all the said plate, vessel, and household stuff + shall be sold by mine executors. And the money thereof coming to be given + and equally divided amongst my poor kinsfolk, that is to say, amongst the + children as well of mine own sisters Elizabeth and Katherine, as of my + late wife's sister Joan, wife to John Williamson;<a name="NtA_592"></a><a + href="#Nt_592"><sup>592</sup></a> and if it happen that all the children + of my said sisters and sister-in-law do die before the partition be made, + and none of them be living, then I will that all the said plate, vessel, + and household stuff shall be sold and given to other my poor kinsfolk + then being in life, and other poor and indigent people, in deeds of + charity for my soul, my father and mother their souls, and all Christian + souls.</p> + + <p>[<a name="NtA_593"></a><a href="#Nt_593"><sup>593</sup></a> Item. I + give and bequeath to my daughter Anne an hundred marks of lawful money of + England when she shall come to her lawful age or happen to be married, + and £40 toward her finding until the time that she shall be of lawful age + or be married, which £40 I will shall be delivered to my friend John + Cook, one of the six Clerks of the King's Chancery, to the intent he may + order the same and cause the same to be employed in the best wise he can + devise about the virtuous education and bringing up of my said daughter + till she shall come to her lawful age or marriage. Then I will that the + said 100 marks, and so much of the said £40 as then shall be unspent and + unemployed at the day of the death of my said daughter Anne, I will it + shall remain to Gregory my son, if he then be in life; and if he be dead, + the same hundred marks, and also so much of the said £40 as then shall be + unspent, to be departed amongst my sisters' children, in manner and form + aforesaid. And if it happen my said sisters' children then to be all + dead, then I will the said 100 marks and so much of the said £40 as shall + be unspent, shall be divided amongst my kinsfolk, such as then, shall be + in life.] Item. I give and bequeath unto my sister Elizabeth Wellyfed + £40, three goblets without a cover, a mazer, and a nut. Item. I give and + bequeath to my nephew Richard Willyams [<a name="NtA_594"></a><a + href="#Nt_594"><sup>594</sup></a> servant with my Lord Marquess Dorset, + £66 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>], £40 sterling, my [<a name="NtA_594"></a><a + href="#Nt_594"><sup>594</sup></a> fourth] best gown, doublet, and jacket. + Item. I give and bequeath to my nephew, Christopher Wellyfed £40, [<a + name="NtA_594"></a><a href="#Nt_594"><sup>594</sup></a> £20] my fifth + gown, doublet, and jacket. Item. I give and bequeath to my nephew William + Wellyfed the younger £20, [<a name="NtA_594"></a><a + href="#Nt_594"><sup>594</sup></a> £40]. Item. I give and bequeath to my + niece Alice Wellyfed, to her marriage, £20. And if it happen her to die + before marriage, then I will that the said £20 shall remain to her + brother Christopher. And if it happen him to die, the same £20 to remain + to Wm. Wellyfed the younger, his brother. And if it happen them all to + die before their lawful age or marriage, then I will that all their parts + shall remain to Gregory my son. And if it happen him to die before them, + then I will all the said parts shall <!-- Page 366 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page366"></a>[pg 366]</span> remain [<a + name="NtA_594"></a><a href="#Nt_594"><sup>594</sup></a> to Anne and + Grace, my daughters] to Richard Willyams and Walter Willyams, my nephews. + And if it happen them to die, then I will that all the said parts shall + be distributed in deeds of charity for my soul, my father's and mother's + souls, and all Christian souls. Item. I give and bequeath to my + mother-in-law Mercy Prior, £40 of lawful English money, and her chamber, + with certain household stuff; that is to say, a featherbed, a bolster, + two pillows with their beres, six pair of sheets, a pair of blankets, a + garnish of vessel, two pots, two pans, two spits, with such other of my + household stuff as shall be thought meet for her by the discretion of + mine executors, and such as she will reasonably desire, not being + bequeathed to other uses in this my present testament and last will. + Item. I give and bequeath to my said mother-in-law a little salt of + silver, a mazer, six silver spoons, and a drinking-pot of silver. And + also I charge mine executors to be good unto her during her life. Item. I + give and bequeath to my brother-in-law William Wellyfed, £20, my third + gown, jacket, and doublet. Item. I give and bequeath to John Willyams my + brother-in-law, 100 marks, a gown, a doublet, a jacket, a featherbed, a + bolster, six pair of sheets, two table-cloths, two dozen napkins, two + towels, two brass pots, two brass pans, a silver pot, a nut parcel-gilt; + and to Joan, his wife, £40. Item. I give and bequeath to Joan Willyams, + their daughter, to her marriage, £20, and to every other of their + children, £12 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> Item. I bequeath to Walter Willyams, + my nephew, £20. item. I give and bequeath to Ralph Sadler, my servant, + 200 marks of lawful English money, my second gown, jacket, and doublet, + and all my books. Item. I give and bequeath to Hugh Whalley, my servant, + £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> Item. I give and bequeath to Stephen Vaughan, + sometime my servant, 100 marks, a gown, jacket, and doublet. Item. I give + and bequeath to Page, my servant, otherwise called John De Fount, £6 + 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> [<a name="NtA_594"></a><a + href="#Nt_594"><sup>594</sup></a> Item. I give and bequeath to Elizabeth + Gregory, sometime my servant, £20, six pair of sheets, a featherbed, a + pair of blankets, a coverlet, two table-cloths, one dozen napkins, two + brass pots, two pans, two spits.] And also to Thomas Averey, my servant, + £6 13<i>s.</i>4<i>d.</i> [Item. I give and bequeath to John + Cooke, one of the six Master Clerks of the Chancery, £10, my second gown, + doublet, and jacket. Item. I give and bequeath to Roger More, servant of + the King's bakehouse, £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>, three yards of satin; + and to Maudelyn, his wife, £3 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>] Item. I give and + bequeath to John Horwood, £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> [Item. I give and + bequeath to my little daughter Grace 100 marks of lawful English money + when she shall come to her lawful age or marriage; and also £40 towards + her exhibition and finding until such time she shall be of lawful age or + be married, which £40 I will shall be delivered to my brother-in-law, + John Willyams, to the intent he may order and cause the same to be + employed in and about the virtuous education and bringing up of my said + daughter, till she shall come to her lawful age of marriage. And if it + happen my said daughter to die before she come to her lawful age or + marriage, then I will that the said 100 marks, and so much of the said + £40 as shall then be unspent and unemployed about the finding of my said + daughter at the day of the death of my said daughter shall remain and be + delivered to Gregory my son, if he then shall happen to be in life; and + if he be dead, then the said 100 marks, and the said residue of the said + £40, to be evenly departed among my grown kinsfolk—that is to say, + my sisters' children aforesaid.] Item. That the rest of mine apparel + before not given or bequeathed in this my testament and last will shall + be given and equally departed amongst my servants after the order and + discretion of mine executors. Item. I will also that mine executors shall + take the yearly profits above the charges of my farm of Carberry, and all + other things contained in my said lease of Carberry, in the county of + Middlesex, and with the profits thereof shall <!-- Page 367 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page367"></a>[pg 367]</span> yearly pay unto my + brother-in-law William (Wellyfed) and Elizabeth his wife, mine only + sister, twenty pounds; give and distribute for my soul quarterly 40 + shillings during their lives and the longer of them; and after the + decease of the said William and Elizabeth, the profits of the said farm + over and above the yearly rent to be kept to the use of my son Gregory + till he be come to the age of 24 years. And at the years of 24 the said + lease and farm of Carberry, I do give and bequeath to my son Gregory, to + have the same to him, his executors and assigns. And if it fortune the + said Gregory my son to die before, my said brother-in-law and sister + being dead, he shall come to the age of 24 years, then I will my said + cousin Richard Willyams shall have the farm with the appurtenances to him + and to his executors and assigns; and if it happen my said + brother-in-law, my sister, my son Gregory, and my said cousin Richard, to + die before the accomplishment of this my will touching the said farm, + then I will mine executors shall sell the said farm, and the money + thereof coming to employ in deeds of charity, to pray for my soul and all + Christian souls. Item. I will mine executors shall conduct and hire a + priest, being an honest person of continent and good living, to sing for + my soul by the space of seven years next after my death, and to give him + for the same £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> for his stipend. Item. I give and + bequeath towards the making of highways in this realm, where it shall be + thought most necessary, £20 to be disposed by the discretion of mine + executors. Item. I give and bequeath to every the five orders of Friars + within the City of London, to pray for my soul, 20 shillings. Item. I + give and bequeath to 60 poor maidens in marriage, £40, that is to say, + 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to every of the said poor maidens, to be given and + distributed by the discretion of mine executors. Item. I will that there + shall be dealt and given after my decease amongst poor people + householders, to pray for my soul, £20, such as by mine executors shall + be thought most needful. Item. I give and bequeath to the poor + parishioners of the parish where God shall ordain me to have my + dwellingplace at the time of my death, £10, to be truly distributed + amongst them by the discretion of mine executors. Item. I give and + bequeath to my parish church for my tithes forgotten, 20 shillings. Item. + To the poor prisoners of Newgate, Ludgate, King's Bench, and Marshalsea, + to be equally distributed amongst them, £10. Willing, charging, and + desiring mine executors underwritten, that they shall see this my will + performed in every point according to my true meaning and intent as they + will answer to God, and discharge their consciences. The residue of all + my goods, chattels, and debts not bequeathed, my funeral and burial + performed, which I will shall be done without any earthly pomp, and my + debts paid, I will shall be sold, and the money thereof coming, to be + distributed in works of charity and pity, after the good discretion of + mine executors undernamed. Whom I make and ordain, Stephen Vaughan, Ralph + Sadler, my servants, and John Willyams my brother-in-law. Praying and + desiring the same mine executors to be good unto my son Gregory, and to + all other my poor friends and kinsfolk and servants aforenamed in this my + testament. And of this my present testament and last will I make Roger + More mine overseer; unto whom and also to every of the other mine + executors I give and bequeath £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> for their pains + to be taken in the execution of this my last will and testament, over and + above such legacies as herebefore I have bequeathed them in this same + testament and will. In witness whereof, to this my present testament and + last will I have set to my hand in every leaf contained in this book, the + day and year before limited.</p> + + <p>THOMAS CROMWELL.</p> + + <p>Item. I give and bequeath to William Brabazon, my servant, £20 + 8<i>s.</i>, a gun, a doublet, a jacket, and my second gelding.</p> + + <p>It. to John Avery, Yeoman of the Bedchamber with the King's Highness, + £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>, and a doublet of satin.</p> + +<!-- Page 368 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page368"></a>[pg 368]</span> + + <p>It. to Thurston, my cook. £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>It. to William Body, my servant, £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>It. to Peter Mewtas, my servant, £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>It. to Ric. Sleysh, my servant, £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>It. to George Wilkinson, my servant, £6 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>It. to my friend, Thomas Alvard. £10, and my best gelding.</p> + + <p>It. to my friend, Thomas Rush, £10.</p> + + <p>It. to my servant, John Hynde, my horsekeeper, £3 6<i>s.</i> + 8<i>d.</i></p> + + <p>Item. I will that mine executors shall safely keep the patent of the + manor of Romney to the use of my son Gregory, and the money growing + thereof, till he shall come to his lawful age, to be yearly received to + the use of my said son, and the whole revenue thereof coming to be truly + paid unto him at such time as he shall come to the age of 24 years.</p> + +<!-- Page 369 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page369"></a>[pg 369]</span> + +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST EFFORTS OF DIPLOMACY</h3> + + <p>I have now to resume the thread of the political history where it was + dropped at the sentence of divorce pronounced by Cranmer, and the + coronation of the new queen. The effect was about to be ascertained of + these bold measures upon Europe; and of what their effect would be, only + so much could be foretold with certainty, that the time for trifling was + past, and the pope and Francis of France would be compelled to declare + their true intentions. If these intentions were honest, the subordination + of England to the papacy might be still preserved in a modified form. The + papal jurisdiction was at end, but the spiritual supremacy of the Bishop + of Rome, with a diminished but considerable revenue attached to it, + remained unaffected; and it was for the pope to determine whether, by + fulfilling at last his original engagements, he would preserve these + remnants of his power and privileges, or boldly take up the gage, + excommunicate his disobedient subjects, and attempt by force to bring + them back to their allegiance.</p> + + <p>The news of what had been done did not take him wholly by surprise. It + was known at Brussels at the end of April that the king had married. The + queen regent<a name="NtA_595"></a><a href="#Nt_595"><sup>595</sup></a> + spoke of it to the ambassador sternly and significantly, not concealing + her expectation of the mortal resentment which would be felt by her + brothers;<a name="NtA_596"></a><a href="#Nt_596"><sup>596</sup></a> and + the information was forwarded with the least <!-- Page 370 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page370"></a>[pg 370]</span> possible delay to + the cardinals of the imperial faction at Rome. The true purposes which + underlay the contradiction of Clement's language are undiscoverable. + Perhaps in the past winter he had been acting out a deep + intrigue—perhaps he was drifting between rival currents, and + yielded in any or all directions as the alternate pressure varied; yet + whatever had been the meaning of his language, whether it was a scheme to + deceive Henry, or was the expression only of weakness and good-nature + desiring to avoid a quarrel to the latest moment, the decisive step which + had been taken in the marriage, even though it was nominally undivulged, + obliged him to choose his course and openly adhere to it. After the + experience of the past, there could be no doubt what that course would + be.</p> + + <p>On the 12th of May a citation was issued against the King of England, + summoning him to appear by person or proxy at a stated day. It had been + understood that no step of such a kind was to be taken before the meeting + of the pope and Francis; Bennet, therefore, Henry's faithful secretary, + hastily inquired the meaning of this measure. The pope told him that it + could not be avoided, and the language which he used revealed to the + English agent the inevitable future. The king, he said, had defied the + inhibitory brief which had been lately issued, and had incurred + excommunication; the imperialists insisted that he should be proceeded + against for contempt, and that the excommunication should at once be + pronounced. However great might be his own personal reluctance, it was + not possible for him to remain passive; and if he declined to resort at + once to the more extreme exercise of his power, the hesitation was merely + until the emperor was prepared to enforce the censures of the church with + the strong hand. It stood not "with his honour to execute such censures," + he said, "and the same not to be regarded."<a name="NtA_597"></a><a + href="#Nt_597"><sup>597</sup></a> But there was no wish to spare Henry; + and if Francis could be detached from his ally, and if the condition of + the rest of Christendom became such as to favour the enterprise, <!-- + Page 371 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page371"></a>[pg 371]</span> + England might evidently look for the worst which the pope, with the + Catholic powers, could execute. If the papal court was roused into so + menacing a mood by the mere intimation of the secret marriage, it was + easy to foresee what would ensue when the news arrived of the proceedings + at Dunstable. Bennet entreated that the process should be delayed till + the interview; but the pope answered coldly that he had done his best and + could do no more; the imperialists were urgent, and he saw no reason to + refuse their petition.<a name="NtA_598"></a><a + href="#Nt_598"><sup>598</sup></a> This was Clement's usual language, but + there was something peculiar in his manner. He had been often violent, + but he had never shown resolution, and the English agents were perplexed. + The mystery was soon explained. He had secured himself on the side of + France; and Francis, who at Calais had told Henry that his negotiations + with the see of Rome were solely for the interests of England, that for + Henry's sake he was marrying his son into a family beneath him in rank, + that Henry's divorce was to form the especial subject of his conference + with the pope, had consented to allow these dangerous questions to sink + into a secondary place, and had relinquished his intention, if he had + ever seriously entertained it, of becoming an active party in the English + quarrel.</p> + + <p>The long-talked-of interview was still delayed. First it was to have + taken place in the winter, then in the spring; June was the date last + fixed for it, and now Bennet had to inform the king that it would not + take place before September; and that, from the terms of a communication + which had just passed between the parties who were to meet, the subjects + discussed at the conference would not be those which he had been led to + expect. Francis, in answer to a question from the pope, had specified + three things which he proposed particularly to "intreat." The first + concerned the defence of Christendom against the Turks, the second + concerned the general council, and the third concerned "the extinction of + the Lutheran sect."<a name="NtA_599"></a><a + href="#Nt_599"><sup>599</sup></a> These were the points which the Most + Christian king was anxious to discuss with the pope. For the latter good + object especially, "he would devise and treat for the provision of an + army." In the King of England's cause, he trusted "some means might be + <!-- Page 372 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page372"></a>[pg + 372]</span> found whereby it might be compounded;"<a + name="NtA_600"></a><a href="#Nt_600"><sup>600</sup></a> but if persuasion + failed, there was no fear lest he should have recourse to any other + method.</p> + + <p>It was this which had given back to the pope his courage. It was this + which Bennet had now to report to Henry. The French alliance, it was too + likely, would prove a broken reed, and pierce the hand that leant upon + it.</p> + + <p>Henry knew the danger; but danger was not a very terrible thing either + to him or to his people. If he had conquered his own reluctance to risk a + schism in the church, he was not likely to yield to the fear of + isolation; and if there was something to alarm in the aspect of affairs, + there was also much to encourage. His parliament was united and resolute. + His queen was pregnant. The Nun of Kent had assigned him but a month to + live after his marriage; six months had passed, and he was alive and + well; the supernatural powers had not declared against him; and while + safe with respect to enmity from above, the earthly powers he could + afford to defy. When he finally divorced Queen Catherine, he must have + foreseen his present position at least as a possibility, and if not + prepared for so swift an apostasy in Francis, and if not yet wholly + believing it, we may satisfy ourselves he had never absolutely trusted a + prince of metal so questionable.</p> + + <p>The Duke of Norfolk was waiting at the French court, with a + magnificent embassy, to represent the English king at the interview. The + arrival of the pope had been expected in May. It was now delayed till + September; and if Clement came after all, it would be for objects in + which England had but small concern. It was better for England that there + should be no meeting at all, than a meeting to devise schemes for the + massacre of Lutherans. Henry therefore wrote to the Duke, telling him + generally what he had heard from Rome; he mentioned the three topics + which he understood were to form the matter of discussion; but he + skilfully affected to regard them as having originated with the + imperialists, and not with the French king. In a long paper of + instructions, in which earnestness and irony were strangely blended, he + directed the ambassador to treat his good brother as if he were still + exclusively devoted to the interests of England; and to urge upon him, on + the ground of this fresh delay, that the interview should not take place + at all.<a name="NtA_601"></a><a href="#Nt_601"><sup>601</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 373 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page373"></a>[pg 373]</span> + + <p>"Our pleasure is," he wrote, "that ye shall say—that we be not a + little moved in our heart to see our good brother and us, being such + princes of Christendom, to be so handled with the pope, so much to our + dishonour, and to the pope's and the emperor's advancement; seeming to be + at the pope's commandment to come or tarry as he or his cardinals shall + appoint; and to depend upon his pleasure when to meet—that is to + say, when he list or never. If our good brother and we were either + suitors to make request, the obtaining whereof we did much set by, or had + any particular matter of advantage to entreat with him, these proceedings + might be the better tolerated; but our good brother having no particular + matter of his own, and being ... that [no] more glory nor surety could + happen to the emperour than to obtain the effect of the three articles + moved by the pope and his cardinals, we think it not convenient to attend + the pleasure of the pope, to go or to abyde. We could have been content + to have received and taken at the pope's hand, jointly with our good + brother, pleasure and friendship in our great cause; [but] on the other + part, we cannot esteem the pope's part so high, as to have our good + brother an attendant suitor therefore ... desiring him, therefore, in + anywise to disappoint for his part the said interview; and if he have + already granted thereto—upon some new good occasion, which he now + undoubtedly hath—to depart from the same.</p> + + <p>"For we, ye may say, having the justness of our cause for us, with + such an entire and whole consent of our nobility and commons of our realm + and subjects, and being all matters passed, and in such terms as they now + be, do not find such lack and want of that the pope might do, with us or + against us, as we would for the obtaining thereof be contented to have a + French king our so perfect a friend, to be not only a mediator but a + suitor therein, and a suitor attendant to have audience upon liking and + after the advice of such cardinals as repute it among pastymes to play + and dally with kings and princes; whose honour, ye may say, is above all + things, and more dear to us in the person of our good brother, than is + any piece of our cause at the pope's hands. And therefore, if there be + none other thing but our cause, and the other causes whereof we be + advertised, our advice, counsel, special desire also and request is, + [that our good brother shall] break off the interview, unless the pope + will make suit to him; and [unless] our said good brother hath such + causes of his own as may particularly tend to his own benefit, honour, + and profit—wherein he shall do great <!-- Page 374 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page374"></a>[pg 374]</span> and singular + pleasure unto us; <i>giving to understand to the pope, that me know + ourselves and him both, and look to be esteemed accordingly.</i>"</p> + + <p>Should it appear that on receipt of this communication, Francis was + still resolved to persevere, and that he had other objects in view to + which Henry had not been made privy, the ambassadors were then to remind + him of the remaining obligations into which he had entered; and to + ascertain to what degree his assistance might be calculated upon, should + the pope pronounce Henry deposed, and the emperor attempt to enforce the + sentence.</p> + + <p>After forwarding these instructions, the king's next step was to + anticipate the pope by an appeal which would neutralise his judgment + should he venture upon it; and which offered a fresh opportunity of + restoring the peace of Christendom, if there was true anxiety to preserve + that peace. The hinge of the great question, in the form which at last it + assumed, was the validity or invalidity of the dispensation by which + Henry had married his brother's widow. Being a matter which touched the + limit of the pope's power, the pope was himself unable to determine it in + his own favour; and the only authority by which the law could be ruled, + was a general council. In the preceding winter, the pope had volunteered + to submit the question to this tribunal; but Henry believing that it was + on the point of immediate solution in another way, had then declined, on + the ground that it would cause a needless delay. He was already married, + and he had hoped that sentence might be given in his favour in time to + anticipate the publication of the ceremony. But he was perfectly + satisfied that justice was on his side; and was equally confident of + obtaining the verdict of Europe, if it could be fairly pronounced. Now, + therefore, under the altered circumstances, he accepted the offered + alternative. He anticipated with tolerable certainty the effect which + would be produced at Rome, when the news should arrive there of the + Dunstable divorce; and on the 29th of June, he appealed formally, in the + presence of the Archbishop of York, from the pope's impending sentence, + to the next general council.<a name="NtA_602"></a><a + href="#Nt_602"><sup>602</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 375 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page375"></a>[pg 375]</span> + + <p>Of this curious document the substance was as follows:—It + commenced with a declaration that the king had no intention of acting + otherwise than became a good Catholic prince; or of injuring the church + or attacking the privileges conceded by God to the Holy See. If his words + could be lawfully shown to have such a tendency he would revoke, emend, + and correct them in a Catholic spirit.</p> + + <p>The general features of the case were then recapitulated. His marriage + with his brother's wife had been pronounced illegal by the principal + universities of Europe, by the clergy of the two provinces of the Church + of England, by the most learned theologians and canonists, and finally, + by the public judgment of the church.<a name="NtA_603"></a><a + href="#Nt_603"><sup>603</sup></a> He therefore had felt himself free; + and, "by the inspiration of the Host High, had lawfully married another + woman." Furthermore, "for the common weal and tranquillity of the realm + of England, and for the wholesome rule and government of the same, he had + caused to be enacted certain statutes and ordinances, by authority of + parliaments lawfully called for that purpose." "Now, however," he + continued, "we fearing that his Holyness the Pope ... having in our said + cause treated us far otherwise than either respect for our dignity and + desert, or the duty of his own office required at his hands, and having + done us many injuries which we now of design do suppress, but which + hereafter we shall be ready, should circumstances so require, to divulge + ... may now proceed to acts of further injustice, and heaping wrong on + wrong, may pronounce the censures and other penalties of the spiritual + sword against ourselves, our realm, and subjects, seeking thereby to + deprive us of the use of the sacraments, and to cut us off, in the sight + of the world, from the unity of the church, to the no slight hurt and + injury of our realm and subjects:</p> + + <p>"Fearing these things, and desiring to preserve from detriment not + only ourselves, our own dignity and estimation, but also our subjects, + committed to us by Almighty God; to keep them in the unity of the + Christian faith, and in the wonted participation in the sacraments; that, + when in truth they be not cut off from the integrity of the church, nor + can nor will be so cut off in any manner, they may not appear to be so + cut off in the estimation of men; [desiring further] to check and hold + back our people <!-- Page 376 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page376"></a>[pg 376]</span> whom God has given to us, lest, in the + event of such injury, they refuse utterly to obey any longer the Roman + Pontiff, as a hard and cruel pastor: [for these causes] and believing, + from reasons probable, conjectures likely, and words used to our injury + by his Holiness the Pope, which in divers manners have been brought to + our ears, that some weighty act may be committed by him or others to the + prejudice of ourselves and of our realm;—We, therefore, in behalf + of all and every of our subjects, and of all persons adhering to us in + this our cause, do make our appeal to the next general council, which + shall be lawfully held, in place convenient, with the consent of the + Christian princes, and of such others as it may concern—not in + contempt of the Holy See, but for defence of the truth of the Gospel, and + for the other causes afore rehearsed. And we do trust in God that it + shall not be interpreted as a thing ill done on our part, if preferring + the salvation of our soul and the relief of our conscience to any mundane + respects or favours, we have in this cause regarded more the Divine law + than the laws of man, and have thought it rather meet to obey God than to + obey man."<a name="NtA_604"></a><a href="#Nt_604"><sup>604</sup></a></p> + + <p>By the appeal and the causes which were assigned for it, Henry + pre-occupied the ground of the conflict; he entrenched himself in the + "debateable land" of legal uncertainty; and until his position had been + pronounced untenable by the general voice of Christendom, any sentence + which the pope could issue would have but a doubtful validity. It was, + perhaps, but a slight advantage; and the niceties of technical fencing + might soon resolve themselves into a question of mere strength; yet, in + the opening of great conflicts, it is well, even when a resort to force + is inevitable, to throw on the opposing party the responsibility of + violence; and Henry had been led, either by a refinement of policy, or by + the plain straightforwardness of his intentions, into a situation where + he could expect without alarm the unrolling of the future.</p> + + <p>The character of that future was likely soon to be decided. The appeal + was published on the 29th of June; and as the pope must have heard, by + the middle of the month at latest, of the trial and judgment at + Dunstable, a few days would bring an account of the manner in which he + had received the intelligence. Prior to the arrival of the couriers, + Bennet, with the assistance of Cardinal Tournon, had somewhat soothed + down his exasperation. Francis, also, having heard that immediate process + was threatened, had written earnestly to deprecate such a <!-- Page 377 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page377"></a>[pg 377]</span> measure;<a + name="NtA_605"></a><a href="#Nt_605"><sup>605</sup></a> and though he + took the interference "very displeasantly,"<a name="NtA_606"></a><a + href="#Nt_606"><sup>606</sup></a> the pope could not afford to lose, by + premature impatience; the fruit of all his labour and diplomacy, and had + yielded so far as to promise that nothing of moment should be done. To + this state of mind he had been brought one day in the second week of + June. The morning after, Bennet found him "sore altered." The news of "my + Lord of Canterbury's proceedings" had arrived the preceding night; and + "his Holiness said that [such] doings were too sore for him to stand + still at and do nothing."<a name="NtA_607"></a><a + href="#Nt_607"><sup>607</sup></a> It was "against his duty towards God + and the world to tolerate them." The imperialist cardinals, impatient + before, clamoured that the evil had been caused by the dilatory timidity + with which the case had been handled from the first.<a + name="NtA_608"></a><a href="#Nt_608"><sup>608</sup></a> The consistory + sate day after day with closed doors;<a name="NtA_609"></a><a + href="#Nt_609"><sup>609</sup></a> and even such members of it as had + before inclined to the English side, joined in the common indignation. + "Some extreme process" was instantly looked for, and the English agents, + in their daily interviews with the pope, were forced to listen to + language which it was hard to bear with equanimity. Bennet's well-bred + courtesy carried him successfully through the difficulty; his companion + Bonner was not so fortunate. Bonner's tongue was insolent, and under bad + control. He replied to menace by impertinence; and on one occasion was so + exasperating, that Clement threatened to burn him alive, or boil him in a + caldron of lead.<a name="NtA_610"></a><a + href="#Nt_610"><sup>610</sup></a> When fairly roused, the old man was + dangerous; and the future Bishop of London wrote to England in extremity + of alarm. His letter has not been found, but the character of it may be + perceived from the reassuring reply of the king. The agents, Henry said, + were not to allow themselves to be frightened; they were to go on calmly, + with their accustomed diligence and dexterity, disputing the ground from + point to point, and trust to him. Their cause was good, and, with God's + help, he would be able to defend them from the malice of their + adversaries.<a name="NtA_611"></a><a + href="#Nt_611"><sup>611</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 378 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page378"></a>[pg 378]</span> + + <p>Fortunately for Bonner, the pope's passion was of brief duration, and + the experiment whether Henry's arm could reach to the dungeons of the + Vatican remained untried. The more moderate of the cardinals, also, + something assuaged the storm; and angry as they all were, the majority + still saw the necessity of prudence. In the heat of the irritation, final + sentence was to have been pronounced upon the entire cause, backed by + interdict, excommunication, and the full volume of the papal thunders. At + the close of a month's deliberation they resolved to reserve judgement on + the original question, and to confine themselves for the present to + revenging the insult to the pope by "my Lord of Canterbury." Both the + king and the archbishop had disobeyed a formal inhibition. On the 12th of + July, the pope issued a brief, declaring Cranmer's judgment to have been + illegal, the English process to have been null and void, and the king, by + his disobedience, to have incurred, <i>ipso facto</i>, the threatened + penalties of excommunication. Of his clemency he suspended these censures + till the close of the following September, in order that time might be + allowed to restore the respective parties to their old positions: if + within that period the parties were not so restored, the censures would + fall.<a name="NtA_612"></a><a href="#Nt_612"><sup>612</sup></a> This + brief was sent into Flanders, and fixed in the usual place against the + door of a church in Dunkirk.</p> + + <p>Henry was prepared for a measure which was no more than natural. He + had been prepared for it as a possibility when he married. Both he and + Francis must have been prepared for it on their meeting at Calais, when + the French king advised him to marry, and promised to support him through + the consequences. His own measures had been arranged beforehand, and he + had secured himself in technical entrenchments by his appeal. After the + issue of the brief, however, he could allow no English embassy to + compliment Clement by its presence on his visit to France. He "knew the + pope," as he said. Long experience had shown him that nothing was to be + gained by yielding in minor points; and the only chance which now + remained of <!-- Page 379 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page379"></a>[pg 379]</span> preserving the established order of + Christendom, was to terrify the Vatican court into submission by the + firmness of his attitude. For the present complications, the court of + Rome, not he, was responsible. The pope, with a culpable complacency for + the emperor, had shrunk from discharging a duty which his office imposed + upon him; and the result had been, that the duty was discharged by + another. Henry could not blame himself for the consequences of Clement's + delinquency. He rather felt himself wronged in having been driven to so + extreme a measure against his will. He resolved, therefore, to recall the + embassy, and once more, though with no great hope that he would be + successful, to invite Francis to fulfil his promise, and to unite with + himself in expressing his resentment at the pope's conduct.</p> + + <p>His despatch to the Duke of Norfolk on this occasion was the natural + sequel of what he had written a few weeks previously. That letter had + failed wholly of its effect. The interview was resolved upon for quite + other reasons than those which were acknowledged, and therefore was not + to be given up. A promise, however, had been extracted, that it should be + given up, if in the course of the summer the pope "innovated anything" + against the King of England; and Henry now required, formally, that this + engagement should be observed. "A notorious and notable innovation" had + been made, and Francis must either deny his words, or adhere to them. It + would be evident to all the world, if the interview took place under the + present circumstances, that the alliance with England was no longer of + the importance with him which it had been; that his place in the + struggle, when the struggle came, would be found on the papal side.</p> + + <p>The language of Henry throughout this paper was very fine and noble. + He reminded Francis that substantially the cause at issue was the cause + of all princes; the pope claiming a right to summon them to plead in the + courts of Rome, and refusing to admit their exemption as sovereign + rulers. He had been required not only to undo his marriage, and cancel + the sentence of divorce, but, as a condition of reconciliation with the + Holy See, to undo also, the Act of Appeals, and to restore the papal + jurisdiction. He desired it to be understood, with emphasis, that these + points were all equally sacred, and the repeal of the act was as little + to be thought of as the annulling the marriage. "The pope," he said, "did + inforce us to excogitate some new thing, whereby we might be healed and + relieved of that continual disease, to care for our cause at Rome, where + such defence <!-- Page 380 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page380"></a>[pg 380]</span> was taken from us, as by the laws of + God, nature, and man, is due unto us. Hereupon depended the wealth of our + realm; hereupon consisted the surety of our succession, which by no other + means could be well assured." "And therefore," he went on, "you [the + Duke] shall say to our good brother, that the pope persisting in the ways + he hath entered, ye must needs despair in any meeting between the French + king and the pope, to produce any such effect as to cause us to meet in + concord with the pope; but we shall be even as far asunder as is between + yea and nay. For to the pope's enterprise to revoke or put back anything + that is done here, either in marriage, statute, sentence, or + proclamation<a name="NtA_613"></a><a + href="#Nt_613"><sup>613</sup></a>—of which four members is knit and + conjoined the surety of our matter, nor any can be removed from the + other, lest thereby the whole edifice should be destroyed—we will + and shall, by all ways and means say nay, and declare our nay in such + sort as the world shall hear, and the pope feel it. Wherein ye may say + our firm trust, perfect hope, and assured confidence is, that our good + brother will agree with us; as well for that it should be partly + dishonourable for him to see decay the thing that was of his own + foundation and planting: as also that it should be too much dishonourable + for us—having travelled so far in this matter, and brought it to + this point, that all the storms of the year passed, it is now come to + harvest, trusting to see shortly the fruit of our marriage, to the + wealth, joy, and comfort of all our realm, and our own singular + consolation—that anything should now be done by us to impair the + same, and to put our issue either in peril of bastardy, or otherwise + disturb that [which] is by the whole agreement of our realm established + for their and our commodity, wealth, and benefit. And in this + determination ye know us to be so fixed, and the contrary hereof to be so + infeasible, either at our hands, or by the consent of the realm, that ye + must needs despair of any order to be taken by the French king with the + pope. For if any were by him taken wherein any of these four pieces + should be touched—that is to say, the marriage of the queen our + wife, the revocation of the Bishop of Canterbury's sentence, the statute + of our realm, or our late proclamation, which be as it were one—and + as walls, covering, the foundation make a house, so they knit together, + establish, and make one matter—ye be well assured, and be so + ascertained from us, that in no wise we will relent, but will, as we have + before written, withstand the same. Whereof ye may say that <!-- Page 381 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page381"></a>[pg 381]</span> ye have + thought good to advertise him, to the intent he make no farther promise + to the pope therein than may be performed."</p> + + <p>The ambassadors were the more emphatically to insist on the king's + resolution, lest Francis, in his desire for conciliation, might hold out + hopes to the pope which could not be realised. They were to say, however, + that the King of England still trusted that the interview would not take + place. The see of Rome was asserting a jurisdiction which, if conceded, + would encourage an unlimited usurpation. If princes might be cited to the + papal courts in a cause of matrimony, they might be cited equally in + other causes at the pope's pleasure; and the free kingdoms of Europe + would be converted into dependent provinces of the see of Rome. It + concerned alike the interest and the honour of all sovereigns to resist + encroachments which pointed to such an issue; and, therefore, Henry said + he hoped that his good brother would use the pope as he had deserved, + "doing him to understand his folly, and [that] unless he had first made + amends, he could not find in his heart to have further amity with + him."</p> + + <p>If notwithstanding, the instructions concluded, "all these persuasions + cannot have place to let the said meeting, and the French king shall say + it is expedient for him to have in his hands the duchess,<a + name="NtA_614"></a><a href="#Nt_614"><sup>614</sup></a> under pretence of + marriage for his son, which he cannot obtain but by this means, ye shall + say that ye remember ye heard him say once he would never conclude that + marriage but to do us good, which is now infaisible; and now in the voice + of the world shall do us both more hurt in the diminution of the + reputation of our amity than it should do otherwise profit. Nevertheless, + [if] ye cannot let his precise determination, [ye] can but lament and + bewail your own chance to depart home in this sort; and that yet of the + two inconvenients, it is to you more tolerable to return to us nothing + done, than to be present at the interview and to be compelled to look + patiently upon your master's enemy."</p> + + <p>After having entered thus their protest against the French king's + conduct, the embassy was to return to England, leaving a parting + intimation of the single condition under which Henry would consent to + treat. If the pope would declare that "the matrimony with the Lady + Catherine was and is nought, he should do somewhat not to be refused;" + except with this preliminary, no offer whatever could be entertained.<a + name="NtA_615"></a><a href="#Nt_615"><sup>615</sup></a></p> + + <p>This communication, as Henry anticipated, was not more <!-- Page 382 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page382"></a>[pg 382]</span> effectual + than the former in respect of its immediate object. At the meeting of + Calais the interests of Francis had united him with England, and in + pursuing the objects of Henry he was then pursuing his own. The pope and + the emperor had dissolved the coalition by concessions on the least + dangerous side. The interests of Francis lay now in the other direction, + and there are few instances in history in which governments have adhered + to obligations against their advantage from a spirit of honour, when the + purposes with which they contracted those obligations have been otherwise + obtained. The English embassy returned as they were ordered; the French + court pursued their way to Marseilles; not quarrelling with England; + intending to abide by the alliance, and to give all proofs of amity which + did not involve inconvenient sacrifices; but producing on the world at + large by their conduct the precise effect which Henry had foretold. The + world at large, looking to acts rather than to words, regarded the + interview as a contrivance to reconcile Francis and the emperor through + the intervention of the pope, as a preliminary for a packed council, and + for a holy war against the Lutherans<a name="NtA_616"></a><a + href="#Nt_616"><sup>616</sup></a>—a combination of ominous augury + to Christendom, from the consequences of which, if Germany was to be the + first sufferer, England would be inevitably the second.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, as the French alliance threatened to fail, the English + government found themselves driven at last to look for a connection among + those powers from whom they had hitherto most anxiously disconnected + themselves. At such a time. Protestant Germany, not Catholic France, was + England's natural friend. The Reformation was essentially a Teutonic + movement; the Germans, the English, the Scotch, the Swedes, the + Hollanders, all were struggling on their various roads towards an end + essentially the same. The same dangers threatened them, the same + inspiration moved them; and in the eyes of the orthodox Catholics they + were united in a black communion of heresy. Unhappily, though this + identity was obvious to their enemies, it was far from obvious to + themselves. <!-- Page 383 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page383"></a>[pg 383]</span> The odium theologicum is ever hotter + between sections of the same party which are divided by trifling + differences, than between the open representatives of antagonist + principles; and Anglicans and Lutherans, instead of joining hands across + the Channel, endeavoured only to secure each a recognition of themselves + at the expense of the other. The English plumed themselves on their + orthodoxy. They were "not as those publicans," heretics, despisers of the + keys, disobedient to authority; they desired only the independence of + their national church, and they proved their zeal for the established + faith with all the warmth of persecution. To the Germans national freedom + was of wholly minor moment, in comparison with the freedom of the soul; + the orthodoxy of England was as distasteful to the disciples of Luther as + the orthodoxy of Rome—and the interests of Europe were sacrificed + on both sides to this foolish and fatal disunion. Circumstances indeed + would not permit the division to remain in its first intensity, and their + common danger compelled the two nations into a partial understanding. Yet + the reconciliation, imperfect to the last, was at the outset all but + impossible. Their relations were already embittered by many reciprocal + acts of hostility. Henry VIII. had won his spurs as a theologian by an + attack on Luther. Luther had replied by a hailstorm of invectives. The + Lutheran books had been proscribed, the Lutherans themselves had' been + burnt by Henry's bishops. The Protestant divines in Germany had attempted + to conciliate the emperor by supporting the cause of Catherine; and + Luther himself had spoken loudly in condemnation of the king. The + elements of disunion were so many and so powerful, that there was little + hope of contending against them successfully. Nevertheless, as Henry saw, + the coalition of Francis and the emperor, if the pope succeeded in + cementing it, was a most serious danger, to which an opposite alliance + would alone be an adequate counterpoise; and the experiment might at + least be tried whether such an alliance was possible. At the beginning of + August, therefore, Stephen Vaughan was sent on a tentative mission to the + Elector of Saxe, John Frederick, at Weimar.<a name="NtA_617"></a><a + href="#Nt_617"><sup>617</sup></a> He was the bearer of letters containing + a proposal for a resident English ambassador; and if the elector gave his + consent, he was to proceed with similar offers to the courts of the + Landgrave of Hesse and the Duke of Lunenberg.<a name="NtA_618"></a><a + href="#Nt_618"><sup>618</sup></a> Vaughan <!-- Page 384 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page384"></a>[pg 384]</span> arrived in due time + at the elector's court, was admitted to audience and delivered his + letters. The prince read them, and in the evening of the same day + returned for answer a polite but wholly absolute refusal. Being but a + prince elector, he said, he might not aspire to so high an honour as to + be favoured with the presence of an English ambassador. It was not the + custom in Germany, and he feared that if he consented he should displease + the emperor.<a name="NtA_619"></a><a href="#Nt_619"><sup>619</sup></a> + The meaning of such a reply delivered in a few hours was not to be + mistaken, however disguised in courteous language. The English emissary + saw that he was an unwelcome visitor, and that he must depart with the + utmost celerity. "The elector," he wrote,<a name="NtA_620"></a><a + href="#Nt_620"><sup>620</sup></a> "thirsted to have me gone from him, + which I right well perceived by evident tokens which declared unto me the + same." He had no anxiety to expose to hazard the toleration which the + Protestant dukedoms as yet enjoyed from the emperor, by committing + himself to a connection with a prince with whose present policy he had no + sympathy, and whose conversion to the cause of the Reformation he had as + yet no reason to believe sincere.<a name="NtA_621"></a><a + href="#Nt_621"><sup>621</sup></a></p> + + <p>The reception which Vaughan met with at Weimar satisfied him that he + need go no further; neither the Landgrave nor the Duke of Lunenberg would + be likely to venture on a course which the elector so obviously feared. + He, therefore, gave up his mission, and returned to England.</p> + + <p>The first overtures in this direction issued in complete failure, nor + was the result wholly to be regretted. It taught Henry (or it was a first + commencement of the lesson) that so long as he pursued a merely English + policy he might not expect that other nations would embroil themselves in + his defence. He must <!-- Page 385 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page385"></a>[pg 385]</span> allow the Reformation a wider scope, + he must permit it to comprehend within its possible consequences the + breaking of the chains by which his subjects' minds were bound—not + merely a change of jailors. Then perhaps the German princes might return + some other answer.</p> + + <p>The disappointment, however, fell lightly; for before the account of + the failure had reached England, an event had happened, which, poor as + the king might be in foreign alliances, had added most material strength + to his position in England. The full moment of that event he had no means + of knowing. In its immediate bearing it was matter for most abundant + satisfaction. On the seventh of September, between three and four in the + afternoon, at the palace of Greenwich, was born a princess, named three + days later in her baptism, after the king's mother, Elizabeth.<a + name="NtA_622"></a><a href="#Nt_622"><sup>622</sup></a> A son had been + hoped for. The child was a daughter only; yet at least Providence had not + pronounced against the marriage by a sentence of barrenness; at least + there was now an heir whose legitimacy the nation had agreed to accept. + Te Deums were sung in all the churches; again the river decked itself in + splendour; again all London steeples were musical with bells. A font of + gold was presented for the christening. Francis, in compensation for his + backslidings, had consented to be godfather; and the infant, who was soon + to find her country so rude a stepmother, was received with all the + outward signs of exulting welcome. To Catherine's friends the offspring + of the rival marriage was not welcome, but was an object rather of bitter + hatred; and the black cloud of a sister's jealousy gathered over the + cradle whose innocent occupant had robbed her of her title and her + expectations. To the king, to the parliament, to the healthy heart of + England, she was an object of eager hope and an occasion for thankful + gratitude; but the seeds were sown with her birth of those misfortunes + which were soon to overshadow her, and to form the school of the great + nature which in its maturity would re-mould the world.</p> + + <p>Leaving Elizabeth for the present, we return to the continent, and to + the long-promised interview, which was now at last approaching. Henry + made no further attempt to remonstrate with Francis; and Francis assured + him, and with all sincerity, that he would use his best efforts to move + the pope to make the necessary concessions. The English embassy meanwhile + was withdrawn. The excommunication had been received as an act <!-- Page + 386 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page386"></a>[pg 386]</span> of + hostility, of which Henry would not even condescend to complain; and it + was to be understood distinctly that in any exertions which might be made + by the French king, the latter was acting without commission on his own + responsibility. The intercession was to be the spontaneous act of a + mutual friend, who, for the interests of Christendom, desired to heal a + dangerous wound; but neither directly nor indirectly was it to be + interpreted as an expression of a desire for a reconciliation on the + English side.</p> + + <p>It was determined further, on the recal of the Duke of Norfolk, that + the opportunity of the meeting should be taken to give a notice to the + pope of the king's appeal to the council; and for this purpose, Bennet + and Bonner were directed to follow the papal court from Rome. Bennet + never accomplished this journey, dying on the route, worn out with much + service.<a name="NtA_623"></a><a href="#Nt_623"><sup>623</sup></a> His + death delayed Bonner, and the conferences had opened for many days before + his arrival. Clement had reached Marseilles by ship from Genoa, about the + 20th of October. As if pointedly to irritate Henry, he had placed himself + under the conduct of the Duke of Albany.<a name="NtA_624"></a><a + href="#Nt_624"><sup>624</sup></a> He was followed two days later by his + fair niece, Catherine de Medici; and the preparations for the marriage + were commenced with the utmost swiftness and secrecy. The conditions of + the contract were not allowed to transpire, but they were concluded in + three days; and on this 25th of October the pope bestowed his precious + present on the Duke of Orleans, he himself performing the nuptial + ceremony, and accompanying it with his paternal benediction on the young + pair, and on the happy country which was to possess them for its king and + queen. France being thus securely riveted to Rome, other matters could be + talked of more easily. Francis made all decent overtures to the pope in + behalf of Henry; if the pope was to be believed indeed, he was vehemently + urgent.<a name="NtA_625"></a><a href="#Nt_625"><sup>625</sup></a> Clement + in turn made suggestions for terms of alliance between Francis and + Charles, "to the advantage of the Most Christian <!-- Page 387 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page387"></a>[pg 387]</span> king;"<a + name="NtA_626"></a><a href="#Nt_626"><sup>626</sup></a> and thus parried + the remonstrances. The only point positively clear to the observers, was + the perfect understanding which existed between the King of France and + his spiritual father.<a name="NtA_627"></a><a + href="#Nt_627"><sup>627</sup></a> Unusual activity was remarked in the + dockyards; Italian soldiers of fortune were about the court in unusual + numbers, and apparently in favour.<a name="NtA_628"></a><a + href="#Nt_628"><sup>628</sup></a> An invasion of Lombardy was talked of + among the palace retinue; and the emperor was said to distrust the + intentions of the conference. Possibly experience had taught all parties + to doubt each other's faith. Possibly they were all in some degree + waiting upon events; and had not yet resolved upon their conduct.</p> + + <p>In the midst of this scene arrived Doctor Bonner, in the beginning of + November, with Henry's appeal. He was a strange figure to appear in such + a society. There was little probity, perhaps, either in the court of + France, or in their Italian visitors: but of refinement, of culture, of + those graces which enable men to dispense with the more austere + excellences of character—which transform licentiousness into + elegant frailty, and treachery and falsehood into pardonable + finesse—of these there was very much: and when a rough, coarse, + vulgar Englishman was plunged among these delicate ladies and gentlemen, + he formed an element which contrasted strongly with the general + environment. Yet Banner, perhaps, was not without qualifications which + fitted him for his mission. He was not, indeed, virtuous; but he had a + certain downright honesty about him, joined with an entire insensibility + to those finer perceptions which would have interfered with plain + speaking, where plain speaking was desirable; he had a broad, not + ungenial humour, which showed him things and persons in their genuine + light, and enabled him to picture them for us with a distinctness for + which we owe him lasting thanks.</p> + + <p>He appeared at Marseilles on the 7th of November, and had much + difficulty in procuring an interview. At length, weary of waiting, and + regardless of the hot lead with which he had been lately threatened, he + forced his way into the room where "the pope was standing, with the + Cardinals De Lorraine and Medici, ready apparelled with his stole to go + to the consistory."</p> + + <p>"Incontinently upon my coming thither," he wrote to Henry,<a + name="NtA_629"></a><a href="#Nt_629"><sup>629</sup></a> "the pope, whose + sight is incredulous quick, eyed me, and that <!-- Page 388 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page388"></a>[pg 388]</span> divers times; + making a good pause in one place; at which time I desired the datary to + advertise his Holiness that I would speak with him; and albeit the datary + made no little difficulty therein, yet perceiving that upon refusal I + would have gone forthwith to the pope, he advertised the pope of my said + desire. His Holiness dismissing as then the said cardinals, and letting + his vesture fall, went to a window in the said chamber, calling me unto + him. At which time I showed unto his Holiness how that your Highness had + given me express and strait commandment to intimate unto him how that + your Grace had solemnly provoked and appealed unto the general council; + submitting yourself to the tuition and defence thereof; which provocation + and appeal I had under authentic writings then with me, to show for that + purpose. And herewithal I drew out the said writing, showing his said + Holiness that I brought the same in proof of the premises, and that his + Holiness might see and perceive all the same. The pope having this for a + breakfast, only pulled down his head to his shoulders, after the Italian + fashion, and said that because he was as then fully ready to go into the + consistory, he would not tarry to hear or see the said writings, but + willed me to come at afternoon."</p> + + <p>The afternoon came, and Bonner returned, and was admitted. There was + some conversation upon indifferent matters; the pope making good-natured + inquiries about Bennet, and speaking warmly and kindly of him.</p> + + <p>"Presently," Bonner continues, "falling out of that, he said that he + marvelled your Highness would use his Holiness after such sort as it + appears ye did. I said that your Highness no less did marvel that his + Holiness having found so much benevolence and kindness at your hands in + all times past, would for acquittal show such unkindness as of late he + did. And here we entered in communication upon two points: one was that + his Holiness, having committed in times past, and in most ample form, the + cause into the realm, promising not to revoke the said commission, and + over that, to confirm the process and sentence of the commissaries, + should not at the point of sentence have advoked the cause, retaining it + at Rome—forasmuch as Rome was a place whither your Highness could + not, ne yet ought, personally to come unto, and also was not bound to + send thither your proctor. The second point was, that your Highness's + cause being, in the opinion of the best learned men in Christendom, + approved good and just, and so [in] many ways known <!-- Page 389 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page389"></a>[pg 389]</span> unto his + Holiness, the same should not so long have retained it in his hands + without judgment.</p> + + <p>"His Holiness answering the same, as touching the first point, said + that if the queen (meaning the late wife of Prince Arthur, calling her + always in his conversation the queen) had not given an oath refusing the + judges as suspect, he would not have advoked the matter at all, but been + content that it should have been determined and ended in your realm. But + seeing she gave that oath, appealing also to his court, he might and + ought to hear her, his promise made to your Highness, which was + qualified, notwithstanding. As touching the second point, his Holiness + said that your Highness only was the default thereof, because ye would + not send a proxy to the cause. These matters, however, he said, had been + many times fully talked upon at Rome; and therefore [he] willed me to + omit further communication thereupon, and to proceed to the doing of such + things that I was specially sent for.</p> + + <p>"Whereupon making protestation of your Highness's mind and intent + towards the see apostolic—not intending anything to do in contempt + of the same—I exhibited unto his Holiness the commission which your + Highness had sent unto me; and his Holiness delivering it to the datary, + commanded him to read it; and hearing in the same the words (referring to + the injuries which he had done to your Highness), he began to look up + after a new sort, and said, 'O questo et multo vero! (this is much + true!)' meaning that it was not true indeed. And verily, sure not only in + this, but also in many parts of the said commission, he showed himself + grievously offended; insomuch that, when those words, 'To the next + general council which shall be lawfully held in place convenient,' were + read, he fell in a marvellous great choler and rage, not only declaring + the same by his gesture and manner, but also by words: speaking with + great vehemence, and saying, 'Why did not the king, when I wrote to my + nuncio this year past, to speak unto him for this general council, give + no answer unto my said nuncio, but referred him for answer to the French + king? at what time he might perceive by my doing, that I was very well + disposed, and much spake for it.' 'The thing so standing, now to speak of + a general council! Oh, good Lord! but well! his commission and all his + other writings cannot be but welcome unto me;' which words methought he + spake willing to hide his choler, and make me believe that he was nothing + angry with their doings, when in vary deed I perceived, by many + arguments, that it was otherwise. And one among <!-- Page 390 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page390"></a>[pg 390]</span> others was taken + here for infallible with them that knoweth the pope's conditions, that he + was continually folding up and unwinding of his handkerchief, which he + never doth but when he is tickled to the very heart with great + choler."</p> + + <p>At length the appeal was read through; and at the close of it Francis + entered, and talked to the pope for some time, but in so low a voice that + Bonner could not hear what was passing. When he had gone, his Holiness + said that he would deliberate upon the appeal with the consistory, and + after hearing their judgments would return his answer.</p> + + <p>Three days passed, and then the English agent was informed that he + might again present himself. The pope had recovered his calmness. When he + had time to collect himself, Clement could speak well and with dignity; + and if we could forget that his conduct was substantially unjust, and + that in his conscience he knew it to be unjust, he would almost persuade + us to believe him honest. "He said," wrote Bonner, "that his mind towards + your Highness always had been to minister justice, and to do pleasure to + you; albeit it hath not been so taken: and he never unjustly grieved your + Grace that he knoweth, nor intendeth hereafter to do. As concerning the + appeal, he said that, forasmuch as there was a constitution of Pope Pius, + his predecessor, that did condemn and reprove all such appeals, he did + therefore reject your Grace's appeal as frivolous, forbidden, and + unlawful." As touching the council, he said generally, that he would do + his best that it should meet; but it was to be understood that the + calling a general council belonged to him, and not to the King of + England.</p> + + <p>The audience ended, and Bonner left the pope convinced that he + intended, on his return to Rome, to execute the censures and continue the + process without delay. That the sentence which he would pronounce would + be against the king appeared equally certain.</p> + + <p>It appeared certain, yet after all no certain conclusion is possible. + Francis I., though not choosing to quarrel with the see of Rome to do a + pleasure to Henry, was anxious to please his ally to the extent of his + convenience; at any rate, he would not have gratuitously deceived him; + and still less would he have been party to an act of deliberate + treachery. When Bonner was gone he had a last interview with the pope, in + which he urged upon him the necessity of complying with Henry's demands; + and the pope on this occasion said that he was satisfied that the King of + England was right; that his cause was <!-- Page 391 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page391"></a>[pg 391]</span> good; and that he + had only to acknowledge the papal jurisdiction by some formal act, to + find sentence immediately pronounced in his favour. Except for his + precipitation, and his refusal to depute a proxy to plead for him, his + wishes would have been complied with long before. In the existing posture + of affairs, and after the measures which had been passed in England with + respect to the see of Rome, he himself, the pope said, could not make + advances without some kind of submission; but a single act of + acknowledgment was all which he required.<a name="NtA_630"></a><a + href="#Nt_630"><sup>630</sup></a></p> + + <p>Extraordinary as it must seem, the pope certainly bound himself by + this engagement: and who can tell with what intention? To believe him + sincere and to believe him false seems equally impossible. If he was + persuaded that Henry's cause <i>was</i> good, why did he in the following + year pronounce finally for Catherine? why had he imperilled so needlessly + the interests of the papacy in England? why had his conduct from the + beginning pointed steadily to the conclusion at which he at last arrived? + and why throughout Europe were the ultramontane party, to a man, on + Catherine's side? On the other hand, what object at such a time can be + conceived for falsehood? Can we suppose that he designed to dupe Henry + into submission by a promise which he had predetermined to break? It is + hard to suppose even Clement capable of so elaborate an act of perfidy; + and it is, perhaps, idle to waste conjectures on the motives of a weak, + much-agitated man. He was, probably, but giving a fresh example of his + disposition to say at each moment whatever would be most agreeable to his + hearers. This was his unhappy habit, by which he earned for himself a + character for dishonesty, I labour to think, but half deserved.</p> + + <p>If, however, Clement meant to deceive, he succeeded, undoubtedly, in + deceiving the French king. Francis, in communicating to Henry the + language which the pope had used, entreated him to reconsider his + resolution. The objection to pleading at Rome might be overcome; for the + pope would meet him in a middle course. Judges could be appointed, who + should sit at Cambray, and pass a sentence in condemnation of the + original marriage; with a definite promise that their sentence should not + again be called in question. To this arrangement there could be no + reasonable objection; and Francis implored that a proposal so liberal + should not be rejected. Sufficient danger already threatened Christendom, + from heretics <!-- Page 392 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page392"></a>[pg 392]</span> within and from the Turks without; and + although the English parliament were agreed to maintain the second + marriage, it was unwise to provoke the displeasure of foreign princes. To + allow time for the preliminary arrangements, the execution of the + censures had been further postponed; and if Henry would make up the + quarrel, the French monarch was commissioned to offer a league, offensive + and defensive, between England, France, and the Papacy. He himself only + desired to be faithful to his engagements to his good brother; and as a + proof of his good faith, he said that he had been offered the Duchy of + Milan, if he would look on while the emperor and the pope attacked + England.<a name="NtA_631"></a><a href="#Nt_631"><sup>631</sup></a></p> + + <p>This language bears all the character of sincerity; and when we + remember that it followed immediately upon a close and intimate + communication of three weeks with Clement, it is not easy to believe that + he could have mistaken the extent of the pope's promises. We may suppose + Clement for the moment to have been honest, or wavering between honesty + and falsehood; we may suppose further that Francis trusted him because it + was undesirable to be suspicious, in the belief that he was discharging + the duty of a friend to Henry, and of a friend to the church, in offering + to mediate upon these terms.</p> + + <p>But Henry was far advanced beyond the point at which fair words could + move him. He had trusted many times, and had been many times deceived. It + was not easy to entangle him again. It mattered little whether Clement + was weak or false; the result was the same—he could not be trusted. + To an open English understanding there was something monstrous in the + position of a person professing to be a judge, who admitted that a cause + which lay before him was so clear that he could bind himself to a + sentence upon it, and could yet refuse to pronounce that sentence, except + upon conditions. It was scarcely for the interests of justice to leave + the distribution of it in hands so questionable.</p> + +<!-- Page 393 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page393"></a>[pg 393]</span> + + <p>Instead, therefore, of coming forward, as Francis hoped, instead of + consenting to entangle himself again in the meshes of diplomatic + intrigue, the king returned a peremptory refusal.</p> + + <p>The Duke of Norfolk, and such of the council as dreaded the completion + of the schism, assured d'Inteville, the French ambassador, that for + themselves they considered Francis was doing the best for England which + could be done, and that they deprecated violent measures as much as + possible; but in all this party there was a secret leaning to Queen + Catherine, a dislike of Queen Anne and the whole Boleyn race, and a + private hope and belief that the pope would after all be firm. Their + tongues were therefore tied. They durst not speak except alone in + whispers to each other; and the French ambassador, who did dare, only + drew from Henry a more determined expression of his resolution.</p> + + <p>As to his measures in England, the king said, the pope had begun the + quarrel by issuing censures and by refusing to admit his reasons for + declining to plead at Rome. He was required to send a proctor, and was + told that the cause should be decided in favour of whichever party was so + represented there. For the sake of all other princes as well as himself, + he would send no proctor, nor would he seem to acquiesce in the pretences + of the papal see. The King of France told him that the pope admitted the + justice of his cause. Let the pope do justice, then. The laws passed in + parliament were for the benefit of the commonwealth, and he would never + revoke them. He demanded no reparation, and could make no reparation. He + asked only for his right, and if he could not obtain it, he had God and + truth on his side, and that was enough. In vain d'Inteville answered + feebly, that his master had done all that was in his power; the king + replied that the French council wished to entangle him with the pope; but + for his own part he would never more acknowledge the pope in his + pretended capacity. He might be bishop of Rome, or pope also, if he + preferred the name; but the see of Rome should have no more jurisdiction + in England, and he thought he would be none the worse Christian on that + account, but rather the better. Jesus Christ he would acknowledge, and + him only, as the true Lord of Christian men, and Christ's word only + should be preached in England. The Spaniards might invade him as they + threatened. He did not fear them. They might come, but they might not + find it so easy to return.<a name="NtA_632"></a><a + href="#Nt_632"><sup>632</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 394 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page394"></a>[pg 394]</span> + + <p>The King had taken his position and was prepared for the consequences. + He had foreseen for more than a year the possibility of an attempted + invasion; and since his marriage, he had been aware that the chances of + success in the adventure had been discussed on the Continent by the papal + and imperial party. The pope had spoken of his censures being enforced, + and Francis had revealed to Henry the nature of the dangerous overtures + which had been made to himself. The Lutheran princes had hurriedly + declined to connect themselves in any kind of alliance with England; and + on the 25th of September, Stephen Vaughan had reported that troops were + being raised in Germany, which rumour destined for Catherine's service.<a + name="NtA_633"></a><a href="#Nt_633"><sup>633</sup></a> Ireland, too, as + we shall hear in the next chapter, was on the verge of an insurrection, + which had been fomented by papal agents.</p> + + <p>Nevertheless, there was no real danger from an invasion, unless it was + accompanied with an insurrection at home, or with a simultaneous attack + from Scotland; and while of the first there appeared upon the surface no + probability, with Scotland a truce for a year had been concluded on the + 1st of October.<a name="NtA_634"></a><a href="#Nt_634"><sup>634</sup></a> + The king, therefore, had felt himself reasonably secure. Parliament had + seemed unanimous; the clergy were submissive; the nation acquiescent or + openly approving;<a name="NtA_635"></a><a + href="#Nt_635"><sup>635</sup></a> and as late as the beginning of + November, 1533, no suspicion seems to have been entertained of the spread + of serious disaffection. A great internal revolution had been + accomplished; a conflict of centuries between the civil and spiritual + powers had been terminated without a life lost or a blow struck. Partial + murmurs there had been, but murmurs were inevitable, and, so far as the + government yet knew, were harmless. The Scotch war had threatened to be + dangerous, but it had been extinguished. Impatient monks had denounced + the king from the pulpits, and disloyal language had been reported from + other quarters, which had roused vigilance, but <!-- Page 395 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page395"></a>[pg 395]</span> had not created + alarm. The Nun of Kent had forced herself into the royal presence with + menacing prophecies; but she had appeared to be a harmless dreamer, who + could only be made of importance by punishment. The surface of the nation + was in profound repose. Cromwell, like Walsingham after him, may perhaps + have known of the fire which was smouldering below, and have watched it + silently till the moment came at which to trample it out; but no symptom + of uneasiness appears either in the conduct of the government or in the + official correspondence. The organisation of the friars, the secret + communication of the Nun with Catherine and the Princess Mary, with the + papal nuncio, or with noble lords and reverend bishops, was either + unknown, or the character of those communications was not suspected. That + a serious political conspiracy should have shaped itself round the + ravings of a seeming lunatic, to all appearance had not occurred as a + possibility to a single member of the council, except to those whose + silence was ensured by their complicity.</p> + + <p>So far as we are able to trace the story (for the links of the chain + which led to the discovery of the design's which were entertained, are + something imperfect), the suspicions of the government were first roused + in the following manner:</p> + + <p>Queen Catherine, as we have already seen, had been called upon, at the + coronation of Anne Boleyn, to renounce her title, and she had refused. + Mary had been similarly deprived of her rank as princess; but either her + disgrace was held to be involved in that of her mother, or some other + cause, perhaps the absence of immediate necessity, had postponed the + demand for her own personal submission. As, however, on the publication + of the second marriage, it had been urged on Catherine that there could + not be two queens in England, so on the birth of the Princess Elizabeth, + an analogous argument required the disinheritance of Mary. It was a hard + thing; but her mother's conduct obliged the king to be peremptory. She + might have been legitimatised by act of parliament, if Catherine would + have submitted. The consequences of Catherine's refusal might be cruel, + but they were unavoidable.</p> + + <p>Mary was not with her mother. It had been held desirable to remove her + from an influence which would encourage her in a useless opposition; and + she was residing at Beaulieu, afterwards New Hall, in Essex, under the + care of Lord Hussey and the Countess of Salisbury. Lord Hussey was a + dangerous guardian; he was subsequently executed for his complicity in + the Pilgrimage <!-- Page 396 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page396"></a>[pg 396]</span> of Grace, the avowed object of which + was the restoration of Mary to her place as heir-apparent. We may + believe, therefore, that while under his surveillance she experienced no + severe restraint, nor received that advice with respect to her conduct + which prudence would have dictated. Lord Hussey, however, for the present + enjoyed the confidence of the king, and was directed to inform his + charge, that for the future she was to consider herself not as princess, + but as the king's natural daughter, the Lady Mary Tudor. The message was + a painful one; painful, we will hope, more on her mother's account than + on her own; but her answer implied that, as yet, Henry VIII. was no + object of especial terror to his children.</p> + + <p>"Her Grace replied," wrote Lord Hussey to the council in communicating + the result of his undertaking,<a name="NtA_636"></a><a + href="#Nt_636"><sup>636</sup></a> that "she could not a little marvel + that I being alone, and not associate with some other the king's most + honourable council, nor yet sufficiently authorised neither by commission + not by any other writing from the King's Highness, would attempt to + declare such a high enterprise and matter of no little weight and + importance unto her Grace, in diminishing her said estate and name; her + Grace not doubting that she is the king's true and legitimate daughter + and heir procreate in good and lawful matrimony; [and] further adding, + that unless she were advertised from his Highness by his writing that his + Grace was so minded to diminish her estate, name, and dignity, which she + trusteth his Highness will never do, she would not believe it."</p> + + <p>Inasmuch as Mary was but sixteen at this time, the resolution which + she displayed in sending such a message was considerable. The early + English held almost Roman notions on the nature of parental authority, + and the tone of a child to a father was usually that of the most + submissive reverence. Nor was she contented with replying indirectly + through her guardian. She wrote herself to the king, saying that she + neither could nor would in her conscience think the contrary, but that + she was his lawful daughter born in true matrimony, and that she thought + that he in his own conscience did judge the same.<a name="NtA_637"></a><a + href="#Nt_637"><sup>637</sup></a></p> + + <p>Such an attitude in so young a girl was singular, yet not necessarily + censurable. Henry was not her only parent, and if we suppose her to have + been actuated by affection for her mother, her conduct may appear not + pardonable only, but spirited and <!-- Page 397 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page397"></a>[pg 397]</span> creditable. In + insisting upon her legitimacy, nevertheless, she was not only asserting + the good name and fame of Catherine of Arragon, but unhappily her own + claim to the succession to the throne. It was natural that under the + circumstances she should have felt her right to assert that claim; for + the injury which she had suffered was patent not only to herself, but to + Europe. Catherine might have been required to give way that the king + might have a son, and that the succession might be established in a + prince; but so long as the child of the second marriage was a daughter + only, it seemed substantially monstrous to set aside the elder for the + younger. Yet the measure was a harsh necessity; a link in the chain which + could not be broken. The harassed nation insisted above all things that + no doubt should hang over the future, and it was impossible in the + existing complications to recognise the daughter of Catherine without + excluding Elizabeth, and excluding the prince who was expected to follow + her. By asserting her title, Mary was making herself the nucleus of + sedition, which on her father's death would lead to a convulsion in the + realm. She might not mean it, but the result would not be affected by a + want of purpose in herself; and it was possible that her resolution might + create immediate and far more painful complications. The king's + excommunication was imminent, and if the censures were enforced by the + emperor, she would be thrust into the unpermitted position of her + father's rival.</p> + + <p>The political consequences of her conduct, notwithstanding, although + evident to statesmen, might well be concealed from a headstrong, + passionate girl. There was no suspicion that she herself was encouraging + any of these dangerous thoughts, and Henry looked upon her answer to Lord + Hussey and her letter to himself as expressions of petulant folly. Lord + Oxford, the Earl of Essex, and the Earl of Sussex were directed to repair + to Beaulieu, and explain to her the situation in which she had placed + herself.</p> + + <p>"Considering," wrote the king to them, "how highly such contempt and + rebellion done by our daughter and her servants doth touch not only us, + and the surety of our honour and person, but also the tranquillity of our + realm; and not minding to suffer the pernicious example hereof to spread + far abroad, but to put remedy to the same in due time, we have given you + commandment to declare to her the great folly, temerity, and indiscretion + that she hath used herein, with the peril she hath incurred by reason of + her so doing. By these her ungodly doings hitherto <!-- Page 398 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page398"></a>[pg 398]</span> she hath most + worthily deserved our high indignation and displeasure, and thereto no + less pain and punition than by the order of the laws of our realm doth + appertain in case of high treason, unless our mercy and clemency should + be shewed in that behalf. [If, however, after] understanding our mind and + pleasure, [she will] conform herself humbly and obediently to the + observation of the same, according to the office and duty of a natural + daughter, and of a true and faithful subject, she may give us cause + hereafter to incline our fatherly pity to her reconciliation, her benefit + and advancement."<a name="NtA_638"></a><a + href="#Nt_638"><sup>638</sup></a></p> + + <p>The reply of Mary to this message is not discoverable; but it is + certain that she persisted in her resolution, and clung either to her + mother's "cause" or to her own rank and privilege, in sturdy defiance of + her father. To punish her insubordination or to tolerate it was equally + difficult; and the government might have been in serious embarrassment + had not a series of discoveries, following rapidly one upon the other, + explained the mystery of these proceedings, and opened a view with + alarming clearness into the under-currents of the feeling of the + country.</p> + + <p>Information from time to time had reached Henry from Rome, relating to + the correspondence between Catherine and the pope. Perhaps, too, he knew + how assiduously she had importuned the emperor to force Clement to a + decision.<a name="NtA_639"></a><a href="#Nt_639"><sup>639</sup></a> No + effort, however, had been hitherto made to interfere with her + hospitalities, or to oblige her visitors to submit to scrutiny before + they could be <!-- Page 399 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page399"></a>[pg 399]</span> admitted to her presence. She was the + mistress of her own court and of her own actions; and confidential + agents, both from Rome, Brussels, and Spain, had undoubtedly passed and + repassed with reciprocal instructions and directions.</p> + + <p>The crisis which was clearly approaching had obliged Henry, in the + course of this autumn, to be more watchful; and about the end of October, + or the beginning of November,<a name="NtA_640"></a><a + href="#Nt_640"><sup>640</sup></a> two friars were reported as having been + at Bugden, whose movements attracted suspicion from their anxiety to + escape observation. Secret agents of the government, who had been "set" + for the purpose, followed the friars to London, and notwithstanding "many + wiles and cautells by them invented to escape," the suspected persons + were arrested and brought before Cromwell. Cromwell, "upon examination" + could gather nothing from them of any moment or great importance; but, + "entering on further communication," he said, "he found one of them a + very seditious person, and so committed them to ward." The king was + absent from London, but had left directions that, in the event of any + important occurrence of the kind, Archbishop Cranmer should be sent for; + but Cranmer not being immediately at hand, Cromwell wrote to Henry for + instructions; inasmuch as, he said, "it is undoubted that they (the + monks) have intended, and would confess, some great matter, if they might + be examined as they ought to be—that is to say, by pains."</p> + + <p>The curtain here falls over the two prisoners; we do not know whether + they were tortured, whether they confessed, or what they confessed; but + we may naturally connect this letter, directly or indirectly, with the + events which immediately followed. In the middle of November we find a + commission sitting at Lambeth, composed of Cromwell, Cranmer, and + Latimer, ravelling out the threads of a story, from which, when the whole + was disentangled, it appeared that by Queen Catherine, the Princess Mary, + and a large and formidable party in the country, the king, on the faith + of a pretended revelation, was supposed to have forfeited the crown; that + his death, either by visitation of God or by visitation of man, was daily + expected; and that whether his death took place or not, a revolution was + immediately looked for, which would place the princess on the throne.</p> + + <p>The Nun of Kent, as we remember, had declared that if Henry persisted + in his resolution of marrying Anne, she was commissioned by God to tell + him that he should lose his power and <!-- Page 400 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page400"></a>[pg 400]</span> authority. She had + not specified the manner in which the sentence would be carried into + effect against him. The form of her threats had been also varied + occasionally; she said that he should die, but whether by the hands of + his subjects, or by a providential judgment, she left to conjecture;<a + name="NtA_641"></a><a href="#Nt_641"><sup>641</sup></a> and the period + within which his punishment was to fall upon him was stated variously at + one month or at six.<a name="NtA_642"></a><a + href="#Nt_642"><sup>642</sup></a> She had attempted no secresy with these + prophecies; she had confined herself in appearance to words; and the + publicity which she courted having prevented suspicion of secret + conspiracy, Henry quietly accepted the issue, and left the truth of the + prophecy to be confuted by the event. He married. The one month passed; + the six months passed; eight—nine months. His child was born and + was baptised, and no divine thunder had interposed; only a mere harmless + verbal thunder, from a poor old man at Rome. The illusion, as he + imagined, had been lived down, and had expired of its own vanity.</p> + + <p>But the Nun and her friar advisers were counting on other methods of + securing the fulfilment of the prophecy than supernatural assistance. It + is remarkable that hypocrites and impostors as they knew themselves to + be, they were not without a half belief that some supernatural + intervention was imminent; but the career on which they had entered was + too fascinating to allow them to forsake it when their expectation failed + them. They were swept into the stream which was swelling to resist the + Reformation, and allowed themselves to be hurried forward either to + victory or to destruction.</p> + + <p>The first revelation being apparently confuted by facts, a second was + produced as an interpretation of it; which, however, was not published + like the other, but whispered in secret to persons whose dispositions + were known.<a name="NtA_643"></a><a href="#Nt_643"><sup>643</sup></a></p> + + <p>"When the King's Grace," says the report of the commissioners, "had + continued in good health, honour, and prosperity <!-- Page 401 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page401"></a>[pg 401]</span> more than a month, + Dr. Bocking shewed the said Nun, that as King Saul, abjected from his + kingdom by God, yet continued king in the sight of the world, so her said + revelations might be taken. And therefore the said Nun, upon this + information, forged another revelation, that her words should be + understanded to mean that the King's Grace should not be king in the + reputation or acceptation of God, not one month or one hour after that he + married the Queen's Grace that now is. The first revelation had moved a + great number of the king's subjects, both high and low, to grudge against + the said marriage before it was concluded and perfected; and also induced + such as were stiffly bent against that marriage, daily to look for the + destruction of the King's Grace within a month after he married the + Queen's Grace that now is. And when they were deluded in that + expectation, the second revelation was devised not only as an + interpretation of the former, but to the intent to induce the king's + subjects to believe that God took the King's Grace for no king of this + realm, and that they should likewise take him for no righteous king, and + themselves not bounden to be his subjects; which might have put the King + and the Queen's Grace in jeopardy of their crown and of their issue, and + the people of this realm in great danger of destruction."<a + name="NtA_644"></a><a href="#Nt_644"><sup>644</sup></a></p> + + <p>It was no light matter to pronounce the king to be in the position of + Saul after his rejection; and read by the light of the impending + excommunication, the Nun's words could mean nothing but treason. The + speaker herself was in correspondence with the pope; she had attested her + divine commission by miracles, and had been recognised as a saint by an + Archbishop of Canterbury; the regular orders of the clergy throughout the + realm were known to regard her as inspired; and when the commission + recollected that the king was threatened further with dying "a villain's + death;" and that these and similar prophecies were carefully written out, + and were in private circulation through the country, the matter assumed a + dangerous complexion: it became at once essential to ascertain how far, + and among what classes of the state, these things had penetrated. The + Friars Mendicant were discovered to be in league with her, and these + itinerants were ready-made missionaries of sedition. They had privilege + of vagrancy without check or limit; and owing to their universal + distribution and the freemasonry among themselves, the secret disposition + of every family in England was intimately known to them. No movement, + therefore, <!-- Page 402 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page402"></a>[pg 402]</span> could be securely over-looked in which + these orders had a share; the country might be undermined in secret; and + the government might only learn their danger at the moment of + explosion.</p> + + <p>No sooner, therefore, were the commissioners in possession of the + general facts, than the principal parties—that is to say, the Nun + herself and five of the monks of Christ Church at Canterbury—with + whom her intercourse was most constant, were sent to the Tower to be + "examined"—the monks it is likely by "torture," if they could not + otherwise be brought to confession. The Nun was certainly not tortured. + On her first arrest, she was obstinate in maintaining her prophetic + character; and she was detected in sending messages to her friends, "to + animate them to adhere to her and to her prophecies."<a + name="NtA_645"></a><a href="#Nt_645"><sup>645</sup></a> But her courage + ebbed away under the hard reality of her position. She soon made a full + confession, in which her accomplices joined her; and the half-completed + web of conspiracy was ravelled out. They did not attempt to conceal that + they had intended, if possible, to create an insurrection. The five + monks—Father Bocking, Father Rich, Father Rysby, Father Dering, and + Father Goold—had assisted the Nun in inventing her "Revelations;" + and as apostles, they had travelled about the country to communicate them + in whatever quarters they were likely to be welcome. When we remember + that Archbishop Warham had been a dupe of this woman, and that even + Wolsey's experience and ability had not prevented him from believing in + her power, we are not surprised to find high names among those who were + implicated. Vast numbers of abbots and priors, and of regular and secular + clergy, had listened eagerly; country gentlemen also, and London + merchants. The Bishop of Rochester had "wept for joy" at the first + utterances of the inspired prophetess; and Sir Thomas More, "who at first + did little regard the said revelations, afterwards did greatly rejoice to + hear of them."<a name="NtA_646"></a><a href="#Nt_646"><sup>646</sup></a> + We learn, also, that the Nun had continued to <i>communicate with "the + Lady Princess Dowager" and "the Lady Mary, her daughter."</i><a + name="NtA_647"></a><a href="#Nt_647"><sup>647</sup></a></p> + + <p>These were names which might have furnished cause for regret, but + little for surprise or alarm. The commissioners must have found occasion + for other feelings, however, when among the persons implicated were found + the Countess of Salisbury and the Marchioness of Exeter, with their + chaplains, <!-- Page 403 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page403"></a>[pg 403]</span> households, and servants; Sir Thomas + Arundel, Sir George Carew, and "many of the nobles of England."<a + name="NtA_648"></a><a href="#Nt_648"><sup>648</sup></a> A combination + headed by the Countess of Salisbury, if she were supported even by a + small section of the nobility, would under any circumstances have been + dangerous; and if such a combination was formed in support of an + invasion, and was backed by the blessings of the pope and the fanaticism + of the clergy, the result might be serious indeed. So careful a silence + is observed in the official papers on this feature of the Nun's + conspiracy, that it is uncertain how far the countess had committed + herself; but she had listened certainly to avowals of treasonable + intentions without revealing them, which of itself was no slight evidence + of disloyalty; and that the government were really alarmed may be + gathered from the simultaneous arrest of Sir William and Sir George + Neville, the brothers of Lord Latimer. The connection and significance of + these names I shall explain presently; in the meantime I return to the + preparations which had been made by the Nun.</p> + + <p>As the final judgment drew near—which, unless the king + submitted, would be accompanied, with excommunication, and a declaration + that the English nation was absolved from allegiance,—"the said + false Nun," says the report, "surmised herself to have made a petition to + God to know, when fearful war should come, whether any man should take my + Lady Mary's part or no; and she feigned herself to have answer by + revelation that no man should fear but that she should have succour and + help enough; and that no man should put her from her right that she was + born unto. And petitioning next to know when it was the pleasure of God + that her revelations should be put forth to the world, she had answer + that knowledge should be given to her ghostly father when it should be + time."<a name="NtA_649"></a><a href="#Nt_649"><sup>649</sup></a></p> + + <p>With this information Father Goold had hastened down to Bugden, + encouraging Catherine to persevere in her resistance;<a + name="NtA_650"></a><a href="#Nt_650"><sup>650</sup></a> and while the + imperialists at Rome were pressing the pope for <!-- Page 404 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page404"></a>[pg 404]</span> sentence (we cannot + doubt at Catherine's instance), the Nun had placed herself in readiness + to seize the opportunity when it offered, and to blow the trumpet of + insurrection in the panic which might be surely looked for when that + sentence should be published.</p> + + <p>For this purpose she had organised, with considerable skill, a corps + of fanatical friars, who, when the signal was given, were simultaneously + to throw themselves into the midst of the people, and call upon them to + rise in the name of God. "To the intent," says the report, "to set forth + this matter, certain spiritual and religious persons were appointed, as + they had been chosen of God, to preach the false revelations of the said + Nun, when the time should require, if warning were given them; and some + of these preachers have confessed openly, and subscribed their names to + their confessions, that if the Nun had so sent them word, they would have + preached to the king's subjects that the pleasure of God was that they + should take him no longer for their king; and some of these preachers + were such as gave themselves to great fasting, watching, long prayers, + wearing of shirts of hair and great chains of iron about their middle, + whereby the people had them in high estimation of their great + holiness,—and this strait life they took on them by the counsel and + exhortation of the said Nun."<a name="NtA_651"></a><a + href="#Nt_651"><sup>651</sup></a></p> + + <p>Here, then, was the explanation of the attitude of Catherine and Mary. + Smarting under injustice, and most naturally blending their private + quarrel with the cause of the church, they had listened to these + disordered visions as to a message from heaven, and they had lent + themselves to the first of those religious conspiracies which held + England in chronic agitation for three quarters of a century. The + innocent Saint at Bugden was the forerunner of the prisoner at + Fotheringay; and the Observant friars, with their chain girdles and + shirts of hair, were the antitypes of Parsons and Campion. How critical + the situation of England really was, appears from the following letter of + the French ambassador. The project for the marriage of the Princess Mary + with the Dauphin had been revived by the Catholic party; and a private + arrangement, of which this marriage was to form the connecting link, was + contemplated between the Ultramontanes in France, the pope, and the + emperor.</p> + +<!-- Page 405 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page405"></a>[pg 405]</span> + +<p class="center"><i>D'Inteville to Cardinal Tournon.</i><a name="NtA_652"></a><a href="#Nt_652"><sup>652</sup></a></p> + + <p>"MY LORD,—You will be so good as to tell the Most Christian king + that the emperor's ambassador has communicated with the old queen. The + emperor sends a message to her and to her daughter, that he will not + return to Spain till he has seen them restored to their rights.</p> + + <p>"The people are so much attached to the said ladies that they will + rise in rebellion, and join any prince who will undertake their quarrel. + You probably know from other quarters the intensity of this feeling. It + is shared by all classes, high and low, and penetrates even into the + royal household.</p> + + <p>"The nation is in marvellous discontent. Every one but the relations + of the present queen, is indignant on the ladies' account. Some fear the + overthrow of religion; others fear war and injury to trade. Up to this + time, the cloth, hides, wool, lead, and other merchandise of England have + found markets in Flanders, Spain, and Italy; now it is thought navigation + will be so dangerous that English merchants must equip their ships for + war if they trade to foreign countries; and besides the risk of losing + all to the enemy, the expense of the armament will swallow the profits of + the voyage. In like manner, the emperor's subjects and the pope's + subjects will not be able to trade with England. The coasts will be + blockaded by the ships of the emperor and his allies; and at this moment + men's fears are aggravated by the unseasonable weather throughout the + summer, and the failure of the crops. There is not corn enough for half + the ordinary consumption.</p> + + <p>"The common people, foreseeing these inconveniences, are so violent + against the queen, that they say a thousand shameful things of her, and + of all who have supported her in her intrigues. On them is cast the odium + of all the calamities anticipated from the war.</p> + + <p>"When the war comes, no one doubts that the people will rebel as much + from fear of the dangers which I have mentioned, as from the love which + is felt for the two ladies, and especially for the Princess. She is so + entirely beloved that, notwithstanding the law made at the last + Parliament, and the menace of death contained in it, they persist in + regarding her as Princess. No Parliament, they say, can make her anything + but the king's <!-- Page 406 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page406"></a>[pg 406]</span> daughter, born in marriage; and so the + king and every one else regarded her before that Parliament.</p> + + <p>"Lately, when she was removed from Greenwich, a vast crowd of women, + wives of citizens and others, walked before her at their husbands' + desire, weeping and crying that notwithstanding all she was Princess. + Some of them were sent to the Tower, but they would not retract.</p> + + <p>"Things are now so critical, and the fear of war is so general, that + many of the greatest merchants in London have placed themselves in + communication with the emperor's ambassador, telling him, that if the + emperor will declare war, the English nation will join him for the love + they bear the Lady Mary.</p> + + <p>"You, my Lord, will remember that when you were here, it was said you + were come to tell the king that he was excommunicated, and to demand the + hand of the Princess for the Dauphin. The people were so delighted that + they have never ceased to pray for you. We too, when we arrived in + London, were told that the people were praying for us. They thought our + embassy was to the Princess. They imagined her marriage with the Dauphin + had been determined on by the two kings, and the satisfaction was intense + and universal.</p> + + <p>"They believe that, except by this marriage, they cannot possibly + escape war; whereas, can it be brought about, they will have peace with + the emperor and all other Christian princes. They are now so disturbed + and so desperate that, although at one time they would have preferred a + husband for her from among themselves, that they might not have a foreign + king, there now is nothing which they desire more. Unless the Dauphin + will take her, they say she will continue disinherited; or, if she come + to her rights, it can only be by battle, to the great incommodity of the + country. The Princess herself says publicly that the Dauphin is her + husband, and that she has no hope but in him. I have been told this by + persons who have heard it from her own lips.</p> + + <p>"The emperor's ambassador inquired, after you came, whether we had + seen her. He said he knew she was most anxious to speak with us; she + thought we had permission to visit her, and she looked for good news. He + told us, among other things, that she had been more strictly guarded of + late, by the orders of the queen that now is, who, knowing her feeling + for the Dauphin, feared there might be some practice with her, or some + attempt to carry her off.</p> + + <p>"The Princess's ladies say that she calls herself the Dauphin's <!-- + Page 407 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page407"></a>[pg 407]</span> + wife. A time will come, she says, when God will see that she has suffered + pain and tribulation sufficient; the Dauphin will then demand her of the + king her father, and the king her father will not be able to refuse.</p> + + <p>"The lady who was my informant heard, also, from the Princess, that + her governess, and the other attendants whom the queen had set to watch + her, had assured her that the Dauphin was married to the daughter of the + emperor; but she, the Princess, had answered it was not true—the + Dauphin could not have two wives, and they well knew that she was his + wife: they told her that story, she said, to make her despair, and agree + to give up her rights; but she would never part with her hopes.</p> + + <p>"You may have heard of the storm that broke out between her and her + governess when we went to visit her little sister. She was carried off by + force to her room, that she might not speak with us; and they could + neither pacify her nor keep her still, till the gentleman who escorted us + told her he had the king's commands that she was not to show herself + while we were in the house. You remember the message the same gentleman + brought to you from her, and the charge which was given by the queen.</p> + + <p>"Could the king be brought to consent to the marriage, it could be a + fair union of two realms, and to annex Britain to the crown of France + would be a great honour to our Sovereign; the English party desire + nothing better; the pope will be glad of it; the pope fears that, if war + break out again, France will draw closer to England on the terms which + the King of England desires; and he may thus lose the French tribute as + he has lost the English. He therefore will urge the emperor to agree, and + the emperor will assist gladly for the love which he bears to his + cousin.</p> + + <p>"If the emperor be willing, the King of England can then be informed; + and he can be made to feel that, if he will avoid war, he must not refuse + his consent. The king, in fact, has no wish to disown the Princess, and + he knows well that the marriage with the Dauphin was once agreed on.</p> + + <p>"Should he be unwilling, and should his wife's persuasions stil have + influence with him, he will hesitate before he will defy, for her sake, + the King of France and the emperor united. His regard for the queen is + less than it was, and diminishes every day. He has a new fancy,<a + name="NtA_653"></a><a href="#Nt_653"><sup>653</sup></a> as you are + aware."</p> + +<!-- Page 408 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page408"></a>[pg 408]</span> + + <p>The actual conspiracy, in the form which it had so far assumed, was + rather an appeal to fanaticism than a plot which could have laid hold of + the deeper mind of the country; but as an indication of the unrest which + was stealing over the minds of men, it assumed an importance which it + would not have received from its intrinsic character.</p> + + <p>The guilt of the principal offenders admitted of no doubt. As soon as + the commissioners were satisfied that there was nothing further to be + discovered, the Nun, with the monks, was brought to trial before the Star + Chamber; and conviction followed as a matter of course.<a + name="NtA_654"></a><a href="#Nt_654"><sup>654</sup></a></p> + + <p>The unhappy girl finding herself at this conclusion, after seven years + of vanity, in which she had played with popes, and queens, and + princesses, and archbishops, now, when the dream was thus rudely broken, + in the revulsion of feeling could see nothing in herself but a convicted + impostor. We need not refuse to pity her. The misfortunes of her sickness + had exposed her to temptations far beyond the strength of an ordinary + woman: and the guilt which she passionately claimed for herself rested + far more truly with the knavery of the Christ Church monks and the + incredible folly of Archbishop Warham.<a name="NtA_655"></a><a + href="#Nt_655"><sup>655</sup></a> But the times were too stern to admit + of nice distinctions. No immediate sentence was pronounced, but it was + thought desirable for the satisfaction of the people that a confession + should be made in public by the Nun and her companions. The Sunday + following their trial they were placed on a raised platform at Paul's + Cross by the side of the pulpit, and when the sermon was over they one by + one delivered their "bills" to the preacher, which by him were read to + the crowd.<a name="NtA_656"></a><a href="#Nt_656"><sup>656</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 409 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page409"></a>[pg 409]</span> + + <p>After an acknowledgment of their imposture the prisoners were remanded + to the Tower, and their ultimate fate reserved for the consideration of + parliament, which was to meet in the middle of January.</p> + + <p>The chief offenders being thus disposed of, the council resolved next + that peremptory measures should be taken with respect to the Princess + Mary.<a name="NtA_657"></a><a href="#Nt_657"><sup>657</sup></a> Her + establishment was broken up, and she was sent to reside as the Lady Mary + in the household of the Princess Elizabeth—a hard but not + unwholesome discipline.<a name="NtA_658"></a><a + href="#Nt_658"><sup>658</sup></a> As soon as this was done, being + satisfied that the leading shoot of the conspiracy was broken, and that + no immediate danger was now to be feared, they proceeded leisurely to + follow the clue of the Nun's confession, and to extend their inquiries. + The Countess of Salisbury was mentioned as one of the persons with whom + the woman had been in correspondence. This lady was the daughter of the + Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. Her mother was a Neville, a child + of Richard the Kingmaker, the famous Earl of Warwick, and her only + brother had been murdered to secure the shaking throne of Henry VII. + Margaret Plantagenet, in recompense for the lost honours of the house, + was made Countess of Salisbury in her own right. The title descended from + her grandfather, who was Earl of Salisbury and Warwick; but the prouder + title had been dropped as suggestive of dangerous associations. The + Earldom of Warwick remained in abeyance, and the castle and the estates + attached to it were forfeited to the Crown. The countess was married + after her brother's death to a Sir Richard Pole, a supporter and + relation<a name="NtA_659"></a><a href="#Nt_659"><sup>659</sup></a> of the + king; and when left a widow she received from Henry VIII. the respectful + honour which was due to the most nobly born of his subjects, the only + remaining Plantagenet of unblemished descent. In his kindness to her + children the king had attempted to obliterate the recollection of her + brother's wrongs, and she had been herself selected to preside over the + household of the Princess Mary. During the first twenty years of Henry's + reign the countess seems to have acknowledged his attentions with loyal + regard, and if she had <!-- Page 410 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page410"></a>[pg 410]</span> not forgotten her birth and her + childhood, she never connected herself with the attempts which during + that time were made to revive the feuds of the houses. Richard de la + Pole, nephew of Edward IV.,<a name="NtA_660"></a><a + href="#Nt_660"><sup>660</sup></a> and called while he lived "the White + Rose," had more than once endeavoured to excite an insurrection in the + eastern counties; but Lady Salisbury was never suspected of holding + intercourse with him; she remained aloof from political disputes, and in + lofty retirement she was contented to forget her greatness for the sake + of the Princess Mary, to whom she and her family were deeply attached. + Her relations with the king had thus continued undisturbed until his + second marriage. As the representative of the House of York she was the + object of the hopes and affections of the remnants of their party, but + she had betrayed no disposition to abuse her influence, or to disturb the + quiet of the nation for personal ambition of her own.</p> + + <p>If it be lawful to interpret symptoms in themselves trifling by the + light of later events, it would seem as if her attitude now underwent a + material change. Her son Reginald had already quarrelled with the king + upon the divorce. He was in suspicious connection with the pope, and + having been required to return home upon his allegiance, had refused + obedience. His mother, and his mother's attached friend, the Marchioness + of Exeter, we now find among those to whom the Nun of Kent communicated + her prophecies and her plans. It does not seem that the countess thought + at any time of reviving her own pretensions; it does seem that she was + ready to build a throne for the Princess Mary out of the ruined + supporters of her father's family. The power which she could wield might + at any moment become formidable. She had two sons in England, Lord + Montague and Sir Geoffrey Pole. Her cousin, the Marquis of Exeter, a + grandson himself of Edward IV.,<a name="NtA_661"></a><a + href="#Nt_661"><sup>661</sup></a> was, with the exception of the Duke of + Norfolk, the most powerful nobleman in the realm; and he, to judge by + events, was beginning to look coldly on the king.<a name="NtA_662"></a><a + href="#Nt_662"><sup>662</sup></a> We find her surrounded also by the + representatives of her mother's family—Lord Abergavenny, who had + been under suspicion when the Duke of Buckingham was executed, Sir Edward + Neville, afterwards executed, Lord Latimer, Sir George and Sir William + Neville, all of them were <!-- Page 411 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page411"></a>[pg 411]</span> her near connections, all collateral + heirs of the King-maker, inheriting the pride of their birth, and + resentfully conscious of their fallen fortunes. The support of a party so + composed would have added formidable strength to the preaching friars of + the Nun of Kent; and as I cannot doubt that the Nun was endeavouring to + press her intrigues in a quarter where disaffection if created would be + most dangerous, so the lady who ruled this party with a patriarchal + authority had listened to her suggestions; and the repeated interviews + with her which were sought by the Marchioness of Exeter were rendered + more than suspicious by the secresy with which these interviews were + conducted.<a name="NtA_663"></a><a href="#Nt_663"><sup>663</sup></a></p> + + <p>These circumstances explain the arrest, to which I alluded above, of + Sir William and Sir George Neville, brothers of Lord Latimer. They were + not among "the many noblemen" to whom the commissioners referred; for + their confessions remain, and contain no allusion to the Nun; but they + were examined at this particular time on general suspicion; and the + arrest, under such circumstances, of two near relatives of Lady + Salisbury, indicates clearly an alarm in the council, lest she might be + contemplating some serious movements. At any rate, either on her account + or on their own, the Nevilles fell under suspicion, and while they had no + crimes to reveal, their depositions, especially that of Sir William + Neville, furnish singular evidence of the temper of the times.</p> + + <p>The confession of the latter begins with an account of the loss of + certain silver spoons, for the recovery of which Sir William sent to a + wizard who resided in Cirencester. The wizard took the opportunity of + telling Sir William's fortune: his wife was to die, and he himself was to + marry an heiress, and be made a baron; with other prospective splendours. + The wizard concluded, however, with recommending him to pay a visit to + another dealer in the dark art more learned than himself, whose name was + Jones, at Oxford.</p> + + <p>"So after that," said Sir William [Midsummer, 1532], "I went to + Oxford, intending that my brother George and I should kill a buck with + Sir Simon Harcourt, which he had promised me; and there at Oxford, in the + said Jones's chamber, I did see certain stillatories, alembics, and other + instruments of glass, and also a sceptre and other things, which he said + did appertain to the conjuration of the four kings; and also an image of + white <!-- Page 412 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page412"></a>[pg + 412]</span> metal; and in a box, a serpent's skin, as he said, and divers + books and things, whereof one was a book which he said was my Lord + Cardinal's, having pictures in it like angels. He told me he could make + rings of gold, to obtain favour of great men; and said that my Lord + Cardinal had such; and promised my said brother and me, either of us, one + of them; and also he showed me a round thing like a ball of crystal.</p> + + <p>"He said that if the King's Grace went over to France [the Calais + visit of October, 1532], his Grace should marry my Lady Marchioness of + Pembroke before that his Highness returned again; and that it would be + dangerous to his Grace, and to the most part of the noblemen that should + go with him; saying also that he had written to one of the king's council + to advise his Highness not to go over, for if he did, it should not be + for his Grace's profit."</p> + + <p>The wizard next pretended that he had seen a vision of a certain room + in a tower, in which a spirit had appeared with a coat of arms in his + hand, and had "delivered the same to Sir William Neville." The arms being + described as those of the Warwick family, Sir William, his brother, and + Jones rode down from Oxford to Warwick, where they went over the castle. + The wizard professed to recognise in a turret chamber the room in which + he had seen the spirit, and he prophesied that Sir William should recover + the earldom, the long-coveted prize of all the Neville family.</p> + + <p>On their return to Oxford, Jones, continues Sir William, said further, + "That there should be a field in the north about a se'n-night before + Christmas, in which my Lord my brother [Lord Latimer] should be slain; + the realm should be long without a king; and much robbery would be within + the realm, specially of abbeys and religious houses, and of rich men, as + merchants, graziers, and others; so that, if I would, he at that time + would advise me to find the means to enter into the said castle for mine + own safeguard, and divers persons would resort unto me. <i>None of + Cadwallader's blood</i>, he told me, <i>should reign more than + twenty-four years;</i> and also that Prince Edward [son of Henry VI. and + Margaret of Anjou, killed at Tewkesbury], had issue a son which was + conveyed over sea; and there had issue a son which was yet alive, either + in Saxony or Almayne; and that either he or the King of Scots should + reign next after the King's Grace that now is. To all which I answered," + Sir William concluded, "that there is nothing which the will of God is + that a man shall obtain, but that he of his goodness will put in his <!-- + Page 413 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page413"></a>[pg 413]</span> + mind the way whereby he shall come by it; and that surely I had no mind + to follow any such fashion; and that, also, the late Duke of Buckingham + and others had cast themselves away by too much trust in prophecies, and + other jeoparding of themselves, and therefore I would in no wise follow + any such way. He answered, if I would not, it would be long ere I + obtained it. Then I said I believed that well, and if it never came, I + trusted to God to live well enough."<a name="NtA_664"></a><a + href="#Nt_664"><sup>664</sup></a></p> + + <p>Sir George Neville confirmed generally his brother's story, protesting + that they had never intended treason, and that "at no time had he been of + counsel" when any treason was thought of.<a name="NtA_665"></a><a + href="#Nt_665"><sup>665</sup></a></p> + + <p>The wizard himself was next sent for. The prophecies about the king he + denied wholly. He admitted that he had seen an angel in a dream giving + Sir William Neville the shield of the earldom in Warwick Castle, and that + he had accompanied the two brothers to Warwick, to examine the tower. + Beyond that, he said that he knew nothing either of them or of their + intentions. He declared himself a good subject, and he would "jeopard his + life" to make the philosopher's stone for the king in twelve months if + the king pleased to command him. He desired "no longer space than twelve + months upon silver and twelve and a half upon gold;" to be kept in prison + till he had done it; and it would be "better to the King's Grace than a + thousand men."<a name="NtA_666"></a><a + href="#Nt_666"><sup>666</sup></a></p> + + <p>The result of these examinations does not appear, except it be that + the Nevilles were dismissed without punishment; and the story itself may + be thought too trifling to have deserved a grave notice. I see in it, + however, an illustration very noticeworthy of the temper which was + working in the country. The suspicion of treason in the Neville family + may not have been confirmed, although we see them casting longing looks + on the lost inheritance of Warwick; but their confessions betray the + visions of impending change, anarchy, and confusion, which were haunting + the popular imagination. A craving after prophecies, a restless eagerness + to search into the future by abnormal means, had infected all ranks from + the highest to the lowest; and such symptoms, when they appear, are a + sure evidence of approaching disorder, for they are an evidence of a + present madness which has brought down wisdom to a common level with + folly. At such times, the idlest fancy is more potent <!-- Page 414 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page414"></a>[pg 414]</span> with the + mind than the soundest arguments of reason. The understanding abdicates + its functions; and men are given over, as if by magic, to the + enchantments of insanity.</p> + + <p>Phenomena of this eccentric kind always accompany periods of + intellectual change. Most men live and think by habit; and when habit + fails them, they are like unskilful sailors who have lost the landmarks + of their course, and have no compass and no celestial charts by which to + steer. In the years which preceded the French Revolution, Cagliostro was + the companion of princes—at the dissolution of paganism the + practicers of curious arts, the watches and the necromancers, were the + sole objects of reverence in the Roman world;—and so, before the + Reformation, archbishops and cardinals saw an inspired prophetess in a + Kentish servant girl; Oxford heads of colleges sought out heretics with + the help of astrology; Anne Boleyn blessed a basin of rings, her royal + fingers pouring such virtue into the metal that no disorder could resist + it;<a name="NtA_667"></a><a href="#Nt_667"><sup>667</sup></a> Wolsey had + a magic crystal; and Cromwell, while in Wolsey's household, "did haunt to + the company of a wizard."<a name="NtA_668"></a><a + href="#Nt_668"><sup>668</sup></a> These things were the counterpart of a + religion which taught that slips of paper, duly paid for, could secure + indemnity for sin. It was well for England that the chief captain at + least was proof against the epidemic—no random scandal seems ever + to have whispered that such delusions had touched the mind of the king.<a + name="NtA_669"></a><a href="#Nt_669"><sup>669</sup></a></p> + + <p>While the government were prosecuting these inquiries at home, the law + at the Vatican had run its course; November passed, and as no submission + had arrived, the sentence of the 12th of July came into force, and the + king, the queen, and the Archbishop of Canterbury were declared to have + incurred the threatened censures.</p> + + <p>The privy council met on the 2nd of December, and it was determined in + consequence that copies of the "Act of Appeals," and of the king's + "provocation" to a general council, should be fixed without delay on + every church door in England. Protests were at the same time to be drawn + up and sent into Flanders, and to the other courts in Europe, "to the + intent the falsehood and injustice of the Bishop of Rome might appear to + all the world." The defences of the country were to be looked <!-- Page + 415 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page415"></a>[pg 415]</span> to; + and "spies" to be sent into Scotland to see "what they intended there," + "and whether they would confeder themselves with any outward princes." + Finally, it was proposed that the attempt to form an alliance with the + Lutheran powers should be renewed on a larger scale; that certain + discreet and grave persons should be appointed to conclude "some league + or amity with the princes of Germany"—"that is to say, the King of + Poland, the King of Hungary,<a name="NtA_670"></a><a + href="#Nt_670"><sup>670</sup></a> the Duke of Saxony, the Duke of + Bavaria, the Duke of Brandenburg, the Landgrave of Hesse, and other + potentates."<a name="NtA_671"></a><a href="#Nt_671"><sup>671</sup></a> + Vaughan's mission had been merely tentative, and had failed. Yet the + offer of a league, offensive and defensive, the immediate and avowed + object of which was a general council at which the Protestants should be + represented, might easily succeed where vague offers of amity had come to + nothing. The formation of a Protestant alliance, however, would have been + equivalent to a declaration of war against Catholic Europe; and it was a + step which could not be taken, consistently with the Treaty of + Calais,—without first communicating with Francis.</p> + + <p>Henry, therefore, by the advice of the council, wrote a despatch to + Sir John Wallop, the ambassador at Paris, which was to be laid before the + French court. He explained the circumstances in which he was placed, with + the suggestion which the council had made to him. He gave a list of the + princes with whom he had been desired by his ministers to connect + himself—and the object was nothing less than a coalition of + Northern Europe. He recapitulated the injuries which he had received from + the pope, who at length was studying "to subvert the rest and peace of + the realm;" "yea, and so much as in him was, utterly to destroy the + same." The nobles and council, he said, for their own sake as well as for + the sake of the kingdom, had entreated him to put an end, once for all, + to the pope's usurpation; and to invite the Protestant princes, for the + universal weal of Christendom, to unite in a common alliance. In his + present situation he was inclined to act upon this advice. "As concerning + his own realm, he had already taken such order with his nobles and + subjects, as he would shortly be able to give to the pope such a buffet + as he never had heretofore;" but as a German alliance was a matter of + <!-- Page 416 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page416"></a>[pg + 416]</span> great weight and importance, "although," he concluded, "we + consider it to be right expedient to set forth the same with all + diligence, yet we intend nothing to do therein without making our good + brother first privy thereunto. And for this cause and consideration only, + you may say that we have at this time addressed these letters unto you, + commanding you to declare our said purpose unto our good brother, and to + require of him on our behalf his good address and best advice. Of his + answer we require you to advertise us with all diligence, for according + thereunto we intend to attemper our proceedings. We have lately had + advertisements how that our said good brother should, by the labour of + divers affectionate Papists, be minded to set forth something with his + clergy in advancement of the pope and his desires. This we cannot believe + that he will do."<a name="NtA_672"></a><a + href="#Nt_672"><sup>672</sup></a></p> + + <p>The meaning of this letter lies upon the surface. If the European + powers were determined to leave him no alternative, the king was prepared + to ally himself with the Lutherans. But however he might profess to + desire that alliance, it was evident that he would prefer, if possible, a + less extreme resource. The pope had ceased to be an object of concern to + him; but he could not contemplate, without extreme unwillingness, a + separation from the orderly governments who professed the Catholic faith. + The pope had injured him; Francis had deceived him; they had tempted his + patience because they knew his disposition. The limit of endurance had + been reached at length; yet, on the verge of the concluding rupture, he + turned once more, as if to offer a last opportunity of peace.</p> + + <p>The reply of Francis was an immediate mission of the Bishop of Bayonne + (now Bishop of Paris), first into England, and from England to Rome, + where he was to endeavour, to the best of his ability, to seam together + the already gaping rent in the church with fair words—a hopeless + task—the results of which, however, were unexpectedly considerable, + as will be presently seen.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, on the side of Flanders, the atmosphere was dubious and + menacing. The refugee friars, who were reported to be well supplied with + money from England, were labouring to exasperate the people, Father Peto + especially distinguishing himself upon this service.<a + name="NtA_673"></a><a href="#Nt_673"><sup>673</sup></a> The English + ambassador, Sir John <!-- Page 417 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page417"></a>[pg 417]</span> Hacket, still remained at Brussels, + and the two governments were formally at peace; but when Hacket required + the queen-regent to forbid the publication of the brief of July in the + Netherlands, he was met with a positive refusal. "M. Ambassador," she + said, "the Emperor, the King of Hungary, the Queen of France, the King of + Portugal, and I, understand what are the rights of our aunt—our + duty is to her—and such letters of the pope as come hither in her + favour we shall obey. Your master has no right to complain either of the + emperor or of myself, if we support our aunt in a just cause."<a + name="NtA_674"></a><a href="#Nt_674"><sup>674</sup></a> At the same time, + formal complaints were made by Charles of the personal treatment of Queen + Catherine, and the clouds appeared to be gathering for a storm. Yet here, + too, there was an evident shrinking from extremities. A Welsh gentleman + had been at Brussels to offer his services against Henry, and had met + with apparent coldness. Sir John Hacket wrote, on the 15th of December, + that he was assured by well-informed persons, that so long as Charles + lived, he would never be the first to begin a war with England, "which + would rebound to the destruction of the Low Countries."<a + name="NtA_675"></a><a href="#Nt_675"><sup>675</sup></a> A week later, + when the queen-regent was suffering from an alarming illness, he said it + was reported that, should she die, Catherine or Mary, if either of them + was allowed to leave England, would be held "meet to have governance of + the Low Countries."<a name="NtA_676"></a><a + href="#Nt_676"><sup>676</sup></a> This was a generous step, if the + emperor seriously contemplated it. The failure of the Nun of Kent had + perhaps taught him that there was no present prospect of a successful + insurrection. In his conduct towards England, he was seemingly governing + himself by the prospect which might open for a successful attack upon it. + If occasion offered to strike the government in connection with an + efficient Catholic party in the nation itself, he would not fail to avail + himself of it.<a name="NtA_677"></a><a href="#Nt_677"><sup>677</sup></a> + Otherwise, he would perhaps content himself with an <!-- Page 418 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page418"></a>[pg 418]</span> attitude + of inactive menace; unless menaced himself by a Protestant + confederation.</p> + + <p>Amidst these uneasy symptoms at home and abroad, parliament + re-assembled on the 15th of January. It was a changed England since these + men first came together on the fall of Wolsey. Session after session had + been spent in clipping the roots of the old tree which had overshadowed + them for centuries. On their present meeting they were to finish their + work, and lay it prostrate for ever. Negotiations were still pending with + the See of Rome, and this momentous session had closed before the final + catastrophe. The measures which were passed in the course of it are not, + therefore, to be looked upon as adopted hastily, in a spirit of + retaliation, but as the consistent accomplishment of a course which had + been deliberately adopted, to reverse the positions of the civil and + spiritual authority within the realm, and to withdraw the realm itself + from all dependence on a foreign power.</p> + + <p>The Annates and Firstfruits' Bill had not yet received the royal + assent; but the pope had refused to grant the bulls for bishops recently + appointed, and he was no longer to receive payment for services which he + refused to render. Peter's pence were still paid, and might continue to + be paid, if the pope would recollect himself; but, like the Sibyl of + Cuma, Henry destroyed some fresh privilege with each delay of justice, + demanding the same price for the preservation of what remained. The + secondary streams of tribute now only remained to the Roman See; and + communion with the English church, which it was for Clement to accept or + refuse.</p> + + <p>The circumstances under which the session opened were, however, grave + and saddening. Simultaneously with the concluding legislation on the + church, the succession to the throne was to be determined in terms which + might, perhaps, be accepted as a declaration of war by the emperor; and + the affair of the Nun of Kent had rendered necessary an inquiry into the + conduct of honoured members of the two Houses, who were lying under the + shadow of high treason. The conditions were for the first time to be + plainly seen under which the Reformation was to fight its way. The road + which lay before it was beset not merely with external obstacles, which a + strong will and a strong hand could crush, but with the phantoms of dying + faiths, which haunted the hearts of all living men; the superstitions, + the prejudices, the hopes, the fears, the passions, which swayed stormily + and fitfully through the minds of every actor in the great drama.</p> + +<!-- Page 419 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page419"></a>[pg 419]</span> + + <p>The uniformity of action in the parliament of 1529, during the seven + years which it continued, is due to the one man who saw his way + distinctly, Thomas Cromwell. The nation was substantially united in the + divorce question, could the divorce be secured without a rupture with the + European powers. It was united also on the necessity of limiting the + jurisdiction of the clergy, and cutting short the powers of the + consistory courts. But in questions of "opinion" there was the most + sensitive jealousy; and from the combined instincts of prejudice and + conservatism, the majority of the country in a count of heads would + undoubtedly have been against a separation from Rome.</p> + + <p>The clergy professed to approve the acts of the government, but it was + for the most part with the unwilling acquiescence of men who were without + courage to refuse. The king was divided against himself. Nine days in ten + he was the clear-headed, energetic, powerful statesman; on the tenth he + was looking wistfully to the superstition which he had left, and the + clear sunshine was darkened with theological clouds, which broke in + lightning and persecution. Thus there was danger at any moment of a + reaction, unless opportunity was taken at the flood, unless the work was + executed too completely to admit of reconsideration, and the nation + committed to a course from which it was impossible to recede. The action + of the conservatives was paralysed for the time by the want of a fixed + purpose. The various parts of the movement were so skilfully linked + together, that partial opposition to it was impossible; and so long as + the people had to choose between the pope and the king, their loyalty + would not allow them to hesitate. But very few men actively adhered to + Cromwell. Cromwell had struck the line on which the forces of nature were + truly moving—the resultant, not of the victory of either of the + extreme parties, but of the joint action of their opposing forces. To him + belonged the rare privilege of genius, to see what other men could not + see; and therefore he was condemned to rule a generation which hated him, + to do the will of God, and to perish in his success. He had no party. By + the nobles he was regarded with the same mixed contempt and fear which + had been felt for Wolsey. The Protestants, perhaps, knew what he was, but + he could only purchase their toleration by himself checking their + extravagance. Latimer was the only person of real power on whose + friendship he could calculate, and Latimer was too plain spoken on + dangerous questions to be useful as a political supporter.</p> + + <p>The session commenced on the 15th of January.</p> + +<!-- Page 420 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page420"></a>[pg 420]</span> + + <p>The first step was to receive the final submission of convocation. The + undignified resistance was at last over, and the clergy had promised to + abstain for the future from unlicensed legislation. To secure their + adherence to their engagements, an act<a name="NtA_678"></a><a + href="#Nt_678"><sup>678</sup></a> was passed to make the breach of that + engagement penal; and a commission of thirty-two persons, half of whom + were to be laymen, was designed for the revision of the Canon law.<a + name="NtA_679"></a><a href="#Nt_679"><sup>679</sup></a></p> + + <p>The next most important movement was to assimilate the trials for + heresy with the trials for other criminal offences. I have already + explained at length the manner in which the bishops abused their judicial + powers. These powers were not absolutely taken away, but ecclesiastics + were no longer permitted to arrest <i>ex officio</i> and examine at their + pleasure. Where a charge of heresy was to be brought against a man, + presentments were to be made by lawful witnesses before justices of the + peace; and then, and not otherwise, he might fall under the authority of + the "ordinary." Secret examinations were declared illegal. The offender + was to be tried in open court, and, previous to his trial, had a right to + be admitted to bail, unless the bishop could show cause to the contrary + to the satisfaction of two magistrates.<a name="NtA_680"></a><a + href="#Nt_680"><sup>680</sup></a></p> + + <p>This was but a slight instalment of lenity; but it was an indication + of the turning tide. Limited as it was, the act operated as an effective + check upon persecution till the passing of the Six Articles Bill.</p> + + <p>Turning next to the relations between England and Rome, the parliament + reviewed the Annates Act,<a name="NtA_681"></a><a + href="#Nt_681"><sup>681</sup></a> which had been left unratified in the + hope that the pope might have consented to a compromise, and that "by + some gentle ways the said exaction might have been redressed and + reformed." The expectation had been disappointed. The pope had not + condescended to reply to the communication which had been made to him, + and the act had in consequence received the royal assent. An alteration + had thus become necessary in the manner of presentation to vacant + bishoprics. The anomalies of the existing practice have been already + described. By the Great Charter the chapters had acquired the right of + free election. A <i>congé d'élire</i> was granted by the king on the + occurrence of a vacancy, <!-- Page 421 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page421"></a>[pg 421]</span> with no attempt at a nomination. The + chapters were supposed to make their choice freely, and the name of the + bishop-elect was forwarded to the pope, who returned the Pallium and the + Bulls, receiving the Annates in exchange. The pope's part in the matter + was now terminated. No Annates would be sent any longer to Rome, and no + Bulls would be returned from Rome. The appointments lay between the + chapters and the crown; and it might have seemed, at first sight, as if + it would have been sufficient to omit the reference to the papacy, and as + if the remaining forms might continue as they were. The chapters, + however, had virtually long ceased to elect freely; the crown had + absorbed the entire functions of presentation, sometimes appointing + foreigners,<a name="NtA_682"></a><a href="#Nt_682"><sup>682</sup></a> + sometimes allowing the great ecclesiastical ministers to nominate + themselves;<a name="NtA_683"></a><a href="#Nt_683"><sup>683</sup></a> + while the rights of the chapters, though existing in theory, were not + officially recognised either by the pope or by the crown. The king + affected to accept the names of the prelates-elect, when returned to him + from Rome, as nominations by the pope; and the pope, in communicating + with the chapters, presented them with their bishops as from himself.<a + name="NtA_684"></a><a href="#Nt_684"><sup>684</sup></a> The papal share + in the matter was a shadow, but it was acknowledged under the forms of + courtesy; the share of the chapters was wholly and absolutely ignored. + The crisis of a revolution was not the moment at which their legal + privileges could be safely restored to them. The problem of + re-arrangement was a difficult one, and it was met in a manner peculiarly + English. The practice of granting the <i>congé d'élire</i> to the + chapters on the occurrence of a vacancy, which had fallen into desuetude, + was again adopted, and the church resumed the forms of liberty: but the + licence to elect a bishop was to be accompanied with the name of the + person whom the chapter was required to elect; and if within twelve days + the person so named <!-- Page 422 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page422"></a>[pg 422]</span> had not been chosen, the nomination of + the crown was to become absolute, and the chapter would incur a + Premunire.<a name="NtA_685"></a><a href="#Nt_685"><sup>685</sup></a></p> + + <p>This act, which I conceive to have been more arbitrary in form than in + intention, was followed by a closing attack upon the remaining + "exactions" of the Bishop of Rome. The Annates were gone. There were yet + to go, "Pensions, Censes, Peter's Pence, Procurations, Fruits, Suits for + Provision, Delegacies and Rescripts in causes of Contention and Appeals, + Jurisdictions legatine—also Dispensations, Licenses, Faculties, + Grants, Relaxations, Writs called Perinde valere, Rehabilitations, + Abolitions," with other unnamed (the parliament being wearied of naming + them) "infinite sorts of Rules, Briefs, and instruments of sundry + natures, names, and kinds." All these were perennially open sluices, + which had drained England of its wealth for centuries, returning only in + showers of paper, and the Commons were determined that streams so + unremunerative should flow no longer. They conceived that they had been + all along imposed upon, and that the "Bishop of Rome was to be blamed for + having allured and beguiled the English nation, persuading them that he + had power to dispense with human laws, uses, and customs, contrary to + right and conscience." If the king so pleased, therefore, they would not + be so beguiled any more. These and all similar exactions should cease; + and all powers claimed by the Bishop of Rome within the realm <!-- Page + 423 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page423"></a>[pg 423]</span> should + cease, and should be transferred to the crown. At the same time they + would not press upon the pope too hardly; they would repeat the same + conditions which they had offered with the Annates. He had received these + revenues as the supreme judge in the highest court in Europe, and he + might retain his revenues or receive compensation for them, if he dared + to be just. It was for himself to resolve, and three months were allowed + for a final decision.</p> + + <p>In conclusion, the Commons thought it well to assert that they were + separating, not from the church of Christ, but only from the papacy. A + judge who allowed himself to be overawed against his conscience by a + secular power, could not any longer be recognised; but no thing or things + contained in the act should be afterwards "interpreted or expounded, that + his Grace (the king), his nobles and subjects, intended by the same to + decline or vary from the congregation of Christ's church in anything + concerning the articles of the Catholic faith of Christendom, or in any + other things declared by the Holy Scripture and the Word of God necessary + for salvation; but only to make an ordinance, by policies necessary and + convenient, to repress vice, and for the good conservation of the realm + in peace, unity, and tranquillity, from ravin and spoil—ensuing + much the old antient customs of the realm in that behalf."<a + name="NtA_686"></a><a href="#Nt_686"><sup>686</sup></a></p> + + <p>The most arduous business was thus finished—the most painful + remained. The Nun of Kent and her accomplices were to be proceeded + against by act of parliament; and the bill of their attainder was + presented for the first time in the House of Lords, on the 18th of + February. The offence of the principal conspirators was plainly high + treason; their own confessions removed uncertainty; the guilt was + clear—the sentence was inevitable. But the fault of those who had + been listeners only was less easy of measurement, and might vary from + comparative innocence to a definite breach of allegiance.</p> + + <p>The government were unwilling to press with severity on the noble + lords and ladies whose names had been unexpectedly brought to light; and + there were two men of high rank only, whose complicity it was thought + necessary to notice. The Bishop of Rochester's connection with the Nun + had been culpably encouraging; and the responsibility of Sir Thomas More + was held also to be very great in having countenanced, however lightly, + such perilous schemers.</p> + + <p>In the bill, therefore, as it was first read, More and Fisher <!-- + Page 424 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page424"></a>[pg 424]</span> + found themselves declared guilty of misprision of treason. But the object + of this measure was rather to warn than to punish, nor was there any real + intention of continuing their prosecution. Cromwell, under instructions + from the king, had communicated privately with both of them. He had sent + a message to Fisher through his brother, telling him that he had only to + ask for forgiveness to receive it;<a name="NtA_687"></a><a + href="#Nt_687"><sup>687</sup></a> and he had begged More through his + son-in-law, Mr. Roper, to furnish him with an explicit account of what + had passed at any time between himself and the Nun,<a + name="NtA_688"></a><a href="#Nt_688"><sup>688</sup></a> with an + intimation that, if honestly made, it would be accepted in his + favour.</p> + + <p>These advances were met by More in the spirit in which they were + offered. He heartily thanked Cromwell, "reckoning himself right deeply + beholden to him;"<a name="NtA_689"></a><a + href="#Nt_689"><sup>689</sup></a> and replied with a long, minute, and + evidently veracious story, detailing an interview which he had held with + the woman in the chapel of Sion Monastery. He sent at the same time a + copy of a letter which he had written to her, and described various + conversations with the friars who were concerned in the forgery. He did + not deny that he had believed the Nun to have been inspired, or that he + had heard of the language which she was in the habit of using respecting + the king. He protested, however, that he had himself never entertained a + treasonable thought. He told Cromwell that "he had done a very + meritorious deed in bringing forth to light such detestable hypocrisy, + whereby every other wretch might take warning, and be feared to set forth + their devilish dissembled falsehoods under the manner and colour of the + wonderful work of God."<a name="NtA_690"></a><a + href="#Nt_690"><sup>690</sup></a> More's offence had not been great. His + acknowledgments were open and unreserved; and Cromwell laid his letter + before the king, adding his own intercession that the matter might be + passed over. Henry consented, expressing only his grief and concern that + Sir Thomas More should have acted so unwisely.<a name="NtA_691"></a><a + href="#Nt_691"><sup>691</sup></a> He required, nevertheless, as Cromwell + suggested, that a formal letter should be written, with a confession of + fault, and a request for forgiveness. More obeyed; he wrote, gracefully + reminding the king of a promise <!-- Page 425 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page425"></a>[pg 425]</span> when he resigned the chancellorship, + that in any suit which he might afterwards have to his Grace, either + touching his honour or his profit, he should find his Highness his good + and gracious lord.<a name="NtA_692"></a><a + href="#Nt_692"><sup>692</sup></a> Henry acknowledged his claim; his name + was struck out of the bill, and the prosecution against him was + dropped.</p> + + <p>Fisher's conduct was very different; his fault had been far greater + than More's, and promises more explicit had been held out to him of + forgiveness. He replied to these promises by an elaborate and ridiculous + defence—not writing to the king, as Cromwell desired him, but + vindicating himself as having committed no fault; although he had + listened eagerly to language which was only pardonable on the assumption + that it was inspired, and had encouraged a nest of fanatics by his + childish credulity. The Nun "had showed him not," he said, "that any + prince or temporal lord should put the king in danger of his crown." He + knew nothing of the intended insurrection. He believed the woman to have + been a saint; he supposed that she had herself told the king all which + she had told to him; and therefore he said that he had nothing for which + to reproach himself.<a name="NtA_693"></a><a + href="#Nt_693"><sup>693</sup></a> He was unable to see that the exposure + of the imposture had imparted a fresh character to his conduct, which he + was bound to regret. Knowingly or unknowingly, he had lent his + countenance to a conspiracy; and so long as he refused to acknowledge his + indiscretion, the government necessarily would interpret his actions in + the manner least to his advantage.</p> + + <p>If he desired that his conduct should be forgotten, it was + indispensable that he should change his attitude, and so Cromwell warned + him. "Ye desire," the latter wrote, "for the passion of Christ, that ye + be no more quickened in this matter; for if ye be put to that strait ye + will not lose your soul, but ye will speak as your conscience leadeth + you; with many more words of great courage. My Lord, if ye had taken my + counsel sent unto you by your brother, and followed the same, submitting + yourself by your letter to the King's Grace for your offences in this + behalf, I would have trusted that ye should never be quickened in the + matter more. But now where ye take upon you to defy the whole matter as + ye were in no default, I cannot so far promise you. Wherefore, my Lord, I + would eftsoons advise you that, laying apart all such excuses as ye have + alleged in your letters, which in my opinion be of small <!-- Page 426 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page426"></a>[pg 426]</span> effect, ye + beseech the King's Grace to be your gracious lord and to remit unto you + your negligence, oversight, and offence committed against his Highness in + this behalf; and I dare undertake that his Highness shall benignly accept + you into his gracious favour, all matter of displeasure past afore this + time forgotten and forgiven."<a name="NtA_694"></a><a + href="#Nt_694"><sup>694</sup></a></p> + + <p>Fisher must have been a hopelessly impracticable person. Instead of + following More's example, and accepting well-meant advice, he persisted + in the same tone, and drew up an address to the House of Lords, in which + he repeated the defence which he had made to Cromwell. He expressed no + sorrow that he had been engaged in a criminal intrigue, no pleasure that + the intrigue had been discovered; and he doggedly adhered to his + assertions of his own innocence.<a name="NtA_695"></a><a + href="#Nt_695"><sup>695</sup></a></p> + + <p>There was nothing to be done except to proceed with his attainder. The + bill passed three readings, and the various prisoners were summoned to + the Star Chamber to be heard in arrest of judgment. The Bishop of + Rochester's attendance was dispensed with on the ground of illness, and + because he had made his defence in writing.<a name="NtA_696"></a><a + href="#Nt_696"><sup>696</sup></a> Nothing of consequence was urged by + either of the accused. The bill was most explicit in its details, going + carefully through the history of the imposture, and dwelling on the + separate acts of each offender. They were able to disprove no one of its + clauses, and on the 12th of March it was read a last time. On the 21st it + received the royal assent, and there remained only to execute the + sentence. The Nun herself, Richard Masters, and the five friars being + found guilty of high treason, were to die; the Bishop of Rochester, + Father Abel, Queen Catherine's confessor, and four more, were sentenced + for misprision of treason to forfeiture of goods and imprisonment. All + other persons implicated whose names did not appear, were declared + pardoned at the intercession of Queen Anne.<a name="NtA_697"></a><a + href="#Nt_697"><sup>697</sup></a></p> + + <p>The chief offenders suffered at Tyburn on the 21st of April, meeting + death calmly, as it appears; receiving a fate most necessary and most + deserved,<a name="NtA_698"></a><a href="#Nt_698"><sup>698</sup></a> yet + claiming from us that partial <!-- Page 427 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page427"></a>[pg 427]</span> respect which is due to all persons + who will risk their lives in an unselfish cause. For the Nun herself, we + may feel even a less qualified regret. Before her death she was permitted + to speak a few words to the people, which at the distance of three + centuries will not be read without emotion.</p> + + <p>"Hither am I come to die," she said, "and I have not been the only + cause of mine own death, which most justly I have deserved; but also I am + the cause of the death of all these persons which at this time here + suffer. And yet I am not so much to be blamed, considering that it was + well known unto these learned men that I was a poor wench without + learning; and therefore they might have easily perceived that the things + which were done by me could not proceed in no such sort; but their + capacities and learning could right well judge that they were altogether + feigned. But because the things which I feigned were profitable unto + them, therefore they much praised me, and bare me in hand that it was the + Holy Ghost and not I that did them. And I being puffed up with their + praises, fell into a pride and foolish fantasye with myself, and thought + I might feign what I would, which thing hath brought me to this case, and + for the which I now cry God and the King's Highness most heartily mercy, + and desire all you good people to pray to God to have mercy on me, and on + all them that here suffer with me."<a name="NtA_699"></a><a + href="#Nt_699"><sup>699</sup></a></p> + + <p>And now the closing seal was to be affixed to the agitation of the + great question of the preceding years. I have said that throughout these + years the uncertainty of the succession had been the continual anxiety of + the nation. The birth of a prince or princess could alone provide an + absolute security; and to beget a prince appeared to be the single feat + which Henry was unable to accomplish. The marriage so dearly bought had + been followed as yet only by a girl; and if the king were to die, <!-- + Page 428 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page428"></a>[pg 428]</span> + leaving two daughters circumstanced as Mary and Elizabeth were + circumstanced, a dispute would open which the sword only could decide. To + escape the certainty of civil war, therefore, it was necessary to lay + down the line of inheritance by a peremptory order; to cut off resolutely + all rival claims; and in legislating upon a matter so vital, and hitherto + so uncertain and indeterminate, to enforce the decision with the most + stringent and exacting penalties. From the Heptarchy downwards English + history furnished no fixed rule of inheritance, but only a series of + precedents of uncertainty; and while at no previous time had the + circumstances of the succession been of a nature so legitimately + embarrassing, the relations of England with the pope and with foreign + powers doubly enhanced the danger. But I will not use my own language on + so important a subject. The preamble of the Act of Succession is the best + interpreter of the provisions of that act.</p> + + <p>"In their most humble wise show unto your Majesty your most humble and + obedient subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons, in + this present parliament assembled; that since it is the natural + inclination of every man gladly and willingly to provide for the safety + of both his title and succession, although it touch only his private + cause; we therefore, most rightful and dreadful Sovereign Lord, reckon + ourselves much more bounden to beseech and intreat your Highness + (although we doubt not of your princely heart and wisdom, mixed with a + natural affection to the same) to foresee and provide for the most + perfect surety of both you and of your most lawful successors and heirs, + upon which dependeth all our joy and wealth; in whom also is united and + knit the only mere true inheritance and title of this realm without any + contradiction. We, your said most humble and obedient servants, call to + our remembrance the great divisions which in times past hath been in this + realm by reason of several titles pretended to the imperial crown of the + same; which some time and for the most part ensued by occasion of + ambiguity, and [by] doubts then not so perfectly declared but that men + might upon froward intents expound them to every man's sinister appetite + and affection after their senses; whereof hath ensued great destruction + and effusion of man's blood, as well of a great number of the nobles as + of other the subjects and specialty inheritors in the same. The greatest + occasion thereof hath been because no perfect and substantial provision + by law hath been made within this realm itself when doubts and questions + have been moved; <!-- Page 429 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page429"></a>[pg 429]</span> by reason whereof the Bishops of Rome + and See Apostolic have presumed in times past to invest who should please + them to inherit in other men's kingdoms and dominions, which thing we + your most humble subjects, both spiritual and temporal, do much abhor and + detest. And sometimes other foreign princes and potentates of sundry + degrees, minding rather dissension and discord to continue in the realm + than charity, equity, or unity, have many times supported wrong titles, + whereby they might the more easily and facilly aspire to the superiority + of the same.</p> + + <p>"The continuance and sufferance of these things, deeply considered and + pondered, is too dangerous and perilous to be suffered any longer; and + too much contrary to unity, peace, and tranquillity, being greatly + reproachable and dishonourable to the whole realm. And in consideration + thereof, your said subjects, calling further to their remembrance, that + the good unity, peace, and wealth of the realm, specially and + principally, above all worldly things, consisteth in the surety and + certainty of the procreation and posterity of your Highness, in whose + most Royal person at this time is no manner of doubt, do therefore most + humbly beseech your Highness that it may be enacted, with the consent of + the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this present + parliament assembled—</p> + + <p>"1. That the marriage between your Highness and the Lady Catherine, + widow of the late Prince Arthur, be declared to have been from the + beginning, null, the issue of it illegitimate, and the separation + pronounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury good and valid.</p> + + <p>"2. That the marriage between your Highness and your most dear and + entirely beloved wife, Queen Anne, be established and held good, and + taken for undoubtful, true, sincere, and perfect, ever hereafter."<a + name="NtA_701"></a><a href="#Nt_701"><sup>701</sup></a></p> + + <p>The act then assumed a general character, laying down a table of + prohibited degrees, within which marriage might not under any pretence be + in future contracted; and demanding that any marriage which might already + exist within those degrees should be at once dissolved. After this + provision, it again returned to the king, and fixed the order in which + his children by Queen Anne were to succeed. The details of the + regulations were minute and elaborate, and the rule to be observed was + the same as that which exists at present. First, the sons were to succeed + <!-- Page 430 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page430"></a>[pg + 430]</span> with their heirs. If sons failed, then the daughters, with + their heirs; and, in conclusion, it was resolved that any person who + should maliciously do anything by writing, printing, or other external + act or deed to the peril of the king, or to the prejudice of his marriage + with Queen Anne, or to the derogation of the issue of that marriage, + should be held guilty of high treason; and whoever should speak against + that marriage, should be held guilty of misprision of + treason—severe enactments, such as could not be justified at + ordinary times, and such as, if the times had been ordinary, would not + have been thought necessary—but the exigencies of the country could + not tolerate an uncertainty of title in the heir to the crown; and the + title could only be secured by prohibiting absolutely the discussion of + dangerous questions.</p> + + <p>The mere enactment of a statute, whatever penalties were attached to + the violation of it, was still, however, an insufficient safeguard. The + recent investigation had revealed a spirit of disloyalty, where such a + spirit had not been expected. The deeper the inquiry had penetrated, the + more clearly appeared tokens, if not of conspiracy, yet of excitement, of + doubt, of agitation, of alienated feeling, if not of alienated act. All + the symptoms were abroad which provide disaffection with its opportunity; + and in the natural confusion which attended the revolt from the papacy, + the obligations of duty, both political and religious, had become + indefinite and contradictory, pointing in all directions, like the + magnetic needle in a thunderstorm.</p> + + <p>It was thought well, therefore, to vest a power in the crown, of + trying the tempers of suspected persons, and examining them upon oath, as + to their willingness to maintain the decision of parliament. This measure + was a natural corollary of the statute, and depended for its + justification on the extent of the danger to which the state was exposed. + If a difference of opinion on the legitimacy of the king's children, or + of the pope's power in England, was not dangerous, it was unjust to + interfere with the natural liberty of speech or thought. If it was + dangerous, and if the state had cause for supposing that opinions of the + kind might spread in secret so long as no opportunity was offered for + detecting their progress, to require the oath was a measure of reasonable + self-defence, not permissible only, but in a high degree necessary and + right.</p> + + <p>Under the impression, then, that the circumstances of the country + demanded extraordinary precautions, a commission was appointed, + consisting of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord <!-- Page 431 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page431"></a>[pg 431]</span> + Chancellor, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Duke of Suffolk; and these four, + or any three of them, were empowered to administer, at the pleasure of + the king, "to all and singular liege subjects of the realm," the + following oath:—</p> + + <p>"Ye shall swear to bear your faith, truth, and obedience only to the + King's Majesty, and to the heirs of his body, according to the limitation + and rehearsal within the statute of succession; and not to any other + within this realm, or foreign authority, prince, or potentate: and in + case any oath be made or hath been made by you to any other person or + persons, that then you do repute the same as vain and annihilate: and + that to your cunning, wit, and utmost of your power, without guile, + fraud, or other undue means, ye shall observe, keep, maintain, and defend + this act above specified, and all the whole contents and effects thereof; + and all other acts and statutes made since the beginning of this present + parliament, in confirmation or for due execution of the same, or of + anything therein contained. And thus ye shall do against all manner of + persons, of what estate, dignity, degree, or condition soever they be; + and in no wise do or attempt, or to your power suffer to be done or + attempted, directly or indirectly, any thing or things, privily or + apertly, to the let, hindrance, damage, or derogation thereof, by any + manner of means, or for any pretence or cause, so help you God and all + saints."<a name="NtA_702"></a><a href="#Nt_702"><sup>702</sup></a></p> + + <p>With this last resolution the House rose, having sat seventy-five + days, and despatched their business swiftly. A week later, the news + arrived from Rome that there too all was at length over; that the cause + was decided, and decided against the king. The history of the closing + catastrophe is as obscure as it is strange, and the account of the manner + in which it was brought about is unfortunately incomplete in many + important particulars. The outline only can be apprehended, and that very + imperfectly.</p> + +<!-- Page 432 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page432"></a>[pg 432]</span> + + <p>On the receipt in Paris of the letter in which Henry threatened to + organise a Protestant confederacy, Du Bellay, in genuine anxiety for the + welfare of Christendom, had volunteered his services for a final effort. + Not a moment was to be lost, for the courts of Rome were already busy + with the great cause; but the king's evident reluctance to break with the + Catholic powers, gave room for hope that something might still be done; + and going in person to England, the bishop had induced Henry, at the last + extremity, either to entrust him with representative powers, or else to + allow him after all to make some kind of concession. I am unable to learn + the extent to which Henry yielded, but that an offer was made of some + kind is evident from the form of the story.<a name="NtA_703"></a><a + href="#Nt_703"><sup>703</sup></a> The winter was very cold, but the + bishop made his way to Rome with the haste of good will, and arrived in + time to stay judgment, which was on the point of being pronounced. It + seemed, for the moment, as if he would succeed. He was permitted to make + engagements on the part of Henry; and that time might be allowed for + communication with England, the pope agreed to delay sentence till the + 23rd of March. This bishop's terms were approved by the king, and a + courier was sent off with letters of confirmation; Sir Edward Karne and + Dr. Revett following leisurely, with a more ample commission. The stone + which had been laboriously rolled to the summit of the hill was trembling + on the brink, and in a moment might rebound into the plain.</p> + + <p>But this was not to be the end. Some accidental cause delayed the + courier; the 23rd of March came, and he had not arrived. Du Bellay + implored a further respite. The King of England, he said, had waited six + years; it was not a great thing for the papal council to wait six days. + The cardinals were divided; but the Spanish party were the strongest, and + when the votes were taken carried the day. The die was cast, and the + pope, in spite of himself, his promises, and his conscience, drove at + length upon the rocks to which he had been so long drifting.<a + name="NtA_704"></a><a href="#Nt_704"><sup>704</sup></a> In deference to + the opinion of the majority of the cardinals, he pronounced the original + marriage to have been valid, the dispensation <!-- Page 433 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page433"></a>[pg 433]</span> by which it was + permitted to have been legal; and, as a natural consequence, Henry, King + of England, should he fail in obedience to this judgment, was declared to + be excommunicate from the fellowship of the church, and to have forfeited + the allegiance of his subjects.</p> + + <p>Lest the censures should be discredited by a blank discharge, + engagements were entered into, that within four months of the + promulgation of the sentence, the emperor would invade England, and Henry + should be deposed.<a name="NtA_705"></a><a + href="#Nt_705"><sup>705</sup></a> The imperialists illuminated Rome; + cannon were fired; bonfires blazed; and great bodies of men paraded the + streets with shouts of "the Empire and Spain."<a name="NtA_706"></a><a + href="#Nt_706"><sup>706</sup></a> Already, in their eager expectation, + England was a second Netherlands, a captured province under the regency + of Catherine or Mary.</p> + + <p>Two days later, the courier arrived. The pope, at the entreaties of + the Bishop of Paris, re-assembled the consistory, to consider whether the + steps which had been taken should be undone. They sat debating all night, + and the result was nothing. No dependence could be placed on the + cardinals, Du Bellay said, for they spoke one way, and voted another.<a + name="NtA_707"></a><a href="#Nt_707"><sup>707</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus all was over. In a scene of general helplessness the long drama + closed, and, what we call accident, for want of some better word, cut the + knot at last over which human incapacity had so vainly laboured. The + Bishop of Paris retired from Rome in despair. On his way back, he met the + English commissioners at Bologna, and told them that their errand was + hopeless, and that they need not proceed. "When we asked him," wrote Sir + Edward Karne to the king, "the cause of such hasty process, he made + answer that the imperialists at Rome had strengthened themselves in such + a manner, that they coacted the said Bishop of Rome to give sentence + contrary to his own mind, and the expectation of himself and of the + French king. He showed us also that the Lady Princess Dowager sent + lately, in the month of March past, letters to the Bishop of Rome, and + also to her proctors, whereby the Bishop of Rome was much moved for her + part. The imperials, before the sentence was given, promised, in the + emperor's behalf, that he would be the executor of the sentence."<a + name="NtA_708"></a><a href="#Nt_708"><sup>708</sup></a></p> + +<!-- Page 434 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page434"></a>[pg 434]</span> + + <p>This is all which we are able to say of the immediate catastrophe + which decided the fate of England, and through England, of the world. The + deep impenetrable falsehood of the Roman ecclesiastics prevents us from + discovering with what intentions the game of the last few weeks or months + had been played; it is sufficient for Englishmen to remember that, + whatever may have been the explanation of his conduct, the pope, in the + concluding passage of his connection with this country, furnished the + most signal justification which was ever given for the revolt from an + abused authority. The supreme judge in Christendom had for six years + trifled with justice, out of fear of an earthly prince; he concluded + these years with uniting the extreme of folly with the extreme of + improbity, and pronounced a sentence, willingly or unwillingly, which he + had acknowledged to be unjust.</p> + + <p>Charity may possibly acquit Clement of conscious duplicity. He was one + of those men who waited upon fortune, and waited always without success; + who gave his word as the interest of the moment suggested, trusting that + it might be convenient to observe it; and who was too long accustomed to + break his promises to look with any particular alarm on that contingency. + It is possible, also,—for of this Clement was capable—that he + knew from the beginning the conclusion to which he would at last be + driven; that he had engaged himself with Charles to decide in Catherine's + favour as distinctly as he had engaged himself with Francis to decide + against her; and that all his tortuous scheming was intended either to + weary out the patience of the King of England, or to entangle him in + acknowledgments from which he would not be able to extricate himself.</p> + + <p>He was mistaken, certainly, in the temper of the English nation; he + believed what the friars told him; and trusting to the promises of + disaffection, insurrection, invasion—those <i>ignes fatui</i> which + for sixty years floated so delusively before the Italian imagination, he + imagined, perhaps, that he might trifle with Henry with impunity. This + only is impossible, that, if he had seriously intended to fulfil the + promises which he had made to the French king, the accidental delay of a + courier could have made so large a difference in his determination. It is + not possible that, if he had assured himself, as he pretended, that + justice was on the side against which he had declared, he would not have + availed himself of any pretext to retreat from a position which ought to + have been intolerable to him.</p> + + <p>The question, however, had ended, "as all things in this <!-- Page 435 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page435"></a>[pg 435]</span> world do + have their end." The news of the sentence arrived in England at the + beginning of April, with an intimation of the engagements which had been + entered upon by the imperial ambassador for an invasion. Du Bellay + returned to Paris at the same time, to report the failure of his + undertaking; and Francis, disappointed, angry, and alarmed, sent the Duke + of Guise to London with promises of support if an attempt to invade was + really made, and with a warning at the same time to Henry to prepare for + danger. Troops were gathering in Flanders; detachments were on their way + out of Italy, Germany, and Bohemia, to be followed by three thousand + Spaniards, and perhaps many more; and the object avowed for these + preparations was wholly incommensurate with their magnitude.<a + name="NtA_709"></a><a href="#Nt_709"><sup>709</sup></a> For his own sake + Francis could not permit a successful invasion of England, unless, + indeed, he himself was to take part in it; and therefore, with entire + sincerity, he offered his services. The cordial understanding for which + Henry had hoped was at an end; but the political confederacy remained, + which the interests of the two countries combined for the present to + preserve unbroken.</p> + + <p>Guise proposed another interview at Calais between the sovereigns. The + king for the moment was afraid to leave England,<a name="NtA_710"></a><a + href="#Nt_710"><sup>710</sup></a> lest the opportunity should be made use + of for an insurrection; but prudence taught him, though disappointed in + Francis, to make the best of a connection too convenient to be + sacrificed. The German league was left in abeyance till the immediate + danger was passed, and till the effect of the shock in England itself had + been first experienced. He gladly accepted, in lieu of it, an offer that + the French fleet should guard the Channel through the summer; and + meanwhile, he collected himself resolutely, to abide the issue, whatever + the issue was to be.</p> + + <p>The Tudor spirit was at length awake in the English sovereign. He had + exhausted the resources of patience; he had stooped even to indignity to + avoid the conclusion which had come at last. There was nothing left but + to meet defiance by defiance, and accept the position to which the pope + had driven <!-- Page 436 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page436"></a>[pg 436]</span> him. In quiet times occasionally + wayward and capricious, Henry, like Elizabeth after him, reserved his + noblest nature for the moment of danger, and was ever greatest when peril + was most immediate. Woe to those who crossed him now, for the time was + grown stern, and to trifle further was to be lost. The suspended act of + parliament was made law on the day (it would seem) of the arrival of the + sentence. Convocation, which was still sitting, hurried through a + declaration that the pope had no more power in England than any other + bishop.<a name="NtA_711"></a><a href="#Nt_711"><sup>711</sup></a> Five + years before, if a heretic had ventured so desperate an opinion, the + clergy would have shut their ears and run upon him: now they only + contended with each other in precipitate obsequiousness. The houses of + the Observants at Canterbury and Greenwich, which had been implicated + with the Nun of Kent, were suppressed, and the brethren were scattered + among monasteries where they could be under surveillance. The Nun and her + friends were sent to execution.<a name="NtA_712"></a><a + href="#Nt_712"><sup>712</sup></a> The ordnance stores were examined, the + repairs of the navy were hastened, and the garrisons were strengthened + along the coast. Everywhere the realm armed itself for the struggle, + looking well to the joints of its harness and to the temper of its + weapons.</p> + + <p>The commission appointed under the Statute of Succession opened its + sittings to receive the oaths of allegiance. Now, more than ever, was it + necessary to try men's dispositions, when the pope had challenged their + obedience. In words all went well: the peers swore; bishops, abbots, + priors, heads of colleges swore<a name="NtA_713"></a><a + href="#Nt_713"><sup>713</sup></a> with scarcely an exception,—the + nation seemed to unite in an unanimous declaration of freedom. In one + quarter only, and that a very painful one, was there refusal. It was + found solely among the persons who had been implicated in the late + conspiracy. Neither Sir Thomas More nor the Bishop of Rochester could + expect that their recent conduct would exempt them from an obligation + which the people generally accepted with good will. They had connected + themselves, perhaps unintentionally, with a body of confessed traitors. + An opportunity was offered them of giving evidence of their loyalty, and + escaping from the shadow of distrust. More had been treated leniently; + Fisher had been treated far more than leniently. It <!-- Page 437 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page437"></a>[pg 437]</span> was both + fair and natural that they should be called upon to give proof that their + lesson had not been learnt in vain; and, in fact, no other persons, if + they had been passed over, could have been called upon to swear, for no + other persons had laid themselves open to so just suspicion.</p> + + <p>Their conduct so exactly tallied, that they must have agreed + beforehand on the course which they would adopt; and in following the + details, we need concern ourselves only with the nobler figure.</p> + + <p>The commissioners sate at the archbishop's palace at Lambeth; and at + the end of April, Sir Thomas More received a summons to appear before + them.<a name="NtA_714"></a><a href="#Nt_714"><sup>714</sup></a> He was at + his house at Chelsea, where for the last two years he had lived in deep + retirement, making ready for evil times. Those times at length were come. + On the morning on which he was to present himself, he confessed and + received the sacrament in Chelsea church; and "whereas," says his + great-grandson, "at other times, before he parted from his wife and + children, they used to bring him to his boat, and he there kissing them + bade them farewell, at this time he suffered none of them to follow him + forth of his gate, but pulled the wicket after him, and with a heavy + heart he took boat with his son Roper."<a name="NtA_715"></a><a + href="#Nt_715"><sup>715</sup></a> He was leaving his home for the last + time, and he knew it. He sat silent for some minutes, and then, with a + sudden start, said, "I thank our Lord, the field is won." Lambeth Palace + was crowded with people who had come on the same errand with himself. + More was called in early, and found Cromwell present with the four + commissioners, and also the Abbot of Westminster. The oath was read to + him. It implied that he should keep the statute of succession in all its + parts, and he desired to see the statute itself. He read it through, and + at once replied that others might do as they pleased; he would blame no + one for taking the oath; but for himself it was impossible. He would + swear willingly to the part of it which secured the succession to the + children of Queen Anne.<a name="NtA_716"></a><a + href="#Nt_716"><sup>716</sup></a> That was a matter on which parliament + was competent to decide, and he had no right to make objections. If he + might <!-- Page 438 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page438"></a>[pg + 438]</span> be allowed to take an oath to this portion of the statute in + language of his own, he would do it; but as the words stood, he would + "peril his soul" by using them. The Lord Chancellor desired him to + re-consider his answer. He retired to the garden, and in his absence + others were called in; among them the Bishop of Rochester, who refused in + the same terms. More was then recalled. He was asked if he persisted in + his resolution; and when he replied that he did, he was requested to + state his reasons. He said that he was afraid of increasing the king's + displeasure, but if he could be assured that he might explain himself + safely he was ready to do so. If his objection could then be answered to + his satisfaction, he would swear; in the meantime, he repeated, very + explicitly, that he judged no one—he spoke only for himself.</p> + + <p>An opening seemed to be offered in these expressions which was caught + at by Cranmer's kind-hearted casuistry. If Sir Thomas More could not + condemn others for taking the oath, the archbishop said, Sir Thomas More + could not be sure that it was sin to take it; while his duty to his king + and to the parliament was open and unquestioned.</p> + + <p>More hesitated for an instant, but he speedily recovered his firmness. + He had considered what he ought to do, he said; his conscience was clear + about it, and he could say no more than he had said already. They + continued to argue with him, but without effect; he had made up his mind; + the victory, as he said, had been won.</p> + + <p>Cromwell was deeply affected. In his passionate regret, he exclaimed, + that he had rather his only son had lost his head than that More should + have refused the oath. No one knew better than Cromwell that intercession + would be of no further use; that he could not himself advise the king to + give way. The parliament, after grave consideration, had passed a law + which they held necessary to secure the peace of the country; and two + persons of high rank refused obedience to it, whose example would tell in + every English household. Either, therefore, the act was not worth the + parchment on which it was written, or the penalties of it must be + enforced: no middle way, no compromise, no acquiescent reservations, + could in such a case be admitted. The law must have its way.</p> + + <p>The recusants were committed for four days to the keeping of the Abbot + of Westminster; and the council met to determine on the course to be + pursued. Their offence, by the act, was misprision of treason. On the + other hand, they had both offered <!-- Page 439 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page439"></a>[pg 439]</span> to acknowledge the + Princess Elizabeth as the lawful heir to the throne; and the question was + raised whether this offer should be accepted. It was equivalent to a + demand that the form should be altered, not for them only, but for every + man. If persons of their rank and notoriety were permitted to swear with + a qualification, the same privilege must be conceded to all. But there + was so much anxiety to avoid extremities, and so warm a regard was + personally felt for Sir Thomas More, that this objection was not allowed + to be fatal. It was thought that possibly an exception might be made, yet + kept a secret from the world; and the fact that they had sworn under any + form might go far to silence objectors and reconcile the better class of + the disaffected.<a name="NtA_717"></a><a + href="#Nt_717"><sup>717</sup></a> This view was particularly urged by + Cranmer, always gentle, hoping, and illogical.<a name="NtA_718"></a><a + href="#Nt_718"><sup>718</sup></a> But, in fact, secresy was impossible. + If More's discretion could have been relied upon, Fisher's babbling + tongue would have trumpeted his victory to all the winds. Nor would the + government consent to pass censure on its own conduct by evading the + question whether the act was or was not just. If it was not just, it + ought not to be: maintained at all; if it was just, there must be no + respect of persons.</p> + + <p>The clauses to which the bishop and the ex-chancellor declined to bind + themselves were those which declared illegal the marriage of the king + with Catherine, and the marriage legal between the king and Queen Anne. + To refuse these was to declare Mary legitimate, to declare Elizabeth + illegitimate, and would do more to strengthen Mary's claims than could be + undone by a thousand oaths. However large might be More's estimate of the + power of parliament, he could have given no clear answer—and far + less could Fisher have given a clear answer—if they had been + required to say the part which they would take, should the emperor invade + the kingdom under the pope's sanction. The emperor would come to execute + a sentence which in their consciences they believed to be just; how could + they retain their allegiance to Henry, when their convictions must be + with the invading army?</p> + + <p>What ought to have been done let those say who disapprove of what was + actually done. The high character of the prisoners, while it increased + the desire, increased the difficulty of sparing them; and to have given + way would have been a confession of a doubtful cause, which at such a + time would not have been dangerous, but would have been fatal. Anne + Boleyn is said to <!-- Page 440 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page440"></a>[pg 440]</span> have urged the king to remain + peremptory;<a name="NtA_719"></a><a href="#Nt_719"><sup>719</sup></a> but + the following letter of Cromwell's explains the ultimate resolution of + the council in a very reasonable manner. It was written to Cranmer in + reply to his arguments for concession.</p> + + <p>"My Lord, after mine humble commendation, it may please your Grace to + be advertised that I have received your letter, and showed the same to + the King's Highness; who, perceiving that your mind and opinion is, that + it were good that the Bishop of Rochester and Master More should be sworn + to the act of the king's succession, and not to the preamble of the same, + thinketh that if their oaths should be taken, it were an occasion to all + men to refuse the whole, or at least the like. For, in case they be sworn + to the succession, and not to the preamble, it is to be thought that it + might be taken not only as a confirmation of the Bishop of Rome's + authority, but also as a reprobation of the king's second marriage. + Wherefore, to the intent that no such things should be brought into the + heads of the people, by the example of the said Bishop of Rochester and + Master More, the King's Highness in no wise willeth but that they shall + be sworn as well to the preamble as to the act. Wherefore his Grace + specially trusteth that ye will in no wise attempt to move him to the + contrary; for as his Grace supposeth, that manner of swearing, if it + shall be suffered, may be an utter destruction to his whole cause, and + also to the effect of the law made for the same." <a + name="NtA_720"></a><a href="#Nt_720"><sup>720</sup></a></p> + + <p>Thus, therefore, with much regret the council decided—and, in + fact, why should they have decided otherwise? They were satisfied that + they were right in requiring the oath; and their duty to the English + nation obliged them to persevere. They must go their way; and those who + thought them wrong must go theirs; and the great God would judge between + them. It was a hard thing to suffer for an opinion; but there are times + when opinions are as dangerous as acts; and liberty of conscience was a + plea which could be urged with a bad grace for men who, while in power, + had fed the stake with heretics. They were summoned for a last time, to + return the same answer as they had returned before; and nothing remained + but to pronounce against them the penalties of the statute, imprisonment + at the king's pleasure, and forfeiture. The latter part of the sentence + was not enforced. More's family were left in the enjoyment of his + property. Fisher's bishoprick was not taken <!-- Page 441 --><span + class="pagenum"><a name="page441"></a>[pg 441]</span> from him. They were + sent to the Tower, where for the present we leave them.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, in accordance with the resolution taken in council on the + and of December,<a name="NtA_721"></a><a + href="#Nt_721"><sup>721</sup></a> but which seems to have been suspended + till the issue of the trial at Rome was decided, the bishops, who had + been examined severally on the nature of the papal authority, and whose + answers had been embodied in the last act of parliament, were now + required to instruct the clergy throughout their dioceses—and the + clergy in turn to instruct the people—in the nature of the changes + which had taken place. A bishop was to preach each Sunday at Paul's + Cross, on the pope's usurpation. Every secular priest was directed to + preach on the same subject week after week, in his parish church. Abbots + and priors were to teach their convents; noblemen and gentlemen their + families and servants; mayors and aldermen the boroughs. In town and + country, in all houses, at all dinner-tables, the conduct of the pope and + the causes of the separation from Rome were to be the one subject of + conversation; that the whole nation might be informed accurately and + faithfully of the grounds on which the government had acted. No wiser + method could have been adopted. The imperial agents would be busy under + the surface; and the mendicant friars, and all the missionaries of + insurrection. The machinery of order was set in force to counteract the + machinery of sedition.</p> + + <p>Further, every bishop, in addition to the oath of allegiance, had + sworn obedience to the king as Supreme Head of the Church;<a + name="NtA_722"></a><a href="#Nt_722"><sup>722</sup></a> and this was the + title under which he was to be spoken of in all churches of the realm. A + royal order had been issued, "that all manner of prayers, rubrics, canons + of Mass books, and all other books in the churches wherein the Bishop of + Rome was named, or his presumptuous and proud pomp and authority + preferred, should utterly be abolished, eradicated, and rased out, and + his name and memory should be never more, except to his contumely and + reproach, remembered; but perpetually be suppressed and obscured."<a + name="NtA_723"></a><a href="#Nt_723"><sup>723</sup></a></p> + + <p>Nor were these mere idle sounds, like the bellow of unshotted cannon; + but words with a sharp, prompt meaning, which the king intended to be + obeyed. He had addressed his orders to the clergy, because the clergy + were the officials who had possession of the pulpits from which the + people were to be taught; but he knew their nature too well to trust + them. They were too <!-- Page 442 --><span class="pagenum"><a + name="page442"></a>[pg 442]</span> well schooled in the tricks of + reservation; and, for the nonce, it was necessary to reverse the posture + of the priest and of his flock, and to set the honest laymen to overlook + their pastors.</p> + + <p>With the instructions to the bishops circulars went round to the + sheriffs of the counties, containing a full account of these + instructions, and an appeal to their loyalty to see that the royal orders + were obeyed. "We," the king wrote to them, "seeing, esteeming, and + reputing you to be of such singular and vehement zeal and affection + towards the glory of Almighty God, and of so faithful, loving, and + obedient heart towards us, as you will accomplish, with all power, + diligence, and labour, whatsoever shall be to the preferment and setting + forth of God's word, have thought good, not only to signify unto you by + these our letters, the particulars of the charge given by us to the + bishops, but also to require and straitly charge you, upon pain of your + allegiance, and as ye shall avoid our high indignation and displeasure, + [that] at your uttermost peril, laying aside all vain affections, + respects, and other carnal considerations, and setting only before your + eyes the mirrour of the truth, the glory of God, the dignity of your + Sovereign Lord and King, and the great concord and unity, and inestimable + profit and utility, that shall by the due execution of the premises ensue + to yourselves and to all other faithful and loving subjects, ye make or + cause to be made diligent search and wait, whether the said bishops do + truly and sincerely, without all manner of cloke, colour, or + dissimulation, execute and accomplish our will and commandment, as is + aforesaid. And in case ye shall hear that the said bishops, or any other + ecclesiastical person, do omit and leave undone any part or parcel of the + premises, or else in the execution and setting forth of the same, do + coldly and feignedly use any manner of sinister addition, wrong + interpretation, or painted colour, then we straitly charge and command + you that you do make, undelayedly, and with all speed and diligence, + declaration and advertisement to us and to our council of the said + default.</p> + + <p>"And forasmuch as we upon the singular trust which we have in you, and + for the special love which we suppose you bear towards us, and the weal + and tranquillity of this our realm, have specially elected and chosen you + among so many for this purpose, and have reputed you such men as unto + whose wisdom and fidelity we might commit a matter of such great weight + and importance: if ye should, contrary to our expectation and trust which + we have in you, and against your duty and allegiance <!-- Page 443 + --><span class="pagenum"><a name="page443"></a>[pg 443]</span> towards + us, neglect, or omit to do with all your diligence, whatsoever shall be + in your power for the due performance of our pleasure to you declared, or + halt or stumble at any part or specialty of the same; Be ye assured that + we, like a prince of justice, will so extremely punish you for the same, + that all the world beside shall take by you example, and beware contrary + to their allegiance to disobey the lawful commandment of their Sovereign + Lord and Prince.</p> + + <p>"Given under our signet, at our Palace of Westminster, the 9th day of + June, 1534."<a name="NtA_724"></a><a + href="#Nt_724"><sup>724</sup></a></p> + + <p>So Henry spoke at last. There was no place any more for nice + distinctions and care of tender consciences. The general, when the shot + is flying, cannot qualify his orders with dainty periods. Swift command + and swift obedience can alone be tolerated; and martial law for those who + hesitate.</p> + + <p>This chapter has brought many things to a close. Before ending it we + will leap over three months, to the termination of the career of the pope + who has been so far our companion. Not any more was the distracted + Clement to twist his handkerchief, or weep, or flatter, or wildly wave + his arms in angry impotence; he was to lie down in his long rest, and vex + the world no more. He had lived to set England free—an exploit + which, in the face of so persevering an anxiety to escape a separation, + required a rare genius and a combination of singular qualities. He had + finished his work, and now he was allowed to depart.</p> + + <p>In him, infinite insincerity was accompanied with a grace of manner + which regained confidence as rapidly as it was forfeited. Desiring + sincerely, so far as he could be sincere in anything, to please every one + by turns, and reckless of truth to a degree in which he was without a + rival in the world, he sought only to escape his difficulties by + inactivity, and he trusted to provide himself with a refuge against all + contingencies by waiting upon time. Even when at length he was compelled + to act, and to act in a distinct direction, his plausibility long enabled + him to explain away his conduct; and, honest in the excess of his + dishonesty, he wore his falsehood with so easy a grace that it assumed + the character of truth. He was false, deceitful, treacherous; yet he had + the virtue of not pretending to be virtuous. He was a real man, though + but an indifferent one; and we can refuse to no one, however grave his + faults, a certain ambiguous sympathy, when in his perplexities he shows + us features so truly human in their weakness as those of Clement VII.</p> + +<hr /><a name="Footnotes"></a><h2>Notes.</h2><div class="note"> + <p><a name="Nt_1"></a><a href="#NtA_1">1</a> Printed in FOXE, vol. iv. p. + 659, Townsend's edition.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_2"></a><a href="#NtA_2">2</a> 24 Hen. VIII. cap. 4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_3"></a><a href="#NtA_3">3</a> Bishop Latimer, in a sermon + at Paul's Cross, suggested another purpose which this act might answer. + One of his audience, writing to the Mayor of Plymouth, after describing + the exceedingly disrespectful language in which he spoke of the high + church dignitaries, continues, "The king," quoth he, "made a marvellous + good act of parliament that certain men should sow every of them two + acres of hemp; but it were all too little were it so much more to hang + the thieves that be in England."—<i>Suppression of the + Monasteries</i>, Camden Society's publications, p. 38.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_4"></a><a href="#NtA_4">4</a> 32 Hen. VIII. cap. 18.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_5"></a><a href="#NtA_5">5</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. 18.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_6"></a><a href="#NtA_6">6</a> <i>Antiquities of + Hengrave</i>, by Sir T. GAGE.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_7"></a><a href="#NtA_7">7</a> See especially 2 Hen. VII. + capp. 16 and 19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_8"></a><a href="#NtA_8">8</a> 24 Hen. VIII. cap. 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_9"></a><a href="#NtA_9">9</a> See especially the 4th of + the 5th of Elizabeth.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_10"></a><a href="#NtA_10">10</a> 10 Ed. III. cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_11"></a><a href="#NtA_11">11</a> Statutes of the Realm, + vol. i. (edit. 1817), pp. 227-8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_12"></a><a href="#NtA_12">12</a> "The artificers and + husbandmen make most account of such meat as they may soonest come by and + have it quickliest ready. Their food consisteth principally in beef, and + such meat as the butcher selleth, that is to say, mutton, veal, lamb, + pork, whereof the one findeth great store in the markets adjoining; + besides souse, brawn, bacon, fruit, pies of fruit, fowls of sundry sorts, + as the other wanteth it not at home by his own provision, which is at the + best hand and commonly least charge. In feasting, this latter + sort—I mean the husbandmen—do exceed after their manner, + especially at bridals and such odd meetings, where it is incredible to + tell what meat is consumed and spent."—HARRISON'S <i>Description of + England</i>, p. 282.</p> + + <p>The Spanish nobles who came into England with Philip were astonished + at the diet which they found among the poor.</p> + + <p>"These English," said one of them, "have their houses made of sticks + and dirt, but they fare commonly so well as the king."—Ibid. p. + 313.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_13"></a><a href="#NtA_13">13</a> <i>State Papers</i>, Hen. + VIII. vol. ii. p. 10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_14"></a><a href="#NtA_14">14</a> HALL, p. 646.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_15"></a><a href="#NtA_15">15</a> 25 Ed. III. cap. I.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_16"></a><a href="#NtA_16">16</a> <i>Statutes of the + Realm</i>, vol. i. p. 199.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_17"></a><a href="#NtA_17">17</a> 3 Ed. IV. cap. 2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_18"></a><a href="#NtA_18">18</a> 10 Hen. VI. cap. 2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_19"></a><a href="#NtA_19">19</a> STOW'S + <i>Chronicle.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_20"></a><a href="#NtA_20">20</a> <i>Statutes of Philip and + Mary.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_21"></a><a href="#NtA_21">21</a> From 1565 to 1575 there + was a rapid and violent rise in the prices of all kinds of grain. Wheat + stood at four and five times its earlier rates; and in 1576, when + Harrison wrote, was entirely beyond the reach of the labouring classes. + "The poor in some shires," he says, "are enforced to content themselves + with rye or barley, yea, and in time of dearth many with bread made + either of peas, beans, or oats, or of all together and some acorns among, + of which scourge the poorest do soonest taste, sith they are least able + to provide themselves of better. I will not say that this extremity is + oft so well seen in time of plenty as of dearth, but if I should I could + easily bring my trial. For, albeit that there be much more ground eared + now almost in every place than hath been of late years, yet such a price + of corn continues in each town and market, that the artificer and poor + labouring man is not able to reach to it, but is driven to content + himself with beans, peas, oats, tares, and lentils."—HARRISON, p. + 283. The condition of the labourer was at this period deteriorating + rapidly. The causes will be described in the progress of this + history.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_22"></a><a href="#NtA_22">22</a> <i>Chronicle</i>, + p.568.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_23"></a><a href="#NtA_23">23</a> 33 Hen. VIII. cap. II. + The change in the prices of such articles commenced in the beginning of + the reign of Edward VI., and continued till the close of the century. A + discussion upon the subject, written in 1581 by Mr. Edward Stafford, and + containing the clearest detailed account of the alteration, is printed in + the <i>Harleian Miscellany</i>, vol. ix. p.139, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_24"></a><a href="#NtA_24">24</a> Leland, <i>Itin.</i>, + vol. vi. p.17. In large households beef used to be salted in great + quantities for winter consumption. The art of fatting cattle in the stall + was imperfectly understood, and the loss of substance in the destruction + of fibre by salt was less than in the falling off of flesh on the failure + of fresh grass. The Northumberland Household Book describes the storing + of salted provision for the earl's establishment at Michaelmas; and men + now living can remember the array of salting tubs in old-fashioned + country houses. So long as pigs, poultry, and other articles of food, + however, remained cheap and abundant, the salt diet could not, as Hume + imagines, have been carried to an extent injurious to health; and fresh + meat, beef as well as mutton, was undoubtedly sold in all markets the + whole year round in the reign of Henry VIII., and sold at a uniform + price, which it could not have been if there had been so much difficulty + in procuring it. Latimer (<i>Letters</i>, p.412), writing to Cromwell on + Christmas Eve, 1538, speaks of his winter stock of "beeves" and muttons + as a thing of course.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_25"></a><a href="#NtA_25">25</a> STAFFORD'S <i>Discourse + on the State of the Realm</i>. It is to be understood, however, that + these rates applied only to articles of ordinary consumption. Capons + fatted for the dinners of the London companies were sometimes provided at + a shilling apiece. Fresh fish was also extravagantly dear, and when two + days a week were observed strictly as fasting days, it becomes a curious + question to know how the supply was kept up. The inland counties were + dependent entirely on ponds and rivers. London was provided either from + the Thames or from the coast of Sussex. An officer of the Fishmongers' + Company resided at each of the Cinque Ports whose business it was to buy + the fish wholesale from the boats and to forward it on horseback. Three + hundred horses were kept for this service at Rye alone. And when an + adventurous fisherman, taking advantage of a fair wind, sailed up the + Thames with his catch and sold it first hand at London Bridge, the + innovation was considered dangerous, and the Mayor of Rye petitioned + against it.</p> + + <p>Salmon, sturgeon, porpoise, roach, dace, flounders, eels, etc., were + caught in considerable quantities in the Thames, below London Bridge, and + further up, pike and trout. The fishermen had great nets that stretched + all across Limehouse-reach four fathoms deep.</p> + + <p>Fresh fish, however, remained the luxury of the rich, and the poor + were left to the salt cod, ling, and herring brought in annually by the + Iceland fleet.</p> + + <p>Fresh herrings sold for five or six a penny in the time of Henry + VIII., and were never cheaper. Fresh salmon five and six shillings + apiece. Roach, dace, and flounders from two to four shillings a hundred. + Pike and barbel varied with their length. The barbel a foot long sold for + five-pence, and twopence was added for each additional inch: a pike a + foot long sold for sixteen pence, and increased a penny an + inch.—<i>Guildhall MSS. Journals</i> 12, 13, 14, 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_26"></a><a href="#NtA_26">26</a> "When the brewer buyeth a + quarter of malt for two shillings, then he shall sell a gallon of the + best ale for two farthings; when he buyeth a quarter malt for four + shillings, the gallon shall be four farthings, and so forth... and that + he sell a quart of ale upon his table for a farthing."— Assize of + Brewers: from a MS. in Balliol College, Oxford.</p> + + <p>By an order of the Lord Mayor and Council of the City of London, in + September, 1529, the price of a kilderkin of single beer was fixed at a + shilling, the kilderkin of double beer at two shillings; but this + included the cask; and the London brewers replied with a remonstrance, + saying that the casks were often destroyed or made away with, and that an + allowance had to be made for bad debts. "Your beseechers," they said, + "have many city debtors, for many of them which have taken much beer into + their houses suddenly goeth to the sanctuary, some keep their + houses—some purchase the king's protection, and some, when they + die, be reckoned poor, and of no value, and many of your said beseechers + be for the most part against such debtors remediless and suffer great + losses."</p> + + <p>They offered to supply then: customers with sixteen gallon casks of + single beer for eleven pence, and the same quantity of double beer for a + shilling, the cask included. And this offer was accepted.</p> + + <p>The corporation, however, returned two years after to their original + order. <i>Guildhall Records</i>, MS. Journal 13, pp. 210, 236.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_27"></a><a href="#NtA_27">27</a> 28 Hen. VIII. cap. + 14.</p> + + <p>The prices assessed, being a maximum, applied to the best wines of + each class. In 1531, the mayor and corporation "did straitly charge and + command that all such persons as sold wines by retail within the city and + liberties of the same, should from henceforth sell two gallons of the + best red wine for eightpence, and not above; the gallon of the best white + wine for eightpence, and not above; the pottle, quart, and pint after the + same rate, upon pain of imprisonment."</p> + + <p>The quality of the wine sold was looked into from time to time, and + when found tainted, or unwholesome, "according to the antient customs of + the city," the heads of the vessels were broken up, and the wines in them + put forth open into the kennels, in example of all other offenders. + <i>Guildhall MS.</i> Journals 12 and 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_28"></a><a href="#NtA_28">28</a> <i>Sermons</i>, + p.101.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_29"></a><a href="#NtA_29">29</a> See HARRISON, p. 318. At + the beginning of the century farms let for four pounds a year, which in + 1576 had been raised to forty, fifty, or a hundred. The price of produce + kept pace with the rent. The large farmers prospered; the poor forfeited + their tenures.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_30"></a><a href="#NtA_30">30</a> The wages were fixed at a + maximum, showing that labour was scarce, and that its natural tendency + was towards a higher rate of remuneration. Persons not possessed of other + means of subsistence were punishable if they refused to work at the + statutable rate of payment; and a clause in the act of Hen. VIII. + directed that where the practice had been to give lower wages, lower + wages should be taken. This provision was owing to a difference in the + value of money in different parts of England. The price of bread at + Stratford, for instance, was permanently twenty-five per cent. below the + price in London. (Assize of Bread in England: <i>Balliol MS</i>.) The + statute, therefore, may be taken as a guide sufficiently conclusive as to + the practical scale. It is of course uncertain how far work was constant. + The ascending tendency of wages is an evidence, so far as it goes, in the + labourer's favour; and the proportion between the wages of the household + farm servant and those of the day labourer, which furnishes a further + guide, was much the same as at present. By the same statute of Henry + VIII. the common servant of husbandry, who was boarded and lodged at his + master's house, received 16<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> a year in money, with + 4<i>s.</i> for his clothes; while the wages of the out-door labourer, + supposing his work constant, would have been £5 a year. Among ourselves, + on an average of different counties, the labourer's wages are £25 to £30 + a year, supposing his work constant. The farm servant, unless in the + neighbourhood of large towns, receives about £6, or from that to £8.</p> + + <p>Where meat and drink was allowed it was calculated at 2<i>d.</i> a + day, or 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> a week. In the household of the Earl of + Northumberland the allowance was 2½<i>d.</i> Here, again, we observe an + approach to modern proportions. The estimated cost of the board and + lodging of a man servant in an English gentleman's family is now about + £25 a year.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_31"></a><a href="#NtA_31">31</a> Mowers, for instance, + were paid 8<i>d.</i> a day.—<i>Privy Purse Expenses of Henry + VIII.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_32"></a><a href="#NtA_32">32</a> In 1581 the agricultural + labourer, as he now exists, was only beginning to appear. "There be such + in the realm," says Stafford, "as live only by the labour of their hands + and the profit which they can make upon the commons."—STAFFORD'S + <i>Discourse</i>. This novel class had been called into being by the + general raising of rents, and the wholesale evictions of the smaller + tenantry which followed the Reformation. The progress of the causes which + led to the change can be traced from the beginning of the century. + Harrison says he knew old men who, comparing things present with things + past, spoke of two things grown to be very grievous—to wit, "the + enhancing of rents, and the daily oppression of copyholders, whose lords + seek to bring their poor tenants almost into plain servitude and misery, + daily devising new means, and seeking up all the old, how to cut them + shorter and shorter; doubling, trebling, and now and then seven times + increasing their fines; driving them also for every trifle to lose and + forfeit their tenures, by whom the greatest part of the realm doth stand + and is maintained, to the end they may fleece them yet more: which is a + lamentable hearing."—<i>Description of England</i>, p.318.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_33"></a><a href="#NtA_33">33</a> HALL, p. 581. Nor was the + act in fact observed even in London itself, or towards workmen employed + by the Government. In 1538, the Corporation of London, "for certain + reasonable and necessary considerations," assessed the wages of common + labourers at 7<i>d.</i> and 8<i>d.</i> the day, classing them with + carpenters and masons.—<i>Guildhall MSS. Journal</i> 14, fol. 10. + Labourers employed on Government works in the reign of Hen. VIII. never + received less than 6<i>d.</i> a day, and frequently + more.—<i>Chronicle of Calais</i>, p. 197, etc. Sixpence a day is + the usual sum entered as the wages of a day's labour in the innumerable + lists of accounts in the Record Office. And 6<i>d.</i> a day again was + the lowest pay of the common soldier, not only on exceptional service in + the field, but when regularly employed in garrison duty. Those who doubt + whether this was really the practice, may easily satisfy themselves by + referring to the accounts of the expenses of Berwick, or of Dover, Deal, + or Walmer Castles, to be found in the Record Office in great numbers. The + daily wages of the soldier are among the very best criteria for + determining the average value of the unskilled labourer's work. No + government gives higher wages than it is compelled to give by the market + rate.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_34"></a><a href="#NtA_34">34</a> The wages of the day + labourer in London, under this act of Elizabeth, were fixed at 9<i>d.</i> + the day, and this, after the restoration of the depreciated + currency.—<i>Guildhall MSS. Journal</i> 18, fol. 157, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_35"></a><a href="#NtA_35">35</a> 4 Hen. VII. cap. 16. By + the same parliament these provisions were extended to the rest of + England. 4 Hen. VII. cap. 19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_36"></a><a href="#NtA_36">36</a> HALL, p. 863.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_37"></a><a href="#NtA_37">37</a> 27 Hen. VIII. cap. + 22.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_38"></a><a href="#NtA_38">38</a> There is a cause of + difficulty "peculiar to England, the increase of pasture, by which sheep + may be now said to devour men and unpeople not only villages but towns. + For wherever it is found that the sheep yield a softer and richer wool + than ordinary, there the nobility and gentry, and even those holy men the + abbots, not contented with the old rents which their farms yielded, nor + thinking it enough that they, living at their ease, do no good to the + public, resolve to do it hurt instead of good. They stop the course of + agriculture.... One shepherd can look after a flock which will stock an + extent of ground that would require many hands if it were ploughed and + reaped. And this likewise in many places raises the price of corn. The + price of wool is also risen ... since, though sheep cannot be called a + monopoly, because they are not engrossed by one person; yet they are in + so few hands, and these are so rich, that as they are not prest to sell + them sooner than they have a mind to it, so they never do it till they + have raised the price as high as possible."—Sir THOMAS MORE'S + <i>Utopia</i>, Burnet's Translation, pp. 17-19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_39"></a><a href="#NtA_39">39</a> I find scattered among + the <i>State Papers</i> many loose memoranda, apparently of privy + councillors, written on the backs of letters, or on such loose scraps as + might be at hand. The following fragment on the present subject is + curious. I do not recognise the hand:—</p> + + <p>"Mem. That an act may be made that merchants shall employ their goods + continually in the traffic of merchandise, and not in the purchasing of + lands; and that craftsmen, also, shall continually use their crafts in + cities and towns, and not leave the same and take farms in the country; + and that no merchant shall hereafter purchase above £40 lands by the + year."—<i>Cotton MS.</i> Titus, b. i. 160.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_40"></a><a href="#NtA_40">40</a> When the enclosing + system was carried on with greatest activity and provoked insurrection. + In expressing a sympathy with the social policy of the Tudor government, + I have exposed myself to a charge of opposing the received and + ascertained conclusions of political economy. I disclaim entirely an + intention so foolish; but I believe that the science of political economy + came into being with the state of things to which alone it is applicable. + It ought to be evident that principles which answer admirably when a + manufacturing system capable of indefinite expansion multiplies + employment at home—when the soil of England is but a fraction of + its empire, and the sea is a highway to emigration—would have + produced far different effects, in a condition of things which habit had + petrified into form, when manufactures could not provide work for one + additional hand, when the first colony was yet unthought of, and where + those who were thrown out of the occupation to which they had been bred + could find no other. The tenants evicted, the labourers thrown out of + employ, when the tillage lands were converted into pastures, had scarcely + an alternative offered them except to beg, to rob, or to starve.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_41"></a><a href="#NtA_41">41</a> <i>Lansdowne MS.</i> No. + I. fol. 26.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_42"></a><a href="#NtA_42">42</a> GIUSTINIANI'S <i>Letters + from the Court of Henry VIII</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_43"></a><a href="#NtA_43">43</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_44"></a><a href="#NtA_44">44</a> 22 Hen. VIII. cap. + 18.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_45"></a><a href="#NtA_45">45</a> Under Hen. VI. the + household expenses were £23,000 a year—Cf. <i>Proceedings and + Ordinances of the Privy Council</i>, vol. vi. p. 35. The particulars of + the expenses of the household of Hen. VIII. are in an MS. in the Rolls + House. They cover the entire outlay except the personal expenditure of + the king, and the sum total amounts to £14,365 10<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> + This would leave above £5000 a year for the privy purse, not, perhaps, + sufficient to cover Henry's gambling extravagances in his early life. + Curious particulars of his excesses in this matter will be found in a + publication wrongly called <i>The Privy Purse Expenses of Henry the + Eighth</i>. It is a diary of general payments, as much for purposes of + state as for the king himself. The high play was confined for the most + part to Christmas or other times of festivity, when the statutes against + unlawful games were dispensed with for all classes.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_46"></a><a href="#NtA_46">46</a> 18 Hen. VI. cap. 11.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_47"></a><a href="#NtA_47">47</a> 4 Hen. VII. cap. 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_48"></a><a href="#NtA_48">48</a> During the quarter + sessions time they were allowed 4<i>s.</i> a day.—Ric. II. xii. + 10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_49"></a><a href="#NtA_49">49</a> The rudeness of the + furniture in English country houses has been dwelt upon with much + emphasis by Hume and others. An authentic inventory of the goods and + chattels in a parsonage in Kent proves that there has been much + exaggeration in this matter. It is from an MS. in the Rolls House.</p> + + <p><i>The Inventory of the Goods and Catales of Richd. Master, Clerk, + Parson of Aldington, being in his Parsonage on the 20th Day of April, in + the 25th Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King Henry VIII.</i></p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>Plate</i></p> + <p>Silver spoons, twelve.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Hall</i></p> + <p>Two tables and two forms.</p> + <p>Item, a painted cloth hanging at the upper part of the hall.</p> + <p>Item, a green banker hung on the bench in the hall.</p> + <p>Item, a laver of laten.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Parlour</i></p> + <p>A hanging of old red and green saye.</p> + <p>Item, a banker of woven carpet of divers colours.</p> + <p>Item, two cushions.</p> + <p>Item, one table, two forms, one cupboard, one chair.</p> + <p>Item, two painted pictures and a picture of the names of kings of England</p> + <p class="i4">pinned on the said hanging.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Chamber on the North Side of the said Parlour</i></p> + <p>A painted hanging.</p> + <p>Item, a bedstedyll with a feather bed, one bolster, two pillows, one blanket,</p> + <p class="i4">one roulett of rough tapestry, a testner of green and red saye.</p> + <p>Item, two forms.</p> + <p>Item, one jack to set a basin on.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Chamber over the Parlour</i></p> + <p>Two bedsteads.</p> + <p>Item, another testner of painted cloth.</p> + <p>Item, a painted cloth.</p> + <p>Item, two forms.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>At the Stairs' Hed beside the Parson's Bedchamber</i></p> + <p>One table, two trestylls, four beehives.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Parson's Lodging-chamber</i></p> + <p>A bedstedyll and a feather bed, two blankets, one payr of sheets, one</p> + <p class="i4">coverlet of tapestry lined with canvas, one bolster, one pillow with</p> + <p class="i4">a pillocote.</p> + <p>Item, one gown of violet cloth lined with red saye.</p> + <p>Item, a gown of black cloth, furred with lamb.</p> + <p>Item, two hoods of violet cloth, whereof one is lined with green sarsenet.</p> + <p>Item, one jerkyn of tawny camlet.</p> + <p>Item, a jerkyn of cloth furred with white.</p> + <p>Item, a jacket of cloth furred.</p> + <p>Item, a sheet to put in cloth.</p> + <p>Item, one press.</p> + <p>Item, a leather mail.</p> + <p>Item, one table, two forms, four chairs, two trestylls.</p> + <p>Item, a tester of painted cloth.</p> + <p>Item, a pair of hangings of green saye, with two pictures thereupon.</p> + <p>Item, one cupboard, two chests.</p> + <p>Item, a little flock bed, with a bolster and a coverlet.</p> + <p>Item, one cushion, one mantell, one towel, and, by estimation, a pound</p> + <p class="i4">of wax candles.</p> + <p>Item, Greek books covered with boards, 42.</p> + <p>Item, small books covered with boards, 33.</p> + <p>Item, books covered with leather and parchment, 38.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the said Chest in the said Chamber</i></p> + <p>Three pieces of red saye and green.</p> + <p>Item, one tyke for a bolster, two tykes for pillows.</p> + <p>Item, a typpett of cloth.</p> + <p>Item, diaper napkins, 4, diaper towels, 2.</p> + <p>Item, four pairs of sheets, and one shete, two tablecloths.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the other Chest in the same Chamber</i></p> + <p>One typpett of sarsenett.</p> + <p>Item, two cotes belonging to the crosse of Underbill, whereupon hang</p> + <p class="i4">thirty-three pieces of money, rings, and other things, and three</p> + <p class="i4">crystal stones closed in silver.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Study</i></p> + <p>Two old boxes, a wicker hamper full of papers.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Chamber behind the Chimney</i></p> + <p>One seam and a half of old malt.</p> + <p>Item, a trap for rats.</p> + <p>Item, a board of three yards length.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Chamber next adjoining westwards</i></p> + <p>One bedstedyll, one flock bed, one bolster.</p> + <p>One form, two shelf boards, one little table, two trestylls, two awgyes, one</p> + <p class="i4">nett, called a stalker, a well rope, five quarters of hemp.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Buttery</i></p> + <p>Three basins of pewter, five candlesticks, one ewer of lateen, one chafing</p> + <p class="i4">dish, two platters, one dish, one salter, three podingers [? porringer],</p> + <p class="i4">a saltseller of pewter, seven kilderkyns, three keelers, one form, five</p> + <p class="i4">shelves, one byn, one table, one glasse bottell.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Priest's Chamber</i></p> + <p>One bedstedyll, one feather bed, two forms, one press.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Woman's Keeping</i></p> + <p>Two tablecloths, two pairs of sheets.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Servant's Chamber</i></p> + <p>One painted hanging, a bedstedyll, one feather bed, a press, and a shelf.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Kitchen</i></p> + <p>Eight bacon flitches, a little brewing lead, three brass pots, three kettles,</p> + <p class="i4">one posnett, one frying-pan, a dripping-pan, a great pan, two trivetts,</p> + <p class="i4">a chopping knife, a skimmer, one fire rake, a pothanger, one pothooke,</p> + <p class="i4">one andiron, three spits, one gridiron, one firepan, a coal rake of iron,</p> + <p class="i4">two bolts [? butts], three wooden platters, six boldishes, three forms,</p> + <p class="i4">two stools, seven platters, two pewter dishes, four saucers, a covering</p> + <p class="i4">of a saltseller, a podynger, seven tubbs, a caldron, two syffs, a capon</p> + <p class="i4">cope, a mustard quern, a ladder, two pails, one beehive.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Mill-house</i></p> + <p>Seven butts, two cheeses, an old sheet, an old brass pan, three podyngers,</p> + <p class="i4">a pewter dish.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Boulting-house</i></p> + <p>One brass pan, one quern, a boulting hutch, a boulting tub, three little</p> + <p class="i4">tubbys, two keelers, a tolvett, two boulters, one tonnell.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Larder</i></p> + <p>One sieve, one bacon trough, a cheese press, one little tub, eight shelves,</p> + <p class="i4">one graper for a well.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>Wood</i></p> + <p>Of tall wood ten load, of ash wood a load and a half.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>Poultry</i></p> + <p>Nine hens, eight capons, one cock, sixteen young chickens, three old</p> + <p class="i4">geese, seventeen goslings, four ducks.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>Cattle</i></p> + <p>Five young hoggs, two red kyne, one red heifer two years old, one bay</p> + <p class="i4">gelding lame of spavins, one old grey mare having a mare colt.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Entries</i></p> + <p>Two tubbs, one trough, one ring to bear water and towel, a chest to keep</p> + <p>cornes.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the same House</i></p> + <p>Five seams of lime.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Woman's Chamber</i></p> + <p>One bedstedyll of hempen yarn, by estimation 20 lbs.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>Without the House</i></p> + <p>Of tyles, ——, of bricks, ——, seven planks, three rafters, one ladder.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Gate-house</i></p> + <p>One form, a leather sack, three bushels of wheat.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Still beside the Gate</i></p> + <p>Two old road saddles, one bridle, a horse-cloth.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Barn next the Gate</i></p> + <p>Of wheat unthrashed, by estimation, thirty quarters, of barley unthrashed,</p> + <p class="i4">by estimation, five quarters.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Cartlage</i></p> + <p>One weene with two whyles, one dung-cart without whyles, two shod-whyles,</p> + <p class="i4">two yokes, one sledge.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Barn next the Church</i></p> + <p>Of oats unthrashed, by estimation, one quarter.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Garden-house</i></p> + <p>Of oats, by estimation, three seams four bushels.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p><i>In the Court</i></p> + <p class="i4">Two racks, one ladder.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt_50"></a><a href="#NtA_50">50</a> Two hundred poor were fed + daily at the house of Tomas Cromwell. This fact is perfectly + authenticated. Stowe the historian, who did not like Cromwell, lived in + an adjoining house, and reports it as an eye witness.—<i>See</i> + STOWE'S <i>Survey of London.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_51"></a><a href="#NtA_51">51</a> HARRISON'S <i>Description + of Britain</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_52"></a><a href="#NtA_52">52</a> The Earl and Countess of + Northumberland breakfasted together alone at seven. The meal consisted of + a quart of ale, a quart of wine, and a chine of beef: a loaf of bread is + not mentioned, but we hope it may be presumed. On fast days the beef was + exchanged for a dish of sprats or herrings, fresh or + salt.—<i>Northumberland Household Book</i>, quoted by Hume.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_53"></a><a href="#NtA_53">53</a> Some notice of the style + of living sometimes witnessed in England in the old times may be gathered + from the details of a feast given at the installation of George Neville, + brother of Warwick the King Maker, when made Archbishop of York.</p> + + <p>The number of persons present including servants was about 3500.</p> + + <p>The provisions were as follow—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>Wheat, 300 quarters.</p> + <p>Ale, 300 tuns.</p> + <p>Wine, 104 tuns.</p> + <p>Ipocras, 1 pipe.</p> + <p>Oxen, 80.</p> + <p>Wild bulls, 6.</p> + <p>Muttons, 1004.</p> + <p>Veal, 300.</p> + <p>Porkers, 300.</p> + <p>Geese, 3000.</p> + <p>Capons, 2300.</p> + <p>Pigs, 2000.</p> + <p>Peacocks, 100.</p> + <p>Cranes, 200.</p> + <p>Kids, 200.</p> + <p>Chickens, 2000.</p> + <p>Pigeons, 4000.</p> + <p>Conies, 4000.</p> + <p>Bitterns, 204.</p> + <p>Mallards and teals, 4000.</p> + <p>Heronshaws, 4000.</p> + <p>Fesants, 200.</p> + <p>Partridges, 500.</p> + <p>Woodcocks, 400.</p> + <p>Plovers, 400.</p> + <p>Curlews, 100.</p> + <p>Quails, 100.</p> + <p>Egrets, 1000</p> + <p>Rees, 200.</p> + <p>Harts, bucks, and roes, 400 and odd.</p> + <p>Pasties of venison, cold, 4000.</p> + <p>Pasties of venison, hot, 1506.</p> + <p>Dishes of jelly, pasted, 1000.</p> + <p>Plain dishes of jelly, 4000.</p> + <p>Cold tarts, baken, 4000.</p> + <p>Cold custards, 4000.</p> + <p>Custards, hot, 2000.</p> + <p>Pikes, 300.</p> + <p>Breams, 300.</p> + <p>Seals, 8.</p> + <p>Porpoises, 4.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt_54"></a><a href="#NtA_54">54</a> LATIMER'S <i>Sermons</i>, + p. 64.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_55"></a><a href="#NtA_55">55</a> <i>Statutes of the + Realm</i>, 1 Ed. VI. cap. 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_56"></a><a href="#NtA_56">56</a> HOOKER'S <i>Life of Sir + Peter Carew</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_57"></a><a href="#NtA_57">57</a> In a subsequent letter he + is described as learning French, etymology, casting of accounts, playing + at weapons, and other such exercises.—ELLIS, third series, vol. i. + p. 342-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_58"></a><a href="#NtA_58">58</a> It has been objected that + inasmuch as the Statute Book gives evidence of extensive practices of + adulteration, the guild system was useless, nay, it has been even said + that it was the cause of the evil. Cessante causâ cessat + effectus;—when the companies lost their authority, the adulteration + ought to have ceased, which in the face of recent exposures will be + scarcely maintained. It would be as reasonable to say that the police are + useless because we have still burglars and pickpockets among us.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_59"></a><a href="#NtA_59">59</a> Throughout the old + legislation, morality went along with politics and economics, and formed + the life and spirit of them. The fruiterers in the streets were + prohibited from selling plums and apples, because the apprentices played + dice with them for their wares, or because the temptation induced + children and servants to steal money to buy. When Parliament came to be + held regularly in London, an order of Council fixed the rates which the + hotel-keeper might charge for dinners. Messes were served for four at + twopence per head; the bill of fare providing bread, fish, salt and + fresh, two courses of meat, ale, with fire and candles. And the care of + the Government did not cease with their meals, and in an anxiety that + neither the burgesses nor their servants should be led into sin, + stringent orders were issued against street-walkers coming near their + quarters.—<i>Guildhall MSS. Journals</i> 12 and 15.</p> + + <p>The sanitary regulations for the city are peculiarly interesting. The + scavengers, constables and officers of the wards were ordered, "on pain + of death," to see all streets and yards kept clear of dung and rubbish + and all other filthy and corrupt things. Carts went round every Monday, + Wednesday, and Saturday, to carry off the litter from the houses, and on + each of those days twelve buckets of water were drawn for "every person," + and used in cleaning their rooms and passages.</p> + + <p>Particular pains were taken to keep the Thames clean, and at the mouth + of every sewer or watercourse there was a strong iron grating two feet + deep.—<i>Guildhall MSS. Journal</i> 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_60"></a><a href="#NtA_60">60</a> And not in England alone, + but throughout Europe.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_61"></a><a href="#NtA_61">61</a> 27 Hen. VIII. cap. + 25.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_62"></a><a href="#NtA_62">62</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_63"></a><a href="#NtA_63">63</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_64"></a><a href="#NtA_64">64</a> 22 Hen. VIII. cap. 4; 28 + Hen. VIII. cap. 5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_65"></a><a href="#NtA_65">65</a> <i>Statut. Winton.</i> 13 + Edw. I. cap. 6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_66"></a><a href="#NtA_66">66</a> 12 Rich. II. cap. 6: 11 + Hen. IV. cap. 4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_67"></a><a href="#NtA_67">67</a> ELLIS'S <i>Original + Letters</i>, first series, vol. i. p. 226.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_68"></a><a href="#NtA_68">68</a> It has been stated again + and again that the policy of Henry the Eighth was to make the crown + despotic by destroying the remnants of the feudal power of the nobility. + How is such a theory to be reconciled with statutes the only object of + which was the arming and training of the country population, whose + natural leaders were the peers, knights, and gentlemen? We have heard too + much of this random declamation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_69"></a><a href="#NtA_69">69</a> 33 Hen. VIII. cap. 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_70"></a><a href="#NtA_70">70</a> From my experience of + modern archery I found difficulty in believing that these figures were + accurately given. Few living men could send the lightest arrow 220 yards, + even with the greatest elevation, and for effective use it must be + delivered nearly point blank. A passage in HOLINSHED'S <i>Description of + Britain</i>, however, prevents me from doubting that the words of the + statute are correct. In his own time, he says that the strength of the + English archers had so notoriously declined that the French soldiers were + in the habit of disrespectfully turning their backs, at long range, + "bidding them shoot," whereas, says Holinshed, "had the archers been what + they were wont to be, these fellows would have had their breeches nailed + unto their buttocks." In an order for bowstaves, in the reign of Henry + the Eighth, I find this direction: "Each bowstave ought to be <i>three + fingers thick</i> and squared, and <i>seven feet long</i>: to be got up + well polished and without knots."—Butler to Bullinger: <i>Zurich + Letters</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_71"></a><a href="#NtA_71">71</a> Page 735, quarto + edition.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_72"></a><a href="#NtA_72">72</a> The Personages, Dresses, + and Properties of a Mystery Play, acted at Greenwich, by command of Henry + VIII. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_73"></a><a href="#NtA_73">73</a> Hall says "collar of the + <i>garter</i> of St. Michael," which, however, I venture to correct.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_74"></a><a href="#NtA_74">74</a> Rich. II. 12, cap. 7, 8, + 9; Rich. II. 15, cap. 6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_75"></a><a href="#NtA_75">75</a> <i>Lansdowne MSS.</i> 1, + fol. 26.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_76"></a><a href="#NtA_76">76</a> Injunctions to the + Monasteries: BURNET'S <i>Collect.</i> pp. 77-8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_77"></a><a href="#NtA_77">77</a> Letter of Thomas Dorset + to the Mayor of Plymouth: <i>Suppression of the Monasteries</i>, p. + 36.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_78"></a><a href="#NtA_78">78</a> "Divers of your noble + predecessors, kings of this realm, have given lands to monasteries, to + give a certain sum of money yearly to the poor people, whereof for the + ancienty of the time they never give one penny. Wherefore, if your Grace + will build to your poor bedemen a sure hospital that shall never fail, + take from them these things.... Tie the holy idle thieves to the cart to + be whipped, naked, till they fall to labour, that they, by their + importunate begging take not away the alms that the good charitable + people would give unto us sore, impotent, miserable people, your + bedemen."—FISH'S <i>Supplication</i>: FOXE, vol. iv. p. 664.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_79"></a><a href="#NtA_79">79</a> 27 Hen. VIII. cap. + 25.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_80"></a><a href="#NtA_80">80</a> Roads, harbours, + embankments, fortifications at Dover and at Berwick, etc.—STRYPE's + <i>Memorials</i>, vol. 1. p. 326 and 419.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_81"></a><a href="#NtA_81">81</a> It is to be remembered + that the criminal law was checked on one side by the sanctuary system, on + the other by the practice of benefit of clergy. Habit was too strong for + legislation, and these privileges continued to protect criminals long + after they were abolished by statute. There is abundant evidence that the + execution of justice was as lax in practice as it was severe in + theory.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_82"></a><a href="#NtA_82">82</a> 27 Ed. III. stat. 1; 38 + Ed. III. stat. 2; 16 Rich. cap. 5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_83"></a><a href="#NtA_83">83</a> 25 Ed. III. stat. 4; + stat. 5, cap. 22; 13 Rich. II. stat. 2, cap. 2; 2 Hen. IV. cap. 3; 9 Hen. + IV. cap. 8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_84"></a><a href="#NtA_84">84</a> See p. 42.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_85"></a><a href="#NtA_85">85</a> <i>Lansdowne MS.</i> 1, + fol. 26; STOW'S <i>Chron.</i> ed. 1630, p. 338.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_86"></a><a href="#NtA_86">86</a> 2 Hen. IV. cap. 3; 9 Hen. + IV. cap. 8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_87"></a><a href="#NtA_87">87</a> 2 Hen. IV. cap. 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_88"></a><a href="#NtA_88">88</a> Hen. VII. cap. 4. Among + the miscellaneous publications of the Record Commission, there is a + complaint presented during this reign, by the gentlemen and the farmers + of Carnarvonshire, accusing the clergy of systematic seduction of their + wives and daughters.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_89"></a><a href="#NtA_89">89</a> Hen. IV. cap. 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_90"></a><a href="#NtA_90">90</a> MORTON'S <i>Register</i>, + MS. Lambeth. See vol. ii. cap. 10, of the second edition of this work for + the results of Morton's investigation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_91"></a><a href="#NtA_91">91</a> MORTON'S <i>Register</i>; + and see WILKINS'S <i>Concilia</i>, vol. iii. pp. 618-621.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_92"></a><a href="#NtA_92">92</a> Quibus Dominus intimavit + qualis infamia super illos in dictâ civitate crescit quod complures + eorundem tabernas pandoxatorias, sive caupones indies exerceant ibidem + expectando fere per totum diem. Quare Dominus consuluit et monuit eosdem + quod in posterum talia dimittant, et quod dimittant suos longos crines et + induantur togis non per totum apertis.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_93"></a><a href="#NtA_93">93</a> The expression is + remarkable. They were not to dwell on the offences of their brethren + coram laicis qui semper clericis sunt infesti.—WILKINS, vol. iii. + p. 618.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_94"></a><a href="#NtA_94">94</a> Johannes permissione + divinâ Cantuar. episcop. totius Angliĉ primas cum in prĉsenti + convocatione pie et salubriter consideratum fuit quod nonnulli sacerdotes + et alii clerici ejusdem nostrĉ provinciĉ in sacris ordinibus constituti + honestatem clericalem in tantum abjecerint ac in comâ tonsurâque et + superindumentis suis quĉ in anteriori sui parte totaliter aperta existere + dignoscuntur, sic sunt dissoluti et adeo insolescant quod inter eos et + alios laicos et sĉculares viros nulla vel modica comĉ vel habituum sive + vestimentorum distinctio esse videatur quo fiet in brevi ut a multis + verisimiliter formidatur quod sicut populus ita et sacerdos erit, et nisi + celeriori remedio tantĉ lasciviĉ ecclesiasticarum personarum quanto ocyus + obviemus et clericorum mores hujusmodi maturius compescamus, <i>Ecclesia + Anglicana quĉ superioribus diebus vitâ famâ et compositis moribus + floruisse dignoscitur nostris temporibus quod Deus avertat, prĉcipitanter + ruet</i>;</p> + + <p>Desiring, therefore, to find some remedy for these disorders, lest the + blood of those committed to him should be required at his hands, the + archbishop decrees and ordains,—</p> + + <p>Ne aliquis sacerdos vel clericus in sacris ordinibus constitutus togam + gerat nisi clausam a parte anteriori et non totaliter apertam neque + utatur ense nec sicâ nec zonâ aut marcipio deaurato vel auri ornatum + habente. Incedent etiam omnes et singuli presbyteri et clerici ejusdem + nostrĉ provinciĉ coronas et tonsuras gerentes aures patentes ostendendo + juxta canonicas sanctiones.—WILKINS, vol. iii. p. 619.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_95"></a><a href="#NtA_95">95</a> See WARHAM'S + <i>Register</i>, MS. Lambeth.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_96"></a><a href="#NtA_96">96</a> 21 Hen. VIII. cap. + 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_97"></a><a href="#NtA_97">97</a> ROY'S <i>Satire against + the Clergy</i>, written about 1528, is so plain-spoken, and goes so + directly to the point of the matter, that it is difficult to find a + presentable extract. The following lines on the bishops are among the + most moderate in the poem:—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"What are the bishops divines—</p> + <p>Yea, they can best skill of wines</p> + <p>Better than of divinity;</p> + <p>Lawyers are they of experience,</p> + <p>And in cases against conscience</p> + <p>They are parfet by practice.</p> + <p>To forge excommunications,</p> + <p>For tythes and decimations</p> + <p>Is their continual exercise.</p> + <p>As for preaching they take no care,</p> + <p>They would rather see a course at a hare;</p> + <p>Rather than to make a sermon</p> + <p>To follow the chase of wild deer,</p> + <p>Passing the time with jolly cheer.</p> + <p>Among them all is common</p> + <p>To play at the cards and dice;</p> + <p>Some of them are nothing nice</p> + <p>Both at hazard and momchance;</p> + <p>They drink in golden bowls</p> + <p>The blood of poor simple souls</p> + <p>Perishing for lack of sustenance.</p> + <p>Their hungry cures they never teach,</p> + <p>Nor will suffer none other to preach," etc.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt_98"></a><a href="#NtA_98">98</a> LATIMER'S <i>Sermons</i>, + pp. 70, 71.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_99"></a><a href="#NtA_99">99</a> A peculiarly hateful form + of clerical impost, the priests claiming the last dress worn in life by + persons brought to them for burial.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_100"></a><a href="#NtA_100">100</a> Fitz James to Wolsey, + FOXE, vol. iv. p. 196.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_101"></a><a href="#NtA_101">101</a> <i>Supplication of the + Beggars</i>; FOXE, vol. iv. p. 661. The glimpses into the condition of + the monasteries which had been obtained in the imperfect visitation of + Morton, bear out the pamphleteer too completely. See chapter x. of this + work, second edition.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_102"></a><a href="#NtA_102">102</a> FOXE, vol. iv. p. + 658.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_103"></a><a href="#NtA_103">103</a> 13 Ric. II. stat. ii. + c. 2; 2 Hen. IV. c. 3; 9 Hen. IV. c. 8. Lingard is mistaken in saying + that the Crown had power to dispense with these statutes. A dispensing + power was indeed granted by the 12th of the 7th of Ric. II. But by the + 2nd of the 13th of the same reign, the king is expressly and by name + placed under the same prohibitions as all other persons.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_104"></a><a href="#NtA_104">104</a> HALL, p. 784.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_105"></a><a href="#NtA_105">105</a> 25 Hen. VIII. c. + 22.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_106"></a><a href="#NtA_106">106</a> 28 Hen. VIII. c. 24. + Speech of Sir Ralph Sadler in parliament, <i>Sadler Papers</i>, vol. iii. + p. 323.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_107"></a><a href="#NtA_107">107</a> Nor was the theory + distinctly admitted, or the claim of the house of York would have been + unquestionable.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_108"></a><a href="#NtA_108">108</a> 25 Hen. VIII. c. 22, + Draft of the Dispensation to be granted to Henry VIII. <i>Rolls House + MS.</i> It has been asserted by a writer in the <i>Tablet</i> that there + is no instance in the whole of English history where the ambiguity of the + marriage law led to a dispute of title. This was not the opinion of those + who remembered the wars of the fifteenth century. "Recens in quorundam + vestrorum animis adhuc est illius cruenti temporis memoria," said Henry + VIII. in a speech in council, "quod a Ricardo tertio cum avi nostri + materni Edwardi quarti statum in controversiam vocâsset ejusque heredes + regno atque vitâ privâsset illatum est."-WILKINS'S <i>Concilia</i>, vol. + iii. p. 714. Richard claimed the crown on the ground that a precontract + rendered his brother's marriage invalid, and Henry VII. tacitly allowed + the same doubt to continue. The language of the 22nd of the 25th of Hen. + VIII. is so clear as to require no additional elucidation; but another + distinct evidence of the belief of the time upon the subject is in one of + the papers laid before Pope Clement.</p> + + <p>"Constat, in ipso regno quam plurima gravissima bella sĉpe exorta, + confingentes ex justis et legitimis nuptiis quorundam Angliĉ regum + procreatos illegitimos fore propter aliquod consangunitatis vel + affinitatis confictum impedimentum et propterea inhabiles esse ad regni + successionem."—<i>Rolls House MS.</i>; WILKINS'S <i>Concilia</i>, + vol. iii. p. 707.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_109"></a><a href="#NtA_109">109</a> 28 Hen. VIII. c. + 24.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_110"></a><a href="#NtA_110">110</a> <i>Appendix 2 to the + Third Report of the Deputy-Keeper of the Public Records</i>, p. 241.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_111"></a><a href="#NtA_111">111</a> <i>Sadler Papers</i>, + vol. iii. p. 323.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_112"></a><a href="#NtA_112">112</a> 28 Hen. VIII. c. + 24.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_113"></a><a href="#NtA_113">113</a> <i>Four Years at the + Court of Henry the Eighth</i>, vol. ii. pp. 315-16.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_114"></a><a href="#NtA_114">114</a> Sir Charles Brandon, + created Duke of Suffolk, and married to Mary Tudor, widow of Louis + XII.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_115"></a><a href="#NtA_115">115</a> 28 Hen. VIII. c. + 24.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_116"></a><a href="#NtA_116">116</a> The treaty was in + progress from Dec. 24, 1526, to March 2, 1527 [LORD HERBERT, pp. 80, 81], + and during this time the difficulty was raised. The earliest intimation + which I find of an intended divorce was in June, 1527, at which time + Wolsey was privately consulting the bishops.—<i>State Papers</i> + vol. i. p. 189.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_117"></a><a href="#NtA_117">117</a> It was for some time + delayed; and the papal agent was instructed to inform Ferdinand that a + marriage which was at variance a jure et laudabilibus moribus could not + be permitted nisi maturo consilio et necessitatis causâ.—Minute of + a brief of Julius the Second, dated March 13, 1504, <i>Rolls House + MS</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_118"></a><a href="#NtA_118">118</a> LORD HERBERT, p. + 114.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_119"></a><a href="#NtA_119">119</a> LORD HERBERT, p. 117, + Kennett's edition. The act itself is printed in BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, vol. iv. (Nares' edition) pp. 5, 6. It is dated June + 27, 1505. Dr. Lingard endeavours to explain away the renunciation as a + form. The language of Moryson, however, leaves no doubt either of its + causes or its meaning. "Non multo post sponsalia contrahuntur," he says, + "Henrico plus minus tredecim annos jam nato. Sed rerum non recte + inceptarum successus infelicior homines non prorsus oscitantes plerumque + docet quid recte gestum quid perperam, quid factum superi volunt quid + infectum. Nimirum Henricus Septimus nullâ ĉgritudinis prospecta causâ + repente in deteriorem valetudinem prolapsus est, nec unquam potuit + affectum corpus pristinum statum recuperare. Uxor in aliud ex alio malum + regina omnium laudatissimia non multo post morbo periit. Quid mirum si + Rex tot irati numinis indiciis admonitus cœperit cogitare rem male + illis succedere qui vellent hoc nomine cum Dei legibus litem instituere + ut diutius cum homine amicitiam gerere possent. Quid deinceps egit? Quid + aliud quam quod decuit Christianissimum regem? Filium ad se accersiri + jubet, accersitur. Adest, adsunt et multi nobilissimi homines. Rex filium + regno natum hortatur ut secum una cum doctissimis ac optimis viris + cogitavit nefarium esse putare leges Dei leges Dei non esse cum papa + volet. Non ita longâ oratione usus filium patri obsequentissimum a + sententiâ nullo negotio abduxit. Sponsalia contracta infirmantur, + pontificiĉque auctoritatis beneficio palam renunciatum est. Adest + publicus tabellio—fit instrumentum. Rerum gestarum testes rogati + sigilla apponunt. Postremo filius patri fidem se illam uxorem nunquam + ducturum."—<i>Apomaxis</i> RICARDI MORYSINI. Printed by Berthelet, + 1537.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_120"></a><a href="#NtA_120">120</a> See LINGARD, sixth + edition, vol. iv. p. 164.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_121"></a><a href="#NtA_121">121</a> HALL, p. 507.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_122"></a><a href="#NtA_122">122</a> He married Catherine, + June 3, 1509. Early in the spring of 1510 she miscarried.—<i>Four + Years at the Court of Henry VIII.</i> vol. i. p. 83.</p> + + <p>Jan. 1, 1511. A prince was born, who died Feb. 22.—HALL.</p> + + <p>Nov. 1513. Another prince was born, who died + immediately.—LINGARD, vol. iv, p. 290.</p> + + <p>Dec. 1514. Badoer, the Venetian ambassador, wrote that the queen had + been delivered of a still-born male child, to the great grief of the + whole nation.</p> + + <p>May 3, 1515. The queen was supposed to be pregnant. If the supposition + was right, she must have miscarried.—<i>Four Years at the Court of + Henry VIII.</i> vol. i. p. 81.</p> + + <p>Feb. 18, 1516. The Princess Mary was born.</p> + + <p>July 3, 1518. "The Queen declared herself quick with child." (Pace to + Wolsey: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. 2,) and again miscarried.</p> + + <p>These misfortunes we are able to trace accidentally through casual + letters, and it is probable that these were not all. Henry's own words + upon the subject are very striking:—</p> + + <p>"All such issue male as I have received of the queen died incontinent + after they were born, so that I doubt the punishment of God in that + behalf. Thus being troubled in waves of a scrupulous conscience, and + partly in despair of any issue male by her, it drove me at last to + consider the estate of this realm, and the danger it stood in for lack of + issue male to succeed me in this imperial dignity."—CAVENDISH, p. + 220.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_123"></a><a href="#NtA_123">123</a> "If a man shall take + his brother's wife it is an unclean thing. He hath uncovered his + brother's nakedness. They shall be childless."—<i>Leviticus</i> xx. + 21. It ought to be remembered, that if the present law of England be + right, the party in favour of the divorce was right.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_124"></a><a href="#NtA_124">124</a> <i>Letters of the + Bishop of Bayonne</i>, LEGRAND, vol. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_125"></a><a href="#NtA_125">125</a> Legates to the Pope, + printed in BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 40.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_126"></a><a href="#NtA_126">126</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 117.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_127"></a><a href="#NtA_127">127</a> <i>Letters of the + Bishop of Bayonne</i>, LEGRAND, vol. iii.; HALL, 669.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_128"></a><a href="#NtA_128">128</a> They were shut up in + the Castle of St. Angelo.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_129"></a><a href="#NtA_129">129</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. pp. 18, 19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_130"></a><a href="#NtA_130">130</a> The fullest account of + Wolsey's intentions on church reform will be found in a letter addressed + to him by Fox, the old blind Bishop of Winchester, in 1528. The letter is + printed in STRYPE'S <i>Memorials Eccles.</i> vol. i. Appendix 10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_131"></a><a href="#NtA_131">131</a> <i>Letters of the + Bishop of Bayonne</i>, LEGRAND, vol. iii. It is not uncommon to find + splendid imaginations of this kind haunting statesmen of the 16th + century; and the recapture of Constantinople always formed a feature in + the picture. <i>A Plan for the Reformation of Ireland</i>, drawn up in + 1515, contains the following curious passage: "The prophecy is, that the + King of England shall put this land of Ireland into such order that the + wars of the land, whereof groweth the vices of the same, shall cease for + ever; and after that God shall give such grace and fortune to the same + king that he shall with the army of England and of Ireland subdue the + realm of France to his obeysance for ever, and shall rescue the Greeks, + and recover the great city of Constantinople, and shall vanquish the + Turks and win the Holy Cross and the Holy Land, and shall die Emperor of + Rome, and eternal blisse shall be his end."—<i>State Papers</i>, + vol. ii. pp. 30, 31.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_132"></a><a href="#NtA_132">132</a> Knight to Henry: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. pp. 2, 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_133"></a><a href="#NtA_133">133</a> Wolsey to Cassalis: + Ibid. p. 26.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_134"></a><a href="#NtA_134">134</a> The dispensing power + of the popes was not formally limited. According to the Roman lawyers, a + faculty lay with them of granting extraordinary dispensations in cases + where dispensations would not be usually admissible—which faculty + was to be used, however, dummodo causa cogat urgentissima ne regnum + aliquod funditus pereat; the pope's business being to decide on the + question of urgency.—Sir Gregory Cassalis to Henry VIII., Dec. 26, + 1532. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_135"></a><a href="#NtA_135">135</a> Knight and Cassalis to + Wolsey: BURNET'S <i>Collect.</i> p. 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_136"></a><a href="#NtA_136">136</a> STRYPE'S + <i>Memorials</i>, vol. i., Appendix p. 66.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_137"></a><a href="#NtA_137">137</a> Sir F. Bryan and Peter + Vannes to Henry; <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 144.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_138"></a><a href="#NtA_138">138</a> STRYPE'S + <i>Memorials</i>, Appendix, vol. i. p. 100.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_139"></a><a href="#NtA_139">139</a> Ibid. Appendix, vol. + i. pp. 105-6; BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_140"></a><a href="#NtA_140">140</a> Wolsey to the Pope, + BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 16: Vereor quod tamen nequeo tacere, ne + Regia Majestas, humano divinoque jure quod habet ex omni Christianitate + suis his actionibus adjunctum freta, postquam viderit sedis Apostolicĉ + gratiam et Christi in terris Vicarii clementiam desperatam Cĉsaris + intuitu, in cujus manu neutiquam est tam sanctos conatus reprimere, ea + tunc moliatur, ea suĉ causĉ perquirat remedia, quĉ non solum huic Regno + sed etiam aliis Christianis principibus occasionem subministrarent sedis + Apostolicĉ auctoritatem et jurisdictionem imminuendi et vilipendendi.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_141"></a><a href="#NtA_141">141</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 20. Wolsey to John Cassalis: "If his Holyness, + which God forbid, shall shew himself unwilling to listen to the king's + demands, to me assuredly it will be but grief to live longer, for the + innumerable evils which I foresee will then follow. One only sure remedy + remains to prevent the worst calamities. If that be neglected, there is + nothing before us but universal and inevitable ruin."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_142"></a><a href="#NtA_142">142</a> Gardiner and Fox to + Wolsey; STRYPE'S <i>Memorials</i>, vol. i. Appendix, p. 92.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_143"></a><a href="#NtA_143">143</a> His Holiness being yet + in captivity, as he esteemed himself to be, so long as the Almayns and + Spaniards continue in Italy, he thought if he should grant this + commission that he should have the emperour his perpetual enemy without + any hope of reconciliation. Notwithstanding he was content rather to put + himself in evident ruin, and utter undoing, than the king or your Grace + shall suspect any point of ingratitude in him; heartily desiring with + sighs and tears that the king and your Grace which have been always fast + and good to him, will not now suddenly precipitate him for ever: which + should be done if immediately on receiving the commission your Grace + should begin process. He intendeth to save all upright thus. If M. de + Lautrec would set forwards, which he saith daily that he will do, but yet + he doth not, at his coming the Pope's Holiness may have good colour to + say, "He was required of the commission by the ambassador of England, and + denying the same, he was, eftsoons, required by M. de Lautrec to grant + the said commission, inasmuch as it was but a letter of justice." And by + this colour he would cover the matter so that it might appear unto the + emperour that the pope did it not as he that would gladly do displeasure + unto the emperour, but as an indifferent judge, that could not nor might + deny justice, specially being required by such personages; and + immediately he would despatch a commission bearing date after the time + that M. de Lautrec had been with him or was nigh unto him. The pope most + instantly beseecheth your Grace to be a mean that the King's Highness may + accept this in a good part, and that he will take patience for this + little time, which, as it is supposed, will be but short.—Knight to + Wolsey and the King, Jan. 1, 1527-8: BURNET <i>Collections</i>, 12, + 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_144"></a><a href="#NtA_144">144</a> Such at least was the + ultimate conclusion of a curious discussion. When the French herald + declared war, the English herald accompanied him into the emperor's + presence, and when his companion had concluded, followed up his words + with an intimation that unless the French demands were complied with, + England would unite to enforce them. The Emperor replied to Francis with + defiance. To the English herald he expressed a hope that peace on that + side would still be maintained. For the moment the two countries were + uncertain whether they were at war or not. The Spanish ambassador in + London did not know, and the court could not tell him. The English + ambassador in Spain did not leave his post, but he was placed under + surveillance. An embargo on Spanish and English property was laid + respectively in the ports of the two kingdoms; and the merchants and + residents were placed under arrest. Alarmed by the outcry in London, the + king hastily concluded a truce with the Regent of the Netherlands, the + language of which implied a state of war; but when peace was concluded + between France and Spain, England appeared only as a contracting party, + not as a principal, and in 1542 it was decided that the antecedent + treaties between England and the empire continued in force.—See + LORD HERBERT; HOLINSHED; <i>State Papers</i>, vols. vii. viii. and ix.; + with the treaties in RYMER, vol. vi. part 2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_145"></a><a href="#NtA_145">145</a> Gardiner to the King: + BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 426.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_146"></a><a href="#NtA_146">146</a> Duke of Suffolk to + Henry the Eighth: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii, p. 183.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_147"></a><a href="#NtA_147">147</a> Duke of Suffolk to + Henry VIII.: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 183.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_148"></a><a href="#NtA_148">148</a> HALL, p. 744.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_149"></a><a href="#NtA_149">149</a> When the clothiers of + Essex, Kent, Wiltshire, Suffolk, and other shires which are clothmaking, + brought cloths to London to be sold, as they were wont, few merchants or + none bought any cloth at all. When the clothiers lacked sale, then they + put from them their spinners, carders, tuckers, and such others that + lived by clothworking, which caused the people greatly to murmur, and + specially in Suffolk, for if the Duke of Norfolk had not wisely appeased + them, no doubt but they had fallen to some rioting. When the king's + council was advertised of the inconvenience, the cardinal sent for a + great number of the merchants of London, and to them said, "Sirs, the + king is informed that you use not yourselves like merchants, but like + graziers and artificers; for where the clothiers do daily bring cloths to + the market for your ease, to their great cost, and then be ready to sell + them, you of your wilfulness will not buy them, as you have been + accustomed to do. What manner of men be you?" said the cardinal. "I tell + you that the king straitly commandeth you to buy their cloths as + beforetime you have been accustomed to do, upon pain of his high + displeasure."—HALL, p. 746.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_150"></a><a href="#NtA_150">150</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 157. By manners and customs he was referring clearly to his intended + reformation of the church. See the letter of Fox, Bishop of Winchester + (STRYPE'S <i>Memorials</i>, vol. ii. p. 25), in which Wolsey's intentions + are dwelt upon at length.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_151"></a><a href="#NtA_151">151</a> Ibid. pp. 136, 7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_152"></a><a href="#NtA_152">152</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. pp. 96, 7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_153"></a><a href="#NtA_153">153</a> Wolsey to Cassalis: + Ibid. p. 100.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_154"></a><a href="#NtA_154">154</a> State Papers, vol. + vii. pp. 106, 7</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_155"></a><a href="#NtA_155">155</a> Ibid. p. 113.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_156"></a><a href="#NtA_156">156</a> Ibid. vii. p. 113.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_157"></a><a href="#NtA_157">157</a> Take the veil.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_158"></a><a href="#NtA_158">158</a> Instruction to the + Ambassadours at Rome: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 136.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_159"></a><a href="#NtA_159">159</a> <i>Letters of the + Bishop of Bayanne</i>, LEGRAND, vol. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_160"></a><a href="#NtA_160">160</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. + 231.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_161"></a><a href="#NtA_161">161</a> Instrucion para + Gonzalo Fernandez que se envoie a Ireland al Conde de Desmond, + 1529.—MS. Archives at Brussels.—<i>The Pilgrim</i>, note 1, + p. 169.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_162"></a><a href="#NtA_162">162</a> Henrici regis octavi + de repudiandâ dominâ Catherinâ oratio Idibus Novembris habita 1528.</p> + + <p>Veneranda et chara nobis prĉsulum procerum atque consiliariorum cohors + quos communis reipublicĉ atque regni nostri administrandi cura conjunxit. + Haud vos latet divinâ nos Providentiâ viginti jam ferme annis hanc + nostram patriam tantâ felicitate rexisse ut in illâ ab hostilibus + incursionibus tuta semper interea fuerit et nos in his bellis quĉ + suscepimus victores semper evasimus; et quanquam in eo gloriâri jure + possumus majorem tranquillitatem opes et honores prioribus huc usque + ductis socculis, nunquam subditis a majoribus parentibusque nostris + Angliâ regibus quam a nobis provenisse, tamen quando cum hâc gloriâ in + mentem una venit ac concurrit mortis cogitatio, veremur ne nobis sine + prole legitimâ decedentibus majorem ex morte nostrâ patiamini calamitatem + quam ex vitâ fructum ac emolumentum percepistis. Recens enim in quorundam + vestrorum animis adhuc est illius cruenti temporis memoria quod a Ricardo + tertio cum avi nostri materni Edwardi Quarti statum in controversiam + vocasset ejusque heredes regno atque vitâ privâsset illatum est. Tum ex + historiis notĉ sunt illĉ dirĉ strages quĉ a clarissimis Angliĉ gentibus + Eboracensi atque Lancastrensi, dum inter se de regno et imperio multis + ĉvis contenderent, populo evenerunt. Ac illĉ ex justis nuptiis inter + Henricum Septimum et dominam Elizabetham clarissimos nostros parentes + contractis in nobis inde legitimâ natâ sobole sopitĉ tandem desierunt. Si + vero quod absit, regalis ex nostris nuptiis stirps quĉ jure deinceps + regnare possit non nascatur, hoc regnum civilibus atque intestinis se + versabit tumultibus aut in exterorum dominationem atque potestatem + veniet. Nam quanquam formâ atque venustate singulari, quĉ magno nobis + solatio fuit filiam Dominam Mariam ex nobilissimâ fœminâ Dominâ + Catherinâ procreavimus, tamen a piis atque eruditis theologis nuper + accepimus quia eam quĉ Arturi fratris nostri conjux ante fuerat uxorem + duximus nostras nuptias jure divino esse vetitas, partumque inde editum + non posse censeri legitimum. Id quod eo vehementius nos angit et + excruciat, quod cum superiori anno legatos ad conciliandas inter + Aureliensem ducem et filiam nostram Mariam nuptias ad Franciscum Gallorum + regem misissemus a quodam ejus consiliario responsum est, "antequam de + hujusmodi nuptiis agatum inquirendum esse prius an Maria fuerit filia + nostra legitima; constat enim 'inquit,' quod exdominâ Catherinâ fratris + sui viduâ cujusmodi nuptiĉ jure divino interdictĉ sunt suscepta est." Quĉ + oratio quanto metu ac horrore animum nostrum turbaverit quia res ipsa + ĉternĉ tam animi quam corporis salutis periculum in se continet, et quam + perplexis cogitationibus conscientiam occupat, vos quibus et capitis aut + fortunĉ ac multo magis animarum jactura immineret, remedium nisi adhibere + velitis, ignorare non posse arbitror. Hĉc una res—quod Deo teste et + in Regis oraculo affirmamus—nos impulit ut per legatos + doctissimorum per totum orbem Christianum theologorum sententias + exquireremus et Romani Pontificis legatum verum atque ĉquum judicium de + tantâ causâ laturum ut tranquillâ deinceps et intergâ conscientiâ in + conjugio licito vivere possimus accerseremus. In quo si ex sacris + litteris hoc quo viginti jam fere annis gavisi sumus matrimonium jure + divino permissum esse manifeste liquidoque constabit, non modo ob + conscientiĉ tranquillitatem, verum etiam ob amabiles mores virtutesque + quibus regina prĉdita et ornata est, nihil optatius nihilque jucundius + accidere nobis potest. Nam prĉterquam quod regali atque nobili genere + prognata est, tantâ prĉterea comitate et obsequio conjugali tum cĉteris + animi morumque ornamentis quĉ nobilitatem illustrant omnes fœminas + his viginti annis sic mihi anteire visa est ut si a conjugio liber essem + ac solutus, si jure divino liceret, hanc solam prĉ cĉteris fœminis + stabili mihi jure ac fœdere matrimoniali conjungerem. Si vero in hoc + judicio matrimonium nostrum jure divino prohibitum, ideoque ab initio + nullum irritumque fuisse pronuncietur, infelix hic meus casus multis + lacrimis lugendus ac deplorandus erit. Non modo quod a tam illustris et + amabilis mulieris consuetudine et consortio divertendum sit, sed multo + magis quod specie ad similitudinem veri conjugii decepti in amplexibus + plusquam fornicariis tam multos annos trivimus nullâ legitimâ prognatâ + nobis sobole quĉ nobis mortuis hujus inclyti regni hereditatem + capessat.</p> + + <p>Hĉ nostrĉ curĉ istĉque solicitudines sunt quĉ mentem atque + conscientiam nostram dies noctesque torquent et excurciant, quibus + auferendis et profligandis remedium ex hâc legatione et judicio + opportunum quĉrimus. Ideoque vos quorum virtuti atque fidei multum + attribuimus rogamus ut certum atque genuinum nostrum de hâc re sensum + quem ex nostro sermone percepistis populo declaretis: eumque excitetis ut + nobiscum una oraret ut ad conscientiĉ nostrĉ pacem atque tranquillitatem + in hoc judicio veritas multis jam annis tenebris involuta tandem + patefiat.—WILKINS'S <i>Concilia</i>, vol. iii. p. 714.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_163"></a><a href="#NtA_163">163</a> HALL, <i>Letters of + the Bishop of Bayonne</i>, LEGRAND, vol. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_164"></a><a href="#NtA_164">164</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_165"></a><a href="#NtA_165">165</a> Ibid. vol. iii. pp. + 232, 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_166"></a><a href="#NtA_166">166</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 120; Ibid. p. 186.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_167"></a><a href="#NtA_167">167</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 41.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_168"></a><a href="#NtA_168">168</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 193.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_169"></a><a href="#NtA_169">169</a> The Emperor could as + little trust Clement as the English, and to the last moment could not + tell how he would act.</p> + + <p>"Il me semble," wrote Inigo di Mendoza to Charles on the 17th of June, + 1529,—"il me semble que Sa Sainteté differe autant qu'il peut ce + qu' auparavant il avoit promis, et je crains qu'il n'ait ordonné aux + legatz ce qui jusques à present avoit resté en suspens qu'ils procedent + par la première commission. Ce qui faisant votre Majesté peut tenir la + Reine autant que condamné."—<i>MS. Archives at Brussels.</i></p> + + <p>The sort of influence to which the See of Rome was amenable appears in + another letter to the Emperor, written from Rome itself on the 4th of + October. The Pope and cardinals, it is to be remembered, were claiming to + be considered the supreme court of appeal in Christendom.</p> + + <p>"Si je ne m'abuse tous ou la pluspart du Saint College sont plus + affectionnez à vostre dite Majesté que à autre Prince Chrestien: de vous + escrire, Sire, particulièrement toutes leurs responses seroit chose trop + longue. Tant y a que elles sont telles que votre Majesté a raison doubt + grandement se contenter d'icelles.</p> + + <p>"... Seulement diray derechief à vostre Majesté, et me souvient l'avoir + dict plusieurs fois, qu'il est en vostre Majesté gaigner et entretenir + perpetuellement ce college en vostre devotion en distribuant seulement + entre les principaulx d'eulx en pensions et benefices la somme de vingt + mille ducas, l'ung mille, l'autre deulx ou trois mille. Et est cecy + chose, Sire, que plus vous touche que à autre Prince Chrestien pour les + affaires que vostre Majesté a journellement à despescher en ceste + court."—M. de Prĉt to Charles V. August 5th, 1529. MS. Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_170"></a><a href="#NtA_170">170</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 377.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_171"></a><a href="#NtA_171">171</a> Ibid. vol. iii. p. + 374.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_172"></a><a href="#NtA_172">172</a> Ibid. vol. iii. p. + 355.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_173"></a><a href="#NtA_173">173</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_174"></a><a href="#NtA_174">174</a> Memorandum relating to + the Society of Christian Brethren. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_175"></a><a href="#NtA_175">175</a> DALABER'S + <i>Narrative</i>, printed in FOXE, vol. iv. Seeley's Ed.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_176"></a><a href="#NtA_176">176</a> All authorities agree + in the early account of Henry, and his letters provide abundant proof + that it is not exaggerated. The following description of him in the + despatches of the Venetian ambassador shows the effect which he produced + on strangers in 1515:—</p> + + <p>"Assuredly, most serene prince, from what we have seen of him, and in + conformity, moreover, with the report made to us by others, this most + serene king is not only very expert in arms and of great valour and most + excellent in his personal endowments, but is likewise so gifted and + adorned with mental accomplishments of every sort, that we believe him to + have few equals in the world. He speaks English, French, Latin, + understands Italian well; plays almost on every instrument; sings and + composes fairly; is prudent, and sage, and free from every + vice."—<i>Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII.</i> vol. i. p. + 76.</p> + + <p>Four years later, the same writer adds,—</p> + + <p>"The king speaks good French, Latin, and Spanish; is very religious; + hears three masses a day when he hunts, and sometimes five on other days; + he hears the office every day in the queen's chamber—that is to + say, vespers and complins."—Ibid. vol. ii. p. 312. William Thomas, + who must have seen him, says,</p> + + <p>"Of personage he was one of the goodliest men that lived in his time; + being high of stature, in manner more than a man, and proportionable in + all his members unto that height; of countenance he was most amiable; + courteous and benign in gesture unto all persons and specially unto + strangers; seldom or never offended with anything; and of so constant a + nature in himself that I believe few can say that ever he changed his + cheer for any novelty how contrary or sudden so ever it were. Prudent he + was in council and forecasting; most liberal in rewarding his faithful + servants, and even unto his enemies, as it behoveth a prince to be. He + was learned in all sciences, and had the gift of many tongues. He was a + perfect theologian, a good philosopher, and a strong man at arms, a + jeweller, a perfect builder as well of fortresses as of pleasant palaces, + and from one to another there was no necessary kind of knowledge, from a + king's degree to a carter's, but he had an honest sight in + it."—<i>The Pilgrim</i> p. 78.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_177"></a><a href="#NtA_177">177</a> Exposition of the + Commandments, set forth by Royal authority, 1536. This treatise was drawn + up by the bishops, and submitted to, and revised by, the king.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_178"></a><a href="#NtA_178">178</a> SAGUDINO'S <i>Summary. + Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII.</i> vol. ii. P. 75.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_179"></a><a href="#NtA_179">179</a> "The truth is, when I + married my wife, I had but fifty pounds to live on for me and my wife so + long as my father lived, and yet she brought me forth every year a + child."—Earl of Wiltshire to Cromwell: ELLIS, third series, vol. + iii. pp. 22, 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_180"></a><a href="#NtA_180">180</a> BURNET, vol. i. p. + 69.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_181"></a><a href="#NtA_181">181</a> Thomas Allen to the + Earl of Shrewsbury: LODGE'S <i>Illustrations</i>, vol. i. p. 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_182"></a><a href="#NtA_182">182</a> Earl of Northumberland + to Cromwell: printed by LORD HERBERT and by BURNET.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_183"></a><a href="#NtA_183">183</a> 28 Hen. VIII. cap. + 7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_184"></a><a href="#NtA_184">184</a> Since these words were + written, I have discovered among the Archives of Simancas what may + perhaps be some clue to the mystery, in an epitome of a letter written to + Charles V. from London in May, 1536:—-</p> + + <p>"His Majesty has letters from England of the 11th of May, with certain + news that the paramour of the King of England, who called herself queen, + has been thrown into the Tower of London for adultery. The partner of her + guilt was an organist of the Privy Chamber, who is in the Tower as well. + An officer of the King's wardrobe has been arrested also for the same + offence with her, and one of her brothers for having been privy to her + offences without revealing them. They say, too, that if the adultery had + not been discovered, the King was determined to put her away, having been + informed by competent witnesses that she was married and had consummated + her marriage nine years before, with the Earl of Northumberland."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_185"></a><a href="#NtA_185">185</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 131.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_186"></a><a href="#NtA_186">186</a> Wyatt's Memorials, + printed in Singer's CAVENDISH, p. 420.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_187"></a><a href="#NtA_187">187</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 132.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_188"></a><a href="#NtA_188">188</a> ELLIS, first series, + vol. i. p. 135. "My Lord, in my most humblest wise that my poor heart can + think, I do thank your Grace for your kind letter, and for your rich and + goodly present; the which I shall never be able to deserve without your + great help; of the which I have hitherto had so great plenty, that all + the days of my life I am most bound of all creatures, next to the King's + Grace, to love and serve your Grace. Of the which I beseech you never to + doubt that ever I shall vary from this thought as long as any breath is + in my body."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_189"></a><a href="#NtA_189">189</a> CAVENDISH <i>Life of + Wolsey,</i> p. 316. Singer's edition.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_190"></a><a href="#NtA_190">190</a> CAVENDISH, pp. 364, + 5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_191"></a><a href="#NtA_191">191</a> <i>Letters of the + Bishop of Bayonne</i>, LEGRAND, vol. iii. pp. 368, 378, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_192"></a><a href="#NtA_192">192</a> See HALE'S <i>Criminal + Causes from the Records of the Consistory Court of London.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_193"></a><a href="#NtA_193">193</a> Petition of the + Commons, infra, p. 191, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_194"></a><a href="#NtA_194">194</a> Reply of the + Ordinaries to the petition of the Commons, infra, p. 202, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_195"></a><a href="#NtA_195">195</a> Petition of the + Commons. 23 Hen. VIII. c. 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_196"></a><a href="#NtA_196">196</a> HALE'S <i>Criminal + Causes,</i> p.4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_197"></a><a href="#NtA_197">197</a> An Act that no person + committing murder, felony, or treason should be admitted to his clergy + under the degree of sub-deacon.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_198"></a><a href="#NtA_198">198</a> In May, 1528, the evil + had become so intolerable, that Wolsey drew the pope's attention to it. + Priests, he said, both secular and regular, were in the habit of + committing atrocious crimes, for which, if not in orders, they would have + been promptly executed; and the laity were scandalised to see such + persons not only not degraded, but escaping with complete impunity. + Clement something altered the law of degradation in consequence of this + representation, but quite inadequately.—RYMER, vol. vi. part 2, p. + 96.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_199"></a><a href="#NtA_199">199</a> Thomas Cowper et ejus + uxor Margarita pronubĉ horribiles, et instigant mulieres ad fornicandum + cum quibuscunque laicis, religiosis, fratribus minoribus, et nisi + fornicant in domo suâ ipsi diffamabunt nisi voluerint dare eis ad + voluntatem eorum; et vir est pronuba uxori, et vult relinquere eam apud + fratres minores pro peccatis habendis.—HALE, <i>Criminal + Causes,</i> p. 9.</p> + + <p>Joanna Cutting communis pronuba at prĉsertim inter presbyteros fratres + monachos et canonicos et etiam inter Thomam Peise et quandam Agnetam, + etc.—HALE, <i>Criminal Causes,</i> p. 28.</p> + + <p>See also Ibid. pp. 15, 22, 23, 39, etc.</p> + + <p>In the first instance the parties accused "made their purgation" and + were dismissed. The exquisite corruption of the courts, instead of + inviting evidence and sifting accusations, allowed accused persons to + support their own pleas of not guilty by producing four witnesses, not to + disprove the charges, but to swear that they believed the charges untrue. + This was called "purgation."</p> + + <p>Clergy, it seems, were sometimes allowed to purge themselves simply on + their own word.—HALE, p. 22; and see the Preamble of the 1st of the + 23rd of Henry VIII.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_200"></a><a href="#NtA_200">200</a> Complaints of + iniquities arising from confession were laid before Parliament as early + as 1394.</p> + + <p>"Auricularis confessio quĉ dicitur tam necessaria ad salvationem + hominis, cum fictâ potestate absolutionis exaltat superbiam sacerdotum, + et dat illis opportunitatem secretarum sermocinationum quas nos nolumus + dicere, quia domini et dominĉ attestantur quod pro timore confessorum + suorum non audent dicere veritatem; et in tempore confessionis est + opportunum tempus procationis id est of wowing et aliarum secretarum + conventionum ad peccata mortalia. Ipsi dicunt quod sunt commissarii Dei + ad judicandum de omni peccato perdonandum et mundandum quemcunque eis + placuerint. Dicunt quod habent claves cœli et inferni et possunt + excommunicare et benedicere ligare et solvere in voluntatem eorum; in + tantum quod pro bussello vel 12 denariis volunt vendere benedictionem + cœli per chartam et clausulam de warrantiâ sigillitâ sigillo + communi. Ista conclusio sic est in usu quod non eget probatione + aliquâ."—Extract from a Petition presented to Parliament: WILKINS, + vol. iii. p. 221.</p> + + <p>This remarkable paper ends with the following lines:—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"Plangunt Anglorum gentes crimen Sodomorum</p> + <p>Paulus fert horum sunt idola causa malorum</p> + <p>Surgunt ingrati Giezitĉ Simone nati</p> + <p>Nomine prĉlati hoc defensare parati</p> + <p>Qui reges estis populis quicunque prĉstis</p> + <p>Qualiter his gestis gladios prohibere potestis."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>See also HALE, p. 42, where an abominable instance is mentioned, and a + still worse in the <i>Suppression of the Monasteries,</i> pp. 45-50.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_201"></a><a href="#NtA_201">201</a> HALE, p. 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_202"></a><a href="#NtA_202">202</a> Ibid. pp. 75, 83; + <i>Suppression of the Monasteries,</i> p. 47.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_203"></a><a href="#NtA_203">203</a> Ibid. p. 80.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_204"></a><a href="#NtA_204">204</a> Ibid. p. 83.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_205"></a><a href="#NtA_205">205</a> I have been taunted + with my inability to produce more evidence. For the present I will + mention two additional instances only, and perhaps I shall not be invited + to swell the list further.</p> + + <p>1. In the State Paper Office is a report to Cromwell by Adam + Bekenshaw, one of his diocesan visitors, in which I find this + passage:—</p> + + <p>"There be knights and divers gentlemen in the diocese of Chester who + do keep concubines and do yearly compound with the officials for a small + sum without monition to leave their naughty living."</p> + + <p>2. In another report I find also the following:—</p> + + <p>"The names of such persons as be permitted to live in adultery and + fornication for money:—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"The Vicar of Ledbury.</p> + <p>The Vicar of Brasmyll.</p> + <p>The Vicar of Stow.</p> + <p>The Vicar of Cloune.</p> + <p>The Parson of Wentnor.</p> + <p>The Parson of Rusbury.</p> + <p>The Parson of Plowden.</p> + <p>The Dean of Pountsbury.</p> + <p>The Parson of Stratton.</p> + <p>Sir Matthew of Montgomery.</p> + <p>Sir —— of Lauvange.</p> + <p>Sir John Brayle.</p> + <p>Sir Morris of Clone.</p> + <p>Sir Adam of Clone.</p> + <p>Sir Pierce of Norbury.</p> + <p>Sir Gryffon ap Egmond.</p> + <p>Sir John Orkeley.</p> + <p>Sir John of Mynton.</p> + <p>Sir John Reynolds.</p> + <p>Sir Morris of Knighton, priest.</p> + <p>Hugh Davis.</p> + <p>Cadwallader ap Gern.</p> + <p>Edward ap Meyrick.</p> + <p>With many others of the diocese of Hereford."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The originals of both these documents are in the State Paper Office. + There are copies in the Bodleian Library.—<i>MS. Tanner,</i> + 105.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_206"></a><a href="#NtA_206">206</a> Skelton gives us a + specimen of the popular criticisms:—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"Thus I, Colin Clout,</p> + <p>As I go about,</p> + <p>And wondering as I walk,</p> + <p>I hear the people talk:</p> + <p>Men say for silver and gold</p> + <p>Mitres are bought and sold:</p> + <p>A straw for Goddys curse,</p> + <p>What are they the worse?</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"What care the clergy though Gill sweat,</p> + <p>Or Jack of the Noke?</p> + <p>The poor people they yoke</p> + <p>With sumners and citacions,</p> + <p>And excommunications.</p> + <p>About churches and markets</p> + <p>The bishop on his carpets</p> + <p>At home soft doth sit.</p> + <p>This is a fearful fit,</p> + <p>To hear the people jangle.</p> + <p>How wearily they wrangle!</p> + <p>But Doctor Bullatus</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"Parum litteratus,</p> + <p>Dominus Doctoratus</p> + <p>At the broad gate-house.</p> + <p>Doctor Daupatus</p> + <p>And Bachelor Bacheleratus,</p> + <p>Drunken as a mouse</p> + <p>At the ale-house,</p> + <p>Taketh his pillion and his cap</p> + <p>At the good ale-tap,</p> + <p>For lack of good wine.</p> + <p>As wise as Robin Swine,</p> + <p>Under a notary's sign,</p> + <p>Was made a divine;</p> + <p>As wise as Waltham's calf,</p> + <p>Must preach in Goddys half;</p> + <p>In the pulpit solemnly;</p> + <p>More meet in a pillory;</p> + <p>For by St. Hilary</p> + <p>He can nothing smatter</p> + <p>Of logic nor school matter.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"Such temporal war and bate</p> + <p>As now is made of late</p> + <p>Against holy church estate,</p> + <p>Or to mountain good quarrels;</p> + <p>The laymen call them barrels</p> + <p>Full of gluttony and of hypocrisy,</p> + <p>That counterfeits and paints</p> + <p>As they were very saints.</p> + </div> + + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"By sweet St. Marke,</p> + <p>This is a wondrous warke,</p> + <p>That the people talk this.</p> + <p>Somewhat there is amiss.</p> + <p>The devil cannot stop their mouths,</p> + <p>But they will talk of such uncouths</p> + <p>All that ever they ken</p> + <p>Against spiritual men."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>I am unable to quote more than a few lines from ROY'S <i>Satire</i>. + At the close of a long paragraph of details an advocate of the clergy + ventures to say that the bad among them are a minority. His friend + answers:—</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>"Make the company great or small,</p> + <p>Among a thousand find thou shall</p> + <p>Scant one chaste of body or mind."</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt_207"></a><a href="#NtA_207">207</a> Answer of the Bishops + to the Commons' Petition: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_208"></a><a href="#NtA_208">208</a> Joanna Leman notatur + officio quod non venit ad ecclesiam parochialem; et dicit se nolle + accipere panem benedictum a manibus rectoris; et vocavit eum "horsyn + preste."—HALE, p. 99.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_209"></a><a href="#NtA_209">209</a> HALE, p. 63.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_210"></a><a href="#NtA_210">210</a> Ibid. p. 98.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_211"></a><a href="#NtA_211">211</a> Ibid. p. 38.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_212"></a><a href="#NtA_212">212</a> Ibid. p. 67.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_213"></a><a href="#NtA_213">213</a> Ibid. p. 100.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_214"></a><a href="#NtA_214">214</a> CAVENDISH, <i>Life of + Wolsey</i>, p. 251.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_215"></a><a href="#NtA_215">215</a> HALL, p. 764.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_216"></a><a href="#NtA_216">216</a> Ibid. p. 764.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_217"></a><a href="#NtA_217">217</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 361.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_218"></a><a href="#NtA_218">218</a> 6 Hen. VIII. cap. + 16.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_219"></a><a href="#NtA_219">219</a> The session lasted six + weeks only, and several of the subjects of the petition were disposed of + in the course of it, as we shall see.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_220"></a><a href="#NtA_220">220</a> The MS. from which I + have transcribed this copy is itself imperfect, as will be seen in the + "reply of the Bishops," which supplies several omitted articles. See p. + 137, et seq. It is in the Rolls House.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_221"></a><a href="#NtA_221">221</a> The penny, as I have + shown, equalled, in terms of a poor man's necessities, a shilling. See + chap. i.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_222"></a><a href="#NtA_222">222</a> See instance's in + HALE: p, 62, <i>Omnium Sanctorum in muro</i>.—M. Gulielmus Edward + curatus notatur officio quod recusat ministrare sacramenta ecelesiastica + ĉgrotantibus nisi prius habitis pecuniis pro suo labore: p. 64, <i>St. + Mary Magdalen</i>.—Curatus notatur officio prbpter quod recusavit + solemnizare matrrimonium quousque habet pro hujusmodi solemnizatione, + <i>3<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i></i>; and see pp. 52, 75.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_223"></a><a href="#NtA_223">223</a> I give many instances + of this practice in my sixth chapter. It was a direct breach of the + statute of Henry IV., which insists on all examinations for heresy being + conducted in open court. "The diocesan and his commissaries," says that + act, "shall openly and judicially proceed against persons + arrested."—2 Hen. IV. c. 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_224"></a><a href="#NtA_224">224</a> Again breaking the + statute of Hen. IV., which limited the period of imprisonment previous to + public trial to three months.—2 Hen. IV. c. 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_225"></a><a href="#NtA_225">225</a> To be disposed of at + Smithfield. Abjuration was allowed once. For a second offence there was + no forgiveness.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_226"></a><a href="#NtA_226">226</a> Petition of the + Commons. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_227"></a><a href="#NtA_227">227</a> See STRYPE, <i>Eccles. + Memorials</i>, vol. i. p. 191-2,—who is very eloquent in his + outcries upon his subject.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_228"></a><a href="#NtA_228">228</a> <i>Answer of the + Bishops</i>, p. 204, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_229"></a><a href="#NtA_229">229</a> Explanations are not + easy; but the following passage may suggest the meaning of the House of + Commons:—"The holy Father Prior of Maiden Bradley hath but six + children, and but one daughter married yet of the goods of the monastery; + trusting shortly to marry the rest."—Dr. Leyton to Cromwell: + <i>Suppression of the Monasteries</i>, p. 58.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_230"></a><a href="#NtA_230">230</a> Reply of the Bishops, + infra.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_231"></a><a href="#NtA_231">231</a> CAVENDISH, <i>Life of + Wolsey</i>, p. 390. MORE'S <i>Life of More</i>, p. 109.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_232"></a><a href="#NtA_232">232</a> Populus diu oblatrans. + Fox to Wolsey. STRYPE, <i>Eccl. Mem.</i> vol. i. Appendix, p. 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_233"></a><a href="#NtA_233">233</a> RYMER, vol. vi. part + 2, p. 119.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_234"></a><a href="#NtA_234">234</a> The answer of the + Ordinaries to the supplication of the worshipful the Commons of the Lower + House of Parliament offered to our Sovereign Lord the King's most noble + Grace.—<i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_235"></a><a href="#NtA_235">235</a> The terms of the + several articles of complaint are repeated verbally from the petition. I + condense them to spare recapitulation.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_236"></a><a href="#NtA_236">236</a> 2 Hen. IV. cap. 15; 2 + Hen. V. cap. 7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_237"></a><a href="#NtA_237">237</a> An Act that no person + shall be cited out of the diocese in which he dwells, except in certain + cases. It received the Royal assent two years later. See 23 Hen. VIII. + cap. 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_238"></a><a href="#NtA_238">238</a> 21 Hen. VIII. cap. 5. + An Act concerning fines and sums of money to be taken by the ministers of + bishops and other ordinaries of holy church for the probate of + testaments.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_239"></a><a href="#NtA_239">239</a> HALE, + <i>Precedents</i>, p. 86.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_240"></a><a href="#NtA_240">240</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_241"></a><a href="#NtA_241">241</a> 21 Hen. VIII. cap. 6. + An Act concerning the taking of mortuaries, or demanding, receiving, or + claiming the same.</p> + + <p>In Scotland the usual mortuary was, a cow and the uppermost cloth or + counterpane on the bed in which the death took place. A bishop + reprimanding a suspected clergyman for his leaning toward the + Reformation, said to him:—</p> + + <p>"My joy, Dean Thomas, I am informed that ye preach the epistle and + gospel every Sunday to your parishioners, and that ye take not the cow + nor the upmost cloth from your parishioners; which thing is very + prejudicial to the churchmen. And therefore, Dean Thomas, I would ye took + your cow and upmost cloth, or else it is too much to preach every Sunday, + for in so doing ye may make the people think we should preach + likewise."—CALDERWOOD, vol. i. p. 126.</p> + + <p>The bishop had to burn Dean Thomas at last, being unable to work + conviction into him in these matters.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_242"></a><a href="#NtA_242">242</a> 21 Hen. VIII. cap. 13. + An Act that no spiritual person shall take farms; or buy and sell for + lucre and profit; or keep tan-houses or breweries. And for pluralities of + benefices and for residence.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_243"></a><a href="#NtA_243">243</a> HALL, p. 767.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_244"></a><a href="#NtA_244">244</a> Ibid. 766</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_245"></a><a href="#NtA_245">245</a> Ibid. 767.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_246"></a><a href="#NtA_246">246</a> Ibid. 766.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_247"></a><a href="#NtA_247">247</a> Ibid. 768.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_248"></a><a href="#NtA_248">248</a> So reluctant was he, + that at one time he had resolved, rather than compromise the unity of + Christendom, to give way. When the disposition of the court of Rome was + no longer doubtful, "his difficultatibus permotus, cum in hoc statu res + essent, dixerunt qui ejus verba exceperunt, post profundam secum de + universo negotio deliberationem et mentis agitationem, tandem in hĉc + verba prorupisse, se primum tentâsse illud divortium persuasum ecclesiam + Romanam hoc idem probaturum—quod si ita ilia abhorreret ab illâ + sententiâ ut nullo modo permittendum censeret se nolle cum eâ contendere + neque amplius in illo negotio progredi."</p> + + <p>Pole, on whose authority we receive these words, says that they were + heard with almost unanimous satisfaction at the council board. The moment + of hesitation was, it is almost certain, at the crisis which preceded or + attended Wolsey's fall. It endured but for three days, and was dispelled + by the influence of Cromwell, who tempted both the king and parliament + into their fatal revolt.—POLI <i>Apologia ad Carolum + Quintum</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_249"></a><a href="#NtA_249">249</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 446. The censures were threatened in the first brief, but the menace was + withdrawn under the impression that it was not needed.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_250"></a><a href="#NtA_250">250</a> Ibid. The second brief is dated March 7, and declares that the king, if he + proceeds, shall incur ipso facto the greater excommunication; that the + kingdom will fall under an interdict.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_251"></a><a href="#NtA_251">251</a> Cranmer was born in + 1489, and was thus forty years old when he first emerged into + eminence.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_252"></a><a href="#NtA_252">252</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 226.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_253"></a><a href="#NtA_253">253</a> Je croy qu'il ne feist + en sa vie ceremonie qui luy touchast si prés du cœur, ne dont je + pense qu'il luy doive advenir moins du bien. Car aucunes fois qu'il + pensoit qu'on ne le regardast, il faisoit de si grands soupirs que pour + pesante que fust sa chappe, il la faisoit bransler à bon + escient.—<i>Lettre de M. de Gramont, Evêque de Tarbès.</i> LEGRAND, + vol. iii. p. 386.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_254"></a><a href="#NtA_254">254</a> ELLIS, <i>Third + Series</i>, vol. ii. p. 98. "In the letters showed us by M. de Buclans + from the emperor, of the which mention was made in ciphers, it was + written in terms that the French king would offer unto your Grace the + papalite of France vel Patriarchate, for the French men would no more + obey the Church of Rome."—Lee to Wolsey.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_255"></a><a href="#NtA_255">255</a> A ce qu'il m'en a + declaré des fois plus de trois en secret, il seroit content que le dit + mariage fust ja faict, ou par dispense du Legat d'Angleterre ou + autrement; mais que ce ne fust par son autorité, in aussi diminuant sa + puissance, quant aux dispenses, et limitation de droict + divin.—<i>Dechiffrement de Lettres de M. de + Tarbès.</i>—LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. 408.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_256"></a><a href="#NtA_256">256</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 408.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_257"></a><a href="#NtA_257">257</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 230.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_258"></a><a href="#NtA_258">258</a> The Bishop of Tarbès + to the King of France. LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. 401.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_259"></a><a href="#NtA_259">259</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 234.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_260"></a><a href="#NtA_260">260</a> Ibid. p. 235.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_261"></a><a href="#NtA_261">261</a> We demand a service of + you which it is your duty to concede; and your first thought is lest you + should offend the emperor. We do not blame <i>him</i>. That in such a + matter he should be influenced by natural affection is intelligible and + laudable. But for that very reason we decline to submit to so partial a + judgment.—Henry VIII. to the Pope: BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. + 431.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_262"></a><a href="#NtA_262">262</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 394.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_263"></a><a href="#NtA_263">263</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 317.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_264"></a><a href="#NtA_264">264</a> For Croke's Mission, + see BURNET, vol. i. p. 144 e.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_265"></a><a href="#NtA_265">265</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 241.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_266"></a><a href="#NtA_266">266</a> Friar Pallavicino to + the Bishop of Bath. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_267"></a><a href="#NtA_267">267</a> Croke and Omnibow to + the King. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_268"></a><a href="#NtA_268">268</a> Generalis magister + nostri ordinis mandavit omnibus suĉ religionis professoribus, ut nullus + audeat de auctoritate Pontificis quicquam loqui. Denique Orator Cĉsareus + in talia verba prorupit, quibus facile cognovi ut me a Pontifice vocari + studeat et tunc timendum esset saluti meĉ. Father Omnibow to Henry VIII. + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_269"></a><a href="#NtA_269">269</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collect.</i> p. 50. Burnet labours to prove that on Henry's side there + was no bribery, and that the emperor was the only offender; an + examination of many MS. letters from Croke and other agents in Italy + leads me to believe that, although the emperor only had recourse to + intimidation, because he alone was able to practise it, the bribery was + equally shared between both parties.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_270"></a><a href="#NtA_270">270</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 458. The Grand Master to the King of France:—De l'autre part, + adventure il n'est moins a craindre, que le Roy d'Angleterre, irrité de + trop longues dissimulations, trouvast moyen de parvenir a ses intentions + du consentement de l'Empereur, et que par l'advenement d'un tiers <i>se + fissent ami, Herode et Pilate</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_271"></a><a href="#NtA_271">271</a> Ibid. vol. iii. p. + 467, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_272"></a><a href="#NtA_272">272</a> Letter from the King + of France to the President of the Parliament of Paris. <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_273"></a><a href="#NtA_273">273</a> Letter from Reginald + Pole to Henry VIII. <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_274"></a><a href="#NtA_274">274</a> Pole to Henry VIII. + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_275"></a><a href="#NtA_275">275</a> BURNET, + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 429.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_276"></a><a href="#NtA_276">276</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. p. 377.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_277"></a><a href="#NtA_277">277</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 436; <i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. 378.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_278"></a><a href="#NtA_278">278</a> It is not good to stir + a hornet's nest.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_279"></a><a href="#NtA_279">279</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 431.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_280"></a><a href="#NtA_280">280</a> Ibid. p. 48.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_281"></a><a href="#NtA_281">281</a> Preface to LATIMER'S + <i>Sermons</i>. Parker Society's edition, p. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_282"></a><a href="#NtA_282">282</a> "King Harry loved a + man," was an English proverb to the close of the century. See SIR ROBERT + NAUNTON'S <i>Fragmenta Regalia</i>, London, 1641, p. 14.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_283"></a><a href="#NtA_283">283</a> Sir George + Throgmorton, who distinguished himself by his opposition to the + Reformation in the House of Commons.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_284"></a><a href="#NtA_284">284</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collect</i>, p. 429.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_285"></a><a href="#NtA_285">285</a> <i>A Glasse of + Truth.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_286"></a><a href="#NtA_286">286</a> Ibid. p. 144.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_287"></a><a href="#NtA_287">287</a> 35 Ed. I.; 25 Ed. III. + stat. 4; stat. 5, cap. 22; 27 Ed. III. stat. 1; 13 Ric. II. stat. 2, cap. + 2; 16 Ric. II. cap. 5; 9 Hen. IV. cap. 8.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_288"></a><a href="#NtA_288">288</a> CAVENDISH, p. 276.</p> + + <p>Gardiner has left some noticeable remarks on this subject.</p> + + <p>"Whether," he says, "a king may command against a common law or an act + of parliament, there is never a judge or other man in the realm ought to + know more by experience of that the laws have said than I.</p> + + <p>"First, my Lord Cardinal, that obtained his legacy by our late + Sovereign Lord's requirements at Rome, yet, because it was against the + laws of the realm, the judges concluded the offence of Premunire, which + matter I bare away, and took it for a law of the realm, because the + lawyers said so, but my reason digested it not. The lawyers, for + confirmation of their doings, brought in the case of Lord Tiptoft. An + earl he was, and learned in the civil laws, who being chancellor, because + in execution of the king's commandment he offended the laws of the realm, + suffered on Tower Hill. They brought in examples of many judges that had + fines set on their heads in like cases for transgression of laws by the + king's commandment, and this I learned in that case.</p> + + <p>"Since that time being of the council, when many proclamations were + devised against the carriers out of corn, when it came to punish the + offender, the judges would answer it might not be by the law, because the + Act of Parliament gave liberty, wheat being under a price. Whereupon at + last followed the Act of Proclamations, in the passing whereof were many + large words spoken."</p> + + <p>After mentioning other cases, he goes on:—</p> + + <p>"I reasoned once in the parliament house, where there was free speech + without danger, and the Lord Audely, to satisfy me, because I was in some + secret estimation, as he knew, 'Thou art a good fellow, Bishop,' quoth + he; 'look at the Act of Supremacy, and there the king's doings be + restrained to spiritual jurisdiction; and in another act no spiritual law + shall have place contrary to a common law, or an act of parliament. And + this were not,' quoth he, 'you bishops would enter in with the king, and + by means of his supremacy order the laws as ye listed. But we will + provide,' quoth he, 'that the premunire shall never go off your heads.' + This I bare away then, and held my peace."—Gardiner to the + Protector Somerset: <i>MS. Harleian</i>, 417.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_289"></a><a href="#NtA_289">289</a> 13 Ric. II. stat. 2, + cap. 2. Et si le Roi envoie par lettre on en autre maniere a la Courte du + Rome al excitacion dascune person, parount que la contrarie de cest + estatut soit fait touchant ascune dignité de Sainte Eglise, si celuy qui + fait tiel excitacion soit Prelate de Sainte Eglise, paie au Roy le value + de ses temporalitees dun an. The petition of parliament which occasioned + the statute is even more emphatic: Perveuz tout foitz que par nulle + traite ou composition a faire entre le Seint Pere le Pape et notre + Seigneur le Roy que riens soit fait a contraire en prejudice de cest + Estatute a faire. Et si ascune Seigneur Espirituel ou Temporel ou ascune + persone quiconque de qu'elle condition q'il soit, enforme, ensence ou + excite le Roi ou ses heirs, l'anientiser, adnuller ou repeller cest + Estatut a faire, et de ceo soit atteint par due proces du loy que le + Seigneur Espirituel eit la peyne sus dite, etc.—<i>Rolls of + Parliament</i>, Ric. II. 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_290"></a><a href="#NtA_290">290</a> Even further, as + chancellor the particular duty had been assigned to him of watching over + the observance of the act.</p> + + <p>Et le chancellor que pur le temps serra a quelle heure que pleint a + luy ou a conseill le Roy soit fait d'ascunes des articles sus ditz par + ascune persone que pleindre soy voudra granta briefs sur le cas ou + commissions a faire au covenables persones, d'oier et terminer les ditz + articles sur peyne de perdre son office et jamais estre mys en office le + Roy et perdre mille livres a lever a l'oeps le Roy si de ce soit atteint + par du proces.—<i>Rolls of Parliament</i>, Ric. II. 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_291"></a><a href="#NtA_291">291</a> BURNET, vol. iii. p. + 77. See a summary of the acts of this Convocation in a sermon of + Latimer's preached before the two Houses in 1536. LATIMER'S + <i>Sermons</i>, p. 45.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_292"></a><a href="#NtA_292">292</a> The king, considering + what good might come of reading of the New Testament and following the + same; and what evil might come of the reading of the same if it were evil + translated, and not followed; came into the Star Chamber the + five-and-twentieth day of May; and then communed with his council and the + prelates concerning the cause. And after long debating, it was alleged + that the translations of Tyndal and Joy were not truly translated, and + also that in them were prologues and prefaces that sounded unto heresy, + and railed against the bishops uncharitably. Wherefore all such books + were prohibited, and commandment given by the king to the bishops, that + they, calling to them the best learned men of the universities, should + cause a new translation to be made, so that the people should not be + ignorant of the law of God.—HALL, p. 771. And see WARHAM'S + <i>Register</i> for the years 1529-1531. MS. Lambeth.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_293"></a><a href="#NtA_293">293</a> 22 Hen. VIII. cap. + 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_294"></a><a href="#NtA_294">294</a> BURNET, vol. iii. p. + 78.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_295"></a><a href="#NtA_295">295</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. 457.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_296"></a><a href="#NtA_296">296</a> Memoranda relating to + the Clergy: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_297"></a><a href="#NtA_297">297</a> BURNET, vol. iii. p. + 80.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_298"></a><a href="#NtA_298">298</a> The King's Highness, + having always tender eyes with mercy and pity and compassion towards his + spiritual subjects, minding of his high goodness and great benignity so + always to impart the same unto them, as justice being duly administered, + all rigour be excluded; and the great benevolent minds of his said + subjects [having been] largely and many times approved towards his + Highness, and specially in their Convocation and Synod now presently + being in the Chapter House of Westminster, his Highness, of his said + benignity and high liberality, in consideration that the said Convocation + has given and granted unto him a subsidy of one hundred thousand pounds, + is content to grant his general pardon to the clergy and the province of + Canterbury, for all offences against the statute and premunire.—22 + Hen. VIII. cap. 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_299"></a><a href="#NtA_299">299</a> BURNET, vol. 1. p. + 185.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_300"></a><a href="#NtA_300">300</a> An instance is + reported in the Chronicle of the Grey Friars ten years previously. The + punishment was the same as that which was statutably enacted in the case + of Rouse.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_301"></a><a href="#NtA_301">301</a> HALL, p. 781.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_302"></a><a href="#NtA_302">302</a> Most shocking when the + <i>wrong persons</i> were made the victims; and because clerical + officials were altogether incapable of detecting the <i>right + persons</i>, the memory of the practice has become abhorrent to all just + men. I suppose, however, that, if the <i>right persons</i> could have + been detected, even the stake itself would not have been too tremendous a + penalty for the destroying of human souls.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_303"></a><a href="#NtA_303">303</a> 22 Hen. VIII. cap. + 10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_304"></a><a href="#NtA_304">304</a> See a very curious + pamphlet on this subject, by SIR FRANCIS PALGRAVE. It is called <i>The + Confessions of Richard Bishop, Robert Seymour, and Sir Edward Neville, + before the Privy Council, touching Prophecie, Necromancy, and + Treasure-trove</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_305"></a><a href="#NtA_305">305</a> Miscellaneous + Depositions on the State Of the Country: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_306"></a><a href="#NtA_306">306</a> See the Preamble of + the Bill against conjurations, witchcraft, sorceries, and + enchantments.—33 Hen. VIII. cap. 8.</p> + + <p>Also "the Bill touching Prophecies upon Arms and Badges."—33 + Hen. VIII. cap. 14.</p> + + <p>A similar edict expelled the gipsies from Germany. At the Diet of + Spires, June 10, 1544.</p> + + <p>Statutum est ne vagabundum hominum genus quos vulgo Saracenos vocant + per Germaniam oberrare sinatur <i>usu enim compertum est eos exploratores + et proditores esse.—State Papers</i>, vol. ix. p. 705.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_307"></a><a href="#NtA_307">307</a> ELLIS, first series, + vol. ii. p. 101.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_308"></a><a href="#NtA_308">308</a> Bulla pro Johanne + Scot, qui sine cibo et potu per centum et sex dies vixerat.-RYMER, vol. + vi. part 2, p. 176.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_309"></a><a href="#NtA_309">309</a> BUCHANAN, <i>History + of Scotland</i>, vol. ii. p. 156.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_310"></a><a href="#NtA_310">310</a> <i>Letter of + Archbishop Cranmer.</i>—ELLIS, second series, vol. ii. p. 314.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_311"></a><a href="#NtA_311">311</a> <i>Statutes of the + Realm.</i> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_312"></a><a href="#NtA_312">312</a> Extracts from a + Narrative containing an Account of Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_313"></a><a href="#NtA_313">313</a> <i>Statutes of the + Realm.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_314"></a><a href="#NtA_314">314</a> <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_315"></a><a href="#NtA_315">315</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_316"></a><a href="#NtA_316">316</a> <i>Suppression of the + Monasteries</i>, p. 19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_317"></a><a href="#NtA_317">317</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_318"></a><a href="#NtA_318">318</a> Proceedings connected + with Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_319"></a><a href="#NtA_319">319</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_320"></a><a href="#NtA_320">320</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_321"></a><a href="#NtA_321">321</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_322"></a><a href="#NtA_322">322</a> <i>Cranmer's + Letter.</i> ELLIS, third series, vol. iii. p. 315.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_323"></a><a href="#NtA_323">323</a> More to Cromwell: + BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 350.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_324"></a><a href="#NtA_324">324</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_325"></a><a href="#NtA_325">325</a> Confessions of + Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House MS.</i> Sir Thomas More gave her a + double ducat to pray for him and his. BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. + 352. Moryson, in his <i>Apomaxis</i>, declares that she had a regular + understanding with the confessors at the Priory. When penitents came to + confess, they were detained while a priest conveyed what they had + acknowledged to the Nun; and when afterwards they were admitted to her + presence, she amazed them with repeating their own confessions.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_326"></a><a href="#NtA_326">326</a> The said Elizabeth + subtilly and craftily conceiving the opinion and mind of the said Edward + Bocking, willing to please him, revealed and showed unto the said Edward + that God was highly displeased with our said sovereign lord the king for + this matter; and in case he desisted not from his proceeding in the said + divorce and separation, but pursued the same and married again, that then + within one month after such marriage, he should no longer be king of this + realm; and in the reputation of Almighty God he should not be a king one + day nor one hour, and that he should die a villain's death. Saying + further, that there was a root with three branches, and till they were + plucked up it should never be merry in England: interpreting the root to + be the late lord cardinal, and the first branch to be the king our + sovereign lord, the second the Duke of Norfolk, and the third the Duke of + Suffolk.—25 Hen. VIII. cap. 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_327"></a><a href="#NtA_327">327</a> Revelations of + Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House MS.</i> In the epitome of the book of + her Revelations it is stated that there was a story in it "of an angel + that appeared, and bade the Nun go unto the king, that infidel prince of + England, and say that I command him to amend his life, and that he leave + three things which he loveth and pondereth upon, <i>i.e.</i>, that he + take none of the pope's right nor patrimony from him; the second that he + destroy all these new folks of opinion and the works of their new + learning; the third, that if he married and took Anne to wife, the + vengeance of God should plague him; and as she sayth she shewed this unto + the king."—Paper on the Nun of Kent: <i>MS. Cotton, Cleopatra</i>, + E 4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_328"></a><a href="#NtA_328">328</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 137. Warham had promised to marry Henry to Anne Boleyn. The + Nun frightened him into a refusal by a pretended message from an + angel.—<i>MS.</i> ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_329"></a><a href="#NtA_329">329</a> The Nun hath practised + with two of the pope's ambassadors within this realm, and hath sent to + the pope that if he did not do his duty in reformation of kings, God + would destroy him at a certain day which he had appointed. By reason + whereof it is supposed that the pope hath showed himself so double and so + deceivable to the King's Grace in his great cause of marriage as he hath + done, contrary to all truth, justice, and equity. As likewise the late + cardinal of England, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, being very + well-minded to further and set at an end the marriage which the King's + Grace now enjoyeth, according to their spiritual duty, were prevented by + the false revelations of the said Nun. And that the said Bishop of + Canterbury was so minded may be proved by divers which knew then his + towardness.—Narrative of the Proceedings of Elizabeth Barton: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_330"></a><a href="#NtA_330">330</a> Note of the + Revelations of Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_331"></a><a href="#NtA_331">331</a> HALL, p. 780.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_332"></a><a href="#NtA_332">332</a> RYMER, vol. vi. p. + 160. We are left to collateral evidence to fix the place of this + petition, the official transcriber having contented himself with the + substance, and omitted the date. The original, as appears from the pope's + reply (LORD HERBERT, p. 145), bore the date of July 13; and unless a + mistake was made in transcribing the papal brief, this was July, 1530. I + have ventured to assume a mistake, and to place the petition in the + following year, because the judgment of the universities, to which it + refers, was not completed till the winter of 1530; they were not read in + parliament till March 30, 1531; and it seems unlikely that a petition of + so great moment would have been presented on an incomplete case, or + before the additional support of the House of Commons had been secured. I + am far from satisfied, however, that I am right in making the change. The + petition must have been drawn up (though it need not have been presented) + in 1530; since it bears the signature of Wolsey, who died in the November + of that year.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_333"></a><a href="#NtA_333">333</a> Mademoiselle de Boleyn + est venue; et l'a le Roy logée en fort beau logis; et qu'il a faict bien + accoustrer tout auprés du sien. Et luy est la cour faicte ordinairement + tous les jours plus grosse que de long temps elle ne fut faicte a la + Royne. Je crois bien qu'on veult accoutumer par les petie ce peuple à + l'endurer, afin que quand ivendra à donner les grands coups, il ne les + trouve si estrange. Toutefois il demeure tous jours endurcy, et croy bien + qu'il feroit plus qu'il ne faict si plus il avoit de puissance; mais + grand ordre se donne par tout.—Bishop of Bayonne to the Grand + Master: LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. 231.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_334"></a><a href="#NtA_334">334</a> HALL, p. 781.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_335"></a><a href="#NtA_335">335</a> It seems to have been + his favourite place of retirement. The gardens and fishponds were + peculiarly elaborate and beautiful.—Sir John Russell to Cromwell: + <i>MS. State Paper Office.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_336"></a><a href="#NtA_336">336</a> Also it is a proverb + of old date—"The pride of France, the treason of England, and the + war of Ireland, shall never have end." <i>State Papers</i>, vol. ii. p. + 11</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_337"></a><a href="#NtA_337">337</a> There was a secret + ambassador with the Scots king from the emperour, who had long + communicated with the king alone in his privy chamber. And after the + ambassador's departure the king, coming out into his outer chamber, said + to his chancellor and the Earl Bothwell, "My lords, how much are we + bounden unto the emperour that in the matter concerning our style, which + so long he hath set about for our honour, that shall be by him discussed + on Easter day, and that we may lawfully write ourself Prince of England + and Duke of York." To which the chancellor said, "I pray God the pope + confirm the same." The Scots king answered, "Let the emperour + alone."—Earl of Northumberland to Henry VIII.: <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. iv. p. 599.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_338"></a><a href="#NtA_338">338</a> HALL, p. 783.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_339"></a><a href="#NtA_339">339</a> "The bishop was + brought in desperation of his life."—<i>Rolls House MS.</i>, second + series, 532. This paper confirms Hall's account in every point.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_340"></a><a href="#NtA_340">340</a> HALL, p. 796.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_341"></a><a href="#NtA_341">341</a> BURNET, vol. iii. p. + 115.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_342"></a><a href="#NtA_342">342</a> Warham was however + fined £300 for it.—HALL, 796. A letter of Richard Tracy, son of the + dead man, is in the <i>MS. State Paper Office</i>, first series, vol. iv. + He says the King's Majesty had committed the investigation of the matter + to Cromwell.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_343"></a><a href="#NtA_343">343</a> LATIMER'S + <i>Sermons</i>, p. 46.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_344"></a><a href="#NtA_344">344</a> <a href="#page119">Cap. iii.</a></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_345"></a><a href="#NtA_345">345</a> 23 Hen. VIII. cap. + 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_346"></a><a href="#NtA_346">346</a> 23 Hen. VIII. cap. + 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_347"></a><a href="#NtA_347">347</a> Be it further enacted + that no archbishop or bishop, official, commissary, or any other + minister, having spiritual jurisdiction, shall ask, demand, or receive of + any of the king's subjects any sum or sums of money for the seal of any + citizen, but only threepence sterling.—23 Hen. VIII. cap. 9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_348"></a><a href="#NtA_348">348</a> 23 Hen. VIII. cap. + 10.—By a separate clause all covenants to defraud the purposes of + this act were declared void, and the act itself was to be interpreted "as + beneficially as might be, to the destruction and utter avoiding of such + uses, intents, and purposes."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_349"></a><a href="#NtA_349">349</a> Annates or firstfruits + were first suffered to be taken within the realm for the only defence of + Christian people against infidels; and now they be claimed and demanded + as mere duty only for lucre, against all right and conscience.—23 + Hen. VIII. cap. 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_350"></a><a href="#NtA_350">350</a> 23 Hen. VIII. cap. + 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_351"></a><a href="#NtA_351">351</a> It hath happened many + times by occasion of death unto archbishops or bishops newly promoted + within two or three years after their consecration, that their friends by + whom they have been holpen to make payment have been utterly undone and + impoverished.—23 Henry VIII. cap. 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_352"></a><a href="#NtA_352">352</a> <i>M. de la Pomeroy to + Cardinal Tournon.</i></p> + + <p>"London, March 23, 1531-2.</p> + + <p>"My Lord,—I sent two letters to your lordship on the 20th of + this month. Since that day Parliament has been prorogued, and will not + meet again till after Easter.</p> + + <p>"It has been determined that the Pope's Holiness shall receive no more + annates, and the collectors' office is to be abolished. Everything is + turning against the Holy See, but the King has shown no little skill; the + Lords and Commons have left the final decision of the question at his + personal pleasure, and the Pope is to understand that, if he will do + nothing for the King, the King has the means of making him suffer. The + clergy in convocation have consented to nothing, nor will they, till they + know the pleasure of their master the Holy Father; but the other estates + being agreed, the refusal of the clergy is treated as of no + consequence.</p> + + <p>"Many other rights and privileges of the Church are abolished also, + too numerous to mention."—MS. Bibliot. Impér. Paris.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_353"></a><a href="#NtA_353">353</a> STRYPE, <i>Eccles. + Mem.</i>, vol. i. part 2, p. 158.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_354"></a><a href="#NtA_354">354</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_355"></a><a href="#NtA_355">355</a> Sir George + Throgmorton, Sir William Essex, Sir John Giffard, Sir Marmaduke + Constable, with many others, spoke and voted in opposition to the + government. They had a sort of club at the Queen's Head by Temple Bar, + where they held discussions in secret, "and when we did commence," said + Throgmorton, "we did bid the servants of the house go out, and likewise + our own servants, because we thought it not convenient that they should + hear us speak of such matters."—Throgmorton to the King: <i>MS. + State Paper Office.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_356"></a><a href="#NtA_356">356</a> 23 Hen. VIII. cap. + 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_357"></a><a href="#NtA_357">357</a> Printed in STRYPE, + <i>Eccles. Mem.</i>, vol. i. p. 201. Strype, knowing nothing of the first + answer, and perceiving in the second an allusion to one preceding, has + supposed that this answer followed the third and last, and was in fact a + retractation of it. All obscurity is removed when the three replies are + arranged in their legitimate order.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_358"></a><a href="#NtA_358">358</a> STRYPE, <i>Eccles. + Mem.</i>, vol. i. p. 199, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_359"></a><a href="#NtA_359">359</a> 23 Hen. VIII. cap. + 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_360"></a><a href="#NtA_360">360</a> STOW, p. 562.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_361"></a><a href="#NtA_361">361</a> "In connection with + the Annates Act, the question of appeals to Rome had been discussed in + the present session. Sir George Throgmorton had spoken on the papal side, + and in his subsequent confession he mentioned a remarkable interview + which he had had with More.</p> + + <p>"After I had reasoned to the Bill of Appeals," he said, "Sir Thomas + More, then being chancellor, sent for me to come and speak with him in + the parliament chamber. And when I came to him he was in a little chamber + within the parliament chamber, where, as I remember, stood an altar, or a + thing like unto an altar, whereupon he did lean and, as I do think, the + same time the Bishop of Bath was talking with him. And then he said this + to me, I am very glad to hear the good report that goeth of you, and that + ye be so good a Catholic man as ye be. And if ye do continue in the same + way that ye begin, and be not afraid to say your conscience, ye shall + deserve great reward of God, and thanks of the King's Grace at length, + and much worship to yourself."—Throgmorton to the King: <i>MS. + State Paper Office</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_362"></a><a href="#NtA_362">362</a> In part of it he + speaks in his own person. Vide supra, cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_363"></a><a href="#NtA_363">363</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 435.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_364"></a><a href="#NtA_364">364</a> Note of the + Revelations of Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_365"></a><a href="#NtA_365">365</a> It has been thought + that the Tudor princes and their ministers carried out the spy system to + an iniquitous extent,—that it was the great instrument of their + Machiavellian policy, introduced by Cromwell, and afterwards developed by + Cecil and Walsingham. That both Cromwell and Walsingham availed + themselves of secret information, is unquestionable,—as I think it + is also unquestionable that they would have betrayed the interests of + their country if they had neglected to do so. Nothing, in fact, except + their skill in fighting treason with its own weapons, saved England from + a repetition of the wars of the Roses, envenomed with the additional fury + of religious fanaticism. But the agents of Cromwell, at least, were all + volunteers;—their services were rather checked than encouraged; and + when I am told, by high authority, that in those times an accusation was + equivalent to a sentence of death, I am compelled to lay so sweeping a + charge of injustice by the side of a document which forces me to demur to + it. "In the reign of the Tudors," says a very eminent writer, "the + committal, arraignment, conviction, and execution of any state prisoner, + accused or <i>suspected, or under suspicion of being suspected</i> of + high treason, were only the regular terms in the series of judicial + proceedings." This is scarcely to be reconciled with the 10th of the 37th + of Hen. VIII., which shows no desire to welcome accusations, or + exaggerated readiness to listen to them.</p> + + <p>"Whereas," says that Act, "divers malicious and evil disposed persons + of their perverse, cruel, and malicious intents, minding the utter + undoing of some persons to whom they have and do bear malice, hatred, and + evil will, have of late most devilishly practised and devised divers + writings, wherein hath been comprised that the same persons to whom they + bear malice should speak traitorous words against the King's Majesty, his + crown and dignity, or commit divers heinous and detestable treasons + against the King's Highness, where, in very deed, the persons so accused + never spake nor committed any such offence; by reason whereof divers of + the king's true, faithful, and loving subjects have been put in fear and + dread of their lives and of the loss and forfeiture of their lands and + chattels—for reformation hereof, be it enacted, that if any person + or persons, of what estate, degree, or condition he or they shall be, + shall at any time hereafter devise, make, or write, or cause to be made + any manner of writing comprising that any person has spoken, committed, + or done any offence or offences which now by the laws of this realm be + made treason, or that hereafter shall be made treason, and do not + subscribe, or cause to be subscribed, his true name to the said writing, + and within twelve days next after ensuing do not personally come before + the king or his council, and affirm the contents of the said writings to + be true, and do as much as in him shall be for the approvement of the + same, that then all and every person or persons offending as aforesaid, + shall be deemed and adjudged a felon or felons; and being lawfully + convicted of such offence, after the laws of the realm, shall suffer + pains of death and loss and forfeiture of lands, goods, and chattels, + without benefit of clergy or privilege of sanctuary to be admitted or + allowed in that behalf."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_366"></a><a href="#NtA_366">366</a> Accusation brought by + Robert Wodehouse, Prior of Whitby, against the Abbot, for slanderous + words against Anne Boleyn: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_367"></a><a href="#NtA_367">367</a> Deposition of Robert + Legate concerning the Language of the Monks of Furness: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_368"></a><a href="#NtA_368">368</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 254.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_369"></a><a href="#NtA_369">369</a> Father Forest hath + laboured divers manner of ways to expulse Father Laurence out of the + convent, and his chief cause is, because he knoweth that Father Laurence + will preach the king's matter whensoever it shall please his Grace to + command him.—Ibid. p. 250.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_370"></a><a href="#NtA_370">370</a> Ibid. p. 251.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_371"></a><a href="#NtA_371">371</a> Lyst to Cromwell. + Ibid. p. 255. STRYPE, <i>Eccles. Memor.</i>, vol. i. Appendix, No. + 47.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_372"></a><a href="#NtA_372">372</a> STOW'S <i>Annals</i>, + p. 562. This expression passed into a proverb, although the words were + first spoken by a poor friar; they were the last which the good Sir + Humfrey Gilbert was heard to utter before his ship went down.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_373"></a><a href="#NtA_373">373</a> Vaughan to Cromwell: + <i>State Papers,</i> vol. vii. p. 489-90. "I learn that this book was + first drawn by the Bishop of Rochester, and so being drawn, was by the + said bishop afterwards delivered in England to two Spaniards, being + secular and laymen. They receiving his first draught, either by + themselves or some other Spaniards, altered and perfinished the same into + the form that it now is; Peto and one Friar Elstowe of Canterbury, being + the only men that have and do take upon themselves to be conveyers of the + same books into England, and conveyers of all other things into and out + of England. If privy search be made, and shortly, peradventure in the + house of the same bishop shall be found his first copy. Master More hath + sent oftentimes and lately books unto Peto, in Antwerp—as his book + of the confutation of Tyndal, and of Frith's opinion of the sacrament, + with divers other books. I can no further learn of More's practices, but + if you consider this well, you may perchance espy his craft. Peto + laboureth busylier than a bee in the setting forth of this book. He never + ceaseth running to and from the court here. The king never had in his + realm traitors like his friars—[Vaughan wrote "clergy." The word in + the original is dashed through, and "friars" is substituted, whether by + Cromwell or by himself in an afterthought, I do not know]—and so I + have always said, and yet do. Let his Grace look well about him, for they + seek to devour him. They have blinded his Grace."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_374"></a><a href="#NtA_374">374</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 262, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_375"></a><a href="#NtA_375">375</a> The wishes of the + French Court had been expressed emphatically to Clement in the preceding + January. Original copies of the two following letters are in the + Bibliothèque Impérial at Paris:—</p> + + <p><i>The Cardinal of Lorraine to Cardinal —— at + Rome.</i></p> + + <p>"Paris, Jan. 8, 1531-2.</p> + + <p>"RIGHT REVEREND FATHER AND LORD IN CHRIST.—After our most humble + commendations—The King of England complains loudly that his cause + is not remanded into his own country; he says that it cannot be equitably + dealt with at Rome, where he cannot be present. He himself, the Queen, + and the other witnesses, are not to be dragged into Italy to give their + evidence; and the suits of the Sovereigns of England and France have + always hitherto been determined in their respective countries.</p> + + <p>"Nevertheless, by no entreaty can we prevail on the Pope to nominate + impartial judges who will decide the question in England.</p> + + <p>"The King's personal indignation is not the only evil which has to be + feared. When these proceedings are known among the people, there will, + perhaps, be a revolt, and the Apostolic See may receive an injury which + will not afterwards be easily remedied.</p> + + <p>"I have explained these things more at length to his Holiness, as my + duty requires. Your affection towards him, my lord, I am assured is no + less than mine. I beseech you, therefore, use your best endeavours with + his Holiness, that the King of England may no longer have occasion to + exclaim against him. In so doing you will gratify the Most Christian + King, and you will follow the course most honourable to yourself and most + favourable to the quiet of Christendom.</p> + + <p>"From Abbeville."</p> + + <p><i>Francis the First to Pope Clement the Seventh.</i></p> + + <p>"Paris, Jan. 10, 1531-2.</p> + + <p>"MOST HOLY FATHER,—You are not ignorant what our good brother + and ally the King of England demands at your hands. He requires that the + cognisance of his marriage be remanded to his own realm, and that he be + no further pressed to pursue the process at Rome. The place is + inconvenient from its distance, and there are other good and reasonable + objections which he assures us that he has urged upon your Holiness's + consideration.</p> + + <p>"Most Holy Father, we have written several times to you, especially of + late from St. Cloud, and afterwards from Chantilly, in our good brother's + behalf; and we have further entreated you, through our ambassador + residing at your Court, to put an end to this business as nearly + according to the wishes of our said good brother as is compatible with + the honour of Almighty God. We have made this request of you as well for + the affection and close alliance which exist between ourselves and our + brother, as for the filial love and duty with which we both in common + regard your Holiness.</p> + + <p>"Seeing, nevertheless, Most Holy Father, that the affair in question + is still far from settlement, and knowing our good brother to be + displeased and dissatisfied, we fear that some great scandal and + inconvenience may arise at last which may cause the diminution of your + Holiness's authority. There is no longer that ready obedience to the Holy + See in England which was offered to your predecessors; and yet your + Holiness persists in citing my good brother the King of England to plead + his cause before you in Rome. Surely it is not without cause that he + calls such treatment of him unreasonable. We have ourselves examined into + the law in this matter, and we are assured that your Holiness's claim is + unjust and contrary to the privilege of kings. For a sovereign to leave + his realm and plead as a suitor in Rome, is a thing wholly impossible,<a + name="NtA_377"></a><a href="#Nt_377"><sup>377</sup></a> and therefore, + Holy Father, we have thought good to address you once more in this + matter. Bear with us, we entreat you. Consider our words, and recall to + your memory what by letter and through our ministers we have urged upon + you. Look promptly to our brother's matter, and so act that your Holiness + may be seen to value and esteem our friendship. What you do for him, or + what you do against him, we shall take it as done to ourselves.</p> + + <p>"Holy Father, we will pray the Son of God to pardon and long preserve + your Holiness to rule and govern our Holy Mother the + Church.—FRANCIS."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_376"></a><a href="#NtA_376">376</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 428. LEGRAND, vol. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_377"></a><a href="#NtA_377">377</a> Chose beaucoup plus + impossible que possible.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_378"></a><a href="#NtA_378">378</a> LORD HERBERT, p. 160. + RYMER, vol. vi. part ii. p. 171.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_379"></a><a href="#NtA_379">379</a> Francis seems to have + desired that the intention of the interview should be kept secret. Henry + found this impossible. "Monseigneur," wrote the Bishop of Paris to the + Grand Master, "quant à tenir la chose secrette comme vous le demandez, il + est mal aisé; combien que ce Roy fust bien de cest advis, sinon qu'il le + treuve impossible; car a cause de ces provisions et choses, qu'il fault + faire en ce Royaulme, incontinent sera sceu a Londres, et de la par tout + le monde. Pourquoy ne faictes vostre compte qu'on le puisse tenir + secret.</p> + + <p>"Monseigneur, je sçay veritablement et de bon lieu que le plus grant + plaisir que le Roy pourroit faire au Roy son frere et a Madame Anne, + c'est que le dit seigneur m'escripre que je requiere le Roy son dit frere + qu'il veuille mener la dicte Dame Anne avec luy a Callais pour la veoir + et pour la festoyer, afin qu'ils ne demeurrent ensembles sans compagnie + de dames, pour ce que les bonnes cheres en sont tous jours meilleures: + mais il fauldroit que en pareil le Roy menast la Royne de Navarre à + Boulogne, pour festoyer le Roy d'Angleterre.</p> + + <p>"Quant à la Royne pour rien ce Roy ne vouldroit qu'elle vint: Il häit + cest habillement à l'Espagnolle, tant qu'il luy semble veoir un diable. + Il desireroit qu'il pleust au Roy mener à Boulogne, messeigneurs ses + enfans pour les veoir.</p> + + <p>"Surtout je vous prie que vous ostez de la court deux sortes de gens, + ceulx qui sont imperiaulx, s'aucuns en y a, et ceux qui ont la reputation + d'estre mocqueurs et gaudisseurs, car c'est bien la chose en ce monde + autant häie de ceste nation."—Bishop of Paris to the Grand Master: + LEGRAND, vol. iii. pp. 555, 556.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_380"></a><a href="#NtA_380">380</a> Sir Gregory Cassalis + to Henry VIII.: BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 433. Valde existimabam + necessarium cum hoc Principe (<i>i.e.</i>, Francis) agere ut duobus + Cardinalibus daret in mandatis ut ante omnes Cardinalis de Monte + meminissent, eique pensionem annuam saltem trium millium aureorum ex + quadraginta millibus quĉ mihi dixerat velle in Cardinales distribuere, + assignaret. Et Rex quidem hĉc etiam scribi ad duos Cardinales jussit + secretario Vitandri. Quicum ego postmodo super iis pensionibus sermonem + habui, cognovique sic in animo Regem habere ut duo Cardinales cum Romĉ + fuerint, videant, qui potissimum digni hâc Regiâ sint liberalitate; in + eosque quum quid in Regno Galliĉ ecclesiasticum vacare contigerit ex + meritis uniuscujusque pensiones conferantur. Tunc autem nihil in promptu + haberi quod Cardinali de Monte dari possit—verum Regio nomine illi + de futuro esse promittendum quod mihi certe summopere displicuit; et + secretario Vitandri non reticui ostendens pollicitationes hujusmodi + centies jam Cardinali de Monte factas fuisse; et modo si iterum fiant + nihil effecturas nisi ut illius viri quasi ulcera pertractent; id quod + Vitandris verum esse fatebatur pollicitusque est se, quum Rex a venatu + rediisset velle ei suadere ut Cardinalem de Monte aliquâ presenti + pensione prosequatur; quâ quidem tibi nihil conducibilius aut opportunius + fieri possit.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_381"></a><a href="#NtA_381">381</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. iv. p. 612.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_382"></a><a href="#NtA_382">382</a> Ibid, p. 616.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_383"></a><a href="#NtA_383">383</a> The <i>State + Papers</i> contain a piteous picture of this business, the hereditary + feuds of centuries bursting out on the first symptoms of ill-will between + the two governments, with fire and devastation.—<i>State + Papers</i>, vol. iv. p. 620-644.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_384"></a><a href="#NtA_384">384</a> If the said Earl of + Angus do make unto us oath of allegiance, and recognises us as Supreme + Lord of Scotland, and as his prince and sovereign, we then, the said earl + doing the premises, by these presents bind ourself to pay yearly to the + said earl the sum of one thousand pounds sterling.—Henry VIII. to + the Earl of Angus: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. iv. p. 613.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_385"></a><a href="#NtA_385">385</a> A letter of Queen + Catherine to the Emperor, written on the occasion of this visit, will be + read with interest:—</p> + + <p>"HIGH AND MIGHTY LORD,—Although your Majesty is occupied with + your own affairs and with your preparations against the Turk, I cannot, + nevertheless, refrain from troubling you with mine, which perhaps in + substance and in the sight of God are of equal importance. Your Majesty + knows well, that God hears those who do him service, and no greater + service can be done than to procure an end in this business. It does not + concern only ourselves—it concerns equally all who fear God. None + can measure the woes which will fall on Christendom, if his Holiness will + not act in it and act promptly. The signs are all around us in new + printed books full of lies and dishonesty—in the resolution to + proceed with the cause here in England—in the interview of these + two princes, where the king, my lord, is covering himself with infamy + through the companion which he takes with him. The country is full of + terror and scandal; and evil may be looked for if nothing be done, and + inasmuch as our only hope is in God's mercy, and in the favour of your + Majesty, for the discharge of my conscience, I must let you know the + strait in which I am placed.</p> + + <p>"I implore your Highness for the service of God, that you urge his + Holiness to be prompt in bringing the cause to a conclusion. The longer + the delay the harder the remedy will be.</p> + + <p>"The particulars of what is passing here are so shocking, so + outrageous against Almighty God, they touch so nearly the honour of my + Lord and husband, that for the love I bear him, and for the good that I + desire for him, I would not have your Highness know of them from me. Your + ambassador will inform you of all."—Queen Catherine to Charles V. + September 18.—MS. Simancas.</p> + + <p>The Emperor, who was at Mantua, was disturbed at the meeting at + Boulogne, on political grounds as well as personal. On the 24th of + October he wrote to his sister, at Brussels.</p> + + <p><i>Charles the Fifth to the Regent Mary.</i></p> + + <p>Mantua, October 16, 1532.</p> + + <p>I found your packets on arriving here, with the ambassadors' letters + from France and England. The ambassadors will themselves have informed + you of the intended conference of the Kings. The results will make + themselves felt ere long. We must be on our guard, and I highly approve + of your precautions for the protection of the frontiers.</p> + + <p>As to the report that the King of England means to take the + opportunity of the meeting to marry Anne Boleyn, I can hardly believe + that he will be so blind as to do so, or that the King of France will + lend himself to the other's sensuality. At all events, however, I have + written to my ministers at Rome, and I have instructed them to lay a + complaint before the Pope, that, while the process is yet pending, in + contempt of the authority of the Church, the King of England is + scandalously bringing over the said Anne with him, as if she were his + wife.</p> + + <p>His Holiness and the Apostolic See will be the more inclined to do us + justice, and to provide as the case shall require.</p> + + <p>Should the King indeed venture the marriage—as I cannot think he + will—I have desired his Holiness not only not to sanction such + conduct openly, but not to pass it by in silence. I have demanded that + severe and fitting sentence be passed at once on an act so wicked and so + derogatory to the Apostolic See.—<i>The Pilgrim</i>, p. 89.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_386"></a><a href="#NtA_386">386</a> There can be little + doubt of this. He was the child of the only intrigue of Henry VIII. of + which any credible evidence exists. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of + Sir John Blunt, an accomplished and most interesting person; and the + offspring of the connection, one boy only, was brought up with the care + and the state of a prince. Henry FitzRoy, as he was called, was born in + 1519, and when six years old was created Earl of Nottingham and Duke of + Richmond and Somerset, the title of the king's father.</p> + + <p>In 1527, before the commencement of the disturbance on the divorce, + Henry endeavoured to negotiate a marriage for him with a princess of the + imperial blood; and in the first overtures gave an intimation which could + not be mistaken, of his intention, if possible, to place him in the line + of the succession. After speaking of the desire which was felt by the + King of England for some connection in marriage of the Houses of England + and Spain, the ambassadors charged with the negotiation were to say to + Charles, that—</p> + + <p>"His Highness can be content to bestow the Duke of Richmond and + Somerset (who is near of his blood, and of excellent qualities, and is + already furnished to keep the state of a great prince, <i>and yet may be + easily by the king's means exalted to higher things</i>) to some noble + princess of his near blood."—ELLIS, third series, vol. ii. p. + 121.</p> + + <p>He was a gallant, high-spirited boy. A letter is extant from him to + Wolsey, written when he was nine years old, begging the cardinal to + intercede with the king, "for an harness to exercise myself in arms + according to my erudition in the Commentaries of Cĉsar."—Ibid. p. + 119.</p> + + <p>He was brought up with Lord Surrey, who has left a beautiful account + of their boyhood at Windsor—their tournaments, their hunts, their + young loves, and passionate friendship. Richmond married Surrey's sister, + but died the year after, when only seventeen; and Surrey revisiting + Windsor, recalls his image among the scenes which they had enjoyed + together, in the most interesting of all his poems. He speaks of</p> + + <div class="noflo"> + <div class="nofblk"> + <p>The secret grove, which oft we made resound</p> + <p>Of pleasant plaint and of our ladies' praise;</p> + <p>Recording oft what grace each one had found,</p> + <p>What hope of speed, what dread of long delays.</p> + <p>The wild forest; the clothed holts with green;</p> + <p>With reins availed, and swift y-breathed horse,</p> + <p>With cry of hounds, and merry blasts between,</p> + <p>Where we did chase the fearful hart of force.</p> + <p>The void walls eke that harboured us each night,</p> + <p>Wherewith, alas! reviveth in my breast</p> + <p>The sweet accord, such sleeps as yet delight</p> + <p>The pleasant dream, the quiet bed of rest;</p> + <p>The secret thought imparted with such trust.</p> + <p>The wanton talk, the divers change of play,</p> + <p>The friendship sworn, each promise kept so just,</p> + <p>Wherewith we past the winter nights away.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p><a name="Nt_387"></a><a href="#NtA_387">387</a> Compare LORD HERBERT + with A Paper of Instructions to Lord Rochfort on his Mission to Paris: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 427, etc.; and A Remonstrance of + Francis I. to Henry VIII.: LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. 571, etc. It would be + curious to know whether Francis ever actually wrote to the pope a letter + of which Henry sent him a draft. If he did, there are expressions + contained in it which amount to a threat of separation. In case the pope + was obstinate Francis was to say, "Lors force seroit de pourvoir audict + affaire, par autres voyes et façons, qui peut etre, ne vous seroint + gueres agreable."—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 436.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_388"></a><a href="#NtA_388">388</a> A nostre derniere + entrevue sur la fraternelle et familiere communication que nous eusmes + ensemble de noz affaires venant aux nostres, Luy declarasmes comme a tord + et injustment nous estions affligez, dilayez, et fort ingratemeut manniez + et troublez, en nostre dicte grande et pesante matiere de marriage par la + particuliere affection de l'empereur et du pape. Lesquelz sembloient par + leurs longues retardations de nostre dicte matiere ne sercher autre + chose, sinon par longue attente et laps de temps, nous frustrer + malicieusement du propoz, qui plus nous induict a poursuivir et mettre + avant la dicte matiere; c'est davoir masculine succession et posterite en + laquelle nous etablirons (Dieu voulant) le quiet repoz et tranquillite de + notre royaulme et dominion. Son fraternel, plain, et entier advis (et a + bref dire le meilleur qui pourroit estre) fut tel; il nous conseilla de + ne dilayer ne protractor le temps plus longuement, mais en toute celerite + proceder effectuellement a laccomplisment et consummation de nostre + marriage.—Henry VIII. to Rochfort: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. + p. 428-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_389"></a><a href="#NtA_389">389</a> The extent of + Francis's engagements, as Henry represents them, was this:—He had + promised qu'en icelle nostre dicte cause jamais ne nous abandonneroit + quelque chose que sen ensuyst; ainsi de tout son pouvoir l'establiroit, + supporteroit, aideroit et maintiendroit notre bon droict, et le droict de + la posterite et succession qui sen pourroit ensuyr; et a tous ceulz qui y + vouldroyent mettre trouble, empeschement, encombrance, ou y procurer + deshonneur, vitupere, ou infraction, il seroit enemy et adversaire de + tout son pouvoir, de quelconque estat qu'il soit, fust pape ou + empereur,—avecque plusieurs autres consolatives paroles. This he + wished Francis to commit to paper. Car autant de fois, que les verrions, + he says, qui seroit tous les jours, nous ne pourrions, si non les + liscent, imaginer et reduire a notre souvenance la bonne grace facunde et + geste, dont il les nous prononçait, et estimer estre comme face a face, + parlans avecque luy.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 437. + Evidently language of so wide a kind might admit of many + interpretations.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_390"></a><a href="#NtA_390">390</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 571, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_391"></a><a href="#NtA_391">391</a> Note of the + Revelations of Eliz. Barton: <i>Rolls House MS. Suppression of the + Monasteries</i>, p. 17.</p> + + <p>The intention was really perhaps what the nun said. An agent of the + government at Brussels, who was watching the conference, reported on the + 12th of November:—"The King of England did really cross with the + intention of marrying; but, happily for the emperor, the ceremony is + postponed. Of other secrets, my informant has learned thus much. They + have resolved to demand as the portion of the Queen of France, Artois, + Tournay, and part of Burgundy. They have also sent two cardinals to Rome + to require the Pope to relinquish the tenths, which they have begun to + levy for themselves. If his Holiness refuse, the King of England will + simply appropriate them throughout his dominions. Captain —— + heard this from the king's proctor at Rome, who has been with him at + Calais, and from an Italian named Jeronymo, whom the Lady Anne has + roughly handled for managing her business badly. She trusted that she + would have been married in September.</p> + + <p>"The proctor told her the Pope delayed sentence for fear of the + Emperor. The two kings, when they heard this, despatched the cardinals to + quicken his movements; and the demand for the tenths is thought to have + been invented to frighten him.</p> + + <p>"They are afraid that the Emperor may force his Holiness into giving + sentence before the cardinals arrive. Jeronymo has been therefore sent + forward by post to give him notice of their approach, and to require him + to make no decision till they have spoken with him."—<i>The + Pilgrim</i>, p. 89.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_392"></a><a href="#NtA_392">392</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_393"></a><a href="#NtA_393">393</a> Revelations of Eliz. + Barton: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_394"></a><a href="#NtA_394">394</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. pp. 435, 468.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_395"></a><a href="#NtA_395">395</a> Letter from + ——, containing an account of an interview with his Holiness: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_396"></a><a href="#NtA_396">396</a> This proposal was + originally the king's (see chapter 2), but it had been dropped because + one of the conditions of it had been Catherine's "entrance into + religion." The pope, however, had not lost sight of the alternative, as + one of which, in case of extremity, he might avail himself; and, in 1530, + in a short interval of relaxation, he had definitely offered the king a + dispensation to have two wives, at the instigation, curiously, of the + imperialists. The following letter was written on that occasion to the + king by Sir Gregory Cassalis:—</p> + + <p>Serenissime et potentissime domine rex, domine mi supreme humillimâ + commendatione premissâ, salutem et felicitatem. Superioribus diebus + Pontifex secreto, veluti rem quam magni faceret, mihi proposuit + conditionem hujusmodi; concedi posse vestrĉ majestati, ut duas uxores + habeat; cui dixi nolle me provinciam suscipere eâ de re scribendi, ob eam + causam quod ignorarem an inde vestrĉ conscientiĉ satisfieri posset quam + vestra majestas imprimis exonerare cupit. Cur autem sic responderem, + illud in causâ fuit, quod ex certo loco, unde quĉ Cĉsariani moliantur + aucupari soleo exploratum certumque habebam Cĉsarianos illud ipsum + quĉrere et procurare. Quem vero ad finem id quĉrant pro certo exprimere + non ausim. Id certe totum vestrĉ prudentiĉ considerandum relinquo. Et + quamvis dixerim Pontifici, nihil me de eo scripturum, nolui tamen + majestati vestrĉ hoc reticere; quĉ sciat omni me industriâ laborâsse in + iis quĉ nobis mandat exequendis et cum Anconitano qui me familiariter uti + solet, omnia sum conatus. De omnibus autem me ad communes literas + rejicio. Optime valeat vestra majestas.—Romĉ die xviii. Septembris, + 1530.</p> + + <p>Clarissimi vestrai Majestatis, Humillimus servus,</p> + + <p>GREGORIUS CASSALIS,</p> + + <p>—LORD HERBERT, p. 140.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_397"></a><a href="#NtA_397">397</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 394, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_398"></a><a href="#NtA_398">398</a> The obtaining the + opinion in writing of the late Cardinal of Ancona, and submitting it to + the emperor. This minister, the most aged as well as the most influential + member of the conclave, had latterly been supposed to be inclined to + advise a conciliatory policy towards England; and his judgment was of so + much weight that it was thought likely that the emperor would have been + unable to resist the publication of it, if it was given against him. At + the critical moment of the Bologna interview this cardinal unfortunately + died: he had left his sentiments, however, in the hands of his nephew, + the Cardinal of Ravenna, who, knowing the value of his legacy, was + disposed to make a market of it. It was a knavish piece of business. The + English ambassadors offered 3000 ducats; Charles bid them out of the + field with a promise of church benefices to the extent of 6000 ducats; he + did not know precisely the terms of the judgment, or even on which side + it inclined, but in either case the purchase was of equal importance to + him, either to produce it or to suppress it. The French and English + ambassadors then combined, and bid again with church benefices in the two + countries, of equal value with those offered by Charles, with a promise + of the next English bishopric which fell vacant, and the original 3000 + ducats as an initiatory fee. There was a difficulty in the transaction, + for the cardinal would not part with the paper till he had received the + ducats, and the ambassadors would not pay the ducats till they had + possession of the paper. The Italian, however, proved an overmatch for + his antagonists. He got his money, and the judgment was not produced + after all.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. pp. 397-8, 464. BURNET, + vol. iii. p. 108.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_399"></a><a href="#NtA_399">399</a> Bennet to Henry VIII.: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 402.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_400"></a><a href="#NtA_400">400</a> Sir Gregory Cassalis + to the King: <i>Rolls House M.S.</i>, endorsed by Henry, Litterĉ in + Pontificis dicta declaratoriĉ quĉ maxime causam nostram probant.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_401"></a><a href="#NtA_401">401</a> There was a tradition + (it cannot be called more), that no Englishman could be compelled against + his will to plead at a foreign tribunal. "Ne Angli extra Angliam litigare + cogantur."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_402"></a><a href="#NtA_402">402</a> Henry VIII. to the + Ambassadors with the Pope: <i>Rolls House M.S.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_403"></a><a href="#NtA_403">403</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_404"></a><a href="#NtA_404">404</a> So at least the + English government was at last convinced, as appears in the circular to + the clergy, printed in BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 447, etc. I try to + believe, however, that the pope's conduct was rather weak than + treacherous.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_405"></a><a href="#NtA_405">405</a> So at least Cranmer + says; but he was not present, nor was he at the time informed that it was + to take place.—ELLIS, first series, vol. ii. p. 32. The belief, + however, generally was, that the marriage took place in November; and + though Cranmer's evidence is very strong, his language is too vague to be + decisive.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_406"></a><a href="#NtA_406">406</a> Individual interests + have to yield necessarily and justly to the interests of a nation, + provided the conduct or the sacrifice which the nation requires is not + sinful. That there would have been any sin on Queen Catherine's part if + she had consented to a separation from the king, was never pretended; and + although it is a difficult and delicate matter to decide how far + unwilling persons may be compelled to do what they ought to have done + without compulsion, yet the will of a single man or woman cannot be + allowed to constitute itself an irremovable obstacle to a great national + good.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_407"></a><a href="#NtA_407">407</a> It is printed by LORD + HERBERT, and in LEGRAND, vol. iii.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_408"></a><a href="#NtA_408">408</a> LEGRAND, vol. iii. p. + 558, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_409"></a><a href="#NtA_409">409</a> Ye may show unto his + Holiness that ye have heard from a friend of yours in Flanders lately, + that there hath been set up certain writings from the See Apostolic, in + derogation both of justice and of the affection lately showed by his + Holiness unto us; which thing ye may say ye can hardly believe to be + true, but that ye reckon them rather to be counterfeited. For if it + should be true, it is a thing too far out of the way, specially + considering that you and other our ambassadors be there, and have heard + nothing of the matter. We send a copy of these writings unto you, which + copy we will in no wise that ye shall show to any person which might + think that ye had any knowledge from us nor any of our council, + marvelling greatly if the same hath proceeded indeed from the pope; [and] + willing you expressly not to show that ye had it of us.—<i>State + Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 421.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_410"></a><a href="#NtA_410">410</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 454.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_411"></a><a href="#NtA_411">411</a> Sir John Wallop to + Henry: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 422.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_412"></a><a href="#NtA_412">412</a> Francis represented + himself to Henry as having refused with a species of bravado. "He told + me," says Sir John Wallop, "that he had announced previously that he + would consent to no such interview, unless your Highness were also + comprised in the same; and if it were so condescended that your Highness + and he should be then together, yet you two should go after such a sort + and with such power that you would not care whether the pope and emperor + would have peace or else <i>coups de baston</i>."—Wallop to Henry, + from Paris, Feb. 22. But this was scarcely a complete account of the + transaction; it was an account only of so much of it as the French king + was pleased to communicate. The emperor was urgent for a council. The + pope, feeling the difficulty either of excluding or admitting the + Protestant representatives, was afraid of consenting to it, and equally + afraid of refusing. The meeting proposed to Francis was for the + discussion of this difficulty; and Francis, in return, proposed that the + great Powers, Henry included, should hold an interview, and arrange + beforehand the conclusions at which the council should arrive. This naïve + suggestion was waived by Charles, apparently on grounds of religion. LORD + HERBERT, Kennet's Edit. p. 167.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_413"></a><a href="#NtA_413">413</a> The emperor's answer + touching this interview is come, and is, in effect, that if the pope + shall judge the said interview to be for the wealth and quietness of + Christendom, he will not be seen to dissuade his Holiness from the same; + but he desired him to remember what he showed to his Holiness when he was + with the same, at what time his Holiness offered himself for the + commonwealth to go to any place to speak with the French + king.—Bennet to Henry VIII.; <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. + 464.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_414"></a><a href="#NtA_414">414</a> The estrapade was an + infernal machine introduced by Francis into Paris for the better + correction of heresy. The offender was slung by a chain over a fire, and + by means of a crane was dipped up and down into the flame, the torture + being thus prolonged for an indefinite time. Francis was occasionally + present in person at these exhibitions, the executioner waiting his + arrival before commencing the spectacle.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_415"></a><a href="#NtA_415">415</a> 24 Hen. VIII. cap. + 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_416"></a><a href="#NtA_416">416</a> 24 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_417"></a><a href="#NtA_417">417</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 441.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_418"></a><a href="#NtA_418">418</a> D'Inteville to Francis + the First: MS. Bibliothèque Impérial, Paris—<i>Pilgrim</i>, p. + 92.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_419"></a><a href="#NtA_419">419</a> 24 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_420"></a><a href="#NtA_420">420</a> He had been selected + as Warham's successor; and had been consecrated on the 30th of March, + 1533. On the occasion of the ceremony when the usual oath to the Pope was + presented to him, he took it with a declaration that his first duty and + first obedience was to the crown and laws of his own country. It is idle + trifling, to build up, as too many writers have attempted to do, a charge + of insincerity upon an action which was forced upon him by the existing + relation between England and Rome. The Act of Appeals was the law of the + land. The separation from communion with the papacy was a contingency + which there was still a hope might be avoided. Such a protest as Cranmer + made was therefore the easiest solution of the difficulty. See it in + STRYPE'S <i>Cranmer</i>, Appendix, p. 683.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_421"></a><a href="#NtA_421">421</a> BURNET, Vol. iii. pp. + 122-3</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_422"></a><a href="#NtA_422">422</a> Bennet to Henry VIII.: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 402. Sir Gregory Cassalis to the same: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_423"></a><a href="#NtA_423">423</a> BURNET, vol. iii. p. + 123.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_424"></a><a href="#NtA_424">424</a> Ibid. vol. i. p. + 210.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_425"></a><a href="#NtA_425">425</a> See <i>State + Papers</i>, vol. i. pp. 415, 420, etc.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_426"></a><a href="#NtA_426">426</a> BURNET'S + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 22. It is very singular that in the original Bull + of Julius, the expression is "forsan consummavissetis;" while in the + brief, which, if it was genuine, was written the same day, and which, if + forged, was forged by Catherine's friends, there is no forsan. The fact + is stated absolutely.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_427"></a><a href="#NtA_427">427</a> LORD HERBERT, p. 163. + BURNET. vol. iii. p. 123.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_428"></a><a href="#NtA_428">428</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. pp. 390. 391.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_429"></a><a href="#NtA_429">429</a> Ye therefore duly + recognising that it becometh you not, being our subject, to enterprise + any part of your said office in so weighty and great a cause pertaining + to us being your prince and sovereign, without our licence obtained so to + do; and therefore in your most humble wise ye supplicate us to grant unto + you our licence to proceed.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. + 392.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_430"></a><a href="#NtA_430">430</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. p. 392.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_431"></a><a href="#NtA_431">431</a> Cromwell to the King + on his Committal to the Tower: BURNET, <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 500.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_432"></a><a href="#NtA_432">432</a> So at least she called + him a few days later.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. 420. We have + no details of her words when she was summoned; but only a general account + of them.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. 394-5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_433"></a><a href="#NtA_433">433</a> The words of the + sentence may be interesting:—"In the name of God, Amen. We, Thomas, + by Divine permission Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, + and Legate of the Apostolic See, in a certain cause of inquiry of and + concerning the validity of the marriage contracted and consummated + between the most potent and most illustrious Prince, our Sovereign Lord, + Henry VIII., by the grace of God King of England and France, Defender of + the Faith, and Lord of Ireland, and the most serene Princess, Catherine, + daughter of his Most Catholic Majesty, Ferdinand, King of Spain, of + glorious memory, we proceeding according to law and justice in the said + cause which has been brought judicially before us in virtue of our + office, and which for some time has lain under examination, as it still + is, being not yet finally determined and decided; having first seen all + the articles and pleas which have been exhibited and set forth of her + part, together with the answers made thereto on the part of the most + illustrious and powerful Prince, Henry VIII.; having likewise seen and + diligently inspected the informations and depositions of many noblemen + and other witnesses of unsuspected veracity exhibited in the said cause; + having also seen and in like manner carefully considered not only the + censures and decrees of the most famous universities of almost the whole + Christian world, but likewise the opinions and determinations both of the + most eminent divines and civilians, as also the resolutions and + conclusions of the clergy of both Provinces of England in Convocation + assembled, and many other wholesome instructions and doctrines which have + been given in and laid before us concerning the said marriage; having + further seen and in like manner inspected all the treaties and leagues of + peace and amity on this account entered upon and concluded between Henry + VII., of immortal fame, late King of England, and the said Ferdinand, of + glorious memory, late King of Spain; having besides seen and most + carefully weighed all and every of the acts, debates, letters, processes, + instruments, writs, arguments, and all other things which have passed and + been transacted in the said cause at any time; in all which thus seen and + inspected, our most exact care in examining, and our most mature + deliberation in weighing them hath by us been used, and all other things + have been observed by us, which of right in this matter were to be + observed; furthermore, the said most illustrious Prince, Henry VIII., in + the forementioned cause, by his proper Proctor having appeared before us, + but the said most serene Lady Catherine in contempt absenting herself + (whose absence we pray that the divine presence may compensate) [cujus + absentia Divinâ repleatur prĉsentiâ. Lord Herbert translates it, "whose + absence may the Divine presence attend," missing, I think, the point of + the Archbishop's parenthesis] by and with the advice of the most learned + in the law, and of persons of most eminent skill in divinity whom we have + consulted in the premises, we have found it our duty to proceed to give + our final decree and sentence in the said cause, which, accordingly, we + do in this manner.</p> + + <p>"Because by acts, warrants, deductions, propositions, exhibitions, + allegations, proofs and confessions, articles drawn up, answers of + witnesses, depositions, informations, instruments, arguments, letters, + writs, censures, determinations of professors, opinions, councils, + assertions, affirmations, treaties, and leagues of peace, processes, and + other matters in the said cause, as is above mentioned, before us laid, + had, done, exhibited, and respectively produced, as also from the same + and sundry other reasons, causes, and considerations, manifold arguments, + and various kinds of proof of the greatest evidence, strength, and + validity, of which in the said cause we have fully and clearly informed + ourselves, we find, and with undeniable evidence and plainness see that + the marriage contracted and consummated, as is aforesaid, between the + said most illustrious Prince, Henry VIII., and the most serene Lady + Catherine, was and is null and invalid, and that it was contracted and + consummated contrary to the law of God: therefore, we, Thomas, + Archbishop, Primate, and Legate aforesaid, having first called upon the + name of Christ for direction herein, and having God altogether before our + eyes, do pronounce sentence, and declare for the invalidity of the said + marriage, decreeing that the said pretended marriage always was and still + is null and invalid; that it was contracted and consummated contrary to + the will and law of God, that it is of no force or obligation, but that + it always wanted, and still wants, the strength and sanction of law; and + therefore we sentence that it is not lawful for the said most illustrious + Prince, Henry VIII., and the said most serene Lady Catherine, to remain + in the said pretended marriage; and we do separate and divorce them one + from the other, inasmuch as they contracted and consummated the said + pretended marriage de facto, and not de jure; and that they so separated + and divorced are absolutely free from all marriage bond with regard to + the foresaid pretended marriage, we pronounce, and declare by this our + definitive sentence and final decree, which we now give, and by the + tenour of these present writings do publish. May 23rd, + 1533."—BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 68, and LORD HERBERT.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_434"></a><a href="#NtA_434">434</a> HALL.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_435"></a><a href="#NtA_435">435</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_436"></a><a href="#NtA_436">436</a> Ibid. p. 801. Hall was + most likely an eye-witness, and may be thoroughly trusted in these + descriptions. Whenever we are able to test him, which sometimes happens, + by independent contemporary accounts, he proves faithful in the most + minute particulars.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_437"></a><a href="#NtA_437">437</a> FOXE, vol. v. p. + III.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_438"></a><a href="#NtA_438">438</a> Northumberland to + Henry VIII.: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. iv. pp. 598-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_439"></a><a href="#NtA_439">439</a> Hawkins to Henry + VIII.: Ibid. vol. vii. p. 488.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_440"></a><a href="#NtA_440">440</a> BURNET. vol. iii. p. + 115.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_441"></a><a href="#NtA_441">441</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. p. 398.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_442"></a><a href="#NtA_442">442</a> Papers relating to the + Nun of Kent: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_443"></a><a href="#NtA_443">443</a> ELLIS, first series, + vol. ii. p. 43.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_444"></a><a href="#NtA_444">444</a> <i>Cotton M.S.</i> + Otho X, p. 199. <i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. 397.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_445"></a><a href="#NtA_445">445</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. p. 403.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_446"></a><a href="#NtA_446">446</a> Cromwell had + endeavoured to save Frith, or at least had been interested for him. Sir + Edmund Walsingham, writing to him about the prisoners in the Tower, + says:—"Two of them wear irons, and Frith weareth none. Although he + lacketh irons, he lacketh not wit nor pleasant tongue. His learning + passeth my judgment. Sir, as ye said, it were great pity to lose him if + he may be reconciled."—Walsingham to Cromwell: <i>M.S. State Paper + Office</i>, second series, vol. xlvi.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_447"></a><a href="#NtA_447">447</a> ELLIS, first series, + vol. ii. p. 40.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_448"></a><a href="#NtA_448">448</a> "The natural body and + blood of our Saviour Christ are in Heaven, and not here, it being against + the truth of Christ's natural body to be at one time in more places than + one." The argument and the words in which it is expressed were + Frith's.—See FOXE, vol. v. p. 6.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_449"></a><a href="#NtA_449">449</a> The origin of the word + Lollards has been always a disputed question. I conceive it to be from + Lolium. They were the "tares" in the corn of Catholicism.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_450"></a><a href="#NtA_450">450</a> 35 Ed. I.; Statutes of + Carlisle, cap. 1-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_451"></a><a href="#NtA_451">451</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_452"></a><a href="#NtA_452">452</a> 25 Ed. III. stat. 4. A + clause in the preamble of this act bears a significantly Erastian + complexion: <i>come seinte Eglise estoit founde en estat de prelacie + deins le royaulme Dengleterre par le dit Roi et ses progenitours, et + countes, barons, et nobles de ce Royaulme et lours ancestres, pour eux et + le poeple enfourmer de la lei Dieu.</i> If the Church of England was held + to have been, founded not by the successors of the Apostles, but by the + king and the nobles, the claim of Henry VIII. to the supremacy was + precisely in the spirit of the constitution.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_453"></a><a href="#NtA_453">453</a> 38 Ed. III. stat. 2; 3 + Ric. II. cap. 3; 12 Ric. II. cap. 15; 13 Ric. II. stat. 2. The first of + these acts contains a paragraph which shifts the blame from the popes + themselves to the officials of the Roman courts. The statute is said to + have been enacted en eide et confort du pape qui moult sovent a estee + trublez par tieles et semblables clamours et impetracions, et qui y meist + voluntiers covenable remedie, si sa seyntetee estoit sur ces choses + enfournee. I had regarded this passage as a fiction of courtesy like that + of the Long Parliament who levied troops in the name of Charles I. The + suspicious omission of the clause, however, in the translation of the + statutes which was made in the later years of Henry VIII. justifies an + interpretation more favourable to the intentions of the popes.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_454"></a><a href="#NtA_454">454</a> The abbots and bishops + decently protested. Their protest was read in parliament, and entered on + the Rolls. <i>Rot. Parl.</i> iii. [264] quoted by Lingard, who has given + a full account of these transactions.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_455"></a><a href="#NtA_455">455</a> 13 Ric. II. stat. + 2.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_456"></a><a href="#NtA_456">456</a> See 16 Ric. II. cap. + 5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_457"></a><a href="#NtA_457">457</a> This it will be + remembered was the course which was afterwards followed by the parliament + under Henry VIII. before abolishing the payment of first-fruits.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_458"></a><a href="#NtA_458">458</a> Lingard says, that + "there were rumours that if the prelates executed the decree of the + king's courts, they would be excommunicated."—Vol. iii. p. 172. The + language of the act of parliament, 16 Ric. II. cap. 5, is explicit that + the sentence was pronounced.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_459"></a><a href="#NtA_459">459</a> 16 Ric. II. cap. + 5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_460"></a><a href="#NtA_460">460</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_461"></a><a href="#NtA_461">461</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_462"></a><a href="#NtA_462">462</a> LEWIS, <i>Life of + Wycliffe</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_463"></a><a href="#NtA_463">463</a> If such <i>scientia + media</i> might be allowed to man, which is beneath certainty and above + conjecture, such should I call our persuasion that he was born in + Durham.—FULLER'S <i>Worthies</i>, vol. i. p. 479.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_464"></a><a href="#NtA_464">464</a> <i>The Last Age of the + Church</i> was written in 1356. See LEWIS, p. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_465"></a><a href="#NtA_465">465</a> LELAND.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_466"></a><a href="#NtA_466">466</a> LEWIS, p. 287.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_467"></a><a href="#NtA_467">467</a> 1 Ric. II. cap. + 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_468"></a><a href="#NtA_468">468</a> WALSINGHAM, 206-7, + apud LINGARD. It is to be observed, however, that Wycliffe himself + limited his arguments strictly to the property of the clergy. See + MILMAN'S <i>History of Latin Christianity</i>, vol. v. p. 508.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_469"></a><a href="#NtA_469">469</a> WALSINGHAM, p. 275, + apud LINGARD.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_470"></a><a href="#NtA_470">470</a> 5 Ric. II. cap. 5.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_471"></a><a href="#NtA_471">471</a> WILKINS, + <i>Concilia</i>, iii. 160-167.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_472"></a><a href="#NtA_472">472</a> <i>De Heretico + comburendo.</i> 2 Hen. IV. cap. 15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_473"></a><a href="#NtA_473">473</a> STOW, 330, 338.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_474"></a><a href="#NtA_474">474</a> <i>Rot. Parl.</i> iv. + 24, 108, apud LINGARD; RYMER, ix. 89, 119, 129, 170, 193; MILMAN, Vol. v. + p. 520-535.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_475"></a><a href="#NtA_475">475</a> 2 Hen. V. stat. 1, + cap. 7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_476"></a><a href="#NtA_476">476</a> There is no better + test of the popular opinion of a man than the character assigned to him + on the stage; and till the close of the sixteenth century Sir John + Oldcastle remained the profligate buffoon of English comedy. Whether in + life he bore the character so assigned to him, I am unable to say. The + popularity of Henry V., and the splendour of his French wars, served no + doubt to colour all who had opposed him with a blacker shade than they + deserved: but it is almost certain that Shakspeare, though not intending + Falstaff as a portrait of Oldcastle, thought of him as he was designing + the character; and it is altogether certain that by the London public + Falstaff was supposed to represent Oldcastle. We can hardly suppose that + such an expression as "my old lad of the castle," should be accidental; + and in the epilogue to the Second Part of <i>Henry the Fourth</i>, when + promising to reintroduce Falstaff once more, Shakspeare says, "where for + anything I know he shall die of the sweat, for Oldcastle died a martyr, + and this is not the man." He had, therefore, certainly been supposed to + <i>be the man</i>, and Falstaff represented the English conception of the + character of the Lollard hero. I should add, however, that Dean Milman, + who has examined the records which remain to throw light on the character + of this remarkable person with elaborate care and ability, concludes + emphatically in his favour.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_477"></a><a href="#NtA_477">477</a> Two curious letters of + Henry VI. upon the Lollards, written in 1431, are printed in the + <i>Archĉologia</i>, vol. xxiii. p. 339, etc. "As God knoweth," he says of + them, "never would they be subject to his laws nor to man's, but would be + loose and free to rob, reve, and dispoil, slay and destroy all men of + thrift and worship, as they proposed to have done in our father's days; + and of lads and lurdains would make lords."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_478"></a><a href="#NtA_478">478</a> Proceedings of an + organised Society in London called the Christian Brethren, supported by + voluntary contributions, for the dispersion of tracts against the + doctrines of the Church: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_479"></a><a href="#NtA_479">479</a> HALE'S + <i>Precedents</i>. The London and Lincoln Registers, in FOXE, vol. iv.; + and the MS. Registers of Archbishops Morton and Warham, at Lambeth.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_480"></a><a href="#NtA_480">480</a> KNOX'S <i>History of + the Reformation in Scotland</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_481"></a><a href="#NtA_481">481</a> Also we object to you + that divers times, and specially in Robert Durdant's house, of Iver + Court, near unto Staines, you erroneously and damnably read in a great + book of heresy, all [one] night, certain chapters of the Evangelists, in + English, containing in them divers erroneous and damnable opinions and + conclusions of heresy, in the presence of divers suspected + persons.—Articles objected against Richard Butler—London + Register: FOXE, vol. iv. p. 178.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_482"></a><a href="#NtA_482">482</a> FOXE, vol. iv. p. + 176.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_483"></a><a href="#NtA_483">483</a> MICHELET, <i>Life of + Luther</i>, p. 71.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_484"></a><a href="#NtA_484">484</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_485"></a><a href="#NtA_485">485</a> Ibid. p. 41.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_486"></a><a href="#NtA_486">486</a> WOOD'S <i>Athenĉ + Oxonienses</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_487"></a><a href="#NtA_487">487</a> FOXE, vol. iv. p. + 618.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_488"></a><a href="#NtA_488">488</a> The suspicious eyes of + the Bishops discovered Tyndal's visit, and the result which was to be + expected from it.</p> + + <p>On Dec. 2nd, 1525, Edward Lee, afterwards Archbishop of York, then + king's almoner, and on a mission into Spain, wrote from Bordeaux to warn + Henry. The letter is instructive:</p> + + <p>"Please your Highness to understand that I am certainly informed as I + passed in this country, that an Englishman, your subject, at the + solicitation and instance of Luther, with whom he is, hath translated the + New Testament into English; and within few days intendeth to return with + the same imprinted into England. I need not to advertise your Grace what + infection and danger may ensue hereby if it be not withstanded. This is + the next way to fulfil your realm with Lutherians. For all Luther's + perverse opinions be grounded upon bare words of Scripture, not well + taken, ne understanded, which your Grace hath opened in sundry places of + your royal book. All our forefathers, governors of the Church of England, + hath with all diligence forbid and eschewed publication of English + Bibles, as appeareth in constitutions provincial of the Church of + England. Nowe, sure, as God hath endued your Grace with Christian courage + to sett forth the standard against these Philistines and to vanquish + them, so I doubt not but that he will assist your Grace to prosecute and + perform the same—that is, to undertread them that they shall not + now lift up their heads; which they endeavour by means of English Bibles. + They know what hurt such books hath done in your realm in times + past."—Edward Lee to Henry VIII.: ELLIS, third series, vol. ii. p. + 71.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_489"></a><a href="#NtA_489">489</a> Answer of the Bishops: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i> See cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_490"></a><a href="#NtA_490">490</a> Answer of the Bishops, + vol. i. cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_491"></a><a href="#NtA_491">491</a> See, particularly, + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 302.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_492"></a><a href="#NtA_492">492</a> Proceedings of the + Christian Brethren: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_493"></a><a href="#NtA_493">493</a> See the letter of + Bishop Fox to Wolsey: STRYPE'S <i>Memorials</i>, vol. i. Appendix.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_494"></a><a href="#NtA_494">494</a> Particulars of Persons + who had dispersed Anabaptist and Lutheran Tracts: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_495"></a><a href="#NtA_495">495</a> Dr. Taylor to Wolsey: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i> Clark to Wolsey: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. + pp. 80, 81.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_496"></a><a href="#NtA_496">496</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 189.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_497"></a><a href="#NtA_497">497</a> Memoirs of Latimer + prefixed to <i>Sermons</i>, pp. 3, 4; and see STRYPE'S <i>Memorials</i>, + vol. i.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_498"></a><a href="#NtA_498">498</a> FOXE, vol. v. p. + 416.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_499"></a><a href="#NtA_499">499</a> Tunstall, Bishop of + London, has had the credit hitherto of this ingenious folly, the effect + of which, as Sir Thomas More warned him, could only be to supply Tyndal + with money.—HALL, 762, 763. The following letter from the Bishop of + Norwich to Warham shows that Tunstall was only acting in canonical + obedience to the resolution of his metropolitan:—</p> + + <p>"In right humble manner I commend me unto your good Lordship, doing + the same to understand that I lately received your letters, dated at your + manor of Lambeth, the 26th day of the month of May, by the which I do + perceive that your Grace hath lately gotten into your hands all the books + of the New Testament, translated into English, and printed beyond the + sea; as well those with the glosses joined unto them as those without the + glosses.</p> + + <p>"Surely, in myn opinion, you have done therein a gracious and a + blessed deed; and God, I doubt not, shall highly reward you therefore. + And when, in your said letters, ye write that, insomuch as this matter + and the danger thereof, if remedy had not been provided, should not only + have touched you, but all the bishops within your province; and that it + is no reason that the holle charge and cost thereof should rest only in + you; but that they and every of them, for their part, should advance and + contribute certain sums of money towards the same: I for my part will be + contented to advance in this behalf, and to make payment thereof unto + your servant, Master William Potkyn.</p> + + <p>"Pleaseth it you to understand, I am well contented to give and + advance in this behalf ten marks, and shall cause the same to be + delivered shortly; the which sum I think sufficient for my part, if every + bishop within your province make like contribution, after the rate and + substance of their benefices. Nevertheless, if your Grace think this sum + not sufficient for my part in this matter, your further pleasure known, I + shall be as glad to conform myself thereunto in this, or any other matter + concerning the church, as any your subject within your province; as knows + Almighty God, who long preserve you. At Hoxne in Suffolk, the 14th day of + June, 1527. Your humble obedience and bedeman,</p> + + <p>"R. NORWICEN."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_500"></a><a href="#NtA_500">500</a> FOXE, vol. iv.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_501"></a><a href="#NtA_501">501</a> The papal bull, and + the king's licence to proceed upon it, are printed in <i>Rymer</i>, vol. + vi. part ii. pp. 8 and 17. The latter is explicit on Wolsey's personal + liberality in establishing this foundation. Ultro et ex propriâ + liberalitate et munificentiâ, nec sine gravissimo suo sumptu et impensis, + collegium fundare conatur.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_502"></a><a href="#NtA_502">502</a> Would God my Lord his + Grace had never been motioned to call any Cambridge man to his most + towardly college. It were a gracious deed if they were tried and purged + and restored unto their mother from whence they came, if they be worthy + to come thither again. We were clear without blot or suspicion till they + came, and some of them, as Master Dean hath known a long time, hath had a + shrewd name.—Dr. London to Archbishop Warham: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_503"></a><a href="#NtA_503">503</a> Dr. London to Warham: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_504"></a><a href="#NtA_504">504</a> DALABER'S + <i>Narrative.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_505"></a><a href="#NtA_505">505</a> Clark seems to have + taken pupils in the long vacation. Dalaber at least read with him all + one summer in the country.—Dr. London to Warham: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_506"></a><a href="#NtA_506">506</a> The Vicar of Bristol + to the Master of Lincoln College, Oxford: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_507"></a><a href="#NtA_507">507</a> Dr. London to Warham: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_508"></a><a href="#NtA_508">508</a> Radley himself was one + of the singers at Christchurch: London to Warham. <i>MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_509"></a><a href="#NtA_509">509</a> Dr. London to Warham: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_510"></a><a href="#NtA_510">510</a> On the site of the + present Worcester College. It lay beyond the walls of the town, and was + then some distance from it across the fields.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_511"></a><a href="#NtA_511">511</a> Christchurch, where + Dalaber occasionally sung in the quire. Vide infra.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_512"></a><a href="#NtA_512">512</a> Some part of which let + us read with him. "I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be + ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, + for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you + in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings + for my sake, for a testimony against them and the gentiles. But when they + deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall + be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak; for it is not ye that + speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the + brother shall deliver up the brother to death; and the father the child; + and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to + be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but + he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Whosoever shall confess me + before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. + Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father + which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I + came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at + variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the + daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they + of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not + worthy of me. He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy + of me. He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy + of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his + life for my sake shall find it."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_513"></a><a href="#NtA_513">513</a> Rector of Lincoln.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_514"></a><a href="#NtA_514">514</a> Warden of New + College.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_515"></a><a href="#NtA_515">515</a> The last prayer.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_516"></a><a href="#NtA_516">516</a> Dr. Maitland, who has + an indifferent opinion of the early Protestants, especially on the point + of veracity, brings forward this assertion of Dalaber as an illustration + of what he considers their recklessness. It seems obvious, however, that + a falsehood of this kind is something different in kind from what we + commonly mean by unveracity, and has no affinity with it. I do not see my + way to a conclusion; but I am satisfied that Dr. Maitland's strictures + are unjust. If Garret was taken, he was in danger of a cruel death, and + his escape could only be made possible by throwing the bloodhounds off + the scent. A refusal to answer would not have been sufficient; and the + general laws by which our conduct is ordinarily to be directed, cannot be + made so universal in their application as to meet all contingencies. It + is a law that we may not strike or kill other men, but occasions rise in + which we may innocently do both. I may kill a man in defence of my own + life or my friend's life, or even of my friend's property; and surely the + circumstances which dispense with obedience to one law may dispense + equally with obedience to another. <i>If</i> I may kill a man to prevent + him from robbing my friend, why may I not deceive a man to save my friend + from being barbarously murdered? It is possible that the highest morality + would forbid me to do either. I am unable to see why, if the first be + permissible, the second should be a crime. Rahab of Jericho did the same + thing which Dalaber did, and on that very ground was placed in the + catalogue of saints.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_517"></a><a href="#NtA_517">517</a> A cell in the Tower, + the nature of which we need not inquire into.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_518"></a><a href="#NtA_518">518</a> FOXE, vol. v. p. + 421.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_519"></a><a href="#NtA_519">519</a> Dr. London to the + Bishop of Lincoln: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_520"></a><a href="#NtA_520">520</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_521"></a><a href="#NtA_521">521</a> Dr. Forman, rector of + All Hallows, who had himself been in trouble for heterodoxy.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_522"></a><a href="#NtA_522">522</a> Dr. London to the + Bishop of Lincoln, Feb. 20, 1528: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_523"></a><a href="#NtA_523">523</a> Now Cokethorpe Park, + three miles from Stanton Harcourt, and about twelve from Oxford. The + village has disappeared.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_524"></a><a href="#NtA_524">524</a> Vicar of All Saints, + Bristol, to the Rector of Lincoln: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_525"></a><a href="#NtA_525">525</a> The Vicar of All + Saints to the Rector of Lincoln: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_526"></a><a href="#NtA_526">526</a> Dr. London to the + Bishop of Lincoln: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_527"></a><a href="#NtA_527">527</a> Long extracts from it + are printed in FOXE, vol. iv.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_528"></a><a href="#NtA_528">528</a> Another of the + brethren, afterwards Bishop of St. David's, and one of the Marian + victims.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_529"></a><a href="#NtA_529">529</a> Bishop of Lincoln to + Wolsey, March 5, 1527-8: <i>Rolls House MS.</i>: and see ELLIS, third + series, vol. ii. p. 77.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_530"></a><a href="#NtA_530">530</a> ELLIS, third series, + vol. ii. p. 77.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_531"></a><a href="#NtA_531">531</a> With some others he + "was cast into a prison where the saltfish lay, through the stink whereof + the most part of them were infected; and the said Clark, being a tender + young man, died in the same prison."—FOXE, vol. iv. p. 615.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_532"></a><a href="#NtA_532">532</a> London to Warham: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_533"></a><a href="#NtA_533">533</a> Petition of the + Commons, vol. i. cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_534"></a><a href="#NtA_534">534</a> Ibid. And, as we saw + in the bishops' reply, they considered their practice in these respects + wholly defensible.—See <i>Reply of the Bishops</i>, cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_535"></a><a href="#NtA_535">535</a> Petition of the + Commons, cap. 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_536"></a><a href="#NtA_536">536</a> Hen. V. stat. 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_537"></a><a href="#NtA_537">537</a> He had been + "troublesome to heretics," he said, and he had "done it with a little + ambition;" for "he so hated this kind of men, that he would fie the + sorest enemy that they could have, if they would not + repent."—MORE'S <i>Life of More</i>, p. 211.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_538"></a><a href="#NtA_538">538</a> See FOXE:, vol. iv. + pp. 689, 698, 705.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_539"></a><a href="#NtA_539">539</a> 2 Hen. V. stat. + 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_540"></a><a href="#NtA_540">540</a> John Stokesley.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_541"></a><a href="#NtA_541">541</a> Petition of Thomas + Philips to the House of Commons: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_542"></a><a href="#NtA_542">542</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_543"></a><a href="#NtA_543">543</a> FOXE, vol. v. pp. 29, + 30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_544"></a><a href="#NtA_544">544</a> The circumstances are + curious. Philips begged that he might have the benefit of the king's writ + of corpus cum causâ, and be brought to the bar of the House of Commons, + where the Bishop of London should be subpœnaed to meet him. + [Petition of Thomas Philips: <i>Rolls House MS.</i>] The Commons did not + venture on so strong a measure; but a digest of the petition was sent to + the Upper House, that the bishop might have an opportunity of reply. The + Lords refused to receive or consider the case: they replied that it was + too "frivolous an affair" for so grave an assembly, and that they could + not discuss it. [<i>Lords' Journals</i>, vol. i. p. 66.] A deputation of + the Commons then waited privately upon the bishop, and being of course + anxious to ascertain whether Philips had given a true version of what had + passed, they begged him to give some written explanation of his conduct, + which might be read in the Commons' House. [<i>Lords' Journals</i>, vol. + i. p. 71.] The request was reasonable, and we cannot doubt that, if + explanation had been possible, the bishop would not have failed to offer + it; but he preferred to shield himself behind the judgment of the Lords. + The Lords, he said, had decided that the matter was too frivolous for + their own consideration; and without their permission, he might not set a + precedent of responsibility to the Commons by answering their + questions.</p> + + <p>This conduct met with the unanimous approval of the Peers. [<i>Lords' + Journals</i>, vol. i. p. 71. Omnes proceres tam spirituales quam + temporales unâ, voce dicebant, quod non consentaneum fuit aliquem + procerum prĉdictorum alicui in eo loco responsurum.] The demand for + explanation was treated as a breach of privilege, and the bishop was + allowed to remain silent. But the time was passed for conduct of this + kind to be allowed to triumph. If the bishop could not or would not + justify himself, his victim might at least be released from unjust + imprisonment. The case was referred to the king: and by the king and the + House of Commons Philips was set at liberty.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_545"></a><a href="#NtA_545">545</a> Petition of John + Field: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_546"></a><a href="#NtA_546">546</a> Jan. 1529-30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_547"></a><a href="#NtA_547">547</a> Illegal. See 2 Hen. + V. stat. 1.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_548"></a><a href="#NtA_548">548</a> Seventh Sermon before + King Edward. First Sermon before the Duchess of Suffolk.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_549"></a><a href="#NtA_549">549</a> FOXE, vol. iv. p. + 649.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_550"></a><a href="#NtA_550">550</a> Articles against James + Bainham: FOXE, vol. iv. p. 703.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_551"></a><a href="#NtA_551">551</a> FOXE, vol. iv. p. + 702.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_552"></a><a href="#NtA_552">552</a> Ibid. vol. iv. p. + 705.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_553"></a><a href="#NtA_553">553</a> Ibid. vol. iv. p. + 694.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_554"></a><a href="#NtA_554">554</a> HALL, p. 806; and see + FOXE, vol iv. p. 705.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_555"></a><a href="#NtA_555">555</a> Instructions given by + the Bishop of Salisbury: BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 493.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_556"></a><a href="#NtA_556">556</a> From a Letter of + Robert Gardiner: FOXE, vol. iv. p. 706.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_557"></a><a href="#NtA_557">557</a> LATIMER'S + <i>Sermons</i>, p. 101.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_558"></a><a href="#NtA_558">558</a> Latimer speaks of sons + and daughters.—Ibid. p. 101.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_559"></a><a href="#NtA_559">559</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_560"></a><a href="#NtA_560">560</a> Where the Cornish + rebels came to an end in 1497.—BACON'S <i>History of Henry the + Seventh</i>.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_561"></a><a href="#NtA_561">561</a> LATIMER'S + <i>Sermons</i>, p. 197.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_562"></a><a href="#NtA_562">562</a> On which occasion, old + relations perhaps shook their heads, and made objection to the expense. + Some such feeling is indicated in the following glimpse behind the veil + of Latimer's private history:—</p> + + <p>"I was once called to one of my kinsfolk," he says ("it was at that + time when I had taken my degree at Cambridge); I was called, I say, to + one of my kinsfolk which was very sick, and died immediately after my + coming. Now, there was an old cousin of mine, which, after the man was + dead, gave me a wax candle in my hand, and commanded me to make certain + crosses over him that was dead; for she thought the devil should run away + by and bye. Now, I took the candle, but I could not cross him as she + would have me to do; for I had never seen it before. She, perceiving I + could not do it, with great anger took the candle out of my hand, saying, + 'It is pity that thy father spendeth so much money upon thee;' and so she + took the candle, and crossed and blessed him; so that he was sure + enough."—LATIMER'S <i>Sermons</i>, p. 499.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_563"></a><a href="#NtA_563">563</a> "I was as obstinate a + papist as any was in England, insomuch that, when I should be made + Bachelor of Divinity, my whole oration went against Philip Melancthon and + his opinions."—LATIMER'S <i>Sermons</i>, p. 334.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_564"></a><a href="#NtA_564">564</a> <i>Jewel of Joy</i>, + p. 224, et seq.: Parker Society's edition. LATIMER'S <i>Sermons</i>, p. + 3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_565"></a><a href="#NtA_565">565</a> LATIMER'S + <i>Remains</i>, pp. 27-31.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_566"></a><a href="#NtA_566">566</a> Ibid. pp. 308-9.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_567"></a><a href="#NtA_567">567</a> LATIMER to Sir Edward + Baynton: <i>Letters</i>, p. 329.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_568"></a><a href="#NtA_568">568</a> <i>Letters</i>, p. + 323.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_569"></a><a href="#NtA_569">569</a> He thought of going + abroad. "I have trust that God will help me," he wrote to a friend; "if I + had not, I think the ocean sea should have divided my Lord of London and + me by this day."—<i>Remains</i>, p. 334.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_570"></a><a href="#NtA_570">570</a> Latimer to Sir Edward + Baynton.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_571"></a><a href="#NtA_571">571</a> See Latimer's two + letters to Sir Edward Baynton: <i>Remains</i>, pp. 322-351.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_572"></a><a href="#NtA_572">572</a> "As ye say, the matter + is weighty, and ought substantially to be looked upon, even as weighty as + my life is worth; but how to look substantially upon it otherwise know + not I, than to pray my Lord God, day and night, that, as he hath + emboldened me to preach his truth, so he will strengthen me to suffer for + it.</p> + + <p>"I pray you pardon me that I write no more distinctly, for my head is + [so] out of frame, that it would be too painful for me to write it again. + If I be not prevented shortly, I intend to make merry with my + parishioners, this Christmas, for all the sorrow, <i>lest perchance I + never return to them again</i>; and I have heard say that a doe is as + good in winter as a buck in summer."—Latimer to Sir Edward Baynton, + p. 334.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_573"></a><a href="#NtA_573">573</a> LATIMER'S + <i>Remains</i>, p. 334.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_574"></a><a href="#NtA_574">574</a> Ibid. p. 350.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_575"></a><a href="#NtA_575">575</a> "I pray you, in God's + name, what did you, so great fathers, so many, so long season, so oft + assembled together? What went you about? What would ye have brought to + pass? Two things taken away—the one that ye (which I heard) burned + a dead man,—the other, that ye (which I felt) went about to burn + one being alive. Take away these two noble acts, and there is nothing + else left that ye went about that I know," etc., etc.—Sermon + preached before the Convocation: LATIMER'S <i>Sermons</i>, p. 46.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_576"></a><a href="#NtA_576">576</a> "My affair had some + bounds assigned to it by him who sent for me up, but is now protracted by + intricate and wily examinations, as if it would never find a period; + while sometimes one person, sometimes another, ask me questions, without + limit and without end."—Latimer to the Archbishop of Canterbury: + <i>Remains</i>, p. 352.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_577"></a><a href="#NtA_577">577</a> <i>Remains</i>, p. + 222.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_578"></a><a href="#NtA_578">578</a> <i>Sermons</i>, p. + 294.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_579"></a><a href="#NtA_579">579</a> The process lasted + through January, February, and March.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_580"></a><a href="#NtA_580">580</a> <i>Sermons</i>, p. + 294.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_581"></a><a href="#NtA_581">581</a> He subscribed all + except two—one apparently on the power of the pope, the other I am + unable to conjecture. Compare the Articles themselves—printed in + LATIMER'S <i>Remains</i>, p. 466—with the Sermon before the + Convocation.—<i>Sermons</i>, p. 46; and BURNET, vol. iii. p. + 116.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_582"></a><a href="#NtA_582">582</a> Nicholas Glossop to + Cromwell: ELLIS, third series, vol. ii. p. 237.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_583"></a><a href="#NtA_583">583</a> Where he was known + among the English of the day as Master Frisky-all.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_584"></a><a href="#NtA_584">584</a> See FOXE. vol. v. p. + 392.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_585"></a><a href="#NtA_585">585</a> Eustace Chappuys to + Chancellor Granvelle: <i>MS. Archiv. Brussels: Pilgrim</i>, p. 106.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_586"></a><a href="#NtA_586">586</a> See Cromwell's will in + an appendix to this chapter. This document, lately found in the Rolls + House, furnishes a clue at last to the connections of the Cromwell + family.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_587"></a><a href="#NtA_587">587</a> Are we to believe + Foxe's story that Cromwell was with the Duke of Bourbon at the storming + of Rome in May, 1527? See FOXE, vol. v. p. 365. He was with Wolsey in + January, 1527. See ELLIS, third series, vol. ii. p. 117. And he was again + with him early in 1528. Is it likely that he was in Italy on such an + occasion in the interval? Foxe speaks of it as one of the random exploits + of Cromwell's youth, which is obviously untrue; and the natural + impression which we gather is, that he was confusing the expedition of + the Duke of Bourbon with some earlier campaign. On the other hand Foxe's + authority was Cranmer, who was likely to know the truth; and it is not + impossible that, in the critical state of Italian politics, the English + government might have desired to have some confidential agent in the Duke + of Bourbon's camp. Cromwell, with his knowledge of Italy and Italian, and + his adventurous ability, was a likely man to have been sent on such an + employment; and the story gains additional probability from another + legend about him, that he once saved the life of Sir John Russell, in + some secret affair at Bologna. See FOXE, vol. v. p. 367. Now, although + Sir John Russell had been in Italy several times before (he was at the + Battle of Pavia, and had been employed in various diplomatic missions), + and Cromwell might thus have rendered him the service in question on an + earlier occasion, yet he certainly was in the Papal States, on a most + secret and dangerous mission, in the months preceding the capture of + Rome. <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vi. p. 560, etc. The probabilities may + pass for what they are worth till further discovery.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_588"></a><a href="#NtA_588">588</a> A damp, unfurnished + house belonging to Wolsey, where he was ordered to remain till the + government had determined upon their course towards him. See + CAVENDISH.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_589"></a><a href="#NtA_589">589</a> CAVENDISH, pp. + 269-70.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_590"></a><a href="#NtA_590">590</a> Ibid. p. 276.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_591"></a><a href="#NtA_591">591</a> Chappuys says, that a + quarrel with Sir John Wallop first introduced Cromwell to Henry. + Cromwell, "not knowing how else to defend himself, contrived with + presents and entreaties to obtain an audience of the king, whom he + promised to make the richest sovereign that ever reigned in + England."—Chappuys to Granvelle: <i>The Pilgrim</i>, p. 107.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_592"></a><a href="#NtA_592">592</a> Or Willyams. The words + are used indifferently.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_593"></a><a href="#NtA_593">593</a> The clause enclosed + between brackets is struck through.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_594"></a><a href="#NtA_594">594</a> Struck through.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_595"></a><a href="#NtA_595">595</a> Mary, widow of Louis + of Hungary, sister of the emperor, and Regent of the Netherlands.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_596"></a><a href="#NtA_596">596</a> She was much affected + when the first intimation of the marriage reached her. "I am informed of + a secret friend of mine," wrote Sir John Hacket, "that when the queen + here had read the letters which she received of late out of England, the + tears came to her eyes with very sad countenance. But indeed this day + when I spake to her she showed me not such countenance, but told me that + she was not well pleased.</p> + + <p>"At her setting forward to ride at hunting, her Grace asked me if I + had heard of late any tidings out of England. I told her Grace, as it is + true, that I had none. She gave me a look as that she should marvel + thereof, and said to me, 'Jay des nouvelles qui ne me semblent point trop + bonnes,' and told me touching the King's Highness's marriage. To the + which I answered her Grace and said, 'Madame, je ne me doute point syl + est faict, et quand le veult prendre et entendre de bonne part et au sain + chemyn, sans porter faveur parentelle que ung le trouvera tout lente et + bien raysonnable par layde de Dieu et de bonne conscience.' Her Grace + said to me again, 'Monsieur l'ambassadeur, c'est Dieu qui le scait que je + vouldroye que le tout allysse bien, mais ne scaye comment l'empereur et + le roy mon frere entendront l'affaire car il touche a eulx tant que a + moy.' I answered and said, 'Madame, il me semble estre assuree que + l'empereur et le roy vostre frere qui sont deux Prinssys tres prudens et + sayges, quant ilz auront considere indifferentement tout l'affaire qu ilz + ne le deveroyent prendre que de bonne part.' And hereunto her Grace made + me answer, saying, 'Da quant de le prendre de bonne part ce la, ne sayge + M. l'ambassadeur.'"—Hacket to the Duke of Norfolk: <i>State + Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 452.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_597"></a><a href="#NtA_597">597</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 457.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_598"></a><a href="#NtA_598">598</a> Sir Gregory Cassalis + to the Duke of Norfolk. Ad pontificem accessi et mei sermonis illa summa + fuit, vellet id prĉstare ut serenissimum regem nostrum certiorem facere + possemus, in suâ causâ nihil innovatum iri. Hic ille, sicut solet, + respondit, nescire se quo pacto possit Cĉsarianis + obsistere,—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 461.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_599"></a><a href="#NtA_599">599</a> Bennet to Henry: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 462.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_600"></a><a href="#NtA_600">600</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_601"></a><a href="#NtA_601">601</a> Letter undated, but + written about the middle of June: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. + 474</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_602"></a><a href="#NtA_602">602</a> Of the Archbishop of + York, not of Canterbury: which provokes a question. Conjectures are of + little value in history, but inasmuch as there must have been some grave + reason for the substitution, a suggestion of a possible reason may not be + wholly out of place. The appeal in itself was strictly legal; and it was + of the highest importance to avoid any illegality of form. Cranmer, by + transgressing the inhibition which Clement had issued in the winter, + might be construed by the papal party to have virtually incurred the + censures threatened, and an escape might thus have been furnished from + the difficulty in which the appeal placed them.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_603"></a><a href="#NtA_603">603</a> Publico ecclesiĉ + judicio.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_604"></a><a href="#NtA_604">604</a> RYMER, vol. vi. part + 2, p. 188.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_605"></a><a href="#NtA_605">605</a> The French king did + write unto Cardinal Tournon (not, however, of his own will, but under + pressure from the Duke of Norfolk), very instantly, that he should desire + the pope, in the said French king's name, that his Holyness would not + innovate anything against your Highness any wise till the congress: + adding, withal, that if his Holyness, notwithstanding his said desire, + would proceed, he could not less do, considering the great and + indissoluble amity betwixt your Highnesses, notorious to all the world, + but take and recognise such proceeding for a fresh injury.—Bennet + to Henry VIII.: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 468.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_606"></a><a href="#NtA_606">606</a> Ibid. p. 469.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_607"></a><a href="#NtA_607">607</a> Ibid. p. 469.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_608"></a><a href="#NtA_608">608</a> Ibid. p. 470.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_609"></a><a href="#NtA_609">609</a> Ibid. + p. 467, note, and p. 470.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_610"></a><a href="#NtA_610">610</a> BURNET, vol. i. p. + 221.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_611"></a><a href="#NtA_611">611</a> We only desire and + pray you to endeavour yourselves in the execution of that your + charge—easting utterly away and banishing from you such fear and + timorousness, or rather despair, as by your said letters we perceive ye + have conceived—reducing to your memories in the lieu and stead + thereof, as a thing continually lying before your eyes and incessantly + sounded in your ears, the justice of our cause, which cannot at length be + shadowed, but shall shine and shew itself to the confusion of our + adversaries. And we having, as is said, truth for us, with the help and + assistance of God, author of the same, shall at all times be able to + maintain you.—Henry VIII. to Bonner: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. + p. 485.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_612"></a><a href="#NtA_612">612</a> Bonner to Cromwell: + Ibid. vol. vii. p. 481.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_613"></a><a href="#NtA_613">613</a> The proclamation + ordering that Catherine should be called not queen, but Princess + Dowager.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_614"></a><a href="#NtA_614">614</a> Catherine de + Medici.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_615"></a><a href="#NtA_615">615</a> Henry VIII. to the + Duke of Norfolk: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 493.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_616"></a><a href="#NtA_616">616</a> Sir John Racket, + writing from Ghent on the 6th of September, describes as the general + impression that the Pope's "trust was to assure his alliance on both + sides." "He trusts to bring about that his Majesty the French king and he + shall become and remain in good, fast, and sure alliance together; and so + ensuring that they three (the Pope, Francis, and Charles V.) shall be + able to reform and set good order in the rest of Christendom. But whether + his Unhappiness's—I mean his Holiness's—intention, is set for + the welfare and utility of Christendom, or for his own insincerity and + singular purpose, I remit that to God and to them that know more of the + world than I do."—Hacket to Cromwell: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. + vii. p. 506.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_617"></a><a href="#NtA_617">617</a> John the Magnanimous, + son of John the Steadfast, and nephew of the Elector Frederick, Luther's + first protector.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_618"></a><a href="#NtA_618">618</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. pp. 499-501.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_619"></a><a href="#NtA_619">619</a> Princeps Elector ducit + se imparem ut Regiĉ Celsitudinis vel aliorum regum oratores eâ lege in + aulâ suâ degerent; vereturque ne ob id apud Cĉsaream majestatem unicum + ejus Dominum et alios male audiret, possetque sinistre tale institutum + interpretari.—Reply of the Elector: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. + p. 503.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_620"></a><a href="#NtA_620">620</a> Vaughan to Cromwell: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol vii. p. 509.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_621"></a><a href="#NtA_621">621</a> I consider the man, + with other two—that is to say, the Landgrave von Hesse and the Duke + of Lunenberg—to be the chief and principal defenders and + maintainers of the Lutheran sect: who considering the same with no small + difficulty to be defended, as well against the emperor and the bishops of + Germany, his nigh and shrewd neighbours, as against the most opinion of + all Christian men, feareth to raise any other new matter whereby they + should take a larger and peradventure a better occasion to revenge the + same. The King's Highness seeketh to have intelligence with them, as they + conjecture to have them confederate with him; yea, and that against the + emperor, if he would anything pretend against the king.—Here is the + thing which I think feareth the duke.—Vaughan to Cromwell: <i>State + Papers</i>, vol. vii. pp. 509-10.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_622"></a><a href="#NtA_622">622</a> HALL, p. 805.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_623"></a><a href="#NtA_623">623</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 512.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_624"></a><a href="#NtA_624">624</a> The Duke of Albany, + during the minority of James V., had headed the party in Scotland most + opposed to the English. He expelled the queen-mother, Margaret, sister of + Henry; he seized the persons of the two young princes, whom he shut up in + Stirling, where the younger brother died under suspicion of foul play + (<i>Despatches of</i> GIUSTINIANI, vol. i. p. 157); and subsequently, in + his genius for intrigue, he gained over the queen dowager herself in a + manner which touched her honour.—Lord Thomas Dacre to Queen + Margaret: ELLIS, second series, vol. i. p. 279.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_625"></a><a href="#NtA_625">625</a> Ex his tamen, qui hĉc + a Pontifice, audierunt, intelligo regem vehementissime instare, ut vestrĉ + majestatis expectatione satisfiat Pontifex.—Peter Vannes to Henry + VIII.: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 518.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_626"></a><a href="#NtA_626">626</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. vii. p. 520.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_627"></a><a href="#NtA_627">627</a> Hoc dico quod video + inter regem et pontificem conjunctissime et amicissime hic + agi.—Vannes to Cromwell: Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_628"></a><a href="#NtA_628">628</a> Vannes to Cromwell: + Ibid. pp. 522-3.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_629"></a><a href="#NtA_629">629</a> BURNET, + <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 436.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_630"></a><a href="#NtA_630">630</a> Letter of the King of + France: LEGRAND, vol. iii. Reply of Henry: FOXE, vol. v. p. 110.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_631"></a><a href="#NtA_631">631</a> Commission of the + Bishop of Paris: LEGRAND, vol. iii; BURNET, vol. iii. p. 128; FOXE, vol. + v. p. 106-111. The commission of the Bishop of Bayonne is not explicit on + the extent to which the pope had bound himself with respect to the + sentence. Yet either in some other despatch, or verbally through the + Bishop, Francis certainly informed Henry that the Pope had promised that + sentence should be given in his favour. We shall find Henry assuming this + in his reply; and the Archbishop of York declared to Catherine that the + pope "said at Marseilles, that if his Grace would send a proxy thither he + would give sentence for his Highness against her, because that he knew + his cause to be good and just."—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. p. + 421.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_632"></a><a href="#NtA_632">632</a> MS. Bibl. Impér. + Paris.—<i>The Pilgrim</i>, pp. 97, 98. Cf. FOXE, vol. v. p. + 110.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_633"></a><a href="#NtA_633">633</a> I hear of a number of + Gelders which be lately reared; and the opinion of the people here is + that they shall go into England. All men there speak evil of England, and + threaten it in their foolish manner.—Vaughan to Cromwell: <i>State + Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 511.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_634"></a><a href="#NtA_634">634</a> RYMER, vol. vi. part + 2, p. 189.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_635"></a><a href="#NtA_635">635</a> Parties were so + divided in England that lookers-on who reported any one sentiment as + general there, reported in fact by their own wishes and sympathies. + D'Inteville, the French ambassador, a strong Catholic, declares the + feeling to have been against the revolt. Chastillon, on the other hand, + writing at the same time from the same place (for he had returned from + France, and was present with d'Inteville at the last interview), says, + "The King has made up his mind to a complete separation from Rome; and + the lords and the majority of the people go along with + him."—Chastillon to the Bishop of Paris: <i>The Pilgrim</i>, p. + 99.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_636"></a><a href="#NtA_636">636</a> STRYPE, <i>Eccles. + Memor.</i>, vol. i. p. 224.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_637"></a><a href="#NtA_637">637</a> Instructions to the + Earls of Oxford, Essex, and Sussex, to remonstrate with the Lady Mary: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_638"></a><a href="#NtA_638">638</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_639"></a><a href="#NtA_639">639</a> On the 15th of + November, Queen Catherine wrote to the Emperor, and after congratulating + him on his successes against the Turks, she continued,</p> + + <p>"And as our Lord in his mercy has worked so great a good for + Christendom by your Highness's hands, so has he enlightened also his + Holiness; and I and all this realm have now a sure hope that, with the + grace of God, his Holiness will slay this second Turk, this affair + between the King my Lord and me. Second Turk, I call it, from the + misfortunes which, through his Holiness's long delay, have grown out of + it, and are now so vast and of so ill example that I know not whether + this or the Turk be the worst. Sorry am I to have been compelled to + importune your Majesty so often in this matter, for sure I am you do not + need my pressing. But I see delay to be so calamitous, my own life is so + unquiet and so painful, and the opportunity to make an end now so + convenient, that it seems as if God of his goodness had brought his + Holiness and your Majesty together to bring about so great a good. I am + forced to be importunate, and I implore your Highness for the passion of + our Lord Jesus Christ, that in return for the signal benefits which God + each day is heaping on you, you will accomplish for me this great + blessing, and bring his Holiness to a decision. Let him remember what he + promised you at Bologna. The truth here is known, and he will thus + destroy the hopes of those who persuade the King my Lord that he will + never pass judgment."—Queen Catherine to Charles V.: <i>MS. + Simancas</i>, November 15, 1533.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_640"></a><a href="#NtA_640">640</a> Letter to the King, + giving an account of certain Friars Observants who had been about the + Princess Dowager: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_641"></a><a href="#NtA_641">641</a> We remember the + northern prophecy, "In England shall be slain the decorate Rose in his + mother's belly," which the monks of Furness interpreted as meaning that + "the King's Grace should die by the hands of priests."—Vol. i. cap. + 4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_642"></a><a href="#NtA_642">642</a> Statutes of the Realm, + 25 Henry VIII. cap. 12. State Papers relating to Elizabeth Barton: + <i>Rolls House MS.</i> Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, to Cromwell: + <i>Suppression of the Monasteries</i>, p. 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_643"></a><a href="#NtA_643">643</a> Thus Cromwell writes + to Fisher: "My Lord, [the outward evidences that she was speaking truth] + moved you not to give credence to her, but only the very matter whereupon + she made her false prophecies, to which matter ye were so + affected—as ye be noted to be on all matters which ye once enter + into—that nothing could come amiss that made for that + purpose."—<i>Suppression of the Monasteries</i>, p. 30.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_644"></a><a href="#NtA_644">644</a> Papers relating to the + Nun of Kent: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_645"></a><a href="#NtA_645">645</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_646"></a><a href="#NtA_646">646</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_647"></a><a href="#NtA_647">647</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_648"></a><a href="#NtA_648">648</a> Papers relating to the + Nun of Kent: <i>Rolls House MS.</i> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. 12. The "many" + nobles are not more particularly designated in the official papers. It + was not desirable to mention names when the offence was to be passed + over.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_649"></a><a href="#NtA_649">649</a> Report of the + Commissioners—Papers relating to the Nun of Kent: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_650"></a><a href="#NtA_650">650</a> Goold, says the Act of + the Nun's attainder, travelled to Bugden, "to animate the said Lady + Princess to make commotion in the realm against our sovereign lord; + surmitting that the said Nun should hear by revelation of God that the + said Lady Catherine should prosper and do well, and that her issue, the + Lady Mary, should prosper and reign in the realm."—25 Henry VIII. + cap. 13.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_651"></a><a href="#NtA_651">651</a> Report of the + Proceedings of the Nun of Kent: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_652"></a><a href="#NtA_652">652</a> MS. Bibliot. Impér., + Paris. The letter is undated. It was apparently written in the autumn of + 1533.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_653"></a><a href="#NtA_653">653</a> Il a des nouvelles + amours. In a paper at Simancas, containing Nuevas de Inglaterra, written + about this time, is a similar account of the dislike of Anne and her + family, as well as of the king's altered feelings towards her. Dicano + anchora che la Anna è mal voluta degli Si. di Inghilterra si per la sua + superbia, si anche per l'insolentia e mali portamenti che fanno nel regno + li fratelli e parenti di Anna; e che per questo il Re non la porta la + affezione que soleva per che il Re festeggia una altra Donna della quale + se mostra esser inamorato, e molti Si. di Inghilterra lo ajutano nel + seguir el predito amor per deviar questo Re dalla pratica di Anna.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_654"></a><a href="#NtA_654">654</a> HALL.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_655"></a><a href="#NtA_655">655</a> "I, dame Elizabeth + Barton," she said, "do confess that I, most miserable and wretched + person, have been the original of all this mischief, and by my falsehood + I have deceived all these persons (the monks who were her accomplices), + and many more; whereby I have most grievously offended Almighty God, and + my most noble sovereign the King's Grace. Wherefore I humbly, and with + heart most sorrowful, desire you to pray to Almighty God for my miserable + sins, and make supplication for me to my sovereign for his gracious mercy + and pardon."—Confession of Elizabeth Barton: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_656"></a><a href="#NtA_656">656</a> Papers relating to + Elizabeth Barton: Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_657"></a><a href="#NtA_657">657</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. p. 415.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_658"></a><a href="#NtA_658">658</a> A curious trait in + Mary's character may be mentioned in connection with this transfer. She + had a voracious appetite; and in Elizabeth's household expenses an extra + charge was made necessary of £26 a year for the meat breakfasts and meat + suppers "served into the Lady Mary's chamber."—Statement of the + expenses of the Household of the Princess Elizabeth: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_659"></a><a href="#NtA_659">659</a> He is called <i>frater + consobrinus</i>. See FULLER'S <i>Worthies</i>, vol. iii. p. 128.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_660"></a><a href="#NtA_660">660</a> He was killed at the + battle of Pavia.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_661"></a><a href="#NtA_661">661</a> Courtenay, Earl of + Devonshire, married Catherine, daughter of Edward.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_662"></a><a href="#NtA_662">662</a> Believe me, my lord, + there are some here, and those of the greatest in the land, who will be + indignant if the Pope confirm the sentence against the late + Queen.—D'Inteville to Montmorency: <i>The Pilgrim</i>, p. 97.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_663"></a><a href="#NtA_663">663</a> She once rode to + Canterbury, disguised as a servant, with only a young girl for a + companion.—Depositions of Sir Geoffrey Pole: <i>Rolls House + MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_664"></a><a href="#NtA_664">664</a> Confession of Sir + William Neville: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_665"></a><a href="#NtA_665">665</a> Confession of Sir + George Neville: Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_666"></a><a href="#NtA_666">666</a> Confession of the + Oxford Wizard: Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_667"></a><a href="#NtA_667">667</a> Queen Anne Boleyn to + Gardiner: BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 355. Office for the + Consecration of Cramp Rings: Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_668"></a><a href="#NtA_668">668</a> So at least the Oxford + Wizard said that Sir William Neville had told him.—Confession of + the Wizard: <i>Rolls House MS.</i> But the authority is not good.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_669"></a><a href="#NtA_669">669</a> Henry alone never + listened seriously to the Nun of Kent.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_670"></a><a href="#NtA_670">670</a> John of Transylvania, + the rival of Ferdinand. His designation by the title of king in an + English state paper was a menace that, if driven to extremities, Henry + would support him against the empire.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_671"></a><a href="#NtA_671">671</a> Acts of Council: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. i. pp. 414-15.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_672"></a><a href="#NtA_672">672</a> Henry VIII. to Sir + John Wallop: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 524.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_673"></a><a href="#NtA_673">673</a> Stephen Vaughan to + Cromwell: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 517. Vaughan describes Peto + with Shakespearian raciness. "Peto is an ipocrite knave, as the most part + of his brethren be; a wolf; a tiger clad in a sheep's skin. It is a + perilous knave—a raiser of sedition—an evil reporter of the + King's Highness—a prophecyer of mischief—a fellow I would + wish to be in the king's hands, and to be shamefully punished. Would God + I could get him by any policy—I will work what I can. Be sure he + shall do nothing, nor pretend to do nothing, in these parts, that I will + not find means to cause the King's Highness to know. I have laid a bait + for him. He is not able to wear the clokys and cucullys that be sent him + out of England, they be so many."</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_674"></a><a href="#NtA_674">674</a> Hacket to Henry VIII.: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 528.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_675"></a><a href="#NtA_675">675</a> Ibid. p. 530.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_676"></a><a href="#NtA_676">676</a> Hacket to Cromwell: + <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 531.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_677"></a><a href="#NtA_677">677</a> So at least Henry + supposed, if we may judge by the resolutions of the Council "for the + fortification of all the frontiers of the realm, as well upon the coasts + of the sea as the frontiers foreanenst Scotland." The fortresses and + havens were to be "fortefyed and munited;" and money to be sent to York + to be in readiness "if any business should happen."—Ibid. vol. i. + p. 411.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_678"></a><a href="#NtA_678">678</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. + 19.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_679"></a><a href="#NtA_679">679</a> A design which + unfortunately was not put in effect. In the hurry of the time it was + allowed to drop.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_680"></a><a href="#NtA_680">680</a> 25 Henry VIII. cap. + 14.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_681"></a><a href="#NtA_681">681</a> 23 Henry VIII. cap. + 20.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_682"></a><a href="#NtA_682">682</a> At this very time + Campeggio was Bishop of Salisbury, and Ghinucci, who had been acting for + Henry at Rome, was Bishop of Worcester. The Act by which they were + deprived speaks of these two appointments as <i>nominations</i> by the + king.—25 Henry VIII. cap. 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_683"></a><a href="#NtA_683">683</a> Wolsey held three + bishoprics and one archbishopric, besides the abbey of St. Albans.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_684"></a><a href="#NtA_684">684</a> Thus when Wolsey was + presented, in 1514, to the See of Lincoln, Leo X. writes to his beloved + son Thomas Wolsey how that in his great care for the interests of the + Church, "Nos hodie Ecclesiĉ Lincolniensi, te in episcopum et pastorem + prĉficere intendimus." He then informs the Chapter of Lincoln of the + appointment; and the king, in granting the temporalities, continues the + fiction without seeming to recognise it:—"Cum dominus summus + Pontifex nuper vacante Ecclesiâ cathedrali personam fidelis clerici + nostri Thomĉ Wolsey, in ipsius Ecclesiĉ episcopum prĉfecerit, nos," + etc.—See the Acts in RYMER, vol. vi. part 1, pp. 55-7.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_685"></a><a href="#NtA_685">685</a> 25 Henry VIII. cap. + 20. The pre-existing, unrealities with respect to the election of bishops + explain the unreality of the new arrangement, and divest it of the + character of wanton tyranny with which it appeared <i>primâ facie</i> to + press upon the Chapters. The history of this statute is curious, and + perhaps explains the intentions with which it was originally passed. It + was repealed by the 2nd of the 1st of Edward VI. on the ground that the + liberty of election was merely nominal, and that the Chapters ought to be + relieved of responsibility when they had no power of choice. Direct + nomination by the crown was substituted for the <i>congé d'élire</i>, and + remained the practice till the reaction under Mary, when the indefinite + system was resumed which had existed before the Reformation. On the + accession of Elizabeth, the statute of 25 Henry VIII. was again enacted. + The more complicated process of Henry was preferred to the more simple + one of Edward, and we are naturally led to ask the reason of so singular + a preference. I cannot but think that it was this. The Council of Regency + under Edward VI. treated the Church as an institution of the State, while + Henry and Elizabeth endeavoured (under difficulties) to regard it under + its more Catholic aspect of an organic body. So long as the Reformation + was in progress, it was necessary to prevent the intrusion upon the bench + of bishops of Romanising tendencies, and the deans and chapters were + therefore protected by a strong hand from their own possible mistakes. + But the form of liberty was conceded to them, not, I hope, to place + deliberately a body of clergymen in a degrading position, but in the + belief that at no distant time the Church might be allowed without danger + to resume some degree of self-government.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_686"></a><a href="#NtA_686">686</a> 25 Henry VIII. cap. + 21.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_687"></a><a href="#NtA_687">687</a> I sent you no heavy + words, but words of great comfort; willing your brother to shew you how + benign and merciful the prince was; and that I thought it expedient for + you to write unto his Highness, and to recognise your offence and to + desire his pardon, which his Grace would not deny you how in your age and + sickness.—Cromwell to Fisher: <i>Suppression of the + Monasteries</i>, p. 27.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_688"></a><a href="#NtA_688">688</a> Sir Thomas More to + Cromwell: BURNET'S <i>Collectanea</i>, p. 350.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_689"></a><a href="#NtA_689">689</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_690"></a><a href="#NtA_690">690</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_691"></a><a href="#NtA_691">691</a> More to Cromwell: + STRYPE'S <i>Memorials</i>, vol. i. Appendix, p. 195.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_692"></a><a href="#NtA_692">692</a> More to the King: + ELLIS, first series, vol. ii. p. 47.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_693"></a><a href="#NtA_693">693</a> Cromwell to Fisher: + <i>Suppression of the Monasteries</i>, p. 27, et seq.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_694"></a><a href="#NtA_694">694</a> <i>Suppression of the + Monasteries</i>, p. 27, et seq.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_695"></a><a href="#NtA_695">695</a> John Fisher to the + Lords in Parliament: ELLIS, third series, vol. ii. p. 289.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_696"></a><a href="#NtA_696">696</a> <i>Lords' + Journals</i>, p. 72.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_697"></a><a href="#NtA_697">697</a> 25 Hen. VIII. cap. + 12.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_698"></a><a href="#NtA_698">698</a> In a tract written by + a Dr. Moryson in defence of the government, three years later, I find + evidence that a distinction was made among the prisoners, and that Dr. + Bocking was executed with peculiar cruelty. "Solus in crucem actus est + Bockingus," are Moryson's words, though I feel uncertain of the nature of + the punishment which he meant to designate. "Crucifixion" was unknown to + the English law; and an event so peculiar as the "crucifixion" of a monk + would hardly have escaped the notice of the contemporary chroniclers. In + a careful diary kept by a London merchant during these years, which is in + MS. in the Library of Balliol College, Oxford, the whole party are said + to have been hanged.—See, however, <i>Morysini Apomaxis</i>, + printed by Berthelet, 1537.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_699"></a><a href="#NtA_699">699</a> HALL, p. 814.] The + inferior confederates were committed to their prisons with the exception + only of Fisher, who, though sentenced, found mercy thrust upon him, till + by fresh provocation the miserable old man forced himself upon his + fate.<a name="NtA_700"></a><a href="#Nt_700"><sup>700</sup></a></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_700"></a><a href="#NtA_700">700</a> LORD HERBERT says he + was pardoned; I do not find, however, on what authority: but he was + certainly not imprisoned, nor was the sentence of forfeiture enforced + against him.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_701"></a><a href="#NtA_701">701</a> This is the substance + of the provisions, which are, of course, much abridged.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_702"></a><a href="#NtA_702">702</a> <i>Lords' + Journals</i>, vol. i. p. 82. An act was also passed in this session + "against the usurped power of the Bishop of Rome." We trace it in its + progress through the House of Lords. (<i>Lords' Journals</i>, Parliament + of 1533-4.) It received the royal assent (ibid.), and is subsequently + alluded to in the both of the 28th of Henry VIII., as well as in a Royal + Proclamation dated June, 1534; and yet it is not on the Roll, nor do I + anywhere find traces of it. It is not to be confounded with the act + against payment of Peter's Pence, for in the <i>Lords' Journals</i> the + two acts are separately mentioned. It received the royal assent on the + 30th of March, while that against Peter's Pence was suspended till the + 7th of April. It contained, also, an indirect assertion that the king was + Head of the English Church, according to the title which had been given + him by Convocation. (King's Proclamation: FOXE, vol. v. p. 69.) For some + cause or other, the act at the last moment must have been withdrawn.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_703"></a><a href="#NtA_703">703</a> See BURNET, vol. i. + pp. 220-1: vol. iii p. 135; and LORD HERBERT. Du Bellay's brother, the + author of the memoirs, says that the king, at the bishop's entreaty, + promised that if the pope would delay sentence, and send "judges to hear + the matter, he would himself forbear to do what he proposed to + do"—that is, separate wholly from the See of Rome. If this is true, + the sending "judges" must allude to the "sending them to Cambray," which + had been proposed at Marseilles.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_704"></a><a href="#NtA_704">704</a> See the letter of the + Bishop of Bayonne, dated March 23, in LEGRAND. A paraphrase is given by + BURNET, vol. iii. p. 132.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_705"></a><a href="#NtA_705">705</a> Promisistis + predecessori meo quod si sententiam contra regem Angliĉ tulisset, Cĉsar + illum infra quatuor menses erat invasurus, et regno + expulsurus.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 579.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_706"></a><a href="#NtA_706">706</a> Letter of Du Bellay in + LEGRAND.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_707"></a><a href="#NtA_707">707</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_708"></a><a href="#NtA_708">708</a> Sir Edward Karne and + Dr. Revett to Henry VIII.: <i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. pp. 553-4.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_709"></a><a href="#NtA_709">709</a> State Papers, vol. + vii. p. 560, et seq.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_710"></a><a href="#NtA_710">710</a> His Highness, + considering the time and the malice of the emperour, cannot conveniently + pass out of the realm—since he leaveth behind him another daughter + and a mother, with their friends, maligning his enterprises in this + behalf—who bearing no small grudge against his most entirely + beloved Queen Anne, and his young daughter the princess, might perchance + in his absence take occasion to excogitate and practise with their said + friends matters of no small peril to his royal person, realm, and + subjects.—<i>State Papers</i>, vol. vii. p. 559.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_711"></a><a href="#NtA_711">711</a> LORD HERBERT.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_712"></a><a href="#NtA_712">712</a> I mentioned their + execution in connection with their sentence; but it did not take place + till the 20th of April, a month after their attainder: and delay of this + kind was very unusual in cases of high treason. I have little doubt that + their final sentence was in fact pronounced by the pope.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_713"></a><a href="#NtA_713">713</a> The oaths of a great + many are in RYMER, vol. vi. part 2, p. 195, et seq.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_714"></a><a href="#NtA_714">714</a> His great-grandson's + history of him (<i>Life of Sir Thomas More,</i>, by CRESACRE MORE, + written about 1620, published 1627, with a dedication to Henrietta Maria) + is incorrect in so many instances that I follow it with hesitation; but + the account of the present matter is derived from Mr. Roper, More's + son-in-law, who accompanied him to Lambeth, and it is incidentally + confirmed in various details by More himself.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_715"></a><a href="#NtA_715">715</a> MORE'S <i>Life of + More</i>, p. 232.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_716"></a><a href="#NtA_716">716</a> More held extreme + republican opinions on the tenure of kings, holding that they might be + deposed by act of parliament.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_717"></a><a href="#NtA_717">717</a> MORE'S <i>Life of + More</i>, p. 237.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_718"></a><a href="#NtA_718">718</a> BURNET, vol. i. p. + 255.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_719"></a><a href="#NtA_719">719</a> MORE'S <i>Life of + More</i>, p. 237.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_720"></a><a href="#NtA_720">720</a> Cromwell to the + Archbishop of Canterbury: <i>Rolls House MS.</i></p> + + <p><a name="Nt_721"></a><a href="#NtA_721">721</a> <i>State Papers</i>, + vol. i. p. 411, et seq.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_722"></a><a href="#NtA_722">722</a> Royal Proclamation, + June, 1534.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_723"></a><a href="#NtA_723">723</a> Ibid.</p> + + <p><a name="Nt_724"></a><a href="#NtA_724">724</a> FOXE, vol. v. p. + 70.</p> + +</div> + +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REIGN OF HENRY THE EIGHTH, VOLUME 1 (OF 3)***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 15537-h.txt or 15537-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/5/3/15537">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/5/3/15537</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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