The History of England - Vols. 1 to 6 (244 page)

the new canons.z
Sir John Sharington, whose crimes and malversations had appeared so egregious at the condemnation of lord Seymour, obtained from parliament a reversal of his attainder.
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This man sought favour with the more zealous reformers; and bishop Latimer affirmed, that, though formerly he had been a most notorious knave, he was now so penitent, that he had become a very honest man.

When Warwic and the council of regency began to exercise their 1550. Peace with power, they found themselves involved in the same difficulties, France and Scotland.

that had embarrassed the protector. The wars with France and Scotland could not be supported by an exhausted exchequer; seemed dangerous to a divided nation; and were now acknowledged not to have any object, which even the greatest and most uninterrupted success could attain. The project of peace, entertained PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)

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by Somerset, had served them as a pretence for clamour against his administration; yet after sending Sir Thomas Cheney to the emperor, and making again a fruitless effort to engage him in the protection of Boulogne, they found themselves obliged to listen to the advances, which Henry made them, by the canal of Guidotti, a Florentine merchant. The earl of Bedford, Sir John Mason, Paget, and Petre, were sent over to Boulogne, with full powers to negociate. The French king absolutely refused to pay the two millions of crowns,

which his predecessor had acknowledged to be due to the crown Boulogne of England, as arrears of pensions; and said, that he never would surrendered.

consent to render himself tributary to any prince: But he offered a sum for the immediate restitution of Boulogne;

and four hundred thousand crowns were at last agreed on, one 24th Mar.

half to be paid immediately, the other in August following. Six hostages were given for the performance of this article. Scotland was comprehended in the treaty: The English stipulated to restore Lauder and Dunglas, and to demolish the fortresses of Roxburgh and Eymouth.
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No sooner was peace concluded with France, than a project was entertained of a close alliance with that kingdom; and Henry willingly embraced a proposal so suitable both to his interests and his inclinations. An agreement, some time after, was formed for a marriage between Edward and Elizabeth, a daughter of France; and all the articles were, after a little

negociation, fully settled:c
But this project never took effect.

The intention of marrying the king to a daughter of Henry, a violent persecutor of the protestants, was no wise acceptable to that party in England: But in all other respects, the council was steady in promoting the reformation, and in enforcing the laws against the Romanists. Several prelates were still addicted to that communion; and though they made some compliances, in order to save their bishoprics, they retarded, as much as they safely could, the execution of the new laws, and gave countenance to such incumbents as were negligent or refractory. A resolution was therefore taken to seek pretences for depriving those prelates; and the execution of this intention was the more easy, as they had all of them been obliged to take commissions, in which it was declared, that they held their sees during the king’s pleasure only. It was thought proper to begin with Gardiner, in order to strike a terror into the rest. The method of proceeding against him was violent, and had scarcely any colour of law or justice.

Injunctions had been given him to inculcate, in a sermon, the duty of obedience to a king, even during his minority; and because he had neglected this topic, he had been thrown into prison, and had been there detained during two years, without being accused of any crime, except disobedience to this arbitrary command. The duke of Somerset, secretary Petre, and some others of the council, were now sent, in order to try his temper, and endeavour to find some grounds for depriving him: He professed to them his intention of conforming to the government, of supporting the king’s laws, and of officiating by the new liturgy. This was not the disposition which they

expected or desired.d
A new deputation was therefore sent, who carried him several articles to subscribe. He was required to acknowledge his former misbehaviour, and to confess the justice of his confinement: He was likewise to own, that the king was supreme head of the church; that the power of making and dispensing with holidays was part of the prerogative; that the book of common-prayer was a godly and commendable form; that the king was a complete sovereign in his minority; that the PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)

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law of the six articles was justly repealed; and that the king had full authority to correct and reform what was amiss in ecclesiastical discipline, government, or doctrine. The bishop was willing to set his hand to all the articles except the first: He maintained his conduct to have been inoffensive; and declared that he would not own himself guilty of faults, which he had never committed.
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The council, finding that he had gone such lengths, were determined to prevent his full compliance by multiplying the difficulties upon him, and sending him new articles to subscribe. A list was selected of such points as they thought would be the hardest of digestion; and not content with this rigour, they also insisted on his submission, and his acknowledgment of past errors. To make this subscription more mortifying, they demanded a promise, that he would recommend and publish all these articles from the pulpit: But Gardiner, who saw, that they intended either to ruin or dishonour him, or perhaps both, determined not to gratify his enemies by any farther compliance: He still maintained his innocence; desired a fair trial, and refused to subscribe more articles, till he should recover his liberty. For this pretended offence his bishopric was put under sequestration for three months; and as he then appeared no more compliant than before, a commission was appointed to try, or, more properly speaking, to condemn him. The commissioners were, the primate, the bishops of London, Ely, and Lincoln, secretary Petre, Sir James Hales, and some other lawyers.

Gardiner objected to the legality of the commission, which was not founded on any statute or precedent, and he appealed from the commissioners to the king. His appeal was not regarded: Sentence was pronounced against him: He was deprived of his bishopric, and committed to close custody: His books and papers were seized; he was secluded from all company;

and it was not allowed him either to send or receive any letters or 1551.

messages.f

Gardiner, as well as the other prelates, had agreed to hold his office during the king’s pleasure: But the council, unwilling to make use of a concession, which had been so illegally and arbitrarily extorted, chose rather to employ some forms of justice; a resolution, which led them to commit still greater iniquities and severities. But the violence of the reformers did not stop here. Day, bishop of Chichester, Heathe of Worcester, and Voisey of Exeter, were deprived of their bishoprics, on pretence of disobedience. Even Kitchen of Landaff, Capon of Salisbury, and Samson of Coventry, though they had complied in every thing, yet not being supposed cordial in their obedience, were obliged to seek protection, by sacrificing the most considerable revenues of their see to the rapacious courtiers.
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These plunderers neglected not even smaller profits. An order was issued by council, for purging the library at Westminster of all missals, legends, and other superstitious volumes, and delivering their garniture to Sir Anthony Aucher.
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Many of these books were plaited with gold and silver, and curiously embossed; and this finery was probably the superstition that condemned them. Great havoc was likewise made on the libraries at Oxford. Books and manuscripts were destroyed without distinction: The volumes of divinity suffered for their rich binding: Those of literature were condemned as useless: Those of geometry and astronomy were supposed to contain

nothing but necromancy.i
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violences: They were in danger of losing their own revenues; and expected every moment to be swallowed up by the earl of Warwic and his associates.

Though every one besides yielded to the authority of the council, the lady Mary could never be brought to compliance; and she still continued to adhere to the mass, and to reject the new liturgy. Her behaviour was, during some time, connived at; but, at last, her two chaplains, Mallet and Berkeley, were thrown into prison;
k
and remonstrances were made to the princess herself on account of her disobedience. The council wrote her a letter, by which they endeavoured to make her change her sentiments, and to persuade her, that her religious faith was very ill grounded. They asked her, what warrant there was in Scripture for prayers in an unknown tongue, the use of images, or offering up the sacrament for the dead; and they desired her to peruse St. Austin, and the other ancient doctors, who would convince her of the errors of the Romish superstition, and prove that it was founded merely on false miracles and lying stories.
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The lady Mary remained obstinate against all this advice, and declared herself willing to endure death rather than relinquish her religion: She only feared, she said, that she was not worthy to suffer martyrdom in so holy a cause: And as for protestant books, she thanked God, that, as she never had, so she hoped never to read any of them.

Dreading farther violence, she endeavoured to make an escape to her kinsman Charles; but her design was discovered and prevented.
m
The emperor remonstrated in her behalf, and even threatened hostilities, if liberty of conscience were refused her: But though the council, sensible that the kingdom was in no condition to support, with honour, such a war, was desirous to comply; they found great difficulty to overcome the scruples of the young king. He had been educated in such a violent abhorrence of the mass and other popish rites, which he regarded as impious and idolatrous, that he should participate, he thought, in the sin, if he allowed its commission: And when at last the importunity of Cranmer, Ridley, and Poinet, prevailed somewhat over his opposition, he burst into tears; lamenting his sister’s obstinacy, and bewailing his own hard fate, that he must suffer her to continue in such an abominable mode of worship.

The great object, at this time, of antipathy among the protestant sects, was popery, or, more properly speaking, the papists. These they regarded as the common enemy, who threatened every moment to overwhelm the evangelical faith, and destroy its partizans by fire and sword: They had not as yet had leisure to attend to the other minute differences among themselves, which afterwards became the object of such furious quarrels and animosities, and threw the whole kingdom into combustion. Several Lutheran divines, who had reputation in those days, Bucer, Peter Martyr, and others, were induced to take shelter in England, from the persecutions, which the emperor exercised in Germany; and they received protection and encouragement. John A-lasco, a Polish nobleman, being expelled his country by the rigours of the catholics, settled, during some time, at Embden in East-Friezland, where he became preacher to a congregation of the reformed. Foreseeing the persecutions which ensued, he removed to England, and brought his congregation along with him. The council, who regarded them as industrious, useful people, and desired to invite over others of the same character, not only gave them the church of Augustine friars for the exercise of their religion, but granted them a charter, by which they were erected into a corporation, consisting of a superintendant and four assisting ministers. This PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)

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ecclesiastical establishment was quite independent of the church of England, and differed from it in some rites and ceremonies.
n

These differences among the protestants were matter of triumph to the catholics; who insisted, that the moment men departed from the authority of the church, they lost all criterion of truth and falshood in matters of religion, and must be carried away by every wind of doctrine. The continual variations of every sect of protestants afforded them the same topic of reasoning. The book of Common Prayer suffered in England a new revisal, and some rites and ceremonies, which had given offence, were omitted.
o

The speculative doctrines, or the metaphysics of the religion, were also reduced to forty-two articles. These were intended to obviate farther divisions and variations; and the compiling of them had been postponed till the establishment of the liturgy, which was justly regarded as a more material object to the people. The eternity of hell torments is asserted in this confession of faith; and care is also taken to inculcate, not only that no heathen, how virtuous soever, can escape an endless state of the most exquisite misery, but also that every one who presumes to maintain, that any pagan can possibly be saved, is himself exposed to the penalty of eternal perdition .
p

The theological zeal of the council, though seemingly fervent, went not so far as to make them neglect their own temporal concerns, which seem to have ever been uppermost in their thoughts: They even found leisure to attend to the public interest; nay, to the commerce of the nation, which was, at that time, very little the object of general study or attention. The trade of England had anciently been carried on altogether by foreigners, chiefly the inhabitants of the Hanse-towns, or Easterlings, as they were called; and in order to encourage these merchants to settle in England, they had been erected into a corporation by Henry III, had obtained a patent, were endowed with privileges, and were exempted from several heavy duties paid by other aliens. So ignorant were the English of commerce, that this company, usually denominated the merchants of the Stil-yard, engrossed, even down to the reign of Edward, almost the whole foreign trade of the kingdom; and as they naturally employed the shipping of their own country, the navigation of England was also in a very languishing condition. It was therefore thought proper by the council to seek pretences for annulling the privileges of this corporation, privileges which put them nearly on an equal footing with Englishmen in the duties which they paid; and as such patents were, during that age, granted by the absolute power of the king, men were the less surprized to find them revoked by the same authority. Several remonstrances were made against this innovation, by Lubec, Hamburgh, and other Hanse-towns; but the council persevered in their resolution, and the good effects of it soon became visible to the nation. The English merchants, by their very situation as natives, had advantages above foreigners in the purchase of cloth, wool, and other commodities; though these advantages had not hitherto been sufficient to rouze their industry, or engage them to become rivals to this opulent company: But when aliens’ duty was also imposed upon all foreigners indiscriminately, the English were tempted to enter into commerce; and a spirit of industry began to appear in the kingdom.
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