king immediately and only, and of none other. I refer No. VII. the reader to the Appendix for this oath. The archbishop pronounceth One of the first services the archbishop did for the king was the pronouncing the sentence of divorce from his the divorce. former queen Katherine, which was done May 23×; but drew an implacable hatred upon him from the pope and emperor abroad, as well as the papists at home. And queen Mary would not forget it when she came to the crown, taking then her full revenge upon him: though in the same commission, wherein this sentence was pronounced, sat the bishops of Winton, London, Batha, Lincoln, and many other great clerks. And though he pronounced the sentence, he was but the mouth of the rest, and they were all in as deep as he. The archbishop's riage. There is a short account of archbishop Cranmer's judgjudgment ment of the unlawfulness of this marriage, digested under of the mar- twelve articles, with his own name writ by himself on the top of the paper; which bishop Burnet transcribed from Vol i. Col- a Cotton manuscript, and inserted into his history. It lect. p. 95. bears this title: Articuli ex quibus plane admodum demon stratur, Divortium inter Henricum VIII. Angliæ Regem Invictissimum, et Serenissimam Catharinam necessario esse faciendum. The twelfth and concluding article is this: "We think that the pretended matrimony of Henry, king of England, and Katherine the queen, hath been and is none at all; being prohibited both by the law of God and nature." X * [See Works of abp. Cranmer, Park. Soc. ed. vol. ii. letter xiii. p. 243. also above, p. 37.] y [Stephen Gardiner.] z [John Stokesley.] a [John Clerk.] b [John Longland.] c [Burnet's Hist. of Reformat., vol. i. pt. ii. book ii. pp. 151, 2. ed. Oxon. 1829.] CHAPTER V. THE ARCHBISHOP VISITS HIS DIOCESE. forbids MSS. d AFTER his sentence against queen Katherine, and con- Ann.1533. firmation of queen Ann's marriage, one thing he did, The archwhich looked as if he was not like to prove any great bishop friend to a reformation: for he forbad all preaching preaching. throughout his diocese, and warned the rest of the bishops throughout England to do the same, as I have it from an Foxii old journal made by a monk of St. Augustine's, Canterbury. But this was only for a time, till orders for preachers and the beads could be finishede: it being thought convenient that preaching at this juncture should be restrained, because now the matter of sermons chiefly consisted in tossing about the king's marriage with the lady Ann, and condemning so publicly and boldly his doings against queen Katherine; the priests being set on work by her friends and faction. In October or November the archbishop went down to Visits his Canterbury, in order to a visitation. diocese. Monks' The third day of December the archbishop received the August. pontifical seat in the monastery of the holy Trinityf. journal. And soon after, viz. the ninth of the same month, began to go on visitation throughout all his diocese, that he d ["The same year (i. e. 1533.) Mr. Thomas Cranmer was made archbishop of Canterbury, who did forbid that the word of God should be preached throughout his diocese, and warned the rest of the bishops throughout England to do the same." Harl. MSS. 419. Plut. lxv. E. fol. 112. e [The order taken for preach- f [Harl. MSS. 419. Plut. lxv. The delu sion of a nun in Kent. might have finished that work before the sessions of the parliament. This same year a remarkable delusion was discovered 22 in the archbishop's diocese, and even under his nose, the scene being chiefly laid in Canterbury, by some belonging to the cathedral church. For a certain nun, called Elizabeth Barton, by marvellous hypocrisy, mocked all Kent; and almost all England: for which cause she was put in prison in London; where she confessed many horrible things against the king and the queen. This forenamed Elizabeth had many adherents, but especially Dr. Bocking, monk of Christ's Church in Canterbury, who was her chief author in her dissimulation. All of them at the last were accused of treason, heresy, and conspiracy; and so stood in penance before the open cross of St. Paul's in London; and in Canterbury, in the churchyard of the monastery of the holy Trinity, at the sermon time, they stood over the high seat: where of the preacher they were grievously rebuked for their horrible fact. And in April the next year, she, with Bocking and Dering, another monk of Canterbury, were led out of prison through all the streets of London unto Tyburn, where she and these monks, and also two brothers of the Minors, suffered with the rest upon the gallows for treason and heresy 5. The archbishop ap the pope. In the month of November the archbishop sent a letter peals from to Boner the king's ambassador at Marseilles, together with his appeal from the pope, to be there signified, as was hinted before. The reason whereof was this upon the king's divorce from queen Katherine, the pope had 8 [For Cranmer's own narrative of this matter, see Appendix, wherein a letter to archdeacon Haw kins is inserted from the works of abp. Cranmer, Park. Soc. ed. vol. ii. letter lxxxiii. pp. 272-274.] by a public instrument declared the divorce to be null and void, and threatened him with excommunication, unless he would revoke all that he had done. Gardiner bishop of Winton about this time, and upon this occasion, was sent ambassador to the French king; and Boner soon after followed him to Marseilles, where Gardiner, at the interview between the French king and the pope, now was for the king and the council apprehended some mischief to be hatching against the kingdom by the pope; who was now inciting the emperor and other princes to make war upon us. And indeed he had vaunted, as the lord Herbert declares, that he would set all Christendom against the kingh. And the emperor in discourse had averred, that by the means of Scotland he would avenge his aunt's quarrel. The archbishop in this juncture had secret intimation of a design to excommunicate him, and interdict his church. Whereupon, as the king by Boner, November 7, had made his appeal from the pope to the next general council lawfully called; so, by the king and council's advice, the archbishop soon after did the same; sending his appeal with his proxy, under his seal, to Boner, desiring him, together with Gardiner, to consult together, and to intimate his appeal in the best manner they could think expedient for him. And this letter he wrote by the king's own commandment. It was not the hand of the archbishop, nor of his secretary: so I suppose it was drawn up by some of his own lawyers; and is as followeth : "In my right hearty manner I commend me to you. The archbishop's So it is, as you know right well, I stand in dread, lest our letter to holy father the pope do intend to make some manner of Boner. h [Lord Herbert's Life of Henry VIII. p. 385. ed. Lond. 1672.] i [Cotton MSS. Cleop. E. vi. fol. 234. b. British Museum. Original.] Cleopat. E. 6i. prejudicial process against me and my church. And therefore, having probable conjectures thereof, I have 23 appealed from his holiness to the general council, accordingly as his highnessk and his council have advised me to do. Which my appeal1 and procuracy under my seal I do send unto you herewithm; desiring you right heartily to have me commended to my lord of Winchester", and with his advice and counsel to intimate the said provocation after the best manner that his lordship and you shall think most expedient for me. I am the bolder thus to write unto you, because the king's highness commandeth me this to do, as you shall, I trust, further perceive by his grace's letter: nothing doubting in your goodness, but at this mine own desire you will be contented to take this pains, though his highness shall percase forget to write unto you therein. Which your pains and kindness, if it shall lie in me in time to come to recompense, [I have provoked. Cotton MSS.] k [According as the king's highness. Cotton MSS.] 1 [My provocation &c. a procuracy. Cotton MSS.] m [Burnet (Hist. of Reformat. vol. iii. p. 160. ed. Oxon. 1829), says that Cranmer sent the instrument with a warrant to execute it to Crumwell, that it might be sent to the bishop of Winchester, to get it to be intimated to the pope in the best manner that could be thought of; but he gives no authority for his assertion. It is not probable that the archbishop's appeal was ever presented, since Boner, in a lengthy letter to Henry VIII., dated Nov. 13th, nine days previously to that of the archbishop above, states that the pope had gone towards Rome from Marseilles, Nov. 12th, and that he was leaving for Lyons, Nov. 13th, the day on which his letter is dated, probably with a view to his return home. See Boner's letter to the king, in Burnet's Hist. of Reformat. vol. iii. part 11. App. book 11. no. 23. pp. 49-62.] n [Stephen Gardiner, who at this time was at Marseilles as ambassador from Henry VIII. to Francis I.] ["Commanded me thus to do, as ye shall I trust further perceive by his grace's letters." Cotton MSS.] |