thunders of excommunication at Henry; but the English King heeded them not. 6. The suppression of monasteries was then resolved on by the King; and Cromwell, to whom was given complete control of the Church, with the title of Vicar-General, proceeded to the work. The step was defended at the time on the ground that the monks generally led dissolute lives, and that many of the monasteries were dens of iniquity. But Henry's motive was not hatred of evil; he rather desired to deal a terrible blow at the Papal power, and at the same time to fill his coffers with the riches of the monks. Obedient as his Parliament usually was, it could not be prevailed on to go further in the meantime than to pass a Bill suppressing those monasteries which possessed revenues of less than £200 a year. 1536 Three years later, however, the greater monasteries were abolished. In all, 3,219 religious houses were suppressed, and the King was enriched with their yearly income of £161,000. With part of this sum six new bishoprics were established; but a large portion of it went to the endowment of the new aristocracy which the King had formed from his courtiers and dependants, to take the place of the old feudal nobility. A.D. 7. The worst evils of the Feudal System still lingered in Wales. The marchers, or great lords, claiming independent rule in their own districts, were at constant war with one another; pillage and murder occurred every day. But now these lords were deprived of separate jurisdiction, 1536 and the English laws were everywhere enforced. Hence- A.D. forth Wales sent twenty-four members to the English Parliament. This was the real union of Wales with England. 8. On the 19th of May 1536, Anne Boleyn was beheaded. While the divorce remained unsettled, Henry's passion for her had been violent; when his object was gained, he grew careless, then cold. A new face—that of Jane Seymour-had caught his changeful fancy. Anne's enemies plied him with evil stories; of her friends, Cranmer alone dared to raise his voice in her favour. She was tried on a charge of unfaithfulness to her husband, and was condemned to die. She met her doom calmly, and on the scaffold prayed for the King. She left a daughter, afterwards Queen Elizabeth. The next day Jane Seymour became Queen. 9. During this reign the English Bible came into general use. A century and a half had passed since John Wyclif had translated the Scriptures into English; but the version used in England during the earlier years of Henry's reign was that of William Tyndale, a young scholar of Oxford, who published the New Testament in 1526, and portions of the Old Testament four years later. In 1536 he suffered death 1536 by fire in Flanders. In the same year Miles CoverA.D. dale of Cambridge published, with the authority of the King, the whole Bible in the English tongue. These were translations from the Latin version called the Vulgate. By a royal order a copy of Coverdale's translation was chained to a pillar or a desk in every parish church, so that all who chose might read. 10. In 1539 appeared a translation called The Great Bible, A.D. prepared under the superintendence of Cranmer. The 1539 people received these gifts with joy. Families clubbed their savings to buy a copy of the Sacred Volume, still a costly purchase; and those who could read were often seen surrounded by a crowd of listeners, earnestly hearkening to the word of life. 11. The abolition of the monasteries and the despotic rule of Cromwell caused much discontent, especially in the northern counties. North of the Trent 40,000 men rose in arms 1536 under Lord Darcy and a gentleman named Robert A.D. Aske. Their avowed object being to restore the Roman Catholic Church, they called their insurrection the Pilgrimage of Grace. Priests marched before them, while their banners bore the crucifix and the chalice. They held York and Hull for a while; but the promise of a general pardon, and the heavy rains of winter, induced them to return to their homes. A renewal of the revolt early in the next spring came to nothing; but it gave Cromwell the excuse he wanted for seizing the leaders and punishing them with relentless cruelty. Aske and Lord Darcy, several abbots, and even some ladies, were sent to the block. The executioner was busy for many months afterwards. One of the last victims was the aged Lady Salisbury,1 whose sole crime was that her son, Cardinal Pole, had published a book against the King. The Cardinal resided at Rome, and was beyond Cromwell's reach; but his friends at home were made to suffer for him. His brother, Lord Montague, and his kinsman, Lord Exeter, had been beheaded shortly before his mother. 2 1537 12. The birth of a son, baptized Edward, added to Oct. 12, Henry's triumph; and even the death of his favourite Queen, Jane Seymour, which occurred a few days after the prince was born, was almost disregarded in his unbounded joy A.D. A.D. 13. Though the King had broken with Rome, he retained many of the old doctrines. He was alarmed by the license into which the liberty he had granted had been converted. No one should have any right to believe what he denied, or to deny what he believed. He therefore embodied his opinions in the Statute of the Six Articles,3 which all were re- 1539 quired on pain of death to accept. From the persecution which followed this enactment, it was called "The Bloody Statute." While Roman Catholics were beheaded for denying the royal supremacy, Protestants were burned for denying the Six Articles. About the same time it was decided by Parliament that Royal Proclamations should have the force of regular laws. This was a measure utterly opposed to the spirit of the English Constitution. In effect, it made Henry a monarch as absolute as was ever a Czar of Russia or a Shah of Persia. 14. Henry's fourth wife was Anne of Cleves, the daughter of a Protestant prince. Cromwell, desirous of strengthening the cause of the Reformation, had proposed the union. A picture of the princess was shown to Henry; he was pleased with her face, and she was invited to England. But when he actually saw her, he called her "a great Flanders mare." She had 1 Lady Salisbury.-Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury, was daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. 2 Lord Exeter. Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter, was grandson of Edward IV., through his mother. 3 Six Articles.-These were (1) The doctrine of the real presence, or transubstantiation; (2) communion in one kind; (3) perpetual obligation of vows of chastity; (4) utility of private masses; (5) celibacy of the clergy; (6) auricular confession. neither beauty nor grace, and could speak no language except her own. After some delay the marriage took place; but the King never forgave Cromwell. The withdrawal of the King's favour was fatal to his power. There was absolutely no one to befriend or plead for him. The nobility hated him because he had defied them and excluded them from power; the clergy hated him for his spoliation of Church lands; the common people hated him for his tyranny. He was accused, by Bill of Attainder, of heresy and treason, and was brought to the block. The Duke of Norfolk succeeded him as Henry's chief minister. July 28, 1540 A.D. 15. Anne of Cleves, much to her own content, was separated from her husband, and lived in England upon a pension of £3,000 a year until her death. Catherine Howard, niece to the Duke of Norfolk, was then raised to the throne amid the rejoicings of the Roman Catholics, who hailed her elevation as an omen of good. For about a year and a half the charms of Catherine Howard delighted the King. Then she was accused of unchastity, and was beheaded on Tower Hill (1542 a.D.). With her died an accomplice of her guilt, Lady Rochford, who had been chief witness against Queen Anne Boleyn. Among the later martyrs of this reign was a heroic lady, Anne Ascue of Lincolnshire, who suffered by fire in 1546 for refusing to believe in transubstantiation at Henry's order. The permission to read the Bible, formerly unrestricted, was now confined to the upper classes, and to simple reading without exposition. 16. Wars with Scotland and France occupied Henry's later years: the details are not of much importance. His 1543 sixth wife was Catherine Parr, widow of Lord Latimer. A.D. She survived her husband, although her head was once in great danger. One day, while talking of certain religious doctrines, she opposed his ideas. In high wrath, he ordered an impeachment to be drawn up against her. A friend, happening to see the paper, told her of it; and, when next she saw the King, she spoke so humbly of the foolishness of her sex, and seemed so thankful for what he had taught her, that when the Chancellor came to arrest her, Henry bade him begone. 1547 A.D. 17. The last victim who suffered from this tyrant's wrath was Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, famed as the purifier of English poetry, and the writer of our earliest blank verse. He was a cousin of Catherine Howard, and was beheaded on suspicion of aiming at the crown. The fact of his quartering on his shield the arms of Edward the Confessor, long borne by his ancestors, was the chief circumstance advanced in support of this charge. His father, the Duke of Norfolk,1 who had been seized at the same time, lay in prison awaiting the same fate, when the news came that Henry was dead. 1547 18. For some days it was well known in the Court that the King was dying, but all feared to tell him so. At length Sir Antony Denny ventured to warn him of the coming change. He desired to see Cranmer, but was speechless when the Archbishop arrived. He died soon afterwards. A.D. 19. EDWARD VI.2_The will of the late King directed that Edward, now only in his tenth year, should come of age at eighteen. In the meantime a Council of sixteen "executors was to manage the affairs of the kingdom. The leading member of this Council was the Earl of Hertford, brother of Jane Seymour, and therefore uncle of the young King. Hertford, whose leanings were strongly Protestant, got rid as soon as possible, of the Roman Catholic members of the Council, and prevailed with his own friends to appoint him Protector, and governor of the King. Many peers were advanced to higher rank, and many new peers were created. Among the former, the Protector received the title of Duke of Somerset; and John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, afterwards Somerset's great rival, was made Earl of Warwick. Archbishop Cranmer was a leading member of the Council of Regency. 20. It was enjoined by Henry's will that a marriage should take place, if possible, between Edward and young Mary of Scotland. But Scottish feeling, influenced by France, was strong against the match; and, to force the nation into consent, Somerset led an army of 1 Duke of Norfolk. He remained a prisoner in the Tower till 1553. 18,000 over the Border. The 2 Edward VI.-Son of Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour. Reigned 6 years. |