ing even a moment's cheerfulness, on account of such trivial misfortunes. The king, who had entertained a high opinion of his virtue, received his resignation with some difficulty; and he delivered the great seal, soon after, to sir Thomas Audley.

1533.

Henry, having now gone too far to A. D. recede, privately celebrated his marriage with Anne Boleyn, whom he had previously created marchioness of Pembroke. Her early pregnancy gave the king great satisfac-. tion; and an act being passed against all appeals to Rome in causes of matrimony and divorces, Henry publicly owned his marriage, and commanded Catherine, whom he had hitherto treated with respect, to style herself hereafter princess dowager of Wales.

On intelligence of these transactions, Clement declared the nullity of Henry's second marriage, and threatened him with excommunication. Soon after, by a precipitate sentence, the marriage of Henry and Catherine was pronounced valid, and Henry actually declared to be excommunicated, if he refused to adhere to it. This violent measure effectually shut the door of reconciliation; and the parliament being entirely at the king's devotion, passed several laws which put an end to the exercise of the papal jurisdiction in England.

But the most important law passed this session, was that which regulated the succession to the crown. The marriage of the king with Catherine was declared unlawful, void, and of no effect; and the marriage with queen Anne was established and confirmed. The crown was appointed to descend to the issue of this marriage,

VOL. XX.

marriage, and failing them, to the king's heir for ever. An oath likewise was enjoined to b taken in favour of this order of succession, unde the penalty of imprisonment during the king' pleasure, and forfeiture of goods and chattels

1534.

Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and si A. D. Thomas More, were the only persons o note who scrupled the oath of succession The latter, with his usual wisdom and integrity declared he thought the parliament had ful power to settle the succession; but he refuse the oath prescribed by law, because the pream ble of that oath asserted the legality of the king' marriage with Anne, and thereby implied tha his former marriage with Catherine was unlaw ful and invalid. Cranmer the primate, and Cromwel, now secretary of state, who highly loved and esteemed More, entreated him to lay aside his scruples; and their friendly importu nity seemed to weigh more with him than all the penalties attending his refusal. He persisted however, in a mild though firm manner, to main tain his resolution; and the king, irritated against him as well as Fisher, ordered both to be in dicted upon the statute, and committed prison ers to the Tower.

The parliament being again assembled, conferred on the king the title of the only supreme head on earth of the church of England; as they had already invested him with all the real power belonging to it. In this memorable act the parliament acknowledged his inherent power "to visit, and repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, or amend all errors, heresies, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities, which fell under any spiritual authority, or ju

risdiction.'

risdiction." They also declared it treason to attempt, imagine, or speak evil against the king, queen, or his heirs, or to endeavour depriving them of their dignities or titles. They gave him a right to all the annates and tithes of benefices, which had formerly been paid to the court of Rome. They also attainted More and Fisher for misprision of treason; and they completed the union of England and Wales, by giving to that principality all the benefits of the English laws.

While Henry proceeded with so much order in changing the national religion, he was held in some inquietude by the state of affairs in Ireland. The young earl of Kildare, resenting the imprisonment of his father, had taken arms, and joined some of the Irish nobles; but being obfiged to surrender, he was carried over to Engkind with his five uncles, where all, after a short trial, were executed.

But though Henry had rejected the authority. of the see of Rome, he was by no means disposed to encourage the opinions of the reformers. Separate as he stood from the catholic church, and from the Roman pontiff, the head of it, he still valued himself on maintaining the catholic doctrine, and on guarding by fire and sword the imagined purity of his speculative principles.

Henry's ministers and courtiers were of as motley a character as his conduct; and seemed to waver, during this whole reign, between the ancient and the new religion. The queen, en gaged by interest as well as inclination, favoured the cause of the reformers. Cromwel, who was created secretary of state, and who was daily advancing in the king's confidence, had embraced

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the same views; and as he was a man of prudence and abilities, he was able, very effectually, though in a covert manner, to promote the late innovations. Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, had secretly adopted the protestant tenets; and he had gained Henry's friendship by his candour and sincerity; virtues which he possessed in an eminent degree. On the other hand, the duke of Norfolk adhered to the ancient faith; and by his high rank, as well as by his talents both for peace and war, he had great authority in the king's council: Gardiner, lately created bishop of Winchester, had inlisted himself in the same party; and the suppleness of his character, and dexterity of his conduct, had rendered him one of its principal supporters.

The king, meanwhile, who held the balance between the factions, was enabled by the courtship paid him both by protestants and catholics, to assume an unbounded authority. The ambiguity of his conduct, though it kept the cour tiers in awe, served in the main to encourage the protestant doctrine among his subjects: the writings of the Lutherans were privately im ported into England; and a translation of the Scripture, by Tindal, an Englishman who had fled from the king's displeasure to Antwerp, increased the number of converts; and was justly deemed one of the most fatal blows to the established faith,

Though several persons were brought to the stake for their adherence to the protestant doctrines, yet Henry knew his most formidable enemies were the monks, who having their im mediate dependence on the Roman pontiff, ap. prehended their own ruin to be the certain conse

quence

quence of abolishing his authority in England. Some of these were detected in a conspiracy that proved fatal to themselves. Elizabeth Barton, commonly called the "Holy maid of Kent," had been subject to hysterical fits, which threw her body into unusual convulsions; and having produced an equal disorder in her mind, made her utter strange sayings, which, as she was scarcely conscious of during the time, had soon after entirely escaped her memory. The silly people in the neighbourhood were struck with these appearances, which they imagined to be supernatural; and Richard Masters, vicar of the parish, a designing fellow, founded on them a project, from which he hoped to acquire both profit and consideration. He went to Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, then alive; and having given him an account of Elizabeth's revelations, he so far wrought on that prudent but superstitious prelate, as to receive orders from him to watch her in her trances, and carefully to note down all her future sayings. The regard paid her by a person of so high a rank, soon rendered her still more the object of attention to the neighbourhood; and it was easy for Masters to persuade them, as well as the maid herself, that her ravings were inspirations of the Holy Ghost. Knavery, as is usual, soon after succeeding to delusion, she learned to counterfeit trances; and then uttered such speeches as were dictated to her by her spiritual director.

Masters associated with him Dr. Bocking, a canon of Canterbury; and though their design at first was only to raise the credit of an image of the Virgin, finding their imposture succeeded, they extended their views, and taught their

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