Read The History of England - Vols. 1 to 6 Online
Authors: David Hume
The king, now freed from all foreign wars, had leisure to give his attention to domestic affairs; particularly to the establishment of uniformity in opinion, on which he was so intent. Though he allowed an English translation of the Bible, he had hitherto been very careful to keep the mass in Latin; but he was at last prevailed on to permit, that the Litany, a considerable part of the service, should be celebrated in the vulgar tongue; and by this innovation, he excited anew the hopes of the reformers, who had been somewhat discouraged by the severe law of the six articles. One petition of the new Litany was a prayer to save us
from the tyranny of the bishop of
Rome, and from all his detestable enormities.
Cranmer employed his credit to draw Henry into farther innovations; and he took advantage of Gardiner’s absence, who was sent on an embassy to the emperor: But Gardiner, having written to the king, that, if he carried his opposition against the catholic religion to greater extremities, Charles threatened to break off all commerce with him, the success of Cranmer’s projects was for some time retarded. Cranmer lost this year the most sincere and powerful friend that he possessed at court, Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk: The queen-dowager of France, consort to Suffolk, had died some years before. This nobleman is one instance, that Henry was not altogether incapable of a cordial and steady friendship; PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)
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and Suffolk seems to have been worthy of the favour, which, from his earliest youth, he had enjoyed with his master. The king was sitting in council when informed of Suffolk’s death; and he took the opportunity both to express his own sorrow for the loss, and to celebrate the merits of the deceased. He declared, that, during the whole course of their friendship, his brother-in-law had never made one attempt to injure an adversary, and had never whispered a word to the disadvantage of any person. “Is there any of you, my lords, who can say as much?” When the king subjoined these words, he looked round in all their faces, and saw that confusion, which the consciousness of secret guilt naturally threw upon them.
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Cranmer himself, when bereaved of this support, was the more exposed to those cabals of the courtiers, which the opposition in party and religion, joined to the usual motives of interest, rendered so frequent among Henry’s ministers and counsellors.
The catholics took hold of the king by his passion for orthodoxy; and they represented to him, that, if his laudable zeal for inforcing the truth met with no better success, it was altogether owing to the primate, whose example and encouragement were, in reality, the secret supports of heresy. Henry, seeing the point at which they aimed, feigned a compliance, and desired the council to make enquiry into Cranmer’s conduct; promising that, if he were found guilty, he should be committed to prison, and brought to condign punishment. Every body now considered the primate as lost; and his old friends, from interested views, as well as the opposite party, from animosity, began to show him marks of neglect and disregard. He was obliged to stand several hours among the lacqueys at the door of the council-chamber, before he could be admitted; and when he was at last called in, he was told, that they had determined to send him to the Tower. Cranmer said, that he appealed to the king himself; and finding his appeal disregarded, he produced a ring, which Henry had given him as a pledge of favour and protection. The council were confounded; and when they came before the king, he reproved them in the severest terms, and told them, that he was well acquainted with Cranmer’s merit, as well as with their malignity and envy: But he was determined to crush all their cabals, and to teach them, by the severest discipline, since gentle methods were ineffectual, a more dutiful concurrence in promoting his service. Norfolk, who was Cranmer’s capital enemy, apologized for their conduct, and said, that their only intention was to set the primate’s innocence in a full light, by bringing him to an open trial: And Henry obliged them all to embrace him, as a sign of their cordial reconciliation. The mild temper of Cranmer rendered this agreement more sincere on his part, than is usual in
But though Henry’s favour for Cranmer rendered fruitless all Persecutions.
accusations against him, his pride and peevishness, irritated by his declining state of health, impelled him to punish with fresh severity all others, who presumed to entertain a different opinion from himself, particularly in the capital point of the real presence. Anne Ascue, a young woman of merit as well as beauty,
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who had great connexions with the chief ladies at court, and with the queen herself, was accused of dogmatizing on that delicate article; and Henry, instead of shewing indulgence to the weakness of her sex and age, was but the more provoked, that a woman should dare to oppose his theological sentiments. She was prevailed on by Bonner’s menaces to make a seeming recantation; but she qualified it with some PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)
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reserves, which did not satisfy that zealous prelate. She was thrown into prison, and she there employed herself in composing prayers and discourses, by which she fortified her resolution to endure the utmost extremity rather than relinquish her religious principles. She even wrote to the king, and told him, that, as to the Lord’s Supper, she believed as much as Christ himself had said of it, and as much of his divine doctrine as the catholic church had required: But while she could not be brought to acknowledge an assent to the king’s explications, this declaration availed her nothing, and was rather regarded as a fresh insult. The chancellor, Wriothesely, who had succeeded Audley, and who was much attached to the catholic party, was sent to examine her with regard to her patrons at court, and the great ladies who were in correspondence with her: But she maintained a laudable fidelity to her friends, and would confess nothing. She was put to the torture in the most barbarous manner, and continued still resolute in preserving secrecy. Some authors
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add an extraordinary circumstance: That the chancellor, who stood by, ordered the lieutenant of the Tower to stretch the rack still farther; but that officer refused compliance: The chancellor menaced him; but met with a new refusal: Upon which that magistrate, who was otherwise a person of merit, but intoxicated with religious zeal, put his own hand to the rack, and drew it so violently that he almost tore her body asunder. Her constancy still surpassed the barbarity of her persecutors, and they found all their efforts to be baffled. She was then condemned to be burned alive; and being so dislocated by the rack, that she could not stand, she was carried to the stake in a chair. Together with her, were conducted Nicholas Belenian, a priest, John Lassels, of the king’s household, and John Adams a tailor, who had been condemned for the same crime to the same punishment. They were all tied to the stake; and in that dreadful situation the chancellor sent to inform them, that their pardon was ready drawn and signed, and should instantly be given them, if they would merit it by a recantation. They only regarded this offer as a new ornament to their crown of martyrdom; and they saw with tranquillity the executioner kindle the flames, which consumed them. Wriothesely did not consider, that this public and noted situation interested their honour the more to maintain a steady perseverance.
Though the secrecy and fidelity of Anne Ascue saved the queen from this peril, that princess soon after fell into a new danger, from which she narrowly escaped. An ulcer had broken out in the king’s leg, which, added to his extreme corpulency and his bad habit of body, began both to threaten his life, and to render him, even more than usually, peevish and passionate. The queen attended him with the most tender and dutiful care, and endeavoured, by every soothing art and compliance, to allay those gusts of humour, to which he was become so subject. His favourite topic of conversation was theology; and Catherine, whose good sense enabled her to discourse on any subject, was frequently engaged in the argument; and being secretly inclined to the principles of the reformers, she unwarily betrayed too much of her mind on these occasions. Henry, highly provoked, that she should presume to differ from him, complained of her obstinacy to Gardiner, who gladly laid hold of the opportunity to inflame the quarrel. He praised the king’s anxious concern for preserving the orthodoxy of his subjects; and represented, that the more elevated the person was who was chastised, and the more near to his person, the greater terror would the example strike into every one, and the more glorious would the sacrifice appear to posterity.
The chancellor, being consulted, was engaged by religious zeal to second these topics; PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)
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and Henry, hurried on by his own impetuous temper, and encouraged by his counsellors, went so far as to order articles of impeachment to be drawn up against his consort. Wriothesely executed his commands; and soon after brought the paper to him to be signed: For as it was high treason to throw slander upon the queen, he might otherwise have been questioned for his temerity. By some means, this important paper fell into the hands of one of the queen’s friends, who immediately carried the intelligence to her. She was sensible of the extreme danger, to which she was exposed; but did not despair of being able, by her prudence and address, still to elude the efforts of her enemies. She paid her usual visit to the king, and found him in a more serene disposition than she had reason to expect. He entered on the subject, which was so familiar to him; and he seemed to challenge her to an argument in divinity. She gently declined the conversation, and remarked, that such profound speculations were ill suited to the natural imbecillity of her sex. Women, she said, by their first creation, were made subject to men: The male was created after the image of God; the female after the image of the male: It belonged to the husband to chuse principles for his wife; the wife’s duty was, in all cases, to adopt implicitly the sentiments of her husband: And as to herself, it was doubly her duty, being blest with a husband, who was qualified, by his judgment and learning, not only to chuse principles for his own family, but for the most wise and knowing of every nation.
“Not so! by St. Mary,” replied the king, “you are now become a doctor, Kate; and better fitted to give than receive instruction.” She meekly replied, that she was sensible how little she was intitled to these praises; that though she usually declined not any conversation, however sublime, when proposed by his majesty, she well knew, that her conceptions could serve to no other purpose than to give him a little momentary amusement; that she found the conversation apt to languish when not revived by some opposition, and she had ventured sometimes to feign a contrariety of sentiments, in order to give him the pleasure of refuting her; and that she also purposed, by this innocent artifice, to engage him into topics, whence, she had observed by frequent experience, that she reaped profit and instruction. “And is it so, sweetheart?” replied the king, “then are we perfect friends again.” He embraced her with great affection, and sent her away with assurances of his protection and kindness.
Her enemies, who knew nothing of this sudden change, prepared next day to convey her to the Tower, pursuant to the king’s warrant. Henry and Catherine were conversing amicably in the garden, when the chancellor appeared with forty of the pursuivants. The king spoke to him at some distance from her; and seemed to expostulate with him in the severest manner: She even overheard the appellations of
knave, fool,
and
beast,
which he liberally bestowed upon that magistrate, and then ordered him to depart his presence. She afterwards interposed to mitigate his anger: He said to her, “Poor soul! you know not how ill intitled this man is to your good offices.” Thenceforth, the queen, having narrowly escaped so great a danger, was careful not to offend Henry’s humour by any contradiction; and Gardiner, whose malice had endeavoured to widen the breach, could never afterwards regain his favour
But Henry’s tyrannical disposition, soured by ill health, burst out soon after to the destruction of a man, who possessed a much superior rank to that of Gardiner. The duke of Norfolk and his father, during this whole reign, and even a part of the foregoing, had been regarded as the greatest subjects in the kingdom, and had PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011)
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rendered considerable service to the crown. The duke himself had in his youth acquired reputation by naval enterprizes: He had much contributed to the victory gained over the Scots at Flouden: He had suppressed a dangerous rebellion in the North: And he had always done his part with honour in all the expeditions against France. Fortune seemed to conspire with his own industry, in raising him to the greatest elevation. From the favours heaped on him by the crown, he had acquired an immense estate: The king had successively been married to two of his nieces; and the king’s natural son, the duke of Richmond, had married his daughter: Besides his descent from the ancient family of the Moubrays, by which he was allied to the throne, he had espoused a daughter of the duke of Buckingham, who was descended by a female from Edward III.: And as he was believed still to adhere secretly to the ancient religion, he was regarded, both abroad and at home, as the head of the catholic party. But all these circumstances, in proportion as they exalted the duke, provoked the jealousy of Henry; and he foresaw danger, during his son’s minority, both to the public tranquillity, and to the new ecclesiastical system, from the attempts of so potent a subject. But nothing tended more to expose Norfolk to the king’s displeasure, than the prejudices, which Henry had entertained against the earl of Surrey, son of that nobleman.