III. The clergy also offered the King fifty thousand crowns BOOK a year towards a war with England; and possessed all the nation with very ill thoughts of the court and 1542. clergy there. But the lords that were now prisoners (chiefly the Earl of Cassillis, who was best instructed by his religious host) conceived a better opinion of the Reformation, and carried home with them those seeds of knowledge, which produced afterwards a very fruitful harvest. On all these things I have dwelt the longer, that it might appear, whence the inclination of the Scottish nobility to reform did take its first rise; though there was afterwards in the methods, by which it was advanced, too great a mixture of the heat and forwardness that is natural to the genius of that country. When the news of the King of Scotland's death, and of the young Queen's birth, that succeeded him, came to the court, the King thought this a very favourable conjuncture to unite and settle the whole island. But that unfortunate Princess was not born under such happy stars, though she was mother to him, in whom this long-desired union took effect. The lords that were then prisoners began the motion; and that being told the King, he called for them to HamptonCourt, in the Christmas-time, and said, Now an opportunity was put in their hands, to quiet all troubles that had been between these two crowns, by the marriage of the Prince of Wales to their young Queen; in which he desired their assistance, and gave them their liberty, they leaving hostages for the performance of what was then offered by them. They all promised their concurrence, and seemed much taken with the greatness of the English court, which the King always kept up, not without affectation; they also said, they thought God was better served there than in their own country. So on new-year's-day they took their journey towards Scotland; but the sequel of this will appear afterwards. BOOK liament. A parliament was summoned to meet the two and twentieth of January, which sate till the twelfth of 1543. May. So the session begun in the thirty-fourth, and A new par ended in the thirty-fifth year of the King's reign; from whence it is called in the Records, the parliament of the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth year. Here both the temporality and spirituality gave great subsidies to the King of six shillings in the pound, to be paid in three years. They set forth in their preambles, "the expence the King had been at, in his war with Scotland, and for his other great and urgent occasions :" by which was meant, a war with France, which broke out the following summer. But, with these, there passed other two acts of great importance to religion. The title of the first was, An act for the advancement of true religion, and abolishment of the contrary. The King was now entered upon a war; so it seemed reasonable to qualify the severity of the late acts about Cranmer religion, that all might be quiet at home. Cranmer a reforma- moved it first, and was faintly seconded by the Bishops. tion. of Worcester, Hereford, Chichester, and Rochester; promotes who had promised to stick to him in it. At this time a league was almost finished between the King and the Emperor, which did again raise the spirits of the popish faction, They had been much cast down ever since the last Queen's fall. But now that the Emperor was like to have an interest in English councils, they took heart again; and Gardiner opposed the Archbishop's motion with all possible earnestness, And that whole faction fell so upon it, that the timorous bishops not only forsook Cranmer, but Heath of Rochester, and Skip of Hereford, were very earnest with him to stay for a better opportunity: but he generously preferred his conscience to those arts of policy, which he would never practise; and said, he would push it as far as it would go. So he plied the King, and the other lords, so ear III. nestly, that at length the bill passed, though clogged BOOK with many provisos, and very much short of what he had designed. 66 1543. about it. The preamble set forth, "That, there being many An act "dissensions about religion, the Scriptures, which the King had put into the hands of his people, were "abused by many seditious persons, in their sermons, books, plays, rhymes, and songs; from which great "inconveniences were like to arise. For preventing "these, it was necessary to establish a form of sincere "doctrine, conformable to that which was taught by "the Apostles. Therefore all the books of the Old "and New Testament, of Tindal's translation, (which " is called crafty, false, and untrue,) are forbidden to be kept or used in the King's dominions; with all other "books, contrary to the doctrine set forth in the year "1540; with punishments, and fines, and imprison"ment upon such as sold or kept such books. But 66 Bibles, that were not of Tindal's translation, were "still to be kept, only the annotations, or preambles, "that were in any of them, were to be cut out, or "dashed; and the King's proclamations and injunc"tions, with the Primers, and other books printed in 66 English, for the instruction of the people before the year 1540, were still to be in force; and among "these, Chaucer's books are by name mentioned. No "books were to be printed about religion, without "the King's allowance. In no plays nor interludes they might make any expositions of Scripture; but only reproach vice, and set forth virtue in them, "None might read the Scripture in an open assembly, "or expound it, but he who was licensed by the King "or his ordinary; with a proviso, that the chancellors "in parliament, judges, recorders, or any others, who "were wont in public occasions to make speeches, and "commonly took a place of Scripture for their text, III. 1543. BOOK" might still do as they had done formerly. Every "nobleman or gentleman might cause the Bible to be "read to him, in or about his house, quietly and without "disturbance. Every merchant, that was a householder, "might also read it: but no woman, nor artificers, "apprentices, journeymen, serving-men, under the degree of yeomen; nor no husbandmen, or labourers, might read it. Yet every noble woman, or gentlewo66 man, might read it for herself; and so might all other "persons, but those who were excepted. Every person might read, and teach in their houses, the book set "out in the year 1540, with the Psalter, Primer, Pa"ternoster, the Ave, and the Creed, in English. All "spiritual persons, who preached or taught contrary "to the doctrine set forth in that book, were to be ad"mitted, for the first conviction, to renounce their er"rors; for the second, to abjure, and carry a fagot; "which if they refused to do, or fell into a third of"fence, they were to be burnt. But the laity, for the "third offence, were only to forfeit their goods and And chattels, and be liable to perpetual imprisonment. "But these offences were to be objected to them "within a year after they were committed. "whereas before, the party accused was not allowed to "bring witnesses for his own purgation; this was now granted him. But to this a severe proviso was "added, which seemed to overthrow all the former fa"your; that the act of the six Articles was still in the same force in which it was before the making of this "act. Yet that was moderated by the next proviso; "that the King might, at any time hereafter, at his pleasure, change this act, or any provision in it." 66 This last proviso was made stronger by another act, made for the due execution of proclamations, in pursuance of a former act to the same effect, of which mention was made in the thirty-first year of the King's reign. By that former act there was so great a number BOOK of officers of state, and of the King's household, of judges,_III. and other persons, to sit on these trials, that those not 1543. being easily brought together, the act had never taken any effect. Therefore it was now appointed, that nine counsellors should be a sufficient number for these trials. At the passing of that act, the Lord Montjoy protested against it, which is the single instance of a protestation against any public bill through this King's whole reign. The act about religion freed the subjects from the fears under which they were before. For now the laity were delivered from the hazard of burning; and the spirituality were not in danger, but upon the third conviction. They might also bring their own witnesses, which was a great favour to them. Yet that high power which was given the King, of altering the act, or any parts of it, made, that they were not absolutely secured from their fears, of which some instances afterwards appeared. But as this act was some mitigation of former severities, so it brought the reformers to depend wholly on the King's mercy for their lives; since he could now chain up, or let loose, the act of the six Articles upon them at his pleasure. between Soon after the end of this parliament, a league was A league sworn between the King and the Emperor, on Trinity-the King Sunday, offensive and defensive, for England, Calais, and the and the places about it, and for all Flanders; with many other particulars, to be found in the treaty set down at large by the Lord Herbert. There is no mention made of the legitimation of the Lady Mary; but it seems it was promised, that she should be declared next in the succession of the crown to Prince Edward, if the King had no other children; which was done in the next parliament, without any reflections on her birth: and the Emperor was content to accept of that, there being |