it is unlawful to marry in other degrees, after the death of the father, son, uncle, or nephew, so it must be also a sin to marry the brother's wife after his death. And for the law in Deuteronomy of marrying the brother's wife to raise up seed to him; he thought, that by brother there is to be understood a near kinsman, according to the usual phrase of the Hebrew tongue: and by that he reconciles the two laws, which otherwise seem to differ, illustrating his exposition by the history of Ruth and Boaz. It is given out that Melancthon advised the king's taking another wife, justifying polygamy from the Old Testament; but I cannot believe it. It is true the lawfulness of polygamy was much controverted at this time. And as in all controversies newly started, many crude things are said; so some of the Helvetian and German divines seem not so fierce against it; though none of them went so far as the pope did, who did plainly offer to grant the king licence to have two wives: and it was a motion the imperialists consented to, and promoted, though upon what reason the ambassador Cassali, who wrote the account of it to the king, could not learn. The pope forbad him to write about it to the king, perhaps as whisperers enjoin silence, as the most effectual way to make a thing public. But for Melancthon's being of that mind, great evidences appear to the contrary; for there is a letter of Osiander's to him, giving him many reasons to persuade him to approve of the king's putting away the queen, and marrying another: the letter also shows he was then of opinion, that the law in Leviticus was dispensable. And after the thing was done, when the king desired the Lutheran divines to approve his second marriage, they begged his excuse in a writing, which they sent over to him; so that Melancthon, not allowing the thing when it was done, cannot be imagined to have advised polygamy beforehand. And to open at once all that may clear the sense of the Protestants in the question, when, some years after this, Fox being made bishop of Hereford, and much inclined to their doctrine, was sent over to get the divines of Germany to approve of the divorce, and the subsequent marriage of Anne Boleynt; he found that Melancthon, and others, had no mind to enter much into the dispute about it, both for fear of the emperor, and because they judged the king was led in it by dishonest affections; they also thought the laws in Leviticus were not moral, and did not oblige Christians; and since there were no rules made about the * Lord Herbert, from an orig. let. Sept. 18, 1530. degrees of marriage in the Gospel, they thought princes and states might make what laws they pleased about it: yet, after much disputing, they were induced to change their minds, but could not be brought to think that a marriage once made might be annulled; and therefore demurred upon that, as will appear by the conclusion they passed upon it, to be found at the end of this volume (Collect. No. xxxv). All this I have set together here, to give a right representation of the judgments of the several parties of Christendom about this matter. It cannot be denied, that the protestants did express great sincerity in this matter; such as became men of conscience, who were acted by true principles, and not by maxims of policy. For if these had governed them, they had struck in more compliantly with so great a prince, who was then alienated from the pope, and in very ill terms with the emperor: so that, to have gained him by a full compliance to have protected them, was the wisest thing they could do; and their being so cold in the matter of his marriage, in which he had engaged so deeply, was a thing which would very much provoke him against them. But such measures as these, though they very well became the apostolic see, yet they were unworthy of men, who designed to restore an apostolic religion. The earl of Wiltshire, with the other ambassadors when they had their audience of the pope at Bononia, refused to pay him the submission of kissing his foot, though he graciously stretched it out to them; but went to their business, and expostulated, in the king's name, and in high words; and in conclusion told the pope, that the prerogative of the crown of England was such, that their master would not suffer any citation to be made of him to any foreign court; and that therefore the king would not have his cause tried at Rome. The pope answered, that though the queen's solicitor had pressed him to proceed in the citation; both that her marriage, being further examined, might receive a new confirmation for silencing the disputes about it, and because the king had withdrawn himself from her; yet, if the king did not go further, and did not innovate in religion, the pope was willing to let the matter rest. They went next to the emperor, to justify the king's proceedings in the suit of the divorce. But he told them, he was bound in honour and justice to support his aunt, and that he would not abandon her. Cranmer offered to maintain what he had written in his book; but whether they went so far as to make their divines enter into any discourse with him about it, I do not know. This appears, that the pope, to put a compliment on the king, declared Cranmer his penitentiary in England. He, having stayed some months at Rome, after the ambassadors were gone, went into Germany: where he became acquinted with Cornelius Agrippa, a man very famous for great and curious learning, and so satisfied him in the king's cause, that he gave it out, that the thing was clear and indisputable, for which he was afterwards hardly used by the emperor, and died in prison. But when the king received the determinations and conclusions of the universities, and other learned men beyond sea, he resolved to do two things. First, to make a new attempt upon the pope, and then to publish those conclusions to the world, with the arguments upon which they were grounded. But to make his address to the pope carry more terror with it, he got a letter to be signed by a great many members of parliament to the pope. The lord Herbert saith, it was done by his parliament; but in that he had not applied his ordinary diligence: the letter bears date the 13th of July. Now, by the records of parliament, it appears, there could be no session at that time, for there was a prorogation from the 21st of June till the 1st of October that year; but the letter was sent about to the chief members for their bands; and Cavendish tells how it was brought to the cardinal, and with what cheerfulness he set his hand to it. It was subscribed by the cardinal and the archbishop of canterbury, four bishops, two dukes, two marquises, thirteen earls, two viscounts, twenty-three barons, twenty-two abbots, and eleven commoners, most of these being the king's servants. The contents of the letters weret, "That their near relation to the king made them address thus to the pope. The king's cause was now, in the opinion of the learned men and universities, both in England, France, and Italy, found just, which ought to prevail so far with the pope, that though none moved in it, and notwithstanding any contradiction, he ought to confirm their judgment; especially it touching a king and kingdom, to whom he was so much obliged. But since neither the justice of the cause, nor the king's most earnest desires, had prevailed with him, they were all forced to complain of that strange usage of their king; who both by his authority, and with his pen, had supported the apostolic see and the catholic faith, and yet was now denied justice. From which they apprehended In the Life of Wolsey. + This letter and the answer are printed by the Lord Herbert. great mischief and civil wars, which could only be prevented by the king's marrying another wife, of whom he might have issue. This could not be done till his present marriage were annulled. And if the pope would still refuse to do this, they must conclude that they were abandoned by him, and so seek for other remedies. This they most earnestly prayed him to prevent, since they did not desire to go to extremities till there was no more to be hoped for at his hands." To this the pope made answer the 27th of September. "He took notice of the vehemency of their letter, which he forgave them, imputing it to their great affection to their king: they had charged him with ingratitude and injustice; two grievous imputations. He acknowledged all they wrote of the obligations he owed to their king, which were far greater than they called them, both on the apostolic see, and himself in particular. But in the king's cause he had been so far from denying justice, that he was oft charged as having been too partial to him. He had granted a commission to two legates to hear it, rather out of favour than in rigour of law; upon which the queen had appealed : he had delayed the admitting of it as long as was possible; but when he saw it could not be any longer denied to be heard, it was brought before the consistory, where all the cardinals, with one consent, found that the appeal, and an avocation of the cause, must be granted. That since that time, the king had never desired to put it to a trial, but, on the contrary, by his ambassadors at Bononia, moved for a delay; and in that posture it was still; nor could he give sentence in a thing of such consequence, when it was not so much as sought for. For the conclusions of universities and learned men, he had seen none of them from any of the king's ambassadors. It was true, some of them had been brought to him another way; but in them there were no reasons given, but only bare conclusions, and he had also seen very important things for the other side; and therefore he must not precipitate a sentence in a cause of such high importance, till all things were fully heard and considered. He wished their king might have male issue, but he was not in God's stead to give it. And for their threatenings of seeking other remedies, they were neither agreeable to their wisdom, nor to their religion. Therefore he admonished them to abstain from such counsels; but minded them, that it is not the physician's fault if the patient will do himself hurt; he knew the king would never like such courses: and though he had a just value for their intercession, yet he considered the king much more, to whom, as he had never denied any thing that he could grant with his honour, so he was very desirous to examine this matter, and to put it to a speedy issue, and would do every thing that he could without offending God." But the king, either seeing the pope resolved to grant nothing, or apprehending that some bull might be brought into England in behalf of the queen, or the disgraced cardinal, did on the 19th of September put forth a proclamation against any "who purchased any thing from Rome, or elsewhere, contrary to his royal prerogrative and authority, or should publish or divulge any such thing; requiring them not to do it, under the pains of incurring his indignation, imprisonment, and other punishments on their persons." This was founded on the statutes of provisors and premunires. But that being done, he resolved next to publish to the world, and to his subjects, the justice of his cause therefore, some learned men were appointed to compare all that had been written on it, and out of all the transcripts of the manuscripts of fathers and councils, to gather together whatsoever did strengthen it. Several of these manuscripts I have seen; one is in Mr. Smith's library, where are the quotations of the fathers, councils, schoolmen, and canonists, written out at length. There are three other such MSS in the Cotton Library, of which, onet contains a large vindication of these authorities, from some exceptions made to them; another is an answer to the Bishop of Rochester's book for the queen's cause. A third digests the matter into twelve articles, which the reader will find in my Appendix §; and these are there enlarged on and proved. But all these, and many more, were summed up in a short book, and printed first in Latin, then in English, with the determinations of the universities before it. These are of such weight and importance, and give so great a light to the whole matter, that I hope the reader will not be ill pleased to have a short abstract of them laid before him. An Abstract of those things which were written for the Divorce. "The law of marriage was originally given by God to Adam in the state of innocence, with this declaration, that man and wife were one flesh; but being afterwards corrupted by the incestuous commixtures of those which were of kin in the nearest degrees, the primitive law was again revived by Moses . And he gives many rules and - prohibitions about the degrees of kindred and affinity, + Ibidem. || Lev. xviii, 20. *Lord Herbert. |