authority to be supreme could not possibly have their belief changed by an Act of Parliament. So the humble monks of the Charterhouse perished in prison or on the scaffold, rather than utter words which would belie their thoughts; and a most illustrious victim, Sir Thomas More, died for the same holy cause. He went to his doom with words of cheer upon his lips as tranquilly as if he had been going on a common journey. His perfect love and trust had cast out all fear, and to him "it mattered little whether he served God here, or before His throne in heaven." Meanwhile, though most of the old rites and ɔeremonies were retained, it had been commanded that a Bible should be placed in every church, being commonly chained for security. The translation was by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.5 The former had set up a printing-press at Antwerp, and thence sent copies of the Scriptures to be circulated in England in the early part of the reign of Henry the Eighth, when it was a forbidden book; and Wolsey had seized all he could find, and had them burnt. 1 Lat'-i-mer (1470-1555), one of the first Reformers of the Church of England. He was burnt at the stake in Mary's reign. 2 Con-fis-ca'-tion, forfeiture to the State. The Six Ar'-ti-cles. From the severe prosecutions which followed these enactments, they were called the Bloody Statute. 4 The belief of the real presence of Christ in the Sacrament. 5 Tyn'-dale, one of the English Reformers. At Oxford he felt the great impulse given by the appear. HENRY THE EIGHTH: DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. BUT in the midst of these important events we must not lose sight of the king's domestic affairs. We have seen that Henry had divorced Catherine to make room for Anne Boleyn. But it was soon her turn to be supplanted; and in order to get rid of her she was accused of crimes of which she was innocent; and thus within three years after she had been crowned queen, her beautiful head was cut off in the Tower. The day following Anne's execution the king married Jane Seymour, who died the next year, shortly after the birth of her son, Edward. This Henry's fourth wife was Anne of Cleves. match was brought about by Cromwell, the king's chief adviser, who, being an earnest Reformer, wished to have a Protestant queen on the throne. Unfortunately, Anne was not good-looking, and when Henry saw her, he swore that she was a great Flanders mare"; so a pretext was found for having this marriage also declared null and void. Henry never forgave Cromwell his part in this affair; and the withdrawal of the royal favour led to his speedy downfall, there being no one, except his old friend Cranmer, who cared to raise a voice in his behalf. The nobility hated him as an upstart; and the clergy and the common people hated him because he had been the chief instrument in the suppression of the monasteries. Under these circumstances a bill of attainder was rapidly passed through both Houses, and execution speedily followed on Tower Hill. Henry's next wife was Catherine Howard, niece of the Duke of Norfolk, and for awhile he appeared perfectly happy; but she, too, was beheaded in 1542, on a charge of misconduct before her marriage. The following year, Henry married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, a discreet widow, who managed, with no little difficulty, to retain her place as queen until the king's death in 1547. One of the latest of this cruel tyrant's deeds of blood was the judicial murder of the Earl of Surrey,3 on a groundless charge of treason. It is said, that the day for the execution of the aged Duke of Norfolk, Surrey's father, was also fixed; but on that very morning the king died, and the duke was saved. 1 Crom'-well, after an adventur. ous career, entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey, won his esteem, and was faithful to him in his disgrace. He was the friend of Cranmer, and contributed in many ways to the Reformation. Having lost favour with Henry, be was executed in 1540. 2 Bill of at-tain'-der, a bill brought into parliament for attainting persons convicted of high treason, by which they forfeited life and property. 3 Earl of Eur-rey, Thomas Howard (1516-1547), an accomplished poet who wrote the earliest English blank verse. EDWARD THE SIXTH. HENRY the Eighth left three children-Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Arragon; Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn; and Edward, the son of Jane Seymour. Edward was only nine years old, but he was already remarkable for his love of knowledge, and his early wisdom and piety gave promise of a happy reign. These fair expectations, however, were never realized, for he lived but a few years, and .was too young to be king except in name. The real rulers of the country were his uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset; and Dudley,1 Earl of Warwick. At Henry's death, Somerset was at once made Protector of the realm, and governor of the young king, his nephew. Although greedy of riches, this nobleman sought the welfare of his country, and the well-being of the common people, by whom he was greatly loved and esteemed. At an early date he showed considerable skill as a soldier, by his conduct of the war with Scotland, which was undertaken to enforce a marriage between the little queen Mary and young Edward. 2 In a bloody battle at Pinkie, the Scotch were defeated with great slaughter, the ground for four miles, all the way to Edinburgh, being strewed with dead. The result aimed at, however, was not attained; for, while many men of influence in Scotland "disliked not the match, they hated the manner of wooing; so Mary was sent to France, where in due time she became the wife of Francis the Second. Both the young king and the Protector favoured the Protestant religion, and allowed Cranmer to carry on the Reformation, a task that he performed with wisdom, prudence, and moderation. Under his direction the mass was abolished, the Bible was allowed to be read freely; and on Whit-Sunday, 1549, the Book of Common Prayer was enjoined to be used for the first time in every parish church in the kingdom. Images were removed from the churches, and processions were brought to an end.. In general, the priests consented to these changes; but some of the bishops refused to do so, and were deprived of their sees, which were given to other men. Thus the learned and pious Ridley was made Bishop of London; Hooper became Bishop of Gloucester; and Coverdale, the translator of the Bible, was appointed to the see of Exeter. Good old Bishop Latimer, who was nearly eighty years of age, and had been imprisoned during several years, was now set free, and went from place to place, preaching to the people. But Somerset was not allowed to rule without considerable opposition, his own brother, Lord Seymour, being among the first to resist his authority. This nobleman had married Catherine Parr, Henry the Eighth's widow; and, by a series of treasonable acts, sought to overthrow the Protector's government. At last, his criminal designs became so notorious, that he was arrested and executed as a traitor. That Seymour had been plotting to upset the government by force is likely enough; but, ruthless as the age was, there were yet many who thought it a sad thing for one brother to send another to the block. Somerset's rule did not last much longer, his government proving a failure both at home and abroad. |
