APPENDIX.

No. I.

Cranmer's Protestation against the authority of the Pope, in English.

THE original Latin of Cranmer's protestation is in Cranmer's Register, Lambeth library, fol. 4. It is printed in Strype's Cranmer, Appendix, No. v. The following is a

translation of it:

"In the name of God, Amen. I, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury elect, do before you, persons of authority and credible witnesses, here present, say, allege, and, by this present instrument in writing, openly, publicly, and expressly protest, that, whereas before my consecration, or at the time thereof, I am obliged to take the oath, or oaths, usually taken by the archbishops of Canterbury elect to the pope, for form's sake, rather than for any essentiality or obligation there is in the thing, in order to my obtaining the same; it neither is, nor shall be, my will or intention to oblige myself by the said oath, or oaths, howsoever the same may seem to be worded, to any thing hereafter to be said, done, or attempted, by reason thereof, which shall be, or seem to be, contrary to the law of God, or contrary to our most illustrious King of England, or the commonwealth of this his kingdom of England, or to the laws or prerogatives of the same and that I do not intend to oblige myself by the said oath, or oaths, in any manner whatsoever, so as to disable myself freely to speak, consult, and consent, in all and singular the matters and things any way concerning the Reformation of Christian religion, the government of the Church of England, or the prerogatives of the crown thereof, or the good of the commonwealth; and everywhere to execute and reform those things, which I shall think fit to be reformed in the Church of England. And I do protest and profess, that I

will take the said oath, or oaths, according to this interpretation and this sense, and none other, nor in any other manner. And I do further protest, that whatsoever the oath may be which my proctor hath already taken to the pope in my name, it was not my intention or will to give him any power, by virtue whereof he might take any oath in my name contrary to, or inconsistent with, the oath by me already taken, or hereafter to be taken, to our said illustrious King of England: and, in case he hath taken any such contrary or inconsistent oath in my name, I do protest, that the same, being taken without my knowledge, and without my authority, shall be null and invalid. And these my protestations I will have to be repeated, and reiterated, in all the clauses and sentences of the said oaths: from which [protestations] I do not intend, in any manner whatsoever, by deed or word, to recede, nor will recede, but will always hold the same to be firm and binding to me."

No. II.

Record of Cranmer's proceedings at his Consecration, in making his Protest public.

THE following is the Latin record (from Lamb. MSS. No. 1136) of the proceedings of Cranmer in making his protestation public:*

"In Dei nomine, Amen. Per presentis publici instrumenti seriem cunctis appareat evidenter, et sit notum, quòd anno Domini millesimo quingentesimo tricesimo tercio, etc. mensis verò Marcii die tricesimo, in domo Capitulari Collegii sancti Stephani prothomartyris prope palacium Regium Westm. etc. constitutus personaliter reverendissimus in Christo pater dominus Thomas in Cantuar' Archiep' (ut dicebat) electus, in mea [Watkins] prothonotarii Regii ac notarii subscripti, ac venerabilium virorum magistri Johannis Tregonwell legum doctoris, et Thome Bedyll clerici à consiliis dicti domini nostri Regis, Richardi Gwent decre

* From Todd's Cranmer, vol. i. p. 65, note 1.

torum doctoris Curie Cantuar' officialis principalis et Johannis Cocks legum doctoris, etc. vicarii in spiritualibus generalis, testium in hac parte specialiter adhibitorum presentia, protestationes quasdam fecit, legit, et interposuit, ac cetera fecit, prout in quadam papiri scedula, quam tunc ibidem in manibus suis tenuit et perlegit, plenius continebatur. Cujus quidem scedule verus tenor (nil addito vel dempto) de verbo ad verbum sequitur, et talis est. In Dei nomine, Amen. Coram vobis, etc." (See the protest, in the two preceding pages.) Then Watkins adds, "Super quibus omnibus et singulis premissis dictus rev. pater me prothonotarium et notarium predictum unum vel plura publicum seu publica instrumentum sive instrumenta exinde conficere, ac testes superius nominatos testimonium perhibere rogavit et requisivit.

"Et deinde die mense et anno predictis dictus rev. dom. Thomas electus, in mea et prelibatorum ven. virorum presentia testium ad hoc etiam adhibitorum, dict' domum Capitularem exivit et ad gradus summi altaris dicti Collegii vestibus sacerdotalibus amictus ad recipiendum munus consecracionis perrexit," etc. Then follows the recital of the oath of obedience to the pope, and Watkins's account how Cranmer, as he had protested, understood it: "Manibus suis tenens, ante lecturam ejusdem scedule et juramenti in eadem contenti prestacionem, in mea et eorundem testium presentía asseruit et protestatus est, se dictam scedulam lecturum ac juramentum inibi insertum prestiturum sub premissis protestacionibus alias per eundem eodem die in dicto domo Capitulari in mea et eorundem testium presentia habitis et factis, et non aliter neque alio modo. Et incontinenter post premissa eandem scedulam perlegit, et ut in eâdem continetur juravit. Super quibus assertione et protestacione per eundem modo premisso tunc ibidem factis unum vel plura publicum seu publica exinde conficere instrumentum sive instrumenta, ac testes prescriptos testimonium perhibere etiam tunc rogavit et requisivit.

"Quibus sic peractis die mense et anno predictis, ac solenni consecracione ejusdem rev. patris finita et expedita, idem rev. pater dom. Tho. Cantuar. Archiepiscopus ante dictum summum altare pallium recepturus, in mea et dict. Joh. Tregonwell, Tho. Bedill, et Rich. Gwent, testium predict. ad hoc specialiter adhibitorum, ante prestacionem VOL. I.-A a

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juramenti infrascripti iterum protestatus est se hujusmodi sequens juramentum sub eisdem protestacionibus ut premittitur in dicto domo Capit. habitis et factis," etc. Then follows the oath as it is printed, from the Register of Cranmer, by Strype and others; and Watkins continues, 'Super qua protestacione sic ut premittitur per eundem reverendissimum tercio facta et habita, idem rev. pater me prothonotarium et notarium publicum subscriptum unum vel plura publicum seu publica instrumentum exinde conficere, ac testes predictos testimonium perhibere de et super eisdem eciam tercio rogavit et requisivit."

The substance of the above document is here subjoined in English, but relieved from the load of official phraseology:

"Be it known, that, on the 30th March, 1533, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop elect of Canterbury, appeared personally in the chapter house of St. Stephen's, Westminster; and, in the presence of me (Watkins), royal prothonotary, of John Tregonwell, doctor of laws, of Thomas Beydell, chaplain to the king, of Richard Gwent, official principal of the court of Canterbury, and of John Cocks, doctor of laws, vicar-general, made and read certain protestations, as in a certain sheet of paper which he then held in his hands and read was more fully contained. Of which paper the true tenor is, word for word, as follows:" (Here is inserted the protestation printed above, in Appendix No. I.) The record then continues,-" concerning all which premises, the reverend father required and demanded of me, the prothonotary, to make a public instrument, duly attested by the above-named witnesses."

"The reverend father then left the chapter house, and proceeded to the steps of the high altar, in the sacerdotal habits, to receive consecration: and there, before reading and taking the oath, he protested in my presence, and that of the same witnesses, that he would do so under the same protestation which he had already made in the chapter house, and in no other manner whatever. He then read the oath, and took it: and again required that an attested record might be made of what he had done."

"The consecration being finished, the archbishop, when about to receive the pall, before the high altar, in the presence of me, and the same witnesses, again protested that

he would take the oath, under the same protestations as before and desired, a third time, that a public instrument, attested by the same witnesses, might be made to that effect."

It is, therefore, incontestable, that after the protest was made in the chapter house (the place appropriated to all such public and solemn proceedings), the subsequent ceremonies were twice interrupted, for the purpose of informing the auditory that such à protest had been made, and would become a matter of public record; and that this, (according to Pole's confession) was done "in the presence of as much people as the church would hold."*

If Cranmer, in imitation of the practice of his predecessor, Warham, had retired, with his three or four witnesses, to a private room at Lambeth, and, after making his protest there, had contented himself with desiring that it might be entered on his own register, there would have been very reasonable ground for stigmatizing the whole proceeding as a juggle. As it was, the affair was, throughout, conducted in such a manner as to invite the public attention to the fact.

Had the archbishop been the dissembler and the timeserver which he is sometimes represented, it is difficult to see why he should not, like many of his colleagues, have first quietly taken the oath to the pope,—and, afterward, like them, have supported the independence of the Anglican church, and the ecclesiastical supremacy of the king. It would have been time enough for an unprincipled hypocrite to produce his salvos, and his explanations, when charged with duplicity. If Cranmer had been such a character, he might well have taken his chance of any such accusation. Had he been so accused, he might have had his Jesuitical answer ready,-namely, that he never so understood the oath as to restrain him from measures derogatory to the honour of the pope, and advantageous to that of the king. If not so accused, all would have been well. He would then have been precisely in the same condition as Warham and others, who had taken the oath to the pope, and yet had supported innovations which were fatal to his power. We may, therefore, surely contend that his conduct, on this occasion, was a pattern of probity, as compared with theirs.

* Todd's Cranmer, vol. i. p. 67, note 2.