Henry VII died April 22, A. D. 1509, and from the lauguage of his "Will," dated March 31, 1504, we may learn the theology of the prelates in his time, and who exercised the greatest influence at court:-"We saye at this tyme, as sithence the first yeres of discresonne we have been accustomid, theis words, Dne Ihu Xe, qui me ex nihilo creasti, fecisti, redemisti, et predestinasti ad hoc quod sum, tu scis quid de me facere vis; fac de me sdm voluntatem tuam cum misericordia*. Therefore doe of mee thy will; with grace and pitie and mercy, most humbly and entirelie I beseeche thee. And thus unto the I bequeth, and into thy most mercifull handes my soule I committe. And howbeite I am a sinful creature, in sinne conceyved, in synne have lyved, knowing perfectlie that of my merites I cannot attaine to the lyfe everlastinge, but onlie by the merits of thy blessed passion, and of thy infinite mercy and grace; nathlesse, my moste mercyful Redeemer, Maker, and Saviour, I trust that, by the speciall grace and mercy of thy moste blessed mother, ever virgin, our ladie St. Mary, in whom, after thee, in this mortall lyfe hath ever byne my moste singuler truste and confidence: to whom in all my necessities I have made my continuall refuge, and by whome I have hitherto in all my adversities ever hadd my speciall comforte and reliefe; will now in my most extreame neede, of her infinite pitie, take my soule into her handes, and it presente unto her most dere sonne; whereof sweetest ladie of mercie, verie mother and virgin, wel of pitie, and surest refuge of all needfull, most humblie, moste entirelie, and most hartile, I beseech the; and for my comforte in this behalfe, I trust also to the singuler meditacon and praiers of all the holie company of heaven: that is to saye, angeles, archangeles, patriarks, profits, apostles, evangelistes, masters, confessours, and virgines; and especiallie to mine accustomed avours I call and crie, St. Michael, St. John Baptist, St. John Evangelist, St. George, St. Anthony, St. Edwarde, St. Vincent, St. Anne, St. Mary Magdalen, and St. Barbara; humblie beseechinge not onlie at the hower of

* O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast created me from nothing, who hast made, redeemed, and predestinated me to what I am, thou knowest what thou wilt do with me, deal with me in mercy according to thy will.

death soe to aide, socore, and defend me, that the anciente gostlie ennemye, nor non other evell or dampnable sperete, have no power to envade me, nor with his terribleness to anoy me," &c.

Henry charged his executors to avoid "dampnable pompe, and outrageous superfluities" in his funeral; yet the "high altar dedicated to our Lady" was to be adorned with the large image of her in his possession; with an immense profusion of gold and silver plate and jewels. And "lest his soul might not rest in peace, although every precaution certainly was taken by him that poor sinner could take, he requested 10,000 masses should be said in the monastery, London, for its repose; 1,500 in honour of the Trinity; 2,500 in honour of the five wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ; 2,500 to the five joys of our Lady; 450 to the nine orders of angels; 150 to the honour of the patriarchs; 600 to the twelve apostles; and 2,300 to the honour of all saints; and all those to be sung in a little month after his decease *."

BOOK V.

FROM THE DEATH OF HENRY VII, TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REFORMATION UNDER ELIZABETH.

CHAPTER I.

HENRY VIII, TO HIS BEING ACKNOWLEDGED supreme HEAD OF THE

CHURCH.

Crisis in England-Henry's education— Cardinal Wolsey-Richard Hunne murdered - Martyrs - Henry writes against Luther-The pope styles him "De. fender of the faith"-Tindal translates the Scriptnres-His martyrdom -Wolsey falls-Henry divorces his queen - The Clergy call him "Supreme Head of the Church"-This confirmed by Act of Parliament.

DIVINE Providence had mercifully brought the church of Christ to a momentous crisis before the death of Henry VII. By the invention of printing and the revival of learning, it produced its numerous benefits during the reign of Henry VIII. This prince succeeded his father under peculiarly auspicious

* Malcolm's Londin. Redivivum.

circumstances. He was the first sovereign for more than a century that had ruled England with an undisputed title. Every other monarch since the deposition of Richard II, had, by some, been deemed a usurper: but Henry VIII united in himself the titles of York and Lancaster; and of the former house, he was regarded as the genuine representative. On these accounts he was never disquieted by the shadow of a pretender.

Henry VIII, being the second son of Henry VII, was educated for the church, designed for archbishop of Canterbury, and probably for the throne of his Holiness. With every advantage of person, he united superior mental accomplishments, and his learning was such as might have raised him to distinction even from an inferior station. Nurtured in the choicest studies and theology of the Romish church, Henry was ardently attached to the papal superstitions. He went to mass five times a day: and even on his hunting days, he would hear mass thrice, with daily service of vespers in the queen's chamber. Under a monarch with such prejudices, scriptural religion could not be expected to flourish with his approbation; more especially as his confidental ministers were decided adherents of the papacy. Henry retained the ministers of his father; among whom Cardinal Wolsey became the principal, and "his administration," says Sir James Mackintosh, "grew to a dictatorship." Thomas Wolsey was born in 1471, and raised to an office of trust by Henry VII. In 1513, while with the king in France, he was made bishop of Tournay, and in 1514, bishop of Lincoln, and before the close of that year, archbishop of York. In 1515 he was created cardinal, and elevated to the office of lord chancellor. Favours were lavished upon Wolsey by the pope, the emperor, and the kings of France and Spain, to engage his interest in securing an alliance with England. In 1519, he was made papal legate, with power to suspend even the laws and canons of the church. For a long period Wolsey enjoyed the confidence of the king, delighting in pomp and splendour equally with his royal master.

* History of England, vol. ii, p. 119.

Henry's court, as is testified by Erasmus, then the greatest scholar in Europe, was famous for men of letters. "Both in his prodigality, and in his patronage of letters," says Southey, "the king was encouraged by his favourite Wolsey, the most munificent of men. Under his administration, the disorders of the clergy were repressed, men of worth and learning were promoted in the church, libraries were formed, and the study of Greek and Hebrew introduced at Oxford. The practices and doctrines of the church, Wolsey took as he found, and so he would have left them; but he removed its ignorance, reformed its manners, and might have enabled it yet awhile to have supported itself by the improvements which it derived from his liberality and love of learning, if a more perilous but needful reformation had not commenced, when Luther proclaimed the principles of religious liberty, which he had derived from Huss, and Huss from Wycliffe *."

Clerical disorders were repressed but very partially by Wolsey; and a law having passed to check their prevalence, the priests complained of their privileges being invaded. The abbot of Winchelcomb maintained, in a book, that all clergymen "whether of the greater or lower orders, were sacred, and exempted from all temporal punishment by the secular judge, even in criminal cases t."

Controversy arose on this subject, the clergy supporting the abbot's doctrine; when Richard Hunne, a merchant tailor of London, having refused some fees demanded by a priest at the funeral of his child, was sued: on which he commenced a suit against the priest under the statute of premunire. The clergy were incensed, and Hunne was accused as a heretic; understanding that he had Wycliffe's Bible, he was attached of heresy, and put into the Lollards' tower at Paul's, and examined upon some articles objected to him by Fitz-James, then bishop of London t." Hunne, being a citizen of note, was dreaded; and on December the 4th, 1514, was found dead in prison: but on a coroner's inquest, Dr. Horsey, chancellor to the bishop of London, his sumner, and the

*Book of the Church, vol. ii, p. 5, 6.

+ Burnet's History of the Reformation, vol i, p. 17. Ibid. p. 19.

bell-ringer, were found personally guilty of his murder; as confessed by the bishop's sumner, Charles Joseph. Still the bishop directed the body to be burnt, as of a heretic but the citizens, indignant at this outrage, procured the matter to be investigated by the parliament and by the king's council. The bishop of London and the cardinal laboured to prevent the stigma from resting upon the clergy; but "the thing," says Burnet, was so foul and so evident, that it could not

be done *."

Warrants were issued against Dr. Horsey: but the cardinal and the bishop used their influence, and succeeded to their wishes. "The king," as Burnet remarks, "not willing to irritate the clergy too much, and judging he had maintained his prerogative by bringing Horsey to the bar, ordered the attorney to allow him to plead Not guilty, when he was dismissed." However, "the clergy suffered much by this business, besides the loss of their reputation with the people, who involved them all in the guilt of Hunne's murder: nor was the city of London at all satisfied with the proceedings in the King's Bench, since there was no justice done; and all thought the king seemed more careful to maintain his prerogative than to do justice. This was the only thing," Burnet adds, "in the first eighteen years of the king's reign, that seemed to lessen the greatness of the clergy, but in all other matters he was a most faithful son of the see of Romet."

Moderate limits will not contain a detail of the ecclesiastical persecutions of those who read the Scriptures, or the various sufferings which they endured. Fox gives a long list of them, among whom he particularizes John Stilman and Thomas Man, martyrs for Christ in Smithfield, in 1518; Fitz-James, bishop of London, and Dr. Hed, the pope's vicar-general, with other prelates, being their prosecutors. Six men were in like manner sacrificed at the stake, April 4, 1519, at Coventry, for teaching their children the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Creed, in English; besides a widow named Smith, at the same time and place. Buckinghamshire was still noted for Lollards; and the ex