Chapter IX: Letter XIII

Since your last letters, mine own darling, Walter Welsh, Master Brown, John Case, John Cork the pothecary be fallen of the sweat in this house, and, thanked be God, all well recovered, so that as yet the plague is not fully ceased here; but I trust shortly it shall. By the mercy of God the rest of us yet be well, and I trust shall pass it, either not to have it, or at the least as easily as the rest have done.... As touching your abode at Herne, do therein as best shall like you; for you know best what air does best with you; but I would it were come thereto (if it pleased God), that neither of us need care for that; for I ensure you I think it long. Suche is fallen sick of the sweat; and therefore I send you this bearer, because I think you long to hear tidings from us, as we do likewise from you. Written with the hand _de votre seul_.

H. Rex.

QUEEN ANN BOLEYN TO KING HENRY, FROM THE TOWER, MAY 6 (1536).

+Source.+--From Appendix to Burnet's _History of the Reformation_, Vol. I., p. 154.

SIR,

Your Grace's displeasure, and my imprisonment, are things so strange unto me, as what to write, or what to excuse I am altogether ignorant. Whereas you send unto me (willing me to confess in truth, and so to obtain your favour), by such a one whom you know to be my ancient professed enemy; I no sooner receive this message, than I rightly conceive your meaning: and, if as you say, confessing a truth indeed may procure my safety, I shall with all willingness and duty perform your command. But let not your Grace ever imgaine that your poor wife will ever be brought to acknowledge a fault, when not so much as a thought ever proceeded: and to speak a truth, never Prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne Bullen; with which name and place I could willingly have contented myself, if God and your Grace's pleasure had so been pleased. Neither did I at any time forget myself in my Exaltation, or received queenship, but that I always looked for such an alteration as now I find, the ground of my preferment being on no surer foundation than your Grace's fancy, the least alteration whereof, I knew, was fit and sufficient to draw that fancy to some other subject.

You have chosen me from a low estate to be your Queen and Companion, far beyond my desert or my desire: if then you find me worthy of such Honour, Good your Grace, let not any light fancy, or bad counsel of my enemies, withdraw your princely favour from me; neither let that stain, that unworthy stain of a disloyal heart towards your Good Grace, ere cast so foul a blot on your most dutiful wife, and the infant princess your daughter. Try me, good king, but let me have a lawful trial; and let not my sworn enemies sit as my accusers and judge, yea, let me receive an open trial, for my truths shall fear no open shames; then shall you see, either my innocency cleared, your suspicion and conscience satisfied, the ignominy and slander of the world stopped, or my guilt openly declared: so that whatsoever God or you may determine of me, your Grace is at liberty, both before God and Man, not only to execute worthy punishment on me as an unfaithful wife, but to follow your affection, already settled on that party for whose sake I now am as I am, whose name I could some while since have pointed to, your grace not being ignorant of my suspicion therein. But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my death, but an infamous slander must bring you the enjoying of a desired Happiness: then I desire of God, that he will pardon your great sin herein, and likewise my enemies, the instruments thereof; and that he will not call you to a strict account for your unprincely and cruel usage of me, at his general judgement-seat, where both you and myself must shortly appear, and in whose just judgement, I doubt not, whatsoever the world may think of me, my innocency shall be openly known, and sufficiently cleared.

My last and only request shall be, that myself may bear the burden of your Grace's displeasure and it may not touch the innocent souls of those poor Gentlemen, who, as I understand, are in strait imprisonment for my sake. If ever I have found favour in your sight, if ever the name of Ann Bullen hath been pleasing in your ears, let me obtain this last request, I will so leave to trouble your Grace any further, with my earnest prayers to the Trinity, to have your Grace in his good keeping, and to direct you in all your actions.

Your most loyal and faithful wife, ANN BULLEN.

From my doleful prison in the Tower, The sixth of May, 1536.

ACT FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE LESSER MONASTERIES (1536).

+Source.+--27 Henry VII. cap. 28. (_Statutes of the Realm_, III. 575.)

Forasmuch as manifest sin, vicious, carnal and abominable living is daily used and committed among the little and small abbeys, priories, and other religious houses of monks, canons, and nuns, where the congregation of such religious persons is under the number of twelve persons, whereby the governors of such religious houses, and their convent, spoil, destroy, consume, and utterly waste, as well their churches, monasteries, priories, principal houses, farms, granges, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, as the ornaments of their churches, and their goods and chattels, to the high displeasure of Almighty God, slander of good religion, and to the great infamy of the King's highness and the realm, if redress should not be had thereof. And albeit that many continual visitations hath been heretofore had, by the space of two hundred years and more, for an honest and charitable reformation of such unthrifty carnal and abominable living, yet nevertheless little or none amendment hath been hitherto had, but their vicious living shamelessly increases and augments, and by a cursed custom so rooted and infested, that a great multitude of the religious persons in such small houses do rather choose to rove abroad in apostasy, than to conform themselves to the observation of good religion, so that without such small houses be utterly suppressed, and the religious persons therein committed to great and honourable monasteries of religion in this realm, where they may be compelled to live religiously for reformation of their lives, there cannot else be no reformation in this behalf:

In consideration whereof the king's most royal majesty, being supreme head on earth, under God, of the Church of England, daily finding and devising the increase, advancement and exaltation of true doctrine and virtue in the said Church, to the glory and honour of God, and the total extirping and destruction of vice and sin, having knowledge that the premises be true, as well by the accounts of his late visitations, as by sundry credible informations, considering also that divers and great solemn monasteries of this realm, wherein (thanks be to God) religion is right well kept and observed, be destitute of such full numbers of religious persons, as they ought and may keep--has thought good that a plain declaration should be made of the premises, as well to the Lords spiritual and temporal, as to other his loving subjects, the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled: whereupon the said Lords and Commons, by a great deliberation, finally be resolved, that it is, and shall be much more to the pleasure of Almighty God, and for the honour of this his realm, that the possessions of such small religious houses; now being spent, spoiled and wasted for increase and maintenance of sin, should be used and converted to better uses, and the unthrifty religious persons, so spending the same, to be compelled to reform their lives: and thereupon most humbly desire the king's highness, that it may be enacted by authority of this present Parliament, that his majesty shall have and enjoy to him and his heirs for ever, all and singular such monasteries, priories, and other religious houses of monks, canons and nuns, of what kinds of diversities of habits, rules, or orders soever they be called or named, which have not in lands, tenements, rents, tithes, portions, and other hereditaments above the clear yearly value of two hundred pounds.

SUPPRESSION OF THE MONASTERY OF TEWKESBURY (1536).

+Source.+--Burnet's _History of the Reformation_. 1st Part; _Collection of Records_, Book III. 3, Sec. V. "Copied from a book that is in the Augmentation Office," 1536.

COUNTY: GLOUCESTER.

{Surrender to the use of the King's Majesty and of
{his Heirs and Successors for ever made bearing date
Tewkesbury {under the Covent-Seal[47] of the same late monastery,
late {the 9th day of January, in the 31st year of the reign
Monastery. {of our most dread victorious Sovereign Lord, King Henry
{the Eighth: and the said day and year clearly dissolved
{and suppressed.

The clear yearly {As well Spiritual as Temporal, over and value of all the {besides £136 8s. 1d. in Fees, Annuities and said possessions {Custodies, granted to divers persons by Letters belonging to the {Patents under the Covent-Seal of the said late Monastery {Monastery for term of their lives £1595 15 6

{ £ s. d.
{John Wich, late Abbot there 266 13 04
{John Beley, late Prior there 16 00 00
Pensions {J. Bromsegrove, late Prior of Delehurst 13 06 08
assigned to the {Robert Circester, Prior of St. James 13 06 08
late Religious {Will Didcote, Prior of Cranborne 10 00 00
dispatched: {Robert Cheltenham, B.D. 10 00 00
that is to say, {Two Monks, £8 a piece 16 00 00
to {One Monk 07 00 00
{27 Monks £6 13s. 6d. each 180 00 00
{ £ s. d.
{ And so remains clear 1044 08 10

{ {Remain in the Treasury there under
Records {Belonging to {the custody of John Whittington,
and {the late {Kt. the keys thereof being delivered
Evidences {Monastery {to Richard Pauler, Receiver.

{The Lodging called the Newark, }
{leading from the Gate to the late }
{Abbots lodging, with Buttery, }
{Pantry, Cellar, Kitchen, Larder }
{and Pastry thereto adjoining. The }
{late Abbots Lodging, the Hostery,[48]}
Houses and {the Great Gate entering into the } Committed
Buildings {Court, with the lodging over the } to the custody
assigned to {same; the Abbots Stable, Bakehouse, } of John
remain {Brewhouse and Slaughterhouse, } Whittington,
undefaced. {the Almry, Barn, Dairyhouse, } Knight.
{the great barn next the }
{Avon, the Maltinghouse, with the }
{garners in the same, the Oxhouse }
{in the Barton,[49] the Barton Gate, }
{and the lodging over the same. }

{The Church, with Chappels, Cloisters,}
{Chapterhouse, Misericord, the }
{two Dormitories, Infirmary with }
{Chappels and Lodgings within the }
{same; the workhouse, with another }
Deemed {House adjoining to the same, } Committed
to be {the Convent Kitchen, the Library, } as
superfluous. {the old Hostery, the chamberer's } abovesaid.
{Lodging, the new Hall, the old }
{Parlour adjoining to the Abbots }
{lodging; the Cellarers Lodging, the }
{Poultry-House, the Garden, the }
{Almary, and all other Houses and }
{lodgings not above reserved. }

{The Quire, Aisles, and Chapels }
Leads[52] {annext the Cloister Chapterhouse, }
remaining {Frater,[50] St. Michaels Chappel, } 180 Foder.[51]
upon {Halls, Fermory, and Gate-house, }
{esteemed to }

Bells {In the steeple there are eight poize,} 14600
remaining {by estimation } weight.

Jewels { }
reserved to {Mitres garnished with gilt, rugged }
the use of {Pearls, and counterfeit stones. }
the King's { }
Majesty. { }

Plate of silver {Silver gilt 329 ounces.}
reserved to {Silver parcel gilt 605 ounces.} 1431.
the same use. {Silver white 497 ounces.}

{One cope of Silver Tissue, with one }
Ornaments {Chasuble, and one Tunicle of the }
reserved to {same; one cope of gold Tissue, }
the said use. {with one Cope and two Tunicles of }
{the same. }

Sum of all the { }
Ornaments, {Sold by the said Commissioners, as }
Goods, and {in a Particular Book of Sales } £ s. d.
Chattels {thereof made ready to be shewed, } 194 08 0
belonging to {as more at large may appear. }
the said { }
Monastery. { }

{To 38 late Religious Persons }
{of the said late Monastery } £ s. d.
{ to the late {of the King's mat. (Majesty) } 80 13 4
Payments {Religious and {reward }
{ Servants { }
{ despatched. {To an 144 late Servants of } £ s. d.
{the said late Monastery, for } 75 10 0
{their wages and liveries. }

{To divers Persons for }
{Victuals and Necessaries of }
{them had to the use of the }
{said Monastery, with £10 paid}
{ For debts {to the late Abbot there, for }
Payments { owing by the {and in full payment of } £ s. d.
{ said late {£124 5s. 4d. by him to be } 18 12 0
{ Monastery. {paid to certain Creditors of }
{the said late Monastery, by }
{Covenants made with the }
{aforesaid Commissioners. }

And so remains clear £19 12 08

Then follows a list of some small Debts owing to and by the said Monastery.

Then follows a list of the Livings in their Gift.

County of Glouc. Four Parsonages and 10 vicarages.

County of Worcest. Two Parsonages and 2 vicarages.

County of War. Two Parsonages.

County of Will. (_sic_),} Five Parsonages and 1 vicarage.
Bristol. }

County of Wilts. 00 2 vicarages.

County of Oxon. One Parsonage and 2 vicarages.

County of Dorset. Four Parsonages and 2 vicarages.

County of Sommers. Three Parsonages.

County of Devon. 00 1 vicarage.

County of Cornwall. 00 2 vicarages.

County of Glamorgan } 00 5 vicarages.
and Morgan. }

In all, 21 Parsonages and 27 vicarages.

[Footnote 47: Covent = convent; cf. Covent Garden.]

[Footnote 48: = Hostelry, _i.e._ the Guest House.]

[Footnote 49: = Farmyard.]

[Footnote 50: = The Refectory.]

[Footnote 51: = A measure of lead, etc., about one ton.]

[Footnote 52: _i.e._ the lead with which the roofing was covered.]

THE INSURRECTION IN LINCOLNSHIRE (1537).

+Source.+--Edward Hall's _Life of Henry VIII_. (1547).

In the time of this Parliament, the bishops and all the clergy of the realm held a solemn convocation at Paules Church in London, where after much disputation and debating of matters they published a book of religion entitled, "Articles devised by the King's Highness, etc." In this book is specially mentioned but three sacraments, with the which the Lincolnshiremen (I mean their ignorant priests) were offended, and of that occasion deproved the king's doings. And this was the first beginning, as after ye shall plainly hear.

After this book, which passed by the king's authority with the consent of the Clergy, was published, the which contained certain articles of religion necessary to be taught unto the people, and among other it specially treated of no more than three sacraments, and beside this book, certain injunction were that time given whereby a number of their holidays were abrogated and especially such as fell in the harvest time, the keeping of which was much to the hindrance of the gathering in of corn, hay, fruit, and other such like necessary and profitable commodities.

These articles thus ordained and to the people delivered. The inhabitants of the north parts being at that time very ignorant and rude, knowing not what true religion meant, but altogether noseled in superstition and popery, and also by the means of certain abbotts and ignorant priests, not a little stirred and provoked for the suppression of certain monasteries, and for the extirpation and abolishment of the bishop of Rome, now taking an occasion at this book, saying "See, friends, now is taken from us four of the vii Sacraments and shortly ye shall lose the other three also, and thus the faith of the Holy Church shall utterly be suppressed and abolished": and therefore they suddenly spread abroad and raised great and shameful slanders only to move the people to sedition and rebellion, and to kindle in the people hateful and malicious minds against the King's Majesty and the Magistrates of the realm, saying, Let no folly bind ourselves to the maintenance of religion, and rather than to suffer it thus to decay, even to die in the field. And amongst them also were too many even of the nobility, that did not a little to provoke and stir up the ignorant and rude people the more stiffly to rebel and stand therein, faithfully promising them, both aid and succour against the King and their own native country (like foolish and wicked men) thinking by their so doing to have done God high pleasure and service. There were also certain other malicious and busy persons who added oil (as the adage says) to the furnace. These made open clamours in every place where opportunity served, that Christian religion should be utterly violate, despised and set aside, and that rather than so it behoved and was the parts of every true and Christian man to defend it even to the death, and not to admit and suffer by any means the faith (in which their forefathers so long and so many thousand years have lived and continued) now to be subverted and destroyed. Among these were many priests which deceived also the people with many false fables and venomous lies and imaginations (which could never enter nor take place in the heart of any good man, nor faithful subject), saying that all manner of prayer and fasting and all God's service should utterly be destroyed and taken away, that no man should marry a wife or be partaker of the Sacraments, or at length should eat a piece of roast meat, but he should for the same first pay unto the king a certain sum of money, and that they should be brought in more bondage and in a more wicked manner of life, than the Saracens be under the great Turk.... And at the last they in writing made certain petitions to the King's Majesty, professing that they never intended hurt toward his royal person. The King's Majesty received those petitions and made answer to them as followeth:

First, we begin and make answer to the four and six articles, because upon them dependeth much of the rest. Concerning choosing of councillors, I never have read, heard, or known, that princes' councillors and prelates should be appointed by rude and ignorant common people, nor that they were persons meet, nor of liability to discern and choose meet and sufficient councillors for a prince: how presumptuous then are ye the rude commons of one shire, and that one of the most brute and beastly of the whole realm, and of the least experience, to find fault with your Prince for the electing of his councillors and prelates, and to take upon you contrary to God's law and man's law to rule your prince, whom ye are bound by all laws to obey and serve with both your lives, lands, and all goods, and for no worldly cause to withstand the contrary whereof you like traitors and rebels have attempted, and not like true subjects as ye name yourselves.

As to the suppression of religious houses, monasteries, we will that ye and all our subjects should well know that this is granted us by all the nobles spiritual and temporal of this our Realm, and by all the Commons in the same by Act of Parliament, and not set forth by any councillor or councillors upon their mere will and phantasy, as ye full falsely would persuade our realm to believe.

And when ye allege that the service of God is much diminished, the truth thereof is contrary, for there be no houses suppressed where God was well served, but where most vice, mischief, and abomination of living was used, and that doth well appear by their own confessions subscribed with their own hands in the time of their visitations, and yet we suffered a great many of them (more than we needed by the Act) to stand, wherein if they amend not their living, or fear, we have more to answer for than for the suppression of all the rest. And as for the hospitality for the relief of the poor, we wonder that ye be not ashamed to affirm that they have been a great relief of poor people, when a great many or the most part hath not past four or five religious persons in them, and divers but one which spent the substance of the goods of their houses in nourishing of vice and abominable living. Now what unkindness and unnaturality may be impute to you and all our subjects that be of that mind, that had liefer such an unthrifty sort of vicious persons, should enjoy such possessions, profits and enrolments, as grow of the said houses, to the maintenance of their unthrifty life, than he your natural prince, Sovereign lord and king, which doth and hath spent more in your defences of your own, than six times they be worth. As touching the act of uses, we marvel what madness is in your brain, or upon what ground ye would take authority upon you to cause us to break those laws and statutes by which all the noble knights and gentlemen of this realm (whom the same chiefly toucheth) hath been granted and assented to: seeing in no manner it toucheth you the base commons of our realm.

As touching the sixteenth,[53] which ye demand of us to be released, think ye that we be so faint hearted, that perforce ye of one shire (were ye a great many more) could compel us with your insurrections and such rebellious demeanour to remit the same? or think ye that any man will or may take you to be true subjects, that first make and shew a loving grant and then perforce would compel your sovereign lord and king to release the same? the time of payment whereof is not yet come, yea and seeing the same will not countrevayl[54] the tenth penny of the charges, which we do and daily sustain for your tuition and safeguard: make you sure, by your occasions of these your ingratitudes, unnaturalness and unkindness to us now administered, ye give no cause, which hath always been as much dedicate to your wealth as ever was king, not so much to set or study for the setting forward of the same, seeing how unkindly and untruly, ye deal now with us, without any cause or occasion: and doubt ye not, though you have no grace nor naturalness in you to consider your duty of allegiance to your king, and sovereign lord, the rest of our realm we doubt not hath: and we and they shall so look on this cause, that we trust it shall be to your confusion, if according to your former letters you submit not yourselves.

Wherefore we charge you eftsoons upon the foresaid bonds and pains, that ye withdraw yourselves to your own houses, every man, and no more to assemble contrary to our laws, and your allegiances, and to cause the provokers of you to this mischief, to be delivered to our lieutenants' hands, or ours, and you yourselves to submit you to such condign punishment as we and our nobles shall think you worthy: for doubt you not else that we and our nobles can nor will suffer this injury at your hands unavenged, if ye give not place to us of sovreignty, and shew yourselves as bounden and obedient subjects and no more to intermeddle yourselves from henceforth with the weighty affairs of the realm, the direction whereof only appertaineth to us your king and such noblemen and councillors, as we lyst to elect and choose to have the ordering of the same: and thus we pray unto Almighty God, to give you grace to do your duties, to use yourselves towards us like true and faithful subjects, so that we may have cause to order you thereafter, and rather obediently to consent amongst you to deliver into the hands of our lieutenant a hundred persons, to be ordered according to their demerits, at our will and pleasure, than by your obstinacy and wilfulness, to put yourselves, your wives, children, lands, goods and cattles, beside the indignation of God, in the utter adventure of total destruction, and utter ruin, by force and violence of the sword.

After the Lincolnshire men had received this the King's answer aforesaid, made to their petitions, each mistrusting the other who should be noted to be the greatest meddler, even very suddenly they began to shrink and out of hand they were all divided, and every man at home in his own house in peace: but the captains of these rebels escaped not all clear, but were after apprehended, and had as they deserved: he that took upon him as captain of this rout, named himself Captain Cobles, but it was a monk called Doctor Macherel, with divers other which afterward were taken and apprehended.

NOTE.--Within six days a new insurrection broke out in the north, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. The objects of these insurgents were as follows: "the maintenance and defence of the faith of Christ, and deliverance of Holy Church sore decayed and oppressed, and also for the furtherance as well of private as public matters in the realm touching the wealth of all the king's poor subjects" (Hall ii., 275).

An army was sent to restore order, but they were prevented from reaching the rebels by a river, which suddenly overflowed its banks and was considered by the people to be a miracle. On the following day the King granted a pardon to all concerned, and the rebellion came to an end.

[Footnote 53: = a tax of 1/16th of the assessed value of property.]

[Footnote 54: = balance.]

INJUNCTIONS TO THE CLERGY MADE BY CROMWELL (1538).

+Source.+--Burnet's _History of the Reformation_; _Collection of Records_,