CHAPTER XIV.

HENRY VIII - HIS DIVORCE

- CARDINAL WOLSEY

CRANMER

DE

MARRIAGE OF ANNE BOLEYN STRUCTION OF THE POPE'S SUPREMACY IN ENGLAND-PERSECUTION. 1509-1534.

WICKLIFFE's translation of the Bible and the labors of the Lollards lessened the attachment of many of the people to the Romish Church, and in some measure prepared the way for the destruction of its authority in England. The demand for a reformation grew continually louder, until it was partially answered from a quarter, whence little aid was to have been expected. The caprice and passion of a tyrannical monarch were made to some extent instrumental in the promotion of religious truth and liberty. To continue our history, therefore, we must enter a new field, and from the occurrences and intrigues of the long and despotic reign of Henry VIII. endeavour to select those incidents which mark the progress of the Reformation.

Henry VII. having been penurious and oppressive in his habits and temper, the elevation of his son to the throne in the year 1509, was hailed as a joyful event. The young prince appeared to be as generous in his feelings, as he

was commanding in his person and accomplished in his manners. He was prodigal in his expenditures, liberal in his tastes, and although of a choleric disposition, he seemed on the whole to be good natured and under the influence of a sense of justice. The passions which in after times made him a tyrant had not yet showed themselves. Previous to the death of his father he took no part in political affairs, his time being devoted to literature and theology. At the commencement of his reign he was a strong papist, and in 1522 published a book in answer to Luther's treatise on the Babylonish Captivity. This performance was sent to the Pope, with great pomp, who received it graciously, and bestowed upon its author the appellation of Defender of the Faith, a title still retained by the kings of England, although in a very different sense from that in which it was granted.

The early promise which Henry gave of being a faithful supporter of the Romish Church and a good sovereign was soon disappointed. Not many years had elapsed, before he began to exhibit a most selfish, capricious, and vindictive temper, which regarded neither the sanctity he had ascribed to the Pope nor the lives of his own subjects. This tyrannical disposition first showed itself in his efforts to put away his queen, Catherine of Arragon, who had formerly been

the wife of his deceased brother Arthur. A contract of marriage between Catherine and Henry had been made by their parents. The latter at first had scruples about marrying the widow of his brother; but these were overruled by his counsellors, and on his coming to the throne the nuptials were solemnized. Catherine obtained an ascendancy over the affections of her partner, and they lived happily together for twenty years. At length the doubts of Henry as to the propriety of their union were revived, or rather he brought them forward to cover the real motives which induced him to seek a divorce.

The truth was, faded, her chil

the beauty of the queen had dren, with the exception of Mary, had died in early infancy, and there was now little hope that she would bear a male heir to the crown, and moreover the king had fallen in love with one of the Maids of Honor, a very beautiful lady by the name of Anne Boleyn; these were the real reasons which determined the unprincipled monarch to apply to the Pope for a dissolution of his marriage.

Clement VIII., who then filled the papal chair, would, probably, at any other time, have readily granted the request of a servant so powerful and faithful as the king of England. But at the time it was made, he was the prisoner of the emperor of Germany, Catherine's nephew,

and in no condition to run the risk of offending his captor. He resolved, therefore, to prolong the suit of Henry, since, as he said, "Whilst it depended he was sure of two great friends, but when it should be decided of one great foe." The most that could be obtained from the Pope was a commission appointing the Cardinals Wolsey and Campeggio his legates to examine the validity of the marriage.

These ecclesiastics opened their court at London, and cited the king and queen to appear before them. Both parties were present; when their names were called the king answered, but the queen left her seat and kneeling down before Henry, thus addressed him; "She was a poor woman," she said, "and a stranger in his dominions, where she could neither expect good counsel, nor indifferent judges; she had been long his wife, and desired to know wherein she had offended him; she had been his wife twenty years and more, and had borne him several children, and had ever studied to please him. If she had done any thing amiss, she was willing to be put away with shame. Their parents were esteemed very wise princes, and no doubt had good counsellors and learned men about them when the match was agreed; therefore she would not submit to the Court, nor durst her lawyers, who were his subjects, and assigned by him, speak

freely for her. So she desired to be excused till

she heard from Spain." peal, Catherine left the after appear for trial.

Having ended this apCourt and would never

Notwithstanding the departure of the queen, the legates continued the examination of the case. The trial was protracted to a great length, and when it was, at length, drawing towards a close, and at the very moment when Henry expected a decision favorable to his wishes, Campeggio, who understood the policy of the Pope, suddenly adjourned the court; an order soon after arrived from Rome, commanding him to stop all further proceedings.

Henry was greatly disappointed at this result, and full of anger against the Pope and his legates. Wolsey, who had heretofore been a favorite, was selected as the first victim of the king's resentment, and from this period is to be dated his rapid downfall. The rise and fall of the Cardinal is too instructive and shows too clearly,

"How wretched

Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors,"

to be passed over without notice.

Thomas Wolsey, the son, as is generally supposed, of a butcher, was born at Ipswich in 1471. He obtained a learned education and was made master of a grammar school, where he taught