LECTURE XLIII.-THE STRUGGLE OF THE CHURCHES.

Edward VI. Protector Somerset. The Reformation urged forward. Revolt in the west. Revolt in the east. Death of Somerset. Death of Edward. Lady Jane Grey. Mary and Philip. Romanism restored. The Protestant martyrs.

1. At the end of the Wars of the Roses, which had been caused by rival families fighting for the throne, it was hoped that through the marriage of Henry of Lancaster with Elizabeth of York all such difficulties were ended for ever, and that their children and children's children would succeed each other in peace. But all these hopes proved vain; and though there were no more civil wars on these grounds, yet there were great disquiets and disputes, and many terrible deaths of innocent people, caused by the confusion of rival claimants.

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2. Henry VIII., who was so anxious to have lawful heirs, and had put that forth, indeed, as the excuse for his matrimonial adventures, had really made the confusion greater. The House of Parliament had endeavoured to cut the knot by The children recognizing the claims of all his three children, Henry VIII. though there were doubts about the legitimacy of two of them, the princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Those who believed that Katherine of Aragon had been Henry's lawful wife, and that the divorce made without the Pope's consent was illegal, looked on Anne Boleyn's daughter Elizabeth as illegitimate; those who considered the marriage between Henry and his brother's widow no marriage, and thought the divorce a real one, looked on Katherine's daughter Mary as illegitimate. But parliament had decided that both should be considered as lawful heirs to the crown in due order after their brother.

3. It did not seem very likely that all these three would die childless (though it fell out so in fact), but if they did, the crown was then to go to the descendants of Henry's younger sister. The elder one, who had married the King of Scotland, was set aside; but it was her grandson, who came to

the throne at last. Meanwhile, we have to attend to the reigus of Henry's three children, all of which were very important. The eldest of the three was the Princess Mary, Mary. daughter of Katherine of Aragon. One cannot help feeling great pity for her; her young days were made very bitter by the undeserved disgrace of her mother. After being looked on as princess royal, and heir to the crown, she had to endure the mortification of being treated as illegitimate, and seeing her mother divorced and sent away from the court, whilst a gay young rival was set up in her place. Moreover, both she and her mother were devoted to the old religion, the Spaniards being always the most fervent of Romanists. And as the fall of Katherine and of Romanism went hand in hand, so the personal and religious feeling went hand in hand in Mary's mind, and she grew up with an intolerable sense of wrong on both grounds. She does not seem to have been either beautiful or clever, and she was self-willed, like all the Tudors; but she was sincere and honest, and at this time more to be pitied than blamed.

Elizabeth.

4. The next daughter, Elizabeth, who at the death of her father was about fourteen, was the child of Anne Boleyn. She had her strong will too, but then she was clever, hearty, and good-looking. She was gay and vain, like her mother, and, moreover, stingy, untruthful, and artful; but she had many fine and strong points of character, and when her turn came to reign she was as much loved as her unfortunate sister was hated. She was brought up a Protestant, and Cranmer was her godfather, but she does not seem to have cared for religion half as much as for politics.

1547. Edward.

5. Next came young Edward, who was now about nine years old, and, whose mother having lived an irreproachable life, and died a natural death, as Henry's wife, was the undisputed heir to the throne. It is rather difficult to find out the truth about the character of those who lived at this period, because their biographers nearly always judged them according to which religious side they took. If they were Protestants, the Protestant writers make them out to be perfect, and like saints and angels, while the Roman Catholic ones can hardly find words bad enough for them; and just the contrary if they were on the other side; no one seemed able to judge dispassionately. It is perhaps difficult even for ourselves to do so, as most English people cannot help still feeling strongly about the disputes of that time. None of us care in the least now about the Red or the White Rose, or whether York or

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Lancaster gained the victory; but most of us still care a great deal about our Protestant religion, our Bibles and Prayer-books, and should be quite ready to flame up at the idea of the Pope using any authority over our country. This makes the period of the Reformation so interesting.

6. But making all allowances for the partiality of Protestant writers, it is impossible not to see that Edward VI. was really a most remarkable boy, with wonderful intelligence, and a sweet and noble nature. He was described by one of his tutors as "the beautifullest creature that liveth under the sun, the liveliest, the most amiable, and the gentlest thing of all the world; such a spirit of capacity in learning the things taught him by his schoolmasters, that it is a wonder to hear say; and, finally, he hath such a grace of port and gesture in gravity when he cometh into any presence, that it should seem he were already a father, and yet passeth he not the age of ten years." When he was about thirteen years old it is said that he had learnt seven languages, and was thoroughly acquainted with his own, as well as with French and Latin. "Nor was he ignorant of logic, of the principles of natural philosophy, or of music." He also took great interest in affairs of State. One can hardly wonder that a boy who had received such an education, and had such a precocious mind, never lived to grow up. "That child was so educated, possessed such abilities, and caused such expectations that he appeared a miracle."

7. He was also a very religious child, and we are particularly told with what wonderful pleasure he listened to the long sermons which it was the custom of the reforming bishops to preach before him. But if they were all as lively and racy as Bishop Latimer's, this appears less surprising.

Somerset

8. The king being so young, the government was placed in the hands of a council, at the head of which was Edward's uncle, the Duke of Somerset, brother to his mother. This Protector duke was a most decided Protestant, far more decided than Henry VIII. had been, and he and testantism. Archbishop Cranmer pushed on the Reformation most vigorously. The greatest changes they made. were these, which had been partly attempted before, but had not been definitely settled :

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(1) The Church service was to be in English instead of in Latin. (2) Images, crosses, pictures, and the like were no longer to be treated with excessive veneration, and in most cases were destroyed.

(3) Worship of the Virgin and the saints was to be given up. (4) Confession to a priest was not to be compulsory.

(5) The doctrine of transubstantiation was declared untrue. (6) The clergy were to be permitted to marry.

9. Though these things may seem quite plain to us now, and most of us have been taught them all our lives, they were very serious changes to force upon people all at once. It is very difficult to give up what we have believed from our childhood, even when it is quite clear to our understanding that the belief was mistaken. And about these points numbers of half-educated, ignorant people could never have that made quite clear to them, whilst numbers of others clung with affectionate tenderness to the faith of their fathers. It must have given bitter pain to these people to see and hear much that they had been used to love and reverence treated with contempt and derision. The churches in England up to this time had looked much as they now look in France and Italy; they had sacred pictures in them, images which were thought very holy, and before which poor people would go and pray, with a full conviction that their prayers would be heard. The Protestants, regarding all this as idolatry, began to pull down the images and to break the stained glass windows and the carved stone crosses. This must have hurt the feelings of the old worshippers very sorely, and one cannot but wish, if done at all, that it might have been more gently done. But the powers in authority were not for gentleness; they pushed on very harshly, and they persecuted those who would not conform. They had not yet learned the spirit of Christ, and were ever ready to "call down fire from heaven" on those who differed. They burnt a poor woman just now for holding some wrong opinions about Christ's incarnation. They put two of the Roman Catholic bishops, Gardiner and Bonner, in prison, after vainly trying to make them preach sermons before the king and the court in favour of the reformed religion and against their consciences; till Gardiner very naturally said he wished the Protector Somerset "would leave religion to the clergy, and cease to meddle with it." He also declared he would speak what he thought, if he were to be hanged for it when he left the pulpit.

10. The Reformation, however, was heartily welcomed, and made much progress in London and in other towns, especially the sea-ports, where the people were more intelligent, better edueated, and could read their new Bibles. In the more remote parts of the country it made but little way, and the people were

greatly enraged at the changes which were introduced. Before long those in the west country, in Cornwall and Devonshire, began to rebel.

1549. Rising in the western counties.

11. The prayer-book was ordered to be first read in English on a Whitsunday. This prayer-book, which was principally arranged by Cranmer, contained scarcely anything new; nearly all the prayers were translated from the old Latin ones, which had been used by Christians through many centuries, leaving out the parts which were contrary to the reformed doctrines. But as they were now in English instead of in Latin, they were as good, or rather as bad, as new in the ears of the unlearned, and they listened with great indignation on that Whitsunday. In particular there was one village on Dartmoor where the congregation was much offended. The next morning, when the clergyman was going into church to say the prayers for Whitmonday, the parishioners came about him, declaring they would have none of the new fashions, they would have the old religion of their fathers. The priest was most likely very glad in his heart to be compelled to go back to the old way. He put on his vestments and said mass in Latin, "the common people in all the country round clapping their hands for joy."

12. This was the beginning of it; other places round soon followed the example; and when it was heard of in London the council sent orders to have the resistance put down promptly and sternly. It was not at all easy to put down. Thousands of men rose in rebellion; there were some hard battles, and the city of Exeter was besieged; but in the end the government conquered; the rebels were defeated, and their leaders put to death; one priest was hanged on his own church tower.

Rising in the eastern counties.

13. While this was going on in the west, another rebellion broke out in the east; not on religious grounds this time, for the eastern counties were more inclined to Protestantism, but rather in resistance to the great landowners, who were enclosing common lands, and also turning a great deal of ploughed land into sheepfarms. This practice had been a serious grievance to the poor for a long time, ever since it had been first begun soon after the Black Death. Sir Thomas More, who was a great observer of the condition of the poor, had written about it, saying that the sheep, "which are naturally mild and easily kept in order, may be said now to devour men, and unpeople not only villages, but towns." The enclosing of the common lands was almost worse,