5 III mont's the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Lin- CHAP coln, and the Bishop of London, to try the cause anew. This the Pope firmly declined, saying that A.D. 1530 he had refused already to grant such a commission, on the ground that the Queen had appealed to him, and that justice to her required him to hear the cause himself; and that for the same reason he still refused to entertain the proposal. "Then my Lord of Tarbês descended to the second degree, which was for the commission to the clergy of the province of Canterbury." This also the Pope refused, saying again that the proposal had been often made before and as often rejected by him. Finally, Grammont Cardinal proposed that the King should be left to follow his Gramown course conformably to the opinions given by the mediation universities. This last proposal was read to the Pope by Grammont in Henry's own words; and, perhaps on that account, his Holiness declined to give a reply to it until he had consulted with the consistory. Then a threat that had been used by other ambassadors was again used by the French envoy. "Monsieur de Tarbês said that it was very necessary that his Holiness should study to satisfy your highness in some of these degrees, or else, he said, that his Holiness should see a greater ruin in Christendom than he hath seen hitherto, as he might clearly perceive by the latter end of the instructions." To which the Pope replied that come what might, he Clement must proceed in this matter according to justice and will do jus the order of the law, and that neither the Kings of lessly England nor France, on the one hand, nor the Emperor, should move him to "transgress one hair of justice." It was a brave resolve, but based on those 5 The two first and the Bishop of Exeter had been proposed before. tice fear III CHIAP narrow ideas respecting the dependence of sovereigns on the Pope, which had already become almost A.D. 1530 obsolete, and to maintain which still greater injustice had to be committed. The dispensation for two wives These proposals were urged upon the Pope again and again with the like result. The only appearance of yielding was when the Pope suggested to Dr. Benet that he might possibly grant the request for a dispensation to have two wives. This was opposed, however, by the consistory, and the Pope himself seems scarcely to have been serious in suggesting it. To meet the decrees of the Universities, which the King had thus brought officially before him, the Pope issued a bull on January 5, 1530-1, by which he inhibited any person or court from pronouncing sentence of divorce between Henry and Catherine, thus finally and publicly declaring his intention of Dr. Benet states this strange asked his Holiness whether he was pense in the same case? Then his Holiness showed me, No: but said that a great divine showed him that he thought, for avoiding of a greater inconvenience, his Holiness might dispense in the same case. Howbeit, he said he would counsel further about it with his council. And now of late, the Pope showed me that his council showed him plainly that he could not do it." Dod, i. 391. The same, or a similar conversation is mentioned in a letter from Sir Gregory Cassilis to the King. Collier, ix. 93. Luther's idea as to his powers of "dispensation" were on a less modest scale than those of the Pope and his consistory, for he gave permission (a few years later) to Philip, Landegrave of Hesse, to do that which the Pope declared he had no authority to sanction in Henry VIII. The Protestant Grinous had already suggested this course to the King. So also had Bucer and Capito. He III accepting the appeal of the latter, and of permitting CHAP the cause to be determined only by himself. seems to have done nothing further in the matter A.D. 1531 during the whole of the year 1531, and certainly— assuming his right to act as judge in the case-so long a delay was a just ground of complaint as regards the persons chiefly interested. It was also bad policy as regards the relations between England and Rome, for the interval gave time for further alienation to take place. finally se Queen It was during this year also that the final separa- The King tion between the King and Queen took place. To parates whatever extent they had been living apart for the from his last six or seven years, they had yet been residing in the same palaces, sometimes dining at the same table, and appearing together occasionally in public. But the King had now resolved to bring Anne Boleyn more forward even than he had already done, and the inconvenience of having the Queen under the same roof with her supplanter was beginning to grow greater. In June, therefore, some of the Lords of the Council were deputed to go to Greenwich, for the purpose of laying before the Queen the opinions of the Universities, in the hope that the strong case thus made out against her union with the King might be an argument with her that the Pope himself was likely to go against her, and that she would be wise to withdraw the appeal she had made to him. But Catherine was strong in the strength of feminine logic. She was the King's wife by decree of the Pope and lawful ceremonies, and until the Pope declared against her marriage, nothing should move her one step from the maintenance of her rights as a 180 THE POPE CITES KING AND QUEEN TO ROME CHAP wife. Shortly after this interview, at midsummer, III she left Greenwich with the King, and remained A.D. 1531 with him at Windsor until July 14th. On that day the final separation took place, the King departing from Windsor, and never again living under the same roof with, or even seeing her who had been his wife, and a good wife, for twenty-two years. She removed first to the More, a manor of the Archbishops of York, in Hertfordshire, and then to Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, one of the King's houses, where she spent most of her time during the remainder of her life. Henceforth Anne Boleyn's position at Court ceased to be accompanied by the least public restraint. Perhaps a report reached the Pope that she was already married to the King; for he wrote to Henry The Pope's on January 25, 1532, remonstrating against the scandal of having her to live with him as his wife; respecting and it is certain that the Popes have not been accustomed to restrain Kings in respect to their feminine associates when the association has been notoriously a dishonourable one. remonstrance Anne This remonstrance produced no further effect than a renewal of the weary missions to Rome, which seem to have tired out to the last degree the patience of all immediately engaged in them, for they were always declaring to the King how utterly hopeless they were, and how immoveable was the Pope. Even while such importunities were being used towards Clement, he issued citations for the King summoned and Queen to appear at Rome. When it had been to appear proposed to do this three years before, Wolsey had replied that his master, the King, could only appear at Rome with 20,000 soldiers at his back; but King of England at Rome III instead of meeting the citation with any such reply, CHAP the King sent to his special ambassador, Sir Edward Karne, who was at Rome, under the name of an A.D. 1532 "excusator" (and with him Dr. Bonner), to decline entering an appearance; first on grounds taken from the canon law, and secondly, by alleging the independence of the English crown. They appeared before the consistory, and a long debate of many days followed, the question assuming more of a political than any other form, and Henry's envoys being opposed by those cardinals who were, politically, of the Emperor's party. The debate ended almost where it began, an urgent message being sent Is urged by to the King to the effect that if he would not himself to appear at Rome, he would at least send a proxy to proxy plead in his name, and represent him at the trial. his agents title conferred on But now the King was preparing to take the matter into his own hands and follow his own course, a proceeding to which the Pope would probably have offered little or no objection some time before, but which would interfere with the dignity and authority of the Holy See now that so much had been said and done on both sides. In September "Mistress Anne" was created Marchioness of Pem- A royal broke a title not hitherto borne by a subject; and in October, she accompanied the King to Calais on Anne Bothe occasion of his second state interview with the King of France. In the following month the Pope signed a brief forbidding the marriage of Henry with Anne Boleyn, and declaring him excommunicated ipso facto, if it had taken place, or should take place thereafter; but this brief was not published until the following February; and before that time came the marriage had taken place. leyn |