Hacket ventured, in one of his despatches, to call CHAP this Pope "The Unclement Bishop. V Meanwhile, although the Pope could not yet have A.D. 1530 heard of this, the King had taken a first decided step in the direction to which Clement saw events were tending. Apprehensive that the Queen would procure, or had procured, some bull from Rome condemning his conduct or restraining his authority, Henry had set forth a proclamation on September 19, 1530, inhibiting the publication of any such missives in the terms following bulls "The King's Highness straitly chargeth and commandeth Proclamation forbid. that no manner of person of what estate, degree, or condition ding adsoever, he or they be of, do purchase or attempt to purchase mission of from the court of Rome or elsewhere, nor use and put in execution, divulge or publish anything heretofore within this year passed purchased, or to be purchased hereafter, containing matter prejudicial to the high authority, jurisdiction and prerogative royal of this his said realm, or to the let, hindrance, or impeachment of his Grace's noble and virtuous intended. purposes in the premisses: upon pain of incurring his Highness' indignation, and imprisonment, and further punishment of their bodies, for their so doing, at his Grace's pleasure, to the dreadful example of all other." "4 By this politic stroke, the official voice of the Pope was at once silenced as far as England was concerned: and though Henry's proclamation was only the reassertion of a right claimed and exercised long An ancient right rebefore by his predecessors, it was issued at a crisis vived which gave it a peculiar significance. State Pap., i. 545. Herbert's H. VIII. 330. The words of the proclamation are sub stantially taken from the Act of V CHAP 1. WITHDRAWAL OF TRIBUTE AND OBEDIENCE FROM THE SEE OF ROME. A. D. 1531 of truth as macy After this events marched quickly. The discusGrowing sions of Convocation respecting the royal supremacy perception had thrown much light upon the relations of the to supre- Church to the Pope as well as to the Crown, and the clergy began to see clearly the false position in which they and the nation at large were placed by the medieval system of papal jurisdiction which they had inherited. They therefore took a step which was of the utmost importance to the course of the Reformation, but which is almost entirely unnoticed by historians. In petitioning the King to abolish one of the many payments exacted by the Pope, the Convocation also prayed that in case his Holiness should persist in requiring such payments, the obedience of England should be withdrawn altogether from the See of Rome. This is the first appearance of such an idea in any public document: so that the first official proposal to repudiate the jurisdiction of the Pope over the English Church proceeded from the English Church itself through its representative body, the Convocation of the clergy. Convoca- This petition of Convocation is so important an historical document, that it is worth while to give it at length: tion on An nates "Whereas the Court of Rome hath a long season exacted of such as have been named or elected to be archbishops or bishops of this realm, the annates, that is to say, the first fruits of their bishoprics, before they could obtain their bulls out of the said The original still remains in the British Museum, MS. Cleop. E. 6, p. 263. V court: by reason whereof, the treasure of this realm hath been CHAP had and conveyed to Rome, to no small decay of this land, and to the great impoverishing of bishops; which, if they A.D. 1531 should die within two or three years after their promotion, should die in such debts as should be to the undoing of their friends and creditors: and by the same exaction of annates, bishops have been so extenuate, that they have not been able in Such paya great part of their lives to repair their churches, houses, and pered the manors; which, by reason thereof, have fallen into much decay: bishops and besides, that the bishops have not been able to bestow the goods of the Church in hospitality and alms, and other deeds of charity, which, by the law and by the minds of the donors of their possessions temporal, they were bound to do. ments ham better than "In consideration whereof, forasmuch as it is to be accounted Nothing as simony by the Pope's own law, to take or give any money simony for the collation, or for the consenting to the collation of a bishopric, or of any other spiritual promotion: and to say that the said annates be taken for the vacation, as touching the temporalities, pertaineth of right to the King's Grace; and as touching the spirituality to the Archbishop of Canterbury: and it is not to be allowed, if it should be alleged, that the said court exacteth these annates for parchment and lead, and writing of the bulls. For so should parchment and lead be very dear merchandize at Rome, and in some cases an hundred times more worth than the weight or counterpoise of fine gold. "In consideration also, that it is no reason that the first Temporal fruits of such temporal lands as the King's most noble pro- of bishops allegiance genitors, and other noblemen of this realm, have given to the to crown Church of England, upon high respects, causes, and conditions, should be applied to the court of Rome: which continually getteth by this means, and many other, much goods and profits out of this realm, and never departeth with any portion thereof hither again. For touching the same temporal lands, the bishops be subjects only to the King's Grace, and not to the court of Rome: neither by reason of those possessions ought to pay these annates as a tribute to the said court. Wherefore if there were just cause, as there is none, why any sums of money, besides the competent charges of the writing and sealing, should be demanded for bishops' bulls, the court V CHAP of Rome might be contented with the annates of the spir- Annates jury superiority. "And further, in consideration that the bishops be sworn at entail per- their consecration, that they shall not alienate the immovable or precious movable goods of their bishopric: seeing the payment of these annates be an alienation of the first fruits, being precious movables: by the alienation whereof, the bishop should fall into perjury: "And over this, forasmuch as it was ordained, determined, and concluded in the 21st session at the General Council of Basle, that from time ever after, for and in the confirmation of elections for admission of postulations or presentations, in or for provisions, collations, dispositions, elections, postulations, presentations, though it be made by a layman, in or for the forbidden institutions, installations, investitures of churches, cathedral, by Council metropolitan, monasteries, dignities, benefices, or ecclesiastical of Basle offices, whatever they be: also in or for orders, holy benediction, or palls, nothing at all before or after should be exacted in the court of Rome, by the reason of letters, bulls, seals, annates, common or minute service, first fruits, or deportates, or by whatsoever other title, colour, or name they be called, under the pretext that of any custom, privilege, or statute, or prerogative, or any other cause or occasion, directly or indirectly: excepted only to the writers, abbreviators, and registers of the letters, minutes, and bulls, thereto belonging, a competent salary for their labour: whose salary cannot be extended reasonably to the twentieth part of the annates, which be exacted and continually augmented: contrary to which ordinance, determination and canon, made in the said council, if any man exacting, giving, or promising, would presume to do, he should fall into some great pains, as in the said council be expressed: Convoca for their "It may please the King's most noble Grace, having tender tion prays compassion to the wealth of this his realm, which hath been so greatly extenuate and hindered by the payments of the said annates, and by other exactions and slights, by which the treasure of this land hath been carried and conveyed beyond abolition V A.D. 1531 the mountains to the court of Rome, that the subjects of this CHAP realm be brought to great penury, and by necessity be forced to make their most humble complaint for stopping and restraining the said annates, and other exactions and expilations, taken for indulgences and dispensations, legacies, and delegacies, and others feats, which were too long to remember: withdraw. from Rome "First, to cause the said injust exactions of annates to cease, and to be foredone for ever, by this act of his Grace's high court of Parliament. And in case the Pope would make any process against this realm for the attaining those annates, or else would retain bishops' bulls, till the annates be paid, forasmuch suggests as the exaction of the said annates is against the law of God, al of obeand the Pope's own laws, forbidding the buying or selling of dience spiritual gifts or promotions; and forasmuch as all good. Christian men be more bound to obey God than any man; and forasmuch as St. Paul willeth us to withdraw ourselves from all such as walk inordinately; it may please the King's most noble Grace to ordain in this present parliament, that then the obedience of him and the people be withdrawn from the See of Rome: as in like case, the French king withdrew his obedience of him and his subjects from Pope Benedict the XIII. of that name; and arrested, by authority of his parliament, all such annates, as it appeareth by good writing ready to be shewed." carries out tion of the In consequence of the petition of the Convocation, Parliament a bill was introduced into the House of Lords for the sugges the purpose of carrying out the request of the clergy. clergy conIt eventually passed the House of Commons, and ditionally received the royal assent; but in accordance with the last clause, its operation was suspended until July 9, 1533, when the King made it effective by means of letters patent of that date, ratifying and confirming it." The Act [23 Hen. VIII. c. 20] opens with a This extraordinary course of legislation is still illustrated by the document itself, which is affixed to |