+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.]