1563 Edition | Book 3 | Page 511 
pause tyll he came to Rome, where after consultation had, he woulde send an aunswere agreing to righte and equitye. This doone, the king sendeth incontinent to all most famous vniuersities abrode, to heare a resolute aunswere touching the state and condition of his marriage, whether it could stande by Goddes woord or no.
[Back to Top]To this the vniuersities, to the noumbre of xii. agreinge in vniforme consente, make aunswer againe in due forme of wrytinge to the king, affirming plainlye his marriage in case as it standeth, both to be vnlawful and repugnant to the expresse word of God: and that no man is able to dispense with the same. In the meane time nothing yet is hard from Rome. Wherfore the kinge assemblinge his Parliament the next yere folowing, which was 1531 in the moneth of March
CloseFoxe is referring to the second session of the so-called Reformation Parliament, 16 January to 31 March 1531.
CloseFoxe seems to be exaggerating the number of officials. The Lords were addressed by More, Stokesley, Longland, Sir Brian Tuke (the king's French secretary) and Thomas Howard. Later, More, Tuke, Stokesley and a Jewish scholar named Marco Raffaello addressed the Commons. [See, L&P, v, no.658; Stanford E Lehmberg, The Reformation Parliament 1529-1536 (Cambridge, 1970), pp.128-9].
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe oration of the Lord Chaūcelor.YOu of thys worshypfull house
CloseMore's speech and these related events were recorded by Edward Hall. [See, Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre & York, 2 vols., ed. by Henry Ellis (London, 1809), ii, pp.774-80.
Then syr Brian Tuke tooke oute of a boxe xii. wrytinges sealed wyth the determinatyons of these vniuersityes. That is. The determination of the vniuersity of Orleans.
Of the faculties of detrees of Paris.
CloseThe faculty of decrees or the law faculty of Paris.
Of the Ciuilians and Canonistes of Angew.
CloseThe law faculty of the university of Angers.
Of the faculty of the deuines of Paris.
Of the vniuersity of Burges or Berry.
Of the vniuersity of Bonony.
Of the faculty of deuines of Padua.
Of the vniuersity of Tholose.
Besyde other vniuersyties as well of Germany, as of Oxford and Cambridge, what the tenor and effect of these determinations were because they are all ready suffycientlye expressed in the chronicles, and we haue many thin-ges elsse in this booke to be comprehended. It shall be suffycient in thys behalf to sende the reader to the Chronycle of Hall, where they are fully to be seene, who so lyst to read them. Moreouer besydes those determinatyons in the monthe of September. The same yeare
CloseThis is the proclamation of 1531 'in the behalfe of the kings prerogative roiall against the pope'. Foxe's text can also be found in Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (London, 1587), pp.914-5. Holinshed reported that two possible causes underlay this proclamation. Either Catherine had purchased a new papal bull of ratification for her marriage or that Wolsey had purchased a papal bull restoring him to his offices (recently removed by the king) (see Tudor and Stuart Proclamations 1485-1714, 2 vols. [Oxford, 1910], 1, p.14 (no.124 of 12 September 1530); David Wilkins, Concilia, 3, 755; Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, 4, 6615)
[Back to Top]
CloseWilkins (Concilia, iii, pp.772-3) dates this proclamation to 1534 whereas Foxe dates it to 1535. Henry refers to the act of supremacy and other related acts in the proclamation, so Foxe's date is correct.
MarginaliaThe popes authority excluded out of England.THe kinges highnesse
CloseThis is the exact text of the proclamation as recorded in Holinshed as well - see Raphael Holinshed, The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (London, 1587), pp.914-5].
It chaūsed about the same time or a litle before, the king taking more hart vnto him partly incoraged by the treatise afore mentioned, called þe supplication of beggers
CloseThis is Simon Fish, The Supplicacyon for the Beggars (1529).
CloseFoxe is here discussing three related events - the Commons supplication against the ordinaries, the submission of the clergy (which included a new title for the king) and the purchasing of a royal pardon by the two convocations of the English church and the event is much more interesting than Foxe here reports. Henry VIII's aim was to apply judicial and legislative pressure on the papacy with regard to the annulment issue subsequent to the fall of the cardinal and parliament had been drafted in to strengthen the effort. The royal proclamation Foxe mentioned resulted from the appeal to Rome of bishops Fisher, Nix and Clerk against the 'Pluralities Act' of 1529 (21 Henr.VIII, c.13) which nullified all papal dispensations while allowing the purchase of royal dispensations - see The Statutes of the Realm, 11 vols. (London, 1810-28), 3, p.293. The bishops' appeal justified prosecutions - see Calendar of State Papers, Milan, 1, p.831; Calendar of State Papers, Venice, 4, pp.629, 634 - which were subsequently dropped in favour of a blanket praemunire suit of 11 July 1530 against fourteen clerics (including eight bishops) for having aided and abetted Wolsey's legatine authority (for which, see J A Guy, 'Henry VIII and the Praemunire Manoeuvres of 1530-31', English Historical Review 97 [1982], pp.481-503). This was subsequently expanded to include the entire clerical estate. Famously, the king allowed southern and northern convocations to purchase pardons (£100,000 and £18,840 respectively) provided they also agreed to his new title of 'sole protector and supreme head of the Church in England'. Southern convocation agreed on 22 January and northern convocation on 4 May - for which, see David Wilkins, Concilia, 3, p.744; L&P, iv/iii, no.6047 (iii); TNA, State Papers 1/56, fols.84-7B]. The payment schedules raised complications and Warham used the opportunity to argue for certain guarantees of the church's ancient liberties, privileges, a comprehensive definition of praemunire and certain modifications to previous parliamentary legislation - for which, see Calendar of State Papers, iv, p.619. Henry agreed to a five-year schedule and he presented parliament with a bill ratifying the subsidy and pardoning the clergy - for which, see Wilkins, 3, p.725; L&P, 5, p.928. Bishop Fisher vehemently opposed the king, and Henry agreed to have '… as far as the word of God allows' appended to his new title [for which, see TNA, State Papers 6/2, fols.94-6. This was agreed, eleven bishops subscribed the supplication and the pardon was granted. (For detailed discussion of the issues, cf G R Elton, 'The Commons' Supplication of 1532: Parliamentary Manoeuvres in the Reign of Henry VIII', in English Historical Review 65 [1951], pp.216-32; G W Bernard, 'The Pardon of the Clergy Reconsidered', in Journal of Ecclesiastical History 37 [1986], pp.258-71; J A Guy, 'The Pardon of the Clergy: a Reply', in Journal of Ecclesiastical History 37 (1986), pp.283-4; J J Scarisbrick, 'The Pardon of the Clergy, 1531', in Cambridge Historical Journal 12 (1956), pp.22-39; M Kelly, 'The Submission of the Clergy', in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 15 (1965), pp.97-120].
[Back to Top]And thus much hast thou good reader, touchynge the kynges deuorcemente, by occasyon wherof it pleased God so to worke throughe his secreate & vnsearchable wisdome, that the pope which so long had plaid rex in England lost his whole iurisdiction and supremacy.