Part 51 (1/2)
All papal and priestly authority was cast off, but without any essential change being made in creed or mode of wors.h.i.+p. This was accomplished under Henry VIII.
Secondly, the English Church, thus rendered independent of Rome, gradually changed its creed and ritual. This was effected chiefly under Edward VI.
So the movement was first a _revolt_ and then a _reform_.
THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING IN ENGLAND.--The soil in England was, in a considerable measure, prepared for the seed of the Reformation by the labors of the Humanists (see p. 474). Three men stand preeminent as lovers and promoters of the New Learning. Their names are Colet, Erasmus, and More.
Colet was leader and master of the little band. His generous enthusiasm was kindled at Florence, in Italy. It was an important event in the history of the Reformation when Colet crossed the Alps to learn Greek at the feet of the Greek exiles; for on his return to England he brought back with him not only an increased love for cla.s.sical learning, but a fervent zeal for religious reform, inspired, it would seem, by the stirring eloquence of Savonarola (see p. 511).
[Ill.u.s.tration: ERASMUS]
Erasmus was probably superior in cla.s.sical scholars.h.i.+p to any student of his times. ”He bought Greek books first, and clothes afterwards.” His Greek testament, published in 1516, was one of the most powerful agents concerned in bringing about the Reformation. Indeed, his relation to the reform movement is well indicated by the charge made against him by the enemies of the Reformation, who declared that ”Erasmus laid the egg, and Luther hatched it.”
Thomas More was drawn, or rather forced, into political life, and of him and his writings we shall have occasion to speak hereafter, in connection with the reign of Henry VIII. (see p. 549).
THE LOLLARDS.--Another special preparation for the entrance into England of the Reformation was the presence among the lower cla.s.ses there of a considerable body of Lollards (see p. 491). Persecution had driven the sect into obscurity, but had not been able to extirpate the heresy. In holding the Scriptures as the sole rule of faith, and in the maintenance of other doctrines denounced by the Roman Catholic Church, the Lollards occupied a position similar to that held by the German reformers, and consequently, when the teachings of Luther were disseminated in England, they received them gladly.
2. THE REIGN OF HENRY VII. (1485-1509).
THE UNION OF THE ROSES.--Henry VII. and his queen united the long-disputed t.i.tles of the two Roses [Footnote: Henry represented the claims of the House of Lancaster, and soon after his coronation he married the Princess Elizabeth, a daughter of Edward IV., and the representative of the claims of the House of York.] (see p. 488); but the bitter feelings engendered by the contentions of the rival families still existed. Particularly was there much smothered discontent among the Yorkists, which manifested itself in two attempts to place impostors upon the throne, both of which, however, were unsuccessful.
BENEVOLENCES.--Avarice and a love of despotic rule were Henry's chief faults. Much of his attention was given to heaping up a vast fortune. One device adopted by the 'king for wringing money from his wealthy subjects was what was euphoniously termed _Benevolences_. Magna Charta forbade the king to impose taxes without the consent of Parliament. But Henry did not like to convene Parliament, as he wished to rule like the kings of the Continent, guided simply by his own free will. Furthermore, his t.i.tle not being above question, it was his policy to relieve the poorer cla.s.ses of the burden of tax-paying, in order to secure their good-will and support.
So Benevolences were made to take the place of regular taxes. These were nothing more nor less than gifts extorted from the well-to-do, generally by moral pressure. One of Henry's favorite ministers, named Morton, was particularly successful in his appeals for gifts of this kind. To those who lived splendidly he would say that it was very evident they were quite able to make a generous donation to their sovereign; while to others who lived in a narrow and pinched way he would represent that their economical mode of life must have made them wealthy. This famous dilemma received the name of ”Morton's Fork.”
MARITIME DISCOVERIES.--It was during this reign that great geographical discoveries enlarged the boundaries of the world. In 1492 Columbus announced to Europe the existence of land to the west. In 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed around the cape of Good Hope and found a water-road to the East Indies.
The same year of this last enterprise, Henry fitted out a fleet under the command of John Cabot, a Venetian sailor doing business in England, and his son Sebastian, for exploration in the western seas. The Cabots first touched at Newfoundland (or Cape Breton Island), and then the following year Sebastian explored the coast they had run against, from that point to what is now Virginia or the Carolinas. They were the first Europeans, if we except the Northmen, to look upon the American continent, for Columbus at this time had seen only the islands in front of the Gulf of Mexico.
These explorations of the Cabots were of great importance for the reason that they gave England a t.i.tle to the best portion of the North American coast.
FOREIGN MATRIMONIAL ALLIANCES.--The marriages of Henry's children must be noted by us here, because of the great influence these alliances had upon the after-course of English history. A common fear of France caused Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and Henry to form a protective alliance.
To secure the permanency of the union it was deemed necessary to cement it by a marriage bond. The Spanish Infanta was accordingly betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, the prince died soon after the celebration of the nuptials. The Spanish sovereigns, still anxious to retain the advantages of an English alliance, now urged that the young widow be espoused to Arthur's brother Henry, and the English king, desirous on his side to preserve the friends.h.i.+p of Spain, a.s.sented to the betrothal. A rule of the Church, however, which forbade a man to marry his brother's widow, stood in the way of this arrangement; but the queen- mother Isabella managed to secure a decree from the Pope granting permission in this case, and so the young widow was betrothed to Prince Henry, afterward Henry VIII. This alliance of the royal families of England and Spain led to many important consequences, as we shall learn.
To relieve England of danger on her northern frontier, Henry steadily pursued the policy of a marriage alliance with Scotland. His wishes were realized when his eldest daughter Margaret became the wife of James IV., king of that realm. This was a most fortunate marriage, and finally led to the happy union of the two countries under a single crown (see p. 601).
Henry VII. died in 1509, leaving his throne to his son Henry, an energetic and headstrong youth of eighteen years.
3. ENGLAND SEVERED FROM THE PAPACY BY HENRY VIII. (1509-1547).
CARDINAL WOLSEY.--We must here, at the opening of Henry VIII.'s reign, [Footnote: In 1512, joining what was known as the Holy League,--a union against the French king, of which the Pope was the head,--Henry made his first campaign in France. While Henry was across the Channel, James IV. of Scotland thought to give aid to the French king by invading England. The Scottish army was met by the English force at Flodden, beneath the Cheviot Hills, and completely overwhelmed (1513). King James was killed, and the flower of the Scottish n.o.bility were left dead upon the field. It was the most terrible disaster that had ever befallen the Scottish nation. Scott's poem ent.i.tled _Marmion, a Tale of Flodden Field_, commemorates the battle.] introduce his greatest minister, Thomas Wolsey (1471-1530). This man was one of the most remarkable characters of his generation. Henry VIII. elevated him to the office of Archbishop of York, and made him lord chancellor of the realm. The Pope, courting the minister's influence, made him a cardinal, and afterwards papal legate in England. He was now at the head of affairs in both State and Church. His revenues from his many offices were enormous, and enabled him to a.s.sume a style of living astonis.h.i.+ngly magnificent. His household numbered five hundred persons; and a truly royal train, made up of bishops and n.o.bles, attended him with great pomp and parade wherever he went.
HENRY AS DEFENDER OF THE FAITH.--It was early in the reign of Henry VIII.
that Martin Luther tacked upon the door of the Wittenberg church his epoch-making theses. England was stirred with the rest of Western Christendom. Henry wrote a Latin treatise replying to the articles of the audacious monk. The Pope, Leo X., rewarded Henry's Catholic zeal by conferring upon him the t.i.tle of ”Defender of the Faith” (1521). This t.i.tle was retained by Henry after the secession of the Church of England from the Papal See, and is borne by his successors at this day, though they are ”defenders” of quite a different faith from that in the defence of which Henry first earned the t.i.tle.
[Ill.u.s.tration: HENRY VIII. OF ENGLAND. (After a painting by Carl Piloty.)]
HENRY SEEKS TO BE DIVORCED FROM CATHERINE.--We have now to relate some circ.u.mstances which changed Henry from a zealous supporter of the Papacy into its bitterest enemy.
Henry's marriage with Catherine of Aragon had been prompted by policy and not by love. Of the five children born of the union, all had died save a sickly daughter named Mary. In these successive afflictions which left him without a son to succeed him, Henry saw, or feigned to see, a certain sign of Heaven's displeasure because he had taken to wife the widow of his brother.
And now a new circ.u.mstance arose,--if it had not existed for some time previous to this. Henry conceived a violent pa.s.sion for Anne Boleyn, a beautiful and vivacious maid of honor in the queen's household. This new affection so quickened the king's conscience, that he soon became fully convinced that it was his duty to put Catherine aside. [Footnote: Political considerations, without doubt, had much if not most to do in bringing Henry to this state of mind. He was ready to divorce Catherine and openly break with Spain, because the Emperor Charles V., to whom he had offered the hand of the Princess Mary, had married the Infanta of Portugal, and thus cast aside the English alliance. On this point consult Seebohm, _The Era of the Protestant Revolution_, pp. 178-180.]