Greek Gods- Rome- Middle Ages- England
- Автор: Harding Samuel B.
- Год: 1909
- Язык: английский
- Год: Heritage History
- Жанр: История
Электронная книга - «Greek Gods- Rome- Middle Ages- England». Краткое содержание книги:
Greek Gods and Heroes
City of the Seven Hills
The Story of the Middle Ages
The Story of England
It was not long before these Protestant ideas began to spread into England also. One who opposed them wrote that "even the chiefest and most weighty matters of our religion and faith are called in question, babbled, talked, and jangled upon." Although Henry VIII. had reformed the government of the Church in England to suit his convenience, he would not permit changes to be made in its doctrine. Indeed, before he began his divorce suit, he wrote so well against Luther that the Pope granted him the title, "Defender of the Faith,"—a title which his successors still bear!
Accordingly, Henry VIII. now persecuted equally the Catholics who would not go as far as he did, and Protestants who went further. His most important victim, for religion's sake, was Sir Thomas More, a learned and noble-minded Englishman, who was Henry's Chancellor, after Wolsey's fall. As Chancellor, More had put to death Protestants, and now it was his turn to suffer death, on a charge of treason, for denying that the King was the supreme head of the Church of England. His gentle bearing and courage on the scaffold aroused the pity and admiration of all. As he laid his head on the block, he moved his beard aside, saying with sad humor:
"It is a pity that that should be cut which has committed no treason."
Henry VIII. did not content himself with putting to death those who differed from him in religion. He was six times married, and two of his wives were executed. Anne Boleyn bore the King one child, the Princess Elizabeth; then after a few brief years she lost the King's favor, and was put to death on a charge of unfaithfulness. A few days later, the King married his third wife, who died in little more than a year, after having given to Henry his only son—the future Edward VI. Henry's fourth wife behaved badly, and she, too, was executed—perhaps justly.
Then Thomas Cromwell, who, after Wolsey and More, was the King's chief minister, brought about a marriage between Henry VIII. and a Protestant German princess; to whom, however, Henry took such a dislike that he divorced her at the earliest possible moment. Cromwell had been a faithful, though unscrupulous, minister to the King; but for making this unsatisfactory marriage, he was now condemned unheard, and sent to the block. With equal bloodthirstiness, every possible rival to the throne was put to death; and thus order and peace was kept in the land.
In his later years, Henry VIII. became very fat, and grew feeble in health. His sixth wife, strange to say, outlived him. He died in 1547, after ruling for thirty-eight important years. He was a strong King, but was wholly selfish and cruel. England prospered greatly in his time, both at home and abroad. His reign is chiefly to be remembered as the time when the old ties were broken which bound the English Church to Rome; but it was not until after his death that changes were made in the doctrine and worship of the Church.
Topics for Thought and Search
What was the connection between the Renaissance and the changes in religious ideas which make the Reformation.
What did Wolsey do for England?
Was the breaking up of the monasteries just or unjust? Was it a good or a bad thing for England? Why?
Find out what you can of Sir Thomas More.
Was Henry VIII,[.] a good or bad man? Why? Was he a good or bad King? Why?
Was the Church in England Catholic or Protestant at the time of Henry VIII.'s death? Give your reasons.
The Reformation Established
Henry VIII.'s successor was his only son, Edward VI., who at the time of his father's death was but nine years old. In the Council, which carried on the government till he should come of age, the Duke of Somerset, who was the young King's uncle, speedily gained control and took the title of Protector. He was opposed to harsh government, and had many good ideas; but he tried to do everything at once, and so did nothing well.
Edward VI
Under Somerset's rule, Protestant changes were rapidly made. Church images were pulled down, pictures of saints and angels were whitewashed over, and many of the old customs and holy days were suppressed. The Church service was changed from the Catholic "mass-service," in Latin, to a Protestant "preaching service," in the English tongue.
Following the example which was set by the German and Swiss reformers, the English clergy were permitted to marry.
These changes went further than most Englishmen of that day wanted, so there was much discontent on religious grounds. Other grievances also existed, of another kind.
The old "common lands," on which each villager had the right to pasture his cattle, were being fenced in by the lords of the manors; and the old "open fields," devoted to the raising of grain, were giving place to "inclosures," in which the lords carried on sheep-raising. Since it took fewer men to herd sheep than it did to till the soil, many men were thus thrown out of work, and the problem of the "unemployed" first began to trouble the government.
"Our captain's name is Poverty," said the leader of a band of rioters in the reign of Henry VIII., "for he and his cousin Necessity hat brought us to this doing."
Sir Thomas More was one of many who saw the evils of these changes.
"Your sheep," he said, "that used to be so meek and tame, and such small eaters, have now become such great devourers, and so wild, that they eat up and swallow down the very men themselves. They consume, destroy, and devour whole fields, houses, and cities."
As a result, rebellions broke out in England: in the West, to restore the religious laws of Henry VIII.; and in the East, chiefly for these agricultural reasons. Both movements were put down, but they had the effect of seriously weakening Somerset's government.
Somerset's policy towards Scotland was also unsuccessful.
Henry VIII.'s elder sister had been married to the King of the Scots, in the hope of bringing the two countries together. But, in 1513, he was defeated and slain in battle, while invading England. In 1542 his son was likewise defeated while attacking England. This King died soon afterward, leaving his throne to his five year old daughter, Mary Stuart.
This was the condition when Somerset interfered in the affairs of Scotland. Somerset's object was partly to aid the Reformation there, and partly to marry Edward VI. to the young Queen of Scotland. In the battle of Pinkie, the English won a great victory over the Scots; but it destroyed all hope of carrying out the marriage.
"We mislike not the match," said one of the Scots, "but the manner of the wooing."
The little Queen of the Scots was sent over to France, where she was reared as a Catholic, and was married to the future King of that country. Much trouble came to England, in later days, as a result of these events.
Both at home and abroad, Somerset's rule was thus a failure. The result was that the Council determined to remove him. His power passed to his rival, the Duke of Northumberland. Soon after this, Somerset was put to death on a charge of treason.
Northumberland was an able and ambitious man. As a means of keeping his power, and of enriching himself and friends, he favored the Protestants and continued the work of the Reformation. But he cared little for religion, and at the end of his life he claimed that he had been a Catholic all the time.
The young King had now become a lad of fifteen years, and was more than usually bright and well educated. But unfortunately he fell into a sickness, and it soon became evident that he would never live to take the rule into his own hands. The next heir to the throne was his half-sister, Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. Northumberland, however, plotted to exclude her, and to raise Lady Jane Grey to the throne. Lady Jane was the granddaughter of Henry VIII.'s younger sister, and had been married to Northumberland's son, Lord Guilford Dudley.