GARDINER, STEPHEN English bishop and lord chancellor, was born at Bury St. Edmunds, the son of a cloth merchant. He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and be came doctor of civil law in 152o, and of canon law in the following year. About '525 he was made secretary to Cardinal Wolsey whom he accompanied on his important diplomatic mission to France in 1527. Next year Gardiner was sent by Wolsey to Italy with Edward Fox, provost of King's college, Cambridge, to promote the business of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Though he failed to procure the desired decretal commission, Gardiner by his great intrepidity, won from Clement his consent to a general corn mission for Campeggio and Wolsey to try the cause in England. This, as Wolsey saw, was quite inadequate and he again instructed Gardiner to press the pope to send the desired decretal on, even if the latter was only to be shown to the king and himself and then destroyed. At last the pope gave what was desired on the express conditions that Campeggio was to show it to the king and Wolsey and no one else, and then destroy it, the two legates holding their court under the general commission. In 1529 Gardiner was sent again to Italy, but this time the pope would make no further con cessions, or promise not to revoke the cause to Rome.
Gardiner's services, however, were fully appreciated. He was appointed the king's secretary. He had been already some years archdeacon of Taunton, and the archdeaconry of Norfolk was added to it in March 1529, which two years later he resigned for that of Leicester. In 1530 he was sent to Cambridge to procure the decision of the university as to the unlawfulness of marriage with a deceased brother's wife, in accordance with the new plan for settling the question without the pope's intervention. In this he succeeded, though not without a good deal of artifice. In Nov. 1531 the king rewarded him with the bishopric of Winchester, vacant by Wolsey's death. In 1532, nevertheless, he displeased the king by the part he took in the preparation of the famous "Answer of the Ordinaries" to the complaints brought against them in the House of Commons.
His next important action was not so creditable ; for he was "assistant" to Cranmer as counsel for the king, when the arch bishop, in the absence of Catherine, pronounced her marriage with Henry null and void on May Immediately after wards he was sent to Marseilles, where an interview between the pope and Francis I. took place in September, of which event Henry stood in great suspicion, as Francis had hitherto maintained the justice of his cause. At this interview Bonner intimated the appeal of Henry VIII. to a general council in case the pope should proceed to sentence against him. This appeal, and also one on be half of Cranmer presented with it, were drawn up by Gardiner. In 1535 he and other bishops were called upon to vindicate the king's new title of "Supreme Head of the Church of England." The result was his celebrated De vera obedientia, the ablest of all the vindications of royal supremacy, reprinted in 1537 by the Swiss reformers. In the same year he had a dispute with Cranmer about the visitation of his diocese. He was also employed to answer the pope's brief threatening to deprive Henry of his king dom. During the next few years he was engaged in various em bassies in France and Germany until 1S38 when, owing to Crom well's mistrust, he was replaced as ambassador in Paris by Bonner. In 5539 he took part in the enactment of the severe statute of the Six Articles, which led to the resignation of bishops Latimer and Shaxton and the persecution of the Protestant party. In 1540, on the death of Cromwell he was elected chancellor of the University of Cambridge. A few years later he attempted to fasten a charge of heresy upon Archbishop Cranmer in connection with the Act of the Six Articles; and but for the intervention of the king would probably have succeeded. Though he had supported the royal supremacy, Gardiner objected to the religious doctrines of the Reformation. He had to contend with frequent storms of royal indignation; but the king had need of him quite as much as he had of Cranmer; for Gardiner, even under royal supremacy, was anxious to prove that England had not fallen away from the faith, while Cranmer's authority as primate was necessary to upholding that supremacy. Thus Gardiner and the archbishop maintained opposite sides of the king's church policy; and though Gardiner was encouraged by the king to put up articles against the arch bishop for heresy, the archbishop could always rely on the king's protection.
Under Edward VI. Gardiner was completely opposed to the policy of the dominant party both in ecclesiastical and in civil matters. The religious changes he objected to both on principle and on the ground of their being moved during the king's minor ity, and he resisted Cranmer's project of a general visitation. His remonstrances, however, were met by his committal to the Fleet, and the visitation of his diocese was held during his im prisonment. Though soon released, it was not long before he was called before the council, and, refusing to give them satisfaction, was thrown into the Tower, where he remained for over five years. His bishopric was given to Poynet, a chaplain of Cranmer's and bishop of Rochester. On Mary's accession, Gardiner was restored to his bishopric, and as lord chancellor, set the crown on the queen's head at her coronation. He also opened her first parlia ment and for some time was her leading councillor.
He was now called upon, in advanced life, to undo not a little of of his early work—to vindicate the legitimacy of the queen's birth and the lawfulness of her mother's marriage, to restore the old religion, and to recant what he had written touching the royal supremacy. It is said that he wrote a formal retraction of his De vera obedientia which is no longer extant. As chancellor he nego tiated the queen's marriage treaty with Philip, to which he shared the general repugnance, though he could not oppose her will. In executing it, however, he provided that the Spaniards should in nowise interfere in the government of the country. After the coral ing of Cardinal Pole, and the reconciliation of the realm to the see of Rome, he still remained in high favour. He no doubt approved of the act, which passed the House of Lords while he presided there as chancellor, for the revival of the heresy laws. Neither is there any doubt that he sat in judgment on Bishop Hooper, and on several other preachers whom he condemned to be degraded from the priesthood. But he endeavoured to save the lives of Cranmer and Northumberland, and much as he wad maligned by opponents, there are strong evidences that his natural disposition was humane and generous. In May 1553 he went to Calais as one of the English commissioners to promote peace with France ; but their efforts were ineffectual. In Oct. 15J5 he again opened parlia ment as lord chancellor, but soon fell ill and died at Whitehall on Nov. He was buried in Winchester cathedral.
Besides his conspicuous statesmanship and legal ability, Gar diner possessed a learning in divinity far from commonplace. His part in the drawing up of doctrinal formularies in Henry VIII.'s time is not clear; but at a later date he wrote tracts in defence of the Real Presence against Cranmer, some of which, being written in prison, were published abroad under a feigned name. Con troversial writings also passed between him and Bucer, with whom he had several interviews in Germany, when he was there as Henry VIII.'s ambassador. A friend of learning he took great interest in promoting the study of Greek at Cambridge. He was, however, opposed to the new method of pronouncing the language intro duced by Sir John Cheke, and wrote letters to him and Sir Thomas Smith upon the subject, in which, according to Ascham, his op ponents showed themselves the better critics, but he the superior genius. His house was spoken of by Leland as the seat of elo quence and the special abode of the muses.