While, however, the king of England threw off the political yoke of the church of Rome, he adhered, with blind obstinacy, to its most pernicious errors ; and his subjects were thus brought into a dilemma, which expo sed all parties to persecution at his pleasure. It was a capital crime to acknowledge the pope's supremacy ; and, on the other hand, it was equally punishable to profess the reformed principles. The Queen, Cromwell, secre tary of state, and Archbishop Cranmer, secretly favoured the Protestant tenets; but the Duke of Norfolk, Gardi ner bishop of Winchester, and Sir Thomas More, who succeeded Wolscy as chancellor, were zealous suppor ters of the old religion. The latter, with all his natural gentleness and enlarged mind, acted the part of a fu rious inquisitor in the prosecution of heresy ; and, under his administration, many were put to death for harbour ing the reformed teachers, neglecting the fasts of the church, or declaiming against the vices of the Popish ecclesiastics. By these severe executions, however, the people were rendered only the more favourable to the new doctrines, and inspired with greater horror of the old; while on the other hand, many eminent individuals, who were friendly to the Romish church, and even in strumental in those cruelties, suffered in their turn whenever they ventured to oppose the king's measures. Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, hav ing refused to take the oath which acknowledged Hen ry's supremacy as head of the church, and expressed an approbation of his divorce, were thrown into prison, and treated with unusual severity. Archbishop Cranmer, after having failed in his endeavours to persuade them to comply, used all his influence to alleviate their suffer ings, and to save them from the fate with which they were threatened. But the king, knowing their attach ment to the see of Rome, and the high regard which was paid by all its adherents to their opinion and exam ple, was determined to awe the Papal party by their de struction. They were tried, condemned, and beheaded. (See Mozz.) When their execution was reported at Rome, the utmost indignation was expressed against Henry; and he was denounced by the Italian orators, as worse than Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and all the most unrelenting enemies of the church. Paul III. who had succeeded to the pontificate, summoned the king of Eng gland, with all his adherents, to appear at Rome, within ninety days, to answer for his crimes ; and should they fail to obey, pronounced the sentence of excommunica tion, depriving Henry of his crown, laying the kingdom under an interdict, declaring the issue of his second mar riage illegitimate, dissolving all his leagues with any Catholic prince, bestowing his dominions upon any inva der, absolving his subjects from their oath of allegiance, and declaring it lawful for any one to seize, enslave, and plunder them, as long as they retained their fidelity to his person. But these censures, though passed, were not published, till all agreement with the English mo narch should become hopeless, and till the emperor should be in a condition to carry the sentence into exe cution. Henry, on his part, knowing that he might ex pect' every injury which it might be in the power of Charles to inflict, exerted all his policy to incapacitate his adversary from giving effect to his resentment, re newed his league with Francis, and even made advances to the leaders of the Protestant league in Germany. In the mean time, the decease of Queen Catherine, by re. moving the foundation of the emperor's principal quar rel with Henry, induced the former to make attempts rather to conciliate his friendship, and to detach hint from the interests of France. Thus was the king left at full liberty to exercise the decisive authority which he had acquired over his subjects, and to pursue his schemes for the utter destruction of papal authority in his domi nions.
The monks, in their rage against Henry, employed all their influence to inflame the people against his govern ment; and having engaged in various treasonable prac tices, the king resolved to root them out of his kingdom. Commissioners were appointed to inspect the monaste ries; and the greatest disorders having been detected, the parliament was directed to suppress all the smaller religious houses, and to confiscate their goods and reve nues for the use of the crown. The reformers gained a farther triumph, by a vote passed in convocation, and understood to be directed by the king, for publishing a new translation of the sacred scriptures; but their cause sustained, about the same time, a severe blow in the fate which befel their great patroness Anne Boleyne. Her attachment to the Protestant opinions created her many inveterate enemies, who only waited for a favour able occasion to destroy her influence with the king. Henry's love to this lady, during the six years which were employed in procuring his divorce from Catherine, seemed to increase by every obstacle which was thrown in the way of his desires ; but he had not long obtained possession of his object when his affection languished, and his heart became estranged from his consort. As
she had been delivered of a dead son, which disappoint ed his extreme desire of male issue, his violent temper was ready to regard her as answerable for the misfor tune; and her enemies took occasion, from her levity of behaviour, to inflame the king's jealousy by putting the worst construction upon the harmless, but unbecoming, liberties to which she was addicted. Her sister-in-law particularly, the Viscountess of Rochcfort, a woman of most profligate character, regardless of either truth or humanity, insinuated the most cruel suspicions into the mind of Henry; and even went the length of suggesting, that the queen was engaged in a criminal correspon dence with her own brother. The king's jealousy be came more unrelenting and more ready to lay hold of the slightest circumstance, in consequence of his love being already transferred to another object, Jane Sey mour, one of the queen's maids of honour. The queen's innocence cannot reasonably be questioned ; and even though she had been more guilty, Henry's own noto rious infidelities as a husband might have restrained him from exacting the punishment of death. But his cruelty was as insatiable as his lewdness; and the unhappy ob ject of his rage, being tried for adultery and incest, was condemned, without any legal evidence, to be burned or beheaded at the king's pleasure. When this dreadful sentence was pronounced, she discovered no emotions of terror; but lifting up her hands towards heaven, she said, Father! 0 Creator! thou who art the way, the truth, and the life, thou knowest that I have not deserv ed this fate." She continued to the last to make the most solemn protestations of her innocence ; and behaved, at her execution, with the utmost decency and resolu tion. Henry himself gave the best proof of the queen's innocence, and of the sentiment by which he had been actuated in her condemnation, by celebrating, on the very day after her execution, his marriage with Jane Seymour; but his new consort died in the following year, after having been delivered of a son, who was named Ed ward.
Having summoned a parliament and convocation, he found both assemblies completely subservient to all his views; and having acquired, by their enactments, the most absolute authority, he proceeded, without restraint or remorse, to gratify the savage and selfish passions of his heart. The tyrannical nature of his measures, and particularly the destitute condition in which the monks, expelled from the suppressed monasteries, were left to wander about the country, at length excited strong dis contents among the people, which in many places broke out into formidable insurrections. These, however, hav ing been repressed, and their principal leaders put to death, his authority at home, and his influence with fo reign powers, having been confirmed by the birth of a son, he resolved to sieze the present opportunity for ac complishing the entire destruction of the monasteries. To this measure he was impelled, at once by resentment against some of the abbots, who were suspected of hav ing encouraged the recent disturbances, and by.his ra pacious desires to supply the means of his profusion. In consequence of the king's unlimited power, and the pro gress of the Reformation even among those who had taken the vows, his design was so successfully conduct ed, that, in less than two years, he got possession of all the monastic revenues. He had now suppressed, at dif ferent times, 645 monasteries, (of which 28 had abbots possessed of seats in parliament,) 90 colleges, 2374 chan tries and free chapels, and 110 hospitals. The whole ;Annual revenue of these establishments amounted to 161,1001.; a sum, which, contrary to what has been ge nerally apprehended, did not exceed the twentieth part of the national income. In order to reconcile the people to these severe measures and extensive innovations, the most detestable stories were propagated respecting the immoral lives of the monks; their reliques, and other superstitions, were exposed to ridicule; and their pre tended miracles openly disclosed : (See REFORMATION). The nation was also made to understand, that the king would henceforth have no occasion to levy taxes, but would be able, from the abbey lands alone, do defray, both during peace and war, the whole charges of go vernment ; while, at the same time, he interested the higher orders in his measures, by giving in presents, or selling at low prices, the revenues of convents, and even the benefices of the regular clergy, to his favourites and courtiers.