The manner, fashion, and ordering of me Lancaster Herald at Arms to our Sovereign Lord the King, sent from Sroby the 21st day of October, by the right honourable Lord the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Steward of the King's most honourable household, and Lieutenant General from the Trent northward, and the right honourable Earls of Rutland and Huntingdon of the King's most honourable Counsell, to Pomfret, with a Proclamation to be read amongst the traitorous and rebellious persons assembled at Pomfret contrary to King's laws. And when I did approach near the town of Pomfret, I overtook certain companies of the said rebellious, being common people of the husbandry, which saluted me gently, and gave great honour to the King's coat of arms which I ware. And I demanded of them why they were in harness, and assembled of such sort; and they answered me that it was for the Commonwealth; and said if they did not so, the Commonalty and the Church should be destroyed. And I demanded of them how. And they said that no man should bury, nor christen, nor wedd, nor have their beast unmarked, but that the King would have a certain sum of money for every such thing, and the beast unmarked to his own house, which had never been seen. And I answered them and told them how good and gracious Lord the King had been to them, and how long he had kept them in great wealth, tranquillity and peace; and also that his Grace, nor none of his Counsel, never intended nor thought no such things and articles as they found them grieved with. And with such persuasions as I found and said to them, riding into the Town, I had gat grant of three or four hundred of the Commonalty to go gladly home to their houses, and to ask the King's mercy; and said, they were weary of that life they were in. And resorted first to the Market Cross, where I should have made the proclamation. And Robert Aske, captain of the host, being in the Castle, heard tell that I was comen, and sent for me to come to him; and so I did; and as I entered into the first ward, there I found many in harness, of very cruel fellows, and a porter with a white staff in his hand; and at the two other ward-gates every of them a porter with his staff, accompanied with harnessed men; and so I was brought into the Hall, which I found full of people. And I was commanded to tarry to such time as the said traitorous captain's pleasure was known; and in that space I stood up at the high table in the Hall, and there shewed to the people the cause of my coming, and the effect of the Proclamation; and in doing the same, the said Aske sent for me in to his chamber; and there keeping his port and countenance as though he had been a great Prince, with great rigour and like a tyrant; who was accompanied with the Archbishop of York, the Lord Darcy, Sir Robert Constable, Mr. Magnus, Sir Christopher Danby, and divers. other. And, as my dutie was, I saluted the Archbishop of York and my Lord Darcy, showing to them the cause I came thither for. And then the said Robert Aske, with a cruell and inestimable proud countenance, stretched himself, and took the hearing of my tale, which I opened to him at large, in as much honour to our Sovereign Lord the King as my reason would serve me; which the said Captain Aske gave no reverance to, and superstitiously demanded the sight of my Proclamation. And then I took it out of my purse and delivered it to him, and then he read it openly, without any reverence to my person; and said, it should not need to call no counsell for the answer of the same, for he would of his own wit give me the answer, which was this. He, standing in the highest place of the chamber, taking the high estate upon him, said, "Herald, as a messenger you are welcome to me and all my company, intending as I do. And as for the Proclamation sent from the Lords, from whence you come, shall not be read at the Market Cross, nor in no place amongst my people, which be all under my guiding; nor for fear of loss of lands, life, and goods, not for the power which is against us, doth not enter into our hearts with fear, but are all of one accord with the points of our articles, clearly intending to see a reformation, or else to die in those causes.' And then I demanded of him what his article was. And he said, one was that he and his company would go to London of pilgrimage to the King's Highness, and there to have all vile blood of his Counsell put from him, and all noble blood set up again, and also the Faith of Christ and his laws to be kept, and full restitution of Christ's Church of all wrongs done unto it, and also the Commonalty to be used as they should be and bade me trust to this, for it should be done, or he would die for it. And then I required him, that he would give me this in writing, for my capacity would not serve to bear it away; and he said, "With a good will"; and called for his oath which he gave to his people, and said th'articles was comprehended within the said oath, and delivered it in writing to me, and caused me to read it my self; and he sayd, to that he would sett to his hand, and die in the quarrel, and his people with him. And then I prayed him to put his hand to the said bill, and so he did, and with a proud voice said, "This is mine act, whosoever say the contrary." And also he said, he meant no harm to the King's person, but to see reformation. And I fell down on my knee before him, showing him how I was a messenger, and charged by the King's Counsell to read the Proclamation which I brought, for my discharge; and he clearly answered. me, that of my life I should not; for he would have nothing put into his people's head that should sound contrary to his intent; and said at all times I should have his safe conduct, to come and go in message, wearing the King's coat of arms, or else not and also said, if my Lord of Shrewsbury, or any other of the Lords of the King's army, would come and speak with him, they should have of him their safe conducts, to come safe and go safe; and also said, "Herald, recommend me to the Lords from whence you come, and say to them it were mete that they were with me, for it is for all their wealths that I do." And then he commanded the Lord Darcy to give me two crowns of five shillings to reward, whether I wold or no; and then took me by the arm, and brought me forth of the Castle, and there made a proclamation that I should go safe and come safe, wearing the King's coat, in payne of death; and so took his leave of me, and returned into the Castle in high honour of the people, as a traitor may. And I missed my horse, and I called to him again, for to have my horse, and then he made a proclamation that who so held my horse, and brought him not again immediately, bad kill him without mercy. And then both my horse was delivered to me, and then he commanded that twenty or forty men should bring me out of the Town where I should see the least of his people, nor that I should not speak with them. For surely I think, if I might have redd the Proclamacion and good words unto the people, that all the plough-commonalty would have gone home to their houses. immediately, for they say they be weary of that life they lead, and if they say to the contrary to the captain's will, he shall die immediately. And this all to be true, I, the said Lancaster, hath written this with my hand and true report as mine Oath is." "Lancaster Herrald." (Original Letters, ed. cit., III, 54-) 119. The Six Articles Statutes of the Realm No single document so well illustrates the attitude of Henry VIII. to the Catholic Church as does the "Act Abolishing Diversity in Opinions." In this enactment we find no departure from the tenets of the ancient faith. In its preservation of the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic Communion, we find proof that the Church of Henry VIII. was not Protestant, as to any doctrine except that of papal supremacy. Yet in breaking away from the Catholic Church, and in repudiating the supremacy of the pope, Henry gave a fresh impetus to the Protestant movement, which had been for centuries accumulating force. AN ACT ABOLISHING DIVERSITY IN OPINIONS Whereas the King's most excellant Majesty is by God's law supreme head immediately under Him of this whole Church and Congregation of England, intending the conservation of the same Church and Congregation in a true, sincere, and uniform doctrine of Christ's Religion, calling also to His blessed and most gracious remembrance as well the great and quiet assurance, prosperous increase, and other innumerable commodities which have ever ensued, come, and followed of concord, agreement, and unity in opinions, as also the manifold perils, dangers, and inconveniences, which have heretofore in many places and regions grown, sprung, and arisen of the diversities of minds and opinions, especially of matters of Christian Religion; and therefore desiring that such an unity might and should be charitably established in all things touching and concerning the same, as the same so being established might chiefly be to the honor of Almighty God, the very Author and Fountain of all true unity and sincere concord, and consequently redowned to the common-wealth of this his highness' most noble realm, and of all his loving subjects and other residents and inhabitants of or in the same; hath therefore caused and commanded this his most high Court of Parliament, for sundry and many urgent causes and considerations, to be at this time summoned, and also a synod and convocation of all the archbishops, bishops, and other learned men of the clergy of this his realm, to be in like manner assembled; and forasmuch as in the said Parliament, synod, and convocation there were certain articles, matters, and questions appointed and set forth touching Christian Religion, that is to say; First, whether in the most blessed Sacrament of the Altar re maineth after the consecration the substance of bread and [wine] or no; Secondly, whether it be necessary by God's law that all men should be communicate with both kinds or no; Thirdly, whether priests, that is to say men dedicated to God by priesthood, may by the law of God marry after or no: Fourthly, whether vow of chastity or widowhood made to God advisedly by man or woman be by the law of God to be ob served or no; Fifthly, whether private Masses stand with the law of God and be to be used and continued in the Church and Congregation of England as things whereby good Christian people may and do receive both Godly consolation and wholesome benefits or no; Sixthly, whether auricular confession is necessary to be retained, continued, used, and frequented in the Church or no; the King's most Royal Majesty, most prudently pondering and considering that by occasion of variable and sundry opinions and judgments of the said Articles, great discord and variance hath arisen as well amongst the clergy of this his realm, as amongst a great number of vulgar people, his loving subjects of the same, and being in a full hope and trust that a full and perfect resolution of the said Articles should make a perfect concord and unity generally amongst all his loving and obedient subjects; of his most excellant goodness not only commanded that the said Articles should deliberately and advisedly by his said archbishops, bishops, and other learned men of his clergy, be debated, argued, and reasoned, and their opinions therein to be understood, declared, and known, but also most graciously vouchsafed in his own princely person to descend and come into his said high court of Parliament and Council, and there, like a prince of most high prudence and no less learning, opened and declared many things of high learning and great knowledge touching the said articles, matters, and questions, for an unity to be had in the same; Whereupon, after a great and long deliberate and advised disputation and consultation had and made concerning the said Articles, as well by the consent of the King's Highness as by the assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and other learned men of his clergy in their convocation, and by the consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, it was, and is, finally resolved, accorded, and agreed in manner and form following, that is to say; First, that in the most blessed Sacrament of the Altar, by the strength and efficacy of Christ's mighty word, it being spoken by the priest, is present really, under the |