CHAPTER XV.

THE RESTORATION OF THE REFORMATION MOVEMENT.

1558-1559.

§ 1. The English Reformers abroad during the reign of Mary. § 2. They hasten home on accession of Elizabeth. § 3. Doubts as to Elizabeth's sentiments. § 4. The paper of recommendations in religion. § 5. The Commission to revise the Prayer-Book. § 6. Proclamation against innovations. § 7. The Lord Keeper's speech. § 8. Convocation entirely in favour of Romanist dogma. § 9. A disputation resolved on. § 10. The Act of Supremacy. § 11 The disputation at Westminster Abbey. § 12. The revision of the Prayer-Book. § 13. The PrayerBook altered after leaving the Commissioners. § 14. The Act of Uniformity. § 15. Use of the revised Prayer-Book commences. Parliament tampers with Church revenues. § 17. The Romanist bishops deprived. § 18. Their subsequent treatment. § 19. Commission to visit the clergy. § 20. Number of those deprived. § 21. Jewel's account of the state of things. § 22. Queen Elizabeth's Injunctions. § 23. The Commissioners exceed the directions of the Injunctions. § 24. The Articles of Visitation.

§ 16.

§ 1. DURING the troublous period of the reign of Mary a considerable number of English of reforming views-both clergy and laity—were living in exile in various towns on the Continent. The Lutheran Churches had indeed churlishly refused an asylum to the fugitives,1 but in Switzerland, the Low Countries, and the cities on the Rhine, the most generous hospitality was everywhere extended to the English exiles. Of bishops who had escaped there were Poynet of Winchester, Barlow of Bath and Wells, Scory of Chichester, Coverdale of Exeter, Bale of Ossory. Of deans-Cox, Haddon, Horne, Turner, Sampson. Of archdeacons-Cranmer, Aylmer, Bullingham. There also were many divines whose names became well known in the after-history of the ChurchGrindal, King, Sandys, Jewel, Reynolds, Pilkington, Noel, Knox, Gilby, Whittingham, Foxe. These, together with a large number of laity of position and importance, made up a total of about 800.2 settled in the towns of Arau, Basle, Zurich, Geneva, Emden, Wezel, Strasburg, Worms, and Frankfort. It is with this latter place that the history of the English exiles is principally connected. In their other settlements they lived together amicably 1 Orig. Letters, 163-168. 2 Collier, vi. 19.

and contentedly. In Frankfort great dissensions prevailed. These have been detailed (and perhaps exaggerated) in a tract called The Troubles of Frankfort, written by one who had borne a share in them on the side of the discontented minority.1 The French congregation settled in London during Edward's days had fled to Frankfort on the accession of Mary, and a church had been assigned to them. A party of English soon followed them there, and to these the magistrates allowed the alternate use with the French of the same church. To prevent, however, the scandals of opposing creeds and rituals, the English were required to make their worship agree with that of the French as far as possible. This they undertook to do, and so pleased were they with the kindness which they received at Frankfort, that they sent letters to their brethern at Strasburg, Zurich, and other places, magnifying their privileges, and inviting them to join them. The Strasburg community answered, recommending them to put themselves under the direction of one of the exiled bishops. The Zurich company strongly advocated the use of the Book of Common Prayer. They declared that they were determined to use no other form of worship.2 The Frankfort men considered themselves precluded from the use of the book by the undertaking they had given to the magistrates of Frankfort. They wrote to Zurich to this effect, and added also, under the influence of Knox3 and Lever, who were acting as their ministers, some words about 'unprofitable ceremonies," and the probability that a more thorough reformation would have been carried out in England had not the wickedness of men hindered it. This tone alarmed the more sober-minded of the English exiles, and Grindal undertook a mission from Strasburg to the Frankfort men, to endeavour to prevail on them to use either the Prayer-Book absolutely, or with as little modification as possible. Upon this Knox and Whittingham determined to bring the authority of Calvin, the great theologian of the Reformation, to bear upon the English book. Calvin was tolerably familiar with its contents already, but these two divines thought it consistent with their duty to write a description of the book to him, which is in fact a studied misrepresentation of its contents. Calvin answered according to their mind, that the book contained "tolerable fooleries," "popish dregs," etc. Nevertheless he would not declare that the use of it was absolutely unlawful.

1 Printed in the Phoenix, vol. ii. The Romanist writers, sorely perplexed how to tell the story of Mary's reign without exciting too great disgust, run off joyfully to this tract, and revel in its details. They forget, however, to say anything of the seven or eight other settlements in which quiet and peace prevailed. 2 Phoenix, ii. 55.

For an account of John Knox, see Notes and Illustrations.

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As a substitute for it, which should also satisfy the requirements of the Frankfort magistrates, an order of service was constructed, partly taken from the English book, and partly "from other things put to it as the state of the Church required." But this compromise was not destined to be of long duration. Dr. Cox and some other English Churchmen arrived at Frankfort, and at once testified strong objection to the new use." They spoke the responses aloud, and declared that "they would do as they had done in England." Knox preached violently against their interference, and, finding himself unable to silence them, appealed to the Frankfort magistrates. Cox and his friends retaliated by accusing Knox of disloyalty to the emperor, on the ground of a book which he had published some time before. This sufficed to alarm the Frankfort magistrates, who requested Knox to leave the city, and the Church party were thus enabled to effect the complete establishment of the English Prayer-Book. Dr. Horne, late Dean of Durham, was appointed minister, but two elders were appointed to assist him, and the disputes now broke out afresh on the question of discipline; the greatest efforts being made by a considerable party to establish a system of discipline similar to that used by the Presbyterian communities. These unhappy dissensions continued until the accession of Elizabeth. At Geneva, Knox and Whittingham adopted a form of service drawn up by Calvin, which formed the groundwork of the book so often alluded to in the Puritan struggles of the reign of Elizabeth. English Puritanism, developed and systematised in these dissensions, exercised for a long period an unhealthy influence on the history of the Church of England.

§ 2. No sooner was Elizabeth seated on the throne than the exiles hastened home in crowds, believing that the day was their own; and straightway on their arrival they began to deface images, demolish altars, and to preach both privately and openly the extreme reforming views which they had learned abroad. Such proceedings were rash and ill-advised. If they had in any way studied the character of the new ruler they might have known that whatever settlement in religion she would favour would be grounded not so much on sentiment or religious conviction as on politic considerations. Any strong demonstration of anti-papal opinions, charged in the then state of England and Europe with the greatest peril to the State, was sure to be received with disfavour.

§ 3. As yet it was not clearly known what the new queen's 1 Printed in Phoenix, vol. ii. p. 204.

2 Heylin, Hist. Presbyt. p. 245; Camden's Elizabeth; Kennett, ii. 371.

sentiments in religion were. She had conformed to her sister's creed during her lifetime. She had, indeed, given indications that the old state of things was not to continue unchanged. Eight councillors favourable to reforming views had been added to the Council. She had treated Bishop Bonner with marked disfavour, and ordered Bishop Oglethorpe not to elevate the Host in her chapel. Still she heard mass, and was crowned with all the old ceremonial. Everything should have taught the reforming party to wait patiently for awhile, satisfied with the ceasing of the perзecution, and hoping for a gradual restoration of the settlement made under Edward VI. Happy, indeed, was it that the new queen was surrounded with shrewd and cautious councillors, who, weighing well the circumstances of the situation, were enabled to take the most prudent course in spite of the provocations of the zealots and the menaces of the favourers of the old superstitions.

§ 4. A paper, drawn up by one of them,' sketches out the policy which, in the main, was afterwards carried out. Assuming. that it was desirable that the Church of England should be "reduced to its former purity," the writer goes on to consider the best means of effecting this. He recommends that those who had had weight with Queen Mary should be gradually "abased," and those who had been faithful to the interests of Elizabeth advanced to authority. That, under the pressure of the Præmunire statute, the bishops and clergy who had enriched themselves by the late queen's concessions should be made to disgorge their wealth to the Crown. That the sheriffs and justices in the counties should be removed. That not much attention should be paid to the demands of the ultra-reformers, for "better were it that they should suffer, than her Highness or the Commonwealth should shake and be in danger." That a commission of divines should be at once appointed to revise the English Prayer-Book, with a view to its restoration, and that until this was done a "strait prohibition" should be made of all innovation. Thus the main body of the nation, indifferent to the form of religion, was to be bribed by the spoil of the Church, and the restoration to the Crown of those sources of revenue, the alienation of which they had so grudgingly conceded in the late reign; while the lovers of the Reformation were to be propitiated by the restoration of the reformed worship, changed, however, in some few particulars to conciliate and attract the more moderate of the Romanists.

§ 5. This prudent policy was at once adopted. A commission, consisting of Doctors Parker, Pilkington, Bill, May, Cox, Grindal

1 Either by Sir Thomas Smith or Sir William Cecil.

Burnet, Records, b. iii. No. i.

and Whitehead, together with Sir Thomas Smith, was appointed to revise the second Prayer-Book of Edward VI., and until their work was completed the usage of the interim was provided for by a proclamation, issued December 27, 1558.

§ 6. In this the queen "charges and commands all manner of her subjects, as well those called to the ministry in the Church as all others, that they do forbear to teach or preach, or to give audience to any manner of teaching or preaching, other than to the Gospels and Epistles, commonly called the Gospel and Epistle of the day, and to the Ten Commandments, in the vulgar tongue, without exposition of any manner, sense, or meaning to be applied and added; or to use any other manner of public prayer, rite, or ceremony in the church but that which is already used, and by law received as the common Litany, used at this present in her Majesty's own chapel, and the Lord's Prayer and the Creed in English, until consultation may be had by Parliament, by her Majesty, and her three estates of this realm, for the better conciliation and accord of such cases as at this present are moved in matters and ceremonies of religion."2 This proclamation, while it restrained the hot spirits, could not fail to indicate to both Romanists and Reformers the real scope of the religious policy intended; and while it comforted all sober-minded persons of the latter class, must have completely overthrown the hopes of the Romanists.

§ 7. A further indication of what was intended was given by the speech of Sir N. Bacon, the new Lord Keeper, at the opening of Parliament (January 25, 1559). He was commissioned to speak strongly against both extremes in religion :-" While nothing be advised or done which any way in continuance of time were likely to breed or nourish any kind of idolatry or superstition, so, on the other side, heed is to be taken that, by no licentious or loose handling, any manner of occasion be given to any contempt or irreverent behaviour towards God and godly things, that no spice of irreligion might creep in or be conceived."

§ 8. In the proposals for the religious settlement no mention was made of taking counsel with the Convocation, as it was well known that nothing in the way of reforming views could be hoped for from that body. Every element of this sort had been fully weeded out of it, and both Upper and Lower Houses were completely of accord to maintain the most extreme dogmas of the

1 These portions of English service were adopted for use as having been used in the time of Henry VIII., and not held to be grounded on the Act of Uniformity, which had been repealed. 2 Cardwell, Doc. Annals, i. 176 3 D'Ewes, Journals of Queen Elizabeth's Parliaments, p. 12.