to light, and a preparation to bring in papistry and superstition again, have thought good, by the advice of the aforesaid, to require and nevertheless straitly to charge and command you, that, immediately upon the sight hereof, you do command the dean and prebendaries of the cathedral church, the parson, vicar, or curate, and churchwardens of every parish within your diocese to bring and deliver unto you or your deputy, any of them for their church and parish, at such convenient place as you shall appoint, all antiphoners, missals, grayles, processionals, manuals, legends, pies, portasies, journals, and ordinals, after the use of Sarum, Lincoln, York, or any other private use; and all other books of service, the keeping whereof should be a let to the usage of the said Book of Common Prayers: and that you take the same books into your hands, or into the hands of your deputy, and them so deface and abolish, that they never after may serve either to any such use as they were provided for, or be at any time a let to that godly and uniform order which by a common consent is now set forth. And if you shall find any persons stubborn or disobedient, in not bringing in the said books, according to the tenour of these our letters, that then ye commit the said person to ward, unto such time as you have certified us of his misbehaviour. And we will and command you, that you also search, or cause search to be made, from time to time, whether any book be withdrawn or hid, contrary to the tenour of these our letters; and the same book to receive into your hands, and to use as in these our letters we have appointed. And furthermore, whereas it is come to our knowledge that divers froward and obstinate persons do refuse to pay towards the finding of bread and wine for the holy communion, according to the order prescribed by the said book, by reason whereof the holy communion is many times omitted upon the Sunday; these are to will and command you to convent such obstinate persons before you, and them to admonish and command to keep the order prescribed in the said book; and if any shall refuse so to do, to punish them by suspension, or other censures of the Church. Fail you not thus to do, as you will avoid our displeasure. Given under our signet, at our palace of Westminster, the 25th of December, the third year of our reign. By the King. Inscriptio hæc est. To the most re excommunication, verend Father in God, our right trusty and well-beloved counsellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In calce hæc nomina habentur, Thomas Cantuarien', R. Ryche, Canc', Wm. Seint John, J. Russell, H. Dorsett, W. Northampton. Nos vero affectantes ex animo domini nostri Regis literis et mandatis obtemperare, volentesque pro nostro erga Regiam celsitudinem officio in demandatis negotiis omnem nostram curam et solertem adhibere diligentiam, vobis pro parte suæ Majestatis districte præcipiendo mandamus harum serie, quatenus receptis præsentibus, cum omni qua poteritis celeritate et diligentia maturis, dilectos filios nostros decanum, canonicos, et præbendarios Ecclesiæ Christi Cantuarien', necnon rectores, vicarios, curatos, plebanos, ac syndicos et iconicos quarumcunque ecclesiarum parochialium nostræ diœceseos Cantuarien' moneatis, hortemini, et præcipiendo mandetis, quatenus ipsi et eorum quilibet vel singuli, omnes et singulos libros in eisdem literis Regiis specifice nominatos, nobis aut nostro in hac parte commissario vel deputato infra palatium nostrum Cantuarien', infra novem dies monitionem et intimationem vestras eis fiendas proxime sequentes, realiter afferant, adducant, et penes nos vel nostrum deputatum hujuscemodi relinquant et deponant, cæteraque omnia et singula in dictis literis descripta perimpleant, exequantur, et sedulo fieri curent, quatenus eos et eorum quemlibet contingunt vel concernunt, sicque vos et vestrum alter sedulo exequatur, sincere perimpleat, et diligenter obediat, quæ ad vestram in hac parte functionem pro congrua executione literarum prædictarum dignoscuntur pertinere, omnibus mora, dilatione, conniventia, et fuco penitus remotis, prout eidem domino nostro Regi sub tui et deputati tui periculo incumbente obtemperare et respondere velitis, et vult vestrum alter. Et quid in hac parte feceritis, et exequi curaveritis, id totum et omne nobis quam citissime significatum iri non postponatis. Dat' in manerio nostro de Lambithe, decimo quarto die mensis Februarii, anno Domini 1549. [1550.] et regni dicti invictissimi in Christo principis et domini nostri Edwardi Sexti quarto, et nostræ consecrationis decimo septimo. f["Forte, œconomos." Wilkins.] XXXIX. The Council's Letter to Bp. Ridley to take down Altars, and place Communion Tables in their stead. Restaur. vol. iv. Right reverend father in God, right trusty and well-beloved, Foxe, Acts, &c. p. 727. we greet you well. And where it is come to our knowledge ed. 1563. that being the altars within the more part of the churches of Heylyn, this realm, already upon good and godly considerations taken Eccles. down, there doth yet remain altars standing in divers others p. 96. churches, by occasion whereof much variance and contention Wilkins, ariseth among sundry of our subjects, which, if good foresight Concilia, were not had, might perchance engender great hurt and incon- p. 65. venience; we let you wit, that minding to have all occasion of contention taken which many away, times groweth by those and such like diversities, and considering that amonges other things belonging to our royal office and cure, we do account the greatest to be, to maintain the common quiet of our realm; we have thought good by the advice of our Council to require you, and nevertheless specially to charge and command you, for the avoiding of all matters of further contention and strife about the standing or taking away of the said altars, to give substantial order throughout all your diocese, that with all diligence all the altars in every church or chapel, as well in places exempted as not exempted, within your said diocese, be taken down, and in the stead of them a table to be set up in some convenient part of the chancel, within every such church or chapel, to serve for the ministration of the blessed communion. And to the intent the same may be done without the offence of such our loving subjects as be not yet so well persuaded in that behalf as we would wish, we send unto you herewith certain considerations g gathered and collected, that make for the purpose; the which, and such other as you shall think meet to be set forth to persuade the weak to embrace our proceedings in this part, we pray you cause to be declared to the people by some discreet preachers, in such places as you shall think meet, before the taking down of the said altars; so as both the weak consciences of other may be instructed and satisfied as much as may be, and this our pleasure the more quietly executed. For the better [See these considerations in Foxe, Acts, &c. vol. ii. p. 700] doing whereof, we require you to open the foresaid considerations in that our cathedral church in your own person, if you conveniently may, or otherwise by your chancellor, or some other grave preacher, both there and in such other market towns and most notable places of your diocese, as you may think most requisite. Given under our signet, at our palace of West minster, the 24. day of November, the fourth E. Somerset, Thomas Cant., W. Wiltsher, Jhon Foxe, Acts, &c. p. XL. Letter from the Council to the Princess Mary 8. AFTER our due commendations to your Grace. By your letters to us, as an answer to ours, touching certain process against two of your chaplains, for saying mass against the law and statute of the realm, we perceive both the offence of your chaplains is otherwise excused than the matter may bear, and also our good wills otherwise misconstrued than we looked for. And for the first part, where your greatest reason to excuse the offence of a law, is a promise made to the Emperor's Majesty, whereof you write, that first some of us be witnesses, next that the ambassador for the Emperor declared the same unto you, and lastly, that the same promise was affirmed to you before the King's Majesty at your last being with him: we have thought convenient to repeat the matter from the beginning, as it hath hitherto proceeded; whereupon it shall appear how evidently your chaplains hath offended the law, and you also mistaken the promise. The promise is but one in itself, but by times thrice as you say repeated. Of which times, the first is chiefly to be considered, for upon that do the other two depend. It is very 66 [Strype supposes that" this excellent letter was drawn by the pen of Archbishop Cranmer;" but he gives no reason for his opinion. Memorials, vol. ii. p. 251. Burnet observes, that, "being in the style of a churchman, "it seems to have been penned either by Cranmer or Ridley." Ref. vol. ii. p. 357. For the remainder of the correspondence, see Foxe, Acts, &c. vol. ii. p. 702, &c.] true the Emperor made request to the King's Majesty, that you might have liberty to use the mass in your house, and to be as it were exempted from the danger of the statute. To which request divers good reasons were made, containing the discommodities that should follow the grant thereof, and means devised, rather to persuade you to obey and receive the general and godly reformation of the whole realm, than by a private fancy to prejudice a common order. But yet, upon earnest desire and entreaty made in the Emperor's name, thus much was granted, that for his sake and your own also it should be suffered and winked at, if you had the private mass used in your own closet for a season, until you might be better informed, (whereof there was some hope,) having only with you a few of your own chamber, so that for all the rest of your household the service of the realm should be used, and none other; further than this the promise exceeded not. And truly such a matter it then seemed to some of us, as indeed it was, that well might the Emperor have required of the King's Majesty a matter of more profit, but of more weight or difficulty to be granted his Majesty could not. After this grant in words, there was by the ambassador now dead, oftentimes desired some writing, as a testimony of the same. But that was ever denied, not because we meant to break the promise, as it was made, but because there was a daily hope of tion. your reforma Now to the second time, you say the Emperor's ambassadors' declaration made mention of a promise to you. It might well so be, but we think no otherwise than as it appeareth before written. If it were, his fault it was to declare more than he heard; ours it may not be, that deny not what we have said. As for the last time when you were with the King's Majesty, the same some of us (whom by these words your letter noteth) do well remember, that no other thing was granted to you in this matter, but as the first promise was made to the Emperor; at which time you had too many arguments made to approve the proceedings of the King's Majesty, and to condemn the abuse of the mass, to think that where the private mass was judged ungodly, there you should have authority and ground to use it. About the same time, the ambassador made means to have some testimony of the promise under the Great Seal; and that not heard, to have it but by a letter; and that also was not only |