The Remains of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

PREFACE.

IT is the object of the present publication to bring together all that is extant from the pen of Archbishop Cranmer. The utility of such an undertaking was pointed out more than a century ago by Strype. "As the Archbishop," says that diligent antiquary, " had been an hard student, so he "was a very great writer, both in respect of the number of "books and treatises he compiled, as of the learning, judg

ment, and moment of them." He then proceeds, after enumerating them at considerable length, to remark: “If "somebody of leisure, and that had opportunity of libra"ries, would take the pains to collect together all these "books and writings of this Archbishop, and publish them, "it would be a worthy work, as both retrieving the me"mory of this extraordinary man, who deserved so well of "this Church, and serving also much to illustrate the his66 tory of the Reformation a." But notwithstanding this Cranmer's suggestion, no complete edition b of Cranmer's Works has Works. ever appeared. And yet many even of those which have

a Strype, Cranmer, pp. 394. 398.

b The nearest approach to such a publication is the Selection from Cranmer's Works, which forms the third volume of The Fathers of the English Church, London, 1809. This contains the Prologue to the Bible, The Annotations on the King's Book, The Catechism of 1548, The Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament, The Answer to R. Smythe, The three Homilies of Salvation, Faith and Works, A Letter to Mrs. Wilkinson, and some Extracts from the Answer to Gardyner. Another Selection on a similar plan, but of an inferior description, has issued from the press more recently under the direction of the Religious Tract Society.

Printed

been published, cannot now be consulted without difficulty. His most elaborate production, the controversy with Gardyner on the Eucharist, has not been reprinted entire c since 1580, and the greater part of his minor compositions are only to be found by an irksome search in the pages of our ecclesiastical historians. Curiosity too is naturally excited by the expressions of Stryped, respecting the contents Cranmer's of the Archbishop's unpublished manuscripts. It is howscripts. ever to be feared, that the expectations which may be entertained on this point, will in great measure be disappointed. Though the principal repositories of such documents have been examined, no very extensive discoveries can be announced. It is true indeed, that a large number of MSS. e

Manu

The Defence, &c. besides being inserted in The Fathers of the English Church, was reprinted in 1825, by Mr. Todd, with an Historical and Critical Introduction: but all that has been lately published of the Answer to Gardyner are the Extracts mentioned in the preceding note.

d Strype, Cranmer, p. 395–399.

e Many of these manuscripts are scattered papers of no great length, but the following are of some bulk.

In the Lambeth Library.

No. 1107. Archbishop Cranmer's Collections of Law.

No. 1108. Archbishop Cranmer's Collections of Divinity.

For an account of the contents of these volumes, see Strype, Cranmer, Oxf. 1812. Addenda, No. 1.

Royal MSS. 7 B. XI. XII. Two manuscript volumes folio, entitled, T. Cranmer. C. A. Collectiones ex S. Scriptur. et Patribus.

In the Chapter House at Westminster.

Cranmer's Correspondence with Crumwell.

For a description of the numerous manuscripts relating to Cranmer in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, see Nasmyth's Catalogue.

It does not appear what is become of the bundle of books seen by

are in existence, connected with the name of Cranmer; but few only contain any thing, which can fairly be classed among his Works. Some of them consist wholly of quotations from various sources; many were obviously tracts drawn up by others for his perusal; and several of the rest, which may possibly, with more reason, claim him as their author, cannot be ascribed to him with any satisfactory degree of confidence. The search however has not been altogether fruitless. Though the importance of these papers may have been overrated, they yet possess much interest, and have furnished for the present Collection some valuable materials f not before generally known. But even if no new matter had been procured, and nothing could have been attained, beyond presenting what was already published in a more convenient form, an acceptable service would still, it is believed, have been rendered both to the divine and the historian.

Letters.

A considerable portion of Cranmer's Remains consists of Letters. Many of these were long since published in the Cranmer's works of Coverdale, Foxe, Burnet, and Strype; others have been only recently given to the world in the State Papers, or in Mr. Todd's Life of Cranmer; and a large number has, down to the present time, still continued in manuscript. All these Letters have been now brought together, and form the first of the following volumes. An attempt has been made to arrange them in chronological order, but the materials for fixing their dates are frequently so very imperfect, as scarcely to afford a foundation even for the most vague conjecture.

Ant. Wood in the Palace Treasury at Westminster, and " written, as "was supposed, by Dr., Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Dr. "Clark, Bishop of Bath and Wells. Which books contain a defence "of the King's title of supreme head, and of the divorce from his first "wife, Queen Catharine, and several matters against Cardinal Pole." Wood, Athene Oxon. p. 676.

f The extent of these additions may be seen by referring to the Table of Contents, where they are distinguished by asterisks.

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The Remains of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Band 1