marrye with þ^e other brother lawfully, which licence vnder lead I haue yet to shew: whiche thinges make me to say, and surely beleue, that our Mariage was both lawfull, good and godly. MarginaliaThe Cardinall cause of this diuorce, and why?But of this trouble I onely may thanke you my Lord Cardinall of Yorke. For, because I haue wondered at your hygh pride and vaynglory, and abhorred your voluptuous lyfe and abhominable lechery, and litle regarded your presumptuous power and tiranny: therfore of malice you haue kyndled this fire, and set this matter abroche, and in especiall for the great malice that you beare to my nephew the Emperour, whom I perfectly know you hate worse then a Scorpion, because he would not satisfie your ambicion, and make you Pope by force, and therfore you haue sayd more thē once, that you would trouble him & his frendes: and you haue kept him true promise, for of all his warres & vexations, he only may thanke you. And as for me his poore Aunte & kinswomā, what trouble you haue put me too by this new found doubt, God knoweth, to whom I committe my cause accordyng to þ^e truth. The Cardinall of Yorke excused hym selfe saying, that he was not the begynner nor the mouer of the doubt, and that it was sore agaynst his will that euer the Mariage should come in question, but hee sayd that by his superiour the Byshop of Rome, he was deputed as a iudge to heare the cause, whiche hee sware on his profession to heare indifferently. But what soeuer was said, she beleued him not, and so the Legates tooke their leaue of her and departed. These woordes were spoken in French, and written by Cardinall Campeius Secretary  

, whiche was present, and afterward by Edward Hall translated into Englishe.

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MarginaliaThe vayne pompe of the Romishe Legates.  

In the nexte yeare ensuing, an. 1530. at the blacke Fryers of London was prepared a solemne place for the two Legates, who comming with theyr crosses, pillers, axes, and all other Romyshe ceremonies accordingly, were set in two chayres couered with cloth of golde, & cushions of the same. When all thynges were readye, MarginaliaThe king and Queene ascited before the Legates.then the king and the Queene were ascited by Doct. Sampson, to appeare before the sayd Legates the 28. day of May: where (the commission of the Cardinalls fyrst being read, wherin it was appoynted by the Court of Rome, that they shoulde bee the hearers and iudges in the cause betwene them both) the kyng was called by name, who appeared by two Proctors. Then the Queene was called, who being accompanied with Marginalia* These 4. bishops were Warham of Canterbury, West of Ely, Fysher of Rochester, Standishe of S. Assaph.* iiij. Byshops, and other of her Counsaile, and a great companye of Ladies, came personally her self before the Legates: who there after her obeysance, with a sadde grauitie of countenaunce, hauyng not many woordes with them, MarginaliaThe Queene appealeth from the Cardinall to the Pope.appealed from the Legates, as iudges not competent, to the court of Rome, and so departed. Notwithstandyng thys appeale, the Cardinalls sat weekely, & euery day arguments on both sides were brought, but nothing definitiuely was determined.

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As the tyme passed on, in the moneth of Iune, the kyng being desirous to see an ende, came to the courte, and the Queene also, where he stādyng vnder hys cloth of estate, vttered these or lyke wordes in effecte as followeth.

MarginaliaThe kings oration to the Legates.MY Lordes Legates of the Sea Apostolicke, whiche be deputed Iudges in this great & wayghty matter, I most hartely beseche you to ponder my minde and entent, whiche onely is to haue a finall ende for the discharge of my conscience: for euery good Christen man knoweth what payne and what vnquietnes hee suffreth whiche hath his conscience greued. For I assure you on myne honour, that this matter hath so vexed my minde, and troubled my spirites, that I can scantely study any thyng, whiche should bee profitable for my Realme and people, and for to haue a quietnes in body and soule, is my desire and request, and not for any grudge that I beare to her that I haue maryed, for I dare say that for her womanhode, wisedome, nobilitie, and gentlenes, neuer Prince had such an other, and therfore if I would willingly chaunge, I were not wise. Wherefore my suite is to you my lordes at this time, to haue a spedy ende, accordyng to right, for the quietnes of my mynde and conscience onely, and for no other cause, as God knoweth.

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When the kyng had said, the Queene departed with out any thing saying. Thē she was called, to know whether she would abide by her appeale, or aunswere there before the Legates. MarginaliaThe Queene abydeth by her appeale.Her Proctor aunswered that she would abide by her appeale. That notwithstāding, the Coūsaillers on both sides euery day almost, mette and debated this matter substancially, so that at the last the Diuines were all of opinion, that the Mariage was agaynst the law of God, if she were carnally knowen by the first brother, whiche thyng she clearely denyed. But to that was aūswered, that Prince Arthur her husbād confessed the acte done, by certeine woordes spoken, whiche being recorded in other Chronicles, I had rather shoulde there bee read, then by me here vttered. Farthermore, at the tyme of the death of Prince Arthur, she thought and iudged that she was with childe, and for that cause, the king was deferred from the title and creation of the Prince of Wales, almost halfe a yeare, which thyng could not haue bene iudged, if she had not bene carnally knowen.

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Also she her selfe caused a Bull to be purchased, in the whiche were these wordes, Vel forsan cognitam, whiche is asmuch to say, as peraduenture carnally knowen, whiche woordes were not in the first Bull graunted by Iuly at her second Mariage, to the kyng, whiche second Bull with that clause was onely purchased, to dispence with the second Matrimony, althoughe there were carnall copulation before, whiche Bull neded not to haue bene purchased, if there had ben no carnall copulation, for then the first Bull had ben sufficiēt.

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MarginaliaQueene Catherine carnally knowen by the kings brother.Moreouer, for the more cleare euidence of thys matter  

that Prince Arthur had carnall knowledge of the sayd Ladye Catherine hys wife, it appeareth in a certayne booke of recordes which we haue to shewe touchyng thys mariage, that the same tyme when Prince Arthur was fyrst maryed with thys Lady Catherine daughter to Ferdinando, certayne Ambassadours of Ferdinando his Counsaile were then sent hether into England for the sayd purpose to see and to testifye, cōcerning the full consummation of the sayd matrimoniall coniunction. Which Counsaillers here resient, beyng solemnely sworne, not onely did affirme to both their parentes, that the Matrimony was consummate by that acte: but also did send ouer into Spayne to her father, such demōstrations of their mutuall coniunctiō, as here I will not name, sparing the reuerence of chast eares: whiche demonstrations otherwise in those recordes beyng named and testified, do sufficiētly put the matter out of all doubt and question.

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Besides that, in the same recordes appeareth that both he and she not onely were of such yeares as were meete and hable to explete the consummation hereof, but also they were and did lye together both here and in Wales by the space of three quarters of a yeare.

Out of a written booke of Recordes, cōtaining certaine cōferences betwixt the Cardinall & Queenes Catherines Amner about thys matter, remayning in our custodye to bee seene.

Thus when þ^e Diuines on her side, were beaten frō that ground, then they fell to persuasions of Naturall reason, how this should not be vndone for three causes. MarginaliaThree reasons for Queene Catherine.One was because, if it should be broken, the only child of the kyng should be a Bastard, whiche were a great mischief to the Realme. Secondly, the separatiō should be cause of great vnkyndnes betwene her kinred and this Realme. And the thirde cause was, that the continuaūce of so long space, had made the Mariage honest. These persuasions with many other, were set forth by the Queenes counsaile, MarginaliaFisher bishop of Rochester, a great doer for Queene Catherine.and in especiall by the Byshop of Rochester, whiche stode stiffe in her cause. But yet Gods precept was not aunswered, wherefore they left that ground & fell to pleadyng that the Court of Rome had dispenced with that Mariage. To this some lawyres sayd, that no earthly person is able to dispence with the positiue law of God.

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When the Legates heard the opinions of the Diuines, and sawe whereunto the ende of this question