Marginalia1556. March.And thus much cōteineth the letter sent (as is sayd) by M. Moryce to Doct. Buttes and Syr Anth. Deny. Now, what successe and spede this letter had, it foloweth to be declared. For Doct. Buttes the kynges Phisicion aforesayd, after the receate of these letters, consideryng the weyghtie contentes of the same, as he was euer a forward frende in the Gospels cause, so hee thought not to forslacke this matter to the vttermost of his diligēce, and so spying his tyme, when the kyng was in trymmyng and in washyng (as his maner was at certeine tymes to call for his Barbar) Doct. Buttes (whose maner was at such times euer to be present, & with some pleasaunt conceites to refresh and solace the kynges mynde) brought with him in his hand this letter.MarginaliaThe kings fauour reconciled agayne to Master Turner. The kyng askyng what newes, Doct. Buttes pleasauntly and merely begynneth to insinuate vnto the kyng the effect of the matter, and so at the kynges commaundement red out the letter: which when the king had heard, and paused a litle with him selfe vppon the same, commaūded agayne the letter to be red vnto him. The hearyng and consideration wherof so altered the kyndes mynde, that whereas before he commaunded the sayd Turner to bee whypped out of the countrey, he now commaunded him to be reteined as a faithfull subiect. And here of that matter an end. Let vs now returne to the Archbyshop agayne.

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Who although he was cōpassed about (as is said) w^t mighty enemies, and by many crafty traynes impugned, yet through Gods more mighty prouidence, workyng in the kynges hart so to fauour him, hee rubbed out all kyng Henryes tyme without blemishe or foyle by meanes of the kynges supportation, who not onely defended the sayd Archbyshop agaynst all hys conspired aduersaries, but also extended such speciall fauour vnto him in such sort,MarginaliaThis Archb. maryed his second wife at Noremberge. that he beyng not ignorant of his wife, whom he had maryed before at Noremberge  

(being Niece to the wife of Osiander) kepyng her also all the vj. Articles tyme contrary to the law, notwithstandyng he both permitted the same, and kept his counsell.

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Thē after the death of kyng Henry, immediatly succeded his sonne kyng Edward, vnder whose gouernement and protection the state of this Archbishop, being his Godfather, was nothyng appaired, but rather more aduaunced.  

Duryng all this meane tyme of kyng Henry aforesayd, vntil the entryng of kyng Edward, it semeth that Cranmer was scarsely yet throughly persuaded in the right knowledge of the Sacrament, or at least, was not yet fully rypened in the same: wherin shortly after he being more groūdly cōfirmed by conference w^t B. Ridley, in processe of tyme did so profite in more ryper knowledge, þ^t at the last he tooke vpō him þ^e defence of that whole doctrine, that is, to refute and throw downe first the corporall presence: secondly the phantasticall MarginaliaThe true & godly doctrine of the Sacramēt in 5. bokes set forth by the Archb. of Cant.transubstātiatiō: thirdly the Idolatrous adoration: fourthly the false errour of the Papistes, that wicked men do eate the naturall body of CHRIST: and lastly the blasphemous sacrifice of the Masse. Wherupon in conclusion he wrote fiue bookes  

for the publicke instruction of the Church of England, which instruction yet to this day standeth & is receaued in this Church of England.

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Agaynst these fiue bookes of the Archbishop, Steuen Gardiner, the Archenemy to CHRIST and his Gospell, beyng then in the Tower, slubbereth vp a certein aunswere such as it was, MarginaliaAn explication of Stephen Gardiner against Cranmer Archb. of Cant.which he in open Court exhibited vp at Lābeth beyng there examined by the Archbishop aforesayd and other the kynges Commissioners in kyng Edwardes dayes, which booke was intitled: An Explication and assertion of the true Catholicke fayth, touchyng the blessed Sacrament of the aultar, with a confutation of a booke written agaynst the same.  

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Agaynst this Explication, or rather a cauillyng Sophisticatiō of Ste. Gardiner Doctour of law, the Arch-

byshop of Caunterbury learnedly and copiously repleyng agayn, MarginaliaThe answere of Doctor Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury against Stephen Gardiner.maketh aunswere, which also he published abroad to the eyes and iudgements of all men in print. All which writynges and bookes, as well of the one part as of the other, our present story woulde require here to bee inferred: but because to prosecute the whole matter at length will not bee comprehended in a small rowme, and may make to long tariaunce in our story, it shall therfore be best to put of the same vnto the place of the Appendix folowyng, wherein (the Lord willyng) we intende to close vp both these, and other diuers treatises of these learned Martyrs, as to this our story shall apperteine.

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The vnquyet spirite of Ste. Gardiner beyng not yet contended, after all this thrusteth out an other booke in Latine of the like Popish argument, but after an other title, named Marcus Anthonius Constantius.  

MarginaliaMarcus Anthonius written by St. Gardiner. Wherunto first the Archbishop agayne intendyng a full confutation, had already absolued iij. partes of his aunswere lying in prison. MarginaliaArchbishop of Cant. about an answere to Marcus Anthonius.Of the which partes, two perished in Oxford: the other yet remaineth in my hādes ready to be seene and set forth, as the Lord shall see good.   Also MarginaliaNotes of B. Ridley agaynst Marcus Anthonius.B. Ridley lying likewise the same tyme in prison, hauing there the sayd booke of Marcus Anthonius, for lacke of penne and paper, with a lead of a window   in þ^e margent of the booke wrote annotations, as straitnes of tyme would serue him, in refutation of þ^e same booke.   And finally because those worthy Martyrs had neither libertie nor laysure to go through with that trauaile, that which lacked in them, for accōplishment of that behalfe, was supplied shortly after by Peter Martyr,MarginaliaPeter Martyrs booke of defence agaynst Marcus Anthonius. who aboundantly and substancially hath ouerthrowen that booke in his learned Defension of þ^e right truth, against the false Sophisticatiō of Marcus Antonius aforesayd.

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Besides these bookes aboue recited, of this Archbyshop diuers other thynges there were also of his doyng, as the booke of reformation,  

the Catechisme,   with the booke of Homilies, wherof part was by him cōtriued, part by his procurement approued & published. Wherunto also may be adioyned an other writyng or confutation of his agaynst 88. Articles by the conuocation deuised and propounded, but yet not ratified nor receaued, in the reigne and tyme of kyng Henry.

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And thus much hetherto concernyng the doynes and trauailes of this Archbyshop of Caunterbury duryng the lyues both of kyng Henry, and of kyng Edward his sonne. Which ij. kynges so long as they continued, this Archbyshop lacked no stay of mayntenaūce agaynst all his maligners.

Afterward this K. Edward Prince of most worthy towardnes fallyng sicke, when hee perceiued that hys death was at hand, and the force of hys paynfull disease would not suffer him to liue longer,  

and knowing that hys sister Mary was wholy wedded to popish religion, bequeathed the succession of the Realme to the lady IaneMarginaliaLady Iane. (a lady of great byrth, but of greater learning, beyng Neece to kyng Henry the eight by hys sister) by consent of all the Counsell and lawyers of this realme. To this testament of the Kinges, when all the Nobles of the realme, states and Iudges had subscribed: they sent for the Archbishop, and requyred him that hee also would subscribe. MarginaliaCranmer refuseth to swere to Lady Iane.But hee excusing hymselfe on thys maner, sayd: that it was otherwyse in the testament of kyng Henry hys father, and that he had sworne to the succession of Mary as then the next heyre, by which oth he was so bound, that without manyfest periurie hee could not go from it. The Counsell aunswered, that they were not ignorant of that, and that they had consciences as well as hee, and moreouer that they were sworne to that testament, and therefore hee should not thinke there was any daunger therin, or that he should be in more peryll of periury then the rest.

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To thys the Archbishop aunswered, that hee was iudge of no mans conscience but hys own: and therefore as he would not bee preiudiciall to others, so hee