Marginalia1550. MarginaliaOther Articles put to Winchester. My Lord of Warwicke seeyng me in that agony, sayd: What say ye my Lord, quoth he, to the other Articles? I aunswered that I was loth to disobey, where I might obey and not wrast my conscience, destroiyng the comfort of it, as to say vntruely of my selfe. Well, quoth my Lorde of Warwicke, will ye subscribe to the other Articles? I tolde him I would. But then, quoth I, the Article that toucheth me, must be put out.MarginaliaThe article which touched hym was the first article prescribing him to subscribe, which article he wisheth here to put out. I was aunswered that needeth not, for I might write on the side what I would say vnto it: and then my Lord of Warwycke entertayned me very gently, and would needes whyles I should write, haue me sit downe by hym, and when he sawe me make somewhat straunge so to do, he pulled me nearer hym and said we had ere this sit together, & trusted we should do so agayne. And then hauing penne & inke geuen me, I wrote as I remember, on the Article that touched me, these words: I cā not wyth my conscience say this of my selfe, or such like words. And there folowed an Article of the kynges Maiesties primacie, and I began to write on the side of that & had made an I, onward as may appeare by the articles, & they would not haue me do so,MarginaliaWinchester subscribeth to the kings Articles. but write onely my name after their articles: which I did. Whereat because they shewed themselues pleased and content: I was bold to tell them merely that by this meane, I had placed my subscription aboue them all, and thervpō it pleased them to enterteine me much to my comfort.

And I was bold to accompt vnto them mery tales of my miserie in prison, which they seemed content to heare: and then I tolde them also (desiring them not to be miscontent with that I should say:) when I remember ech of them alone, I coulde not thinke otherwise of them but they were my good Lords: and yet when they meete together, I feele no remedy at their handes. I looked, quoth I, when my L. of Sonerset was here to go out wythin two dayes,MarginaliaWinchesters farewel feast lost in the Tower. and made my farewell feast in the Tower and all, since which time there is a moneth past or thereabout: & I agree with them, and now agree with you, and I may fortune be forgotten. My Lord Treasurer sayde nay, I should heare from them the next day, & so by their speciall cōmaundemēt came out of the chamber after them, that they might be seen depart as my good Lordes: and so was done. By which processe doth appeare how there was in me no contempt, as is said in this article, but such a subscription made as they were cōtent to suffer me to make, which I tooke in my cōscience for a whole satisfactiō of the kings maiesties letters, which I desire may be deemed accordingly. And one thyng was said vnto me further that other would haue put in many moe Articles, but they would haue no more but those.

Item, that you hauing eftsones certayne of the kynges Maiesties honorable Counsaile sent vnto you the xij. of Iuly in the sayd 4. yeare with the sayd submission, and beyng on his Maiesties behalfe required and commaunded to consider agayne and better the sayd submission and to subscribe the same, stoode in iustification of your selfe, and woulde in no wise subscribe thereunto.

To the 13. article he sayd: The next day after the beyng in the Tower of the said L. Treasurer, the Earle of Warwike & other: came vnto me Syr W. Harbert & M. Secretary Peter, to deuise with me how to make some acknowledging of my fault (as they said) because the other forme liked me not.MarginaliaWinchest. still standeth vpon reputation of his innocencie. Wherunto I said I knew my selfe innocent, and to enter with you to entreat of a deuise to empayre my innocency in any point by my wordes or writinges, it can haue no policie in it. For although I did more esteeme lybertie of body, then the diffamatiō of my selfe: yet (quoth I) when I had so done with you, I were not so assured by you to come out. For when I were by my owne *Marginalia* Your putting to the penne in this matter would not haue made you naught, but your naughtines would not put to your penne. penne once made an naughty man, then were I not the more sure to come out, but had locked my selfe the more surely in. And a small pleasure were it to me to haue my bodye at lybertie by your procurement, & to haue my conscience in perpetuall prison by mine owne act. Many more words there were & perswasiōs on their parties, which caused me to requyre of them, for the passion of God, that my matter might take an end by iustice, and so departed, their being no contempt or faction of disobedience shewed on my behalfe, but onely allegation for my defence of mine innocency in the best maner I could deuise, as I trust they will testifie.

Item, that after all this, videlicet the 14. day of Iuly in the said 4. yeare, the kings maiestie sent yet againe vnto you certaine of hys maiesties honorable Counsaile with an other submmission, and diuers other articles, willing and commaunding you to subscribe your name therunto: which to do you vtterly refused.

To the 14. Article he sayd, that on the Monday in the morning followyng came the bishop of London, Syr William Harbert, Maister Secretary Peter, & an other whom I know not,MarginaliaOther Articles offered to Wint. who brought with them a paper, with certain Articles written in it, which they required me to subscribe. Wherupō I most instantly required that my matter might be tryed by iustice, whiche although it were more greuous, yet it hath acōmoditie with it, that it endeth certainely the matter. And I could neuer yet come to my assured stay, and therfore refused to meddle with anye more Articles, or to trouble my selfe with the readyng of them, and yet they desired me so instantly to read them, that I was content, and did reade, and to shewe my perfect obedient minde, offered incontinently vpon my deliuerye out of prison, to make aunswere vnto them, all such as I woulde abyde by and suffer payne for, if I haue deserued it.MarginaliaThe Bishop of Londōs wordes of Winchester. I shoulde in deede gladly haue bene in hand with my Lorde of London, but he sayde he came not to dispute, and said it was the hand of god that I was thus in prison, because I had so troubled other mē in my tyme. Finally my request was, that they shoulde in this forme make my aunswer to my Lordes of the Counsell as foloweth:MarginaliaWinchester refuseth to be deliuered by way of mercy. That I most humbly thanke thē of theyr good will to deliuer me by way of mercye, but because in respect of myne own innocent conscience I had rather haue iustice, I desired them, seyng both was in the kynges Maiesties handes, that I might haue it, whiche if it happen to mee more greeuous, I wyll impute it to my selfe, and euermore thanke them for their good will, and so departed I w^t them, as I trust they will testifie, and no misbehauior or demeanor to haue bene vsed on my behalfe.

Item, that after all this, viz. the 19. day of Iuly, in the sayd fourth yeare, you beyng personally called before the kynges maiesties priuy Counsaile, and hauing the sayd submission and articles openly and distinctly read vnto you, and required to subscribe the same, refused for vniust considerations by you alledged to subscribe the same.

To the. xv. article, I graunt, that vpon a Saterdaye at after noone, euen at suche tyme of the daye as they were at Euensong in the Chappell at the Court, I was brought thether, and at my commyng the Lordes of the Counsayle sayde they were all my Iudges by speciall commission, and entended to procede this with mee: That I shoulde subscribe certayne articles whiche were then read, and I must directly make aunswere, whether I would subscribe them or no. I aunswered on my knees in this wyse: For the passion of God my Lordes be my good Lordes, and let me bee tried by iustice whether I bee faulty or no: and as for these articles as soone as ye deliuer me to my libertie, I woulde make aunswere to them whether I would subscribe them or no.MarginaliaWinchest. required againe to subscribe, refuseth. Thē they hauyng further to say, I aunswered, these articles were of diuers sortes: some be lawes which I may not qualifie: some be noe lawes but learnyng and fact, whiche may haue diuers vnderstandynges, & a subscription to them without telling what I meane, were ouer daungerous:MarginaliaWinchesters shiftes. and therfore I offered for þ^e more declaration of mine obedience to all their requestes, that If they would deliuer me the articles into the prison with me, I woulde shortely make them particular aunswere, and suffer the paynes of the lawe, that by my aunswere I might incurre vnto. Whereupon I was commaunded to go a part, and they sent vnto me the Lord Treasurer and Maister Secretary Peter, who communed with me of a meane way, and that liked not the Lordes. And then I was called forth agayne, and my absolute subscription required agayne, & I agayne made offer to aunswere particularly, for I could not wyth my conscience subscribe then as they were absolutly. And these my considerations, I trust be iust, seyng no mā for any commaundementes ought to offende his conscience, as I must haue done in that case.

Item, that for your sondry and manifold contemptes and disobediences in this behalfe vsed, the fruites of your bishoprike were then by speciall commission of his maiesty iustly and lawfully sequestred.

To the 16. article, I deny contemptes, and disobedience of partes, and say that my doyngs cannot so be termed, because it is taught in this realme for a doctrine of obedience, that if a kyng commaund that is contrary to the commaundement of God, the subiect may not do as he is commaunded, but humbly stand to hys conscience, which is my case, who could not with my conscience do as I was required.MarginaliaBut this aunswere could not stand in Q. Maryes tyme. And as touching the fact of decree, there was in deede a decree read, hauyng words so placed and framed, as thoughe I wer such an offender, which matter I deny. And in that decree was mention made of sequestration of fruites: but whether the forme of wordes were of the present tense, or