bish. of Rochester, standing vp in the parlament chamber, openly protested, that such bylles were sēt vp from the cōmon house, tending to no other thing, but to the destruction of the church: which church being downe, the glory thē of the whole kingdome (saide he) must needes fal, desiryng therfore the Lordes, for Gods sake, to take example by the kingdome of Boheme: MarginaliaD. Fysher chargeth the commons with lacke of fayth. For as it was then with the people there, so nowe what say the cōmons here, but downe with the church. And al this (said he) semeth onely to be for lacke of fayth. When these wordes were reported to the cōmons of the lower house, what the Bishop had sayd, in noting all their doings to be for lacke of fayth,MarginaliaThe grudg of the cōmons in the lower house against Fisher bishop of Rochester. they tooke the matter greeuously, so to be esteemed of the Bish. for no better then heretickes, vnderstanding moreouer, how that he by those slaunderous wordes, went about to perswade the Lordes temporal against them, and so to ouerthrow the two bylles by them passed before, as ye haue heard.

Whereupon, after long debate, it was at length agreed by the said commons, that Thomas Audeley their speaker with. xxx. of þ^e chiefe of that house, should be sent to the king, being then in his palace at Westminster, before called Yorke place: where they eloquently declared, what a dishonour to the kyng & þ^e realme it was, to say, that they whiche were elected for the wisest men of all the Shyres, cities, and boroughes within the realme of England, should be declared in so noble and open presence, to lacke fayth, whiche was equiualent to say, that they were Infidels and no Christians, as yll as Turkes or Sarasins: so that what paine or study soeuer they tooke for the cōmon wealth, or what acts or lawes so euer they made or stablished, should be taken as lawes made by Paynims & heathen people, and not worthy to be kept by Christian men: wherefore they most humbly besought the kinges highnes, to call the said Bishop before hym, and to cause hym to speake more discretly of suche a number as was in the common house.

MarginaliaThe king not contented with the Byshop of Rochester. The king being not well contented with the saying of the bishop, yet gently answeared the speaker, and sent them away. Who immediately sent for the Archbishop of Caunterbury & sixe other bishops, and Rochester also, signifying vnto them the grudge of the commons. The bishop of Rochester excusing him selfe, answeared,MarginaliaThe bishops excuse. that he in so saying, meant only the doings of the Bohemians to be for lacke of faith, and not the doinges of them that were in the cōmon house, whiche saying was confirmed by the Bishops there present, whiche had hym in great reputation, and so by that onely saying, the kyng accepted his excuse, and therfore sent word to the cōmons by sir William Fitzwilliams knight, Treasurer of his houshold: which blinde excuse pleased the commons nothyng at al.

MarginaliaDifference betwene the laitye and spiritualtie, about certaine constitutions. After this, diuers assemblies were kept betweene certayne of the Lordes, and certayne of the Commons, for the Bylles of the probates of Testamentes, and Mortuaries. The temporaltie layde to the spiritualtie, their own lawes and constitutions, and the Spiritualtie sore defended them by prescription and vsage.MarginaliaLonge vse maketh not euill thinges lawfull. To whom it was thus answered by a Gentlemen of Greyes Inne: The vsage hath euer bene of theeues, to rob on Shoters hyl, Ergo is it lawful? With this aunswere the spiritual men were sore offended, because their doings wer called robberies, but the temporal men stood styll by their sayinges, in so muche that the saide Gentleman saide to the Archb. of Canterburye, that both the exaction of probates of Testamentes,MarginaliaMortuaries as they wer vsed differed litle from theft. and the taking of Mortuaries, as they were vsed were open robbery and theft. After long disputation, the temporal Lordes began to leane to the commons, but for al that, the Bylles remained vnconcluded a while.

It folowed shortly after in the Parlament, that a Byll was assented to, by the Lordes of the higher house, and sent downe to the commons in the lower house, and by them also, with much labour agreed vnto, of whom the most part were the kinges seruauntes: in the which Bill it was required, and concluded, that the kyng shoulde be released of all such loane of money, which he had borowed of hys subiectes, in the xv. yeare of his reigne. The passing of which Byll went sore agaynst the stomackes of the poore commons, for many rested vpon it, countyng and passing it ouer one to an other for good debte, as if it had bene readye money in their purses. Wherfore the kyng to regratifie thē agayne, graunted to them a generall pardon of all offences, onely certeine great offences and debts excepted:MarginaliaRedresse of the greeues of the commons. also he ayded them for the redresse of their grieues agaynst the spiritualtie, and caused two new Bylles to be made indifferētly, both for the probate of Testamentes, and mortuaryes, which Bylles were so reasonable, that the spirituall Lordes assented to them all, though they were sore against their myndes, and in especiall the probate of Testamentes sore displeased the Bishops, and the Mortuaries sore displeased the Parsons and Vicares.

MarginaliaThe third bill of the commons for pluralities. &c. After these Actes thus agreed, the commons made an other Acte for pluralities of benefices, none residence, buying and selling, and takyng of fermes by spirituall persons, which Acte so displeased the spiritualtie, that the Priestes rayled on the commons of the lower house, and called them heretickes and schismatikes, for the which diuers Priestes were punished.

This Acte was sore debated aboue in the Parlament chamber, and the Lordes spirituall would in no wise consent. Wherefore the king perceiuing the grudge of his commons, caused viij. Lordes and viii. of his commons to mete in the starre chamber at an afternone, and there was sore debating of the cause, in so much that the temporall Lordes of the vpper house, which were there, tooke part wyth the Commons, agaynst the spirituall Lordes, and by force of reason caused them to assent to the Bill with a litle qualifiyng, which Byll the next day was wholy agreed to, in the Lordes house to the great reioysing of the lay people, and to the great displeasure of the spirituall persons.

And thus much concerning these Bylles against the Clergye, by the way. Now, to returne to the Cardinall agayne: duryng the time of the said Parlament, there was brought downe to the cōmons, the booke of Articles which the Lordes had put vp to the king, agaynst the Cardinall. The chiefe Articles were these.

MarginaliaArticles against the Cardinall. 1 FIrst, that he without the kinges assent had procured to bee Legate, by reason whereof he tooke away the right of al bishops and spiritual persons.

2 In all writinges that he wrote to Rome, or to any other Prince, he wrote: Ego & Rex meus, I and my king, as who would say, that the king were his seruaunt.

3 That he slaundered the Church of England to þ^e court of Rome: for his suggestion to bee Legate, was to reforme the church of England, which (as he wrote) was Facta in reprobum sensum.

4 He without the kinges assent caryed the kinges great Seale with hym into Flaunders, when he was sent Ambassadour to the Emperour.

5 Without the kinges consent he sent commission to to Sir Gregory de Cassalis, knight, to conclude a legue betweene the kyng and the Duke of Ferrarie.

6 That he hauyng the French pockes, presumed to come and breathe on the king.

7 That he caused the Cardinalles Hat to be put on the kinges coyne.

8 That he had sent innumerable substance to Rome, for the obteinyng of his dignities, to the great impouerishement of the Realme, with many other things, which are touched more at large in Chronicles.

These Articles with many moe, being read in the cōmon house, were confessed by the Cardinal and signed with his hand. Also there was shewed an other writing sealed with his seale, by the which he gaue to the king all his moueables and vnmoueables.

Marginalia1530 You haue heard hytherto declared how þ^e Cardinal was attainted in the Premunire, & how he was put out of þ^e office of the Chauncelour, & lay at Asher: which was in the yeare of our Lord. 1530. The next yeare after in the Lent season, the kyng by the aduice of his counsaile, licenced hym to goe into his dioces of Yorke, and gaue hym commaundement to kepe hym in his dioces, and not to returne Southward, without the kinges speciall licence in writing.

So he made great prouision to go Northward, & apparelled his seruaunts newly, and bought many costly things for his housholde, but diuers of his seruaunts at this tyme departed from hym, to the kinges seruice, and in especiall Thomas Crumwell, one of his chiefe counsaile, and chiefe doer for hym in the suppression of Abbeys. After that all things necessary for his iourney were prepared, he toke his iourney Northward, til he came to Southwel, which was in his dioces and there he continued that yeare, euer grudgyng at his fal, as you shal heare hereafter: but the landes which he had geuen to his Colleges in Oxford & Ipswich, were nowe come to the kinges handes, by his attainder in the Premunire, and yet þ^e kyng of his gentlenes, and for fauour that he bare to good learning, erected againe the College in Oxford, and where it was named the Cardinalles College,MarginaliaThe Cardinalls Colledge, now called Christes College in Oxforde. he called it the kinges College, and endued it with fayre possessions, and ordeyned newe statutes and ordinaunces, and for because the College of Ipswiche was thought to be nothyng profitable, therefore he leaft that dissolued.

Notwithstāding that the Cardinal of Yorke was thus attainted in the Premunire, (as is aboue mentioned) yet the kyng beyng good vnto hym, had graunted him þ^e Bi