ARCHBISHOP CRANMER
Thomas Cranmer came from an ancient family dating back to the conquest. He was born in Arselacton, Nottinghamshire, brought up in schools from the time he was an infant, and attended the University of Cambridge, where he received his master of arts and was made a professor of Jesus College. When he married a gentlemen’s daughter, he gave up his fellowship at Cambridge and became the reader at Buckingham College.
Cranmer’s wife died in childbirth, and he returned to Cambridge, where, as a doctor of divinity, he became one of those who examined students before they were granted their bachelor or doctorates. Since he strongly believed that students of divinity should know scripture, that knowledge became one of the prerequisites for graduation. This meant that some friars and monks who were educated in the study of church authors and knew little scripture were denied degrees and disliked Cranmer, although some took the time to study the Bible and were successful.
Because of his reputation as a scholar, Cranmer was offered a position in Cardinal Wolsey’s new college at Oxford, which he turned down. About this time Carinal Campegio and Cardinal Wolsey had been appointed by the pope to decide the case between Henry VIII and his wife. They delayed the proceedings all that summer and adjourned in August, saying it was against the law to decide ecclesiastical matters during the harvest, since this was a decision no one really wanted to be responsible for. Furious at the delay, Henry ordered Campegio to return to Rome.
Two of the king’s advisors happened to spend a night in the same house in Waltham where Cranmer was staying to avoid the plague that was sweeping through Cambridge, and the three of them met at supper, where Cranmer was asked for his opinion on the king’s divorce and remarriage.
Cranmer replied that he hadn’t studied the matter but thought they were spreading too much time prosecuting the ecclesiastical law. He thought the question should be decided according to the Bible. This would satisfy Henry, instead of dragging the decision out from year to year, since the learned men of England could easily find the answer in the Bible.
The two men thought that was a good idea and said they would mention it to the king, which they did the next day.
“Where is this Dr. Cranmer?” the king asked. “Is he still at Waltham?”
They said he was there when they left that morning.
“I want to speak with him. Send for him. I think that man has the sow bythe right eat. If I’d known about this two years ago, it could have saved me a great deal of money and eased my mind.”
Cranmer didn’t want to go to the king, saying he hadn’t studied the matter thoroughly enough, but eventually he had no choice but to appear at the king’s court.
“I think you have the right idea,” the king told Cranmer. “You must understand that my conscience has bothered me for a long time, and this could relieve it one way or another. I command you to see my cause furthered as much as you can. I don’t want to be divorced from the queen if our marriage is not against God’s laws. No prince ever had a more gentle, obedient, and loving companion than my wife. If this doubt hadn’t arisen, I would be content to stay with her, as long as it is in the will and pleasure of Almighty God.”
Cranmer said it would be a good idea to have the matter examined by the best men of Cambridge and Oxford, according to the Bible.
“That’s fine. But I also want you to write your opinion,” the king agreed, ordering the Earl of Wiltshire to put Cranmer up in his house at Durham Place while he studied the matter. Cranmer’s decision was that the pope had no authority to dispense with the Word of God and the scriptures.
“Will you stand by this before the bishop of Rome?” Henry asked him.
“I will, by God’s grace, if your majesty sends me there,” Cranmer replied.
Through Cranmer, learned men were sent to most of the universities in Christendom to discuss the question, as well as at Oxford and Cambridge. The decision was that Henry’s marriage to his brother’s wife was unlawful and according to God’s Word and they should be divorced. A delegation was sent to Rome to meet with the pope: the Earl of Wiltshire, Dr. Cranmer, Dr. Stokesley, Dr. Carne, Dr. Bennet, and others.
When the time came for them to see the pope, he sat in his rich apparel with sandals on his feet, which he offered to be kissed by the ambassadors. The Earl of Wiltshire made no move to kiss the pope’s feet, so no one else did, either. They offered to defend their belief that no man could legally marry his brother’s wife and that the pope could not provide a dispensation for this infarction of God’s law. Although the delegation was promised time to discuss the matter with the pope, they were dismissed without ever seeing him again.
Everyone but Cranmer returned to England, while he went to the emperor’s council to support the divorc, receiving no argument on the point from them.
At the time of the passing of the Six Articles, Cranmer stood against the whole parliament for three days, arguing against their passage, until Henry ordered him to leave the chamber so the act could be passed.
When Lord Cromwell was arrested and the Catholics thought everything was going their way, they appointed ten or twelve bishops to go to Cranmer and convince him to support several new laws about religion. Even those he trusted — Bishop Heath and Bishop Skip — urged him to yield to what they thought was Henry’s will on these matters, but Cranmer refused. Instead, he went to the king, argued against the proposed regulations, won him over, and the laws were not passed.
Not long after, the bishop of Winchester and others told Henry that Cranmer was stirring the people up with his ideas and should be examined for heresy. Henry reluctantly agreed, telling Cranmer the news himself.
When he heard that he was to be tried for heresy, Cranmer replied, “I most humbly thank Your Highness, for there are those who have slandered me, and I hope to prove myself innocent.”
“Don’t you know how many enemies you have?” Henry asked. “Think how easy it would be to find three or four liars to witness against you. Do you think you’ll have any better luck than your master, Christ, did? You would run headlong to your death, if I let you!
“Tomorrow, when the council sends for you, go to them. If they commit you to the Tower, ask to have your accusers brought before you without being imprisoned. You’re a member of the council, and that’s your right. If they insist on imprisoning you, give them my ring and appeal to me. As soon as they see my ring, they’ll know I have agreed to take over the matter and have dismissed them.”
The following day Cranmer answered as the king had instructed him. Deciding that no persuasion of his would keep him out of prison, he appealed to the king and delivered the ring to them. Somewhat amazed, the whole council immediately rose and took the king his ring, surrendering the matter into his hands.
The king addressed the council. “Ah, my lords, I thought I had wiser men in my council. I was content that you try him as a councilor, not as a common subject, but now I see you would have treated him harshly. If a prince can be beholden to a subject, I am most beholden to my lord Canterbury.”
Cranmer’s enemies decided they had to ruin his good reputation with the king before proceeding against him. They arranged to have him accused of preaching erroneous doctrine by the clerics of his own cathedral and the most famous justices of the peace in the country; then they delivered the charges to the king.
Henry read the charges, put them in his shirt, and then went for a ride on the Thames to calm down. Seeing Cranmer on the shore at Lambeth bridge, he asked him to come aboard for a talk. “I have news from Kent for you,” the king began.
“Good, I hope,” Cranmer replied.
“So good that I now know the greatest heretic in Kent.” Henry pulled out the charges against Cranmer, giving them to him for reading.
Cranmer was deeply hurt to see those he thought were his friends accusing him but asked the king to appoint a commission to look into the charges.
“I intend to,” the king said. “And you will be the chief commissioner, along with the two or three others you appoint.”
“People will say the commission isn’t impartial if I judge myself,” Cranmer protested.
Within three weeks it was obvious that the charges were a Catholic plot against Cranmer. The king told him to appoint twelve or sixteen men to search the houses and persons of those in the plot and bring anything they found to him. In less than four hours of searching, the conspiracy was brought to light by the seizure of letters from the bishop of Winchester and others.
Two of the men involved were especially good friends of Cranmer: the suffragan bishop of Dover and Dr. Barber, a layman. One day Cranmer called them both into his study. “I need some good advice from you,” he began. “One or two men whom I trusted have disclosed my secrets and accused me of heresy. How should I behave toward them? You’re both my friends, and I have always talked to you when I needed advice. What do you think?”
“Such villans should be hung!” Dr. Barber replied.
“Hanging’s too good for them! I would hang them myself!” said the suffragan.
Cranmer threw his hands up toward heaven. “O Lord, most merciful God,” he called, “who can a man trust these days?” Pulling the letters out, he asked, “Do you know these letters?”
The two men fell on their knees, begging forgiveness, saying they had been tempted to write the letters by others.
“Well,” said Cranmer, “God make you both good menl. I never deserved this at your hands, but you should ask God’s forgiveness. If I can’t trust you, what should I do? I see now that there is no trust among men. I even fear my left hand will accuse my right hand. This shouldn’t surprise me, for our Savior Jesus Christ warned that such a world would come in the last days. I beseech Him of His great mercy to finish that time shortly.”
This was the last attempt made against Cranmer during the days of Henry VIII. Under Edward VI, Cranmer’s influence was even greater (he was the young king’s godfather). It was during Edward’s reign that Cranmer had discussions with Bishop Ridley that confirmed his views of theology. He took on the defense of the entire Protestant doctrine regarding the idolatry of the Mass, writing five books for the Church of England on the subject.
At sixteen, King Edward fell sick and bequeathed the throne to Lady Jane Grey, King Henry’s niece, not wanting his sister Mary, who was a Catholic, to have the throne. All the nobles agreed then sent for Cranmer and asked if he would join them in supporting Lady Jane, but Cranmer refused. He had taken an oath to abide by Henry’s will, which specified Mary, not Lady Jane Grey. Cranmer. Cranmer talked to Edward about the matter and was assured that Lady Jane could legally have the throne. Once he discussed it with some lawyers, Cranmer, too, agreed.
On Edward’s death, the lords commanded that Lady Jane should take the throne, even though she was unwilling to be queen. This was opposed by the House of Commons — not because it favored Mary but because it hated some of Lady Jane’s suppporters. With their support, Mary took the throne, came to London, and beheaded Lady Jane when she refused to worshiop as a Catholic.
The nobles who had supported Lady Jane were required to pay a fine and were forgiven, except for the dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk andmArchbishop Cranmer. He desired a pardon, but Mary refused to see him because of the role mhe had played in Henry’s divorce from her mother. She also held Cranmer responsible for Protestantism being accepted in Edward’s reign.
Soon rumor was spread around that Cranmer had offered to say a Mass at Edward’s funeral, hoping to find favor with Mary. He immediately denied the rumor, stating his feelings about the Mass in a letter that someone made public. Cranmer was ordered to appear before the commissioners. Although he was allowed to leave the hearing at that time, he was soon arrested, imprisoned in the Tower, and conemned for treason.
The queen realized that she had pardoned everyone else from Edward’s time and that Canmer had supported her longer than anyone else when Edward wanted to give the throne to Lady Jane, so she pardoned him from treason but let the charges of heresy stand.
In time Cranmer was transferred to Oxford to dispute his theology with the doctors and divines there. Now the queen and her bishops had already decided what would happen to Cranmer, but the dispute would serve to cover his murder.
On September 12, 1555, Cranmer appeared before Bishop Brooks, Dr. Martin, Dr. Story, the queen’s commissioners, and a number of other officials at St. Mary’s. Brought before the panel, Cranmer took off his cap and bowed to the queen’s commissioners one at a time. Then, looking the pope’s representative in the eye, he put his cap back on and stood straight, refusing to accept his authority.
“This I do profess concerning my faith,” Cranmer began. “I want you to note that I will never agree that the bishop of Rome has any jurisdiction in this country. I made an oath to the king, and no foreign persons is above him. The pope is contrary to the crown, and I cannot serve both.
The bishop of Rome is also against God’s laws, which set aside one day a week for church, so all people should hear God’s laws in their own tongue and understand them. But the pope commands the service to be said in Latin, which no one understands, God would have it otherwise.
“Concerning the sacraments, I have taught no false doctrine. If it can be proved by any doctor that Christ’s body is really present there, I will submit.
“Christ commands all to drink of the cup, the pop takes it away from the laymen. Christ tells us to obey the king; the pope tells us to obey him,. If I obey him, I cannot obey Christ.
“Christ said the antichrist will appear. Who shall he be? One that advances himself above all other creatures. Until someone advances himself more than the pope does, let him be the antichrist.”
After Cranmer’s speech, he answered the charges against him.
Before he entered holy orders, he had married Joan Black or Brown, from Cambridge.
Cranmer said he had married Joan but wasn’t sure if her name was Black or Brown.
After her death he took holy orders and was made an archbishop by the pope.
Cranmer said he’d received a letter from the pope that he delivered to the king, and the king made him an archbishop.
Being in holy orders, he married a woman named Anne.
That was true, Cranmer said.
During Henry VIII’s reign, he kept his wife secretly and had children.
Cranmer said that was true. It was better to have his own wife than do as the other priests did and steal other men’s wives.
During Edward’s time, he lived openly with his wife.
Cranmer said he did because the laws of England said he could.
That he was not ashamed of his wife.
He had no reason to be ashamed of her, he said.
That he compelled others, against their wills, to agree with him.
He exhorted those who agreed but compelled no one to agree.
Since he would not stop perpetuating such enormous crimes, he was locked in the Tower.
Cranmer replied that he knew of no enormous crimes he’d committed.
That he convicted of heresy in Oxford.
Cranmer admitted he was denounced but maintained he was not a heretic.
He left the Catholic Church and moved the king and his subjects to do the same.
Cranmer admitted he had left the pope but said there was no schism in it.
That he had twice been sworn to the pope.
He replied that he had obeyed the laws of the country when he did so.
That he usurped the power of the pope by consecrating bishops and priests.
Cranmer said he did consecrate bishops and priests, but the laws of the land had given him that power.
That although the whole country submitted to the authority of the pope, he would not.
Cranmer agreed that he would not submit to the pope but said he was correct in not doing so.
(To be continued …)
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