On this day in 1555 – Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer stood trial

On 12^th September 1555 the trial of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer began, he was charged with two offences – repudiating papal authority and denying transubstantiation. His trial was held in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Oxford.

At the east of the church a ten foot scaffold was built where James Brooks, bishop of Gloucester and representative of the Pope sat and below him sat Dr Martin and Dr Storey who were acting as Queen Mary I’s commissioners.

Archbishop Cranmer was then brought into the make shift courtroom he was described by John Foxe as being ‘clothed in a fair black gown, with his hood on both shoulders, such as doctors of divinity in the university use to wear and in his hand a white staff.’

Cranmer’s arrest as shown in John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs

Cranmer was called forward by one of the commissioners who called ‘Thomas archbishop of Canterbury! Appear here, and make answer to that shall be laid to thy charge; that is to say, for blasphemy, incontinency and heresy; and make answer to the bishop of Gloucester, representing the pope’s person.’ Cranmer proceeded to the dock where he bowed to Dr Martin and Dr Storey but not the bishop of Gloucester. Upon questioning Cramer revealed ‘that he had one taken a solemn oath, never to consent to the admitting of the bishop of Rome’s authority into this realm of England again; that he had done it advisedly and meant by God’s grace to keep it; and therefore would commit nothing else by sign or token which might argue his consent to the receiving of the same; and so he desired the said bishop to judge of him.’

Cranmer went on to say that he did not recognise the court he spoke;

“My lord, I do not acknowledge this session of yours, nor yet you, my mislawful judge; neither would I have appeared this day before you, but that I was brought hither as a prisoner. And therefore I openly here renounce you as my judge, protesting that my meaning is not to make any answer, as in a lawful judgment, but only for that I am bound in conscience to answer every man of that hope which I have in Jesus Christ, by the counsel of St. Peter; and lest by my silence many of those who are weak, here present, might be offended. And so I desire that my answers may be accepted as extra judicialia.”

After Cranmer spoke his mind regarding the authenticity of the court he knelt and recited the Lord’s Prayer after his prayer Dr Martin asked Cranmer who he believed was in charge of the Church of England. Cranmer responded ‘Christ is head of this member, as he is of the whole body of the universal church’. When pushed further regarding the appointment of King Henry VIII as the head of the church Cranmer elaborated further by saying ‘Yea, of all the people of England, as well ecclesiastical as temporal… for Christ only is the head of his church, and of the faith and religion of the same. The king is head and governor of his people, which are the visible church’.

With Cranmer had been able to speak the commission ordered him to appear at Rome to answer to the Pope and returned to his cell. The commission never took the Archbishop to Rome but on 4^th December the Pope stripped Cranmer of his office and gave the relevant authorities to pass sentence on him. With Cranmer being told of the Popes decision he began to recant and by February 1556 he had recanted four times and recognised the Pope as the head of the church.

Cranmer’s execution date was set for 7^th March 1556 which prompted him to fully submit to the Catholic Church and should have been enough for Cranmer to be pardoned however, his execution was instead just postponed for 21^st March 1556. You can read more about Cranmer’s execution here: https://thetudorchronicles.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/on-this-day-in-1556-archbishop-cranmer-was-burned-at-the-stake/

An artist depicting Thomas Cranmer’s execution

On this day in 1509 – King Henry VIII married Katherine of Aragon

Following the death of Prince Arthur Tudor Katherine of Aragon returned to London and her future was left undecided. Henry VII did not want to send her home to Spain but equally he did not want her to remarry, Henry was still arguing with Katherine’s father, Ferdinand, over Katherine’s dowry and did not intend to return it. After 14 months Henry VII decided that Katherine could marry his other son, Prince Henry but they would have to wait until Henry was old enough to marry.

On 23^rd June 1503 a marriage treaty was signed and the two were officially betrothed on 25^th June. It was decided that the couple would marry on Henry’s 15^th birthday on 28^th June 1506 giving the two countries enough time to get the papal dispensation required as Katherine and Henry were related in the first degree of affinity. In 1504 the Pope was willing to grant the required dispensation and sent it to Katherine’s mother, Isabella, in Spain but she died shortly after receiving it.

With Spain no longer as strong as they were with the death of Isabella Henry VII believed that the alliance was not as attractive to England as a country and so began persuading Henry to declare that he did not want to marry Katherine. The evening before the marriage was meant to be solemnized Henry declared that he wanted it called off and so Prince Henry was now free to marry who he wanted and Katherine was now about to lead a life in virtual poverty.

Upon his deathbed it was said that Henry’s dying wish to his son was that he married Katherine, whether this was true or if Henry truly loved Katherine enough to marry her is debatable and so one of Henry’s first acts as King was to declare his intention to marry Katherine. On 8^th June 1509 the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham, issued a marriage licence.

The couple were married in a private ceremony in the chapel of the Franciscan Observants at Greenwich on 11^th June 1509, there were two witnesses to the ceremony; Lord Steward Shrewsbury and groom of the privy chamber, William Thomas. Katherine was 23 years old and Henry was on the verge of turning 18.

The wording of the ceremony was;

“Most illustrious Prince, is it your will to fulfil the treaty of marriage concluded by your father, the late King of England, and the parents of the Princess of Wales, the King and Queen of Spain; and, as the Pope has dispensed with this marriage, to take the Princess who is here present for you lawful wife?

The King answered: I will

Most illustrious Princess, &c. (mutatis mutandis)

The Princess answered: I will”

The couple went on to be married for 24 years before Henry divorced her to marry Anne Boleyn.

King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon

On this day in 1536 – Thomas Cranmer was summoned to Parliament

After Anne Boleyn miscarried the son of Henry VIII in January 1536 the fortune of the Queen was turning. Rumours that the King was looking to put aside the Queen he turned England upside down for were gathering pace and the King was seeking out advice on the matter.

On 27^th April 1536 Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury received a summons to attend Parliament. The wording and timing of the summons suggests that a Parliament was being called to discuss the rumours regarding the Queen and her alleged behaviour at court.

The summons read:

“Summons to the archbishop of Canterbury to attend the Parliament which is to meet at Westminster, 8 June; and to warn the prior and chapter of his cathedral and the clergy of his province to be present, the former in person and the latter by two proctors. Westm., 27 April 28 Hen. VIII.
ii. Similar writs to the different bishops, abbots, and lords; to the judges, serjeants-at-law, and the King’s attorney, to give counsel; to the sheriffs to elect knights of the shires, citizens, and burgesses; also to the chancellor of the county palatine of Lancaster; to the deputy and council of Calais to elect one burgess, and to the mayor and burgesses to elect another.”

On this day in 1533 – Thomas Cranmer was consecrated as Archbishop

On March 30^th 1533 Thomas Cranmer was consecrated as Archbishop.

Upon the death of William Warham in 1532 Cranmer received the news of his appointment to Archbishop of Canterbury whilst in Italy on 1^st October. Cranmer was ordered to return to England to take up his new post. Up until this point Cranmer had only ever held minor posts within the church but the influence Anne Boleyn had over Henry VIII changed this and Cranmer was appointed at the suggestion of Anne.

Henry VIII needed to acquire a papal bull to secure Cranmer’s position, something that could have been difficult if the papal nuncio (diplomat) had not been under orders from the Pope to keep Henry happy and grant him anything in an attempt to keep Henry from breaking from Rome. The papal bull arrived on 26^th March 1533 and four days later on the 30^th March Cranmer was consecrated at Archbishop in St Stephen’s Chapel at the Palace of Westminster.

As part of the consecration ceremony Cranmer was required to swear allegiance to the Pope, Clement VII, and any future Pope’s as well as defending the Roman Papacy. Henry had a problem with this part of the service because he wanted to eventually declare that the Pope had no authority in England, however he wanted the service to be correct in every way at the same time. A solution was found and before the ceremony Cranmer made a statement in the chapter house of Westminster before five lawyers. Cranmer proclaimed that he did not intend to be bound to his oath of serving the Pope that he was about to promise “if it was against the law of God or against our illustrious King of England, or the laws of his realm of England”

Archbishop Cranmer became the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury.

On this day in 1511- Prince Henry Tudor died

In 1511 on 1st January, 18 months after their wedding, Katherine of Aragon gave birth to a boy, giving Henry his first born son following the tragic stillbirth of a daughter the previous year. The boy named Henry was quickly made the Duke of Cornwall and was expected to be invested as Prince of Wales soon after. Prince Henry was christened on 5th January, which saw his godparents include King Louis XII of France, Duchess of Savoy and the Archbishop of Canterbury. A lavish jousting tournament was thrown in the prince’s honour with the King competing under the banner of Sir Loyal Heart, proclaiming his love for his Queen and new son. Tragedy struck on 22nd February when the young Prince suddenly died, he was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey befitting his status. England would have been such a different place had this young boy survived.