Source.—Edward Hall's Life of Henry VIII. (1547).

In the time of this Parliament, the bishops and all the clergy of the realm held a solemn convocation at Paules Church in London, where after much disputation and debating of matters they published a book of religion entitled, "Articles devised by the King's Highness, etc." In this book is specially mentioned but three sacraments, with the which the Lincolnshiremen (I mean their ignorant priests) were offended, and of that occasion deproved the king's doings. And this was the first beginning, as after ye shall plainly hear.

After this book, which passed by the king's authority with the consent of the Clergy, was published, the which contained certain articles of religion necessary to be taught unto the people, and among other it specially treated of no more than three sacraments, and beside this book, certain injunction were that time given whereby a number of their holidays were abrogated and especially such as fell in the harvest time, the keeping of which was much to the hindrance of the gathering in of corn, hay, fruit, and other such like necessary and profitable commodities.

These articles thus ordained and to the people delivered. The inhabitants of the north parts being at that time very ignorant and rude, knowing not what true religion meant, but altogether noseled in superstition and popery, and also by the means of certain abbotts and ignorant priests, not a little stirred and provoked for the suppression of certain monasteries, and for the extirpation and abolishment of the bishop of Rome, now taking an occasion at this book, saying "See, friends, now is taken from us four of the vii Sacraments and shortly ye shall lose the other three also, and thus the faith of the Holy Church shall utterly be suppressed and abolished": and therefore they suddenly spread abroad and raised great and shameful slanders only to move the people to sedition and rebellion, and to kindle in the people hateful and malicious minds against the King's Majesty and the Magistrates of the realm, saying, Let no folly bind ourselves to the maintenance of religion, and rather than to suffer it thus to decay, even to die in the field. And amongst them also were too many even of the nobility, that did not a little to provoke and stir up the ignorant and rude people the more stiffly to rebel and stand therein, faithfully promising them, both aid and succour against the King and their own native country (like foolish and wicked men) thinking by their so doing to have done God high pleasure and service. There were also certain other malicious and busy persons who added oil (as the adage says) to the furnace. These made open clamours in every place where opportunity served, that Christian religion should be utterly violate, despised and set aside, and that rather than so it behoved and was the parts of every true and Christian man to defend it even to the death, and not to admit and suffer by any means the faith (in which their forefathers so long and so many thousand years have lived and continued) now to be subverted and destroyed. Among these were many priests which deceived also the people with many false fables and venomous lies and imaginations (which could never enter nor take place in the heart of any good man, nor faithful subject), saying that all manner of prayer and fasting and all God's service should utterly be destroyed and taken away, that no man should marry a wife or be partaker of the Sacraments, or at length should eat a piece of roast meat, but he should for the same first pay unto the king a certain sum of money, and that they should be brought in more bondage and in a more wicked manner of life, than the Saracens be under the great Turk.... And at the last they in writing made certain petitions to the King's Majesty, professing that they never intended hurt toward his royal person. The King's Majesty received those petitions and made answer to them as followeth:

First, we begin and make answer to the four and six articles, because upon them dependeth much of the rest. Concerning choosing of councillors, I never have read, heard, or known, that princes' councillors and prelates should be appointed by rude and ignorant common people, nor that they were persons meet, nor of liability to discern and choose meet and sufficient councillors for a prince: how presumptuous then are ye the rude commons of one shire, and that one of the most brute and beastly of the whole realm, and of the least experience, to find fault with your Prince for the electing of his councillors and prelates, and to take upon you contrary to God's law and man's law to rule your prince, whom ye are bound by all laws to obey and serve with both your lives, lands, and all goods, and for no worldly cause to withstand the contrary whereof you like traitors and rebels have attempted, and not like true subjects as ye name yourselves.

As to the suppression of religious houses, monasteries, we will that ye and all our subjects should well know that this is granted us by all the nobles spiritual and temporal of this our Realm, and by all the Commons in the same by Act of Parliament, and not set forth by any councillor or councillors upon their mere will and phantasy, as ye full falsely would persuade our realm to believe.

And when ye allege that the service of God is much diminished, the truth thereof is contrary, for there be no houses suppressed where God was well served, but where most vice, mischief, and abomination of living was used, and that doth well appear by their own confessions subscribed with their own hands in the time of their visitations, and yet we suffered a great many of them (more than we needed by the Act) to stand, wherein if they amend not their living, or fear, we have more to answer for than for the suppression of all the rest. And as for the hospitality for the relief of the poor, we wonder that ye be not ashamed to affirm that they have been a great relief of poor people, when a great many or the most part hath not past four or five religious persons in them, and divers but one which spent the substance of the goods of their houses in nourishing of vice and abominable living. Now what unkindness and unnaturality may be impute to you and all our subjects that be of that mind, that had liefer such an unthrifty sort of vicious persons, should enjoy such possessions, profits and enrolments, as grow of the said houses, to the maintenance of their unthrifty life, than he your natural prince, Sovereign lord and king, which doth and hath spent more in your defences of your own, than six times they be worth. As touching the act of uses, we marvel what madness is in your brain, or upon what ground ye would take authority upon you to cause us to break those laws and statutes by which all the noble knights and gentlemen of this realm (whom the same chiefly toucheth) hath been granted and assented to: seeing in no manner it toucheth you the base commons of our realm.

As touching the sixteenth,[53] which ye demand of us to be released, think ye that we be so faint hearted, that perforce ye of one shire (were ye a great many more) could compel us with your insurrections and such rebellious demeanour to remit the same? or think ye that any man will or may take you to be true subjects, that first make and shew a loving grant and then perforce would compel your sovereign lord and king to release the same? the time of payment whereof is not yet come, yea and seeing the same will not countrevayl[54] the tenth penny of the charges, which we do and daily sustain for your tuition and safeguard: make you sure, by your occasions of these your ingratitudes, unnaturalness and unkindness to us now administered, ye give no cause, which hath always been as much dedicate to your wealth as ever was king, not so much to set or study for the setting forward of the same, seeing how unkindly and untruly, ye deal now with us, without any cause or occasion: and doubt ye not, though you have no grace nor naturalness in you to consider your duty of allegiance to your king, and sovereign lord, the rest of our realm we doubt not hath: and we and they shall so look on this cause, that we trust it shall be to your confusion, if according to your former letters you submit not yourselves.

Wherefore we charge you eftsoons upon the foresaid bonds and pains, that ye withdraw yourselves to your own houses, every man, and no more to assemble contrary to our laws, and your allegiances, and to cause the provokers of you to this mischief, to be delivered to our lieutenants' hands, or ours, and you yourselves to submit you to such condign punishment as we and our nobles shall think you worthy: for doubt you not else that we and our nobles can nor will suffer this injury at your hands unavenged, if ye give not place to us of sovreignty, and shew yourselves as bounden and obedient subjects and no more to intermeddle yourselves from henceforth with the weighty affairs of the realm, the direction whereof only appertaineth to us your king and such noblemen and councillors, as we lyst to elect and choose to have the ordering of the same: and thus we pray unto Almighty God, to give you grace to do your duties, to use yourselves towards us like true and faithful subjects, so that we may have cause to order you thereafter, and rather obediently to consent amongst you to deliver into the hands of our lieutenant a hundred persons, to be ordered according to their demerits, at our will and pleasure, than by your obstinacy and wilfulness, to put yourselves, your wives, children, lands, goods and cattles, beside the indignation of God, in the utter adventure of total destruction, and utter ruin, by force and violence of the sword. After the Lincolnshire men had received this the King's answer aforesaid, made to their petitions, each mistrusting the other who should be noted to be the greatest meddler, even very suddenly they began to shrink and out of hand they were all divided, and every man at home in his own house in peace: but the captains of these rebels escaped not all clear, but were after apprehended, and had as they deserved: he that took upon him as captain of this rout, named himself Captain Cobles, but it was a monk called Doctor Macherel, with divers other which afterward were taken and apprehended.

Note.—Within six days a new insurrection broke out in the north, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. The objects of these insurgents were as follows: "the maintenance and defence of the faith of Christ, and deliverance of Holy Church sore decayed and oppressed, and also for the furtherance as well of private as public matters in the realm touching the wealth of all the king's poor subjects" (Hall ii., 275).

An army was sent to restore order, but they were prevented from reaching the rebels by a river, which suddenly overflowed its banks and was considered by the people to be a miracle. On the following day the King granted a pardon to all concerned, and the rebellion came to an end.