Church and State under the Tudors/Preface
PREFACE
A new book on a subject on which so much has been already written may seem to call for an apology. I think, however, that there are several reasons why such a book may be acceptable.
A very large amount of new material for the history of the sixteenth century has been brought to light in recent years by the publication of State papers, ambassadors' letters, and other original documents which were formerly but little known. Much of this, it is true, has been worked up into many volumes by learned and able writers, to whom I am greatly indebted; but of these, some are works read almost exclusively by students ex professo, and many others, from the extent of ground which they have to cover, are too voluminous for ordinary readers: some, too, are written with so strong a party bias as to mislead rather than guide those who consult them.
Again, any one whose reading has not been confined to recent works on English Church history, can hardly help remarking that the change of view in the new, as compared with the older, books, is often so great that it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that, in the popular delineations of the subject, the lights and shadows seem almost to have changed places within the memory of living men. In such a state of things, it is not easy to believe that the last word has yet been spoken, and it becomes interesting to inquire which of these diverse presentations accords best with the facts.
The relations of Church and State form one very important and interesting branch of Church history, and it is to the purpose of illustrating this single portion of the subject that the following pages are devoted; where I may seem to have strayed into others, it has been with the purpose of throwing light upon this. For the ordinary facts of the history I have had recourse to recent and accredited historians—to Hallam, Bishop Stubbs, Mr. Froude, Mr. Green, and others. The Introductory Sketch is taken mainly from Bishop Stubbs and Dr. Hook. But for the main portion of the work I have gone, wherever possible, to original sources; by which I mean, not necessarily matter never published before, but the speeches, letters, and deeds of the actors in the events narrated, or of their coadjutors and contemporaries.
The Notes in Appendix I. consist mainly of extracts from contemporary documents in support or illustration of statements made in the text; and I have added also an Appendix of some of the more important Statutes of the period, in order that my readers may be able to judge to some extent, by the veritable Acts of the State, how far it did or did not occupy the position which I have ventured to assign to it. This I have felt it necessary, from considerations of space, to compress more than I could have wished. It remains for me to express my thanks to those from whom I have received encouragement or help, and especially to the officials of the State Paper Office, to whom I fear I must have been sometimes troublesome, but who have been invariably most kind and helpful; and, among them, particularly to the late Mr. Selby, whose loss is so widely felt. Above all, I must thank my old friend, the Rev. C. W. Boase, Fellow and Librarian of Exeter College, who has most kindly helped me throughout, and supplied me with many illustrations out of his stores of historical learning; and also the Rector and Fellows of the College, who have allowed me the unrestricted use of their valuable library.