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Reforming the Liturgy under Henry VIII: The Instructions of John Clerk, Bishop of Bath and Wells (PRO, SP6/3, fos 42r–44v)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2013

AUDE DE MÉZERAC-ZANETTI
AUDE DE MÉZERAC-ZANETTI*
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Abstract

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Information

Type
Note and Document
Information
The Journal of Ecclesiastical History , Volume 64 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 96 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013
CUL

Cambridge University Library

LP

Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, Henry VIII, ed. J. S. Brewer

TNA

The National Archives

In contrast to the close attention that has been lavished upon Henry viii's see-sawing doctrinal policies, the liturgical implications of the break with Rome are rarely examined in depth. Changes in worship are usually summarised in the laconic statement that instances of the word ‘pope’ were removed from the liturgy, with little precision as to how many words needed to be crossed out, and whether another word was to replace papa. Little or nothing is said of the extent of these alterations nor of their impact upon liturgical performance.Footnote 1 The explanation for this lack of scholarly interest is probably two-fold: first, there is no well-known list of passages requiring alteration; and second, there is no large-scale study and comparison of the alterations made to the service-books in use under Henry viii.

The injunctions of John Clerk, bishop of Bath and Wells, to all the clergy in his diocese, which are edited here, thus provide remarkable insight into how contemporaries interpreted the imperative to rid the liturgy of all things popish. They also offer a set of requirements against which to assess the reforming practices of the clergy, as they appear in extant service books. Finally, these orders show that suppressing all mention of papal power would actually involve more than crossing out the word ‘pope’, especially if the royal supremacy were subtly to be embedded into the public prayer of the Church. In that, John Clerk's concern was not particularly novel, since the first liturgical consequences of the break with Rome were being addressed by Archbishop Cranmer as early as April 1534, several months before the Act of Supremacy was passed. In a circular letter to the bishops of his province, Thomas Cranmer ordered the clergy to use the collects for the king each day at mass and on Sundays and feast days a new form of bidding prayer which explicitly referred to the king's supremacy.Footnote 2 The liturgical implications of the emergence of the royal supremacy were thus fully acknowledged as the regime launched its first campaign of preaching in its favour later that month. The clergy were required to sign a statement by which they renounced papal authority and all laymen of importance took an oath to the new order of succession as mandated by the parliamentary act. Liturgical acknowledgment of the supremacy was thus an urgent and necessary prelude to the campaigns of preaching and oaths: praying for the king as head of the Church and leaving the pope out of the liturgy were an imperative to guarantee the heartfelt and true loyalty that Henry required.

John Clerk's instructions are not dated, since the document is clearly a template that was never itself sent to a parish or a religious house, and its covering letter is now lost. The editors of Letters and papers ascribed the document to February 1535.Footnote 3 However the content and wording of the text would suggest a later date, probably early in the summer of 1535 in response to the second bout of intense campaigning in favour of the supremacy which was launched on 3 June 1535, when Thomas Cromwell sent a letter to all bishops instructing them to preach on the royal supremacy and to correct their books to that effect.Footnote 4 Another letter was promptly dispatched to the sheriffs and Justices of the Peace charging them with enforcing the royal supremacy and establishing them as ‘watchdogs over the bishops’.Footnote 5 After rehearsing the clergy's submission and their rejection of papal supremacy by oath, Cromwell demanded that the lay officers ensure that the clergy preached the king's title, ‘style and jurisdiction every Sunday and high feast’ and furthermore caused

all manner prayers, orisons rubrics, canons in mass books and in all other books used in churches, wherein the said bishop of Rome is named or his presumptious and proud pomp and authority preferred, utterly to be abolished, eradicated, and erased out, and his name and memory to be nevermore (except to his contumely and reproach) remembered but perpetually suppressed and obscured; and finally to desist and leave out all such articles as be in the general sentence which is usually accustomed to be read four times in the year, and do tend to the glory and advancement of the said Bishop of Rome, his name, his title, or jurisdiction.Footnote 6

This is the only surviving order issued by the royal administration requiring the alteration of the service books and although it does mention specific prayers, it is significantly less precise than the minute injunctions that John Clerk sent to the clergy of his diocese. Most of the bishops replied to Cromwell or to the king detailing what measures they had taken to ensure that the royal supremacy was diligently advertised.Footnote 7 John Longland, bishop of Lincoln, wrote to Cromwell indicating that his staff was writing out as many copies of the instructions as possible. He submitted the text to Cromwell for his approval and then had 2,000 copies of it printed and dated 19 June 1535.Footnote 8 In this broadsheet, the emphasis is firmly put on the short exhortation in English that the clergy were to read to the people in their charge. The command to deface the service books is in Latin but put in terms similar to that of the letter to the sheriffs. Interestingly, the register of Bishop Goodrich of Ely contains a mandate couched in almost exactly the same language.Footnote 9 The archbishop of York, Edward Lee, wrote to the king explaining that he was circulating numerous copies of a short text defending the supremacy and ordering his staff to leave the pope out of the Easter liturgy.Footnote 10 And in a letter to Cromwell, Lee explained that although his diocese lacked competent preachers he had charged the rural deans with enforcing the king's orders.Footnote 11 Apparently, in the diocese of Worcester, the newly appointed bishop Hugh Latimer also entrusted the rural deans with the responsibility for showing the parish clergy how exactly to deface the service books.Footnote 12 As to the bishop of London, he sent his deputies to make the announcement at different locations in the diocese.Footnote 13

The possibility that John Clerk's letter was prompted by the king's circular is further validated by its place within a diverse collection composed of sermons, parliamentary drafts, legislation, fragments of the formulary of faith put forth by the bishops in 1537, along with treatises on theological subjects, which were formerly held in the chapter house of Westminster Abbey. They were initially bound with political tracts, forming a volume entitled Tractatus theologici et politici, before being divided into two separate entities. It has been suggested that this volume ‘may once have been part of Thomas Cromwell's archive’ before being seized by the crown at his downfall.Footnote 14 If this hypothesis is correct, it enhances our understanding of how a set of injunctions from a bishop made its way into this collection of theological tracts. The bishop of Bath and Wells, having opposed the annulment proceedings of Henry viii, would, in all likelihood, have wished to recast his image into that of an enthusiastic supporter of the royal supremacy in the summer of 1535, just as a major campaign to impose the new order was underway, complete with executions of high-profile refractory clergy and laymen. As most bishops were asserting their loyalty in their correspondence with the king and Cromwell and by preaching on the royal supremacy, John Clerk may have sent these instructions to the vice-gerent as an example of the comprehensive implementation of the royal supremacy that he was imposing in his diocese and as a testimony to his belated yet bona fide support of the king.Footnote 15 And, in truth, few missals or breviaries are reformed to such a high level of consistency and thoroughness as Clerk envisaged, but some of those which are may be traced back to this particular diocese, such as the manuscript books belonging to the parishes of Closworth, Somerset, and Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.Footnote 16 A few printed servicebooks of untraced origin were defaced sufficiently consistently with the specific instructions issued by Clerk as to suggest that they may have been used in the diocese of Bath and Wells.Footnote 17 However there are two books from the diocese of Worcester and one from that of St David's which are also defaced to this standard at least, possibly because the local bishops, Hugh Latimer at Worcester and William Barlow (at St David's after 1536), issued similar orders.Footnote 18 But it may well be that the scrupulous correction of the service books is simply due to a good level of education combined with a high degree of compliance to the king's orders displayed at the local level, by the parish clerks or the dean. Finally, a few rare missals and breviaries are reformed even further than recommended in John Clerk's detailed letter.Footnote 19 This list of corrections may nevertheless be taken as a model of liturgical adaptation to Henry's settlement, which a great majority of the clergy failed to attain.

John Clerk's instructions are not unknown to the scholars of the Henrician Reformation. They are calendared in Letters and papers, though summarised to a point of meaninglessness; and several scholars have consulted them. Indeed, J. J. Scarisbrick may well be referring to this particular text when he mentions that ‘the pope's name was to be erased from the twenty-five places where it occurred in the liturgy’.Footnote 20 In G. R. Elton's Policy and police, the focus is firmly placed on the first section of the text, a reminder of the parliamentary reforms of 1534 and an exhortation to publish and advertise the king's new title of and role as Supreme Head of the Church in England. Elton compares John Clerk's brief peroration unfavourably with the much more detailed explanation and justification of royal supremacy put forth by the archbishop of York, emphasing the lack of originality of the former: ‘these were not very useful because they did no more than simply repeat the details of the King's circular’.Footnote 21 And, undoubtedly, the originality of this set of instructions does not lie in the covering letter, which is but a repetition of the circular letter from Thomas Cromwell, that set in motion the preaching and defacing activity of the summer of 1535.

These detailed instructions to the clergy are a unique description of how to proceed in reforming the liturgy and of how the royal order to ‘abolish, eradicate and erase out’ all passages ‘wherein the said Bishop of Rome is named or his presemptuous and proud pomp and authority preferred’ was understood and enforced.Footnote 22 There might be similar documents awaiting discovery in diocesan or parochial archives but the evidence from bishops' registers and other sources suggests that a detailed circular was not the preferred method of enforcing the order to reform mass books: most bishops seem to have resorted to the traditional hierarchical channels to inform and instruct the parish priests precisely how the defacing was to be done. Archbishop Cranmer in person showed the clergy of Croydon what to take out of the servicebooks in 1537.Footnote 23 It seems likely that, in many places, the clergy received little guidance from their ordinary and were left to interpret the general order to deface their books for themselves.

The extensive list of changes to be wrought signals both how deeply the authority of the papacy was embedded in the Sarum rite and how wide-ranging the reformation of the liturgy could be. The suppression of the scores of utterances of papa in the calendar and in the rubrics of the lessons, far from being the most important point, appears only as the ninth and eleventh items. The alterations can be collected in different categories: banning prayers for the pope (items 2, 3, 4, 5, 10); suppressing references to the traditional understanding of the authority of the pope as head of the Church, such as his ruling on matters of ecclesiastical and lay discipline (items 6, 25), his power to appoint bishops (item 22) or to grant indulgences (items 7, 17, 18, 23, 24) or jubilee years (item 19). In addition, the bishop required the suppression of passages used to justify papal authority, mainly the primacy of Peter (his title as ‘prince of the Apostles’, items 8, 14) and his authority to absolve sins by ‘the power of the keys’ (item 13). The temporal overlordship of Peter also underwent correction where it was mentioned (items 15, 16). Perhaps most important – and significantly it is item 1 – by commanding the reordering of the canon of the mass, John Clerk explained how the royal supremacy and the new ecclesiology that it entailed should be translated into the prayer of the Church of England. The word ‘king’ replaced the word ‘pope’ and thus moved up from third place in the hierarchy (pope, bishop, king) to first.

In ordering corrections, the bishop was careful to ensure that the grammar of the modified passages did not suffer. The hymn in honour of St Peter (item 13) is subtly refashioned: the Apostle's power to remit sins no longer extends to all men (cunctis) but to his own (tuis), i.e. the Romans who lived under his jurisdiction as bishop of Rome. In items 15 and 16, although entire clauses are taken out, the sentences remain grammatically correct. Such sensitivity to detail also signals that the reform of the liturgy was not carried out lightly and that the cogency of the prayers remained a high priority.

However complete this list may seem, John Clerk failed to mention a few other instances that also needed changing: the absolution formula used on Ash Wednesday (item 8) is also used on Maundy Thursday and in the last rites, with the latter also containing a reference to plenary indulgences. At the end of the procession on Sundays and feast days the priest pronounced a special prayer in English where the pope and the Church of Rome were mentioned (this is one variation of the bidding of the bedes contained in processionals and manuscript manuals); this prayer is not mentioned by Clerk. Similarly, a set of prayers procuring indulgences, usually found at the end of printed missals, goes unremarked. There is no doubt that all these passages also needed correcting and thoughtful parish clergy would certainly have expunged these utterances as well. For instance, at Closworth, Somerset, the Maundy Thursday absolution was corrected, presumably on the local clergy's own initiative, obeying the spirit rather than the letter of the bishop's circular.Footnote 24 Finally, Clerk does not require that the general sentence be omitted but simply corrected, in disregard or ignorance of Thomas Cranmer's circular letter of spring 1534 ordering that the reading of the curse be discontinued.Footnote 25

This document therefore provides a rich illustration of how, under Henry viii, the Sarum variation of the Roman rite was being transformed into the liturgy of a Church which no longer accepted papal primacy and had elevated the king to its head. The bishop of Bath and Wells demonstrated a deep understanding of the power of the liturgy as an instrument of propaganda and of how, if left uncorrected, it could legitimise resistance. In fact, by performing these changes to their mass books, the clergy would assuredly gain if not a deep-rooted commitment to the royal supremacy, at least an in-depth understanding of the ecclesiological and doctrinal shifts at the heart of the Henrician Reformation. It would be a mistake to think that the catechetical properties of these injunctions were limited to the first section expounding the king's supremacy when, in fact, they are most convincingly displayed in the list of passages to be altered in service books. These injunctions deserve to be better known as they emphatically prove that liturgical texts and their performance mattered greatly in Henry's England and evolved significantly after 1534.

Appendix

Injunctions from the Bishop of Bath and Wells (PRO, SP 6/3, fos 43–5)

In editing the original document, spelling, punctuation and capitalisation have not been modernised; standard abbreviations have been silently expanded; and readings that are uncertain are enclosed within square brackets. To simplify referencing, the articles have been numbered. All the passages quoted by John Clerk have been referenced in the footnotes, using the modern printed editions of the missal and breviary. When need arises, I have quoted from the 1525 edition of the breviary or the 1523 edition of the manual. Italics have been used when quoting rubrics from the missals, conforming to the practice of the modern editors of liturgical texts.

The editions used are the following:

Missale ad usum insignis et praeclarae ecclesiae Sarum, ed. F. H. Dickinson, Burntisland 1861–83

Breviarium ad usum insignis ecclesiae Sarum, ed. F. Procter and C. Wordsworth, Cambridge 1879–86

Bonhomme, Y., Portiforium seu breviarium ad insignis sarisburiensis ecclesie usum, Paris 1525 (STC 15819), CUL, Syn 8.52.27

[fo. 42] John by the permission of god busshopp of bath and Welles unto all and singular Abbottes priores deanes, Archdecons Chauntors prevostes maisteres persons, vicars, curates and to all other prestes and clerks within our diocese of bathe and Welles gretyng in god. Fforasmoche as by the hole consent aswell of busshoppes and Clergie of this Realme, as of all other the Nobles and Commons temporall assembled in the kynges highe Court, of parlament, diverse good and holsome Lawes hath been made for the separacion exclusion extirpation and totall extinction of the busshopp of Rome is usurped authorite and Jurisdiction of long tyme abused within this Realme, fforasmoche also as the said Nobles and Commons of this Realme bothe spirituall and temporall assembled in the said Courte of parlament hath upon good and Lawfull groundes and for the publique weale of this Realme by hoole assent graunted annexed and united to the Crowne Imperiall of the same the title dignitie and stile of supreme hedde in erth immediatly under god of the Churche of Englande which title and stile bothe I and all my brothern the busshoppes and Clergie of this Realme have nott only in Convocation assembled, consented recognised and approved laufully and iustely to appertayne unto the kynges highnes, butt also by worde othe profession and writyng under our signes and seales have confessed ratified corroborated, and confirmed the same, utterly renuncyng all other othes and obedience to any forayn potentate, and all other forayn Jurisdictions and powers aswell of the said busshopp of Rome as of all other what soo ever they bee as by our said professions and writynges corroborated with the Subscription of our names and appension of our seales more playnly apperith. Therfor to thentent that not only the said extinction and extirpation of the Busshopp of Rome is authorite and Jurisdiction usurped within this Realme, but also the annexion copulation and incorporation of the kinges highness said title dignitie and stile of supreme hedde of the Churche of Englande to his Crowne Imperiall for ever may the more cleerly schyne appere and be [fo. 42v] imprinted in the hartes of all the kynges people and trew Subiectes beyng within this our diocese as to the weale and unitie of this Realme it appertayneth. Wee thought it god by theis our letters to advertise you of the premisses to thentent that by you they might bee farther dyvulged and publisshed. And forther wee in the kinges highnes is name, and also in our owne, geve you and eiche of you in charge and commaundement that with all diligence eiche of you within your Churches doo pronowunce and publisshe, preche and teache (assuryng you that I my selfe have and will (to my power) do the same) every sonday and solempne ffeast after the receipte of theis our letters all the premisses in theis our letters contayned in sochewise that the kynges peopull and Subiectes may bee fully instructed edified and establisshed in the trewe knowledge and beleffe not only of the iust extinction and extirpation out of this Realme of the busshopp of Rome is usurped authoritie and Jurisdiction, but also of the iuste application incorporation and union of the tytle stile and dignitie of supreme hedde of the Churche of Englond to the kynges highnes is Crowne Imperiall.

And further wee woll that semblaly [sic. for semblably] uppon the receipte of thees our lettres (if folowing our former preceptes and commaundementes unto you made ye have not soo don already) ye shall indilayedly and in soche tyme as ye possible may cause tobe abolisshed oute of all masse bookes and other bookes in all Churches within your Jurisdictions all manner of Collectes Canons Rubrices and privy Orisons hertofore used wherin the said busshopp of Rome either is, or might herafter be named or prayed for, And also ye shall in lyke manner geve in commaundement to all other ecclesiasticall persons under you, and their Substitutes within your said Churches and Jurisdictions, not only to doo the semblable but also to leve the sayng of any Collectes or other prayers extendyng to the glory and preferment of the said busshopp of Rome

And over that to desist and leve owt of the generall Sentence (accustumably used and reed iiii tymes in the yere) the declaration of all [fo. 43] suche thynges as be contayned in the same whiche in any wise leadeth towards the iustifying of the usurped power and authoritie of the said busshopp of Rome contrary to the kinges prerogatiffe Roiall in any manner wise.

And finally we in the kinges our soveraigne Lordes name will and commaunde you to geve expresse monition warnyng and charge to all schole maisters and teachers of Children within your Churches and Jurisdictions that they lykewise in their scholes do puerly and sincerly instructe educate and bryng up the yowtheis to them committed with often inculcation and teaching them the iuste and lawfull abolisshement expulsion and puttyng oute of the said busshoppe of Rome is usurped Jurisdiction power and authoritie after soche sorte and faschion that the iuste title stile and Jurisdiction (beyng now in their young and tendre hartes depely rooted and engraphed) may allwayes herafter encrease and contynew in their breestes and stomakes, as a moost loiall faythfull trew and loving opinion towardes the kinges highnes and his succession for ever, ffayle ye not to folow the kynges commaundement in the premisses and in every poynte therof upon the parell that may falle theron. date at welles the [blank] day of [blank]

[fo. 44]

Plaices to be reformyd within the dioces of baithe in the bookes of the churches by the kinges highness commaundement and the Busshop there.

  1. [1] FFirst in the masse bookes in the canon put oute papa and put in rege in the same plaice.Footnote 1

  2. [2] Item, inter memorias comunes oracio pro papa sic incipiens Deus omnium fidelium unacum secret' et post communione sequentes deleanturFootnote 2

  3. [3] Item in generali oracione incipiens pietate put owte this worde papaFootnote 3

  4. [4] Item in die parasceves put oute the oracions pro papaFootnote 4

  5. [5] Item in Sabbato sancto pasche In Exultet iam Angelica proxime fine put oute theise woordes patre nostro papa N atqueFootnote 5

  6. [6] Item in Rubrica post missam sponsalium put oute the said Rubrice from theise woordes secundum Romanam ecclesiam to thende of the chapter concertacioniFootnote 6

  7. [7] Item put oute the Rubryce before the masse de quinque vulneribusFootnote 7

  8. [8] Item in capite ieiuni in absolucione put oute theise woordes apostolorum principisFootnote 8

  9. [9] Item in kalendar’ et aliis Rubrices ubicumque posites ubicumque scribitur Clementis pape Leonis pape, sancti Kalixti pape sancti marcelli pape in omnibus istis locis et hiis similibus put owte this woorde papaFootnote 9

  10. [10] Item inter suffragia post letaniam ubi di[xit] ut dompnum apostolicum et omnes gradus ecclesie put oute dompnum apostolicumFootnote 10

  11. [11] Item at the vii lesson at mattens many tymes where it is writen Omelia beati gregorii pape, aut leonis pape or suche other put owte this woord papeFootnote 11

  12. [12] Item in ffesto leonis quod est in vigilia apostolorum petri et pauli ubi habetur leonis pape put owte papeFootnote 12, in lectione prima ubi dicit sedit papatus cathedra put owte papatus and put in Episcopatus.Footnote 13 Et in lectione secunda ubi habetur huius beati pape put owte pape and put in episcopiFootnote 14

  13. [13] Item in festo domini petri in hymna aurea iam luce [versus] iam bone pastor put owte this woord cunctis and wryght tuisFootnote 15

  14. [14] Item in primo Responsarium ad matutinas put oute principemFootnote 16

  15. [15] Item in the iiidc lesson in prynted bookes put oute thease wordes et regia caput orbis eff[ecta]Footnote 17

  16. [16] Item in v° Responsorium put owte theise woordes princeps apostolorum omnium Regna mundi et ideo tradite sunt tibiFootnote 18 [fo. 44v]

  17. [17] Item in ffesto Corporis christi put oute the vi lesson in printid bookes and devide the v lessons that goeth before into viFootnote 19

  18. [18] Item in ffesto Visitacionis beate marie in prynted Bookes put oute of the iide lesson thise woordes Romanus pontifex urbanus Sextus pio studio and in their place put in devotio fideliumFootnote 20 and put oute the iiide lesson cleaneFootnote 21

  19. [19] Item translacione sancti thome martiris in printyd bookes in the firste lesson put oute from theise woordes hic enim annus iubileus est to thende of the said lessonFootnote 22

  20. [20] Item in the v lesson in printed bookes put oute theise woordes pandulphus apostolice sede legatusFootnote 23

  21. [21] Item in legend sancti Aldelmi ubi sunt medie lectiones de sancto urbano ubi dicitur hic beati petri apostoli vicarius octodecimus fuit wryte it thics hic post beatum petrum apostolum episcopus octodecimus fuit et ibidem ubi dicitur sedit in papatu wryte sedit in EpiscopatuFootnote 24 et ibidem in vii viii et ix lectiones put oute pape and write EpiscopiFootnote 25

  22. [22] Item in legend. sancti Augustini in lectione Sexta put owte jussu papeFootnote 26

  23. [23] Item in missale put oute the Rubrice before the masse contra mortalitatem which begynnyth RecordareFootnote 27

  24. [24] Item post dicte missam contra mortalitem ponitur Evangelium sic incipiens Apprehendit pilatus Jesum put owte the Rubrice that is before the said gospellFootnote 28

  25. [25] Item in the generall sentence put owte all soche woordes as may seme to sounde any thing to the glorye of the Busshopp of Rome or derogacyon of the kinges gracys prerogatyve.Footnote 29

Footnotes

1 The most detailed account comes from G. R. Elton's study of the implementation of the Henrician Reformation: many cases of clerical disobedience are detailed, with special attention to the different techniques used by the parochial staff to deface their missals: Policy and police: the enforcement of the Reformation in the age of Thomas Cromwell, Cambridge 1972, 236. See also Scarisbrick, J. J., Henry VIII (1968), London1997, 392; Bernard, G. W., The king's reformation, London2005, 179; and Duffy, Eamon, The stripping of the altars: traditional religion in England, 1400–1580 (1992) New Haven–London2005, 416.

2 The bidding prayers or bidding of the bedes were a long series of intercessory prayers read in the vernacular in churches every Sunday. For Cranmer's letter see Miscellaneous writings and letters of Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, ed. John E. Cox, Cambridge 1846, 460–3. On this letter see MacCulloch, Diarmaid, Thomas Cranmer: a life, New Haven–London1996, 122–3.

3 LP viii, no. 293, i, ii.

4 This letter has been lost, but its content may be partially reconstructed from the circular sent to secular authorities by Thomas Cromwell and from the instructions sent to the parish priests by the bishops of Lincoln and Ely: Elton, Policy and police, 231–3; Bowker, Margaret, The Henrician Reformation: the diocese of Lincoln under John Longland, 1521–1547, Cambridge1981, 142–3, 157; Wabuda, Susan, ‘Bishop Longland's mandate to his clergy, 1535’, The Library 6th ser. xxxv/3 (1991), 255–61.

5 Elton, Policy and police, 239.

6 Tudor royal proclamations, ed. Paul L. Hughes and James F Larkin, London 1964, i. 230. Although this text appears in Tudor royal proclamations, Elton warns that it was not a royal proclamation but a circular to lay officers: Policy and police, 238 Footnote n. 5.

7 For the list of surviving responses see Wabuda, ‘Bishop John Longland's mandate’, 257 Footnote n. 12.

8 Bowker, Henrician Reformation, 242–3. This document is to be found in the Lincoln Archives Office, Register 26, fos 260v–261v, and its printed version was edited by Wabuda: ‘Bishop John Longland's mandate’, 261.

9 CUL, G/1/7, fo. 125r–v. Bishop Goodrich left out the instruction to schoolmasters to instruct children about the royal supremacy and there are six minute differences in wording between the mandate for the diocese of Ely and that for Lincoln.

10 BL, ms Cleopatra E VI, fos 240r–242v (LP viii, no. 869). See also his detailed defence of the supremacy: TNA, SP 3/6, fos 72r–74v (LP viii, no. 292)

11 ms Cleopatra E VI, fo. 243 (LP viii, no. 963).

12 SP 1/101, fo. 9 (LP x, no. 14); Elton, Policy and police, 237.

13 SP 1/99, fo. 172v (LP x, no. 1059); Elton, Policy and police, 237.

14 The introduction to SP 6 was written by Dr V. M. Murphy and is to be found in the relevant binder at The National Archives.

15 Edward Lee's letter to his clergy explaining and justifying the royal supremacy and quoted above is kept in the same collection: SP 6/3, fos 72r–74v.

16 These are, respectively, Bodleian Library, Oxford, ms Don b 6, and Salisbury Cathedral, Mus E 2/244. An undefaced book contains indications that it may have belonged to a parish in the diocese of Bath and Wells: Stonyhurst College, ms XL.

17 Bodl. Lib., S. Seld. d 23; BL, C 35 i 2; National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, BCL S 157. This may also be the case for York Minster, XI F 1, which was in use at St George's Chapel near Windsor under Mary.

18 These were in use respectively at Bromsgrove, Worcester (CUL, ms 6688); Arlingham, Gloucester (Salisbury Cathedral, ms 152) and Llandeilo Fawr, Carmarthenshire (BL, C 35 i 10).

19 An example is the Arlingham breviary mentioned at Footnote n. 18 above. See also BL, IB 43955. For missals and breviaries of York Use that present additional defacings to the feasts of local saints see A. de Mézerac-Zanetti, ‘Liturgical changes to the cult of the saints under Henry viii’, in Peter Clarke and Tony Claydon (eds), Saints and sanctity (Studies in Church History xlvii, 2011), 181–92.

20 Scarisbrick, Henry VIII, 392.

21 Elton, Policy and police, 234.

22 Tudor royal proclamations, i. 231.

23 SP 1/133, fo. 32.

24 Bodl. Lib., ms Don b 6.

25 Letters of Thomas Cranmer, 281–3. On the jurisdictional issue raised by these letters see MacCulloch, Thomas Cranmer, 122–3.

26 Missal, 613. This refers to the second paragraph of the canon of the mass which reads ‘Imprimis quae tibi offerimus pro Ecclesia tua sancta Catholica, quam pacificare, custodire, adunare, et regere digneris toto orbe terrarum, una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et Antistite nostro N. id est, proprio episcopo tantum et Rege nostro N. et dicuntur nominatim. Sequatur. et omnibus orthodoxis atque catholicae et apostolicae fidei cultoribus.’ The change results in the king's name being remembered before that of the local bishop, thus mirroring the changes effected by the establishment of royal supremacy.

27 John Clerk is here alluding to the initial prayer, secret and a post-communion of the missa pro papa: Footnote ibid. 815*.

28 This is one of the masses for the people which follows the votive masses for the souls of the dead. The beginning prayer reads: ‘Pietate tua, quaesumus, Domine, nostrorum solve vincula omnium delictorum; et, intercedente beata et gloriosa semperque virgine Dei genitrice Maria cum omnibus sanctis tuis, dominum papam, reges, et principes, et episcopos, et abbates, et omnem plebem illis commissam, nosque famulos tuos, atque loca nostra in omni sanctitate custodi ; omnesque consanguinitate ac familiaritate vel confessione et oratione nobis junctos, seu omnem populum catholicum a vitiis omnibus purga, virtutibus illustra ; pacem et salutem nobis tribue, hostes visibiles et invibiles remove, pestem et famem repelle, inimicis nostris et amicis nostris veram caritatem atque infirmis sanitatem largire, et iter famulorum tuorum in salutis tuae prosperitate dispone ; et omnibus fidelibus vivis ac defunctis in terra viventium vitam et requiem aeternam concede’: Footnote ibid. 879*.

29 The Good Friday petitions start with an invocation for the whole Church immediately followed by a petition for the pope. The prayer is in two parts separated by a time of silent prayer and genuflexion which is ordered by the deacon: ‘Oratio: Oremus et pro beatissimo Papa nostro N; ut Deus et Dominus noster, qui elegit eum in ordine Episcopatus, salvum atque incolumen custodiat Ecclesiae suae sanctae ad regendum populum sanctum Dei. Oremus. Flectamus genua. Levate. Oratio: Omnipotens et sempiterne Deus, cujus judicio universa fundatur; respice propitius ad preces nostras : et electum nobis Antistitem tua pietate conserva ; ut Christiana plebs, quae tali gubernatur auctore, sub tanto Pontifice credulatis suae meritis augeatur’: Footnote ibid. 325

References

1 Missal, 613. This refers to the second paragraph of the canon of the mass which reads ‘Imprimis quae tibi offerimus pro Ecclesia tua sancta Catholica, quam pacificare, custodire, adunare, et regere digneris toto orbe terrarum, una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et Antistite nostro N. id est, proprio episcopo tantum et Rege nostro N. et dicuntur nominatim. Sequatur. et omnibus orthodoxis atque catholicae et apostolicae fidei cultoribus.’ The change results in the king's name being remembered before that of the local bishop, thus mirroring the changes effected by the establishment of royal supremacy.

2 John Clerk is here alluding to the initial prayer, secret and a post-communion of the missa pro papa: ibid. 815*.

3 This is one of the masses for the people which follows the votive masses for the souls of the dead. The beginning prayer reads: ‘Pietate tua, quaesumus, Domine, nostrorum solve vincula omnium delictorum; et, intercedente beata et gloriosa semperque virgine Dei genitrice Maria cum omnibus sanctis tuis, dominum papam, reges, et principes, et episcopos, et abbates, et omnem plebem illis commissam, nosque famulos tuos, atque loca nostra in omni sanctitate custodi; omnesque consanguinitate ac familiaritate vel confessione et oratione nobis junctos, seu omnem populum catholicum a vitiis omnibus purga, virtutibus illustra; pacem et salutem nobis tribue, hostes visibiles et invisibiles remove, pestem et famem repelle, inimicis nostris et amicis nostris veram caritatem atque infirmis sanitatem largire, et iter famulorum tuorum in salutis tuae prosperitate dispone; et omnibus fidelibus vivis ac defunctis in terra viventium vitam et requiem aeternam concede’: ibid. 879*.

4 The Good Friday petitions start with an invocation for the whole Church immediately followed by a petition for the pope. The prayer is in two parts separated by a time of silent prayer and genuflexion which is ordered by the deacon: ‘Oratio: Oremus et pro beatissimo Papa nostro N; ut Deus et Dominus noster, qui elegit eum in ordine Episcopatus, salvum atque incolumen custodiat Ecclesiae suae sanctae ad regendum populum sanctum Dei. Oremus. Flectamus genua. Levate. Oratio: Omnipotens et sempiterne Deus, cujus judicio universa fundatur; respice propitius ad preces nostras: et electum nobis Antistitem tua pietate conserva; ut Christiana plebs, quae tali gubernatur auctore, sub tanto Pontifice credulatis suae meritis augeatur’: ibid. 325.

5 The hymn Exultet jam angelica was sung by the deacon at the paschal vigil after the benediction of the paschal candle. At the end of the hymn there is an invocation for the pope, the king and the bishop: ‘Precamur ergo te Domine ut nos famulos tuos omnem clerum et devotissimum populum una cum patre nostro Papa N. atque Rege nostro N. necnon et Episcopo nostro N. quiete temporum concessa in his Paschalibus gaudis conservare digneris’: ibid. 342–3.

6 In the wedding service, the benedictions in which the union of a man and a woman was compared to that of Christ and his Church were to be left out when one of the spouses had already received the sacrament of marriage. The Sarum missal contains a lengthy explanation and apocryphal quotation of a Concertatio. Indeed, many priests had travelled to the Holy See to obtain absolution for having proffered such benedictions in those circumstances. The issue was discussed and determined in the pope's palace, and followed by the publication of a new constitution set forth by Pope John xxii which is then quoted at length. The relevant rubric to be deleted reads: ‘Sed omnes alie benedictiones indifferenter debent dici secundum Romanam Ecclesiam secundum Hostiensem, et secundum Thomam de Aquino et Morandum doctorem. Et sciendum est, quod ista quaestio discussa fuit et determinata in sacro palatio domini Papae et translata in Angliam per magistrum Johannem Haystede, anno Domini millesimo cccxxi. Et causa discussionis erat quia multi sacerdotum tunc temporis ad sedem apostolicam convolarunt causa obtinende absolutionis beneficium pro benedictionibus in secundis nuptiis collatis indiscrete. Ideo statuitur super hoc nova constitutio Johannis Papae xxii quae sic incipit.

Concertationi antiquae finem imponere cupientes, praesenti declaramus edicto; quod licet vir vel mulier ad bigamiam vel ad secundas nuptias transierint benedici non debent, cum fuerint alias benedicti. Quod si forsan alter eorum vel ambo essent ad secundas nuptias transituri, et in primis nuptiis benedicti non fuerint, danda est eis benedictio in secundis nuptiis. Sane volentes antiquum rigorem temperare, concedimus, quod presbyter qui secundas nuptias benedixerit scienter, ad sedem apostolicam ex hoc venire minime teneatur, sed a poena suspensionis hoc casu a jure indicta per suos potest diocesanos absolvi. Si qui vero juxta opinionem quorundam hactenus non reputantes se esse suspensos, ordines quoslibet seu quaevis beneficia receperint, diocesani eorum a poena suspensionis praedictae ipsos absolvere, ac super executione ordinum et retentione beneficiorum hujusmodi cum eis valeant licite dispensare’: ibid. 842*

7 In printed missals the rubric introducing the Mass of the Five Wounds details the circumstances in which the mass was written by Pope Boniface, its apotropaic virtues and the indulgences granted to whoever celebrates it or has it celebrated vicariously: ‘Sanctus Bonifactus papa oegrotavit usque ad mortem; qui instanter petiit a Deo vitam in hoc seculo sibi prolongari. Ad quem misit Dominus sanctum Raphaelem archangelum cum officio missae de quinque vulneribus Christi, dicens ad papam. Surge et scribe istud Officium; et dicas ipsum quinque vicibus et continuo recipies sanitatem. Et quiquumque sacerdos hoc officium devote pro se vel alio aegrotante celebraverit quinquies; hic sanitatem et gratiam recipiet, et in futuro vitam aeternam possidebit, si in bono perseveret. Et in quacunque tribulatione homo exstiterit in hoc saeculo, si procuraverit a sacerdote hoc officium quinquies pro se legi, sine dubio liberabitur. Et si pro anima defuncti legatur ; statim postquam complete dictum fuerit, scilicet quinquies, a poenis anima solvetur. Sanctus igitur Bonifacius papa haec audiens statim erexit se in loco quo jacuit infirmatus, et ipsum conjuravit per omnipotentem Deum, ut absque suo periculo recederet, et quis esset, et ad quid venisset sibi continuo indicaret. Qui statim dixit, se esse archangelum Raphaelem a Deo sibi missum, et superius pronunciata promittebat sine dubio fore rata. Sanctus tunc Bonifacius papa officium confirmavit apostolica auctoritate; tribuens omnibus vere confessis et contritis, septimam partem remissionis omnium peccatorum suorum, qui illud devote legerint quina vice. Et similiter illud praedictum officium legi procurantibus, quadraginta dies criminalium et unum annum venialium in Domino relaxavit’: ibid. 750*.

8 This absolution formula of the Ash Wednesday service is unique to the Sarum rite in England: ‘Absolvimus vos vice beati Petri Apostolorum principis, cui collata est a Domino potestas ligandi atque solvendi; et quantum ad vos pertinet accusatio et ad nos remissio; sit vobis omnipotens Deus vita et salus et omnium peccatorum vestrorum pius indultor’: ibid. 132–4.

9 The feasts of nine canonised popes are in the calendar of the breviary: Marcellus (16 Jan.), Gregory (12 Mar.), Leo (28 June), Stephen (2 Aug.), Calixtus (14 Oct.), Clement (23 Nov.), Linus (26 Nov.), Silvester (31 Dec.) and the ordination of Gregory (3 Sept.): Breviary, i, pp. iii–xiv. The calendar of the missal counts only eight utterances, the ordination of St Gregory being left out.

10 John Clerk is referring to the ‘Te rogamus’ prayer of the litany in the breviary and in the processional which reads ‘Ut donum Apostolicum et omnes gradus Ecclesiae in sancta religione conservare digneris, te rog[amus]’: Breviary, ii. 252; Portiforium, sig. i. ii; Processionale ad vsum insignis ac preclare ecclesie Sarum, Paris 1519 (STC 16235), fo. ciiii.

11 There are scores of lessons in the breviary which are taken from sermons by former popes, especially Gregory and Leo.

12 The feast of St Leo is celebrated on 28 June, which coincides with the eve of the Feast of SS Peter and Paul. The word papa occurs in the heading rubric: ‘Sancti Leonis, Papae et confessoris’: Breviary, iii. 363; Portiforium, sig. red BB viv.

13 The beginning of the first lesson of the feast of St Leo reads ‘Leo junior natione Siculus ex patre Paulo sedit papatus cathedra mensibus decem, diebus decem et septem’: Breviary, iii. 363; Portiforium, sig. red BB viv.

14 The beginning of the second lesson of the feast of St Leo is: ‘Hujus beatissimi papae temporibus, percurrente jussione clementissimi principis, restituta est ecclesia Ravennae sub ordinatione sedis apostolicae: ut, defuncto archiepiscopo, qui electus fuerit juxta antiquam consuetudinem in civitatem Romanam veniat ordinandus’: Breviary, iii. 364; there is a slightly different wording in Portiforium, sig. red BB viv.

15 This item refers to the Feast of SS Peter and Paul, Apostles (29 June). The third verse of the hymn, starting ‘Aurea luce’. i: ‘Jam bone pastor Petre clemens accipe / Vota precantium: et peccati vincula/ Resolve tibi potestate tradita/ Qua cunctis caelum verbo claudis, aperies’: Breviary iii. 365; Portiforium only provides the first line.

16 The response of the first lesson at matins on the feast of SS Peter and Paul is: ‘Symon Petre, antequam de navi vocarem te novi te: et super plebem meam principem te constitui. Et claves regni caelorum tradidi tibi’: Breviary, iii. 367–8; Portiforium, sig. red BB viiv.

17 In the third lesson of the feast of SS Peter and Paul: ‘Isti sunt qui te Roma ad hanc gloriam provexerunt, ut gens sancta, populus electus, civitas sacerdotalis et regia per sacram beati Petri sedem caput orbis effecta latius praesideres religione divina quam dominatione terrena’: Portiforium, sig. red BB viiv–viii. For a very slightly different version of this passage placed in the second lesson see Breviary, iii. 368.

18 The response to the fifth lesson of the feast of SS Peter and Paul is ‘Tu es pastor ovium princeps apostolorum: tibi tradidit Deus omnia regna mundi. Et ideo traditae sunt tibi claves regni caelorum’: Breviary, iii. 371; Portiforium, sig. red BB viiiv.

19 The sixth lesson of the feast of Corpus Christi reads ‘Ut autem praedicta quinta feria et per Octavas sequentes ejusdem salutaris institutionis honorificentius agatur memoria, et solennitas de hoc celebrior habeatur: loco distributionum materialium qui in ecclesiis cathedralibus largiuntur, existentibus canonicis Horis nocturnis pariterque diurnis, praefatus Romanus pontifex eis qui hujusmodi Horis in hac solennitate personaliter in ecclesiis interessent, stipendia spiritualia apostolica largitione concessit, quatenus per hoc fideles ad tanti Festi celebritatem avidius et copiosius convenirent. Unde omnibus vere poenitentibus et confessis, qui matutinali officio hujus Festi praesentialiter in ecclesia ubi celebretur interessent: centum dies. Qui vero Missae, totidem. Illis autem qui interessent primis istius Festi Vesperis: similiter centum. Qui vero secundis: totidem. Eis quoque qui Primae, Tertiae, Sextae, Nonae, et Completorii adessent officiis: pro qualibet ipsarum Horarum, quadraginta. Illis vero qui per ipsius Festi Octavas in matutinalibus, vespertinis, Missae, ac praedictarum Horarum officiis praesentes extiterint: singulis diebus ipsarum Octavarum centum dierum indulgentiam misericorditer tribuit, perpetuis temporibus duraturam’: Breviary, i, pp. mlxviii–mlxix. The relevant page is missing from the Portiforium held at Cambridge University Library but can be found in Portiforium seu Breviarium ad vsum ecclesie Sarisburiensis, Paris 1531 (STC 15831), BB iv .

20 This sentence from the second lesson in the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin must be altered: ‘Laudes igitur et praeconia tam excelsae matris Romanus pontifex Urbanus sextus pio studio volens ampliare, festivitatibus antiquis hodiernam superaddere decrevit, ut visitationis ejus memoria frequentaretur, qua post conceptionem Verbi divini cognatam suam Elizabeth humiliter salutavit’: Breviary, iii. 397; Portiforium, sig. red CC vi.

21 The third lesson of the feast of the Visitation reads ‘Ut autem devotius et attentius ad idem festum celebrandum invitaretur plebs fidelis, praefatus pontifex Romanus auctoritate apostolica statuit diem solemnitatis sexto Nonas Julii per singulos annos celebrandum, concedens piis hujus festi cultoribus speciales indulgentias perpetuis temporibus duraturas. Unde omnibus vere poenitentibus et confessis qui Matutinali officio, seu Missae, aut Vesperis ejusdem festivitatis in ecclesia praesentes affuerint : centum dies. Eis vero qui Primae, Tertiae, Sextae, Nonae, ac Completorii, officiis interfuerint: pro qualibet ipsarum [Horarum] quadraginta dies. Illis autem qui per octavas ejusdem Matutinalibus, Missae, Vesperarum ac praedictarum Horarum officiis interessent: singulis diebus centum dies de injunctis sibi poenitentiis misericorditer relaxavit’: Breviary, iii. 398; Portiforium, sig. red CC vi.

22 There are several versions of this passage and not all are contained in the first lesson of the Feast of the Translation of St Thomas. John Clerk was referring to the second part of the first lesson, found in the 1525 Portiforium: ‘Hic enim annus jubileus est: id est remissionis. Unde Honorius papa tercius accessuris ad solennitatem translationis ejus annuatim remissiones tales concessit quales retroactis temporibus nusquam meminimus romanos pontifices indulsisse’: Portiforium, sig. red DD vv. In other versions of the Sarum Breviary a similar sentence is contained in the third lesson: ‘Annus quinquagesimus annus jubilaeus est. Jubilaeus autem remissionis annus est, vel remissivus interpretatur. Sicut enim in Lege, anno jubilaeo fiebant remissiones: sic et in anno jubilaeo translationis ipsius martyris onera poenitentium remittuntur’: Breviary, iii. 446.

23 The relevant passage is available in the 1525 Portiforium and other editions: ‘Adveniente igitur translationis die presente maxima multitudine tam divitum quam pauperum Pandulphus apostolice sedis legatus canthuariensis et remensis archiepiscopi, episcopique et abbates quam plurimi cum comitibus et baronibus praedictam capsam presente rege henrico tertio super humeros suos susceperunt et in loco quo nunc honoratur cum omni gaudio collocaverunt’: Portiforium, sig. red DD vi. In the version edited by Procter and Wordsworth, the apostolic legate is mentioned in the eighth lesson when describing the celebration of St Thomas's translation: ‘Adveniente igitur die Translationi praefixo: venerabiles patres Pandulphus Apostolicae Sedis Legatus, Cantuariensis et Remensis archiepiscopi, episcopi, et abbates, ac nobilis vir Hubertus de Burgo, tunc justiciarius, cum comitibus et baronibus nonnullis, capsam praedictam super humeros susceperunt: in praesentia illustris Anglorum regis Henrici iii, qui propter aetatis minoris imbecillitatem et tumultum populi non suscepit cum eis deferendam’: Breviary, iii. 449.

24 When the feast day of St Aldhelm, bishop and confessor occurs after Pentecost, three lessons are read in memory of St Urban, pope: Breviary, iii. 300–1. Here John Clerk is referring to the fourth lesson: ‘Hic beati Petri apostoli octavusdecimus vicarius fuit immediate post martyrium beati Calixti, sedit in papatu annis octo mensibus undecim diebus vero duo decim’: Portiforium, sig. red AA ii. In the Procter and Wordsworth edition the latter part of the sentence is missing: Breviary, iii. 300.

25 Here, again, the Procter and Wordsworth version differs from some of the early printed editions. In the 1525 Portiforium the word papa occurs once in the seventh and ninth lessons and twice in the eighth: sig. red AA iiv. There is one utterance in the eighth lesson and one in a rubric: Breviary, iii. 301, 302.

26 In the sixth lesson of the matins for the Feast of St Augustine, bishop and confessor of the English: ‘Videns autem rex mundissimam vitam et miracula sanctorum credens baptizatus est. Sed et omnis populus respuens gentilitatis errorem ad deum conversus est. Post hec Augustinus ab episcopo arelatensi jussu pape archiepiscopus anglorum ordinatus est. Ordinavit que beatus Augustinus duos episcopos mellitum et justum ad praedicandum verbum dei. Omnibusque rite peractis obiit vir dei septimo kalendas junii et in ecclesia apostolorum petri et pauli jussu et expensis regis ethelberti constructa honorifice sepultus est’: Portiforium, sig. red AA iii. There is another wording for this passage: ‘Interea vir Domini Augustinus venit Arelas: et ab archiepiscopo ejusdem civitatis Ethereo (juxta quod jussa sancti patris Gregorii acceperat) archiepiscopus Anglorum genti ordinatus est’: Breviary, iii. 305.

27 This mass is also referred to as Missa pro mortalitate evitanda. The rubric recounts the papal origin of the service and details the spiritual benefits granted to all who attend the mass: ‘Missa pro mortalitate evitanda quam dominus Papa Clemens fecit et constituit in collegio cum omnibus Cardinalibus, et concessit omnibus poenitentibus, vere contritis et confessis, sequentem Missam audientibus cclx dies indulgentiae. Et omnes audientes sequentem Missam debent portare in manu unam candelam ardentem dum Missam audiunt per quinque dies sequentes, et tenere eam in manu per totam Missam, genibus flexis: et eis mors subitanea nocere non poterit. Et hoc est certum et approbatum in Avinione et in partibus circumvicinis’: Missal, 886*.

28 This rubric precedes the Gospel of the Missa contra mortalitatem : ‘Istud Evangelium compositum fuit per Johannem Papam xxii apud Avinionem tertio die ante decessum suum; pro quo concessit omnibus illud dicentibus vel audientibus, vere confessis et contritis, trecentos dies indulgentie’: ibid. 890*.

29 The general sentence is usually printed or written in English at the end of the Manual: Manuale secundum usum insignis Sarum, C. Endouiensis: Antwerp 1523 (STC 1645), fo. cxixv. It is also found in Mirk's Festiall and the relevant section is edited in Letters of Thomas Cranmer, 281–2.