'4 The HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. I. HeKing whereby he was empowered to erect fundry cathedral churches and bifhop- ricks, and to endow them out of the profits of the religious houles. The ^ -may king intended (lays bifhop Burnet) to convert 18000 1. a year into a reve- Hifi. Ref. nue for 18 bifhopricks and cathedrals ; but of them fix only were ere&ed V. I. p. 300. (viz.) the bifhopricks of Weflminfler, Chefler, Peterborough, Oxford, Glatt- cßer and Briflol. This was the chief of what his majefty did for religion; which was but a fmall return of the immenfefums that fell into his hands: Their Reve- For the clear rents of all the fuppreffed houfes were caft up at one hundred sues. thirty one thou and fix hundred and [even pounds, f / / P /àxíhidlings andfour pence per annum, as they were then rated; but were at leaft ten times as much in value. Molt of the abbey lands were given away among the courtiers, or fold at eafy rates to the gentry, to engage them by intereft againft the re- fumption of them to the church. In the year 1545. the parliament gave the king the chauntries, colleges, free chapels, hofpitals, fraternities and guilds, with their manors and eftates. Seventy manors and parks were alienated from the archbifhoprick of Tork, and twelve from Canterbury, and Confirmed to the crown. How eafily might this king, with his im- menfe revenues, have put an end to the being of parliaments i Bible tran- The tranflation of the New Teftament by Tyndal, already mentioned, jiated into had a wonderful fpread among the people; tho' the bifhops condemned it, Englifh. and proceeded with the utmoft feverity againft thofe who read it. They complained of it to the king; upon which his majefty called it in by pro- clamation in the month of .7une 153o. and promifed that a more correEt tranflation fhould be publifhed : But it was impofiible to flop the curiofity of the people fo long ; for though the bifhops bought up, and burnt all they could meet with, the Te/lament was reprinted abroad and fent over to merchants in London, who difperfed the copies privately among their ac- quaintance and friends. At length it was moved in convocation, that the whole Bible (hould be tranflated into Engle, and fet up in churches; but molt of the old clergy oppofed it. They faid this would lay the foundation of innumerable herefies, as it had done in Germany; and that the people were not proper judges of the fenfe of fcripture : Towhich it was replied, that the ícriptures were writ at firft in the vulgar tongue ; that our Saviour commanded his hearers to /earcb the ícriptures; and that it was neceffary people fhould do fo now, that theymight be fatisfied that the alterations the king had made in religion, were not contrary to the word of God. Thefe arguments prevailed with the majority to confent, that a petition fhould be prefented to the king, that his majefty would pleafe to give order about it. But the old bifhops were too much difinclined to move in it. The refor- .mers therefore were forced to have recourfe to Mr. Tyndal's Bible, which had been printed at Hamburgh 1532. and reprinted three or four years after by Grafton
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=