The Reigns of EDWARD VI. and Queen MARY 3 containing the Space of about Twelve Years. E 21. EDWARD VI, DWARD VI. only fon and fucceffor to Henry 1547. VI. afcended the throne by the death of the king his EDWARD father. His majority was fixed to the eighteenth year of his age, by the late king's will, but he died before he came to it, after a fhort reign of fix years and five months. The hiftory therefore of thefe fix years, as may be eafily judged, will not be fo much the hiftory of the king himself, as of his governors and minifters. There was reafon to hope extraordinary things from this young prince, had it pleafed God to blefs him with a longer life. He had an excellent memory, His difpofia wonderful folidity of mind, and withal, he was laborious, tion and good Sparing no pains to qualify himfelf for the well-governing of qualities. his kingdom. At eight years of age, he wrote Latin letters Burnet. to his father. French was as familiar to him as English. He Strype's VOL. VII. B learnt Hayward, Mem, 216699 Edw. VI. learnt alfo Greek, Spanish, and Italian. After that, he ap1547. plied himself to the liberal fciences, wherein he made an aftonishing progrefs. Cardan, who faw him in his fifteenth year, fpeaks of him as of the wonder of the age. The teftimony of this [Italian] philosopher was the lefs fufpicious, as it was after the young prince's death that he published his praises, and in Italy, where his memory was odious. He is informed of his father's death. Edw. Jour. Strype. Hayward. Burnet, King Hen ry's will is opened. Burnet. As foon as Henry VIII. had refigned his last breath, the earl of Hertford, and fir Anthony Brown, were fent by the council to give young Edward notice of it, and to bring him to London. He was then with his fifter the princess Elizabeth at Hertford, from whence the deputies conducted him to Enfield. Here they inform him of the king's death, and pay their refpects to him as to their fovereign. After that, they attended him to the Tower of London, where he was received by the council in a body, and proclaimed king the fame day, the 31st of January 1547. On the morrow, the council met to settle the form of government during the king's minority. There was not much to be debated. The parliament had empowered the late king, not only to fettle the fucceffion by his will, but also to appoint what form of government he should think most proper, till his fucceffor was capable of holding the reins himfelf. All therefore that was to be done, was to open his will and obey the contents. There it appeared, that Henry had nominated fixteen perfons to be his executors, regents of the kingdom, and governors to his fon, Thefe were: Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury. Sir Anthony Brown, mafter of the horse, Sir William Paget, fecretary of state. Sir Edward North, chancellor of the court of augmentations. ⚫ He continued under the care of the women till he was fix years old; and then he was put under the government of fir Anthony Cook; of Dr. Richard Cox, mafter of Eaton fchool, who was his preceptor for manners, philofophy, and divinity; and of fir John Cheeke, profeffor of the Greek tongue in Cambridge, who was his master for the Latin and Greek languages; as John Belmain was for the French. Burnet, tom.ii. p. 2. Strype's Mem. tom. ii. p. 8, 9. Sir Edward Montague, lord chief-juftice of the common- Edw. VI. pleas. Judge Bromley. Sir Anthony Denny, Sir William Herbert, chief gentlemen of the privy Sir Edward Wotton, treasurer of Calais. Doctor Wotton, dean of Canterbury and York, As for Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, I have obferved in the late reign, that though he was at first among the regents, his name was ftruck out. 1547. The king empowered thefe fixteen, or the major part of The regents them, to execute his will, and to administer the affairs of the power by the kingdom, as they fhould judge fit. Upon this general clause, will. which gave the regents an unlimited power, were afterwards built many alterations, which feemed contrary to what Henry had ordained. He gave them however no power to fubfti- Burnets tute others in the room of fuch as fhould die, but it rather appeared, his intention was that the vacancies fhould not be filled up. This confequence was naturally drawn from his commanding the princeffès his daughters, not to marry without the written confent of thofe of the executors who should then be alive. It might alfo be inferred from thence, that he intended none of the regents fhould be deprived of their dignity. Befides the fixteen who were to exercise the fovereign authority during the king's minority, Henry appointed a privycouncil who fhould be affifting to them, namely: Henry Fitz-Alan, earl of Arundel. William Parr, earl of Effex. Sir William Petre, fecretary of state, Sir Richard Rich. Sir John Baker. Sir Thomas Seymour. Sir Edmund Peckham. Sir Thomas Cheney, treasurer of the houfhold. Sir John Gage, controller. Sir Anthony Wingfield, vice-chamberlain. The late king's will being thus known, the council refolved to execute it in all its points, and that very day the regents, as well as the counsellors, entered upon their offices. I have B 2 already Burnet, 1747. fome of the regents and Edw. VI. already faid, the history of this reign relates more to his governors than to Edward himself; and therefore it will be neceffary to give the characters of fuch of the regents and counCharactersof fellors as had the greatest share in the affairs of those days. The character of Cranmer archbishop of Canterbury is fufcounsellors, ficiently known by what has been faid of him in the foreOfCranmer. going reign. I fhall only add two things. The firft, that he did not much love to meddle with ftate affairs, for which he was not very proper, by reafon of certain maxims of candor and fincerity, which he followed, and which were very oppofite to thofe generally obferved in the government of ftates. The second thing concerning Cranmer is, that he was extremely zealous to promote the reformation. Since he was no longer restrained by fuch a mafter as Henry, he was fo far from concealing his opinions, that he even laboured with all his power to establish them by publick authority. He was as the first mover of whatever was done with regard to the reformation. But his zeal was tempered with a maxim which he believed abfolutely neceffary, namely, to proceed by degrees, and retrench firft the grofs abufes, that the people might be gradually accustomed to the changes, before the tenets of greater confequences were touched. Befides that this courfe feemed to him the most natural, he went upon another reason no lefs important, and which it will be proper to explain. Burnet. It has been feen in the late reign, that Henry VIII. left not his fubjects free to approve or reject the alterations he had been pleased to make in religion. There was an absolute neceffity of conforming to them, or of refolving to part with eftate, liberty, and life itself. Hence the church of England abounded with multitudes, who outwardly embracing the established opinions, were not however inwardly perfuaded of their truth. This was the cafe of feveral bifhops, and many dignified clergymen. But it was the inferior clergy that were chiefly infected with this hypocrify. Most of these were no other than monks for whom the court of Augmentations, and the poffeffors of the abbey-lands had procured benefices, to eafe themfelves of the burden of maintaining them, to which they were obliged when the monafteries were fuppreffed. These men were ftill wedded to the errors that were intended to be reformed. Cranmer thought it neceffary therefore to gain a little time, in order to change the clergy, by filling the vacant livings with perfons well inclined to the reformation. Herein he met with great oppofition from the zealou, who wifhed to bring the reformation to perfection at once, without attend |