CHAPTER II. THE REIGNS OF EDWARD VI. AND MARY.1 THE Reformation, properly so called, can scarcely be said to have made any progress in Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII. Though that monarch repudiated the dogma of the papal supremacy, he continued, as we have seen, till his death to adhere to almost all the other errors of Romanism; and those who ventured to deviate from his creed, could not reckon even on toleration. In the reign of his son and successor Edward VI., some important movements were made in the way of improvement; but the youth of the sovereign, his premature demise, the unsettled state of public affairs, and the want of evangelical preachers, all interfered with the vigorous development of the plans of the reformers. Whilst the spiritual principles of Protestantism remained almost unknown, there was a party in the country anticipating their appearance, and prepared to resist their advances. We have stated that, as early as 1541, provision had been made for the appearance of the Jesuits in Ireland. Their patron -Waucop, the Popish Primate of Armagh, who died in Paris in 1551 in a convent of the order-does not seem to have been much in this country after he became Romish metropolitan.3 But he contributed greatly to stir up a spirit of 1 Edward VI., A.D. 1547 to A.D. 1553; Mary, A. D. 1553 to A.D. 1558. * See preceding chapter, p. 351. 3 He was present at the Council of Trent during its sittings from 1545 to 1547. Brenan, p. 397. resistance to Protestantism. Paul III., the reigning Pope, had his attention now earnestly directed to the state of the western isle; and he encouraged Waucop to plant the Jesuits in the country. John Codure-the first member of that Society appointed to come here was removed by death; but his place was supplied by Alphonsus Salmeron, Pasquier Brouet, and Francis Zapata. In Ireland these men found a most appropriate field for the exercise of all their zeal, cunning, and diplomacy. Taking advantage of the antipathy of the old Irish chiefs to English rule, they endeavoured to induce them to believe that, if they gave any countenance to heresy, national freedom was impossible. They assured them that, if they stood out against Protestantism, they might expect support from the great princes of the Continent in their struggle for independence. The Irish dynasts were not theologians; and they had no great reason to respect the Pope-for he had brought them into the very thraldom from which they now sought deliverance; but they saw that he could render them good service in their political movements, by inducing the Emperor of Germany, or the King of France, to come to their assistance. Thus it was that, before Protestantism could be fairly submitted to the consideration of the Irish people, many of them had made up their minds for its rejection. The very system which was fitted to deliver them from spiritual tyranny was associated in their imaginations with subjection to the hated yoke of England. The Jesuits did their utmost, not only to foster this prejudice, but also to obtain from abroad the substantial aid without which the natives could not free themselves from British domination. Even before the appearance of the Jesuits in Ireland, the steps taken by the Pope to oppose the progress of the Reformation had not been without influence. He had threatened with excommunication all churchmen who dared to yield to the commands of Henry VIII.; and, in consequence, as early as 1538, several incumbents in the diocese of Dublin had resigned their livings rather than acknowledge 1 Brenan, p. 397; Cox, p. 272. See also Nicolini's Hist. of the Jesuits, p. 68. Bohn's Illustrated Library. the royal supremacy. For upwards of three years after the commencement of the reign of Edward VI., no change was made in the ecclesiastical arrangements of Ireland; and meanwhile, the adherents of Roman Catholicism had time to consolidate their strength, and to prepare for an approaching crisis. Whilst there were no Protestant preachers to expound the Gospel to the people in their own tongue,2 the partizans of the Pope traversed the country; depicted in the darkest colours the abominations of the new doctrines; and exhorted all, who had any concern for their salvation, to oppose them to the uttermost. The natives were told that the Bishop of Rome was their great friend and patron; that he had given their land to Henry II.; and that, if the King of England now disowned the papal jurisdiction, they were released from the obligation of allegiance. In other countries Protestantism made way among the people by the light of its own evidence; but in Ireland it had, for ages, few evangelists to exhibit its credentials; and, when it at length appeared under more favourable auspices, the mass of the inhabitants were already determined to close their eyes against its illumination. At this period the Irish secular clergy, with very few exceptions, were extremely ignorant and careless. Even the trouble involved in the use of formularies, to which they had never been accustomed, was enough to make them averse to a change. Those of them who valued their office chiefly because of its emoluments were bitterly hostile to the Reformation; for its theology completely dried up some of the sources of their income. Under its teaching, the fees heretofore derived from the deliverance of souls from purgatory, and other such services, entirely disappeared. On other grounds the clergy had good reason to complain. In the reign of Edward VI. Protestantism was introduced into Ireland in a way not at all fitted to promote its acceptance. 1 Leland, ii. 170, 193. 2 Ibid., ii. 193-4. The Viceroy St. Leger, after his appointment, informed the Council in London "that there had been but one sermon made in the country for three years, and that by the Bishop of Meath."-FROUDE, v. 419, note. 3 See a number of these sources of income mentioned in Malone's Church History of Ireland, pp. 190-191. The changes made in the ritual had not even the sanction of an Act of Parliament. A royal order, dated February 1551, and addressed to the Viceroy, Sir Anthony St. Leger, commanded that the English liturgy should henceforth be used in public worship. The Lord Deputy, to whom this mandate was directed, and who was sent into Ireland to superintend its execution, had so little zeal for its enforcement that, after his arrival in Dublin, he permitted high mass to be celebrated in Christ Church Cathedral; and was himself present at the service. To save appearances, a proclamation was issued enjoining the use of the English Book of Common Prayer; but the proclamation was disregarded; and disobedience was overlooked. The new ritual was adopted only in the comparatively few places where the officiating clergy espoused the cause of the Reformation. In the reign of Edward several prelates favourable to Protestantism were added to the Irish hierarchy. Among these may be mentioned Lancaster of Kildare, Casey of Limerick, Bale of Ossory, and Goodacre of Armagh. Dowdall, who had been appointed by Henry VIII. to the See of Armagh on the death of Cromer, opposed all reform; and his steadfast adherence to the cause of Popery brought down on him the displeasure of the Court. By way of rebuke, the title of Primate of all Ireland was withdrawn from him, and conferred on his rival, Archbishop Browne of Dublin. Dowdall, prob 1 King, ii. 720. Edward VI. 2 Froude, v. 425. There was no Parliament held in Ireland in the reign of 3 The proclamation stated that the prayers of the Church had been translated for the edification of the people-without mention of any alterations. Dowdall, the Armagh Primate, opposed the English Liturgy on the ground that every illiterate fellow would now be able to read mass. St. Leger replied that there were too many illiterate priests, as ignorant of the language in which the service had been hitherto performed as the people who attended.-Leland, ii. 195-6. The proclamation makes mention of the translation of the Scriptures into English, so that some copies of the English Bible were now probably to be found in Ireland. See Mant, i. 193. 4 In 1551 Dowdall and Staples, Bishop of Meath, had a controversial discussion in Mary's Abbey, Dublin, on the points in dispute between Romanists and Protestants. This discussion, like many others of the same character, led to no important results. See an account of it in Mant, i. 208-11. See also Haverty, p. 377. ably suspecting that this token of royal displeasure was only the harbinger of some heavier visitation, deemed it prudent to leave the country; and fled to the continent. Goodacre, a zealous Protestant, was advanced to the Primacy, and consecrated on the 2nd of February, 1553; but he survived his investiture only about three months. According to a well-informed contemporary, he was "poisoned at Dublin by procurement of certain priests of his diocese for preaching God's verity and rebuking their common vices."1 Bale, who was consecrated along with him, was permitted only for a short time to perform his episcopal duties. After the death of Edward, in the following summer, he found it no longer possible to maintain his position; and contrived with difficulty to make his escape into Switzerland. But Bale was by far the ablest and most accomplished champion of Protestantism who had yet appeared in Ireland. He was born in 1495 in the county of Suffolk; and in early life had joined the fraternity of the Carmelites. He was educated at Cambridge; and when the principles of the Reformation began to spread in England, he embraced them with great enthusiasm. His zeal, as a preacher of the new doctrines, exposed him to much danger; and twice during the reign of Henry VIII. he was thrown into prison-first by the Archbishop of York, and then by the Bishop of London; but on both occasions Lord Cromwell interposed and procured his liberation. He at length found it necessary to retire to the Continent-where he remained eight years, and where he enjoyed the friendship of Luther, Calvin, and others of the Protestant leaders. When Edward was on the throne he returned to England; and, at the earnest request of the young King himself, accepted the Bishopric of Ossory. He was now verging on 1 The Vocacyon of Johan Bale to the bishoprick of Ossorie, &c., p. 343. Printed. 1553. Mant, apparently without any good reason, throws doubts on this statement. It is corroborated by Burnet, who says:-"A reverend and worthy clergyman of Hampshire not far from Salisbury (who is the fourth in descent from that Primate, they having been all clergymen but one) told me he had it from his grandfatherwho was the Primate's grandson-that he, being invited to a Popish lord's house, a monk there drank to him, in a poisoned liquor, on design to poison him--of which they both died."- BURNET's Reformation, iii. 325. London, 1841. |