MKK, THOMAS. 



CRASH AW, RICHAKD. 



n agrMnunt in religion* doctrine! among all the churche* 

 thai had withdrawn from the Papal tupremaoy, and for the bringiug 

 about of which he had entered into an earnest correspondence with 

 Calvin and Melancthon ai well at other leading divine. of the conti- 

 nental churvhe*. He wai greatly disappointed at the failure of a 



chime in which he had lw\ been sanguine of luccew. The 

 reformer* had now to lament the declining health of the kinir, but 

 they did not relax their exertion* iu the caue of n-ligion, for tho 

 Serviot-book wa* finally completed and the Book of Common Prayer 

 adopted by parliament in the apring of 1552. A project for the 

 reformation of the eecleeiattical court* wu revived, and soon com- 

 pleted under the auprrintrudence of the archbishop : only the king's 

 signature was required for iU validity. In May 1653, Edward issued 

 a r^v 1 -** that the clergy ahould lubecribe to the Forty-two Article* 

 which the divine* had agreed; but ho died soon afterwards 

 without authoriaing the new eocletitttical code, which it scarcely need 

 be aaid wan never adopted. 



Ko eooner waa Edward dead than Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed 

 queen ; and a letter was aent to the Princes* Mary declaring Queen 

 Jaoe to be the sovereign. This letter was signed by many of the 

 principal pereona in the state, aid among others by Craumer. l!i- 

 seal for the Protestant cause mutt have blinded bim to the danger of 

 an enterprise directly contrary to the resolution be had formed upon 

 firtt bearing of the project On the 9th of July 1553, the chief 

 officer* of the state swore allegiance to Jane ; on the 20th we find 

 many of those who had been zealous in her cause, " impatient to send 

 in their tubmiftiont to Mary." On the tame day an order was atnt 

 by Mary to Northumberland to disarm, which paper, strange to say, 

 was signed by Cranmer. The hopes of the Protestants were now at 

 an end ; Queen Mary's unshaken attachment to the Roman Catholic 

 cre<d was universally known ; Gardiner was released and made 

 chancellor, and power of appointing preachers granted to him instead of 

 to the primate : a commission was also given to the bishops of 

 London, Winchester, Chichestcr, and Durham, to degrade and imprison 

 Protestant prelate* and minuter* on the charges of treason, heresy, 

 and matrimony. 



Cranmer'* friend* recommended hi* immediate flight ; but in con- 

 sideration of tbe high office that he held, he rejected their advice, 

 In the beginning of August he was summoned before the council, and 

 ordered to confine himaclf to his palace : on the 27th he was again 

 brought before tbe tame tribunal ; and in September, together with 

 Letimer and Uidley, waa committed to the Tower. During his con- 

 BBetMnt to the palace, in refutation of tome report* that tbe primate 

 would come over to the Roman Catholics, he wrotra declaration 

 against the mast. This was not published, but by some means, 

 respecting which there is a difference of opinion (Todd, vol. ii ; Unmet, 

 vol. ii.), copie* were obtained of it which reached the council, and 

 were openly read in Cheaptide. In the Star-chamber Cranmer avowed 

 the writing, and hi* intention of affixing it to every church-door in 

 London. The council committed liirn not only for treason against 

 the auceeaoon of the queen, but for perseverance iu " disquieting the 

 state." The queen did not oppose the committal. 



In March 1654 Cranmer ws* removed, in company with hit fellow- 

 prisoner*, Bishops Latimer and Ridley, to tbe prison of Bocardo at 

 Oxford, what* was renewed the controversy respecting the Lord's 

 r, which, by the queen'* desire, wai named the subject for 



On the Uth of April, the penoot sent by the convocation to dispute 

 appeared in the university, and Cranmer, who wai first called before 

 them, after examining the question* aet before him (Burnet, vol. ii.), 

 entered into argument upon them. After him reasoned Latimer and 

 Ridley, amidst much shouting, bitting, confusion, and intuit. On tbe 

 lth UM ducoation wai revived ; and on Ui 28th thuy were again 

 brought to Si. Mary 'a, where it wai declared, that unleas they would 

 turn, they wen obstinate heretic*, and no longer members of tbe 

 church. Cranmer then replied. "From this your judgment and 

 antenoe I appeal to the just judgment of the Almighty, truttiog to 

 be present with Him in Heaven, for whose pra*eno* in the altar I 

 am Unit condemned : " and having tho* spoken hi wa* removed again 

 to his prawn. 



He had MOM day* before tent a petition to the council and the 

 queen, praying pardon for his offrnee* toward* her, but the bearer to 

 whom he had iutnwted the papers broke them open, and it is not 

 known that tbey reached their destination. However this may be, 

 UM council decreed that the charge of treason ahould be withdrawn, 

 and UM prnmitlngi for beraty followed op, that the pain* of fire, and 

 not tbe MM. might be the manner of hi* demtl.. 



It wai now discovered that the tribunal before which Cranmer had 

 been trWd wa* not competent to decide UM oa*e, and that the sentence 

 WM illegal Tn pope therefore iaraed a fr**h oommiseion. and on the 

 12U of September 1S66 the primate wa* again examined by Broke*, 

 *" biahop of Gloucester, and two civilian*, Martin and Story. After 

 OOM til (Minn, sixteen article* of icmnation wire produced, touch- 

 ing which eighty IU i tin were examined, and then UM ca*> cloud. 



It .. reaMritabU that, preview to theee proceeding*, Cranmer wai 

 "moi to anwar within eighty days before UM pop* at Rome : 

 this mart have been a mere Action of papal law, not intended for him 

 to obey, a* indeed it wat impo**ibl for any prisoner to do. Not long 



after Cranmer wat tent back to prison, he heard of the execution of 

 Hidley and Latimer, and after a few more weeks had passed, he 

 received from Cardinal Pole an answer to two letters that he had 

 written to the queen during the interval between the last proceedings 

 at Oxford and the day that thrt-e bishops were Brought to the ttukc, 

 It appears from theae letters that the primate's adherence to Pro', 

 principles was still unshaken. On the SUth of November the eighty 

 days had elapsed, and on the 4th of December he was exco 

 and deprived of bis bUhopric. A letter from- the pope (Paul IV.), 

 bearing date tbe 14th of November, affirming him to be co: 

 cious, because "he took no care to appear" at Home when cited, and 

 declaring him guilty of heresy and other enormities, finally commanded 

 his execution. On the 14th of February, in obedience to this muu'litc, 

 Cranmer was degraded. It was within a few days after thii that the 

 fortitude of a mind which had hitherto been firm gave way nn,i< r 

 the pressure of misery and tbe close prospect of a torturing death. 

 The love of life overcame his firmness : he forsook his principles, and 

 wrote a recantation of hit* faith. By whose exertion* bit resolution 

 was shaken we cannot ascertain; but this unworthy sacrifice of 

 opinion served only to render his enemies triumphant: whatever had 

 been their promises, the recantation was of no avail towards the 

 preservation of his life. On the 20th of March, the eve of bis execu- 

 tion, he was visited by Dr. Cole, the provost of Eton College, who 

 had been ordered by tbe queen to attend bun. During this iir 

 Cranmer gave answer that he remained firm in the Catholic !. 

 ho had recently professed it, an answer that has by some bee: 

 sidered equivocal. After Cole bod left him, Garcina entered tho 

 priion, and requested him to transciibe a recantation, to be del 

 by him at the stake, which the prisoner consented to do. On tho 

 following day he was led to St. Mary's church, wbeiv, after an exhorta- 

 tion had been read by Dr. Cole, and Cranmer had finished his private 

 devotions, he solemnly addressed the people, openly professing his 

 faith, and at length declaring, "Now I come to the great thing that 

 troubleth my conscience more than any other thing that I ever said 

 or did in my life ; and that is the setting abroad of writing* contrary 

 to the truth which I thought in my heart, and writ for fear of 

 and to save my life, if it might be ; and that is all such bills 

 I have written or signed with mine own hand since my degradation, 

 wherein I have written many things untrue. And forasmuch as my 

 hand offended in writing contrary to my heart, therefore my band 

 shall first be punished. For if I may come to the fire, it shall be 

 first burned. And as for the pope, I refuse him as Christ's enemy, 

 and antichrist, with all his false doctrine/' The whole aisembly waa 

 astonished at this speech; tbey had supposed that ho would h un- 

 confirmed and not retracted his recantation. He was then 1. 

 away to the stake, where he stood motionless, holding up his ri^lit 

 hand, and exclaiming, until his utterance wa* stifled, " This unworthy 

 hand ! Lord Jesus receive my spirit I " 



Cranmer's diligence and application were unusual : he was deeply 

 read in theology and canon law, and was familiar with Hebrew, Greek, 

 and Latin, as well as French, German, and Italian, which he acquired 

 during hi* travels ; tbe copiousness of his common-place books gavo 

 weight to his opinion, and readiness to hit power of argument. Ilia 

 reservation respecting tbe oaths which ho swore when appointed 

 archbishop, hi* subserviency to Henry VIII. in annulling bia mar- 

 riiget, hi* share in tho condemnation of some heretics, his conduct 

 at tho disgracing of Bonner and Gardiner, and the want of courage 

 which made him recant after hit condemnation, are great bloU ou 

 hi* character. But though his conduct on these occasion* wat marked 

 by dishonesty, intemperance, and want of firmueas, these were rather 

 impulses than habitual and characteristic vices, for it cannot bo 

 denied that Cranmer wai sincere, mild, and moderate, and for tho 

 most part a firm man : nor is it to be forgotten that persecution wa* 

 the policy of all religious parties at this period. He bad moreover 

 the virtue of constancy to his friends, a very rare quality in the time* 

 in which ha lived; and never relaxed hit friendship towards Anne, 

 Bpleyu, Cromwell, or Somerset in their adversity. The usability of 

 hit manner*, and the gentleness of hit temper, made him beloved by 

 many friends and men of learning, to whom be also extended a liberal 

 hospitality ; so that hit protracted imprisonment and cruel death wu 

 one of the moat unpopular measures of Mary's government. A com- 

 plete collection of the extant works of Cranmer has been published 

 at Oxford by Dr. Jenkyn, and the Parker Society has published 

 various incdited writings under the title of 'Remains of Archbishop 



'.' I u. !:>!.' 



(Strype, Memorial* of Cranmer; Fox, Adi and lion.; Burnet, 

 Hut. Ittfonn. ; Gilpin, Todd, and Le Bat, Livet of Cranmer; and the 

 general historic* of the period.) 



CKASHAW, RICHARD, an English poet, the ton of the llev. 

 William Crashaw, a divine of some note in his day, was born in 

 London, but in what year i* uncertain. In early life he was placed, 

 through the kindness of Sir Henry Yelvertou and Sir Randolph 

 Crew, upon the foundation at the Charterhouse, whence, in March 

 1032, he went to Pembroke-hall iu Cambridge, and took the degree of 

 B.A. in 1633. He afterward* went to Peterhouae, of which he was a 

 fellow in 1637, and became M.A. iu 1638. 



In 1034 he published a volume of Latin poems, mostly devotional, 

 ia which tbe celebrated line is found upon the miracle at Cana in 



