REFORMATION, is, in general, the act of reforming or correcting an error or abuse in religion, discipline, or the like. By way of eminence, the word is used for that great alteration and reformation in the corrupted system of Christianity, commenced by Luther in the year 1517.

Before the period of the Reformation, the pope had declared himself the sovereign of the whole world. All the parts of it which were inhabited by those who were not Christians, he accounted the same as if they were uninhabited; and if those who called themselves Christians resolved on occupying any of those countries, he gave them full liberty to make war upon the inhabitants without any provocation. The countries, if conquered, were to be parcelled out according to the pope’s pleasure; and dreadful was the situation of that prince who refused to obey the will of the sovereign pontiff In consequence of this extraordinary authority which the pope had assumed, he at last granted to the king of Portugal all the countries to the eastward of Cape Nun in Africa, and to the king of Spain all the countries to the westward of that point or headland. In this, according to the opinions of some, was completed in his person the character of Antichrist sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself as God (2 Thess. ii. 4). He had long before, say they, assumed in spiritual matters the supremacy belonging to the Deity himself; and now he assumed the same supremacy in temporal affairs, giving the extreme regions of the earth to whomsoever he pleased. The Reformation, therefore, they consider as the immediate effect of divine power taking vengeance on this and all other deviations from the system of truth; whilst others regard it merely as an effect of natural causes, which might have been foreseen and prevented, without abridging the papal power in any considerable degree.

Be this as it may, however, the partition above mentioned was the last piece of insolence which the pope ever had,
[7:19:88]

or in all probability ever will have, it in his power to exercise, in the way of parcelling out the globe amongst his adherents. Everything was quiet, every heretic had been ex- l terminated, and the whole Christian world supinely acqui- ι esced in the enormous absurdities which were inculcated upon them; when, in 1517, a spirit of inquiry arose, and the empire of superstition began to decline. The person who made the first attack on the extravagant superstitions then prevalent was Martin Luther. By some it is pretended that the only motive which Luther had in beginning the Reformation was his enmity to the Dominicans, who had excluded his order, the Augustinians, from all share in the gainful traffic of indulgences. But this does not seem at all probable, for such a motive would not naturally lead him to deny the virtue of indulgences, whilst his conduct could not but exclude him for ever from any chance of a share in the traffic, which otherwise he might perhaps have obtained. Besides, this traffic was so contrary to the common principles of reason and honesty, that we cannot wonder at finding one man in the world who had sense enough to discern it, and virtue enough to oppose such a disgraceful practice. In all probability, however, the insignificance of the first reformer was the reason why he was not persecuted and exterminated at the very outset, as others had been before him. Another reason probably might be, that he did not at once attack the whole errors of Popery, but brought about his reformation gradually, probably as it occurred to himself.

The Reformation commenced in the city of Wittenberg "in Saxony, but was not long confined either to that city or to the province in which it is situated. In 1520 the Franciscan friars, who had the care of promulgating indulgences in Switzerland, were opposed by Zuinglius, a man not inferior in understanding and knowledge to Luther himself. He proceeded with the greatest vigour to overturn the whole fabric of Popery; but his opinions were declared to be erroneous by the universities of Cologne and Louvain. Notwithstanding this, the magistrates of Zurich approved of his proceedings; and the whole of that canton, together with those of Berne, Basil, and Schauffhausen, embraced his opi nions.

In Germany, Luther continued to make great advances, without being in the least intimidated by the ecclesiastical censures which were thundered against him from all quarters. Continually protected by the German princes, either from religious or political motives, his adversaries could not accomplish his destruction as they had done that of others. Those princes who were upon bad terms with the court of Rome took advantage of the success of the new doctrines, and in their own dominions easily overturned a church which had lost all respect and veneration amongst the inferior ranks. The court of Rome had disobliged some of the smaller princes in the north of Germany, whom the pope probably thought too insignificant to be worth managing; and they, in revenge, universally established the Reformation in their own dominions. Melancthon, Carlostadt, and other men of eminence, also greatly forwarded the work of Luther; and in all probability the papal hierarchy would have soon come to an end, in the northern parts of Europe at least, had not the Emperor Charles V. given a severe check to the progress of the Reformation in Germany. In order to follow out the schemes dictated by his ambition, he thought it necessary to ingratiate himself with the pope; and the most effectual method of doing this seemed to be by the destruction of Luther. The pope’s legates insisted that Luther ought to be condemned by the Diet of Worms, as a most notorious, avowed, and incorrigible heretic. This however appeared unjust to the members of the diet, and he was summoned to appear personally, which he accordingly did without hesitation. There is not the least doubt that his appearance there would have been his last in this world, if the astonishing respect that was paid him, and the crowds who came daily to see him, had not deterred his judges from employing summary means against the author of such a heresy. He was therefore permitted to depart with a safe-conduct for a certain time; after which he remained in the state of a proscribed or intercommuned criminal, to whom it was unlawful to perform any of the ordinary offices of humanity.

During the confinement of Luther in a castle near Warburg, the Reformation advanced rapidly, almost every city in Saxony embracing the Lutheran opinions. At this time an alteration in the established forms bf worship was first adventured upon at Wittenberg, by abolishing the celebration of private masses, and giving the cup as well as the bread to the laity in the Lord’s Supper. In a short time, however, the new opinions were condemned by the university of Paris, and a refutation of them was attempted by Henry VIII. of England. But Luther was not to be thus intimidated. He published his animadversions on both with as much acrimony as if he had been refuting the meanest adversary; and a controversy managed by such illustrious antagonists attracted general attention, the Reformers daily gaining new converts both in France and England.

But whilst the efforts of Luther were thus everywhere crowned with success, the divisions began to prevail which have since so much agitated the reformed churches. The first dispute occurred between Luther and Zuinglius concerning the manner in which the body and blood of Christ were present in the Eucharist. Luther and his followers, although they had rejected the notion of transubstantiation, were nevertheless of opinion that the body and blood of Christ were really present in the Lord’s Supper, in a way which they could not pretend to explain. Carlostadt, who was Luther’s colleague, first suggested another view of the subject, which was afterwards confirmed and illustrated by Zuinglius, namely, that the body and blood of Christ were not really present in the Eucharist; and that the bread and wine were no more than external symbols to excite the remembrance of Christ’s sufferings in the minds of those who received it. Both parties maintained their tenets with the utmost obstinacy, and, by their divisions, first gave their adversaries an argument against them, which to this day the Catholics urge with great force; alleging that the Protestants are so divided that it is impossible to know who is right or who is wrong; and arguing from these divisions, that the whole doctrine is false.

To these intestine divisions were added the horrors of a< civil war, occasioned by oppression on the one hand, and by enthusiasm on the other. In 1525, a great number of seditious fanatics arose on a sudden in different parts of Germany; and having taken arms, they united their forces, and made war against the empire, laying waste the country with fire and sword, and committing everywhere the most barbarous cruelties. The greater part of this furious mob was composed of peasants and vassals, who groaned under heavy burdens, and declared that they were no longer able to bear the despotic government of their chiefs; and hence this sedition received the name of the Rustic War, or the War of the Peasants. At first this rabble declared, that they had no other motives than the redress of their grievances; but no sooner had the enthusiast Munster, the Anabaptist, placed himself at their head, than the face of things was entirely changed, and the civil commotions in Saxony and Thuringia rapidly increased. (See the article Anabap ’ nsts.)

In the mean time Frederick, surnamed the Wise, elector of Saxony, and Luther’s great patron, departed this life, and was succeeded by his brother John. Frederick, though he had protected and encouraged Luther, yet was at no pains to introduce the reformed religion into his dominions. But with his successor it proved otherwise; for he, being convinced that Luther’s doctrine must soon be totally destroyed [7:19:89]and suppressed unless it received a speedy and effectual support, ordered Luther and Melancthon to draw up a body of laws relating to the form of ecclesiastical government, the method of public worship, and other necessary matters, which were to be proclaimed by heralds throughout his dominions. This example was followed by all the princes and states of Germany who had renounced the papal supremacy; and a similar form of worship, discipline, and government, was thus introduced into all the churches which had dissented from that of Rome. This open renunciation of the ancient ecclesiastical jurisdiction changed the face of affairs; and the patrons of Popery intimated, in a manner not at all ambiguous, that they intended to make war upon the Lutheran arty. On the other hand, the Lutherans, apprised of these ostile intentions, began to deliberate on a proper plan of defence against the attack with which they were threatened.

The Diet of the Empire assembled in the year 1526, at Spires, where the emperor’s ambassadors were desired to use their utmost endeavours to suppress all disputes about religion, and to insist upon the rigorous execution of the sentence which had been pronounced against Luther and his followers at Worms. The greater part of the German princes, however, opposed this motion with the utmost resolution; declaring that they could neither execute the sentence, nor come to any determination with regard to the doctrines by which it had been occasioned, before the whole matter had been submitted to the decision of a council lawfully assembled; and further alleging, that the decision of controversies of this nature belonged properly to a general council, and to it alone. This opinion, after long and warm debates, was adopted by a majority, and at length consented to by the whole assembly. It was unanimously agreed to present a solemn address to the emperor, entreating him to assemble, without delay, a general council; whilst in the mean time it was also agreed, that the princes of the empire should, in their respective dominions, be at liberty to manage ec-

clesiastical affairs in the manner they should think most proper, yet so as to be able to give to God and the emperor a proper account of their administration whenever it should be required of them.

These resolutions proved exceedingly favourable to the cause of reformation. Neither had the emperor, for some time, any leisure to give disturbance to the reformed. The war, which about this time ensued between him and the pope, gave the greatest advantage to the friends of the reformed, and considerably augmented their number. Several princes, whom the fear of persecution and punishment had hitherto prevented from lending their assistance, publicly renounced the Catholic religion, and introduced amongst their subjects the same forms of religious worship, and the same system of doctrine, which had been received in Saxony. Others, though placed in such circumstances as discouraged them from acting in an open manner against the interests of the Roman pontiff, were, however, far from discovering the smallest opposition to those who withdrew the people from his despotic yoke; nor did they molest the private assemblies of those who had separated themselves from the communion of Rome. And, in general, all the Germans who, before these resolutions of the Diet of Spires, had rejected the papal discipline and doctrine, were now, in consequence of the liberty they enjoyed, wholly employed in bringing their schemes and plans to a certain degree of consistence, and in adding vigour and firmness to the cause in which they were engaged.

But this tranquillity and liberty were not of long duration. 'In the year 1529, a new diet was assembled at the same place by the emperor, after he had quieted the troubles in various parts of his dominions, and concluded a peace with the pope. The power which had been granted to princes, of managing ecclesiastical affairs until the meeting of a general council, was now revoked by a majority of votes; and cvery

VOL. XIX.

change declared unlawful that should be introduced into the doctrine, discipline, or worship of the established religion, before the determination of the approaching council was known. This decree was considered as iniquitous and intolerable by the Elector of Saxony, the Landgrave of Hesse, and other members of the diet, who were persuaded of the necessity of a reformation. The promise of speedily assembling a general council they looked upon as an artifice of the Church of Rome, conceiving that a free and lawful council would be the last thing to which the pope would consent.

When, therefore, they found that all their arguments and remonstrances made no impression upon Ferdinand, the emperor’s brother, who presided in the diet, Charles himself being then at Barcelona, they entered a solemn protest against this decree on the 19th of April, and appealed to the emperor and a future council. Hence arose the denomination of Protestants, which from this period has been given to those who separated from the communion of the Church of Rome. The princes of the empire who entered this protest, were John elector of Saxony, George elector of Brandenburg, Ernest and Francis dukes of Lunenburg, the Landgrave of Hesse, and the Prince of Anhalt; and they were seconded by thirteen imperial towns, viz. Strasburg, Ulm, Nuremberg, Constance, Windsheim, Memmin-gen, Nordlingen, Lindau, Kempton, Heilbron, Wissem-burg, and St Gall.

The dissenting princes, who were besides the protectors and heads of the reformed churches, had no sooner entered their protest, than they sent proper persons to the emperor, who was then upon his passage from Spain to Italy, to acquaint him with their proceedings in this matter. The ministers employed in this commission executed it with the greatest intrepidity and presence of mind; but the emperor, exasperated at the audacity of those who presumed to differ from him, caused the ambassadors to be arrested. The news of this violent step made the Protestant princes conclude that their personal safety, and the success of their cause, depended entirely upon their own courage and their union. They therefore determined to enter into a solemn confederacy; and for this purpose they held several meetings at Rot, Nuremberg, Smalcald, and other places; but so different were their opinions and views, that for a time they could determine upon nothing.

One great obstacle to the intended confederacy was the dispute which had arisen between Luther and Zuinglius, concerning the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. To terminate this dispute, if possible, Philip, landgrave of Hesse, in the year 1529 invited to a conference at Marpurg, Luther and Zuinglius, together with several other of the more eminent doctors who adhered to the respective parties of these contending chiefs. But this measure was not attended with the salutary effects which were expected from it. The divines disputed for four days in presence of the landgrave. Luther attacked Oecolampa-dius, and Zuinglius was attacked by Melancthon. Zuin-glius was accused of heresy, not only on account of his explanation of the nature and design of the Lord’s Supper, but also in consequence of the false notions which he was supposed to have adopted concerning the divinity of Christ, the efficacy of the Divine Word, original sin, and some other parts of the Christian doctrine. This illustrious reformer, however, cleared himself from the greater part of these charges with the most triumphant evidence, and in such a manner as appeared satisfactory even to Luther himself. But their dissension concerning the manner of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist still remained; nor could either of the contending parties be persuaded to abandon, or even to modify, their opinions upon that matter. The only advantage, therefore, which resulted from the meeting was, that the jarring doctors formed a kind of truce/ by agreeing

M [7:19:90]to a mutual toleration of their sentiments, and leaving to the disposal of Providence the cure of their divisions.

In the mean time, news were received that the emperor designed to come into Germany, with a view to terminate all religious differences at the approaching Diet of Augsburg. Having foreseen some of the consequences of those disputes, and, besides, taken the opinion of men of wisdom, sagacity, and experience, he became at certain times more cool in his proceedings, and more impartial in his opinions respecting the contending parties and the merits of the cause. He, therefore, in an interview with the pope at Bologna, insisted, in the most serious and urgent manner, on the necessity of a general council. His remonstrances and expostulations, however, could not move the pontiff, who maintained with zeal the papal prerogatives; reproached the emperor with an ill-judged clemency; and alleged that it was the duty of that prince to support the church, and to execute speedy vengeance upon that obstinate heretical faction who had dared to call in question the authority of Rome. To this discourse the emperor paid no regard, looking upon it as a most iniquitous thing, and a measure directly opposite to the laws of the empire, to condemn unheard so many men who had always approved themselves good citizens, and in other respects deserved well of their country.

Hitherto indeed it was not easy for the emperor to form a clear idea of the matters in debate, since no regular system had as yet been composed, by which it might be known with certainty what were the true causes of Luther’s opposition to the pope. The Elector of Saxony, therefore, ordered Luther, and other eminent divines, to commit to writing the chief articles of their religious system, and the principal points in which they differed from the Church of Rome. Luther, in compliance with this order, delivered to the elector at Torgau seventeen articles which had been agreed upon in a conference at Sulzbach in 1529, and hence these received the name of the Articles of Torgau. But though these were deemed by Luther a sufficient declaration of the sentiments of the reformers, yet it was judged proper to enlarge them, in order to give perspicuity to their arguments, and strength to their cause. In this work Melancthon was employed; but in it he showed a proper deference to the counsels of Luther, expressing his sentiments and doctrine with the greatest elegance and perspicuity, and thus came forth the famous Confession of Augsburg.

On the 15th of June 1530, Charles arrived at Augsburg, - and the diet was opened five days afterwards. The Protestants received a formal permission to present an account of their tenets to the diet on the 25th of the same month; and in consequence of this, at the time appointed, Christian Bayer, chancellor of Saxony, read aloud, in the German language, before the emperor and the princes assembled, the Confession of Augsburg above mentioned. It contained twenty-eight chapters, of which twenty-one were employed in representing the religious opinions of the Protestants, and the other seven in pointing out tile errors and superstitions of the Church of Rome. The princes heard it with the deepest attention. It confirmed some in the principles which they had embraced; it surprised others, who had not given much consideration to the subject; and many, who before this time had little or no idea of the religious sentiments of Luther, were now not only convinced of their innocence, but delighted with their purity and simplicity. The copies of this Confession, after being read, were delivered to the emperor, being signed by John elector of Saxony, George marquis of Brandenburg, Ernest duke of Lunenburg, Philip landgrave of Hesse, Wolfgang prince of Anhalt, and by the imperial cities of Nuremberg and Reutlingen.

The creatures of the Church of Rome who were present at this diet employed John Faber, afterwards bishop of

Vienna, together with Eckius 1 and another doctor, to draw up a refutation of the Protestant Confession; and this having been publicly read, the emperor required the Protestant members to acquiesce in it, and put an end to the religious disputes by an unlimited submission to the opinions and doctrines contained in this answer. But this demand was far from being complied with. The Protestants, on the contrary, declared that they were by no means satisfied with the reply of their adversaries, and earnestly desired a copy of it, that they might more fully demonstrate its extreme insufficiency and weakness. But this reasonable request was refused by the emperor, who interposed his supreme authority to prevent any further proceedings in this matter, and solemnly prohibited the publication of any new writings or declarations which might contribute to protract these religious debates. This, however, did not reduce the Protestants to silence. The divines of that communion who had been present at the diet endeavoured to recollect the arguments and objections employed by Faber, and had again recourse to the pen of Melancthon, who refuted them in an ample and satisfactory manner, in a piece which was presented to the emperor on the 22d of September, but which Charles refused to receive. This answer was afterwards enlarged by Melancthon, when he had obtained a copy of Faber’s reply; and was published in the year 1531, with the other pieces that related to the doctrine and discipline of the Lutheran church, under the title of Defence of the Confession of Augsburg.

Matters now began to draw tow ards a crisis. There were only three ways of bringing to a conclusion these religious differences: First, to grant the Protestants a toleration and privilege of serving God as they thought proper; secondly, to compel them to return to the Church of Rome by the violent methods of persecution; or, thirdly, that a reconciliation should be made, upon fair, and candid, and equitable terms, by engaging each of the parties to temper their zeal with moderation, to abate reciprocally the rigour of their pretensions, and to remit something of their respective claims. The third expedient was most generally approved of, being peculiarly agreeable to all who had at heart the welfare of the empire; nor did even the pope seem to look upon it with aversion or contempt. Various conferences therefore were held between persons eminent for piety and learning upon both sides; and nothing was omitted which might have the least tendency to calm the animosities and heal the divisions which reigned between the contending parties. But the differences were too great to admit of a reconciliation; and therefore the votaries of Rome had recourse to the powerful arguments of imperial edicts, and the force of the secular arm. On the 19th of November, a severe decree was issued by order of the emperor, in which everything was manifestly adapted to deject the friends of religious liberty, excepting only a faint and dubious promise of engaging the pope to assemble a general council about six months after the separation of the diet. In this decree the dignity and excellence of the Catholic religion were extolled beyond measure; a new degree of severity and force was added to that which had been published at Worms against Luther and his adherents; the changes which had been introduced into the doctrine and discipline of the Protestant churches were severely censured; and a solemn order was addressed to the princes, cities, and states, who had thrown off the papal yoke, to return to their allegiance to Rome, on pain of incurring the indignation and vengeance of the emperor, as the patron and protector of the church.

Of this formidable decree the Elector of Saxony and the confederated princes were no sooner informed than they assembled in order to deliberate on the measures proper to be taken in such an emergency. In the years 1530 and 1531 they met, first at Smalcald, and afterwards at Francfort,
[7:19:91]

where they formed a solemn alliance and confederacy, with the intention of defending vigorously their religion and liberties against the dangers and encroachments with which they were threatened by the edict of Augsburg, without attempting, however, any thing offensive against the votaries of Rome; they invited the kings of England, France, and Denmark, to join this confederacy, leaving no means unemployed that might strengthen and cement so important an alliance.

This confederacy was at first opposed by Luther, from an apprehension of the calamities and troubles which it might produce; but at last, perceiving the necessity of concert, he consented, though he uncharitably, as well as imprudently, refused to comprehend in it the followers of Zuing-lius amongst the Swiss, as well as the German states and cities which had adopted the sentiments and confession of Bucer. In the invitation addressed to Henry VIII. of England, whom the confederate princes were willing to declare the head and protector of their league, the following things, amongst others, were expressly stipulated: That the king should encourage, promote, and maintain, the true doctrine of Christ as it was contained in the Confession of Augsburg, and defend the same at the next general council; that he should not agree to any council summoned by the bishop of Rome, but protest against it, and neither submit to its decrees, nor suffer them to be respected in his dominions; that he should never allow the Roman pontiff to have any pre-eminence or jurisdiction in his dominions, and should advance 100,000 crowns for the use of the confederacy, engaging to double the sum if necessary: all which articles the confederate princes were equally obliged to observe upon their part. To these demands the king replied, that he would maintain and promote the true doctrine of Christ; but, at the same time, as the true ground of that doctrine lay only in the Holy Scriptures, he would not accept at any one’s hand what should be his own faith, or that of his kingdom; and therefore desired that they would send over two learned men to confer with him, in order to promote a religious union between him and the confederates. He, however, declared himself of their opinion with regard to the meeting of a free general council, and promised to join with them in all such councils for the defence of the true doctrine; but he thought the regulation of the ceremonial part of religion, being comparatively a matter of indifference, should be left to the choice of each sovereign for his own dominions. Subsequently the king gave them a second and more satisfactory answer; but after the execution of Anne Boleyn, this negotiation came to nothing. On the one hand, the king grew cold when he perceived that the confederates were no longer of use to him in supporting the validity of his marriage; and, on the other, the German princes became sensible that they could never succeed with Henry, unless they allowed him an absolute dictatorship in matters of religion.

Whilst everything thus tended to an open war between the opposite parties, the Elector Palatine and the Elector of Mentz offered their mediation, and endeavoured to bring about a reconciliation. The emperor himself, for various reasons, was at this time inclined to peace. For, on the one hand, he stood in need of succours against the Turks, which the Protestant princes refused to grant as long as the edicts of Worms and Augsburg remained in force; and, on the other, the election of his brother Ferdinand to the dignity of king of the Romans, which had been carried by a majority of votes at the Diet of Cologne in 1531, was by the same princes contested, as being contrary to the fundamental laws of the empire. In consequence of all this, after many negotiations and projects of reconciliation, a treaty of peace was concluded at Nuremberg in 1532, between the emperor and the Protestant princes, on the following conditions, viz. That the latter should furnish a subsidy for carrying on the war against the Turks, and acknowledge Ferdinand as lawful king of the Romans; and that the emperor upon his part should abrogate and annul the edicts of Worms and Augsburg, and allow the Lutherans the free and undisturbed exercise of their religious doctrine and discipline, until a rule of faith should be fixed either in the free general council which was to be assembled in the space of six months, or in a diet of the empire.

Soon after the conclusion of the peace of Nuremberg, died JoIm elector of Saxony, who was succeeded by his son John Frederick, a prince of invincible fortitude and magnanimity, but whose reign was little better than one continued series of disappointments and calamities. The religious truce, however, gave new vigour to the Reformation. Those who had hitherto been only secret enemies of the Roman pontiff, now publicly threw off his yoke; and various cities and provinces of Germany enlisted themselves under the religious banners of Luther. On the other hand, as the emperor had now no other hope of terminating the religious disputes except by the meeting of a general council, he repeated his request to the ι>ontiff that such a council should be assembled. But Pope Clement VII., whom the history of past councils filled with the greatest uneasiness, endeavoured to retard what he could not with decency refuse. At last, in the year 1533, he made a proposal by his legate to assemble a council at Mantua, Piacenza, or Bologna; but the Protestants refused their consent to the nomination of an Italian council, and insisted that a controversy which had its rise in the heart of Germany should be determined within the limits of the empire. The pope, by his usual artifices, eluded compliance with this demand, and, in 1534, he was cut off by death, before any determination could be come to. His successor Paul III. seemed to show less reluctance to the assembling of a general council, and in 1535 expressed his inclination to convoke one at Mantua; and, the year following, he actually sent circular letters for that purpose throughout all the states and kingdoms under his jurisdiction. Tllis council was summoned by a bull issued on tile 2d of June 1536, to meet at Mantua in the Ibllowingyear. But several obstacles prevented its meeting; one of the most material of which was, that Frederick duke of Mantua had no inclination to receive at once so many guests, some of them very turbulent, into the place of his residence. On the other hand, the Protestants were firmly persuaded that, as the council was to be assembled in Italy, and by the authority of the pope alone, the latter must have an undue influence in that assembly; and, consequently, that all things would be carried by the votaries of Rome. For this reason they assembled in the year 1537 at Smalcald, where they solemnly protested against this partial and corrupt council, and, at the same time, had a new summary of their doctrine drawn up by Luther, in order to present it to the assembled bishops if it should be required of them. This summary, which received the title of the Articles of Smalcald, is commonly conjoined with the creeds and confessions of the Lutheran church.

After the meeting of the general council in Mantua had thus been prevented, many schemes of accommodation were proposed both by the emperor and by the Protestants; but, by the artifices of the Church of Rome, all of them came to nothing. In 1541, the emperor appointed a conference to be held at Worms on the subject of religion, between persons of piety and learning chosen from the contending parties. This conference, however, was, for certain reasons, removed to the diet which was to be held at Ratisbon that year, and in which the principal subject of deliberation was a memorial presented by a person unknown, containing a project of peace. But the conference produced no other effect than a mutual agreement of the contending parties to refer their matters to a general council, or, if the meeting of such a council should be prevented, to the next German Diet.
[7:19:92]

This resolution was rendered ineffectual by a variety of ι incidents, which widened the breach, and put off to a future day the deliberations which were designed to heal it-The pope ordered his legate to declare to the Diet of Spires, .assembled in 1542, that he would, according to the promise he had already made, assemble a general council, and that Trent should be the place of its meeting, if the diet had no objection to that city. Ferdinand, and the princes who adhered to the cause of the pope, gave their consent to this proposal; but it was vehemently ‘objected to by the Protestants, both because the council was summoned by the authority of the pope only, and also because the place was within the jurisdiction of his holiness; whereas they desired a free council, which should not be biassed by the dictates nor awed by the proximity of the pontiff But this protestation produced no effect. Paul III. persisted in his purpose, and issued his circular letters for the convocation of the council, with the approbation of the emperor. In justice to this pontiff, however, it must be acknowledged, that he showed that he was not averse to every reformation. He appointed four cardinals, and three other persons eminent for their learning, to draw up a scheme for the reformation of the church in general, and of that of Rome in particular. The reformation proposed in this plan was indeed extremely superficial and partial; yet it contained some particulars which could scarcely have been expected from those who composed it. They complained of the pride and ignorance of the bishops, and proposed that none should receive orders but learned and pious men; and that care should therefore be taken to have proper masters for the instruction of youth. They condemned translations from one benefice to another, with grants of reservation, non-residence, and pluralities. They proposed that some convents should be abolished; that the liberty of the press should be restrained and limited; that the colloquies of Erasmus should be suppressed; that no ecclesiastic should enjoy a benefice out of his own country; that no cardinal should have a bishopric; that the questors of St Anthony and several other saints should be abolished; and, which was the best of all their proposals, that the effects and personal estates of ecclesiastics should be given to the poor. They concluded with complaining of the prodigious number of indigent and ragged priests who frequented St Peter’s church; and declared, that it was a great scandal to see prostitutes lodged so magnificently at Rome, and riding through the streets on fine mules, whilst the cardinals and other ecclesiastics accompanied them in the most courteous manner. This plan of reformation was turned into ridicule by Luther and Sturmius; and indeed it left unredressed the greatest grievances of which the Protestants complained.

All this time the emperor had been labouring to persuade the Protestants to consent to the meeting of the council at Trent; but when he found them fixed in their opposition to the measure, he began to listen to the sanguinary measures of the pope, and resolved to terminate the disputes by force of arms. Upon this the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse, who were the chief supporters of the Protestant cause, took proper measures to prevent their being surprised and overwhelmed by a superior force; but, before the horrors of war commenced, Luther died in peace at Ayselben, the place of his nativity, in the year 1546.

The emperor and the pope had mutually resolved on the destruction of all who should dare to oppose the council of Trent. The meeting of this council was to serve as a signal for taking up arms; and accordingly its deliberations were scarcely commenced in 1546, when the Protestants perceived undoubted signs of the approaching storm, and of

. a formidable union between the emperor and pope, which threatened to overwhelm them at once. This year indeed there had been a new conference at Ratisbon upon the old subject of accommodating differences in religion; but from the manner in which the debates were carried on, it appeared plainly that these differences could only be decided in the field of battle. The council of Trent, in the mean time, Promulgatedtheirdecrees; whilst the reformed princes, in the Diet of Ratisbon, protested against their authority, and were on that account proscribed by the emperor, who raised an army to reduce them to obedience.

The Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse led their forces into Bavaria against the emperor, and cannonaded his camp near Ingolstadt. It was supposed that this would bring on an engagement, which would probably have bee n advantageous to the cause of the reformed; but this was prevented, chiefly by the perfidy of Maurice duke of Saxony, who invaded the dominions of his uncle. Divisions were also fomented amongst the confederate princes, by the dissimulation of the emperor, and France failed in paying the subsidy which had been promised by its monarch; all which so discouraged the heads of the Protestant party, that their army soon dispersed, and the Elector of Saxony was obliged to direct his march homewards. But he was pursued by the emperor, who made several forced marches, with a view to overpower the enemy before he could have time to recover his vigour. The two armies met near Mul-berg, on the Elbe, on the 24th of April 1547; and, after a sanguinary action, the elector was entirely defeated and taken prisoner. Maurice, who had so basely betrayed him, was now declared Elector of Saxony; and by his entreaties, Philip, landgrave of Hesse, the other chief of the Protestants, was persuaded to throw himself on the mercy of the emperor, and to implore forgiveness. To this he consented, relying on the promise of Charles for obtaining pardon, and being restored to liberty; but, notwithstanding these expectations, he was unjustly detained prisoner, by a scandalous violation of the most solemn convention. It is said that the emperor retracted his promise, and deluded this unhappy prince by the ambiguity of two German words. History indeed can scarcely furnish a parallel to the perfidious, mean-spirited, and despotic behaviour of the emperor in the present case. After having received in public the humble submission of the prince on his knees, and set him at liberty in virtue of a solemn treaty, he caused him to be arrested anew without any reason, nay, without any pretence, and kept him a close prisoner for several years. When Maurice remonstrated against this new confinement, the emperor answered that he had never promised that the landgrave should not be imprisoned anew, but only that he should be exempted from perpetual imprisonment; and, to support this assertion, he produced the treaty.

The affairs of the Protestants now seemed to be desperate. In the Diet of Augsburg, which was soon afterwards called, the emperor required the Protestants to leave the decision of these religious disputes to the wisdom of the council which was to meet at Trent. The greater part of the members consented to this proposal, being convinced by the powerful argument of an imperial army, which was at hand to dispel the darkness from the eyes of such as might otherwise have been blind to the force of Charles’s reasoning. However, this general submission did not produce the effect which was expected from it. A plague which broke out, or was said to have done so, in the city, caused the greater part of the bishops to retire to Bologna, by which means the council was in effect dissolved; nor could all the entreaties and remonstrances of the emperor prevail upon the pope to re-assemble it without delay. During this interval, therefore, the emperor judged it necessary to fall upon some method of accommodating the religious differences, and maintaining peace until the council so long expected should finally be decided on. With this view he ordered Julius Pelugius, bishop of Naumberg, Michael Sido[7:19:93]nius, a creature of the pope, and John Agricoa, a native of Ayselben 1 to draw up a formulary which might serve as a rule of faith and worship, till the council should be assembled. But as this was only a temporary expedient, and had not the force of a permanent or perpetual institution, it thence obtained the name of the Interim.

This project of Charles was formed partly with a design to vent his resentment against the pope, and partly to answer other political purposes. It contained all the essential doctrines of the Church of Rome, though considerably softened by the artful terms which were employed, and which were quite different from those employed before and after this period by the council of Trent. There was even an affected ambiguity in many of the expressions, which made them susceptible of different senses, and applicable to the sentiments of both communions. The consequence of all this was, that the imperial formulary was reprobated by both parties. However, it was promulgated with great solemnity by the emperor at Augsburg. The Elector of Mentz, without even asking the opinion of the princes present, gave a sanction to this formulary, as if he had been commissioned to represent the whole diet. Many remained silent through fear, and that silence was interpreted as a tacit consent. Some who had the courage to oppose it, were reduced by force of arms; and the most deplorable scenes of bloodshed and violence were enacted throughout the whole empire. Maurice, elector of Saxony, who had hitherto kept neutral, now assembled the whole of his nobility and clergy, in order to deliberate on this critical affair. At the head of the latter was Melancthon, whose , word was respected as a law amongst the Protestants. But this man had not the courage of Luther, and was therefore on all occasions ready to make concessions, and to propose schemes of accommodation. In the present case he gave it as his opinion, that the whole of the book called Interim could not by any means be adopted by the Protestants; but at the same time he declared, that he saw no reason why this book might not be approved, adopted, and received, as an authoritative rule in things that did not relate to the essential parts of religion, and which he accounted indifferent. But this scheme, instead of cementing the differences, rendered them worse than ever; and produced a division amongst the Protestants themselves, which might have overthrown the Reformation entirely, if the emperor and the pope had seized the opportunity.

In the year 1549, Pope Paul III. died, and was suc ceeded by Julius III. who, at the repeated solicitations of the emperor, consented to re-assemble the council of Trent. A diet was again held at Augsburg under the cannon of the imperial army, and Charles laid the matter before the princes of the empire. Most of those present gave their consent to it, and amongst the rest Maurice elector of Saxony, who consented on the following conditions, namely, that the points of doctrine which had already been decided there should be re-examined; that this examination should be made in presence of the Protestant divines; that the Saxon Protestants should have the liberty of voting as well as of deliberating in the council; and that the pope should not pretend to preside in that assembly, either in person or by his legatees. This declaration of Maurice was read in the diet, and his deputies insisted upon its being entered into the registers, which the Archbishop of Mentz obstinately refused. This diet was concluded in the year 1551; and, at its breaking up, the emperor desired the assembled princes and states to prepare all things for the approaching council, and promised to use his utmost endeavours to procure moderation and harmony, impartiality and charity, in the transactions of that assembly.

On the breaking up of the diet, the Protestants took such steps as they thought most proper for their own safety. The Saxons employed Melancthon, and the Wurtembergers

Brcngius, to draw up confessions of faith to be laid before the new council. The Saxon divines, however, proceeded no farther than Nuremberg, having received secret orders from Maurice to stop there; for the elector, perceiving that Charles had formed designs against the liberties of the German princes, resolved to take the most effectual measures for at once crushing his ambition. He therefore entered with the utmost secrecy and expedition into an alliance with the king of France and several of the German princes, for the security of the rights and liberties of the empire; after which, having assembled a powerful army in 1552, he marched against the emperor, who lay with a handful of troops at Inspruck, expecting no attack from any quarter. By this sudden and unforeseen accident Charles was so much dispirited, that he was willing to make peace almost on any terms. The consequence was, that he concluded a treaty at Passau, which by the Protestants is considered as the basis of their religious liberty. By the first three articles of this treaty, it was agreed that Maurice and the confederates should lay down their arms, and lend their troops to Ferdinand to assist him against the Turks, and that the Landgrave of Hesse should be set at liberty. By the fourth it was agreed that the rule of faith called the Interim should be considered as null and void; that the contending parties should enjoy the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion, until a diet should be assembled to determine amicably the present disputes, which diet was to meet in the space of six months; and that this religious liberty should continue always, in case it should be found impossible to come to an uniformity in doctrine and worship. It was also determined, that all those who had suffered banishment, or any other calamity, on account of their having been concerned in the league or war of Smalcald, should be reinstated in their privileges, possessions, and employments; that the imperial chamber at Spiresshouldbe open to the Protestants as well as to the Catholics; and that there should always be a certain number of Lutherans in that high court. To this peace Albert, marquis of Brandenburg, refused to subscribe, and continued the war against the Roman Catholics, committing such ravages in the empire that a confederacy was at last formed against him. At the head of this conspiracy was Maurice, elector of Saxony, who died of a wound received in a battle fought in 1553.

The assembling of the diet promised by Charles was delayed by various incidents; however, it met at Augsburg in 1555, where it was opened by Ferdinand in name of the emperor, and terminated those deplorable calamities which had so long desolated the empire. After various debates, the following acts were passed, on the 25th of September, viz. That the Protestants who followed the Confession of Augsburg should be for the future considered as entirely free from the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff, and from the authority and superintendence of the bishops; that they were left at perfect liberty to enact laws for themselves relating to their religious sentiments, discipline, and worship; that all the inhabitants of the German empire should be allowed to judge for themselves in religious matters, and to join that church whose doctrine and worship they thought the purest and most consonant to the spirit of true Christianity; and that all those who should injure or persecute any person under religious pretences, and on account of their opinions, should be declared and proceeded against as public enemies of the empire, invaders of its liberty, and disturbers of its peace.

Thus was the Reformation established in many parts of the German empire, where it continues to this day; nor have the efforts of the Catholic powers at any time been able to suppress it, or even to prevent it from gaining ground. It was not, however, in Germany alone that a reformation of religion took place. About the same time almost all the kingdoms of Europe began to open their eyes to the truth.
[7:19:94]

The reformed religion was propagated in Sweden, soon after Luther’s rupture with the Church of Rome, by one of his disciples, named Olaus Petri. The zealous efforts of this missionary were seconded by Gustavus Vasa, whom the Swedes had raised to the throne instead of Christiem king of Denmark, who by his horrid barbarity lost the crown. This prince, however, was as prudent as he was zealous; and, as the minds of the Swedes were in a fluctuating state, he wisely avoided all kind of vehemence and precipitation in spreading the new doctrine. Accordingly, the first object of his attention was the instruction of his people in the sacred doctrines of the Holy Scriptures; and for this purpose he invited into his dominions several learned Germans, and spread abroad throughout the kingdom the Swedish translation of the Bible which had been made by Olaus Petri. Some time after this, in 1526, he appointed a conference at Upsal, between this reformer and Peter Gallius, a zealous defender of the ancient faith, in which each of the champions was to bring forth his arguments, that it might be seen on which side lay the truth. In this dispute Olaus obtained a signal victory, which contributed much to confirm Gustavus in his persuasion of the truth of Luther’s doctrine, and to promote its progress in Sweden. The following year another event gave the finishing stroke to its propagation and success. This was the assembly of the states at Westeraas, where Gustavus recommended the doctrine of the reformers with such zeal, that, after warm debates fomented by the clergy, it was unanimously resolved that the reformation introduced by Luther should be adopted in Sweden. This resolution was principally owing to the firmness and magnanimity of Gustavus, who declared publicly, that he would lay down the sceptre and retire from the kingdom, rather than rule a people enslaved by the orders and authority of the pope, and more controlled by the tyranny of their bishops than by the laws of their monarch. From this time the papal empire in Sweden was entirely overthrown, and Gustavus declared head of the church.

In Denmark, the Reformation was introduced as early as the year 1521, in consequence of the ardent desire discovered by Christiern II. of having his subjects instructed in the doctrines of Luther. This monarch, notwithstanding his cruelty, for which his name has been rendered odious, was nevertheless desirous of delivering his dominions from the tyranny of the Church of Rome. For this purpose, in the year 1520, he sent for Martin Reinard, one of the disciples of Carlostadt, and appointed him professor of divinity at Hafnia; and after the death of this man, which happened in 1521, he invited Carlostadt himself to fill that important place. Carlostadt accepted of this office, indeed, but in a short time returned to Germany; upon which Christiern used his utmost endeavours, but in vain, to engage Luther to visit his dominions. However, the progress of Christiern in reforming the religion of his subjects, or rather of advancing his own power above that of the church, was checked, in the year 1523, by a conspiracy, in consequence of which he was deposed and banished; his uncle Frederick, duke of Holstein and Sleswick, being appointed his successor.

Frederick conducted the Reformation with much greater prudence than his predecessor. He permitted the Protestant doctors to preach publicly the sentiments of Luther, but did not venture to change the established government and discipline of the church. However, he contributed greatly to the progress of the Reformation, by his successful attempts in favour of religious liberty, in an assembly of the states held at Odensee in 1527. Here he procured the publication of a famous edict, by which every subject of Denmark was declared free to adhere either to the tenets of the Church of Rome or to the doctrine of Luther. The papal tyranny was totally destroyed by his successor Chris-tiern III. Hebeganbysuppressingthedespoticauthority of the bishops, and restoring to their lawful owners a great part of the wealth and possessions which the church had acquired by various stratagems. This was followed by a plan of religious doctrine, worship, and discipline, laid down by Bu-genhagius, whom the king had sent for from Wittenberg for the purpose; and in 1539 an assembly of the states at Odensee gave their solemn sanction to all these transactions.

In France, also, the Reformation began very early to make some progress. Margaret queen of Navarre, and sister of Francis I. the perpetual rival of Charles V. was a great friend to the new doctrine; and it appears that, as early as the year 1523, there were, in several of the provinces of France, great numbers of people who had conceived the greatest aversion both to the doctrine and tyranny of the Church of Rome, amongst whom were many of the first rank and dignity, and even some of the episcopal order. But as their number increased daily, and troubles and commotions were excited in several places on account of the religious differences, the authority of the king intervened, and many persons eminent for their virtue and piety were put to death in the most barbarous manner. Indeed, Francis, who had either no religion at all, or, at best, no fixed and consistent system of religious principles, conducted himself towards the Protestants in such a manner as best answered his private views. Sometimes he resolved to invite Mclancthon into France, probably with a view to please his sister the queen of Navarre, whom he loved tenderly, and who had strongly imbibed the Protestant principles. At other times he exercised the greatest cruelty towards the reformed; and once made the following absurd declaration, that if he thought the blood in his arm was tainted by the Lutheran heresy, he would have it cut off; and that he would not spare even his own children, if they entertained sentiments contrary to those of the Catholic church. About this time Calvin began to attract the attention of the public, but more especially that of the queen of Navarre. His zeal exposed him to danger; and as Francis was daily committing to the flames the friends of the reformation, he was placed more than once in the most perilous situation, from which he was only delivered by the interposition of the queen of Navarre. He therefore retired from France to Basil in Switzerland, where he published his Christian Institutions, and afterwards became so famous in the history of Protestantism.

Those amongst the French who first renounced the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome are commonly called Lutherans by the writers of those early times. Hence it has been supposed that they had all imbibed the peculiar sentiments of Luther. But this appears not to have been the case: for the vicinity of the cities of Geneva, Lausanne, and some others, which had adopted the doctrine of Calvin, produced a remarkable effect upon the French Protestant churches; insomuch that, about the middle of this century, they all entered into communion with the church of Geneva. The French Protestants were, by way of contempt, called Huguenots by their adversaries. Their fate was very severe, being persecuted with unparalleled fury; and though several princes of the blood, and many of the first nobility, had embraced their sentiments, yet in no part of the world did the reformers suffer so much. At last all commotions were quelled by the fortitude and magnanimity of Henry IV., who in the year 1598 granted all his subjects full liberty of conscience by the famous edict of Nantes, and seemed to have thoroughly established the Reformation throughout his dominions. During the minority of Louis XIV. however, this edict was revoked by Cardinal Maza-rin, since which time the Protestants have often been cruelly persecuted; nor was the profession of the reformed religion in France at any time so safe as in most of the other countries of Europe.

Iu the other parts of Europe the opposition to the Church [7:19:95]of Rome was but faint and ambiguous before the Diet of Augsburg. Prior to that period, however, it appears, from undoubted testimony, that the doctrine of Luther had made a considerable, though probably secret, progress throughout Spain, Hungary, Bohemia, Britain, Poland, and Ithe Netherlands; and had in all these countries gained many friends, of whom several repaired to Wittenberg, in order to enlarge their knowledge by means of Luther’s conversation. Some of these countries threw off entirely the yoke of Rome, and in others a prodigious number of families embraced the principles of the reformed religion. It is certain, indeed, and some Roman Catholics themselves acknowledge it without hesitation, that the papal doctrines and authority would at once have fallen into ruin in all parts of the world, had not the force of the secular arm been employed to support the tottering edifice. In the Netherlands particularly, the most grievous persecutions took place, so that by the Emperor Charles V. upwards of a hundred thousand were destroyed, whilst still greater cruelties were exercised upon the people by his son Philip II. The revolt of the United Provinces, however, and motives of real policy,, at last put a stop to these furious proceedings; and although, in many provinces of the Netherlands, the establishment: of the Catholic religion was still continued, the Protestants have been long free from the danger of persecution on account of their principles.

The Reformation mad? considerable progress in Spain and Italy soon after the rupture between Luther and the Roman pontiff’. In all the provinces of Italy, but more especially in the territories of Venice, Tuscany, and Naples, the superstition of Rome lost ground, and great numbers of people of all ranks expressed an aversion to the papal yoke. In the year 1546, this occasioned violent and dangerous commotions in the kingdom of Naples; which, however, were at last quelled by the united forces of Charles V., and his viceroy Don Pedro di Toledo. In several places the pope put a stop to the progress of the Reformation, by letting loose the inquisitors, who spread dreadful marks of their barbarity throughout the greater part of Italy. These formidable ministers of persecution put so many to death, and perpetrated such horrid acts of cruelty and oppression, that most of the reformed consulted their safety by a voluntary exile, whilst others returned to the religion of Rome, at least in external appearance. But the inquisition, which frightened into the profession of Popery several Protestants in other parts of Italy, could never make its way into the kingdom of Naples; nor could either the authority or the entreaties of the pope engage the Neapolitans to admit even visiting inquisitors.

In Spain, several persons embraced the Protestant religion, not only from the controversies of Luther, but even from those divines whom Charles V. had brought with him into Germany in order to refute the doctrines of the Reformer. For these doctors had imbibed the pretended heresy instead of refuting it, and propagated it more or less on their return home. But the inquisition, which could obtain no footing in Naples, reigned triumphant in Spain, and by the most dreadful methods frightened the people back into Popery, and suppressed the desire of exchanging their superstition for a more rational plan of religion. It was indeed presumed that Charles himself died a Protestant; and it seems to be certain, that when the approach of death had dissipated those schemes of ambition and grandeur which had so long blinded him, his sentiments became much more rational and agreeable to Christianity than they had ever been before. All the ecclesiastics who had attended him, as soon as he expired, were sent to the inquisition, and committed to the flames, or put to death by some other met hod equally terrible. Such was the fate of Augustin Casal, the emperor’s preacher; of Constantius Pontius, his confessor; of Egidius, whom he had named to the bishopric of Tortosa; of Bartolomeo de Caranza 1 a Dominican, who had been confessor to Philip and Mary; besides twenty others of less note.

In England, the principles of the Reformation began to be adopted as soon as an account of Luther’s doctrines could be conveyed thither. In that kingdom there were still remains of the sect called Lollards, whose doctrine resembled that of Luther; and amongst whom, consequently, the sentiments of the Reformer gained great credit. Henry VIII., king of England, was at that time a violent partisan of the Church of Rome, and had a particular veneration for the writings of St Thomas Aquinas. Being informed that Luther spoke of his favourite author with contempt, he conceived a violent prejudice against the Reformer, and even wrote against him, as we have already mentioned. Luther did not hesitate about writing against his majesty, overcame him in argument, and treated him with very little ceremony. The first step towards public reformation, how-ever, was not taken until the year 1529. Great complaints had been made in England, from a very early period, respecting the usurpations of the clergy; and the prevalence of the Lutheran opinions rendered these complaints more loud and general than before. The House of Commons, finding the occasion favourable, passed several bills restraining the impositions of the clergy; but what threatened the ecclesiastical order with the greatest danger, were the severe reproaches throw n out in the house, almost without opposition, against the dissolute lives, ambition, and avarice of the priests, and their continual encroachments on the privileges of the laity. The bills for regulating the clergy met with opposition in the House of Lords; and Bishop Fisher imputed them to want of faith in the Commons, and to a formed design, proceeding from heretical and Lutheran principles, of robbing the church of her patrimony, and overturning the national religion. The Commons, however, complained to the king, by their Speaker Sir Thomas Audley, of these reflections thrown out against them; and the bishop was obliged to retract his words.

Though Henry had not the least idea of rejecting any, even of the most absurd observances of the Catholic Church, yet as the oppressions of the clergy w ere very ill suited to the violence of his own temper, he was pleased with every opportunity of lessening their power. In the parliament of 1531, he showed his design of humbling the clergy in the most effectual manner. An obsolete statute was revived, from which it was pretended, that to submit to the legatine power which had been exercised by Cardinal Wolsey was criminal. By this stroke the whole body of clergy was at once declared guilty. They were too well acquainted with Henry’s disposition, however, to reply, that their ruin would have been the certain consequence of their not submitting to Wolsey’s commission, which had been given by royal authority. Instead of making any defence of this kind, they chose to throw themselves on the mercy of their sovereign; which, however, it cost them L.118,840 to procure. A confession was likewise extorted from them, that the king was protector and supreme head of the Church of England; though some of them had the dexterity to get a clause inserted, which invalidated the whole submission, namely, “in as far as is permitted by the law of Christ.”

The king having thus begun to reduce the power of the clergy, kept no bounds with them afterwards. He did not indeed attempt any reformation in religious matters; nay, he persecuted most violently such as did in the least degree attempt anything of the kind. Indeed the most essential article of his creed seems to have been his own supremacy; for whoever denied this, whether Protestant or Papist, was sure to suffer the most severe penalties.

He died in the year 1547, and was succeeded by his only son, Edward VI. This amiable prince gave new spirit and vigour to the Protestant cause, and was its brightest ornament;
[7:19:96]

as well as its most effectual support. He encouraged learned and pious men of foreign countries to settle in England, and addressed a particular invitation to Martin Bucer and Paul Fagius, whose moderation added a lustre to their other virtues; in hopes that, by the ministry and labours of these eminent men, in concert with those of the friends of the Reformation in England, he might purge his dominions from the fictions of Popery, and establish in their room the pure doctrines of Christianity. For this purpose, he issued the wisest orders for the restoration of true religion; but his reign was too short to accomplish fully such a glorious purpose. In the year 1553, he was taken from his loving and afflicted subjects, whose sorrow was great, and suited to their loss. His sister Mary, the daughter of Catharine of Aragon, from whom Henry had been divorced, blindly bigoted to the Church of Rome, and a princess whose natural character, like the spirit of her religion, was despotic and cruel, succeeded him on the throne, and imposed anew the arbitrary laws and the tyrannical yoke of Rome upon the people of England. Nor were the methods which she employed in the cause of superstition better than the cause itself, or tempered by any sentiments of equity or compassion. Barbarous tortures, and death in the most shocking forms, awaited those who opposed her will, or made the least stand against the restoration of Popery. And amongst many other victims, the learned and pious Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, who had been one of the most efficient instruments of the Reformation in England, fell a sacrifice to her fury. But this odious scene of persecution was happily concluded in the year 1558, by the death of the queen, who left no issue; and, as soon as her successor Elizabeth ascended the throne, all things assumed a new aspect. The glorious period of this reign was alike eminent for religious knowledge and for daring genius, for civil prosperity and for martial glory. Elizabeth, whose sentiments, and councils, and projects, breathed a spirit superior to the natural softness and delicacy of her sex, exerted this vigorous and masculine spirit in the defence of oppressed conscience and expiring liberty; broke anew the despotic yoke of papal authority and superstition; and, delivering her people from the bondage of Rome, established that form of religious doctrine and ecclesiastical government which still subsists in. England. This religious establishment differed in some respects from the plan which had been formed by those whom Edward VI. had employed for promoting the cause of the Reformation, and approached nearer to the rites and discipline of former times; though it is.widely different, and, in the most important points, entirely opposite to the principles of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

The cause of the Reformation underwent in Ireland the same vicissitudes and revolutions which had attended it in England. When Henry VIII. after the abolition of the papal authority, was declared supreme head of the Church of England upon earth, George Brown, a native of England, and a monk of the Augustinian order, whom that monarch had created, in the year 1535, Archbishop of Dublin, began to act with the utmost vigour in consequence of this change in the hierarchy. He purged the churches within his diocese from superstition in all its various forms; pulled down images; destroyed relics; abolished absurd and idolatrous rites; and, by the influence as well as authority he had obtained in Ireland, caused the king’s supremacy to be acknowledged in that nation. Henry soon afterwards showed that this supremacy was by no means a vain title; for he banished the monks out of that kingdom, confiscated their revenues, and destroyed their convents. In the reign of Edward VI. Still further progress was made in the removal of popish superstitions, by the zealous labours of Bishop Brown, and the auspicious encouragement he granted to all who exerted themselves in the cause of the Reformation. The death of this young prince, however, and the accession of Queen

Mary, had nearly changed the face of affairs in Ireland as much as in England; but her designs were disappointed by a very curious adventure, of which the following account has been copied from the papers of Richard earl of Cork.

“Queen Mary having dealt severely with the Protestants in England, about the latter end of her reign signed a commission for to take the same course with them in Ireland; and to execute the same with greater force, she nominates Dr Cole one of the commissioners. The doctor coming, with the commission, to Chester on his journey, the mayor of that city, hearing that her majesty was sending a messenger into Ireland, and he being a churchman, waited on the doctor, who in discourse with the mayor taketh out of a cloke-bag a leather box, saying unto him, Here is a commission that shall lash the heretics of Ireland, calling the Protestants by that title. The good woman of the house being well affected to the Protestant religion, and also having a brother named John Edmonds of the same persuasion, then a citizen in Dublin, was much troubled at the doctor’s words; but watching her convenient time, while the mayor took his leave, and the doctor complimented him down the stairs, she opens the box, takes the commission out, and places in lieu thereof a sheet of paper with a pack of cards wrapt up therein, the knave of clubs being faced uppermost. The doctor coming up to his chamber, suspecting nothing of what had been done, put up the box as formerly. The next day going to the water-side, wind and weather serving him, he sails towards Ireland, and landed on the 7th of October 1558 at Dublin. Then coming to the castle, the Lord Fitzwalters being lord-deputy, sent for him to come before him and the privy-council; who, coming in, after he had made a speech relating upon what account he came over, he presents the box unto the lord-deputy; who causing it to be opened, that the secretary might read the commission, there was nothing save a pack of cards with the knave of clubs uppermost; which not only startled the lord-deputy and council, but the doctor, who assured them he had a commission, but knew not how it was gone. Then the lord-deputy made answer: Let us have another commission, and we will shuffle the cards in the meanwhile. The doctor being troubled in his mind, went away, and returned into England, and coming to the court obtained another commission: but staying for a wind on the waterside, news came to him that the queen was dead; and thus God preserved the Protestants of Ireland.” Queen Elizabeth was so delighted with this story, which was related to her by Lord Fitzwalter on his return to England, that she sent for Elizabeth Edmonds, whose husband’s name was Mattershad, and gave her a pension of forty pounds a year during her life.

In Scotland, the seeds of the Reformation were very early sown, by several noblemen who had resided in Germany during the religious disputes there. But for many years it was suppressed by the power of the pope, seconded by severe law’s and not a few executions. The most eminent opponent of the papal jurisdiction was John Knox, a disciple of Calvin, and a man of great zeal and invincible fortitude. On all occasions he raised the drooping spirits of the reformers, and encouraged them to go on with their work, notwithstanding the opposition and treachery of the queen-regent; until at last, in 1561, by the assistance of an English army sent by Elizabeth, Popery was in a manner totally extirpated from every part of the kingdom. From this period the form of doctrine, worship, and discipline established by Calvin at Geneva, has had the ascendency in Scotland.

For further information on the subject of the Reformation in general, we refer our readers to the works of Burnet and Brandt; to Beausobre’s Histoire de la Reformation daris [Empire, et les Etats de la Confession <PAugsbourg, depuis 1517-1530, Berlin, 1785, in four vols. 8vo; and Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History. See also Sleidan De Statu Religi-
[7:19:97]

OnisetReipublica, Carolo V. Coesare, Commentarii; Father Paul’s History of the Council of Trent; and D’Aubigné’s History of the Reformation. The Life of Luther by D 1 Aubigne may likewise be perused with advantage.