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In the title page it was stated that the Articles had been agreed upon
"by the bishops and other learned and godly men in the last
Convocation held in London in the year of Our Lord 1552"; but
notwithstanding this very explicit statement, it is now practically
certain that the Articles were never submitted to or approved by
Convocation. In other words, as Gairdner puts it,[67] the title page
is "nothing but a shameful piece of official mendacity" resorted to in
order to deceive the people, and to prevent them from being influenced
by the successful work accomplished by the Fathers of Trent.

The Duke of Northumberland, who had scrambled into power on the
shoulders of the Catholic party, deserted his former allies, and went
over completely to the party of Cranmer, Ridley, and Hooper. Taking
advantage of England's peaceful relations with France and Scotland and
of the difficulties of the Emperor in Germany, he had risked
everything to make England a Protestant nation. He had removed the
bishops whose influence he feared, and had packed the episcopal bench
with his own nominees. He had destroyed the altars and burned the
missals to show his contempt for the Mass, and his firm resolve to
uproot the religious beliefs of the English people. So determined were
he and his friends to enforce the new religious service that even the
Princess Mary was forbidden to have Mass celebrated in her presence,
and her chaplains were prosecuted for disobeying the king's law. Once
indeed the Emperor felt it necessary to intervene in defence of his
kinswoman, and to warn the council that if any attempt were made to
prevent her from worshipping as she pleased, he would feel it
necessary to recall his ambassador and to declare war (1551). The
situation was decidedly embarrassing, and the council resolved to seek
the advice of Cranmer, Ridley, and Hooper. The bishops replied that
though to give licence to sin was sinful Mary's disobedience might be
winked at for the time.[68] The suggestion was followed by the
council, but later on when the Emperor's hands were tied by the
troubles in Germany, the attempt to overawe the princess was renewed.
Mary, however, showed the true Tudor spirit of independence, and, as
it would have been dangerous to imprison her or to behead her, she was
not pushed to extremes.

In 1553 it was clear to Northumberland that Edward VI. could not long
survive, and that with his death and the succession of Mary, his own
future and the future of the religious settlement for which he had
striven would be gravely imperilled. In defiance therefore of the late
king's will, and of what he knew to be the wishes of the English
people, for all through Edward's reign the Princess Mary was a great
favourite with the nation, he determined to secure the succession for
Lady Jane Grey, the grand-daughter of Henry VIII.'s sister Mary. Such
a succession, he imagined, would guarantee his own safety and the
triumph of Protestantism, more especially as he took care to bring
about a marriage between the prospective queen and his son, Lord
Guildford Dudley. When everything had been arranged the Chief Justice
and the two leading law officers of the crown were summoned to the
bedside of the dying king, and instructed to draw up a deed altering
the succession. They implored the king to abandon such a project, and
pointed out that it was illegal and would involve everyone concerned
in it in the guilt of treason, but Northumberland's violence overcame
their scruples, particularly as their own safety was assured by a
commission under the great seal and a promise of pardon. When the
document was drawn up it was signed by the king, the judges, and the
members of the council. Cranmer hesitated on the ground that he had
sworn to uphold the will of Henry VIII., but as the situation was a
desperate one, he agreed finally to follow the example that had been
set (June 1553). The preachers were instructed to prepare the people
for the change by denouncing both Mary and Elizabeth as bastards. On
the 6th July Edward VI. died at Greenwich, but his death was kept a
secret until Northumberland's plans could be matured. Four days later
Lady Jane Grey arrived in London, and the proclamation of her
accession to the throne was received with ominous silence in the
streets of the capital.
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[1] /The Life and Death of Thomas Wolsey, written by one of his
Servants/; ed. by Simpson, 1901. Cavendish, /The Life of Cardinal
Wolsey/, 1885. Creighton, /Cardinal Wolsey/, 1888. Taunton,
/Thomas Wolsey, Legate and Reformer/, 1902.

[2] O'Donovan, /Assertio Septem Sacramentorum/, etc., 1908.

[3] Id., 118-26.

[4] On the Divorce proceedings, cf. Harpsfield, /A Treatise on the