Opposition to the church in Parliament and the City was growing in volume, but these early rumblings of a Reformation had been silenced by the then unmovable power of Wolsey. Now, that Wolsey was dead,   everything was different and the Reformation was able to start. In order for it to begin, the House of Commons first got together lawyers who were Members of the Lawyers in the House. The lawyers, surprisingly, got together the papers in record time. When the Probate Bill was shown to the lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury ‘in particular’ and the other bishops in general frowned at the bill. For example, Fischer, the Bishop of Rochester, warned the lords about the coming of the social revolution.  He pointed to the National Czech Revolt led by John Huss, saying: “You can see the bills that come daily from the commons house; do you see what it did to the Czech Republic, how it plummeted after it got rid of the church?  Is that what you want to happen to England? I think it is lacking in faith!”

When the House of Commons heard what had been said, they put together a group of Members and made sure that there was a representative among them. They then sent the group to the king with a complaint. King Henry then summoned Fischer and asked him to explain what he had meant; Fischer simply shuffled his feet and then said that he had meant that the Czechs were lacking in faith not the Commons. This lame excuse, however, was not enough to make the House of Commons content. The death in August of the old Archbishop Warham, principal opponent to Henry’s divorce, opened further possibilities and problems.  For one, could Henry depend on the French neutrality?  He decided to discuss these matters in person with the King of France. So he went to Boulogne with a few friends, including Anne Boleyn, for a personal discussion with Francis I. He returned reassured that he could depend on the French neutrality.

Sir Richard