Supplication against the Ordinaries
Encyclopedia
The Supplication against the Ordinaries was a petition passed by the House of Commons
in 1532. It was the result of grievances against Church of England
prelates and the clergy
. Ordinaries in this Act means a cleric, such as the residential bishop
of a diocese
, with ordinary jurisdiction
over a specified territory.
The contemporary chronicler Edward Hall
records that criticism of the English prelates was popular in the House of Commons
and he recorded that MPs 'sore complained of the cruelty of the ordinaries' in ex officio proceedings for heresy
. Hall goes on to say:
Hall claims that the Commons agreed that all their grievances "should be put in writing and delivered to the King
" and this was done. The Tudor
historian
Geoffrey Elton has written that the Supplication was put into final form by the government behind the scenes even before the issue of clerical abuses was discussed in Parliament (similar complaints had been drawn up after debate in 1529 but they were not enacted, however Thomas Cromwell had kept them). Due to the lack of firm evidence the historian Stanford Lehmberg
has suggested other possibilities such as Cromwell taking it upon himself to draft the Supplication or the issue had spontaneously been raised by MPs independently. What is known is that the Supplication contained a preamble
and nine charges.
The preamble stated that discord and division had arisen between the clergy and the laity
in England in part because of heretical books but also upon the "uncharitable behaviour" of ordinaries. Since the division caused a "breach of your peace within this your most Catholic realm", it went on to request that the king remedy the clerical abuses which had caused the division. The charges were then listed:
The Supplication ended with the MPs expressing their "marvellous fervent love" for the King. Then on the 18th March the Speaker of the Commons
, accompanied with knights and burgesses, presented the Supplication to the King whilst in audience with him and also demanded a dissolution of Parliament. Hall records that when the King had received the Supplication, he paused, then said:
The king went on to say he felt strongly that the Commons should not foster dissension upon him and:
When the speech ended, the Speaker and his company were forced to leave. For several weeks there seems to have been no action concerning the Supplication, but when the Convocation
of Canterbury
reconvened on 12 April, the first item to be discussed was the Supplication. Thus it seems the king must have asked William Warham
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, for a formal reply. Warham presented it to the Convocation and asked the Lower House of the Convocation to debate it immediately. Three days after this at the next meeting, Stephen Gardiner
, the Bishop of Winchester
, reacted strongly against the clauses of the Supplication concerning the Convocation's ability to make Church laws (canons). The prelates accepted Gardiner's arguments and sent them to the inferior clergy who also assented to them on the 19th April.
What the Convocation did immediately after this is not known to historians; however, Gardiner's reply to the Supplication is the only one which was written into the register of the Convocation. In this reply, Gardiner maintained that the Commons was wrong to claim there was a division between clergymen and laymen, and if there was any division, it was due to the "uncharitable behaviour of certain evil
and seditious persons" infected with heretical opinions. Gardiner went on:
Gardiner also upheld the legislative power of the Convocation by citing scripture and ecclesiastical traditions and claimed he saw no need for the King's permission, but did praise the King's wisdom. When this reply was sent to the King, it argued that clerical abuses in heresy trials were the fault of individuals within the clergy, not the entire body of clerical law. Warham himself included a personal reply to the accusation that the Church courts ordered exorbitant fees, claiming he instituted reforms the year before. Therefore the Convocation's answer rejected the Supplication but couched it in humble language.
The King received Gardiner's reply around 27 April. A proposed second reply was corrected by John Fisher
at Rochester in May 1532, when he met delegates sent to counsel him about the Submission of the Clergy
. While this reply was fiercely unyielding in tone, historians do not know if it was ever actually presented to the King.
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in 1532. It was the result of grievances against Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
prelates and the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
. Ordinaries in this Act means a cleric, such as the residential bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of a diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
, with ordinary jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
over a specified territory.
The contemporary chronicler Edward Hall
Edward Hall
Edward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
records that criticism of the English prelates was popular in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and he recorded that MPs 'sore complained of the cruelty of the ordinaries' in ex officio proceedings for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. Hall goes on to say:
For the ordinaries would send for men and lay accusations to them of heresy, and say they were accused, and lay articles to them, but no accuser should be brought forth, which to the Commons was very dreadful and grievous: for the party so cited must either abjure or be burned, for purgation he might make none.
Hall claims that the Commons agreed that all their grievances "should be put in writing and delivered to the King
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
" and this was done. The Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Geoffrey Elton has written that the Supplication was put into final form by the government behind the scenes even before the issue of clerical abuses was discussed in Parliament (similar complaints had been drawn up after debate in 1529 but they were not enacted, however Thomas Cromwell had kept them). Due to the lack of firm evidence the historian Stanford Lehmberg
Stanford Lehmberg
-Early life and schooling:Stanford E. Lehmberg was born in McPherson, Kansas. Lehmberg's father was a Kansas dealer in farm implements, who spent most of his life also managing a local bank. Lehmberg's mother was a teacher in Kansas public schools before Stanford was born...
has suggested other possibilities such as Cromwell taking it upon himself to draft the Supplication or the issue had spontaneously been raised by MPs independently. What is known is that the Supplication contained a preamble
Preamble
A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute...
and nine charges.
The preamble stated that discord and division had arisen between the clergy and the laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
in England in part because of heretical books but also upon the "uncharitable behaviour" of ordinaries. Since the division caused a "breach of your peace within this your most Catholic realm", it went on to request that the king remedy the clerical abuses which had caused the division. The charges were then listed:
- The independent legislative power of the Convocation, which to the MPs gave the Church too much power and the apparently unjust nature of ex officio proceedings;
- The use of subtle questioning by ordinaries which often trapped ignorant men in heresy trials;
- The expensive and inconvenient nuisance caused when laymen were ordered to appear in ecclesiastical courts outside their own dioceses;
- The use of excommunicationExcommunicationExcommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
for minor causes; - The excessive fees collected in Church courts;
- The great charges made by ordinaries for institution of clergy into their benefices;
- The conferring of ecclesiastical offices upon young persons whom the bishops called their nephewNephewNephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
s; - The large number of holy days that were observed with little devotion;
- The secular offices held by clergymen.
The Supplication ended with the MPs expressing their "marvellous fervent love" for the King. Then on the 18th March the Speaker of the Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
, accompanied with knights and burgesses, presented the Supplication to the King whilst in audience with him and also demanded a dissolution of Parliament. Hall records that when the King had received the Supplication, he paused, then said:
It is not the office of a king which is a judge to be too light of credence, nor I have not, nor will not use the same: for I will hear the party that is accused speak or I give any sentence. Your book containeth divers articles of great and weighty matters, and as I perceive it is against the spiritual persons and prelates of our realm, of which thing you desire a redress and a reformation, which desire and request is mere contrary to your last petition. For you require to have the Parliament dissolved and to depart into your countries, and yet you would have a reformation of your griefs with all diligence. Although that your pain have been great in tarrying, I assure you mine hath been no less than yours, and yet all the pain that I take for your wealth is to me a pleasure; therefore if you will have profit of your complaint, you must tarry the time, or else to be without remedy.
The king went on to say he felt strongly that the Commons should not foster dissension upon him and:
Therefore I assure you, if you will not take some reasonable end now when it is offered, I will search out the extremity of the law, and then will I not offer you so much again.
When the speech ended, the Speaker and his company were forced to leave. For several weeks there seems to have been no action concerning the Supplication, but when the Convocation
Convocation
A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
reconvened on 12 April, the first item to be discussed was the Supplication. Thus it seems the king must have asked William Warham
William Warham
William Warham , Archbishop of Canterbury, belonged to a Hampshire family, and was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, afterwards practising and teaching law both in London and Oxford....
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, for a formal reply. Warham presented it to the Convocation and asked the Lower House of the Convocation to debate it immediately. Three days after this at the next meeting, Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.-Early life:...
, the Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, reacted strongly against the clauses of the Supplication concerning the Convocation's ability to make Church laws (canons). The prelates accepted Gardiner's arguments and sent them to the inferior clergy who also assented to them on the 19th April.
What the Convocation did immediately after this is not known to historians; however, Gardiner's reply to the Supplication is the only one which was written into the register of the Convocation. In this reply, Gardiner maintained that the Commons was wrong to claim there was a division between clergymen and laymen, and if there was any division, it was due to the "uncharitable behaviour of certain evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
and seditious persons" infected with heretical opinions. Gardiner went on:
And albeit we perceive and know right well, that there be as well disposed and as well conscienced men of your Grace's Commons, in no small number assembled, as ever we knew in any Parliament; yet we be not so ignorant, but that we understand that sinister information and importuante labours and persuasions of evil disposed persons, pretending themselves to be thereunto moved by the zeal of justice and reformation, may induce right wise, sad, and constant men to suppose such things to be true, as be not so indeed.
Gardiner also upheld the legislative power of the Convocation by citing scripture and ecclesiastical traditions and claimed he saw no need for the King's permission, but did praise the King's wisdom. When this reply was sent to the King, it argued that clerical abuses in heresy trials were the fault of individuals within the clergy, not the entire body of clerical law. Warham himself included a personal reply to the accusation that the Church courts ordered exorbitant fees, claiming he instituted reforms the year before. Therefore the Convocation's answer rejected the Supplication but couched it in humble language.
The King received Gardiner's reply around 27 April. A proposed second reply was corrected by John Fisher
John Fisher
Saint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...
at Rochester in May 1532, when he met delegates sent to counsel him about the Submission of the Clergy
Submission of the Clergy
The Submission of the Clergy was a process by which the Church of England gave up their power to formulate church laws without the King's licence and assent. It was first passed by the Convocation of Canterbury in 1532 and then by the Reformation Parliament in 1534...
. While this reply was fiercely unyielding in tone, historians do not know if it was ever actually presented to the King.