Thomas Watson (bishop)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Watson was a Catholic
Bishop
, notable among Catholics for his descriptions of the Protestant Reformation
.
in 1515 at a time when England
was still a Catholic country .
Watson grew up in a monastic world at Nun Stainton, near Durham. Little about his earliest schooling is known, but for entrance to Cambridge University, he would have studied at Durham's Priory School. The Rites of Durham, written in about 1593, recalls life in Durham Cathedral
before the Dissolution. Watson describes the school, and the last schoolmaster, Robert Hartburne, as a venerable and learned monk, always looking for a bright pupil who was "apt to learning, and did apply his book, and had a pregnant wit with all" to groom for university entrance.
Watson grew up in Durham. He left for St John's College, Cambridge
in 1529. The majority of staff and students, under their Chancellor, John Fisher
, were clerics or future clerics. Watson received his B.A. in 1532/3 and his M.A. in 1536.
In 1536, the 21-year-old Watson was required to swear an oath of allegiance to King Henry VIII
following the king's rejection of the Catholic Church. The oath included the following phrase:
verse and completed at around 1540, was based on Absalom
's revolt against his father David
described in the Old Testament
. The manuscript was hidden and lost until it was rediscovered among 16th century humanist
manuscripts in the British Museum
in 1963.
Absalom was written "in trew imitation" of a classical tragedy
, but with a contemporary twist. In language and style it imitates Aristotle
, Horace
or Seneca
, and yet in content the biblical story merges with events taking place all around. The story begins with a prince quarrelling with his father. The issue concerns his brother and their relationship with a princess. Absalom demands a particular ruling from his father, but David cannot comply. Absalom decides to act in defiance of his father, and David censures him. Absalom flies into a rage, and furiously begins to undermine and then deny his father’s authority.
Absalom's subjects are dismayed, but forced to take sides. Innocent people are involved. Absalom resorts to decrees, threats, intimidation and executions. Although he has qualms of conscience, he overcomes them as opposition melts before his onslaught. With no father to restrain him, he can now do whatever he wishes.
The chorus in Absalom identifies David as God's elect, "Son of Jesse
", and anointed ruler of Israel
. He unites diverse tribes into one people. He is their focus of unity with undisputed authority. He is holy and pious with a prayer always on his lips. He wants to help Absalom, but he cannot. He is full of love for his prodigal son. The chorus is not uncritical of David’s weaknesses, but reveres his divine office as "Holy Father" of God's people.
Similarly, the chorus sees Absalom as David's once-devoted son. He had always honoured and obeyed his father according to the divine precepts. But now, if hisevery whim is not granted, he flies into a rage. Even his ministers go in fear, giving in to him in all things. But, warns the chorus, his unbridled pride will be his downfall.
In Absalom, David presides over Old Jerusalem as the pope presides over New Jerusalem. The beloved son rebels against his father, launches his attack, overthrows him, and usurps his place. David refuses to retaliate, allowing time for Absalom to return to his senses and seek reconciliation. But Absalom sees his father's hesitation not as love, but as weakness.
In Watson’s play, Absalom sacks David's temples in the territories he controls. He expels their guardians, loots their possessions, and destroys their altars. There is no mention of temples in the Old Testament
story, but what Watson describes parallels the Dissolution
and plundering of the monasteries, guilds, shrines and chantry chapels. Absalom is destroying David's last footholds, filling his treasury, funding his rebellion, and securing his own position. He vows there will be no reconciliation.
By Act IV those closest to Absalom are dismayed by his ferocity. He turns on these too, as Henry turned on Wolsey, Fisher, More and Cromwell. But opposition appears on two fronts. The disenchanted are converting back to David and joining those who had gone into hiding. And allies of David abroad are raising an army. No longer knowing whom he can trust, Absalom ruthlessly hunts down those loyal to David.
While the first four acts of Absalom looked at parallels in what had happened so far, the fifth looked to parallels in the future. Presumably, what happened to Absalom would happen to Henry. There would be a final battle. As victory went to David, it would inevitably go to the pope. As David resumed his appointed role over God's people, so would the pope. As Absalom's revolt amounted to nothing, nor would Henry's! Watson's message, then, is one of patience and total confidence in the ultimate victory of the pope.
after 1540, the hunting and purging of undercover papists continued. Nicholas Metcalf, Master of St. John’s since 1518, was forced to resign in 1537. The next Master, George Day, was also denounced as a papist in 1538. Cromwell then had one of his own men, John Taylor (1503-1554)
, "elected by force." He was the first avowed anti-papist "reformer" to become Master of St. John's College.
When Taylor introduced a stiff vetting process for students and staff, Watson was one of twenty fellows to protest, but to no avail. When Cromwell was arraigned and executed for heresy
in 1540, Taylor was also arrested. He was held for a while, but promised to conform to Henry’s Six Articles. Heresy charges were dropped, and he resumed his office as Master. But Lutheranism
was on the increase. After Watson took his divinity degree in 1543, he began to emerge as one of the College's foremost champions and preachers of the Old Faith.
By 1545, with mounting hostility from Taylor and others, Watson consulted the Chancellor, Stephen Gardiner
. Gardiner, like Henry, was dismayed that anti-papal sentiment was becoming anti-Catholic as well. While he had supported the king’s efforts to overthrow papal authority in favour of royal supremacy, he was now alarmed at where this might lead. Gardiner saw in Watson a kindred spirit and invited him to be his domestic chaplain – one of his personal aides. So in 1545 Watson joined the familia of the Bishop of Winchester
; he was no longer subject to Taylor, and now had the Chancellor's authority and support for his preaching. In 1546 Taylor was forced to resign as Master of St John's. Under Edward VI
he would follow Henry Holbeach
as the second (married) Protestant Bishop of Lincoln
.
Watson worked side by side with Gardiner during Henry's last two years, trying to keep the Church in England Catholic. In the process he became widely known as a powerful advocate for the Old Faith. In spite of this, during the last months of his reign, Henry ordered the execution of three papists for questioning his royal supremacy, and the burning of three Lutherans for questioning his Catholic doctrine.
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
became in effect the first Lutheran "Head" of the English Church. When Gardiner opposed Somerset's changes he was arrested. Watson continued preaching, but not for long. Two of Somerset's agents, Tonge and Ayre, appointed as canons of Winchester in defiance of Gardiner, denounced Watson for hampering the cause of reform. Watson was arrested and committed to the Fleet Prison.
In 1548 an amnesty was proclaimed and Gardiner and Watson were released. Gardiner was confined to house arrest in London and Watson stayed with him. In December they were allowed to return to Winchester. In their absence, images had been removed from churches, the liturgy changed, processions forbidden, and Protestant preachers introduced. Henry VIII's Six Articles had been repealed, more changes were rumoured, and people were confused. Gardiner again protested. He and Watson were summoned back to London where Gardiner was recommitted to the Tower. Before he could be brought to trial the Lutheran Somerset had fallen, and the next effectual "Head" of the Church was a Zwinglian, Protector Northumberland.
In 1551 Watson was called to give evidence for the prosecution and defence, and Gardiner was confirmed guilty. He was returned to the Tower where he stayed throughout Edward's reign. Watson was forbidden to preach. In December 1551 he was back in London to be examined on his belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation
. His examiners included no less than William Cecil
, John Cheke
, Robert Horne
, and Edmund Grindal
. His friends John Feckenham
and John Young
had also been summoned, and the examination took the form of a debate. The three were given assurances of immunity from prosecution, but were wary. Strype accused Watson of equivocation. Grindal was furious with the outcome. At this time Watson was probably working with Gardiner on his case against Cranmer entitled Confutatio Cavillationum, printed in Paris in 1552. This was later used against Cranmer at his trial.
came to the throne in August 1553, she immediately released Gardiner and restored him to his offices as Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of Cambridge University
. On Gardiner’s advice she chose Watson to formally announce her intention to restore England to the Catholic Faith. On 20 August 1553, a great gathering was called at St Paul's Cross
In the presence of the Queen, members of the court, bishops, dignitaries, nobility, the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, representatives of the crafts and trades, and with a military guard, Thomas Watson stood to preach. It was more of a manifesto than a sermon. He referred to the confusion lately spread by Protestant preachers to whom people should no longer listen. He asked them not to seek new doctrines or a new faith, nor to build a new church or new temple. He exhorted them rather to return to the old faith, the faith of their fathers, and to help their Queen to restore the old temple. His sermon made a great impression, preparing the way for what was to come.
Gardiner then sent Watson back to Cambridge with full authority to restore the University’s former statutes and traditions. He was welcomed back and elected Master of his old College, St. John's on 28 September 1553. He confronted those Protestant members of the Convocation who had expelled and excluded Catholics and turned the tables on them. He reinstated the statutes of John Fisher
, and committed the University to restoring and observing former Catholic traditions, customs and liturgies.
Durham Cathedral
was in a state of chaos, and on November 18 he was elected its third Dean. Prior Hugh Whitehead
, elected first Dean in 1540, had kept Durham Catholic under Henry VIII. At Edward's accession he had been called to London and ordered to introduce the reformed religion, but he collapsed and died and was buried near the Tower of London
. Somerset then sent two "commissioners" to Durham. The author of the Rites names them as Dr. Harvy, Dr. Whitby and Dr. Horne and describes their mission "to deface all popish ornaments", not only in the Cathedral, but in surrounding churches. Robert Horne
, Watson's old adversary, had been appointed Dean in 1551. Now in 1553 Watson was sent to replace him, and Horne retired abroad.
In April 1554 he went to Oxford to dispute or reason with Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer, now charged with heresy. He was asked to examine other "heretics", including Bishop Hooper and John Rogers, but was also in great demand for preaching. He was even summoned to preach before the Queen, which he did on March 17 and April 14 in "Two Notable Sermons." The first was "Concerning the Real Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament" and the second "The Mass which is the Sacrifice of the New Testament". He argued that the aarly fathers, the great doctors, and the councils of the Church witnessed to the truth of Catholic Eucharist
ic teaching. He argued that the three bedrocks of the Church had always been the scriptures, unbroken tradition, and the apostolic magisterium
. Scripture alone was not enough, as sectarianism and fragmentation of religious belief after Luther had demonstrated.
Bishop Gardiner, now convinced of the fatal flaw in royal supremacy, died reconciled to Rome in November 1555. John White
, who had followed Taylor as Bishop of Lincoln, was transferred to Winchester in 1556, and Thomas Watson, pending ratification by the pope, was elected the thirty-fourth Bishop of Lincoln. In January 1557, as bishop-elect, he was sent by Cardinal Pole to "re-visit" Cambridge University and ensure that all was proceeding well. He re-emphasised the importance of traditional doctrine, traditional symbolism and traditional liturgy. The following month, February 1557, he officiated at the exhumation and burning of the remains of Martin Bucer
and Paul Fagius
. At the ceremony he preached for two hours on the harm they had done to the English Church by their "wykedness and heretycall doctryn."
Watson's papal bull
of appointment (the last ever for a Bishop of Lincoln) was issued on March 24, 1557. However, he still had business in Durham. On May 29, Cardinal Pole gave him permission to remain Dean of Durham for as long as necessary. His main task was the restoration of Catholic doctrine, customs and liturgy, included efforts to recover valuables, property and land plundered during the two previous reigns. But he also undertook some duties in the Diocese of Lincoln
as Bishop-Elect.
on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, 1557, by the Archbishop of York
in London. Arriving in Lincoln for his installation in October, he was met with pomp and ceremony at the Cathedral’s Great West Doors by his clergy. The bells rang out and the choirs sang angelically as he was conducted to his Episcopal seat. He was dismayed at the impoverishment of the diocese and set himself to recovering what he could, including several manors, estates and benefices seized by Henry and Edward. He also retrieved "many rich vestments, articles of plate and other furniture of which the Church of Lincoln had been despoiled."
Watson spent much of his time as Bishop of Lincoln travelling the diocese or in London. He was asked to preach at St. Paul's Cross in February 1558 before another assembly of dignitaries, including the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, ten bishops, and a huge crowd of people. In constant demand, he was now one of the hierarchy's most celebrated spokesmen. At the request of Cardinal Pole and Convocation he prepared thirty of his sermons for publication. Entitled Holsome and Catholyke Doctryne concerninge the Seven Sacramentes of Chrystes Church, expedient to be knowen of all men, set forth in maner of Shorte Sermons to bee made to the People, his book was printed in London in 1558. Watson gained a reputation for leniency in dealing with Protestants. During his time as Bishop of Lincoln, the most severe period of Mary’s campaign against "heretics", there was not a single execution in the whole Diocese
.
. The two bishops were arrested and sent to the Tower on 3 April 1559.
By early May fresh Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity had been passed, and the Protestant Book of Common Prayer
reintroduced. The bishops were once more cut off from Rome, stripped of their authority and "extinguished" as a hierarchy. On 25 June Watson was tried, found guilty, deprived of his bishopric, and given a life sentence. One by one Elizabeth replaced the Catholic bishops with Protestants.
, Watson was placed in the custody of his old adversaries: Grindal, now Bishop of London
; Guest, now Bishop of Rochester
; and Richard Cox
, now Bishop of Ely
. Ten years later, in 1570 the pope finally excommunicated Elizabeth. Watson was returned to the Tower. When interrogated about the excommunication, his only regret was that it might create greater hardship for Catholics. He was kept in the Tower until the following year, and then returned to his former places of confinement. He was transferred from the custody of the Bishop of Rochester to that of the Bishop of Ely in 1580, and committed to imprisonment in the notorious Wisbech Castle
.
The Bishop of Ely had been ordered to turn his palace Wisbech Castle
into an internment centre for Catholics, and for the first time in years Watson had friends around him. These included his old friend John Feckenham, a fellow student of his at Cambridge and the last Abbot of Westminster. Along with former Marian priests there were newly arrived seminary priest
s and Jesuits. Watson's contacts now widened, and he appears to have exercised some sort of episcopal ministry "in vinculis".
, but his health and eyesight were deteriorating. He died almost blind at the age of sixty-nine. He had been confined for twenty-five years, ending his days in Wisbech
Castle on 15 October 1584. He lies in an unmarked grave somewhere in the churchyard of Wisbech Parish Church. His only epitaph is given in the Athenae Cantabrigiensis (1858):
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
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...
, notable among Catholics for his descriptions of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
Early life
Watson was born near DurhamDurham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
in 1515 at a time when England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was still a Catholic country .
Watson grew up in a monastic world at Nun Stainton, near Durham. Little about his earliest schooling is known, but for entrance to Cambridge University, he would have studied at Durham's Priory School. The Rites of Durham, written in about 1593, recalls life in Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
before the Dissolution. Watson describes the school, and the last schoolmaster, Robert Hartburne, as a venerable and learned monk, always looking for a bright pupil who was "apt to learning, and did apply his book, and had a pregnant wit with all" to groom for university entrance.
Watson grew up in Durham. He left for St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
in 1529. The majority of staff and students, under their Chancellor, 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...
, were clerics or future clerics. Watson received his B.A. in 1532/3 and his M.A. in 1536.
In 1536, the 21-year-old Watson was required to swear an oath of allegiance to King Henry VIII
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...
following the king's rejection of the Catholic Church. The oath included the following phrase:
Absalom
In response to his oath of allegiance to Henry VIII, Watson wrote an unpublished five-act play. The play, written in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
verse and completed at around 1540, was based on Absalom
Absalom
According to the Bible, Absalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...
's revolt against his father David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
described in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. The manuscript was hidden and lost until it was rediscovered among 16th century humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
manuscripts in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in 1963.
Absalom was written "in trew imitation" of a classical tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
, but with a contemporary twist. In language and style it imitates Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
or Seneca
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
, and yet in content the biblical story merges with events taking place all around. The story begins with a prince quarrelling with his father. The issue concerns his brother and their relationship with a princess. Absalom demands a particular ruling from his father, but David cannot comply. Absalom decides to act in defiance of his father, and David censures him. Absalom flies into a rage, and furiously begins to undermine and then deny his father’s authority.
Absalom's subjects are dismayed, but forced to take sides. Innocent people are involved. Absalom resorts to decrees, threats, intimidation and executions. Although he has qualms of conscience, he overcomes them as opposition melts before his onslaught. With no father to restrain him, he can now do whatever he wishes.
The chorus in Absalom identifies David as God's elect, "Son of Jesse
Jesse
Jesse, Eshai or Yishai, is the father of the David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" ....
", and anointed ruler of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He unites diverse tribes into one people. He is their focus of unity with undisputed authority. He is holy and pious with a prayer always on his lips. He wants to help Absalom, but he cannot. He is full of love for his prodigal son. The chorus is not uncritical of David’s weaknesses, but reveres his divine office as "Holy Father" of God's people.
Similarly, the chorus sees Absalom as David's once-devoted son. He had always honoured and obeyed his father according to the divine precepts. But now, if hisevery whim is not granted, he flies into a rage. Even his ministers go in fear, giving in to him in all things. But, warns the chorus, his unbridled pride will be his downfall.
In Absalom, David presides over Old Jerusalem as the pope presides over New Jerusalem. The beloved son rebels against his father, launches his attack, overthrows him, and usurps his place. David refuses to retaliate, allowing time for Absalom to return to his senses and seek reconciliation. But Absalom sees his father's hesitation not as love, but as weakness.
In Watson’s play, Absalom sacks David's temples in the territories he controls. He expels their guardians, loots their possessions, and destroys their altars. There is no mention of temples in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
story, but what Watson describes parallels the Dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and plundering of the monasteries, guilds, shrines and chantry chapels. Absalom is destroying David's last footholds, filling his treasury, funding his rebellion, and securing his own position. He vows there will be no reconciliation.
By Act IV those closest to Absalom are dismayed by his ferocity. He turns on these too, as Henry turned on Wolsey, Fisher, More and Cromwell. But opposition appears on two fronts. The disenchanted are converting back to David and joining those who had gone into hiding. And allies of David abroad are raising an army. No longer knowing whom he can trust, Absalom ruthlessly hunts down those loyal to David.
While the first four acts of Absalom looked at parallels in what had happened so far, the fifth looked to parallels in the future. Presumably, what happened to Absalom would happen to Henry. There would be a final battle. As victory went to David, it would inevitably go to the pope. As David resumed his appointed role over God's people, so would the pope. As Absalom's revolt amounted to nothing, nor would Henry's! Watson's message, then, is one of patience and total confidence in the ultimate victory of the pope.
Academic career and the "purging" of undercover Papists
And so Watson bided his time. He took his Master's degree in 1537 and became a lecturer, then Dean of his college. However, with Thomas Cromwell as Chancellor after 1535, and Stephen GardinerStephen 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:...
after 1540, the hunting and purging of undercover papists continued. Nicholas Metcalf, Master of St. John’s since 1518, was forced to resign in 1537. The next Master, George Day, was also denounced as a papist in 1538. Cromwell then had one of his own men, John Taylor (1503-1554)
John Taylor (1503-1554)
John Taylor was Bishop of Lincoln from 1552 to 1554.Taylor served as bursar then proctor of Queens' College, Cambridge from 1523 to 1537, and master of St John's College, Cambridge from 1538 to 1546...
, "elected by force." He was the first avowed anti-papist "reformer" to become Master of St. John's College.
When Taylor introduced a stiff vetting process for students and staff, Watson was one of twenty fellows to protest, but to no avail. When Cromwell was arraigned and executed 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...
in 1540, Taylor was also arrested. He was held for a while, but promised to conform to Henry’s Six Articles. Heresy charges were dropped, and he resumed his office as Master. But Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
was on the increase. After Watson took his divinity degree in 1543, he began to emerge as one of the College's foremost champions and preachers of the Old Faith.
By 1545, with mounting hostility from Taylor and others, Watson consulted the Chancellor, 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:...
. Gardiner, like Henry, was dismayed that anti-papal sentiment was becoming anti-Catholic as well. While he had supported the king’s efforts to overthrow papal authority in favour of royal supremacy, he was now alarmed at where this might lead. Gardiner saw in Watson a kindred spirit and invited him to be his domestic chaplain – one of his personal aides. So in 1545 Watson joined the familia of 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...
; he was no longer subject to Taylor, and now had the Chancellor's authority and support for his preaching. In 1546 Taylor was forced to resign as Master of St John's. Under Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
he would follow Henry Holbeach
Henry Holbeach
Henry Holbeach was an English clergyman who served as the last Prior and first Dean of Worcester, a suffragan bishop, and diocesan bishop of two Church of England dioceses.-Life:...
as the second (married) Protestant Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
.
Watson worked side by side with Gardiner during Henry's last two years, trying to keep the Church in England Catholic. In the process he became widely known as a powerful advocate for the Old Faith. In spite of this, during the last months of his reign, Henry ordered the execution of three papists for questioning his royal supremacy, and the burning of three Lutherans for questioning his Catholic doctrine.
Arrest under Edward's rule
All was well while Henry lived and Gardiner held his own against Cranmer. But when Henry died, nine-year-old Edward came to the throne, and Lord ProtectorLord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
became in effect the first Lutheran "Head" of the English Church. When Gardiner opposed Somerset's changes he was arrested. Watson continued preaching, but not for long. Two of Somerset's agents, Tonge and Ayre, appointed as canons of Winchester in defiance of Gardiner, denounced Watson for hampering the cause of reform. Watson was arrested and committed to the Fleet Prison.
In 1548 an amnesty was proclaimed and Gardiner and Watson were released. Gardiner was confined to house arrest in London and Watson stayed with him. In December they were allowed to return to Winchester. In their absence, images had been removed from churches, the liturgy changed, processions forbidden, and Protestant preachers introduced. Henry VIII's Six Articles had been repealed, more changes were rumoured, and people were confused. Gardiner again protested. He and Watson were summoned back to London where Gardiner was recommitted to the Tower. Before he could be brought to trial the Lutheran Somerset had fallen, and the next effectual "Head" of the Church was a Zwinglian, Protector Northumberland.
In 1551 Watson was called to give evidence for the prosecution and defence, and Gardiner was confirmed guilty. He was returned to the Tower where he stayed throughout Edward's reign. Watson was forbidden to preach. In December 1551 he was back in London to be examined on his belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
. His examiners included no less than William Cecil
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
, John Cheke
John Cheke
Sir John Cheke was an English classical scholar and statesman, notable as the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University....
, Robert Horne
Robert Horne (bishop)
Robert Horne was an English churchman, and a leading reforming Protestant. One of the Marian exiles, he was subsequently bishop of Winchester from 1560 to 1580....
, and Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
. His friends John Feckenham
John Feckenham
John Feckenham , also known as John Howman of Feckingham and later John de Feckenham or John Fecknam, was an English churchman, the last abbot of Westminster.-Under Henry VIII and Edward VI:...
and John Young
John Young (Regius Professor)
John Young was an English Catholic clergyman and academic. He was Master of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and was later imprisoned by Elizabeth I. He is not John Young , Master of Pembroke Hall later in the century, and afterwards Bishop of Rochester.-Life:He is said to have been a native of...
had also been summoned, and the examination took the form of a debate. The three were given assurances of immunity from prosecution, but were wary. Strype accused Watson of equivocation. Grindal was furious with the outcome. At this time Watson was probably working with Gardiner on his case against Cranmer entitled Confutatio Cavillationum, printed in Paris in 1552. This was later used against Cranmer at his trial.
England returns to the Catholic faith under Mary's reign
When MaryMary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
came to the throne in August 1553, she immediately released Gardiner and restored him to his offices as Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. On Gardiner’s advice she chose Watson to formally announce her intention to restore England to the Catholic Faith. On 20 August 1553, a great gathering was called at St Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross was a preaching cross and open air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London.-History:...
In the presence of the Queen, members of the court, bishops, dignitaries, nobility, the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, representatives of the crafts and trades, and with a military guard, Thomas Watson stood to preach. It was more of a manifesto than a sermon. He referred to the confusion lately spread by Protestant preachers to whom people should no longer listen. He asked them not to seek new doctrines or a new faith, nor to build a new church or new temple. He exhorted them rather to return to the old faith, the faith of their fathers, and to help their Queen to restore the old temple. His sermon made a great impression, preparing the way for what was to come.
Gardiner then sent Watson back to Cambridge with full authority to restore the University’s former statutes and traditions. He was welcomed back and elected Master of his old College, St. John's on 28 September 1553. He confronted those Protestant members of the Convocation who had expelled and excluded Catholics and turned the tables on them. He reinstated the statutes of 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...
, and committed the University to restoring and observing former Catholic traditions, customs and liturgies.
Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
was in a state of chaos, and on November 18 he was elected its third Dean. Prior Hugh Whitehead
Hugh Whitehead
Hugh Whitehead was the last prior of the Benedictine monastery at Durham in England. The monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1540. Whitehead would go on to become the cathedral's first dean.-References:...
, elected first Dean in 1540, had kept Durham Catholic under Henry VIII. At Edward's accession he had been called to London and ordered to introduce the reformed religion, but he collapsed and died and was buried near the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Somerset then sent two "commissioners" to Durham. The author of the Rites names them as Dr. Harvy, Dr. Whitby and Dr. Horne and describes their mission "to deface all popish ornaments", not only in the Cathedral, but in surrounding churches. Robert Horne
Robert Horne (bishop)
Robert Horne was an English churchman, and a leading reforming Protestant. One of the Marian exiles, he was subsequently bishop of Winchester from 1560 to 1580....
, Watson's old adversary, had been appointed Dean in 1551. Now in 1553 Watson was sent to replace him, and Horne retired abroad.
In April 1554 he went to Oxford to dispute or reason with Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer, now charged with heresy. He was asked to examine other "heretics", including Bishop Hooper and John Rogers, but was also in great demand for preaching. He was even summoned to preach before the Queen, which he did on March 17 and April 14 in "Two Notable Sermons." The first was "Concerning the Real Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament" and the second "The Mass which is the Sacrifice of the New Testament". He argued that the aarly fathers, the great doctors, and the councils of the Church witnessed to the truth of Catholic Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
ic teaching. He argued that the three bedrocks of the Church had always been the scriptures, unbroken tradition, and the apostolic magisterium
Magisterium
In the Catholic Church the Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church. This authority is understood to be embodied in the episcopacy, which is the aggregation of the current bishops of the Church in union with the Pope, led by the Bishop of Rome , who has authority over the bishops,...
. Scripture alone was not enough, as sectarianism and fragmentation of religious belief after Luther had demonstrated.
"Absalom" come true
Watson was passionate as well about restoring the sacraments to those who had lost them. His engagements included several public orations like that at St. Mary's Spital at the end of April. Mary was eager to relinquish her parliamentary title of "Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England" and seek reconciliation with Rome. Cardinal Pole, as Papal Legate, formally welcomed England back into the Catholic Fold on St. Andrew's Day, November 30, 1554. Watson's hopes and dreams, so poetically expressed in Absalom, had finally come about.Bishop Gardiner, now convinced of the fatal flaw in royal supremacy, died reconciled to Rome in November 1555. John White
John White (bishop)
John White was an English bishop, a Catholic who was promoted in the reign of Mary Tudor.-Life:He was born in Farnham, Hampshire and educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1529, M.A. in 1534, and D.D. in 1555.He was Warden of Winchester College from...
, who had followed Taylor as Bishop of Lincoln, was transferred to Winchester in 1556, and Thomas Watson, pending ratification by the pope, was elected the thirty-fourth Bishop of Lincoln. In January 1557, as bishop-elect, he was sent by Cardinal Pole to "re-visit" Cambridge University and ensure that all was proceeding well. He re-emphasised the importance of traditional doctrine, traditional symbolism and traditional liturgy. The following month, February 1557, he officiated at the exhumation and burning of the remains of Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer was a Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a member of the Dominican Order, but after meeting and being influenced by Martin Luther in 1518 he arranged for his monastic vows to be annulled...
and Paul Fagius
Paul Fagius
Paul Fagius was a Renaissance scholar of Biblical Hebrew.-Life:Fagius was born at Rheinzabern in 1504. His father was a teacher and council clerk. In 1515 he went to study at the University of Heidelberg and in 1518 was present at the Heidelberg Disputation...
. At the ceremony he preached for two hours on the harm they had done to the English Church by their "wykedness and heretycall doctryn."
Watson's papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
of appointment (the last ever for a Bishop of Lincoln) was issued on March 24, 1557. However, he still had business in Durham. On May 29, Cardinal Pole gave him permission to remain Dean of Durham for as long as necessary. His main task was the restoration of Catholic doctrine, customs and liturgy, included efforts to recover valuables, property and land plundered during the two previous reigns. But he also undertook some duties in the Diocese of Lincoln
Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
as Bishop-Elect.
Consecrated Bishop of Lincoln
Watson was consecrated Bishop of LincolnBishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, 1557, by the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
in London. Arriving in Lincoln for his installation in October, he was met with pomp and ceremony at the Cathedral’s Great West Doors by his clergy. The bells rang out and the choirs sang angelically as he was conducted to his Episcopal seat. He was dismayed at the impoverishment of the diocese and set himself to recovering what he could, including several manors, estates and benefices seized by Henry and Edward. He also retrieved "many rich vestments, articles of plate and other furniture of which the Church of Lincoln had been despoiled."
Watson spent much of his time as Bishop of Lincoln travelling the diocese or in London. He was asked to preach at St. Paul's Cross in February 1558 before another assembly of dignitaries, including the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, ten bishops, and a huge crowd of people. In constant demand, he was now one of the hierarchy's most celebrated spokesmen. At the request of Cardinal Pole and Convocation he prepared thirty of his sermons for publication. Entitled Holsome and Catholyke Doctryne concerninge the Seven Sacramentes of Chrystes Church, expedient to be knowen of all men, set forth in maner of Shorte Sermons to bee made to the People, his book was printed in London in 1558. Watson gained a reputation for leniency in dealing with Protestants. During his time as Bishop of Lincoln, the most severe period of Mary’s campaign against "heretics", there was not a single execution in the whole 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...
.
Arrest under Elizabeth's rule
Mary and Pole died within hours of each other on the Feast of St. Hugh of Lincoln, November 17, 1558. Elizabeth and Cecil lost no time in consulting with Protestant dissidents. In March 1559, the bishops were summoned to dispute with them over the future of the English Church. When it became obvious that the outcome was already determined, the bishops could not proceed. It was then alleged that White and Watson had urged them to consider the Queen's excommunicationExcommunication
Excommunication 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...
. The two bishops were arrested and sent to the Tower on 3 April 1559.
By early May fresh Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity had been passed, and the Protestant Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
reintroduced. The bishops were once more cut off from Rome, stripped of their authority and "extinguished" as a hierarchy. On 25 June Watson was tried, found guilty, deprived of his bishopric, and given a life sentence. One by one Elizabeth replaced the Catholic bishops with Protestants.
Confinement
After a time in the Tower of LondonTower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, Watson was placed in the custody of his old adversaries: Grindal, now Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
; Guest, now Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
; and Richard Cox
Richard Cox (bishop)
Richard Cox was an English clergyman, who was Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely.-Biography:Cox was born of obscure parentage at Whaddon, Buckinghamshire, in 1499 or 1500....
, now Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
. Ten years later, in 1570 the pope finally excommunicated Elizabeth. Watson was returned to the Tower. When interrogated about the excommunication, his only regret was that it might create greater hardship for Catholics. He was kept in the Tower until the following year, and then returned to his former places of confinement. He was transferred from the custody of the Bishop of Rochester to that of the Bishop of Ely in 1580, and committed to imprisonment in the notorious Wisbech Castle
Wisbech Castle
Wisbech castle was a motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech, in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire, England by William I in 1072. The Norman castle, reputedly was destroyed during a devastating flood of 1236, the original design and layout is still unknown.In the 15th century repairs were...
.
The Bishop of Ely had been ordered to turn his palace Wisbech Castle
Wisbech Castle
Wisbech castle was a motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech, in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire, England by William I in 1072. The Norman castle, reputedly was destroyed during a devastating flood of 1236, the original design and layout is still unknown.In the 15th century repairs were...
into an internment centre for Catholics, and for the first time in years Watson had friends around him. These included his old friend John Feckenham, a fellow student of his at Cambridge and the last Abbot of Westminster. Along with former Marian priests there were newly arrived seminary priest
Seminary priest
Seminary priests were Roman Catholic priests who were trained in English seminaries or houses of study on the European Continent after the introduction of laws forbidding Roman Catholicism in Britain. Such Seminaries included that at Douay, from 1568, and others at Rome from 1579, Valladolid from...
s and Jesuits. Watson's contacts now widened, and he appears to have exercised some sort of episcopal ministry "in vinculis".
Death
In March 1581 he was accused of corresponding with Catholics in PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, but his health and eyesight were deteriorating. He died almost blind at the age of sixty-nine. He had been confined for twenty-five years, ending his days in Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
Castle on 15 October 1584. He lies in an unmarked grave somewhere in the churchyard of Wisbech Parish Church. His only epitaph is given in the Athenae Cantabrigiensis (1858):
Thomas Watson, sometime Master of St John's College Cambridge,
Dean of Durham and Bishop of Lincoln:
"Orator Facundas, Bonus Poeta,
Solidus Theologus et Concionator Celebris."
"An eloquent speaker, a gifted poet,
a sound theologian and a celebrated preacher."
External links
- Link to Catholic Encyclopedia article Rites of Durham