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Article THE LIFE OF MRS. ANNE AYSCOUGH, OR ASKEW. ← Page 3 of 5 →
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The Life Of Mrs. Anne Ayscough, Or Askew.
bio-otted husband , and , as Dr . Fuller shrewdly observes , perchance " * she would only answer to the king for her behaviour towards her " husband , as hoping for some tenderness from his Highness , because " of some general conformity in the first part of her case with the " king ' s ; as who , for by-respects , was first married , and then divorced " from his brother ' s wife . "
Her many accomplishments , and especially her wit and beauty , recommended her to the notice of the queen , and the acquaintance of the principal ladies of the court . That queen was Catherine Parr , a favourer of the reformation , and possessed of a mind enriched with learning and piety . While she was soliciting her cause at courther husbandor his bloody
, , counsellors the priests , followed her with the dreadful accusation of heresy . The famous six sanguinary articles were then flaming in all their terror against the protestants . Nothing could be more dangerous than a charge of disbelieving the dogma of transubstantiation , unless it
was the denying of the king ' s supremacy . At this very time Gardiner bishop of Winchester , and several of the lay lords , were devising every measure to procure the destruction of the queen and Cranmer . Observing , therefore , the attention that was paid to Mrs . Ayscough , the frequency of her attendance upon the court , and her familiarity with the Duchess of Suffolk and other ladies of rankthose murderous
, harpies , immediately determined to lay their talons upon this unfortunate victim , to draw from her sdch information as might serve to accomp lish their purpose . She was accordingly apprehended , and underwent several examinations , in which neither threats nor allurements could draw from her any thing to prejudice her noble friends . _
She was examined first in March 1545 , by Christopher Dare , inquisitor ; and afterwards by different ecclesiastical officers , chiefly upon the article of the real presence . Her first place of confinement was the Compter , where she was severely kept eleven days . At last , after considerable pains and difficulty , her friends obtained permission to bail her , Mr . Britayne her cousin , and Mr . Spelman of Gray ' s Inn , being her sureties .
Before this favour was granted the weakness of human nature had sunk under the terrors that surrounded her , and she was prevailed upon to sign a recantation before that bloodhound Bonner , then Bishop of London . In this instrument she acknowledged , " That the natural " body of Christ was present in the sacrament after the consecration , " whether the priest were a good or an ill man ; and that , whether it
" was presently consumed or reserved in the Fix it was the true body « of Christ . " Yet , as bishop Burnet observes , notwithstanding this apparent defection , she guarded her subscription by the addition , " that she believed all things according to the Catholic Faith , and not " otherwise . " Bonner was dissatisfied with this , and could hardly be prevailed upon by close and powerful application to permit her to be bailed at all .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of Mrs. Anne Ayscough, Or Askew.
bio-otted husband , and , as Dr . Fuller shrewdly observes , perchance " * she would only answer to the king for her behaviour towards her " husband , as hoping for some tenderness from his Highness , because " of some general conformity in the first part of her case with the " king ' s ; as who , for by-respects , was first married , and then divorced " from his brother ' s wife . "
Her many accomplishments , and especially her wit and beauty , recommended her to the notice of the queen , and the acquaintance of the principal ladies of the court . That queen was Catherine Parr , a favourer of the reformation , and possessed of a mind enriched with learning and piety . While she was soliciting her cause at courther husbandor his bloody
, , counsellors the priests , followed her with the dreadful accusation of heresy . The famous six sanguinary articles were then flaming in all their terror against the protestants . Nothing could be more dangerous than a charge of disbelieving the dogma of transubstantiation , unless it
was the denying of the king ' s supremacy . At this very time Gardiner bishop of Winchester , and several of the lay lords , were devising every measure to procure the destruction of the queen and Cranmer . Observing , therefore , the attention that was paid to Mrs . Ayscough , the frequency of her attendance upon the court , and her familiarity with the Duchess of Suffolk and other ladies of rankthose murderous
, harpies , immediately determined to lay their talons upon this unfortunate victim , to draw from her sdch information as might serve to accomp lish their purpose . She was accordingly apprehended , and underwent several examinations , in which neither threats nor allurements could draw from her any thing to prejudice her noble friends . _
She was examined first in March 1545 , by Christopher Dare , inquisitor ; and afterwards by different ecclesiastical officers , chiefly upon the article of the real presence . Her first place of confinement was the Compter , where she was severely kept eleven days . At last , after considerable pains and difficulty , her friends obtained permission to bail her , Mr . Britayne her cousin , and Mr . Spelman of Gray ' s Inn , being her sureties .
Before this favour was granted the weakness of human nature had sunk under the terrors that surrounded her , and she was prevailed upon to sign a recantation before that bloodhound Bonner , then Bishop of London . In this instrument she acknowledged , " That the natural " body of Christ was present in the sacrament after the consecration , " whether the priest were a good or an ill man ; and that , whether it
" was presently consumed or reserved in the Fix it was the true body « of Christ . " Yet , as bishop Burnet observes , notwithstanding this apparent defection , she guarded her subscription by the addition , " that she believed all things according to the Catholic Faith , and not " otherwise . " Bonner was dissatisfied with this , and could hardly be prevailed upon by close and powerful application to permit her to be bailed at all .