their intercourse with foreign countries, gradually im proved. But even in the reign of Henry Vit. they were rude. When Catharine of Arragon arrived in England, Henry was informed the princess had arrived and had retired to rest; yet Henry was so uncourteous that he obliged her to rise and dress herself; and he that night affianced her to his son Arthur.

In the reign of Henry VIII. so rigorous and tyrannical was the discipline of families; so formal, reserved, and haughty were parents, that sons, arrived to manhood, were obliged to stand uncovered and silent, in presence of their parents; and daughters of adult years, were compelled to stand by the cupboard, not being permitted to sit or repose, otherwise than by kneeling on a cushion till their mothers had left the room.

88. Furniture of houses. The apartments at Hampton Court were on one occasion, furnished each with a candlestick, a basin, a goblet and ewer of silver; yet the king's chamber, except the bed and cupboard, contained no furniture except a joint-stool, a pair of andirons, and a small mirror. The walls of the wealthy were adorned with hanging or arras, and furnished with a cupboard, long tables, or rather loose boards placed on trestles; also, with forms, chairs, and a few joint-stools. The rich had comfortable beds; but the common people slept on mats or straw pallets, under a rug, with a log for a pillow, Glass windows were seen only in churches or the mansions of the rich; and the floor was clay, covered with sand and rushes. Such was the condition of the English in the reign of Henry VIII, or beginning of the sixteenth century.

89. State of the church. From the time when Christianity was introduced into England, the pope of Rome had been gradually gaining power and ascendancy in all parts of Europe. The rights and privileges of the English clergy, under the first Norman princes, had been surrendered to the Roman pontif, and by means of various taxes, immense sums of money were extorted from them, to enrich the coffers of his holiness, who advanced foreigners to the richest bishoprics in England, and even sold to Italians livings before they became

void. This exercise of his power was prohibited by statutes of parliament in the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II.

90. Beginning of the Reformation. The first effort to reform the errors of popery in England was made by John Wiclif, in the reign of Edward III. and Richard II. He was born about the year 1324, and advanced to a professorship in Oxford, where he was educated. He rejected many of the popish doctrines; many of the rites and traditions of the church; and boldly asserted that in the apostolic age the bishop and priest were of the same order. He opposed the doctrine of transubstantiation and the infallibility of the pope; he declared the church of Rome not to be the head of other churches; that Peter had not the power of the keys, any more than the rest of the apostles; and that the gospel being a perfect rule of life and manners, ought to be read by the people. His opinions were, in many particulars, the same as those now entertained by Protestants.

91. Wiclif's opinions condemned. Wiclif's doctrines reached Rome, and were condemned by pope Gregory XI. His successor, Urban, wrote to king Richard and to the archbishop of Canterbury, to suppress his doctrine. Accordingly, his doctrines were condemned in a convocation of bishops; he was deprived of his professorship; his books and writings were burnt, and he himself was sentenced to imprisonment. But he retired and escaped. He declared himself willing to defend his opinions in Rome, but for his sickness and infirmities. He was the first to translate the New Testament into English. But although his doctrines were condemned and his books, nearly two hundred volumes, were burnt; he left many disciples, who were called Lollards.

92. Laws to oppose Reformation. In the year 1215, it was decreed by the Council of Lateran, that all heretics should be delivered over to the civil magistrate to be burned. In the reign of Henry IV. it was enacted by parliament that persons convicted of heresy, and refusing to abjure their errors, should be delivered over to the secular power, and mayors, sherifs, and bailifs, were to receive them and burn them before the people. Even

the reading of the scriptures in English subjected a person to death and forfeitures. Under these laws, hundreds of the Lollards suffered imprisonment and death. This attempt at reformation by Wiclif was nearly a hundred and fifty years before the days of Luther.

93. Henry VIII. Thus stood the laws respecting religion, when the crown devolved on Henry VIII. in the year 1509. Henry was bred a scholar; was well acquainted with Latin, and with school divinity; and was very vain of his attainments. But he was devoted to papacy; and after Luther had begun to oppose the pope, Henry wrote a treatise in defense of the Romish religion. For this he received, from the pope, the title of Defender of the Faith-a title still borne by the kings of England.

94. Cause of Henry's opposition to popery. Henry, after living with his queen twenty years, became weary of her, and determined to obtain a divorce. For this purpose, he applied to the pope. But the pope, for some reasons of policy, held him in suspense. Henry then applied to the universities of Europe, for their opinion, whether it was agreeable to the law of GOD for a man to marry his brother's wife, and whether the pope could dispense with the law of GOD. The answers were in the negative. The parliament agreed with the universities. Henry then obtained an act of parliament, deelaring the king to be the supreme head of the church. This act, which took from the pope his power of governing the English church, was the beginning of the reformation; from which we see that Henry's personal enmity to the Roman pontif was the moving cause, and not any opposition to the Catholic religion. The king finally obtained a divorce from the spiritual court, and afterwards married Ann Boleyn.

95. Translation of the scriptures. Wiclif had rendered the New Testament into English in the fourteenth century; but before the invention of printing; and the work was suppressed by the adherents of popery. The next translation was by one Tyndal. This was condemned by the Catholic clergy; but such was the

eagerness of the people to read the scriptures in the English language, that it spread with wonderful rapidity. The king attempted to call in all copies of the translation, in 1530, and promised a more correct version. But the book was reprinted on the continent, and copies were imported by the merchants, and privately sold. It was then moved in a convocation of the clergy, that the whole Bible should be translated into English. But the old clergy opposed it; alledging that this would lay the foundation of innumerable heresies, as the people were not proper judges of the sense of the scriptures. In reply, it was said, that the original scriptures were written in the vulgar language, and that Christ commanded his hearers to search the scriptures. In short, archbishop Cranmer revised and corrected the version of Tyndal, Coverdale, and Rogers, and this was allowed by authority to be read by the people. In 1568, several bishops and other learned men revised Cranmer's copy, and this version, called the bishops' Bible, was read in churches, till the present version was made in the reign

of James I.

96. Reformation imperfect. The reformation from popery was left, in Henry's reign, far from being complete; most of the doctrines and rites of the Romish church being retained. In the reign of his son Edward VI. a further progress was made, and a liturgy prepared, in which many of the popish doctrines and rites were not admitted. But in the reign of his successor, queen Mary, who was a papist, almost all the laws which favored a reform were repealed, and popery was reestablished. Mary's reign was short; and soon after queen Elizabeth ascended the throne, the laws in favor of the reformation were revived; the liturgy of Edward, with alterations, was adopted; and the church of England was established nearly on its present basis.

QUESTIONS.

69. What was the state of agriculture after the Norman conquest?

70. When was architecture improved?

71. Describe the castles of the barons. Why were they erected?

72. What was the armor of the Saxons ?

73. What was the clothing?

74. Describe the Greek fire.

75. When was chivalry introduced into England? 76. Describe tilts and tournaments.

77. Give an account of knighthood.

78. How were men made knights?

79. What was the origin of coats of arms and heraldry? 80. Describe the magnificence of the barons and prelates. 81. Give an account of the origin of surnames.

82. What was the state of religion under the first Norman princes? What methods of preaching were in use? When and by whom were the scriptures divided into verses?

83. When and by whom was gunpowder discovered, and when were cannon first used?

84. Describe the vices and miseries of the English in the 13th and 14th centuries.

85. What was the dress?

86. What were the fashions?

87. What were the manners of the English in the reign of Henry VII. and Henry VIII.?

88. Describe the furniture of houses.

89. What was the state of the church under the Norman princes?

90. When and by whom was the reformation begun ?

91, 92. How was the reformation opposed?

93. Character of Henry VIII. ?

91. Why did Henry VIII. oppose popery, and what was the beginning of the reformation?

95. When and by whom were the scriptures first translated in English?

96. How and when was the liturgy of the church of England introduced?

CHAPTER IV.

AMERICA.

97. Of the peopling of America.

It is evident that many centuries after the old continent was well inhabited, and highly civilized, the American continent remained the residence of wild beasts only. By what