To this the said Mr Almoner fyrst alleging & declaring of how singuler and perfytt devocyon he was towards the kyngs hyghnes and my lords grace, & that he wold not oonly be moost redy to execute his commandements, but also to kepe secrete suche things as his grace shuld wyll him so to doo: answered, that he hard the quene oft saie that yf in this cause she myght attaine & injoye her naturall defence & justice, she distrusted nothing butt yt should taike suche effecte as shuld be acceptable both to God & man. And that for theese causes:—
Fyrst for that it was in the ieies of God moost plaine & evydent that she was never knowen of Prince Arthure. Secondly, for that neyther of the judges were competent, being bothe the kings subjects, beneficed within his realme, & delegate from the pope at the contemplation of the king, she being never hard, ne admytted to her defence. Thirdly, for that she ne had ne myght have within this realme any indifferent counsaile. Fynally, for that she had in Spaine two bulles, the oone beinge latter daite than the other, but bothe of suche effycacie & strengthe, as shulde sone remove all objections & cavyllations to be maide to thinfringing of this matrymonie.
To this my lord’s grace replying said, he marvelled not a lyttle of her so undyscrete ungodly purposes & sayings, which caused him to conceyve that she was neyther of suche perfection, ne vertue as he had thought in tymes past to have been in her: & so entering in refutation of all the premisses said:—
Fyrst, where she saithe that she was not knowen of Prince Arthure, verely it is a weake & much unsure grownde for her to leane unto, being so urgent & vehement presumptions non solum Juris, sed etiam de Jure to the contrarie, which and of congreuence ought to wey more in every equall judges brest then her symple allegation. For it cannot be denied but that bothe he & she was then of suche yers as was mete and hable to explete that act. It is also verey notarie, that thei dyd lye together, bothe here & in Waylles, by the space of three quarters of a yere. Furthermore, nothing was so muche desyred of bothe there parentes as the consummation of the said act: Insomuche that the counsailers of Ferdinando being resident here for that purposse dyd send the sheets thei ley in, spotted with bloude, into Spaine, in full testimonye & prouf therof. The counsaillers also of bothe parties moste solemnelye sworne affearme in there treaties & saien that the matrymonie was consummate by that act. Forthermore the comen voyce through England is, that the said Prince Arthure shuld oftymes boost oon mornyng how ofte he had been the nyght before in the myddes of Spaine: Insomuche that commonlye his so primature deathe was imputed onely to nimio coitu.
Fynally, King Henry VIIth of blessed memorie, wold not by certaine space after the deathe of the saide prince, permytte or suffer that the kings highnes shuld injoye the name & tytle of Prince, onely for that it was dowbted by such as than was most abowte the quene whether she was conceaved wyth chylde or noo. And therefore these presumptions beinge of suche sorte & nature, my lords grace said, the quene shuld do lyke neyther wyse ne vartuouse lady to adhere partinacely to the contrarie.
To the seconde his grace replied, saying that if she shuld refuse and decline the judgment of those parsons unto whome the pope’s holiness had delegated the examination of this cause, she shuld not do well, butt so doing rather incurr the indignacyon of the see apostolique, deserve the obloque & hatred of all good chossin people & ingenerate in there hartes a perpetuall hate & enmitie against her. For sythe the popes holines proceadythe in thys commyssyon at the intercession or motion of no partie, but onely ex mero motu pastorali officio, & sith that his holines notwithstanding he being notoriously certyfied that they be the kings subjects, & benefyced within his realme hathe approved there parsons as moost mete and worthie to have the hole decision of this cawse commytted unto them: with that also theire parsons be qualyfyed with so hyghe preemynence & dignitie, as by the common lawe cannot be refused as suspect. Fynallie sythe the same parsons being straitly commanded by the king’s hyghnes, all affection of mede or drede set apart, onely to attend, waye, regard & consyder the justyce of the cawse as they shall therunto answere on perell of there owne sowles & his dreadfull indignacion, have no cawse which thei shuld varye or deflect their sentence otherwyse than justyce shall require, specially in a cawse of suche wayght & importance, & wherin they for unrighteouse judgement shuld acquire nothing els but theire owne dampnation, eternall ignominie & indignation of theire prince: yf she shuld refuse suche parsons as suspect, it might well be saide that she geveth tytles honour to the auctoritie of the churche, & that this realme were marvelouslie destytute of men of sincere learnyng & conscience, to the great slaunder of the same.
And fynally his grace said, that yf this exception shuld be admytted as suffycyent cawse of recusation, for that they be benefyced by the kings hyghnes, than this cawse of matrymonie myght nowhere be ventylated or dyscussed within Christindone, for that there are no parsons of auctorite & lernyng in any regyon out of this realme, againe whome the king’s highnes might not alleadge, in lyke manner, lyke cawse of recusation & suspicion. The pope’s holines & the holle clargie of Ytallie, Flaunders, Spaine, Denmarke & Scotlande, being now eyther confederate or in thraldome & captivitie of the emperor’s tyranny.
To the third, concerning counsaillors to be retained on her behalf, my lords grace saide, that although he was ryght well assured of the kings singuler propencyon & inclination to justyce, & that above all things his pleasour was justyce shuld be equally mynistred to eyther parte in this cawse, being also never wylling or in mynde at any tyme, but that she shuld have aide and assistance of so well lerned men, so wyse, and of so good conscience, as might any be founde within this realme: yet his grace thought that consydering the nature of this cawse to be of suche sorte, as necessarily impliethe the hole tytle of succession of this realme, lyke as yt were not expedyent, ne myght in any wyse be suffred withowt great dangier & perell which might therby ensue, to maike any aliene or straunger previe herunto, specially the Spaniards having now intelligence with the King of Scotts; So his grace thought that the quene wold not insyst in so fryvolous petition, which might never be graunted unto her, but be content to admytt and adhybyt suche lerned men as be here in this region her counsaillors, namely suche as by theire othes solempnly maide & vowed, & by expresse commandement et optima gratia of the king’s highnes, shuld withowt frawde or corruption shew unto her theire sentence and openions: and desyring the contrarie hereof his grace said she shuld doe nothing but declare her owne sensuall affection to sett forthe that whiche, all due prouf, bothe by Gods lawe & mans law hath justly condemned. And thus ended my lords graces talke with Mr Almoner.
⁂ Robert Shorton S. T. P. then master of Pembroke Hall and canon of Windsor was almoner to the queen, preferr’d by her to the deanery of Stoke Suffolk, the same that was internuncius cardinali de evocandis viris doctis Cantabrigia Oxoniam, and sometime dean of the cardinal’s chapel.