The greatest story in the world, period 3 (of 3)

by Horace G. Hutchinson

But education had been spreading in England, as elsewhere in Christendom, in spite of the religious troubles. The new opening of the ancient stores of classical literature, and their diffusion by the printing press, could scarcely fail to arouse the interest of men of intelligence.

The spirit of protest against Rome which Luther preached had this, at least, in common with the spirit in which Henry of England acted, that both were bitterly and even violently opposed to the Pope's claim of authority. So this spirit of the Reformation made its way in England without encountering the difficulties which it had met in other parts of Europe. The clergy, who, in an earlier reign, would have opposed it, had now become subject, in part by their own act, to the King of England rather than to the Pope of Rome. Protestantism was accepted as the State religion.

In Ireland also Henry declared himself head of the Church as well as king. All Acts of the Irish Parliament, from his reign for several centuries, had to receive the assent of England before they became law.

Of the four great men who had so large a share in the making of our story in the first half of the sixteenth century, the monk, the most important figure of the four, was the first to die, in 1546. The next year saw the deaths of Francis and of Henry. Charles, greatest of the three kings, lived on until 1558, though he laid down his honours two years or so earlier and retired to a monastery to end his days.

By the death of Francis, Charles was relieved of his life-long enemy, and took advantage of that relief to turn all his attention to the Protestant princes of Germany who were leagued together to support their faith by arms. He defeated them at that time, and, using his victory, as was his custom, with moderation, he drew up a document called the "Interim," a statement of doctrines to which he hoped that both Catholics and Protestants would agree. It failed, however, to satisfy either. Five years later the Protestant princes again took arms, and this time their Emperor, whom they found unprepared, had to fly for his life. The ultimate result was a treaty called the Peace of Religion, of which the most important provision was that the Emperor permitted the Protestants, so far as the permission lay with him to give, to hold their doctrines and perform their religious services as they thought right.

The Peace of Religion

It was a beautiful name—the Peace of Religion—but unfortunately the name of peace was not sufficient to ensure that peace would follow. Even within the Protestant Church itself there soon arose acute differences of opinion.

The doctrines of the monk won their way over most of North-Western Europe. Into Scandinavia and Denmark they were introduced with the support and favour of the king himself. They made little penetration on the eastern side, for the simple reason that those particular abuses against which they protested did not exist there. Their protest was mainly against evil practices in the Church of Rome. But over Russia, rising into greatness in the east of Europe, the Greek Church prevailed. Constantinople, until its capture by the Turks, had been the capital city, the Holy Place, of that Church; but now the Tsar of Russia claimed to be its head, speaking from his capital city of Moscow.

We saw something of the break-up of the Mongol power, which had extended over nearly the whole of Asia and threatened Europe also, when we were recounting the story of China. The blow that was dealt it at the end of the fourteenth century by the Buddhist monk who became the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty doubtless helped in its break-up even so far away as its western border. The centre of its power was shattered. It no longer had the strength that comes from unity. The Mongols fell apart into a number of independent tribes. Early in the sixteenth century Russia began to throw off the domination with which those Mongols, or Tartars, always threatened her, and from time to time exercised. She had partly amalgamated with the Tartars, and partly ruled over them, by the middle of that century.

The knowledge of Russia began about the same time to be brought to England, by traders who had found their way to Moscow by adventurous voyages round the top of Scandinavia and so on to the White Sea, whereon is the city of Archangel, and so down into the centre and capital of the great country, travelling partly by river and partly overland. A treaty, for the exchange of the products of the two countries, was made, and the English were allowed to build warehouses for storing those goods which they brought in to trade with and those Russian goods which they obtained in return.