Page:Henry VIII and the English Monasteries.djvu/89

Rh the government bridled the opposition, and, as nearly as they could, ensured the passing of the bills of succession." By this concealment also, money was wrung from those who had been associated with the nun in any way. For this both master and minister were always ready. Richard Masters, the parish priest of Aldington, who was subsequently executed, sends Crumwell two gold crowns for having expedited his pardon.

The Canterbury monks also professed themselves very ready to serve the king in any way, if he would only pass over their connection with the "Maid of Kent." They even were willing, as Cranmer, then on his visitation there, writes, to offer some substantial sum of money. "Only a few," he says, "consented to these revelations, almost all being Dr. Docking's novices." The prior, a man of no malice, "has been touched by this matter. They desire my mediation, and I think they will offer £200 or £300 for their pardon. The monastery," he adds, "is not ' aforehand,' but in debt, except the church ornaments and plate." Edward Thwaites, whose guilt consisted in his belief in the nun and in having printed a small volume with an account of her early life, purchased "his pardon for 1000 marks," and subsequently Bishop Fisher had to pay £300 for his share in the matter.

On Saturday, February 21, 1534, the bill of attainder "concerning the condign punishment of Elizabeth Barton, the hypocrite nun, commonly called the holy maid of Kent," was brought into the Lords and read the first time. At this sitting, and throughout the proceedings during the passage of the bill, the lay lords far outnumbered the lords spiritual. The various steps were taken between the date of its introduction and the I2th of March, when it was read for the fourth time and accepted by the house. The accused had apparently been condemned unheard, since on March 6th, at the third reading of the attainder, the lords "thought proper to inquire whether it would accord with the king's wishes (cum Regio animo quadrare potest) that Sir Thomas