HENRY VIII. had three children. They were called Mary, Elizabeth,
and Edward.
Edward was the son of Lady Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife,
and was the youngest of the three. But for several reasons he
was made King.
Edward was only nine years old and his uncle, Lord Somerset,
was made Regent or Protector. Lord Somerset was not a strong man
and did not rule well. He wished to be powerful and tried to make
himself king in all but name. His brother, Thomas Seymour, also
wanted to rule, so there were plots and quarrels between them
and between the other great nobles.
Although Henry VIII. had quarreled with the Pope he never became
a Protestant, nor did he wish the religion of the country to be
changed. But Lady Jane Seymour had been a Protestant and so was
her brother who was now Protector. Edward VI. had been brought
up in the new religion and although he had very little power,
he wanted the country to become Protestant.
But this was not the wish of the whole people. Many of them did
not like the new English service which the King ordered to be
used in the churches. It was like a Christmas game, they said,
and they asked for the Old Latin service called the Mass to which
they were accustomed.
When Henry VIII. shut up the monasteries he brought great distress
on the poor in many ways. He gave some of the monastery land to
his friends, and these gentlemen, growing greedy, began now to
add to their possessions by enclosing with fences the common lands,
which before had been free to every one. The poor had been allowed
to feed their cows and sheep on these common lands but now that
they were enclosed by fences, the sheep and cows died from hunger,
and the poor people were worse off than ever.
Those who had been turned out of the monasteries were all Roman
Catholics. They were now homeless and went among the people telling
them that all their sorrows were because of the change of religion.
At last the people rose in rebellion, many of them hardly knowing
why, but only feeling that they were very unhappy. But the rebellion
was soon crushed and the ringleaders put to death.
It is told how the Provost Marshal wrote to one man, the Mayor
of Bodmin, who was known to have been one of the leaders, saying
that he was coming to dinner. The mayor was very glad, thinking
that he was not to be punished for his share in the riots. He
made ready a splendid dinner and received the provost and his
friends with great politeness.
"Mr. Mayor," said the provost, "I have to hang
a man in the town after dinner. Will you have a gallows set up?"
The mayor gave the order to the hangman and then they sat down
to dinner. They were all very gay and merry and, when the meal
was over, the provost took the mayor by the arm, saying cheerfully,
"Come now, let me see these gallows."
The mayor led him to where they were set up.
"Do you think they are strong enough?" said the provost.
"Oh yes," replied the mayor, "I can assure your
lordship they are quite strong enough."
"Very well," said the provost, "you shall go up
and try, for you are the man that is to be hanged."
"You do not mean that, my lord, you are joking," said
the mayor.
"Nay, but I do mean it," said the provost. "Up
you get, you have been a busy rebel and now here is your reward."
And in spite of all he could say the poor mayor was hanged upon
his own gallows.
But the people rose again and again. One of the chief rebellions
was under a man called Ket. He was a tanner. A great many people
gathered round him, and they camped near Norwich on a plain, in
the center of which stood a great oak tree. This tree they called
the Oak of Reformation, and under its branches Ket held his Parliament
and Court, deciding quarrels, making laws, and punishing wrong-doers.
Ket encouraged his followers to pull up the hedges, throw down
the fences, and fill up the ditches with which the common lands
had been surrounded. Otherwise they behaved in a wonderfully orderly
manner. They did indeed steal sheep and cattle from the rich gentlemen
round so that they might have plenty to eat in the camp. But Ket
ordered his men not to hurt any honest or poor people. He called
himself the King's friend, and said he fought only against the
wicked lords who gave him bad advice.
For some time the Protector did nothing and Ket's army grew larger
and larger. Lord Somerset was sorry for the people. He knew that
they were very poor, and felt that they were badly treated. Yet
he knew, too, that he ought to do something to put down the rebellion.
At last a royal herald came. Dressed in his coat embroidered
with the arms of England, he stood under the Oak of Reformation
and blew his trumpet, and, while the people gathered round to
listen, he cried, "All ye good subjects of King Edward VI.
by the grace of God, Defender of the Faith, King of England, attend."
Then he told them that he had been sent to say that King Edward
would pardon them all, if they would go quietly back to their
homes.
Many of them would have done this but Ket said, "No. Pardon
is for rebels. We are no rebels. We are the true subjects of the
King and only wish to prevent him from being evilly advised."
So he would not go home.
The Protector had gathered an army, intending to make war on
Scotland, and this army he now sent against Ket and his men. There
was a good deal of fighting. Many people on both sides were killed,
the town of Norwich was taken and retaken, but in the end Ket
was defeated. He and his brother were made prisoners with many
of their followers. They were put to death, and nine of the chief
rebels were hanged upon the branches of the Oak of Reformation.
As time went on, the quarreling among the nobles grew worse.
The office of Protector was first taken from Somerset, and he
was then beheaded. Many of the common people were sorry for this,
because they believed that Somerset had really been their friend,
and they loved him although the nobles hated him.
Lord Somerset was succeeded by the Duke of Northumberland. The
Duke of Northumberland was also a Protestant, and he was quite
as fond of power as Somerset had been, and began to make plans
to get the crown of England into his hands.
Edward had never been strong, and Northumberland knew that he
was not likely to live long. The next heir to the throne was Mary,
Edward's elder sister. She was the daughter of Katherine of Arragon,
the first wife of Henry VIII. Princess Mary was a Roman Catholic.
She hated the Protestant religion as much as Edward loved it.
It made Edward sad to think that, when he was dead, Mary would
undo all that he had done and that England would again become
Roman Catholic.
Northumberland knew this, and he persuaded Edward to make a will
leaving the throne to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey. Of course Edward
had no right to do this, but he did do it.
Lady Jane Grey was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII., and
she was married to the Duke of Northumberland's son. She was very
young, being only about sixteen, and the duke thought that if
she were Queen, he would be able to do just as he liked. He tried
to keep his plan secret, for he knew that many of the people wished
Mary to be Queen. He succeeded so well that even Lady Jane herself
did not know what he intended to do.
In 1553 A.D., soon after Edward had made his will, leaving the
crown to his cousin, he died. He was a good and gentle boy, fond
of books and learning. During his short reign many schools were
founded. Some of them still exist and are called King Edward Schools.
Edward was very anxious to do what was right, but like his father
Henry VIII., he was also fond of his own way. Had he lived to
be old enough really to reign, he might have proved to be a good
King. But it is hard to tell, for while he lived he had little
real power.
