Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Western Sieve. Episode three hundred and eighteen.
Speaker 1: James the First Sir Robert Carey rode furiously from London
Speaker 1: to Edinburgh along the Great Northern Road, spending one night
Speaker 1: in Yorkshire and another in Northumberland. He arrived at holly
Speaker 1: Rod Palace quote be bloodied with great falls and bruises,
Speaker 1: after a journey of more than three hundred and thirty miles.
Speaker 1: By that time. It was late at night on Saturday,
Speaker 1: the twenty sixth of March sixteen oh three. He was
Speaker 1: ushered into the presence of King James the sixth of Scotland.
Speaker 1: Falling to his knees, he proclaimed him to be King
Speaker 1: of England, France and Ireland. He gave him as testimony
Speaker 1: a sapphire ring that his sister, Lady Scrope, had thrown
Speaker 1: to him from a window at Richmond Palace immediately after
Speaker 1: the death of Elizabeth the First. James looked upon the
Speaker 1: ring and uttered, only it is enough. The King had
Speaker 1: previously entrusted this ring to Lady Scrope in the event
Speaker 1: of the Queen's death. Was kind of in that way
Speaker 1: a secret cipher, A body of prelates and peers back
Speaker 1: in England had already met Sir Robert Cecil, who was
Speaker 1: the principal counselor as we know of the old Queen,
Speaker 1: though he was not present yet. Cecil and these men
Speaker 1: proclaimed James as king. Bonfires and bells greeted the news
Speaker 1: of the Swiss an easy succession. Cecil himself declared that
Speaker 1: he had quote steered King James ship into the right
Speaker 1: harbor without cross of wede or tide that could have
Speaker 1: overturned a cock quote end quote. Now, as we know,
Speaker 1: Cecil had entered into a secret correspondence with James well
Speaker 1: before Elizabeth's demise. On April the fifth, James left Edinburgh
Speaker 1: to travel to his new realm. He had now been
Speaker 1: King of Scotland for thirty six years. Ever since he
Speaker 1: had assumed the throne at age thirteen months after the
Speaker 1: forced abdication of Mary Stuart's, Queen of Scots, he had
Speaker 1: been a successful, if not glorious monarch. He managed to
Speaker 1: curb the pretensions of what had been a very argumentative
Speaker 1: clergy and a very difficult nobility from his earliest years.
Speaker 1: The restive and combative spirit of the Scottish lords ensured
Speaker 1: that in the words of the French and Maaster. He
Speaker 1: had been quote nourished in fear end quote. Yet through
Speaker 1: a series of intelligent compromises and by sometimes outwitting his opponents,
Speaker 1: James had held on to his crown. Now, as he
Speaker 1: told his followers, he was about to enter what he
Speaker 1: considered to be the land of promise. He had already
Speaker 1: written to the Council at Westminster asking for money, because
Speaker 1: the Scottish king did not have the funds to finance
Speaker 1: his journey south. The joyous reception that James received from
Speaker 1: his new subjects was quite frankly, not something he expected.
Speaker 1: He was, after all, the first foreign king to rule
Speaker 1: England since William the Conqueror. More interesting, giving the long
Speaker 1: reign of his predecessors, few if any of his subjects
Speaker 1: would have experienced the rule of a male sovereign. Speaking
Speaker 1: of Elizabeth, James had no intention of attending her funeral.
Speaker 1: Truth be told, James still harbored a lot of resentment
Speaker 1: toward the dead queen. Not only had she put his
Speaker 1: mother to death, not that James had done anything to
Speaker 1: stop it, but Elizabeth had, from his perspective, prevaricated over
Speaker 1: his right to the succession far too long. Hence, He
Speaker 1: took around a month intentionally to reach London, arriving only
Speaker 1: after Elizabeth had been laid to rest. He did fall
Speaker 1: off his horse at one point and broke his collarbone.
Speaker 1: That slowed him down a bit and had nothing to
Speaker 1: do with Elizabeth. James's reign was going to be different
Speaker 1: from Elizabeth's, and he made that clear immediately. The reign
Speaker 1: of Elizabeth witnessed the creation of eight hundred and seven
Speaker 1: eight months total. In the first four months of James's rule,
Speaker 1: some nine hundred and six new knights were awarded with
Speaker 1: that honor. The queen had knighted those whom she considered
Speaker 1: to be of genuine merit or importance. James merely considered
Speaker 1: knighthood to be a mark of status. It was said
Speaker 1: to have knighted a piece of beef with the words
Speaker 1: quote arise, sir, loin end quote. On another occasion, he
Speaker 1: didn't catch the name of the person that he had
Speaker 1: just knighted, so he said, quote prithee, rise up and
Speaker 1: call thyself, sir, what thou wilt end quote. Other titles
Speaker 1: could be purchased with cold hard cash. The diminution in
Speaker 1: the importance of this honor marks one of the first
Speaker 1: changes to the old tutor system that had ruled England
Speaker 1: for over a century. Those who met James the First
Speaker 1: were not immediately impressed. He was awkward and hesitant in demeanor.
Speaker 1: His legs were slightly bowed, and he walked with an
Speaker 1: erratic gate. He also retained a broad Scottish accent throughout
Speaker 1: his reign, but he was also quite what we might
Speaker 1: say today laid back. He was quick to laugh. James
Speaker 1: didn't care at all about how he dressed. Since childhood
Speaker 1: he had been desperately afraid of assassination. As a result,
Speaker 1: he wore thick, padded doublets that might impede the progress
Speaker 1: of a dagger, but were very stylish. On May the
Speaker 1: seventh he rode toward London, but was greeted about four
Speaker 1: miles from the city by the Lord Mayor and innumerable citizens.
Speaker 1: He lodged there for four nights before making his way
Speaker 1: to the Tower, where he stayed for several days. London
Speaker 1: was absolutely massive compared to Edinburgh, the largest city in Scotland.
Speaker 1: It was also more sophisticated, yet it was no New Eden,
Speaker 1: no New Garden of Paradise. Even as he approached the city,
Speaker 1: the plague began its yearly visit in the streets and alleys.
Speaker 1: By the end of the summer, it had claimed the
Speaker 1: lives of thirty thousand citizens. A grand state entry had
Speaker 1: been planned for the twenty fifth of July, the day
Speaker 1: of the coronation, but the fear of infected crowds cut
Speaker 1: the ceremony short. There would be a crowning, but no
Speaker 1: state procession. Even in these early months of the rain,
Speaker 1: conspiracies began to mount against the throne. A group of gentlemen,
Speaker 1: among them Sir Walter Raleigh, Henry Broke, and Lord Cobham,
Speaker 1: were suspected of a scheme to depose James and reply
Speaker 1: him with his cousin Arabella Stuart. Like most conspiracies, it
Speaker 1: was riven with rumor, indecision, and then premature disclosure. Raley
Speaker 1: was arrested and consigned to the tower. Two weeks later,
Speaker 1: he attempted suicide. At his subsequent trial, he was denounced
Speaker 1: by the Attorney General as a quote unquote spider of hell.
Speaker 1: This was the end, though what we call historians, I
Speaker 1: should say, the main plot, a quote unquote byplot was
Speaker 1: also discovered, whereby the King was to be kidnapped by
Speaker 1: priest and forced to suspend the laws against Roman Catholics.
Speaker 1: It came to nothing, of course, well nothing other than
Speaker 1: the deaths of every single person who had been involved.
Speaker 1: James remained in London for a relatively low key coronation.
Speaker 1: By then he and his family left for the healthier
Speaker 1: heir of the countryside. There James began to put together
Speaker 1: his government. His Royal Council was made up of many Scotsmen,
Speaker 1: as you might expect. However, he was careful to reward
Speaker 1: several important Englishmen as well. Sir Robert Cecil received most
Speaker 1: of the honors, which makes sense given how he effectively
Speaker 1: shepherded James into his present position. James also rewarded the
Speaker 1: powerful Howard family. He needed the support of the nobility,
Speaker 1: so it makes sense that he would heap largesse on
Speaker 1: at least one family. Now, every Royal council is different,
Speaker 1: and each reflects the personality of its monarch. James's council
Speaker 1: was about twice as large as Elizabeth's, though James, unlike
Speaker 1: his predecessor, almost never attended its meetings. He preferred intimate
Speaker 1: meetings with one or two individuals, where his wit and
Speaker 1: generally common sense could compensate for a lack of manners.
Speaker 1: He didn't particularly like London, not at first, blush and
Speaker 1: not ever, and always preferred to go hunting in the
Speaker 1: countryside Beyond from this vantage, James once wrote a letter
Speaker 1: to his counselors, imagining them to be quote unquote, frying
Speaker 1: in the pains of purgatory upon royal business end quote.
Speaker 1: But despite his hesitancy to engage in that frying pan,
Speaker 1: he could make quick and sudden visits to the capitol,
Speaker 1: where his presence was deemed to be indispensable. In fact,
Speaker 1: it was once said of him that he came quote
Speaker 1: like a flash of lightning, both in going and in coming,
Speaker 1: staying there and returning end quote, on his progress from
Speaker 1: London to Edinburgh. At the beginning of his reign, the
Speaker 1: king was given a petition. It was an appeal from
Speaker 1: his Puritan subjects that became known as the Millinery Petition,
Speaker 1: bearing the signatures of one thousand ministers of religion. In
Speaker 1: moderate terms, it suggests to the King that the sign
Speaker 1: of the Cross should be removed from the baptismal ceremony,
Speaker 1: and that the marriage ring was unnecessary. The words priest
Speaker 1: and absolution should be quote unquote corrected and the right
Speaker 1: to confirmation abolished. Other vestments were not to be urged. Now. Obviously,
Speaker 1: religion remained a major issue in England, as it was
Speaker 1: throughout Europe in the early seventeenth century. James, unlike Elizabeth,
Speaker 1: genuinely enjoyed debating matters of doctrine. Hence it makes sense
Speaker 1: that the first important act of his reign was to
Speaker 1: bring together a small number of clerics at Hampton Court,
Speaker 1: where they could debate matters of policy and religious principle.
Speaker 1: On one side were the English bishops, generally satisfied with
Speaker 1: the doctrines and ceremonies of the established church. They were moderate,
Speaker 1: and they were in favor of the union of church
Speaker 1: and state. They put more trust in communal worship than
Speaker 1: in private prayer. They acknowledged the role of custom, experience,
Speaker 1: and reason in spiritual matters. Perhaps the Anglican Church was
Speaker 1: not yet a fully formed faith, but they believe it
Speaker 1: served to bind together those of unclear or flexible beliefs.
Speaker 1: It also suited those who simply wanted to conform and
Speaker 1: get along. On the other side were the Puritans, and
Speaker 1: they were much more concerned with the necessities of private
Speaker 1: prayer and conscience. They believed in the natural depravity of
Speaker 1: man unless the sinner could be redeemed by grace. They
Speaker 1: hated the practice of confession and encouraged in intensive self
Speaker 1: examination as well as self discipline. They did not wish
Speaker 1: for a sacramental priesthood, but a preaching ministry. They accepted
Speaker 1: the word of Scripture as the source of all and
Speaker 1: I do you mean all divine truth? Men and women
Speaker 1: of a Puritan tradition were utterly obedient to God's absolute will,
Speaker 1: from which no ritual or sacrament could save them. This
Speaker 1: lent them a zeal and energy in the attempt to
Speaker 1: purify the world, or, as one Puritan theologian put it, quote,
Speaker 1: a holy violence in the performing of all duties end quote.
Speaker 1: Sometimes they spoke out as the spirit moved them. It
Speaker 1: was said, somewhat unfairly that they loved God with all
Speaker 1: their soul and hated their neighbor with all their heart.
Speaker 1: These were not at this stage though rival creeds. They
Speaker 1: were probably better understood as opposing tendencies within the same church.
Speaker 1: And this was really the first formal confrontation that had
Speaker 1: ever taken place between the two sides. Here at Hampton
Speaker 1: Court in the middle of winter. The proceedings of the
Speaker 1: first day, on the fourteenth of January sixteen oh four,
Speaker 1: were between the King and his major ecclesiastical subjects. James
Speaker 1: debated with his bishops those changes that have been suggested
Speaker 1: in the Millinery petition. On the second day, the Puritans
Speaker 1: were invited to attend. Johns Reynolds, the first to be called,
Speaker 1: argued that the English Church should embrace Calvinist doctrine. The
Speaker 1: Bishop of London, Richard Bancroft, quickly intervened. He knelt down
Speaker 1: before the King and demanded that quote the ancient Canon
Speaker 1: might be remembered end quote, by which he meant that
Speaker 1: no one should be permitted to speak against the bishops. James, however,
Speaker 1: allowed discussion on specific matters to continue. In the subsequent debate,
Speaker 1: James looked good. He was both shrewd and judicious. He
Speaker 1: didn't immediately accede to the Puritans demand for Calvinism, but
Speaker 1: he did accept their proposal for an improved translation of
Speaker 1: the Bible. This request bore incredible fruit in the King
Speaker 1: James Translation, which would be published later in the reign.
Speaker 1: The delegates then discussed the problem of providing a learned
Speaker 1: ministry and the problems of dealing with issues of private conscience.
Speaker 1: The King was willing to secede certain matters to the
Speaker 1: Puritans in the evident belief that a middle way could
Speaker 1: somehow encourage unity within the church. Everything seemed to be
Speaker 1: proceeding without too much difficulty until Reynolds recommended that the
Speaker 1: bishops of the Realm should consult with the Presbers. At
Speaker 1: this the King God visibly upset. Presburg, which was a
Speaker 1: term for the elder minister of a Christian church, had
Speaker 1: really bad connotations for James. The first, he had previously
Speaker 1: been outraged by the Presbyterian leaders of Scotland who never
Speaker 1: really treated him with what he felt was the appropriate respect. They,
Speaker 1: he felt, always inclined toward republicanism and even egalitarianism. One
Speaker 1: Presberg from Scotland had called James to his face quote
Speaker 1: God's silly vassal end quote. James now turned on Reynolds
Speaker 1: and told himself and his Puritan colleagues that they seemed
Speaker 1: to be aiming at creating quote a Scottish Presbyterian which
Speaker 1: agreeth with monarchy as well as God and the devil
Speaker 1: end quote. He had no interest in doing that. In fact,
Speaker 1: he told him that he must leave it alone instantly,
Speaker 1: and James's motto from this point forward for the rest
Speaker 1: of his reign would be quote no Bishop, no King.
Speaker 1: Two days later, James called the bishops back for further conference. Subsequently,
Speaker 1: he called back the Puritans and bluntly informed them that
Speaker 1: they needed to conform to the Book of Common Prayer
Speaker 1: issued forty five years earlier. Now, as I mentioned before,
Speaker 1: perhaps the most important accomplishment of James's entire reign was
Speaker 1: his translation of the Bible called the King James Bible,
Speaker 1: which is still in use in many churches to this day. Yet,
Speaker 1: to suggest that James had achieved religious uniformity throughout his
Speaker 1: realm is woefully incorrect. There were at least two different
Speaker 1: churches with two different meanings. All that being said, James
Speaker 1: was positively delighted with his own performance at Hampton Court.
Speaker 1: James was in many respects a learned man. All his life.
Speaker 1: He had argued and debated with his Scottish clergy. He
Speaker 1: positively delighted in theological controversy. To an early observer quote,
Speaker 1: he apprehends clearly, judges wisely, and has a retentive memory.
Speaker 1: End quote. The king also believed himself to be a
Speaker 1: master of the written word. James composed volumes upon volumes
Speaker 1: on tons of subjects, everything from demonology, monarchy, a really
Speaker 1: famous tract on witchcraft actually, and even went on smoking
Speaker 1: on his ascension metal. He is crowned with the laurel Reef,
Speaker 1: a sure sign of his literary pretensions. He has written verse.
Speaker 1: In fact, in sixteen sixteen he collected all of his
Speaker 1: prose writings into a folio volume, the first British monarch
Speaker 1: ever to do so. As a result of this, James
Speaker 1: the first became known as and this was sometimes a
Speaker 1: sarcastic name. The British Solomon Parliament was set to open
Speaker 1: on March nineteenth, sixteen oh four. James decided he would
Speaker 1: ride in state through the capital four days prior. It
Speaker 1: was a large parliament eager to see the new king.
Speaker 1: In his opening speech, James made some remarks upon the
Speaker 1: state of religion and admonished the Puritans to be content.
Speaker 1: When it became clear that the Commons were more concerned
Speaker 1: with various matters of privilege and grievance, James rebuked them
Speaker 1: quote as a father to his children end quote. This
Speaker 1: wasn't going to be a situation the comments was going
Speaker 1: to be happy with. Now. A dispute had arisen over
Speaker 1: the election for a member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire, and
Speaker 1: the ensuing argument pitched the King against the Parliament. On
Speaker 1: April fifth, the Speaker delivered a message from James that
Speaker 1: he desired, quote as an absolute king end quote, that
Speaker 1: there might be a conference between the Commons and the judges. Now,
Speaker 1: no monarch had spoken to Parliament like that for decades.
Speaker 1: Silence and amazement followed this rather rude request, whereupon one
Speaker 1: member stood up and said, quote, the Prince's command is
Speaker 1: like a thunderbolt, his command upon our allegiance, like the
Speaker 1: roaring of a lion to his command. There is no
Speaker 1: contradiction end quote. That was not necessarily true. In the
Speaker 1: middle of April, it was proposed that James should assume
Speaker 1: the title of King of Great Britain with the union
Speaker 1: of his kingdoms. It might have been deemed a mere
Speaker 1: formality under the circumstances, but the comments were not so
Speaker 1: easily persuaded. What exactly kind of a union here was
Speaker 1: being proposed? Economic? Constitutional? By Which laws should this new kingdom,
Speaker 1: this new Britain be governed. Would there be a flood
Speaker 1: of Scots coming south taking all the English posts and honors.
Speaker 1: How could the common law of England be consistent with
Speaker 1: the legal traditions of Scotland, and to say nothing of Ireland.
Speaker 1: The King himself was adamant. He wrote, I am the husband,
Speaker 1: and the whole isle is my lawful wife. I am
Speaker 1: the head and it is my body end quote. This
Speaker 1: debate lingered on into the succeeding year, with what the
Speaker 1: King called many crossings, disputations, strange questions, and nothing done.
Speaker 1: James had a vision of a united kingdom with one law,
Speaker 1: one language, and one faith. Yet the practicalities of this
Speaker 1: period made this difficult, if not impossible. The English demanded,
Speaker 1: for example, that the Scotts should be taxed at the
Speaker 1: same rate as themselves. The Scots pleaded poverty, so that
Speaker 1: couldn't be. The Commons had already agreed that quote. Since
Speaker 1: we cannot make any laws to bind Britannia, let us
Speaker 1: precede the leaden foot. The King's enthusiasm for the project
Speaker 1: was as great as his anger against the opponents of
Speaker 1: the union. Well, if there was to be no Grand
Speaker 1: Union Parliament, then turned its attention towards the equally thorny
Speaker 1: issue of religion. Then here there were more problems. The
Speaker 1: Comments now was becoming increasingly dominated by the Puritan gentry,
Speaker 1: and its bias became obvious immediately. The Comments put forth
Speaker 1: two bills which were both Puritan and nature. The first
Speaker 1: was against pluralist non resident clergy essentially, and by the way,
Speaker 1: this is something that people have been complaining about if
Speaker 1: you remember, going all the way back to episodes in
Speaker 1: the High Middle Ages. But a pluralist is a church
Speaker 1: official who holds more than one benefice i ea. Perish
Speaker 1: and gets to collect the tithe from it. So the
Speaker 1: more benefices you have, the more ties you get to collect,
Speaker 1: the wealthier you become. But and here's the kicker, these
Speaker 1: absentee priests never did anything for their parishes. As I said,
Speaker 1: this has been a major complaint of reformers ever since
Speaker 1: and well before Martin Luther. The problem was most pluralists
Speaker 1: were high ranking officials in the Church of England, so
Speaker 1: rooting them out was going to be an issue. The
Speaker 1: second bill was called a Bill for quote a Good,
Speaker 1: Godly and learned Ministry. That was code though what it
Speaker 1: really meant was we want Puritan ministers. James was totally
Speaker 1: flum mixed by all this. So to ram home the
Speaker 1: importance of the English parliamentary way of doing things, the
Speaker 1: Comments then issued a decree on June twentieth reaffirming the
Speaker 1: rights and privileges of Englishmen. Specifically, they wanted freedom from arrest,
Speaker 1: arbitrary arrest, and freedom of speech. Kind of not in
Speaker 1: the way we think of it today. James again took
Speaker 1: a step back. He had never dealt with a parliament
Speaker 1: like this before, certainly not one so assertive, and frankly,
Speaker 1: it infuriated him. When James heard about the June twentieth decree,
Speaker 1: he resented it. He believed in the absolute right of kings,
Speaker 1: and spoiler alert, so will his son Charles. So much so,
Speaker 1: in fact, it's going to cost him his head to
Speaker 1: get his way. On religious matters, James relied heavily on
Speaker 1: the newly installed Archbishop of Canterbury, someone who I introduced before,
Speaker 1: Richard Bancroft. Now Bancroft absolutely despised Puritans. Moreover, he was
Speaker 1: a firm supporter of the royal prerogative. What both he
Speaker 1: and James wanted was religious conformity. So in sixteen oh
Speaker 1: four he issued decrees that the Book of Common Prayer
Speaker 1: and the old thirty nine articles of Elizabeth's reign had
Speaker 1: to be followed. And as the Archbishop of Canterbury, other
Speaker 1: than the King, he was in charge of the Church
Speaker 1: of England. So ministers either had to conform to this
Speaker 1: decree or they had to lose their positions. Though if
Speaker 1: I'm being honest in truth, I can't find a lot
Speaker 1: of evidence that this ever happened. What the decrees did
Speaker 1: do I'm talking about sort of the battling decrees, those
Speaker 1: coming from Commons and then those coming from the Church
Speaker 1: of England, which are really kind of coming from the monarchy.
Speaker 1: What they did was ferment the first real schism in
Speaker 1: the English Churchilikins versus Puritans. It's going to take a
Speaker 1: bit for this drama to play itself out, but it's
Speaker 1: going to, and when it does, it will take the
Speaker 1: form of the English Civil War. But James had more
Speaker 1: to deal with first. You see, as you'll hear next week,
Speaker 1: a gentleman by the name of Thomas Percy, in the
Speaker 1: winter of sixteen oh four made himself a very interesting
Speaker 1: real estate acquisition. He leased a house next to the
Speaker 1: Palace of Westminster, where Parliament met, and with the assistance
Speaker 1: of a certain guy Fox Percy, that winter got to
Speaker 1: work digging a tunnel. His plan blow up the King
Speaker 1: and Parliament more