The Oath of the Honourable Men
Robert Aske was a nobleman of the north country who led 40,000 men in rebellion against the reforming measures of Henry VIII and his henchman Thomas Cromwell. Aske and his allies were concerned, more than anything else, about the maintenance of the Catholic faith in England and they were scandalised by the rape and despoliation of the monasteries. The oath that Aske devised in October 1536, which was taken by those who participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace, is a model of principled opposition to tyranny.
The Oath of the Honourable Men
Ye shall not enter into this our Pilgrimage of Grace for the Commonwealth, but only for the love that ye do bear unto Almighty God, his Faith, and to Holy Church militant and the maintenance thereof, to the preservation of the King’s person and issue, to the purifying of the nobility, and to expulse all villein blood and evil Councillors against the Commonwealth from his Grace and his Privy Council of the same. And that ye shall not enter into our said Pilgrimage for no particular profit to yourself, not to do displeasure to any private person, but by counsel of the Commonwealth, nor slay nor murder for no envy, but in your hearts put away all fear and dread, and take afore you the Cross of Christ, and in your hearts his faith.
In preparation for our live event with Rod Dreher next week, I have started re-reading Live not by Lies and I can only conclude that Dreher is certainly correct to say that we are living in a pre-totalitarian society. We have lost the reflex that instinctively intuits the point at which the state crosses over the line into private life. I have been shocked this week by the attempts by MPs to strong-arm the Church of England into changing its doctrine of marriage and threatening to use the force of law to compel her to do so if she does not acquiesce.
Clearly things are not as intense as they were in the sixteenth century but the point of principle here is not dissimilar to that about which Robert Aske was concerned: do secular princes have the authority to run the Church? In my considered opinion, the answer is most definitely not. I think what Henry VIII did was absolutely appalling and that he had no right to do it. Good things came about as a result of it but it bequeathed to the Church an ambiguous legacy with regard to the state which we would do well now to clarify. Perhaps this is the moment at which disestablishment is the only sensible answer, particularly if secular MPs who don’t have any interest in the Church continue to pressurise us to change our doctrine.
Anyway, some principles from Robert Aske’s Oath of the Honourable Men:
God first.
Ye shall not enter into this our Pilgrimage of Grace for the Commonwealth, but only for the love that ye do bear unto Almighty God, his Faith, and to Holy Church militant and the maintenance thereof…
Sincere Christians recognise that there is always an authority which is higher than the state, the nation, the family and everything else. And that authority is God himself. Everything else finds its proper and right place underneath God. This is part of the reason it makes absolutely no sense to argue about sexuality with people who are not Christians unless it is mutually acknowledged that the premises of the argument are radically different. If one doesn’t believe in God or the Scriptures then it follows inexorably that the Christian position on sexuality will be unconvincing. But for sincere Christians, we recognise that ultimately every issue is about what God wants and what he has revealed to us about the nature of reality.
Henry VIII was going for a totalitarian takeover of the Church and Robert Aske found this completely abhorrent. Therefore it needed to be challenged. And this because there are some things are more important even than loyalty to one’s own country.
Respect what God has put in place.
…to the preservation of the King’s person and issue, to the purifying of the nobility, and to expulse all villein blood and evil Councillors against the Commonwealth from his Grace and his Privy Council of the same…
Christians are not Marxist revolutionaries seeking to overturn societies, but we trust that, within the providence of God, governments and monarchies have been ordained and put into place. Therefore, we should always seek the defence and improvement of our governance. Aske’s plan was never to assassinate Henry VIII, nor to replace him as sovereign, but to remove “all villein blood and evil Councillors against the Commonwealth”, by which he meant principally the fat rapacious bureaucrat Thomas Cromwell.
This is captured fantastically in H.F.M. Prescott’s The Man on a Donkey in the final showdown between Cromwell and Lord Darcy, a noblemen who participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace and was later arrested and interrogated.
‘“If all things had succeeded according to your intention, what would ye have done, first touching the King’s person, and then touching every man of his Council…”’…
‘For the King,’ (Darcy) said, ‘not a hair of his head should have been touched. For the ancient and noble blood upon the Council, our intent was to preserve it. But for the villein blood that is there, that should have been taken and judged.’
‘Meaning-?’ Cromwell asked. Now he was not smiling.
‘Thee, Master Cromwell.’ Darcy’s look as much as the curt words stripped an upstart of the Privy Seal, and of all his importance.
‘For it is thou,’ he went on, ‘that art the chief causer of all this rebellion and mischief, and art likewise causer of the apprehension of us that be noblemen, and dost daily earnestly travail to bring us to out end, and to strike off our heads. And I trust, before thou die, though thou wouldst procure all the noblemen’s heads within the realm to be stricken off, yet shall one head remain that shall strike off your head.’
Cromwell got out of his chair, and began to beat with his fist on the table. ‘Strike him on the mouth,’ he cried, but there was no one there would do it for him.H.F.M. Prescott, The Man on a Donkey, pp.665-666
We don’t seek the overthrow of the government but its reformation. Where there are naughty men who are bringing about chaos and disorder, these may rightly be removed. But we must always strive to show the utmost respect for the sovereign rulers God has put into place and for the social structures underneath them.
Operate with integrity.
And that ye shall not enter into our said Pilgrimage for no particular profit to yourself, not to do displeasure to any private person, but by counsel of the Commonwealth, nor slay nor murder for no envy, but in your hearts put away all fear and dread, and take afore you the Cross of Christ, and in your hearts his faith.
Any principled opposition will never be undertaken in a spirit of greed or the desire for personal gain. Nor will it be carried through opportunistically in search of occasion for sin. The right thing cannot be done in the wrong way. And so, all opposition must speak of the personal integrity of the people involved. We must live consistently godly lives such that nobody can rightly accuse of hypocrisy and dissembling.
Let the chips fall where they may.
If we are principled in our opposition then we need not be anxious about the consequences because the consequences are up to God. Anything that happens as a result of telling the truth and acting with integrity is better than anything that happens as a result of lying and acting falsely, even if it is death for righteousness’ sake. But dying for a cause is not the same as living for one, and in some respects the latter is easier. Martyrs have to earn their deaths through lives lived in godliness.
Robert Aske was an example of a great man of principle who was willing to do what needed to be done with integrity and let the chips fall where they may. I very much hope that I will never have to suffer terribly for my faith, and I hope that you will not either. But we have to be prepared to do so, and the greatest preparation is to live consistently right now as if it is all true.
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