wo wives
without prejudice to the legitimacy of the children of either. Henry,
however, would listen to neither suggestion.[776] He would be
satisfied with nothing less than the sanction of the highest authority
recognised in England. When it became imperative that his marriage
with Anne should be legally sanctioned, and evident that no such
sanction would be forthcoming from Rome, he arranged that the highest
ecclesiastical authority recognised by law in England should be that
of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[Footnote 774: _L. and P._, v., 562.]

[Footnote 775: _L. and P._, iv., 6290.]

[Footnote 776: See above p. 207.]

Meanwhile, the exigencies of the struggle drove Clement into
assertions of papal prerogative which would at any time have provoked
an outburst of national anger. On 7th March, 1530, he promulgated a
bull to be affixed to the church doors at Bruges, Tournay and Dunkirk,
inhibiting Henry, under pain of the greater excommunication, from
proceeding to that second marriage, which he was telling the Bishop of
Tarbes he wished Henry would complete.[777] A fortnight later he
issued a second bull forbidding all ecclesiastical judges, doctors,
advocates and others to speak or write against the validity of Henry's
marriage with Catherine.[778] If he had merely desired to prohibit
discussion of a matter under judicial consideration, he should have
imposed silence also on the advocates of the marriage, and not (p. 282)
left Fisher free to write books against the King and secretly send
them to Spain to be printed.[779] On the 23rd of December following it
was decreed in Consistory at Rome that briefs should be granted
prohibiting the Archbishop of Canterbury from taking cognisance of the
suit, and forbidding Henry to cohabit with any other woman than
Catherine, and "all women in general to contract marriage with the
King of England".[780] On the 5th of January, 1531, the Pope inhibited
laity as well as clergy, universities, parliaments and courts of law
from coming to any decision in the case.[781]

[Footnote 777: _L. and P._, iv., 6256.]

[Footnote 778: _Ibid._, iv., 6279.]

[Footnote 779: _L. and P._, iv., 6199, 6596, 6738;
v., 460.]

[Footnote 780: _Ibid._, iv., 6772.]

[Footnote 781: _Ibid._, v., 27.]

To these fulminations th