ith him, had treated of that very case, and had expressly declared
against the lawfulness of such marriages.[*]

* Burnet. Fiddes.

The prohibitions, said Thomas, contained in Leviticus, and among the
rest that of marrying a brother's widow, are moral, eternal, and founded
on a divine sanction; and though the pope may dispense with the rules
of the church, the laws of God cannot be set aside by any authority
less than that which enacted them. The archbishop of Canterbury was
then applied to; and he was required to consult his brethren: all the
prelates of England, except Fisher, bishop of Rochester unanimously
declared, under their hand and seal, that they deemed the king's
marriage unlawful.[*] Wolsey also fortified the king's scruples;[**]
partly with a view of promoting a total breach with the emperor,
Catharine's nephew; partly desirous of connecting the king more closely
with Francis, by marrying him to the duchess of Alencon, sister to that
monarch; and perhaps, too, somewhat disgusted with the queen herself,
who had reproved him for certain freedoms, unbefitting his character and
station,[***] But Henry was carried forward, though perhaps not at first
excited, by a motive more forcible than even the suggestions of that
powerful favorite.

Anne Boleyn, who lately appeared at court, had been appointed maid of
honor to the queen; and having had frequent opportunities of being
seen by Henry, and of conversing with him, she had acquired an entire
ascendant over his affections. This young lady, whose grandeur and
misfortunes have rendered her so celebrated, was daughter of Sir Thomas
Boleyn, who had been employed by the king in several embassies, and
who was allied to all the principal nobility in the kingdom. His wife,
mother to Anne, was daughter of the duke of Norfolk; his own mother was
daughter of the earl of Ormond; his grandfather, Sir Geoffrey Boleyn,
who had been mayor of London, had espoused one of the daughters and
coheirs of Lord Hastings.[****]

* Burnet, vol. i. p. 38. Stowe, p. 548.

** Le Grand, vol. iii. p. 48, 166, 168. Saunders. Heylin, p.
4.

***Burnet, vol. i. p. 38. Strype, vol. i. p. 88.

**** Camden's Preface to the Life of Elizabeth. Burnet, vol.
i p. 44.

Anne herself, though then in very early youth, had been carried over
to Paris by the king's sister, when the princess espoused Lewis XII.
of France; and upon the demise of that monarch, and the ret