The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of
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Title: The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3)

Author: James Anthony Froude

Release Date: April 4, 2005 [eBook #15537]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REIGN OF HENRY THE EIGHTH,
VOLUME 1 (OF 3)***

E-text prepared by Charles Aldarondo, Deirdre Menchaca, Keith Edkins, and
the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

FROUDE'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND

Henry VIII . Introduction by
W. Llewelyn Williams M.P. B.C.L.

Volume One

First Published 1909

* * * * *

[Illuminated Frontispiece]

CONSIDER HISTORY WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF
IT STRETCHING DIMLY INTO THE REMOTE TIME;
EMERGING DARKLY OVT OF THE MYSTERIOVS
ETERNITY:
THE TRVE EPIC POEM AND VNIVERSAL DIVINE
SCRIPTVRE...--CARLYLE

* * * * *

[Illuminated Title]

THE REIGN of HENRY the EIGHTH

by

JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE

VOLUME I.

London & Toronto J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
New York E.P. Dutton & Co

INTRODUCTION

James Anthony Froude was born at Dartington Rectory, the youngest son of
the Archdeacon of Totnes, on April 23, 1818. His father was a clergyman of
the old school, as much squire as parson. In the concluding chapter to his
_History of England_, Froude wrote that "for a hundred and forty years
after the Revolution of 1688, the Church of England was able to fulfil with
moderate success the wholesome functions of a religious establishment.
Theological doctrinalism passed out of fashion; and the clergy, merged as
they were in the body of the nation, and no longer endeavouring to elevate
themselves into a separate order, were occupied healthily in impressing on
their congregations the meaning of duty and moral responsibility to God."
Of this sane and orthodox, but not over-spiritual, clergy, Archdeacon
Froude was an excellent and altogether wholesome type. He was a stiff Tory;
his hatred of Dissent was so uncompromising that he would not have a copy
of the _Pilgrim's Progress_ in the