treaties and leagues of peace and amity on this account
entered upon and concluded between Henry VII., of immortal fame, late King
of England, and the said Ferdinand, of glorious memory, late King of Spain;
having besides seen and most carefully weighed all and every of the acts,
debates, letters, processes, instruments, writs, arguments, and all other
things which have passed and been transacted in the said cause at any time;
in all which thus seen and inspected, our most exact care in examining, and
our most mature deliberation in weighing them hath by us been used, and all
other things have been observed by us, which of right in this matter were
to be observed; furthermore, the said most illustrious Prince, Henry VIII.,
in the forementioned cause, by his proper Proctor having appeared before
us, but the said most serene Lady Catherine in contempt absenting herself
(whose absence we pray that the divine presence may compensate) [cujus
absentia Divina repleatur praesentia. Lord Herbert translates it, "whose
absence may the Divine presence attend," missing, I think, the point of the
Archbishop's parenthesis] by and with the advice of the most learned in the
law, and of persons of most eminent skill in divinity whom we have
consulted in the premises, we have found it our duty to proceed to give our
final decree and sentence in the said cause, which, accordingly, we do in
this manner.

"Because by acts, warrants, deductions, propositions, exhibitions,
allegations, proofs and confessions, articles drawn up, answers of
witnesses, depositions, informations, instruments, arguments, letters,
writs, censures, determinations of professors, opinions, councils,
assertions, affirmations, treaties, and leagues of peace, processes, and
other matters in the said cause, as is above mentioned, before us laid,
had, done, exhibited, and respectively produced, as also from the same and
sundry other reasons, causes, and considerations, manifold arguments, and
various kinds of proof of the greatest evidence, strength, and validity, of
which in the said cause we have fully and clearly informed ourselves, we
find, and with undeniable evidence and plainness see that the marriage
contracted and consummated, as is aforesaid, between the said most
illustrious Prince, Henry VIII., and the most serene Lady Catherine, was
and is null and invalid, and that it was contracted and consummated
contrary to the law of God: therefore, we, Thomas, Archbishop,