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AND THEIR REFUTATION. 5
contrary opinion, but Molineaux says that all these votes were
purchased on the occasion. Henry even wrote to the Lutheran
Doctors in Germany, but Melancthon, having consulted others,
answered him that the law prohibiting a man to marry his
brother s wife could be dispensed with, and that his marriage
with Catherine was, therefore, valid. This answer was far from
being agreeable to Henry, so he held on to Wolsey s opinion, and
determined to marry Anna Boleyn. It has been said that this
lady was even Henry s own daughter,
and it is said that her
father, who was ambassador in France at the time, came post to
England (9) when he heard of the affair, and told Henry that his
wife confessed to him that Anna was Henry s daughter, but
Henry made him, it is said, a rude answer, told him to go back
to his
place, and hold his tongue, and that he was determined to
marry her. It is also said, that, from the age of fifteen, Anna
was of bad character, and that, during her residence in France
her conduct was so depraved that she was called usually by an
improper name (10).
4. Henry was fully determined to marry this unfortunate
woman (11), so he sent to Rome to demand of the Pope to
appoint Cardinal Campeggio and Cardinal Wolsey to try the
case of the divorce. The Pope consented, but the Queen ap
pealed against these Prelates as judges, one of them being the
King s subject, and the other under obligations to him. Not
withstanding the appeal, the cause was tried in England, and
Henry was in the greatest hurry to have it decided, being certain
of a favourable issue for himself, as one of the judges was
Wolsey, the prime mover of the case. Wolsey, however, was
now afraid of the tempest he raised, which portended the ruin of
religion, so he and Campeggio tried every means to avoid coming
to a decision, seeing the dreadful scandal it would cause if they
gave a decision in the King s favour, and dreading his displeasure
if they decided against him. The Pope admitted the justice of
the Queen s appeal (12), and prohibited the Cardinal Legates
from proceeding with the cause, which he transferred to his own
(9) Floreirmnd, /. 6, Synop. c. 2, n. (11) Nat. Alex. cit. n. 1, Varillas
2; Gotti, c. 113, s. 2, n. 8, 9, 10; 1st. t. 1, /. 9, p. 412.
Nat. Alex. loc. cit. n. 1. (12) Nat. Alex. t. 19, art. r, n. 2.
(10) Gotti, n. 9.