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Protestantism in Poland and Bohemia - James Aitken Wylie

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the condition secur<strong>in</strong>g religious liberty to us<br />

Protestants, we would not have elected you to be<br />

our k<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> if you do not confirm these<br />

conditions you shall not be our k<strong>in</strong>g." Thereupon<br />

Henry took the oath. When he had sworn, Bishop<br />

Karnkowski, who had protested aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />

religious liberty promised <strong>in</strong> the oath, stepped<br />

forward, <strong>and</strong> aga<strong>in</strong> protested that the clause should<br />

not prejudice the authority of the Church of Rome,<br />

<strong>and</strong> he received from the k<strong>in</strong>g a written declaration<br />

to the effect that it would not.[2]<br />

Although the sovereign-elect had confirmed by<br />

oath the religious liberties of <strong>Pol<strong>and</strong></strong>, the suspicions<br />

of the Protestants were not entirely allayed, <strong>and</strong><br />

they resolved jealously to watch the proceed<strong>in</strong>gs at<br />

the coronation. Their distrust was not without<br />

cause. Card<strong>in</strong>al Hosius, who had now begun to<br />

exercise vast <strong>in</strong>fluence on the affairs of <strong>Pol<strong>and</strong></strong>,<br />

reasoned that the oath that Henry had taken <strong>in</strong> Paris<br />

was not b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> he sent his secretary to meet<br />

the new monarch on the road to his new<br />

dom<strong>in</strong>ions, <strong>and</strong> to assure him that he did not even<br />

need absolution from what he had sworn, see<strong>in</strong>g<br />

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