So singular a theory of the duties of the living to the dead, if sincere, had been hastily adopted, and with equal haste was forgotten. On the 4th of August Lord Southampton had been buried with the usual solemnities, and the funeral sermon had been preached by Hooper. On the 7th of the ensuing March, Wentworth, the Lord Chamberlain, was interred in Westminster Abbey, when 'there was a great doole,' says Machyn,[1] and 'a great company,' and 'Miles Coverdale did preach.'
The three months allowed to Gardiner had now expired, and, after all, for the sake of decency, a trial, and a very tedious one, was conceded to him. A court was formed at Lambeth, where Cranmer presided Ridley, Sir William Petre, Sir James Hales, and two other bishops sat as assessors.
Dec. 15.The case opened on the 15th of December, and the voluminous and weary proceedings were protracted through twenty-two sessions. The Lords of the Council, the officers of the Court, the clergy of Winchester, Gardiner's personal servants, in all more than eighty witnesses, were examined.
The Bishop was accused of having attempted to create a disturbance in his diocese. The charge broke down. He was accused of having armed his household. It was replied that, in common with other gentlemen, he had put his house in a state of defence, in consequence of the disorders of the country. He was convicted of having professed conservative opinions: he
- ↑ Machyn's Diary, March, 1551.
