PREFACE
A new book on a subject on which so much has been already written may seem to call for an apology. I think, however, that there are several reasons why such a book may be acceptable.
A very large amount of new material for the history of the sixteenth century has been brought to light in recent years by the publication of State papers, ambassadors' letters, and other original documents which were formerly but little known. Much of this, it is true, has been worked up into many volumes by learned and able writers, to whom I am greatly indebted; but of these, some are works read almost exclusively by students ex professo, and many others, from the extent of ground which they have to cover, are too voluminous for ordinary readers: some, too, are written with so strong a party bias as to mislead rather than guide those who consult them.
Again, any one whose reading has not been confined to recent works on English Church history, can hardly help remarking that the change of view in the new, as compared with the older, books, is often so great that
