|
Samuel
Merrill, 1928, reprint 1983
The
Wills of Three John Merrells - Chapter IV,
pp32-47
The
Reformation
In
the pious phrases of these wills may be read something
of the history of the Reformation. In 1528, when John
Meryell of Wherstead made his will,
England was a Catholic country. Henry VIII was at the
beginning of his long controversy with Rome over the question
of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, but the king
was then, and to the end of his days, a Catholic in all
doctrinal matters. Even the excommunication of Henry in
1534 did not cause him to give up the belief that private
masses ought to be continued and auricular confession
retained, and these and other Catholic dogmas were endorsed
by Parliament in the bill of the Six Articles in 1539.
The king merely repudiated papal authority. It was thus
quite natural that John Meryell should bequeath his soul
to “our blessed Ladye saynt Marie,” make bequests
to the high altar of the church, and provide for masses
for his soul.
Henry
VIII died in 1547, and under Edward VI (1547-1553) the
Reformation made rapid progress, especially in London
and the eastern counties. The Six Articles were repealed,
a Book of Common Prayer and Liturgy replaced the missal
and breviary, and in 1552 the Forty-two Articles of Religion
(later reduced to thirty-nine) were introduced.
It
was at this time (13 Dec. 1551) that another John Meryell
of Wherstead made his will. The Reformation had seemingly
prevailed, but the heir presumptive to the throne was
Mary Tudor, a Catholic, destined to be an object of execration
through all time under the name of “Bloody Mary.”
Under these circumstances it is not strange that the testator
of 1551 should omit the churchly phrases which might be
out of place, or unpopular, or something worse, when the
will should ultimately be offered for probate. With worldly
wisdom which does his memory credit he drafted a will
which would meet any theological situation which might
arise.
Mary
succeeded to the throne in 1553, and soon after the Catholic
church was reestablished. Many were imprisoned, and others
burned alive, in Suffolk and elsewhere, for their Protestant
faith. But this did not long continue. Elizabeth assumed
the scepter in 1558, and soon brought about a return to
Protestant forms and ceremonies. At the very beginning
of her reign Parliament voted to abolish the mass and
to reestablish the liturgy of Edward VI. The will of John
Merrell of Wherstead, executed in 1600, shows no evidence
of Romish sentiment, and among its many bequests are none
for superstitious uses. The annuity given the widow was
payable, to be sure, at the feast of the Annunciation
of “the blessed virgin Saint Marie” and the
feast of St, Michael the Archangel, but these were merely
the “two termes in the yeeres usuall,” and had
legal rather than religious significance. The Reformation
had been accomplished.
Chapter
V
If
you have further information on the book, "A Merrill
Memorial" and would like to share it with others,
please contact
me.
|
