Thomas Abell - invicta veritas. An Answer, That by No Manner of Law, it May be Lawful for the Most Noble King of England, King Henry the VIII to be Divorced from the Queen’s Grace, His Lawful and Very Wife: a

Cover

(Title page of 1532 original book)

INVICTA VERITAS

An answere

That by No Maner of Lawe, it Maye be Lawfull for the Moste Noble Kinge of Englande, Kinge Henry the Ayght to be Divorsid Fro the Quenes Grace, His Lawful and Very Wyfe.

Set apart Christen reader all blind affection: and read this book with judgment, considering it with the other book, against which this is written: and Doubt not but thou shall stand on the Queens part as a favourer of the firm and invincible Verity.

by

Thomas Abell

1532

This book is Public Domain. This transcription was taken from a Public Domain copy of the book. 2022.

Citation to Abel's 1532 book (Original):

ABELL, Thomas. Invicta Veritas. An Answere, That by No Maner of Lawe, it Maye be Lawfull for the Moste Noble Kinge of Englande, Kinge Henry the Ayght to be Divorsid Fro the Quenes Grace, His Lawful and Very Wyfe. Luneberge: n.p., 1532.

Citation to this facsimile edition of Abell's 1532 edition (published in 2022):

ABELL, Thomas (author); Crawford, Robert (ed.) Invicta Veritas. An Answer, That by No Manner of Law, it May be Lawful for the Most Noble King of England, King Henry the VIII to be Divorced from the Queens Grace, His Lawful and Very Wife: a human-edited facsimile of Abell's 1532 edition in modern English. Chamberlain, South Dakota, USA: Pebble in your Shoe Publishing, 2022.

Edition: 1st edition

Edition Formats:

Editors note: The original book is hand-written. Many of the right-hand pages are numbered: e.g. A, Aii, Aiii ... B, Bii, Biii and so on. I have indicated these page numbers in curly braces in bold font, within the text. Also, additional footnotes have been added by this Editor and they are prefixed by a hollow square icon - those without the icon are from Abell's original text. All URLs were accessed on August, 2022.

Editor: Robert Crawford

Table of Contents

AD LAUDEM TUAM DOMINE .

[To the Praise of Your Lord]

Here follows an answer that I, Thomas Abell, late put forth and imprinted: which does falsely affirm and say that it is against the law of God and against the law of nature for a man to marry his brothers wife a widow left without issue and that the Pope hath no power to dispense upon such marriage: the which saying you shall see declared and proved false most clearly and more largely by Holy Scripture, by Holy decrees, by doctors and expounders of Holy Scripture and also by reason here within, than at the beginning of my answer. And in like manner ye that see this proposition and saying declared and proved true that a Christian man may lawfully marry his brothers widow left without issue. both by the law of God and by the law of nature: and that the Pope hath power to dispense upon such marriage: for though at the beginning of my answer, I show sufficiently the first saying to be false and this other last profession and saying to be true: yet for because that I am compelled to follow the process of the English book which I answer to: I declare and prove the rehearsed propositions more largely within this my answer according as the occasion is offered: the which if I had done also in the beginning I should have rehearsed one thing and one proof many times, and so my answer would have been very tedious and long.

For as much as now of late there be certain persons that have made a book in Latin and the same have translated it again into English, where they do affirm and say that a man to marry his brothers wife - a widow - left without issue - is so unlawful and so against the law of God, and against the law of nature, that the Pope hath no power to dispense upon such marriages, whether they be made and contracted already, or else, yet to be made or contract: I am at this time compelled and constrained by my profession and promise that I have made unto our Saviour Christ to answer unto this untrue saying and to speak against it.

First, for because to say and affirm that it is forbidden both by the law of God and by the law of nature for a man to marry his brothers wife a widow and that the Pope can in no wise dispense upon such marriage made or yet to be made is very false and untrue: and also great and high blasphemy to Gods law and to almighty God himself as I shall shew ye hereafter. {A.ii}

And secondly I am compelled and bound to speak against this proposition and saying for to admonish and give my neighbour knowledge of this untrue opinion that is now set out in print and goes abroad to advertise him to take heed of this saying and to give in nowise credence unto it, for it is no small danger to mens souls to believe this false saying and great blasphemy, the which ungracious persons have, and in their books do colour and ornate with much rhetoric and eloquent words to the extent that their false propositions and sayings should be the sooner believed and accept of the readers. And so thus for these causes I am compelled to answer and speak against this before rehearsed book, in the which answer I will, with the assistance and help of almighty God, show ye how that this proposition and saying is false and high blasphemy to almighty God to affirm and say that it is forbidden and to be against the law of God and against the law of nature that any man should marry his brothers wife a widow, left without issue: and that the Pope hath no power to dispense upon such marriage whether that they be contracted already, or else yet to be made and contracted and I will also here show ye that this is true that a man may by that law of God and by that law of nature lawfully marry his brothers wife a widow left with out issue, and that the Pope hath power to dispense upon such marriages and to license a man so to marry.

These things principally I note that the person the which have set forth their book do say. The first is this. In the preface of their book, they say that the Universities have confirmed their determinations upon that Levitical laws by that which it is forbidden that any man should marry the wife of his brother departed without children. The second principal point and their saying is written in the aforesaid preface the which is this: that it is forbidden both by the law of God and by the law of nature that any Christian man should marry the wife of his brother dying without children. The third principal point and saying is written in the same preface joined unto the second saying which is this: that the Pope hath no power to dispense upon any such marriages whether they be contracted already or else yet to be contracted. Now to their first saying, where they write that the Universities have confirmed their determinations upon these Levitical laws by that which it is forbidden that any man should marry the wife of his brother departed without children; behold here I pray ye upon how goodly and substantial a ground these persons do say that the Universities have built and set their determination. They say upon the Levitical laws by the which it is forbidden that any man should marry the wife of his brother departed without children: When that in all the Levitical law there is no such marriages forbidden as every man may perceive and understand that look upon {A.iii} the Levitical laws and also as ye shall see it more largely declared hereafter and by this also ye may perceive what this University have determined, that is indeed no thing but a proposition the which be very false even like as the grounds is that they have built their determinations upon. Now to the second point principle, and saying of these persons where as they say that it is forbidden both by the law of God and by the law of nature that any christen man should marry the wife of his brother departed without children: this is likewise false. First it is not against the law of God: for in the law of God, God himself by his servant Moses did command, and that up great pain, that every man of the Jews should marry his brothers wife a widow left without issue, as it is plainly expressed in the old law , nor such marriage is be not forbidden in the new law, as ye shall see it evidently proved: wherefore it is not against the law of God for a man to marry his brothers wife a widow, nor any such marriage in none of the laws be forbidden, also for a man to marry his brothers wife a widow, is not forbidden by the laws of nature.