Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and England 1 47 jests, name or call it by such vile and unseemly words as Christian ears do abhor to hear rehearsed. For reformation whereof, be it enacted by the king's High- ness, with the assent of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and of the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, that whatsoever person or persons, from and after the first day of May next coming, shall deprave, despise, or contemn the said most blessed sacrament, in contempt thereof, by any contemptuous words, or by any words of depraving, despis- ing, or reviling, contrary to the effects and declarations abovesaid, that then he or they shall suffer imprisonment of his or their bodies, and make fine and ransom at the king's will and pleasure. From the several acts issued in the hope of securing uniformity, the following is taken as one example of the efforts of the government to abolish certain practices of the Catholics. Penalty for such reviling. Whereas, the king's most excellent Majesty hath of late set forth and established by authority of the Parliament an uniform, quiet, and godly order for common prayer in a book entitled, The Book of Com??ion Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments, to be used and observed in the said Church of England, agreeably to the order of the primitive Church, much more comfortable unto his loving subjects than other diversity of service, as heretofore of long time hath been used. ... Be it enacted therefore by the king, our sover- eign lord, the Lords spiritual and temporal, and the Com- mons, in the present Parliament assembled, that all books called antiphonaries, missals, grails, processionals, manuals, legends, pies, portuasses, primers in Latin and English, etc., hitherto used for service of the Church, written or printed in the English or Latin tongue, other than such as are or shall be set forth by the king's Majesty, shall be by authority of this present act clearly and utterly abolished, extinguished, and forbidden forever to be used or kept in the realm. 274. An act for the abolishing and putting away of diverse books and images (1547)- (Condensed.]
