In the spring of 1538, Cranmer heard that there were seven or eight persons in Calais, who manifestly denied Christ. His Commissary there, John Butler, asserted that this report was false, but in a later epistle advised the Archbishop that there were three papists in the town, who slandered those who applied themselves to God’s word; the letter went on to suggest that Cromwell be requested to write to Lisle to have them punished[378]. The minister, however, had heard of the existence of ‘certayn Sacramentaryes’ or deniers of transubstantiation there, before this report arrived, and had written the Deputy a severe reproof for not informing him about them[379]. The state of foreign affairs at that moment was such as to render it indispensable for the King to preserve the appearance of being zealous for orthodoxy, and he had called on his efficient minister to aid him in his attempts to extirpate heretical doctrines. The rebuke which the latter had administered to the Deputy seems in this case to have been undeserved, for Lisle, who apparently was more on the watch than usual this time, had certainly sent home information about the Sacramentaries before he received Cromwell’s epistle: the two letters perhaps crossed on the way. That of the Deputy reported the arrival in Calais of a young English priest, lately come from Germany, who had uttered opinions about the Eucharist which the King would not tolerate, and which had shocked the good people of Calais beyond measure. This young priest can have been none other than Adam Damplip, originally a strong papist, who (according to Foxe) had been chaplain to Fisher, and at the Cardinal’s execution had left England and travelled in France, Germany, and Italy. His sojourn in foreign lands must have altered his opinions completely, for when he came to Calais his doctrines were so ‘advanced’ and heretical, that as a result of a warning of Cromwell’s, in his letter to Lisle of May 14[380], a decree was made out by the Council of the town that Butler, the Commissary who had given Damplip licence to preach, would be held responsible for any false opinions that the priest expressed[381].
Determined as he was to extirpate unlawful and treasonable doctrines both at home and abroad, Cromwell was too much absorbed in the maintenance of his foreign policy, and the prevention of the pressing dangers which threatened the country from without, to pay much attention to Damplip at Calais during the latter part of 1538 and 1539. He was far more anxious to have the town well victualled and defended, in case of a sudden attack from France or Spain. Damplip himself, however, had gone over to England to answer to the charges brought against him before Cranmer[382]. The result of the examination seems to have been very favourable to him, and the Archbishop, in a letter to Cromwell about it, supported the position which the priest had taken up in only denying Transubstantiation while admitting the Real Presence[383]. But the accusations from Calais against the Sacramentaries did not cease. Lisle and the Council, now thoroughly roused, kept sending in depositions against Damplip, until Cromwell, in May, 1539, rebuked them for uncharitable behaviour, saying that the affair was being made too much of, and that the King was busy about other things[384]. Exhortations to ‘charyte and myld handeling’ were not Cromwell’s usual style; and in this case at least they were superseded within ten days by instructions of a very different nature. The cause of the sudden change is doubtless to be found in the debate on the Six Articles, just then at its height. Cromwell saw the trend things were taking, and understood that as the doctrine of Transubstantiation was evidently about to be confirmed at home, it would be extremely dangerous for him to urge leniency towards those who opposed it at Calais. He consequently sent another letter to Lisle[385], in which he retreated from his former position, and ordered the Commissary and the parish priest of Our Lady Church to be sent in custody to England. The subsequent appearance of these men before the Privy Council seems to have resulted in their acquittal, and a public recantation in the Market Place at Calais was deemed sufficient to prevent a recurrence to the heresy. The recall of Lord Lisle in the spring of 1540 was probably less due to his inefficiency in handling the affair of the Sacramentaries, than to the many proofs he had given of general incompetence. He was committed to the Tower, where he remained a close prisoner till January, 1542, when a message was sent to him that he was pardoned and restored to favour. The story is that his joy at hearing this news was so great, that he died of excitement that same night[386].