An historic book currently at the heart of a battle to prevent its
sale to a foreign buyer includes a document in which two bishops argue
about married priests.
The sixteenth-century part-printed, part-manuscript volume includes
an essay expounding one side of the fierce argument between two bishops
over the issue.
It was written in 1554 by the lawyer Thomas Martin and
possibly Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor
of England.
The book was owned by John Ponet, who replaced Gardiner as Bishop of
Winchester in 1551, but had to flee into exile on the accession to the
English throne of the devout Catholic, Mary Tudor.
After the book was sold recently to a buyer from abroad, Culture,
Communications and Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey imposed a
temporary export ban in the hope that a British buyer can be found.
The volume includes a tract that seeks to justify the reintroduction
of clerical celibacy, which was abandoned as part of the English
Reformation, and refutes the argument of Bishop Ponet defending marriage
for priests, published five years before during the reign of the
Protestant King Edward VI.
There are 22 other copies of the book in British collections, but
Ponet's copy is unique as it contains extensive annotations of the
printed text and a book-length manuscript that is part working notes and
part draft text for Ponet's own reply.
A decision on granting the export licence will now not be made before
23 December, but it could be delayed further until after 23 March if
the recommended price of £116,500 is close to being raised.
Mr Vaizey said: "The story behind this manuscript is fascinating -
two bishops at loggerheads with each other, both with equally strong
convictions, but at polar opposites on the issue of clerical marriage. This volume contains a wealth of information about a time when the
fate of the Reformation hung in a delicate balance. There is so much
more to learn from it and I hope it can remain here in the UK."