present in the House of Lords ten voted in favour of the measure and
eight against it. Gardiner was still in prison, the Bishop of
Llandaff, who had spoken against Cranmer, was absent from the
division, and some others are not accounted for.[56]

The first Act of Uniformity (1548), as it is called, displaced the
Mass as it had been celebrated for centuries in the English Church,
and substituted in its place the new liturgy contained in the /Book of
Common Prayer/.[57] This latter while differing completely from any
rite that had been followed in the Catholic Church, had a close
affinity both in regard to the rites themselves and the ceremonies for
the administration of the Sacraments to the liturgy introduced by the
German Lutherans. According to the Act of Parliament it was to come
into force on Whit Sunday the 9th June (1549). That it was expected to
meet with strong opposition is evident from the prohibition against
plays, songs, rhymes, etc., holding it up to ridicule, as well as by
the heavy fines prescribed against those who might endeavour to
prevent clergymen from following it. Forfeiture of a year's revenue
together with imprisonment for six months was the penalty to be
inflicted on any clergyman who refused to follow the new liturgy.
Complete deprivation and imprisonment were prescribed for the second
offence, and the third offence was to be punished by life-long
imprisonment. For preventing any clergyman from adopting the new
liturgy the penalties were for the first offence a fine of £10, for
the second £20, and for the third forfeiture and perpetual
imprisonment. Finally Parliament satisfied Cranmer's scruples by
permitting clergy to contract marriages.

The attempt to abolish the Mass and to force the new liturgy on the
English people led to risings and disturbances throughout the country.