removed from these regal pomps and the distractions of court, they
might quietly and dutifully tend to the flock of Christ.^38Jewel’s admission to Simler, however, belied his apprehensions about the
extent of the duties that awaited him: when written, he had just returned
from a three-month visitation in which he was implementing the Royal
Injunctions in the southwest of England, of which visitation he had
written Martyr that he had returned ‘from a most disagreeably
exhausting journey, with an exhausted body’.^39 In his letter to Rudolph
Gualter, dated the same day as the ones to Simler and Martyr, Jewel
opines ‘as it pertains to me, you are well-informed of what labor it [the
episcopal office] is, especially for a man untrained in such matters, and
always in the leisure and shade of education, to be moved unexpectedly
to the helm of the Church’.^40 But in the same letter he would again put
the best take on the matter: ‘Since, nevertheless, it is for the cause of
God, to whatever degree we lack ability, we will that much more
diligently work; for though in fact we are lacking in other things, I trust
none the less that our desire will not fail.’^41 Nevertheless he later opined
that the episcopal lands served no other purpose than filling Her
Majesty’s coffers.^42 This loss of revenue never distracted Jewel from his
obligations to the fabric of the cathedral. Noting that it would take more
than 2000 pounds to begin repairs, the cathedral chapter acceded to
Jewel’s plans. And while Jewel certainly saw to the removal of all images
from the church, he was not one to smash stained glass. Indeed, the
preservation of much of the stained glass that now survives is owing in
no small part to Jewel who saw to its reglazing and caulking during his
time there. Nor did he have conviction, as did Wyatt, to whitewash the
mosaics in the ceiling. Perhaps he thought they were out of the range of
veneration.
Aside from his duties in the cathedral and diocese, Jewel was also a
member of the House of Lords, and also sat in on convocation. At the
LIFE AS A BISHOP IN SALISBURY 215
(^38) ‘Nostros enim esse volumus pastores operosos, vigiles, episcopos. Quoque id
commodius possit fieri, opes episcoporum imminuuntur, et ad mediocritatem quandam
rediguntur; ut, semoti ab illa regia pompa et strepitu aulico, possint tranquillius et attentius
vacare gregi Christi.’ Jewel, Letter to Simler, Works, IV, p. 1220.
(^39) ‘Confecto molestissimo itinere, confecto corpore.’ Jewel, Works, IV, p. 1216.
Conficio, conficere, in the perfect has the sense of exhaustion. Thus ‘having exhausted a
most troublesome journey, with an exhausted body’.
(^40) ‘Nam quod ad me quidem attinet, tu optime nosti quanti laboris sit, homini
praesertim imperito rerum, et semper in otio atque in umbra educato, repente admoveri ad
gubernaculum ecclesiae.’ Jewel, Works, IV, p. 1219.
(^41) ‘Tamen quoniam Dei causa est, quanto minus possumus, tanto diligentius dabimus
operam: etsi enim desint alia, voluntas tamen, spero non deerit.’ Jewel, 2 November 1559,
Works, IV, p. 219.
(^42) ‘Interim praedia pulchre augent fiscum.’ 16 November 1599, Works, IV, p. 1224.