THE VISITORS, THEIR AIMS AND PROCEDURE

The movement of events in these crucial years was so rapid and varied, and Cromwell, under the king, was putting into motion and steering so many projects at once, that it is difficult for the historian to keep them all separately before his mind, and it is often quite impossible for him to be certain why this one went forward swiftly, while another was delayed or abandoned. He is as one watching the passage of heavy traffic on a busy road half hidden by trees; now one vehicle is leading, now another, while a third has halted for some reason out of sight, or has turned down a side-road. As has been seen, all the machinery was ready to be set in motion for a visitation of the monasteries early in January 1535, but it was seven months before the brake was released. Though we are not explicitly given the reason for this delay, it would seem all but certain that the visitors were held back in order to give a clear road to the commissioners for the tenth. The two enquiries could not well have been conducted simultaneously, and of the two the financial survey clearly demanded priority. As we have noted, it was concluded for all practical purposes in the early summer, but the late spring had been a peculiarly busy time for Cromwell, with the examinations and trials of the Carthusians, Fisher and More on his hands, and he delayed for some weeks before giving the signal for the visitation to begin.