The ecclesiastical court being duly formed, Henry and Catherine were summoned to appear before it on the 10th of May. The king was present by attorney; but the queen replied: ‘My cause is before the pope; I accept no other judge.’ A fresh summons was immediately made out for the 12th of May, and, as the queen appeared neither in person nor by any of her servants, she was pronounced contumacious,[279] and the trial went forward. The king was informed every night of each day’s proceedings, and he was often in great anxiety. Some unexpected event, an appeal from Catherine, the sudden intervention of the pope or of the emperor might stop everything. His courtiers were on the watch for news. Anne said nothing, but her heart beat quick; and the ambitious Cromwell, whose fortunes depended on the success of the matter, was sometimes in great alarm. Cranmer rested on the declarations of Scripture, and showed much equity and uprightness during the trial.[280] ‘I have willingly injured no human being,’ he said. But he knew the queen had numerous partisans; they would conjure her, perhaps, to appear before her judges. There would then be a great stir, and the voice of the people would be heard.[281] The archbishop could hardly restrain his emotion as he thought of this. He must indeed expect an inflexible resistance on the part of the queen; but, in the midst of all the agitation around her, she alone remained calm and resolute. Her hand had grasped the pope’s robe, and nothing could make her let it go. ‘I am the king’s lawful wife,’ she repeated; ‘I am Queen of England. My daughter is the king’s child: I place her in her father’s hands.’ On Wednesday the 23d of May, the primate, attended by all the archiepiscopal court, proceeded to the church of St. Peter’s priory at Dunstable, in order to deliver the final judgment of divorce. A few persons attracted by curiosity were present; but, although Dunstable was near Ampthill, all of Catherine’s household kept themselves respectfully aloof from an act which was to deal their mistress such a grievous blow. The primate, after reciting the decisions of the several universities, provincial councils, and other premises, continued: ‘Therefore we, Thomas, archbishop, primate, and legate, having first called upon the name of Christ, and having God altogether before our eyes, do pronounce and declare that the marriage between our sovereign lord King Henry and the most serene Lady Catherine, widow of his brother, having been contracted contrary to the law of God, is null and void; and therefore we sentence that it is not lawful for the said most illustrious Prince Henry and the said most serene Lady Catherine to remain in the said pretended marriage.’[282] The act, drawn up very carefully by two notaries, was immediately sent to the king.