00 clergy; their requests were moderate, a sign of the success of
Whitgift's policy, but some could not have been granted without causing
widespread dissatisfaction. At a conference between divines of the two
parties at Hampton Court in 1604, James roughly decided against the
Puritans. Some small alterations were made in the prayer-book, and a new
version of the Bible was undertaken, which appeared in 1611 as the
"authorized version." In 1604 convocation framed a code of canons which
received royal authorization. Refusal to obey them was punished with
deprivation, and, according to S. R. Gardiner, about 300 clergy were
deprived, though a 17th century writer (Peter Heylyn) puts the number at
49 only, which W. H. Frere (_History of the English Church, 1558-1625_,
p. 321) thinks more credible. Conformity could still be enforced, but
before long the Puritan party grew in strength partly from religious and
partly from political causes. They would not admit any authority in
religion that was not based on the scriptures; their opponents
maintained that the church had authority to ordain ceremonies not
contrary to the scriptures. In doctrine the Puritans remained faithful
to the Calvinism in which most Englishmen of the day had been brought
up; they called the high churchmen Arminians, and asserted that they
were inclined to Rome. The Commons became increasingly Puritan; they
were strongly Protestant and demanded the enforcement of the laws
against recusants, who suffered much, specially after the Gunpowder Plot
of 1605, though they were sometimes shielded by the king. The Commons
regarded ecclesiastical jurisdiction with dislike, specially the Court
of High Commission, which had developed from the ecclesiastical
commissions of Elizabeth and was hated as a means of coercion based on
prerogative. The bishops derived their support from the king, and the
church in return supported the king's claim to absolutism and divine
right. It suffered heavily from this alliance. As men saw the church on
the side of absolutism, Puritanism grew strong both among the country
gentry, who were largely represented in the Commons, and among the
nation at large, and the church lost ground through the king's political
errors. A restoration of order and decency in worship and the
introduction of more ceremonial begun in James's reign were carried on
by Laud (q.v.) under Charles I. Laud aimed at silencing disputes about
doctrine and enforcing outward uni