ought we to betake the rest vnto the might of y e holy ghost w t true humilitie not to searche rashlye of that deepe secretnes aboue y e measure of our vnderstaÌ„ding They did eat y e lambes flesh w t their loynes gyrt In the loines is the lust of the body And he whyche wyll receyue y t housell shall restrayne that concupisceÌ„ce and take with chastitie that holy receypt They were also shod VVhat be shoes but of the hydes of dead beastes VVe be truely shod if we folow in our steps deades the lyfe of those pilgrimes which please god w t keping of his commauÌ„demeÌ„ts They had staues in their handes when they ate This stafe signifieth a carefulnes and a diligeÌ„t ouerseing And al they y t best know and caÌ„ should take care of other men and staye them vppe with their helpe It was inioyned to the eaters y t they shoulde eate the lambe in haste For god abhorreth slouthfulnes in his seruantes And those he loueth that seeke the ioye of euerlasting life with quicknes hast of minde It is written Prolong not to turne vnto god lest the time passe awaye through thy slowe tarrying The eaters mought not break the laÌ„bes bones Nomore mought the souldyers y t did hang Christ breake his holy legges as they did of the two theefes that hanged on either syde of him And y e Lord rose froÌ„ death sound without al corruption at the last iudgemeÌ„t they shal see him whom they did most cruelly hange on y e crosse This time is called in y e Ebrue tonge Pasca and in latine Transitus in English a Passouer bicause y t on this daye the people of Israell passed from the land of Aegipt ouer the read sea from bondage to the lande of promyse So also dyd our Lord at thys tyme departe as sayeth Iohn the Euangelyste from thys world to his heaueÌ„ly father Euen so we ought to folowe our head and to go from the deuill to christ from this vnstable world to his stable kingdoÌ„e Howbeit we should first in this preseÌ„t life depart froÌ„ vice to holy vertue from euill manners to good manners if we will after thys lente lyfe go to that eternal life after our resurrection to Christ He bring vs to his euerliuing father who gaue him to death for our sinnes To him be honour praise of wel doing world wythout ende Amen ¶ This sermon is found in diuerse bookes of sermoÌ„s written in the olde English or Saxon toung whereof two bookes bee nowe in the handes of the most reuerend father the Archbishop of Caunterburye Here followeth the wordes of Aelfrike abbot of S. Albones also of Malmesberye taken out of his epistle written to Wulfsine byshop of Scyrburne It is founde in a booke of the olde Saxon tounge wherin be xliij chapters of Canons and ecclesiasticall constitutions and also Liber poenitentialis that is a poenitentiall booke or shryfte booke deuided into iiij other bokes the epistle is set for the 30. chapter of the fourth boke intituled be preost sinoþe that is a Synode concerning priestes and this epistle is also in a canonn boke of the churche of Exeter SVme preostas healdaþ þaet husel ðe biþ on easter daeg gehalgod ofer gear to sceocum mannum ac hi misdoþ sÆ¿yþe deope ê§ Ã°aet halige husel sceole fynegian nellaþ understandan hu mycele daedbote seo poenitentialis taecþ be ðam gif ðaet husel biþ fynig oþþe haeÆ¿en oþþe gif hit forloren biþ oþþe gif mus oþþe nytenu ðurh gymeleaste hit etaþ Man sceal healden þaet halige husel mid mycelre gymene ne forhealdan hit ac halgian oþer edniÆ¿e to sceocum mannum a embe vii niht oð ðe embe xiiii niht ê§ hit huru fynig ne sy forþon ðe eal sÆ¿a halig biþ ê§ husel þe nu to daeg Æ¿aes gehalgod sÆ¿a ê§ Ã°e on easter daeg Æ¿aes gehalgod Ãaet husel is Crister lichama na lichamh ce ac gastlice Na se lichama ðe he on ðroÆ¿ode ac se lichama ðe he embe spraec ða ða he bletsode hlaf and Æ¿in to husle anre nihte aer his ðroÆ¿unge and cÆ¿aeþ be ðaÌ„ gebletsode hlafe ðis is min lichama and eft be ðam halgan Æ¿ine ðis is min bloode þe biþ for maneguÌ„ agoten on synna forgyfennesse Vnderstandaþ nu ê§ se drihten ðe mihte aÆ¿endon ðone hlaf aer his ðroÆ¿unge to his lichaman and ê§ Æ¿in to his blode gastlice ðaet se ylca daeghÆ¿amlice bletsaþ ðurh sacerda handa hlaf Æ¿in to his gastlican lichaman and to his gastlican blode Here thou seest good reader how Aelfrike vpon fynding fault wyth an abuse of his tyme whiche was that priestes on Easter day filled their housell boxe and so kept the bread a whole yere for sickmen toke an occasion to speake agaynst the bodely presence of Christ in the sacrameÌ„t So also in an other epistle sent to Wulfstane Archbyshop of York he reprehending agayne thys ouerlong reseruing of the housell addeth also wordes more at large against the same bodely presence His wordes be these SVme preostas gefyllaþ heora husel box on eaftron and healdaþ ofer tÆ¿elf monaþ to untrumum mannum sÆ¿ylce ðaet husel sy haligre ðonne oþer Ac hi doþ unÆ¿islice for þam ðe hit Æ¿annaþ oþþe mid ealle forrotaþ on sÆ¿a langum fyrste and he biþ ðonne scyldig sÆ¿a sÆ¿a us saegþ seo boc Se ðe husel forhylt oþþe hit forlyst oþþe mys eton oþþe oþre nytenu sceaÆ¿a ða poenitentialem hÆ¿aet he saegþ be þisum Eall sÆ¿a halig is ðaet husel ðe biþ gehalgod to daeg sÆ¿a ðaet ðe biþ gehalgod on ðam halgan easter daege Healdaþ forþig ic bidde ðone halgan Crister lichaman mid maran Æ¿isdome to scocuÌ„ mannum fram sunnan daege to sunnan daege on sÆ¿iþe claenum boxe oþþe be þam maestan feoÆ¿ertyne niht and ðicgaþ hit ðonne lecgaþ ðaer oþer Æ¿e habbaþ bysene be þam on Moyses bocum sÆ¿a sÆ¿a God sylf bebead on Moyses ae ðaet se sacerd sceolde on aelcuÌ„ saeternes daege settan tÆ¿elf hlafas on þam tabernaculo ealle niÆ¿e bacene ða Æ¿aeron gehatene panes propositionis and hig sceoldon ðaer standan on ðam Godes getaelde oþ oþerne saeternes daeg â–ª etan hi ðonne ða sacerdas sylfe settan ðaer oþre Sume preostar nellaþ ðicgan þaet husel þe hi halgiaþ Nu Æ¿ille Æ¿e eoÆ¿ secgan hu seo boc segþ be ðam Presbyten missam celebrans et non audens sumere sacrificium accusante conscientia sua anathema eft Se maesse preost ðe maessaþ and ne dear ðaet husel ðicgan Æ¿at hine scyldigne se is amansumod Laesse pleoh is to ðicgenne ðaet husel ðonne to halgienne Se ðe tuÆ¿a halgaþ ane ofletan to husle se biþ þam gedÆ¿olan gelice ðe an cild fullaþ tuÆ¿a Crist syif gehalgode husel aer his ðroÆ¿unge he bletsode þone hlaf tobraec ðus cÆ¿eþende to his halgum apostolum etaþ
micelre stemne to all the men which with ealluÌ„ ðam mannuÌ„ ðe mid Moyses were in the Moyse Æ¿aeron on ðam wildernesse then Æ¿aestene ða THe lorde was Dryhten Æ¿aes speaking these sprecende ðas wordes to Moyses and thus Æ¿ord to Moyse and ðus sayth I am the Lord thy cÆ¿aeþ Ic eom ðryhten ðin God I thee out ledde of God Ic ðe ut gelaedde of Aegypt lande and of their egipta londe and of hiora bondage Ne loue y u other ðeoÆ¿dome Ne lufa ðu oþre strauÌ„ge Gods besides me Ne fremde Godas ofer me Ne my name name thou in minne noman ne cig ðu on vayne for that thou ne idelnesse forþon ðe ðu ne arte giltlesse with me if bist unscyldig Æ¿iþ me gif thou in vayne namest my ðu on idelnesse cigst minne name RemeÌ„ber that thou noman Gemyne ê§ Ã°u hallowe thy rest day gehalgige ðone raeste daeg VVorke ye vj. dayes on Æ¿yrceaþ eoÆ¿ vi dagas on the seuenth rest ye bycause þaÌ„ siofoþan restaþ eoÆ¿ forðam in vj. dayes Christ on vi daguÌ„ Crist geÆ¿orhte made heauen and earth heofonas eorþan y e sea all creatures that saes and ealle gesceafta ðe in them be And he rested on him sint hine gereste on the seuenth day therfore on þone siofoþan daeg forþon the Lord it hallowed dryhten hine gehalgod Honour thy father thy Ara ðynuÌ„ faeder þinrae mother that the Lorde medder ða ðe dryhten gaue thee y t thou be longe sealde ðe ê§ Ã°u sie ðylenge lyuing in y e earth Ne kill libbende on eorþan Ne sleah thou Ne lig ne y u priuelye ðu Ne lige þu dearnenga Ne steale thou Ne say thou Ne stala ðu Ne saege ðu false witnesse Ne desire lease geÆ¿itnesse Ne Æ¿ilna thou of thy neyghbours ðu ðynes nehstan heritage with vnryght ierfes mid unryhte These coÌ„maundementes we haue taken from the lawes of Alfrede the king before which they are alwaies placed but here the maner of speaking in the scripture is somewhat chaunged and that more is here is lefte out these wordes Non facies sculptile neque omnem similitudinem quae est in coelo desuper quae est in terra deorsum nec eorum quae sunt in aquis sub terra non adorabis neque coles c. 2. Thou shalt not make to thy selfe any grauen Image nor the likenes of any thing that is in heauen aboue or in the earth beneath or in the water vnder the earth Thou shalt not bowe downe to them nor worship them For I thy Lord. c. Which thyng is done in all copyes of Alfredes lawes written in the Saxon tounge and not onely in them but in many other bookes as hath been seene eyther Saxon or Lattyne intreatyng of the commaundementes which were written before the Conquest and since the second Nicene councell wherin was decreed the worshipping of Images See what followed of taking away froÌ„ the worde of God contrarye to the expresse coÌ„maundement of the same vpon the vngodly decree of that couÌ„cell WheÌ„ this thing was espied by them that translated these lawes into the Lattyne tounge sone after the conquest these wordes were restored agayne by the traÌ„slatours to their due place as by the Lattyne bookes of the lawes it is to be seene But bicause we haue made mention of that second Nicene councell whiche decreed both of the hauing and worshipping of Images we shall here brieflye shewe what our stories report was thought of the same couÌ„cell by the learned of England and chieflye by that great learned Englyshe man and of most fame in that age Alcuine scholemaister to Charles the great Anno ab incarnatione Domini 792. Carolus rex Francorum misit Synodalem librum ad BritanniaÌ„ sibi a CoÌ„stantinopoli directuÌ„ in quo libro heu proh dolor multa inconuenientia verae fidei contraria reperta sunt maxime quod pene omniuÌ„ orientalium doctorum noÌ„ minus quam trecentoruÌ„ vel eo amplius episcoporum vnanima assertione confirmatuÌ„ imagines adorari debere quod omnino ecclesia dei execratur CoÌ„tra quod scripsit Alcuinus epistolam ex autoritate diuinaruÌ„ scripturarum mirabiliter affirmataÌ„ illamque cuÌ„ codem libro persona episcoporuÌ„ principum nostrorum regi Francorum attulit That is In the yere froÌ„ the incarnatioÌ„ of our Lord. 792. Charles kinge of Fraunce sent to Brytaine a Synode booke which was directed vnto hym from Constantinople in the which booke alas many thinges vnconuenient and contrarye to the true fayth were found in especiall that it was establyshed with a whole consent almost of all the learned of the East no lesse then of three hundreth byshoppes or more that men oughte to worship Images the whiche the Churche of God doth vtterlye abharre Agaynst the whiche Alcuine wrote an epistle wonderouslye proued by the authoritie of holy Scripture and brought that epistle with the same booke and names of our byshoppes and princes to the king of Frauuce This story hath Simeon of Durham Roger Houeden Flores Historiarum and the historie of Rochester ₠¶ The Saxon Caracters or letters that be moste straunge be here knowen by other common Caracters set ouer them ¶ d. d. ð. th þ. th f. f. g. g. i. i. r. r. s. s t. t. Æ¿. w. y. y. z. z. and. ê§ that ¶ ¶ Æ AE Æ AE Ã. Th. Þ. Th. E. E. H. H. M. M. S. S. Ç·. W. And. ¶ One pricke signifieth an vnperfect point this figure which is lyke the Greeke interrogatiue a full painte which in some other olde Saiâ—â—â— bookes is expressed wyth three prickes set in triangle wyse thus Imprinted at LondoÌ„ by Iohn Day dwelling ouer Aldersgate beneath S. Martyns ⸫ ¶ Cum priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis * Who dyd put out secular priestes out of the church of Canterbury as the story of that house sheweth These charters are to be sene * No suche demaunde of thys profession in any Englyshe pontificall before thys tyme. Exod. 14. Exod. 17. Math. 27. Marc. 15. Luke 24. * No such signe commaunded by God in that place of scripture but it was the bloud that God dyd loke vpon Exod 12. * Vnderstand thys as that of S. Paule Ephe. 2. Christ reconciled both to God in one body through hys crosse Iohn 6. Math. 26. Luke 22. Marke 14 1. Cor. 11. * This was now in question and so before Beringarius tyme. * A necessarye distinction * The water in baptisme and bread and wine in the Lords supper compared * No transubstantiation * DiffereÌ„ces betwixt Christes naturall body and the SacrameÌ„t therof * 1. Difference * Not the body that suffred is in the housell * 2. Difference * 3. Difference * 4. Difference Math. 15. * 5. Difference These tales seme to be infarsed placed here vpon no occasion 1. Cor. 10. * Note this exposition which is now a dayes thought new Iohn 4. 1. Cor. 10. Exod. 17. Math. 26. Luke 22. Marke 14 * Now we eate that bodye which was eaten before he was borne by the faythfull * See a transubstantiatioÌ„ * Manna Iohn 6. Iohn 6. * What body do the faithfull now eate * A signification before Christ * A sacrifice in Christes tyme. * A remembraunce after Christ Math. 26. Ebreu 10. * This doctrine with praying to images to the dead bodies of men at their tombes tooke his beginning of the auarice of moÌ„kes vnto whom it was gain full * The housell is also the body of al faithfull men * No scripture enforceth the mixture of water with the wyne * The wine signifieth christes bloude * How we shoulde come to the holy coÌ„munion The words inclosed betwene the ij halfe circles some had rased out of Worceter booke but they are restored agayne out of a booke of Exeter church William of Malmes 1. lib. de pontificibus * That is commit no adultery * That is commit no adultery
A TESTIMOnie of ANTIQVITIE shewing the auncient fayth in the Church of England touching the sacrament of the body and bloude of the Lord here publikely preached and also receaued in the Saxons tyme aboue 600. yeares agoe Ieremie 6. Goe into the streetes and inquyre for the olde way and if it be the good and ryght way then goe therin that ye maye finde rest for your soules But they say we will not vvalke therein Jmprinted at London by Iohn Day dwelling ouer Aldersgate beneath S. Martyns ¶ Cum priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis The Preface to the Christian Reader GReat contention hath nowe been of longe tyme about the moste comfortable sacrament of the body bloud of Christ our Sauiour in the inquisition and determinatiō wherof many be charged and condemned of heresye and reproued as bringers vp of new doctryne not knowen of olde in the church before Berengarius tyme who taught in Fraunce in the daies whē William the Norman was by conqueste kyng of England and Hildebrande otherwyse called Gregorius the seuenth was pope of Rome But that thou mayest knowe good christian reader how this is aduouched more boldly then truely in especiall of some certayne men which be more ready to maintaine their old iudgement thē of humilitie to submitte them selues vnto a truth here is set forth vnto thee a testimonye of verye auncient tyme wherin is plainly shewed what was the iudgement of the learned men in thys matter in the dayes of the Saxons before the conquest Fyrst thou hast here a Sermon or homelye for the holy day of Easter written in the olde Englishe or Saxon speech which doth of set purpose and at large intreate of thys doctryne and is found among many other Sermons in the same olde speech made for other festiuall dayes and sondayes of the yeare and vsed to be spoken orderly accordyng to those daies vnto the people as by the bokes thē selues it doth well appeare And of such Sermons be yet manye bookes to be seene partlye remayning in priuate mens handes and taken out from monasteryes at their dissolution partlye yet reserued in the libraryes of Cathedrall churches as of Worceter Hereford and Exeter From which places diuerse of these bookes haue bene deliuered into the handes of the moste reuerend father Matthewe Archbyshop of Canterburye by whose diligent search for such writings of historye and other monumentes of antiquitie as might reueale vnto vs what hath ben the state of our church in England from tyme to tyme these thynges that bee here made knowen vnto thee do come to lyght Howe be it the Sermons were not first written in the olde Saxon tounge but were translated into it as it shoulde appeare from the Lattyne For about the end of a Saxon boke of lx Sermons which hath aboute the middest of it this Sermō agaynst the bodely presēce be added these wordes of the translatour Fela faegere godspell ƿe forlaetaþ on þisū dihte ða maeg aƿendan se ðe ƿile Ne durre ƿe ðas boc na micle sƿiþor gelaengan ðyles ðe heo ungemetegod sy mannum aeþraet ðurh hire micelny'sse astirige We let passe many good gospells which he that lyste may translate For we dare not enlarge thys boke much further lest it be ouer great so cause to men lothsomnes through hys bygnes And in an other booke contaynyng some of these Saxon Sermons it is also thus written in Lattyne In hoc codicillo continentur duodecim sermones anglice quos accepimus de libris quos Aelfricus abbas Anglice transtulit In thys booke be comprysed xij Sermons whche we haue taken out of the bookes that Aelfricke abbot translated into Englishe In which wordes truelye here is also declared who was the translatour to witte one Aelfricke And so hee doth confesse of hym self in the preface of his Saxon grāmer where he doth moreouer geue vs to vnderstand the number of the Sermons that he translated thus Ic AElfric ƿolde ðas litlan boc apendan to engliscum gereorde of ðam staef craefte ðe is gehaten gsammatica syþþan ic tƿa bec aƿende on hund eahtatigū spellum I Aelfricke was desirous to turne into our Englishe tounge from the arte of letters called grammer thys little booke after that I had translated the two bookes in fourescore Sermons But how soeuer it be nowe manifest enoughe by thys aboue declared how that these Sermons were translated I thinke notwithstanding that there will hardlye be found of them any Lattyne bookes being I feare me vtterlye peryshed made out of the waye since the conquest by some which coulde not well broke thys doctrine And that such hath bene the dealing of some partiall readers may partlye hereof appeare There is yet a very aunciēt boke of Cannons of Worceter librarye and is for the most parte all in Latyne but yet intermyngled in certayne places euē thre or foure leaues together with the olde Saxon tounge and one place of this booke handleth thys matter of the sacrament but a fewe lynes wherin dyd consiste the chiefe poynte of the cōtrouersie be rased out by some reader yet consider how the corruption of hym whosoeuer he was is bewrayed This part of the Lattyne booke was taken out of ij epistles of Aelfrike before named were written of hym aswell in the Saxon tounge as the Lattyne The Saxon epistles be yet wholie to be had in the librarye of the same church in a boke written all in Saxon and is intituled a boke of Cānons shrift boke But in the Church of Exeter these epistles be seene both in the Saxon tounge and also in the Lattyne By the which it shall be easie for any to restore agayne not onely the sense of the place rased in Worceter booke but also the very same Lattyn wordes And the words of these two epistles so much as concerne the sacramentall bread wyne we here set immediatlye after the Sermon fyrst in Saxon then the words of the second epistle we set also in Lattyne deliuering them most faythfully as they are to be seene in the bookes from whence they are taken And as touching the Saxon writings they be set out in such forme of letters and darke speech as was vsed whē they were written translated also for our better vnderstanding into our common and vsuall Englishe speech But nowe it remayneth we do make knowen who thys Aelfricke was whom we here speake of in what age he liued and in what estimation He was truely brought vp in the scholes of Aethelwolde byshop of Winchester Aethelwolde I meane the elder and greate saincte of Winchester church So canonised because in the dayes of Edgar kyng of England he conspyred with Dunstane Archbyshop of Canterburie Oswalde bishop of Worceter to expell out of the Cathedrall churches through out all England the maryed priestes which then were in those churches the olde dwellers as wryteth Ranulphus Cestrencis in hys pollicronicon and to set vp of newe the religion or rather
superstition hipocrisie of monkes after that the same had been a longe tyme by the iuste iudgement of God vtterlye abolished the Danes spoyling them cruelly burning them vp in there houses as is at large and plentifullye confessed in the historyes of their owne churches For thys newe rearing vp of monkerie is Aethelwolde called in moste olde historyes pater monachorum the father of monkes Vnder thys Aethelwolde was Aelfrike traded vp in lerning as he witnesseth of him selfe in the Lattyne preface of his Saxon grammer where speaking of hys interpretation of Lattyne wordes he wryteth thus Scio multis modis verba posse interpretâ—ri sed ego simplicem interpretationem sequor fastidiuÌ„ vitaÌ„di causa Si alicui tamen displicuerit nostra interpretatio dicat quomodo vult Nos con tenti sumus sicut didicimus in scholis venerabilis praesulis Aethelwoldi qui multos ad bonum imbuit I know that wordes may be expounded diuers waies but for to auoyde lothsomnes I doe follow the playne interpretation Which if anye shall mislike he may do as he thinketh best but we are coÌ„tent to speake as we haue learned in the scholes of the moste worthye byshop Aethelwolde who hath bene a good instructour to manye or who hath brought vp many to good This he writeth of hymselfe So vppon this his education in the schooles of Aethelwolde he became afterward to be an earnest louer and a great setter forwarde of monkerye and therefore no lesse busie writer and speaker agaynst the matrimonye of priestes in hys tyme. For which respecte he was afterwarde so regarded that he was made by Oswalde byshop of Worceter as reporteth John Capgraue the first abbot of S. Albons newlye restored replenished with moÌ„kes and was also made abbot of Malmesburye by kyng Edgar as reporteth William of Malmesburye in the lyfe of Aldelmus And truly he calleth him selfe abbot in diuers of his epistles although he neuer named of what place as in that he wryteth Egnesh amensibus fratribus de consuetudine monachorum To the monkes of Egnesham of the order and manner of monkes and in this he wryteth here to Wulfstane Archbyshop of Yorke and in an other agaynst priestes matrimonye sent to one Sygeferth with whom was an anker abyding which defended the mariage of pristes affyrming it to be lawful The epistle beginneth thus in the Saxon tonge Aelfric abb gret Sigeferþ freondlice Me is gesaed ê§ Ã°u saedest beo me ê§ ic oþer taehte on Engliscen geÆ¿riten oþer eoÆ¿er ancor aet ham mid eoÆ¿ taehþ forþan ðe he sÆ¿utelice saegþ ê§ hit sie alefd ê§ maesse preostas Æ¿el motan Æ¿ifigen and min geÆ¿riten Æ¿iþcÆ¿eþeþ ðysen That is Elfricke abbot doth send frendlye salutation to Sigeferth It is tolde me that I teach otherwyse in my English writynges theÌ„ doth thy anker teach which is at home wyth thee For he sayth playnly that it is a lawfull thing for a priest to marye and my wrytynges doth speake agaynst thys c. Thus aswell in hys owne epistles as in all other bookes of Sermons in the Saxon tounge that I haue sene I finde him alwaies called abbot and onely so called Howbeit John Capgraue who gathered together into one volume the liues of English sainctes writeth in the life of Oswalde that Aelfricke was laste of all aduaunced to the Archbishops see of Canterburie In alijs inquit Angliae partibus insignes ecclesias ob praefixam causam clericis euacuauit et eas viris monasticae institutionis sublimauit quoruÌ„ haec nomina sunt Ecclesia S. Albani S. Aetheldredae virginis in Eli et ea quae apud Beamfledam constituta honorabilis habebatur Instituit enim in ecclesia S. Albani AelfricuÌ„ abbateÌ„ qui ad Archiepiscopatum Cantuariensem postea sublimatus fuit In other partes of Englande Oswald auoyded out of the most notable churches the clarkes aduaunced the same places with men of the order of monkes whose names be these S. Albons the church of the virgin S. Aetheldrede in Ely and that which is at Beamfleot reputed very famous He dyd appoynte abbot in S. Albons Aelfricke who was afterward promoted to the Archbyshopricke of Canterburye Truely thys Aelfricke we here speake of was equall in tyme to Elfricke Archbyshop of Canterbury as may certainly appeare to him that will well consider when Wulfstane Archbishop of Yorke and Wulfsine byshop of Scyrburne liued vnto whom Aelfricke wryteth the Saxon epistles from which the wordes concerning the Sacrament hereafter following be taken And the certaintye of thys consideration may well be had out of William Malmesburye De Pontificibus out of the subscription of bishops to the grauntes letters patentes and charters of Aethelrede who raigned king of EnglaÌ„d at this time Howbeit whether this Aelfricke Aelfricke Archb. of Canterbury was but one the same maÌ„ I leaue it to other mens iudgement further to consider for that writing here to Wulfstane he nameth him selfe but abbot yet Aelfricke Archb. of Canterbury was promoted to that his archb stole vj. yeres before that Wulfstane was made Archbishop of Yorke as is declared most manifestly in the historyes of Symeon of Durham Roger Houeden the historie of Rochester Flores Hystoriarum Thomas Stubbes in hys historie of the Archbishops of Yorke and in all other moste auncient histories aswell written in the olde Saxon tounge as in Lattyne Moreouer in many deedes and writynges of giftes made by kyng Aethelrede when Aelfricke subscribeth as Archbyshop of Canterburye then in them is one Aldulphus Wulfstanes predecessour named Archbyshop of Yorke and Wulfstane him self subscribeth but as an inferiour byshop But be it that this Aelfricke was onely abbot and not Archbishop of Canterburye yet this is also most true that beside the prayse of great learning of being a most eloqueÌ„t interpreter for which William of Malmesburye doth greatly commend him he was also of such credite and estimation to the lyking of that age in which he liued that all his writinges and chiefly these his epistles were then thought to contayne sounde doctrine and the byshops them selues dyd iudge them full of ryghte good counsaile preceptes and rules to gouerne therby their clergie and therfore dyd most earnestly request to haue these epistles sent vnto them as doe well appeare by ij shorte Lattyne epistles set before the Saxon epistles wherof the one is sent to Wulfsine byshop of Scyrburne the other to Wulfstane Archbyshop of Yorke And after this also byshops of other churches amonge other caÌ„nons that they collected out of generall perticular councells out of the bookes of Gildas out of the poenitentialls of Theodorus Archbyshop of Canterburye out of the extractes of Egberhtus the iiij Archbishop of Yorke froÌ„ Paulinus out of the epistles of Alcuinus teacher to Charles the great and to conclude out of the writinges of the fathers of the primatiue church amonge other Cannons I saye they collected together for the better orderyng of their churches they doe place
amonge them also these two epistles of Aelfricke as is to be sene in ij bokes of CaÌ„nons of Worceter librarye wherof the one is all in the olde Saxon tounge and there these epistles of Aelfricke be in the same tounge the other is for the most parte all in Lattyne and is intituled Admonitio spiritualis doctrinae where these epistles be in the Lattyne tounge and be ioyned together for an exhortation to be made of the byshop to hys clergie There is also a like booke of Cannons of Exeter church where these two epistles in Lattyne be appoynted in stede of two sermons to bee preached Ad clericos et presbyteros to the clerkes and priestes and the epistles be also in the same boke in the Saxon tonge And thys booke was geuen to Sainct Peters church in Exeter by Leofricke the first and most famous bishop of that church as in hys owne recorde and grauÌ„t of all such landes bokes and other thinges he gaue vnto the church it is thus expressed in the Saxon tounge Here sÆ¿utelaþ on ðissere bec hÆ¿aet Leofric b. haefþ gedon into sancti Petres minstre on Exanceastre ðaer his bisceop stol is ê§ is ê§ he haefþ geinnod ê§ aer geutod Æ¿aes ðurh Godes fultume c. ðonne is seo oncnaÆ¿ennis ðe he haefþ god mid gecnaÆ¿en sanctum PetruÌ„ into ðam halgan mynstre on cyrclicuÌ„ madmuÌ„ ê§ is ê§ he haefþ þider inngedon 11. ful maesse bec ane colectaneum .11 pistel bec .11 fulsang bec .1 nihtsang .1 ad te leuaui .11 psalteras se ðriddan sÆ¿a man singþ on rome .11 ymneras 1. deorÆ¿urþ bletsung boc .111 oþer þeos englisc Cristes boc .11 sumer raeding bec 1. Æ¿inter raeding boc regula canonicorum martyrologium .1 canon on leden scrift boc on englisc c. Here is shewed in thys booke or charter what Leofrike bishop hath geuen into Saint Peters mynster at Exeter where his bishops seate is that is that he hath gotte in agayne through Gods helpe what soeuer was takeÌ„ out so forth first shewing what laÌ„des of such as was taken from the church he recouered agayne partlye by his earnest complaynte and sute made for the same partlye by his geuyng of rewardes Nexte making also report what landes with other treasure of his own he gaue of newe to the place he commeth at laste to the rehearsall of hys bookes wherof the last here named a Cannon on Leden scrift boc on Englisc that is a Cannon boke in Lattyne and shryfte boke in Englishe is the boke we speake of and hath in it the Lattyne and Saxon epistles of Aelfricke Thus as this boke of Exeter church hath thys good euidence by which it is shewed that Leofrike was the geuer therof euen so the boke of CaÌ„nons of Worceter church written all in Saxon hath in it most certayne testimonie that the writer therof was the publike scribe of the church whose name was Wulfgeat For thus haue And let byshops take heede that they presume not to ordaine priestes or deacons vnlesse they do first professe to haue no wiues Now albeit thys and many other councels helde from tyme to tyme by the space more theÌ„ of an hundreth yeares after this did litle auaile but that the priestes did both marrye and still kepe their wiues because as wryteth Gerardus Archbyshop of Yorke to Anselme Cum ad ordines aliquos inuito dura ceruice renituntur ne in ordinando castitatem profiteantur When I call any to orders they resiste with a stiffe necke that they doe not in taking order professe chastitie Or as is reported in the Saxon storye of Peterborowe church speaking of the councells of Anselme of Iohn of Cremona of William Archbyshop of Canterburye Ne forstod noht ealle þa bodlaces All these decrees auayled nothyng Ealle heoldon here Æ¿ifes be ðes cinges leaf sÆ¿a sÆ¿a hi ear didon They all kept their wiues still by the kinges leaue as they dyd before Yet it came to passe vpon thys decree of Lanfranke that the forme of wordes wherin the priestes should vowe chastitie was nowe fyrst put into some bishops pontificall Ego frater N. promitto deo omnibusque Sanctis eius castitatem corporis mei secundum cannonum decreta secundum ordinem mihi imponenduÌ„ seruare domino praesule N. presente And as the wordes were thus put into some poÌ„tifical in a general speaking as the maÌ„ner is thys coÌ„trouersie but also that more is what was the coÌ„mon receaued doctrine herein of the whole church of England as well when Aelfricke hym self lyued as before hys tyme and also after his time eueÌ„ froÌ„ him to the conquest But what was the condition and state of the church wheÌ„ Aelfricke him self liued In deede to confesse the truth it was in diuers pointes of Religion full of blindnes and ignoraunce full of childysh seruitude to ceremonies as it was longe before and after and to much geuen to the loue of monketye which now at thys tyme vnmeasurablye tooke roote and grewe excessiuely But yet to speake what the aduersaryes of the truth haue iudged of thys time it is most certayne that there is no age of the church of England which they haue more reuerenced and thought more holy then thys For of what age haue they canonized vnto vs more sainctes and to their lyking more notable Fyrst Odo Archbyshop of Canteaburye who dyed in the beginning of king Edgars raigne Then king Edgar hym selfe by whom Aelfricke was made abbot of Malmesburye Then Edward called the Martyr kyng Edgars bastard sonne Then Editha kyng Edgars bastarde daughter Also Dunstane archbyshop of Canterbury of whoÌ„ Aelfricke was greatly estemed Aethelwold bishop of Winchester vnder whom Aelfricke had hys first bringing vp Oswalde byshop of Worceter and after Archbyshop of Yorke who made Aelfricke abbot of S. Albons Wulfsine bishop of Scyrburne vnto whom Aelfricke wryteth the first of the epistles we here speake of Elfleda a Nunne of Romesey and Wulhilda Abbesse of Barkyng lyued in the dayes of king Edgar And laste of all Wlfritha K. Edgars coÌ„cubyne All these I say with some other more be canonized for sainctes of this age in which Aelfricke him self liued in great fame credite Also Leofricke and Wulfsine whom we haue shewed to haue been the geuers of those Cannon bookes wherin be seene Aelfrickes epistles be reuerenced for moste holy men and saintes of their churches And these ij liued byshops in the comming in of the Conquerour Thus doe some men now a dayes not onely dissent in doctrine from their owne church but also from that age of their churche whiche they haue thought moste holy and iudged a most excelleÌ„t paterne to be folowed Wherfore what may we nowe thinke of that great coÌ„sent wherof the Romanistes haue long made vaunte to witte their doctrine to haue coÌ„tinued many hundred yeares as it were lincked together with
bread and wyne to housell before his suffering and sayd this is my body my bloud Yet he had not theÌ„ suffred but so notwithstanding he turned through inuisible might y t bread to hys owne body y t wyne to his bloode as he before did in y e wildernes before y t he was borne to meÌ„ wheÌ„ he turned that heauenly meate to his fleshe and the flowing water from that stone to hys owne bloude Verye many ate of that heauenlye meate in the wildernes and dranke that ghostlye drinke and were neuertheles dead as Christ sayd And christ ment not that death whiche none can escape but that euerlastynge death whiche some of that folke deserued for their vnbeliefe Moyses and Aaron and many other of that people whiche pleased God eate that heauenly bread and they dyed not that euerlastyng death though they dyed the common death They sawe that the heauenlye meate was visible and corruptible and they ghostly vnderstode by y t visible thing and ghostly receyued it The Sauiour sayeth He y t eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud hath euerlasting lyfe And he bad theÌ„ not eate y t body which he was going about w e nor y t bloud to drink which he shed for vs but he meÌ„t w t those wordes y t holy housell which ghostly is his body his bloud he y t tasteth it with beleauing hart hath that eternall life In the old law faithful meÌ„ offred to god diuers sacrifices that had fore significatioÌ„ of Christes body which for our sinnes he himselfe to his heauenly father hath since offred to sacrifice Certaynlye this housell whiche we doe nowe halow at gods alter is a remembrauÌ„ce of Christes body which he offred for vs and of his bloude whiche he shedd for vs So he him selfe commaunded do thys in my remembraunce Once suffred Christe by hym selfe but yet neuerthelesse hys suffrynge is daylye renued at the masse through mysterye of the holye housell Therefore that holy masse is profitable both to the lyuing and to the dead as it hath bene often declared VVe oughte also to consyder diligently how that this holy housell is both Christes body and the body of all faythfull men after ghostly mysterye As the wyse Augustine sayth of it Yf ye will vnderstand of Christes body heare y e apostle Paule thus speaking Ye truely be Christes body and his members Nowe is your mysterye sett on Godes table and ye receyue your misterye whiche mistery ye your selues be Be y t whiche ye se on the alter receiue that whiche ye your selues be Agayn the apostle Paule saith by it We manye be one bread and one bodye Vnderstand nowe and reioice many be one bread and one body in Christ He is our head and we be his limmes And y e bread is not of one corne but of many Nor the wine of one grape but of manye So also we all should haue one vnitie in our Lord as it is writteÌ„ of the faithfull armye how y t they were in so great an vnitie as though all of them were one soule and one harte Christ halowed on hys table the mysterye of our peace and of our vnytye he whyche receyueth that mysterye of vnytye and kepeth not the bonde of true peace he receyueth no mysterye for hym selfe but a witnesse agaynst hymselfe It is very good for Christen men that they goe often to housell yf they brynge wyth them to the alter vngyltynes and innocencye of harte To an euill man it turneth to no good but to destructioÌ„ if he receiue vnworthely y t holy housell Holy bookes commauÌ„d y t water be mengled to y t wine which shalbe for housell bicause y e water signifieth the people and the wine Christs bloud And therfore shall neither y e one without the other be offred at y e holy masse y t Christ may be with vs we with Christ the head w t the limmes and the limmes with the head VVe would before haue intreated of the lambe whiche the olde Israelites offered at their Easter tyme but y t we desired first to declare vnto you of this misterye and after how we should receyue it That signifying lambe was offred at the Easter And the apostle Paule sayeth in the epistle of this present day that Christ is our Easter who was offred for vs and on thys day rose from deathe The Israelites did eate the lambes fleshe as God commaunded wyth vnleuened bread and wylde lettisse so we should receyue y t holy housell of Christes bodye and bloud without the leauen of sinne and iniquitie As leauen turneth the creatures from their nature so doth sinne also chaunge the nature of man from innocencye to foules spottes of giltinesse The apostle hath taught how we should feast not in the leauen of euelnesse but in the swete dough of puritie and truthe The her be whiche they shoulde eate with the vnleauened bread is called Lettisse and is bitter in taste So we shoulde with bitternesse of vnfayned weepinge purifye our mynde if we wil eat Christes bodye Those Israelites were not wont to eate rawe fleshe although god forbad them to eate it rawe and sodden in water but rosted wyth fyer He shall receyue the bodye of God rawe that shal thynke wythout reason that Christ was onelye man lyke vnto vs and was not God And â—e that wil after mans wisedome search of y e mysterye of Christes incarnation doth lyke vnto hym y t doth seeth lambes flesh in water bycause that water in thys same place signifieth mans vnderstaÌ„ding but we should vnderstaÌ„d that al the misterie of Christs humanity was ordered by y e power of y e holy ghost And theÌ„ eate we his body rosted wyth fyre because the holy ghost came in fyrye lykenes to the apostles in diuerse tonges The Israelites should eate the lambs head y e fete and y e purtenaunce and nothing therof muste be left ouer night Yf any thing therof were lefte they did burne y t in the fyre and they brake not y e bones After ghostlye vnderstandinge we doe then eate the lambes head when we take hold of Christes diuinitye in our beliefe Agayn when we take holde of hys humanyte wyth loue then eate we the lambes feete bycause that Christ is the beginnyng and ende god before all world and man in the ende of thys worlde VVhat bee the laÌ„bes purtenauÌ„ce but Christes secrete preceptes and these we eat wheÌ„ we receiue with gredines the worde of lyfe There muste nothing of the laÌ„be be left vnto the morning bicause y t all godes sayings are to be searched w t great carefulnesse so that all his preceptes maye be knowen in vnderstaÌ„ding deede in the nyght of thys present lyfe before that the last day of the vniuersall resurrection do appeare If we can not search out throughly all the mistery of Christes incarnation then
ðisne hlaf hit is min lichama he eft bletsode aenne calic mid Æ¿ine and cÆ¿aeþ heom ðus to drincaþ ealle of ðisum hit is min agen blode ðaere niÆ¿an gecyþnysse ðe biþfor manegum agoten on synna forgyfenysse Se drihten þe halgode husel aer his ðroÆ¿unge and eÆ¿aeþ ê§ se hlaf Æ¿aere his agen lichama ðaet Æ¿in Æ¿aere Æ¿itodlice his blod se halgaþ daeghÆ¿amlice ðurh his sacerda handa hlaf to his lichaman Æ¿in to his blod on gastlicere geryne sÆ¿a sÆ¿a Æ¿e raedaþ on bocum Nebiþ se liflica hlaf lichamlice sÆ¿a þeah se ylca lichama ðe Crist on ðroÆ¿ode Ne þaet halige Æ¿in nis þaes haelendes blod þe for us agoten Æ¿aes on lichamlican ðinge ac on gastlicum andgyte AEgþer biþ soþlice se hlaf his lichama ê§ Æ¿in eac his blod sÆ¿a sÆ¿a se heofonlica hlaf Æ¿aes ðe Æ¿e hataþ manna ðe feoÆ¿ertig geara afedde Godes folce ðaet hlutre Æ¿aeter Æ¿aes Æ¿itodlice his blod ðe arn of ðam stane on ðaÌ„ sestene ða SÆ¿a sÆ¿a Paulus aÆ¿rat on Æ¿umon his pistole Omnes patres nostri eandem escam spiritualem manducauerunt et omnes eundem potes spiritualem biberunt c. Ealle ure faederas aeton on þaÌ„ Æ¿estene þone ylcan gastlican mete þone gastlican drenc druncon Hi druncon of þaÌ„ gastlicum stane se stan Æ¿aes Crist Se apostol saede sÆ¿a sÆ¿a genu gehyrdon ðaet hi ealle aeton ðone ylcan gastlican mete hi ealle druncon ðone gastlican drenc Ne cÆ¿aeþ he na lichamlice ac gastlice Naes Crist ða gyt geboren ne his blod naes agoten þa þaet Israhela folc geaet ðone mete of ðam stane dranc se stan naes lichamlice Crist þeah he sÆ¿a cÆ¿aede Hit Æ¿aeron þa ylcan gerynu on þaere ealdan ae hi gastlice getacnodon ðaet gastlice husel ures haelendes lichaman ðe Æ¿e halgiaþ nu SOme pristes keepe the housell that is hallowed on Easter day all the yere for syke men But they doe greatlye amysse bycause it waxeth horye And these will not vnderstand how greuous penaunce the poenitentiall booke teacheth by thys if the housell become hory and rotten or yf it be lost or be eaten of mise or of beastes by neglygence Men shal reserue more carefullye that holy housell and not reserue it to longe but hallowe other of newe for syckemen alwayes wythin a weke or a fortnight that it be not somuch as horye For so holy is the housell whych to day is hallowed as that whyche on Easter daye was hallowed That housell is Christes bodye not bodylye but ghostlye Not the bodye whyche he suffred in but the bodye of which hee spake when he blessed bread and wyne to housel a night before his suffring sayd by the blessed bread thys is my bodye agayne by the holye wyne thys is my bloude whiche is shede for manye in forgeuenes of sinnes vnderstand nowe that the lord who could turne y t bread before his suffring to his body and y t wyne to his bloude ghostlye that the selfe same lorde blesseth dayly throughe the priestes handes bread and wine to his ghostly body and to his ghostly bloud Here thou seest good reader how Aelfrike vpon fynding fault wyth an abuse of his tyme whiche was that priests on Easter day filled their housell boxe and so kept the bread a whole yere for sickmen toke an occasion to speake agaynst the bodely presence of Christ in the s acrameÌ„t So also in an other epistle sent to Wulfstane Archbyshop of York he reprehending agayne thys ouerlong reseruing of the housell addeth also wordes more at large against the same bodely presence His wordes be these SOme priests fil their boxe for housel on Easter day so reserue it a whole yere for sicke meÌ„ as though that housel were more holy theÌ„ any other But they do vnaduisedlye bicause it waxeth black or al together rotleÌ„ by keping it so long space And thus is he become giltie as y e boke wytnesseth to vs. Yf anye do keepe the housell to long or lose it or myse or other beastes do eate it see what y e paenitential boke sayeth by this So holy is altogether that housell whiche is hallowed to daye as that which is hallowed on Easter day VVherfore I besech you to kepe that holy bodye of Christ with more aduisement for sick men from sonday to sondaye in a verye cleane boxe or at the most not to kepe it aboue a fortnight and then eate it laying other in the place VVe haue an example hereof in Moyses bookes as god him selfe hath commaunded in Moyses lawe How the priestes should set on euery saturnday twelue loaues all newe baked vpon the tabernacle the whiche were called panes prepositionis and those shoulde staÌ„d there on gods tabernacle til y e next saturnday the did y e pristes theÌ„ selues eate them set other in y e place SoÌ„e priestes wil not eate y e housell which they do hallow But we will now declare vnto you how y e boke speaketh by theÌ„ Presbyter missaÌ„ celebrans et non audens sumere sacrificium accusante coÌ„scieÌ„tia sua anathema est The priest that doth saye masse and dare not eate theÌ„ housell hys conscience accusynge hym is accursed It is lesse daunger to receyue y e housell theÌ„ to hallowe it He y t doth twyse hallowe one host to housell is lyke vnto those heretikes who do christen twyse one childe Christ himselfe blessed housel before his suffring he blessed y e bread and brake thus speaking to hisa postels Eate this bread it is my body And agayne he blessed one chalice w t wyne and thus also speaketh vnto theÌ„ Drinke ye all of this it is myne owne bloud of y e newe testament which is shed for many in forgeuenes of synnes The lord which halowed housel before his suffering sayeth y t y e bread was his owne body y t y e wyne was truly his bloud he haloweth dayly by y e haÌ„des of y e prist bread to his body wyne to his bloud in ghostly mystery as we read in bokes And yet y t liuely bread is not bodely so notwithstaÌ„ding not y e self same body y t Christ suffered in Nor y t holy wine is y e sauiours bloud which was shed for vs in bodely thing but in ghostly vnderstanding Both be truly y t bread hys body and y t wyne also hys bloud as was y e heauenly bread which we call Manna that fed forty yeres gods people And y e cleare water which did then runne from the stone in the wildernes was truly his bloud as Paul wrote one summe of his epistles Omnes patres nostri eandem escam spiritualem manducauerunt et omnes eundem potum spiritualeÌ„ biberunt c. All our fathers ate in the wildernes the same ghostlye meate and dranke the same ghostly drinke They dranke of y t gostly stone and
y t stone was christ The apostle hath said as you now haue heard that they all did eate y e same ghostly meate and they all did drinke the same ghostly drinke And he sayth not bodely but ghostly And Christ was not yet borne nor hys bloud shedde when that the people of Israell ate y t meat and drank of that stone And the stone was not bodelye Christ though he so sayd It was the same mistery in the olde law and they did ghostlye signifie y t ghostly housell of our sauioures body which we consecrate now This Epistle to VVulfstane Elfrike wrote first in the Latyne tounge as in a shorte Latyne Epistle set before this and one other of hys Saxon Epistles he confesseth thus Aelfricus abbas VVulfstano venerabili archiepiscopo salutem in Christo Ecce paruimus vestrae almitatis iussionibus transferentes Anglice duas epistolas quas Latino eloquio descriptas ante annum vobis destinauimus non tamen semper ordinem sequentes nec verbum ex verbo sed sensum ex sensu proferentes Beholde we haue obeyed the commaundement of thy excellencie in translating into Englishe the two Epistles which we sent vnto thee writtē in Latine more then a yeare agoe Howbeit we keepe not here alwayes the same order nor yet translate worde for worde but sense for sense Nowe because verye fewe there be that doe vnderstande the old Englishe or Saxon so much is our spech chaunged from the vse of that time wherin Elfrike liued and for that also it maye be that some will doubt how skilfullye and also faithfullye these wordes of Elfrike be translated from the Saxon tounge we haue thought good to set downe here last of all the very wordes also of his latyne epistle which is recorded in bokes fayre wrytten of olde in the Cathedrall Churches of Worcester and Excester * ⎠* QVidam vero presbyteri implent alabastrum suum de sacrificio quod in Pasca Domini santificant conseruant per totum annum ad infirmos quasi sanctior sit caeteris sacrificijs Sed nimium insipienter faciūt Quia nigrescit putrescit tādiu conseruatum Et liber poenitentialis pro tali negligentia poenitentiam magnam docet aut si a muribus commestum sit aut ab auibus raptum Tam sanctum est sacrificum quod hodie sāctificatur quam illud quod in die Pascae consecratum est Et ideo debetis a dominica in dominicam autper duos vel maxime tres heddomadas tenere sacrificium in alabastro mundo ad infirmos ne nigrescat aut putrescat si diutius seruetur Nam in lege Moisi pone bant sacerdoted semper omni sabbato panes propositionis calidos in tabernaculo coram Domino in sequenti sabbato sumebant illos soli sacerdotes edebant alios nouos pro eis ponebant Facite vos sacerdotes similiter Custodite cauté sacrificium Christi ad infirmos edite illud ne diutius teneatur quam oportet Et reponite aliud nouiter sanctificatū propter necessitatem infirmorū ne sine uiatico exeant de hoc seculo Christus Iesus in die suae sanctae caenae accepit panem benedixit ac fregit de dit discipulis suis dicens Accipite cōmedite Hoc est enim corpus meum Similiter calicem accipiens gratias egit dedit illis dicēs Bibite ex hoc omnes Hic est sanguis meus noui testamenti qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum Intelligite modo sacerdotes quod ille dominus qui ante passionē suam potuit conuertere illum panē illud vinum ad suum corpus sanguinem quod ipse quotidie sanctificat per manus sacerdotum suorum panem ad suum corpus spiritualiter vinum ad suum sanguinem Non sit tamen hoc sacrificium corpus eius in quo passus est pro nobis neque sanguis eius quē pro nobis effudit sed spiritualiter corpus eius efficiter sanguis sicut manna quod de caelo pluit aqua quae de petra fluxit Sicut Paulus Apostolus ait Nolo enim vos ignorare fratres quoniam patres nostri omnes sub nube fuerunt omnes mare transieruut omnes in Moysi baptizati sunt in nube in mari Et omnes eandem escam spiritualem mā ducauerunt oēs eundē potū spiritualem biberunt Bibebāt autem de spirituali consequenti eos petra Petra autem erat Christus Vnde dicit Psalmista Panem coeli dedit eis Panem angelorum manducauit homo Nos quoque proculdubio māducamus panem angelorum bibimus de illa petra quae Christum significabat quotiens fideliter accedimus ad sacrificium corporis sanguinis Christi * ⎠* AS the writynges of the fathers euen of the first age of the Churche bee not thought on all partes so perfect that whatsoeuer thyng hath beene of thē spoken ought to be receaued without all exceptiō which honour truelye them selues both knewe and also haue confessed to be onely due to the most holy and tryed word of God So in this Sermon here published some thynges be spoken not consonant to sounde doctrine but rather to such corruption of greate ignoraunce superstition as hath taken roote in the church of lōg time being ouermuch cumbred with monckery As where it speaketh of the masse to be profitable to the quicke and dead of the mixture of water with wyne and wheras here is also made reporte of ii vayne miracles which notwithstanding seeme to haue been infarced for that they stand in their place vnaptly and without purpose and the matter without them both before after doth hange in it selfe together most orderly with some other suspitious wordes soūding to superstitiō But all these things that be thus of some reprehensiō be as it wer but by the way touched the full and whole discourse of all the former part of the Sermō almost of the whole Sermon is about the vnderstanding of the Sacramentall bread wine howe it is the bodye and bloude of Christ our Sauiour by which is reuealed made knowen what hath beene the common taught doctrine of the church of England on this behalfe many hundreth yeares agoe contrarye vnto the vnaduised writyng of some nowe a dayes Nowe that thys foresayd Saxon Homely with the other testimonies before alleadged doe fullye agree to the olde auncient bookes whereof some bee written in the olde Saxon and some in the Lattyne from whence they are taken these here vnder written vpon diligent perusing comparing the same haue found by conference that they are truelye put forth in Print without any adding or withdrawing any thyng for the more faithfull reporting of the same and therefore for the better credite hereof haue subscribed their names Matthewe Archbyshop of Canterburye Thomas Archbyshop of Yorke Edmunde Byshop of London Iames Byshop of Durham Robert Byshop