Charitas IVSTICIA Fides ¶ A mustre of scismatyke bysshoppes of Rome / otherwyse naming them selues popes / moche necessarye to be redde of al the kynges true subiectes Cum priuilegio PRVDENCIA SPES Obedientia Daâ—entia IB Iohan Byddell Londini in aedibus Thome Bertheleri typis impress Cum priuilegio adimprimendum solum ANNO. M.D.XXXIX ¶ Here foloweth the coutentes of this booke EIrst a prologue whiche discribeth and setteth forthe the maners fassyons and vsages of popes / ryght mete and conuenyent for the tyme that nowe is wherein also the popes power is breuely declared / and whether the worde of god written be suffycient to our saluacyon or not ¶ After that a goodly hystory worthy to be redde of al men of pope Gregory the seuenth / written in the latyne tonge by a ryght holy and vertuous prelate of the churche called Beno cardynall at that same tyme / newly translated into englysshe ¶ Last of al foloweth the lyfe of the fourth Henry emperour of Rome of Amayne newe turned also in to our mother tonge whiche Henry was cruelly imprisoned and deposed by the meanes of the sayde Gregyry The prologue of the translatour ¶ Iohan Robertes to the gentyll indifferent reder sendeth gretynge and well to fare COnsyderyng oh well beloued reder that so many noble authours / as well of science incomparable as of wytte most clere and excelleÌ„t haue in dyuers and sondry workes so lyuely and expresly depaynted and set forthe as a lyuyng ymage before a mans eyen the vse fruyte or coÌ„modytees of hystories / so that nothyng more as concernyng the coÌ„mendacyon of them can be well desyred / I thought it therfore a thyng lytell requysyte as at this tyme agayne of any suche thyngê to make declaracion And though I had attempted so to do yet I do not stande thaÌ„ked be god so hyghly in myne owne conceyte but whan I had done the best I coulde and sought all the corners of my wytte / I thynke not the contrary but there myght haue appered as great difference of eloquence beautye of oracyon bytwyxt my encomye or coÌ„mendacyon and theirs as bytwyxt the clerenesse of the sonne and the leest sterre in the fyrmament Therfore the premysses pondred I haue determyned to leaue that and to procede to my purpose shewe the cause of my labours ¶ There is a fonde folysshe fantasye ragynge in many mens heedes nowe a dayes that wolde to god they were so wyse as they be many in multytude that be troubled with it and that is this The pope saye they can not That the pope can not erre the traÌ„slatouâ—e entenoeth to disprouâ— erre Truthe it is that if he be in a fayre hyghway without any turnynges and wel hedged on bothe sydes vpon his mules backe I thinke he can not moche erre excepte he wolde cause his mule to take the hedge But that lyghtly he can not for a mule men say may abyde the spurre very well This fantastycall blyndnesse was neuer endued by any man of litterature but by some pekysshe pedler or cloutyng colyer it is so grosse of it selfe well be it neuer so grosse yet was I ones grossed therin my selfe For colyers be not grosse alone Than chaunsed to come to my hande the lyfe of Gregory the seuenth otherwyse named Hyldebrande herafter folowyng wherin whan I had redde a lytell way as a man wolde say one leafe and one syde in the latyne tonge se the abhomynacion that there was written I begon some thyng to be moued bote the lyppe scratched my heed and wexed excedynge wery yet forthe I went But whan I came to th ende and remembred the detestacyon execracion and myschefe that I had there met withall by chauÌ„ce / and agayne howe shamfully myserably and pytously the poore symple soules of Christes churche had ben seduced mocked / not onely my selfe and one or twayne mo but hundredes thousandes / ye al the hole worlde with this pestylent persuasyon that the pope can not erre / and dyd se before myne eyen the playne contrary so clere that it can not be denyed / me thought I was bounde in conscience no lesse than vpon the saluacion of my soule to declare vnto other the truthe that I had fouÌ„de and the darknesse out of the whiche by the redyng of this forsayd boke I was delyuered Of this conscyence zeale occasyon I toke vpon me to translate this hystory mencyoned / whiche although it be not so exquisytely done nor with suche eloqueÌ„ce of englysshe as some man wolde loke for in an hystory / yet shall I desyre all men whose chauÌ„ce shall be to rede it to admyt my good wyll endeuoyre And bycause no man in the worlde that nowe is can meane saye or do any thynge so well or with so clere conscience but that the poysoned pestyleÌ„t tonges of false detractours shall peruerte it to the worste therfore I The ê“testaryon of the traÌ„slatour protest here before god or I procede any further that I entende no derogacyon to holy churche holy popes holy bysshops holy fathers holy doctours holy man holy woman or any other holy thynge / but onely the disclosynge vtteraunce of them that be naught and yet notwithstandyng wyll be taken as holy wolde haue men byleue that what so euer they do is well and that they can not erre / â—â—d wyll if a man saye the contrary call hym heretyke and be redy to burne hym for other defence they haue none But truthe it is that a galde horse wyll kycke whâ—n he is rubbed vpon the gall and no man wyll make a prouder bragge souer than 〈◊〉 starke thefe / as Iudas said whan our sauyour Christ shewed his apostels that one of them had betrayed hym Not I good lorde quod he Here coulde I recyte many goodly ensamples of them that wolde be estymed good yet in very dede be starke naught were not for dyuers causes but amonge so many let vs be coÌ„tent with one In the tyme of kyng Henry Cardynall Iohan. the first kyng of Englande there came in to this realme a cardynall of Rome whose name was IohnÌ„ this cardynall made a greuous exclamacyon agaynste preestes concubynes / and sayde that it was a shamfull thynge abhomynable in the syght of god a preest to ryse from a strompettes syde to sacre the holy body of Chryst / whiche notwithstandyng the same daye after that he had songe masse in the mornyng was taken with an harlot hym selfe at nyght lyke a good euaâ—gelycall father This thyng was so opâ—n ly knowen that it myght not be forsaken nor hyd If any man be discontent with the productyon of this ensample I â—hall desyre hym to holde me excused / fyrste bycause I do it of no malyce god to recorde / secondaryly for that that no man entendyng to disclose the maners of them that be naught yet wyll be otherwyse taken can do any other but saye the
worlde as concernyng his manhode / howe can it be auoyded but the bysshop of Rome must nedes be a subiecte If he be but a subiect how can he depose a straunge and alyen kyng as the frenche kyng or suche another the whiche thyng to do his liege lorde and souereygne hath none authorite Ye what maner of subiecte call ye that that compelleth his owne souereygne to kysse his fete and wyll set the crowne vpon his souereygnes heed with his fete and dasshe it of agayne whan he hath done / ye and depose hym therto whan so euer he lyst Howe agreeth this with saynte Paules doctryne in the .xiij. to the Romaynes whiche sayth thus Let euery soule submytte hym selfe vnto the authorite of the hygher powers By the hygher powers he vnderstandeth onely the temperall power as the processe of the text manyfestly declareth / and excepteth neyther bysshop of Rome bysshop of LoÌ„don nor bysshop of Durham / neyther monkes of the charterhouse nor freres of Grenewyche / neyther father pye nor father crowe / neyther father goose nor father gander / nor yet any suche lyke But he saythe let euery soule submyt hym selfe or be subiecte vnto thautoryte of the hygher powers where note that in sayeng euery soule he except 〈◊〉 And thoughe as I sayde before he 〈…〉 th hymselfe afterwardes co 〈…〉 the authoritâ— of the kynge onely sayâ—ngâ—â—e beareth not the sworde for â—aught yet the apâ—stle Peter setteth out Paules meanynge moche clerely iâ— his fyrstâ— epystle and seconde chapytre sayâ—ng S 〈…〉 ytte your selues vnto all â—aneâ— ordynaunce of â—an for the lordes saâ—â— / whether it be vnto the kynge as 〈◊〉 to the chefe heâ—d / eyther vnto rulers as vnto them that are â—ente of hym for the punysshment of y 〈…〉 doers / but for thâ— laâ—dâ— oâ— theâ— that dâ—well â–ª For so is the wyll of godâ—ye and marke what hyghe â—â—ayse is gyuen thâ— kynge in scrypture For he is the â—ynister of god sayth saynt Paule in the .xiij. chapytre to the romaynes And Salomon also in the viij chapytre of his prouerbes / speakynge in â—hâ— person of goddes wysdome saythe thus â—y â—e kynges do reygne Sâ— yâ— not here howe Salomon extolleth the 〈◊〉 of a kynge / affyrmynge that realmes and kyngdomes beâ— gouerned vpholden and defended by the wysdome of god and that their power offyces lawes and ordynaunces ben the very diuyne power and ordynaunces of god And in the seconde booke and twenteth chapyter of the Paralipoâ—eâ—on it is written thus of worldly princes and rulers Ye do not exercyse the iudgement and lawe of man / but of god For as moche than as the offyce and dignyte of kyngê and suche heed rulers ben ordeyned by the hyghe wysdome and prouydence of god / and for as moche also as his iudgement and lawe is not onely mans lawe and iudgement but euen the very iudgement and lawe of god / it foloweth very well accordyng to the sayenge of saynt Paule that who so euer resysteth the kynge and his ordynaunce / Paule sayth who so euer / â—eâ—cepteth no man resysteth the power ordynaunce lawe and iudgement of god / and shall therfore accordyng to the mynde of the same saynte Paule receyue eternall dampnacyon for his rewarde without amendement Here gentyll and indyfferent redâ—â— euen as I â—ntende not to collect and adde in this one lytell corner all the places of scrypture whiche make stablysshe and confyrme the diuyne authorite power of kinges ye rather of god hymselfe / euen so my mynde was not vtterly to â—â—aue it all bare naked vntouched blynde vnto the / but to shewe that some lyght knowlege and vnderstandyng in the obedyence due vnto thy prince / and gyue the occasyon to enserche and seke further for a more clerer perceyuaunce of the same And thus I leaue speakyng of the kynges power addynge a reason or twayne that we haue no nede of the bysshoppe of Rome to be a generall heed of the churche of god / and that I proue thus If we haue any nede of hym eyther we muste haue nede vnto his lawes correctyon whiche is false / for as moche as the kyng is bothe suffycyent and able with his counsayle to punysshe all maner of synne or els we haue nede vnto his personall prechyng whiche is false also can not be Or els we haue nede to byleue as he byleueth whiche is false vntrue also / for than we had nede to be heretykes traytours / as coÌ„munly he is hym selfe Or elles we haue nede of his myghty power / whiche is as true as that the mone hathe calued / whan hym selfe hathe no more power than hathe an other bysshop / as we haue made clere before Now yf we nede hym iÌ„ none of these poyntes / than it is easye to coniecture to argue for a truthe that he was neuer ordeyned of god to be generall heed vicare of the churche / but hathe purchased that authoritie onely by the swerde / and dothe falsly vsurpe it by tyrannye For god and nature createth nothynge in vayne One thyng I know that he hath had moche of our money wherof whether he had any nede or none let euery man iudge Yes say the papystes / it is mete that there be one that dare boldly tell Emperours kynges and prynces theyr faultes / as who sholde saye / that no man sauynge the puppet of Rome durst purely and syncerely preche teche and wryte the holy worde of god wherein as in a moost true myrrour and glasse bothe kyngê Emperours other may beholde se the spottes of their soules But your meanynge is oh my fayre papystes that it is mete conuenyent that there be suche a tyraunt deuyll as may be able to lay a fayre swerde in the neckes of prynces whiche they and theyr heyres and successours shall neuer be able to recouer whan so euer they shall do any thyng coÌ„trary to your appetites But we taught by good experyence are compelled to tell you agayne that it is bothe necessarye and nedefull that there be none suche and that we reporte vs to good kynge IohnÌ„ with other bothe kynges Emperours dukes whome your almyghty god father the puppet of Rome hath full lyke a false traytour tyrauÌ„t deposed ¶ Here I leaue your lorde the puppet as I fouÌ„de him for this ones spekyng a worde or twayne of some of his clientes whiche cleuyng to the clyfte of his lordshyps clensyng place defende his godheed from the hyghest to the lowest with the worde of god vnwryten / so they call it Truthe it is that the worde of god vnwryten Of the worde of god vnwritten is of as great strength efficacite as the worde of god wryten I meane yf it be the very worde of god in dede And therfore whan so euer any man wyll vsurpe vpon the oh good reder and fortyfye any mater as in the name authorite of the worde of god vnwryten do no more
hym a monke It is a wonder they made hym not a monkas or some other monster Suppose ye also but that kyng IohnÌ„ Kyng IohnÌ„ of England handled lyke a warde of Englande was handled metely lyke a warde whiche was fayne to yelde vp his crowne to the pope make so shamefull an othe of allegyaunce to holde his crowne of hym / after that maner as I byleue verily no trewe herted subiecte may abyde to here of moche lesse than to reporte it Ye and what was the cause of the cruell handlynge of this good kynge Forsothe none other but for that that he right gentilly demauÌ„ded a certayne soÌ„me of money of the whyte monkes to ayde hym in his warres and nede agaynst the yrisshe men / whiche monkes answered ryght obstynately but clokynge their obstynate pride with the colour of obedyeÌ„ce towarde their religyon that they durste not so do without the consent and lycence of the generall and heed visytour of their religyon thabbot of Cisteaux in FrauÌ„ce The kyng notwithstandyng whan he retourned from Irelande compelled them as right was for their proude disdaynfull stubburnnesse to paye moche more than he demauÌ„ded before the settyng forwardes of his voyage towarde IrelaÌ„de An other cause was for that that the kynge wolde not admytte one Stephan Langton a man of no small pride fewe good vertues as it apereth right well by the cronycles to the archbysshoprike of Caunterbury whome the priour and couent of the same had electe and chosen agaynste the kynges wyll and sent their election to the pope / whiche the pope confyrmed and sacred hym at a cytie called Viterbi If these be reasonable causes oh good christen reder to enterdyte and accurse this noble realme of Englande the kyng and his counsayle with all the dukes erles barons lordes other his subiectes that fauoured hym I reporte me vnto the If these be reasonable and iust causes to pyll poll this moste honorable realme of Englande euer sens that yerely of a thousande marke to be payde to the courte of Rome as a trybute as the bysshop of Rome pretendeth / with other incouenyentes expressed in the cronycle of Fabyane the seuenth parte .xvj. leafe / Rede Fabyane and the cronycles of Englande and in the cronycles of EnglaÌ„de the. lxxxiiij leafe and the .lxxxv. leafe I reporte me to the and to all the worlde without questyon kynge IohnÌ„ was a good man and a moste vertuous kynge / but vngoodly handled and falsly dyffamed by a malycyous sorte of traytours of the clergy after his dethe / and his lyfe and hystory shamfully enterlased with most abhomynable lyes wherfore I coÌ„ntende it syngulerly vnto thy goodnesse to rede it with discrecyon and iudgement Here good and fauourable reder I appeale vnto thy very conscyence and adiure the in the behalfe of god and as thou wylt answere / for as moche as thou seest here depaynted and set forthe before thyne eyen the maners and fassyons of the proude bysshoppes of Rome whiche be suche that it mere able to make any cleane christened and good englysshe herte in the worlde to abhorre at them that thou from hence forthe be not so superstycious so insolent folysshe to thynke it well done and alowed of god what so euer the rauenyng bysshoppe of Rome shall do without or besyde the worde of god Ye I adiure the also in the same name and vertue that I dyd before that thou suffre not thyselfe to be led in blyndnesse dampned in hell with them that helde with the bysshop of Rome than named pope Innocent the thyrde / agaynst their liege lorde souerayne kyng IohnÌ„ but that thou endeuoyre thy selfe to knowe thy dutye vnto thy souerayne and lyege lorde / and to resorte vnto suche sermons and bookes as shall teache the the same vnto whom thou owest suche obedyence as to shede thy herte bloode in his cause and coÌ„maundement / ye agaynst an hole armye of bysshops and popes of Rome if the case shulde so requyre / as well as agayne an armye of infydels and turkes I meane where the bysshoppe of Rome wyll take in hande to play the tyrauÌ„t as he dyd with good kynge Iohan / there I saye thou art bounde vnder the payne of dampnacion to stryke ye I affyrme boldly that who so euer ones fauoured cursed Innocentes parte at that tyme was dampned for euer in hell / onlesse he repeÌ„ted and were sory therfore or he dyed That proueth the electe vessell of god saynt Paulâ— the .xiij. chapiter to the romaynes sayeng who so euer resysteth the power meanynge the temperall power onely resysteth the ordynaunce of god Nowe is it playne that who so euer resysteth the ordynauÌ„ce of god coÌ„mytteth dampnable synne / and shall receyue dampnacyon for his labour as saynt Paule saythe / onelesse he repent and be sory therfore And that the aydours fautours fauourers and coÌ„senters vnto synne be as well worthy of euerlastynge dampnacyon as the very doers of the fact is proued by thauthorite of saynt Paule in the last ende of the fyrst chapiter of the epystle to the romayns by these wordes The whiche saythe saynt Paule meanyng of the heathen gentyles in generall all be it they knewe the lawe naturall of god that all they whiche coÌ„mytte suche synnes / as be adnombred in the same chapyter before be worthy of dampnacyon / yet not onely they do the same but also consent vnto those that do them as who shulde say not onely the doer but also the coÌ„senter vnto synne is worthy of euerlasting damnacyon Neyther can any man pretende ignorauÌ„ce before god / for it wyl not serue as wytnesseth Chryst hym selfe in the gospell / saying If the blynde lede the blynde Math .xv. bothe shall fall in the dyche He sayth not that the one of them shall fall in the dyche but bothe ¶ Wherfore ones agayne I warne aduyse beseche hertely adiure all myne owne hertye welbeloued countreymen of Englande that they ê‘myt not themselues to be blynded with affection with hypocrysye or with superstycyon Blyndnes wyll not helpe / therfore let it passe Yf thou wylte knowe the bysshops power of Rome / otherwyse called the popes power / as it is coÌ„uenyent syttynge that thou do / resorte vnto the glasse of truthe to the booke named the determinacions of the vniuersities / where it is ryght excelleâ—tly and passynge well declared debated what the power of the pope is / how farre it extendeth / and what he may do And to tell the my mynde shortly Our metropolytane of Caunterburye within the realme of Englande is a farre better man than he / both by thautorite of scripture the doctours of the churche and the authorite of counsayles generall And as for the bysshop of Rome otherwyse called the pope that nowe is all the worlde knoweth well ynough what he is a bastarde a symonyake an heretyke a false vsurper of his dignyte wherfore I can not
but to the ende purpose that he wolde after that demaunde of them their owne fayth and byleue / haue it knowen to all men as it was before knowen vnto hym selfe / to signyfye that his seruauntes frendes and louers whiche be taught inwardly by the spyrit of his father haue an hygher knowlege vnderstandyng and a sure byleue and trust / where as they that be not instructe in their soules by the same spyryte haue but a waueryng mynde opinyon shaken with euery wynde puffe of doctryne The wordes of the scripture ben these whome sayd Christe do men talke that I am that same sonne of man And they answered Some say that thou art IohnÌ„ Baptyst / other saye that thou art Helyas / other that thou art Ieremy or one of the nombre of the prophetes He sayd vnto them But what saye you that I am Than Symon Petre answeryng sayd Thou art Christ that same sonne of the lyuynge god Here thou must vnderstaÌ„de good reder that lykewyse as Christ proponed his question not onely vnto Peter but vnto all his apostels / euen so they all and not onely Peter answered vnto Christes questyon / all be it at the fyrste syght a man wolde thynke the contrary by the wordes of the scrypture but that answere of all them was made in Peter and by Peter in the name of them all / as in worldly besynesse the foreman of a quest answereth and gyueth the verdyte for all his felowes This affyrmeth saynt Augustyne vpon this same place by these wordes Vnus respondit ê“multis Oue Augustyne answereth saythe he for many Item the holy man Bede our owne countrey Bede man Petrus respondit vnus pro omnibus Peter answereth saythe he one for all Item Lyra Peter saythe Lyra as Lyra. though he had ben principall of all gaue answere for hym selfe and for the other And the glose also called Glosa interliniaris saythe the same / and so dothe the ordinary glose And the noble clerke Chrisostome Chrisostom in his .lv. homely vpon this same place of Mathewe / and vpon the last chapiter of IohnÌ„ in his .lxxxvij. homilie calleth Peter the mouthe of thapostels / for that that all they answered in hym by his mouth as by their forman spokesman as men call it And that he was so it apereth well in the syxth chapyter of IohnÌ„ where after a longe sermon that Christ had made vnto the people wherwith they were so sore offended that they went murmuring away forsoke his audyeÌ„ce / he sayd vnto all his apostels atones wyll ye go also Than answered Symon Peter Syr to whom shulde we go Thou hast the wordê of eternall lyfe / and we byleue knowe that thou arte Christ the same sonne of the lyuynge god Marke here that he saythe not I byleue and knowe / but we byleue and knowe as beynge the mouthe and forman for them all Of this it is manyfest bothe by scypture and doctours that Peter answered for all his felowes and they all in hym / and that his cofessyon was their coÌ„fessyon Forget not this good geÌ„tle reder for thou shalte receyue no small fruyte therby lyght as touching the truthe of that that I affirme the bisshop of Rome to haue no more authorite than an other bysshop For this one 's grauÌ„ted as it can not iustly be denyed and as we haue suffyciently proued that all the apostels made answere vnto Christes demaunde and confessed hym to be the sonne of the lyuynge god by the mouthe of Peter / than must it nedes folowe of congruence that what so euer answere and promesse for that confessyon so made semeth onely at the fyrst lokynge to be yelded vnto Peter as retrybucion rewarde of his christyan coÌ„fessyon / must of necessite also be yelded vnto the rest of his felowes For the cause as sayth saynt Augustyn why Peter receyued suche a promesse of Christ as he dyd was his trewe and faythfull confessyon Nowe the same cause of promesse and rewarde beynge in them all that was in Peter / why shulde they not all than enioy and optayne the same gyfte authorite and promesse that Peter enioyed and optayned specially before so rightwyse a iudge whiche had called them al to one offyce of apostleshyp Ye that our reason is bothe good and problable / and that all the apostels had lyke egall promesse made vnto them all / ye euen the very same selfe promesse that Peter had made vnto hym and all at one tyme place / we shall confyrme and stablysshe by thautorite of doctours and reason corroborate by scripture Our fyrst doctour is the holy and worshypfull man Bede whiche confyrmeth our foresayd reason thus Lykewyse sayth this holy man as the apostels generally demaunded of their byleue Peter answereth one for all / euen so that answere that Christ made vnto Peter he made to them al in Peter This geare is playne ynough me thynketh But let vs se what Lyra sayth And I say vnto the sayth Christ that thou art Peter and so forthe where Lyra vpon these wordes of Christ And I say vnto the putteth to this glose for the thy felowes The same affyrmeth Ludolphus in his boke intytled De vita Christi euen by the same wordes and so dothe the foresayd glose interliniar or bytwene the lynes sayeng thus Christ answereth them all in Peter And the ordynarye glose sayth thus The answere is made to one for all to signyfye that vnitie ought to be obserued amonge them all Nowe this one 's proued as we se it is / and as it can not be denyed / but that what so euer promesse of power was here made vnto Peter was equally and at one tyme and place made vnto all the rest of thapostles How can the bysshop of Rome that vsurper tyraunt and bloode supper for shame yf he were not paste all shame ones mouthe it that he sholde haue any authoritie aboue an other bysshop consydering al thapostles had as moche power promysed vnto them as had Peter and all at one tyme as I sayd but euen now Yea that there was no superioritie amongest the apostles appereth in the .xv. chapytre of the actes of the apostles where whan Peter by the waye of sentence and iudgement wolde haue rydde the gentyles that were conuerted vnto Chryste from the bondage of Moyses lawe and from all the partes therof Iames toke vpon hym to correcte Peters senteÌ„ce and adiudged that for the weakenesse of the iewes to th ende that dissencyon stryfe sholde haue an ende bytwene the gentyles and them adiudged I saye that that gentyles sholde abstayne from eatynge of meates offâ—ed vnto ydolles from fornycacyon strangled and bloode / ye and discerned that so it sholde be sayinge My sentence is that is to saye I iudge and ordeyne that we trouble not them of the gentyles whiche be conuerted to god c. And this ordynaunce stode and was a playne correccyon to Peters