Lyndw. ne clerici vel monac c. vlt. PRESENTI DECRETO c. Wee ordeyne by this present decree that Clearkes beneficed or placed in holy orders bee neyther admitted gouerners of Villadges as to be Stewards or Bayliffes of such administrations by occasion whereof they might be lyable to make accounts vnto laye men neyther yet that they exercise anye secular iurisdiction speciallye those whereunto iudgement of bloode is annexed And from these decrees I conclude thus 1 Whosoeuer ought to attend vppon the alter and to giue him selfe to prayer and making of supplication ought not by anye testament to bee made a Tutor or Gardian 2 But euery one honored with the holy priesthood and placed in the ministery of Clearkes ought to attend vppon the Alter and apply him selfe to prayer making of supplication 3 Therefore none honoured c. and placed c. ought by any testament to bee made a Tutor or Gardian 1 Whosoeuer is gouernour of any Village Steward or Bayliffe of anye liberty or bayliwicke is by vertue of his office accountable to the laytie 2 But no Clearke beneficed or otherwise placed in holy orders by occasion of temporall officers ought to bee accountable to lay men 3 Therefore noe Clearke beneficed or anye other placed in holye orders ought to bee anye Gouernour Steward or Bayliffe THE lyke constitution was made by Octobone sometimes Legate from the Popes side here in Englande and speciallye publyshed againste the excesse of our Englishe Cleargy in this behalfe Constitu Octob. ne clerici iuris secular exerceant CVM HONESTATIS c. Insomuch as it is reputed a speciall decency of ecclesiastical honesty to be farre estranged from carnall actions we deeme it a very heynous and filthy thing that handes deputed vnto heauenly ministeries shoulde be intangled with secular affayres Or that certaine Clearkes seeking after earthly gaines and temporall iurisdiction thorowe a foule and greedy rauine doe receiue from lay men seculer iurisdiction and be called Iusticers and minister iustice which they cannot minister without a dissipation and iniury of ecclesiasticall order Therefore we desirous to extirpate this horrible vice straightly forbid all persons of churches and Vicars with perpetuities yea also all other manner of persons whatsoeuer placed in the ministery that they presume not to take any secular iurisdiction of any secular person or to exercise the same according to the precepts of holy Canons by this present Constitution we straightly inhibite that none placed in spirituall warfare presume to exercise in the secular court the office of an aduocate eyther in the cause of bloud or in any cause whatsouer saue onely in such causes as are permitted vnto him by Law And we likewise forbid that any cleargy man shoulde presume to bee eyther a iudge or an assessor Which constitutiō of Octobone as it seemeth in some sence and in some respect to exempt cleargy men altogether from the power and soueraignty of Kings and princes denying them indeed power ouer the Cleargy and so in this sense be contrary and repugnant to her highnesse Crowne and prerogatiue royall and therefore not authorised by act of Parliament though in the end the same Legate seeme to allowe the Kings priuiledges adding these words Saluis domini Regis priuilegiis Sauing the priuiledge of my Lorde the King So in another respect and in another sence if regard be had to the generall equitye of the inhibition we shall finde the same to agree altogether with the reasons of the former prouisions For in this constitution the Legate allegeth other reasons then before were alleaged and forbiddeth other offices then by the former were forbidden The reasons may be gathered thus 1 Whatsoeuer is iniurious vnto the ministerye or breedeth a dissipation of the ministerye the same may not be lawfully layde vppon the ministery 2 But to be deputed a minister of iustice to be made an aduocate a Iudge or an assessor is iniurious to the ministerye and breedeth a dissipation thereof 3 Therefore these offices may not be deputed vnto them 1 Whatsoeuer may be cause that the cleargy by any foule fault should swarue from the workes of fayth the same may not lawfully be layde vpon the cleargy 2 But to be made a Iustice an aduocate a iudge an assessor in seculer Courts may be cause that the Cleargye shoulde swarue from the workes of faith 3 Therefore Cleargye men lawfully maye not bee made Iustices aduocates Iudges or assessors in seculer courtes WHich two reasons of this prouinciall decree may probablie seeme to haue beene collected out of some more auncient Canons long before that time established wherby the like offices were forbidden and principally for these causes following 21. q 3. peruenit Gloss non exerceant Extra de vit honest cler c. clerici consecratio distinc 5. c. First that for filthy lucres sake they meddle not with taking to hire possessions seculer causes Secondly that thorough slouth idlenesse they separate not themselues from the holy ministeries Thirdly that they runne not a gadding to the Courtes of seculer princes And lastly because the Psalter should neuer be out of their handes And not onely vpon these groundes haue these Lawes at the first had their essence and establishment but sundry other considerations as forceable as these are apparantly known to the learned in the laws for the ouerthrow of ciuill Iurisdiction in ecclesiastical men In the administration of ciuil Iustice euery one in commission of peace without respect eyther of the person or of the cause oughte indifferenly and vnpartially to execute his office For bee a man once sworn in commission of peace he may not afterwards deale with hearing of what causes he list hee may not take notice of halfepeny matters and post ouer matters of bloud to his fellow iustice hee may not onely set an ende betweene neighbour and neighbour for shrewde wordes passed but he must prosecute the murtherer to death he must take his examination and he must send him with a Mittimus to the Iaile He must at the generall Sessions of gayle deliuery certifie the murtherers confession Now because it is a matter very haynous by the ecclesiasticall lawe in force that any ecclesiasticall person shoulde bee present in any place where any sentence is giuen for the sheading of bloud much lesse to bee a minister of Iustice in a cause of bloud Therefore ciuill iurisdiction for this cause also is forbidden ecclesiastical men And among many constitutions I haue thought good to recite onely these that follow Extra ne cleric vel mon. c. clericis CLERICIS IN SACRIS ORDINIBVS c. It is not lawfull by the Councell of Toletane for Clearkes placed in holy orders to handle iudgement of bloude Wherfore we prohibit that they by them selues neyther chop of any members or cause any to be chepped off For if any shall doe such a thing let him be depriued of his honour and of his place And agayne
concerning the pouerty of certaine persons pretended and alleaged in defence of dispensations for many benefices that because the reuenewes and profites of one benefice is now adayes not a competent and sufficient maintenance for a minister his wife and familie that therefore in respecte of suche pouertye they are necessarye and to be borne withall I aunswere herein firste with Rebuffus the Lawyer that Licet quis sit pauper c. Rebuff de dispens ad plu benefi Though one be poore and suppose two benefices to be very necessary and profitable for him yet for this cause the Pope maye not dispence But if it be necessary or profitable for the Churche to haue a teacher to instruct mainteine and defend the same then shall a dispensation be lawfull Secondly that whosoeuer hath taken vpon him a charge with a poore living and stipend belonging to the same ought by law to content him selfe therwith and notin respect of any pouerty to seeke to haue many liuings thereby to better his estate or augment his liuing For the lawe in trueth is as followeth 32. q. 5. c. horrendus Qui inodicum recepit beneficium c. He that hath receaued a smale benefice hath preiudiced him selfe therefore let him seeke his liuing by his owne craft because whatsoeuer hath once pleased him ought not any more to displease him 70. distinct sanctorum And let euery one walke in that vocation whereunto he is called and let him do according to the example of the Apostle saying these handes haue ministred vnto me al things that were wanting 21. q. 1. c. primo glos extra de rescrip c. si proponente ver minus ff 91. distinct qui autem And let him that is forbidden to get his liuing by filthy lucre and vnhonest marchaundise haue a stipend of the oblations offerings of the Church but in case the Church be not sufficient let him after the example of the Apostle who liued by the worke of his hands get by his owne industry or husbandry those thinges that are necessary Out of these lawes against dispensations graunted vnto pryuate persons in respect of priuate necessity I conclude thus 1 If priuate necessytie or pouerty were a sufficient cause to enioy a dispensation for many benefices then shoulde priuate necessity haue bene warraunted by law hereunto 2 But priuate necessitie or pouerty is not warranted by law to be anye sufficient cause for a dispensation 3 Therefore the necessitie or pouertye of a priuate person is not a sufficient cause for a dispensatioÌ„ THe first proposition is grounded vppon the verie nature and essence of a dispensation for the same being as is said before of the nature of a priuelege can not otherwise be graunted then vpon a iust cause ratified by law The second propositioÌ„ being a general proposition negatiue of the law cannot better be manifested then by a special repetitioÌ„ of the things permitted by lawe according to this rule Quod in quibusdam permittitur in caeteris prohibetur That which is permitted in some certaine things the same in other thinges is forbidden And therefore the lawe allowing either vrgent necessitie and euident vtilitye of the Churche or some excellent quallities of the minde or discent from some auncient parentage to be onely causes of dispensation excludeth all other causes whatsoeuer And as touching necessitie and pouertie of priuate persons the lawe absolutely appointeth other meanes to releeue the same then by way of dispensation Neyther can it bee found in the whole bodie of law that pouerty a lone is any sufficient cause to procure a dispensation for many benefices For the law accounteth him alwayes to haue a competency and sufficiency 12 q. 1 c. Episcopus vers q. 2 c. episcopus which hath Victum vestitum meate drincke and apparrell which is proued thus luxta sanctum Apostolum fic dicentem habentes victum vestitum hiis contenti simus according to the saying of the Apostle hauing foode and apparrell let vs content our selues with that And here we learne both what he that hath taken vnto him selfe a charge hauing but a smale stipend annected thereunto ought to do in case it be not sufficient that is that he ought to labour and trauaile with his owne handes in some honest handy craft and also what by lawe is reputed and taken to be a competent sufficient maintaynance euen foode and apparell Moreouer if a man willingly and without compulsion enter into a charge knowing before hand the stipend due vnto him for his trauell to be small he may not Lawefullye afterwardes complayne but it is whollye to bee imputed to his owne negligence and follye that he was no more circumspect better to prouide for him self at the first If a man knowing a woman to haue led a loose and dissolute life take her to his Wife hee cannot for her former misdemeanour giue her afterwards a Byll of Diuorcement Quod semel approbani iterum reprobare non possum That which once I haue approued and allowed I cannot afterwardes disproue and disalowe Neyther in truethe for ought that euer I perceyued by the want of any Pluralitie man if hee rightlye examine his owne Conscyence can hee pretend any necâ—ssity and want of lyuing for himselfe to bee anye iust cause of his foule disorder herein May Caietane Cardinall of Brygit whose Annuall reuenewes by his Cardinalship amounte to the Summe of two Hundred pounds maye the same Cardinall whose Annuall profites of his Prebend in another Churche amounte to the Summe of two Hundred Markes Maye the same Cardinall whose annuall Reuenewes of his Archdeaconarye in another Churche amounte to the Summe of Fortye Poundes May the same Cardinall whose Annuall Reuenewes of his owne and his Wiues Patrimonye amounte to the Summe of Fiftye Pound complayne iustly that hee standeth in neede of sufficient liuing to mayntayne himselfe his Wife and two or three Children and thereuppon purchase to him selfe a License to retayne a Benefice from the which hee receyueth yeerely one hundred Markes May a Cardinall I say thus furnished with so manye ecclesiasticall Dignities affirme safely with a good Conscience that hee wanteth and standeth in neede of a conuenient liuing Nay maye not the Lordes people rather crye out agaynste this intollerable Ambition Rauyne and spoyle Yea maye not the common weale yea doth it not feele to hirr ruine the miserable pouertie and pâ—…urie of his stipendarie Curate vpon whom he thinketh to haue bestowed a large and bountifull rewarde for his seruice in the ministery towardes the maintenance of him his wyfe and family when as his farmer shall paye him by the yeare ten or twelue pounds at the vtmost Is this tollerable by lawe No no the pretence of pouertie that this man his fellow Cardinal hauing Church vppon Church a personage vpon his prouostship do make to be a cloake for their worldlines can neuer shrowd it selfe so couertly but their iniustice by lawe may
the lawes are not onely vnprofitable but also are to be accounted for thinges vndon And thus much concerning the causes circumstaÌ„ces of dispensations for many benefices It followeth theÌ„ in the description of a dispensation as you haue seen that the same ought to be granted cum causae cognitione with knowledge of the cause the reason is this Glos Extrauagan de prebend dig c. execrabilis ver vltima Duo sunt in dispensatione necessaria authoritas dispensantis factum per quod dispensatur Nam in quolibet actu considerari debent duo factum modus Two things are necessary in a dispensation authoritie of the dispenser and the fact whereby he shall dispence For in euery Act two thinges are to be considered the fact and the maner of the fact And therefore a magistrate hauing authority to dispence ought not vpon the bare assertion and simple allegation of any person disirous to be priuiledged and to haue the Magistrate to mitigate the rigour and extremitie of common right graunt any such mitigation vnlesse the partie first alleadge and by some lawfull proofe make manifest vnto him that both touching the abilitie of his person and the necessitie of his cause there ought in equitie an exemption and immunitie be graunted vnto him For Priuilegia sayth the Lawe ff de minori l. de etate d. ex de priuil c. sane 7. q. 1. potuisti bast l. 1. de col l. ver are preiudicialia magnum pariunt preiudicium ideo sunt cum plena causae cognitione tractaâ—…de priuilegium non est dandum nisi certa ratione inspecta non subito sed cum magna deliberatione Priuiledges are preiudicall breede great preiudice and are for this cause to be handled with a plenarie decision of the cause And a priuiledge is not to be giuen vnles the certain reason therof be foreseen and not sodenly but with great deliberation aduise In which deliberation aduisemeÌ„t taken by the iudg first the allegation or petitioÌ„ of the party agent or suppliant secondly the prone manifestation of the same his perioÌ„ is to be coÌ„sidred For no dispensatioÌ„ ought to be graunted at the proper motion and pleasure of the iudge alone but euery Dispensation ought to be granted at the instance and petition of the party alone § Hoc autem iudiciuÌ„ ff De dam. infect ff De regni sur l. inuito extra de Symo. Licet heli Cod. de fidei com liâ—…ent l. si Quiae laxari iâ—… non debet nec solui nisi parte postulante inuitâ— non debet beneficium conferri Et sententia debet esse conformis petitioni Et index semper debet indicare secundum allegata probata Because the Lawe ought not to be released or remitted but at the petition of the partye and a sentence ought to bee conformable to the demaunde and a iudge ought euermore to giue sentence according to thinges alleaged and thinges prooued And therefore sithence no other cause by Lawe may be alleaged in the Court of faculties for the graunting of any dispensation for many benefices then the very apparant vtility and vrgent necessity of the Church I conclude that the iudge his duety office is in any wise not to admit any other maÌ„ner of allegation but to pronounce the same altogether friuolous and to be of no valew in Lawe The Doctorship the Chapplainship the worship of any ecclesiasticall person are not sufficient causes in this behalfe alone vnlesse also together with the same meete and concurre the profite and necessity of the Church And if the said allegation as vaine and friuolous be to be reiected then no Dispensation thervpon ought to be graunted for otherwise the Iudge should of necessity eyther allow other causes then the Lawe doth allowe or else pronounce iudgemente otherwise then according to the demaund both which were too too greate absurdities And therfore out of the former rules and principles of Lawe I argue thus 1 Whatsoeuer is hurtfull and preiudiciall the same ought aduisedly and vppon consultation to bee graunted 2 But Dispensations are hurtfull and preiudiciall 3 Therefore dispensations ought aduisedly and vppon consultation to be graunted Extra de priuilig c. sane And if euery dispensation ought to be graunted by sentence vpon some consultation had that then euerye sentence vpon some consultation had ought to be giuen according to thinges alleadged and thinges demaunded Extra de simo c. licet heli IN which allegation and demaund to the ende the sentence may be conformable to the demaunde and so effectuall in law must be foreseene two things First that there be expressed no false or erronious cause Secondly that the same hide or conceale no truth Glos in extrauag execrabilis de prebend ver ex dispensatione For Ea dicitur legitima dispensatio in qua nihil tacetur vel nihil exprimitur quo expresso vel lacito princeps verisimiliter duci potest ad dispensationem denegandam That dispensation is reputed lawfull wherein nothing is concealed or nothing is expressed that beeing concealed or expressed the prince may be likelihood be induced to deny the said dispensation If then euery sentence must be conformable to the allegation and euerye iudgement agreeable to the demaund and that neither out of the sentence for a dispensation any knowen truth or manifest equitie ought to bee concealed neither in the same any salse or erronious cause ought to be expressed it followeth of necessitie that euerye allegation made for a dispensation ought to be of the same nature and of the same condition and that euery allegation not of the same nature and condition is an vnlawfull allegation and an vnequall petition Moreouer euery one that hath authoritie to dispence ought to keepe this rule Glos in extrauag coÌ„i col 3. ver Vt statuat vel disponsit contra ius aut contrascriptum si aequitas quae mouet ipsum mouisset legislatorem si casus nunc emergens esset sibi expositus That they ordayne or dispence against law or against writ if such equitie as mooueth him might haue mooued the Law-maker himselfe to haue graunted a dispensation had the case now growing bene proposed at the time of the law making to the law maker It followeth then againe that equitie beeing the cause of the sentence for a dispensation the same equitie must also bee the cause of the allegation for a Dispensation For if the iudge must giue a dispensation where equity requireth the party must then demaund a Dispensation where equity requireth For equity is always the foundation and grouÌ„dwork of a dispensatioÌ„ And what equity eueÌ„ such equity as might iustly haue mooued the Lawemaker to haue graunted a dispensation Nowe then because the Lawmaker authorising the Archbysh of Cant. to giue Dispensations hath beene the high Court of Parliament It followeth that the Archbysh may dispence onely in such cases as wherein the high
gatherer of charges belonging to the treasury or to take to him either publike or other mens possessions or to be a steward of an house or proctor in any cause of controuersy or yet to become a suerty in any such causes that by this occasion both no hurt be wrought against the churches and that the ministeries be not hindred By wâ—ich Law the Emperour we see vsing the authority of an Emperour and exercising his imperial power ouer the Cleargy within his dominions and regarding the peace and quietnesse of the Church and to keepe the Cleargy as well as the residue of his people in due obedience of his Lawes and within the compasse of their calling hath established these his owne lawes for them his owne subiectes to be ruled and gouerned by Neither staieth hee him selfe in the prohibition of these offices alone but proceedeth further further with the like De epis cler Auth. presbiteros EPISCOPOS autem velmonachos tutelam alicuius personae subire non permittimus And as touching Bishops or Monckes we suffer them not to take on them the ouersight of any Orphane And again the Emperour Iustine writing to Archelaus the chief of the pretory commanded thus Cod. de epist cler l. repentita REPETITA PROMVLGATIONE non solum iudices quorum libet c. Wee repeating our Proclamations think it good not only that the iudges of euery tribunall or iudgement seat but that the gouernors of the churches of this excellent City amongst whome this most filthy kind of proouing dead mens willes haue crept in before warned that they meddle not with a thing which by the disposition of our Laws appertain not in any wise to any other then onely to the Mayster of oure reuenewes For it is absurd yea rather an ignominy for Cleargy men to shew themselues cunning of common Pleadings And the trangressors of this ordinance we deeme shall be punished with the losse of fifty poundes of Gould The reason of which constitution may bee drawne from another Law of the Emperour wherein is prohibited the selfe same thing QVI SVB. c. Wee thinke that the deceite of these men ought to be met with who vnder a pretense of being Deans or collegiat men when they perfourme no such duety endeuour by reason of other chardges to withdraw themselues that none vnder colour of some one office which hee dothe not execute might be eased of the weight and burden of an office which by duety he should execute And againe the same Emperour saith Cod. de testa l. coÌ„sulta diualia Cod. de dona l. in hac l. secunduÌ„ diui ff de decurio l. seuerus ff de iure immunit l. semper §. sina ABSVRDVM EST. c. It is against all rime or reason that offices shoulde be mingled together without order or consideration and that one man shoulde catch a thing committed to the credite of another man And therefore in another Lawe we finde it written thus Non est dubitandum quin nauicularii non debent decuriones creari quia vtrumque officium gerere non possunt It is out of all doubt that Shipmasters cannot bee made Senators or captaines because they cannot exercise both offices Agayne the Emperour still respecting the equity and reason of his former sentences and iudgementes saith thus PLACET nostrae clementiae vt nihil commune clerici cum publicis actionibus vel ad curiam pertinentibus cuius corpori non sunt annexi habeant It is our gratious pleasure that cleargy men haue no communion with publike functions or belonging to the court vnto whose body they are not incorporated And by this law saith the Glosse cleargy men can not be iudges aduocates or proctors in secular causes And will you know then sayth the same glose by what meanes Cleargie men haue gotten into their handes approbations of wils and Testamentes Glos ibidem ver coÌ„petit Quia modicum lucrum pro hiis dabatur clerici cupidi hoc sibi vsurpabant Because a little gaine was giuen for them couetous cleargie men haue vsurped them l. hiis quidem Cod. qui milit non pos lib. 12. l. 1. ff de colleg illicit Pride ambition couetousnesse and usurpation the beginning of ciuill iurisdiction in Cleargy men By the order and discipline of war it is vnlawfull for one souldier to take the paye wages allowed for two souldiers In societies of Cities and Townes corporate and other houses of companies and fellowships it is not lawfull for one to be gouernour ouer two companies of diuers craftes and misteries And againe Cod. de prox sacro scrut lib. 12. l. hac parte in fi Cod. de assesso l. fi NVLLO MODO c. Let them not in any wise take vnto them double offices or be written or enrolled in two regesters heaping by that meanes vpon one man manie commodities and leauing nothing for the residue Because Qui ad vtrumque festinat neutrum bene peragâ—t He that hasteneth vnto two things at once can performe neither of them rightly according to these prouerbiall verses Qui binos lepores vna sectabitur hora Vno quandoque quandoque carebit vtroque He that in one instant a brace of hares will trayle Shall loose the one sometimes sometimes them both shall fayle The reason why Bishops and Archdeacons exempt and disburthen them selues from generall hearing and determining causes of instance and iudgement of law committing the same vnto their Commissaries and officials Doctors of the ciuill law I suppose to be either for that them selues beeing ignoraunt of the law are desirous to haue iustice ministred by men skilfull of the law or els that they hauing dispatched them selues of all outwarde care touching the outwarde man might be wholly dedicated to the trymming and decking of the inner man not onely touching them selues but others also committed to their charge And if they for these respectes and to auoyde ignominy and reproch shun the executioÌ„ of law properly as they say and altogeather belonging vnto them what reason can they pretende to take vppon them the execution of the lawes of this Realm no whit pertinent to their callinges and whereof by all reason they are lyke to be more vnskilfull then of their owne Canons and constitutions By which Canons they are not onely forbidden as before to exercise any Ciuill iurisdiction for other men but also though the same concerne their owne seruauntes Extr. ne cler vel monac c. fi lib. 6. QVOD SI EPISCOPVS c. If any Bishop haue any temporall iurisdiction he ought to commit the same to some laye man that he maye take punishment of all malefactours Now if a bishop may not exercise his owne temporall iurisdiction descending vnto him by lawfull inheritance or otherwise belonging vnto him ouer his owne Tenants within his owne franchisementes and liberties in his owne person but ought to depute the same to an other how much lesse
and to take awaye all occasion from others to seeke preferment in that house at hir maiesties hands they of late haue inuented a new deuice and practized a new tricke where they were by the order and foundation of the house bound yearely to make elections of such schollers as might presently at the time of the election be placed in the vacant roomes they now either at one time choose a greater number of schollers for them selues then are places vacant and so make but one election in two yeares or else so soone as any place by the departure of any schooler is voyd they foorthwith in the name of the Deane or some Prebendarie chop an other in his roome by meanes whereof either hir maiesties letters are delayed vnto the ende of two yeares or else remayne altogeather frustrated so kinde hearted these no Precisians and these no Puritanes haue beene and so thankfull they haue shewed them selues for their maisterships Deanries and Prebendaries receiued at hir maiesties hands by hir gratious bountie and liberallitie And therefore since they striue so egerly for such tryfles and vse such foule shiftes to shut hir out of doores and make hir schollers packehorses and set them at the Cartes tayle in hir owne Colledges I thinke a man may gesse twice and yet not gesse so nigh as to gesse that Cleargie men enemies to reformation rather then they woulde loose their dignities woulde if it laye in their power gyue hir Highnesse prerogatiue the Canuysadoe They allow hir maiestie a royall power to shred greene Olyue braunches but to roote vp olde rotten dotterelles they deny hir anye such authoritie they can bee contented hir maiestie shoulde strippe poore men cloathed with sackecloath but mighty men decked in scarelet shee may not touch or once looke awrye vppon No cause of the name of ecclesiastical court Concerning the Courtes and iudgement seates of Archbishops bishops and Archdeacons hitherto reputed and called Ecclesiasticall Courtes I can see no reason in the worlde why they shoulde be any more so esteemed taken or reputed or why anye matter or cause or suite or controuersie commenced in those places shoulde or ought to be called or counted Ecclesiasticall For though in times past I meane in time of popery they might probably and coullorably be so called either for that Cleargy men alone were Iudges and exercised iudgement in them either for that such parties as betweene whom suites did depend were for the most part meere church men either for that all peticions and actions made and begunne in those Courtes were for such matters and causes as whereof church men onely by vsurpation challenged vnto them selues the decision and determination yet now so it is that all these reasons fayle and are of no force For with vs at this day though Archbishops bishops and Archdeacons be Cleargie men and chiefe amongest the ecclesiasticall seat yet notwithstanding Doctors of the Ciuill lawe meere laye men as they call them and no whit beneficed by priuiledge of Cleargie exercise all iurisdiction reputed Ecclesiasticall in their consistories and by the ordinaunces of the Realme are made competent and lawfull Iudges in these Courtes 25 Henrici octui Where one suite now dependeth or these manye yeares hath depended in the same Courtes betweene Cleargie men alone one hundreth almost are and hath beene depending betweene laye men alone the causes them selues are all for the moste part mere Ciuill and belong onely to the Ciuill court Approbations and insinuations of Willes and Testamentes by expresse wordes as you haue hearde out of the Ciuill lawe are absolutely prohibited vnto Bishops and all other Cleargie men And so consequently for that Appendices sequuntur principalis subiecti naturam Accessories follow the nature of the principall subiect All causes of Legacies Bequestes Accountes Inuentaries Commissions of Orphanes gooddes and whatsoeuer else may be incident to anye of those causes are vtterly forbydden Causes of wrongfull and iniurious slaunders infamous Libels and contumelious crymes causes of contractes and marriages causes of dowrie and diuorce causes of filiation and legitimation of children matters of Vsurie and whatsoeuer appertayneth to the decision of these causes are causes meere ciuill and pertaine to the ciuill magistrate and therefore sithence Archbish Bish and Archdea to disburthen them selues may lawfullye commit the hearing of these causes from them selues yea and very seldome or not at all execute their iurisdictions by them selues but continually and effectually do surrogate and depute Doctors or Bachelors of the Ciuill lawe What iniurie to their persons or alteration of the state and gouernment can it be in case hir maiestie by hir prerotiue did commit the same causes vnto the same men and make the bishops men hir men and their commissaries hir presidentes Touching matters of tith it is lawfull for the chiefe Iustice of the kings bench where any vsage or custome by any partie is pretended to paye lesse then the whole tith as suppose the twenteth or forteth part of his tithes Yea in some cases where no tith at all is payde as vpon the statute of tith wood beeing timber trees aboue twentie yeares groweth to prohibite in hir maiesties name euery iudge ecclesiasticall that hee proceed not to the determination of any such cause and so to take vnto him selfe the hearing and determination of the same according to the common lawes of hir highnesse realme There is small diuersitie of reason why the same or some other Ciuill magistrate may not as well heare and determyne all and singular causes of tithes after what maner or forme soeuer they be payde as whereby long continuaunce of tyme they haue beene customablye payde after such and such sort or where no payement at all hath beene made In the seconde or thirde instaunce when appeale is made from an Archbishop Bishop or Archdeacon into hir highnesse high Court of Chauncerie or Delegates in any case whatsoeuer hir maiestie by the prerogatiue of hir Crowne and dignitie hath absolute power to appoynt such men to set a finall ende and ordinate direction therein as by their wisedomes shall be thought consonant to equitie right and good conscience There is no disparity of reason why in the first instaunce shee maye not as well haue like authority or why like authority from her or by her Maiesty may not lawfullye bee committed to any of her subiectes though no ecclesiasticall persons but onely seculer and laye men Neyther by this meanes shoulde the course of Lawe touching appeales be taken away but the same might be still practised as now it is In the prouinces belonging to the Romaine Empire though presidents and Proconsulles had their Commissions from the Emperour yet appeales were notwithstanding made from those Gouernours vnto the Consistories and tribunall Seates of the Emperoures imperiall City of resyaunce and cheefe aboade And therefore though the Gouernmentes nowe reputed Ecclesiasticall but in trueth Ciuil were absolutely translated from Ecclesiasticall men and put into the hands
otherwise then that there hath but little good growen to the Common weale hitherto by the bishops and Cleargie men in the Administration of Ciuill iustice And that therefore such as haue written or spoken or preached againste Ciuill iurisdiction in the Eclesiasticall state haue done it for two vrgent and waightie considerations Friendes of reformation friendes of the queenes maiesties prerogatiue First not to encounter hir maiesties prerogatiue as it is falsely supposed but to teach their Lorde and maisters truth They haue not doone it in disobedience to hir crowne but in obedience to their God They know it is better to obey God then men and therefore they haue laboured faythfully by the worde of God to perswade hir maiestie and the estates of the Realme that these offices ought not by the Lawe of God to be resiaunt in one person and therefore hath exhorted hir maiestie and them in the name and feare of God to vse hir prerogatiue and theire authorities to the seuering of them Secondly they haue preferred the generall welfare and commoditie of the common weale before the vnlawfull honours and promotions of priuate men They know by learning and haue prooued by experience what detriment maye insue to the Common weale when offices are committed to men ignoraunt of such duties as belong vnto their charge A man that hath spent all the dayes of his lyfe in the studie of Grammar or Oratorie and hath alwayes taught the same were a very vnfit man at the age of threeschore yeares to be made a publique Keader in Phisicke or Law and yet notwithstanding to remayne a Schoolemaister still Expedit reipublicae vt quisque officio suo fungatur It is expedient for the Common weale that euery one execute his owne office And I am of opinion that the friendes of reformation are greater friendes and mayntainers to and of hir highnesse prerogatiue then the others be For they ascribe vnto hir maiestie indeede truth and veritie that which the others do but in worde shew and semblaunce onely They earnestly desire and craue that as hir highnesse hath beene annoynted and Crowned by the Lord him selfe Queene and gouernesse ouer them and as she is their naturall and onely lawfull Ladie and Mistresse and as she hath the name title and stile of supreame and chiefe ruler ouer all persons in all causes So likewise the causes now accōpted Ecclesiasticall beeing meere Ciuill shee might in deed truth and veritie haue all and all maner of iurisdiction executed in hir maiesties owne name as well in Courts and iudgements nowe reputed Ecclesiasticall as in other hir maiesties Courtes temporall whereby hir Ciuill gouernement might be more enlarged Which thing the abettours of reformation perceiue now to be otherwyse Forall summons actes proceedinges sentences decrees and iudgementes in all causes and controuersies determinable before Archbishops Bishops and Archdeacons are begunne continued and ended in the Archbishops bishops Archdeacons their Commissaries or Officials names stiles and dignities without any relation or mention of authoritie gyuen unto them as proceeding from hir maiestie then the which there can not seeme anye thing more preiudiciall to hir state Crowne and dignitie For be it that they be created Archbishops and Bishops by hir highnesse and inuested into their seas at hir Graces commaundement yet this argueth no greater prerogatiue belonging vnto hir maiesty ouer them then such as she hath ouer hir other subiectes whom she createth Barons or dubbeth knights But as concerning common and ordinarie iurisdiction in causes reputed Ecclesiasticall they haue no letters patentes from hir maiestie conuaying vnto themas from hir royall person any power ouer hir subiects to heare and determine their causes in hir highnesse name and vnder hir gouernement Onely they execute such iurisdiction as by popishe constitutions or popish customes hath beene heretofore annexed to their Archbishopprickes bishopprickes and Archdeaconries and that by an vtter enemy to hir royall person state and gouernment B. L. to his colleague Comissioners In so much that some of them by Letters hath signified vnto their Colleague Commissioners that common and ordinarie authoritie in causes ecclesiasticall chiefly and almost onely belong to them selues and their officers And that commissions from hir maiestie for reformation in matters ecclesiasticall graunt onely an extraordinarie authoritie And that therefore the sayde Commissioners haue not to heare matters of instance and such as requyre iudgement of lawe for that such causes belong onely to them selues and their officers whereby they haue insinuated hir maiestie to haue no common or ordinarie authoritie in causes ecclesiasticall as they them selues haue Whereas all other courts within hir highnesse Empyre as leetes courtes Baron courtes of regarde courtes of Forrestes I leaue to speake of hir highnesse owne Courtes at Westminster all liberties and franchises all parkes and free warrens belonging to any of the Nobilitie Gentrie or any Citie or borow of this Realme haue euer had their beginninges and establishmentes by the gratious fauour of the Kinges of this Realme as from whose prerogatiue such dignities and immunities ought franckly to proceed and by whom onely they haue beene graunted Onely oure Church gouernours challenge not their authoritie as from hir sacred seate of iustice and princely throone but they challenge their authoritie as a power belonging to their owne seats deriued from an vsurped and forren power 17. pag. ◠28. Henry c. 16. The statute made that euery Archbishop and bishop of this realme and of other the kings dominions may minister vse and exercise all and euery thing and thinges pertayning to the office or order of an Archbishop and bishop with all tokens ensignes and ceremonyes therevnto belonging and that all Archdeacons and Deanes and other hauing offices cures and dignities spiritual may by authoritie of this act and not by vertue of any forren power or authoritie administer vse and exercise all things appertaining to their dignities offices orders cures religions felowships and may lawfully hereafter vse all tokens ensignes and ceremonyes which they haue beene accustomed to vse in times past so it be not expresly against the lawes of God and this Realme This statute I say hauing beene the rule of our Archbishops and bishops consciences for their gracinges there Lordinges there vsheringes their kneelinges there tastinges their cupbearinges and such like improoueth no whit any part of the force of the former assertions but rather confirmeth and fortifieth the same First the statute hauing relation onely to tokens ensignes and ceremonies accustomably administred vsed and exercised before the making of the statute all which beeing Antichristian and therefore expreslye against the lawes of God are plainely by this statute abrogated and therfore ought no more to bee administred vsed or exercised For though the Kinge the peeres and commons at that time not instructed in the vnlawfulnesse of them did not holde and repute them to be againste the lawes of God and therefore did not specially abridge any particuler
of lay men as in trueth it is already executed by lay men yet the Courtes of Arches and Audience and the Court of Delegates might remayne and continue still and as they ought indeede so they might in worde as well and better to bee called the Queenes Courtes of Arches and Audience as the Archbysh of Canterburies Courtes of Arches and Audience As conuenient for the Doctors to attend vpon the Queene as vpon the Archbysh And as good a sight it were as dutiful a part for my masters Doctoures of the Ciuill Lawe in their Scarlet robes to attend vppon her Maiestyes roiall person in case she passed thorough Paules as to attend vppon their Lordes grace his person And as touching euery other Consistory nowe called the Bpshoppes or Archdeacons Consistory for auoyding of confusion and many iudgement seates if they were vnited and reduced in euery Shiere or euery Diocesse to one consistorye it mighte lykewise haue the name of the Queenes Consistorye and the Courtes bee called the Queenes ciuill Courtes as wherein according to the natures and qualities of the causes before specified Ciuill Iustice might bee ministred and the Popish ecclesiasticall Lawe abandoned and as a froth or filth bee spewed oute of the Common Weale Her hignesse can not more gratify the Pope then by executing his lawe For assuredlye by no meanes can her Maiestye so much gratifye her capitall enemye as by authorising and practising his Lawes nor by no meanes can shee more honour the Lord then vtterlye to abandon all semblaunce of any gouernment proceeding from an enemye and Traytour to his Maiestye Neyther were it a Dodkin matter so little is his Lawe worth in her state and gouernment to haue all Bookes of her enemyes Lawes layde on a heape in Smithfielde and sacrificed in Fire vnto the Lorde her owne common and statute Lawes the Ciuill Lawe for the exellencye thereof receyued among all Nations and certayne prouinciall Constitutions made heretofore at her Auncestours commaundement haue for the moste part alreadye and where neede is speedilye maye haue sufficient matter in them for the gonernment of the Church and Common weale without any helpe from the Laws of the enemy of the church and Common weale Instit de iur natu genti ciui § sed quod The Lawe of a King is as it were the mouth of a King for that he alwayes speaketh by his Lawe And if wee suffer the Pope to speake amongest vs as a King doe wee not honour him as a King If wee imbrace his power doe wee banish his personne If you say that they bee not executed as his Lawes but as ours I aske you agayne why shoulde they at all be executed as oures For in trueth they doe lesse good vnto vs then an Herb-Iohn doth as is sayde in the Potage for that Herbe doth neyther good nor harme But these Lawes doe annoye vs vvonderfullye and they doe vs no manner of good at all They are altogether needelesse they are altogether Bootelesse I woulde to GOD they were altogether footelesse too For touching the gouernment of the Church wee haue first the perfect and altogether righteous Lavve of God to rule the same by Secondlye wee haue her Maiesties Iniunctions the common and Statute Laws of the Realme and the prouinciall constitutions conteyning in effect whatsoeuer ought in anye case by any subiect to bee practised within this Realme Touching the administration of Iustice in anye ciuill cause before mentioned and wherof practise is made in the ecclesiasticall Court there is nothing good in the whole body of the Canon Lawe concerning the same but the same hath beene culled out of the Ciuill Lawe it is but an Epitomy of the Ciuill Law The rules of the Cannon Lawe are for the most part rules taken out of the Ciuill Lawe onely there is this difference that by the Cannon Lawe a man in some case shall not in his whole life time get an end of his suyte as these parties that had a cause depending in the Popes Court twentye foure yeeres and yet in all that space Lis non erat contestata an issue could not bee ioyned wheras by Ciuill Law a cause in the first instaunce ought to bee finished within three yeeres at the vtmoste or else the Agent becommeth non suite And if vppon cause the matter bee appealed after definitiue sencence the same cause of appeale ought ordinarily to bee ended within one yeare or vppon some iust cause extraordinarilye happening vvithin two years Otherwise the appeale is frustrate so that in both instaunces fiue yeares onely must bee spent in suit of law And nowe what reason is there that the Canon Lawe shold be still canonized amongst vs when it was ordeined that none should proceed in any vniuersity doctor of the Canon lawe I thinke the meaning of the ordinance cheefly was that leauing no hope of preferment to the professours thereof the thing being of it selfe so vile they shoulde loose no labour in the study thereof But I will conclude that in as much as by the Canons Constitutions ordinaunces and synodalles prouinciall made before the 25. yeare of Henrye the eyght Byshpos and all other Cleargy men are forbidden to be Vicountes Presydentes Iustices Stewardes Bayliefes gouernoures of Villadges Iudges Aduocates Assessors Tutors Gardians Ouerseers runnagates to seculer Courts farmers of temporall possessions receyuers of reuenewes present in anye place where mencion of anye processe or iudgement is to bee awarded agaynste anye man to the sheading of bloude And in asmuch as they are commaunded to apply themselues wholly to Prayer and supplication and not to neglect their office and to intangle them selues with worldlye businesse And for as much also as the Emperour hath vppon substantiall reasons and principles inhibited the Cleargy vnder his Dominions the like offices to the end there mighte bee no confusion of gouernment nor mingling of offices nor Iustice vnministred nor one to defraude another and for as much also that such Canons Constitutions ordinaunces and synodalles prouinciall before specified bee not contrariant nor repugnaunt to the Lawes Statutes and Customes of this Realme nor to the domage or hurt of the Queenes Prerogatiue royall but rather for the establishment of the same the same Canons beeing both founded vppon the Lawe of God whereby her prerogatiue standeth and is vpholden and confirmed by the Lawes of reason and nature and also ratified by the consent of Emperoures and nations that therefore these Canons constitutions ordinaunces and synodals prouinciall ought to be vsed and executed as they were before the making of the Act 25. Henry the eight and that therefore it is vnlawfull for Archbishops bishoppes or anie Cleargie men to beare any ciuill office in the common wealth If any except that before 25. of Henry the 8. bishops and Cleargie men did vse and execute those offices and that therefore these Canons were not then in vse and executed and therefore not in vse now or to