of persones / be layde in pryson And if they can nat be founde / that than they be banisshed the realme / wherbi is meÌ„t / that they be outlawed And it is sayd there that therin the lybertie of the church is confouÌ„ded broken / whan a clerke is iuged of a laye iuge / and it is therfor decreed / that if the clerkê that be so takeÌ„ be knoweÌ„ be honest / that thaÌ„ as well the takers as the wtholders of them shal be declared excoÌ„itate / and the landes of the takers and retayners of them to be enterdit tyll they be delyuered / and conuenient satisfaction and amendes made / but it is here to be noted / that the constitution coÌ„sydereth nat / that it is as law full for iuges to here the complaynte agaynst them that be innocent / as agaynste theym that be gyltie / tyll the matter be tryed And therfore if the complaynte be made of such matters as they ought nat for to be delyuered to their ordinaries in / if they were gyltie / than the ordynaries may nat complayne / though they be nat delyuered where they be nat gyltie tyll the matter be tryed / for it is nat yet knowen whether they be gyltye or nat And also / if it be in case that they ought to haue priuelege and be delyuered / yet if they be asked of offycers that haue no power to delyuer them / ther is no cause why such offycers that so deteygne them / shulde be excommunycate / or their landes enterdyted And therfore it semeth / that constytutyon farre vnreasonable in that pointe And that clerkes ought nat to be put to answere before laye men / I neuer sawe any auctoryte therof / but lawes of their owne makyng which be therin of no strengh for theÌ„ in this realme / excepte certayn lybertyes that they haue iÌ„ that behalf / by the kyng his ê“genytours / by the lawes and customes of the Realme / whiche be right great moch fauourable vnto them / it they be well loked on And if they wyll nedes clayme suche lybertyes by other waies / than by the kiÌ„ge and his lawes / that they haue them of they deserue the lesse to haue theÌ„ any lenger Than the seyde Constytucion saith farther in the later ende / That if clerkes restored to the churche / be amerced by the seculer iuge / for any personall transgressyon / the prelates shall nat compell the sayde clerkes to paye the same amerciameÌ„t seynge they were nat coÌ„dempned by their own iuges And surely there is no cause / why a clerke for a personall transgressyon shulde nat be compelled to pay the amercyameÌ„t / and that by the kynges Iuges as well as any laye man shulde / without spekynge any thynge to the prelates in it but yet as longe as such lawes stande vnrepelled it wyl be thought by many of the clergye that it is nat so / that the lybertye of the churche is greatly offended by it The eyght chapiter THere is a Constitucion in the seconde boke in the tytle of a coÌ„peteÌ„t courte / that begynneth / Circumspecte agatis et infra / wherin be dyuers artycles which be put in maner worde for worde among the statutes of this realme / whiche the lerners of the lawe of this Realme haue coÌ„menly amonge them / and there is set as for a tytle of the sayd CoÌ„stitucion these wordê folowyng CertaiÌ„ thiÌ„ges takeÌ„ out of the kyngê answers c. whiche neuerthelesse as I suppose were neuer takeÌ„ out of the kyngê answeres / for they be in some poyntes clerely agaiÌ„st the lawes of this realme / as it is in that there is recyted therm that prelates / for fornycacyon auowtry / or suche other / enioyne sometyme corporall punysshemeÌ„t / some tyme pecunarye / but I neuer herde that prelates haue auctoritie to enioyne peyne pecunarie for aduowtrye / fornycacion / or suche other And also in the sayd constitucyon it is sayde / that if the prelate or aduocate of any churche aske of the persone any pencion due to him / that all suche pencyons ought to be asked in the spirituall court / and maketh no exception of no maner of pencion / the lawe of the realme is clere / that Annuyteis and pencyons that begyn by coÌ„posycion or agrement of the parties / and also by prescripcyon belong to the kynges court / and therfore many haue sayd / that the sayde treatyse of Circumspecte agatis is no statute / but that it was so named to be by the prelates / and so it is sayd that it was in the .xix. yere of kynge Edwarde the thirde in a writ of Annuitie / and if it be so / than is it but onely a bare constitucyon / And than it is to the two poyntê afore rehersed clerely voide / because it is therin dyrectely agaynste the kynges lawes his prerogatyf / was also made without his asseÌ„t or any of his ê“genitours The nynth chapiter THere is a constitucyon in the thirde boke among the constitucyons De Clericis non residentibus that begineth Audistis et infra wherin it appereth that whan a preest taketh two benefices with cure of soule without a pluralitie / that some lawes spirituall haue iuged both to be voyde / and some haue holden the laste to be voyde / as the legatyne of Octobon doth And than the sayd Constitucyon decreeth that he shal be content with the last benyfyce so optayned But all those lawes / as it shulde seme by the sayde constitucyon / are to be vnderstand only of such benefyces / as any parsone had at that tyme withoute pluralitie And therfore the same coÌ„stitution gothe farther / and decreeth that who so euer hensforthe receyue many benefyces all hauyng cure of soules / or otherwyse uncompatyble / without the popes dispensatyon / or gete them by waye of institutyon or coÌ„mendam / or of custody / otherwyse than the constytution of Gregorie made in the counsaile of Lions doth permytte the same in so doyng to be depriued from all benefyces that he hath so optayned And than as I take it / the lawe of this Realme is / that all benefyces so optayned with out pluralitie / be clerely voyde with out any depriuation For there be in the lawes of Englande / fyue causes of a voydaunce of a benifyce That is to saye Resygnation / dethe / depriuation / creation / cessyon And CreatioÌ„ is / where a maÌ„ that hath dyuers benifices is made a bisshop for than all his benifeces by that creatioÌ„ be forchwith voyde And where a man taketh two benifyces / without pluralytie they be voyde also And that is called Cessyon And if there must be therupon a depriuatioÌ„ before they be voyde / thaÌ„ is the depriuation the cause of the voydauÌ„ce not the CessyoÌ„ And thaÌ„ there shuld be but four causes of a voydaunce / howbeit I wyll nat determynatly speke in that matter / for they that
fifth beke / in the tytle of canonycall purgatyoÌ„ / that begineth Statuimus et infra wherby it is decreed that if clerkê haue made their canonycall purgatioÌ„ vpon suche thynges as was layd obiecred agaynst them / that yet neuerthelesse the laye power taketh their goodê or with holdeth theÌ„ / that such takers witholders shal be coÌ„pelled vnto restitucyon of the seid goodes by censures of the church And the canonycall purgation that is spokeÌ„ of in the seyd coÌ„stitucyon / semeth to be the purgation of clerkes coÌ„uycte / that be coÌ„mytted to the bisshops prysoÌ„ and there make their purgation / and that the prelates ment at the makige of the seyd constitucyon / that if they dyd so / that they shulde haue theyr goodes that they had whan they wer conuycie But I take the lawe of the realme to be / that clerke coÌ„uycte shal forfayte his goodes And if it be so / that constitucyon can nat helpe it by no maner of purgatyon that can be made by the clergye ¶ The .xxvi. chapiter PRelates haue done verye moch in time past to brige it about that clerkê shulde nat be put to aÌ„swer before lay men And bicause clerkes sometyme offended in huntynge in forrestes parkes / wherof many tymes suche great dyspleasure was taken / that amendes must nedes be made The Prelates made a lawe to appoynt howe the ameÌ„des shulde be made in suche case by their owne auctoritie / so that there shuld nede no sute be takeÌ„ in the behalfe at the kingê lawe / the remedy was thys As it appereth in the fifth boke / in the title of a clerke that is an hunter in a constitucyon / which begynneth We ordeyne that if any clerke c. That if the clerke were conuycted therof before the Ordinary or coÌ„fessed it / that than the Ordinarie shulde make redemptyon therof in his goodes / and satisfye the partie greued And if he had no goodes / that thaÌ„ his bisshop shulde greuously punissh him And surely if any Ordynarie dyd execute the seyde Constitucyon / and put the clerke to answere of the offence afore him / and after made redemptyon of his goodes accordynge to the Constitucyon / he shulde renne clerely in to the premunire And furthermore in case that the clerke haue no goodes / ne can nat be founde / he shall be outlawed at the coÌ„mone lawe / nat withstaÌ„dynge any punisshment that the Ordynaries coulde make vpon him And yet it semeth that the makers of the seyd Constitucyon wold haue preueÌ„ted that outlagarie if they coulde And now let euery man iuge what goodnesse can come by the seid Constytucyon / or why it shulde be suffred to contynew any lenger / syth it can do no good to prelates or clerkes / ne to none other ¶ The .xxvii. chapiter THere is a Constitucyon in the fyfthe boke / and in the tytle of paynes / that begynneth Eterne sanctio voluntatis et infra Wherin it is recyted a monge other thinges / that it oftetymes happeneth Archebisshops / bysshops / and other inferiour prelates to be called to seculer iugement / for such thiges as be knowen merely to apperteyne to their offyce / and to the spirytuall courte wherof I shall recyte parte / and parte I shall omytte to eschewe tedyousnesse First it is recyted / that if prelates parchaunce haue amitted or nat amytted clerkes to churches vacante or nat vacante or haue excomunicated their subiectes / haue enterdited / haue had cognicion of causes spirituall / as of boundes of parisshes / which as it is sayd there may in no wyse pertayne to the seculer courte / or if they haue taken examinacion of the defaultes of their subiectes as of partury / promes brekyng / troublynge of the churche lyberties / seynge that the violatours therof be by the sentence made vpon the kynges charter excomunicate in the dede doyng or if they holde plee bytwyxt the laye complaynyng and Clerkes defendynge in personall accyons vpon contractes or as contractes / vpon trespas or as trespas All which matters with diuers other here omitted is preteÌ„ded there in the sayd Constitucion to be mere spirytuall / and I haue here recyted these artycles therof / that it maye the better appere whether they be mere spirituall or nat / And it is euydent ynow that dyuers of them are mere temporall And neuertheles it is ferther decreed there that Archebysshoppes / Bysshoppes / and other prelates shall nat appere whaÌ„ they be called before the kyng or his Iustices for such causes for so moche that ther is no power geuen to the laye / to iuge the lordes anoynted / but ought of necessyte to obeye them / and than for reformynge of suche thynges / the Constitucion gyueth strayte proces agaynste the kynges baylyffes and offycers / and agaynst the clerkes that do make the writtes of attachemeÌ„tes or distresses with great excomunicacions and enterdictions / and fynally procede so farre that they sette the kynges landes in a certayne circuit therin lymyted vnder interdiction / but he vpon the admonicyon of the Bysshoppes reforme suche thynges / and it is after decreed / that if the Bysshoppe or ecclesyastical iuge or inferiour prelate be compelled by suche distresses to appere / and the Actes of his 〈◊〉 be than requyred of him so that it may appere therby / whether he hath proceded in any of the seyde cases or lyke / or if othes / excusations / or put gacyons / be required therin / that he shall in nowyse exhibyt his Actes or gyue any othe / for that the partyes maye brige the Actes forth c. And why any such lawes shulde be made that they shuld nat in such case shew their Actes or proces / ne make anye othe before the kyng or his iustyces I can nat parceyue the verye cause / but that they be of lykelyhode very lothe to haue it examyned What is their verye Iurisdiccyon and what nat Thus haue I recyted parte of the seyd coÌ„stitucion / and remytte the resydue to theym that wyll take the payn to rede it And surely they that so do / shall se dyuers harde and extreme clauses Actycles in it And if they and such other lyke were refourmed / I thike it were right good and expedient / as well for the clergye as for the people The .xxviii. chapiter THere is a Constitucyon in the .v. boke / and in the tytle of paynes / whiche begineth / Euenit et infra wherby it is decreed thê° The laye shalde compelled precysely by senteÌ„ce of excomunicacion to paye all maner penalyties / as well corporall as pecunarye / whiche they be enioyned to by their prelaties / and they that wyl let or stoppe such penalyties to be payde / shalde punisshed by sentence of interdiction and excomunication / than if the proces be made vnto the distraynyng of prelattes for that cause / let proces be made against the distreyners by the penalyties declared in
lykely to be suspected ther of / and there vpon it foloweth / that if such an inconbeÌ„t refuse to be sworn Wherfore the ordynary for his disobedyence refuseth him That a Quare impendit lyeth agaynst the ordynary by the Kynges lawes / and he shal be compelled to admit him But than wyll the bysshoppe for his disobedyence pretende to depreue him agayne / grudges / suetes / and variaunces may encrese / and the cause of all this hath resyn by reason that the bysshoppes whan they sawe cause resonable as they thought to haue lawes made in the case before rehersed wold nat coÌ„playne to the ê‘lyameÌ„t to haue it reformed there but wold make lawes themselues / which thei had none auctorite to make / and if they had complayned to the parlyament / and the parliament wolde nat loke vpon the matters / than were the ordynaryes the more to be excused for that they dyd that in them was / and therfore as me semeth the parliameÌ„t dyd well if they wolde make lyke lawes in the cases before rehersed / and in other lyke / where the clergy haue made lawes vpon a resonable consyderation / where they had none auctorite so to do And thaÌ„ the lawes shulde stande in good strength in the lawes of the realme against the offeÌ„der / as they do nowe in the spirytual lawe / and if it be thought that no profet can come of the makyng therof / than it wyll be better to repelle them / than to suffre them contynue any lenger The fourth chapiter THere is a Constytutyon in the tytle of othes in the second boke / whiche begineth Euenir et infra c. Wher by it is decreed that whan prelates and ecclesiastycal iuges enquere of the defautê and excesses of their subiectes that deserue punishement that the laye shall be compelled if nede requyer by sentence of excoÌ„municacyon to gyue an othe to say the truth / and that if any with staÌ„de or let the othe to be gyuen / that he shal be brydeled with the sentence of excoÌ„municacyon and interdiction / and this constitutyon standeth nat with conscience / for it excepteth nat that there shall be any monicyon gyuen before accordynge to the gospell / ouer that there be many thinges that a lay man may knowe / whiche he may nat with conscience vtter to none other / neither after monicyon nor before / and yet by this constitucyon he shall be enforced therto or be a cursed / put him selfe in ieopardy to be taken as to the worlde / as a man a cursed / and yet be nat a cursed before god / and the constitucyon is nat / that it shal be disclosed secretely to the prelate / as it may be somtyme if the denouncer thynke the prelate secrete and charitable / but it must be done in the courte / so that processe shal be made vpon it / and that may do great hurte / for accordyng to the myndes of many doctours / some per sons refrayne to offende for feare of infamye / whiche if they perceyue them selfe openly fallen in to it / wyll fall to sine / all feare set a parte And ouer that it may be / that none knoweth the mater but he only / than his sayenge is no suffycyent profe / to compell him to swere where his othe shall do no good / but happely tourne him self to trouble / semeth nat reasonable And ouer that / the othe that is apoynted to be taken by the sayde constitution / is nothyng lyke to the othes that men be compelled to take at the comeÌ„ law / to enquere vpon transgressours / for they enquere coÌ„menly vpon murthers / felonyes / trespasses of landes and goodes / comen nusances / or other thynges as be agaynst the peace / and to the hurte of the comen welth / that requyre also the iugement of deth / restitution to the partyes / auoydyng to the comen nusances or suche other as iustyce requyreth to be done / and that can nat be holpen by no monycyon made after the offence And also suche enqueryes at the comen lawe haue ben alway vsed by a generall custome of the realme / for the mayntenaunce of iustice and of the comen welth But this othe was brought vp by the clergye without assente of the kynge or of the people / and where vnto they could nat compelle any man before and if any maÌ„ wyll say that this mocyon may do hurte / as to auoyde corrections / and gyue boldenesse to theÌ„ that be yuell to offeÌ„de / to that I wyll say thus I wyll nat denye but that charytable corrrcetions be ryght expedieÌ„t / specyally where there is dout of recydiuatyon fallyng agayn to synne / but surely I haue nat herde but that offenders in tyme paste / by one meanes or other I knowe nat redily howe haue ben suffred to syt styll without correction / nat withstandyng all the othes that haue ben made in spuÌ„all courtes in tyme past The fyfth chapiter THere is a CoÌ„stitucyon in the fyrste boke in the tytle of the Archepreest / that begynneth Ignorantia sacerdotum et infra Wherein amonge other thynges the ten commaundementes be recyted / and it apereth therin / that the fyrst coÌ„maundement of the second table / is to honour our father and mother temporally and spiritually / and it is sayd after in the same place / that in this coÌ„maundement is nat vnderstande onely the father and mother carnall and temporall / but also spirituall So that the father spyrytuall is the prelate of the churche / mediat or immdyeate / and the spirytuall mother is the churche / whose sonnes be all euery catholyke persone persones / by whiche Constitucyon / some spirituall men haue pÌ„tended in tyme past that euery man is as moche boundeÌ„ to honour his spirituall father / wherby they vnderstande his prelate and his spirituall mother / wherby they vnderstand the church / that is to say prestes / as they be to honour theyr father and mother carnall / and that if nede requyre / they be bounde to releue theÌ„ temporally / as theyr own father and mother / And that is moche lyke to the errour of the Pharisyes whiche taught the people / that if they wolde offre to the Temple / it shulde discharge them of their dutie to their father and mother / as appereth Luc. xv It is also a great ouersyght / that the clergye calleth the churche the spirituall mother to euery catholyke persone / meanynge only by that worde church / prestes for all Catholyke people make the churche / which is the spirytuall mother / so that preestes be but onely a parte of it How be it that they be in dede a right notable parte therof / but to call them selfe the hole churche it semeth a gret ouersyght / and that they haue do so / it appereth in many writynges / as whan it is sayde that suche a thiÌ„g