that he woulde so shewe his duetie to the kyng as he myght perfourme his obedience to the pope In his exequendis saith the storie omnes episcopi Angliae primati suo suffragium negarunt But in perfourmyng these thynges attempted by Anselme all the byshops of Englande dyd denye to ioyne with their primate Which sturryng nature of Anselme no maruayle though it displeased both the byshoppes and the nobilitie whose desire suite was after Anselmes death that the kyng shoulde chose any byshop of the seculer state or any clarke of the kynges chappell to this office rather then of this order And howesoeuer it be interpreted it is not vnlyke but that both Wylliam Rufus kyng and Henrie the first kept the office voyde so many yeres the rather for suche wylfull abusyng of their place to the disquiet of the kyng and agaynst the liberties of the Realme For so irritable was Anselme and so soone prouoked without any iust cause to go to Rome to his holy father If any thyng went agaynst his mynde then straygh-way he woulde appeale to Rome to displease the prince As this lyghtnes of his is vttered by a frende of his wrytyng vnto hym beyng at the seconde tyme as he calleth it in his exile Edm. fo 187. that he went away sponte nullo paenitus cogente neither feared with imprisonment nor otherwyse tormented nor that his sea was denyed vnto hym but only for one poore worde VVilli warewaste spoken by one certaine man named William he determined to flee and so by his fleeyng gaue the aduenture that there folowed saith his frende hereof innumerable inconueniences the vnmerciful tirannie of the prince the spoylyng of the poore the damages of the Churches the lamentation of wydowes the bewaylynges of old men for losyng their lyuynges the rauyshyng of virgins and inceste in their vnlawfull companies and that saith he that is the chiefest mischiefe to the shame of our honestie priestes to mary wyues Oh conscience brent with an hot iron makyng lawfull maryage worse then all vices rehearsed But a very litle cause myght geue any Byshop Abbot or Muncke or any of the cleargie to go to Rome at those dayes to accuse the prince and to procure the interdiction of their lande as all suche as wyll searche stories shall soone perceaue this vsuall trade In conclusion after the sayde Anselme returned agayne into Englande he dyd besturre hym selfe to restore the religious to their loste quietnes and forced on his extreme decree vpon the priestes returned to their wyues takyng the oportunitie of the kynges absence in Normandie warryng there agaynst his enemies and had the victorie of them Which Anselme thought it not only enough to remoue them from their office but also to depriue them from their benefices and drawe them quite out of the cleargie not once permittyng them to be in the quyers amongste the clarkes and suche as were not conformable pronounced them infamous and decreed farther that whosoeuer would not relinquishe his lawfull wyfe the moueable goodes of suche priestes deacons subdeacons and prebendaries that should haue any familiaritie with their wyues or shoulde haue any other women in their houses but such as were of consanguinitie nye vnto them shoulde be forfayted and delyuered vnto the Byshoppes and that their wyues with their goodes shoulde be vsed as adultresses Surely a man to much addict to his owne wyll Edm. lib. 5. without any humanitie not not shewyng his loyall affection vnto his prince in his requestes howe reasonable soeuer they were not to his owne brothers requestes For when he had decreed determinatly to go to Rome to complayne his brothers requesting him that the kinges ambassadour who should likewise go to Rome prayed that he might go in cōpanie with hym he vtterly denied the same and was vnremouable saying Quod dixi dixi which yet pretended holynes constancie discipline of the Churche for his defence In whiche extremitie yet he continued vnto his lyues ende About whiche tyme when the kyng dyd requeste hym for Thomas the younger newe elected Archbyshop of Yorke to respyte his profession wherat the sayde Thomas dyd stande doubtfull he seuerely aunswered the kinges messengers that he would the kyng to vnderstande that he woulde rather suffer hym selfe to be torne into small peeces then that he would remit any of the olde antique constitutions of the fathers or that he would remoue one houre from this his purpose Wherevpon a litle before his death he wrote his letters vnto the sayde Thomas to discharge hym of his priestlye orders whiche he had of late receaued at the handes of one of his Suffragans nor no more to presume to meddle with anye pastorall cure tyll he had made his subiection profession and that yf he woulde perseuere he forbad vnder perpetuall curse all the Byshops of whole Britanie that none of them shoulde laye handes vpon hym to the promotion of his Byshopricke And therevpon he writes Tibi quoque Thoma sub eodem anathemate ex parte dei interdico vt nunquam benedictionē episcopatus Eboracensis suscipias nisi prius professionē facias c. And to thee Thomas also I forbyd vnder the same curse on gods behalf that thou neuer take vpō thee to be consecrated into the Byshopricke of Yorke before thou makest first thy profession c. The copie of which sayd epistle sealed with his seale he sent to euery byshop of his prouince chargyng commaundyng that they vpon their obedience shoulde demeane them selues towardes the same Thomas accordyng to the tenor of the letter aforesayde Immediatly after this he departed this life the eleuenth kalends of May. Loe thus ye see that he coulde sooner make an ende of his lyfe then make an ende of his rigour If the reader wyll farther heare the storie to the ende of this controuersie concernyng the ryght of his profession as it is written by Edmer it foloweth At the feast of Pentecost ensuyng where the kyng kept his court at London in great glory and honour after the feastfull dayes past he began to enter communication with the Byshoppes and the noble men of the Realme what were to be done concernyng the consecration of the elect of Yorke and wylled the Byshoppes to go apart to discusse this cause which were in number xi They determined to call vnto them Sampson the byshop of Worcester to knowe his opinion The which byshop beyng father to the sayde elect Edmer thus aunswered Licet hunc qui in pontificatum Eboracensē electus est olim ex coniuge silium susceperim eique iuxta seculum et carnis naturam honoris ac dignitatis prouectu ius aequissime debeam multo maxime tamen id matri meae ecclesiae Cantuar. debeo c. Although this elect of Yorke be my sonne in tyme past had by my wyfe therfore owe vnto hym accordyng to the course of the world and coniunction of blood to wyshe the preferment of his honour and dignitie
of Lincolne a young striplyng deyntyly brought vp he begat him saith Huntington when he was Chauncellour to William the great kyng Hen. Hunt li. 8 ca. 2. Nowe though the sayde William Archbishop attempted the matter agayne at Michaelmas tyde and woulde geue the priestes no longer respite to put their wyues a daye but to saint Andre â—es daye Yet sayth the storie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chr Saxon. anno 1129. This dyd byd the archbyshop of Canterburie and the byshoppes which were in Englande And yet all these decrees and byddynges stoode not al held their wyues by the kinges leaue euen so as they before dyd In whiche tyme the stirre was so great and the cause so harde to be wonne that William the archbyshop gaue ouer and referred the controuersie wholly to kyng Henrie aâ—â—â— 25. Henrie Wherevpon he decreed that the priestes shoulde continue with their wyues styll Of whom for that the kynges officers toke pencions the byshoppes began to repent them of their committyng so the cause wherof they woulde haue had the orderyng them selues to some other purpose For which pentionarie matter Anselme had certaine yeres before by his epistle well chydden the kyng wherof yet belyke the kyng as beyng well learned in the lawes as Matthewe Paris testifieth made not so great â— conscience as certaine of the votarie bishoppes dyd as oâ—fended that fayth shoulde be inuiolablie preserued betwixt such as were in matrimonie seyng hym selfe had such conscience of breakyng his fayth that he made and as he iudged it not dispensable by the popes auctoritie as he not long before had declared to pope Calixtus hym selfe For yf he had thought it to haue ben agaynst the precept of God he woulde neuer haue suffâ—ed so many yeres the continuaunce of the same by his auctoritie anno 11â—8 〈…〉 Chro. Aug. Chro. 〈◊〉 After William folowed Theobaldus in whose dayes the house of saint Gregories in Canterburie was brent anno 1145. the churche and almost the whole citie of Rochester was first brent the chathedrall church of Yorke was brent and without that citie the church of saint Marie where was an Abbey with the goodly Hospitall founded by the archbyshop Thurstone brent for good rule ye maye be sure their chastitie deserued no lesse That Thurstone archbyshop was he that builded the monasterie of Fountaynes and repented hym therof by open worde and sayde he neuer repented hym more of any thyng and when certaine laye men present hearde him so say and were offended at his saying he sayde ye be laye men and knowe not the pith of my wordes and therfore he afterwarde alwayes sayde that he woulde rather geue to lecherous men then to munckes But as concernyng the plague of God in the burnyng of so many Abbeys professing such holynes as is to be marueyled what may be read in storie Chro. Peter 1070. annal eiusd 1113.1114 VValterus weekes 1116.1121.1112 Houenden 1184. Houenden 1188. Gualter Couent 1212. Fabian 1261.1370 besydes these that are alredy spoken of and those that do folowe in other mens dayes As Howe the abbey of Peterborowe was once brent Howe the monasterie of Worceter was brent Howe the abbey of Chichester was brent Howe the abbey of Peterborowe was brent once agayne Howe the churche of Powles with many other cathedrall churches were brent Howe the abbey of Glocester was brent Howe the abbey of Glastenburie was brent Howe the churche of Beuerlay was brent Howe saint Maries churche of the Chanons in Southwark was brent Howe the steeple of Euesham was set on fire by lyghtnyng Howe the Abbacie of saint Edmundes was brent with diuers more as hereafter partly doth folow The rather may these examples thus so generally vniuersally and so thicke executed vppon these munckes houses be a more proofe of gods plague agaynst their munckyshe lyfe and order as nothyng pleased with the most of them then the aduersaries can iustly charge the vniuersall religion of the Gospel receaued by the particuler burnyng of one steeple in the Realme so seldome seene in these dayes To note what intemperate weather what immoderate wyndes what lightning what thunder what earthquakes fell vpon these houses besydes to note howe vniuersally before the conquest all these monasteries howe much soeuer they were multiplied and increased God dyd euer bryng them downe agayne and complaned them euen with the grounde that fewe or none remayned vnbrent or vndestroyed by the inuasion of infidels and other nations from tyme to tyme commyng vppon them shall not be nedefull to cumber the reader at this tyme with tediousnes Neuber lib. 3. cap. 5. Well these houses were not brent for other mens faultes Where the cronicle of Peterborow ascribeth this plague of God in burnyng their churche and all that was therein to their retchlesse lyfe and wretchednes and dronkennes they vsed And William Thorne muncke of S. Augustines anno 1168. ascribeth the burnyng of their churche abbey to the foule abuse of takyng infantes scant weaned from their nurses to be munckes professed among them A pretie age for a perpetuall vowe and a worthy cause to make such subiect to the austeritie of archbyshop Pecchams constitution Apud Lamhith anno 1281. ca. Item moniales where he ordereth that yf the Nunne tarry one yere in the habite before she haue taken the bishoppes benediction must yet be reputed for professed and may not returne to the world again for if she do she must be accompted vsed as an apostata Although saith he the religious haue not receaued the byshops benediction with the solempnitie of a vowe they may not yet iudge themselues to be free if they be once come to the yeres of discretion and reason and be able to perceaue fraude and deceyte Where there be many examples lefte in writers what wretchednes hath folowed of these young professions I wyll report but one the tragidie wherof is suche that it shoulde hurt chaste eares to heare the fylthynes that therin is tolde of a certaine young chylde of foure yeres of age brought into the Nunrie of Wattune in Yorkeshire in the dayes of Henrie Murdack an ambitious munke of Cistercense as Polidore writeth who gate his Bishopricke of pope Eugenius by suite and craft by the disprouyng of William elected thervnto Which Abbey was founded or rather restored by Gilbert a priest of Semplingam Whiche storie is expressed at large by Ethelrede a Cister muncke in Rhieuall in the dioces of Yorke abbote a man eloquent in his tyme. Which young girle when she came to age he wryteth howe maruelouslye she was delyuered her chylde conueyed awaye by the sayde Henrie Murdack then dead who brought her first into the Abbey Whiche byshop in a Palmers weede appeared in a vision hauyng with hym also in the vision two auncient celestial women they three only at the birth and no man knewe where the chylde became no not the mother who was so sodenly restored to her health againe that there was
of the sweetest wines As for scarlet furres golde syluer horse plate sent hym before he came into the Realme and after he was once come how he vsed himselfe let Matthew Paris be read and see the pompe and pryde of that prelate whom the king himselfe a gods name must meete on the waye Rex autem ei vsque ad confinium maris occurrit et inclinato ad genua eius capite vsque ad interiora regni deduxit officiose The kyng dyd meete hym at the borders of the sea and at his first syght bowed his head downe to the legates knees and brought hym very seruisablie into the inwarde partes of the Realme If ye aske who was lyke to be the cause he came into the Realme For he was sent for by the kynges commaundement where all the lordes sore complayned of it yea good Edmunde archbishop of Canterburie dyd much blame the kyng for his sendyng for he knowyng saith the storie that to the great preiudice of his dignitie dyd hange ouer his Realme much losse and daunger thereby In deede the bishoppes his brethren belyke not lykyng the colde and easy proceedyng of the sayde Edmunde in his constitution in the defence of the cleargies liberties and agaynst the priestes concubines agaynst which he proceeded no more sharply then he did his brethrē thought that it was to litle and therfore gaue councell to sende for a legate as is to be gathered by the gorgeous meetyng him at Paris and by sendyng hym suche great rewardes gyftes by the bishoppes and famous clarkes receauyng hym with such processions most honorable with belles ryngyng with all reuerence as was belongyng yea saith Matthew vt decuit plus quam decuit more then was meete and conuenient and therfore may be soone iudged who were lyke to be councellers to the kyng who in their dryftes then doubtyng nothyng but by the meanes of a legate sent from Rome by the pope hymselfe that what he woulde constitute should be terrible and set out for a good countenaunce to the worlde and kept notwithstandyng some of his constitutions at leysure For these zelous men concernyng this pretensed holynesse of the cleargie rather meant to make a shewe to the worlde of a perfect chastitie in refourmyng the state thereof as it was then thought decayed muche their estimation among the people then meant it in deede or that they euer thought these decrees and lawes shoulde be obserued For the practise declared howe after the great shewes of terrible decrees agaynst concubinaries the matter was handeled beyng lyke that by such restraynt seyng the inuinciblenes of conteynyng in their priestes to be seene that their tollerations and qualifications shoulde turne partlye to their owne better obedience hauyng the concubinarie priestes euer in their daunger and shoulde turne the more to the commoditie of their officers which dyd serue them And it is not vnlyke but they learned of their holy father the pope by tollerations to seke their gaynes For saith the lawyer vppon Othos constitution ca. licet ad profligandum that by some lawyers iudgementes as Iohn Andrew though Hostiensis and hym selfe holdeth the contrarie Quod crimen meretricii debet ecclesia sub dissimulatione transire nam marescallus pape de facto exigit tributum a meritricibus hoc forte ad maius malum euitandum 32. q. 1. non est culpandus That the churche onght to passe ouer by dissimulation the cryme of open harlottes because the popes marshall in deede at this present saith he exacteth tribute of harlottes and that peraduenture for auoydyng a greater mischiefe wryteth the glose If ye aske what shoulde sounde to suche a gesse that most of them meant to make many decrees from tyme to tyme but neuer meant or thought to haue them kept Consider good reader howe their expositors glosers the lawyers wipe away with their gloses the pith strength euen of this strayte lawe of Otho the legate nowe constituted so that they make it but a shypmans hose and so trauesable that it can neuer be executed meanyng in dede to shew rather outwardly a chastitie to bleare the eyes of the worlde then hopyng to haue it so in deede For euen in that very chapiter is recorded and well brought to remembraunce the watchword they had among them si non caste tamen caute for that was their principall care to go closely away to cary cleane and to lyue in secrete as they lust and then all very well With which banbery gloses they hadde at the laste brought the open cleargie to renounce open auouchyng of their wyues and lyued yet diuers of them secretelye with wyues of late dayes For euen of late in archbishop Pecchams dayes Pecham anno 1281. they after Othos decree of the same styll prouided agaynst priestes chyldren that they shoulde not nexte and immediatly succede their fathers in their benefices without the popes dispensation for feare as the glosers shewe the cause to make spirituall lyuynges temporall inheritaunce The reason of whiche their decrees do playnely declare that they toke priestes maryages for lawfull for els a bastarde in deede is not inheritable nor can clayme by inheritaunce his fathers possessions and lyuyng No more doth the cōmon lawe of the Realme count them bastardes borne in priestes matrimonie so long as the ordinarie doth not execute the canon of the churche against them whyle they liue whose mariages though they be voydable yet not voyded make their chyldren heritable Nowe this misterie si non caste tamen caute was secretelye delyuered from hande to hand to them which were the wyser and of more experience and so lyued secretelye with their frendes not openly vouched for wiues But in affectu sororio amore vxorio fide coniugali as they vse the tearmes In which kynde of lyfe there be no small argumentes that some bishoppes and the best of the cleargie lyuyng within the memorie of man dyd continue c. Where the poore simple priestes and ignoraunt idiotes hauyng litle skyll of such misteries and hauyng as feruent prouocation the most part of them in the fleshe as the better sort had knowe no other remedies but eyther to lyue in single fornication or secretly in adulteries with other men wyues euer hauyng before their eyes si non caste tamen caute But yf it chaunced that they were taken to manifestlye in the cryme that there coulde be no excuse for them then were they be ye sure extremely punyshed but yet seldome with open punyshement for it is agaynst the lawe Quia clerici solennem paenitentiam agere non debent And further for to comfort the concubinarie priestes Guilermus Lynwood vpon the title de constitutionibus ca. Distinct. 28. Presbiter Quod incontinencie moueth a question An contraueniens constitutioni peccet mortaliter he saith Qui voluntarie siue contemptabiliter sine rationabili causa transgrediuntur praeceptum legis siue constitutionis aut canonis peccant nam tales impediunt
Polidore Fabian  229 b 4 in the margent put dist 27.  243 c 6 innusde immunde  244 c 10 lenitie leuitie  247 b 3 emacultur emaculentur  248 a 4 chast chastitie  248 a 5 chastitie chaste  251 b 5 put out That  259 a 1 so not  267 c 1 in clementiaÌ„ in elencho  274 a 1 priuatiue primatiue ¶ To the moste high moste noble and mightie Princes Philip and Marie by the grace and prouidence of God King and Queene of Englande Fraunce Naples Hierusalem and Irelande defendours of the faithe Princes of Spain â–ª and Cicill Archdukes of Austrige Dukes of Millen Burgon and Braband CouÌ„ties of Hasbrough Flanders and Tiroll Be all grace ioye and felicitie wished from GOD the father of our Lorde Iesus Christe AS almightie God the merueilous creatour of all the worlde and beuÌ„teous conseruer of the same moste noble princes hath graft naturall loue and amitie in the nature of his creatures of the one kinde to the other as chiefe succour one to the other And for that he willyng the same moste orderly to appere in mannes nature for his societie hath beside the benefite of reason at the verie first beginnyng by lawe prouided for the same euen so that auncient enemie that wilie â–ª serpent the deuill hath alwaie laied his engines and snares to disorder and to confounde the saied creation and institution of God with many and horrible kindes of deuises either to destroy it vtterly or els so to depraue the thing that was impossible for him to destroie with suche sinister cauillations that it should lose the estimation at the least and grace that almightie God willed it to be endued and adourned with The chief roote whence spryngeth the greatest part of mannes felicitie or infelicitie in this mortall life is wedlocke As out of this spryng haue been families and realmes beguÌ„ne by it enlarged and finally florished and preserued by the same So haue the self same families and realmes once aduauÌ„ced to the heigth of their felicitie and perfection been brought downe againe to vtter ruine and deuastation for corrupting and peruerting that eternall lawe of God and decree of nature The more earnestlie should all suche as be endewed with any spercle of reuerence to Goddes honour of pietie to their countrey or of charitie to their neighbour praie and wishe moste instauntly that this state and societie might bee so honourablie begonne continued and ended in al degrées that the benefites therof might redounde throughout the horriblenes of the abuse might bee vtterly euery where banished And the more circumspectly should all suche as haue giftes of God for vtteraunce in excityng mannes decaied and corrupte nature with woorde and writyng to the preseruation thereof take hede that by their imprudent vtteraunce thei defame not that thyng that almightie God would haue in estimation and by his woorde hath pronounced honourable in all persones How be it moste gracious and godly soueraignes it hath chaunced otherwise in this your noble Realme and Dominions of late that witte and learnyng whereof nothing ought to haue been looked for but good witte and learnyng haue vttered euill will and ignoraunce in the deprauatioÌ„ of suche societies of part of your graces Clergie by iuste lawes of your realme enacted stablished and confirmed to be good and in quiete state so reposed straunge for a tyme by reason of the noueltie to diuerse but yet perceiued of many wisemen with some addition of discipline for the insolencie of some yonger then wiser that it might haue been the remedie of diuerse inconueniences before tyme lamented in the Clergie Of your vertuous entendiment moste gracious ladie no lesse maie be coÌ„ceiued but although to your graces cares it hath been oftecried vnto how vncomely these copulations were how againste God and his honour how againste the Churche decrees and discipline and how worthie to be dissolued againe Yet notwithstandyng this importunitie we read by the expresse wordes of your highnesse Commission comprised in articles and so addressed to your graces spirituall administers Bishops and your Commissaries that your graces will was thei should proceade accordyng to learnyng and discretion in this weightie matter And that thei should not put any other CanoÌ„s and constitutioÌ„s of the Churche in exercise then suche as might stande with your graces Lawe of your Realme Yet for all this your graue and gracious aduertisement diuerse of the saied officers of what spirite Gods spirite can Iudge haue proceded so farre against learnyng discretion and lawes of your â–ª realme in moste places of your highnes dominions that your poore subiectes and oratours bee farre otherwise entreated then your grace would thinke likely for the trust whiche was committed to theÌ„ Surely farre otherwise then the graue of the realme can beleue your tender pitie and customable mercie your godlie Charitie and fauorable Iustice would haue so executed Whiche maner of doynges in all quarters of your realme as it hath stirred greate admirations emong the moste of your other subiectes in sundrie and diuerse considerations incidente and depending vpon suche procedynges So hath there risen a freshe as muche admiration againe of a certaine booke of late putte forthe by one Thomas Marten Doctor of Ciuill subornated belike God knoweth by whom to iustifie the saied sore doynges and to haue them taken in good part that is as he would haue it appere by learnyng confirmed to haue been doen by discretion In whiche booke to the furder accumulation of the heauie state of the saied ministers depriued is added moste slaunderous accusations and vntrue surmised matters againste them to your highnes and to all other states of your realme to bryng them to vtter rebuke and perill possible Whiche matters how vncharitably vntruely and vnlearnedly thei be framed and forged shall in some part appere hereafter And more sufficiently at other laisure shal bee proued and detected how he hath handled hymself pretendyng Goddes glorie whereby his entendement his woorde and institution is plainly euacuated pretendyng Chastitie but in conclusion the verie high waie to vnspeakeable whoredomes and filthinesse pretendyng antiquitie and aucthoritie yet in verie deede but counterfetted imitation of aucthoritie and beliyng antiquitie makyng a greate florishe in the matter to the reader at a sodain shewe but in effectâ— mere subtiltie without subâ—â—aunce witte without wisedome Zeale without knowledge and heate without charitie Onely this thyng in the name of the said ministers not in respect so muche of their persones as of their cause whiche ought of all maner of men that feare God to be waied with reason and iustice This thing I saie is moste humbly to be sued for at your moste gracious and vertuous consciences to peruse the moderacions that be to be expended in the circumstaunce of the cause as it standeth on their side by allowaunce of Gods Lawe and approbation of mannes lawe thereto in your highest courte of Parliamente The cause it self is Goddes It
to expende and to expound the lawes of the realme in suche preiudiciall maner as he doth I would faine knowe how he can glose that Acte of Parliamente made in the .xxxij. yere of that noble Kyng Henry the eighte whiche is not as yet repealed but confirmed a newe for some parte thereof concernyng the prohibitions of the Leuiticall Lawe and standeth in sure force at this very daie wherein is plainly expressed that no reseruation or prohibition Goddes Lawe except shall trouble or empeche any mariage without the saied Leuiticall degrees And that all suche bee lawfull persones to contracte whiche bee not prohibited by Gods lawe to marrie I thinke this man can not saye that priestes mariages bee within suche degrees Ergo thei ought not to be troubled or impeched as this Lawe commaundeth And where this doctor writeth in th ende of his .ix. Chapiter full learnedly bee ye suer R. ij specially for a greate maister of the Chauncerie that the two actes in Kyng Edwardes daies aucthorisyng priestes mariages doeth not take a waie the penalties of the Canon lawe whiche assertion for the like how far it may be extended let wise menne iudge But if thei did he saieth yet could not the priestes take any aduauntage by them longer then thei did continue And he addeth his reason because saith he the auncient lawes of the churche as sone as the saied two statutes were taken awaie came straight in force againe Further saieth he for that thei were neuer extinguished but only for a time shadowed and brought a slepe And this he saieth is the opinion of the chief Doctors of the Ciuill lawe Now Master Ciuilian if ye had alledged this opinion as of suche as be learned and beareth good hartes to their owne naturall lawe of the realme your saiyng had been better proued in my conceite And I doubt muche whether it bee true that ye saie that the beste Ciuilians agréeth with you I thinke if it were searched there might be found as good Ciuilians comparable with those whom ye note to bee the chief Doctors of the Ciuill that bee not in your iudgemente in this your gaye booke And whether ye haue any manne learned in the temporall lawe that will ioyne in this opinion with your chief doctors in the Ciuill Lawe I would yet wishe euâ—n those though ye haue craftly trained them into suche opinion by the odiousnes of this cause of the poore priestes yet to aduise theÌ„ well for suche causes might arise to them selues in compasse of seuen yeares in the like cases that peraduenture thei would wishe not to haue it so vniuersally concluded as ye conclude it But sir yet let me aske you a question by the occasion offred of that Lawe of Kyng Henrie Anno. xxcij where it is determined in lawe wherof I thinke ye cannot shewe the like in this realme since Brute came first into England and ye knowe that it is a great wonder to your wit for thinges to come in law that fewe menne hath seen the like example before tymes I meane I saie for the nature of precontractes whiche by that statute bee vtterly voide if a second contract followeth and bee consummated with bodely knowledge Ye knowe that this acte for precontractes is repealed againe Anno secundo Edwardi sexti and restored to that force as once it was and so long before continued many hundreth yeres What do ye entend with such mariages as at this daie be a great meiny in Englande which began and were aduailable by force of that act seyng this act is now repealed Whether maie ye dissolue suche marriages and pronounce them nought seyng ye saie the â—orce of the olde Canons yea the force of a statute lawe too is in strength againe and debarryng euery man to vse that kinde of second contractyng for hereafter When ye haue well answered this one question I thinke suche as bée learned in the law could deuise more of suche kinde to set your gaie witte on worke And if ye list ye maie read that suche equitie was prouided for in the first yere of Kyng Edwarde the sixte in the .xj. Chapiter concernyng the peaceable enioiyng of mennes interestes geuen by acte before though afterward followeth a repeale by the Kynges letters patentes of the saied actes the parties might pleade the said actes repealed for there grauntes so enioyed by lawe I praie you coÌ„sider whether these rules of the lawes folowing might not haue place in this cause where it is saied Factum legitimum retractari non debet licét casus postea eueniat quo noÌ„ potuit inchoari A facte that was once lawfull ought not to bee called into question againe although afterwardes there happen somethyng that myght hinder the beginnyng of it Et multa prohibentur fieri que facta tamen tenent Many thynges are prohibited to be doen whiche when thei once bée doone must yet stand Indultum a iure beneficium non est alicui auferendum A benefite graunted by law must be taken from no man If any cause might be reduced to the equitie of these lawes I thinke the cause of Matrimonie beyng Gods ordinaunce ought to bée indissoluble and not to be retracted Moreouer if these mariages aforesaied ought not to bee dissolued but muste enioye the benefite of that statute when it so stode though it be repealed for hereafterward why should that act of repeale made in the first yere of our soueraigne Ladie the Quéenes maiestie Quéene Marie takyng a waye only but the libertie for Priestes to marrie for hereafter impeache or hinder those lawfull mariages of priestes before aucthorised by as good lawe and as often tymes before these daies seen more then king Edwardes repeale caÌ„ or ought molest these mariages for their maner of contractyng Furthermore if vpon repeale of actes as ye do saie your slepyng Canons should therby be straight waie in force watching and wakyng to shewe their face to byte and barke as the ordinaries in some places would haue them I doubt whether al the Quéenes highnes subiectes should haue so quiet reste in their beddes as thei would wishe and as their forefathers before tyme prouided for them selues by kepyng this slepyng tye dogge in his kenell not to come to farre a broode for bityng And because this Ciuilian deliteth to skoure his wit in lawest I desire his resolution in one doubt rising by occasion of his forsaied determination whiche is that all Ecclesiasticall persons lieth open to the old Canons of the Churche by reason of this acte of repeale Kyng Edwarde in his first yere made a statute repealyng all maner actes before his tyme made for punishement of Heresies as well the acte of King Richarde the seconde made in his first yere the act of Henrie the .v. made in his second yere the actes of Kyng Henrie the eight made in his xxv yere the act of .vj. articles made in the .xxxj. yere one other act made in the .xxxv. yere concernyng qualification of the
kyng of the lande our owne Chronicles will tell you as for Constantia and Ramirus I doe auouche the aucthour aforesaied de ritu nuptiarum where ye maie moste redily see it testified And here master Martin I wonder that where I thinke ye haue seen that booke for it is printed with you of late in Englande ye consider not the tracte of that writyng wherby ye might learne many necessary pointes of learnyng As in his seconde booke of the vtilitée and necessitée of dispensation to tempre the rigour of lawes and in the beginnyng of readyng that seconde booke to tell you plainly my contemplation therein ye came by and by into my remembrance by the occasion of a sentence written therein in the beginnyng reported out of Plato wheÌ„ce peraduenture Terence fetched out his saiyng Homine imperito nihil quicquam iniustius qui nisi ê™ ipse facit nihil rectum esse putat that is There caÌ„ be nothyng worse then an vnskilfull man who thinketh nothyng well doen but that whiche he doeth hym self But the saiyng is this Legem Plato simileÌ„ esse ait homini pertinaci imperito praeterque suuÌ„ praescriptuÌ„ nihil fieri permitteÌ„ti qui ne interpellari quideÌ„ se patitur etiam si qua incidat extra ordineÌ„ causa in qua coÌ„modissimuÌ„ sit aliter fieri quam pro ratione quam ipse semeliÌ„stituerit Plato saith that lawe is like vnto a froward ignoraunt man that will suffer nothyng to be doen but as he appoincteth it and will not let his deuise to be altered although some bycause should happen in respect wherof it were berter to be doen otherwise then as he in his reason had once determined it Iâ— this sentence had béen wel pondered of you master Martin before ye beganne your booke either would you haue holden your hande froÌ„ the booke to haue auoided the checke of this notable senteÌ„ce or els if that notwithstandyng ye would haue yet written as ye haue doen you must needes shewe your self to bee of suche a nature as I would praie to GOD none the like should euer come to bee a counsailour in the Chauncerie so long as I should haue ought to doe there Well master Martin looke to the same sentence yet once againe Et dic te stultuÌ„ intus dic sapiens eris Ye might haue furthermore there learned that it is affirmed ê™ condere leges munus sit regiae facultatis So to dispence with them in necessitée of tyme and place is so belongyng to the prudeÌ„ce of a kyng that els his subiectes should by extreme right bee oppressed with extreme wrong And this is an other sentence whiche would doe well to be expended in the defence of the cause that ye haue takeÌ„ in hande where ye saie that this matter of mariages perteined not to the kyng And if that forein ruler at Rome hath so ample aucthorite as to dispence not with one man onely to haue .ij. wiues for a nede but with al the lawes that euer God or maÌ„ made exceptyng no more but tharticles of the faithe yet some Canonistes write that he maie interprete them also why then can ye not be contente that your late naturall leige Lorde and maister with the assent of his Parliament should doe so little a thyng in despensation that is one of the leaste crummes that fall from the Popes table I dare saie so small that the worste tourne broche in his ketchin could gette it of his holinesse by an easie entreatée for all his kinsfolkes if thei were all Priestes and Uotaries to Master Martin I will not here vrge a contemplation that is now in my mynde vpon you but praie you once againe looke if you can sée your face in Platos glasse before spoken and aduise you in tyme or els all the worlde will wonder master Martin stones will speake and blockes will write yea God will be angrie and that is worste of all Happie is he that hath a trustie friende to tell hym good counsaile yet happier is he that hath it of hym self if he should want hym happie is he that hath a good nature but yet more happie is he whose nature grace hath reformed to haue GOD alone alwaies in his eye Also ye might further haue learned of hym in his thirde booke that it is but Popes lawe that orders should withstand matrimonie And that the Greke Priestes at this daie liue in Matrimonie And moreouer that he writeth that in his Spanishe priestes whiche be ordered by the Popes very pontificall nothyng doeth so muche let them from mariage as their vowe whiche is vowed vtcunque after a certain maner saieth he of them in their orderyng I dare saie so indifferent a manne as he semeth to be if he had knowen the maner of our priestes orderyng by the Englishe pontificall speaking in suche maner timidè vtcuÌ„que of the priestes of Spain he would haue saied that our priestes maketh no maner of vowe in no maner of maner But to go forwarde and discharge my promise of that other two priestes maried after thei were priestes if ye loke in the storie Tripartite Lib. 5. Ca. 44. consider whether Socrates reporteth not of one there named Apollinaris a Prieste that maried after his priesthode and begatte a child called by his owne name Apollinaris Consider the place indifferently the rather for that S. Hierome doeth affirme that he was a Priestes sonne in Catalogo script Ecclesiastic If that will not serue you yet I will be suer to make vp my .iiij. promised by one that is written of in the saied booke Eupsichius a Busshop Lib. 6. cap. 14. Who alitle before his martirdome maried his wife wher he was reputed tyll that tyme but haÌ„dfasted As I was writyng this in came Genius quidam and sittyng at myne elbow tolde me plainly that these placis were like to bee bulted and sifted to the branne And that now the greke bookes should be sent for to vnderstand some startyng hole to crepe out at For that can not be borne that in suche autentike stories specially of the Churche we should find any suche one and then againe no mention made that thei did it by dispensation of the father at Rome For rather then that should appeare in storie openly thei would haue plaied the partes that is like thei haue doen in the Apostles Canons in Clementes workes of recognitioÌ„ of the recordes of the Counsails yea in al antiquities to chop in and out at their pleasure for their purposes Blessed bee God that he yet preserued his holy Testamentes cleane from their sophistications for the text self whiche shal be able euermore in al ages to purge it self what drosse soeuer thei haue cast vpon it to blemishe the cleare light therof Well it will be meruaill if Magdalen College in Oxford be not brought forthe or some other text other where searched out And here I am sure their heads must be set a worke that caÌ„ saie
the remedies of the inconuenience As for Eckius Cocleus Murnerus and suche other filthie draffe sackes I make noe tale of them whose liues were knowen well inough to bee to beastly Yea Pighius hymself the God of this Ciuilian vseth yet a moderation suche as it is where this man for curste hart will vse none at al. Alfonsus a catholike busshop doeth so learnedly christianly handle the matter that although he wissheth Philippica 19. as it is to bee wished that all the Clergie could liue in perpetuall continencie yet he wisheth for them that can not so liue that mariage were graunted and that to priestes after their orders and merueileth at suche mennes conscienses that will so pinche vpon the aucthoritee that is in the Churche that thei should haue power onely but to curse and to excoÌ„municate and not to saue and deliuer Whiche thing he prosecuteth in a great spirite and saieth by those wordes of sainct Paule vnusquisque propter fornicationem vitandam suam vxorem habeat c. That is to auoide fornication let euery man haue his wife maie euery man clayme his interest and right to marye if he can not otherwise liue And affirmeth further that he can not see how any man can depriue hymself oâ— that his interest of that concession of mariage gaunted by sainct Paule except he will euen so depriue hymself of eternall life And moreouer saieth plainly that euery man cannot conteine and that therfore no man can be so holden by lawes or vowes but that he ought to prouide for his saluation And that howsoeuer a Prieste hath by his owne voluntarie consent depriued hymself of his libertée to marie after that yet in this case when he hath proued all remedies and none will serue then yet to hym is reserued still whole and found his right and interest of that same concession of sainct Paule propter fornicationem vitandam vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat vnaqueque suum virum Whiche generall proposition this Ciuilian would needes straine to a particuler contrarie to the circumstaunce of the context it self yea contrarie to the vsyng of diuerse Doctors of the church as we haue proued before And further we there brought in S. Hieromes manifest woordes to proue it against his owne manifest wordes wherein he denieth it And here I require this CiuiliaÌ„ with his gloses to proue those two contradictories or .ij. contraries if he can Or to make S. Hierom agre with others to see what it is to brabble with mennes woordes and not to sticke to the woordes of the holy ghost euident in them selues to them that of mere frowardnes listed not to wrangle and to be contentious to make vprores in comon wealthes to nosell the vnlearned still in palpable blindnes to recouer their olde honour of the churche to do as thei lusted in al matters bothe of God and man and then we should haue a merie world again and all should be plentious neither warres nor commotions but suche as thei themselues would stirre for their owne turnes And because I named vnto you a diuine of these daies Michael vehe whom the rather among many of that sort I do alledge for that I se in him a quiet spirite soberlye and Godly with learnyng debatyng his controuersies of conscience vtteryng his iudgement not as Pighius Eckius and this Ciuilian doeth of a set purpose onely and of a froward and proud nature that will in no respect giue ouer or will condition indifferently of that which is once beaten and setteled in his stubborne head but muste winne all or lose all come of it whatsoeuer will I will shewe you what moderation he vseth in this cause of priestes matrimonies wherin he declareth his conteÌ„tation that it could stand with his iudgement and conscience for priestes yea after order once consecrated to mary so that thei were not suffered still in their ministration And moreouer against them that might be of that opinion to thinke that for a greate cause in respect of a realme or of a comon peace dispensation might be had as it was so dispensed with he saieth with the kyng of Arragon But peraduenture not alludyng to this storie in this matter he saieth these wordes At omniaÌ„ pregnantissima causa est animarum periculuÌ„ cui nec vna totius mundi precio estimari possit c. What cause soeuer maie appeare to dispence in positiue Lawes for the weale of a whole Realme surely saieth he there can be no greater or more pregnant cause then the perill of mennes soules wherein the losse but of one is not estimable by the price and value of all the world This man was in coÌ„science moued to saie his learnyng he would not dally in so weightie a cause He knewe he muste come once before the tribunal seate of Christ and his Apostles to make answere of his wordes and writynges And therfore as in the sight of God not as pleasyng man or keping the world in a comon traded errour for glory or lucre thought it very meete for suche Canons and Lawes to be dispensed with for the saluation of mennes soules for the whiche as for his owne he knewe Christ spent his precious blood he was not ignorant as I thinke this Ciuilian is not or els ought not to bee of the trade and practise of the holy Fathers of the Churche in their daies It is not vnknowen to hym how soeuer Epiphanius was affected to the continencie of the Clergie and for the defence thereof vnaduisedly did write that it was the institution of the Apostles for them to conteine that yet hym self was compelled for necessitée of ministers to permit theim in mariage as otherwhere he telleth that thei did so although not altogether agreable to the prescripte of the Canons Yea Epiphaniuis Lib. 2. To. 1. Hero 61. he confesseth plainly of those and also of votaries to that it were better for them fallen from their race of their runnyng in virginitée openly to marrie a wife by the Lawe rather then to be daiely wounded with the secrete dartes of Cupido by the importune temptation of the Deuill And better for them to runne into iudgemente of penaunce sufferable for a tyme then by couÌ„terfettyng chastitée to fall into condempnation to bee excluded from the kyngdome of heauen For he condempneth euen there suche of the Clergie because thei would not abide the shame of the worlde belike for mariage yet secretly committed whoredome and that vnder the pretence of solitary liuyng and continencie practised vncleannesse with them selues to aduoyde whiche inconuenience he is faine to remitte of his Canons how Apostolike so euer thei were Tract 7. in mas This diuine afore saied I saie Michael Vehe was not ignoraunte how that in Origens tyme the Busshoppes in those dayes for the releuyng of a woman in her frailtée were contenâ—ed to despence with her to marrie againe though her husband was a liue Peraduenture saieth he thei did suffer it for
hotte iron of Antichristes stampe Dani. xi whose notes be Quod erit in concupiscentiis feminarum O blyndnes of hypocrisie which would leade vs out of the ryght way walkyng in the holynes of angels Coloss. ii counterfaytyng thynges which he neuer sawe him selfe causelesse puft vp in the iudgement of his fleshe Mercifull God what meant this rigorous Anselme as at this tyme to vrge so importunely this doctrine of Satan when he knewe and confessed in his epistle written to Wylliam his Archdeacon thus Considerandum etiam est quia hactenus ita fuit publicum hoc peccatum sodomiticum Epistol 78. cent 2. vt vix aliquis pro eo erubesceret et ideo multi magnitudinem eius nescientes in illud se praecipitabant It is to be considered that hytherto this sinne hath ben so publique that scant any man was ashamed therof and therefore many ignorant of the greatnes therof fell headlong thereto Wherevpon the sayde Anselme on a tyme when kyng Wylliam was going ouer sea to Normandie Edmer he made earnest suite to hym that he woulde geue commaundement yf it so pleased hym that the olde auncient synodes myght be renued agayne to refourme that which is amysse that christianitie whiche in this realme is in many almost wholly lost saith he may be restored to his olde state for the most horrible outrage of the Sodomiticall vice saith he is to much spread abrode besides the vnlawfull copulations of consanguinitie and other such detestable crymes that they haue defyled very many by their excesse ▪ c. If Anselme knewe this vice so foully to raigne in the realme Edmer li. i yea among the laitie who had libertie of maryage what myght he gather shoulde folowe where this libertie should be by his decree restrayned euen frō them who had presently their wyues in house with them and in possession What other thyng was lyke to folowe of this prohibition then such fylthynes as before rehearsed For as saint Barnarde doth inuey agaynst such Sup. Cant. serm 66. Tolle de ecclesia honorabile connubium thorum immaculatum nonne reples eam concubinariis incestuosis seminisluis mollibus masculorum concubitoribus omni denique genere immundorum Take away from the Churche honorable maryage and the bed vndefiled shalt thou not replenish it with concubinaries with incestuous copulations with sodomiticall vices and finally with all kynde of beastly persons This good religious man belyke perceauyng about that tyme the extremitie of these rigorous hypocrites inueyed sharpely agaynst them in the selfe same sermon with these wordes here and there They be sheepe saith he in outwarde habite but foxes in lyfe and woolfes in subtiltie and crueltie these be they that woulde be seene good but not so to be they woulde not be seene euyll but yet wyll so be these be they whiche to the cloke of their fylthynesse haue adournde them selues with the vowe of continencie and do iudge fylthynes to be reputed in wyues only where that only cause of hauing a wyfe is it which doth excuse al vncleanenes in companie these be they of whom saint Paul dyd speake Men attendyng to spirites of error and doctrines of deuyls not by the reuelation of Iesu Christe but rather and that without doubt as the holy ghost dyd prophesie before by illusion and fraude of deuyls peakyng lyes in hypocrisie forbyddyng to marrye Plainely they speake this saith he in hypocrisie and in foxes subtiltie pretendyng that they speake so for the loue of chastitie which they haue inuented rather to noryshe and multiplie the cause of fylthynes Yet saith he the matter is most euident that I do maruayle howe euer it coulde be perswaded at any tyme to any christian man Note this contemplatiue Barnardes spirite in these so sharpe wordes except that they be eyther so beastly that they do not perceaue how they geue ouer the brydle to all vncleanenes in condempnyng maryages or els be so full of wickednes and swallowed vp in deuyllyshe malice that though they do consider it yet they wyll not see it and so delyght in the dampnation of men For saith he take away mariage out of the Churche and by and by foloweth all fylthynesse as it is sayde afore Surely saith he continencie is very rare vpon the earth and thervppon the same Barnarde doth insult agaynst such Quid manum dei abbreuias quid largam benedictionem nuptiarū restringis c. Why doest thou abridge the hande of God why doest thou restraine the large and liberal benediction of mariages why doest thou chalenge that to be only appertayning to the virgin that is graunted to the whole kynde Ueryly Paul woulde not permit this except it were lawfull and yet I say not enough that he doth graunt it but he wylleth it also c. What is more manifest Ergo he graunteth it because it is lawfull and he wylleth it also because it is expedient And doth the heretique saith he forbyd that which is both lawfull and expedient He shall proue nothyng by this his prohibition but that he is an heretique And thus farre Barnarde agaynst these hypocrites and condempners of maryagies in diuers persons wrytyng euen about the very same tim when these prohibitions and seperations were a doing So hat Epiphanius as is afore rehearsed wryteth of such Pag. 81. a. Serpens alatus hic est scorpius alas habens secundum multos modos volans imitans quidem ecclesiae virginitatē non habens autem puram conscientiam This serpent fleeth abrode this scorpion hath wynges after diuers fashyons fleyng here and there and counterfaytyng virginitie of the Churche but yet without a pure and sincere conscience Iudge reader whether of these two mens spirites were most lyke to be of God or of Satan Anselmes who diuorced in this wretched and slyppery tyme them which were maryed agaynst the spirite of Pathnutius and other of the fathers in the Nicene councell and Lanfranckes spirite in his prohibityng maryed priestes to be seperated Or the spirite of Gregorie the great Sup pag. 201 who dyd write agaynst a lyke decree of Pelagius his predecessour and dissolued it saying Quod mihi durum atque incompetens videtur Dist. 31. ca. ante trien vt qui vsum continenciae non inuenit neque castitatē promisit compellatur a sua vxore separari atque per hoc quod absit in deterius cadat That is thought to me to be very harde and also importable that they which haue not the vse of continence nor haue promised chastitie shoulde be compelled to be separated from their wyues whervpon they may as God forbyd fall into worse It is not without good cause that the Byshoppes in kyng Henries tyme the first after the departure of Radulph archbyshop of Canterbury next successour to Anselme of a further experience agayne made suite to the kyng that they might chose a seculer clarke to be their primate and no more of the
feceris quod postulo ab hac te fidei sponsione absoluam I am in the apostles sea and yf thou wylt do that which I request I wyl absolue thee from this promise of thy fidelitie Well sayth the kyng I wyll entreate of this hereafter and shortly sent vnto hym his messengers to signifie that it is not for the kynges honour to consent to such absolutions agaynst a mans fayth And farther sayde that except Thurstone woulde make his profession to the sea of Canterburie he shoulde neuer sit in the Churche at Yorke whyles he was kyng of Englande by compulsion of any edict from the pope whatsoeuer this haue I promised and this sayth he wyll I obserue But it may be thought peraduenture vnlike to be true that the pope would come so farre as to Gisors aforesaid his owne person to speake with the kyng it may so be obiected by some Romanistes who labour so hye to aduaunce his deitie but to such as be indifferently read in storie it is not incredible For Matthewe Paris reporteth howe that pope Innocent vsed his craftie deuice by his Cardinals towardes kyng Henrie the third in the .xxix. yere of his raigne Which Cardinals only louers of money craftyly sent to the kyng vnder the colour of great frendshyp their counsell which they auouched to be both holsome honorable glorious to the Realme and very profitable that was that he shoulde sue by his messengers to the popes holynes to come personally into his Realme which say they shoulde be honor most excellent to Englande and immortall glorie that in your dayes the lorde pope whiche is knowen to be the father of all fathers shoulde appeare personallye within the coast of the Englyshe nation For say they we remember well that hym selfe hath sayde whereof we reioyce that he would very gladly see the daintie sightes of Westmonasterie and the riches of London When this was knowen to the kyng he was very glad and woulde easelye haue bowed to this subtyll councell except he hadde ben holden vp by the contrary counsayles of his subiectes learned to gaynesay it or dissent to satisfie this his desire Qui dicebant quòd satis imo nimiū iam suorum caursinorum vsuris Romanorum ac Italicorum rapinis simoniis Angliae puritas maculatur quamuis non presentialiter bona ecclesiae regni dissipet predetur Which sayde that the puritie of the Realme of Englande was alredy enough yea to much defyled by the vsuries of his cormorantes and by the extortions and simonies of the Romanistes and Italians though that he do not by his presence waste and robbe the goodes of the Churche and of the Realme And farther they sayde for that the sayde pope was denyed any entrie into the Realme of Fraunce though that he required the same by his solempne ambassadours so his entrie was denyed to enter into the realme of Aragon For saith the writer Infamia enim curiae papalis id promeruerat cuius fetor vsque ad nubes fumā teterrimā exhalabat The infamie of the papall court had deserued this repulse the stinche whereof dyd breathe out euen vp to the cloudes a most detestable fume Edm. lib. 6. And as concernyng any commyng of any legate into the Realme he woulde neuer admit one as long as he lyued And though that pope Calixt sent into the Realme afterwarde his moste solempne legate Petrus Romanus monachus Cluniacensis commyng in a more portly glorie then euer any dyd before the kyng so disposed the matter that after he was come into Englande wylled that he shoulde neither visite churche nor monasterie commaunded that he shoulde be brought to be at hoast with him for he sayde his Realme of Englande was free from the iurisdiction of any legate and so shoulde be duryng his lyfe for so had Calixtus promised hym Wherevpon after some liberalitie bestowed vpō him on the kynges behalfe the king sēt him ouer againe the way he came out of England though his cōmyng was to haue exercised his office of legatship thorough the hole Realme If the reader wyl know the cause why that Thurstone fell into the kinges displeasure was for that he askyng licence of the kyng to go to this councell of the bishop of Rome and coulde not possiblie obteyne the same before he made his promise vpon his allegiance that hè would do nothyng with the pope in preiudice of Canterb. churche nor woulde by any mans perswasion receaue his episcopall consecration at his handes which so faythfull a promise to the kyng he contemptuously brake notwithstandyng wherat both the kyng and the nobilitie dyd much maruell for such infidelitie But suche was the obedience in those dayes to their princes for the more fauour they bare to this forrayne vsurper that is in playner tearmes falsely forsworne to the kyng their liege lorde and enemie to the Realme so farre as it myght stande to the aduauncement of the popes iurisdiction whose creatures they were and so reioyced in common speache to call them selues and as it myght with the satisfiyng of their owne gaynes dignities and pleasures Thus farre out of the common written stories haue ben alleaged the rather by the occasion of entreatyng of byshop Anselmes tumultuous doynges who was the firste that euer in England toke vpon hym to diuorce lawfull matrimonies in all priestes so many hundred yeres vsed in quiet possession in the Realme and many of them stablyshed by Lanfranckes constitution and as he the first so the most extreme agaynst all ryght and conscience vntyll the raigne of Quene Marie in whose dayes Hildibrandes spirite was raysed vp agayne and Anselmes whot Munckyshe zeale in lyke sorte prosecuted as it was in his tyme. If any man be offended with so much in particularitie vttered let hym vnderstande these matters to be fetcht out of the bokes of such stories most written by munckes who both in wordes deede and wrytyng professed the state of perfection expressyng all charitie therfore can not be thought to rayle in the writing of their stories which saith both Matth. Paris and Henrie huntyngton muste be perfourmed in all trueth without any parcialitie eyther of personages for honour and holynes nor maye not be transgressed for loue of kyn or frendes whatsoeuer After Anselme archbyshop folowed Rodulph a seuere muncke in profession also Rodulph first an Abbot in Normandie after that byshop of Rochester and in conclusion archbyshop of Canterburie of whose dayes no great recorde is extant of makyng or forcyng any decrees or constitutions agaynst maryed priestes although it is reported of Edmer that he was very seuere agaynst the said Henrie the first Ioannes Hagustaldensis beyng a prince of such godlynes that one Cronicle writeth so much to his cōmendation that he saith Post quem princeps non surrexit alius qui sic iniustas regni exactiones interdiceret subditos in pacae modestia sapientius disponeret c. After whose death there folowed no
where he a freshe renewed the old prohibitions and decrees agaynst priestes concubines Roger Houenden Geruasius anno 1174. Chro. Ierouallensis who yet of his fatherly pitie dyd consecrate one Galfride Ridel archdeacon of Canterburie to be bishop of Elye who was the thirde in order of the first erection as the catologes of the bishoppes of Elye doth recorde Which sayde Galfride shoulde haue gone to Rome with the sayde Richard elect of Canterburie and with Reginald elect of Bathe for the confirmation of their elections Whereas Alexander then pope dyd much blame the absence of the others elect bishops of Englande vidz elect of Winchester Herforde Chichester and of Elye Whiche pope dyd more earnestly aske why the elect of Elye came not with them The bishop of Orleans aunswered Forsooth sayde he Habet excusationem Euangelicam He hath the excuse of the Gospell What is that saith the pope Sir saith he he hath maryed a wyfe and therfore can not come And though there was then much altercation brought before the pope and cardinalles yet the pope dyd foorthwith consecrate the elect of Canterburie And he after he was returned home to Englande dyd consecrate the said Richarde anno 1174. pridie nonas Octob. anno regni Hen. 2 xxi who lyued bishop there vntyll he dyed though he ended his lyfe at Winchester intestate anno 1189. the firste yere of kyng Richarde In which sayde catologe is also recorded that the sayde Richarde before his election dyd openly purge his innocentie by oth that he procured not the death of Thomas Becket neither by worde nor deede nor wrytyng which was also required of Roger archbishop of Yorke and of Gilbert bishop of London and so in the Assention day in his owne churche he was intronizate whereto he gaue very great giftes saith the storie Thus hytherto this holsome decree of Anselme belyke howesoeuer saith the storie it had fauour of some at the first and what earnestie soeuer he shewed therin was not kept nor yet receaued vniuersally seyng that this Richarde wyttyngly dyd consecrate the sayde Galfride hauyng a wyfe and so aduouched before the popes holynes and the whole consistorie of cardinalles In this Richarde his dayes was a synode holden by hym and some of his brethren at Wodstocke anno 1175. Hen. 2.21 to chose a bishop for the bishopricke of Norwich and for chosyng of abbottes whiche were many vacant Amongst which their election they dyd elect Galfride the kynges sonne to the bishopricke of Lyncolne after that it was voyde xvij yeres almost by reason of the morgagyng therof into the kynges handes But king Henrie his father would not haue hym then consecrated for that he was within yeres and knewe not whether he was necessarie to the gouernement of suche a dignitie VVil. Neu. lib. 2. cap. 22. and therfore the kyng sent hym to Towres to haue some exercise in the scholes there vntyll he was thought worthy that he might take the dignitie of such honor Though yet his sonne aunswered not his expectation and thervpon for his vnworthynesse compelled hym to resigne it agayne Nubrigen lib. 4. cap. 2. whom notwithstandyng kyng Stephen his brother next succeedyng hym preferred to the archbishopricke of Yorke See here this good kynges zeale whiche he had in the election of a bishop Belyke it may appeare that the kyng had more regard then all the bishoppes had besides Which acte is worthy to be had in remembraunce to shewe to all princes to cleargie men and noble men specially patrones of benefices to haue a conscience with them in preferring men to such heauenly chargeable and worthy office of the cure of mans soule And in the dayes of this bishop the kyng was counsayled to build an Abbey to the honor of God and S. Thomas of Canterburie Rog. Houeden anno 1177. Rex Hen. 2 23. for the remission of his sinnes as the storie saith And so was the churche of seculer prebendaries in Waltham turned out they expulsed for their wyues belyke and reguler chanons brought in That is vi chanons from the abbey of Circester and vi of Osney and iiij of S. Oses and of some of them made officers and replenyshed the house with chanons about the number of an hundred or fourscore at the least besydes their externe officers of the house Thus was religion the decaye of seculer learned men a cause of their expulsions so much had they blynded the eyes of princes at that tyme to multiplie dumbe munckes and to hynder preachyng prebendaries VValter Couentriensis Neuerthelesse the kyng gaue to the Deane in recompence a manour of his duryng his lyfe and gaue the prebendaries accordyng to the value of their prebendes and suche prebendaries as woulde not receaue such recompence that they shoulde holde their prebendes duryng their lyues at the discretion and estimation yet of archbishop Richard who was present with other bishops as were also the deane and the prebendaries when the kyng in his owne person put the reguler chanons in possession In deede the Romishe sleyght wrought in this kynges facte Fabian ann Henr. 2.28 for such alteryng the house of Waltham abbey is to be considered the grounde wherof was as it is tolde by storie that the kyng had vowed and sworne before two cardinalles to go in his owne proper person to warre agaynst Christes enemies in the holy lande they so deuising to bereue the realme of their prince and to ieoperde his person to the reuenge of Thomas Beckets death whiche was layde to his charge But the wyle was perceaued and he promised for dispensation of his oth to buylde three Abbeys in Englande Which sleyghtie iniunction of the cardinalles the kyng was councelled as prudently to fulfyll For he turned as is sayde the seculer chanons of Waltham into reguler chanons for one foundation and for buyldyng of the seconde Abbey he turned the Munkes out of the Abbey of Almesbury and set in their steede Nunnes and for the thirde foundation he renewed sparyngly the charterhouse of Witham besides Salisburie and thus perfourmed the condition of his dispensation of buyldyng of three Abbeys But thus was not the Romyshe quarrell quieted towardes the kyng For the pope Lucius the thirde was well contented when one Heracleus patriarch of Ierusalem came into the Realme to moue hym to trauayle agaynst the Sarasens and was very instant vppon hym to take that iorney puttyng hym in mynde of the oth that he once made before the two cardinalles aforesayde But the kyng perceauyng the craftie dryft aunswered that he would liberally bestowe of his owne to the charge of such vyage but he myght not depart from his owne lande and leaue it as a pray to the aduersarie This aunswere the Patriarch toke very displeasauntly and angerly The kyng yet somewhat to pacifie hym accompanyed hym vnto the sea syde but the more the kyng laboured to satisfie hym the more was the Patriarch offended speaking spytefull wordes agaynst the kyng
chargyng hym that he was vntrue to the Frenche kyng but the more true to his owne lande that he slewe Thomas Becket and lastlye that he had forsaken the protection of Christes fayth and in his rage charged the kyng that he was worse then a Sarasen and sayde of his chyldren that they came of the deuyll and to the deuyll they shoulde But the kyng saith the storie kept his pacience and sayde that he woulde not in any wise depart out of his owne lande Wherevpon the Patriarche departed from the kyng in great ire for that his Foxie deuice toke no better place Lo here was a worthy Patriarch a creature of the pope thus to deale with so noble a prince Maye it not here be timely brought in Psal. 2. Et nunc reges intelligite erudimini qui iudicatis terram c. If kynges and princes wyll suffer them selues quietlye to be thus shamefully abused in their owne realmes to their owne faces by suche externe commers whose vocation ought of moste congruence to haue dryuen them to the reuerence of kynges and princes who maye haue pitie of them yf they be deluded Although this noble prince for his most notable pacience ought to haue immortal commendation so is he more worthy to be aduaunced for his wisedome and prudence for that he coulde not be moued to leaue his Realme for a pray then his seconde sonne Richarde the first folowyng hym who was so soone induced by Romishe perswasion to seke aduentures abrode first impoueryshyng his Realme and by sellyng of the castles of Barwicke and Rothisborowe for a great summe of money for some part of the exployte of his viage and made other such sales neither princely to his honour nor profitable to his Realme And so he passyng on more valiauntlye then prudently was at the last dryuen by force and taken of the armie of the duke of Ostriche and thereof suffred harde imprisonment for the terme of a yere and fyue monethes but at the last was raunsomed for suche a huge summe of money as pinched the whole state of his crowne collectyng both of the laitie and cleargie aswell churche as chappell within the whole Realme Which extremitie he myght haue well escaped yf he had folowed the example of his father Henrie Let this suffise for this tyme for one example of Romishe practises to learne princes to be wyse After this Richarde folowed Baldwinus archbishop Baldwine of whom we reade of no constitution that he made nor of his next successours tyll the yere of our Lorde 1222. when Stephen Langton kepte his councell at Oxforde whiche Stephen was the cause of all the broyle betwene the pope and kyng Iohn for his admission to the Archbishopricke agaynst the kynges wyl and pleasure to the intollerable iniurie of the crowne and sclaunder of the Realme besydes the innumerable hurtes that came therof He made in his constitutions a decree against priestes concubines of whom the world swarmed full after the open forced restraynt from maryage yet then many of the cleargie as they myght kept in secrete wise their wyues for conscience sake and hadde belyke suche successe as other of his predecessors decrees had Edmund For his seconde successour from hym Edmunde in his constitutions tempered the matter more easely Who dyd decree that yf these concubines would not turne them selues into religion after monitions geuen vnto them they shoulde lose the priuilege to kysse the paxe at masse and also be put from the holy bread and yf they woulde stubbernlye persist they shoulde be excommunicate when it pleased the Ordinarie so long tyme as the concubinaries shoulde deteyne them in their owne houses Mat. Par. anno 1226. or publiquely out of their houses and then should afterward be deliuered to the seculer power After whiche Edmundes departure Boniface came into the sea Bonifacius of Sauoye vncle to Queene Alienour wyfe to kyng Henrie the thirde The same archbishop who was wont to say that his three nexte predecessours Stephen Langton Richarde and Edmunde in whiche three mens dayes was made the great haule at Canterburie with other the buyldynges there had let hym a haule to hire to buylde vp For they left the bishopricke indetted Mat. Par. 1245. partly for that buyldyng more then xv thousande markes though some recordes speake of a more summe which he was fayne to pay to redeeme the bishopricke cleare although some wryters referre a greater part of that debt to the great prodigalitie of the sayde Stephen Langton anno 1120. in the translation of Thomas Becket from vnder the shrowdes to a more glorious shrine aboue At which translation he procured the presence of the kyng and of the most part of the nobles of the Realme with an infinite concourse of people to be present and gaue to all that woulde aske it both hay and prouender all the way from London to Canterburie At which tyme he made such cheare that the storie saith he made the wine to runne plenteouslye out of diuers places in the citie in conduites all the whole day to glad the people withall Wherevpon saith Ranulphus he spent so much that his fourth successour Bonifacius was scant able to pay the expences It may be that they were very mery that day for the wryter of that translation almoste spent his whole matter in setting forth the ioy that was made amōgst them and how the people were inebriated wonderfully and muche he speaketh of inebriations but leste the posteritie should grosly take these inebriations he turneth it vp and downe in his storie and translateth it to the inebriation of the holy ghost with whose grace saith he they were deepely inebriated and as it were spiritually dronken with ghostlye aboundaunce of ioye In deede some men otherwhere were ouermuch inebriated for the kepers of Westminsters notable palace suffred it to be brent about that yere very negligentlye But as concernyng this archbishop Bonifacius though he made certaine constitutions yet he suffred that matter of priestes maryages alone Yea Othobone kepyng a synode in his time decreed nothing against priestes wiues though against concubines he renewed Othos constitution but not so his constitution de clericis coniugatis and yet had priestes after wyues For Iohn Peccham in his constitutions folowyng the next successour of Bonifacius made his lawe De filiis sacerdotum And this sparyng of lawes makyng agaynst maryages in Bonifacius tyme not vnlyke to be done of fauour he bare to the state For in the yere of our Lorde .1250 he purposyng to make his visitation in diuers places of his prouince Mat. Paris in hist. maioai as by his legantine ryght he well myght do beyng at London came to the cathedrall church of Powles for that matter but was there repelled and after that commyng to Saint Barthelmewe though there he was solemly receaued of the couent in procession the chanons being in their copes yet would they not that he should make any inquirie