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 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
the Quéenes highnes and so haue moued you to bee pitefull to our escapes and ouersightes into the whiche ye impelled vs with greate laisure of daies and yeres If we can not in our small and weake learnyng nor in our timerous conscience see cause so sodainly to decline againe to our old vomite whereof ye your selues ministered vs so strong purgatioÌ„ Can ye beate vs banishe vs proscribe vs and our parsones if wee doe not at the tourne of a yere perswade our selues seyng your selues were not so hastie or readie till all your senses were throughlie instructed and certified Oh fathers be ye yet mercifull in punishyng your owne transgressions in our bodies and persones whiche be what soeuer we be your members though your bodies and persones enioye your immunitie from all suche afflictions Wee doubte not but the conscieÌ„ces of some of you feeleth some greif with vs though our consciences bee at quiete vpon the grounde of your inuincible doctrine and though our bodies states and goodes be sore intreated Furthermore vpon your late assertions debatementes and subscriptions in your house of Conuocation with coÌ„mon assent presented to the high Courte of Parliamente and by the whole aucthoritie thereof so condescended vpon and enacted standyng the full right title and interest of the said primacie without coÌ„tradiction of any one man that was present to obiecte againste the saied supreme power in the Prince yea the self same men whiche now at this daie seme to dissent of whom some were absente yet in Parliamentes diuerse and many tymes before expressyng their assentes in matters of like confereÌ„ce we thought hereby we might haue learned an vniuersall stable determination with all other to haue ieoparded not our goodes and liuynges but our liues and soules And all this notwithstaÌ„dyng shall all your rightes and interestes bee still sarta tecta and our one onely facte in suche wise extended to bee so irremissible that it muste bee reuenged with all the rigour and extremitie that any enemie would seke at his enemie And you O fathers the executours of the paine that were the aucthours of the crime If this bee so verely then maie some men doubte whether we haue not iuste cause to saie Oze v. Hiere v. Quòd compleuit dominus furoreÌ„ suum effudit iram indignationis suae in nos Si sacerdotes ipsi laqueus facti sint speculationi laqueos ponentes pedicas ad capiendos viros That the Lorde hath accomplished his furie and hath poured out the wrathe of his indignation vpon vs. If the Priestes them seluâ—â— are become a snare settyng trappes for the watchemen and laiyng grinnes to catch men in But muche more then haue ye cause to discende into your owne hartes and conscieÌ„ces to bewaile your selues that God would so suffer you to wander in your owne vanities that where as ye might and ought to be plantatio dnÌ„i ad glorificanduÌ„ Esay vi Psal. xxii ii Peter ii Iude i. Esay x. virga baculus consolationis dnÌ„i The planting of the Lorde to glorifie him the rodde and staffe of the Lordes comforte now ye should be no other but Nubes aquaÌ„ non habentes que a ventis circumaguntur inescantes aiÌ„as instabiles Cloudes without water whiche are caried about with the windes beguilyng inconstante soules and so finally ye should be virga furoris domini that is the rodde of Goddes wrathe If ye would haue a chaste clergie O fathers is it this waie sought as ye yet I saie not altogether ye but certaine vnder your aucthoritie haue handeled the matter If you would haue had them fatherly sought to haue been wonne and by mutuall assentes of their coniugalles to haue béen continent in déede whoÌ„ ye found contracted whereby thei might haue doen seruice againe in the greate necessitie whiche ye maie see in the churche of England is it this waie procured Is thus the honour of the Clergie preserued to driue out so many twelue of sixtene thousaÌ„de as some writer maketh his accompte to so greate a perill and an aduenture of gettyng the liuynges God knoweth how and by what meanes a greate parte of theim and after all this doen and executed to the vttermoste and beyonde so farre against all iustice vpon a greate nomber euen after the charges of the cure serued the Tenthes and Subsidie paied and at the poincte of receiuyng that whiche was before labored for and deserued that snatched out of their mouthes by preuentioÌ„s Furthermore as though all this were yet to little some certain what thei be knoweth God to set vp so intemperate a tongue so importunate a Ciuilian forgetting his owne shame so vilely to blotte them with shame for euer disablyng them to be ministers again for any credence and thereto to endaunger theim their bodies and gooddes if it were iustifiable that he prateth out Sed qui operit odium fraudulenter reuelabitur malicia eius in consilio Pro. xxvj Qui fodit foueam incidit in eam qui voluit lapidem reuertetur ad ipsum But he that couereth his hatefull minde fraudulentlie to doe hurte his malice shal be shewed before the whole congregation Who so diggeth a pitte shall fall therein hymself and he that whirleth a stone shall stumble vpon it hym self As for his witte how wittie so euer he would seme to be and as for his learnyng hauyng no more then is here vttred how vniuersall yet so euer he would haue it appere were sone aunswered with an easte coste Marie your aucthoritie is more to be feared in this cause and yet your greate learning maie temper the feare of your aucthorities perswadyng to our selues that ye knowe your aucthorities geuen ad edificationem non ad destructionem to edifie and not to destroie doubtyng nothyng of your wisedomes that ye meane not to doe as ye will but as ye maie And that ye consider the state of the cause as it standeth in England the difference of the tymes that were once in the Churche and as thei be now their oportunities of folowing that grace whiche was so muche then ensued and yet their libertie to leape backe againe if experience shewed an inuicible difficilitie and our daielie intrications and necessities of liuyng in companie their plentie of learned ministers and our scarsitie not yet makyng hereby any sinistrall insinuation but affirmyng plainly that it were the better hauyng all other thynges accompaniyng the same without the whiche it were not commendable De virgininitate And yet as plainly affirmyng againe with saincte Augustine ê™ melior est in scriptura dei veritas dei quam in cuiusquam meÌ„te carne virginitas hominis That the truthe of God Contra Iouiniam contained in the Scripture of God is better then the virginitie of man whether it be in the minde or fleshe of any man with S. Hierome concludyng ê™ non sunt tanti virgines quanti necessarij sunt sacerdotes Nunquid saith he quia in exercitu
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
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
commendation he went about to haue spoiled them for his sake but the nobilitee restrained his hastie and vnruly violence and attemptes Of whose doynges in diuerse countrees what hurte came vnto them by his hotte spirite how many thousandes were destroyed in seditions for his sake and what furie he shewed euen to some simple folkes that erred of simplicitee in a mattter of no greate importaunce for the precise daie of keepyng the Easter whiche menne were called quarto decimani it were to long to write of But in the ende this Nestorius for his vnworthie behauiour in pride and insolent extremitee woorkyng altogether contrary to the custome of the Churche saieth the historie againste suche heretikes God forsooke hym with his grace so that hym self was entangled with a certaine heresie whereof his Chaplen Anastasius who was in greate estimation with hym was the first deuiser Whiche he held strongly because he sawe his glory and estimation hange thereon But yet afterward at an other tyme perceiuyng daunger to bee at hande if he had not tourned Catte in the panne euen in an hower space as earnestly with it and as earnestly againste it in pretense and in woorde onely reuolted whereupon God I saie for so daliyng and foltryng in his conscience did reuenge it at the laste moste worthely in hym But first it was the occasion of a greate scisme that could not be pacified but by the Ephesine Counsaile whiche was specially for the condempnation of his erroure gathered together vnder Celestine And finally after his tongue was eaten with wormes died most miserably by Goddes hande as Nicephorus telleth Where he began in the catholike faithe but subtelly and not simplye weiyng the principles of the faithe proceadyng not fatherly but tirannically in his doyng died in heresie and is now regestred for an Arche heretike shal be so taken to the worldes ende Whiche storie yet I dooe not rehearse as though I would insinuate an immunitée to heretikes that troubleth the quiet of the common wealthe or as I were in that opinion wherein once yet S. Augustine was but by experience recanted his opinion that heretikes should bee suffered to doe and saie what thei lusted 48. Epistola ad vincentuo◠and so by a little and little kendle the fire of intestine sedition to perill the whole body But I reporte it partly to note that extremitées of proceadynges doeth hurt and that sodaine alterations in Realmes maketh perturbations And yet my opinion is as the opinion of diuerse olde and newe learned menne be that it maie be borne with suche a manne whiche quietly liuyng in his state and in his owne conscience tariyng vpon Goddes workyng in his harte by hearyng and expendyng Goddes woorde to holde that whiche maie be to his soules saluation if he doe no outward déede and example to disturbe the Ciuile societée of the common wealthe where he dwelleth And this storie maie also serue for al kyndes of men to be a very fearfull example if we will in Gods causes daily at our pleasure for such I saie as out of one mouth breathe out bothe hotte and cold allowe and condempne the self same thyng with the tourne of their hande praiseth and dispraiseth as the daie tourneth very successours of Lybanius that inconstant Sophist or rather Sophister whiche with his eloquēce praised the Emperour Constantius by his life tyme and when he was once dead dispraised hym againe as faste Inconstaunte flatterers tournyng like Weathercockes not of conscience from the worse to the better but as the windes blowe so set vp the saile Whiche maner of menne muste néedes stande in feare that the vengeaunce of God hangeth nigh ouer their heades if thei repent not of their saiyng and vnsaiyng He can not but be spued out of Goddes mouthe that is neither hotte nor colde but will haite on bothe legges for the gaine of his peny Noughtee and deceiptfull menne saieth sainct Paule that will not be contente to erre theim selues but muste induce other into the same with them Menne that haue delight to be aucthours of sectes to haue the traine in pompe to followe theim whither soeuer thei goe vtterly tourned vpsidoune bearyng in them selues the iudgemente of their owne damnation Yea in conclusion pronouncyng the sentence of iust condempnation vpon them selues with their owne mouthes reproued and conuinced by their owne cōscience For as the wise man saieth Sapi. 17. Formidolosa res est malitia proprio teste conuicta in conscientia delitescens mala semper praesagit It is an heauy thyng when a mannes owne consciēce beareth recorde of his owne wickednesse and condemneth hym For a vexed and a wounded conscience taketh euer cruell thynges in hande and driueth hymself to an ende As we reade in the Ecclesiasticall storie Tripert Lib. Cap. 38. reported by Socrates who telleth of a certain Sophister called Hecebolus emong diuerse others whiche he saieth bearyng in pretence onely the Christian name of a corrupte mynde for that thei preferre their treasure and presente wealthe and honour before the dignitée of true faithe and therevpon fall to the wickednesse of Sacrifices The same Hecebolus saieth he folowyng and attemperyng hym self to the maners of the Emperours fained hym self in the daies of Constantius to be a most feruent Christian. But when Iulian the Apostata was ruler by and by he was a Panime and by his orations made Iulian a God And when Iulian was dead in Iouinians tyme he would haue béen a Christian againe Whereupon for the mutabilitée and lightnesse of his religion his conscience draue hym to the Churche gates and there caste hym self flatte doune and cried out with a loude voice Conculcate me sal infatuatū come saieth he and treade me vnder your feete vnsauery Salt that I am From whiche tournsicke spirite God preserue vs all Now to finishe that was promised to declare what moderations and tollerations hath been vsed before tyme and be at this daie to be séen in some other dominiōs of Christendome to shew the opinions of certen learned menne that bee knowen to haue had some iudgement in suche causes as well old as new that be of a farre other determination then this singuler Ciuilian is of I shall beginne with that noble Prince Charles the .v. Emperour that now is a Prince of some experience I thinke this aucthour will not deny me He vpon debatement of matters in religion wherewith his realmes and dominions were sore disquieted and disordred set out his booke of Interim written and published I thinke with the allowaunce of more heades then one expresseth a toleration in the Clergie for their wiues which were then maried And permitteth them in the Ministerie and yet not maried by any Lawe that was passed by his aucthoritée whiche he would neuer haue deferred to a generall Coūsaill but would haue flatly condēpned thē therin if it had béen of such nature as this writer would make this realme beleue And where as he wisheth as all wise
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
any thing to this matter that poore Cassiodorus plain writyng may be defaced and made â—o speake and strike what houre pleaseth my Ladye For he that will so violentlye contort so euident places as he doeth throughout all his boke he maie haue a great aduantage in an olde greke author whiche as is thought and is lyke to be iustified hath been paraduenture corruptly set forth in diuerse places But yet Maister Martin I admonishe you that ye bee not to impudent in glosing or vouchyng your obscure greke copies in your studies for ye shall not bryng a more sufficient Greke aucthor to wrest these places out of their right time but that we shal auouche you one or two as good to tell you wher ye wrest to hie or to low in these forsaied two mennes states I hard once how this last place was racked before kyng Henrie the eight what was answered And to that whiche was answered some more light hath been opened since But leaue your glosyng Maister Martin and remember your olde pars verse that Plato pinned on your sleue of late and rather for our instruction fal to the glosing of some suche lawes and gloses as bee within the compasse of your studie As where the gloser of the decrees saieth by the aucthoritée of other Dist. 84. cum Inpreterito Quod olim sacerdotes poterant contrahere ante Syricium vnde Moyses contraxit quod Apostoli non instituerint de non vtendo iam contracto quia si Apostoli hoc instituissent Orientales hoc admisissent Et quod Gregorius introduxit continentiam subdiaconis Dist. 82. proposiusti sed presbyteris diaconis Siricius introduxit Et ê™ Apostoli nihil constituerunt de continentia Et quod Ecclesia quedam constituit quae non fuerunt statuta ab Apostolis vt de continentia ministrorum Some tyme saieth he Priestes might contract matrimonie before Syricius daies wherevpon saieth he Moyses did contract And the Apostles made no constitution of not vsyng mariage alreadie contracted For if thapostles had so doen the Orientall churches would haue receiued it How stand these saiyngs with the .25 Canon of the Apostles as it is forced And that Gregorie brought in continencie to the suâ—deacons as Siricius brought it in for priestes and deacons And that the Apostles made nothing in constitution for continencie And that the Churche hath decreed some thinges whiche were so decreed by the Apostles as of the continencie of the ministers For this saiyng he aduoucheth S. Augustine de ciuitate dei who holdeth the same Furthermore we would gladly heare how ye could discharge yourself with al your gloses from the heresie of Eustachius who as Nicephorus writeth by the reason of his ouermuche exact and nice obseruing of virginitée impelled his disciples into many greate absurdities in despisyng the praiers of all theim that were maried though thei were of the Priestes saieth he that were maried Further thei saied that suche Priestes ought to be despised that had contracted Matrimonie and that menne ought not to receiue those Sacramentes whiche maried Priestes had consecrated wherevpon the Fathers in Gangrense Counsaile gathered together to suppresse this heresie about the yere of our Lorde 324 decréed in these woordes folowyng Cap. 4. Si quis discernit presbyteruÌ„ coniugatum tanquam occasione nuptiarum ê™ offerre non debeat ab eius oblatione ideo se abstinet anathema sit If any man maketh difference in a maried Prieste as though by occasion of his mariage that he ought not to offer or to minister and in this respect will forbeare to take the Communion that he ministreth accursed bee he Now maister Martin if ye can assoyle your self of this curse that is here pronounced vpoÌ„ you ye should doe well with your gloses to declare the same for the comforte of others whom ye haue induced into your blind and barbarous superstitioÌ„ Moreouer it is saied in that Counsaile that all suche as shall refuse these constitutions that thei ought to bee reiected as heretiques accursed and condempned But as concernyng your forced gloses that ye haue already fained in your booke to wipe awaie these Canons or the others in the same Counsale or yet the fifth Canon of the Apostles thei be to muche skowred to serue you where ye imagine the matter vpon the mariages coÌ„tracted before priesthod contrary to the wordes that be expressed in the preamble of that Counsaile of Gangrense And where it is saied there that no man should put awaie his wife for religions sake that is to vnderstande of force saie ye Then it followeth that bothe the husbande whiche sundreth hym self from his wife by force or the ordinary whiche followeth Montanus that of force diuorseth theim as thei dooe now adaies offende against those Canons be heretiques accursed Thus maister doctour if your Clientes will geue you respite and leisure in their matters to take these Gloses Textes and Counsailes in hande ye haue here to exercise your witte learnyng And by your gloses we shall sée how ye can frame al these matters to ioyne with your assertions and conclusions in your booke In the meane season I praie you while ye ruffle in your textes Canons and gloses geue the poore reader licence to beleue you at leasure and to sticke to Goddes holy stable woorde for more sure grounde to ieoparde either soule or body And where this doctour of Lawe semeth to commaunde his iudgemente and sentence to bee admitted of so high aucthoritée as neither any learned man were of other opinion or els if thei were yet that thei should not bee comparable to his witte and learnyng I will saie no more in answere for comparison in this matter but put it to your sentence good readers what ye shall thinke meete in this comparison Beside all suche menne as we haue recited bothe of aucthoritée for their roumes and estimatioÌ„ for their learnyng we can matche this manne with some other as Erasmus Roterodamus Polidorus Virgilius Alfonsus episcopus Canariensis Michael Vehe and diuerse other not vnlearned nor I trust greatly behynd this Ciuilian for all the bragge he maketh whiche menne be writers of these daies Erasmus whom ye aduouche your self master Martin for his aucthoritée Cap. v. lit I. 3. writyng of this cause in diuerse partes of his workes Ad Episcopaâ— Bafilienseâ— vttereth his opinion in suche words Ad episcopuÌ„ BasilieÌ„sem De caelibatu neque christus neque Apostoli legeÌ„ aliquaÌ„ in sacris literis prefixerunt Cum ecclesia nocturnas vigilias ieiunium in vesperum prorogari solitum aliaque permulta pro causis emergentibus variarit cur hic humanam constitutionem vrgemus tam obstinatè presertim cum tot causae suadeaÌ„t mutationem Primum enim magna sacerdotum pars viuit cum malafama parumque requieta conscientia tractat illa sacrosancta mysteria Deinde perit magna ex parte fructus illorum propterea ê™ ob vitam palam
dedecorosam a populo contemnitur illorū doctrina Quod si hijs qui non continent concederetur matrimonium ipsi viuerent quietius populo cum authoritate praedicarent verbum dei liberos suos liberaliter educandos curarent nec alter alteris vicissim essent probro c. As for the state of single life neither Christe neither yet his Apostles haue prescribed any Lawe in holy Scripture And where as the Churche hath altered Uigills vsed to bee kepte in the night the maner of fastyng vsed to bee continued till the Euenyng and suche other thynges many as occasion hath risen from tyme to tyme why force we mennes constitution so stifly here in this poincte seyng so many special causes might aduise vs to make alteration For firste of all a greate number of the Priestes liueth in infamie and with an vnquiet conscience ministereth those moste holy misteries Furthermore the profit that might arise by them is lost for as muche as their teachyng is not regarded of the people by reason of their open filthie life Where if mariage were graunted to suche as dode not containe bothe them selues should liue the more quietly and their preachyng of Goddes woorde should bee had of more aucthoritée emong the people Beside that thei should se their childrē honestly brought vp so that the one should not be a shame or rebuke to the other Thus ye see how that Erasmus wondereth what men meane to be stiffe in this constitution of the Churche seyng there bée so many reasons that might moue them to graunte to Priestes to marrie This Ciuilian saieth that it would tourne to the decaie of the estimation of the Clergie and so to the contempt of the religion of Christe Erasmus saieth that if thei liued in Matrimonie suche as could not containe thei should haue a better name then thei haue and therefore a better estimation Thei should with more aucthoritée preache Gods worde and the people would beleue them the better where now for their standerous liuing thei be despised saieth he Moreouer the Priestes them selues should haue a more quiette conscience to sende vp the better and ofter praiers to almightie God the soner to be harde Where now by their filthie handelyng of so holy misteries in so vncleane a life their benedictions bée tourned into maledictions saieth Gregorie and the mummyng of their Masses saieth I. Pecham in his constitutions bee rather worthie to bee called execrations then celebrations Lette not this Ciuilian thinke that suspected and euident euill life in corruptiō defilyng mennes wiues and their daughters will winne a credence to the Clergie as muche as honest and chaste matrimonie should if it were by lawe permitted And if it were lefte at libertée there would bee in the Clergie that willyngly would liue chaste to winne this estimation that this man speaketh of And better to haue a fewe suche that might liue without suspition then vpon the common experiēce of many faultée the people should suspecte all For that whiche is true in deede will so abide when that whiche is counterfet can neuer but shame it self at lengthe In comparison of whiche counterfette chastitée Lib. 5. Cap. ◠and wedlocke chastitée speaketh Polidore in his boke de inuentoribus rerum Illud dixerim tantum abfuisse vt ista coacta castitas illum coniugalem vicerit vt etiam nullius delecti crimen maius ordini dedecus plus mali religioni plus doloris omnibus bonis impresserit īusserit attulerit quā sacerdotum libidinis labes Proinde fortassis tam è repub Christiana quam ex ordinis vsu esset vt tandē aliquando ius publici matrimonij sacerdotibus concederetur quod illi sine infamia sanctè potius colerent quam se spurcissimè eiusmodi naturali vitio turpificarent But this I will saie that it is so farre of that this cōpelled chastitée hath excelled that Wedlocke chastitée that no crime or enormitée hath imprinted either more hatered to the state of Priesthode or hath more defaced Christes holy religion or yet hath stirred vp more griefe in all good mennes hartes then the slaunder of the vnchaste life of priestes wherevpon perhappes it should be as honourable to Christendome as commendable to the Clergie that once at the last the libertée of mariage were graunted to the Priestes by publike aucthoritée wherein thei might vertuously liue without rebuke of their estimation rather then thei should distaine them selues so filthily by suche vice of nature Here ye sée that this Clerke is of the same iudgement with Erasmus to thinke that it should be as well for the profette of the comon wealth as for the honour and estimation of the Clergie for priestes to haue libertie to mary And that it should be no slaūder nor infamie to them to be maried if it were doen by open authoritée So that the priestes of these daies maried by open aucthoritee néede no more to bee a shamed of their mariage then M. Martin nedeth to bee a shamed to bee borne of that matrimonie wherin he was borne And shall bee as good in euery condition how soeuer he would shame it To liue in manifeste or secrette whordom is a shame before God and also to the world And this it is saieth Polidore that shameth the order destroieth the estimation of your religion This it is that good menne lament so beauilye in all ages from tyme to tyme and yet could neuer haue it remedied by all the Lawes thei could make Howsoeuer thei coloured it how easily or how extremely soeuer thei proceaded againste it yet was it worse and worse Lette the Townes speake where Monkes dwelt Let the Cities be examined wher cathedrall Churches are let open Nonnes and close Nonnes be asked of their consciences what rule there was kept let the cuntrie tell the truthe of Limitours sent among them or els Friers in cities and boroughes drawyng the latche of the doore without warnyng to saie there sainct Ihons Gospell And lette this Ciuilian consider what matter he goeth about I wis he doeth no great pleasure to the Clergie as he would haue them thinke yea and if thei were wise thei would thinke the same For let not them hope that thei can escape as thei haue doen. The laye men will not beare it at their handes Before tymes when the laye man saw his wife abused before his face or his daughter rauished or mayde defloured he was faine to make the best of it for feare of accusation in some other respecte that should aswell pynche hym as the parishe prieste I doubt not but seeyng that the Priestes themselues be so earnest to beate doune this late graunted libertée thei make but a rodde for their owne tayles Lette experience trye the matter Well I haue not red of any one learned man in these daies speakyng in this cause of conscience and of learning but euer thei haue made moderation in the expendyng of it And haue shewed their desiers for
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
matters of their soules the honorable groundes of our fayth the maiestie of Christe of God hym selfe Is it lyke that God wyll powre there his spirite of trueth of puritie where suche lyes such fyltynes is kept in store where mere malice wryteth and slaunder so doth aduaunce her selfe Surely the longer suche men write in this sort the farther of they dryue indifferent conscionable men from them and the more earnestlye prouoke the weake men to reuenge their spyte in them selfe and in their frendes the more prouoke they some men to vse some bitternesse againe and to put abrode in syght that whiche otherwyse myght haue ben kept in scilence Which for that stories be coÌ„mon though some yet in fewe mens handes so farre as the reuelation may make to extoll gods glorie his trueth and veritie to make the blynde worlde to see somewhat except they be altogether blynde is some mens intendement rather peraduenture prouoked then sought of purpose so to weare out the vaine tyme of this pilgrimage tyll the sonne of man shal come Vt auferat omnia scandala omnes iniquitates qui reddet vnicuâ—que secundum opera sua iustus iudex But a gods name why shoulde they make this their doctrine of transubstantiation and grosse presence to be so newe that Berengarius must be the first auctour most vntruely so faced out Where auncient recordes proue so farre the contrarie and setteth out suche the true doctrine so to be vrged and appoynted both for priestes in their synodes for religious in their collations for the common people in their orderlye exhortations expressed in Homylees of a great number extant in Saxon speache for all the festiuall dayes in the yere which written were so vsed many a yere before Beringarius was borne or hearde of So that the bishoppes of olde may aswell be charged to be Caluanistes yf the assertion be so considered aswell as the bishoppe of Sarum or any bishoppe at these dayes And aswell maye that learned archbishop Rabanus Maurus be charged to be a Caluanist beyng in the yere of our Lorde 808. because his opinion was agaynst the scolasticall transubstantiation affirmyng that the materiall parte of the sacrament is turned to the noryshment of our bodies and therfore saith he is the bread called the body of Christe because as the bread doth noryshe the body so Christes body norysheth the soule and because the wine worketh blood in the fleshe therfore it is to be referred to the blood of Christ. This to be Rabanus iudgement is so aduouched by the auctour who dyd abridge Amalarius booke wrytyng de ordine Romanae ecclesiae Whiche Amalarius in the begynnyng of his seconde booke doth shewe the cause why of olde tyme emonges the Romanes the lessons were read in Greke and also in Latine as it is at this day vsed saith he at Constantinople for two causes One for that there were present Grecians to whom was vnknowen the Latine tongue and also for that the Romanes were present to whom was vnknowen the Greke tongue an other cause to expresse the vnitie of both nations So that the sayde Amalarius may be witnesse that in the olde tyme the lessons of the scriptures were so read in the Churche as by the readyng the people myght vnderstande to their edification But as concernyng the sayde Rabanus it is not vnlyke that he had receaued his iudgement from his maister Alcquine an olde Englyshe wryter whose auditor he was and Alcquine agayne sometyme auditor of Bede as Tritemius testifieth Wherevpon to consider the iust computation of yeres it is not vncredible but that such faith towardes the sacrament which we nowe professe was in the Realme before the conquest and so continued tyl Lanfranckes dayes And for all the examinations and executions which were done in the Englyshe Churche afterwarde by diuers Ordinaries in the Realme yet from age to age it was reteyned and men founde for holdyng that auncient fayth by their inquisitions though cruelly brente in such mercie as of late was shewed to poore christian men women and chyldren wherein the order of their doyng ouer that article was alwayes vrged and charged vpon them whiche they woulde condempne for heretiques though their greatest greefe was to heare of those contemned persons other practises of their lyues and religion so dispised and reproued but thinking by laying that cause of the sacrament to their charge it would compel al other men to beleue them to be heretiques and worthyly brent But God doth open men eyes better to iudge then before was knowen God graunt for such knowledge men may be thankfull to God in their lyues and conuersations But to returne agayne to the matter purposed and to walke in the wyde discourse of testimonies and examples whiche myght be brought in to proue both bishoppes and priestes as haue ben in matrimonie in this Realme before the conquest the recordes whereof howe enuiously so euer haue ben suppressed rased defaced yet remaine enough of that sort to proue the fact though the scriptures fayled to be brought forth for triall of this trueth And to aleage the stories of other countreys what bishoppes and priestes of great fame and learning haue ben of this state openly aduouched and commended were a matter of greate largenesse the numbers be so many and therfore the matter to be but needelesse to such as haue any meane syght in stories So that to rude and vnlearned persons who esteeme al thinges newe which they haue no remembraunce of or haue not ben of late dayes in vre were not worthy any more to be written And yet to the learned or suche as make moste bragge of learnyng all this to muche especiallye yf they be suche as haue eyes to see and wyll not see and eares wyll not heare heartes and wyll not vnderstande and therefore let it suffise them whose consciences be fearefull and woulde gladly be enfourmed of the trueth at the least waye to serue their turne whose cause it is to serue God in a pure conscience in the lawfull vsage of his institution not vnlawfull for them and geue their humble thankes to God and let enuious men barke what they can against it For whyle the Gospell shall haue any credite or estimation they shal neuer preuayle after so much lyght of gods worde shewed to beate downe this institution of God free for all maner of persons by the libertie of the Gospell as all other creatures of tyme and place be made for mans necessitie and comfort And yf men crye out agaynst the vnhonest or vnlawfull abuse of Gods institution in any person I wyshe with them that the abuse were by lawe and decree refourmed But good men wyshe the libertie therof no more worthy to be taken awaye in it selfe then they thynke reasonable to be plucked from them any other such benefite of God erected and instituted by his diuine ordinaunce to the represse of fylthynes other abhomination not to be commonly rehearsed though to commonly