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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07116	A defence of priestes mariages stablysshed by the imperiall lawes of the realme of Englande, agaynst a ciuilian, namyng hym selfe Thomas Martin doctour of the ciuile lawes, goyng about to disproue the saide mariages, lawfull by the eternall worde of God, [and] by the hygh court of parliament, only forbydden by forayne lawes and canons of the Pope, coloured with the visour of the Churche. Whiche lawes [and] canons, were extynguyshed by the sayde parliament ...	Parker, Matthew, 1504-1575.; Morison, Richard, Sir, d. 1556, attributed name.; Ponet, John, 1516?-1556, attributed name.	1567 (1567)	STC 17519; ESTC S112350	311,635	404

thynges so many hundred yeres before thei were amisse And that Theodoret could talke of thinges that were doen aboute .300 yere after he was dead You fauourers of Martine beholde your owne follie Furthermore the decree of Eugenius the fourth whereby the vnion of the Easte and Weste Churches were declared doeth shewe as the same Pope Eugenius doeth confesse that this dissention for the proceadyng of the holy ghoste began Nongentis amplius annis that is to saie more then .900 yeres before his tyme. And Eugenius the .4 began his rule in the yere of our Lorde .1431 out of the whiche number if ye take .900 and more accordyng to Pope Eugenius accompt it shall appere that Michael Paleologus though he were in the tyme of Nicholas the firste as Martine fasly reporteth was aboue 300. yeare after this dissention began whiche Martine for the mayntenaunce of his lyes saieth began in his tyme. If I shoulde bring in the firste caunsaile holden at Constantinople against Eunomius for deniyng of the procession of the holy Ghost from the Father and the Sonne what can Martine saie Againste this Eunomius Basil and other haue written plentifullie Thus ye see concerning the beginnyng of this heresie againste the holy Ghoste Martine is founde a falsifier of histories not onely by the supputation of yeres but also by the verie testimony of the Pope hymself his God Now concernyng the cause of the disention betwene the Grekes and the Latines wherwith Martin charged the Emperour Michaell Paleologus The learned man cardinall Bessarion Patriarche of Constantinople and Archbushoppe of Nicea writeth a whole Chapiter for declaration of the cause of this schisme and dissention shewyng that the Bushoppe of Rome was the causer thereof for that he Suà vnius authoritate fretus aduocata synodo generali particulam illam communi symbolo fidei non cum communi ascensu ascripsit that is when he had called a generall counsaile he tooke vpon hym of his owne priuate aucthority to adde this parcell of the proceadyng of the holy Ghoste from the father and the sonne to the common créede without the consent of the rest of the other Bushoppes there assembled The Pope was the cause of the dissention betwene the greke and the latine Church contrarie to Martine Behold good reader a plaine profe that it was the rashe and temerouse boldnes of the Busshoppe of Rome that caused this dissention who of his owne aucthoritie would doe that tumultuously whiche he might haue doen with others consente quietly and that was it which caused first all that dissention that ensued also the latter ruine mischief distructiō and Turkishe captiuitie which Martin saieth is this daie lighted vpon the churche of God in Grecia But Martin will saie the thyng that he did was good Yea but the maner of the doyng was suche as I thinke Martine if he throughly knowe it as he would seme to doe hym self for al his follie will not yet defende it And the inconueniencies that followed the Popes braules and beastly audacitie declare that the meanes whiche he vsed in compassyng his doynges were wicked and deuilishe So that wheras Martin imputeth the breach and contention betwene the Greke and the Latine churche and the ouerthrowe bothe of the Grecians Churche and kyngdome to the lecherous life of the vncle to the Emperour Michael Paleologus it is proued that the Pope the aucthour of all mischief in the Churche of God was the onely matche that kindeled this fire A worthie matter doubtlesse to depriue the Pope for euer after from bearyng any rule though there were nothyng els wherwith to charge hym And thus is Martin once again ouerthrowen with his owne reason Two lies of Martines at a cast and taken with a double lye aswell for the alledgyng of the heresie againste the holie ghoste to begin so lately whiche began so many hundred yeres before As for aduouchyng the dissention whiche rose betwene the Easte and the Weste Churche to procede first of lecherie and ambitiō as he termeth it in his note in the margente of the Emperour Michael Paleologus and his vncle whiche proceded firste as ye sée by the testimonie of Bessarion from Gods greate enemie the Pope the Archeheretique in Christendome Now to make aunswere to that fewe lines whiche remaineth in Martines first Chapiter I neede not to take farther paines because thei be nothyng els but lies and railynges grounded vpon false groundes as I haue before declared onely to this ende that Henry the eight the Queenes father might appere to the worlde bothe a Lechour an Heretique and a man full of all other wickednesse out of whose naughtie life Martine would haue all the preachyng in kyng Edwardes daies whiche he calleth heresie to haue his first originall And the procedynges of the late Parliament in the seconde yere of the Queenes reigne wherein all her fathers doynges in religion be condemned seme to confirme the same So that the Quéenes Father if he had been suche a man as the Papistes reporte hym were nowe condempned with vs. Wherefore it is to be thought seyng that almighty God hath permitted some of vs to suffer Martirdome by fire by bloodie persecution and the tirannie of the Popes Lawe and tormentes for professyng the truthe of Gods woorde that now the bodie of that noble Prince the Quéenes Father because he was the beginner of all this as Martine reporteth and the continuer of it .xxv. yeres as the procedynges of the Parliamente seme to pronounce shal bee taken vp at Windsore and burned as Wicklifes was All men of wisedome and discretion maie iudge of thee if thou were not as thou shewest thy self a shamelesse railer voide of all regarde against whom thy tongue talketh that it had been thy parte to haue couered the faulte of the Queenes Father if thou haddest any faulte wherewith to charge hym leste the worlde perceiue some vnnaturalnesse in her so to suffer her noble Father nowe beyng dead to bee railed vpon by one who shewed hym selfe a traitour to hym when he was a liue All the worlde right well knoweth that there is no sparke neither of Gods spirite neither of good nature in those children whiche are not greued to heare their deade parentes euill reported and their faultes reuealed Suche is the reuerence due to them that bee dead vnto whom we ought obedience in the time of their life And what good opinion maie any man euer hereafter conceiue of suche a Papiste and of a great rable of the rest who glory in nothyng more now then that thei haue been rancke traitours these many yeres And what thyng shall haue the name of vice where treason is made a vertue Or what iustice can be ministered where a traitour is the Iudge Who knoweth not in a Counsaile where there bee but twelue what a perilous thyng it was to haue one Iudas though none of the reste loued hym How muche more is it then perilous where all the reste

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 purgatiō 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 consciēces 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 cōmon 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 cōtradiction 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 conferēce 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 notwithstādyng 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 furorē 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 selu●● 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 consciēces 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 dn̄i ad glorificandū Esay vi Psal. xxii ii Peter ii Iude i. Esay x. virga baculus consolationis dn̄i The planting of the Lorde to glorifie him the rodde and staffe of the Lordes comforte now ye should be no other but Nubes aquā non habentes que a ventis circumaguntur inescantes aīas 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 whō 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 thousāde 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 preuentiōs 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 ꝙ melior est in scriptura dei veritas dei quam in cuiusquam mēte 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 ꝙ non sunt tanti virgines quanti necessarij sunt sacerdotes Nunquid saith he quia in exercitu

Doue vseth not this she lyueth of the frute of the earth her feedyng is without hurte And that Churche saieth sainct Hierome is to be counted the catholyke Churche whiche by the helpe of Gods grace wandereth not from the path and trade of the Apostles traditions Againe he saieth ●4 q. 3. Trāsferunt principes inde terminos quos posuerunt patres eorum quando immutant mendatio veritatem aliud predicant quam ab Apostolis acceperunt c. The heade men and rulers doe remoue the markes and dooles whiche their auncetours haue laied when thei chaunge the truthe into lyes and preache other thinges then suche as thei haue receiued of the Apostles Therefore if the Churche of Englande can declare her self to pr●ceade nigher the rules of the Apostles then that Chur●he whiche of duetie chalengeth the onely name it must bee preferred before that priuate Catholike congregation as this aucthour bringeth in twoo aucthorities Cap. ● lrā f. 1. Panorm ●ignifi de elect Dist. 31. ●●ena of Ireneus and Origen for his purpose whiche subuerteth all his pretence Yea thei confesse the Lawes them selues that one laye man hauyng scripture or a reasonable cause is more to bee receiued then a whole Uniuersitée together without the same For the Churche is not so builded vpō Peters person or yet vpon his See but vpon that sure confession whiche came from hym that article of the faithe whiche he confessed thou art Christe the soonne of the liuyng God so that Christe builded his Churche Distinc. 19. Ita dominus vpon hym self saieth the Canonistes them selues This aucthour cometh all to late therefore what poste haste so euer he make or how so euer he vse to blinde this age with Romishe articles of their faithe saiyng The Churche of Rome can not erre though thei remoue the markes of the Apostles preceptes And that it muste bee euer presumed that the Pope is all holie and maie not bee iudged and can not erre that his saiynges are of equall aucthoritie with Christes doctrine and his deedes must be interpreted Distinc. 40. N● 〈◊〉 as the murther of Samson and the felonie of the Iewes and as the adulterie of Iacob For it were a kinde of Sacrilege to call his facte into disputation with infinite more suche articles as be euery where in his decrees and Canonistes writynges But yet I thinke this aucthour vrge still vpon me for the diuersitie of Priestes mariyng before order and after order and will require what Counsaile what Canon what example I can alledge that a priest euer maried To make shorte answere till we come to particular debatement of these causes as thei bée sundrie in nature so ought thei to bee sonderlie entreated and not craftely mixte and chopte in together to blinde the vnlearned reader Firste I aunswere with the woordes of a Catholike writer in a like cause Quid si destituamur exemplo hominum si habeamus praeceptum dei What maketh matter though wee had no example of man if we haue a precepte of God and a confession of his Apostle lefte yet saffe vnto vs as Alfonsus Episcopus Canariensis saieth yea after our orders and promise whatsoeuer it bee Secondly I saie that by dispensations of the Busshoppes of Roome diuerse and many haue as well maried after orders as after priuate vowes and solempne vowes to as shall be aduouched good store of suche examples out of authentike stories some examples of others that maried after their order without dispensation and not thought to bee the lesse Catholike for it Thirdlie I can alledge to this Englishe writer twoo Englishe actes of Parliament so assented vnto by the subscription of the whole Clergie by the whole body of the Imperiall state of the realme whiche I will here after proue to bee of as good value and aucthoritie for the defence of their mariages whiche were made by theim as a greate sorte of his Synodes and generall Counsailes to that he reporteth in his Booke so thicke in euery leaffe as though scripture were vtterly to bee layed a side to geue them roume And I maruell muche what this writer meaneth beyng an Englishe man and offereth his seruice so ready to the Queenes maiestis that can enuie the crowne of Englande of that prerogatiue that is by Goddes woorde incident therevnto beyng so ofte proued and confessed yea and sworne vnto by the whole Realme and so muche stablished by the learned assertions sermons orations and other writynges of the aunciente Fathers and moste catholike men that be at this daie knowen and had in reuerence and aucthoritie for their greate wittes learnyng and grauitie of life by the space of twentie yeres perpetually inculked whiche now to call againe into question maie entāgle many a good mannes conscience in the Realme who were moste chiefly induced by them bothe to swere yea and to ieoperd their soules therein and many be departed in the same belief already Moreouer I would wishe this professour of Ciuill to consider or at the least the gentle reader to note with what charitée he could so slaunder his owne countrie men the Queenes subiectes to her grace in his Preface with so odious accusations of inceste heresie coueteousnesse and because he would leaue nothyng behinde to promote them to the Queenes graces credēce with treason also and malice to her grace and that without exceptiō of any one man entred into the said state of mariage who as thei bee many so had thei diuerse respectes in their doynges and haue at this daie diuerse cogitations in their hartes And though he could charge some or many with the saied crimes as God be thanken I thinke his owne conscience telleth hym that his penne lied and as I truste is not the suspition of a great many of as good hartes to the Queenes highnesse as he Thrasonically bloweth out in his Booke to beare her yet he eccepteth none but vniuersally and singularly charge●h all in assertion solempnely pronounced with no further proofe but ipse dixit And where was his remembraunce to ieoparde the fame of many other of the same coote whom I am suer he fauoureth well enough notyng Heresie and Lecherie so ioyntly to bée knit together that wher the one is their is the other as sisters inseparable So that by this mans assertion beyng one of the principall and first articles wherevpon he growndeth all the buyldyng of his booke wee muste nedes beleue that where vnchaste lyfe is there is Heresie couertly couered Lette hym consider if this principle bée resolued whyther and howe farre the worlde can soone iudge it goeth In verie deede his assertion hath some grounde of aucthoritie beside that he bryngeth in of Simon magus out of Epiphanius For Chrysostome writing vpon the first to Tymothe the .4 of suche as shall depart not from the Bushop I saie but from the faieth geuyng hede to the spirites of erroure c. Hic loquitur saieth he de Manichaeis Encratitis Marcionitis

where Ciuilians and Canonistes by suche iontly and commonly procedyng in degrée together and therfore haue greate agréemente and affinitie together and that of this Ciuilian it cannot be saied that he is ouer seen in the lawe Cannone But maie bee called Can all And then againe hath suche a pleasure to bryng in his Tolet counsailes out of Spaine so oft and so thicke that thei beare the greateste rule in his greate mustre of his strounge lawes and great Canons because he would not flater as ye may be suer that he would not yet bring some of these lawes gloses and deuine Canons where by yet he mought haue declared howe throughly and vniuersally seene he is in the Canon lawe and expositours of the same But peraduenture he meaneth the aduauncement again of the Church to restore the old puritie and chastitie of the Clergie as hath been practised And therefore would haue all the world beleue that maried priestes be the most vnlearned priestes in the world most slouthfull and negligent in ministration and that it is most impossible for them to bee oft in the pulpit or visiting the sicke in the night as he saith not keping hospitalitie in the daie nor be at home residēt and that thei be moste couetous to gleane and scrape for their wiues and children and therefore keepe no howses at their benefices and that thei bee most vncarefull and vnnaturall for their neuewes and that thei dooe nothyng els but sitte by their wiues side and daunce them on ther lappes all the daie longe and that thei cannot be well iudged in any thyng that thei do but are to be suspected in all the towne beside for their experience and are to bee iudged that thei can not bee contented with one woman alone Now on the other side he would haue good catholike menne brought again to good belief to thauncient faithe of the churche to the good opiniō that thei haue had of the clergie before tyme to suppose well of all their doynges not to suspect them in any case because thei looke so sainctly thei speake soe deuoutly and carpe so catholikely not to feare them though their wiues cal for them o●te in their sickenesse to be visited in the night and to be confessed and though thei knowe by Lente confession for whom thei shall praie for al the yere folowyng not to iudge their doynges but to presume alwaie well of theim And therefore he would haue the worlde wonne againe to the Articles that bee in their holy Canon lawe Where it is written by thaucthoritie of Pope Antherius ●i q. 3. Absit Absit vt quicquam sinistrum de his arbitremur qui Apostolico gradui succedentes Christi corpus sacro ore coficiūt per quos Christiani sumus Qui claues regni coelorum habentes ante iudicij diem iudicant c. God forbid that we should thinke any thyng sinisterally of theim whiche beyng the successours of the Apostles in degree make the bodie of Christe with their holie mouthe By whose meanes wée bee Christen people For thei haue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen and doe iudge before the daie of iudgement In the old lawe saith he who soeuer had not obeied the priestes either he was cast out of the hoste and stoned of the people or els had his head strikē of with a sworde and so the contempte reuenged by his blood But now saieth he the disobedient is cutte a sunder by spirituall execution or els is he caste forthe of the Churche and is rente in péeces with the rauenous teethe of the deuill The glose noteth therevpon Clericus amplectens mulierem presumitur bene agere Si ergo clericus amplectitur mulierem interpretabitur ꝙ causa benedicendi eam hoc faciat vt Dist. 96. In scripturis quamuis Canō solam cōfabulationem interpretatur in deteriorem partem c. A Clerke embrasyng a woman-muste bee presumed that he doeth well Some old peuishe Canon of the Apostles or of the primatiue Churche If therefore a Clerke take a woman by the middle it must be interpreted ꝙ he that he doeth it to geue her his blessyng as in the .96 Distinction Ca. In scripturis although saith he the Canon will interprete the onely talkyng with her into the worste parte Yea S. Peter is brought in in the same distinction to speake when he ordeined Clement to be his successor Dist. 96. ca. quicunque Quicunque contristauerit doctorem veritatis peccat in Christum patrem omniū exacerbat deum propter quod vita carebit aeterna What soeuer he be that will molest and make sadde a doctor of the truth he offendeth against Christe and doeth prouoke God the father of all for whiche cause he shall also want eternall life Thus thei would haue the people brought againe to their olde faithe and credulitie and not to bee to suspitious of them that professe virginitie But of the maried Priestes let theim thinke as euill as thei can deuise for he so desir●th it and to muche punishment is to little for theim And yet theim selues stande in doubte some tyme whether thei maie performe this common catholike faithe one of them to an other In so muche that in respecte of their holy chastitie 24 q. ● Quis vid●● belike wherof thei neuer haue hartie repentaunce their owne Canonistes saie Quis vidit dignè sacerdotem poenitentē Who euer sawe a prieste worthely sory for his offence And therefore sainct Hierom in that distinction searching the old stories saith I can not finde any other to haue rent the churche and that haue deceiued the people but onely those whiche are set of God to be the Priestes and Prophetes th●se be thei which be turned to craftie snares in all places geuyng slaunder Chrysostome agreeth to hym de poenitentia Dist. i. Quis aliquando vidit clericum citò poenitentiam agentem si depraehensus humiliauerit se non ideo dolet quòd peccauit sed ideo cōfunditur quia perdidit gloriam suam Who euer sawe the spirituall man tourning from his faute For though he be taken and humbleth him self yet he is not heauie for that he hath offended but for this cause he his confounded for that he hath lost his estimation And in deede there bee some misteries in doctrine in this matter that priestes committyng fornications with twentie women and so liue all their life long bee not yet halfe so euill as Priestes that haue wiues Whiche wholsome doctrine a man maie some tyme heare not onely of meane learned men but of some of the hiest learnyng that holdeth so Which secret mischief me thinke this man Marten should haue in his head by the maner of his writyng For where he laboureth with greate trauaill of his witte to proue secular Priestes votaries that the Priestes vowe standeth in this point sc neuer to marrie that is to abiure mariage and to conteine from mariyng which vowe some Lawiers and Deuines to do call

prince lyke hym in repressyng the wronge exactions vsed in the Realme and that gouerned his subiectes more wyselye in peace and quietnes none that dyd more reuerence ecclesiasticall persons and that better maynteyned the poore or the religious by his expences and that after his death he saith by and by sprong vp all wicked men disturbers of peace murderers and robbers with al kynd of mischiefes Which princely qualities saith Wylliam of Malmesburie he gote by his education brought vp and instructed in all the seuen liberall sciences Which education was in the vniuersitie of Cambridge saith Thomas Rudborne so that his learnyng was a great cause of the wyse gouernyng of the Realme He hadde worthyly the name of Beuclarke whom his father Wylliam the conquerour purposed to haue preferred to a Byshopricke Scala chron and therefore caused hym to be instructed in learnyng whiche turned as muche to the commendation of the father for that he iudged a Byshop ought to be learned and that not only blood and other corporall ornamentes commended so muche the partie a man to be of that vocation as prudence gotten by learnyng and knoweledge In whiche his knowledge the sayde Henrie toke so much delectation VVil. Mal. and founde the fruite therof so necessarie in gouernement that he was wont to saye Rex illiteratus Asinus coronatus a Kyng vnlearned is an Asse crowned This man so wel vsyng his gouernement to Gods pleasure that Henrie Huntyngton who lyued in his dayes testified that God caused his fame to be spread through the whole worlde and that he gaue hym three special gyftes wisdome ryches and victorie in such aboundaunce that he excelled saith he all his predecessours Edm. lib. 6. Some proofe of his graces good qualities may be considered partly occasioned to be remembred by this foresayde archbishop Rodulph who at a certaine coronation of the kynges newe wyfe Atheleida daughter to Godefride duke of Lorayne in the xxi yere of his rayne the sayde Rodulphus beyng thexecutor of the solempnitie at masse and at the alter in his pontificalibus castyng his eyes behynde hym and seyng the sayde kyng syttyng on an hye throne with the crowne on his head he went in a great haste from the alter vp to the kyng whom he knewe was not crowned by hym or his predecessour At whiche sodayne commyng the kyng reuerentlye rose vp to hym and the byshop asked who had put on that crowne on his head The kyng with a sad countenaunce aunswered that he had no great care therof and therfore he sayde with a modest voyce that it was out of his remembraunce Ueryly saith the byshop whosoeuer put it on dyd it not by any ryght and as long as it standeth vpon thyne head I wyll not go any farther in ministration To whom the kyng did aunswere If not ryghtly as you saye it be put on do you that which you knowe most to be done with iustice ye shall haue me no gaynesayer in any thyng Wherevpon the byshop lyfted vp his handes to take of the crowne frō his head the kyng as redy to vnlose the lase vnder his chynne wherewith his crowne was stayed on his head the lordes perceauyng that attempt they all with a loude voyce cryed vppon the byshop to spare the kyng and to suffer the kyng styll to weare it on his head in that solempnitie Which thyng the byshop at length permitted and standyng there neare the kyng crowned he began the Gloria in excelsis the quyer folowyng he afterwardes retyryng to the aulter agayne Further to amplifie the quiet spirite wisedome and modestie of this kyng in this fact I shall not neede but leaue it to the reader to iudge what benefite this king had by his learnyng To note the vntimely importunitie of this Rodulphus what his wisdome or wylfulnes was I also leaue it to the readers iudgement but I woulde the reader speciallye to beare in remembraunce whether as it is sayde before after Anselmes death the byshoppes after Rodulphes death were not iustly moued to be suiters to the kyng to haue their Archbyshop otherwyse chosen then out of the munckes coate whose wordes be these as the Saxon chronicle doth report them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Anno. 1123. Then spake the byshoppes betweene them selues and sayd that they neuer more would haue any man of munkes order to be Archbyshop ouer them for they neuer alowed nor loued munckes rulyng and the kyng graunted that to them Nowe to ende the storie of this tyme to set out before your eyes the marueylous wisedome that this kyng gathered by his learnyng in his youth It is written in common historie that the kyng came from Normandie into Englande which was a great cause of mirth and ioy that the people made for his prosperous returne But the next day after certayne of his sonnes daughter and neece with other very many of the nobilitie men women and chyldren and some of the cleargie folowing hym in the seas by misfortune were all drowned as before is sayde except one poore base man which escaped to tell the misfortune Which heauy casualtie many men dyd much maruayle at and were very sorowfull But yet were they sooner pacified vpon the kynges example when they sawe hym whom it dyd moste respecte to beare it with so manly a mynde referryng it with a quiet gesture and voyce to the equitie of gods iudgementes which no man can resist For as comfortyng hym selfe sayth the storie he sayde with a lowly spirite As the Lorde pleased so was it done be the name of the Lorde therefore blessed for euermore Amen Thus farre haue we enlarged the matter vpon reheasyng the tyme of Rodulph when this kyng dyd raigne whose godly qualities ought to be had in memorie for the notabilitie thereof for euer to the settyng out of Gods glorie to the commendation of learnyng the fruite whereof this prince shewed so maruelously VVilliam Chro. Ceno Mart. an 1132 After this Rodulph folowed William aforesayde in whose dayes almost all London was brent by the fire of Gilbert Becket This William renewed the same lyke constitution of Anselme in his tyme Pag. 217. by the helpe of the popes legate Ioannes Cremensis a priest Cardinall who after he had ben very costly and chargeably enterteyned with gyftes and rewardes and after that brought honorably to Canterburie and there on Easter day sang the hye masse at Christes aulter and after his great progresse goyng from byshop to byshop Chro. Saxo. Pet Burgēs from abbey to abbey and commyng after that about the natiuitie of our Ladye to London kept his councell there in which the legate dyd commaunde that Anselmes decree should be obserued better then it was but all preuayled not sayth the Saxonicall storie and he afterwarde departed home to Rome with shame enough In this mans dayes Chro. Ioren in anno 1135. Robert Bloet muncke of Euesham byshop of Lincolne had a sonne named Simon whom he made deane

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

prince king Edwarde his nobles and cleargie somewhat to staye the foule abuse so long tyme without remedie vsed in that state of the Realme which should by duetie expresse for example most puritie of lyfe thought it good to remoue the force of such forrayne lawes which compelled to this daungerous state of lyfe his cleargie meetyng in synode together and after debatement concluded If ye lyst to vnderstande what was done and subscribed vnto ye shall heare what the lower house dyd affirme in this case of continencie Iohn Taylor doctor of diuinitie beyng then prolocutor and VVilliam Say beyng register to accept the voyces and subscriptions of them that were present to whose consciences was this proposition propounded eyther to be freely affirmed or to be freely denyed by them vidz That all such Canons Lawes Statutes Decrees Vsages and customes heretofore made had or vsed that forbyd any person to contract matrimonie or condempne matrimonie by any person alredie contracted for any vowe of priesthood chastitie or widohood shal from henceforth be vtterly voyde and of none effect The affirmantes of this proposition were almost treble so many as were the negantes Amongst whiche affirmantes diuers were then vnmaryed and neuer dyd afterwarde take the libertie of maryage as doctor Tailor the bishop doctor Benson doctor Redman doctor Hugh Weston maister Wotton c. Of them that denyed it notwithstandyng their superscriptions to the contrary as fewe as they were yet some of them toke vpon them the libertie of mariage not long after as doctor Oken maister Rayner maister Wilsō Nowe yf any man may fortune doubt of the iudgement of that notable learned man and commonly reputed of graue iudgement I meane doctor Redmayn doctor of diuinitie he shall heare his very iudgement which he vttered in the selfe same conuocation written in a paper seuerally by his owne hande yet extant to be shewed subscribed with his owne name and thus he saith I thynke that although the worde of God do exhort and counsell priestes to lyue in chastitie out of the cumber of the fleshe the world that thereby they may more wholly attende to their callyng Yet the bande of conteynyng from mariage doth only lye vpō priestes of this Realme by reasons of Canons and constitutions of the Churche and not by any precept of Gods worde as in that they should be bound by reason of any vowe which in as farre as my conscience is priestes in this Churche of Englande do not make I thynke that it standeth well with Gods worde that a man which hath ben is but once maryed beyng otherwise accordingly qualified may be made a prieste And I thynke that forasmuch as Canons and Rules made in this behalfe be neither vniuersall nor euerlastyng but vpon considerations may be altered chaunged therefore the kinges maiestie and the hygher powers of the Churche may vpon such reasons as shall moue them take away the clogge of perpetuall continencie from priestes and graunt that it may be lawfull to such as can not or wyll not containe to mary one wyfe And yf she dye then the sayde priest to mary no more remaynyng styll in his ministration Iohn Redmayn Thus this learned man in such credite vniuersally in decidyng questions of conscience doth in a great sort of respectes condempne the vniuersal tract of the bolde assertions inspersed through D. Martins whole booke and therfore yf any man wyll not be resolued by his iudgement to recante such his opinion yet shall he neuer be able with all the glystryng floryshe of that booke to discredite hym or to wynne credite therto Nowe further to enlarge his conclusions or notes with more sounde testimonie doctrine should be but superfluous to such specially of whom Solomon speaketh Non recipit quidam verba prudentiae nisi ea dixeris quae versantur in corde eius Prouer. 18. Some men be of such nature that they wyll neuer receaue any wisedome or perswasion except ye tell hym suche thynges which be tost in his owne brayne and soncken into his owne heart It is not therfore without good cause Tit. 3. that S. Paule geueth precept not to haue longe ado with such as be sectaries thus saying Foolyshe questions genealogies contentions and braulynges rysyng of the lawes refrayne them for they be vnprofitable and vayne And therefore such a one as is a man of deuision after once or twyse admonyshyng hym renounce hym knowyng this that he that is such is peruerted and synneth as one condempned in his owne iudgement And nowe finally to make an ende yf Chryste whom the father of heauen commaunded all the worlde to heare Math. 17. in his doctrine made no prohibition or restraynt in his fathers ordinaunce of matrimonie Iohn 2. Math. 19. but honored it with his presence and commaunded it to be indissoluble forbyddyng all men to seperate whom God hath coopled wyllyng but for the cause of fornication no seperations to be made yf the apostles all Ambrosius except Iohn and Paule were in the maryed state and did not forsake their wiues after their apostleship which the xij canon of the vi generall counsell at Constantinople doth playnely affirme Where also besyde is the vi canon of the Apostles by what boldnes I can not tell abolyshed vz Quod episcopus aut presbiter vxorem propriam nequaquā sub obtectu religionis abiiciat c. The bishop or prieste ought not to put from hym his owne wife vnder pretence of religion which yf he do let hym be excommunicate and yf he so continue let hym be deposed Which is so noted in the summe of counsels If the fathers in the primatiue churche at libertie vsed the same the cleargie in Grece in Antioche and in Alexandria reteyned the libertie styll in their orderyng Paule being very feareful to cast any snares to the congregation counsellyng and commaundyng them that can not conteyne to mary pronouncyng that it is better to marry then to burne the interpretours of the scriptures applying the same grauntes and concessions vpon thē that are votaries Saint Austen in doctrine holdyng determining in professed disputation their copulations to be very maryages not to be disseuered If before the conquest mariage was always free not forbydden to priestes in England tyl after the cōquest sence which time both bishops priestes were maried some openly many secretly notwithstandyng Ancelmes statutes to the contrary which hardly preuayled and gaue great occasion of suche scisme and heresie Richarde wykes as was neuer greater in the churche If for all the multiplication of decrees agaynst concubinaries the sore coulde neuer be healed but that the notorietie of such lewde lyfe was vniuersally abhorred as it well deserued If the kynges auctoritie by the consent of his parliament with the subscription of the whole cleargie enacted the thyng to be lawfull abrogated all penall lawes to the contrary as it was declared in doctrine inuincible set out by the learned part