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
yet I owe that thyng most chiefely to my mother Churche of Canterbury and therevpon I iudge that he ought to make his canonicall profession to the Church of Canterburie for I was present when that my brother Thomas the elder his vncle xxxvij yeres past Archbishop of Yorke was dryuen by inuincible argumentes to make his profession to Lanfranc then archbyshop of Canterburie and his successours Whiche sentence yet of his father though the kyng and the byshoppes dyd well alowe and with expendyng the recordes of the same yet the sayd Thomas the younger elect woulde not so submit hym selfe Thomas stobues in catologo Ebor. ca. 52. Wherevpon the kyng beyng moued pronounced that eyther he shoulde do it or els he woulde discharge him of the Byshopricke and not only lose his fauour but also he woulde expell all his kinrede out of the Realme Wherevpon Sampson byshop of Worcester his naturall father and Richarde Baiocense his brother so nye of kinrede were instaunt vppon hym And though that Ranulph byshop of Durham promysed the kyng a thousand marke in money and to the Queene a hundred yet it auayled nothyng saith the storie for the kyng would not be corrupted with money and so at the laste the sayde Thomas made his profession and lyued but v. yeres in his dignitie and dyed a young man as the storie saith beyng a very corpulent man If the reader wyll nowe vnderstande what successe this foresayde decree of Anselme had after his death thus wryteth the storie That though the decree was somewhat calde on after hym by the kynges commaundement yet he relented and so it folowed saith he that the priestes toke their wyues agayne which they had or els renouncyng their former toke others and freely maried harlottes so saith the muncke In which discourse he maketh insinuation that standing the tyme of the prohibition thers were both fornicatours and adulterers and such as committed incest with their nygh kynsefolke not onlye with their sisters but also with their owne daughters so that saith he though this good father after the example of the feast maker called many to the feast yet in no respect was there any effectuous obedience geuen vnto his wordes For saith he let hym reade that wyll the text of this councell at London and well consider the statutes therof and let hym then iudge who it is that obeyeth them who it is that fulfylleth them or what he is that accompteth them not vayne So that the priestes and the prebendaries obteyned so muche with their Byshops and Archdeacons that suche priestes as dyd relinquishe dyd returne againe to their wyues as is sayde before Whiche sayde matter is here brought in not as alowyng any thyng that was committed agaynst the precepte of God but to shewe what speede hadde this his decree in his lyfe tyme and what successe this vnreasonable tradition hadde after his lyfe If you woulde knowe the cause or grounde that might moue this father Anselme otherwise learned and of austere conuersation although in this to be feared rather to be of the number of them of whom Saint Paul saith In hypocrisi loquencium mendatium cauteriatam habentium suam conscientiam prohibentium nubere c. Forsooth his redy good wyll and accesse to the holy father of Rome the supportation that he founde there the spiced conscience he had in his wrong obedience vnto that sea esteemyng hym so hyghly supra id quod colitur made hym to esteeme his prince the lesse ii Thess. ii and from tyme to tyme troubled and endaungered his Realme in his office to the disquiet of the people enducyng in his bronded conscience fedities and enormities innumerable Whiche his blynde zeale not accordyng to knowledge Henrie Beuclarke well vnderstandyng dyd not only staye his importunitie but also resisted the popes auctoritie to his owne face doing in his princely estate as appertayned to his kyngly ryght Though that Anselme the popes proctor dyd aunswere that he would not for the price of his head consent to the kyng agaynst the popes prohibitions except it were dispensed withal agayne by the sayde pope vpon the kynges wordes Quid mihi de meis cum papa quae antecessores mei hoc in regno possiderunt mea sunt hec si quis auferre mihi voluerit quod inimicus meus sit omnis qui me diligit certissime nouerit What haue I to do with the pope concernyng myne owne That which myne auncestours haue possessed in this Realme be myne whosoeuer woulde take these from me let all that loue me certaynely knowe that he is myne enemie Which stout wordes of his so spoken might declare what he knewe Surely he was like for his knowledge to haue done as much in expellyng his vsurped aucthoritie yf oportunitie of tyme had serued hym as his successour long after hym kyng Henrie the eyght brought about and finished Whiche thyng is well signified by the wordes of his owne letters written to kyng Henrie Edmer wherein Pascall the pope complayneth that he dyd in his Realme all as pleased hym and that he restrayned the messengers and letters of the sea apostolyke that they coulde haue no passage or be permitted to enter into the Realme without his suffraunce and further Pascall chargeth hym that without the knowledge of the popes holynes he doth kepe synodall councels where he insinuate that all the wayghtie causes of the Churches throughout his whole prouince should be determined by the vicars and the deputies of his holy sea And further he chargeth hym that besyde his auctoritie he presumed to make translation of Bishoprickes at his pleasure which sayth he can not be done without the licence of the sacred holy sea of Rome And farther to set out howe the knowledge of this kyng made him well to vnderstannde his vsurped auctoritie in his Realme and well perceauyng howe the Realme was wont to be abused by shamefull exactions and expilations which his legates vsed to do within the same was weery of the sayde abused aucthoritie Wherevpon pope Calixtus after his councell holden at Remis anno dn̄i 1119. came vnto Gisortiū Edmer to speake with the king had conference with him When the kyng had obteyned of that pope to haue all such customes which his father had in England in Normandie and especially of all other that he should not suffer any man to vse the office of a legate at any tyme in Englande except him selfe did require the same for such matters which coulde not be ended by the byshop of Canterburie and the other byshoppes of the Realme All which thynges sayth the storie beyng thus determined the pope doth make request to the kyng for his loue to be frendly vnto Thurstone Archbyshop of Yorke to restore hym to his Byshopricke Wherevnto the kyng aunswered that he woulde neuer do it whyle he lyued for he saith he hadde so promised vppon his fayth Whervpon Calixtus dyd aunswere Ego apostolicus sum si
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
2. Albertus Grang. q. 3. caÌ„ 18. Ostro gottorum Poli. in the historie of Englande The sowers of the old heresies in sunderie countries were vnmaried priestes â–ª that preteÌ„ded virginitie 1. The firste heretike that euer was after Christe â–ª abhorred the Godly marriage of priestes and kept a whore 2. The firste heretike iÌ„ persia abhorred the marriage of Priestes August epis 74. Deuâ—erio 144. after Christ. 3. The firste Anabaptist was an vnmaried priest 4. The .i. heretike iÌ„ Spain abhorred the Marriage of priestes August de here 5. The first no table heretike in Englande was an vnmaried moÌ„ke Anno do 400. 6. The firste notable heretike in Africa was an vnmaried priest 7. And the first in Paphlagonia Aemenia wee vnmaried priests was a wicked man Cain by name the firste borne childe that Abraham had was wicked namely Ismael The firste borne childe that Isaac had was wicked namely Esau. Ergo the firste borne and eldest children of all men be wicked Or els this waie Saule was the firste kyng that was chosen to rule Israell and he was a wicked man Romulus the firste kyng in Rome who like a moste traiterous tyrant killed his owne brother Remus wherefore he also was an euill man The firste kyng in Spaine was a tyraunte that came out of Gothia The firste kyng in Fraunce that obtained any generall rule was the tyraunt Clodoueus whiche when he had ouercome the Persians occupied the Kyngdome of Fraunce by tyrannie The first Emperour was Iulius Caesar who entred by ciuill warre treason and tyrannie The first kyng in Englande that raigned alone draue out the other Kynges and occupied their landes and possessions by tyrannie will you now therefore conclude that all kynges be naughtie men and tyrantes If this kinde of reasonyng seme so good in your sight then I praie you harken to this other like thereunto The firste heretique that euer was in all the worlde after Christes death was Symon Magus of Samaria who hauyng not the gifte of sole life would not enter the holy estate of Matrimonie but folowyng or rather beginnyng the Popishe kinde of chastitie kepte an harlotte named Selene or Helena as some doe call her The first heretique that was in Persia was Manes first roote of the heretiques called Maniches who liued in suche chastitie as the Popishe priestes do not onely refusyng to marie hym self but condemnyng Mariage in the ministers of his secte whom thei called as saincte Augustine Epist. 72. saieth Electos The firste Anabaptist in Rome was Nouatus the heretique an vnmaried prieste whose secte allowed not mariage in their priestes and denied repentaunce to offendours The firste heretiques that sprang in Spaine were the Priscilianistes as S. Augustine saieth aboute the yere of our Lorde 〈◊〉 who so muche abhorred the mariage of priestes and of other of their secte that thei caused the same practise whiche now most shamefully is practised in Englande that is to saie thei caused to be deuorsed viros a nolentibus faeminis faeminas a nolentibus viris .i. Husbandes from their vnwillyng wiues and wiues from their vnwillyng husbandes as saincte Augustine saieth The aucthour of that secte was Priscillianus an vnmaried Busshoppe of Abile in Spaine The first notable heretiques of Englande was Pellagius a Monke about .400 yeres after Christ who liued suche a single life as the Papistes do now And about an huÌ„dred yeres before hym in Africa was Arrius an vnmaried prieste of AlexaÌ„dria as bothe Epiphanius Eusebius and other doe witnesse The firste heritiques in Paphlagonia and Armenia were Eustachiani whose chief heresie was the condemnyng of priestes mariage so that thei refused to receiue the CommunioÌ„ at the handes of suche Priestes as were maried for the whiche thyng thei were condemned Anno domini .324 in the counsaile holden at Grangris about the tyme of Nicene Counsaile whiche was confirmed by the sixte Sinode in Trullo holden at Constantinople And from whence came the doctrine of Machomet whiche now is folowed of the Turkes and SarceÌ„s and is muche largelier spred abrode then is the doctrine of Christe Sergius an vnmaried Monke was the firste beginner of the Turkes law Came it not from Sergius an vnmaried Monke and fledde for his naughtinesse from Byzans of whose lessons Mahomette made his Alcoran And all the heretiques before the tyme of Heluidius if it be true that you saie that Heluidius was the firste maried prieste in Christendome were vnmaried Priestes Heresie and Lecherie met together in vnmaried Priestes S. Ciprian lib. 1. Epis. 3. The Sophisticall reason of the Papistes disclosed â–ª and by the like confuted Yet were some of them Stupratores virginum depopulatores MatrimonioruÌ„ Rauishers of Uirgines and defilers of Matrimonie as sainct Ciprian saieth writyng of Nouatus Some liued in luxuria voluptatibus as you testifie as Carpocrates c. Now to conclude all these of whom I haue spoken were Priestes and vnmaried Priestes and heretiques Ergo all your Popishe virgine Priestes if your reason were good that marie not bee heretiques And now you see what ye haue woÌ„ne with reasonyng ab indefinito ad vniuersale If now Marten can not deuise some pretie kinde of shift he hath shamed hym self with this first chapiter the somme wherof standeth vpoÌ„ this poinct that Heresie and Lecherie be commonly ioigned together whiche saiyng he proueth none otherwise true then that the first maried priestes in some countries were heretiques and by certaine notes c. And like as it is a shame for hym in suche a weightie matter to make suche a balde reason though his grouÌ„des were true so his groundes beyng vntrue his rebuke is encreased For who knoweth not that S. Peter was a priest and the Gospell testifieth that he had a wife The Euangelistes saie that Christe healed Peters wiues mother of a Feuer Math. viii Luke iiii And Clemens Alexandrinus testifieth that he did not putte her awaie but continued with her till she died in Martyrdome for Christes sake Stromaton Lib. 7. Clemens Alex. whiche Marten denieth And the same Clement saieth that Peter spake to her when she was in diyng saiyng to her Vxor memento domini wife remember the Lorde And that this is true saincte Hierome against Iouinian can not deny And I am sure that Martin will not deny but that Peter dwelt .xxv. yeres at Rome for so you Papistes hold Now if it were true that the firste maried prieste in Italie as Martine doeth alledge for the proofe of his purpose were an heretique then by this meanes should Peter be an heretique vnlesse the manne will saie that Rome is not in Italie For that it was not Heluidius it shal bee reasoned hereafter Martine can not proue that the firste maried prieste in France was an heretique by Turonense consilium as he alledgeth To. 2. pag. â— And for further profe of this purpose he saith also that the firste maried prieste in Fraunce was an heretique whiche saiyng
would be taken to be in all the seauen sciences by his former writyng and accountyng I wâ—ne wise menne will thinke he lacketh all his fiue wittes for suche a reckoning As for any shewe hereby that he should bee endued with any of the three theologicall vertues faieth hope and charetie or yet with the fowre Cardinall vertues to make vp an euen nomber to matche his saied seuen artes I beleue all the calculation that is in his head will make but a course demoÌ„stration if he were well searched For what remedie thinke ye doeth he pretelie insinuate for this his so greatly feared mischief that might growe to the common wealth to declare either his faieth to God or a charitie to the poore maried priestes children Whiche if thei be so many as he maketh tale of what charitie is it to driue so manie to beggerie Lette God iudge cui cura est de omnibus who hath care ouer all If I should coÌ„strue that he meaneth to instil that pollicie into Christen Princes heades whiche he saieth is the vse of the great Turke or the Soldan that is to picke quarell of warres to the destruction of their people and not for conquest I dare not iudge hym so farre For if he should so meane if I were a souldier I would not wishe hym my Captaine And I praie God we haue not manie warres fought Now that is in Queene Maries â—ares vnder his banner Kyng Henrie the eight of whom now men preache a brode most dishonorable reportes openly in Pulpittes and yet be reputed catholike fauorars of the Quéenes highnes procedynges was wont to saie that he would not lose a man if he might bee saued for winnyng any summe of mony He had well considered the saiyng of Salomon the wise In multitudine populi dignitas regis in paucitate plebis ignominia priÌ„cipis In the multitude of people doeth the dignitie of a prince appere the fewnesse of the people is the dishonor of the Prince And that noble kyng of the Macedonians Philip by name hauyng a tender hart to his people would saie that he would not loose a man for to winne a Citie to whom when it was vpbreided at a tyme because he brought more thinges to passe by gift then by fight that not Philippe but the gold of Philip conquired Greece He answered that therfore he spent his monie because he would spare his men for he counted it more honorable to haue menne without monie then monie without men Well I could saie somewhat more to this carpet lawier if I had hym alone in confession But sir for all youre great prudence and pollicie in stopping vnmaried priestes generation if ye could bryng it aboute as ye neuer shall ye might therby procure to the realme fewer then it hath I feare by a greate meanie in a fewe yeres And so where ye see ouer manie ye might fortune to bring it to ouer fewe If many a sorie man in Englande maister Martin had not better helpe then at home good maister Parsone could not haue so many Crisoms as he hath Nor yet ye maister doctor when ye shall be a greate man haue so many followe your taile as your stomacke would wishe to haue As for the victualles of this realme D. Martine had the ouersight of Denisons at this time in office if ye would not make so many Denizons for your owne lucre although profitable and gentle straungers ought to bee welcome and not to be grudged at and if ye would not sue out Placardes for the immoderate carriyng out of our Corne and victualles to the singuler gaine of a fewe but to the famishyng of them who sweate for it And moreouer if ye would call on vpon suche as hath aucthoritée to searche how Takers in the Quéenes name behaueth theim selues in the Countrees vnder colour of her graces necessarie prouision Againe if suche victuall as is out of Markettes gotten for suche prouision were so diligently looked to that great numbers of Beiffes were not caste awaie for want of salte and pouderyng I doubte not but that God blesseth this realme aboundantly enoughe with plentie of victualles to fill mennes mouthes For though of late ye haue peraduenture felte many a hungrie meale and sawe no suche abundaunce at Paris as ye maie see in Englande so for feare of hunger that might fall here in Englande by your Caiphas profeciyng ye might bée driuen againe to your hostesses with whom ye haue been at bourde And if by your madde talke any folie might bee prouoked as God of his mercie euer defende the realme ye bee sure againe of your refuge And when men at home trye out the reste of your begun tale and policie in the meane tyme ye be drinkyng your vinum Theologicum Theologicall wine at Paris Yet M. Martin how glorious so euer ye be now in pelle Leonis in your Lions skinne and though ye bee coumpted of some folkes to bee neuer so Catholike yet beware you proue not at length Asinus apud Cumanos to bée suche an Asse as was once at Cumae In the meane season I tell you that ye be not faithefull to God in his prouidence And for all your high offered seruice to the Quéenes maiestie for reformation of the Realme I tell you you want prudence and circumspection to But ye bee like to suche as of late came out of their dungeons and saw not of longe tyme the light abrode nor the behauiour of the people and so your eyes beyng daseled yet ye muste needes haue all the worlde followe your contemplations or els no peace offered but euery manne to stande at his aduenture I truste your woordes yet meane not as you purporte God forbidde But as for the fartilitie of your owne natiue countree how so euer ye be degenerated into Frenche nature to slaunder the Realme what plentie and increase hath been before tyme thought to haue been here I will tell you a tale by the waie whiche I heard of as wise a manne as euer ye be like to be for ought that ye haue yet vttered and as naturall a manne to his countrée of Englande in deede as ye bragge to be in woordes whiche stoode not full twentie foote of when the matter was firste spoken and vttered It chaunced that there came a Frenche Ambassadour to the kynges highnesse kyng Henry the eight I truste God hath his soule with letters I trowe from the Frenche kyng not long before that sente to hym from the holy father of Rome This Ambassadour sittyng at the Counsaile table beganne to sette vp a stoute countenaunce with a weake braine and carped Frenche excedingly fast which he thought should haue béen his onely sufficient commendation of them all that were at the table that he could speake so readily The matter of his talke was vniuersall euery where But the substaunce was partly muche noting the gluttonie of Englishmen whiche deuoured so muche vitaile in the lande partly magnifiyng the greate
by their solempne profession betwixt an inclusiue and an open vowe betwixte Priestes and Monkes Thus farre doctor Martin I report this note good reader but to thyne owne iudgemente whether thou maiest not marke a notable poincte of folie ignoraunce or wilfulnesse in this fonde Ciuilian thus to wrest and drawe the woordes of his aucthoritees â—xtra de voto quod voti reâ—emptione so farre against the heere as though bothe al mennes reasons were not against his note and as though the Lawe it self saied not ê™ alia est causa monachi alia clerici â–ª And further there is written ê™ plura profitendo promittit Monachus quaÌ„ recipiendo sacrum ordinem clericus And for diffrence it is written in the Extrau of Ihon the .xxij. Chapiter Antiquae Coniugatus ante copulam sacrum ordineÌ„ suscipiens cogitur ne ad coÌ„iugem sed habitum monachi suscipiens Exâ—t de coÌ„uers comugas Cap. verum â—â—vobas qui transgredimi mandatum Dei propter traditioneâ— vestram Math. potest inuita vxore ire ad religionem cogendus ibi manere vinculum coniugii inefficax redditur The maried manne that vndertaketh holy orders before carnal knowledge of his wife is inforced to go to his wife but he that becometh a Monke maie against his wiues wil goe forwarde to his Religious profession and ought to bee compelled therein to remain and so the band of mariage to be without force or strength Cardinall Caietane writeth whiche Thomas also .2.2 affirmeth Quòd votum per se solemne est indespensabile per illud decretale cum ad Monaste Quod est regularium sed votum per accidens quod est annexum ordini sacro quod est secularium est dispensabile .4o. sententiarum Ergo alia est causa Monachi alia Presbyteri That a vowe whiche of it self is solempne is not to bee dispensed with if it bee of Regulers But a vowe of a secular not annexed to his holy order called a vowe per accidens maie bee dispensed with well inough and therefore the condition of the Monke and of the Prieste bee diuerse Whervnto bothe Antonine in Summa part .iii. and Bonauâ—nture .iiii. sententiarum Distin .xxxvii. doe agrée WhervpoÌ„ your thrée notable poinctes beyng well waied are not worthe three agglettes It is a true lawe to bee verified of hym self that he reporteth in his fifth Chapiter Lâ—aÌ„ G .iiij. Semel malus semper presumitur malus in eodem genere mali If it be true that your self pronounce in your tenth Chapiter that it is the nature of heretikes euer to take a peece of the aucthours woordes and not the whole sentence I would desire the indifferent reader by expendyng your reporting of your Doctors and Counsailes after this maner to iudge of what complexion ye be of Seing therefore to borowe some of his owne woordes this Doctor Martin coyneth suche notes and argumentes whereof some of them be false in forme and some false in matter saiyng in his obiections he depraueth scripture misconstrueth his aucthours misreporteth stories misnameth his doctors seinyng Ambrose to be Augustine and Cirill Origen and yet corrupteth them all all to this ende that he mighte frame a probable argumente in an vnprobable matter I truste good reader thou wilte credite no further his stoute bolde assertions and glorious processes then the truthe of the matter will beare his cause But because I will not be ouer tedious I lette diuerse other suche foule shamelesse lyes and deprauynges vntouched But as for the aucthoritée of sainct Augustine de bono viduitatis where he proueth the mariages good euen of votaries though their promise breaking be condempned he toke the next waie to corrupt the text For he saw plainly it could not be otherwise shifted of with all the gloses he can deuise it is so manifest And though it hath béen wonderfully drawen racked of diuerse suche wittes 17. q. 1. Nuptiarum bonum In glosa as doctor Martin hath yet to the indifferent reader that will expend the very text in S â–ª Augustine and the processe he goeth about it must nedes purge it self of al the drosse thei can cast vpon it though Pighius falsifieth the text and Petrus Lombardus leaueth out the woordes of the moste pithe to blinde the reader And some there be that to plaie it a waie expound all the whole treatise of sainct Augustine in that poynct to be ment of a simple vowe and not of a solempne vowe Some glosers affirme the first part of the processe to be ment of simple vowers and the latter parte sc plane non dubitauerim dicere c. to bee ment of solempne vowers And these two shiftes hath this doctor Martin of those glosers beside his owne peculiar deuise of mangling and manifest corruptyng the texte Some glosers affirme it to bee wholly ment of solempne vowers and some glosers are so bolde to deny sainct Augustine and affirme that here he slept and that he did not well reason in this matter As the common gloser of the decrées Gardineâ—us contra BuceruÌ„ Lib 3. And some shifteth of the matter after a newe sort and saie that sainct Augustine did write this his opinion before the churche had otherwise defined this cause vz. that mariages after the vowe should be no mariages wherby he meaneth that sainct Augustine speaketh of solempne vowes For the church at these daies doeth not yet decree that mariages after simple vowes be no mariages or that thei ought to bee dissolued Whiche saiyng if it bee true then I put it to the indifferent reader to expends whether the mariages of votaries after their vowes beyng thought good and not to be dissolued from the Apostles daies â—â—l sainct Augustines age and so in his tyme thought good how nought soeuer thei were to breake their aduised vowes whether we may not better sticke to sainct Augustines aucthoritée and to the common faith that was before his tyme rather then to that definition whiche hath been made since contrarie to the faithe of those writers Specially seyng the Busshops of England many of them yet liuyng at this daie in their booke of institution of a christian man teache plainly that it apperteineth to christen kinges and Princes in the discharge of their duetie to God to reforme and to reduce againe the lawes to their old Limittes and pristine state of their power and iurisdiction whiche was giuen theim by Christe and vsed in the primatiue Churche For it is saie thei out of all doubt that Christes faithe was then moste firme and pure and the scriptures of God were then best vnderstand and vertue did then most abound and excell And therfore the customes and ordinaunces then vsed and made must nedes be more conforme and agreable vnto the true doctrine of Christ and more conducyng to the edifiyng and benefite of the Churche of Christ then any Custome or Lawes vsed or made since that tyme. And so forth in their exposition of
soleÌ„pnitée outward And my lord chauÌ„celour in his laste booke against Bucere supposeth not that any man pleaseth God in his vowyng if he be not brought thervnto by a godly inclination And further the saied scole diuines hold that he who is so dispensed with either for respecte of the coÌ„mon wealth or yet in respecte of his owne saluation in his obedience he meriteth more then if he kept his vowe For in this case saye thei this obedience is a more worthie vertue and more meritoriouse then is chastitée Quantum ad premium substantiale And the saied Antonine holdeth that if the Pope should dispense without a iuste cause in the solempne vowe of chastitée either of the man or of the woman yet were that true Matrimony Quantum ad vtrunque quia claudicare non potest That is on bothe sides for it may not halt on the one legge But seyng as I haue saied that the saied seculer Priestes make no suche profession nor the Busshop speaketh the saied proposition to the Englishe priestes vnder suche condition then it standeth onely but of the decrees and Canons of the churche whiche can not nor ought not nor the Queenes Maiestie will not as by the firste Article in her Commission appeareth haue executed to the preiudice or derogation of any Lawes of the realme Furthermore vpon that deuise that is alledge to defeat sainct Augustines sentence and iudgement affirming that the church as then had not defined votaries mariages to bee adulteries or to be dissolued If the matter standeth but vpoÌ„ the definitioÌ„ of the Churche then thus I reason The Churche hath defined of olde precontractes to make Matrimonie and the second contractes to be voide The churche of EnglaÌ„d of late defined the second contract with carnall copulation to be Matrimony the first contract to be none In the time of this definition diuerse persones vpon the seconde contract were maried and so continue together still at this daie I aske of you Master Martin whether the definitioÌ„ of the Churche of England wil not be warrant inough for their mariages I truste ye will not dissolue them nowe though that definitioÌ„ be now repealed again and restored by an other definition Euen in like maner the church afore tyme defined priestes mariages to be no mariages but to be dissolued â–ª duryng the vigor of which definition priestes wer not suffred to marrie Now of late the Church of Englande whiche as was shewed before is as well a catholike and Apostolike church as Rome churche or any other and of lyke and equall aucthoritée iurisdiction and power This churche I saie not stelyngly but aduisedly in two sondrie cessions not of the Laytie onely but of the Clergie did define Priestes mariages to bee good and auailable against all Lawes positiue Then standyng this definition whye were not their mariages good and this definition beyng repealed but for hereafter whie shall it not serue for those that were then made and now standyng in strength by Goddes Lawe and not as yet dissolued by mannes Lawe But ye will obiect that the Church definition maketh not the thinge to be but sheweth it to bee So that ye maye saie suche mariages were euer vnlawfull But then declared vnlawfull when the church definition was published Though this cauillatioÌ„ might be otherwise by good reasoÌ„ example and aucthoritée sufficiently answered yet take ye this answere for this tyme. If I were of the nombre of those priestes who beyng hindered by no other impediment of Goddes Lawe had maried vpon the definition of the Princes Law I would as gladly erre with sainct Augustine and with that age wherin he was in this matter as to be a catholike with doctor Martin and suche other of his affinitee Who by pleasure and displeasure by gaine of promotioÌ„s and lucres fallen to them by their opinion holde the contrarie But here ye will doubt whether the kinge or yet the Pope haue so muche aucthoritée to dispense with an vniuersall Lawe of the Churche Sir if for enuy ye beare to the kynges power ye beginne to doubt of the Popes power so ye maye shewe your self a stout catholique to the one as ye shewe your self a double subiect to thother And if ye doubt of the Popes power aske couÌ„saile of Ioannes Genesius deritu nuptiaruÌ„ how vniuersall it is And if ye miscredit hym aske the whole number of the Canonistes who some of them stand in more doubt whether the Pope can dispense with Regulers to haue proprietie and seculer promotion vnder the perfection of a Busshoppe then â–ª whether he can dispense with Priestes seculer to marye after their order If thei should be iudged by their factes there be examples innumerable of suche dispensations of decrees and the Canons made in generall councels whiche is more that the Busshoppe of Rome hath largely delt out in his aucthoritée If ye doubt that the kinges aucthoritée can do so much I can no more but â—end you to all the learned resolutions of the beste of the Clergie at this daie If ye beleue them ye must beleue me For I come but out of their bookes assertions If ye bryng in a great heape of councels of later daies I answere to them al as many as were made for the policies of Spaine Fraunce Italy thei belong not to vs. Ye maye laie these councels to the charge of those priesteâ— that be ordered ther. If ye saie that a particuler realme can not dispense with the whole Lawe of the Churche we answere we force no dispensation of the whole churche but of this particular churche of England for the perticular state of the Clergie of the same And as this particular Churche by their assent receiued that Lawe so by dissent againe hath refused that lawe And therfore is no further bound If ye yet againe will saie that the king may not dispense so vniuersally with the whole realme I answere if the king may do as much as the Pope why maie not he dispeÌ„se with his whole realme and Clergie for them that will aswell as was saied before As Paule the thirde to offer to the whole state of the Regulers in Germany to be temperally beneficed against the Canons of the Churche Extrae de consiguinitate affinit Can. 35. q. 10. Fraternitatis or as could Innocent the thirde release to al realmes of christendome the prohibitions of consanguynitée and affinitée in Councels before restrained If ye obiect that a greate many of Counsailes haue defined not onely depriuations but also separations I answere that as good Counsailes in the primatiue Churche as there bee many of this later Churche haue not so decreed but made this to bee the worste to be sequestered from their ministration Concilium Constant. vi And some not separating the ministers from their wiues but in tyme of their ministration And depriuyng the ordinaries whiche would separate theim contrary to the Canons of the Apostles CoÌ„cil gaÌ„grense And some
the infirmitee of suche incontinente persones and in comparison of worse permitted that whiche was euill If Origen disalowed not their prudence in dispensation not to tollerate it ones dooen but to geue licence before it was begunne euen in that matter which be iudged to be againste the Lawe of God If Pope Martin the v. as the aucthour of Summa Angelica reporteth did after great deliberation and consultation with diuerse learned in Diuinitée and Lawe despence with hym that had taken his sister germain to wife to kepe her still and if the Pope despensyng with a man to marrie her to wife whose mother or sister he had defiled before by corporall fornication be not to bee blamed nor this mariage to be disalowed as Antonine saieth part 3. tit I. cap. II. para christiana infine And if Antoninus auditor generalis causarū Palatij dn̄i Pape testifieth that he sawe very many despensed with in this matter in Summa lib. 3. tit 6. ca. 3. li. 2. ca. 2. tit xi If Martin Peresius thus writeth Si sacerdotes non matura deliberatione se astrinxerunt videat Romanus pōtifex qui circa haec solet dispēsare quid sit agendum in particularibus If the Priest haue boūd hym self not by due deliberation let the Romane busshop who is wont to dispense in suche cases take hede what he ought to do in suche particularitées Yea Erasmus in clementiam Alberti Pij artic 40. saieth that the Pope doeth wel to dispense in solempne vowes and alledgeth Cardinall Caietanes aucthoritée for hym What reasonablenesse then cā there be thought in this Ciuiliā not to suffer these mariages that be doen and made already not by stealth or of priuate head but by aucthoritee of his Soueraignes lawe with the assent of all the body of the realme not one woorde of Goddes Lawe against it but many woordes of Gods Lawe bearyng with it and approuyng it I maruaile what this Lawier meaneth Hath he neuer reade what Pope Nicholas did answere to Busshoppe Osbalde vpon his question Dist. 50. studeas what should be doen with that beneficed Prieste that had striken a Deacon and after his death his sculle was founde broken Searche saieth he whether he died of the stroke or whether the Deacō fell of his horse and so brake his sculle and died If the Deacon died of the fall suspende the Prieste a little tyme for saiyng Masse and afterwarde let hym returne to his seruice againe But if case the deacon be dead by occasion of his strype then in no case let hym any more minister Lo here the 〈◊〉 of the churche so prouided for by the canons Nothwithstandyng saith he yf he be very necessarie for your purpose let hym haue out of his benefice for the comfort of his sustenaunce Lo sir the canons the lawe playnly depriue him of his benefice which is sequestred frō his ministration And yet saith the lawyers vpon this place He was reasonablie dispensed with to kepe his benefice styl lest els for necessitie of his lyuyng he should turne hym selfe to fylthy and vnlawfull occupying Compare this matter maister Martin An open pretenced murtherer If ye say true maister Martin your cleargie should not haue all the benefices they haue But ye must vnderstand his rule against maried priestes onlye As for others do they neuer so litle a nothyng yet be they worth◠to haue all as they haue a◠Cau 1. q. 7. Requiritis shall for the necessitie of his lyuyng to auoyde further inconuenience be aduaunced to lyuing out of his benefice against the canons though he ministreth not and yet as ye write The benefice is geuen for the office sake And shall mariage be thus dealt with in your very fine charitie Dyd ye neuer reade what is written vpon that epistle that Leo the fourth dyd write to the bishoppes here in Englande settyng out what great auctoritie bishops only haue not restrayned nor in case reserued to the bishop of Rome howe they may dispence with sacrilege with heresie with adulterie with simonie with a scismaticke in orders and dignities for necessities sake and for auoydyng sclaunder and further inconueniences And can not all the bishops in Englande be able to dispence with mariage of priestes to auoyde the sclaunder that els myght rise aswell to them selues as to some of them by whom they were alowed to auoyde the sclaunder suspition of suche faigned heartes as were in them to the kynges auctoritie to auoyde the sclaunder that myght ryse to the priestes to their wyues to their chyldren c. But ye wyll say such as be sory for their fault and wyll returne the church mercifully openeth her lappe to receaue thē againe into new benefices lyuynges though they haue lost their olde where they had done cost Why maister Martin had the churche so spent all her mercie vpon her Iacobs that she had nothyng for poore Esau She myght haue blessed sufficiently her supplantyng Iacobs with the fattest benefices and superfluous dignities of the best of the cleargie and yet some litle benediction myght haue ben reserued and bestowed vpon the poore Esaus that nowe haue nothing at all left thē neither rent nor mouables to relieue their necessitie Is this the churches mercyfull lappe in receauyng her owne begotten chyldren to ministration againe that yet first they muste speake their owne shame in bylles of their penaunce lying against them selues moste vylely and moste shamefully disablyng their credite and estimation for euer As they fynde such fytte malt horses in diuers places of the realme whiche for a litle prouender sake and for curryng them with their combes wyll take whatsoeuer byt is put in their mouthes As one man of Winsor made a goodly confession of his heartie and earnest repentaunce there the .29 day of Iune last to the great comfort of al the good catholike people that hearde hym Whiche proposition was so finely penned and so catholikely tracted that I warraunt you it was none of the smallest fooles that forged it Whiche for the excellencie that it hath shall one day haue an interlinial glose tyll some man shall take payne to make a large commentarie Be ashamed O hypocrites be ashamed iuggle not in suche foolyshe sort to make all the worlde to wonder at you What a gods name wyll ye daunce starcke naked in your wyde masked nettes in this so cleare lyght at hye noone dayes in open market and yet promise your selues that no man can see you But to returne to the churches great mercie agayne Surely in some places the churches mercie was so sore extended that whose wyues were two or three yeres past before departed yet they coulde not be admitted againe to ministratiō but must do open penaunce and go before the crosse without any redemptiō or entreatie that coulde be made and the parties suche as by whom the very commissaries them selues coulde aleage not one poynt of dishonestie or euyl opinion in al their conuersation besides
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
inconuenience And let not the scrupulous consciences of men be blynded in them selues as to iudge any impuritie in the bodyes of them which honestly vse gods institution of matrimonie De virg cap. 33. No Saint Austen doubteth not to say Quia fancta sunt etiam corpora coniugatoruÌ„ fidem sibi domino seruientium that the bodyes euen of the maried folke be holye of such as preserue their fayth to them selues one to the other and their fayth to god And there in that discourse saint Austen proueth that the graces of continencie was not vnlyke in Iohn Cap. 21. who neuer had a do with maryage and in Abraham who had chyldren so that the chastitie of the one the matrimonie of the other came to one ende to serue the Lorde Agayne it may not be thought that for the worldly cares which may be in matrimonie priestes be more charged than for other cares and turmoyle of the worlde For suche carefulnes may assone defyle the puritie of the mynde as the cares which be in matrimonie Aswell be these carefull trauayles of the worlde forbydden to the priestes as cares which be in wedlocke De bono viduitatis cap. 23. God forbyd saith S. Austen to the wydows that ye shoulde be entangled with the desire of riches in steede of the cares of matrimonie that in your heartes money should beare the chiefe rule and so loue of money should be your husbandes Wherevppon Chrisostome wryteth Audiant hoc virgines Hom 19. 1. Cor 7. quòd non in hoc definita est virginitas corpore solum virgines esse c. Let virgins heare that virginitie is not in this poynt so concluded for the bodyes only to be in virginitie For she which hath the cares of seculer matters she is neither virgin nor honest And Theophilact saith 1. Cor. 7. When thou shalt beholde any virgin which hath vowed carefully inclined to worldly matters knowe thou certainly that she differs nothyng from a maryed woman And saint Hierome saith It wyll profite nothyng to haue the body of a virgin yf the mynde haue inwardlye maryed This affirme I saith Athanasius that euery virgin wydowe or woman continent yf she haue the cares of this worlde De virg those very cares be her husbande Whervppon I must conclude with saint Austen to these Desinant isti contra scripturas loqui Epist. 89. quest 4. Let these ceasse to speake against the scriptures And let them in their exhortations excite mens myndes to the more perfect state that yet they do not condempne the inferiour gyftes For some saith he in their exhortations can not otherwyse perswade virginitie but that therwith they condempne the matrimonial estate forasmuch as S. Paule saith plainely euery man hath his gyft of God one after this maner and another after that Thus farre S. Austen Better saith he is meke matrimonie then vauntyng virginitie In Psal. 99. And therfore the sayde saint Austen exhorteth virgins that they conioyne other agreable vertues as handmaydes which in deede do moste beautifie the true virginitie In Psal. 75. without which saith he the virginall lyfe either is dead in it selfe or els defourmed in it selfe and let the state be holy both in body and spirite seruyng God without seperation at all Of such myndes were the fathers in olde tyme so exhortyng to the single state of lyfe as mens frayleties myght beare the perfection and vsed no condempnation or compulsion but left it indifferent to the conscience of euery man So dyd that learned abbot Aelfricus afterwarde as some affirme archbishop of Canterburie prescrybyng a synodal sermon to be spoken by the bishoppes to the priestes after his reasons and swasions to the sole lyfe vsed these wordes Non cogimus violenter vos dimittere vxores vestras sed dicimus vobis quales esse debetis si non vultis nos â—rimus securi liberi a vestris peccatis quia dicimus vobis canones sanctorum patrum We do not compell you by violence to forsake your wyues but we declare to you what ye shoulde be and yf ye wyll not we shal be cleare and free from your offences for we haue shewed vnto you the canons of holy fathers This writer in all his whole sermon neuer chargeth the Englishe priestes with any vowe but only standeth vpon the constraynt of canons ecclesiasticall For before the conquest was neuer matrimonie once forbydden nor vowes of seculer priestes once receaued Nor Gildas that auncient Britaine in his sharpe inuection against all estates of his tyme after he had reproued the greatest personages and the regulers of their abuses he proceedyng to speake agaynst the seculer priestes yet in his processe he neuer chargeth them for breakyng any vowe but chiefely for that they were not contented with saint Paules graunt to be the husbandes of one only wyfe but contemned that his precepte and were the husbands of more wyues at once in such lewd libertie as he charged before the laitie to haue vsed them selues in renouncyng their former wyues to take newe and to haue many wyues at once without all regarde of Gods lawes and coÌ„maundement after such lyke sort as the Irishe men vsed tyll Henrie the seconde his dayes what tyme the kyng dyd write to pope Adrian of his purpose to reduce the Irishe nation to better religion Girardus Cambrensis The pope in his rescripte dyd well commende his good zeale and councelled hym to go forwarde but with this prouiso that because saith he all Ilandes that be turned to the fayth belong to the ryght of S. Peter and the moste holy churche of Rome the lande shoulde pay yerely to S. Peter for euery house a penye as pope Alexander folowyng ratified the same with the reseruation of the sayde payment for Irelande and bryngyng to memorie also his pencion for euery house of Englande So that whosoeuer toke payne and coste to set any nation in order or to bryng them to better beliefe the pope would lose nothyng thereby where yet tyll that tyme his fatherhood dyd most strangely suffer that people so outragiously to liue tyll the kyng toke the reformation Upon which letters sent by the kyng â–ª the sayde Adrian dyd confirme to hym and to his heyres of that kyngdome VValter Couent and did constitute them kinges therof for euer And further in the letters of the said king Henrie sent to the pope he professed to refourme their abuses to put Christes religion better amongst theÌ„ Shortly after the kyng sent his learned men to the archbishops bishops there who kepte a great councell at the citie of Cassalense wherein they dyd constitute that where before the Iryshe vsed to baptise the children of the greater men in mylke and of the poorer sort in water and that where the Irishe laitie had as many wyues as they woulde nowe they decreed that water only should be the element indifferently for all their chyldren and that they shoulde mary