the Virgin Mary of St. Thomas of Canterbury and King Edward the Confessor and plac'd in it Eight Chaplains or Fellows Four Clerks Six Choristers and over all these a Master who were to pray for the Souls of the deceased He also built a large Hospital for the maintenance of the Poor of that place both which Foundations he endowed with ample Revenues which were afterwards augmented with great Legacies which his Brothers Robert and William Chichele two Eminent Citizens of London left them in their Wills After his return from his visitation of the Diocess of Lincoln he held a Synod at London on the 12 th of October being sollicited by Letters from the King to demand a supply of Money of the Clergy for the War with France For after the death of Henry the Fifth and Charles the Sixth the Dauphin supposing that the Name of King would be of great advantage to him caus'd himself to be crown'd at Poictiers and took upon him the Title of Charles the Seventh King of France and a great many Princes and Governors of Towns coming in to him who still retain'd an affection for the Name of France he made preparations for War with greater vigour On the other side John Duke of Bedford who by his Brother's Will was appointed Regent of France having contracted a stricter League of amity with Philip Duke of Burgundy by marrying his Sister Ann attack'd the Dauphin in several parts of France and having divided the Forces betwixt himself and Philip Duke of Burgundy he sent Thomas Montacute Earl of Salisbury toward Sens with some choise Troops and desir'd of Humphrey Duke of Glocester Regent of England a fresh Supply of Men and Money Whereupon Henry Bishop of Winchester Lord Chancellor of England John Stafford Bishop of Bath Lord Treasurer Richard Earl of Warwick William Alnewyke Keeper of the Privy Seal Lewis Lord Bourchier and Ralph Lord Cromwell were sent from the Duke of Glocester to the Synod The Bishop of Winchester in a formal Speech having laid before them the present condition of Affairs in France exhorted and intreated them to bestow some part of their Revenues for subduing the remains of the Dauphin's Forces But then it plainly appear'd how much they were all affected with the loss of King Henry the Fifth For whereas they had granted Tenth's so frequently and so readily in former Synods as we have related before they now stuck at the very first demand of the new King thinking that all the hopes of conquering France depended upon Henry the Fifth and that nothing could succeed now he was gone For when the Proctors for the Clergy had debated the Matter several days William Lyndewood was deputed by them to return their Answer which was That the Estates of the Clergy were so drain'd by the continual expences of the War that they were hardly sufficient to maintain them and their Families handsomely that the value of a great many Livings was so fallen that there were not Priests to be sound who would supply the Cures and in short That in the Commissions of all the Proctors for the Clergy the power of granting Tenths was expresly taken away Upon this the Bishop of Winchester went to the Lower House and in a long and pressing Oration besought them to supply the Necessities of the Publick but when he could obtain nothing of them who excus'd themselves upon the narrowness of their Commissions The Synod was adjourn'd by the Archbishop to the 26 th of January following At which time the Bishop of Winchester with the rest of the Lords came thither again and having made a Speech to the Bishops Abbots and Priors of the Vpper House in the Name of the King they granted half a Tenth protesting withal that This Concession should not oblige them unless the Proctors for the Clergy would consent to it for that a division of the two Orders of the Clergy in the matter of granting Tenths being introduced by this Example would be of very pernicious consequence to Posterity But the Lower House persisting stiffly in their former Resolutions were not at all mov'd with the importunate Demands first made by the Bishop of Winchester and afterwards by the Archbishop and the rest of the Bishops Whereupon the Archbishop presently dissolv'd the Synod and appointed another to be held two Months after on the 23 d of April thinking that by the Election of new Proctors the business would be more easily affected When this Synod was assembled the Archbishop first of all commanded the Lower House to chuse their Speaker who is commonly call'd the Prolocutor who pitch'd upon William Lyndewood of which he himself makes mention in his Commentaries After which the Lord Chancellor the Lord Treasurer William Alnewyke Keeper of the Privy Seal the Lord Scrope the Lord Cromwell with some others of the Privy Council came again to the Synod and the Lord Chancellor with his florid Speeches and the rest of the Lords engaging them severally by Flatteries Threats and Promises at length with much ado they obtain'd half a Tenth When this business was over one Robert Hoke and one Thomas Drayton both Priests one of the Diocess of Lincoln and the other of Canterbury were brought before the Synod and accus'd of Heresy It was alledg'd against them That they would not kneel before the Crucifix and that they had in their possession certain Books in which it was said that the Priest could not change the Host in the Sacrament into the Body of Christ that a Monastick Life and Auricular Confession were the Inventions of the Devil and that amongst Christians all things ought to be in common which Opinions they abjur'd publickly at Paul's Cross But the sharpest Accusation was brought against one William Russel of the Order of Minor Fryers for teaching the People in his Sermons That personal Tythes were not commanded by God but that it was lawful for all Christians to bestow them in charitable uses upon the Poor as they pleas'd themselves This extreamly troubled and perplex'd the Clergy who fear that if this Opinion should spread it self among the People they should lose this part of their Income by which the Wealth of their Order would be greatly diminish'd Wherefore he was order'd by the Synod on a day prefix'd to recant out of the Pulpit at Paul's Cross but before the time came he fled out of England whereupon he was pronounc'd contumacious by Edicts set forth against him and afterwards in open Court proclaim'd a Heretick and his Opinion was adjudg'd to be impious by the Decrees of both Vniversities which the University of Oxford presently signified by their Letters to the Archbishop and the Synod which are yet extant Shortly after the Synod being inform'd that he was at Rome sent Messengers to apprehend him and accuse him before the Pope who were allow'd a Farthing in the
consults Lower House to consult and determine whether the Pope might dissolve a General Council at his own pleasure and And what Pope they should obey if another be set up in case the Fathers at Basil should depose Eugenius and set up another Pope which of them they ought to obey To which Questions some days after Thomas Bekyngton Official of the Archbishop's Court answer'd in the name of Alledged 1 st that the Pope might dissolve a Council and if another be set up the Synod is to obey Eugenius the rest That the Pope by his sole command might dissolve a Council and that they were not to withdraw their Obedience from Eugenius though another Pope should be created at Basil For the Affections of a great many People in England began some time ago to be alienated from the Fathers at Basil upon the account of By which they resent a Decree made at Basil transferring Votes from the Nations to a few Delegates a Decree made by them which took away the Custom of voting by the Suffrages of every Nation and referr'd all things to the determination of some particular Delegates whereupon the English Representatives then at Basil Thomas Bishop of Worcester William Prior of Norwich Thomas Brown Dean of Salisbury Peter Patrick Chancellor and Robert Borton Precentor of Lincoln John Sarysbury Doctor of Divinity and John Symondisborough Licentiate in the Canon Law protested against it which was also done at the same time here in Which was protested against on the place England by William Lyndewood Proctor for the King who repeated a set form of Appeal in which he protested against the Decree as unjust for that this way of voting might hereafter be prejudicial to the King and the Rights of the Clergy and Parliament After this the Archbishop consulted with the Synod about nominating more Eight new Delegates nominated Delegates because several of those that were sent before were dead at Basil and eight Doctors of Divinity and both Laws were chosen who were to be sent to Basil provided the Fathers would admit them without imposing upon them any new Oath At this time our Affairs in France declin'd daily by the revolt of the chief Cities to King Charles who had been lately crown'd at Rhemes with great solemnity King Charles crown'd at Rhemes for which cause the Duke of Bedford who was lately come into England and his Brother the Duke of Glocester thought it expedient to raise a A new Army against France designed new Army here in England and John Stafford Bishop of Bath Lord Chancellor the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury the Lord Treasurer Cromwell and the Lords Scrope and Tiptoft were sent to the Synod Money desired of the Synod to desire Money of them The Chancellor in an elegant Speech laid before them the miserable state of Affairs in France and the poverty of the Exchequer and brought them to supply the Necessities of the King and Kingdom After a denial At first they absolutely refus'd to grant any Supply alledging that the Wealth of the Clergy was exhausted by their advancing Money continually for the use of the War by the Rapines of the King's Purveyors and by unjust Citations to the King's Courts But some other Lords soon after coming to them as the Earl of Huntington the Lords Hungerford Audly and Cornwallis who urg'd again the same Reasons and reckon'd up the extraordinary Benefits conferr'd on the Church by the Kings of England they They gave three quarters of a Tenth at length obtain'd three quarters of a Tenth For at that time the Clergy complain'd grievously of the unjust proceeding of the King's Judges and the The Grievances of the Church at that time common Lawyers That Priests against all Law and Equity were brought to their Secular Courts that the Power of the Ecclesiastical Judges was restrain'd by their unjust Prohibitions and particularly that by a fraudulent interpretation they wrested a strict Law of Richard the Second against Provisors and turn'd it upon those Persons who were Judges in the Spiritual Courts of those Causes which they pretended to belong to their Jurisdiction For which cause the Archbishop held another Synod at London the next Year on the 7 th of October where in a pathetical Speech he express'd how solicitous he was that the The Archbishop zealous to rescue her from the Oppressions of the Lawyers Church might receive no prejudice under his Government that it might be deliver'd from the illegal Oppressions of the Lawyers and restor'd to its ancient dignity and commanded them all to consider what measures were to be taken to ease the Clergy of the weight of these Oppressions But the Plague breaking out in the City the By reason of the Plague the Synod dissolved Synod was quickly dissolv'd having only appointed a Holiday to be kept in honour of S. Frideswide the Protectress of the Vniversity of Oxford and denounc'd excommunication against any one that should detract from the Privileges and Jurisdiction of the Church After this the Archbishop applied himself industriously to the Government of his Province and call'd never another Synod in three Years till the Necessities of the Exchequer call d upon the Clergy for a Supply to maintain the Charges of the War with France The Duke of Burgundy revolts to the French and Bedford dies The former occasion'd The revolt of the Duke of Burgundy to the French and the death of the Duke of Bedford which hapned the next Year gave a terrible blow to our Affairs in France For about that time by the mediation of Pope Eugenius and the Council of Basil Commissioners from our King from Charles King of France and the The ill success of the Treaty at Arras Duke of Burgundy met at Arras in order to treat of a Peace But the English and French not agreeing by reason of the extravagant Conditions demanded on either side the Burgundians at last went over to the French and soon after the Duke of Bedford fell sick and died whose death soon caus'd a great alteration in the posture of Affairs For the The English driven out of Paris c. next Year the People of Paris conspir'd privately together and drove the English out of the City and many other Towns being stirr'd up by their example and in a manner all the People of France as if they were impell'd by a And generally the French surrender'd to Charles fatal necessity surrender'd themselves to King Charles Wherefore to preserve the remains of our Dominion in France the Duke of Glocester with a great Army and a gallant Fleet sail'd over to Calais which A new English Army set sail for Calais was then besieg'd by the Duke of Burgundy and the King by Letters to the Archbishop of Canterbury press'd him to move the Clergy for a supply of Money for levying more men who having assembled the Bishops and Prelates of his Province at
by birth a Cretan but it is not certainly known who his Father was When he was a Boy he was taken up by a certain Franciscan Fryer as he was begging from Door to Door who perceiving good Parts in him admitted him into his Order and instructed him in Grammar and Logick whilst he was in Italy from thence he sent him to Oxford where applying himself to the Studies of Philosophy and Divinity he attain'd to a very great perfection in both those Sciences as he shew'd afterwards in his Lectures at Paris and his close and subtile Commentaries upon the Books of Sentences After that by the Interest of John Galeatius Duke of Milan he was made Archbishop of that place then he was created Cardinal by Innocent the Seventh and now at last he was made Pope He was a man of great Learning and Integrity but having been wholly addicted to study and confin'd to a Monastick Life he was generally esteem'd unfit for the Administration of Publick Affairs He enjoy'd not the See of Rome either long or peaceably for the next Year going from Pisa to Bologna on the first of May in the Tenth Month of his Pontificate he was poison'd as it is believ'd and Balthasar Cossa whom he had made Legate of Bologna a man of a fierce Disposition and fitter for the Soldiery than the Priesthood was chosen Pope by the College of Cardinals partly through fear of the Soldiers that he kept in Garrison in the City and partly by bribing the poor Cardinals that were lately promoted by Gregory and took the name of John the Twenty third Now while Alexander was Pope at Pisa and Bologna Gregory assum'd that Title at Ariminum and Benedict at Panischola a City of Arragon so that three Popes sat at one time in St. Peter's Chair which could hardly contain the Pride of one and by the just judgment of God their Vanity was made manifest who would have the holy Flock of Christ and the Faith of all Christians to depend upon a perpetual succession of Popes in that See The Council of Pisa being broke up and the Winter coming on Henry Bishop of St. David's who is mention'd in the Statute-Books this Year as the King's Ambassador with the other Delegates return'd into England and the two following Years he was call'd by the Archbishop to two Synods holden at London as appears out of the publick Acts of those Synods the rest of his time he spent in visiting his Diocess examining into the Lives of the People and all the other Duties of his Episcopal Function which he perform d with great diligence as often as he had leisure from publick Affairs in which he was often employ'd by King Henry the Fourth who always highly honour'd him for his great Wisdom On the 20 th of March 1413. Henry the Fourth dyed at Westminster and Henry the Fifth a very accomplish'd Prince succeeded him to whom in respect of his excellent Endowments the Nobility of their own accord swore Allegiance before he was crown'd which we never read to have been done to any of our Kings before him While he was in a private Capacity he spent his younger days loosely and extravagantly but when he came to the Crown he chang'd his course of Life together with his Condition for he presently put away from him all those that he had made his Equals and who had serv'd him as Instruments of his Extravagances and took to him all the wisest and gravest men whose Counsels his Father had made use of amongst them Henry Bishop of St. David's whom he ever after highly esteemed and this very Year in the beginning of his Reign he chose him out of all the rest and sent him upon two very honourable Embassies first to the King of France and then to the Duke of Burgundy the remembrance of which we owe to the French Writers for ours have omitted this and many other passages For a War was begun in France between Charles the Sixth and Henry the Fourth occasion'd by the frequent Incursions of the French into Aquitain which at that time was in the possession of the English This Quarrel was transmitted together with the Crown to Henry the Fifth by his Father But King Charles being taken up with the Intestine Divisions between his Brother Lewis of Orleans and John Duke of Burgundy desir'd a Truce with the English from which King Henry being newly come to the Crown and his Affairs at home being not yet throughly setled was not much averse Whereupon Richard Earl of Warwick and Henry Bishop of St. David's were sent out of England and from the French King the Master of the Horse which is the highest Honour in France and the Admiral who meeting at Calais concluded a Truce for one Year When he was come back from France he was sent again the same Year with the Earl of Warwick to demand the Duke of Burgundy's Daughter in marriage for King Henry They met with the Duke at Lisle in Flanders and treated with him according to their Instructions but return'd without concluding any thing either because they did not like the person of the Lady or because the King was become more inclinable to a Match with the King of France's Daughter and had sent Ambassadors into France at this very time to treat about it Some few Months after his return he receiv'd a very ample Reward of these Embassies and his other Merits For the Creation of an Archbishop of Canterbury being in consultation he of all the Bishops of England was chosen without dispute as most capable of exercising the highest Office in the Kingdom next to the King himself in whose Judgment he was look'd upon as the fittest Person to deliver his Opinion first in the Privy Council For Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury dying on the 19 th of February in the Year 1414. John Wodneburgh Prior of Canterbu and the Monks of that Church desir'd leave of the King to elect a new Archbishop which was a Prerogative that the Kings of England had challeng'd to themselves since the time of Edward the Third who took it away from the Pope and constituted Bishops by his own Authority which practice of theirs Panormitanus affirm'd to be agreeable to the Constitutions of the Canon-Law When they had obtain'd leave of the King by a Grant under the Great Seal they first call'd home the absent Monks and celebrated the Funeral of Thomas Arundel in Christ's Church in Canterbury and on the 4 th of May they all assembled in the Chapter-house where after Solemn Service and a Sermon in which they were all admonish'd of their Duty out of the Holy Scriptures in a matter of so great importance and having also caused the King's Grant to be reâ—d Henry Bishop of St. David's was immediately demanded by all their Voices which demand was declared by John Langdon
Legate to Constance with a large Commission in which full power was granted him to lay down the Pontificate in his Name Whereupon the Legate putting on the Pontifical Robes and sitting in the Papal Chair as representing the Person of Gregory read his Commission publickly and resign'd the Papacy Benedict also being deserted by Ferdinand King of Arragon who had hitherto obey'd him by the Sentence of the Council was divested of the Popedom And that these Depositions of the Popes might appear to be lawful it was determin'd by a Decree of the Council that a General Council doth derive its Power immediately from Christ and that the Pope is subordinate to it After this they consulted about chusing a new Pope and it was agreed upon by the Council that six men out of each Nation should be deputed to go into the Conclave with the Cardinals and elect a Pope Now all things were manag'd in the Council by the Suffrages of five Nations the Germans the Italians the English the French and the Spaniards for it was in this Council that the English were first allow'd to be a Nation Out of them were chosen the Bishops of London Bath Worcester and Litchfield with the Abbot and Dean of York The third day after their entrance into the Conclave the Bishop of London leading the way with these words I Richard Bishop of London come to my Lord Cardinal Colonna all the rest follow'd his Example and chose Otho Colonna a Roman Prince and Cardinal of St. George of the Golden Fleece on the 11 th of November which being St. Martin's day the Pope took the Name of Martin the Fifth This Decree of the Council of Constance concerning the power of a General Council extreamly troubled the succeeding Popes insomuch that it was repealed by Leo the Tenth in the last Lateran Council since which a great many of the Canonists in their Commentaries and the Popish Divines in their long Disputations have disallow'd it either out of flattery to the Popes or else out of fear as having lost that liberty of speaking and writing which every one enjoy'd at the time of the Council of Constance when there was no Pope For Peter Ancharanus who was Advocate of the Council Baldus and Panormitanus gave it openly as their Opinion at that time That the Pope was subordinate to a Council and might be depos'd by it following herein the Authority of the Gloss of Archdiaconus and Geminianus who had deliver'd the same before in their Writings with whom Felinus and other more modern Authors do agree who approve the Council of Constance and maintain the same Opinion Nor is the Power of a Council restrain'd within such narrow limits that immediately upon the creation of a Pope it loses its Authority and can make no Decrees without the consent of the new Pope as Philip Decius imagined who is therefore deservedly censur'd by Charles Molinaeus and Panormitanus further adds That if the Pope dye or be depos'd in the time of a Council that then the power of Election is in the Council and not in the Cardinals alledging this Instance of the Council of Constance in which Martin the Fifth was chosen by the Cardinals and others to whom that Power was delegated by the Council But though this Decree was establish'd at that time in this Council of Constance yet it was afterwards of no force in the Council of Trent in which the Ambition of the Cardinals prevail'd who upon the death of Paul the Third who died in the time of the Council posted from Trent to Rome to create a new Pope But the Council of Constance by vertue of their Supream Authority in the beginning of their Session gave Commission under the Seals of the several Nations to Henry Bishop of Winchester and John Bishop of Litchfield to gather the Moneys due to the Chamber of Rome in England The Election of Martin the Fifth caus'd an incredible joy all over Christendom for every one thought that by this means the Peace of the Church would be re-establish'd The first notice of it in England was given by the Archbishop to the Synod and was presently divulged by Thanksgivings and solemn Processions This Synod was appointed by the Archbishop to be held at London on the 26 th of November upon a Command from the King by Letters out of France Thither came Thomas Bishop of Durham Lord Chancellour of England Thomas Beaufort Duke of Exeter Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland and Ralph Nevil Earl of Westmorland being sent from the Regent John Duke of Bedford to desire of the Clergy a supply of Money for the King who was then carrying on the War successfully in France which being seconded by the Request of the Archbishop they granted two Tenths In this Synod also Robert Gilbert Doctor of Divinity and Warden of Merton College in a long and eloquent Oration having first prais'd the University of Oxford laid before them the miserable Condition of the Students there who after many years spent in the study of the Sciences were not call'd thence to receive any reward of their Labours but were suffer'd to grow old in the University His Example was follow'd by Thomas Kington Doctor of Law and Advocate of the Arches who pleaded the same Cause for the University of Cambridge they both intreated in behalf of both Universities that by a Decree of the Synod some care might be taken to prefer them Whereupon it was decreed That all Livings whose yearly income amounted to sixty Marks should by the Patrons be given only to Doctors of Divinity Law or Physick those that were worth fifty Marks a year only to Licentiates in those Faculties or Batchelors of Divinity and those which did not exceed forty Marks yearly only to Masters of Arts or Batchelors of Law This related to those Benefices to which was annex'd the Cure of Souls The same Order almost was taken in those which are call'd Sinecures according to their respective Values It was further added That this Decree should not extend to those who had taken Degrees by some particular Grace But because it was provided by the Statutes of both Universities that the Students of Divinity should take no Degree in that Faculty till they had commenc'd Masters of Arts and that no Student of Canon Law should be created Doctor except he had studied the Civil Law this Condition was added to the Decree in favour of the Monks and Canon Lawyers that it should not be in force unless those Statutes were repeal'd For which purpose Thomas Felde Dean of Hereford and Thomas Lentwardyn Chancellor of St. Paul's in London were sent by the Synod to Oxford to treat about this Affair with the Masters of Arts by whose Suffrages the University is govern'd This was also signified to the Masters of Arts of Cambridge by Letters from the
Pound out of all Ecclesiastical Preferments The Examination of this Matter being referr'd by the Pope to Branda Cardinal of Placenza he was condemn'd to perpetual Imprisonment unless he repented of his Error but afterwards escaping out of Prison he return'd into England and having preach'd a Sermon at Paul's Cross he abjur'd his Error with a formal Oath The Archbishop also by his Mandate enjoin'd the Franciscans that as often as they preach'd to the People they should teach them that personal Tythes were commanded to be paid both by the Laws of God and the Constitutions of the Holy Fathers The same Year after the Synod was ended the Archbishop by his Prudence dispell'd a dreadful Storm that threatned the Kingdom which was rais'd by the Dissentions of the Nobility For Henry Beaufort Son to John Duke of Lancaster by Catharine Swinford his third Wife being puff d up with the nobility of his Birth and the great Wealth which he had got together out of the Bishoprick of Winchester and not brooking the Rule of Humphry Duke of Glocester the Lord Protector he began to maintain an open enemity against him the Quarrel being afterwards more enflam'd on both Sides and many of the Nobility and others engaging in either Party they both went Arm'd and attended with their Servants and Adherents and a great number of Profligate and Seditious Persons wearing Arms by their Example went about the Streets of London and their Number was so great that the Citizens shut up their Shops and left off their Trades and were forc'd to keep Guard Day and Night in all the Streets of the City to repress the Insolence of these Mutineers Upon this the Archbishop accompanied with Peter Duke of Conimbra Son to the King of Portugal who was lately come into England to visit the King his Cousin rid through the City eight times in one Day betwixt the Duke's and the Bishop's Palaces and prevail'd so far upon them both by his Authority and Intreaties that they laid down their Arms and Matters were compos'd for a time But the Bishop though he had quitted his Arms had not yet relinquish'd his Hatred for soon after by Letters sent into France to the Duke of Bedford he accus'd the Duke of Glocester desiring the Duke of Bedford to come over into England with all speed if he tender'd the Safety of the King and the Peace of the Kingdom which otherwise must of necessity be involv'd in Blood and the devastations of a Civil War The Duke though the War went on succesfully in France by the surrender of a great many strong Towns and the defeat of a great Army of the French in a pitcht Battel at Vernoil yet esteeming the success of Affairs in France to depend upon the Peace of England immediately upon the receit of these Letters he committed the Administration of his Office to Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick and came with all speed into England in the beginning of the Year 1426. and having call'd a Parliament at Leicester he examin'd the Quarrel between his Brother and the Bishop When they had both shew'd the causes of their discontent and from arguing began to break out into greater heats at the Duke of Bedford's entreaty they agreed to refer all Differences on both Sides to the determination of Arbitrators of whom Henry Archbishop of Canterbury was nam'd first after him Thomas Duke of Exeter John Duke of Norfolk Thomas Bishop of Durham Philip Bishop of Winchester John Bishop of Bath Humphry Earl of Stafford William Alnewyke Keeper of the Privy Seal and Ralph Cromwell who order'd them to join hands and in a set form of words to be repeated by them both to forgive all Injuries on both Sides and be friends with one another which Reconciliation was confirm'd by the Votes of the whole Parliament In this Session a supply of Money was granted for levying Soldiers for which end also about this time the Archbishop assembled a Synod at London on the 15 th of April Thither came John Kempe Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England with Walter Hungerford Lord Treasurer and the Lord Chancellor having extoll'd the great pains and diligence of the Duke of Bedford in an Eloquent Oration the Synod granted the King half a Tenth The Bishop of Winchester who was created Cardinal thsi Year by Pope Martin the next Year went over with the Duke of Bedford into France and at Calais in the great Church of that Place he put on the Cap and other Ensigns of that Dignity with great solemnity on Candlemas-day He had sought this Honor with great earnestnss eight years before in the time of King Henry the Fifth and had obtain'd a Promise of it of Pope John the Twenty third who design'd to promote him very speedily and to appoint him his Legate à latere in England with a very large Authority But the Archbishop perceiving his Ambition at that time interpos'd with the King who was then in France by Letters which he wrote to him in a grave and modest style in which he shew'd That the Power of the Pope's Legates did derogate very much from the Dignity of the King from the Laws of the Land and from the Privileges of the Church of England A Copy of this Letter the Original of which is yet to be seen written with the Archbishop's own Hand we have here subjoin'd Sovereyn Lord as your humble Prest and debout Bedeman I recommand me to your Hygnesse desyreing evermore to heare and knowe of your gracious speed he le of body and of soule also my Lordys your brethren and all your royal hoste And as hertly as I can or may thanke Almightie God and Lord of all strengths and hostes that so graciously hath continued his mygty hond upon you sythen the time of your beginning hedirtoward into your most worship your Leige menys most hertly gladnesse and abating of the hy pride of your enemies And besech God both day and night with all your subgetts both spirituel and temporel so continue his hy Grace upon you and yowre that the mow come to the effect of your hy labor pees of both your regmes after your hertly desires Gracious Lord like it to remember you that be your moost worthie letters written at your towne of Caen rrb. day of September you charged me that be the abys of my Lord your brother of Bedford and of your Chaunceler sholde be ordeygned that all maner of men of your subgets wat astaat or condicion that thei were should abstyne letter of wrytes or pursuit making to the Pope after his election till the time that he have writen to you and ye againe to him as it hath be acustumed of honeste of your lond for the which cause neither I nor non odir man as ferforth as it may be knowe hath yit written nor sent ne no leve hath of passage to the