hym a monke It is a wonder they made hym not a monkas or some other monster Suppose ye also but that kyng IohnÌ„ Kyng IohnÌ„ of England handled lyke a warde of Englande was handled metely lyke a warde whiche was fayne to yelde vp his crowne to the pope make so shamefull an othe of allegyaunce to holde his crowne of hym / after that maner as I byleue verily no trewe herted subiecte may abyde to here of moche lesse than to reporte it Ye and what was the cause of the cruell handlynge of this good kynge Forsothe none other but for that that he right gentilly demauÌ„ded a certayne soÌ„me of money of the whyte monkes to ayde hym in his warres and nede agaynst the yrisshe men / whiche monkes answered ryght obstynately but clokynge their obstynate pride with the colour of obedyeÌ„ce towarde their religyon that they durste not so do without the consent and lycence of the generall and heed visytour of their religyon thabbot of Cisteaux in FrauÌ„ce The kyng notwithstandyng whan he retourned from Irelande compelled them as right was for their proude disdaynfull stubburnnesse to paye moche more than he demauÌ„ded before the settyng forwardes of his voyage towarde IrelaÌ„de An other cause was for that that the kynge wolde not admytte one Stephan Langton a man of no small pride fewe good vertues as it apereth right well by the cronycles to the archbysshoprike of Caunterbury whome the priour and couent of the same had electe and chosen agaynste the kynges wyll and sent their election to the pope / whiche the pope confyrmed and sacred hym at a cytie called Viterbi If these be reasonable causes oh good christen reder to enterdyte and accurse this noble realme of Englande the kyng and his counsayle with all the dukes erles barons lordes other his subiectes that fauoured hym I reporte me vnto the If these be reasonable and iust causes to pyll poll this moste honorable realme of Englande euer sens that yerely of a thousande marke to be payde to the courte of Rome as a trybute as the bysshop of Rome pretendeth / with other incouenyentes expressed in the cronycle of Fabyane the seuenth parte .xvj. leafe / Rede Fabyane and the cronycles of Englande and in the cronycles of EnglaÌ„de the. lxxxiiij leafe and the .lxxxv. leafe I reporte me to the and to all the worlde without questyon kynge IohnÌ„ was a good man and a moste vertuous kynge / but vngoodly handled and falsly dyffamed by a malycyous sorte of traytours of the clergy after his dethe / and his lyfe and hystory shamfully enterlased with most abhomynable lyes wherfore I coÌ„ntende it syngulerly vnto thy goodnesse to rede it with discrecyon and iudgement Here good and fauourable reder I appeale vnto thy very conscyence and adiure the in the behalfe of god and as thou wylt answere / for as moche as thou seest here depaynted and set forthe before thyne eyen the maners and fassyons of the proude bysshoppes of Rome whiche be suche that it mere able to make any cleane christened and good englysshe herte in the worlde to abhorre at them that thou from hence forthe be not so superstycious so insolent folysshe to thynke it well done and alowed of god what so euer the rauenyng bysshoppe of Rome shall do without or besyde the worde of god Ye I adiure the also in the same name and vertue that I dyd before that thou suffre not thyselfe to be led in blyndnesse dampned in hell with them that helde with the bysshop of Rome than named pope Innocent the thyrde / agaynst their liege lorde souerayne kyng IohnÌ„ but that thou endeuoyre thy selfe to knowe thy dutye vnto thy souerayne and lyege lorde / and to resorte vnto suche sermons and bookes as shall teache the the same vnto whom thou owest suche obedyence as to shede thy herte bloode in his cause and coÌ„maundement / ye agaynst an hole armye of bysshops and popes of Rome if the case shulde so requyre / as well as agayne an armye of infydels and turkes I meane where the bysshoppe of Rome wyll take in hande to play the tyrauÌ„t as he dyd with good kynge Iohan / there I saye thou art bounde vnder the payne of dampnacion to stryke ye I affyrme boldly that who so euer ones fauoured cursed Innocentes parte at that tyme was dampned for euer in hell / onlesse he repeÌ„ted and were sory therfore or he dyed That proueth the electe vessell of god saynt Paulâ— the .xiij. chapiter to the romaynes sayeng who so euer resysteth the power meanynge the temperall power onely resysteth the ordynaunce of god Nowe is it playne that who so euer resysteth the ordynauÌ„ce of god coÌ„mytteth dampnable synne / and shall receyue dampnacyon for his labour as saynt Paule saythe / onelesse he repent and be sory therfore And that the aydours fautours fauourers and coÌ„senters vnto synne be as well worthy of euerlastynge dampnacyon as the very doers of the fact is proued by thauthorite of saynt Paule in the last ende of the fyrst chapiter of the epystle to the romayns by these wordes The whiche saythe saynt Paule meanyng of the heathen gentyles in generall all be it they knewe the lawe naturall of god that all they whiche coÌ„mytte suche synnes / as be adnombred in the same chapyter before be worthy of dampnacyon / yet not onely they do the same but also consent vnto those that do them as who shulde say not onely the doer but also the coÌ„senter vnto synne is worthy of euerlasting damnacyon Neyther can any man pretende ignorauÌ„ce before god / for it wyl not serue as wytnesseth Chryst hym selfe in the gospell / saying If the blynde lede the blynde Math .xv. bothe shall fall in the dyche He sayth not that the one of them shall fall in the dyche but bothe ¶ Wherfore ones agayne I warne aduyse beseche hertely adiure all myne owne hertye welbeloued countreymen of Englande that they ê‘myt not themselues to be blynded with affection with hypocrysye or with superstycyon Blyndnes wyll not helpe / therfore let it passe Yf thou wylte knowe the bysshops power of Rome / otherwyse called the popes power / as it is coÌ„uenyent syttynge that thou do / resorte vnto the glasse of truthe to the booke named the determinacions of the vniuersities / where it is ryght excelleâ—tly and passynge well declared debated what the power of the pope is / how farre it extendeth / and what he may do And to tell the my mynde shortly Our metropolytane of Caunterburye within the realme of Englande is a farre better man than he / both by thautorite of scripture the doctours of the churche and the authorite of counsayles generall And as for the bysshop of Rome otherwyse called the pope that nowe is all the worlde knoweth well ynough what he is a bastarde a symonyake an heretyke a false vsurper of his dignyte wherfore I can not
bysshop of Rome hathe put in execucion within this realme of EnglaÌ„de synce the tyme that he fyrst crepte in to it / is and hath ben nothynge els but stronge illusyon vsurpacyon and tyraâ—â—ye / and euery peny that he hathe had playne extorcyon thefte and robberye To this I adde that all be it the wordes of authorytye gyuen vnto all the apostles / and so consequently vnto Peter seme very large and to enclude alle maner of power in them where Chryste sayd What so euer Mathewe xviii ye shall bynde in erthe / shall be bounde in heuen c. Yet I saye that other places of scripture declare / that it ought to be vnderstande of the spirytuall power onely of byndynge and losynge of synne by prechynge the worde of god and mynystrynge the sacramentes That the foresayd wordes include no power ouer temporaltyes or temporall rule / is euydent by the .xviij. chapytre of Iohan where Chryst sayd vnto Pylate My kyngdome is not of this worlde / which is as moche to saye to any wyse man As I am no worldly kynge prynce or ruler nor haue any thynge to do in suche busynesse as concernynge my manhode and the mynystracyon of my fathers worde Here wolde I fayne lerne how the bysshop of Rome came by his temporall power to depose kynges and Emperours seyng that Chryste denyed suche power before good wytnesse I am sure that the bysshop of Rome hathe not more authorytye than Chryst had If Chryst had no temporall kyngdom rule nor power in this worlde / than dare I be bolde to saye that the popet of Rome hath none And for as moche as there be but two maner of condycyons or states in this worlde / that is to wyte / eyther the condicyon and state of a kynge or of a subiecte / it must nedes folowe that the bysshop of Rome who wolde fayne be called pope is nor can be of any other state and condicion than a subiecte / for as 〈…〉 he as he can be of no hygher estate that was Christe / whiche knowledged hym selfe to be but a subiecte before Pylate sayeng If my kyngdome were of 〈◊〉 .xviii. this worlde that is to saye if I were a kynge in this worlde as I am but a subiecte than wolde my mynysters surely lyght that I shulde not be delyuered vnto the iewes / but nowe is not my kyngdom from hence / as who shulde say the contrary is trewe that I am but a subiecte and therfore I may not fight resyst the power and ordynaunce of god but be obedyent thervnto as my father hath coÌ„maunded Ye to signify that as concernyng his manhode the admynistracion of his fathers worde he his mynisters what name so euer they beare must nedes be subiectes vnto the kynges power / in the .xvij. of Mathew he payeth tribute for hym and Peter ye in Peter for all other thapostels and mynisters of the clergye / whom Peter represented and fygured to teche declare and be an ensample to al that euer shulde succede him and his apostels of their due obedyeÌ„ce towarde their princes And this he dyd couertly signifyeng that there shulde come in the latter dayes suche false prophetes and Antychristes as wolde teache the contrary and withdrawe their dutye from their souereygnes Here is it euydent oh good reder that the bysshoppe of Rome can be but a subiect nor is but vnto whom Forsoth to themperour Than note my mynde in one thyng Euery man knoweth that what so euer subiecte maketh insurrectyon agaynst his liege lorde and souerayne must nedes be a traytour vnto him to god also The falsâ—â—ysshop of Rome that nowe is otherwyse called the pope hath done ye daily doth the same / ergo he is a traytour to god and themperour ye if thou enserche thystories with good dylygence thou shalte fynde that there haue ben very fewe other this .vij. hundred yeres If the bysshop of Rome be but the emperours subiecte / by what authoryte may he thinkest thou take vpon him to do that thyng that his owne liege lorde and souereygne themperour may not do at the leâ—st by good authorite and iustyce as to depose and sette vp this kynge and that kynge at his pleasure / whiche his lyege lorde and souereygne the emperour hym selfe can not do And than he beyng but a subiecte howe the dyuell cometh it to passe that he may do it were it a mete thynge that the archbysshoppe of Yorke shulde depose themperour or the kyng of Hungary Nowe seyng that euery bysshop hath as moche authorite one as an other by the lawe of god as we haue proued before / why shulde not the archbysshop of yorke depose the kyng of Hungary or suche another man as well as the byshoppe of Rome that somtyme was named Iunocent the thyrde in a maner deposed the moste vertuous prince kynge Iohan of Englande / and brought hym to that extremyte that he must nedes to saue his lyfe crowne and his realme from further inconuenyentes beyng a kyng knele downe before a knaue called Pandulph the bysshoppe of Romes legate and yelded vp his crowne to the sayde Pandulphe as in to the handes of that foule monstre and hoore of Babylone Innocent beforesayd / whiche crowne the sayd Pandulph receyued and kept fyue dayes in his handes My stomacke abhorreth to declare any further of the mater therfore I beseche the what so euer thou art good reder and the kynges trewe subiectes to seke the rest thy selfe In my conscyence if that same mater were well pondred and regarded with a trewe iudgement and a true subiectes herte of all them that maye and do rede it / with other moste shamfull abhomynacions that haue ben sythe that practysed by that babylonycall strompet of Rome and hers / as well in all partyes beyonde the sees as in our natyfe countrey and realme of Englande I doubte not that if all trewe englysshmen knewe them perfytely and pondred theym as they shulde do but that they wolde ye and therto myght with ryght good coÌ„seyence detest defye bespytte and abhorre that same foule tode of Rome as they wolde and myght the graunde dyuell and capytayne of hell Lucifer prince of darknesse Nowe to make an ende of this mater I haue proued that the bysshop of Rome called pope by vsurpacyon hath no more authorite than an other bysshop and that by scrypture doctours and the papystes owne gloses And that furthermore the power that he hath with all other bysshoppes is more spyrituall / and hym selfe but a subiecte with all his to the kynge and his lawes bothe morall iudyciall And that haue I dene by the authorite of Christes own wordes vnto Pylate in the xviij chapyter of Iohan where Christe saith Mykingdom is not of this worlde as who shulde say / I am no kynge or ruler of the worlde / and than must he nedes be a subiecte Seyng than that Christ was but a subiecte in this
Sergius all that was done of Theodore / and condemneth bothe Theodore / IohnÌ„ the .ix. also Formosus / coÌ„maundyng Formosus body to be taken out of the graue ones agayne / and to be appareyled lyke a preest / and his heed to be smytten of in the seate apostolyque / and the body to be cast in the ryuer of Tyber Leo the fyfth was imprisoned of Christofer Leo the fyfthe / and had the papacye withdrawen from hym by maystrye and violence but Sergius the fourth thrust out Christofer and that ryght shortly / accordynge to the olde ê“uerbe Quade do / quade haue Here is a turmoylyng I trowe IohnÌ„ the .x. was sone to Sergius the IohnÌ„ the tenthe fourth / bothe in flesshe and spirite / than ye may be bolde he was no lytell honest Marke the lyfe of these that folow / by th ende / for it is an olde prouerbe If the ende be good / all is good man IohnÌ„ came by the papacye as moo of his felowes dyd / by vsurpacyon violence / I wyll vse no worse termes / and at the last accordyng to his lyfe dyed myserably in pryson his breth stopped with a quysshyon IohnÌ„ the .xvij. came vp by symonye / IohnÌ„ the xvii by the helpe of Crescentius consull of Rome / and afterwardes for no goodnesse had his eyes bored out of his heed / and the rest of his membres al to cutte hewed and mangled Damasus the second entred the poperyche Damasus the second by power and violence / and by all possibilitie lyued well / for he dyed sodeynly without howsell or shryfte IohnÌ„ the .xxj. was not vnlerned / but IohnÌ„ the xxi a very foole in maners / and dyed as folysshly Vpon a tyme belyke whan the cuppes were full / for than be men moost wysest he prophecyed that he sholde lyue many yeres / but it was not longe after ere he dyed wretchedly slayne with a chamber fallynge on his necke whiche was but euen newe buylded And here ye may se how true prophetes they ben Wherto sholde I recyte the greuouse InnoceÌ„t the fourth and intollerable exactions taskes paymentes wherewith pope Innocent the fourth bothe cruelly wrongfully and vncharitably pylled and vexed the Realme of Englande / for the whiche he was sharply rebuked of Grostheed bysshop of Lyncolne Bysshop Grostheed at those dayes in a lettre sente hym from the same Grostheed / for the whiche lettre and for bycause the bysshop wolde not admyt a neuewe of the same Inuocentes beynge but a boye to a Canonrye than voyde in Lyncolne he was accyted to Rome / and ther vpon accursed / and the bysshop appeled to the Throne of the Trinitie After the bysshop was deed there appered to the pope in the nyght one in a bysshoppes rayment / and smote the pope vpon the lyfte syde sayinge Aryse vp wretche coÌ„me to thy dome The pope was founde deed in the mornynge / his bedde all swymmyng with blode Bonyface the .viij. of whome we spake Bonyface the. viiâ— before dyed thus As he withstode the frensshe kynge / and enforced with all his myght and power to haue deposed hym Guyllyam de Longaret a wyse man and farre castynge / and other of Guyllyams frendes made theym stronge / and toke pope Bonyface whome after longe pynynge in pryson they set vpon a wylde horse without any brydell turnynge his face towarde the tayle / and makyng hym ronne and prycke so aboute tyll at the last he lost his wynde / and so was siayne but euen in a maner as I sayd deed before with hunger / agreable vnto the prophecye of Celestyne / as a foxe thou entred / as a lyon thou shalte reygne / and as a dogge thou shalte dye Iohan the .xij. by all lykely hode came IohnÌ„ the xiâ— of gentyll blode / for he loued well dogges and huntynge And as for women he kepte them but euen openly At the last as he was takyng a lytell pastyme with a mannes wyfe for the recreacyon of his spirytes / the deuyll kylled hym sodeynly euen in the doynge of thacte Constantyne the seconde entred vngracyously ConstaÌ„tyne the seconde lyued vngraciously to the great infamye and slaunder of all holy churche and was at the last vngraciously serued / bothe his eyen put out deposed by the charyte as writers say of good christen people for his vngracyous lyfe ¶ I fynde it a trewe sayeng oh good reder that who so regardeth his worke dilygently hath lytell mynde of other thynges In good faythe I was so besy with these popes that I had almost forgotten my selfe / and haue nye hande made halfe a worke in stede of a prologue but I pray the of thy curtesye to pardon my forgetfulnesse and than I wyll speake a worde or twayne of the deposycion of the emperour Henry the fourth with two or thremo and so make an ende Fyrste to remembre the moste cruell Henry the fourth / Emperour tyrannous and pityfull handlyng of the excedynge good vertuous prince Henry the fourth emperour of Rome and of Almayne whose lyfe and hystorye I haue hereafter translated alas it wolde make any mannes herte in the worlde to melte Oh good lorde what man is that lyuyng were he neuer so cruell or vnnaturall whose eyen wolde not braste out in wepynge / to se so excellent a prince so valyaunt and so vertuous to be so villaynously entreated mocked dryuen from place to place cast in prison deposed banysshed / and that euen of his naturall sonne lordes and subiectes The cause and doyng wherof was onely all togyder Hyldebrande otherwyse named pope Gregorye the seuenth / as but to playne if it pleased god otherwyse hereafter it shal be sene in both their lyues folowyng / and therfore I let it passe Than go to Innocent the thyrde / and Otho se how by the authorite of Quodcuque ligaueris he setteth vp putteth downe and maketh hauoke And fyrste of all he enhaunseth Otho the fourth and crowneth hym Emperoure but it was not longe or great varyauÌ„ce fell bytwene the pope and the emperoure Than marke howe that as sone as Otho ones displeaseth Otho is deposed Innosent / by and by he is accursed and thervpon deposed / and Frederyke the fourth is sette vp in his stede But not longe after cometh Innocent the fourth and he deposeth Frederyke / bycause he Frederyke is deposed began to withstande the pope and wolde haue taken no wronge at his handes as other had doone This Frederyke was slayne of his owne sonne / by whose encoragynge it is easy to coniecture was not the emperoure Lewes the Lewes the mylde deposed mylde caste in prisone also and deposed of his owne sonnes by the couÌ„sayle of Gregory the fourth Dyd not pope zacharias at the request Hylderyke deposed of Pypyn ruler of the frenche kynges house depose Hylderyke the frenche kynge at those dayes / and made