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of Constance concerning the power of a General Council extreamly troubled the succeeding Popes insomuch that it was repealed by Leo the Tenth in the last Lateran Council since which a great many of the Canonists in their Commentaries and the Popish Divines in their long Disputations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
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
THE LIFE OF HENRY CHICHELE Archbishop of Canterbury Who lived in the Times of HENRY the V. and VI. Kings of England Written in Latin by ARTH. DUCK LLD. Now made English And a Table of CONTENTS Annexed LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCXCIX The most Reverend D r. HENRY CHICHELE Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury MBurghers delin et sculp To the most Reverend Father in God THOMAS Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan My Lord WHILE the World is so fond of Voyages and the Discoveries of Unknown Countries I hope it will not be unacceptable to bring into view one of the best Lives of one of the Greatest Prelates of this Church writ in Latin with great Judgment by a Man very eminent in his Profession If this Prelate had lived in happier Times he would probably have exerted those great Talents which he carried far in so dark an Age in Services of a high nature He had a true Judgment and firm Courage with a generous Temper and was a great Patron and Promoter of Learning He despised Wealth was free from aspiring and asserted the Rights of the Crown and the Liberties of this Church against Papal Usurpations These were great Qualities and so much the greater because the Corruptions of the Clergy from the Papacy down to the Begging Orders were then to an insupportable degree In any other Age the publishing a Life which has so great a Relation to the most Glorious part of our History might have lookt like a reproach of the Time in which it came out But the Present Age may well bear it in which if we have not carried our Conquest into France as was then done yet we see a GREAT PRINCE who has far out-done the Performances of that time Then a Feeble King and divided Court made the Work as easy in it self as it looks great in History But we have seen a Mighty and United Power managed by Wise Counsels flush'd with a long course of Success that gave Law to All about it stopt in its full career by a King born to be a Blessing to the present Age and a Wonder to all Succeeding ones to Whose Reign the most renouned Pieces of our History are but foiles to set it off and make it shine the brighter My Lord I could not be long in suspence for the choice of a proper Patron to my small Interest in this Work which is only the care of the Translation of it into English The See that you do now govern with so Apostolical a Temper and in none of the easiest Times is not the chief reason of my addressing to Your Grace the Life of one of the most Eminent of all Your Predecessors I could give many more Reasons for the choice that relate immediately to Your Self but I will rather leave it to the Reader to find out than offer a thing so ingrateful to Your Lordship I pay Your Grace so profound a Reverence that I will not venture on that which I know will offend You for I am with the truest Zeal and the highest Respect possible My Lord Your Grace's most Humble and most Obedient Servant THE LIFE OF HENRY CHICHELE Archbishop of CANTERBURY HENRY CHICHELE was Born at Higham-Ferrars an ancient Town in Northamptonshire so call'd from the Ferrars who were formerly Lords of it His Father's Name was Thomas Chichele his Mother 's Agnes The Family was but mean and obscure but through his Virtue it became illustrious in after-ages In his Youth he applied himself to the Study of the Civil and Canon Law at Oxford being made Fellow of New-College by William Wyckam then Bishop of Winchester who had lately at a vast Charge founded and endow'd with large Revenues two stately Colleges one at Oxford and the other at Winchester In these Studies of the Law he improv'd his good natural Parts by his great Industry and commenc'd Doctor in that Faculty He left the University at the instance of Robert Medeford Bishop of Salisbury who took him first into his House and Family and afterwards communicated also to him his most private and important Concerns with whom he ever after preserv'd a strict and intimate Friendship He was preferr'd by him to the Archdeaconry of Salisbury which was his first step to Ecclesiastical Promotions But one Walter Fitzpers a Priest commenc'd a Suit against him for this Dignity claiming it by vertue of a Grant from King Henry the Fourth under the Great Seal The Cause being brought by Appeal before Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury the Archdeaconry was adjudg'd to Henry Chichele by the Auditor of the Archbishop's Court who was deputed with full Power to determine this affair This was about the Years 1402 and 1403 in the Reign of King Henry the Fourth He held this Dignity for about two years and with great diligence perform'd the Duty of his Office after which he was made Chancellor of Salisbury For Walter Medeford the Bishop's Brother who enjoy'd that Place made an exchange with him which was allow'd to be lawful according to the Constitutions of the Canon Law and having both quitted their several Dignities Henry was made Chancellor by the Bishop and Walter Archdeacon There was annexed to the Chancellorship the Parsonage of Odyham in the Diocess of Winchester which was then void and was given to him by the Bishop and he was immediately put in possession of it by the Custos Rotulorum of the See of Winchester which was then vacant by the Death of William Wyckam who on the 27 th of September chang'd a Life which he had spent very gloriously in the Service of that Church for Immortality These Preferments he obtain'd by the favour of the Bishop of Salisbury who always highly esteem'd him and when he died which was about three years after made very honourable mention of him in his Will and left him a golden Cup with a Cover and made him the Chief of his Executors which were named in the same Will His eminent Qualifications began now to be generally taken notice of and particularly by King Henry the Fourth who afterwards employ'd him in many Negotiations For besides his extraordinary Learning he had a sharp and piercing Wit which with his Experience and Skill in Civil Affairs rendred him very dextrous in the management of Business The first publick Employment that he had beside those Affairs which he dispatch'd for the King here at home with great Commendation was in an extraordinary Embassy which was sent by the King to Pope Gregory the Twelfth to Congratulate his late Advancement to the Papacy or to reconcile him to Benedict the Thirteenth who assumed the Pontifical Dignity at Avignon The Ambassadors arriving in Italy took their Journey towards Rome but in their way thither they met with the Pope at Siena which is a very pleasant and noble City of Tuscany at that time
but came to no conclusion For the French shew'd up and down the Picture of Catharine King Charles's Daughter very curiously drawn whom they propos'd in Marriage to King Henry but the English demanding for her Dowry a Million of Crowns together with Normandy Aquitain and the County of Ponthieu independent of the Sovereignty of France the French at length openly refus'd all Terms of accord conceiving that King Charles was not capable of transacting any thing having lately lost his Senses nor the Dauphin who acted in right of another and not for himself nor the Duke of Burgundy who had no power to alienate the Dominions of the Kingdom of France All this while the People of Roan held out very obstinately though they were reduc'd to the greatest Extremities For after six Months siege in which Six thousand Men perished partly by the Sword and partly by Famine those that remain'd were forc'd to feed upon the most loathsome Animals as Dogs Horses and Mice and they were reduc'd to so great a scarcity of all things that as it is reported an Apple was sold for Three Shillings and a Dog for Ten nor could they any longer hope for Relief for King Charles was not well in his Wits and the Princes were engag'd in a Civil War in which all France was involv'd being divided between Charles the Dauphin and John Duke of Burgundy Wherefore two of the Nobility two of the Clergy and two of the Citizens with a Herald were sent out of the Town who falling down at the King's Feet humbly sued for Peace The King sent them to the Archbishop's Tent to whom he had given power together with the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury the Lord Fitz-hugh Sir Walter Hungerford Sir Gilbert Vmfrevil and Sir John Robsert to treat with the Besieged about the Conditions of Surrender The Articles being agreed on which were That the Inhabitants should be safe both in their Persons and their Fortunes and that they should pay 365000 Crowns they deliver'd up the Town This was in the beginning of the Year 1419. and on the 19 th of January the King entred the Town with his Army in a triumphant manner and having fortified it with some new Works he setled there his Exchequer and the principal Court of Judicature for all matters relating to the Province of Normandy After this he conquer'd the rest of Normandy in a little time For first he took Meudon and then Pontoise by storm The other Towns being terrified by the example of that of Roan surrender'd of their own accord The Archbishop of Canterbury staid some time with the King at Roan being entertain'd in a Convent of Preaching Fryers there and afterwards attended him in his Camp at Meudon and Pontoise serving him both in the quality of a Confessor and a Counsellor and did not leave him till the end of August At which time he return d into England that he might hold a Synod and take care of the Government of his Province This Synod was appointed to be held at London on the 30 th of October that the Clergy might consult about granting a supply of Money to the King who was carrying on the War in France with success which the King had given in charge to the Archbishop at his departure out of France and again very lately by Letters The Synod granted half a Tenth upon all Livings and it was also agreed that those that held Chappels or Chantries or that receiv'd Stipends for saying Mass should pay to the King 6 s. 8 d. each but withal a publick Protestation was made by William Lyndewood in the name of the Proctors for the Clergy that this Concession should be no prejudice to them hereafter nor be made a Precedent for succeeding Ages There was brought before this Synod one Richard Walker a Priest in the Diocess of Worcester who was accus'd of Witchcraft and several Books Waxen Images Stones and other Instruments of Charms and Conjuration were produc'd which were afterwards own'd by him and burnt at Paul's Cross John Welles Bishop of Landaff preaching a Sermon upon the Occasion He himself having done solemn Penance in a publick Procession abjur'd that wicked Art After this some Persons were accus'd before the Synod for embracing the Tenets of John Wicklyff who were forc'd to recant and thus the Synod broke up The Archbishop afterwards order'd Processions to be made to all Churches for the King's success in France who at this time by the Providence of God began to conceive some hopes of reducing the Kingdom of France without bloodshed through the Divisions of the French For Philip Duke of Burgundy in revenge of his Father's death whom Charles the Dauphin had treacherously slain at Montereau under pretence of conserring with him made a private League with King Henry by his Ambassadors and promis'd him the Lady Catharine in marriage with all other assistances for the prosecution of his Conquests He only desir'd him to come in person to Troyes and there conclude a Peace publickly with King Charles The Duke of Burgundy had at that time in his power King Charles Queen Isabel and their Daughter Catharine with Paris the chief City of the Kingdom and the whole management of the Government for Isabel who hated the Dauphin had put him by and advanc'd the Duke of Burgundy to the Regency The King that he might not let slip so fair an opportunity of managing all things to his own advantage and being much taken with the great Beauty of the Lady Catharine came with all speed to Troyes where he receiv'd her in marriage at the hands of Charles and Isabel upon these Terms That King Henry during the life of Charles his Father-in-law should have the Government of France with the Title of Regent after whose death he or his Children begotten of the Lady Catharine should succeed in the Kingdom and that the Dauphin should be look'd upon as disinherited and a publick Enemy To these Conditions the Princes and Nobles of France who were there present in great number gave their assent and with the Duke of Burgundy who first took the Oath swore Allegiance to King Henry for they conceiv'd a greater esteem of his Wisdom and Courage when they saw him present amongst them than they had done before from the bare admiration of his Actions at a distance It was toward the end of May 1420. when the Nuptials were solemnized at Troyes the News of which being brought into England the excess of joy wherewith it was universally receiv'd almost lessen'd the belief of the truth of it The Archbishop of Canterbury having left the Office of Vicar general to John Prior of Canterbury and that of Auditor to William Lyndewood on the 10 th of June took shipping at Winchelsea and sail'd over into France to congratulate the King upon his late Marriage and by his Counsels to confirm his new Government He arriv'd
Pope in behalf of the Archbishop who had incurr'd his displeasure for opposing the excessive Power of the Court of Rome And indeed it was but reasonable that he who for promoting the common good of all and maintaining the Honour of the Kingdom so little dreaded the Pope's Anger should be defended by the publick Authority But the Bishop of Winchester beside his Title of Cardinal had the power of Legate in England conferr'd upon him by the Pope with a very large Commission or as they commonly term'd it a Faculty which Power he exercis'd with so great Avarice and got together such a prodigious Wealth that he was generally styl'd the Rich Cardinal The Year after this he return'd into England and having open'd his Commission in the presence of Humphry Duke of Glocester the Protector and many of the Bishops and Nobility Richard Caudray who was appointed Proctor for the King by the Duke of Glocester and the Privy Council expresly declar'd That by a particular Prerogative of the Kings of England which they had enjoy'd ever since the memory of man no Legate from the Pope could come into England without the King's leave and therefore if the Cardinal of Winchester by vertue of his Legantine Office should act any thing contrary to this Right of the King 's that he in the King's Name did interpose and disown all his Authority Whereupon the Cardinal promis'd openly before the Duke of Glocester and all that were present that he would not exercise his Office of Legate without the King's leave and that he would act nothing in it that might any ways infringe or derogate from the Rights Immunities and Privileges of the King or Kingdom Now upon his being made Cardinal and Legate he was oblig'd to lay down his Place of Lord Chancellor Laid down the Office of Chancellor as obliged which he did the Year before in the Parliament at Westminster he ought also to have been removed from the Privy Council but in respect of the Nobility of his Birth and his near alliance to the King by a particular favour he was allow'd to keep his Place there except when any But kept his Place in the Council with exception matter was to be debated between the King and the Pope for then it was expresly concluded that he should not be present which Limitation was confirm'd y Rot. Parliam ann 8 H. 6. the next Year by Act of Parliament and order'd to be entred in the Journals of the Privy Council Now the chief Reason that mov'd the Pope to create the Bishop of Winchester a Cardinal was that he might employ him in the War that he design'd The Pope rais'd imm against the Bohemians Who had pull'd down the Monasteries c. against the Bohemians who having embrac'd the Doctrine of Wickliff had pull'd down the Monasteries and Images and having abolished almost all the Rites and Ceremonies of the Romish Church had openly revolted from the Government of the Pope He therefore The Cardinal made General in the Bohemian War c. made him his General in the Bohemain War and appointed him Legate in Hungary Bohemia and all Germany with a far larger Commission by which He could pardon Rapes on Nuns c. he was impower'd to pardon Rapes committed upon Nuns to dispense with Marriages contracted within the fourth degree of Consanguinity with the Age of Persons to be admitted to Orders and Benefices with Interdicts and many other things which were contrary to the Constitutions of the Canon Law He was to demand a Tenth of the English Clergy for the War he was also order'd to demand a Tenth of the English Clergy for the Service of this War For this cause the Archbishop being sollicited by the Pope's Bull and being also press'd by Letters from the King to consider of raising Money for carrying on the War in France call'd a Synod at London which began on the 5 th of July In their first Session at the request of the Archbishop of York Lord Chancellor and Walter Hungerford Lord Treasurer they granted the King half In the next Synod half a Tenth is given the King a Tenth The Synod was afterwards prorogu'd by reason of the excessive heat of the Summer to St. Martin's day in November following and then again to the 29 th of October the next Year at which time the Archbishop of York was sent to them again from the King together with the Duke of Norfolk the Earls of Warwick Stafford and Salisbury th e Lords Cromwell Tiptoft and Hungerford at whose desire a Tenth and a half And in another a Tenth and an half was granted and solemn Processions were order'd to be made for the success of the Duke of Bedford who went on Duke of Bedford had besieg'd Orleans prosperously and had now besieg'd Orleans a noble City upon the River Loyre These Concessions of Tenths which were granted so readily by the z 8 H. 6. c. 1. Synod were rewarded by an Act made in the Parliament holden at this time at Westminster by which The same Priviledge was granted to the Clergy which the Members of the House of Commons do enjoy when they are chosen to serve in Parliament For those Grants the Members of the Synod c. were freed from Arrests which was that neither they nor their Servants should be arrested while they were assembled in Convocation nor in their journy thither But Conzo Zuolanus the Pope's Nuntio came often to the Synod and pleaded in behalf of the Pope but to no purpose The Pope's Nuntio prevail'd not in the Synod When he could not obtain of them a Supply for the War with the Bohemians which he had sollicited in a long and pressing Oration he produc'd the For shewing his Letters for a Tenth Pope's Letters before the Synod in which he signified that he had impos'd a Tenth upon the Kingdom of England for the support of the Bohemian War which so incensed the whole Synod that they absolutely denied to grant a Tenth However at the importunity of the Pope He was denied but got 8 d. per Mark from Livings With a Salvâ praerogativâ Regiâ they gave him Eight pence in every Mark out of all Benefices according to their respective values provided that this grant were not contrary to the King's Prerogative and the Laws of the Land After this John Jourdelay John Galle Robert Heggley Ralph Mungyn Thomas Garenter all men in Orders with several others were brought before the Synod who were accus'd of Heresy for holding divers corrupt Opinions concerning the Sacrament of the Altar the Adoration of Images Religious Pilgrimages and the Invocation of Saints for maintaining that the Pope was Antichrist and not God's Heresy in holding the Pope to be Antichrist c. Vicegerent that the Divine Oracles were contain'd only in the Scriptures and not in the Legends or Lives of 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