of S. Martin to the Octaues following which thing stirred the kings hart more then is to be thought Thus although we offered to the Archbishop safe comming yet when he refused to meete vs in the borders of the king we to satisfie his minde condescended to meete him within the land of the French king in the place where hee himselfe appoynted becauâ—e there shoulde be no let in vs whereby to stoppe his profite After we had entred communication we began to exhort him all that we coulde to submit and humble himselfe to his soueraigne and king who had heaped him with such benefits and dignities wherby matter might be geuen vs to further occasion of reconciling them together He being thus moued and exhorted by vs departed aside to consult with his counsell vpon the matter At length after counsel taken he commeth againe answering in this maner That he woulde submit and humble himselfe to the King Saluo honore Dei ecclesiae libertate salua etiam honestate personae fuae possessionibus Ecclesiarum amplius sua suoruÌ„ in omnibus salua iusticia That is Sauing the honour of God and libertie of the Church sauing also the honestie of his person and the possessions of Churches and moreouer sauing the iustice of him and of all his in all things c. After which communication had among vs we moued required him more instantly tha the wold come to the specialities wheÌ„as yet he had broughtnothing in either which was certaine or particular Likewise we demanded of him if he would in all such things contained and comprehended in our letters stand submit himselfe to our letters so as the king and the bishops before were contented to doe To the which he answering againe said that he had receiued from you a coÌ„mmandement not to answere before he and all his were restored full to all their possessions And then he would so procede in the matter according as he should receiue coÌ„mandement froÌ„ the sea Apostolicall Thus we breaking of coÌ„munication seeing that he neither would stand to iudgement nor come to conformitie thought to make relation thereof to the king and so did declaring that which he had expressed to vs yet not vttering all but keeping backe a great part of that which we had heard and seene Which when the king and his nobles had vnderstanding of affirmed to vs againe that he therein was cleared so much the more for that the Archbishop would not stand to their iudgement nor abide their triall After much heauinesse and lamentation of the king the archbishop bishops and abbots of the Realme requiring of vs whether we had any such power by vertue of our commission to withstand him and proceede against him and perceiuing that our authoritie would not serue thereunto and fearing least the foresaid Archbishop refusing all order of iudgement woulde woorke againe disquietnesse to some noble personages of the Realme and seeing our authoritie could not extend so far to help them against him taking a consultation among themselues agreed together with one assent to make their appellation to your audience prefixing accordingly the terme of their appeale And this is the Epistle of these two Cardinals sent to the pope wherein may sufficiently appeare at the discourse and maner of that assembly although particularly euery thing not expressed concerning the talke betwixt the Cardinals and the Archbishop As wheÌ„ that William who of the two Cardinals was the more eloquent amoÌ„gst other communâ—cation had reasoned long with him concerning the peace of the church which Becket said he preferred aboue all things well then sayeth the Cardinall seeing all this contention betwene the king and you riseth vpon certain lawes customes to be abrogate and that you regard the peace of the Church so much then what say you will you renounce your Bishopricke and the king shall renounce his customes The peace of the Church now lieth in your handes either to retaine or to let goe what say you To whom he answereth againe that the proportion was not like For I saith he sauing the honour of my Church and my person can not renounce my Byshopricke Contrary it standeth the king vpon for his soules health and honor to renounce these his ordinaunces and customes Which thing he thus prooued because the Pope had condemned those customes and he likewise with the church of Rome had done the same c. ¶ The talke betweene the French king the king of England and Becket After the Cardinals were returned the French king seeing the king of England disquieted and solicitous to haue peace or at least wise pretending to set agreemeâ—t betweene them brought the matter to a communication among them In which communication the French king made himselfe as umpeare betweene them The King of England hearing that the Archb. would commit himselfe to his arbitrement was yâ— more willing to admit his presence Whereupon many being there present the Archb. prostrating himselfe at the Kings feete declared vnto him kneeling vpon his knees that he would coÌ„mit the whole cause whereof the dissention rose betwene them vnto his owne arbitrement adding thereto as he did before Saluo honore Dei that is sauing the honour of God The king who as is said before being greatly offeÌ„ded at this word hearing seeing the stiffenesse of the man sticking so much to this worde Saluo honore c. was highly therewith displeased Rebuking him with many grieuous words as a man proude and stubburne and also charging him with sondry great benefites bestowed vpon him as a person vnkinde forgetting what he had so gently done and bestowed vpon him And speaking to the French king there present See sit if it please you sayth the king of England whatsoeuer displeaseth this man that he sayeth to be contrary to the honor of God And so by this meanes he will vendicate chalenge to himselfe both that is his and mine also And yet notwithstanding for that I will not seeme to doe any thing contrary or preiudiciall to Gods honor this I offer him There hath bene kings in England before both of greater and les puissance then I am Likewise there hath bene bishops of Cant. many both great holy men what the greatest and most holiest of all his predecessours before him hath done to the least of my progenitors and predecessors before me let him do the same to me I am content They that stoode by hearing these wordes of the king crying all with one voice the king hath debased himselfe inough to the byshop The Archb. staying a little at this with silence what saith the French king to him my lorde Archbishop will you be better then those holy men will ye be greater then Peter What stand you doubting Here now haue you peace quietnes put in your owne handes if ye will take it To this yâ— Archb. answered againe truth it is sayth he
any such thing vrging vnto so great wickednesse so odible detestable and abhominable to our Lord Iesus Christ and also so pernitious to mankinde For this should be a great defection corruption and abuse of the sayd seat and fulnesse of power and an vtter separation from the glorious throne of our Lord Iesus Christ and a neare neighborhood vnto the two most principall princes of darcknes sitting in the chaire of pestilence prepared to the paynes of hell Neither can any maÌ„ which is subiect and faythfull to the sayd sea and not cut away from the body of Christ and from the sayd holy sea with sincere and vnspotted conscience obeâ— such maner of precepts and coÌ„maundementes 〈◊〉 what soâ—uer other attemptes proceeding yea though from the high order of aungels themselues but rather ought of necessity with all their strength to withstand rebell against the same Wherfore my reuerend Lorde I like an obedient childe vpon my bound duty of obedience fidelity which I owe to botâ— the parentes of this holy Apostolicke sea and partly for loue of vnity in the body of Christ ioyned with the sayd sea doe not obey but withstand and vtterly rebell agaynst these things in the said letter contained especially which vrge and tend to the foresayd wickednes so abhominable to the Lorde Iesus Christ so repugnant to the holines of the holy Apostolick sea so coÌ„trary to the vnity of the catholick â—aith Neither for this cause can your discretioÌ„ determine any extremity vnto me because al my doing and gaynsaying in this matter is no resistaunce nor rebellion but a childly obedience to the diuine precept and honour due both to Father and Mother Briefly therefore repeating my wordes I say that this holy Apostolicke sea cannot do any thing but to edification and nothing at all to destruction For this is the fulnes of power to be able to do all thinges to edification But these which you call prouisions be not to edification but to manifest destruction The holy Apostolicke sea therfore cannot nor ought to attempt any such thing because that flesh and bloud which caÌ„not enter into the kingdome of God hath reuealed the same and not the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which is in heauen Then followeth it in the story both of Mathaeus ParisieÌ„sis and of Florilegus in these words That when this Epistle came to the knowledge of the Pope he fuming fretâ—ing with anger and indignation answered with a fierce looke and proud minde sayng what olde doting franticke wretch is this so boldely rashly to iudge of my doinges By sweet S. Peter and Paule were it not but that vpon our own clemency and good nature we are restrayned we would hurle him down to such confusion that we would make him a fable a gasing stock an example and wonderment to all the world For is not the king of England our vassall and to say more our mansiple or page to vse the very wordes of mine author which may at our pleasure becke both hamper him and imprison him and put him to vtter shame This when the Pope in his great fury and rage had vttered amoÌ„gst his bâ—â—thren the Cardinals who were scarce able to appease the furious violence of the pope with milde moderatioÌ„ of words they sayd vnto him that it was not expedieÌ„t for theÌ„ to proceed agaynst that bishop in such rigâ—rous mâ—ner For sayd they to confesse the truth to your holynes it is but very truth that he affirmeth neither can we condemn him therfore He is a catholick man yea also a holy man more holy also religious theÌ„ we our selues a man of excellent wit and excellent life so as it is thought among all the Prelats he hath not his better nor yet his like This is not yet vnknowne both to the french English clergy vniuersally neither can our coÌ„tradictioÌ„ preuail against him The truth of this his epistle perhaps is knowne now to many shall stir vp many against vs for he hath the name to be a great Philosopher and singularly seene in all the tounges both Greeke Latine Hebrue zelous in iustice a reader of diuinity in the scholes â— preacher amongst the people a louer of Chastity a persecutor of Simony These words spake L. â—iles a Spanish Cardinall to the Pope and other mo moued by theyr coÌ„science to speak And this couÌ„sell they gaue to the Pope that he should dissemble and wincke at these thinges as one not seing or regarding them least otherwise perhaps some tumult might rise and spring thereof Especially seing this is manifest and known to all men that once must needes come a defection and parting from the Church of Rome Not long after this about the canicular dayes thys reuerend godly Robert bishop of Lincolne lying at his manor place in Bugden fell greuously sicke and therupon within few dayes departed In the time of his sickenes he called to him a certayne Frier of the preaching order named M. Iohn Giles a man expert cunning both in phisick Diuinity partly to receiue of him some coÌ„fort of his body and partly to confer with him in spirituall matters Thus vpoÌ„ a certeine day the said B. coÌ„ferring with the foresayd M. Iohn riciting to him the doings procedings of the Pope did greuously rebuke reprehend his fellow brethren the preaching Friers and the other order also of the Minorites That for so much as their order being plaÌ„ted in wilfull pouerty of the spirit to the inteÌ„t they should more frely carpe and reproue the vices of the mighty not to flatter or spare them but sharply to rebuke reprehend the same The said Friers contrary to theyr profession did not boldly enough cry out and inuey against the abuses of their superiors and men of power nor did vncouer nor detect their faults and wickednes And therfore sayd the Bishop I iudge them to be no better theÌ„ manifest hereticks And addeth moreouer demaunding of M. Iohn what is heresy and that he should geue him the true difinition therof wherat when the Frier did stay and pause not remembring the solemne difinition of that matter the Byshop therupon inferreth geuing this difinition in Latine by the true interpretation of the Greek word Heresis Graece electio Latine est sententia humano sensu electa Scripturae sacrae contraria palam docta pertinaciter defensa That is â—eresy is a sentence taken and chosen of mans owne brayne contrary to holy Scripture openly mayntained and stifly defended And this difinitioÌ„ geuen consequently he inferred sharpely reprehending the Prelates of the church but especially the Romaines which commit the charge of soules vnto their kinsfolks being both in age vnworthy and in learning vnsufficient To geue sayth he the charge of soules to a boy is a sentence of a prelate chosen and taken of mans own head onely for carnall and earthly respect also is
Arelatensis published vnto thē the name of the elect bishop After this al the prelats in their robes pōtificalibus and miters and all the clergye of the city cōming vnto the conclaue the electours being likewise adourned they brought thē vnto the great church where as after great thankes geuen vnto God and the electiō agayne declared vnto the people a Hymne being song for ioy the cōgregation was dissolued This Amedeus aforesayd was a man of reuerent age of comely stature of graue and discreet behauiour also before maried Who thus being elect for Pope about Nouember was called Felix the v. and was crowned in the city of Basill in the month of Iuly There were present at his coronation Lewes Duke of Sauoy Philip Earle Gebenēs Lewes Marques of Salutze The Marques of Rotelen Cōrade of Winsperghey Chāberlain of the Empire The Earle of Dierstein The Ambassadours of the Cittyes of Strasbrough Berne Friburge Solatorne with a great multitude of other beside to the vew of 50000. persons At this coronatiou the Popes two sonnes did serue and minister to theyr father Lewes Cardinal of Hostia did set on his head the pontificall Diademe which was estemed at 30. thousand crownes It were long here to recite the whole order and solemnity of the procession or the Popes ryding about the City First proceeded the Pope vnder his Canaby of cloth of gold hauing on his head a triple crown and blessing the people as he went By him wēt the Marques of Rotelen and Conrade of Winsperge leading his horse by the bridle The procession finished they went to dinner which lasted foure full houres being excessiuely sumptuous where the Popes two sonnes were butlers to his cup. The Marques of Salutze was the stuard c. Of this Foelix thus writeth Uolaterane in his 3. booke that he being desired of certayne of the Ambassadours if he had any dogges or houndes to shew them he willed them the next day to repayre to him and he woulde shew vnto them such as he had When the Ambassadours according to the appoyntment were come he sheweth vnto them a great number of poore people and beggers sitting at his tables at meat declaring that those were hys hoūdes which he euery day vsed to feede hunting with them he trusted for the glory of heauen to come And thus you haue heard the state of this Councell hetherto which Councell endured a long season the space of 17. yeares About the 6. yeare of the Coūcell Sigismund the Emperour dyed leauing but one daughter to succeede hym in his kingdomes whom he had maryed to Albert 2. Duke of Austricke which first succeeded in the kingdome of Hūgary and Boheme being a sore aduersary to the Bohemians and afterward was made Emperour an 1438. and raigned Emperour but 2. yeares leauing his wyfe which was Sigismūd his daughter great with childe After which Albert succeeded his brother Frederick the third Duke of Austrich in the Empire c. wherof more Christ willing hereafter In the meane time Eugenius hearing of the death of Sigismund aboue recited began to worke the dissolutiō of the Councel of Basill and to transferre it to Ferraria pretending the comming of the Grecians Notwithstanding the Councel of Basill through the disposition of God and the worthines of Cardinall Arelatensis constantly endured Albeit in the said Councell were many stops and practises to empeach the same beside the sore plague of pestilence which fell in the Citie during the sayd Councell In the which plague time besides the death of many worthy men Aeneas Syluius also himselfe the writer compiler of the whole history of that Councell sitting at the feete of the Bishops of Tournon and of Lubecke lay sicke iij. dayes of the same sore as is aboue touched and neuer thought to escape They that died departed with this exhortation desiring mē to pray to God that he would conuert the harts of them that stooke to Eugenius as Pope against that Councell as partly is afore noted and now repeated againe for the better marking Arelatensis being most instantly exhorted by his frends to flie that danger could by no meanes be intreated to auoide fearing more the daunger of the Church then of his owne life Beside these so great difficulties obstacles to stay and hinder this Councell strange it was to behold the mutation of mens minds Of whom such as first seemed to fauour the Councell after did impugne it and such as before were against it in the end shewed themselues most frends vnto the same The chiefe Cardinals prelates the more they had to loose the sooner they slipt away or els lurked in houses or townes neare and absented thēselues for feare so that the stay of the Councell most rested vpō their Proctours Doctours Archdeacōs Deanes Prouostes Priours and such other of the inferiour sort Wherof Aeneas Syluius in his 183. Epistle maketh this relation where one Caspar Schlicke the Emperours Chauncelour writeth to the Cardinal Iulian in these words Those Cardinals saith he which so long time magnified so highly the authoritie of the Church and of generall Councels seeming as though they were ready to spend their liues for the same now at the sight of one letter from their king wherin yet no death was threatned but onely losse of their promotions slipt away frō Basil. And in the same Epistle deridingly commendeth thē as wise men that had rather lose their faith then their flocke Albeit saith he they departed not farre away but remained about Solotorne waiting for other commandements from their Prince Wherby it may appeare how they did shrinke away not willingly but the Burse quoth he bindeth faster then true honour Quid enim saluis infamia nummis That is to say what matter maketh the name of a man so his money be safe Haec Aeneas Moreouer in one of the Sessions of the said Councell the worthy Cardinall Arelatensis is sayde thus to haue reported that Christ was sold for xxx pence but I saide he was solde much more deare For Gabriell otherwise called Eugenius Pope offered 60. thousand crownes who so would take me present me vnto him And they that tooke the said Cardinall afterward excused their fact by another coulour pretending the cause for that the Cardinals brother what time the Armiakes wasted Alsatia had wrought great dammage to the inhabitants there and therfore they thought said they that they might lawfully lay handes vpon a Frenchman wheresoeuer they might take him At length by the Bishop of Strasbrough Rupert and the said City the matter was taken vp and he rescued Wherein no doubt appeared the hand of God in defending his life from the pestilent danger of the Pope his aduersary Ex Paralip Abbat Vrsper And thus farre hauing proceeded in the matters of this foresayd Councell vntill the election of Amadeus called Pope Foelix v. before we prosecute the rest that remaineth thereof to be
generall councell The councell of Constance decreeth the Pope to be vnder the Councell The actes of the Apostles The cauncell of Nice The title of the Councels The constitutions of the B. of Rome are not the lawes of the church By the church the councell is vnderstand Simons obedience necessary in the Byshops of Rome The fauourers and mainteiners of the pope goe about to mainteine preferre the pleasure profit of one before a common commoditie The pope can abide no generall Councels Non obstante In the Popes Bulles The councel to be aboue the pope The full iudgemét of the church is not to be found but in the generall Councel No appealâ— to be made froÌ„ the couÌ„cel to the P. Acts 13. Gal. 2. Peter constrayned to obey the generall councell The decree of the councel of Constance The pope bound vnder the obedience of the generall Councel Diuers places rehearsed out of the Gospels and Apostles for authoritie of the Church and generall councels aboue the Pope Weight is matters intreated but onely in generall councels The Pope not sufficient of him selfe to connince or iudge heretickes The pope may erre Whether the pope may be deposed by the councell or not The places Tibi dabo claues regniâ—exlorum Pasce oues meas make nothing for the popes supremacye The Popes supremacie consuted Peter representeth the person of the church and not of the Pope The keyes geueÌ„ to the church and not to one man Pope Boniface erreth The B. of Rome vnproperly called the head of the Church The dote which say that the pope cannot be deposed for any other cause then for heresie Fruiteles braunches are to be cutt of If the pope be vnsauery salt he is to be cast away A note for all naughty prelats The wordes of â— Peter to Clement The epistle of Clement to Iames doubted The pope may and ought to be both accused punished for ill doing Whether the pope may be deposed by the counsell or no. The pope is rather to be called the vicar of the Church then of Christ. Pope Iohn 23. deposed and yet for no heresie Whether councells may be coÌ„gregated without the authority of the Pope They erre that say the Pope ought onely to appoint the councells Marke wherefore the popes will haue no generall couÌ„cell The first councell of the apostles The 2. couÌ„cell of the Apostles The 3. couÌ„cell of the Apostles The 4. couÌ„cell of the Apostles Generall councells in tymes past coÌ„gregated by Emperours not by popes If the greater part of the Church do consent a councell may be holdeÌ„ whether the Pope will or no. How the Pope is a schismaticke The Pope can not dissolue a generall councell against the will of the same The saying of Macrobius Whether the pope in certaine cases may dissolue the councell The definition of faith The definition of the catholicke faith Rom. 3. Catholicke what it is The councel of CoÌ„stance Vid. supra pag. 650. The wordes of the councel of ChalcedoÌ„ where by he is declared an hereticke that holdeth any opinion contrary to the councell Panormitan is noted and veriâ— well nipped by his owne supposition Tell the church that is to say the generall councell The Byshop of Burgen Panormitanes oration Foure thinges to be considered in euery request Panormitane would haue dignitie to be coÌ„sidered in couÌ„cell not voices Panormitane seemeth to delay the proces against the pope The 3. part of Panormitans oration Persuations of Panormitane The praise of Lodouicus the prothonotarie Bishops onely to haue determining voyce in councells It is no maruell why he alleadged no more or better matter for of noughty Lether no man can make a good shoe And note here how God with draweth his giftes when men dissemble cloke the truthe Truth seeketh no corners The patieÌ„ce and answere of Arelatensis Didimus reprehended that which was in his owne booke founde He meaneth Panormitane and Lodouicus the Prothonotary Marke O ye Bishops the couÌ„cell of Basill contendeth for you and ye will not vnderstaÌ„d it This was a â— true Cardinall out of whose mouth the veritie did speake which feared not the threatnings of princes neither sought any worldly glory or dignitie Marke what worldly pompe dignitie and wealth had brought the prelates to in those dayes Note here the great godlynes most christian saying of this good Bishop Truth many times dwelleth vnder the ragged cloke Steuen the first martir Note the finâ—etitie ritie of this good Bishop which stayed himselfe vpon the examples of the primitiue church not vpon customes popes Athanasius beeing but a priest and no Bishop vanquished an Archb. The name of priests or elders commoÌ„ both to Bishops and priests Paule Bishop of Antioch Paule the hereticke with his godly eloqueÌ„ce S. Augustines minde vpon this sentence Tibi dabo claues regni caelorum Byshops are of greater power then priests rather by custome then dispensation of truth Byshops and priestes ought to rule the church together Aeneas Siluius Note that Abbots were not instituted by Christ. Italy surmounteth all other nations in number of Byshops Note the terrible persecution of those dayes and the great constancie of the godly for the truthes sake O zeale of fayth worthie the crowne of martyrdom Eccle. 7. The bishops â—eare the earthly power but not God The bishops of the primitiue church what they were Poore men more meete to geue iudgement then riche for riches wealth and dignitie bringeth feare but pouertie causeth libertie * The Byshoppes in this age of the church what they are In matters of faith and religion there ought to be no delayes The eight yeare of the councell of Basill How subtelly they sought delayes The decrees of the councell of Constance If these thinges seeme so vntollerable what shall we say wheÌ„ as they make the Pope a God They which teach this doctrine are heretickes schismaticks but blessed are those heretickes for theirs is the kingdome of heauen A christian exhortation to constancy and martirdome This came so to passe 23. yeares after when Christendome lost Constantinople and all the east partes vnto the Turkes Examples of good men dying for their couÌ„trey The noble Laâ—cedemonians The blessed state of the life to come The worthy aunswere of Theodorus Cyrenensis No death to be feared for christs Church Example of Mariners HuÌ„ters Example of the 11. thousand virgins Iewes Patriarke of Aquileia Duke of Decke in â—weuia The Earle of Diersten The prayse of the citizens of Basill Humilitie sister to nobilitie Amodeus Archbishop of Lions Anno. 1438. Bishops that he at home haue toÌ„gue here to speake for the Pope Marke how they are turned back which somtime fauoured the truth are now become liers flatterers Constancie lacked in diuers of this councell Panormitane speaketh like himselfe Nicholas Amici a diuine of Paris The oration of Segouius Ambros. ad Valentinianum How farre wherein Bishops ought to iudge vpon Emperours He excuseth the Patriarke
working of some of whome Ioannes Auentinus shall tel vs in his own words shew vs who they be Quibus inquit audiendi quae fecerint pudor est nullus faciendi quae audire erubescunt Illic vbi opus nihil verentur hic vbi nihil opus est ibi verentur c. Who beyng ashamed belike to heare their worthy stratagemes lyke to come to light sought by what meanes they might the stopping of the same And because they could not worke it per brachium seculare by publike authoritie the Lord of heauen long preserue your noble Maiestie they renewed again an old wonted practise of theirs doyng in like sort herein as they did sometymes with the holy Bible in the dayes of your renowmed father of famous memory king Henry the viij who when they neither by manifest reason could gainstand the matter contained in the booke nor yet abide the comming out thereof then sought they by a subtile deuised traine to depraue the translation notes and Prologues thereof bearing the king in hand and all the people that there was in it a thousand lies and I cannot tell how many mo Not that there were such lies in it in very deede but because the comming of that booke should not bewray their lying falshood therefore they thought best to begin first to make exceptions themselues against it playing in their stage like as Phormio did in the old Comedie who beyng in all the fault himselfe began first to quarell with Demipho when Demipho rather had good right to lay Phormio by the heeles With like facing brags these Catholike Phormiones thinke now to dash out all good bookes and amongst others also these Monuments of Martyrs Which godly Martyrs as they could not abide beyng aliue so neither can they now suffer their memories to lyue after their death least the acts of them beyng knowne might bring perhaps their wicked acts and cruell murthers to detestation and therfore spurne they so vehemently against this booke of histories with all kind of contumelies and vprores railing and wondering vpon it much like as I haue heard of a company of thieues who in robbing a certaine true man by the high wayes side when they had found a piece of gold or two about him more then he would be acknown of they cried out of the falshood of the world meruailing and complaining what little truth was to be found in men Euen so these men deale also with me for when they themselues altogether delight in vntruths and haue replenished the whole Church of Christ with fained fables lying miracles false visions miserable errors contained in their Missals and Portuses Breuiars and Summaries and almost no true tale in all their Saintes lyues and Festiuals as now also no great truthes in our Louanian bookes c. Yet notwithstanding as though they were a people of much truth and that the world did not perceiue them they pretend a face and zeale of great veritie And as though there were no histories els in all the world corrupted but onely this history of Actes and Monumentes with tragicall voyces they exclaime and wonder vpon it sparing no cost of Hyperbolicall phrases to make it appeare as full of lies as lines c. much after the like sort of impudencie as Sophisters vse sometymes in their Sophismes to doe and sometimes is vsed also in Rhetorike that when an Argument commeth against them which they cannot well resolue in deed they haue a rule to shift of the matter with stoute wordes and tragicall admiration whereby to dash the Opponent out of countenance bearing the hearers in hand the same to be the weakest slenderest argument that euer was heard not worthy to be answered but vtterly to be hissed out of the Schooles With like sophistication these also fare with me who when they neither can abide to heare their owne doings declared nor yet deny the same which they heare to be true for three or foure escapes in the booke committed and yet some of them in the said Booke amended they neither reading the whole nor rightly vnderstanding that they read inueigh and maligne so peruersly the setting out therof as though neither any word in al that story were true nor any other story false in al the world besides And yet in accusing these my accusers I do not so excuse my self nor defeÌ„d my book as though nothing in it were to be sponged or amended Therfore I haue taken these paines reiterated my labours in trauailing out the story again doyng herein as Penelope did with her web vntwisting that she had done before Or as builders do sometimes which build and take down againe either to transpose the fashion or to make the foundation larger So in recognising this history I haue emploied a little more labour partly to enlarge the argument which I tooke in hand partly also to assay whether by any paynes taking I might pacifie the stomacks or satisfie the iudgments of these importune quarellers which neuerthelesse I feare I shall not do when I haue done all I can For well I know that all the heads of this hissing Hidra will neuer be cut of though I were as strong as Hercules And if Apelles the skilfull Painter when he had bestowed all his cunning vpon a piece of worke which no good artificer would or could greatly reprooue yet was not without some controlling Sutor which tooke vpon him Vltra crepidam much more may I looke for the like in these controlling dayes Neuerthelesse committing the successe thereof vnto the Lord I haue aduentured againe vpon this story of the Church and haue spent not onely my paines but also almost my health therein to bring it to this Which now beyng finished like as before I did so againe I exhibite and present the same vnto your Princely Maiestie blessing my Lord my God with all my heart first for this libertie of peace and tyme which through your peaceable gouernement he hath lent vnto vs for the gathering both of this and other like bookes tractations and monuments requisite to the behoofe of his Church which hitherto by iniquitie of tyme could not be contriued in any Kinges raigne since the Conquest before these Alcion dayes of yours Secondly as we are all bound with publicke voyces to magnify our God for this happy preseruation of your royall estate so priuately for mine owne part I also acknowledge my selfe bound to my God and to my Sauiour who so graciously in such weake health hath lent me time both to finish this worke and also to offer the second dedication thereof to your Maiesty desiring the same to accept in worth tâ—â— donation thereof if not for the worthinesse of the thing geuen yet as a testification of the bounden seruice and good will of one which by this he here presenteth declareth what he would if he had better to geue And though the story being written in the popular tongue serueth not so greatly for your own peculiar
Barbarossa an 1269. furthermore how mightely almighty God hath stand agaynst them how their warres neuer prospered agaynst the Turke how the iudgementes of the godly learned froÌ„ time to time haue euer repugned agaynst theyr errours c. of these and a thousand other mo not one word hath bene touched but all kept as vnder Benedicite in Auriculer confession This partiall dealing and corrupt handling of Historyes when I considered I thought with my self nothing more lacking in the church then a ful a complet history which being faythfully collected out of all our Monastical writers writteÌ„ Monuments should conteine neither euery vain written fable for that would be to much nor yet leaue out any thing necessary for that would be to little but with a moderate discretion taking the best of euery one should both ease the labor of the reader from turning ouer such a number of writers and also should open the plaine truth of times lying long hid in obscure darcknes of antiquity Wherby all studious Readers beholding as in a glasse the state course and alteration of Religion decay of doctrine and the controuersies of the church might discerne the better betwene antiquity and nouelty For if the things which be first after the rule of Tertullian are to be preferred before those that be latter then is the reading of histories much necessary in the church to know what went before and what folowed after And therfore not without cause Historia in old authors is called the witnesse of times the light of verity the life of memory teacher of life shewer of antiquitie c. Without the knowledge wherof mans life is blind and soone may fall into any kind of errour as by manifest experience we haue to see in these desolate latter times of the Church when as the Byshops of Rome vnder colour of antiquity haue turned truth into heresy and brought such new found deuises of straunge doctrine and ReligioÌ„ as in the former age of the church were neuer heard of before and all through the ignorance of times and for lacke of true history For to say the truth if times had bene well searched or if they which wrote Hystories had without partiality gone vpright betwene God and Baall halting on neither side it might well haue bene fouÌ„d the most part of all this catholicke corruptioÌ„ intruded into the church by the bishops of Rome as Transubstantiation leuation and adoration of the sacrament auriculer confession forced vowes of Priestes not to mary veneration of Images priuate and satisfactory Masses the order of Gregories Masse now vsed the vsurped authoritie Summa potestas of the sea of Rome with all the route of their ceremonies and wiedes of superstition ouergrowing nowe the Churche all these I say to bee new nothinges lately coyned in the minte of Rome without any stampe of antiquitie as by readyng of this present history shall sufficiently I trust appeare Whiche history therefore I haue here taken in hand that as other story writers heretofore haue employed their trauayle to magnifie the Church of Rome so in this history might appeare to all Christian readers the Image of both Churches as well of the one as of the other especially of the poore oppressed and persecuted Churche of Christ. Which persecuted Church though it hath bene of long season troden vnder foote by enemyes neglected in the world nor regarded in histories and almost scarse visible or knowne to worldly eyes yet hath it bene the true Church only of God wherin he hath mightely wrought hetherto in preseruing the same in all extreeme distresses continually stirring vp froÌ„ time to tyme faythful ministers by whoÌ„ alwayes hath bene kept some sparkes of hys true doctrine and Religion Now for asmuch as the true Church of God goeth not lightly alone but is accompanyed wyth some other Church or Chappel of the deuill to deface and maligne the same necessary it is therfore the difference betweene them to be sene and the descent of the right Churche to be described from the Apostles tyme. Which hetherto in most part of histories hath bene lacking partly for feare that men durst not partly for ignoraunce that men could not discerne rightly betweene the one and the other Who beholding the Church of Rome to be so visible and glorious in the eyes of the worlde so shining in outward beauty to beare suche a porte to cary suche a trayne and multitude and to stand in such hye authoritie upposed the same to be only the right Catholike mother The other because it was not so visibly known in the world they thought therfore it could not be the true church of Christ. Wherin they were far deceaued For although the right church of God be not so inuisible in the world that none can see it yet neyther is it so visible agayne that euery worldly eye may perceiue it For like as is the nature of truth so is the proper condition of the true Churche that commonly none seeth it but such onely as be the members and partakers thereof And therefore they which require that Gods holy Church should be euident and visible to the whole world seeme to define the great sinagogue of the world rather then the true spirituall Church of God In Christes time who would haue thought but the congregations and Councelles of the Pharisies had ben the right church and yet had Christ an other Church in earth besides that which albeit it was not so manifest in the sight of the world yet was it the onely true Church in the sight of God Of this Church ment Christ speaking of the Temple whiche he woulde rayse agayne the thyrd day And yet after that the Lord was risen he shewed not himselfe to the worlde but onely to his electe which were but few The same Churche after that encreased and multiplied mightely amonge the Iewes yet had not the Iewes eyes to see Gods Churche but did persecute it till at length all their whole nation was destroyed After the Iewes then came the heathen Emperours of Rome who hauing the whole power of the world in their hands did what the world could do to extinguish the name and church of christ Whose violence coÌ„tinued the space of 3. hundreth yeares All which while the true church of christ was not greatly in sight of the world but rather was abhorred euery where and yet notwithstanding the same small â—elly flocke so despised in the worlde the Lorde highly regarded and mightely preserued For although many then of the Christians did suffer death yet was their death neither losse to them nor detriment to the Church but the more they suffered the more of theyr bloud encreased In the time of these Emperours God raysed vp then in this Realme of Britaine diuers worthy teachers and witnesses as Elnanus meduinus Meltiuianus Amphibolus Albanus Aaron Iulius and other moe In whose time the doctrine of fayth without mens traditions was sincerely
Parris anno 1260. Petrus Ioannis a Minorite who was burned after hys death anno 1290. Robertus Gallas a Dominicke Frier anno 1291. Robert Grosthead Byshoppe of Lincolne which was called Malleus Romanorum anno 1250. Lord Peter de Cugnerijs anno 1329. To these we may adde more our Gulielmus Ockam Bongratius Bergomensis Luitpoldus Andraeas Laudensis Vlricus Hangenor Treasurer to the Emperour Ioannes de Ganduno anno 1330. mentioned in the Extrauagantes Andraeas de Castro Buridianus Euda Duke of Burgundy who counselled the french king not to receiue the new found constitutions and extrauagantes of the Pope into his realme Dante 's Alligerius an Italian who wrote agaynst the Pope Monkes and Fryers and agaynst the donation of Constantine anno 1330. Taulerus a Germayne preacher Conradus Hager imprisoned for preaching agaynst the Masse an 1339. The author of the booke called Poenitentiarius Asini compiled about the yeare 1343. Michael Cesenas a gray Fryer Petrus de Corbaria with Ioannes de Poliaco mentioned in the Extrauantes and condemned by the Pope Ioannes de Castilione with Franciscus de Arcatara who were burned about the yeare of our Lord. 1322. Ioannas Rochtaylada otherwise called Haybalus with an other Frier martyred about the yeare 1346. Franciscus Petrarcha who called Rome the whore of Babilon c. an 1350. Georgius Ariminensis an 1350 Ioannes de Rupe Scissa emprisoned for certayne prophesies against the Pope an 1340. Gerhardus Ridder who also wrote against Monks and Friers a book called Lacryma Ecclesiae an 1350. Godfridus de Fontanis Gulielmus de Landuno Ioannes Monachus Cardini Armachanus Nicholaus Orem preacher an 1364. Militzius a Bohemian which then preached that Antichrist was come and was excommunicate for the same an 1366. Iacobus Misnensis Mathias Parisiensis a Bohemian borne and a writer against the Pope an 1370. Ioannes Mountziger Rector of the Vniuersitie of Vlme anno 1384. Nilus Arch. of Thessalonica Henricus de â—ota Henricus de Hassia c. I do but recite the principall writers and preachers in those dayes Howe many thousandes there were which neuer bowed their knees to Baall that is knowne to God alone Of whome wee finde in the writings of one Brushius that xxxvi Citizens of Maguntia were burned an 1390. Who following the doctrine of the Waldenses affirmed the Pope to be the great Antichrist Also Massaeus recordeth of one hundred and fourty which in the prouince of Narbon were put to the fire for not receiuing the decretalles of Rome besides them that suffered at Paris to the number of xxiiij at one time anno 1210. and the next yeare after were foure hundred brent vnder the names of Heretiques Besides also a certayne good Heremite an Englishman of whome mention is made in Iohn Bacon Dist. 2. Quest. 1. who was committed for disputing in Paules Church agaynst certaine Sacramentes of the Church of Rome an 1306. To discend now somewhat lower in drawing out the discent of the Churche What a multitude here commeth of faythfull witnesses in the time of Iohn Wickleffe as Ocliffe Wickliffe an 1376. W. Thorp White Puruey Patshall Payne Gower Chaucer Gascoyne WilliaÌ„ Swinderby Walter Brute Roger Dexter William Sautry about the yeare 1400. Iohn Badby an 1410. Nicholaus Tayler Rich. Wagstaffe Mich. Scriuener William Smith Iohn Henry W. Parchmenar Roger Goldsmith with an Ancresse called Mathilde in the Citie of Leicester Lord Cobham Syr Roger Acton knight Iohn Beuerley preacher Iohn Husse Hierome of Prage Scholemaister with a number of faithfull Bohemians and Thaborites not to be told with whoÌ„ I might also adioyne Laurentius Valla and Ioannes Picus the learned Earle of Mirandula But what do I stand vpon recitall of names which almost are infinite Wherfore if any be so farre beguiled in his opinion to thinke the doctrine of the church of Rome as it now standeth to be of such antiquitie that the same was neuer impugned before the time of Luther and Zuinglius now of late let him read these histories or if he thinke the sayd historie not to be of sufficient credite to alter his perswasion let him peruse the Actes and Statutes of Parliamentes passed in this realme of auncient time and therein consider and conferre the course of times where he may finde and read An. 5. Regis Richardi 2. in the yeare of our Lord. 1380. of a great nuÌ„ber which there be called euill persons goyng about from town to town in freese gownes preaching vnto the people c. which preachers although the wordes of the Statute do terme there to be dissembling persons preaching dyuers Sermons contayning heresies notorious errours to the emblemishment of Christen faith of holy Church c. as the words do there pretend yet notwithstanding euery true Christian reader may conceaue of those Preachers to teache no other doctrine then nowe they heare theyr owne Preachers in Pulpits Preache agaynst the Bishoppe of Rome and the corrupte heresies of his Churche Furthermore he shall finde likewise in Statut. An. 2. Henr. 4. Cap. 15. in the yeare of our Lord. 1402. another lyke company of good Preachers and faythful defenders of true doctrine agaynst blynd heresie and errour Whom albeit the wordes of the Statute there through corruption of that time do falsely terme to be false and peruerse Preachers vnder dissembled holines teaching in those dayes openly and priuely new doctrines and hereticall opinions contrary to the faythe and determination of holy Churche c. yet notwithstanding whosoeuer readeth histories and conferreth the order and discent of times shall vnderstand these to be no false teachers but saythfull witnesses of the truth not teaching any newe doctrines contrary to the determination of holy Church But rather shall finde that Churche to be vnholy which they Preached agaynst teaching rather it selfe hereticall opinions contrary both to antiquitie and veritie of Christes true Catholicke Churche Of the lyke number also or greater of lyke true faythfull fauourers and followers of Gods holy worde we find in the yeare of our Lord. 14â—2 specified in a letter sent from Henry Chichesley Archbishop of Canterbury to Pope Martin 5. in the fift yeare of his Popedome where mention is made of so many here in Engand infected as he sayde with the heresies of Wickleffe and Husse that without force of any army they could not be suppressed c. Whereupon the Pope sent two Cardinals to the Archbishop to cause a tenth to be gathered of all spirituall and Religious men and the money to be layde in the chamber Apostolicke and if that were not sufficient the residue to bee made vppe of Chalices Candlestickes and other implementes of the Churche c. What shall neede then any more witnes to proue this matter when you see so many yeares agoe whole armyes and multitudes thus standing agaynst the Pope who thoughe they bee termed here for heretickes and schismatickes yet in that which they call heresie serued they the
saluation contrary to the working of the holy spirite of God And thus the Church of Rome pretending onely the name of Christ and of his Religion is so farre altered from the truth of that which it pretendeth that vnder the name of Christ it persecuteth both Christ his Religion working more harme to the Church of Christ then euer did the open tirants and persecuting Emperours among the heathen not much vnlike herein to the olde Sinagoge of the Scribes and Phareseis who vnder the name of God crucified the sonne of God and vnder pretence of the law fought against the Gospell and vnder the title of Abrahams children persecuted the childrē of Abraham And as they bragging so highly of the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lorde did in deede destroye the true Temple of the Lord right so these pretensed Catholikes in these dayes after they haue raysed vppe a Catholike Churche of their owne and haue armed the same with lawes and haue gathered vnto them a power of Priestes Prelates Abbats Priors of religious men of Cardinals and also of secular Princes to take their part now vnder the name of the Catholicke Church they persecute the true Catholike church and coloring their procedings still with In nomine Domini most cruelly they put to death which die pro nomine Domini condemning them for heretikes schismatikes and rebles not which deny any part of the creede which they themselues professe nor such whome they can conuince by any Scripture but onely such which will not ioyne wyth their errours and heresies contrary to the honour of God and truth of his worde And lest any should thinke this that we here protest against the corrupt errours manifold deformities of this latter Church of Rome to proceede of any raucor or affection rather then grounded of necessary causes and demōstrations euident my purpose is by the Lordes leaue to take herein some litle paine that as I haue collected a litle before the summe cōtents of S. Paules doctrine where with the old Church of Rome was first seasoned and acquainted so now as in a like summary table to discrye the particular braunches and contents of the Popes doctrine now set foorth to the intent that all true Christian readers comparing the one with the other may discern what great alteration there is betwene the church of Rome that now is and the church of Rome that then was planted by the Apostles in the primitiue time And to the ende to open to the simple reader some waye whereby he may the better iudge in such matters of doctrine not be deceaued in discerning truth from errour first we wil propound certeine principles or general positions as infallible rules or truthes of the Scripture wherby al other doctrines opinions of men being tried and examined as in the touchstone may the more easely be iudged whether they be true or cōtrary whether they make agaynst the scripture or no. ¶ Certeine Principles or generall verities grounded vpon the truth of Gods word ¶ The first principle 1. AS sinne and death came originally by the disobedience of one to all men of his generation by nature so righteousnes and life come originally by the obedience of one to all men regenerated of him by faith Baptisme Rom. 5. ¶ The 2. Principle 2. The promise of God was freely giuen to our first parentes without their deseruing that the seede of a woman should breake the Serpents head Gen. 3. ¶ The 3. Principles 3. Promise was giuen freely to Abraham before he deserued any thing that in his seede all nations should be blessed Gen. 12. ¶ The 4. Principle 4. To the worde of God neither must wee adde nor take from it Deut. 4. ¶ The 5. Principle 5. He that doth the workes of the law shall liue therein Leuit. 18. Gal. 3. ¶ The 6. Principle 6. Accursed is he which abideth not in euery thing that is written in the booke of the law Deut. 27. Gal. 3. ¶ The 7. Principle 7. God onely is to be worshipped Deut. 6. Luc. 4. ¶ The 8. Principle 8. All our righteousnes is like a defiled cloth of a woman Esay 64. ¶ The 9. Principle 9. In all my holy hill they shall not kill nor slay saith the Lord. Esay 11.65 ¶ The 10. Principle 10. God loueth mercy and obedience more then sacrifice Osee. 6.1 Reg. 15. ¶ The 11. Principle 11. The lawe worketh anger condemneth and openeth sinne Rom. 3. ¶ The 12. Principle 12. The end of the law is Christ to righteousnes to euery one that beleueth Rom. 10. ¶ The 13. Principle 13. Whosoeuer beleeueth and is Baptised shall be saued Mat. vlt. ¶ The 14. Principle 14. A man is iustified by faith without workes freely by grace not of our selues Gal. 2. Ephes. 2. ¶ The 15. Principle 15. There is no remission of sinnes without bloud Heb. 9 ¶ The 16. Principle 16. Whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne Rom. 14. without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11. ¶ The 17. Principle 17. One Mediatour betweene God man Christ Iesus 1. Tim. 2. he is the propitiatiō for our sinnes 1. Iohn 2. ¶ The 18. Principle 18. Who soeuer seeketh in the law to be iustified is fallen from grace ¶ The 19. Principle 19. In Christ be all the promises of God Est Amen 2. Cor. 1. ¶ The 20. Principle 20. Let euery soule be subiect to superiour powers gyuyng to Caesar that which is Cesars to God that which is Gods Rom. 13. These principles and infallible rules of the Scripture as no man can denie so if they be granted the doctrine thē of the Popes Church must needes be found not to be Catholike but rather full of errours and heresies as in the sequele folowing remaineth more expressely and particularly by the grace of Christ to be conuinced ¶ Here foloweth a Summary collection of the errours heresies and absurdities conteyned in the popes doctrine contrary to the rules of Gods vvord and the first institution of the Church of Rome Of Faith and Iustification FIrst as touching the onely meanes and instrumentall cause of our iustificatiō wherby the merits of Christes Passiō be applied to vs made ours ye heard before how S. Paule onely ascrybeth the same to faith as appeareth by all his letters especially to the Romanes Where he excluding al kind of works ascribeth al our saluation iustification righteousnes reconciliation and peace with god onely to faith in Christ. Contrary to which doctrine the Pope and his church hath set vp diuers and sondry other meanes of their owne deuising whereby the merites of Christes passion they saye are applyed to vs and made ours to the putting away of sinnes and for our iustification as hope charitie sacrifice of the Masse auricular confession satisfacion merits of Saintes and holy orders the
and thieues like vnto himselfe against the Church But the Apostle renting his garmēts and with great lamentation said I haue lett a good keper of my brothers soule Get me a horse and let mee haue a guide with me which being done his horse and man procured hasted from the Churche as much as he could and comming to the same place was taken of theeues that watched But he neyther flying nor refusing sayd I came for this same cause hither lead me sayd he to your captayne So he being brought the captaine all armed fiercely begā to looke vpon him And eftsoones comming to the knowledge of him was stroken with confusion and shame and began to flie But the olde man followed him as much as he might forgetting his age and crying My sonne why doest thou flie from thy father an armed man from one naked a yong man from an olde man Haue pitie on me my sonne and feare not for there is yet hope of saluation I will make an answer for thee vnto Christ I will dye for thee if neede be as Christ hath died for vs. I will giue my life for thee beleeue me Christ hath sent me He hearing these things first as in a mase stood still and therewith his courage was abated After that he cast downe his weapons by and by he trembled yea and wept bitterly and comming to the old man embraced him and spake vnto him with wepyng as well as he could beyng euen then baptised a fresh with teares only his right hand beyng hid and couered Then the Apostle after that he had promised and firmly ascertained him that he should obtain remission of our Sauiour and also prayed falling downe vpon his knees kissed his murdering right hand which for shame he durst not shew before as now purged through repentaunce brought him to the congregation and when he had prayed for him with continuall prayer and daily fastings and had comforted and confirmed his mynde with many sentences went not from him as the author reporteth before he had restored him to the congregation againe and made him a great example and triall of regeneration and a token of the visible resurrection Moreouer the foresayd Irenaeus in Lib. 3. cap. 3. and Eusebius Lib. 3. cap 28. and Lib. 4. cap. 14. prosecuting the historie of Iohn declare in these wordes saying that there were certaine which heard Policarpus say that Iohn the disciple of our Lord goyng into Ephesus to be washed seyng Corinthus within he leaped out of the bathe vnbathed because he feared the bathe should haue fallen seing that Cerinthus an enemy to the truth was within Such feare had the Apostles saith Irenaeus that they would not communicate a word with them that adulterate the truth And forasmuch as we are here in hand with the story of Iohn the blessed Euangelist commeth in matter and occasion not geuē by him but takē of other of a great doubt and difficulty such as hath occupied all the Catholike subtile illuminate and seraphicall Doctors of the Popes Catholike Church these 500. yeares The difficultie is this that for so much as auricular confession hath bene is yet receiued in the Popes Catholike Church for an holy and necessary Sacrament extending vniuersally to al singular creatures Christian. Here then riseth a question who was our Ladies confessour or ghostly father But that is decreed and confessed with full consent of all the Catholikes to bee S. Iohn Whosoeuer denieth or doubteth of this is straight wayes ipso facto an heretike This then so determined ariseth an other question or doubt that seeyng our Lady was without all originall sinne and also actuall or mortall what need then had she of any Confessour or what should she confesse vnto him For if she had confessed any sinne when she had none then had she made herselfe a lyer so had sinned in deede Here therefore gentle Reader in this perplexitie these our illuminate Doctours stād in neede of thine ayde to helpe at a pinch Magnus Albertus the great diuine denieth not but that she in deede although most pure yet was confessed to her ghostly father to keepe the obseruances of the law appointed for such as had that neede which she had not And therfore sayth he necessary it was that she should confesse with mouth But then here is to be asked what did she say in her confession when she had nothing to confesse To this Albertus aunswereth agayne and telleth vs plainely what she sayd in her confessiō which was this that she had receiued that great grace not ex condigno that is not of any dignitie of her own but yet notwithstanding of congruitie And this was it sayth Albert that she sayd in her confession Albert cap. 74. super Euang Missus est c. Moreouer to helpe this case out of all doubt commeth in famous Thomas of Watring thus looseth the knot much after like effect saying that as Christ although he did owe nothing to the law yet notwithstanding receiued he Circumcision to geue to other example of humilitie and obedience In like maner would our Lady shew her selfe obedient to the obseruaunce of the law albeit there was no cause why she had any neede thereof And thus hast thou gentle Reader this doubtful questiō mooued and soluted to the intent I would reueale to thee some part of the deep diuinitie of our Catholike Maisters that haue ruled and gouerned the Church in these their late Popish dayes But breaking of this matter to returne againe where we left that is to this foresayd 2. persecutiō vnder Domitianus In which persecution besides these afore mentioned and many other innumerable godly Martyrs sufferyng for the like testimonie of the Lord Iesus was Flauia the daughter of Flauius Clemens one of the Romaine Consuls which Flauia with many other was banished out of Rome into the Isle Pontia for the testimony of the Lord Iesus by the Emperour Domitianus Euseb. Lib. 3. This Domitianus feared the comming of Christ as Herode did therefore commaunded them to be killed which were of the stocke of Dauid in Iewry There were remaining aliue at that tyme certayne of the Lordes kindred which were the nephewes of Iude that was called the Lordes brother after the flesh These when the Lieuetenāt of Iewry had brought vp to Domitian to be slayn the Emperour demaunded of thē whether they were of the stocke of Dauid which when they had graūted he asked againe what possessions and what substaunce they had They aūswered that they both had no more betweene them in all but xxxix acres of grounde how they gat their liuing sustained their families with the hard labours of their hādes shewing forth their hands vnto the Emperor being hard and roughworne with labours to witnes that to be true which they had spoken Then the Emperour inquiring of them concerning the kingdome of Christ what maner of kingdome it
And as these suffered to in Asia so in Rome suffered Felicitas with her 7 children who vnder this M. Antoninus Verus sustayned also the cruelty of this persecution The names of whose children Bergomensis and other histories doe thus recite Ianuarius Felix Philippe Siluanus Alexander Vitalis Martialis Of whom her first and eldest sonne Ianuarius after he was whipped and scourged with roddes was prest to death with leaden waightes Felix and Phillippe had their braynes beaten out with maules Siluanus was cast downe headlong and had his necke broken Furthermore Alexander Vitalis and Martialis was beheaded Last of all Felicitas the mother otherwise then the accustomed maner was for such as hadde borne Children was slayne with the sword Ex Supplem In the rage of this fourth persecution vnder the raigne of Antonius Pius suffered also good Iustinus a man in learning and Philosophy excellent a great defender of Christian Religion Who first exhibited unto the Emperour to the Senate a booke or Apologie in the defence of the Christians and afterward himselfe also dyed a Martyr Of whom in the history of Euseb. Lib. 4. cap. 16. it is thus recorded That about what tyme or a little before that Polycarpus with other diuers Sainctes suffered Martyrdome in Pargamopolis a Cittie of Asia this Iustinus as is aforesayd preâ—ented a booke in defence of our doctrine to the Emperour to wit vnto Antonius and to the Senate After which he was also crowned with like Martyrdome vnto those whome he in his booke had defended through the malicious meanes and crafty circumuention of Crescens This Crescens was a Philosopher confirming hys lyfe and maners to the Cynical sect whom for because this Iustinus had reproued in open audience and had borne away the victory of the trueth which he defended he therefore as much as in him lay did worke procure vnto him this crowne of Martyrdome And this did also Iustine him selfe a Philosopher no lesse famous by hys profession foresee and declare in hys foresayd Apology telling almost all those thinges before hand which should happen vnto him by these words saying And I looke after this good turne that I be slayne goyng by the way eyther of some of those whom I haue named and to haue my braynes beaten out with a bat or els of Crescens whom I cannot call a Phylosopher but rather a vayne boaster For it is not conuenient to call him a Philosopher whiche openly professeth thinges to him vnknowne and whereof he hath no skil saying and reporting of vs that the Christians be vngodly irreligiouse And all to please and flatter them which are reduced by errour For whether he obiecteth against vs the doctrine of the Christians whiche he hath not read yet is he very malicious and worse then the vnlearned ideotes who for the most part vse not to dispute or iudge of thinges they know not and to beare witnes of the fame Or put case that he had read them yet vnderstandeth he not the maiestie of the matters therein conteined or if peraduenture he vnderstandeth them and doth it for thys purpose that he would not be counted as one of them then is he so much the more wicked and malicious and the bondslaue of vyle beastly both fame and feare For this I testifie of him geuing you truely to vnderstand that for a truth which I declare vnto you how that I haue apposed him and haue put vnto him many questions whereby I know and perceaue that he vnderstandeth nothing But if so be that this our disputatioÌ„ with him hath not come vnto your eares I am ready to communicate vnto you agayn those questions which I demaunded of him whiche things shall not be vnfit for your Princely honour to heare But if ye knowe and vnderstand both what thinges I haue examined him of as also what aunswere he hath made it shal be apparant vnto you that he is altogether ignoraunt of our doctrine and learning or els if he knoweth the same he dare not vtter it for feare of hys auditors which thing as I sayd before is a proofe that he is no Philosopher but a slaue to vayne glory which maketh none accompt of that which his own Mayster Socrates had in so great estimation And thus much of Iustine out of Iustine himselfe Now to verifie that which Iustine here of him selfe doth prophecie that Crescens would and did procure his death Tacianus a man brought vp of a childe in the institutions of the Gentiles and obtayned in the same not a little fame and which also left behinde him many good monumentes and Commentaries writeth in hys booke agaynst the Gentiles in this sort And Iustine sayth he that most excellent learned man full well spake and vttered his minde that the afore recited men were lyke vnto theeues or lyers by the high way side And in the sayd book speaking afterward of certaine Philosophers the sayd Tacianus inferreth thus Crescens therefore sayth he when he came first into that great Cittie passed all other in the vicious loue of children and was very much geuen to couetousnes and where he taught that men ought not to regard death he himself doth feare death that he did all his indeuour to oppresse Iustine with death as with the most greatest euill that was and all because that Iustine speaking trueth reproued the Philosophers to be men onely for the belly and deceauers and this was the cause of Iustines Martyrdome Hierome in his Ecclesiasticall Catalogue thus writeth Iustine when in the Cittie of Rome he had his disputations and had reprooued Crescens the Cinike for a great blasphemer of the Christians for a bellygod and a man fearing death and also a follower of lust and lechery at the last by his indeuour and conspiracie was accused to be a Christian and for Christ shed his bloud in the yeare of our Lord. 154. vnder Marcus Antonius as the Cronicles doe witnes Abb Vrsperg and Eusebius in his Cronicle in the xiii yeare of the Emperour Antoninus Among these aboue recited is also to be numbred Praxedis a blessed virgine the daughter of a Citizen of Rome who in the tyme of Anicetus there Byshop was so brought vp in the doctrine of Christ and so affected to hys religion that she with her sister Potentiana bestowed all her patrimony vpon the relieuing of poore Christians geuing all her time to fasting and prayer and to the burryng of the bodyes of the Martyrs And after she had made free all her famelie with her seruauntes after the death of her sister she also departed and was buryed in peace Under the same Antoninus also suffered Ptolomeus and Lucius for the confession of Christ in a Cittie of Egipt called Alexandria whose history because it is described in the Apology of Iustinus Martyr I thought therefore so to set forth the same as it is alledged in Eusebius declaring the manner and occasion
superstition the creature to the creator that things signifying to the things them selues signified c. To the Church likewise and ceremonies of the church to generall Councels to the blessed virgin Mary mother of Christ to the bishop of Rome and to all other in like case not contented to attribute that which is sufficient they exceede moreouer the bounds of iudgement and veritie iudging so of the Church general coūcels as though they could neuer or did neuer erre in any iote That the blessed mother of Christ amongest al women was blessed and a virgine ful of grace the Scripture truth doth giue but to say that she was borne without al original sinne or to make of her an aduocate or mother of mercy there they run further then truth wil beare The ceremonies were first ordained to serue but onely for order sake vnto the which they haue attributed so much at length that they haue set in them a great part of our Religion yea also saluation And what thing is there els almost wherein the Papistes haue not exceeded Wherfore to auoyd this common error of the papists we must beware in cōmending the Doctors writers of the Church so commend them that truth and consideratiō go with our cōmendation For though this cannot be denied but that holy Cyprian and other blessed Martyrs were holy men yet notwithstanding they were men that is such as might haue had their falles faultes men I say not aungels nor gods saued by God not sauiours of men nor patrons of grace and though they were also men of excellent learning worthy Doctors yet with theyr learning they had their errors also annexed And though their bookes be as they ought to be of great authority yet ought they not to be equall with the Scriptures And albeit the saide well in most things yet it is not therefore inough that what they said it must stande for a truth That preeminence of authority onely belongeth to the worde of God and not to the pen of man For of men and Doctors be they neuer so famous there is none that is voyde of his reprehension In Origene although in his time the admiratiō of his learning was singuler yet how many things be there which the Church nowe holdeth not but examining him by Scriptures where he sayd well they admit him where otherwise they leaue him In Polycarpus the church hath corrected and altered that which he did holde in celebrating the Easter day after the Iewes Neither cā holy and blessed Ignatius be defended in al his sayings as where he maketh the fasting vpon the Sonday or the Sabboth day as great an offence as to kil Christ him selfe Ignat Epist. ad Phillip contrary to this saying of Saint Paule Let no man iudge you in meate drinke Also where the said Ignatius speaketh De virginitate and of other thinges mo Irenaeus did hold that man was not made perfect in the beginning He seemeth also to defend free will in man in those thinges also that be spirituall He saye◠that Christ suffered after he was fifty yeares old abusing this place of the Gospell Quinquaginta annos nondum habes c. Tertulianus whom S. Cyprian neuer laide out of his handes almost is noted to be a Chiliaste also to haue bene of Mōtanus sect The same did hold also with Iustine Cyprian other that the Aungels fel first for the concupiscence of women Lib. de habitu mulierum He defendeth fre wil of man after the corruption of nature inclining also to the errour of them which defend the possibilitie of keeping God his law Cōcerning Mariage Vnum matrimonium inquit nouimus sicut vnum Deum i. We know sayth he one Mariage as we know one God condemning the second maryage Lib de Monogam Diuers other things of like absurditie in him be noted Iustinus also seemeth to haue inclined vnto the errour of the Chiliastes of the fall of certaine Aungels by wemen offree will or man of possibilitie of keeping the lawe and such other Neither was this our Cyprian the great schooler of Tertulian vtterly exempt from the blot of them who contrary to the doctrine of the Church did hold with rebaptising of such as were before Baptised of heretikes Whereof speaketh S. Austen myslyking the same errour of Cyprian in these words contained in his 2. booke Contra Cresconium Cypriani inquit laudem ego consequi non valeo eius multis literis mea scripta non comparo eius ingenium diligo eius ore delector eius charitatem miror eius Martyrium veneror Non accipio quod de baptisandis haereticis schismaticis sensit c. Uppon the whiche matter there was a great contention betwene the sayd Cyprian and Stephen Bishop of Rome as partly afore is note◠Of Austen himselfe likewise of Ambrose Hierome Chrisostome the same maye be said that none of them also clearely passed away but their peculiar faultes and errours went with them whereof it were to long and out of our purpose at this present to entreate And thus much concerning the story of Cyprian the holy learned Martyr of Christ. Albeit here is to be noted by the way touching the life and story of Cyprian that this Cyprian was not he whome the narration of Nazianzen speaketh of as is aboue mentioned who from Arte Magicke was conuerted to bee a Christian which Cyprian was a Citizen of Antioche and afterward Bishop of the same Citie and was Martyred vnder Diocletian Where as this Cyprian was Byshop of Carthage and died vnder Valerianus as is sayd c. By the decrees of Gratiā Dist. x. Quoniam it appeareth moreouer that there was also a third Cyprian in the time of Iulianus the Emperour Apostata long after both these aforenamed For so giueth the title prefixed before the saide Distinct Cyprianus Iuliano Imperatori the distinction beginning Quoniam idem mediator Dei hominum homo Christus Iesus he actibus proprijs dignitatibus distinctis officia potestatis vtriusque discernit c. Upon the which distinctiō the glose commeth in with these words saying that the popedome and the seate Imperial haue both one beginning of one that is Christ who was both Bishoppe and king of Kings And that the said dignities be distincted albeit the Pope notwithstanding hath both the swords in his hand and may exercise them both some time And therefore although they be distincted yet in exercise the one standeth lineally vnder the other so that the imperiall dignitie is subiect vnder the Papall dignitie as the inferiour is subiect vnder the superiour that as there is one ruler ouer the whole which is God so in the Church is one Monarche that is the Pope to whom the Lord hath committed the power and lawfull right both of the heauenly and terrene dominion Haec Glosa Thus much I thought here
our homage But I do maruell if at the least there remaine in you any one drop of bloud that you are not ashawed to call the Lord Henry a king or to allow him any ordinarie place Is this a seemely order thinke you to geue place to wickednes and to make a generall confusion in mixing good and euill Gods and mans deuises together Either do you thinke this good order for man to sinne against his owne body as Oh shamefull wickednes to make his owne wife a common harlot a mischiefe not heard of at any time since the beginning of the world before now or do you alow this for good order when as the Lord sayth defend the widowes especially such as require equitie of Iustice and then them to send away most filthely defiled Madde Orestes doth protest him to be out of his wit that will say these things to be orderly or well done Vntill this most miserable time nature hath euer loued secrecie but your king geueÌ„ vp into a reprobate sense hath vncouered the priuities of nature who hath not let to lay abroade all shamefastnesse we wil not speake of other thinges which cannot be numbred that is to say burning of Churches robberies fiering of houses manslaughters murders such like the number whereof he knoweth and not we for let vs speake chiefly of those things which most greue the Church of God Harken therfore to true not fained things Hearken I say to matters of earnest and to no trifles Euery one that doth tell spirituall dignities is an hereticke But the Lord Harry whom they cal a king doth sell both Byshoprikes and Abbathies for truely he solde for money the Byshoprikes of Constance Babemberge Mens many others The Byshopprikes of Ratisbone Augusta and Strafebrough he sold for a sword and the Abbey of Fulda for adulterie And for filthy sodomitry he sold the byshopprike of Mon. A wickednes it is to speake or heare of such a fact The which things if without shame ye wil deny he is to be condemned by the witnes of heauen and earth yea and of the selie poore idiotes that come from the smithes forge Wherfore the Lord Harry is an hereticke For the which most wicked euils he is excommunicate from the sea Apostolike so that he may not exercise either kingdome or power ouer vs which be Catholicke And whereas you burden vs with hatred of our brethren knowe you that we purpose not to hate any of affection but of a godly zeale God forbidde that we should thinke Harry worthy to be accompted amongst our christian brethren who in deede is reputed for an Ethnike and Publicane in that he refused to heare the Church which so oft hath reproued him The hatred of whome we offer vnto God for a great sacrifice saying with the Psalmist Lord shall not I hate them that hate thee and shall not I triumph ouer thine enemies I hate them with an inward hatred that be ennemies to me for thy sake The truth it selfe commending the worthines of this hatred doth say If any do not hate father and mother brethren and sisters for my sake he cannot be my disciple We are not therefore iustly to be reproued of hatred which doe geue ouer our owne soule to be in the way of God who in deede are commanded to hate father and mother and euery affection which doth withstaÌ„d vs for walking in the path of God Hereof it commeth that we labor withall our studie and endeuour to beware of the enemies of the church and them to hate Not for that they be our enemies but gods Father where you doe perswade peace to be had with all men you must remember what the Apostle doth put before if it may be But if it can be that we can haue peace with them who can be contrary to God who doth not know the Lord our Sauiour to commend not onely peace when as he sayth my peâ—ce I geue vnto you my peace I leaue vnto you but that he is the peace as sayeth the Apostle he is the peace which made of both one For he calleth him our peace speaking in commendation of the peace Thincke not sayeth hee that I came to sende peace For I came not to send peace but the sworde What is meant by this Why is peace called a sword Or doth peace bid battel Yea truely to destroy the peace of the deuill For the deuil hath his peace whereof the Lord speaketh When as the strong man keepeth his house he doth possesse all his substance in peace Oh howe mightely doeth the deuil kepe his souldiours and his house in this time who with the shield of falshood and the helmet of vntruth so doth defend him that he will not suffer either arrow or dart of truth to pearse him Neuertheles our Lord being more strongly armed fiercely comming vpon your Giaunt is able to ouercome him and to take away his weapons wherein he putteth his trust We are not therfore to be blamed if we do detest that peace more cruel then any warre The which the truth it selfe did reproue weeping ouer Hierusalem and saying Truely it grieueth me this day to see sinners in peace being like vnto that peace wherat the Psalmist was offended Whereas you condemne Pope Gregory king Rodolphus and Marques Eggerbertus as men that haue died of an vnhappy death do magnifie your Lord because he doth ouerliue them it doth plainly forsoth appeare that you remaine voide of all spiritual consideration Is it not better to die well then to liue ill They be truely happy who suffer persecution for righteousnes sake by the same reason may you esteme Nero Herod and Pilate happy in that they ouerliued Peter Paul Iames Apostles Iesus Christ. What can be said more foolish and wicked then this opinion Wherfore refraine your babling toung from this blasphemie least that you place your selfe in the number of them which seeing the end of the iust to be glorious themselues doing late vnfruitfull penance bewailing in the anguish of the spirite shall say These be they whom sometime we had in derision laughed to scorne we being out of our wits thought their liues madnes and their end to be without honor Behold howe they be allowed to be amongst the children of God and their portion is amongst the Saints Wherfore we haue erred from the way of truth the brightnes of righteousnesse did not shine vpon vs. What did out pride auaile vs And what profit did the boasting of our richesse bring vnto vs They are all vanished away like a shadowe The which wordes we haue registred vp into perpetual memorie we do despise euery atteÌ„pt that shal lift vp it self against the truth of God And reioycing in troubles we may be reprooued put to shame and rebuked yea and finally be slaine and killed but we wil neither yeeld nor be ouercome And with great triumph will we reioyce in our fathers
when the Archdeacon would amende this thing they vtterly despised with wicked pride his warning and worthy commaÌ„dement to be receiued Then he calling together many religious men and obedient Priestes excommunicated worthely the proud disobedient that beastly despised the curse and were not afraid to defile the holy Ministerie as much as lay in them c. Unto these letters aboue prefixed I haue also adioyned an order of the sayde Anselmus touching a great case of conscience of a Monkes whipping of himself Wherein may appeare both the blind and lameÌ„table superstition of those religious men and the iudgement of this Anselmus in the same matter An other letter of Anselmus Anselmus Archbishop to Bernard Monke of the Abbey of S. Warburg greeting and prayer I Heard it sayde of your Lorde Abbot that thou iudgest it to be of greater merite when a Monke either beareth himselfe or desireth himselfe to be beaten of an other then when hee is beaten not of his owne will in the chapter by the commaundement of the prelacie But it is not so as you thinke For that iudgement that any man commaundeth to himselfe is kingly But that which he suffreth by obedience in the chapter is Monkish The one is of his owne will the other is of obedience and not of hys owne will That which I cal kingly kings rich proud men coÌ„maÌ„d to be done to themselues But that which I call moÌ„kish they take not commaunding but obeying The kingly is so much easier by how much it agreeth to the will of the sufferer But the monkish is so much the grieuouser by how much it differeth froÌ„ the wil of the sufferer In the kingly iudgement the sufferer is iudged to be his own In the monkish he is proued not to be his own For although the king or riche man when he is beaten willingly sheweth himselfe humbly to be a sinner yet he woulde not submit himselfe to this humblenesse at any other commaundement but would withstand the commander with all his strength But when a Monke submitteth himselfe to the whippes humbly in the chapter at the wil of the prelate the truth iudgeth him to be of so much greater merite by howe much he humbleth himselfe more and more truely then the other For he humbleth himselfe to God only because he knoweth his sinnes But this man humbleth himself to man for obedience But he is more lowly that humbleth himselfe both to God and man for Gods cause then he which humbleth himselfe to God only and not to Gods commandement Therfore if he that humbleth himselfe shall be extolled Ergo he that more humbleth himselfe shall be more exalted And where I sayde that when a monke is whipped that it differeth from his wil you must not so vnderstande it as though he woulde not paciently beare it with an obedient wil but because by a natural appetite he would not suffer the sorrow But if ye say I do not so much flie the open beating for the paines which I fele also secretly as for the shame know then that he is stronger that reioyceth to beare this for obedieÌ„ce sake Therfore be thou sure that one whipping of a monke by obedience is of more merite then innumerable whippings taken by his owne minde But where as he is such that alwaies he ought to haue his heart ready without murmuring obediently to be whipped we ought to iudge him then to be of a great merite whether he be whipped priuily or openly c. And thus much concerning Anselmus archb of Cant. whose stout example gaue no litle courage to Thurstinus and Becket his successors and other that folowed after to doe the like against their kings and princes as in processe hereafter by the grace of Christ shall appeare About this time An. 1105. two famous Archbishops of Mentz being right vertuous and wel disposed Prelates were cruelly and tirannously delt withall and intreated by the B. of Rome Their names were Darry and Christian This Darry hauing intelligence that he was complained of to the pope sent a learned man a special frend of his to excuse him named Arnolde one for whome he had much done and promoted to great liuing and promotioÌ„s But this honest maÌ„ Arnold in steede of an excuser became an accuser bribing the two chiefest Cardinalles with good gold by which meanes he obtained of the Pope those two Cardinals to be sent as inquisitors and only doers in that present case The which comming to Germany somoned the sayd Henry and deposed him of his Archbyshoppricke for all he could doe either by lawe or iustice substituting in his place the foresaid Arnolde vpon hope truely of the ecclesiastical gold Whereupon that vertuous honorable Henry as the storie telleth spake vnto those his peruerse iudges on this wise If I shuld appeale vnto the Apostolik see for this your vniust proces had against me perhaps the pope wold attempt nothing any more therein then ye haue neither should I win any thing by it but only royle of body losse of good affliction of mind care of heart missing of his fauour Wherfore I do appeale to the Lord Iesus Christ as to the most highest iust iudge and cite you before his iudgement there to answere me before the high iudge For neither iustly nor godly but by corruption as it pleaseth you you haue iudged Whereunto they scoffingly answered Go you first and we wil folow Not long after as the storie is the saide Darry died whereof the 2. Cardinals hauing intelligence sayd one to the other testingly behold he is goue before and we must follow according to our promise and verely they sayde truer then they were aware off for win a while they died in one day For the one sitting vpon a â—akes to ease himselfe voyded out all his intrails into the draught and miserably ended his life The other gnawing of the fingers off his handes and spitting them out of his mouth al deformed in deuouring himself died And in likewise not long after the ende of these men the foresaid Arnold most horribly in a sedition was slaine and certaine daies lying stinking aboue the grouÌ„d vnburied was open to the spoyle of euery rascall harlot The Hystoriographer in declaring hereof crieth vpon the cardinals in this maner O ye Cardinals ye are the beginning and authors hereof Come ye hether therefore come ye hether and heape and cary vnto your couÌ„tries the deuil and offer yourselues to him with that money whereof ye haue bene most gluttonous and insatiable About the same time and yeare when king Henry began his raigne Pope Paschalis entered his papacie succeding after Urbanus about the yeare of the Lorde 1100 nothing swaruing from the steps of Hildebrand his superiour This Paschalis being elected by the Cardinals after that the people had cried thrise S. Peter hath chosen good Raynerus He than putting on a purple vesture atice vpon his head
therof should be displaced and the said Herrigetto perferred Yea also non obstante that the sayd Pope himselfe had before giuen his graunt to the king realme of England y◠one Italian should not succeede an other in any benefice there yet for all that the said Herrigetto vpon paine of excommunication to be placed therin Ex Paris fol. 240. And thus much hetherto of these matters through the occasion of the East churches and the Grecians to the entent all men that read these stories see the doings of this Westerne Bishop may consider what iust cause these Grecians had to seclude themselues from hys subiection and communion For what christian communion is to be ioyned with him which so contrary to Christ and his gospel seeketh for worldly dominion so cruelly persecuteth hys brethren so giuē to auarice so greedy in getting so iniurious in oppressing so insatiable in hys exactions so malitious in reuenging stirring vp warres depriuing kings deposing Emperours playing Rex in the Church of Christ so erronious in doctrine so abominably abusing excommunication so false of promise so corrupt in life so voyde of Gods feare and briefly so farre from all the parts of a true Euangelicall Bishop For what seemeth he to care for the soules of men which setteth in benefices boyes and outlādish Italians and further one Italian to succede an other which neither did know the language of the flocke nor once would abide to see their faces And who can blame y◠Grecians then for diffeuering themselues from such an oppressour and gyant against Christ. Whose wise example if this Realme had then folowed as they might certes our predecessours had bene rid of an infinite number of troubles iniuries oppressiōs warres commotions great trauails charges besides the sauing of innumerable thousand of poūds which the sayd bishop full falsely hath raked and transported out of thys Realme of ours But not to excede the bounds of my history because my purpose is not to stande vpon declamations nor to dilate common places I will passe ouer leauing the iudgement therof to the further examination of the reader For els if I lifted to prosecute this argument so far as mater would lead me truth peraduenture wold require me to say I durst not only say but could well proue the Pope court of Rome to be the only fountain principal cause I say not of muche misery heere in England but of all the publicke calamities and notorious mischiefes which haue happened these many yeres through all these West parts of christendome especially of all the lamentable ruine of the church which not only we but the Grecians also this day do suffer by the Turks and Saracens As whosoeuer wel considereth by reading of histories the course of times and vieweth with all the doings and acts passed by the said bishops of Rome together with the blinde leading of his doctrine shal see good cause not only to thinke but also to witnes the same Only one narratiō touching this argument and yet not transgressing the office of my historie I minde the Lorde willing to set before the Readers eyes which happened euen about this present time of thys king Henries reigne in the yere of our Lord. 1244. In the which yeare it chanced that Lewes the French king sonne to Quene Blanch fel very fore sicke lying in a swounde or in a traunce for certaine dayes in such sorte as few thought he would haue liued some said he was gon already Amongst other there was with him hys mother who sorowing bitterly for her sonne and giuen somewhat as cōmonly the maner of women is to superstitiō went brought foorth a peece of the holy crosse wyth the crowne and the speare which peece of the holy crosse Baldwynus Emperour of Constantinople whome the Grecians had deposed a litle before for holding with the bishop of Rome had sold to the French king for a great summe of mony and blessed him wyth the same also laid the crowne the spear to his body making a vow wtal in the person of her sonne that if the Lorde would visite him with health and release him of that infirmitie he should be croysed or marked with the crosse to visit his sepulchre and there solemnly to render thankes in the lande which he had sanctified wyth his bloud Thus as she with the B. of Parys and other there present were praying beholde the king which was supposed of some to be dead began with a sigh to pluck to his arms and legges and so stretching himselfe began to speake geuing thankes to God who from an high had visited him called him from the danger of death Which as the kings mother with others there toke to be a great miracle wrought by the vertue of the holy crosie so the king amending more and more as soone as he was well recouered receaued solemnely the badge of the crosse vowing for a freewil sacrifice vnto God that he if the counsaile of his realme would suffer him would in hys owne person visite the holy land forgettyng belyke the rule of true Christianitie where Christ teacheth vs otherwise in the gospel saying That neither in this mount nor in Samaria nor at Ierusalem the Lord will be worshipped but seeketh true worshippers which shall worship him in truth and veritie c. An. 1244. Pariens fol. 182. After thys was great preparaunce and muche a do in Fraunce toward the setting foorth to the holy land For after the K. first began to be croysed the most part of the nobles of Fraunce with diuers Archbishops and Byshops with Earles and Barons and Barons and gentlemen to a mighty number receaued also the crosse vppon their sleeues Amongst whom was the Earle Atrebacensis the kings brother the Duke of Burgundy the Duke of Brabant the Countesse of Flaunders wyth her two sonnes the Earle of Britaine with his sonne the Earle of Barrēsis Earle of Swesson Earle of S. Paul Earle of Druis Earle Retel with many noble persons mo Neither lacked here whatsoeuer the Pope could do to set forward this holy busines in sending his Legates and Friers into Fraunce to stirre the people to folow the king to contribute to his iourny Wherupon was graunted to the King to gather of the vniuersall church of France by the popes authoritie the tenth part of all their goods for 3. yeares space together vpon thys condition that the king likewise wold graunt to the Pope the 20. part for so many yeares after to be gathered of the sayd Church of Fraunce Which was agreed An. 1246. Ex Mat Parisiens fol. 204 b. Shortly after thys in the yeare of our Lorde 1247. followed a Parliament in Fraunce where the king with his nobles being present there was declared how the king of Tartarians or Turkes hearing of the viage of the French king writeth a letter to him requiring that he wil become hys
keping of Kaira Babylonia It folowed now after the taking of Diamata that the soldan of Babylon accused the Prince which had the custodie thereof before his nobles of prodition as giuing the Citie vnto the Christians Who notwithstanding in indgement did sufficiently cleare himselfe declaring how he was certified that the king would land at Alexandria and therfore bent all power to preuent the kings ariuall there But by distresse of weather he missing of his purpose and the king landing about Damiata by reason therof the city was taken vnprouided he notwithstanding with his company resisting as well as they might till they could no longer and so departed out cursing said he Mahomet his law At which wordes the Soldan being offended commanded him to be had away as a traytor and blasphemer and to be hanged albeit he had sufficiently purged himselfe by the iudgement of the court His brother which was the keper of Kayra and Babylonia being therewith not a litle agrieued and bearing a good minde to the Christian religion deuised in him selfe bow to giue the said city of Kayra with Babylonia to the French king so in most secrete wise sent to the king shewing his ful purpose and what had happened and furthermore instructing the king in all things how and what he should do moreouer requiring the SacrameÌ„t of baptisme meaning in deede good sayth and sending also away all the Christian captiues which he had with hym in prison The king being glad hereof sent in al hast for william Longspath promising a full redresse of all iniuries past who vpon hope of some good lucke towardes came at the kings request and so ioyned with the French power agayne * The lamentable ouerthrow and slaughter of the French armey fighting agaynst the Infidels through the sinister councell of the Popes Legate TO make the story short the king setting forward from Damiata directed his iourny toward Kayra slaying by the way such Saracens as there were set to stop the vitailcs from Damiata The Soldane in the meane tyme hearing of the couragious comming of the French host as beyng in great hope to conquere all sent vnto the king by certayne thrt were next about him offering to the Christians the quyet and full possession of the holy land with al the kingdome of Ierusalem and more besides other infinite treasure of gold and siluer or what els might pleasure them onely vpon this condition they would restore again Damiata with the captiues there and so would ioyne together in mutuall peace and amitie Also they should haue all their Christian captiues deliuered home and so both couÌ„tries should freely passe one to an other with their wares and traficke such as they lifted to occupy Furthermore it was also firmly affirmed spokeÌ„ that the Soldan with most of hys nobles were minded no lesse then to leaue the filthy law of Mahomet and receaue the fayth of Christ so that they might quietly enioy their landes and possessions The same day great quietnes had entred no doubt in all Christendome with the end of much bloudshed and misery had not bene for the pope and hys Legate who hauing commaundement from the Pope that if any such offers should come he shoulde not take them stoutly frontosè as the words be of the story coÌ„tradiceÌ„s in no wyse would receaue the conditions offered Parisiens fol. 233. Thus while the Christians vnprofitably lingered the tyme in debating this matter the Soldan in the meane tyme got intelligeÌ„ce of the compact betwene the Tribune of Kayra and the French king whereupon he sent in all hast to the Citty of Kayra to apprehend the Tribune till the truth were fully tryed which seemed to him more apareÌ„t for that the Christian prisoners were already deliuered Hereupon the Soldan being in some better hope and lesse feare refused that which before he had offered to the Christians albeit they with great instaunce afterward sued to the Soldan and could not obteine it Then the Soldan beyng wholy bent to try the matter by the sword sent to the East partes for an infinite multitude of souldiours geuing out by Proclamation that whosoeuer could bring in any Christen mans head should haue x. talentes besides his standing wages And whosoeuer brought his right hand should haue fiue He that brought his foote shoulde haue 2. talentes for his reward After these thiuges thus prepared on both sides to the necessitie of warre the king commeth to the great Riuer Nilus hauing gotten together many boats thinking by them to passe ouer as vpoÌ„ a sure bridge On the other side the Soldan pitcheth himselfe to withstand his comming ouer In the meane tyme happened a certayne feast amongst the Saracens in which the Soldan was absent leauing hys tentes by the water side Whiche beyng foreseene by a certayn Saracen lately conuerted to Christ seruing with the Earle Robert the kings brother and shewing them withall a certayne shalow foorde in the Riuer of Nilus where they might more easily passe ouer the sayd Earle Robert the Mayster of the Temple with a great power esteemed to the third part of the armey issued ouer the Riuer after whome also followed William Longspath with hys band of English souldiours These beyng together ioyned on the other side of the water encountered the same day with the Saracens remayning in the tents and put them to the worse After this victorye gotten the FreÌ„ch Earle surprised with pride and triumph as though he had conquered the whole earth would needes forward deuiding hymselfe from the mayne host thinking to winn the spurres alone To whome certayne sage men of the Temple geuing contrary counsell aduised him not so to do but rather to returne and take their whole company with them and so should they be more sure agaynst all deceites and daungers which there might be layd priuely for theÌ„ The maner of that people they sayd they better knewe and had more experience therof then he Alledgists moreouer their weryed bodyes their tyred horses their famished souldiours the insufficiency also of their number which was not able to withstand the multitude of the enemies especiall at this present brunt in whiche the aduersaries did well see the whole state of their dominion now to consist eyther in winning all or losing all with otâ—er such like wordes of perswasion Which when the proud Earle dyd heare being inflated with no lesse arrogance then ignoraÌ„ce with opprobrious tauntes reuiled them calling them cowardly bastardes and betrayers of the whole countrey obiecting vnto them the common report of many whiche sayd that the land of the holy Crosse might be wonne to Christendome were it not for the rebellious Templarics with the Hospitalaries and their fellowes c. To these contumelious rebukes when the Maister of the TeÌ„ple answered againe for him and his felowes bidding him display his ensigne when he would where be
gathered out of good probable authors But as touching the haynous artes and flagirious verdes which the Pope burdeneth him withall and in his sentence agaynst hym maketh mention of Fredericus not onely purgeth himselfe therof but also diuers historicians as well Germain writers as Italiās affirme the same to be false and of the Popes owne braynes to do him skare teene withall inuēted Of which matter those things which Pandolphus touching the commendation or disprayse of Fredericus writeth I thought good out of Italian to translate whose wordes be these Albeit the Emperor Fredericus was indued with many goodly giftes and vertues yet notwithstanding was he accounted an enemy of the church and a persecutor of the same of which both Innocentius the 4. in his sentence hath pronoūced him guilty the same sentence haue other Popes registred in theyr sixe books of Decretals and stablished the same for a lawe howe that hee ought to be taken for no lesse Therefore peraduenture it should not become me to falsifye or call in question that whiche other haue confirmed or els to dispute and argue much of that matter Yet notwithstanding as much as his actes dedes in writing declare the books of the chiefest authors affirme as also his own Epistles do testify I cannot precisely say whether the bishops of Rome so call him and iudge him therfore Or els for that he was somewhat to bold in speaking and telling them but the truth and reprouing the ecclesiasticall order of their great abuses Or els whether for that he would haue had them gone somewhat more neare the conditions liues of the auncient fathers of the primitiue Church and disciples of Christ Or whether for that he defēded and stood with them for the prerogatiue and dignities belōging to the empire or not Or els whether they stood in feare awe of the great power he was of in Italy which thing in deede Gregory the 9 in a certain Epistle of his confesseth But of these things let them iudge and discerne that shall read the monumēts and histories of Frederick Truely sayth he when I consider with my selfe that Christ whose vicar the Romaine Bishops boast thēselues to be sayd vnto his disciples that they should follow him and also intimate his example as of their maister and teacher and commaunded them farthermore how they should not draw the sword but put vp the same into the skaberd and farther gaue thē in precept that they should not onely forgeue iniuries seuē times but 70. times seuen times to those that offended them And when I now compare the liues of the Bishops of Rome how neare they follow him whose vicar they say they be And consider so manye and greet conspiracies treasons rebellions disloyaltyes lyinges in wayt and treacherous deuises So many Legates of the Popes being Ecclesiasticall persons which will needes be called the shepheardes of Christes flocke to be suche warriours and Captaynes of Souldiours in all the partes of Italy Campania Apulia Calabria being the Emperours dominions in Picenum Aemilia Flamminia and Lumbardy to be sent out against him And also when with my selfe I meditate the destruction of so many great and famous Cities the subuersion of such common weales the slaughter of so many men and the effusion of so much Christian bloud And lastly when I beholde so victorious prosperous and fortunate Emperours to be and so many miserable vnfortunate and vanquished Popes put to flight Am perswaded with my selfe to thinke and beleue that the iudgements of God are secret and maruellous and that to be true which Aeneas Siluius in his history of Austria writeth That there is no great and maruellous slaughter no notorious and special calamity that hath happened either to the publick weale or els to the church of God of the which the Bishops of Rome haue not bene the authors Nicolaus Machiauellus also sayth that all the ruinous calamities and miserable chaunces that the whole christian common weale and also Italy hath suffered hath bene brought in by the Popes and bishops of Rome Many Epistles of Fredericus there be which he wrote vnto the Bishops of Rome to the Cardinals and to diuers other Christian Princes all which I haue read and in them is to be seene nothing contrary vnto Christian doctrine nothing wicked and vngodly nothing iniurious to the Church of God nothing contumelious or arrogantly written of Frederick But in deede I denye not the same to be fraught and full of pitifull complayntes and lamētatiōs touching the auaritious ambitiō of the Ecclesiastical persōs and pertinacy of the Bishops of Rome and that he would receiue and take no satifactiō nor yet excuse in the defence of the right and priuiledge of the Empire which he maintained also of their manifold and infinite cōspiracies which they practised both secretly and openly agaynst him And of the often admonitions which he gaue to the whole multitude and order Ecclesiasticall to attend vpon and discharge their functions and charges And who that farther is desirous to know and vnderstand the trueth and coueteth to search out the renowmed vertues of magnificēt Princes let them read the Epistle of Fredericke dated to all Christian Princes which thus beginneth Collegerunt principes pontifices Pharisaei concilium and an other wherin he perswadeth the Colledge of Cardinalles to take vp the dissention betweene the Emperor and the pope which beginneth In exordio nascentis mundi and also an other which thus beginneth Infallibilis veritatis testem besides yet an other Ad Reges principes orbis Christiani with diuers other moe wherein may well be seene the princely vertues of this so worthy a piere all which Epistles collected together in the Latin tongue the lerned sort I wish to read whereout they may picke no litle benefit and commodity to thēselues In his Epistle last recited these are his wordes Non existimetis id me a vobis ideò contendere ac si ex sententia pontificia priuationis maiestas nostra sit perculsa Cum enim nobis sit rectae voluntatis conscientia cumquedeum nobiscum habeamus eundē testem inuocamus id nos spectasse cum totum ordinem Ecclesiasticum tum praesertim primores neruis potētiae dominationisque eorum succisis extirpatisque tyrannidis radicibus ad primitiue Ecclesie conditionem statum reuocaremus That is Thinke ye not that we so earnestly desire or craue this peace at your hand as though our maiesty were terrified with the Popes sentence of depriuation When as God vpon whom we trust and inuocate is our witnesse and iudge of our conscience that when we went about to reforme the Ecclesiasticall state but especially the ringleaders of the same and should restrayne theyr power and extirpate theyr great tiranny and reduce the same to the state and cōdition of the primatiue Church we looked for no lesse at theyr handes For these causes peraduenture those which had the gouernement
persecutour in Rome fighting against Constantinus was drowned wyth his souldiours like as Pharao was drowned persecuting the children of Israel in the red sea Unto the which xlij moneths or Sabbothes of yeares if yee adde the other sixe yeares wherein Licinius persecuted in the East ye shal finde iust three hundred yeres as is specified before in the first booke of thys volume pag. 97. After the which fortie and two monethes being expired manyfest it is that the furie of Sathan that is hys violent malice and power ouer the Saints of Christ was diminished and restrained vniuersally through the whole world Thus then the matter standing euident that Sathan after 300. yeares counting from the passion of Christ began to be chayned vp at what time the persecution of the primitiue Church began to cease Nowe let vs see howe long thys binding vp of Sathan shoulde continue which was promised in the booke of the Reuelation to be a thousand yeares Which thousand yeares if yee adde to the xlij monethes of yeares that is to 294. yeares they make 1294. yeares after the passion of the Lord. To these moreouer adde the 30. yeares of the age of Christ and it commeth to the yeare of our Lord 1324. which was the yeare of the letting out of Sathan according to the prophesie of the Apocalips A Table containing the time of the persecution both of the primitiue and of the latter Church with the count of yeares from the first binding vp of Sathan to his loosing againe after the minde of the Apocalips The first persecution of the primitiue Churche beginning at the 30. yeares of Christ was prophecied to continue 42. monthes that is An. 294. The ceasing of the laste persecution of the primitiue Churche by the death of Licinius the last persecutour began An. 324. from the natiuitie of Christ which was from the 30. yeare of hys age 294. 294. The binding vp of Sathan after peace geuen to the church counting from the 30. yeares of Christ began An. 294. And lasted a thousand yeres that is counting from the thirtie yeare of Christe to the yeare 1294. About which yeare Pope Boniface the 8. was Pope and made the 6. booke of the decretals confirmed the orders of Friers and priuileged them with great fredomes as appeareth by his constitution Super cathedram An. 1294. Unto the which count of yeares doeth not much disagree that I founde in a certaine olde Chronicle prophesied and wrytten in the latter ende of a booke which booke was wrytten as it seemeth by a monke of Douer remayneth yet in the custodye of William Cary a Citizen of London alledging the Prophesie of one Hayncardus a gray Frier grounded vppon the authoritie of Ioachim the Abbot prophesying that Antichrist shoulde be borne the yeare from the Natiuitie of Christ. 1260. Which is counting after the Lordes passion the very same yere and time when the orders of Friers both Dominickes and Franciscans began first to be sette vp by Pope Honorius the 3. and by Pope Gregorius 9. which was the yere of our Lord counting after his passion 1226. And counting after the Natiuitye of the Lord was the yeare 1260. Wherof these verses in the author was wrytten Cum fuerint anni completi mille ducenti Et decies seni post partum virginis almae Tunc Antichristus nascetur daemone plenus And these verses were wrytten as appeareth by the sayd author An. 1285. These thyngs thus premised for the loosing out of Satan according to the prophesie of the Apocal. nowe let vs enter Christe willing to the declaration of these latter times which folowed after the letting out of Sathan into the worlde Describing the wondrous perturbations and cruell tiranny stirred vp by him against Christes Church Also the valiant resistance of the Church of Christ against him and Antichrist as in these our bookes heere vnder following may appeare The argument of which booke consisteth in 2. partes first to entreate of the raging furie of Satan nowe loosed and of Antichrist Against the saints of Christ fighting and traueiling for the maintenance of the truth reformation of the Church Secondly to declare the decay and ruine of the said Antichrist through the power of the word of God being at length eyther in a greate parte of the worlde ouerthrowen or at least vniuersally in the whole world detected Thus then to begin wyth the yeare of our Lord. 1360. wherin I haue a litle as is aforesayd transgressed the stint of the first loosing out of Sathan we are come now to the time wherin the Lord after long darknes beginneth some reformation of hys Churche by the diligent industrie of sondry hys faithful and learned seruauntes of whome diuers already we haue foretouched in the former booke before as namely Guliel de Sancto Amore Marsilius Patauinus Ockam Robertus Gallus Robertus Grosted Petrus de Cugnerijs Ioannes Rupescissanus Conradus Hager Ioannos de Poliaco Cesenas wyth other moe whych withstoode the corrupt errours and intollerable enormities of the Byshop of Rome Beside them which about these times were put to death by the saide bishop of Rome as Chastilion Franciscus de Arcatara in the booke before recorded also the two Franciscanes Martyrs which were burned at Auinion mentioned pag. 391. Now to these the Lord willing we will adde such other holy Martyrs and confessors who following after in the course of yeares with like zeale and strength of Gods worde and also with like daunger of their liues gaue the like resistance against the enemie of Christes religion and suffered at hys handes the like persecutions First begynning wyth that godly man whosoeuer he was the author of the Booke hys name I haue not intituled the prayer and complaint of the Ploughman wrytten as it appeareth about thys present time Which booke as it was faithfully set foorth by William Tindall so I haue truely distributed the same abroade to the Readers handes neyther chaunging any thyng of the matter neyther altering many woordes of the phrase thereof Although the oldnesse and age of hys speache and termes be almost growne nowe out of vse yet thought I it so best both for the vtilitie of the booke to reserue it from obliuion as also in his owne language to let it go abroad for the more credite and testimonie of the true antiquity of the same Adding withal in the margent for the better vnderstanding of the reader some interpretation of certaine difficult termes and speches as otherwise might perhaps hinder or stay the reader The matter of this complaining prayer of the ploughman thus proceedeth An olde auncient wryting intitled The prayer and complaint of the Ploughman IESV CHRIST that was ybore of the maid Marie haue on thy poore seruauntes mercie and pitie and helpe them in their great nede to fight against sinne and against the deuill that is author of sinne and more nede nes there neuer to cry to
is a mannour of worshipping of false Gods to breake thy hestes For who that loueth thee ouer all thinges and dreadeth thee also he nole for nothing breake thyne hestes O Lord gif breaking of thine hestes be heryeng of false gods I trow that he maketh the people breake thyne hestes and commaundeth that his hestes ben kept of the people maketh himselfe a false GOD on earth as Nabuchodonosor did some tyme that was king of Babilon But Lord we forsaken such false Gods and beleuen that ther ne ben no mo Gods then thou And though thou suffer vs a while to bene in disease for knowledging of thee we thanken thee wyth our hart for it is a token that thou louest vs to â—â—uen vs in thys world some penaunce for our trespas Lord in the old law thy true seruauntes tooke the death for they would not eaten swynes fleshe that thou haddest forbid them to eat O Lord what truth is in vs to eaten vncleene mete of the soule that thou hast forbid Lord thou sayst he that doth sinne is seruaunt of sinne and then he that lyeth in forswearing hymselfe is seruaunt of lesing and then he is seruaunt to the deuill that is a lyer and father of lesinges And Lord thou sayst no man may serue two Lordes at ones O Lord then euery lyer for the tyme that he lyeth other forsweareth himselfe and forsaketh thy seruice for drede of hys bodyly death and becommeth the deuils seruaunte O Lord what truth is in him that clepeth himselfe seruaunt of thy seruantes in his doing he maketh him a Lord of thy seruauntes Lord thou were both Lord and maister and so thou sayd thy selfe but yet in thy warkes thou were as a seruaunt Lord this was a great truth and a great meeknes but Lord bid thou thy seruaunts that they should not haue Lordship ouer theyr brethren Lord thou saydst kings of the heatheÌ„ men han Lordship ouer their subiectes and they that vse their power be cleped well doers But Lord thou saydst it shoulde not be so amongest thy seruantes But he that were most should be as a seruaunt Thou Lorde thou taughtest thy disciples to be meeke Lord in the old law thy seruauntes durst haue no Lordship of theyr brethren but if that thou bid them And yet they should not doe to theyr brethren as they did to thrailes that serued them But they should doe to theyr brethren that were theyr seruauntes as to theyr owne brethren For all they were Abrahams Children And at a certaine tyme they should let theyr brethren passe from them in all freedome but if they would wilfullich abiden still in seruice O Lord thou gaue vs in thy comming a law of perfect loue is token of loue thou clepedst thy selfe our brother And to make vs perfect in loue thou bid that we shoulde clepe to vs no father vpon earth but thy father of heauen we should cleape our father Alas Lord how violently our brethren and thy childreÌ„ ben now put in bodily thraldome and in despite as beastes euermore in greeuous trauell to finde proude men in ease But Lord if we take this defoule and this disease in pacience and in meeknes and kepe thine hests we hope to be free And Lord geue our brethren grace to come out of thraldome of sinne that they fal in through the desiring and vsage of Lordship vpon theyr brethren And Lord thie priestes in the old law had no Lordships among theyr brethren but houses and pastures for theyr beastes but Lord our priestes nowe haue great Lordship and put theyr brethren in greater thraldome then lewed men that be Lordes Thus is meekenesse forsaken Lord thou biddest in the Gospell that when a man is bid to the feast he should sit in the lowest place and then he may be set hyer with worship when the Lord of the feast beholdeth how his gestes fitteth Lord it is drede that they that sit now in the hyest place should be bidd in tyme comming fit beneath And that will be shame and vileny for them And it is they saying those that hyeth himselfe shuld be lowed and those that loweth themselues should be an heyghed O Lord thou biddest in thy Gospell to beware of the Pharaseis for it is a poynt of pryde contrary to meekenesse And Lord thou sayst that they loue the first sittinges at supper and also the principall chaires in churches and greetings in cheeping and to be cleped maysters of men And Lord thou sayest be ye not cleped maisters for one is your maister and that is Christ and all ye be brethren And clepe ye to you no father vpon earth for one is your father that is in heauen O Lord this is a blessed lesson to teach men to be meke But Lord he that clepeth himself thy vicar on earth he clepeth himselfe father of fathers agaynst thy forbidding And all those worships thou hast forbad He approueth them and maketh them maisters to many that teach thy people their owne teaching and leaue thy teaching that is nedefull and hiden it by quainte gloses from thy lewd people and feede thy people with sweuens that they mete and tales that doth little profit but much harme to the people But Lorde these glosers obiecte that they desire not the state of mastry to be worshipped therby but to profit the more to thy people wheÌ„ they preach thy word For as they seggeÌ„ the people will beleue more the preaching of a maister that hath taken a state of schole then the preaching of an other man that hath not take the state of maistry ¶ Lorde whether it bee any neede that maysters beren witnes to thy teaching that it is true and good O Lord whether may any maister mowe by his estate of maisterie that thou hast forboden drawe any man from his sinne rather then an other man that is not a maister ne wole bee none for it is forboden him in thy Gospell Lord thou sendest to maysters to preach thy people and thou knowledgist in the Gospel to thy father that he hath hid his wisedome from wise men and redy men and shewed it to litle Children And Lord maisters of the law hylden thy teaching foly and seiden that thou wouldest destroy the people with thy teaching Trulich Lord so these maisters seggeth now for they haue written many bookes agaynst thy teaching that is truth so the prophecie of Ieremy is fulfilled when he sayth Truelich the false points maisters of the law hath wrought leasing And now is the time come that S. Paul speaketh of where he sayth time shal come when men shall not susteine wholesome teaching But they shullen gather to hepe maisters with hutching eares and from trueth they shullen turnen away their hearing and turnen them to tales that maisters haue maked to showne their maistry and their wisedome ¶ And Lord a man shall beleue more a mans workes then hys words the dede sheweth well of these
wherfore he was depriued were these That the Pope had no more power to excommunicate any man then hath an other That if it be geuē by any persō to the pope to excōmunicate yet to absolue the same is as much in the power of an other priest as in hys He affirmed moreouer that neyther the king nor any temporall Lord could geue any perpetuity to the church or to any ecclesiasticall person for that when such ecclesiasticall do sinne habitualiter continuing in the same still the temporal powers ought and may meritoriously take away from them that before hath bene bestowed vpon thē And that he proued to haue bene practised before here in England by Williā Rufus which thing sayd he if he did lawfully why may not the same also be practised now if he did it vnlawfully then both the church erre sayth he doth vnlawfully in praying for him But of his assertions more shall follow Christ willing hereafter The story which ascribeth to him these assertions being taken out as I take it of that monastery of S. Albons addeth withall that in his teaching and preaching he was very eloquent but a dissembler saith he and an hipocrite Why he surmiseth him to be an hypocrite the cause was this First because he resorted much to the orders of the begging Friers frequenting and extolling the perfection of their pouerty Secondly because he and his felowes vsually accustomed in their preaching to go baretoote and in simple russet gownes By this I suppose may sufficiently appeare to the indifferent the nature and condition of Wickliffe how far it was frō the ambitiō pride which in the slaundrous pen of Polydore Virgil reporting in his 19. book of him that because he was not preferred to higher honors and dignities of the church conceiuing therfore indignation agaynst the clergy became theyr mortall enemy How true this was he onely knoweth best that rightly shall iudge both y◠one and the other In the meane time by other circūstaunces partes of his life we may also partly cōiecture what is to be thoght of that mā But howsoeuer it was in him either true or false yet it had bene Polidors part either not so intemperatly to haue abused his pen or at least to haue shewed some greater authority and ground of that his report For to follow nothing els but flying fame so rashlye to defame a man whose life he knoweth not is not the part of a faythful story writer But to returne from whēce we digressed Beside these his opinions and assertions aboue recited with other mo which are hereafter to be brought in order He began also then something nearely to touch the matter of the Sacrament prouing that in the sayd Sacrament the accidences of bread remayned not without the subiect or substaunce both by the holy Scriptures and also by the authoritye of the doctors but specially by such as were most aunciēt As for the latter writers that is to say such as haue written vpon that argumēt vnder the thousand yeres since Christes time he vtterly refused saying that after these yeares Sathan was losed set at liberty And that since that time the life of man hath bene most subiect and in danger of errors the simple and playne truth to appeare and consist in the Scriptures wherunto all humam traditions whatsoeuer they be must be referred and specially such as are set forth published now of late yeares This was the cause why he refused the latter writers of decretals leaning only to the Scriptures auncient doctors most stoutly affirming out of them that in the Sacramēt of the body which is celebrate with bread the accidēce not to be present with out the substaunce That is to say that the body of Chryst is not present without the breade as the common sorte of Priestes in those daies did dreame As for his arguments what they were we wyll shortly at more oportunity by Gods grace declare them in an other place But herein the trueth as the Poet speaketh very truely had gotten Iohn Wickeliffe great displeasure and hatred at many mens handes and specially of the Monkes and richest sort of Priestes Albeit through the fauor and supportation of the duke of Lancaster and Lord Henry Percy he persisted hitherto in some meane quiet against their woluish violence eruelty Till at last about the yeare of our Lord. 1376. the Byshops still vrging and inciting their Archbishop Symon Sudberye who before had depriued him and afterward prohibited him also not to stirre any more in those sorts of matters had obteined by processe and order of citation to haue him brought before them Whereunto both place and time for him to appeare after theyr vsuall forme was to him assigned The Duke hauing intelligence that Wickliffe his client should come before the Bishops fearing that he being but one was to weake agaynst such a multitude calleth to him out of the orders of Friers foure Bachelers of Diuinity out of euery order one to ioyne them with Wickliffe also for more surety When the day was come assigned to the said Wickliffe to appeare whiche day was Thursday the 19. of February Iohn Wickliffe accompanied with the foure Friers aforesayd and with them also the Duke of Lancaster and Lord Henry Percy Lord Marshal of England the said Lord Percy also going before them to make rowme and way wherewith wickliffe should come Thus wickliffe through the prouidence of god being sufficiently garded was comming to the place where the Bishops sate whome by the way they animated and exhorted not to feare nor shrink a whit at the company of the bishops there present who were all vnlearned said they in respect of him For so proceede that wordes of my foresaid author whom I follow in this narration neither that he shold dread the concourse of the people whom they would themselues assiste and defend in such sort as he should take no harme With these wordes and with the assistaunce of the nobles wickliffe in hart encouraged approcheth to that church of S. Paule in London where a mayne prease of people was gathered to heare what shold be sayd done Such was there the frequencie and throng of the multitude that the Lordes for all the puissance of the high Marshall vnneth with great difficulty could get way through In so much that the bishop of London whose name was William Courtney seeing the stir that the Lord Marshal kept in the Church among the people speaking to that Lord Perry sayd that if he had knowne before what maistries he would haue kept in the church he would haue stopped hym out from comming there At which wordes of the Byshop the Duke disdayning not a little aunswered to the Byshop agayne and sayd that he woulde keepe such maisterie there though he sayd nay At last after much wrastling they pierced through and came to our Ladies chappell Where the Dukes and Barons were
Iohn Wickliffe wrote certayne bookes which he called a Dialogue a Trialogue besides many other treatises and works the which he both wrot and taught in the which he wrot the aforesayd and many other damnable execrable articles The which his books for the publication and aduauncement of his peruers doctrine he did set forth opeÌ„ly for euery man to read Wherby beside many offeÌ„ces great hurt damages of soules hath ensued in diuers regions countryes but specially in the kingdomes of England and Boheme Against whom the maisters and Doctors of the Vniuersities of Oxforde and Prage rising vp in the truth and verity of God according to the order of schooles within a while after did reprooue and condemne the sayd Arcicles Moreouer the most reuerent fathers the archbishops and bishops for that time present of CaÌ„terbury Yorke and Prage Legats of the Apostolick sea in the kingdome of England and Boheme did condemne the bookes of the sayd Wickliffe to be burnt And the sayd Archbishoppe of Prage commissarye of the Apostolicke sea did likewise in this behalf determin iudge And moreouer he did forbid that any of those bookes whiche did remayne vnburned should not be hereafter any more reade And agayne these things being brought to the knowledge vnderstanding of the Apostolicke sea aud the generall councell The Bishop of Rome in his last Councell condemned the sayde bookes treatises and volumes commaunding them to be openly burned Most straightly forbidding that any men which should beare the name of Christ should be so hardy either to keep read or expound any of the sayde bookes or treatises volumes or workes or by any meanes to vse or occupy them either els to alledge theÌ„ opeÌ„ly or priuely but to their reproofe infamy And to the intent that this most dauÌ„gerous and filthy doctrine should be vtterly wiped away out of the Church he gaue commaundemeÌ„t through out al places that the Ordinaries should diligeÌ„tly enquire and seeke out by the Apostolick authority and Ecclesiasticall censure for all such bookes treatises volumes workes And the same so being found to burne consume theÌ„ with fire prouiding withall that if there be any such fouÌ„d which will not obey the same processe to be made agaynst them as agaynst the fauourers and mayntayners of heresies And this most holy Synode hath caused the sayd 45. Articles to be examined and oft times perused by manye most reuerend fathers of the Church of Rome Cardinals Bishops Abbots maisters of diuinitye and Doctours of both lawes besides a great number of other learned men the which Articles being so examined it was found as in truth it was no lesse that many yea a great number of theÌ„ to be notoriously for heretical reproued and condemned by the holy fathers other some not to be Catholick but erroneous some full of offence and blasphemy Certayn of theÌ„ offensiue vnto godlye eares and many of theÌ„ to be rashfull and seditious It is found also that his bookes do contain many Articles of like effect and quality and that they doe induce and bring into the Church vnâ—ouÌ„d and vnwholesome doctrine contrary vnto the fayth and ordinance of the Church Wherefore in the name of our Lorde Iesu Christ this sacred Synode ratefying and approuing the senteÌ„ces and iudgements of the Archbishops counsell of Rome do by this theyr decree and ordinance perpetually for euer more condemne and reproue the sayd Articles and euery one of them his bookes which he intituled his Dialogue and Trialogue all other bookes of the same author volumes treatises workes by what name so euer they bee entituled or called the which we wil here to be sufficiently expressed and named Also we forbid the reading learning exposition or alledging of any of the sayd bookes vnto all faythfull Christians but so farreforth as shall tend to the reproofe of the same forbidding all and singular Catholick persons vnder the payn of curse that from henceforth they be not so hardy openly to preach teach or holde or by any meanes to alledge the sayd Articles or any of them except as is aforesayd that it do tend vnto the reproofe of them commaunding all those bookes treatises works and volumes aforesayd to be openly burned as it was decreed in the Synode at Rome as is afore expressed For the execution wherof duely to be obserued and done the sayd sacred Synode doth straitly charge commaund the ordinaries of the places diligently to attend looke vnto the matter according as it appertayneth vnto euery maÌ„s duty by the Canonicall lawes and ordinaunces What were these articles here condemned by this couÌ„cell collected out of all his workes and exhibited to yâ— sayd CouÌ„cell to the number of 45. The copy of them foloweth vnder written * Certaine other Articles gathered out of Wickeliffes bookes by his aduersaries to the number of 45. exhibited vp to the Councell of Constance after his death and in the same councell condemned BEsides the 24. Articles aboue mentioned there were other also gathered out of his books to the number of 45. in all which his malicious aduersaryes peruersly collecting and maliciously expounding did exhibite vp to the CouÌ„cel of Constance which to repeat all though it be not here needfull yet to recite certayn of them as they stand in that Councell it shall not be superfluous 25. All such as be hyred for temporall liuing to pray for other offend and sinne of simony 26. The prayer of the reprobate preuayleth for no man 27. Halowing of Churches confirmation of children the Sacrament of orders be reserued to the Pope Bishops onely for the respect of temporall lucre 28. Graduations and Doctorships in Vniuersities and Colledges as they be vsed coÌ„duce nothing to the church 29. The excommunication of the Pope and his Prelates is not to be feared because it is the censure of Antechrist 30. Such as fouÌ„d build Monasteries do offend sinne and all such as enter into the same be meÌ„bers of the deuil 31. To enrich the Clergy is agaynst the rule of Christ. 32. Siluester the Pope Constantine the Emperor were deceiued in geuing taking possessions into the Church 33. A Deacon or Priest my preach the word of God with out the authority of the Apostolick sea 34. Such as enter into order or religion monasticall are therby vnable to keep Gods commaundements and also to atteine to the kingdome of heauen except they reurne from the same 35. The Pope with all his Clergye hauing those great possessions as they haue be heretiques in so hauing the secular powers in so suffering them do not well 36. The Church of Rome is the sinagoge of Sathan neither is the Pope immediately the vicare of Christ nor of yâ— Apostles 37. The Decretals of the Pope be Apochripha and seduce from the sayth of Christ and the Clergy that study them be fooles 38. The Emperor and secular Lordes be seduced which so enrich
the Church with such ample possessions 39. It is not necessary to saluation to beleue the church of Rome to be supreme head ouer all Churches 40. It is but folly to beleue the Popes pardons 41. All othes which be made for any coÌ„tract or ciuill bargayne betwixt man and man be vnlawfull 43. Benedict Fraunces Dominicke Bern with all such as haue bene patrons of priuate religion except they haue repented with such also as haue entred into the same be in a damnable state and so from the Pope to the lowest Noues they be all together heretickes Besides these Articles to the number of 45. condemned as is sayd by the Counsell of Constance Other articles also I finde diuersly collected or rather wrasted out of the bookes and writinges of Wickliffe some by William Wodford some by Walden by Frier Tyssington other whom they in theyr bookes haue impugned rather theÌ„ coÌ„futed In the number of whom William Wodford especially findeth out these Articles and writeth agaynst the same to the number of 18. as here vnder follow 1. The bread remayneth in his owne substaunce after the consecration therof vpon the aultar and ceaseth not to be bread still 2. As Iohn was figuratiuely Helias and not personally so the bread figuratiuely is the body of Christ and not naturally And that without all doubt this is a figuratiue speach to say this is my body as to say This Iohn is â—elias 3. In the Decree Ergo Berengarius the Courte of Rome hath determined that the Sacrament of the holy Eucharist is naturaly true bread 4. They which do affirme that the infantes of the faythful departing without the Sacrament of baptisme are not to be saued be presumptuous and fooles in so affirming 5. The administration of the Sacrament of confirmatioÌ„ is not onely reserued to the Bishops 6. In the time of S. Paule onely two orders of Clerkes did suffice in the Church Priests and Deacons Neither was there in the time of the Apostles any destinction of Popes Patriarches and Archbishops and Bishops but these the Emperors pride did finde it out 7. Such as in times past either for couetousnes of temporall lucre or of hope of mutuall succour by kindred or for cause to excuse their lust although they dispayred of issue were maryed were coupled together not by true Matrimony 8. The causes of diuorcement either for spirituall consanguinity or for affinity be not fouÌ„ded in Scripture but are onely ordinaunces of men 9 These words I will take thee to wife are rather to be taken in conâ—ract of matrimony then these wordes I doe take thee to wife And the contract with any party by the words of the future tence ought not to be frustrate for the contract with any party afterward made by the words of the present time 10. There be 12. disciples of Antechrist Popes Cardinals Patriarches Archbishops Bishops Archdeacons Officials Deanes Monkes Chanons Friers and Pardoners 11. In the booke of Numbers the 18. chapter in Ezechiell 44. chapter it is commaunded simply that neither the Priestes of Aaron nor the Leuites should haue any part of inheritance with other tribes but should liue meerly of tithes and oblations 12. There is no greater hereticke or Antechrist then that Clerke which teacheth that it is lawfull for Priestes and Leuites of the law of grace to be indued with temporall possessions And if there be any heretickes Apostates or blasphemers these Clerkes be such 13. It is not onely lawfull for the Lords temporal to take away goods of fortune from the Churchmen sinning vsually but also are bounde so to doe vnder payne of eternall damnation 14. He that is the more humble and more seruiceable to the Church and more enamoured with the loue of Christ he is in the church militant the greater and the more nearest Vicar of Christ. 15. If corporall vnction or aneling were a Sacrament as now it is fayned to be Christ and his Apostles would not haue left the ordinaunce thereof vntouched 16. Vnto the true dominion secular is required vertuous life of him that ruleth 17. All thinges that happen doe come absolutely of necessity 18. Whatsoeuer the Pope or his Cardinalles can deduce clearely out of the Scripture that only is to be beleued or to be done at their monitioÌ„ whatsoeuer otherwise they do commaund is to be condemned as hereticall Besides this W. Woodford afore mentioued diuers other there were which wrote agaynst these articles of Wicliffe aforesay maynteyning the Popes part as seemeth for flatterye rather then following any iust cause so to doe or shewing forth any reason or learning in disprouing the same Notwithstanding on the contrary part some there were againe both learned and godly which taking the part of Wickliffe without all flattery defended the most of the sayd articles openly in scholes and other places as appereth by the works of Iohn Hus who in his publicke determinations in the vniuersity of Prage stoode in defence of the same agaynst all his aduersaryes As partly is here to be seene in these tractations vnder folowing ¶ THE PVBLICK DEFENCE of certayne Articles of Iohn Wickliffe in the first Act before the whole Vniuersity of Prage in Charles Colledge ¶ The determination of I. Hus vpon the xiiij Article of Wickliffe as touching the preaching and hearing of the word of God made in the yeare of our Lord. 1412. FOr so much as to condemne the trueth wittingly or without reasonable examination doth tende to greate daunger of saluation as the Lord sayth Luke the sixt doe ye not condemne and ye shall not be condemned Therefore to auoyd this great dauÌ„ger the Vniuersity of Prage and the whole communalty there of the Rector Masters Doctors Bachelers and Studentes in theyr generall assembly not agreeing to the condemnation pronounced by the Doctors in theyr councell house requireth of the sayde Doctors a reasonable proofe of theyr condemnation and that they should by scripture authority or infallible reasoÌ„ proue the falsehead of euery those fiue and forty Articles The which being once done the sayd Vniuersity will agree to the sayd condemnation as iust For the Vniuersity doth well know that as Augustine sayth in the end of his second booke of Christian doctrine That what so euer a man doth learne besides the holy scriptures if it be hurtfull there it is condemned If it be profitable there it is founde And when a man hath founde all thinges therein which he hath profitably learned els where he shall much more aboundantly finde those thinges which are found in no place els but are learned in the maruelous deapth and maruellous profoundnesse of those most sacred Scriptures onely Thus writeth Augustine And Gregory in his three twenty booke of Moralles sayth thus God in the holye scripture hath comprehended whatsoeuer thing may happen vnto any man and in the same hath by the examples of those which are gone afore taught them which are to come how to
reforme theyr liues Whereby it appeareth that if euery of the fiue and forty Articles conteyneth in it wholly the thing that is false and vntruth the same is either playnelye or darckly condemned in the holye Scriptures Secondly it followeth by the sentence and minde of this holy man that if the condemation of the fiue and forty Articles be profitable the same is founde in the holy scriptures And where as agayne Saynt Augustine writeth vnto Saynt â—ierome in his â—ight Epistle and the ninth Distinction I sayth he haue learned to attribute this honor and reuerence vnto those writers onely which are called Canonicall that I dare affirme none of them to haue erred in theyr workes or writinges As for all other writers I doe so read them that although they abound wyth ueuer so much holynesse or excell in doctrine I do not by and by thinke it true because they themselues do so iudge but if they can by other Canonicall Authors or probable reasons perswade or proue that they doe not degresse froÌ„ the trueth Also the sayd Augustine in his booke De vnico Baptismo Lib. 2. sayeth thus Who doeth not knowe or vnderstande that the holy canonicall scripture to be contayned in hys owne bondes and limittes and the same to be preferred before all other letters and decrees of Bishops c. And a litle after he hath the like saying as for the letters of other Bishops which haue bene written or be written after the Canon being confirmed they may lawfully be reprehended and reproued both by the word of them that be more skilfull in that matter and also by the auncient authority of other Bishops or by the prudeÌ„ce and wisedome of such as be better learned or more expert or els by generall couÌ„sels if it so chaunce that they in any poynt haue erred and gone a stray from the sincere truth By these sayings of S. Austen and other like c. The Vniuersity of Prage hath concluded and determined that they will not receiue the condemnation of the fiue and forty Articles made by the Doctors in their councel house as iust and true except they which condemned them will proue theyr condemnation by the holy Scriptures and probable reasons vpoÌ„ euery of the fiue and forty Articles Wherefore for the dew examination of the foresayd coÌ„demnation whether it be effectuall or no we will at thys present take in hand the fouretenth Article of the number of the fiue and forty which Article is this They which leaue of preaching and hearing of yâ— word of God for feare of excommudication of men are alreadye excommunicate and in the day of iudgement shal be counted the betrayers of Christ. This Article conteineth first that all priests omitting the preaching of the word of God for feare of the excommunication of men they are already excommunicate Secondly it conteineth that all such as doe omitte the hearing of the word of God for feare of excommunicatioÌ„ are already excommunicated Thirdlye that both these sortes of men in the daye of iudgement shal be counted traitors of Christ. As concerning the first poynt it is presupposed that the preaching of the word of God is commaunded vnto the Apostles and theyr followers as it appeareth in Mathew the tenth where it is sayd Iesus sent his xii Disciples commaunding them and saying goe and preach that the kingdome of heauen is at hand Also in the last of Mathew and the tenth of Luke Whereupon Peter the Apostle of Christ acknowledging this precept and commaundement for himselfe and for the other Apostles and successors in the 10. of the Actes sayth thus he commaunded vs to preach and to testifye that it is he which is ordayned of God the iudge both of the quicke and the dead This commaundement also the other Apostles did acknowledge specially the chosen vessell pronouncing vnder a great threatning in the first Corinthians 9. chap. Wo be vnto me if I do not preach the Gospell And Pope Nicholas considering that great threatning in 43. Distinction sayeth the dispensation and distribution of the heauenly seade is commaunded and enioyned vnto vs. Woe be vnto vs if we doe not sow it abroode or if we hold our peace Whiche thing when as the vessell of election did feare and cry out vpon how much more ought all other inferiours to feare and dread the same To the same purpose doth S. Gregory write in his pastorall in the distinction Sit rector It is also euident by many other doctours and holy men as by S. Augustine Hierome Isidore Bernard whose words it were here to long to rehearse As touching the second poynt that the hearing of the word and law of God is commaunded vnto the people it is euident both by the olde and new law for it is sayd in the 28. of the Prouerbes he that turneth away his eare will not heare the law of God his prayer shall be cursed And our Sauior rebuking the Scribes and Pharesyes concludeth thus in the 8. of S. Iohn saying he that is of God heareth Gods word But forsomuch as you are not of God therfore you heare not his word Thirdly it is to be noted that excommunication is a seperation from the Communion the 11. Question 3. Nihil cap Canonica And 27. question first Viduas 34. Question 3. Cum sacerdos And this excommunication is double that is to say either secret or manifest The secret excommunication is whereby a man is seperated from the misticall body of Christ and so from God through sinne according vnto the 59. Psalme Your iniquities haue made seperation betwene your God and you And with this excommunicatioÌ„ doth the Apostle excommunicate euery man which doth not loue the Lorde Iesu Christ. Saying in the first Corinth and the last Chapter If any man do not loue the Lord Iesu Christ let him be accursed The manifest and apert excommunication may be deuided into a manifest excommunication by God Whereof it is spoken Math. 25. go ye curied c. And often times els in the lawe of God Also into a manifest excommunication by men whereby the Prelate doth either iustly or vniustly cast out any man from the participation of the Communion of the Church Whereof this shall suffise at this present Then as touching the first part of the article it is thus argued c. Whosoeuer forsaketh or leaueth the commaundemeÌ„ts of God vndone they are excommunicate of God But the Priestes which leaue of the preaching of the word of God for feare of the vniust excommunication of men do leaue the coÌ„maundement of God vndone Ergo those Priests which do leaue of preaching of the word of God are excommunicated of God The first part of this Article is true The maior appereth by the Psalme Cursed be they which doe decline and swarue from thy preceptes The Minor is euident by the first proposition which proueth that the preaching of the word of God is the
preach no lyes nor vayne iests or other things not authorised but only the law of Christ the minds of the holy doctors And he that doth so preach necessity occationing or mouing him therunto in case there be no Pope or Bishop or in case possible to withstand the preaching of heretickes or false preachers he in so doing doth not vsurpe the office of preaching and in suche case there is no doubt but he is sent of God and this doth also answere vnto that which is consequently sayd that if any man will peradueÌ„ture craftely answere that such preachers are inuisibly seÌ„t of God although not visibly of meÌ„ when as that inuisible seÌ„ding of God is much more better theÌ„ the visible sending of men A man may reasonably answere therunto that forsomuch as that interuall seÌ„ding is secret it is not sufficient for a man onely to say that he is sent of God forsomuch as euery hereticke may so say but he ought to proue the same his inuisible calling by the working of some miracle or by some speciall testimony of the scripture Here it is to be noted according to S. Augustine in his 65. booke of quest vnto Orosius that there is 4. kindes of sending The first is from God onely whereof we read in Moises other which were inspired by God And this kinde sending loseth from the daunger of the statute so that he whom the spirit of God hath enspired this prelate geuing thankes may proceed vnto a better life WherupoÌ„ Pope Urbane sayd 19. quest 2. There be sayd he 2. lawes the one publick the other priuate The publick law is that which is confirmed in writing by the holy fathers such as is the canon law which is only geuen for transgressions As for example it is decreed in the canons that none of the clergy shall go froÌ„ one bishoprick vnto an other without the letters commendatory of his bishop the which was ordeined onely for offeÌ„ders that no infamed persons should be receiued of any bishop For they were wont when they could not celebrate or do their office vnder their owne Bishopricke to go vnto another which now is forbidden by the lawes and precepts The priuate law is that which by the instruction of the holy Ghost is written in the hart as the Apostle speaketh of many which haue the law of God written in their hartes And in an other place Forsomuch as the Gentiles haue not the law of God but naturally doe those thinges which are of the law they are lawes vnto theÌ„selues And afterward he sayth the priuate law is much more worthy then the publicke law For the spirit of god is a law And they which are moued by the spirit of God are led by the law of God And who is he that can worthely resist agaynst the holy Ghost Whosoeuer therfore is led by the spirit of God albeit his bishop do say him nay let him go freely by our authority for the law is not appointed for the iust man for where as the spirit of God is there is liberty and if ye be led by the spirite of God ye are not vnder the law Beholde here it is affirmed that the sending by God through inspiration is not bound vnder the bondage of the law for that law is more worthye then the publicke law Secondly that the law is made for transgressors offenders and not for the iust Thirdly that whosoeuer is ledd by the spirite of God although his Bishop stand agaynst him he may proceed vnto a better life Wherby it is euideÌ„t that a deacon or priest disposed to preach and being led by the spirit of God he may freely preach the gospell of christ without the spiritual licence of his bishop It is euideÌ„t for somuch as it is good that a deacon or priest do liue well preach fruitfully Ergo he may proceede from idlenes vnto the labor office of preaching and so vnto a better life But where as it is sayde afore that for so much as the inward sending or calling is secret therfore it is not sufficient for a man barely to affirme onely the he is sent of god when as euery heretick may so say but it is necessary that he do confirme proue his inuisible sending by the working of some miracle or by some speciall testimony of the scripture Here is to be noted that there are 2. kindes of preachers some true preachers of our sauior Christ other seducers of Antechrist The first sort following the mayster Christ teach the people in truth The other sort being of a corrupt minde and reprobate touching faith resist against the verity And through couetousnes by their fained words do make marchandise of the people And these meÌ„ do geue shal geue miracles as our sauior saith Math. 24. There shall arise false Christs and false prophets the which shall shew great signes and wonders in so much that euen the elect theÌ„selues if it were by any meanes possible shoulde be brought into error And the apostle in â—he 2. to the Thes. 2. as touching their head Antechrist writeth thus whose comming shal be according to the operation of sathan with al power and signes false miracles seducing vnto iniquity those which do perish because they haue not receiued the charity and loue of truth that they might be saued Therfore will the Lord send vpon them the operation of error that they shall geue credit vnto lies That all such as haue not belued the truth but consent vnto wickednes should be iudged Behold how expressely our Sauior by himself and by his Apostle doth teach vs how the disciples of Antechrist with theyr head should shine through their great signes and woÌ„ders But the true disciples of Christ shall not so do in the time of Antechrist For as S. Isidor sayth in his first book 22. De summo bono Before that Antechrist shall appeare all vertues and signes shall cease from the Church that he may the boldlier persecute the same as an abiect For this profit shall all miracles and signes cease vnder Antechrist that thereby the patience of the holy meÌ„ might be known and the lightnes of the reprobate which are offeÌ„ded may be opened also that the cruelty of the persecuters shuld be made more scare Thus writeth S. Isidor S. Gregory in his 24. booke of Morals sayth For why by a terrible examination of Gods secret dispeÌ„satioÌ„ shall all signes of vertue or power be takeÌ„ away from the holy church before that the Leuiathan appeare in yâ— most wicked and damnable man whose shape he doth take vpon him For prophecy is hidden the gift of healing is takeÌ„ away the vertue of loÌ„g abstineÌ„ce is deminished the words of doctrine is put to silence and the wonderfull workes of miracles are extinguished which things nothing can vtterly take away but onely the dispensation of God But this dispeÌ„satioÌ„ is not so openly manifoldly
and vnmoueable Awake ye quickely and sleepe nought and stond now strongly for Gods law For Saynt Iohn in the Apocalips sayes blesset be he that awakes for nought to sleepers but to wakers God has behite the crowne of life For the hower is nowe as Paule sayth to vs from sleepe for to arise for he that earelye awakes to me he shall finde me sayth Christ himseluen This waking gostly is good liuing out of sinne this sleepe betokens that which cowardeth a mans hart from gostlye comfort and to stand in the same through a deceaueable sleepe is this that lets a man of the blisse of heauen the fende makes men bold in sinne and ferd to do worship to God death is a likening to a theefe that preuely steales vpon a man that now is riche and full of we le an one he makes him a needy wrech therfore sayd God by S. Iohn in the Apocalips in this wise Be thou waking for if thou wake nought I shall come to thee as a theefe and thou shalt not wit what houre And if the husbandman sayes Christ wist what houre the theefe should come he shoulde wake and suffer him not to vndermine his house Saynt Peter therefore warneth and sayth wake and be ye ware suffer ye no man he sayes as a theefe but wilfullye for Gods loue for it is time as Peter saies that dome begin from the house of God Ye bene the body of Christ sayes Poule that needes must suffer with the head or els your bodyes bene but deade and departed from Christ that is the head And therefore curset be he sayes Poule that loues not Iesu Christ. And who it is that loues him Christe himselfe telles in the Gospell he that has my hestes and keepes them he it is that loues me Cursed he be therfore sayes Poule that doth Christes workes deceiueably Be ye not therefore sayes Poule ashamed of the true witnesse of Iesu Christ for Christ our God sayes in his Gospell he that shames me and my wordes him shall mans sonne ashame when he shal come for to set in the siege of hys Maiesty And each man he sayes that knowes me and my wordes before men in this sinnefull generation and whorish mans sonne shall knowledge him before my father sayes Christ himselfe when he shall come with hys Aungels in the glory of his Father Sithe ye therefore bene Christenmen that is to say Christes men shew in deede that ye bene suche as ye daren shew you the kings men for hit hâ—d bene as Peter saies better not to haue knowen the way of trueth then after the knowing thereof to be conuerted backeward there from We knowen Christ that is trought we sain all through our beliefe if we turne from him for dred truely wee deny the troth And therefore sith our time is short how short no man knowes but God do we the good that we may to Gods worship when we haue time Be true sayes God to the death and you shall haue the crowne of life And thinke on Iudas Machabeus that was Gods true knight that comforted hartelye Gods true people to be the folowers of his law And geue ye he sayd your liues for the Testament of your fathers And ye shulen winne he sayd great ioy and a name for euermore Was not Abraham he sayd in temptation founden true and was arectet vnto him euermore to righteousnesse Ioseph in time of his anguish he kept truely Gods hest he was made by Gods prouidence Lord of Egypt for his trouth Phinees our fadure louing he sayth the zeale of God tooke the testament of euerlasting Priesthoode Iosue for he fulfillet the worde of God was domes man in Israell Caleph that witnessed in the Church he tooke therefore the heretage he sayth Dauid in his mercy hee gat the siege of the kingdome in worldes Hely for that he loued the zeale of Gods lawe was taken vppe into heauen Ananie Azary and Misaell he sayes weren deliuerer thoore through true beliefe out of the hoat flame of fire True Daniel in his simplenes was deliueret from the Lyons mouthe Bethinke ye therfore he sayes by generation and generation and thou shalt neuer finde that he sayled that man that truely trusted in him And therefore dread you nought he sayes of the wordes of a sinnefull man hys glory is he sayes but wormes and tordes he is to day he sayth y made hye to morow he sayes he is not foundeÌ„ for he is turned he sayes into his earth agayn the minde of him is perisher Sonnes therefore he sayes be ye comforter and dye manly in the lawe for when ye han done that that Gods commaundes you to doe ye shulen be glorious in him And Dauid the king sayes also on this wise in the Psalter booke blesset be they Lord that keepen thy law in worldes of worldes they shall prayse thee And in Leuiticus sayes God thus gif that ye wenden in mine hestes keepen my commaundementes and done hem I shall I shall bring forth theyt fruit and trees shall be fulfilled with apples And ye shallen eat your bread in fulnes ye shoulen dwell in your lande without drede I shall geue peace in your costes ye shall sleep and no man shall feare you Euill beastes I shall done away from you and sword shall not passe your termes ye shuln pursue your enemies and they shall fall before you fifty of yours shulne pursue an hundreth of heren an hundret of yours a thousand of theyrs your enemies hee saieth shulen fal through sword and your sute I shall he sayes behold you and make you to waxe and ye shall be multiplier And I shall strength with you my couenaunt ye shall eat the aldest and the new shull come in theron And ye shuln cast forth the old I shall dwell in the midst of you And I shall wend amonges you and shal be your God and ye shulne be my people If that ye heare me not ne done nought all my hestes but dispiseÌ„ my law and my domes and that ye done not tho thinges that of me bene ordener and breken my commaundements and my couenant I shall do these thinges to you I shall visite you surely in nede and brenning which shall dimme your eghenen and shall wast your liues about nought Ye shulne sow your sede for hit shal be deuouret of enemies I shall put my face agaynst you and ye shall fall before your enemies And ye shulen be vnderlings to them that han hatet you ye shall flee no man pursuing And if ye will not be buxome to me I shall adde thereunto thornes and seuen folde blame And I shall all to brast the hardnes of you I shall geue the heauen aboue you as yron the earth as brasse About nought shall your labour be for the earth shall bring you forth no fruit ne tree shall geue none apples to you If that ye wenden agaynst me and will not heare me I
that there do not remain accidencies without substance or subiect after the coÌ„secration of the body of Christ. And touching this matter the doctors holde diuers opinions Furthermore as concerning the Pope he said helde and auouched that he is the very Antichrist because yâ— in lyfe and maners he is contrary to the lawes doctrines and deedes of Christ our Lord. All and euery of these things were done euen as they be aboue writteÌ„ and rehearsed in the yeare of our Lord poÌ„tificall office month day place aforesayd at supper time of the day aforenamed theÌ„ and there being present the worshipful and discrete men sir Walter Ramsbury chiefe chaÌ„ter of the sayde Cathedrall Church of Hereforde Roger Hoore Chanon of the same Church Walter Wall Chaplain of the said church of Hereford being a vicar of the Choral certaine other worthy witnesses of credit that were specially called and desired to the premisses Ex Regist. Herford And I Richard Lee whelar clerke of Worcester being a publike notarye by the authoritie Apostolike was personally present at all and singuler the premisses whilest that as is before rehersed they were done and a doing in the yere of our lord 1391. pontisical office month day place the houre aforesaid I did see write and heare all and singuler those things thus to bee done and haue reduced theÌ„ into this publike maner and forme being desired truely to restifie the premisses haue sealed the sayde instrument made hereupon with mine accustomed scale and name In the name of God Amen Be it plainly knoweÌ„ to all persons by this present publike instrumeÌ„t that in the yere from the incarnation of the lord after the course and coâ—â—pâ—â—tation of the church of England 1391. the indiction fifteene in the 3. yere of the pontifical office of the most holy father in Christ and our Lord Lord Boniface Pope by the prouydeÌ„ce of God the 9. in the 19. day of the month of Ianuary Walter Brute layman of Hereford dioces personally appearing before the reuereÌ„d father in Christ and Lord. Lord Iohn by gods grace B. of Herford in the presence of me being a publike notarie one of the witnesses vnder written did say hold publish affirme the coÌ„clusioÌ„s hereafter written the is to say yâ— christen people are not bouÌ„d to pay tithes neither by the law of Moses nor by the law of Christ. Item that it is not lawful for Christians for any cause in any case to sweare by the creator neither by the creature Item he confesseth openly and of his owne accord that within the same month of Ianuary he did eate drink and communicate with William Swinderby not being ignorant of the sentence of the said reuerend father whereby the same William Swinderby was pronounced an heretique schismatique and a false seducer of the common people Which conclusions the same reuerend father caused to bee writteÌ„ and in writing to be deliuered to the same Walter Which when he had seene and red he sayd also that he did maintaine and iustifie them according to the lawes aforesayd These thinges were done in the chamber oâ— the sayd bishop of Herford at his manor of Whitborne of the sayde dioces of Hereford then being there present the same Byshop abouesaid M. Reynold of Wolsten Canon of Hereford sir Phillip Dileske parson of the parish church of Blamurin Thomas Guldefeld parson of the Church of Englisbyknore Iohn Cresset parson of the church of Whytborne and Thomas Wallewayne housholde seruant for witnesses specially called and desired to the premisses of the dioces of Hereford and S. Asse And I Benedict Come clerke of the dioces of S. Asse publike notary by the Apostolike authoritie of the dioces of S. Asse was personally present together with the witnes before named at all and singuler these and other thinges here premised whilest they were so done and a doing did see heare write those things so to be done as is before mencioned and did write the same and reduce them into this publike forme with my wonted accustomed seale and name haue sealed it being desired and required truly to testifie the premisses At the last the aforesaid Walter Brute did present and cause to be presented to vs at diuers places and times assigned by vs to the same Walter to aunswere to yâ— former conclusions and articles diuers scroules of paper writteÌ„ with his owne proper hand for his aunswers to the same Articles and conclusions aboue written he partly appearing by his owne selfe before vs sitting in our iudgement seat and partly by his messengers specially appoynted to that purpose of which scroules the tenors do follow in order worde by worde and be on this maner In the name of the father and of the sonne and the holy ghost Amen I Walter Brute sinner layman husbaÌ„dmaÌ„ a Christian hauing mine ofspring of the Brittons both by my father mothers side of the Britons haue ben accused to the B. of Hereford that I did erre in many matters concerning the catholike Christen fayth by whoÌ„ I am required yâ— I should write an aunswere in Latin to all those matters whose desire I wil satisfie to my power protesting first of al before God before al the world the like as it is not my mind through Gods grace to refuse the knoweÌ„ truth for any reward greater or smaller yea be it neuer so bigge nor yet for the feare of any temporal punishment eueÌ„ so it is not my mind to maintain any erroneous doctrine for any coÌ„modities sake And if any maÌ„ of what state sect or condition so euer he be wil shew me that I erre in my writings or sayings by the authoritie of the sacred scripture or by probable reason grounded in the sacred scripture I wil humbly and gladly receiue his information But as for the bare wordes of any teacher Christ onely excepted I wil not simply beleue except hee shal be able to stablish theÌ„ by the truth of experience or of the Scripture for because that in the holy Apostles elected by Christ there hath beue fouÌ„d errour by the testimony of the holy scripture because that Paule himselfe doth coÌ„fesse that he rebuked Peter for that he was worthy to be rebuked Galat. the 2. Chapiter There hath ben errors fouÌ„d in the holy doctors that haue ben before vs as they themselues confesse of them selues And oftentimes it falleth out that there is error founde in the teachers in our age who are of contrary opinions among themselues and sâ—me of them do sometimes determine mine one thing for truth and others do condemne the selfe same thing to be heresye or error Which protestation premised I wil here place 1. suppositions or cases for a grouÌ„d and a foundatioÌ„ of all things that I shall say out of which I would gather two probable conclusions stablished vpoÌ„ the same and vpon the sacred Scripture By which coÌ„clusions when as
13 chap. And thus by the testimony of all these places is he the chiefe Antechrist vpon the earth and must be slayne with the sword of Gods word and cast with the dragon the cruell beast and the false Prophet that hath seduced the earth into the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormented world without end If the city of Rome do allow his traditiōs and do disalow Christes holy commaundements and Christes doctrine that it may confirme his traditions then is she Babilon the great or the daughter of Babilon and the great whore sitting vpō many waters with whom the kings of the earth haue committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth are become dronken with the wine of her harlotry lying opē to baudry With whose spiritual whordom enchauntments witchcraftes and Symon Magus marchaundises the whole roūd world is infected and seduced saying in her hart I sit as a Queen and widow I am not neither shall I see sorrowe and mourning Yet is shee ignoraūt that within a litle while shall come the day of her destruction ruine by the testimony of the Apoc. cha 17. Because that from the time that the continuall sacrifice was taken away the abhomination of desolatiō placed there be passed 1299. dayes by the testimonye of Daniell and the Chronicles added do agree to the same And the holy City also hath bene troden vnder foot of the heathen for 42. monethes and the woman was nourished vp in the wildernes vnto which she fled for feare of the space of the serpēt during 1260. dayes or els for a time times halfe a tyme which is all one All these thinges be manifest by the testimony of the Apocalips the Chronicles therto agreeing And as concerning the fall of Babilon aforesayd it is manifest in the Apoc. where it is sayd In one day shall her plagues come death lamentation and famine and she shal be burned with fire For strong is the Lord whych will iudge her And agayn Babilon that great Citty is fallen which hath made all nations to drinke of the wine of her Whoredome And thirdly one mightye Aungell tooke vp a myllstone that was a very great one and did cast it into the Sea saying with suche a violence as this is shall that great Cittye Babylon be ouerthrowne and shall no more bee founde For her Marchauntes were the Princes of the earth and with her Witchcraft all Nations haue gone astray and in her is there founde the bloud of the Sayntes and Prophetes And of her destruction speaketh Esay in the 13. chapiter And Babilon that glorious Cittye being so noble amongest kingdomes in the pride of the Caldeans it shall be that like as the Lorde did ouerturne Sodome and Gomorre vpside downe it shall neuer more be inhabited nor haue the foundation layde in no age from generation to generation Ieremy sayeth Your mother that hath borne you is brought to very great confusion and made euē with the ground And agayne The Lord hath deuised and done as he hath spokē agaynst the inhabiters of Babilō which dwel richly in their treasures vppon many waters thine ende is come And thirdly Drouth shall fall vpon her waters and they shall beginne to be drye for it is a land of grauen imagies and boasteth in her prodigious wonders It shall neuer more be inhabited neyther be builded vp in no age nor generation Verely euen as God hath subuerted Sodome and Gomorre with her calues Pardon mee I beseeche you though I be not plentiful in pleasaunt wordes For if I should runne after the course of this wicked world should please mē I should not be Christes seruant And because I am a poore man neyther haue nor cā haue notaries hyred to testifie of these my writings I call vpon Christ to be my witnes which knoweth the inward secrets of my hart that I am redy to declare the things that I haue writtē after my fashion to the profit of all Christen people to the hurt of no mā liuing am ready to be reformed if any mā will shew me where I haue erred being redy also miserable sinner though I be to suffer for the cōfession of the name of Christ of his doctrine as much as shal please him by his grace loue to assist me a miserable sinner In witnes of al these things I haue to this writing set that seale of our Lord sauior Iesus Christ which I besech him to imprint vpon my forehed to take frō me al maner of marke of Antichrist Amen ¶ These two suppositions as they are termed in the scholes written by Walter Brute and exhibited vnto the Bishop although they conteyned matter sufficient eyther to satisfie the bishop if he had ben disposed to learne or els to haue prouoked him to replye agayne if his knowledge therin had ben better thē his yet could they worke neither of thē effect in him But he receiuing perusing the same when he neither could confute that which was said neyther would reply or aunswere by learning to that whych was truth finding other by causlations said that this his writing was too short and obscure and therfore required him to write vpon the same againe more plainely and more at large Whereupon the said Maister Walter satisfying the Bishops request and ready to geue to euery one an accōpt of his faith in a more ample tractatiō renueth hys matter agayne before declared writing to the Byshop in wordes and forme as followeth REuerend father forsomuch as it seemeth to you that my motion in my two suppositions or cases in my two conclusions is too short and somwhat darke I wil gladly now satisfy your desire according to my smal learning by declaring the same conclusions In opening wherof it shall plainely appeare what I do iudge in all matters that I am accused of to your reuerence desiring you first of al that your discretiō would not beleue that I do enterpryse of any presumption to handle the secretes of the scriptures which the holy and iust wise Doctours haue left vnexpounded It is not vnknowen to many that I am in all points farre inferiour to thē whose holynes of life profoundnes in knowledge is manifold waies allowed But as for mine ignorance and multitude of sinnes are to my selfe and others sufficiently knowen wherefore I iudge not my selfe worthy to vnloose or to cary their shooes after them Do you therefore no otherwise deeme of me then I do of mine owne selfe But if you shal finde any goodnesse in my writings ascribe it to God only who according to the multitude of his mercy doth sometimes reueale those things to Idiotes and sinners which are hidded from the holy and wise according to this saying I will prayse and confesse thee O father for that thou hast hidden these thinges from the wyse and prudent and hast disclosed them to the litle ones Euen so O father
called vnto him the Archbishop of Yorke Richard London Henry Winchester Robert Chichester Alexander Norwich the noble prince Edmond the Duke of Yorke Rafe Earle of Westmerland Thomas Beaufort Knight Lord Chancellour of England and the Lord Beamond with other noble men as well spirituall as temporall that stood and sate by whome to name it would be long Before whome the said Iohn Badby was called personallie to answere vnto the Articles premised in the foresaid instrument Who when he came personallie before them the articles were read by the Officiall of the court of Cant. and by the Archb. in the vulgare tong expounded publikely and expresly and the same Articles as he before had spoken and deposed he still held and defended and said that whilest he liued he would neuer retract the same And furthermore he said specially to to be noted that the Lord duke of Yorke personallie there present as is aforesaid and euery man els for the time beeing is of more estimation and reputation then the Sacrament of the aulter by the priest in due forme consecrated And whilest they were thus in his examination the Archbishop considering and waying that he would in no wise be altered and seing moreouer his countenance stout and hart confirmed so that he began to persuade other as it appeared in the same These things considered the Archprelate whē he saw that by his allurements it was not in his power neither by exhortations reasons nor arguments to bring the said Iohn Badbye from his constant truth to his Catholique faith executing and doing the office of his great maister proceeded to confirme and ratifie the former sentence giuen before by the Bishop of Worcester against the said Iohn Badby pronouncing him for an open and publique hereticke And thus shifting their hands of him they deliuered him to the secular power and desired the sayd temporall Lords then and there present verie instantlie that they would not put the same Iohn Badby to death for that his offence nor deliuer him to be punished or put to death in y◠presence of all the Lordsabone recited These things thus done and concluded by the Bishops in the forenoone on the afternoone the Kings writte was not far behind By the force wherof I. Badby still perseuering in his constancie vnto the death was brought into Smithfield and there being put in an emptie barrell was bound with iron chaines fastened to a stake hauing drie wood put about him And as he was thus standing in the pipe or tonne for as yet Cherillus Bull was not in vre among the bishops it happened that the Prince the kings eldest sonne was there present Who shewing some part of the good Samaritane began to endeuour and assay how to saue the life of him whome the hypocriticall Leuites and Phariseis sought to put to death He admonished and counsailed him that hauing respect vnto himselfe he should spedelie withdraw himselfe out of these dangerous Laberinths of opinions adding oftentimes threatnings the which might haue daunted anie mans stomacke Also Courtney at that time Chancellor of Oxford preached vnto him and enformed him of the faith of holie Church In this meane season the Prior of S. Bartlemewes in Smithfield brought with all solemnitie the Sacrament of Gods body with twelue torches borne before and so shewed the Sacrament to the poore man being at the stake And then they demanded of him how he beleeued in it he answering that he knew well it was halowed bread and not gods body And then was the tunne put ouer him and fire put vnto him And when he felt fire he cried mercie calling belike vpon the Lord and so the Prince immediatelie commanded to take awaie the tunne and quench the fire The Prince his commandement being done asked him if he would forsake heresie to take him to the faith of holie Church which thing if he would doo he should haue goods inough promising also vnto him a yearelie stipend out of the kings treasurie so much as should suffice his contentation ¶ The description of the horrible burning of Iohn Badby and how he was vsed at hys death This godly Martyr Iohn Badby hauing thus consummate his testimony and martyrdome in fire the persecuting Bishops yet not herewith contented and thinking themselues as yet eyther not strong inough or els not sharpe enough agaynst tht poore innocent flock of Christ to make all thinges sure and substantiall on theyr side in such sorte as this doctrine of the Gospell nowe springing should be suppressed for euer layd theyr conspiring heads together hauing now a king for theyr own purpose ready to serue theyr turn in all poynts during the time of the same Parliamēt aboue recited yet cōtinuing the foresayd bishops and clergy of the realme exhibited a Bul vnto the kings maiestie subtily declaring what quietnes hath ben mayntayned within this realme by his most noble progenitours who alwayes defended the auncient rites and customes of the Church and enriched the same with large gifts to the honor of God and the realme and contrariwise what trouble and disquietnes was now risen by diuers as they termed them wicked and peruerse men teachinge and preachinge openlye and priuilye acertayne new wicked and hereticall kinde of doctrine contrary to the Catholicke fayth and determination of holye Church whervpon the king alwayes oppressed with blynd ignoraunce by the crafty meanes and subtile pretences of the clergie graunted in the sayd Parliament by consent of the nobilitie assembled a statute to be obserued called Ex officio as followeth The Statute Ex officio That is to say that no man within this Realme or other the kinges maiesties dominions presume or take vpon him to preach priuily or apertly without speciall licence first obteyned of the ordinary of the same place Curates in theyr owne parishe Churches and persons heretofore priuiledged and others admitted by the Canon law onely excepted Nor that any hereafter do preach mayntayne teach informe openly or in secret or make or write any booke contrary to the catholique fayth and determination of the holy Church Nor that any hereafter make anye conuenticles or assemblies or keepe and exercise anye maner of schooles touching this sect wicked doctrin and opinion And further that no man hereafter shall by any meanes fauour anye such preacher any such maker of vnlawfull assemblies or any such booke maker or writer and finally any such teacher informer or stirrer vp of the people And that all and singuler persons hauing anye the sayd bookes writinges or schedules contayning the sayd wicked doctrines and opinions shall within forty dayes after this present proclamation and statute really and effectually deliuer or cause to be deliuered all and singuler the sayd bookes and writinges vnto the ordinary of the same place And if it shall happen anye person or persons of what kinde state or condition soeuer he or they be to doe or attempt anye manner of thing contrarye to this
geuen credible relation of yâ— sonne both to the printer to me Furthermore the sayd maister Tindall albeit he did somewhat alter amend the English therof and frame it after our manner yet not fully in al words but that something doth remain fauouring of the old speach of that time What the causes were why this good man seruaunt of Christ W. Thorp did write itâ— and pen it out himselfe it is sufficiently declared in hys owne preface set before his booke whiche here is prefixed in maner as followeth ¶ The preface of William Thorpe THe Lord God that knoweth all thinges woreth well that I am right sorrowful for to write to make known this sentence beneath written whereby of mine eueÌ„ christeÌ„ set in high state dignitie so great blindnes malice may be knowne that they which doe presume of themselues to destroy vices and to plant in men vertues neither dreade to offend God nor lust to please him as their workes doe shew For certes the bidding of God and hys law whiche in the praysing of his most holy name he commaundeth to be known kept of all men and women yong and old after the cunning power that he hath geuen to them The Prelates of this lande and their ministers with the couent of priests chiefly consenting to them enforce them most busily to withstand and destroy the holy ordinaunce of God And there through God is greatly wroth and moued to take hard vengeance not onely vpon them that do the euil but also on them that consent to these Antichristes limnes which know or might know their malice and falshoode dresse them not to withstand their mallice and theyr great pride Neuertheles 4. things moueth me to write this seÌ„tence beneath The first thing that moueth me hereto is this that where as it was knowne to certayn frendes that I came from that prison of Shrewsbury and as it befell in deed that I shold to the prison of Caunterbury theÌ„ diuers friends in diuers places spake to me full hartily and full tenderly and commaunded me then if it so were that I should be examined before the Archb. of Cant. that if I might in any wife I should write mine apposing and mine aunswering And I promised to my special frendes that if I might I wold gladly doe their bidding as I might The second thing that moueth me to write this senteÌ„ce is this diuers frendes which haue heard that I haue bene examined before the Archbyshop haue come to me in prison and counsayled mee busily and coueted greatly that I should doe the same thing And other brethren haue sent to me and required on Gods behalfe that I should write out and make knowne both mine apposing mine aunswering for the profite that as they say vppon my knowledging may come thereof But this they had me that I should be busie in all my wits to go as neare the sentence and the wordes as I could both that were spoken to me that I spake UpaueÌ„ture this writing may come an other time before the archbishop and hys counsaile And of thys counselling I was right glad for in my conscience I was moued to doe this thing to aske hitherto the speciall help of God And so then I considering the great desire of dyuers frendes of sondry places according all in one I occupyed all my minde my wits so busily that through gods grace I perceaued by theyr meaning and their charitable desire some profite might come there through For southfastnes and trueth hath these conditions where euer it is impugned it hath asweete smell and thereof commeth a sweet fauour And the more violently the enemies dresse themselues to oppresse and to withstand the trueth the greater and the sweeter smell commeth therof And therefore this heauenly find of Gods word wil not as a smoke passe away with the winde but it will descende and rest in some cleane soule that thirsteth thereafter And thus some deale by this writing may be perceaued thorough Gods grace how that the enemies of the trueth standing boldly in their malice inforce them to withstand the fredome of Christes Gospell for which freedome Christ became man shed his hart bloud And therefore it is great pitty sorrow that many men women do their own weyward will nor busy theÌ„ not to know nor to do that pleasant wil of God The men women that heare the truth and southfastnes and heare or know of this perceauing what is nowe in yâ— churche ought here through to be the more moued in all their wits to able them to grace to set lesser price by themselues that they without taâ—ieng forsake wilfully bodely all the wrethednes of this life since they know not how soon nor wheÌ„ nor where nor by whoÌ„ God wil teach them assay their pacience For no doubt who that euer will liue pittiously that is charitably in Christ Iesu shall suffer now here in this life persecution in one wife or an other That is if we shal be saued it behoueth vs to imagin ful busily the vility and soulnes of sinne and how yâ— Lord God is displeased therfore so of this vility of bidiousnes of sinne it behoueth vs to busy vs in al our wits for to abhorre and hold in our mind a great shame of sinne euer so then we owe to sorrow hartely therfore and euer fleing all occasion therof And then behoueth vs to take vpon vs sharpe penaÌ„ce continuing therin for to obtayne of that Lord forgeuenes of our foredone sinnes and grace to abstain vs hereafter from sinne And but if we enforce vs to do thys wilfully and in conuenieÌ„t time the Lord if he will not vtterly destroy and cast vs awaye will in diuers manners moue tyrantes agaynst vs for to constrayne vs violentlye to do penance which we would not do wilfully And trust that this doing is a special grace of the Lord a great token of life mercy And no doubt who euer will not apply him selfe as is sayd before to punish himself wilfully neither wil suffer paciently meekely and gladly the rod of the Lord howsoeuer that he will punish him their wayward willes and their impacience are vnto them earnest of euelasting damnation But because there are but few in number that do able them thus faythfully to grace for to liue here so simply and purely and without gall of malice and of grudging herefore the louers of this worlde hate pursue them that they knowe patient meek chaste wilfully poore hating and fleing all worldly vanities fleshly lusts For surely their verteous conditions are euen coÌ„trary to the manners of this world The third thing that moueth me to wryte this senteÌ„ce is this I thought I shall busie me in my selfe to do faythfully that all men and women occupying all their busines in knowing and in keeping of Gods commaundements able them so
to grace that they might vnderstaÌ„d truely the truth and haue and vse vertue and prudeÌ„ce and so deserue to be lightned from aboue with heauenly wisedom so that all their words their workes may be hereby made pleasant sacrifice vnto the Lord God and not onely for helpe of their own soules but also for edification of holy Church For I doubt not but all they that will apply them to haue this foresayd busines shall profite ful me kill both to freds foes For some enemies of the truth through the grace of God shall through charitable folkes be made astonied in their conscience and peraduenture conuerted from vices to vertues and also they that labour to know and to keep faythfully the biddinges of God and to suffer paciently all aduersities shall hereby comfort many frendes And the fourth thing that moueth me to write this seÌ„teÌ„ce is this I knowe by my sodein vnwarned apposing and aunswering that all they that will of good hart wtout faining able themselues wilfully gladly after theyr cunning and their power to follow christ paciently traueling busily priuily and apertly in worke and in word to withdraw whom soeuer that they may from vices planting in them if the may vertues comforting them furtheryng them that stand in grace so that therwith they be not born vp in vaine glory through presumption of theyr wisdome nor inflamed with any worldly prosperitie but euer meek and pacient purposing to abide stedfastly in that wil of God suffering wilfully and gladly without any grutching what soeuer rod the Lord wil chastise them with that then thys good Lord will not forget to comfort al such men and women in all their tribulations at euery poynt of temptation that any enemy purposed for to doe agaynst them To such faithfull louers specially pacient followers of christ the Lord sendeth by his wisedome froÌ„ aboue them which the aduersaries of the truth may not know nor vnderstand But through their old and new vnshamefast sinnes those tyrantes and enemies of southfastnes shal be so blinded obstinate in eâ—ill that they shall weene themselues to doe pleasant sacrifices vnto the Lorde God in their malicious and wrongfull pursuing and destroying of innocent mens and womens bodyes which men women for theyr vertuous liuing and for their true knowledging of the trueth and theyr pacient wilfull and glad suffering of persecution for righteousnes deserue through the grace of God to be heyres of the endlesse blesse of heauen And for the feruent desire and the great loue that these men haue as to stand in southfastnes and witnes of it though they be sodeinly vnwarnedly brought foorth to be aposed of their aduersaries the holy Ghost yet that moueth and ruleth them thorough his charitie will in that houre of theyr aunswering speake in them and shewe hys wisedome that all theyr enemies shall not agayn say nor agaynst stand lawfully And therfore al they that are stedfast in yâ— fayth of God yea which through diligent keeping of his commaundementes for theyr pacient suffering of whatsoeuer aduersitie that commeth to them hope surely in his mercy purposing to stand coÌ„tinually in perfect charitie For those meÌ„ and womeÌ„ dred not so the aduersities of this life that they wil feare after their cunning and their power to knoweledge prudently the truth of gods word when where and to whom they thinke their knowledging may profite Yea and though therfore persecution come to them in one wise or an other certes they paciently take it knowing theyr conuersation to be in heauen It is an high rewarde and a speciall grace of God for to haue and enioy the euerlasting inheritance of heauen for the suffering of one persecution in so short time as is the terme of this life For loe this heuenly heritage endles reward is the Lord God hymselfe which is the best thing that may be This seÌ„tence witnesseth the Lord God himselfe where as he sayd to AbrahaÌ„ I am thy meede And as the Lord sayd he was and is the meede of Abraham so he is of all his other saynts This most blessed and best meede he graunt to vs all for his holy name that made vs of naught and sent his onely most deare worthy sonne our Lorde Iesu Christ for to redeeme vs with his most precious hart bloud Amen The examination of William Thorpe penned with hys owne hand KNowne be it to al men that read or heare this writing that on the sonday next after the feast of S. Peter that we call Lammesse in the yeare of our Lord. 1407. I william Thorpe being in prison in the Castle of Saltwoode was brought before Tho. Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury and Chauncellor then of Englande And when that I came to him he stode in a great chamber and much people about him and when that he saw me he went fast into a closit bidding all seculer men that followed hym to go foorth from him soone so that no man was left than in that closet but the Archbishop himselfe and a Phisitian that was called Malueren person of S. Dunstanes in London other two persons vnknowne to me which were ministers of yâ— law And I standing before them by and by the Archbish. sayd to me William I know well that thou hast this xx winters more trauelled about busily in the north couÌ„try and in other diuers countryes of England sowing about false doctrine hauing great businesse if thou might with thine vntrue teaching and shrewd will for to infect poysoÌ„ all this land But through the grace of God thou art now withstanded brought into my ward so that I shall now sequester thee from thine euill purpose and let thee to enuenime the sheep of my prouince Neuertheles S. Paul sayth If it may be as much as in vs is we ought to haue peace with all men Therfore William if yâ— wilt now meckly and of good hart without any feyning kneele downe and lay thy hand vpoÌ„ a booke and kisse it promising faythfully as I shall here charge thee that thou wilt submit thee to my correction staÌ„d to myne ordinaunce fulfill it duely by all thy cuÌ„ning and power thou shalt yet find me gracious vnto thee Then sayd I to the archbishop Syr since ye deme me an hereticke out of beleue will ye geue me here audience to tell my beleue And he sayd yea tell on And I sayde I beleue that there is not but one God almighty and in this Godhead and of this Godhead are three persons that is the father the sonne and the sothfast holye Ghost And I beleue that all these three persons are euen in power and in cunning and in might full of grace and of all goodnes For what soeuer that the father doth or can or will that thing also the sonne doth and can and will and in all theyr power cunning and will the holy Ghost is equall to the
wil not be vnpunished of God For to yâ— poynt of truth that these meÌ„ shewed out sometime they will not now stretch forth their lines But by example each one of them as theyr words and their works shew busy them through their fayning for to sclaunder and to pursue Christ in his members rather theÌ„ they will be pursued ¶ And the Archbishop sayd to me These men the whiche thou speakest of now were fooles and heretickes wheÌ„ they were counted wise men of thee and other such losels But now they are wise men though thou and such other deme them vnwise Neuerthelesse I wist neuer none that right sayd that any while were enuenimed with your contagiousnes that is contaminated and spotted doctrine ☞ And I sayd to the Archbishop Syr I thinke well that these meÌ„ such other are now wise as to this world But as theyr words sounded sometime and their works shewed outwardly it was like to moue me that they had earnest of the wisedome of God that they should haue deserued miâ—le grace of God to haue saued their owne soules many other mens if they had continued faythfully in wilfull pouerty in other simple vertuous liuing and specially if they had with these foresaid vertues continued in their busie fruitful sowing of Gods word as to many meÌ„s knowledge they occupyed them a season in all their wits ful busily to know the pleasaunt will of God trauelling all their members full busily for to do thereafter purely and chiefly to the praysing of the most holy name of god and for grace of edification and saluation of Christen people But woe worth false couetise and euill counsell and tyranny by which they and many men and womeÌ„ are led blindly into an euill end ¶ Then the Archbishop sayde to me Thou and such other Losels of thy sect would shaue your heardes full neare for to haue a benefice For by Iesu I know none more couetous shrewes then ye are wheÌ„ that ye haue a benefice For loe I gaue to Iohn Puruay a benefice but a mile out of this Castle and I heard more complaints about his couetousnes for tithes and other misdoinges then I did of all men that were aduaunced within my dioces ☞ And I sayde to the Archbishop Sir Puruay is neither with you now for the benefice that ye gaue him nor he holdeth faythfully with the learning that he taught and writ before time and thus he sheweth himselfe neither to be hot nor colde and therfore he and his felowes may sore droad that if they turne not hastily to the way that they haue forsaken peradueÌ„ture they be put out of the number of Christes chosen people ¶ And the Archbishop sayde Though Puruay be now a false harlot I quite me to him But come he more for suche cause before me or we part I shall know with whom he holdeth But I say to thee which are these holy men and wise of whom thou hast taken thine information ☞ And I sayd Syr Maister Iohn Wickliffe was holden of full many men the greatest clearke that they knew then liuing and therwith he was named a passing ruely man an innocent in his liuing and herefore great men communed oft with him and they loued so his learning that they writt it busily inforced them to rule themselues thereafter Therfore sir this foresayd learning of M. Iohn Wickliffe is yet holden of full many men and women the most agreable learning vnto the liuing and teaching of Christ of his Apostles and most opeÌ„ly shewing declaring how the church of Christ hath bene and yet should be ruled and gouerned Therfore so many men and women couet thys learning and purpose through Gods grace to coÌ„forme their liuing like to this learning of Wickliff M. Iohn Aston taught writ accordingly and full busily where and when and to whom that he might and he vsed it himselfe right perfectly vnto his liues end And also Philip of RaÌ„pington while he was a CanoÌ„ of Lecester Nicholas Hereford Dauy Gotray of Pakring Monke of Byland and a Maister of Diuinitye and Iohn Puruay and many other which were holden right wise men prudent taught and writ busily this foresayd learning coÌ„formed them thereto And with all these men I was oft right homely communed with them long time and oft and so before al other men I those willingly to be informed of them and by theÌ„ and specially of wickliffe himselfe as of the most vertuous and godly wise man that I heard of or knew And therfore of him specially and of these men I tooke the learning that I haue taught and purpose to liue thereafter if God wil to my liues end For though some of those meÌ„ be contrary to the learning that they taught before I wote well that their learning was true which they taught and therefore with the helpe of God I purpose to hold and to vse that learnyng which I heard of them while they fate on Moyses chayre specially while that they sat on yâ— chayre of Christ. But after that workes that they now do I will not doe with Gods helpe For they feyne and hide contrary that trueth which before they taught out playnely and truly For as I know well when some of those men haue bene blamed for their slaunderous doyng they graunt not that they haue taught a misse or erred before time but that they weâ—e constrayned by payne to leaue to tell out the soth thus they chuse now rather to blaspheme God then to suffer a while here persecution bodely for sothfastnesse that Christ shedde out his hart bloud for ¶ And the Archbishop sayd That learning that thou callest truth and sothfastnes is open slaunder to holy church as it is proued of holy Church For albeit that Wickleffe your author was a great clerke and though that many meÌ„ held him a perfect liuer yet his doctrine is not approued of holy church but many sentences of his learning are damned as they well worthy are But as touching Philip of Rampington that was first Chanon and after Abbor of Leicester which is now Bishop of Lincolne I tell thee that the day is commeÌ„ for which he fast the euen For neither he holdeth nowe nor will holde the learning that hee taught when he was a Canon of Leicester For no byshop of this land pursueth nowe more sharpely them that holde thy way then he doth ☞ And I sayd Sir full many men and women wondereth vpoÌ„ him and speaketh him mikle shame and holdeth him for a cursed enemy of the truth ¶ And the Archbish. sayd to me Wherfore taryest thou me thus here with suche fables wilt thou shortly as I haue sayd to thee submit thee to me or no ☞ And I sayd Sir I tell you at one word I dare not for the dread of God submit me to you after the tenour sentence tharye haue aboue rehearsed to me And
and all them that are of thy sect for all priests of holy church all images that moue men to deuotion thou such other go about to destroy Losel were iâ— a faire thing to come into the church and see therin none Image ☞ And I sayd sir they that come to yâ— church for to praye deuoutly to the lord God may in their inward wittes be the more feruent that al their outwarde wits be closed froÌ„ al outward seing hearing and froÌ„ all disturbance lettings And since Christ blessed theÌ„ that saw him not bodely and haue beleued faithfully in him it suffiseth then to al meÌ„ through hearing and knowing of gods word and to do thereafter for to beleue in God though they see neuer images made with mans hand after any person of yâ— Trinitie or of any other saint ¶ And the Archb. said to me with a feruent spirit I say to thee Iosell that it is right wel done to make and to haue an image of the Trinitie Yea what saist thou is it not a stirring thing to behold such an image ☞ And I said Sir ye said right now that in the old lawe or Christ toke maÌ„kind no likenes of any person of the Trinity was shewed to men wherefore sir ye said it was not theÌ„ leful to haue images but nowe ye saye since Christ is becomen maÌ„ it is leful to make to haue an image of the Trinitie also of other saints But sir this thing would I learne of you since the father of heauen yea euery persoÌ„ of the Trinitie was without beginning God almightye many holy prophets that were deadly meÌ„ were martired violeÌ„tly in the old law and also many men women theÌ„ died Confessors Why was it not then as leful necessary as nowe to haue made an Image of the father of heauen and to haue made and had other images of Martirs prophets and holy Confessors to haue ben Kalenders to aduise men and moue theÌ„ to deuotion as ye say that images now do ¶ And the Archb. sayd The sinagogue of the Iewes had not authoritie to approue those thinges as the Church of Christ hath now ☞ And I sayd Sir S. Gregory was a great man in the new lawe of great dignity and as the coÌ„mon law witnesseth he commended greatly a Bishop in that he forbad vtterly the Images made with maÌ„s hand should be worshipped ¶ And the Archb. sayd Ungracious Iosell thou sauourest no more truth then an hound Since at the roode at the North-dore at LondoÌ„ at our Lady at Walsingam many other diuers places in EnglaÌ„d are many great praysable miracles done should not the images of such holy saynts and places at the reuerence of God our lady other saintes be more worshipped then other places and images wher no miracles are done ☞ And I said Sir there is no such vertue in any imagery that any images should herefore be worshipped wher fore I am certaine that there is no miracle done of god in any place in earth because that any images made with mans haÌ„d should be worshipped And herfore sir as I preached openly at Shrewsbury other places I say now here before you That no body should trust that there were anye vertue in imagery made with mans hand and therfore no body should vow to theÌ„ nor secke them nor kneele to theÌ„ nor bow to them nor pray to them nor offer any thing to them nor kisse them nor ensence theÌ„ For lo the most worthy of such images the brasen Serpent by Moises made at Gods bidding the good K. Ezechie destroied worthely thankfully al because it was ensenced Therfore sir if men take good heede to the writing and to the learning of S. Augustine of S. Gregory and of Saint Iohn Chrisostome and of other Saints and doctors howe they spake write of miracles that shal be done now in the last ende of the world It is to dreyd that for the vnfaythfulnesse of men women the Fiende hath great power for to work many of the miracles that nowe are done in such places For both men and women delight now more for to heare and know miracles then they do know Gods worde or to heare it effectuously Wherefore to the great coÌ„fusion of all them that thus do Christ sayth The generation of adulterers requireth tokens miracles and wonders Neuertheles as diuers saints say now when the faith of god is published in Christendome the word of God suffyseth to mans saluation without such miracles and thus also the worde of God suffiseth to all faythfull men women without any such images But good sir since the father of heauen that is God in his godhead is the most vnknowen thing that may be and the most wonderful spirit hauing in it no shape or likenesse and members of anye deadlye creature in what likenes or what image may God the father be shewed or painted ¶ And the Archb. said as holy church hath suffered the Images of the Trinitie al other images to be paynted shewed it sufficeth to them that are meÌ„bers of holye church But since thou art a rotten member cut away from holye church thou fauorest not the ordinaunce therof But since the day passeth leaue we this matter ANd then he sayd to me What sayest thou to the third point that is â—â—â—â—â—fied against thee preaching opeÌ„ly in Shreusbury that pilgrimage is not lefull and ouer this thou saidest that those men and women that go on pilgrimages to Canterbury to Beuerley to Karlington to Walsingam and to any such other places are accursed and made foolish spending their goods in waste ☞ And I said Sir by this certification I am accused to you that I should teach that no pilgrimage is lefull But I said neuer thus For I know that there be true pilgrimages and lefull and full pleasant to God and therfore sir howsoeuer mine enimies haue certified you of me I told at Shrewsbury of two maner of pilgrimages ¶ And the Archbishop said to me whom callest thou true pilgrimes ☞ And I said Sir with my protestation I call them true pilgrimes traueling toward yâ— blisse of heauen which in the state degree or order that God calleth them to do busie them faithfullie for to occupie all their wits bodelie and ghostlie to knowe truelie and to keepe faithfullie the biddings of God hating and fleeing all the seauen deadlie sins and euerie branch of them Ruling them vertuouslie as it is said before with all their wits doing discretlie wilfully and gladly all the workes of mercy bodelie and ghostly after their cunning and power abling them to the gifts of the holy ghost disposing them to receiue them in their soules and to hold therein the right blessings of Christ Busieng them to knowe and to keepe the seauen principall vertues and so then they shall obteine heere through grace for
and also many other that haue great trust that he will stand by the truth of the Gospel For I wote wel this Sermon is writen both in Latin and English and many men haue it they set great price thereby And sir If ye were present with y◠Archbishop at Lambeth when this Clarke appeared and was at his aunswere before the Archbishoppe ye wote wel that this Clerke denied not there his Sermon but two daies he maintained it before the Archbishop and his Clerkes And then the Archbishop or one of his Clerkes said I wote not which of them that harlot shal be met wyth for that Sermon For no man but he and thou and such other false harlots prayseth any such preaching ¶ And then the Arbhb. said Your cursed sect is busie and it ioyeth right greatly to contrary to destroy the priuilege and fredome of holy Church ☞ And I said Sir I know no men that trauell so busily as this sect doth which you reproue to make rest and peace in holy church For pride couetousnes and simony which distrouble most holy Church this sect hateth fleeth and trauayleth busilye to moue all other men in like maner vnto meekenes and wilfull pouerty and charitie and free ministring of the Sacraments this sect loueth vseth and is full busie to moue all other folkes thus to do For these vertues owe all mēbers of holy church to their head Christ. Then a Clerke said to the Archbishop Sir it is farre dayes and ye haue farre to ride to night therfore make an end with him for he wil none make But the more sir that ye busy you for to draw him toward you the more cōtumax he is made and the farther fro you ¶ And then Malueren said to me William kneele down and pray my Lord of grace leaue al thy phantasies and become a child of holy church ☞ And I said Sir I haue prayed the Archbishop oft and yet I pray him for the loue of Christ that he wil leaue hys indignation that he hath against me and that he wil suffer me after my cūning power for to do mine office of priesthode as I am charged of god to do it For I couet nought els but to serue my God to hys pleasing in the state that I stand in and haue taken me to ¶ And y◠Archbishop said to mee If of good hart thou wilt submit thee now here meekely to be ruled from this time forth by my counsel obeying mekely and wilfully to mine ordinance thou shalt finde it most profitable best to thee for to doe thus Therefore tary thou me no lenger graunt to do this that I haue sayd to thee now here shortly or denie it vtterly ☞ And I said to the Archbishop Sir owe we to beleeue that Iesu Christ was and is very God and very man ¶ And the Archbishop sayd Yea. ☞ And I said Sir owe we to beleue that al Christes lyuing and his teaching is true in euery point ¶ And he sayd yea ☞ And I sayd Syr owe we to beleue that the liuinge of the Apostles and the teaching of Christ and all the Prophetes are true whiche are written in the Bible for the health and saluation of good people ¶ And he sayd yea ☞ And I sayd Syr owe all Christen men women after their cunning and power for to conforme all their liuing to the teaching specially of Christ and also to the teaching and liuing of his Apostles and of Prophets in all thinges that are pleasaunt to God and edification of his Church ¶ And he sayd yea ☞ And I sayd Syr ought the doctrine the bidding or the counsell of any body to be accepted or obeyed vnto except this doctrine these biddings or this counsel may be graūted and affirmed by Christes liuing and his teaching specially or by the liuing and teaching of his Apostles Prophetes ¶ And y◠Archbishop said to me Other doctrine ought not to be accepted nor we owe not to obey to any mans bidding or counsell except we can perceiue that his bidding or counsell accordeth with the life and teaching of Christ and of his Apostles and Prophets ☞ And I sayd Syr is not all the learning and biddings and counsels of holy Church meanes and healefull remedies to know and to withstand the priuy suggestions and the aperte temptations ot the fiende and also wayes and healeful remedies to slea pride and all other deadly sinnes and the braunches of them and souereign meanes to purchase grace for to withstand and ouercome all the fleshlye lustes and mouinges ¶ And the Archbishop sayd yea ☞ And I sayd Syr whatsoeuer thing ye or any other body bid or counsel me to do accordingly to this forsayd learning after my cunning power through the helpe of god I will meekly with all my hart obey therto ¶ And the archbishop sayd to me Submit thee than now here meekly and wilfully to the ordinance of holy church which I shall shew to thee ☞ And I sayd sir accordingly as I haue here now before you rehearsed I will nowe be ready to obey full gladly to Christ the head of the holy Church to the learning and biddinges and counselles of euerye pleasing member of him ¶ Thē the archbishop striking with his hand fiercely vpō a cupborde spake to me with a great spirit saying By Iesu but if thou leaue such additions obliging thee now here without any exceptiō to mine ordinance or that I go out of this place I shall make thee as sure as any theefe that is in the prison of Lanterne Aduise thee now what thou wilt do And then as if he had bene angred he went fro the cupborde where he stood to a window ¶ And then Malueren and an other Clerke came nearer me and they spake to me many words full pleasantly and an othe while they manassed me and counselled full busily to submitte me or els they sayd I shoulde not escape punishing ouer measure For they sayd I should be degraded cursed and burned so then damned But now they sayd thou mayst eschew all these mischiefes if thou wilt submit thee wilfully meekely to this worthye prelate that hath cure of thy soule And for the pitty of Christ sayde they bethinke thee howe great Clerkes the Bishop of Lincolne Hereford and Purney were and yet are and also B. that is a well vnderstanding man Which also haue forsaken reuoked all the learning and opinions that thou and such other hold Wherfore since each of them is mikle wiser thē thou art we counsell thee for the best that by the example of these foure Clerkes thou follow them submitting thee as they did And one of the Bishops Clerkes sayd then there that he heard Nicoll Hereford say that since he forsook reuoked all the learning Lolards opiniōs he hath had mikle greater fauour and more delite to hold agaynst them then euer he had to
hold with them while he held with them And therefore Malueren said to me I vnderstand and thou wilt take thee to a Priest and shriue thee cleane forsake all such opinions take the penance of my Lord here for the holding teaching of them within short time thou shalt be greatly comforted in this doing ☞ And I sayd to the Clerkes that thus busily counselled me to folow these foresayd men Sirs if these meÌ„ of whom ye counsell me to take example had forsakeÌ„ benefices of teÌ„porall profite of worldly worship so that chey had abseÌ„ted them and eschewed from al occasions of couetousnes of fleshly lustes and had taken upon them simple liuing wilfull pouerty they had herein geuen good example to me and to many other to haue folowed theÌ„ But now since all these foure men haue slaunderously and shamefully done the contrary consenting to receiue and to haue and to hold teÌ„porall benefices liuing now more worldly more fleshly then they did before conforming them to the maners of this world I forsake them herein and in all their foresayd slaunderous doing For I purpose with the helpe of God into remissio of my sinnes and of my â—oule cursed liuing to hate and to flee priuily and apertly to follow these men teaching and counselling whome so euer that I may for to flee eschew the way that they haue chosen to go in which will lead them to the worst end if in conuenient time they repent them not verely forsaking and reuoking opeÌ„ly the flaunder that they haue put and euery day yet put to Christes Church For certayne so open blasphemy and slaunder as they haue spoken and done in their reuoking forsaking of the truth ought not nor may not priuily be ameÌ„ded duely Wherfore sirs I pray you that you busy not for to moue me to follow these meÌ„ in reuoking and forsaking the trueth and sothfastnes as they haue done and yet doe wherein by open euidence they stirre God to great wroth and not onely agaynst themselues but also agaynst all theÌ„ that fauor them or consent to them herein or that communeth with them except it be for their amendement For where as these meÌ„ first were pursued of enemies now they haue obliged them by othe for to slauÌ„der and pursue Christ in his members Wherfore as I trust stedfastly in the goodnes of God the worldly couetousnes and the lusty liuing and the sliding from the truth of these runnagates shall be to me and to many other men and women an example an euidence to stand more stifly by the truth of Christ. For certayne right many men and women doe marke and abhorre the foulnes and cowardnes of these foresayd vntrue men how that they are ouercome stopped wyth benefices and withdrawen from the truth of Gods word forsaking vtterly to suffer therfore bodely persecution For by this vnfaythfull doing and apostasye of them specially that are great lettered men and haue knowledged openly the truth and now either for pleasure or displeasure of tyrauntes haue taken hire and temporall wages to forsake the truth and to hold agaynst it slaundering and pursuing them that couet to followe Christ in the way of righteousnes many men and womeÌ„ therefore are now moued But many mo thorow the grace of God shall be moued hereby for to learne the truth of God and to doe thereafter and to stand boldly thereby ¶ Then the Archbishop sayd to his clerkes Busye you no lenger about him for he and other such as he is are coÌ„sedered together that they will not sweare to be obedient to submit them to prelates of holy church For now since I stoode here his fellow also sent me word that he will not sweare and that this fellow counselled hym that he should not sweare to me And losell in that thing that in thee is thou hast busied thee to lose this young man but blessed be God thou shalt not haue thy purpose of him For he hath forsaken all thy learning submitting him to be buxum obedient to the ordinaunce of holy church and weepeth full bitterly and curseth thee full hartily for the venemous teaching which thou hast shewed to him counselling hym to do thereafter And for thy false counselling of many other him thou hast great cause to be right sory For long time thou hast busied thee to peruert whomsoeuer thou mightest Therfore as many deathes thou art worthye of as thou hast geuen euill counselles And therefore by Iesu thou shalt go thether where Nicoll Harford Thom. Puruay were harbered And I vndertake or this day viij dayes thou shalt be right glad for to doe what thing that euer I did thee to do And Losell I shal assay if I can make thee there as sorowfull as it was tolde me thou wast glad of my last goyng out of England By S. Thomas I shall turne thy ioy into sorow ☞ And I sayd Syr there can no body proue lawfully that I ioyed euer of the maner of your going out of this land But Syr to say the soth I was ioyfull when ye were gone for the bishop of London in whole prison ye left me found in me no cause for to hold me lenger in his prisoÌ„ but at the request of my freÌ„des he deliuered me to them asking of me no maner of submitting ¶ Then the archbishop sayd to me Wherefore that I yede out of England is vnknowne to thee But be this thinge well knowne to thee that God as I wote well hath called me agayn and brought me into this land for to destroy thee and the false sect that thou art of as by God I shall pursue you so narowly that I shall not leaue a slip of you in this land ☞ And I sayd to the archbishop Syr the holy Prophette Ieremy sayd to the false Prophet Anany When the word that is the prophecy of a Prophet is knowne or fulfilled then it shal be knowne that the Lorde sent the Prophet in trueth ¶ And the Archbishop as if he had not bene pleased with my saying turned him awayward hether and thether and sayd By GOD I shall set vpon thy shinnes a payre of pearles that thou shalt be glad to chaunge thy voyce These and many moe wonderous and conuicious wordes were spoken to me manassing me and al other of the same sect for to be punished and destroyed vnto the vttermost And the Archbishop called then to him a Clerke and rowned with him and that Clerk went forth and soone he brought in the Constable of Saltwoode Castle and the Archbishop rowned a good while with him And then the Constable went forth and then came in diuers seculars they scorned me on euery side manassed me greatly And some counselled the Archbishop to burne me by and by some other counselled him to drowne me in the Sea for it is neare hand there And a Clerke standing beside me there kneeled
their subtile sophistry Neither will I in conscience obey any of you all till I see you with Peter follow Christ in conuersation Then reade the doctor againe The 4. point is this Holy Churche hath determined that it is meritorious to a Christen man and to go on pilgrimage to holy places And there specially to worship the holy reliques and images of saintes Apostles Martirs Confessours and all other saintes besides approued by that Church of Rome Sir what say ye to this Wherunto he 〈◊〉 I owe them no seruice by any commaundement of god and therefore I minde not to seeke them for your couetousnes It were best ye swepte them faire from copwebs and dust and so layde them vp for catching of scathe Or els to bury them fayre in that groūd as ye do other aged people which are Gods Images It is a wonderfull thing that sayntes now being dead shoulde become so couetous and needy and thereupon so bitterly beg which all the life time hated al couetousnesse and begging But this I say vnto you and I would all that world should mark it That with your shrines and Idols your fained absolutions and pardons ye draw vnto you the substaunce wealth and chiefe pleasures of all christen realmes Why sir said one of the clerkes will ye not worshippe good images What worship should I geue vnto them said the Lord Cobham Then said Frier Palmer vnto him Sir will ye worship the crosse of Christ that he died vpon Where is it sayd the Lord Cobham The Frier said I put you the case sir that it were here euen now before you The Lord Cobham aunswered This is a great wise man to put me an earnest question of a thinge and yet he himselfe knoweth not where the thing it selfe is Yet once againe I aske you what worship I should do vnto it A clerke said vnto him Such worship as Paule speaketh of and that is this God forbid that I should ioy but onely in the crosse of Iesu Christ. Then said the Lord Cobham and spread his armes abroad This is a very crosse yea and so muche better then your Crosse of wood in that it was created of God Yet will not I seeke to haue it worshipped Then sayd the bishop of London Sir ye wote well that he died on a materiall crosse The Lord Cobham said and I wote also that our saluation came not in by that materiall crosse but alone by him which died therupon And well I wote that holy S. Paule reioyced in none other crosse but in christes passion and death onely and in his owne sufferinges of like persecution with him for the same selfe veritie that he had suffered for afore An other clerk yet asked him Will ye then do none honour to the holy crosse He answered him Yes if he were mine own I would lay him vp honestly and see vnto him that he shoulde take no more scath abroad nor be robbed of his goodes as he is now a dayes Then sayd the Archbish. vnto him Sir Iohn ye haue spoken here many wonderfull wordes to the slaunderous rebuke of the whole spiritualtie geuing a great euil example vnto the common fort here to haue vs in the more disdaine Much time haue we spent here about you and al in vaine so far as I can see Well we must nowe be at this short point with you for the day passeth away Ye must otherwise submit your selfe to the ordinaunce of holy church or els throw your selfe no remedy into most deepe daunger See to it in time for anone it will be els to late The Lord Cobham sayd I know not to what purpose I should otherwise submit me Muche more haue you offended me then euer I offended you in thus troubling me before this multitude Then said the archbishop again vnto him we once agayne require to remember your selfe well to haue none other maner opinion in these matters then the vniuersall faith and beliefe of the holy church of Rome is And so like obedient childe returne agayne to the vnitie of your mother See to it I say in time for yet ye may haue remedy where as anone it will be to late The Lord Cobham sayd expresly before them all I wil none otherwise beleue in these poyntes then that I haue told ye here afore Do with me what ye will Finally then the archbishop sayd wel then I see none other but we must needes doe the lawe we must proceede forth to the sentence dissinitiue and both iudge you condemne you for an hereticke And with that the Archb. stood vp and read there a bill of his condemnation all the clergy and laity vayling theyr boners And this was the tenour therof * The diffinitiue sentence of hys condemnation IN the name of God So be it We Thomas by the sufferaunce of God Archbishop of Caunterbury Metropolitane and primate of al England and Legate from the apostolicke see of Rome willeth this to be knowne vnto all men In a certayne cause of heresy and vpon diuers articles wherupon sir Iohn Oldcastle knight and Lord Cobham after a diligent inquisition made for the same was detected accused and presented before vs in our last conuocation of all our prouince of Caunterbury holden in the Cathedrall Church of Paules at London At the lawfull denouncement and request of our vniuersal Clergy in the sayd conuocation we proceded agaynst him according to the law God to witnes with al the sauour possible And following Christes example in all that we might which willeth not the death of a sinner but rather that he be conuerted and liue we tooke vpon vs to correcte him and sought all other wayes possible to bring him againe to the churches vnitie declaring vnto him what the holy vniuersal church of Rome hath sayd holden determined and taught in that behalf And though we founde him in the Catholicke fayth farre wyde and so stifnecked that he would not confesse hys error nor purge himself nor yet repent him therof We yet pittieng him of fatherly compassion and intirely desiring the health of his soule appoynted hym a competent tyme of deliberation to see if he wold repent and seek to be reformed but since that time we haue foūd him worse and worse Considering therefore that he is not corrigible we are driuen to the very extremitie of the lawe and wyth great heauines of hart we nowe proceede to the publication of the sentence diffinitiue agaynst him Then brought he foorth an other bill conteyning the sayd sentence and that he read also in his beggerly Latine Christi nomine inuocato ipsumque solum prae oculis habentes Quia per acta inactitata and so forth Whiche I haue also translated into Englishe that men may vnderstand it Christ we take vnto witnesse that nothing els we seeke in this our whole enterprise but his onely glory For as
like that if these men had intended any forcible entrees or rebelliō against the king they would haue made any rumours therof before the deed done so is it more credibly to be supposed all these florishes of words to be but words of course or of office and to sauer rather of the rāknes of the inditers penne who disposed either per amplificationem rhetoricam to shew his copy or els per malitiam Papisticam to aggrauate the crime And to make mountains of mollhilles first of rumours maketh congregations from congregations riseth vp to insurrections where as in all these rumours congregations insurrections yet neuer a blow was geuen neuer a stroke was stroken no bloud spilt no furniture nor instruments of war no signe of battaile yea no expresse signification either of any rebellious word or malitious fact described neither in records nor yet in any Chronicle Againe if these rumours were words spoken against the king as calling him a tirant an vsurper of the crowne the Prince of Priestes c. why then be none of these words expressed in their inditements or left in records Doth M. Cope thinke for a man to be called a traitour to be enough to make him a traytour vnlesse some euident prose be brought for him to bee so in deed as he is called Rumours sayth he congregations and insurrections were made Rumours are vncertaine Congregations haue bene and may bee among Christen men in dangerous times for good purposes and no treason against their princes ment The terme of insurrections may be added 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by practise or surmise of the Prelates and pen men who to bring them the more in hatred of the king might adde this rather of their owne gentlenes then of the others deseruing Certayne it is and vndoubted that the Prelates in those dayes being so mightely inflamed against these Lollards were not altogether behind for their parts nor vtterly idle in this matter but practised against them what they could first to bring them into hatred and then to death Examples of which kinde of practise among the Popish Cleargy haue not lacked neither before nor since Moreouer if these men had made such a rebellious insurrection against the king as is pretended in the preample before this statute which were a matter of high treason How chaunceth then that the whole body of the statute folowing after the said preface or preamble runneth in all the parts and braunches thereof both in maner of arrest of inditement information request alowance of officers cognisance of ordinaries of the forefact c. vpon cases of heresie and not of treason as by particular tractation shall be Christ willing declared And for so much as these men be so greuously accused of Alanus Copus for congregating rising against their K. the whole Realme if I had so much laysure to defend as he hath pleasure to diffame Here might be demaunded of him to keepe him some further pley touching this mighty insurrection where as they came in nūber of xx thousand against the king in what order of battaile ray they marched what Captaines vnder Captaines and pety Captaines they had to guide the wyngs and to lead the army whether they were horsemen or footemen If they were horsemen as is pretensed what ment they then to resort to the Thicketes neare to S. Gyles field which was no meet place for horses to stirre If they were footemen how standeth that with the author which reporteth them to be horsemē Moreouer is to be demanded what insignes or flagges what shot what pouder what armour weapōs and other furniture of war also what treasure of money to wage so many to the nūber of xx thousand what trumpets drommes other noise necessary for the purpose they had All these preparations for such an enterprise is requisite necessary to be had And peraduenture if truth were well sought it would be found at lēgth that in stead of armies and weapon they were comming onely with theyr bookes and with Beuerlay their preacher into those thickets But as I was not there present at the fact as is before said so haue I neither certeinely to define vpon theyr case nor yet M. Cope to exclame against them vnles peraduenture he taking an occasion of the time will thus argue against them That because it was the hoate moneth of Ianuary the 2. day after the Epiphany therefore it is like that Sir Iohn Oldcastle with xx thousand Lollards camped together in the fields in al the heate of the wether to destroy the king and all the nobles and to make hymselfe Regent of England And why not as well the King as regent of England seeing all the nobles should haue bene destroyed he onely left alone to reigne by himselfe ¶ It followeth more in the preamble of the foresaid statute to adnull destroy and subuert the Christen fayth and the law of God holy Church c. He that was the forger inuēter of this report as it appeareth to proceed frō the Prelates seemeth no cunning Daedalus nor halfe hys craftes maister in lying for the whetstone Better he might haue learned of Sinō in Uirgill more artificially to haue framed and conueied his narration Which although in no case could sound like any truth yet some colour of probabilitie should haue bene set vpon it to giue it some countenance of a like tale As if he had first declared the L. Cobham to haue bin before in secret cōfederacie with the great Turk or if he had made him some termagāt or Mahound out of Babylonia or some Herode of Iudea or some Antichrist out of Rome or some grandpanch Epicure of this world and had shewed that he had receiued letters from the great Souldan to fight against the faith of Christ and law of God then had it appeared somwhat more credible that the said Sir Iohn Oldcastle with his sect of heresie went about to adnull destroie and subuert the Christian faith and law of God within the Realme of England c. But now where will either he or M. Cope finde men so mad to beleeue or so ingenious that can imagine this to be true that the Lord Cobham being a Christian and so faithfull a Christiā would or did euer cogitate in his mind to destroy and adnull the faith of Christ in the Realme of England What soeuer the report of this pursuant or preface saith I report me vnto the indifferent Reader how standeth this with any face of truth That he which before through the reading of Wickliffes works had bene so earnestly cōuerted to the law of God who had also approued himselfe such a faithfull seruant of Christ that for the faith of Christ he being examined and tried before the Prelates page 553. not only ventred his life but stood constant vnto the sentence of death defined against him being a cōdemned and a dead man by law Et qui quantum ad
Excellentissimo c. And yet notwithstandyng out of these same preambles forefrontes of statutes other inditementes which cōmonly rising vpō matter of informatiō runne onely vpō wordes of course of office and not vpō simple truth a great part of our Chroniclers do oftē take their matter which they insert into their stories hauyng no respect or examination of circumstaunces to be compared but onely following bare rumours or els such wordes as they see in such fablyng prefaces or inditementes expressed Whereby it commeth so to passe that the younger Chronicler followyng the elder as the blind leadyng the blind both together fall into the pit of errour And you also maister Cope followyng the steppes of the same do seeme likewise to erre together with them for good felowshyp And thus concernyng the face of this statute hetherto sufficiently Now let vs cōsider and discusse in like maner first the coherence then the particular contentes of the said statute As touchyng the which coherence if it be well examined a mā shall finde almost a Chimera of it In which neither the head accordeth with the body nor yet the braunches of the statute well agree with themselues Wherein he that was the drawer or first informer thereof seemeth to haue forgot his Uerse and art Poeticall Atque ita mentitur sic veris falsa remiscet Primum ne medio medium ne discrepet imo For where as the preface of the statute standeth onely vpon matter of treason conceiued by false suggestion and wrong information The body of the sayd statute whiche should follow vpō the same runneth onely vpō matter of heresie pertaining to the Ordinaries as by euery braūche therof may appeare For first where he sayth at the instaunce request of the ordinaries or their cōmissaries c. Hereby it appeareth this to be no cause of treasō nor felony For that euery man of duety is boūd and by the lawes of the Realme may arrest apprehend a traitour or a felō if he cā where otherwise by this statute an officer is not bound to arrest him which offēdeth in case of this statute without request made by the ordinaries or their commissaries and therefore this offence seemeth neither to be treason nor felonie Secondly where it foloweth that the same ordinaries and commissaries doe pay for their costes c. This allowance of the officers charges in this sort proueth this offence neither treason nor felonie Thirdly where the statute willeth the king to bee answered of the yeare day wast c. By this also is proued the offence not to be treason Or els in cases of treason the whole inheritance I trow maister Cope speaking as no great skilfull lawyer is forfait to the prince The fourth argument I take out of these words of the statute where as such lands and tenements which be holden of the ordinaries are willed wholy to remaine to the king as forfait c. wherby it is manifest that the Prelates for their matter of Lollardie onely were the occasioners and procurers of this statute and therefore were barred of the benefite of anye forfetrising thereby as good reason was they should And thus it is notorius that the preface running specially and principally vpon treason and the statute running altogether vpon points of heresie do not well cohere nor ioine together Fiftly In that such persons indited shal be deliuered vnto the Ordinaries of the places c. It can not bee denied but that this offence concerneth no maner of treason For so much as Ordinaries can not be iudges in cases of treason or felonie by the lawes of our Realme Bracton in fine 1. Libri Sixtly by the inditements prouided not to be taken in euidence but onely for information before the Iudges spirituall c. it is likewise to be noted to what end these inditements were taken to wit only to informe the ordinaries which can not be in cases of treason Lastly where it foloweth toward the end of that statute touching escape or breaking of prison c. by this it may lightly be smelt whereto all the purpose of this statute driueth that is to the speciall escape of the L. Cobham out of that Tower to this end to haue his lands possessiōs forfait vnto the King And yet the same escape of the Lord Cobham in this statute considered is taken by Maister Iustice Stanford in Lib. primo of the plees of the crowne cap 33. to be an escape of one arrested for heresie where he speaketh of the case of the Lord Cobham Moreouer as touching the partes of this foresaid statute how will you ioine these two braunches together where as in the former part is said that the lands of such persons connict shall be forfait to the king not before they be dead And afterward it foloweth that their goodes and possessions shall be forfait at the day of their arrest to that king But heerein standeth no such great doubt nor matter to be weied This is without all doubt and notoriously euidently and most manifestly may appeare by all the arguments and whole purport of the statute that as well the preamble and preface thereof as the whole body of the said statute was made framed procured onely by and through the instigation information and excitation of the Prelates the Popish Cleargie not so much for any treason committed against the king but only for feare and hatred of Lollardy tending against their law which they more dreded abhorred then euer any treasō against the Prince And then to set the king all the states against them whereby the more readily to worke their dispatch they thought it best and none so compendious a policie as pretely to ioine treason together with their Lollardry Wherein the poore men beeing once intangled coulde no wayes escape destruction Papae concilium callidum This M. Cope haue I said and say againe not as one absolutely determining vpon the matter At the dooyng wherof as I was not present my selfe so with your owne Halle I may and do leaue it at large but as one leadyng the reader by all coniectures and arguments of probabilitie and of due circumstances to consider with themselues what is further to be thought in these old accustomed practises and procedings of these prelates Protesting moreouer M. Cope in this matter to you that those Chroniclers which you so much ground vpon I take them in this matter neither as witnesses sufficient nor as Iudges competent Who as they were not themselues present at the deed done no more then I but onely folowing vncertaine rumours and words of course and office bringing with them no certaine triall of that which they do affirme may therein both be deceiued themselues and also deceiue you and other which depend vpon them And hetherto concerning this statute enough Out of which statute you see M. Cope that neither your Chroniclers
haue ordeined a speciall iudgement as they should thinke good yet when hee was before atteinted by the outlawrie they could not lawfully varie from the common iudgemeÌ„t of â—reason At least how could or should the iudgement of Sir Roger Acton Maister Browne and Iohn Beuerley who were iudged in the Buildhall before and without the Parliament vary from the said common iudgement of Traytors if they had truly committed and bene conuicted of such high treason Adde this moreouer to the foresaid Notes that if Sir Iohn Oldcastle after his escape out of prison had bene culpable and so atteinted of that high treason wherby his lands had bene immediately forfait vnto the King by the processe of his outlawry What needed the king then in the second yeare of his raigne in the Parliament after holden at Leycester haue made that prouiso to haue his lands forfaite to him by vertue of Parliament vpon his escape on the day of his arest when as the lands and cattaile of his had bene forfeite before by the processe of the outlawry as is before specified Thus you see Maister Cope how little aduantage you can wrast out of this Commission and inditement against the Lord Cobham and his fellowes to proue them traytors And admit the said Lord Cobham was attainted of treason by the Acte and that the King the Lordes and the Commons assented to the Act yet it hindeth not in such sort as if in deed he were no Traytour that anye man may not by search of the truth vtter and set forth sincerely and iustly the very true cause whereby his death hapt and followed Thus then hauing sufficiently cleared the Lord Cobham and his parteners from all that you can obiect vnto them out of records and statutes let vs now come to your English Chroniclers wherwith you seeme to presse me to oppresse them whome ye name to be Robert Fabian Edward Halle Polydor Virgilius Thomas Cooper Richard Grafton with other briefe Epitomes and Summaries c. Concerning which authors as I haue not to say but to their commendation in this place so if that you had auonched the same to the commendation rather then to the reproofe of other I would better haue commeÌ„ded your nature and beleued your cause But now like a spidercatcher sucking out of euery one what is the worst to make vp your leystall you heape vp a donghill of dirtie Dialogues conteining nothing in them but malicious railing virulent slanders manifest vntruths opprobrious contumelies stinking blasphemies able almost to corrupt infect the aire Such is the maladie cacoethes of your pen the it beginneth to barke before it hath learned well to write Which pen of yours notwithstanding I do not heere reproch nor contemne as neither do I greatly feare the same God of his mercy keepe the sword out of the Papists hand it is not the pen of the papists I greatly passe vpoÌ„ though xx Copes and so many surplesses were set against the booke of Monuments were I so disuâ—sed Maister Cope to dally or as the Breckes do say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to repay againe as I am prouoked But in despightful railing and in this Satyricall sort of barking I geue you ouer and suffer you therin to passe not only your selfe but also Cerberus himself if ye will the great bandog of Pluto Mildnes and humanitie rather beseemeth and is the grace of the Latine phrase If ye could hit vpon the vaine therof it would win you much more honestie with all honest men But the Lord hereafter may cal you which I beseech him to do and to forgiue you that you haue done In the meaue time seeing this your pratling pen must nedes be walking yet this you might haue lerned of these your own authors whom you aledge more ciuilly to haue reÌ„pered your fume in exclaiming against theÌ„ whose cause is to you not perfectly known And now briefly to answer to these your foresaide wryters as witnesses produced against these men there be 2. things as I take it in these chronicle wryters to be coÌ„sidered First the grouÌ„ds which they follow secondly in what place they serue As touching the order and ground of wryting among these Chronicles ye must consider and caÌ„not be ignorant that as none of all these by you forenamed was present at the deede nor witnesse of the fact so haue they nothyng of theÌ„selues herein certainely to affirme but either must follow publike rumor and hearesay for their autor or els one of them must borrow of another Whereof neither seemeth to me sufficient For as publike rumor is neuer certain so one author may soone deceiue an other By reason whereof it commeth oft to passe that as these story wryters hit many times the truth so againe al is not the gospell that they doe wryte Wherefore great respect is heere to be had either not to credite rashly euery one that wryteth stories or els to see what groundes they haue whome we doe followe Now to demaund M. Cope of you what authoritye or foundation hath your Robert Fabian hathe Polydore Uirgil Edward Hal and other of your authors to prooue these men to be traytors What authority do they auouch what actes what registers what recordes or out of what court do they shewe or what demoÌ„stration do they make And do you thinke it sufficient because these men doe only affirme it wythout any further probation wyth youre 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therfore we are bouÌ„d to beleue it Take me not so M. Cope that I do here diminish any thing or derogate from the credit of those wryters you alledge whose labors haue deserued well and serue to great vtilitie but coÌ„ming now to triall of a matter lying in coÌ„trouersie betwene vs we are now forced to seeke out the fountaine and bottome of the truthe where it is not enough to say so it is but the cause is to be shewed why it is so affirmed And what though Robert Fabian Polydore Uirgile and Edwarde Hall should all together as they do not agree in the treason of sir Iohn Oldcastle and of the rest yet neither is this any sufficient surety to prooue them traitors Considering that wryters of stories for most part folowing either blind reporte or els one taking of an other vse commonly all to sound together after one tune tanquam Dodonaei lebetes so that as one sayth all say and if one erre all do erre Wherfore you see M. Cope howe it is not sufficient nor sure to sticke onely to the names and authorities of Chronographers vnlesse the ground be found substantial wherupon they stand themselues Which yet in none of these whome you haue produced doth appeare Secondly in alleaging and wryting of Chronicles is to be considered to what place and effect they serue If yee would shew out of them the order course of times what yeres were of dearth and of pleÌ„ty where kings kept their
Christenmasse what condites were made what Maiors and shirifes were in London what battails were fought what triumphs and great feasts were holdē when kings began their raigne and when they ended c. In such vulgare and popular affairs the narration of the Chronicler serueth to good purpose may haue his credite wherein the matter forceth not much whether it be true or false or whether any listeth to beleue them But where as a thyng is denied and in cases of iudgement and in controuersies doubtfull which are to be decided and boulted out by euidence of iust demonstration I take them neither for Iudges of the bench not for arbiters of the cause nor as witnesses of themselues sufficient necessarily to be sticked vnto Albeit I deny not but hystories are takē many times and so termed for witnesses of times and glasses of antiquitie c. yet not such witnesses as whose testimony beareth alwaies a necessary truth and bindeth beliefe The two witnesses whych came against Susanna being seniours both of auncient yeares bare a great countenance of a most euidēt testimony wherby they almost both deceiued the people oppressed the innocent had not yōg Daniel by the holy spirite of God haue take thē aside and seuerally examining them one from the other found them to be falsliers both leauing to vs therby a lesson of wholsome circumspection not rashly to beleeue euery one that commeth and also teaching vs how to try thē out Wherfore M. Cope following here the like example of Daniel in trying these your records whom ye inferre against these men we wil in like maner examine them seuerally one frō an other and see how their testimonie agreeth first beginning wyth your Robert Fabian Which Robert Fabian being neither in the same age nor at the deede doing can of himselfe geue no credite herein without due proofe and euidence conuenient Now thē doth Rob. Fabian proue this matter of treason true what probation doeth he bring what authoritie doth he alleage And doth Rob. Fabian thinke if he were not disposed to conceiue of the L. Cobham and those men a better opinion but to be traitors that men are bounde to beleue him only at his word without any ground or cause declared why they shuld so do but only because he so saith and pleased him so to write And if yee thinke M. Cope the word only of this witnes sufficient to make authority speaking against the Lord Cobham and prouing nothing which followed so many yeres after him why may not I as well and much rather take the worde and testimonie of Richard Belward a Northfolke man and of the towne of Crisam who liuing both in his time possible knowing the party punished also for the like trueth is not reported but recorded also in the registers of the church of Norwich to geue this testimonie among other his articles for the foresaid L. Cobham that is that sir Iohn Oldcastle was a true Catholike man and falsely condemned and put to death wythout a reasonable cause c. Ex Regist. Noruic Agaynst this man if you take exception say that one hereticke will hold with an other why may not I with the like exception reply to you agayne say as well one Papist hold with an other and both cōiure together to make and say the worst agaynst a true Protestant Further yet to examine this foresayd Fabian witnes agaynst Sir Iohn Oldcastle as Daniell examined that witnesses agaynst Susanna I will not here aske vnder what tree these adherentes of sir I. Oldcastle conspired agaynst the king subuersion of that land but in what time in what yeare and moneth this conspiracie was wrought Fabian witnesseth that it was in the moneth of Ianuary Cōtrary Edward Hall other our Abridgementers followyng him doe affirme that they were condemned in the Guild hall the xij of December and that their executiō vpon the same was in Ianuary followyng so that by their sentence the fact was done either in the moneth of Decēber or els before so Fabianus mentitus est in caput suum vt cū Daniele dicam or if it were in the moneth of Ianuary as Fabian sayth then is Hall and his followers deceiued testifying the fact to be done in the moneth of December And yet to obiect moreouer against the sayd Fabiā for so much as he is such a rash witnes agaynst these burned persons whom he calleth traytors it would be demaūded further of him or in his absence of Maister Cope in what yeare this treason was conspired If it were in the same yeare as he cōfesseth himselfe in which yeare Iohn Cleidon the Skinner Richard Turmine Baker were burned then was it neither in the moneth of Ianuary nor in the first yeare of kyng Henry the fift For in the register of Cāterbury it appeareth playne that Iohn Claydon was condemned neither in the tyme of Thom. Arundell Archbyshop nor yet in the first nor second yeare of kyng Henry the v. but was cōdemned in the second yeare of the translation of Henry Chichesly Archbyshop of Canterbury the. 17. day of August which was the yeare of our Lord. 1415. So that if this conspiracie was in the same yeare after the witnesse of Fabiā in which yeare I. Cleydon was burned then doth the testimony of Fabian neither accord with other witnesses nor with him selfe nor yet with truth And thus much concerning the witnes of Rob. Fabian Let vs next proceede to Polidore Uirgill whose partiall and vntrue handling of our history in other places of of his bookes doth offer vnto vs sufficient exception not to admit his credite in this And yet because we will rather examine him then exclude him let vs heare a little what he sayth how he fayleth in how many pointes numbring the same vpon my fiue fingers First ending with the life of king Henry 4. hee sayeth that hee raigned 14. 14. yeares and 6. moneths and 2. dayes Angl. hist. lib. 21. whyche is an vntruth worthy to be punyshed wyth a whole yeares banishment to speake after the maner of Apulenis when as truth is he raigned by the testimony of the story of S. Albones of Fabian of Hall of our old English Chronicle and of Scala mundi but 13. 6. moneths lacking as some say 5. dayes Hal saieth he raigned but 12. yeares The second vntruth of Polydore is this where as hee speaking of this sedition of sir Iohn Oldcastle and his adherents affirmeth the same to be done after the burning of Iohn Hus and of Hierome of Prage whych was sayeth he An. 1415. in which yere sayth he Thomas Arundell died Hys wordes be these In eodem concilio damnata est Ioh. Wicliffi haeresis ac Ioan. Hus Hieronymus Pragensis in ea vrbe combusti sunt Quod vbi reliquis consocijs qui etiam tunc in Anglia erant patefit tanquam furijs agitati primùm
coniurationes in omnes sacerdotes deinde in regē c. In which words he not onely erreth falsly assigning the cause and occasion of this sedition to the death of Iohn Hus and of Ierome but also misseth as muche in the order and computation of the yeres For neither was sir Roger Acton with his foresaid fellowes aliue at the time of the councell neither doth hee agree therein with any of our English wryters except onely with Hall who also erreth therein as wide as he For the third and fourth vntruth I note this where he addeth and sayth that after this rebelliō raised against the king the sayd sir Iohn Oldcastel being there present himselfe was taken and prisoned in the tower and afterward escaped out of the saide tower by night wherein is conteined a double vntruth For neither was Sir Iohn Oldcastle there present himselfe if we beleue Fabian and Cope Dial. 6. pag. 833 lin 11. nether yet did he euer escape out of the Tower after that conspiracie if euer any such conspiracie was His v. but not the last vntruth in Polydore is this that he sayth Tho. Arundel to haue died in the same yeare noting the yere to be An. 1415. where as by the true registers he died An. 1413. To this vntruthe an other also may be ioyned where he erring in the computation of the yeres of the said Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury reporteth hym to sit 33. yeares Who was there Archbishop but onely 18. yeres as is to be sene in the recordes of Canterbury The wordes of Polydore be these Thomas Arundellius Cantuariensis antistes annum iam tunc sedēs tertium trigesimum e vita excessit lib. 22. Ang. hist. All be it in thys I doe not greatly contend wyth Polydore and peraduenture the aduersary will finde some easie shift for thys matter But let vs passe now from Polydore not as they say out of the hal into the kitchine but out of the kitchine vnto the hall examining and perpending what sayth Edward Hall an other witnes in this matter vpon whom maister Cope bindeth so fast that hee supposeth hys knot is neuer able to be losed And moreouer so treadeth me downe vnder his feete in the dirt as a man would thinke hym some dirtdaubers sonne so that the spots thereof he sayeth will neuer be gotten out while the world standeth a day longer Notwythstanding I trust M. Cope that your dirtie penne with your cockish brags hath not so bedaubed and bespotted me nor yet conuicted me to be such a deprauer of histories but I hope to spunge it out At least way with a little asperges of the Popes holy water I trust to come to a dealbabor well enough But certes M. Cope your maistership must first vnderstand that if yee thinke so to depresse me and disprooue me of vntruth in my history you must go more groūdly to worke and bring against me other authors then Edward Hal You must consider M. Cope if you will be a cōtroller in storie matters it is not enoughe for you to bryng a railing spirit or a minde disposed to carpe and cauil where any matter may be picked diligence is required and great searching out of bookes and authors not only of our time but of all ages And especially where matters of religion are touched pertaining to the church it is not sufficient to see what Fabian or what Hall sayth but the records must be sought the Registers must be turned ouer letters also and ancient instruments ought to be perused and authors wyth the same compared finally the writers among them selues one to be conferred wyth another And so wyth iudgement to be waied wyth diligence to be labored and wyth simplicitie pure from all addiction and partialitie to be vttered Thus did Auentinus thus did Sleidanus wryte These helpes also the eldest and best Historicians semed to haue both Titus Liuius Salustius Quintus Curtius and suche lyke as by their letters and records inserted may wel appeare The same helps likewise both in your Fabian and in your Edwarde Hall were to be required but especially in you M. Cope your selfe whych take vppon you so cockishly rather then wisely to be a controller and maister moderatour of other mens matters In which matters to say the truth you haue no great skil and lesse experience neyther haue you either suche plenty of authors meete for that purpose nor yet euer trauailed to search out the origens groundes of that whereof ye write But onely contented with such as commeth next to hande or peraduenture receiuing such almose as some of your poore frends bestowe vpon you think it sufficient if you can alledge Fabian and Hall for your purpose Now what purpose affection herein doth lead you rather doeth driue you to the carping and barking against the history of these good men that be hence gone and had their punishment all men may see it to be no simple sinceritie of a mind indifferent but y◠zeale only of your sect of Popery or rather of fury which setteth your railing spirite on fire But now out of the fiery kitchin to come to the hal againe let vs see what matter lyeth in the testimony of Edward Hall to proue these men to be traytors And here for so much Maister Cope as you seeme neither sufficiently acquainted with this your owne maister and authour Master Hall nor yet well experienced in the searchyng out of histories I wil take a litle paynes for you in this behalfe to certifie you concernyng the story of this author wherof percase you your selfe are yet ignoraunt The truth whereof is this that as the sayd Edwar◠Hall your great master testis was about the compiling of his story certayne there were which resorted to hym of whom some were drawers of his petigree vineat some were grauers the names of whom were Iohn Bets and Tyrral which be now both dead And other there were of the same sodalitie who ve yet aliue were then in the house of Richard Grafton both the Printer of the sayd booke also as is thought a great helper of the pēning of the same It so befell that as Hall was entring into the story of Syr Iohn Oldcastle of Syr Roger Acton their felowes the booke of Iohn Bale touching the story of the L. Cobham was the same time newly come ouer Which booke was priuely cōueied by one of his seruaūts into the study of Hall so that in turnyng ouer his bookes it must needes come to his handes At the sight whereof when he saw the groūd reasons in that booke contained he turned to the authors in the foresayd booke alledged whereupon within two nightes after moued by what cause I know not but so it was that hee taking his pen rased and cancelled all that he had written before agaynst Syr Iohn Oldcastle his fellowes was now ready to go to the Print containyng
neare to the quantitie of three pages And least M. Cope you or any other should thinke me to speake beside my booke be it therefore knowen both to you and to all other by these presentes that the very selfe same first copy of Hall rased and crossed with his owne penne remaineth in my handes to be shewed seene as need shall require The matter which he cancelled out came to this effect Wherein he following the narratioÌ„ of Polidore began with like wordes to declare how the SacrameÌ„taries here in England after the death of Iohn Husse and Hierome of Prage beyng pricked as he sayth with a demoniacall sting first conspired agaynst the Priestes and after against the king hauing to their Captaines sir Iohn Oldcastle the Lord Cobham and Syr Roger Acton Knight with many moe wordes to the like purpose and effect as Polydore other such like Chronicles doe write agaynst him All which matter notwithstandyng the sayd Hall with his penne at the sight of Iohn Bales booke did vtterly extinct and abolish Addyng in the place thereof the wordes of M. Bales booke touchyng the accusation and condemnation of the sayd Lord Cobham before Thomas Arundell Archbyshop of Canterbury taken out of the letter of the sayd Archbyshop as is in his owne story to be sene In vita Henr. 5. pag. 2. lin 30. And thus Edward Hall your author reuoking calling backe all that he had deuised before agaynst the Lord Cobham whereof I haue his owne hand to shew witnes substauÌ„ciall vpoÌ„ the same in his printed booke recordeth of him no more but onely sheweth the proces betwene the Archbyshop of CaÌ„terbury and him for matters of religion And so ending with Sir Iohn Oldcastle proceedeth further to the assemble of sir Roger ActoÌ„ whom he falsely calleth Robert ActoÌ„ Iohn Browne and Beuerley the narration wherof he handleth in such sort that he neither agreeth with the record of other writers nor yet with truth it selfe For where he excludeth the Lord Cobham out of that assemble he discordeth therein from Polidore and other And where he affirmeth the fact of that conspiracie to be wrought before or at the xij day of December that is manifestly false if the recordes before alledged be true And where he reporteth this assemble to be after the burnyng of Iohn Hus and of Hierome of Prage therein he accordeth with Polydore but not with truth Moreouer so doubtfull he is and ambiguous in declaration of this story that no great certaintie can be gathered of him First as touchyng the confession of them he confesseth himselfe that he saw it not therfore leaueth it at large And as coÌ„cernyng the causes of their death he leaueth the matter in doubt not daring as doth M. Cope to define or pronouÌ„ce any thing therof but onely reciteth the furmises and myndes of diuers men diuersly some thinkyng it was for coÌ„ueying the Lord CobhaÌ„ out of the tower some that it was for treason and heresie and here coÌ„meth in the meÌ„tioÌ„ onely of a record but what record it is neither doth he vtter it nor doth he examine it other some againe aâ—â—irming as he sayth that it was for fayned causes surmised by the spiritualtie more of displeasure then trueth And thus your autor Hall hauing recited yâ— varietie of mens opinions determineth himselfe no certaine thing thereof but as one indifferent neither bouÌ„d to the coniectures of al men nor to the wrytings of all men referreth the whole iudgement of the matter free vnto the reader And so concluding his narratioÌ„ forsomuch as he was neither a witnes of the fact nor present at the dede he ouerpasseth the story therof And what witnes then wil you or can you M. Cope take of Edwarde Halle which denieth himselfe to be a witnesse Will you compell him to say that he sawe not and to witnesse that he can not Wherfore like as Susanna in the storye of Daniel was quite by right iudgement in the case of adultry because her accusers and testes being examined a sonder were found to vary and halt in their tale and not to agree in the two trees So why may not in like case of treason sir Roger Acton sir Iohn Didcastle Browne with the rest claime the same priuiledge seeing among the testes and witnesse produced agaynst them such discorde is found and such halting among them that neyther do they agree in place person yeare day nor moneth For first where Fabian and his fellowes say that they were assembled together in a great company in the fielde neare to S. Gyles the forged inditement aboue alledged sayth they were but riding toward the fielde 2. Secondly where the foresaid inditement and Polydore geue the Lorde Cobham to be present personally in that assemble Halle and Alanus Copus Anglus doe exclude hys personal presence from thence and so doth Fabian also seme to agree speaking onely of the adherentes of Syr Iohn Oldcastle Thirdly where Halle and Polydorus report thys assemble to be after the burning of Iohn Hus and of Hierome at the councel of Constance which was An. 1415. that cannot be but if there were any suche conspiracie in the first yeare of Henry 5. it must needes be An. 1413. And heere-by the way why do certaine of your Epitome wryters speaking of the Lord Cobham committed first to the tower for heresie referre the sayd his imprisonment to the yere 1412. where as by their owne counte reckoning the yeare from the Annunciation it must nedes be an 1413. being done in haruest time Fourthly where Halle with his followers affirme that syr Roger Acton Brown and Beuerley were condemned the 12. day of December the recorde is euident against it which holdeth the fact to be in working the 10. day of Ian. Fiftly where as the foresayde record of the Inditement geueth the Wednesday next after the Epiphany whyche was the 10. day of Ian. that present yeare both the facte to be commytted the same day the Commission also to be graunted and deliuered to the CoÌ„missioners the same day The saide Commissioners to sit in Commission the same day The Shriffes of Midlesex to returne a iurie out of the body of Midlesex the same day and the Iurers to find the inditement the same day and yet no iurer in the inditemeÌ„t named the same day Item the L. Cobham the same day to be founde conspiring to make him selfe Regent when as the king that day and yeare was not yet passed into Fraunce howe all these can concurre and hang together and all in one day I suppose it wil cost you two dayes before you with al your learned counsel wil study it out And wheÌ„ you in your vnlawfull assembles haue conspired and conferred together all ye can yet wil ye make it as I thinke iij. dayes before you honestly dispatch your handes of the matter And where ye thinke that you haue impressed in me such a foul note of
vnto him Adding this in the meane time and by the way that if mayster Cope had bene a Momus anye thing reasonable he had no great cause so to wrangle with me in this matter who as I did commend the Lord Cobham that worthyly for hys valiaūt standing by the truth of his doctrine before Thomas Arundell the Archbishop so touching the matter of this conspiracie I did not affirm or define any thing therof in my former historie so precisely that he could well take any vauntage of agaynst me who in writing of this conspiracy layd agaynst syr Roger Acton And syr Iohn Oldcastle do but disiūctiuely or doubtfully speake thereof not concluding certainly this conspiracie eyther to be true or not true but only prouing the same not to be true at that time as Polydore Virgill and Edward Hall in their histories doe affirme which say that this conspiracie began after the burning of Iohn Husse and Hierome of Prage Which could not be And thereto tendeth my assertion My wordes are playne and are these pag. 174. col 2. line 13. Wherefore it is euident that there was eyther no conspiracie at all agaynst the king or els that it was at some other tyme or done by other Captaynes c. These be my wordes with other moe pag. col and line aboue noted In the which proposition disiunctiue if eyther part be true it is enough for me His part it was to refell both which he hath not done But onely standing fast vpon the one part dissimuleth the other And this is Alanus Copus Anglus who by that he shall come frō Rome whether he is nowe gone as I heare say I trust he will returne a better Logician home agayne in suam Angliam But to the truth of our matter as I sayde before so I say agayne whatsoeuer this worthy noble and vertuous knight syr Roger Acton was otherwise this is certaine that he was alwaies of contrary minde and opinion to the bishop of Rome to that kind of people for the which cause he had great enuy and hatred at their hands and could as litle beare it neither do I greatly dissent from them which do suspect or iudge that the Lord Cobham by his friendly helpe escaped out of the Tower and that peraduenture was the cause why he was apprehended and brought to trouble and in the end came to his death Other causes also theyr might be that these good men percase did frequent among themselues some cōuenticles which conuenticles was made treason by the statute aforesayd either in those Thickets or in some place els for the hearing of Gods word and for publique prayer and therefore had they thys Beuerly theyr preacher with them But to conclude whatsoeuer this sir Roger Acton was this is the truth which I may boldly record as one writing the Actes and thinges done in the Church that he was at length apprehended condemned and put to death or martirdome 3. yeares and more before the Lord Cobham died Likewise M. Iohn Browne and Iohn Beuerly the preacher suffered with him the same kinde of death as some say in the field of S. Giles with other moe to the number of 36. if the storyes be true Whiche was in the month of Ianuary an 1413. after the computation of our English stories counting the yeare from the annunciation but after the Latine writers counting from Christes natiuitie an 1414. according as this picture is specified These men as is said suffered before the Lord Cobham aboot 3. yeares of whose death diuers do write diuersly Some say they were hanged and burnt in S. Gyles field of whom is Fabian with such as follow him Other there be which say that some of them were hanged burnt Polydorus speaking onely of their burning maketh no mētiō of hanging An other certain english Chronicle I haue in my handes borowed of one M. Bowyer who somewhat differing frō the rest recordeth thus of sir Roger Acton that hys iudgement before the iustice was thus to be drawne through London to Tyborne and there to be hanged and so he was naked saue certayne partes of him couered with a clothe c. And when certayn dayes were past sayth the author a Trumpeter of the kinges called Thomas Cliffe gat graunt of the king to take hym downe and to burye hym and so he did c. And thus haue you the storye of syr Roger Acton and hys fellow brethren As touching theyr cause whether it were true or els by error mistaken of the king or by the fetch of the bishops surmised I referre it to the iudgement of him which shal iudge both the quick and dead seculum per ignem To whō also I commit you M. Cope God speed your iorny well to Rome whether I heare say you are going and make you a good man After the decease or martyrdome of these aboue mentioned who are executed in the month of Ianuary an 1414. in the next month following and in the same yere the 20. day of February God tooke away the great enemy of his word and rebell to his king Thom. Arundell Archb. of Cant. Whose death following after the execution of these good men aboue recited by the merueilous stroke of God so sodenly may seeme somewhat to declare their innocēcy and that he was also some great procurer of theyr death in that God woulde not suffer him longer to liue striking hym with death incontinently vppon the same But as I dyd the other before so this also I do refer to the secret iudgement of the Lord who once shal iudge all secrets openly ¶ The picture of the burning and hanging of diuers persons counted for Lollardes in the first yeare of the raigne of king Henry the fift In the death of this Archb. first Polydor Virgil is deceiued who in his 22. booke pag. 441. affirmed hys death to be an 1415. and in the second yeare of king Henr. 5. also after the beginning of the Councell of Constāce who in dede neuer reached the beginning therof nor euer saw the secōd yeare of that king vnles ye count the first day for a yeare but dyed before an 1414. Feb. 20. Ex hist. S. Albani multis Furthermore concerning the death of this Arundell and the maner therof who had not bene so heauy a troubler of Christes saints in his time because the thing semeth worthy of noting to behold the punishment of God vpon hys enemies this is to report as I haue found it alledged out of Thomas Gascoin in Dictionario Theologico Whose playne wordes be these Anno. 1414. Tho. Arundel Cant. Archiepiscop sic lingua percussus erat vt nec deglutire nec loqui per aliquot dies ante mortem suam potuerit diuitis epulonis exemplo sic tantum obijt Atque multi tunc fieri putabant quia verbum alligasset ne suo tempore praedicaretur c. That is Thomas Arundel archbishop of Cant.
was so strikeÌ„ in his tongue that neither he could swallow nor speake for a certayne space before hys death much lyke after the example of the rich glotton and so dyed vpon the same And thys was thought of many to come vpon him for that he so bound the word of the Lord that it should not be preached in hys dayes c. whiche if it be true as it doth well here appeare these and such other horrible exaÌ„ples of gods wrath may be terrible spectacles for such as occupy theyr tongues and braynes so busily to stop the course of gods wrath striuing but against the streame against the force whereof neither they are able to resiste many times in resisting are ouerturned theÌ„selues drowned therin And thus much for the death of Tho. Arundel who coÌ„tinued archb in yâ— see of Cant. the space of 18. yeres After this Arundel succeeded next in the said see of CaÌ„terb Henry Chichelsly made archb an 1414. and sate xxv yeares This Henry following likewise the steps of hys predecessour shewed himselfe no small aduersary against the fauourers of the truth In whose time was much trouble and great afflictioÌ„ in the church For as the preaching and teaching of the word did multiply and spread abroad daily more and more so on the contrary side more vigilant care and straight inquisition followed and increased against the people of God by reason wherof diuers did suffer were burned some for feare fled the country Many were brought to examinatioÌ„ and by infirmitie constrained to abiure Of whome hereafter Christ willing particularly in order of theyr times we will entreat As true pietie and sincere preaching of Christes worde began at this time to decay So idle moÌ„kery and vaine superstitioÌ„ in place therof begaÌ„ to encrease For about the same yere the king began the foundation of 2. monasteries one of the one side of Thames of Friers obseruaunt the other on the other side Thames called Shene and Syon dedicated to Charter house monkes with certaine Brigit nonnes or recluses to the nuÌ„ber of 60. dwelling within the same precinct so that the whole number of these with priestes moÌ„kes deacons and nonnes shoulde equall the number of 13. Apostles and 72. disciples The order of these was according to the discription of S. Paule the Apostle Col. 1. Eat not tast not touch not c. to eat no fleshe to weare no linnen to touch no mony c. About Michaelmas the same yeare the king began his Parliament at Leicester aboue mentioned In the whiche Parliament the commons put vp theyr bill agayn which they had put vp before an 11. Henr. 4. the teÌ„pporalties disorderly wasted by men of the church might be conuerted employed to the vse of the king of his Earls and knights and to the reliefe of the poore people as is before recited pag. 557. In feare of which bill least the king woulde geue therunto any comfortable audience as testifieth Rob. Fabian and other writers certayne of the Prelates other headmen of the church put the king in mind to clayme his right in Fraunce Whereupon â—en Chichesly Archbish. of Caunterbury made a long and solemne oration before the king to perswade him to the same offering to the king in the â—ehalfe of the Clergie great and notable summes By reason wherof sayth Fabian the bill was agayne put of and the king set his minde for the recouery of the same so that soone after he sent his letters and messengers to the French king concerning that matter and receiued from him againe answere of derision with a pype of tennis balles as some recorde sent from the Dolphin for him to playe with at home Whereby the kinges minde was incensed yâ— more toward that viage who then furnishing hymselfe with strength and armour with powder shot and gunstones to play with in Fraunce and with other artillarye for that purpose conuenient so set ouer into France where he got Dareflew with diuers other townes and castles in Normandy and Picardy and at Agyncourt had a great victory ouer the french army they benig counted but 7. thousand by pricking sharp stakes before them c. After that he waâ— Cane Towke Kowan with other â—ownes moe as Meldune or Melione and maryed with Katherine the french kinges daughter And yet notwithstanding the third time he made hys viage agayne into Fraunce where at length at Bloys he fell sicke and dyed Concerning all which viages because they are sufficientlye discoursed in Fabian â—alle and other Chronographers referring therfore the reader vnto them I will return my story to other matters of the Church more effectuall The entry of the story of the Bohemians I Declared a little before howe by the occasion of Queene Anne which was a Bohemian and maried to king Richard 2. the Bohemians coÌ„ming therby to the knowledge of Wickliffes bookes here in England began first to taste and sauor Christes gospell til at length by the preaching of Iohn Husse they increased more and more in knowledge In so much that pope Alexander the v. hearing thereof began at last to styrre coales and directeth his Buâ— to yâ— archbishop of Suinco requiring hym to looke to the matter to prouide that no person in Churches Schooles or other places should mayntayne that doctrine citing also I. Hus to appeare before him To whom the sayd Iohn aunswering againe declared that mandate or Bull of the pope vtterly to repugne agaynst the manifest examples doinges both of Christ and of hys Apostles and to be preiudiciall to the liberty of the Gospell in binding the word of God not to haue free recourse And therefore from this mandate of the P. he appealed to the same Pope better aduised But while he was prosecuting hys appeale Pope Alexander died as is aforesayd pag â—53 Ex Cochleo in hist. Hussit After whome succeeded Pope Iohn the xxiii who also playing hys part here in this matter like a Pope sought by all meanes possible how to represse and keep vnder the Bohemians first beginning to worke his malice vpoÌ„ the foresayd Iohn Husse theyr preacher Who at the same tyme preaching at Prage in the temple of Bethleem because he seemed rather willing to teach the Gospell of Christ then the traditions of Bishops was therefore accused of certayn to the forenamed P. Iohn the 23. for an heretick The Bishop committed the whole matter vnto Cardinall de Collumna who when he had heard the accusation he appoynted a day to Iohn Husse that he shold appeare in the court of Rome whiche thing once done Wenceslaus king of the Romaynes of Boheme at the request specially of his wife Sophia and of the whole nobility of Boheme as also at the earnest sute and desire of the towne and vniuersitie of Prage He sent his Embassadours to Rome to desire the byshop to quit clearely deliuer Iohn Husse from that sentence and
vnto Rome And as he was about to rehearse his appeale agayne they mocked hym ¶ For so much as mention here is made of the appeale of the sayd Hus it seemeth good here to shewe the manner and forme therof The copy and tenour of the appeale of Iohn Hus. FOrasmuch as the most mighty Lorde one in essence 3. in person is both the chiefe and first c also the last and vttermost refuge of al those which are oppressed and that he is the God which defendeth verety and truth throughout all generations doynge iustice to such as be wronged being ready and at hand to al those whiche call vppon him in veritie and truth and bindyng those that are bond and fulfilleth the desires of all those which honour and feare hym defending and keeping al those that loue him and vtterly destroyeth and bringeth to ruine the stiffnecked and vnpenitent sinner and that the Lorde Iesus Christ very God and man being in great anguish compassed in with the priestes Scribes and Phariseis wicked iudges and witnesses willing by the most bitter and ignominious death to redeme the chosen children of God before the foundation of the world from euerlasting damnation hath left behinde him this godly example for a memory vnto them which should come after hym to the intent they should commit al their causes into the handes of God who can doe all thinges and knoweth and seeth all thinges saying in this maner O Lorde beholde my affliction for my enemy hath prepared hymselfe against me and thou art my protector and defendor O Lorde thou hast geuē me vnderstanding and I haue acknowledged thee thou hast opened vnto me all their enterprises and for mine owne parte I haue bene as a meeke lambe which is led vnto sacrifice and haue not resisted agaynst them They haue wrought their enterprises vpon me saying Let vs put wood in hys bread and let vs banysh him out of the land of the liuing that hys name be no more spokē of nor had in memory But thou O Lord of hostes whiche iudgest lustly and seest the deuises and imaginations of theyr hartes hasten thee to take vengeance vpon them for I haue manifested my cause vnto thee for so much as the number of those which trouble me is great and haue counsayled together saying the Lorde hath forsaken hym pursue hym and catch hym O Lord my God behold their doinges for thou art my pacience deliuer me from myne enemies for thou art my God doe not seperate thy selfe fan from me for so much as tribulation is at hand and there is no mā which will succour me My God my God looke downe vpon me wherefore hast thou forsaken me So many doggs haue compassed me in and the company of the wicked haue besieged me round about for they haue spoken agaynst me with the deceitfull tonges and haue compassed me in with wordes full of despite and haue inforced me without cause In stead of loue towardes me they haue slaundered me and haue recompensed me wyth euill for good and in place of charitie they haue conceaued hatred agaynst me Wherfore behold I staying my selfe vppon this most holy and fruitfull example of my sauiour and redeemer do appeale before God for this my grief and hard oppressiō from thys most wicked sentence and iudgement and the excommunication determined by the Byshop Scribes Phariseis and Iudges which sit in Moyses seate and resigne my cause wholly vnto hym so as the holy Patriarke of Constantinople Iohn Chrisostome appealed twise from the Councell of the Byshops and Clergy And Andrew Byshop of Prage and Robert Byshop of Lincolne appealed vnto the soueraign and most iust iudge the which is not defiled with crueltye neyther canne he be corrupted with gifres and rewardes neyther yet be deceiued by false witnesse Also I desire greatly that all the faythfull seruauntes of Iesus Christ and especially the Princes Barons Knightes Esquires and all other whiche inhabite our Country of Boheme should vnderstand know these things and haue compassion vpon me which am so greeuously oppressed by the excommunication whiche is out agaynst me the whiche was obtayned and gotten by the instigation and procurement of Michaell de Causis my great enemy and by the consent and furtheraunce of the Canons of the Cathedrall Churche of Prage and geuen and graunted out by Peter of Sainct Angelles Deane of the Church of Rome and Cardinall and also ordayned iudge by Pope Iohn the xxiij who hath continued almost these two yeares and would geue no audience vnto my Aduocates and Procurators which they ought not to deny no not to a Iew or Pagan or to any hereticke whatsoeuer he were neyther yet woulde he receiue any reasonable excuse for that I did not appeare personally neyther would he accept the testimonials of the whole Vniuersity of Prage with the seale hāging at it or the witnes of the sworn Notaries and such as were called vnto witnesse By thys all men may euidētly perceiue that I haue not incurred any fault or crym of contumacie or disobedience for somuche as that I did not appeare in the Court of Rome was not for any contempte but for reasonable causes And moreouer for somuch as they had layd embushmentes for me on euery side by wayes where I shoulde passe and also because the perils dangers of others haue made me the more circumspect and aduised and for somuche as my procurours were willing and contented to bind themselues euen to abide the punishment of the fire to answere to all such as would appose or lay any thing agaynst me in the Court of Rome as also because they dyd imprison my lawfull procuratour in the sayd Court without any cause demerite or faulte as I suppose For somuch then as the order and disposition of all auncient lawes as well deuine of the old and new testament as also of the Canon lawes is this that the Iudges should resorte vnto the place where the crime or faulte is committed or done and there to enquire of al such crimes as shal be obiected and layd agaynst hym which is accused or slandered and that of such men as by conuersation haue some knowledge or vnderstanding of the party so accused the whiche may not be the euill willers or enemies of hym which is so accused or slaundered but must be men of an honest conuersation no common quarrell pickers or accusers but feruent louers of the law of God and finally that there shold be a fit and meete place appoynted whether as the accused party might without daunger or perill resorte or come and that the Iudge and witnesses should not be enemies vn to hym that is accused And also forsomuche as it is manifest that all these conditions were wanting and lacking as touching my appearaunce for the safegard of my life I am excused before God from the friuolous pretended obstinacie and excommunication Whereupon I I. Hus do present
and equitie is banished the Ecclesiasticall power is iniuried and the calamitie of this Schisme bringeth in all kinde of bondage swords and violence doth rule the laitie haue the dominion concord and vnitie are banished and all prescript rules of Religion vtterly contemned and set at naught Consider most gentle Lords how that during this most pestiferous Schisme how manie heresies haue appeared and shewed themselues how manie heretickes haue scaped vnpunished how manie Churches haue beene spoiled and pulled downe how manie Cities haue beene oppressed and regions brought to ruine what confusion hath there happened in the Cleargie What and how great destruction hath bene amongst the Christian people I pray you marke how the Church of God the spouse of Christ and the mother of all faithfull is contemned and despised For who doth reuerence the keies of the Church who feareth the censures or lawes or who is it that doth defend the liberties thereof But rather who is it that doth not offend the same or who doth not inuade it or else what is he that dare not violentlie lay hands vpon the patrimonie or heritage of Iesus Christ The goods of the Cleargie and of the poore and the reliefe of Pilgrimes and straungers gotten together by the bloud of our Sauiour and of manie Martyres are spoyled and taken awaie behold the abhomination of the desolation brought vpon the Church of God the destruction of the faith and the confusion of the Christian people to the ruine of the Lordes flocke or folde and all the whole companie of our most holy Sauiour and redeemer This losse is more great or greeuous then anie which could happen vnto the Martires of Christ and thys persecution much more cruell then the persecution of anie tyrants for they did but only punish the bodies but in this schsme and diuision the soules are tormented There the bloud of men was only shed but in this case the true faith is subuerted and ouerthrowne That persecution was saluation vnto many but this Schisme is destruction vnto all men When the tirants raged then the faith did increase but by this diuision it is vtterly decaied During their crueltie and madnes the primatiue Church increased but through this schisme it is confounded and ouerthrowne Tiraunts did ignorantly offende but in this schisme many do wittingly and willingly euen of obstinacie offend There came in heretikes vsers of Symonie and hypocrites to the great detriment and deceit of the Church vnder those tirants the merites of the iust were increased But during this Schisme mischiefe and wickednes are augmented for in this most cursed and execrable diuision truth was made an enimie vnto all Christians faith is not regarded loue and charitie hated hope is lost iustice ouerthrowne no kinde of courage or valiantnes but onely vnto mischiefe modestie and temperance cloked wisedome turned into deceit humilitie fained equitie and truth falsified pacience vtterly fled conscience small all wickednes intended deuotion counted folly gentlenes abiect and cast away religion despised obedience not regarded and all maner of life reprochfull and abhominable With how great and greeuous sorowes is the Church of God replenished filled whiles that tirants do oppresse it heretikes inuade it vsers of Symonie do spoile and rob it and schismatikes go about vtterly to subuert it O most miserable and wretched christian people whome now by the space of forty yeares with such indurate and continuall schisme they haue tormented and almost brought to ruine O the little barke and ship of Christ whiche hath so long time wandred and straied now in the middest of the whorlepooles and by and by sticketh fast in the rocks tossed too and fro with most greeuous and tempestuous stormes O miserable and wretched boate of Peter if the most holy father would suffer thee to sinke or drowne into what dangers and perils haue the wicked pirates brought thee amongst what rockes haue they placed thee O most godly and louing Christians what faithfull deuout man is there which beholding and seeing the great ruine and decay of the Church would not be prouoked vnto teares what good conscience is there that can refraine weeping because that contention and strife is powred vpon the ecclesiasticall rulers which haue made vs to erre in the way because they haue not founde or rather would not finde the way of vnitie and concord Whereupon so many heresies and so great confusion is sproong vp and growne in the flocke of Peter and the fold of our Lord. Many Princes Kings and Prelates haue greatly laboured and trauelled for the rooting out heereof but yet could they neuer bring to passe or finish that most holesome and necessary worke Wherefore most Christian King this most glorious and triumphant victory hath tarried only for thee the crowne and glorie therof shal be thine for euer and this most happy victory shall be continually celebrate to thy great honour and praise that thou hast restored againe the Church which was so spoiled thou hast remoued and put away all inueterate and ouergrowne Schismes and diuisions thou hast troden downe vsers of Symony rooted out all hereticks Doest thou not behold see how great perpetuall and famous renowne glory it wil be vnto thee For what can be more iust what more holy what more better what more to be desired or finally what can be more acceptable than to roote out this wicked and abhominable Schisme to restore the Church againe vnto hir auncient libertie to extinguish and put away all Simony and to condemne and destroy all errours and heresies from amongst the flocke of the faithfull Nothing truly can be better nothing more holy nothing more profitable for the whole worlde and finally nothing more acceptable vnto God For the performance of which most holy and godly worke thou wast elect and chosen of God thou wast first deputed and chosen in heauen before thou wast elect and chosen vpon earth Thou wast first appointed by the celestiall and heauenly Prince before the electours of the Empire did elect or choose thee and specially that by the Imperiall force and power thou shouldest condemne and destroy those errours and heresies which wee haue presently in hand to be condemned and subuerted To the performance of this most holy worke God hath giuen vnto thee the knowledge vnderstanding of his diuine truth and veritie power of princely maiestie and the iust iudgement of equitie and righteousnes as the most highest himselfe doth say I haue geuen thee vnderstāding and wisedome to speake and vtter my words and haue set thee to rule ouer nations and kingdomes that thou shouldest helpe the people plucke down and destroy iniquitie by exercising of iustice thou shouldest I say destroy all errours and heresies and specially this obstinate heretike heere present through whose wickednes mischiefe many places of the world are infected with most pestilent and hereticall poison and by his meanes and occasion almost vtterly subuerted
false crueltie And therefore the foresaide Synode to the glory of almighty God and preseruation of his catholicke faith and augmenting of Christian religion and for the saluation of mens soules hath corporally reiected and cast forth of the houshold of God the foresaid I. Wicklieffe I. Hus and Ierome who amongst other things did beleeue preach teach and maintaine of the Sacrament of the aultar and other sacrameÌ„ts of the church articles of the faith coÌ„trary to that the holy Church of Rome beleueth holdeth preacheth and teacheth haue presumed obstinately to preach teach hold and beleue many other moe to the damnation of themselues and of others and the sayde Synode hath separated the same as obstinate and malipert heretickes from the Communion of the faithfull people and haue declared them to be spiritually throwne forth and many other things both wholesome profitable hath the same Councell as touching the premisses stablished and decreed whereby they which by the meanes of those Arch-heretikes and by their false doctrine haue spiritually departed from the Lords house may by the canonicall rules be reduced to the straight path of truth and veritie And moreouer as we to our great griefe do heare not only in the kingdome of Bohemia and Dukedome of Morauia and other places aboue recited but also in certaine parts and prouinces neere adioining and bordering vpon the same there be many other of the secretaries and followers of the foresayd Archheritickes and hereticall opinions casting behind their backes as well the feare of God as the shame of the world neither receiuing fruit of conuersion repentaunce by the miserable destruction of the foresayde Iohn Hus and Hierome but as men drowned in the dungeon of their sinnes cease not to blaspheme the Lord God taking his name in vayne whose minds the father of lies hath damnably blinded and do read and study the foresaid bookes or workes contayning heresies erroures being lately by the foresayd Synode condeÌ„ned to be burned also to the perill of themselues and many other simple men against the statutes decrees and ordinaunces in the Synode aforesayd and the Canonicall sanctions do presume to preach teach the same to the great perill of soules the derogation of the Catholicke fayth and sclaunder of many other besides We therfore considering that errour when it is not relisted seemeth to be allowed and liked and hauing a desire to resist such euill and pernicious errours and vtterly roote them out from amongst the companie of faythfull christians especially froÌ„ the afore recited places of Bohemia Morauia and other straights and Ilands ioyning and bordering vpon the same least they shold stretch out enlarge their â—â—â—ites we will and commaund your discretions by our letters Apostolicall the holy Councell of CoÌ„stance approuing and allowing the same that you that are Archbishops Bishops and other of the clergy and euery one of you by himself or by an other or others being graue and fit persons to haue spirituall iurisdiction do see that al and singuler persons of what dignitie office preeminence state or conditioÌ„ so euer they be and by what name soeuer they are knowne which shall presume otherwise to teache preach or obserue touching the most high and excelent the most wholesome and superadmirable Sacrament of the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christe or els of the Sacrament of Baptisme confession of sinnes penaunce for sins and extreme vnction or els of any other Sacramentes of the Church articles of the faith then that which the right holy vniuersall church of Rome doth hold teach preach obserue or els that shall presume obstinately by any wayes or meanes priuily or apertly to hold beleue and teach the Articles bookes or doctrine of the foresayd Archhereticks Iohn Wickleffe Iohn Hus Hieronimus of Prage being by the foresayd Synode of Constaunce with theyr authours as is sayd damned and condemned or dare presume publikly or priuily to allow or commend in any wise the death and end of the said archheretiks or of any other their receiuers ayders and fauourers in the fauour or supportation of the foresayd errors as also their beleuers and adherentes that then as before you see and cause them and euery of them to be most seuerly punished that you iudge and geue sentence vpon them as hereticks and that as arrant hereticks you leaue them to the secular court or power Let the receiuers also and fauourers and defenders of such most pestiferous persons notwtstanding they neyther beleue fauour nor haue deuotion towardes their errors but happely shal receaue or entertain such pestiferous persons because of carnall affection or friendly loue besides the punishmene due vnto theÌ„ by both lawes ouer and aboue the same punishment by competent iudges be so afflicted for so haynous actes of theirs with so seuere payn punishment excruciated that the same may be to other in like case offending an example of terrour that at the least those whome the feare of God by no meanes may reuoke from such euill doing yet the seueritie of this our discipline may force and constrayne As touching the third sort which shal be any maner of wayes infected with this damnable sect and shall after coÌ„petent admonition repeÌ„t and amend themselues of such errours and sectes aforesayd and will returne agayn into the lap and vnitie of our holy mother the Churche fully acknowledge and confesse the Catholike fayth towardes them let the seueritie of iustice as the quallitie of the facte shall require be somewhat tempered with a tast of mercy And furthermore we will and command that by thys our authoritie Apostolicall ye exhort and admonish al the professours of the catholicke fayth as Emperours kings Dukes Princes Marquesses Earles Barons Knights and other Magistrates Rectors Consuls Proconsuls Shires Countries and Uniuersities of the kingdomes Prouinces Cities otwnes Castles villages their lands other places al other executing teÌ„poral iurisdiction according to the form exigence of the law that they expell out of their kingdoms prouincies Cities towns castles villages lands other places al all maner of suche heretickes according to the effect and tenour of the Councell of Laterane beginning Sicut ait ecclesia c. that those whom publikely and manifestly by the euidence of their deedes shall be knowne to be such as like sicke and scabed sheepe infect the Lords flock they expell and banish till such tyme as from vs or you or els other ecclesiasticall iudges or Inquisitours holding the fayth and communion of the holye church of Rome they shall receiue other order and countermaund and that they suffer no such within theyr shyres and circuites to preach or to keepe either house or familye either yet to vse any handicrafte or occupations or other trades of merchaundise or els to solace themselues anye wayes or frequent the company of Christen men And furthermore if suche publike and knowne heretiques shall
such comfort as no man can vnderstand in that they say that they wil geue you forgeuenes of all your sinnes and great grace pardon to this end that you should warre vpon vs destroy vs wheras their graces and pardons are none other then great lies and a great seducing of the body and soule of all them that beleue them and put their trust in them Thys we would proue vnto them ouercome them by the holy scripture and we wold suffer that whosoeuer is desirous to heare the same shoulde heare it For the Pope and all hys priestes herein deale with you as the deuill woulde haue done wyth our Lorde Iesus Christ. Of whome Luke writeth in hys 4. chap. that be brought him vpon an high hill shewed vnto hym in the twinckling of an eye al the kyngdomes that are in the compasse of the earth said vnto him I wil geue thee c. So the deuill deceiueth the pope and all the priestes with the riches of the worlde and worldly power And they thinke they can geue grace and pardon when they wyll and they themselues shall neuer finde fauour before almighty God except they repent and make amendes because of theyr great deceauing of Christēdom And how can they geue that to others which they themselues haue not So dyd the Deuill who was rich in promising and poore in geuing And like as the Deuill is not ashamed to tell a lye so all they are not ashamed to speake that which shall neuer be found true nor be proued by the holy scriptures because for no cause they stirre vp kinges Princes Lordes and Citties to make warre agaynst vs not to the end that the Christian fayth shoulde therby be defended but because they feare that theyr secret vices and heresies shal be disclosed and made manifest For if they had a true cause a godly loue to the Christiā faith they would then take the books of the holy scripture and would come vnto vs and ouercome vs with the weapōs of Gods word and that is our chiefe desire For so dyd the apostles of our Lord Iesus Christ who came to the Paganes and Iewes and brought them from their infidelitie to the true fayth of our Lorde Iesus Christ and this they dyd in the spirite of meckenes as the Apostle Paule writeth in the 6. chap. to the Galat. Brethren if anye man be agreeued c. So ought they also to doe if they perceiued that they were iust and we vniust And if we woulde not abide instruction then they might take to them kinges Princes Lordes and imperiall citties and resist vs according to the commaundementes of the holy scripture But this is the subtile defence of all the Byshops and Priestes that they say that mayster Hus and Hierome which were burnt at Constance were ouercome of the holy father the Pope and of the whole Councell For ye must vnderstand that they were not ouercome by the holy Ghost but vniustly with wrongfull violence which God may yet hereafter greeuously punishe in all them that gaue their counsel and ayd thereto and they saye it ought not to be suffered tha we should be heard in confessing our fayth How may that be proued by the holy scripture since christ heard the deuilt as it is written in the fourth chap. of Mathewe And they l are not better then Christ nor we worsse then the Deuill If they be iust and haue the truth with them as they saye they haue and we be vnrighteous why do they feare sinc the truth ought not to be afeard of falshod as Esdras writeth in hys second booke the third chapiter Zorobabell declared that truth is of all thinges the most mightye and ouercommeth all thinges For Christ is the trueth Iohn 14. I am the way the trueth c. And the deuill is the father of lies Iohn 8. He is a lyerfrom the beginning and neuer abode in the truth there is no truth in him Therfore if the pope and hys priestes haue the truth let them ouercome vs with the word of God But if they haue lyes then they cannot long abide in al their presumptiō Wherfore we exhort and beseech al the imperiall Cities al kings Princes noble men rich and poore for Gods sake and for hys righteousnes that one of them write hereof to an other and that there may be some meanes made howe we may cōmune with you safely and friendly at some such place as shal be fit both for you and vs and bring with you your Byshops and teachers and let them our teachers fight together with the word of God and let vs heare them and and let not one ouercome the other by violence or false subtiltie but onely by the word of God And if your Bishops and teachers haue better proofes of theyr fayth out of the holy scripture then we and our fayth be found vntrue we will receiue penaunce and satisfaction according to Gospell But if your Byshops and teachers be ouercome of ours by the holy Scripture then doe ye repent and harken to vs and hold with vs. And if your Byshops teachers will cease from their spirituall pride and repent and make satisfaction then wil we helpe you according to our power and will compell them eyther to ioyne with vs or els we will expell them out of Christendome And if your Byshops and teachers will say that it is not lawfull for lay men to heare such reasoning or to be presēt at it that may you vnderstand to tend to no other end but that they feare they should be ouercome and put to shame in the sight of you For if they knew that they should ouercome therein out of doubt they would desire that euery mā should heare it thereby their glory should become the greater their fame and prayses should be encreased vpon the earth And if your Bishops and teachers coūsell you to come to no hearing with vs thē do it whether they will or no suffer not your selues at any time to be so folishly seduced with their folish pardons but tary at home in your houses with your wiues and children And let the pope of Rome come to vs with all his Cardinals and byshops and with all hys priestes with his owne person power to warre with vs let themselues deserue the absolution of sinnes grace and pardon which they preach to you for they haue great nede of forgeuenes of sinnes grace pardō by the grace of god we will geue them pardō enough as they shall neede But their subtile excuse is this they say that it belōgeth not to priestes to fight with bodily weapons true it is that belongeth not to them but it belongeth as little to them to stirre vp to counsaile to fortifie others thereto For Paule saith in the the 1. to the Rom. in the fift to the Galath that all that do such
himselfe lacked pasture But we count these as things of no force or difficulty For S. Augustine in the Sermon of the natiuity of Peter and Paule sayeth in this wise Our Lorde Iesus Christe before hys Passion chose hys disciples as yet doe knowe whom he called brethren Amongest those Peter alone almost in euery place represented the person of the Church therefore it was sayde vnto him Tibi dabo claues regni coelorum That is to say Unto thee will I geue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen These keies did he not receiue as one man but as one he receiued them for the Church And in an other place Where hee wryteth of the Christian agony he sayth the keyes of the kingdome of heauen were geuen vnto the churche when as they were geuen vnto Peter And when as it was spoken vnto him Amas me Pasce oues meas That is to say Louest thou me feede my sheepe it was spoken vnto them all And S. Ambrose in the beginning of his pastorall sayth which sheepe and which flocke the blessed Apostle S. Peter tooke not charge of alone but together with vs and we alltogether with him By which wordes the foundation and principall arguments of those flatterers are vtterly subuerted and ouerthrowen For if Peter represented the person of the Church we ought not to ascribe the force of these words vnto Peter but vnto the Church Neither do I see how that can stand whych Boniface doth affirme for it is farre distant from the truth except it be vnderstand otherwise then it is spoken But it may peraduenture seeme a great thynge vnto some that it is sayd the Byshop of Rome to be the head of the Militant Churche For as in the body of man Philitions do neuer geue councell to cut of the head for any maner of sicknes disease although it be neuer coâ—ul of vicers or infected so in this mysticall body of the church the head ought alwayes to be kept and albeit it be neuer so wicked yet is it to be suffered and horne withall But now conuert this argument If it were possible in the body of man when one hed is taken away to find an other to put in his place as we see it may be done in the Church should not heade then be oftentimes chaunged for diuers diseases Moreouer if we wil thus reason that the head of the church shuld be in respecte of his body as the head of man in respecte of the body of man then doeth it necessarily followe that the head being dead the body must also die as is manifest in the body of man So should it grow into an absurditie to confesse that the Pope being dead the Church also shoulde bee dead the which how farre it dissenteth from the truth it is most manifest Therfore what soeuer other men say I am not of opinion wyth them whych affirme the Bishoppe of Rome to be head of the Church except peraduenture they doe make hym the ministeriall head for we doe reade that Christ is the heade of the Churche and not the Pope and that he is the true head immutable perpetuall and euerlasting and the Church is his body wherof the Pope hymselfe is also a member and the vicare of Christe not to the destruction but to the maintenaunce edifying of the same body of Christ. Wherefore if he be founde a damnable destroyer of the Churche he may be deposed and cast out because he doth not that he was ordeined to doe and we ought as Pope Leo sayeth to be mindeful of the commandement geuen vs in the Gospell that if our eye our foote or oure right hand do offend vs it should be cut of from the body For the Lorde sayeth in an other place Euery tree whych bringeth not foorth fruite shall be cut downe and caste into the fire And in an other place also it is sayde vnto vs take away all euill and wickednesse from among you It is very iust and true whiche is wrytten in the Epistle of Clement vnto Iames the brother of our Lorde that he whych will be saued ought to be separate from them whych will not be saued But for the more manifest declaration hereof we must haue recourse to that which is spoken by the Lorde in the Gospell of Iohn I am the true vine sayth the Lorde and my father is the husbandman and ye are the braunches euery braunch therfore that bryngeth not forth fruite in me my father wil cut off These wordes were spoken vnto the Apostles amongst whom also Peter was present whome the Lord wold haue cut off if he brought not foorth his fruit Also S. Hierome vpon these wordes of Mathewe Vnsauery salte is profitable for nothing but to be cast foorth and troden of swine Whereuppon in the persone of Peter and Paule he sayth thus It is no easie matter to stande in the place of Peter and Paule and to keepe the chaire of them which raigne with Christ. This vnsauery salte that is to say a foolish Prelate vnsauery in preaching and foolish in offending is good for nothing but to be cast foorthe that is to say deposed and to be troden of swine that is of wicked spirits which haue dominion ouer the wicked and naughty Prelates as their owne flocke and herde Beholde thys testimonie of Hierome is plaine and euident Let hym be cast out sayth he Hee expoundeth and speaketh it of the Prelate whych vsurpeth the place of Peter and so consequently of the byshop of Rome who being vnsauery in preaching and foolysh in offending oughte to be deposed as Hierome affirmeth from hys degree and dignitie Neyther as some doe dreame is he to be deposed for heresie only Isidorus in the booke of Councels rehearseth a certain epistle of Clement the successour of Peter wrytten vnto Iames the Apostle wheras the said Clement referring the words of Peter vnto himselfe sayeth thus If thou be occupied wyth worldly cares thou shalt both deceiue thyselfe those which shall geue eare vnto thee for thou canst not fully distribute vnto euery man those thinges which pertaine vnto saluation whereby it shall come to passe that thou as a man for not teaching those things which pertaine vnto saluation shalt be deposed thy disciples shall perish through ignorance Notwtstanding in an other place in stead of this word deposed it is found thou shalt be punished which 2. wordes if they be wel vnderstoode do not much differ for deposition is ofteÌ„times vsed in the place of punishment But peraduenture some wil here obiect that this Epistle is not to be iudged Clements because it is sayd to be wrytten vnto Iames who as the Ecclesiasticall hystory affirmeth was deade before that Peter was put to death But Clement might thinke that Iames was aliue when as hee wrote whych were farre distant a sunder and messengers of the christians came not often vnto Rome Moreouer there is meÌ„tion made of
hys part for here are many byshops proctors whō he doth not recken because they are not of his opinion Neither is the dignities of the fathers to be respected in the Councell as he sayth but onely reason nor anyethyng more to be looked for then the truth neyther will I for my part preferre a lye of any byshop be he neuer so rich before a veritie or truth of a poore priest Neither ought a byshop to disdayne if he be rude or vnlearned that the multitude doth not follow hym or that the voyce of a poore learned and eloquent priest should be preferred before his For wisedome dwelleth oftner vnder a bare and ragged cloke then in rich ornamentes and apparell Wherfore I pray you my Lord byshops do not so much contēne your inferiours for the first which dyed for Christ the which also opened vnto all other the way of Martyrdome was no byshop but onely a Leuite As for that whiche Ludouicus and Panormitane do allege touchyng the voyces of Bishops I know not where they haue it Wherfore I desire them that they would tell me where they haue foūd it But if we repeat the examples of old councels we shall finde that the inferiours were alwayes present with the Bishops And albeit that Ludouicus do forbid vs the examples of the apostles I stay my self most vpon their doings For what is more comely for vs to followe then the doctrine customes of the primitiue Church It is sayd therfore in the 15. chapter of the Acts of the Apostles it seemed good vnto the holy ghost and to vs. The whiche word to vs is referred vnto them which are before named the Apostles and the Elders Neither this word it semed good signifieth in this place consultation but decision and determination whereby it appeareth that other beside that byshops had determining voyces In an other place also of the sayd Actes when as the apostles shoulde intreate vppon anye wayghty matter they durst not determine by themselues but the xii called together the multitude Here Ludouicus sayth that it doeth not appeare y◠the Apostles called other of necessitie but I say vnto hym how knowest thou that they did not call thē of necessitie But for so much as both partes are vncertayne nothing doth prohibite vs to follow the Apostles For seeing that all thinges were written for our learning it appeareth that the Apostles wold geue vs exāple that in wayghty matters we shold admit our inferiours And therfore in all Councels which were celebrate holden afterwards we find that Priestes were also present as in the Councell of Nice whiche of all other was most famous Athanasius being then but onely a priest withstood the Arrians and infringed their argumentes Albeit there were also other priestes And albeit mention be made of 322. byshops yet is not denyed but that the inferiours were there whome I thinke to be omitted for this cause for that they were almost innumerable for as you know well enough the denomination for the most part is taken of the most worthy In the Synode of Calcedon which was counted one of the foure principall Synodes it is sayd that there were present 600. priestes the which name is common both vnto byshops and Priestes In other Councels the name both of Bishops and Priestes is omitted mention made onely of Fathers which hath the same signification the thys worde Elders had in the actes of the Apostles Wee haue also a testimony of the ecclesiasticall history how that ther was a Councell gathered of Rome of lx Byshops and as many Priestes Deacons agaynst the Nouations which called themselues Cathari Also when Paule the Byshop of Antioche in the tyme of Galiene the Emperoure preached that Christ was a man of common nature the Councell assembled agaynst hym in Antioche wherunto there came Byshops out of Cesaria Capadotia out of Pontus Asia and from Ierusalem and many other Byshops Priestes and Deacons and it is said that for that cause the Councel was often holden And at the last in the same place vnder Aurelius the Emperour Paule was condemned of al Christian Churches which were vnder heauē neyther was there any mā which did more confound the sayd Paul then Malchiona Priest of Antioche which taught Rhetorike in Antioche But to make no long digression from the matter we haue most euident testimonies for the defence of the inferiours For the chiefe and principall amongst all the Diuines S. Austen vpō the wordes of Mathew where as Christ saith vnto Peter I wil geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauē sayth that by those words the iudiciall power was geuen not only vnto Peter but also to the other Apostles and to the whole Churche the byshops and Priestes If then Priestes haue a iudiciall power in the churche what shold iet that they haue not also a determining voyce in the coūcels The famous Doctour S. Hierome doth also agree with S. Austen whose wordes are these vpon the Epistle of Paule vnto Titus Before that difference was made in Religion by the instigation of the deuill or that it was spoken amongest the people I holde of Paule I of Apollo I of Cephas the Churches were gouerned by the common consent and Councell of the Priestes for a priest is the very same that a byshop is Wherefore all Byshops ought to vnderstand that they are of greater power then Priestes rather by custome then by the dispensation of the truth of God and that they ought to rule the church together And this we do also gather out of Paule vnto Titus which maketh so much concordaunce betweene bishops and priests that oftentimes he calleth priestes Byshops whereby it doth euidently appeare that priestes are not to be excluded from the conuentions of byshops and determinations of matters And albeit as S. Hierom writeth that byshops onely by custome are preferred before Priestes it may be that a contrary custome may take away that custome For if priestes ought to rule the church together with the byshops it is euident that it also pertayneth vnto them to decide and determine the doubtfull matters of the Church Wherfore the testimony of S. Paule is euident for as he writing vnto the Ephesians sayth If Christe instituted hys Apostles Prophetes Pastours and Teachers to the worke of the ministery for the edifying of hys Church vntill such tyme as we should meete hym for this purpose that there should be no doubt in the diuersitie of doctrine who doubteth then but that the gouernaunce of the Church is committed vnto others together with the Apostles Let these our champions now hold their peace and seeme to be no wiser then they ought to be The memoriall of the coūcell of Constance is yet fresh in memory wheras diuers of vs were present and I my selfe also whiche was neither Cardinall nor byshop but onely a Doctour where I dyd see without any maner of doubt of difficultie the inferiors
vereties which were examined that therby the temeritie of the EugeniaÌ„s might be repressed which verities albeit they were 8. in number yet was it not the Fathers inteÌ„t to conclude vpon them al but onely the three first euen as I also saith he here do conclude in the name of the Father the sonne and the holy Ghost When he had finished his Oration with a cheerful and mery countenaunce rising vp he departed Some of them kissed him and some of them kissed the skirtes of his garmentes A great number followed him and greatly commended his wisedome that being a Frenche man borne had that day vanquished the Italians which were men of great pollicy Howbeit this was all mens opinion that it was done rather by the operation of the holy Ghost then by the Cardinals owne power The other of the contrary faction as men bereft of their mindes hanging downe theyr heades departed euery man to his lodging They weÌ„r not together neither saluted one an other so that their countenaunces declared vnto euery man that they were ouercome Something more also is reported of Panormitane that when he came to his lodging was gone vnto his chamber he complained with himself vpon his king which had compelled him to striue agaynst the truth and put both his soule and good name in daunger of loosing and that in the middest of his teares and complayntes he fell a sleepe and did eate not meate vntill late in the euening for very sorow for that he had neither ignorauntly neither vnwillingly impugned the truth After this there was great consultation amongest the Eugenians what were best to be done in this matter Some thought good to depart and leaue the Councel other some thought it meeter to tary and with at endeuour to resist that nothing should further be done agaynst the Eugenians this opinion remained amongest them The next day after being the 15. day of Aprill the Archbishop of Lyons and the bishop of Burgen calling together the prelates into the Chapter house of the great church began many thinges as touching peace The Bishop of Burgen perswaded that there shuld be deputations appoynted that day vnto whoÌ„ the Archbishop of Lyons shoulde geue power to make an agrement Unto whome aunswere was made as they thought very roughly but as other iudged geÌ„tly but not withstanding iustly and truely For they sayd there could be no vnitie or concorde made before the aduersaries confessed their fault and asked pardon therefore The day following the sayd Byshop of Burgen with the other Lombards and Cathelans went vnto the Germaines and from thence vnto the Senate of the citie speaking much as touching the prohibiting of Schismes The Germaynes referred themselues to those thinges which the deputation should determine The Senate of the Citie as they were great meÌ„ of wisedom which would do nothing without dilligent aduise and deliberation answered that the marter pertayned not vnto them but vnto yâ— Counâ—or The fathers whereof were most wise men and were not ignoraunt what pertayned vnto the Christen fayth and if there were any daunger toward it shuld be declared vnto the Councell and not to the Senate For they beleue that the Elders of the Councell if they were premonished would foresee that there should no hurt happen as for the Senate of the Cittie it was there duety onely to defend the fathers and to preserue the promise of the citie with this answere the byshop of Burgen departed In the meane time the fathers of the councell had drawen out a forme of a decree vpon the former conclusions and had approned the same in the sacred deputations By this time the Princes Orators were returned from the assembly at Mentz holding a Councel among themselues they had determined to let the decree The 9. day of May there was a generall conuocation holdeÌ„ wherunto all meÌ„ resorted either part putting forth himselfe vnto the coÌ„flict The Princes Ambassadours were called by the bishop of Lubecke and Conrade de Winsperg the protectour into the quier and there kept whereas they intreated of a vnity and by what meanes it might be had and there they taryed longer then some thought to doe the whiche matter gaue occasion to bring thinges well to passe beyond al expectation The onely forme of the decree was appoynted to be concluded that day whereupon as soon as Cardinall Arelatensis perceiued the congregation to be full and that the twelue men had agreed and that there was a great expectation with sileuce he thought good not to delay it for feare of tumult but commanded by and by the publick coÌ„cordaunces to be read wherein this was also contayned that the Cardinall Arelatensis might appoynt a Session when soeuer he would Which being read he being desired by the promotors concluded according as the maner of custome is The Ambassadours of princes being yet it in the Duier as soone as they vnderstoode how the matter passed being very much troubled vexed they brake of theyr talke imputing all thinges to the bishop of Lubecke which of purpose had kept them in the Duier and protracted the time Wherupon they entring into the congregation filled the church full of complayntes First of all the Oratour of Lubecke complayned both in his owne name and the name of the protectour as touching the conclusion required that the councell woulde reuoke the same If that might be graunted he promised to intreate a peace and to be a protector betweene the Councell and the Ambassadours of the Princes But the Archbyshop of Turnon said that it seemed vnto him euery maÌ„ to haue free libertie to speake against that law whith shold be promulgate vntill the Session wheÌ„ the Canons shuld be consecrated and receiue their force wheÌ„ as the bishops in their poÌ„tificalibus after the reading of the decree in the Session should aunswere that it pleased them otherwise the demaund which was made by the promoters in the Session to be but vayne and for that the coÌ„clusious were not yet allowed in the Session and therefore he sayd that he might without rebuke speake somewhat as touching the same and that it was a great and hard matter and not to be knit vp in such a short time and that he had the knowledge thereof but euen now notwithstaÌ„ding that he being an Archbishop ought to haue knowne the matter that at hys return home he might informe the king also instruct those which were vnder him And that he and his fellowes before any Session should be would both heare be heard of others Neither doth it seeme good vnto him that the Session should be holdeÌ„ before report were made of those things which the Ambassadours of the Princes had done at Mentz which would peraduenture be such as might altter and chaunge the mindes of the fathers Then the Byshop of Concen Ambassadour of the king of Castell which was also lately returned from Mentz a man
Embassadors they would only haue the first conclusion decreed and therupon sent agayne vnto Arelatensis vnto whō answere was made that the chief force did consist in the two other conclusions and that the Coūcel would specially determine vpon them If the Ambassadors would not be present they should vnderstand that the concord was broken by them which would not obserue that which they had offered With which auswere they departed the Sessiō begā to be celebrate There was no Prelate of the Aragons present at it neither out of Spayn and our of Italy onely the bishop of Grosserane and the Abbot of Dona whiche for theyr constancy steadfast good will toward the vniuersall church could not be chaūged from their purpose but of doctors and other inferiors there were a great number of Aragons and almost all the inferiors of Spayne and Italy for the inferiors feared not the princes as the Bishoppes did and then the worthy stoutnes of the Aragones Cathelanes appeared in the inferiour sort which woulde not shrinke away in the necessity of the church Of the two other nations there were only present 20. bishops The residue lurked in theyr lodginges professing the fayth in theyr hartes but not in theyr mouthes Arelatensis considering afore what would come to passe caused praiers to be made after their praiers made vnto almighty god with teares and lamētation that he would send them his holy spirit to ayde and assist them they were greatlye comforted and encouraged This congregatiō was famous and albeit that there were not many bishops present yet al the seats were filled with the Bishoppes Proctors Archdeacons Presidents Priors Priestes and Doctors of both lawes which I iudged to be about the number of 400. or more amongst whō there was no noyce no chiding no opprobrious wordes or contētion but one exhorted another to the profession of the fayth and there appeared a full and whole consent of them all to defend the church The bishop of Massilia a noble mau read the decree which was attentiuely harkened vnto and not one word interrupted When it was ended Te Deum laudamus was song with great ioy and gladnes so the Session dissolued whiche was in number the xxxiii Session and amongest all the rest the most quiet and peaceable The day following being the xxii of May the Princes Embassadors without all mens expectation came vnto the general congregatiō by that theyr doing at the least geuing theyr assent vnto the Session before passed In celebrating wherof if the fathers had erred it had not bene lawfull for the Princes and Embassadours to haue holden the councell with those fathers But it was thought that they were touched with remorse of conscience and euen now to detest and abhorre that which they had done as it was not hidden to the Embassadours of the Empyre and Fraūce For the bishop of Lubecke sayde that the cause of his absence was for that he was appointed by the Emperors cōmaūdement to intreat a peace Wherfore it was not comely for him to be present at any businesse whereby he should be vexed or troubled with whome the peace should be intreated Notwithstanding he did much commend the session before holdē and beleued the decree therein promulgate to be most good and holy and the verities therin contemed to be vndoubted sayd that he would sticke therunto both now and euen vnto the death But the bishop of Turnō a man both learned and eloquent speaking for him and hys felowes sayd that he heard how that they were euill spokē of amongst some in that they had not honored theyr king in that most sacred Sessiō whom it becommed specially to exalt and defend the fayth which also for that cause aboue all other kings was named most christen notwithstāding he sayd that they had a lawfull excuse in that it was cōuenient that they which were sēt to intreat peace should doe nothing whereby theyr Ambassade shold be stopped or letted Also there are two kindes of iniustice sayd he wherby either thinges are done that should not be done or thinges that should be done are not done The first doth not alwayes bind because it is conuenient to haue respect of time place and persō But the last doth alwayes bind wherin he sayd they were not culpable But as touching the first poynt they might seme vnto some to haue erred because they wer not present at the Session but yet in this poynt they had sufficient to answere forsomuch as if they had bene present at that Session they should haue bene vnmeete to haue intreated any peace with Eugenius And therfore albeit they were wanting at so holy a businesse in that point they followed the example of Paule which albeit he desired to be dissolued to be which Christ yet for the further profit and aduauncement of the church it was deferred So likewise he sayd that they had now done for that they were not absent because they doubted of the conclusions whiche they iudged to be most true and holy whereunto they would sticke euen vnto the death but because they woulde not be vnmeet for the treaty of peace for which they came and yet that which they had not done in theyr owne persō they had fulfilled sayd he by theyr seruaunts and household whom altogether they commaunded to reuerence that Session I would that I had bene then in the place of some great prelate surely they should not haue gone vnpunished whiche thought to haue playd bo peepe For what doth the declaration of the trueth hinder the treatye of peace Or if it doe hurt why is he not counted as great an offender which cōsenteth to him that declareth the truth as he which doth declare it What shal we need any further testimony for now the Embassadors of the Princes haue declared Eugenius to be an enemy vnto the truth But to passe ouer these thinges it is sufficient that Eugenius wrote afterward vnto the king of Fraunce that he did vnderstand the Bishop of Tournon to be become his enemy After that the Bishop of Tournon had made an ende Cardinall Arelatensis gaue thanks vnto God which had so defended his Church after great stormes and cloudes had sent fayre cleare weather cōmending the good wyll of the Emperour and the King of Fraunce towarde the Church he also praysed the bishop of Lubecke and Tournon for that oftentimes in the Councell and also of late at Mentz they had defended the authority of the coūcell But specially he commēded this theyr present doings that they had opēly confessed the trueth and had not sequestred them selues from the fayth of the Church Afterward he entring into the declaration of the matter sayd that he was at Pysis and at Constance and neuer saw a more quiet or deuout Session then this affirming y◠this decree was most necessary to represse the ambition of the Bishops of Rome whiche exalting
seene Gabriel deposed before his death This mans death was greuous vnto all the fathers for now they sayde that two pillers of the Councel were decayed ouerthrown meaning the Prothonotary and the Patriarke whereof the one by the law and the other with his deedes defended the verity of the Councell About the same time also dyed the king of Arragones Amner in Switzerland a man of excellent learning being bishop of Ebron The Abbot of Uergilia dyed at Spyre Iohn the bishop of Lubecke betwene Uienna and Buda These two last rehearsed euen at the point of death did this thing worthy of remembraunce WheÌ„ as they perceiued the houre of theyr death approche calling vnto them certayne graue and wise meÌ„ sayd All you that be here present pray to God that he will conuert such as knowledge Gabriell for high Bishoppe for in that state they cannot be saued and professing themselues that they would die in the fayth of the Councell of Basill they departed in the Lord. In Boheme also departed the bishop of Constance which was Ambassador for the Councell There was great feare and trembling throughout all the CouÌ„cel There had bene also in the Councell by a long time the Abbot of Dona of the Dioces of Cumana a man poore vnto the worlde but rich vnto God whom neither flatterings nor threatnings could turne away from his good purpose intent chusing rather to begge in the truth of the fathers then to abounde in riches with the false flattering aduersaryes WherupoÌ„ after the Lords were departed which gaue him his liuing he remayning still was stricken with the plague and died Likewise a great number of the registers and Doctors dyed and such as fell into that disease few or none escaped One amongest all the rest Aeneas Syluius byting strickeÌ„ with this disease by Gods helpe escaped This man lay 3 dayes euen at the poynt of death all men being in despayre of him notwithstaÌ„ding it pleased God to grauÌ„t him longer life When as the pestilence was most feruent hote that daily there dyed about one hundred there was great intreatye made vnto Cardinall Arelatensis that he would goe to some other towne or village neare hand for these were the words of all his frendes household What do you most reuerend father At the least void this wane of the Moone and saue your selfe who being safe all we shall also be safe if you dye we all perish If the plague oppresse you vnto whom shall we flye Who shall rule vs or who shall be the guide of this most faythfull flocke The infectioÌ„ hath already inuaded your chamber Your Secretarye and chamberlayne are already dead Consider the great dauÌ„ger and saue both your selfe and vs. But neither the intreatye of his household neither that corses of those which were dead coulde moue him willing rather to preserue the Councell with perill of his life then to saue his life with perill of the couÌ„cel for he did know that if he should depart few would haue taryed behinde and that deceite shoulde haue beene wrought in his absence Wherfore like as in wars the souldiors feare no daunger when as they see theyr Captayne in the midst of theyr enemyes so the fathers of the Councell were ashamed to flye from this pestilence seing theyr President to remayne with them in the middest of all daungers Which theyr doinges did vtterly subuert the opinion of theÌ„ which babled abroad that the fathers taryed in Basill to seeke their own profite and commodity and not the verity of the fayth for there is no commodity vpon the earth which men would chaunge for theyr liues for that all suche as doe serue the world do prefer before all other thinges But these our fathers shewing themselues an inuincible stroÌ„g wall for the house of God vanquishing all the craftye deceites whiche Gabriell vsed and ouercoÌ„ming all difficultyes which this most cruell and pestiferous yeare brought vpon theÌ„ at the length all desire of liâ—e also being set a part they haue ouercome all daungers and haue not doubted with most constant mindes to deâ—end the verety of the councell euen vnto this present The time of the decree being passed after the deposition of Gabriel it semed good vnto the fathers to proceed to the election of another Bishop And first of all they nominated those that together with the Cardinals should elect the Pope The first principall of the Electours was the Cardinall ArelateÌ„sis a man of inuincible constancy and incomparable wisedome vnto whose vertue I may iustly ascribe whatsoeuer was done in the couÌ„cell for without him the prelats had not perseuered in theyr purpose neither could the shadow of any Prince haue so defended theÌ„ This man came not to the election by any fauor or denomination but by his owne proper right The rest of the Electours were chosen out of the Italian French Germayne and Spanish nations their Sels chambers appoynted to them by lots without respect of dignity or person as the lots fel so they were placed Wherby it chaunced a Doctor to haue the highest place and a Bishop the last Wherein the distribution of lots was very straunge or rather a Diuine dispensation reprouing the deuises of man wheras the prelates had determined to haue the best Chambers appoynted for themselues had earnestly conteÌ„ded before to haue theyr chambers appoynted according to theyr dignity The next day after there was a Session holdeÌ„ where in Marcus a famous Diuine made an Oration vnto the Electors wherein he reckoned vp the manifolde crimes of Gabriel whiche was deposed He endeuored to perswade the Electours to choose such a man which shoulde in all pointes be contrary vnto Gabriel eschew all his vices that as he through his manifolde reproches was hurtfull vnto al men so he which should be choseÌ„ should shew him selfâ— acceptable vnto all men through iustice and as Gabriell was couetous and full of rapine so this man should shew himselfe continent There was so great a nuÌ„ber of people gathered together to behold this matter that neither in the church neyther in the stretes any man could passe Thâ—re was preseÌ„t Iohn Earle of Diestein who supplyed the place of the Emperours Protector also the Senatours of the Citty with many other noble men to beholde the same whereof you shall heare Christ willing more largely hereafter The Citizens were without in armour to prohibite that there should be no vproare made The Electours receiued the Communion together and afterwardes they receiued theyr oth the Cardinall Arelatensis opening the book of Decrees read the forme of the othe in the audieÌ„ce of all meÌ„ first of all he taking the othe himself began in this maner Most reuerend Fathers I promise sweare and vowe before my Lord Iesus Christ whose most blessed body I vnworthy sinner haue receiued vnto whom in the last iudgement I shall geue accompt of all
Wherupō by the helpe of certeine learned men he begā to seek reformatiō in hys own order Which thyng the pope perceauing and fearing that the sayde Hierome which was now in great reputation amōgst al men shold diminish or ouerthrow his authoritie he ordained his vicar or prouinciall to see reformatiō of these matters which vicare with great superstition began to reforme thinges but the sayd Hierome did alwayes withstand hym wherupon he was complayned of to the Pope and because that contrary vnto the popes commaundement he did wtstand hys vicare he was accursed But for all that Hieronimus lefte not of preaching but threatned Italy with the wrath and in dignation of God and prophecied before vnto them that the land should be ouerthrowne for the pride and wickednes of the people and for the vntruth hipocrisie and falshood of that clergy which God would not leaue vncenēged as ofterward it came to passe when as king Charles came into Italy and to Rome and so straitly beset the pope Alexander that he was forced to make composition with the king Now for somuch as the said Hierom would not leaue of preaching he was commaunded to appeare before the pope to geue accompt of his new learning for so thē they called the truth of the Gospell but by meanes of the manifold perilles he made his excuse that he could not come Then was he againe forbidden by the pope to preach and his learning pronounced and condemned as pernicious false and sedicious This Hieronimus as a man wordly wise foreseeing the great perils and daungers that might come vnto him for feare left of preaching But when as the people which fore hungred and longed for Gods word were instant vpon him that he would preach agayne he began agayne to preach in the yeare of our Lord. 1496. in the Cittie of Florence and albeit that many counsailed him that he should not so do without the Popes commaundement yet did he not regard it but went forward freely of his owne good will When as the Pope and his shauelinges heard newes of this they were greuously incensed and inflamed agaynst him and now againe cursed him as an obstinate and stifnecked hereticke But for all that Hieronimus proceeded in teaching and instructing the people saying that men ought not to regard such curses whiche are agaynst the true doctrine and the cōmon profite whereby the people shold be learned and amended Christ kingdome enlarged and the kindome of the deuill vtterly ouerthrowne In all his preaching he desired to teach no other thing then the onely pure and simple word of God making often protestation that al men should certifie him if they had heard him teach or preach anye thing contrary thereunto for vpon his owne conscience he knew not that he had taught anye thing but the pure word of God What his doctrine was all mē may easely iudge by his books that he had writtē After this in the yeare of our Lord. 1498. he was takē and brought out of S. Markes cloyster two other Fryers with hym named Dominicke and Siluester whiche fauoured hys learning and was caried into prison wheras he wrote a godly meditation vpon that most comfortable 31. psalme In te Domine speraui non confundar in aeternūsed in iusticia tua libera me Wherein he doth excellently describe and set forth the continuall strife betweene the flesh and the spirite After this the Popes Legates came to Florence called forth these three good men threatning thē marueilously but they continued still constant Then came the chief coūsailers of the citty with the popes commissioners whiche had gathered out certain Articles against these men wherupon they were condemned to death the tenour of which Articles hereafter ensue 1. The first article was as touching our free iustification through fayth in Christ. 2. That the communion ought to be ministred vnder both kyndes 3. That the indulgences and pardons of the pope were of no effect 4. For preaching against the filthy and wicked liuing of the Cardinals and spiritualtie 5. For denying the popes supremacie 6. Also that he had affirmed that the keyes were not geuen vnto Peter alone but vnto the vniuersal Church 7. Also that the pope did neither follow the life nor doctrine of Christ for that he did attribute more to his owne pardons and traditions then to Christes merits and therfor he was Antichrist 8. Also that the popes excommunications are not to be feared and that he which doth feare or flye them is excommunicate of God 9. Item that auriculer confession is not necessary 10. Item that he had moued the Cittizens to vprore and sedition 11. Item that he had neglected and contemned the popes Citation 12. Item that he had shamefully spoken agaynst slandered the pope 13. Itē that he had taken Christ to witnes of his naughtines and heresie 14. Also that Italy must be clensed through Gods scourge for the manifold wickednes of the princes and clergy The Martyrdome of Hierome and his two companions Thus was the worthy witnesse of Christ with the other two aforesaid first hanged vp openly in the market place and afterward burnt to ashes and the ashes gathered vp cast into the Riuer of Arum the 24. day of May in the yeare of our Lord 1499. Ex Catal. testium Illyrici This man foreshewed many thinges to come as the destruction of Florence and Rome and the renuing of the Church which three things haue happened in these times within our remembraunce Also he foreshewed that the Turkes and Mores in the latter dayes should be conuerted vnto Christ. He also declared that one should passe the Alpes into Italy like vnto Cirus which should subuert and destroy all Italy Whereupon Iohannes Franciscus Picus Erle of Mirandula called him a holy prophet and defended him by his writings against the pope Many other learned men also defend the innocencie of the saide Sauonarola Marsilius Ficinus also in a certayne Epistle doth attribute vnto him the spirit of prophecie greatly commending and praysing him In the like maner Philippus Comineas a French historiographer which had conference with him witnesseth that he was a holy man and full of the spirit of prophecie for so muche as he had foreshewed vnto hym so many thinges which in euent had proued true There were besides these many other not to be passed ouer or forgotten as Phillip Norice an Irishman professour at Oxford who albeit he was not burned yet as it is sayd he was long time vexed and troubled by the religious route But would to God that such as haue occupied themselues in writing of histories and haue so dilligently committed vnto memory all other thinges done in foreign common wealthes had bestowed the lyke dilligence labour in noting and writing those thinges which pertayn vnto the affayres of the Churche whereby the posteritie might haue had fuller and more perfecte vnderstanding knowledge of
Byshops Chaūcellour which cruelly cōdemned the innocent may offer a terrible spectable to the eyes of all Papisticall persecutours to consider and to take example which the liuing God graunt they may Amen The name of the Towne where she was martyred was as is sayd Chepyngsadbery The name of the woman is not as yet come to my knowledge The name of the Chauncellour who condēned her was called D. Whittington The time of her burnying was in the raigne tyme of K. Henry 7. orderly therfore in this place time to be inserted Wherein is to be noted moreouer the oportunitie of this present history brought to my hands that in such cōuenient season as I was drawyng toward the ende of the foresayd kynges raigne so that it may appeare to them which behold the oportunitie of things not to be without Gods holy wil prouidence that this foresayd example should not lye hid vnremembred but should come to light knowledge and that in such order of placing according as the due course of our story hetherto kept requireth After this godly woman and manly Martyr of Christ was condemned by the wretched Chaūcellour aboue named D. Whittington for the faithfull profession of y◠truth which the Papistes then called heresie and the tyme now come whē she should be brought to the place and paynes of her martyrdome a great concourse of all the multitude both in the towne and countrey about as the maner is in such tymes was gathered to behold her end Among whō was also the foresayd Doct. Whittington the Chauncellour there present to see the execution done Thus this faythfull woman and true seruaunt of God cōstantly persisting in the testimony of the truth committing her cause to the Lord gaue ouer her life to the fire refusing no paynes nor tormentes to keepe her conscience cleare vnreproueable in the day of the Lord. The sacrifice beyng ended the people began to returne homeward commyng from the burning of this blessed Martyr It happened in the meane tyme that as the Catholicke executioners were busie in slaieng this sely lambe at the townes side a certayne Butcher within the towne was as busie in slaieng of a Bull which Bull he had fast bounde in ropes ready to knocke him on the head But the butcher belike not so skilfull in his arte of killing beastes as the Papistes be in murthering Christians as he was lifting his axe to strike the Bull failed in hys stroke and smit a little too low or else how he smit I knowe not This was certayne that the Bull although somewhat greued at the stroke but yet not strooken downe put his strength to the ropes and brake lose from the butcher into the streete the very same tyme as the people were comming in great prease from the burning Who seeing the Bull comming towardes them and supposing him to be wilde as was no other lyke gaue way for the beast euery man shifting for himselfe as well as he might Thus the people geuing backe and making a lane for the Bull he passed through the throng of them touching neither man nor childe till he came where as the Chauncelour was Against whome the Bull as pricked with a sodeine vehemēcie ranne full but with his hornes and taking him vpon the paunch gored him through and through and so killed him immediately carieng his guts and trailing them with his hornes all the streete ouer to the great admiration and wonder of all them that sawe it Although the carnall sence of man be blinde in considering the workes of the Lorde imputing many tymes to blinde chaunce the thyngs which properly pertayne to Gods only praise and prouidence yet in this so straunge and so euident example what man can be so dull or ignorant which seeth not heerein a plaine miracle of Gods mighty power and iudgement both in the punishing of this wretched Chauncelour and also in admonishing all other like persecutours by his example to feare the Lord and to abstaine from the like crueltie Now for the credite of this story least I be sayde vpon mine owne head to commit to story things rashly which I can not iustifie therefore to stop such cauelling mouths I will discharge my selfe with authority I trust sufficient that is with the witnesse of him which both was a Papist and also present the same time at the burning of the woman whose name was Rowland Webbe which Rowland dwelling then in Chippingsadbery had a sonne named Richard Webbe seruant sometime to Maister Latymer who also enduring with him in time of his trouble sixe yeares together was himselfe emprisoned and persecuted for the same cause Vnto the which Richard Webbe being now aged then yong the foresaid Rowland his father to the entent to exhort him from this sect of heresie as he then called it recited to him many times the burning of this woman and withall added the story of the Bull aforesayd which he himselfe did see testifie This Richard Webbe is yet liuing a witnes of his owne fathers wordes and testimonie which I trust may satisfie all indifferent Readers except onely such as thinke no truth to be beleeued but that only which is in their Portues ¶ Verses touching the same Tho. Hatcherus MIra legis quicunque legis portenta nefandi Exitus vt poenas addita poena luat Vera legis Domini cuicunque potentia nota est Vt delinquentes ira seuera premat Saepè fit vt fusus cumuletur sanguine sanguis Saepè fit vt poenis obruatira nouis Omnia sunt Domini dextrae subiecta potenti Qui ciet arbitrio bruta hominesque suo Carnificis taurus luctando corniger ictus Euitans sracto fune repentque fugit Fortè viam quâ turba frequens confluxerat antè Faeminea vt cernat membra perire rogo Taurus ijt fertur quâ confertissima turba Laesus at ex tanta solus vnus erat Solus vnus erat rapidos qui misit in ignes Et miserè paruum sparsit ouile Dei Et quasi consultò ferretur praeterit omnes Cornibus hunc tollit proterit hunc pedibus Ille iacet madido foedatur sanguine corpus Eruta perque vias viscera sparsa iacent Quis non à Domino nutu qui temperat orbem Cogitet haec fieri non repetendo tremat Vitio terribiles comitatur iusta procellas Sera licet certis passibus illa venit And thus much concerning the state of the Churche Wherein is to be vnderstand what stormes and persecutions haue bene raised vp in all quarters against the flocke and congregation of Christ not only by the Turkes but also at home within our selues by the Byshop of Rome and his retinue Where also is to be noted in the daies and reigne of this king Henry the vij how mightely the working of Gods Gospell hath multiplied and increased and what great numbers of men and women haue suffered for the same with vs
Hemeaneth Panormitan which did conclude without the examination of the 12. meÌ„ Paul would geue to Peter no respite when he swarned awry Marke the great Constancie and Christian zeale of this man An exortation to constancie The Bishop of Burgen seeketh concorde How men be readie to heaâ—â— newes Note the godly policye of the Cardinall The conclusion of the councell The holy Ghost working against the Pope The sorow of Panormitane for impugning the trueth The Bishop of Lyons Bargé The iust aunswer of the Councell The aunswere of them both The forme of the decree is written and approued The policie of the Cardinall Arelatensis The Bishop of Tournon The Bishop of Cócen speaketh Marke what the truth must suffer O maruelous despight and contumely in a Bishop for it Arelatensis had kept whoores or concubines he would haue praysed him but to maintaine learned meÌ„ was a great offence The fathers of the councells slaunde tred by Panormitane 4. signes to know the good from the badde Looke if it benot spoké of them in the Gospel where mention is made of the beast which is fallen into the ditche What is it that ambition will not doe Abbot Virgiliacensis Lodouicus the prothonotarie in labouring to seeme learned forgot to be good The Apostles principally gathered the Crâ—de The oration of Cardinal Arelatensis To the imperiall Ambassadonâ—s To the Ambassadours of Fraunce To the Bishop of Coâ—cen To Lodouicus the prothonotary Nicolas Picenius an Italian Articles of the Creede not all put in by the Apostles but some by the couÌ„cels The Article of the holy Ghost put in by the councell of Lyons Panormitan wounded with his owne darts Arelatensis concluded not but at the request of the proctours These 4. deputations were 4. sortes of chosen 〈◊〉 which did disâ—â—â—e and determine those thinges which the fathers did conclude vpon Verely this is no Babilonical Cardinal but of the immaculate spouse Iesus Christ. He speaketh to the whole couÌ„cell Euery man may determine in matters of faith hauing the scripture on his part Contention in the councell abâ—ut reading of the protesâ—ation How God worketh by occasioÌ„ Albiganensis readeth the protestation but none could hear him The affaires of the councell are read Eneas Syluius being present collected this Arelatensis coÌ„cludeth here as he did also before not without the consent of the deputies according to the order of the Councel * Eneas you dyd not so praise this councell after you were byshop your selfe The Byshop of Lubecke Conrade Winsperge a Baron Panormitaâ— the Achilles of the Eugenians and Arelatensis the Hector of the councell The Papists extoll that which maketh for their purpose but the contrary they contemne whether it be scripture or prophane Arelatensis answere to Panormitan This deputation of faith was that coÌ„pany of chose meÌ„ which dyd determine matters of faith Saint Hierome vnto Nepotianusi de vita clericals Marke how politickly and sincerely he doth confute hys aduersaries No man hath heretofore more then Panormitane published the errours of Eugenius whom he now so greatly deseÌ„deth The Session proclaymed In all Italy there were scarsly two prelates found which sought the commoditie of the vniuersall church in Spaine there was none Prayers made with teares Amongest 400. doctors that were present ther was not one yll worde The 33. Session The Embassadours consent to the former Session Two kindes of iniustice O Aeneas you should haue vsed such sinceritie when you were Pope Beholde the princes Ambassadours declare Eugenius an enemy vnto the truth Arelatensis commendeth the Ambassadours This Councel was gathered to take away the ambition of the Bishoppes of Rome that they shuld not think they might do all things according to theyr own pleasure and further so reuoke them â—â—o the care of temporal things vnto spirituall things which now they regarded not The councell doth deliberate vpon the popes election I.x. dayes must be delayd after the sea is voyde Note the Christian zeale of tâ—â—fe meÌ„ which would refuse no daunger for Gods cause Iohn Segouius Dangerous honestie preferred before secure vtilitie A great pestilence in Basil. Lodouicus the prothonotary dyed of the plague The exhortation of those which dyed The Byshop of CoÌ„stance dyeth The Abbot Dona a true Abbot Eneas the author hereof escaped death hardlye The inuincible constancie and fortitude of the Cardinall Arelatensis The commendation of ArelateÌ„sis The councel of Marcus The godly â—he of Arelatensis The other Electours take their othe A scrutinie is a priuie election by voyces Amedeus Duke of Sauoy Prayer for vnitie and concord Let lying Pogius be ashamed of his false inuectiue against Amedeus Commendation of Amedeus Pope elect To haue a wife is no let for a good man to be elected Pope Popes haue ben maried Read the 5 Epistle of Ignatius and you shal see that the Apostles had wyues Baptista Mantuanus maketh mention how that Hilarius Byshop of Pictauia had a wife Eccle. 4. Schisme in the Church Good it were that temporall dominions were deuided from the Church Amedeus Duke of Sauoy chosen Pope Pope Felix 5. The numbâ— of people aâ— the coronation of P. Felix The popes two sonnes seruing at the coronation The valuation of the popes crown The Popes dinner and seruice Volat. lib. 3. A note for our gentlemeÌ„ lords to learne how to huÌ„t and what dogges to keepe The death of SigismuÌ„d the Emperour Albertus 2. Emperour Anno 1438. The death of Albertus 2. The plague at Basill in time of the councell Aeneas Siluius sick of the plague at Basil. The coÌ„stant zeale of Arelatensis to the truth Aeneas Sil. epist. 183. The welthy prelats slide away from the councel Welthie prelates afrayde of truth â—ide quam plebe carere malunt Promotions choke the clergie 60. thousand crownes offred by pope â—ugenius for the betraying of Arelatensis Arelatensis taken and rescued Gods defeÌ„ce toward hys seruantes Ex paraelip Abb. Vrsper The story of the Bohemians prosecutâ—d The Bohemians inuited to come to the councell The Bohemians laboureâ— to come to the Councell The Ambassadours of the Bohemians and of the councell meete together at Egra The Bohemians require pledges Princes bound to the Bohemians The Bohemians require the Emperour to be â—â—â—sent at the â—â—â—cell The Bohemians send two ambassadours to the councel Good iustice vpon a slaunderous rayler The gentlenes of the Bohemians Ambassadours The Bmbassadours of the Bohemians turn home The Bohemians 〈◊〉 vp to the councell other solemne Ambassadours The oration of the Cardinall Iulian to the Bohemians Vide supra pag. 675. The first article of the Bohemians by the first Ambass The second article of the Bohe. by the secoÌ„d Ambass The third article of the Bohe. by the third Ambassadour The fourth article of the Bohe by the 4. Ambass The oration of the Abbot of Sistertia offeÌ„siue to the Bohemians Iohn Ragusinus replyeth against the first article The Bohemians displeased with Ragusinus Egidius Carlerius answereth against the second Article
my predecessors before me were much both better and greater then I and of them euery one for his time although he did not extirpe and cut off all yet something they did plucke vp and correct which seemed aduerse repugnant against Gods honor For if they had taken altogether away no such occasion then had bene left for any man to raise 〈◊〉 fire of temptation now against vs as is nowe raised to proue vs with all that we being so proued with them might also be crowned with them being likewise partakers of praise and reward as we are of their labour and trauaile And though some of them haue bene slacke or exceeded in their duetie doing in that we are not bounde to follow their example Peter when he denied Christ we therfore rebuke him but whē he resisted the rage of Nero therin we cōmēd him And therfore because he could not finde in his cōscience to cōsent vnto that he ought in no wise to dissemble neither did he by reason thereof he lost his life By such like oppressions the church hath alwaies growne Our forefathers predecessors because they would not dissemble the name honor of Christ therfore they suffred And shall I to haue the fauour of one man suffer the honor of Christ to be supprest The nobles standing by hearing him thus speake were greatly agreeued with him noting in him both arrogancy wilfulnes in perturbing and refusing suche an honest offer of agreemēt But specially one among the rest was most agreeued who their openly protested that seing the Archbishop so refused the counsaile and request of both the kingdome he was not worthye to haue the helpe of eyther of them but as the kingdome of Englande had reiected so the kingdome of Fraunce shoulde not entertayne him Alanus Herbertus and certayne other of his Chaplaines that committed to story the doynges of Becket doe record whether truely or no I cannot say that the French king sending for him as one much sorrowing and lamenting the wordes that he had spoken at the cōming of Becket did prostrate hymselfe at his feete confessing his fault in geuing counsel to him in such a cause pertayning to the honor of God to relent therein to yeld to the pleasure of mā wherfore declaring his repentance he desired to be absolued thereof So that after this the French king and Becket were great frendes together in so much that kyng Henry sending to the king to entreate him and desire him that he would not support nor maintayn his enemy within his Realme the French king vtterly denyed the kinges requeste taking part rather with the Archbishop then with him Besides these quarrels and grudges betwixt the kyng and the Archbishop aboue mentioned there followed yet moreouer an other which was this Shortly after this cōmunication recited betweene the king and Becket the K. of England returning againe frō Normandy to England which was the yeare of our Lord 1170. and the 16. yeare of his raigne about Midsomer kept his court of Parliament at Westminster In the which Parliament he through the assent both of the Clergy and the Lordes temporall caused hys sonne Henry to be crowned king Which coronation was done by the hands of Robert Archb. of York with the assistāce of other bishops ministring to the same as Gilb. of Londō Goceline of Salisbury Hugo of Duresme and Gualter of Rochester By reason whereof Becket of Cant. beyng there neither mentioned nor called for took no little displeasure and so did Lodouike the French king hearing that Margaret hys daughter was not also crowned with her husband Whereupon he gathering a great army forthwith marched into Normādy But the matter was soone cōpassed by the king of England who sending hys sonne to him in Normandy intreated there and concluded peace with him promising that his sonne should be crowned agayne then hys daughter to be crowned also But the Archb. not ceasing his displeasure and emulatiō sent vnto the Pope complaining of these four bishops especially of the Archb. of Yorke who durst be so bold in his absence without his knowledge or his licence to intermedle to crowne the king being a matter proper and peculiar to his iurisdiction At the instaunce of whom the P. sent downe the sentnce of excommunication against the B. of London The other 3. bishops with the Archb. of York he suspended whose sentence and letters thereof for auoyding prolixitie I here omit Besides these foresayd bishops excommunicated diuers other clerks also of the court he cited to appeare before him by vertue of his large commission whiche he gate from the Pope to whō they were bound to obey by reason of their benefices And some he commanded in vertue of obediēce to appeare in payne of forfeting their order and benefices Of which whē neyther sort would appeare he cursed thē openly And also some lay men of the court the kings familiars some as intruders and violent withholders of Church goodes he accursed as Richard Lucy and Iocelin Balliot and Rafe Brocke which tooke bels and goods that belonged to the Church of Caunterburye and Hugh Sainctcleare and Thomas the sonne of Bernard and all that should hereafter take any church goodes without hys consent so that almost all the court was accursed eyther by the name or as pertakers This being done the Archb. of Yorke with the foresaid bishops resorted to the king with a greuous cōplaint declaring how miserably their case stood and what they had sustayned for fulfilling his commaundement The kyng hearing this was highly moued as no maruell was But what remedy The tyme of the ruine of the Pope was not yet come and what Prince then might withstand the iniurious violence of that Romish potestate In the meane season the Frenche King for his parte his clergy and courtiers stackt no occasion to incite and sollicite Alexander the Pope agaynst the king of England to excōmunicate him also seeking thereby and thinking to haue some vauntage agaynst the realme Neither was the king ignorant of thes which made him more ready to apply to some agreement of reconciliation At length cōmeth downe from the Pope two Legates the Archb. of Rhotomage and the Byshop of Nauerne with direction and full commission eyther to driue the king to be reconciled or to be interdicted by the popes cēsures out of the church The king vnderstanding himselfe to be in greater straites then he coulde auoyde at length through the mediation of the Frenche king and of other Prelates and great Princes was content to yeld to peace and reconciliation with the Archbishop whome he receaued both to hys fauour and also permitted and graunted him free returne to his Church agayne Concerning hys possessions and landes of the Churche of Canterburye although Becket made great labour therefore yet the king being then in Normandy would not graunt him before he should repayre to England to see how he would there agree with
But touching the temporal gouernment of the City of Rome it is fallen alreadye and so that the other also for the multitude of her spiritual fornicatiōs shal fall The Emperours of this city gaue themselues to Idolatry and would haue that mē should honour them as Gods put al those to death that refused such idolatry by the cruelty of their torments al infidels gate the vpper hand Hereupon by the image of Nabuchodonosor the empire of the Romaines is likened to yron which beateth together and hath the mastery of all mortals And in the visiō of Daniel wherein he saw the foure windes of heauen to fight in the mayne sea and fower great beastes comming out of the sea The kingdom of the Romaynes is lykened to the fourth terrible and maruelous beast the which had great yron teeth eating destroying and treading the rest vnder his feete this beast had ten horues as Danyell sayth he shall speake words agaynst the most highest and shall teare with his teeth the Saynts of the most highest and he shall thinke that he may be able to chaunge times and lawes and they shall be delyuered into hys power vntill a tyme tymes and halfe a time In the Apocalips Saine Iohn sawe a beast comming out of the sea hauyng 7. heads and 10. hornes and power was geuen to hym to make monthes 42. So long time endured the Empire of the Romaynes that is to say from the beginning of Iulius Cesar which was the first Emperor of the Romains vnto the ende of Fridericus whych was the last Emperour of the Romaines Under this empire Christ suffred other Martirs also suffred for his name sake And here is fallen Rome as Babylon which is all one accordyng to the maner of speakyng in the Apocalips as touchynge the temporal and corporal power of gouerning And thus shall she fall also touchynge the spirituall power of gouerning for the multitude of the iniquities and spirituall fornication and merchaundise that are committed by her in the Church The feete of the image which Nabuchodonezor saw dyd betoken the Empire of Rome part of them were of yron and part of clay earth The part that was of yron fell and the power therof vanished away because the power therof was at an end after certaine monthes That part of clay and earth yet endureth but it shal vanish away by the testimony of the Prophets whereupon saint Iohn in the Apocalips After that he sawe the part made of yron rising out of the sea to which eche people tribe and tong submitted themselues And he saw an other beast cōmyng out of the earth which had two hornes like to the hornes of a Lambe and he spake like a Dragon and he vanquyshed the first beast in his sight This beast as seemeth me doth betoken the claye and earthē part of the feete of the image because hee came out of the earth For the by terrene helpe he is made the high chief priest of the Romaines in the church of Christ so from alow he ascended on hygh But Christ from heauen descended because that he which was God author of euery creature became man and he that was Lord of Lords was made in the shape of a seruant And although that in the heauens the company of angels minister vnto him he himselfe ministred or serued in earth that he might teache vs humilitie by which a man ascendeth into heauen euen as by pride a man goeth downe into the bottomlesse pyt This beast hath two hornes most like a Lambe because that he chalengeth to himselfe both the priestlye kingly power aboue al other here in earth The Lambe that is Chryst which is a king for euer vpō the kingly seat of Dauid he is a Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech but hys kingdome is not of this world but the kingdome of thys beast is of this world because those that be vnder him fyght for him And as Iesus is Christ two maner of waies because that Christus is as much to say as Vnctus He verelye was annoynted king annointed priest so this beast saieth that he is chiefe king priest Wherefore doth he call himselfe Christ because that Chryst knowing that afore sayd Many shal come in my name saying I am Chryst and shall decyue many And thus because that he is both king priest he chalengeth to himselfe the double sworde that is the corporall sword and the spirituall sworde The corporal sword is in his right hand and the spiritual sword is in his right eye by the testimony of Zachary But hee speaketh subtilly like a Dragon because that by the testymony of Christ he shal deceiue many as the Apoc. witnesseth He did great wonders that also he might make more fire to come from heauen into the earth in the sight of mē that he might deceiue those that dwel vpon the earth because of the wonders that are permitted hym to do in the sight of the beast hee ouercame the first beast which ascended out of the sea For that beast challenged vnto himself authoritie of gouernment of that whole worlde He hath put to death tormented those that resist his commaundements and would be honored as a God vpon the earth The byshop of Rome sayth that that whole world ought to be in subiectiō vnto him those that be disobediēt vnto his commaundements he putteth in prison and to death if he can If he cannot he excommunicateth them and commaundeth them to be cast into the deuils dūgeon But hee that hath no power ouer y◠body much lesse hath he power ouer the soule And truely his excommunicatiō nor the excommunication of any priest vnder him shall at that time little hurt him that is excommunicat so that the person of him that is excommunicate be not first excommunicat of God through sinne And thus it seemeth a trouth vnto me that God thus turneth their blessinges into cursinges because they geue not due glory vnto his name So when that they vniusty excommunicate curse he turneth their cursings into blessings Also the bishop of Rome doth make me to worshyp him as God because that the special sacrifice that God doth require of vs is to be obedient vnto him in keping of hys commaundements But now the Popes commaundemēts be commaunded to be kept and be kept in very deede but the commaundements of Christ are contemned and reiected Thus sitteth the Byshop of Rome in the Temple of God shewing himselfe as God and extolleth himselfe aboue al that which is called God or worshipped as God But in his fall he shal be reuealed because that euery kingdome deuided in it self shal be made desolate He teaching a truthe is the head of the Churche but the Prophet teaching a lye is the tayle of the Dragon Hee seducyng the worlde shal be acknowledged to be the veritie of the doctrine of Christ
but after he is knowne he shal bee reiected and naught esteemed He geueth to small and great riche and poore free and bonde markes in their right hands in their foreheades that no man shoulde buy or sell but those that shall haue the marks of the name of the beast or that looketh to haue of him some recompence small mean or great or els the number of his name which number is 300. The Pope sayth that in the administration of euery sacrament he doth imprint a certaine charecter or mark into the soul of him that receiueth In baptisme he saith that he doth imprint into the soule of hym that is baptised a marke that cannot be wiped out and so likewise in other sacraments And I knowe that in a Sacrament are two things that is the sacramental signe spiritual grace represented by the same signe the sacramental signe is geueÌ„ to man of man but the spirituall grace is geuen of Christ. Wherefore although a vicious or naughty Priest doth baptise any man if he that is baptised or his parents if he be a childe do aske with faithful meaning baptisme do meane faithfully hereafter to obserue the wordes of baptisme is as well baptised as if hee were baptised of neuer so vertuous a priest So also the sinner which with al hys hart is sory for his sinnes and doth aske faithfully mercye of God is as wel absolued of a vicious priest as of a vertuous Because the Lambe of god whych taketh away the sinnes of the word wipeth away inwardly our sinnes by his grace because that he is the bishop pastor of our souls All other priestes do outwardly worke absolution which knowe not for a certaintye whether they haue absolued or not So also is it in the other because that the grace of the sacrament is geuen of God and the sacramental signe of man In geuing of orders the chiefe bishop doth imprint the corporall markes but of the spiritual markes I know none vnlesse a man will say that by receiuing the order he hath some beliefe that he may worke some thinges pertayniug to that order the which before the receiuing of the order he could not But this one thing is that none in the churche ought to sell spiritual marchandise of which thinges wee haue spoken before vnles he haue the marke of the beast My counsell is let the buyer beware of those markes because that after the fall of Babylon if any man hath worshipped the beast and her image hath reciued the marke vpon his forehead vpon his hand he shall drinke of the wine of gods wrath which is mixed with the wyne in the cup of his anger and he shal be tormented in fire brymstone in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lambe and the smoke of their tormentes shall euer more ascend although he looke for a recompence small mean or great of the beast or els the nuÌ„ber of his name The beast doubtles doth recompence his friends with his small rewarde that is with great gifts and benefices corporall with a meane reward that is with great spirituall gifts in authority of blessing losing binding praying exercising other spiritual workes with his greatest rewarde which after that they be dead maketh them to be honored in earth amoÌ„g the saints The number of his name according to the opinion of some men is Dux Cleri the captayne of the clergie because by that name he is named maketh his name knowne and that name is 666. This is my opinion of the beast ascending out of the earth and shall vntill suche time as I shal bee of the same beast better instructed And although that this beast doth signifie the Romaine bishops yet the other cruel beast ascending out of the sea doth signifye the Romayne Emperours And although that the Dragon being a cruel beast and the false Prophet geuing the marke must be throwen into the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormeÌ„ted for euer I woulde haue no man to iudge but I leaue such things altogether to the finall iudgement of Chryst to bee detemined But Martine the Popes confessour which maketh the Chronicle of the Emperours and Popes recyteth many errours of the Popes more horrible and abhomynabl then of the Emperours For he speaketh of the idolatrous Popes hereticall simoniacal and Popes the were murderers that vsed nigromancie and wytchcraft that were fornicatours and defyled with al kinde of vice But I haue partly declared how that the Popes lawe is contrary to Christes lawe and howe that he sayeth that he is the chiefe vicar of Christ in earth and in his deedes is coÌ„trary to Christ and doth forsake both hys doctrine lyfe I can not see who els may be so well Antichrist and a seducer of the people For there is not a greater pestilence then a familiar enemy As concrning idols and the worshipping of them I think of them as Moses Salomon Isayas Ieremy and the rest of the Prophetes which all spake agaynst the making of Images as also the worshipping of Images And faithful Dauid full of the spirit of God sayth Let all those be confounded that worship Images and that reioyce in Idols And againe he sayth Let theÌ„ be made like vnto them that make them al such as put their trust in them Wherefore I pray god that this euil come not vpon me which is the curse of God pronounced by Dauid the prophet Nor I wil be by Gods grace neither a maker nor els a woorshipper of Images As coÌ„cerning othes I beleue and obey the doctrine of the almighty God my maister Iesus Christ which teacheth that Christian men in affirmation of a truth should passe the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises of the olde Testament or els he excludeth theÌ„ from the kingdom of heauen For he saith Unles your righteousnes exceede the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises ye cannot enter into the kingdome of heaueÌ„ And as concerning othes he sayth It hath bene sayd to them of old time thou shalt not forsweare thy selfe but shalt performe vnto the Lorde those thinges which thou vowest But I saye vnto you thou shalt not sweare at all neyther by the heaueÌ„ nor yet by the earth c. But let your coÌ„munication be yea yea nay nay for whatsoeuer shal be more then this proceedeth of euill Therefore as the perfection of the auncient men of the old Testament was not to forsweare themselues so the perfection of Christian men is not to sweare at all because they are so coÌ„maunded of Christ whose commaundement must in no case be brokeâ— although that the Citie of Rome is contrarye to thys dâ—â—ctryne of Chryst euen as in manye things she is found contray to her selfe As touching the taking away of temporal goods from those that are ecclesiastical persons offendyng habitualiter by such as are temporall