The assault of the sacrameÌ„t of the Altar containyng aswell sixe seuerall assaultes made from tyme to tyme against the sayd blessed sacrament as also the names opinions of all the heretical captaines of the same assaultes Written in the yere of oure Lorde 1549. by Myles Huggarde and dedicated to the Quenes moste excellent maiestie beyng then ladie Marie in whiche tyme heresie then raigning it could take no place Now newly imprynted this present yere 1554. ¶ Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum ¶ To the reader SEldome is seene matters of weyght Rudelye in ryme to be set out Yet make I not this thing so sleyght Although in ryme I go about To make this worke the whiche no doubt Muche hygher matter doth containe Then ought in ryme to be made plaine But Yet because saint Paule doth say That God his gyftes geueth diuersly The whiche eche man ought here alway After his gyfte him to apply Therby other to edifie For eche man shall when it is spent Render accompte of his talent Whiche thinge when I consider well Seing of men many a score Whiche in Gods giftes do farre excell Many other whiche were before Their dayes and yet neuer the more I se set furth for the whiche I Do my slacknes muche lesse set by For none is there that aught can do That in suche thinges can lesse then I. Therfore my coumpte lesse shall come to Then those that hath Gods gyftes more hye But yet the least I feare truelye Shall be more then they well may bere Whiche dothe make me my coumpte to feere The cause wherfore that I do make This treatise small only is this Because men may example take Of those whiche did stray farre amisse Assaulting faith that moost true is The cheife of whom as they shall se Did not amonge them selues agree Of whiche my simple enterprise Pardon of all men I do craue For my rude style my wit here tryse Suche wit suche termes alwaye wyll haue Therfore if fautes ye do persceiue Do them correcte as ye cause see Iust cause can no thing displease me Finis WHen Sagittary had dominion The nightes theÌ„ being very long and cold I mused on the straunge opinion the which diuers meÌ„ did diuersly hold Against our sauiours own wordes plainly tolde Which troubled me so that as it did chaunce With the same study I fell in a traunce Then with that I had a wonderfull dreame In the which me thought Morpheus drue neere And toke me by the haÌ„de with streÌ„gth extreme He drue me furth and bade me nothing feare But go with him and as we going were Let not my coÌ„ming quod he the displease For thou shalt finde it shall be for thine ease I know that thou dost sore trouble thi minde With the fondnes of men which thou doest see Agaâ—nst Christes wordes cauillation to finde The which in the scripture so plaine written be And how one with an other do not agree Is not this thy trouble I pray the tell trewe It is trueth quod I euen as thou dost shewe Well quod he I shall shew the more anone Then came we in to an hall long and wide The like before I neuer loked vpon Most gorgiously hounge it was on eche side With noble storyes which I wyll not hide Wrought in fine arrase with pure silke golde It rauishte my witte this hall to beholde Then did I loke vpon the lefte hande There sawe I the Arke of God purely wrought Of fine golde as it orderly doth stande In the byble whiche seing I me be thought Of the stories ther which to my minde brought What the Arke and all the reste did signifye Whiche on the lifte side of this hall did lye First there I sawe Melchizedech the King Meting Abraham the great Patriarche FroÌ„ slaughter of the. iiii kinges for which thiÌ„g He offred to God in a mystery darke Breade wine the which thing as I did marke A hande in the cloudes wrote this him before Thou arte a priest it saied for euer more TheÌ„ stode ther king Dauid redy w t his penne And wrote it in the spirite of prophecy Pointing to that priest which shuld saue al men Saying thou arte a priest eternally After Melchizedeches order truely The which when I sawe I burnt in desire To se all the rest my hart was on fyre There I sawe howe that the Iewes also Did eate the paschall lambe as God coÌ„mauÌ„ded When he did saue them from wicked Pharao Whiche with all his army was there confounded In the rede Sea where he deliuered His people drye foote to shewe his powre great In remeÌ„brance wherof the lambe they did eate Nexte to this story I sawe rychely wrought Howe that Manna from aboue did discende To fede those whoÌ„ god out of thral had brought Thus God his goodnes to them did extende Kyng Dauid stoode by and this truely pende Prophesieng therby a mystery great Saying man the bread of Angels hath eate A goodly table then sawe I there spreade By the which the high priestes stode honorably And did set theron the holy shewe breade Of the whiche none might eate but they only Then in that place also I did espye Where king Dauid did writ this senteÌ„ce cleare God geueth meat to those that him truely feare TheÌ„ as I stode musing these thinges to scaÌ„ne I could not with all my wyttes them define Then came there to me an auncient man Whiche semed to be some noble deuine He bad me mine eares to him incline And he would open to me by and by What all these thinges did truely signifie Of that I was glad and gaue attendaunce To here how he would these figures discusse Whiche he did truely with noble vtteraunce And first of the Arke his saying was thus The Arke quod he whiche is so glorious Doth signifye Christ his churche be thou sure Which hath in it the swete Manna most pure This Manna is the holy sacrament Of the blessed body and bloud of our Lord Whiche he lefte here to be permanent As a pledge most sure of our soules comford Aarons rodde also doth signifie his worde By the whiche his churche is gouerned here But by Manna is figurde his body most nere Secondly where Melchizedech the king Brought furth breade and wine before AbrahaÌ„ That did signifie Christes holy offryng Whiche he offred when he to his maundy came Christes order of priesthod coÌ„sisteth in the same Sith Melchizedeches order in his sacrafice Was none other but that scripture plaine trise And where he saieth thou art a priest for euer Did not only signifie Christes eternitee But also his order whiche ende shall neuer Whiche he ordained here at his maundie Fulfylling Melchizedeches order truely Yet is he the priest which doth worke this thinge In his ministers dayly ministring Stay there sir quod I by your pacience Did Melchizedeches order only consyst In these two thinges me thinke of
congruence It doth extende farther or els I haue mist Ye for soth quod he who wyll that resyst For when Christ offered him selfe by his passion He became for euer our propiciation In consideration wherof we do here Offer to the father this swete sacrifice Of his blessed sonne to him moost dere Whose death for mercy for vs dayly cryes For workes haue we none that before his eyes Are worthy of mercy therfore we do all In that same death for mercy dayly cal The next figure quod he to this agreeth wel Where as the Iewes the paschal lambe did eate In the remembraunce as scripture doth tell Of their deliueraunce by myracle great Out of Egypte of whiche figure to entreate It wyll require a longe circumstaunce But lette not the tyme to the be greuaunce Egypte the darknes of synne doth signifie In the whiche man was after his fall And by Pharao is figured the deuill truely Under whom man was both subiecte and thral And Moyses in figure Christ I may call Whiche Moyses ledde the children of Israel Through the redde sea from Pharao cruell Euen so our Moyses Christ our sauiour Deliuered his people through his redde bloud From Pharao the deuill and all his hole power Under whom man then in great daunger stood Now when God by Moyses was to man thus good He wilde man yerely for a memoriall To eate a lambe which they named the paschall Then for as muche as our lord did fore se How the nature of man was corrupted With forgetfulnes for the whiche he For mens coÌ„moditee this ordeined That they shoulde eate a male lambe vnspotted In a remembraunce how they deliuered were From wicked Pharao as ye before did here In like maner our sauiour Christ Iesu Ordeined for a perpetuall memorye A lambe to be eaten our mindes to renewe In dayly remembraunce of his mercy Whiche he procured by his death truely The lambe that he lefte was himselfe in dede As in the Euangelistes plaine we do reade That christ is the laÌ„be it doth plaine appeare Beholde the lambe of God saint Iohn doth say That taketh awai the sinnes of the world cleare Which he did truely by his death that day That his fleshe was brokeÌ„ none can this denay Now then to Christes maundy let vs resorte And se there what weight his wordes doth importe Christ at his last supper toke bread in his hand He blest it and brake it and those wordes saied This is my body thus doth his wordes stande The whiche for you saith he shal be betrayed These were his wordes it can not be denaied But he spake thus quod I only in figure That doth not quod he agree with scripture Thou must nedes grauÌ„t ê™ he that christ came here The figures of the olde lawe to fulfyll Cheifely all suche as of his coÌ„ming were And that not with figures to thinke so were yl Whoso affirmeth that can litle skyll In the scripture for thus writteth saint Paule That the lawe to the Iewes was in figures al. And yet this same sacrament is a figure But not only of Christes body naturall For y t it coÌ„taineth but this we read in scripture That the fourme of bred which we se material Is a figure of Christes body mysticall As to the Corynthes we do plainely reade To recite the wordes I thinke shall not nede But now to note christes words how thei were spokeÌ„ Thê is my body that geueÌ„ for you shal be Whiche the next day on the crosse was broken For the sinnes of all men this by faith we se. Now that christ is trueth needes we must agre Wel theÌ„ of the bread truth these words did say Which truely was true if he died the next day Thus is Christ the lambe that continuallye Is eaten of vs in his memoriall Because we should not forget his mercy Whiche by his death he purchast for vs all This to his comming truely continue shall The Iewes then eate the lambe in figure onlye But we eat the true laÌ„be the scripture doth try The Manna also which came from aboue To feede Gods people in the wildernes Doth signifie this great token of loue With whiche Christ doth fede his people doubtlesse As y e Prophetes saying here plain doth expresse The breade of Angels man hath eate saith he And christ this same breade nameth hiÌ„self to be I am the breade of lyfe saieth our sauiour Whiche from heauen aboue did truely descende To geue lyfe to man doth passe mannes power I am the true breade which doth to that exteÌ„de Manna from hounger did man only defende but who y t eateth of this bread sure of life shal be And the breade that I wyll geue is my fleshe saieth he Came his flesh froÌ„ heaueÌ„ ê™ I that wold I here For I beleue of trueth he toke it of Marye And yet by your wordes me thiÌ„ke it doth appere That y e bread was his flesh which came froÌ„ a hie I thinke this saying true ye can not trye For if ye can so my faith I wyll forsake For I do beleue his fleshe he did here take Loo here thy ignoraunce thou dost shew to me Did not christ like case say these wordes plainly truly No man ascendeth to heauen but only he Which came downe froÌ„ heaueÌ„ the sonne of man Which is in heauen marke what these wordes doth try the son of maÌ„ which is iÌ„ heaueÌ„ yet he Was in his manhode here as all men might se. To discusse that ê™ I doth farre passe my wit Why wilt thou theÌ„ quod he in thy faith dispute Thou wouldest dig a pitte thi selfe fall into it As many other doth them selues to coÌ„fute But do not thou like case froÌ„ thi faith traÌ„smute And now to shew the I wyll take in hand How these two places true together stand But first one text I wyll note to the more What wyll ye say saieth Christ when ye shall see The sonne of man ascende where he was before Doth not this text now expresse vnto thee His manhode in heauen before that to be May not I say than his fleshe is that bread Which came froÌ„ heaueÌ„ wherw t our soules be fed Then toke he no fleshe here that I ê‘ceiue wel Yes forsoth ê™ he this dothe not that disproue For why s. Iohn doth writ in his gospel That the word was made flesh euen Gods soÌ„ne aboue By eternal generacion none can that remoue So God man was knyt alwayes to remaine But one in ê‘sonage though in natures twaine Nowe syth our nature vnto God is knyt Beyng one in person as I before did say To know how this should be doth passe al mens wyt Yet that this is true no man can denay But that man is God and God is man alway Now then Christes holy fleshe by this vnitie May truely be said alwaye in heauen to be Now this heaueÌ„ly bred vnder which christ is here The breade of
blessed be all they That though they se not yet wil beleue in me To beleue in Christ what iudgest thou to be Is it not to beleue all that Christ doth teache In mysteries of fayth aboue reasons reache Of the whiche among all that Christ hath left here This sacrament doth all other excel First because Christ is there yet seen no where But by fayth which in this doth reasō down fel Whiche with all our senses against it doth rebel And yet fayth doth byd vs it to defende Whiche we intende to do vnto our lyues ende Now while this doctor Luther talked thus In came a standard all abrode displayed Under whiche came in Oecolampadius Faring as though he wold make thē all afrayde And agaist the sacrament like a beast he brayde And as did Beringarius so did he it assayle But the doctours defeded it he could not preuail Then Decolampadius in his assaultyng Heard Luther defende Christes presence bodily To be vnder the sacrament not withstanding The substaunce of bread to byde with the body For the whiche he did reproue Luthers foly Saiyng that no learned man would agre Two substances in one body to be Christ was promist quod he to be incarnate So that God man one substaunce should be But who euer re◠he should be unpanate And take the nature of bread in vnitee Of person and so make his natures thre Of the whiche one wyll corrupt we spye And then shal be false the prophetes prophecie These inconueniences with diuers other mo Decolampadius plainly declared With the doctors all confirmed to be so But then to speake more he him selfe prepared ▪ For to be mistaken very sore he feared All inconueniences cleane to put away It was but onely a signe of Christ he did say Thus Luther and he began to contend Though thei both did erre yet did thei not agre Of the whiche debate or they had made an ende Carolstadius cummyng anone I did see His assault before Luther gaue he But hearing them newe gloses to inuent To lose his fame so he was not content Fyrst he hearing Luther defende so stoutly That hoc est corpus meum must be vnderstand That with bread was Christes own very body And then on the other side how he was withstād By Decolampaduis whiche that text scand That hoc est must nedes be this doth signifie And stepping betwene he sware thei both did lye Than of proud Nēbroth I though at that houre Whom God preuented with all his company At buildyng of the Babilonical towre By confusion of tongues God letted their foly And so did he theirs experience did trye For when they thought lady faith to ouerrunne They were as nye as when they fyrst begunne For when the other twayne as I before say Had these wordes of Christ so interpretate He affirmed plain that thei toke the wrong way And that the spirit of truth did his heart inflate The sēse of these words sayth he are in this rate To be vnderstande not est for signifie But est for is euen as the text doth lye So then this is my body Christ did say plaine But to what pointed he when he did so say To the bread nay there deceiued are ye twayne He pointed to him selfe sitting there that day Not meanyng of the bread by any way But that thei should eate it in the remembrance Both of his great loue and also his sufferance Then eche of them affirmed his owne sense To be the very truth although contrarie They were eche to other they stode in defence Of their sayinges and so beganne to vary Yet though eche showde him selfe aduersarie Unto ladie fayth yet at the last they fell Through pryde one against another to rebel But when the doctors harde Carolstadius Of christes plain wordes so false a glose to take O wicked man quod thei herken vnto vs what scriptur hail y u that for thi part doth make For what cause toke Christ bread these words spake Take eat this is my body marke this thing well And to what thing Christ did point this wyll the tell Christes taking of the bread in his holy hand His geuing of thankes blessing and breaking And bidding them eate can no way be scande But that his act did cōcurre with his speaking Saiyng this is my body what playner thing Cā there be to proue that that which thei did eat Was his owne body that most heauenly meat Of all foolishe gloses that is moost madde To say that of the bread Christ ment not at all And if that should be true then the Iewes had A better repast in eating their paschall That was fleshe bloud had life naturall Then w t christ in figure they were truely fedde But we haue not so muche if Christ ment not of the breade When he had this saied these wretches all Began against faieth to be more vehement But then because in to sectes they did fall Hauing amonge them no kinde of agrement Conserning the right faieth in the sacrament Eche against other his fancye did defende Thus brauling with thē selues this assaulte did ende Then lyke brainles beastes they fell in decay Lyke those that had sought their own cōfusion Leuing lady faieth in hir olde godly staye To whom all the doctours in conclucion Submitted them selues with out abusion And vnto Christ there in the sacrament They kneled downe with deuotion reuerent Then stood lady faieth quietly in rest Holding the sacrament honorably Yet some now and then would haue hir opprest Whiche were souldiours of wicked heresye Assaulting hir ofte very cruelly Whom for to hurte when they sawe they lacked power They fled backe all to the tente of errour Wherin they did rest I sawe them no more Then kneled I downe doyng reuerence Unto Christ there as I had done before Suppossing the deuilles deadly diligence Had bene debarde by the doughty defence Of all the doctours and as I there stood I harde horses bray as they had bene woode Then began my hart for great feare to quake Me thought al the world against faith was bēt But then faith bad me a good hart to take For this assaulte quod she wyll be feruent But looke that fro me thou be not absent And take here quod she this target and sworde Glad was I then of hir to heare that worde Then as I toke these my selfe to defende In came reason whiche a standard did beare Upon the whiche in blacke letters was pende The names of al those which his captaines wer Whō when I beheld like byshoppes did apppere Whiche in my mynde was a straunge sight to se Byshoppes on that sort disgysed to be The first was two Archbyshops whō I did know The third Rydley which on the quene did raile The fourth was Hoper the fifte was Barlowe The syxt was Poinet the seuenth was Bale The eight was Brown the ninth Couerdale Farrer and Tayler made