Selected quad for the lemma: woman_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
woman_n	brother_n	daughter_n	husband_n	4,618	5	10.6905	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10269	Certaine questions by way of conference betwixt a chauncelor and a kinswoman of his concerning the churching of women		1601 (1601)	STC 20557; ESTC S105979	24,479	73

Indeed I confesse that if the Queene or Princesse of a lande in whom the whole Realme hath an interest were deliuered of a Babe then I take it the Church had some reasons to make a Publike and generall Churching or Thankesgiuing to God As I haue heard that for the birth of King Edward there was But otherwise such an ordinarie seruice as yours is for euery private woman such as my self hath in mine opinion neither legges nor foundation to stande on Chauncelor O I remember now these were some of the woorthy reasons that your Minister alleaged when hee was before me in Mistres Winters case Woman But what thinke you Were they not sound reasons or are you able by any colour of reason to answere or avoid them Chauncelor Well by your leaue your Minister as holy as he is plaied the Asse there egregiously Woman How so I pray you Wherein I premise you I see not but hee did that which belongeth to him in all faithfulnesse Chauncelor Why is not shee his patronesse I pray you and did not her husband giue him the benefice Woman What of that Chauncelor Why then you must needes confesse he dealt but badly with her vnkindly to refuse to Church her Woman I see no vnkindnesse in it in the world nor yet any vndutifulnesse to her considering at what an vnconvenient time shee sent for him on the Saboth day morning and that in all post hast of purpose as it is thought to pike a quarrell to him having conceyved a bitter displeasure against him for his Sermon before Chauncelor Alas the gentlewomā had thought as shee saith and had verely purposed to haue gone to Church her self ouer-night but the weather falling out something whette and slabbie in the morning had it bene such a matter for him to haue come downe to her when shee sent for him Woman What at that time and houre betwixt 9 and 10 of the clocke when he was readie to goe to the sermon Had that bene fitte thinke you Chauncelor Sermon me no Sermons By the masse I would not haue hazarded her displeasure for that knowinge that my living did depend vpon it Why might hee not haue preached an other time or haue fained some excuse for that present that hee had not ben well or so Woman Nay like enough This is euen like your selues and fully sutable to the rest of your proceedings What other fruites should one looke for from men of your constitution But doeth not this iustifie that whiche I haue so often charged you with That you more prize esteeme these bables of your owne hatching and invention then the sacred ordinance of God And is it not a strange witcherie that ye can bee content amongst you thus to suffer the Preaching and Ministerie of the woord to giue place to a Iewish or Popish ceremonie Chauncelor O be not angrie good Cousen Woman Well ye may see if yee will not wilfullie blindfolde your selues what mischief and inconvenience comes by this so crosse and perverse dealing of yours For what with the care of the Decencie of Churching and your carelesnesse of the necessitie of Preaching ye haue almost marred all amongst you and brought it so to passe that the poore ignorant people of the lande doe thinke all the service of GOD to lye in Churching Crossing Kneeling and beeing houseled as they call it at Easter As for Preaching they holde that for a superfluous and needlesse Ceremonie and therfore when their seruice is done they take it they may lawfullie goe out of the Church though the Minister be readie to goe into the Pulpitt And all this my good Cousen is long of you and your associates I must needs in all plainesse tell you what I thinke Chauncelor Well these be things that you and I shall not redresse in hast gentle kinswoman We may well wish and pray for the redresse but yea faith neither you nor al your precise brotherhood can for your liues tell how to helpe it Woman If we can not helpe it as you say yet it were to bad to go about to hinder it as you doe you speake of praying and wisshing yet I can not see that you do so much as wish and desire the thing you speake of Nay it were well if yee did indeed wish a reformation and redresse from your heartes Chauncelor Why do you thinke mee so farre gone that I doe not wish well to the Church and State wherein I liue Woman It seemes no by your owne speaches For in your mouth you condemne the Minister for that which in your conscience you ought to commend him for And what was the Ministers fault I pray you Forsooth he would not forsake and giue ouer his Preaching to Church his Patronesse Wherevpon you sweare Sermon you no sermons Yea and by your leaue when the matter came before you to your reproch be it spoken good Cousen God forgiue you for it you tooke part with the Gentlewoman against our Minister Call you this to wish well and to desire and pray for reformation and amendement Chanucelor Tush that was but in one particular woman and for once only that I would haue had him ouerskipt his sermon for a future benefire both to the Church and him self and what hurt had it bene I pray you for him to haue layed aside one sermon that afterward hee might haue preached manie sermons in peace As for my taking part with the Gentlewoman that was for your Ministers good if you and he had eyes to see it to the end that I might afterward th'easilier pacifie and preuaile with the Gentlewomā who I assure you was mightilie incensed against him and had in purpose to remooue him if shee could Woman Well if your purpose and intent were good I am gladde of it though God you see doe seldome blesse but rather crosse curse these purposes of yours because you walke not with a straight foote and an vpright heart But to lett that passe and to come to our former speach of Thankesgiuing would you haue the Woman alone giue God thankes for that blessing or her friendes to ioine with her therein Chauncelor What a question is that Is it not fitte and requisite that her friendes that loue her should ioine with her in so good an action Woman How happens it then that ye handle the matter so amongest you in your manner of Churching That neither the Husbande must ioyne with his wife nor the Father with his daughter nor the Sonne with his Mother nor the Brother with his Sister nor they that are most bounde in nature and by the law of GOD to giue thankes must not at all medle with it nor haue anie thing to doe with all as if they had no interest in that blessing at all but were meere straungers to it Chanucelor O it is fittest in good faith that they onely that were by the woman in her anguish and trauell should be by her also at her Thankesgiving What a

you haue saide and wrangled all that you can it will be found a most decent thing Woman A decent thing What talke you of decencie I tell you I hold it fer more then a Decent thing even for a religious thing and a part of my bounden duetie if it bee as you say a Thankesgiving and a service of God But I pray you tell me because you wish me to haue a regard of modestie and womanhood haue you had any information of any mis behaviour against me either in my speach company or cariage of my selfe if you haue I shall thanke you as my good kinsman to admonish me of it Chauncelor By my trouth no if it were not for this odde pievishnesse of yours whereby you trouble both your selfe and your friendes more then needs I doe not so God helpe me knowe or heare any thinge by you that deserveth reproofe and therefore I am the willinger to pull you out of it if I could Woman It were well indeed if a could be pulled from my faultes and you from your swearing But when you friend or kinsman doeth any thing or refrayneth from anie thing of conscience as I may safelie protest vnto you in this case I doe Then the way and meanes to set me straight if I be awry is as I take it the sacred Scripturs and woord of God which if you bring or any good reason out of it for proofe and warrant of this your Churching woe and double woe to me if I subscribe not to it Chauncelor Whop here is a revell and adoe with Scriptures my kinswoman you say refrayneth of Conscience But frō what doeth shee refrayne forsooth from Thankesgiving to God Is not this pretie stuffe or is not this a warme Conscience Woman Not so Deceyue not your selfe nor triumph not before the victorie your kinswoman thanketh God she hath bene better taught then so It is not from Thankesgiuing to God as you would haue it that she refrayneth of Conscience but onely from Iewish or Popish Purifying shadowed and varnished over with a colour or shewe of Thankesgiving Thus shee tolde you once before and this shee telleth you againe and againe But I pray you let me aske you one thing Chauncelor What is that Woman Is not Thankesgiving a service of God Chauncelor Yes I hope no man doubtes of that Woman What meane you then to harpe so much vpon Decencie and modestie Would you haue vs serue God for Decēcie Sometimes againe you saye that Churching is a thing indifferent a trifle and a matter of nothing and yet you will needes haue it to he a Thankesgiving to God Howe can this hang togeather then that one the same thing should be a matter of Decēcie of indifferencie or a trifle of no moment yet a seruice of God Is the seruice of God come to that passe amongst you now Chauncelor I meane onely the Ceremonie of it as the Tyme and th' Attyre the companie of women the offerings and the feasting of neighbours and friendes to be as thinges indifferent of no moment But not the prayers and thanksgiuing in the church that I holde to bee holy and not indifferent Woman The trueth is yee holde yee can not tell what amongst you The Ceremonie stickes so neare to your seruice and your maner of seruice is so sutable and agreeing with your Ceremonie that yee can not for your liues sever the one from th' other Take away the Ceremonie and there is no need of your seruice that I see Therefore you may doe well in my conceite to let them both henceforward sleepe and surcease For lett the poore woman that hath escaped bee never so thankfull or let her husband as maister of the familie with his servantes and friends giue God thankes never so earnestlie and Christianlie for that deliverance and that euen then when the remembrance of that mercie of God is freashest in their memories yet all this is nothinge to you nor of no reckoning vnlesse the Woman may haue her solemne Purification at her monethes end with her white vayle or some such marke to be knowen by which is a manifest signe that albeit yee pretende Thankesgiuing yet in trueth yee care not for it so your Popish custome and ceremonie of Purifying be not broken of Chauncelor Indeed it were fitt that ye women should appoint the service and ceremonies of the Church and then belike we should be wel handsomelie served But I pray you tel me one thing What if for the peace of the Church you should giue thankes after this maner as in the book is prescribed what discredite daunger or inconvenience would ensue to you vpon that Woman That is as much to say in good English as what if for the peace of the Church one should make shew to giue thankes when in deed and in trueth there is no Thankesgiving at all were not that a plaine mocking of God a kinde of Hypocrisie Prophaning of the name Religion of God Chauncelor Trust me I thinke you are one of the perversest creatures that ever anie man dealt with I speake not one woord of a shew of Thankesgiving but of giving thankes in deede and looke now whither you be runne Woman Why did you not speake of giving thanks after the maner as the Booke prescribeth and that as I haue often tolde you is but a shew or shadow and no trueth How am I perverse then when I ground vppon your owne speaches Now because you aske me what incōvenience would ensue if I should for anie respect vse this pretēded Than ksgiving I will shew you if you will giue me leaue that you will with patience heare me how I shall therein offende many and sundrie wayes Chauncelor As how I pray you for my learning Woman Two wayes I haue alreadie told you of as first that in so doeing I should therein shewe my selfe either Iewish or Popish Secondlie that in fayning to giue GOD thankes and to vse no one woord tending to that ende nor looking that way is nothing els but in a sort to mocke God to his face Chauncelor Well what then Woman Thirdlie in so doeing I shall not onely nourish foster and maintayne manie superstitious and erroneous opinions in the heartes of th' ignorant and so strengthen the simple in their false woorship but also fall into divers and sundrie most daungerous absurdities as namelie first of all that a woman after childbirth is vncleane and vnholy cōtrary to th'Apostles wordes who teacheth vs that a Woman is sanctified by bearing of children For what may Purifying I pray you presuppose but some former vncleannesse Likewise that a woman is helde for the time as an excommunicate person and therefore most solemnly be receyued agayn into the church For what may Churching presuppose but some former excluding shutting out and cutting off Chauncelor These then I perceyue are some of your supposed absurdities haue you any more of them Woman Well iest as you please I